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MILO:
HE HAD TO DO whatever possible to keep her from the singles gathering. Because once again, as had happened every ten minutes since they’d left the main hub, his best friend Landon touched his mind.
I heard you’re sponsoring one of the brides. Why aren’t you at the get together?
We’re busy.
Doing what?
I’m taking her around the city.
Doesn’t she want to meet males?
Nope.
Let me rephrase that. Isn’t she supposed to meet males?
She already has.
Who?
Jason. Kieran.
That’s it? Those are both mated males.
Gotta go. Cassie needs my attention.
Cassie? I like that name. Where are you and Cassie? I can meet up with you.
Milo ignored him.
Dude?
Ignore.
Milo? We’re best friends, man. Introduce me to her.
Ignore.
“Everything okay?” Cassie asked him.
Oh, shit, he’d been distracted with Landon. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I just wondered,” she cleared her throat, “if you had a girlfriend.”
“No.” He answered quickly, not wanting her to think he was taken. By the startled blink of her eyes, it was too quick.
“But I am experienced,” he assured her.
“How experienced?” Her voice was wary. Shit, that wasn’t what he wanted, either.
“Aww, hell. I really don’t know how to answer,” he admitted. “Too experienced and I sound like a player. Not experienced and I sound like a loser.”
Her drunken smile was lopsided. “You’re not a loser, Milo. Any woman who helped you gain that experience is a very lucky woman. No matter what happens tomorrow evening after my test results, I hope we’ll remain friends.”
“You mean if you’re not compatible with anyone to have children?”
She nodded. “Even that.”
“I would be here for you no matter what,” he murmured. “I chose my job as your sponsor so I could take care of you.”
“So after tomorrow’s results, we can be friends?” she asked.
His attention dipped to her lips and then back to her eyes. “So we can be anything.”
Her tipsy state made it so she didn’t care that she stared right back at him, taking in his periwinkle-blue eyes. His straight nose and chiseled cheekbones. Angled jaw. Her eyes roved over his chest, down the length of his body.
“I like you, Milo Xeno Sapien. But just so you know, I’m not popular on the outside. Just like Alannah and Heather, except I’m not as obvious a throwback as to have red hair. As far as experience goes, I don’t have much. I don’t have a boyfriend. In fact, I’ve never even woken up with a man.”
“Any male here would fight to the death to have you. He’ll know he wants to spend his days waking up next to you, seeing your gorgeous face and wild hair laid out across his pillow and feel like the luckiest pick of the city that you chose him.”
“Or that the bride program did.”
Oh, it would. Of that, Milo felt confident. She didn’t know what she was looking for, didn’t know what she was supposed to be feeling. So he had to show her it was him.
“Come on, my pretty,” he said, swinging an arm around her shoulders. “How would you like to go meet sextuplets? Four boys and two girls.”
“Someone has sextuplets?”
“Yep. Zealish and Angela do. This way.” He had to keep her at the daycare because Landon would never think to come here. He hadn’t even been aware Landon was interested in the Bride Program. He certainly didn’t sign up to sponsor anyone and hadn’t shown any interest in it. But now he wanted to meet her and damn if Landon wasn’t a more attractive Xeno Sapien. He could definitely have competition there.
It wasn’t hard to pick out the sextuplets. Four of the babies looked alike—much like their Xeno Sapien father. And the two little girl babies looked alike—human like their mother.
“So cute! Those parents have the best of both worlds,” Cassie breathed.
“They’d tear their hair out if the daycare wasn’t active,” someone else said, cradling the two girls as they giggled. His massive hands, tipped with sharp claws, looked deadly, yet he managed to handle them so delicately. He was an enormous man, his hair dark at the roots but growing to a lighter blond at the ends. His skin color was black but it was doused with stripes of bright gold. Not tan. Not yellow. But a bright, shimmery, molten gold.
“Cassie, this is Beast. He’s been glued to the daycare since Robyn made him take a short stint at the prison.”
“Short? I was stuck there for days while Kieran figured out how to woo Alannah. Slowest man ever,” Beast whined. “Now I need sweet baby slobber to block out the memories of those nasty criminals.” He winked at Cassie.
She giggled. “Nice to meet you, Beast. I saw a woman yesterday whose skin color matched your gold stripes—”
“That beauty is my mate, Sunny. She’s out with her girlfriends today. A new dance studio opened up and they’re taking lessons. Tempest has two left feet,” he informed Milo.
Milo winced, picking up one of the little babies who kicked his legs excitedly at him. Cassie sat cross-legged on the spongy ground, letting two of the babies crawl to her.
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Milo said.
Beast snorted. “What would be the fun in letting her assume she’s talented? I can take her in a tousle. Besides, she fights better now that Shawn has taught her not to stab people.”
Milo turned to Cassie, his palm flat on the baby’s diapered bottom, supporting him as he tried to crawl up Milo’s torso. “We have gladiator pits where the human guards train. The Xeno Sapiens work out some of their more violent tendencies. Tempest and Beast often go at it, despite her being Sunny’s best friend.”
“That’s only when Sunny’s not around,” Beast said. “When she’s present, we compete to see who can be kinder to the other. I always win because Tempest can’t spit out a compliment without sarcasm. As soon as Sunny frowns at her, it makes me happy enough to tell Tempest she looks pretty, even though she looks like a hag most of the time. Then Sunny gets all pleased with me and I get lucky as hell.”
Cassie laughed outright. Lucky? Was he telling her he got bedroom action?
Before her laughter was even complete, Beast leaned in. “Sunny has learned the art of blowjobs. They were tentative at first, but now she goes at it like a pro working the nights.”
Goodness. More laughter choked out of her, tears running down her cheeks. His mate was going to kill him if she found out the crap he spouted when she wasn’t around.
“She should be. I understand she’s having lots of practice,” Milo said.
Beast’s head whipped around with a scary growl. It didn’t even faze the two baby girls. They simply patted his chest with tiny baby hands.
“Bananas, dude! I saw her and Tempest at lunch one time and they were doing obscene things to the bananas.”
Beast’s nose twitched and he narrowed his eyes. Without warning, he picked up the little girls by the feet, lifting them into the air. He sniffed their bottoms while they shrieked and squealed, flailing their little arms as they giggled. Slowly he brought them back down, and then scooped them back up so each one sat on each of his arms. “Speaking of eating bananas, I shouldn’t have fed these two a whole one. If you two leave, make sure the boys are penned until I get back, will ya?”
“We’ll wait,” Milo said.
Beast stepped over the gates that housed the babies, taking the two girls with him, muttering at the two of them.
“Stinky little girls. Smell like your Auntie Tempest.”
“When they get a little bigger, they’ll graduate to a bigger penned area. The oldest kids like Heather’s twins or Robyn and Steele’s kid, Kaden, play in the playground area,” Milo said.
“So if I have a child, the daycare is available for anyone?”
“Yep. At first it was run on a trade program—you bring your kid, you take turns donating your time. But we have so many volunteers it was never really incorporated. Now you can just drop your kid off and pick them up whenever. A lot of the human kids who are much older and come with their moms to work? They usually play outside. If the weather gets cold they have games and movies indoors.”
“So if I have a kid and I’m under just a contract to raise him with whomever I’m compatible with, I’d be able to work if I wanted and drop him or her off here?”
“Yes. Is that what you want? To have a contract with the other parent?”
Her beautiful brown eyes grew soft. “If nothing else, I’ll take that. But I’d love to find the one, Milo. The one who’s meant for me. That love match the mated couples have found. I’m not quite sure what the expected feelings are because no one seemed to know exactly. Amanda said it’s like a punch to the gut—but that’s a probably. We’re guessing that humans might feel it that way.”
“I can tell you what it feels like for my species, Cass. You’re completely comfortable with the person you meet. It’s like you’ve known each other all your lives even though you might have met just a few hours earlier. The sexual attraction zings through you and you do and say stupid things to get their attention. You want to give that other person the world. Anything they ask for.”
His voice had deepened as he gazed down into her eyes.
“Anyone would honored to catch your eye, Milo. You’re the sexiest Xeno Sapien here, no doubt about it.”
“I’m sexy?”
“Yeah. Thick all over. Thick thighs, muscular bubble-butt, broad chest, large biceps. How can a woman work in this city with you being so appealing?”
His lips curved up. He loved the serum that made her tipsy. It gave her no filter. Tomorrow she might be mortified to know she spoke all her secrets, but not today.
“How anyone lives here with all these appealing men is beyond me. Sure they’re different from what we’re used to—humans tend to prefer a sleek physique. Not to mention the coloring you all have, and the horns, and the fact that someone even has a third eye. At first it was jarring to see so many peculiarities at once but since I’m used to being stared at myself, I tend to take it in stride. It’s better than being offered looks of pity like I receive.”
Again, she let her gaze rove down his body. Because her reactions were a bit slowed, her eyes hovered a bit too long on his dick.
“I feel like a piece of meat.” Milo stared straight across the room as he spoke, hoping against hope that wasn’t blood surging to his cock.
Damn. It was.
“Was that obvious? Sorry.” She didn’t seem sorry though. She allowed herself one more eye-drift downward—and was rewarded with the rising bulge in his pants. He couldn’t control his damn cock. But he had an oath he’d taken to protect her. To not touch her.
“Woman, how about if we get to know each other today and when you’re sober tomorrow, we can explore other venues?”
“Like naked venues?”
“Is that what you want?” His gaze was steady. Please let it be what she wanted.
“How about once? No strings attached?”
He could feel his eyebrows rise to his hairline.
“To start,” she clarified. “After all, I still don’t know where I’m at with the program. I can’t make any promises.”
“I get it,” he said and then leaned in, a baby in his arms. “When you’re sober, I’ll give you as many orgasms as you need. I’ll fuck you ‘til you can’t walk. It’ll be my name you scream. Because there are rules, remember? I can’t give it to you while you’re intoxicated. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I know what I’m clear about,” she grumbled. “But it’s all right. I get it. I’ll wait ‘til tomorrow to meet your fingers. Your tongue. And your dick.”
He stared at her, his jaw dropped. “Holy fuck, that’s sexy as hell to hear you refer to my dick with those sweet, pouty lips.”
She giggled.
“Two clean girls,” Beast said, stepping over the gate to get into the penned area. “Thanks for sticking around.”
“No problem,” Milo said, setting down one of the babies, who promptly rolled onto his belly and began to crawl away. “I’m just going to take Cassie on to see the rest of the city.”
He held a hand out to help her up.
“Nice to have met you, Beast.”
“You as well, Cassie. Hope you stick around.” Milo pulled her away, but didn’t let go of her hand. Her fingers were laced through his and he liked the way she squeezed onto him like she’d never let go. She was looking up at him like he hung the moon, her other hand curled around his bicep as she hung on his arm. So familiar with him, as if they’d been together for years instead of hours. So comfortable. He looked down into her eyes, where love and laughter shone. She was so stressed over wanting “the feeling” of her mate that she had no idea it was there on a more subtle basis with him. They would get to know each other this way. Her lips curved up into a smile as she looked at him and he was never so tempted to kiss her.
“There you are.”
Landon’s voice doused ice water over his emotions. Milo came to an abrupt stop, Cassie giggling as she bumped into him.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Landon’s voice was smooth, catching Cassie’s attention.
“No.”
Bastard simply raised one brow. “Isn’t that the point of your job, sponsor?”
Milo’s eyes narrowed. “Cassie, meet Landon. Landon, Cassie.”
Cassie seemed besotted with the fool, who reached his hand out and clasped her fingers, still warm from his hands where she’d dropped his touch. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her delicate fingers. A rosy blush enhanced her cheeks.
Damn, that was what he should have done.
Landon was always smooth. Well-mannered. Females loved that. Cassie loved it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Landon.” Her voice was husky, throatier than usual. Milo felt a thump to the midsection over the sexy tone in her voice. Landon only had eyes for her as he murmured something, his gaze tender as it roved over her face.
Horror crawled over Milo’s spine. It was like watching a train wreck. His female was attracted to Landon. It was obvious she was smitten. His heart shattered into a million fragments.
Landon was just as bemused with her. There was no doubt about it.
Apparently they were matches...but where did that leave him?
