Resisting the Alien Rider (Cowboy Colony Mail-Order Brides, #3)

by Ursa Dax

Probably a good thing this one didn’t request a bride… She’d have a hell of a lot of work to do, that’s for sure. Would need the patience of a saint.

The man gave me major stressed-out-dad-who-regrets-bringing-his-kids-camping energy.

You can’t scare me when you’ve got a frown like the Old-Earth devil himself but the ears of a child’s plush toy.”

“I don’t know what ‘hug’ means. And I don’t talk to fabric,” he said, as if the very idea were pure lunacy. “If I wanted to do that, I’d talk to my hat.”

“She told me that I could have her shit in a bottle.” “Ship in a bottle, Killian,” I groaned. “Oh.” He looked slightly less enthusiastic now, but rallied admirably. He leaped out of his spot, putting himself between my chair and Oaken. “If you try to take her from us,” Killian said, his eyes massive and murderous white, “I will kill you. And no one but Garrek will ever know because they’ll never find your body.”

“All you have to do is put your arms around me,” I told him impatiently. “And then what?” he asked suspiciously. “And then we just… stand there.” “Doing a hug.” “Precisely.” “That… sounds stupid.” “I know,” I admitted. “But somehow, it isn’t.” Killian looked more thoughtful than was usually characteristic of him. “I think Magnolia has done a hug to me before,” he said at length. “It was nice when she did it.” Then he wrinkled his nose at me, a look that clearly meant it would not be so nice if I were to do it.

When he finally did pull away, the room seemed darker than it should have been. Astounded, I suddenly realized why. Killian’s eyes were not bright white. For the very first time, I got to see their true colour, something inside him finally soothed enough to let it show.

“But I do know that I’m no longer the man I was before you. And I believe it is the same for Killian.” “He’s not a man yet,” I pointed out. “No,” Garrek agreed. “But he will be soon. And he’ll be a better one for knowing you.”