Smiley Read online

  “Smooth.”

  “That’s me, babe.”

  She lifted her chin and stared into his eyes, seeing the amused look in them. “I love that you have a sense of humor.”

  They entered the bedroom and she gasped when he suddenly turned, hurling them both toward the bed. They hit with a bounce. The soft mattress cushioned their fall and he rolled, pinning her flat under him.

  “That’s good. I like to laugh and I have the best time with you, my Vanni.”

  She liked him calling her that. “I have the best time with you too, my Smiley.”

  His grin faded and a serious expression wiped out all traces of humor. Vanni sobered too.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “You called me yours.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I am yours. You’re mine. We’re getting married. I already consider you my mate. Is that okay with you?” He reached up and caressed her cheek. “Don’t break my heart. It will if you deny what is between us.”

  “I’d never do that,” she swore.

  “I have so many feelings for you.” He played with her hair, wrapping locks of it around his fingers. “Tell me I’m important to you.”

  “You are.” She took a deep breath, deciding to be totally honest. “I’m falling in love with you.”

  He smiled, all the tension leaving his face. “I’m already in love with you. I have been since we bonded in the back of that SUV. You trusted me to care for you and put your faith in me. You’ll never know what that meant. I went insane when I woke up and learned you’d run away from the task force members. I couldn’t eat or sleep. I worried that you were out there afraid and alone. That someone would hurt you. I want to protect you and keep you safe. I want you in my arms, in my home and with me all the time. I hate being apart from you. You’re all I think about.”

  “You’re all I think about too.”

  “I’m going to make you happy, Vanni. Trust that. I’ll never hurt you or let you down. It is a good thing that I’m not human because I’ll never cheat on you. I know humans do that. Species don’t. I won’t. You’re all I’m ever going to want. I’ll never allow anyone to harm you. I’d kill them if they tried. You are my first priority. You are the most important thing in my life. That means I place you before all other Species, if you were worried about that. You won’t be an outsider here. As my mate, you are Species.”

  “That’s so sweet.” She was a bit overwhelmed.

  “It’s not sweet. It’s a fact.”

  “Are you sure you want to marry me this fast? We could wait until—”

  “Don’t,” Smiley rasped. “I am certain. Forget logic and whatever you were taught in the out world. Your rules of dating don’t apply here. We can be happy. We will be. There’s no need for us to date for months to know we’re right for each other. This is just you and me. See how well we fit together?” He adjusted his hips, his cock still hard inside her. “It’s not about the sex though. I don’t want you to think that’s all there is to our relationship. We’re so much more.”

  “I know that.”

  “Do you?” He studied her closely, peering deeply into her eyes. “We can get through anything together if we just talk and are honest. You could ask me anything, tell me anything, and I’m going to keep loving you. I want to have faith that you will do that with me.”

  “You’re such a good man, Smiley.”

  “I’m yours, Vanni. Say you’re mine. Let’s just do this. I know it might frighten you to take a mate this fast but trust me to be here for you. Take a leap. I’ll catch you. Always.”

  She believed him. “Okay.”

  “You’ll be happy. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “I need to get a job.”

  “We don’t live in a money-based system. You can find something to do if you get bored but you can stay home if you wish. I just want you happy, Vanni.”

  The idea of being a housewife was appealing. “And we can try to have babies. I’d really like that.”

  “I’d love to have children with you.”

  “So it’s all decided. We are going to elope. We’ll do something simple and fun.”

  “With your friend Beth and my friends. We need to find a minister.”

  “Exactly. Stress free and it’s going to be about us.”

  “It’s always going to be about us.” He released her and lifted off, separating their bodies.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To remove these boots and pants.” He got to his feet but then collapsed onto the floor.

  Vanni sat up and laughed, watching him tear off his boots. He just tossed them toward the closet and shoved his pants all the way off once his feet were bare. He rose to his knees and braced his hands on the end of the bed.

  “I have some calls to make. Don’t move. Stay in that bed.”

  “You’re going to arrange it right now?”

  “Yes.” Smiley rushed out of the room. “I’m not going to give you time to second-guess us again. We are going to seal our bond in your world and mine.”

  Vanni chuckled, the sight of his muscular bare ass the last thing she saw before he disappeared down the hall. Human guys usually dragged their feet about making serious commitments but Smiley didn’t have that problem. He’d said sex wasn’t the only thing they had and she believed him. He was still sporting a hard-on but was making calls instead of staying in bed with her.

  Chapter Twenty

  Smiley returned to the bedroom ten minutes later and grinned at the sight of Vanni sitting on the bed waiting for him. “It’s arranged. We can do it as soon as tomorrow evening.”

  Her eyes widened and he froze in his tracks, hoping she wouldn’t change her mind. Humans were so different and unpredictable. “Is that okay?”

  “That is fast. I have to contact Beth. I really want her there.”

  “Contact her first thing in the morning. We can have her picked up and flown to Reservation. There’s something we need to do first once we reach Reservation though.” He took a seat on the side of the bed and reached out, taking her hand. “I planned to tell you this when I got home but seeing how happy you looked when I came in the door distracted me. I don’t want to dampen your mood but there’s something we must discuss. It’s serious.”

  “More so than getting married?”

  “No, but it is important.”

  She inched closer and gripped his hand tightly. “Okay. Just tell me.”

  “Gregory Woods attempted to flee the country with his son and security team.”

  She said nothing. He wished she’d express her feelings but the silence lengthened. She stared at him, appearing a little stunned. He tried to think of her concerns.

  “He didn’t get away. You’re safe, Vanni. He won’t be able to hurt you or your family. He won’t have access to a phone and that means he can’t order anyone who works for him to do anything in retaliation. We had a task force member pose as his pilot for the private plane he hired. They boarded and were flown directly to where the NSO took them into custody. They are being held at Reservation. We’re going to go there tomorrow at noon. I would like to have words with a few of them. You may view them through a wall of glass, if you wish. I’d prefer you didn’t have any direct contact with them.” He might kill anyone who threatened Vanni again. “But it’s your choice. I know sometimes it helps to be able to confront your fears or in this case, the males who caused you such distress.”

  “You said his son. Carl tried to leave with him?”

  “Does that upset you?” It angered Smiley that she asked about her ex-fiancé. “He put you in a lot of danger, Vanni.”

  “It’s not that. I’m just surprised he was willing to leave his practice and his house behind. I can’t see him giving up his lifestyle for his dad. He kept telling me they weren’t close. I guess that was a lie.”

  “He had financial problems. He was about to lose everything he owned.”

  “I didn’t know.” She frown