My Alien Warrior (16 page)
“I want you,” she said, burying her face in his chest. “I really, really do. I missed you, and everyone thought you just
left
me, which isn’t true, but. I just wanted you to come back.”
Khaos grinned and tipped her face up, pressing a kiss to her mouth. “I think you might be stuck with me for good now.”
“You’re not going to hear me complaining.”
He laughed, and she laughed with him, giddiness bubbling up in her.
“Good,” Khaos said. “Are you done for the night, then? I can think of a lot of things we could do that would be more fun than you working all night. Let me take care of you.”
And Kayla nodded, for once perfectly willing to let someone be for her what she was to everyone else.
One year later
“Kayla, your
man
is here!” called Christina. “And Dr. Carpenter is gone for the night.”
Kayla smiled, looking up from her computer where she had been inventorying the supplies they had and making lists of the ones they needed to restock. It was just after eight, so Khaos couldn’t even tell her that she’d been working too late as he was prone to whenever it got too far after the clinic's close and she was still in her office.
Even though he preferred to walk home, and she was perfectly capable of escorting herself to her car and then to the house, he usually made his way to the clinic so he could ride home with her.
For the first little bit of their relationship since he came back, it had bothered her. Logically, she knew that it didn’t mean that he didn’t think she was capable of getting home on her own, but that fierce streak of pride in her had risen up and made things hard.
After a while, she’d learned that it wasn’t him doubting her. It was him just wanting to keep her safe and protected, which was like some kind of natural instinct when it came to Khaos.
Once she got over being mildly irritated by it, it was rather nice.
“Why do you insist on calling him that?” Kayla called back, saving her progress and shutting down the laptop before she got up to stretch languidly, her back popping with each movement as a clear testament to the fact that she’d been sitting down in her chair for too long. With the addition of the new doctor, Kayla had much more time to work on paperwork, which was good for the way the clinic was run, but bad for her back.
“Because it’s what he is,” Christina replied. “He’s too beefy to be called your ‘boyfriend’ or something stupid like that.”
Kayla laughed. She supposed the nurse had a point. For all he wasn’t human, Khaos was definitely not a boy.
“Are you talking about me?” his familiar voice said, and he poked his head around the doorframe with a raised eyebrow. “I can tell when you’re talking about me.”
“That’s just because you’re vain,” Christina said. “Anyway, I’m off for the night. See you on Monday, Kayla.”
“Good night, Chris,” Kayla said, waving to the nurse before turning her attention to her mate. They’d decided to just use that term since it seemed to fit everything they felt for each other. Kayla had learned that on Blessini, there wasn’t really a such thing as marriage, more of a joining of lives, which was almost the same thing without all the legal bits.
She’d explained marriage to Khaos, and he’d understood it, though he didn’t seem as fond of all the stipulations that seemed to go with it. They’d been together for over a year at this point, but neither of them were in a hurry to make things more official than they already were.
Khaos hadn’t had a lot of time to think about it anyway, considering all he’d had to do once he came back to Earth. With Calin’s blessing, he hadn’t been considered an illegal alien, and he’d had to be integrated into the system so he could have an identity.
Once that was done, he had to find out what he wanted to do.
It turned out that he was just as good at teaching people to fight as he was at actually fighting, and with a little help from the Kaspersi on Earth and the savings he’d had back on Blessini, he’d been able to open his own studio where he taught everything from hand to hand combat to self defense training. He was a hit in the city, and it gave him something to do while Kayla worked, and more importantly, it gave him a sense of purpose that he’d seemed to be lacking when he’d first come back, and that made Kayla happy.
She was so happy that he’d come back to be with her, but if he’d been miserable, then she didn’t think she would have been able to take it.
Now that they were alone in the office, Khaos gave her a warm smile and crossed to where she was standing, gathering her up in his arms. No matter how many times they did this, it was always the same comfortable, exciting feeling to be this close to him.
“How was your day?” he asked, leaning down to brush his lips over hers.
“Good. Three kids with broken bones came in. Apparently it’s football season at the middle school.”
Khaos snorted. He’d seen the human sport and didn’t understand why humans were so fragile, clearly. “Did you make them better?”
“I tried. They needed to be sent to the hospital because of the severity of the breaks, so. Hopefully they’re alright. How was your day?”
“Really good. The people in my self-defense class are doing awesomely.” He filled her in on how the class was going while she packed up her things and the two of them left together, Khaos keeping a sharp eye on everything while Kayla locked up.
It had been a good long while since she’d been kidnapped and held hostage by the Vekosh, but neither of them had forgotten it, and Kayla knew that Khaos still considered it a moment when he’d failed her.
She didn’t agree, but they didn’t talk about it often.
Together they got in the car and headed towards home, knowing that Charlie would be there waiting for them and that Khaos would make dinner while Kayla showered and got changed out of her work clothes. Then they would sit down and eat and Kayla would clean up the kitchen while Khaos showered. It was a weekend, so they’d take their time before going to bed, and it would all be cozy and familiar and wonderful.
Their routine had taken time to get used to, but it had worked for the best, in Kayla’s opinion. At first she had worried that he would miss his home and his friends and the arena, but he’d seemed to adapt to life on Earth, life with her, easily enough. She was happy, and Khaos seemed to feel the same way, and she was pretty sure that even though there hadn’t been an actual sickness that brought them together, what they had built was definitely the cure they both had needed for their lives.
About The Author
Ashley West was raised in a small Midwest town. She has always been a big fan of science fiction and paranormal books and movies. Her all-time favorite movies are the first three Star Wars movies.
She started writing at a young age and has not looked back since. Ashley brings her worlds to life with vivid details and likeable characters. On her spare time, she enjoys painting, jogging, and curling up next to her favorite books.
If you enjoy Ashley’s titles and wish to stay updated on all her new releases and free book giveaways, please visit her website and submit your email.
