Saved by the Alien Crime Boss (Aliens Among Us #4)

Chapter 24

TWENTY-FOUR

Sevik turned his truck onto Main Street, following Mina’s SUV. The harsh red of her taillights glinted off flecks of ice in the otherwise dirty snow the snowplows had left on the sides of the road.

Not for the first time during the drive from the cabin, he wished she were beside him. These twenty minutes without her felt longer than the six days they’d spent together at his place; it was torturous.

The choice to take separate vehicles had been a surprisingly difficult one for him. He wanted her close, and didn’t want her driving on potentially dangerous roads. But at least he was right behind her if anything happened.

Had they just taken her car, she would’ve eventually had to drive him back to the cabin, which meant her making the return trip to town alone. And Sevik would’ve been driven mad not knowing if she’d made it safely.

Maybe it’s finally time to get one of those phones the humans always use…

She brought her vehicle to a stop in front of The Bookish Bean, reverse lights flashing for an instant as she shifted into park. Sevik did the same. Her driveway hadn’t been cleared at all, and the snow piled at its entrance was even higher than everywhere else thanks to the plows.

Mina’s car door opened, and she hopped out, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her.

Sevik exited his truck, reached into the bed, and took out the snow shovel he’d brought along. He strode to the snowbank at the driveway entrance.

“You don’t have to clear all that,” Mina said. “It’d be a lot less work to just go in through the front.”

“You park in the back.”

“Yeah, but I don’t have to.”

Eyebrows falling low, he glanced at her. “If I don’t do this now, you’ll do it later. That’s not acceptable.”

“Sevik, you really don’t have to.”

He jabbed the shovel into the mound. “Go back in your car, Mina. Stay warm.”

Snow crunched softly under her boots as she approached. “I’m staying with you.”

The swell of pride in his chest came with a hint of frustration. As much as he wanted her near, he did not want her to suffer—and there was no way she wasn’t already feeling the bite of the cold. But how could he not be touched by her willingness to choose him over her own comfort?

“Get back in the car.” He tossed aside the shovelful of snow and scooped up another.

“I’ll go get my shovel to help,” she said from behind him. “It’s, um… Well, it’s by the back door. Maybe if you just give me a boost over this mountain, I can swim over to it.”

“No.” Sevik continued shoveling.

“But—”

“No.”

Even the shallower snow would be past her mid-thigh. He wouldn’t have her straining to move it, and her proposed trek around the back would’ve had her shivering with cold before she ever reached her destination.

Mina huffed. “Stubborn male. You expect me to just stand here and stare at your ass while you do all the work?”

Sevik smirked as he heaved aside a pile snow that might’ve weighed half as much as Mina. “Yes.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

He felt a sharp sting as her palm struck his ass.

“You do have a nice butt, so I won’t complain,” Mina said happily.

Sevik chuckled. Whirling around, he caught her by her waist and yanked her body against his. “That will be repaid, female.”

She grinned at him. “I look forward to it.”

Leaning down, he slanted his mouth over hers. He allowed himself a moment to thrill in her taste. Such a sweet, playful, seductive mate… If he gave in now, he didn’t doubt the heat of their passion would melt the snow around them.

But too soon, he released her and resumed his work, sped on by his desire to get his mate out of the cold. Heat was thrumming in his muscles by the time he’d cleared a path large enough for Mina’s car, making wisps of steam rise from him in the frigid air. Mina’s breath came out in large puffs, sometimes through chattering teeth, and her nose and cheeks were red.

Should’ve forced her to wait in her vehicle.

Like she can be forced to do anything.

He snickered to himself.

Stubborn female.

Once the way was clear, Mina rushed to the back door, unlocked it, and held it open for him. Sevik stomped snow off his boots and pants before entering. Two scents struck him immediately—Mina and coffee. The small entry room had hooks on the wall, upon which a couple coats and hats hung, with a pair of boots standing on a mat beneath them. Straight ahead was an open door and a hallway that led into the café, and to the left was a wooden staircase going up to the second floor.

Mina closed the door, toed off her boots, and removed her gloves.

“Do you want anything to drink?” she asked. “Coffee? Tea? Cocoa? Water?”

“Water,” he replied. It was the safest option if he didn’t want to be overwhelmed by sweetness or kept awake all night.

She unzipped her coat and removed it, hanging it on one of the hooks before she raced up the stairs. As Sevik removed his boots, he heard her keys jingling, then the sound of the door opening and Mina darting through.

The stairs creaked softly beneath Sevik as he walked up. With each step higher, his heart beat a little faster, and his chest felt a little tighter.

He was about to enter his mate’s home, where she was the most herself, the most comfortable, the most vulnerable. This moment was far more significant than he could’ve guessed, far more meaningful.

Mina met Sevik at the door, holding out a glass of water to him. “Here.”

“Thanks.” He took the glass, and under her oddly expectant gaze, sipped the water.

She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “All of it. You just shoveled all that snow by yourself.”

Sevik chuckled. “If it pleases you, female.”

He gulped down the rest of the water without looking away from her. The cold liquid was admittedly refreshing, battling the heat that had built in him while he’d worked.

He returned the empty glass to Mina, and she stepped aside.

“You can come in,” she said, a little shyly.

That hint of shyness squeezed his heart. After what they’d done together, what they’d shared, there should’ve been no room left for it, and yet he found it endearing.

Sevik moved past Mina, somehow managing to take his eyes off her so he could study her apartment. Her scent, fresh, sweet, and heady, permeated the air.

Sheer white curtains allowed ample daylight into the room, which was filled with light colors—whites, beiges, gentle grays, pale greens and browns. It made the space, which seemed to be a combined kitchen and living area, feel much larger and more open.

Plants hung from the ceiling and sat upon wall mounted shelves, adding vibrant greens to the mix. They were accented in many places by delicate strings of tiny, hanging lights and small lamps basking the leaves in their glows. Framed art on the walls contributed more varied color, but it all seemed…balanced. Harmonious.

Comfortable.

“I’ve…never invited anyone in here before,” Mina said softly, calling his attention to her. “You’re the first.”

She stood with her hands folded against her belly. The sadness that had been evident in her voice was also present on her face, and it made him want to burn this whole town to the ground. To punish all the people who’d made her feel so small, so alone, to make them fucking beg for mercy and to offer them none.

But he wasn’t going to focus on them. This was about Mina, about being in her place, learning about her. She wasn’t alone anymore, and she knew it.

Sevik stepped toward the couch, running his gaze over the décor. A tiny artificial fir tree, decorated with white and red glass balls and miniature books and teacups, stood on one of the end tables.

He’d seen such trees through the front windows of other homes, though those had been much larger and more elaborately decorated. He’d wondered if they were some sort of status symbol. Why else would so many humans leave the insides of their homes so visible to anyone who passed by? But having seen the decorations in the stores and the live trees being sold from a corner lot down the street, he knew now that the trees had something to do with an approaching holiday.

Sevik tapped one of the red ornaments with a claw. “What is this for?”

“The tree?” Mina moved to stand beside him. “People put them up and decorate them for Christmas. Usually there’d be wrapped presents under them, waiting to be opened on Christmas day.”

Sevik tilted his head. There were no gifts under hers.

“I, um, put this one up just for decoration,” she said. “I haven’t really celebrated Christmas in years.”

“What is Christmas about?”

She chuckled to herself. “Depends on who you ask.”

“I’m asking you.”

“For me, it was about family. Spending time with your loved ones, eating yummy food, and as a kid, of course the presents. But even when I was young, my favorite part about the presents wasn’t what I got. It was when my parents opened whatever little thing I’d made for them. No matter what it was, whether a silly pasta ornament or a picture frame made of popsicle sticks that I’d painted, they’d always smile and hug me tight. I…always loved that.”

Mina brushed her fingers over a bristly branch, making it rustle. “They kept all that stuff. I found the box in my mom’s room after she died. Every single card I drew for their birthdays, every craft I made for them in school, and all the gifts I made for Christmas.”

Sevik looked back at the little tree. For a long, long time, his life had been about taking. Even a couple weeks ago, he would’ve laughed at the foolishness of a holiday like she’d described. Would’ve dismissed the possibility of deriving pleasure from giving anything to other people.

But his time with Mina had reminded him that he knew better. That he’d always known better.

All those years ago, nothing had made him feel prouder or more accomplished than presenting his mother with the medicine he’d worked so hard to obtain. And he’d been motivated not by selfishness, but by the desire to see his mother get better, to see her happy.

In all his life, he’d never felt as good as he had in that single, fleeting moment. Not until he found his mate. Not until he found Mina.

Now nothing was as fulfilling to him as Mina’s pleasure. If he was greedy, he was greedy for her happiness. And every moment with her was a new high.

Sevik vowed to shower his mate with as many gifts as he could, with whatever her heart desired, just to see her smile.

“It’s coming soon?” he asked, looking back at Mina.

She smiled at him. “Christmas is in thirteen days. December twenty-fifth.”

That didn’t give him much time, but he would make it work. Even in this tiny town, on an alien planet, he would make it work.

Sevik resumed his perusal of Mina’s décor. Everything seemed simple, and he suspected that many of her belongings had been handmade based on their small irregularities and imperfections, but that lent a charm to the place that made it only more welcoming.

His attention shifted to the photographs, which were scattered everywhere—between potted plants, hanging on the walls, standing on shelves and any other flat surface. The greatest concentration of pictures was on a tall shelf cabinet against one wall.

He walked to the cabinet. The images were displayed alongside little vases, sculptures, trinkets, and a few more plants.

Based solely on their clarity and vibrancy, he guessed that most of the photos were older. Some had a faded look, like they’d seen too much sunlight, while others had dulled, washed-out colors. Carefully, he picked up one of the framed pictures and angled it to cut the glare on the glass.

It depicted a human child in a yellow sunflower dress standing in front of a pair of adult humans, a male and a female. Behind them was an abstract, cloudy smear of blue. He knew immediately who he was looking at.

The child was Mina, complete with that dark, curly hair and those unmistakable big brown eyes, and the people with her must’ve been her parents. The resemblance was undeniable. While Mina favored her mother’s tiny frame and dark hair, she didn’t have the same blue eyes; she shared the warmth and shade of her father’s.

Sevik smirked. Little Mina was smiling wide, revealing a gap where her two front teeth should have been. She was…adorable.

She was still adorable.

He looked at his mate to find her smiling at the picture.

She’s beautiful.

“That’s one of my favorite pictures with them,” she said.

Sevik returned the frame to its place. “You looked happy.”

“We were.”

Though the pictures didn’t seem to be arranged in any particular order, there was a story in them, one that hit Sevik much harder than he would’ve expected. Hearing about the loss she’d endured had been difficult enough. Seeing it through the images only added another layer to the emotions.

He could see little Mina growing up through the pictures. After a certain point, her father no longer appeared in them. Some of the light was gone from Mina’s eyes after that; almost all of it vanished from her mother’s.

An older man appeared in a few of the following pictures. Randy. He seemed to bring a bit of joy back to the two females. The happiness and pride in Mina’s expression in the picture where she stood beside Randy on the shore of a lake, each of them holding up a large, shimmery-scaled fish, was heartwarming.

And then it was her mother’s turn to disappear.

All the pictures of Mina as an adult were of either her alone or with Randy, and there were very few of them. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes in any of those.

Sevik’s gaze rose to the top shelf, where a larger picture in a more elaborate frame stood prominently at the center. Mina’s parents. They looked younger than they had in the other images and were dressed in formal attire—a black suit for her father, an intricate white dress for her mother. The two were looking into each other’s eyes, their gazes holding far more meaning than should’ve been possible.

Sevik recognized that look. That was how he looked at Mina, and how she looked back at him.

He gestured to the image. “What’s that one?”

“Their wedding picture.”

Sevik turned his gaze back to Mina. “Wedding? That’s…a human ceremony?”

She chuckled. “It’s when people get married. When they officially…become mates.”

“Explain.”

“Well…” Mina touched the bite mark on her neck. “It’s different than imprinting by scent or, uh, marking with a bite.”

Primal satisfaction filled him at the sight of that mark, and a slow grin stretched across his lips. “Tell me of your mating customs.”

“I guess I should start from the beginning. When people decide they’re ready to find a partner, or when they find somebody they like, they’ll go on dates. It’s like a getting-to-know-you stage. If they feel chemistry or still really like that person after a date, they’ll go on more. Some people will go on tons of dates with different people until they find the one they like most. And eventually they might decide that they’re together, in a relationship. A couple. Of course, some people are polyamorous, which means they’re in a relationship with more than one person, but?—”

“Mina,” he intoned. “How do we become mates? I don’t care about anyone else.”

Her cheeks pinkened. “Oh. Okay, well, if it were us, the first step would be dating, then deciding we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. And then, when we’re ready, you’d buy a ring and ask me to marry you. If I say yes?—”

His brows fell. “ If ?”

She grinned. “I would say yes. Then we’d be engaged. An engagement can last for a short period of time, or years. It really depends on the couple. But eventually, we’d have a wedding ceremony. There’d be an officiant who would make it official after we exchange vows, declaring us man and wife, and then we’d kiss.”

Sevik grasped her jaw with one hand and leaned closer to her. “You are my wife, Mina.”

She laughed and settled her hands on his chest. “That’s not how it works here. There’s usually a document that we’d sign, a marriage certificate, which would declare us legally bound, so it’s recognized by the government.”

“Fuck that,” he growled, baring his fangs. “Nobody tells me who I can mate with. Nobody tells me what’s mine. I decide.” His other arm banded around her middle, tugging her against his body. “This is between us and no one else, val’syra .”

Sevik lowered his head until his lips were a breath away from hers. “Say the vows, Mina.”

She stared up at him with wide eyes and shivered. He felt her warm, shuddering breath as she curled her fingers against his chest. Her voice was soft when she spoke.

“I, Mina Anastasia Walker, take you, Sevik kol Talris, to be my husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, till death do us part.”

Heat stirred in his chest, and his fangs ached. He’d never felt the mix of emotions brimming in him now—pride, devotion, adoration…love.

Mina was his. His all, his everything, his forever, and it went so much further than imprinting, so much deeper than venom and biology. He adored everything about this female, and the more he learned about her, the more he wanted her.

“I, Sevik kol Talris, take you, Mina Anastasia Walker, to be my wife. You are my heart, you are my world, you are my reason. I will possess and protect you, pleasure and provide for you, and give you everything I have and more. Nothing will tear us apart. Not even death.” He moved his hand from her chin to cup the nape of her neck, tilting her head back farther. “And now I’m kissing my wife .”

He captured her mouth with his. She closed her eyes and gave in to the slow seduction, to the consuming, searing kiss, the claim, returning it in kind and sealing their vows.

They kissed until their hunger roared to life, until their need could no longer be denied, and their clothes could no longer act as barriers between their bodies. And then they sealed their vows in a different way, again and again and again.