Hazel and the Alien Biker (Intergalactic Brides 5) (7 page)

Hazel and Abby stepped out of the bathroom and the little girl ran over, only to stop in front of him and pout.

“What’s that look for?” he asked.

“There’s no room for me.”

“Hmm. Then I guess you’ll have to sit in my lap in the limo. How does that sound?”

She brightened. “We’re going somewhere else?”

“I thought we’d stop by the realtor’s office and see if he has some houses for us to look at. How does that sound? Would you like to go house hunting and help me pick one?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Then I suppose we should head out. Anyone else need to use the bathroom before we go?” he asked.

Winnie scrambled off his lap and ran into the bathroom, nearly slamming the door in her haste. He smiled and stood, pulling Nikki to her feet. When Winnie was finished, they walked down to the waiting limo and rode over to the realtor’s office. John happened to have a stack of flyers ready for them to peruse.

“All of these meet my requirements?” Reyvor asked skeptically.

“Well, maybe not all of them. Some don’t have a pool, but if the yard is large enough, you could always add one later.” John looked at him nervously. “There aren’t a lot of listings with pools that are large enough to meet your needs. I did the best I could with what is currently available. If there were more time, I’m sure we could find something better.”

Hazel took the stack from Reyvor. “I’m sure these are fine.”

She began flipping through them and pulled out three to hand to Reyvor. He looked them over and frowned a little. They were on the small side, weren’t they? With a glance at her, he took the rest of the stack and flipped through. When he found what he was looking for, he showed the listings to her.

“Reyvor, there’s no need to spend that much on a house!” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t need a mansion.”

The girls reached up and snatched the flyers from his hand and looked through them, their eyes getting bigger with each one. They whispered amongst themselves then handed one flyer back to Reyvor.

“We like this one,” Nikki said.

It was a large home made of natural wood with lots of windows. There was a swimming pool, pool house, and a small guest cottage. His eyebrows rose at the seven bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. If all went as planned, three of those bedrooms would be taken by three certain little girls he knew. But just who did the little devious creatures think would fill the other bedrooms? It cost a bit more than the other house he’d planned to purchase, but he had to admit it was a rather appealing home.

Handing the flyer back to the realtor, he said, “We want to see this one.”

“I know it’s more than we had discussed,” John said, “but the owners are very motivated to sell. They’re getting divorced and are supposed to split the proceeds of the sale.”

“Divorced?” Reyvor asked. “What’s that?”

Hazel cleared her throat. “It’s when two people get married and then decide they can no longer live together. They go to court and get a divorce, dividing their assets.”

“A Terran would never leave his mate! What a cowardly thing to do.” Reyvor was appalled at the human custom. “Any woman who mates with me will have to realize she’s signing on for life. I don’t want someone for just right now, I want them for forever.”

Hazel’s eyes misted a bit and he wondered if what he’d said had upset her.

John’s eyes widened. “The two of you aren’t married?”

Nikki’s little chin jutted out at a stubborn angle. “Not yet, but they will be.”

“Nikki!” Hazel looked horrified by her daughter’s outburst, but it only made Reyvor think maybe the little girl had the right idea.

John cleared his throat. “If you’ll give your driver the address, I’ll meet you at the house.”

Reyvor accepted the flyer back and herded his group of females out to the waiting limo. He gave the driver the flyer. Once everyone was settled, the limo pulled away from the curb. Hazel looked decidedly uncomfortable, sitting across from him. Winnie had chosen to sit beside Hazel and he realized how very much they looked alike. All three girls were an exact replica of their mother, making him wonder if they got anything at all from their father.

The house was on the outskirts of town in a rather nice subdivision. When they reached the gates of the community, the driver stopped to speak with the guard. It only took a moment before the gates opened and they were ushered through. The driver seemed to know exactly where he was going and a moment later they pulled to a stop in front of a home that was far larger than it had looked on paper.

“It’s rather contemporary,” Hazel said. “But I think it suits you.”

The little girls went squealing across the front lawn. He could easily see them playing out here every day. If only he could convince their mother to live here with him. The kiss had been a good start, but he wasn’t sure it was enough. If they hadn’t had the girls this afternoon, he knew he would have tried to make love to her, if she’d let him.

John arrived a few minutes later and began the tour of the grand home. It was much larger than Reyvor’s home on his world, and from what he’d seen of the homes they’d passed along the way it was much larger than a human’s average home. But the thought of those seven bedrooms was alluring. Even with four taken, that left three more to fill. Would Hazel be open to more children? She was such a good mother he could easily see her with a few more.

Hazel’s eyes were wide, along with her girls’, as they toured the home. Each little girl picked a room they wanted for their own, and Reyvor found himself grasping Hazel’s hand and leading her to the master bedroom. A room he very much wanted to share with her. He knew by human standards things were moving too fast, just as Hazel had said, but once a Terran found a woman he wanted as his mate, he moved quickly. When Reyvor had mated before, he’d courted his female for all of two days before they’d asked the council to approve a mating between them. Granted, it hadn’t been quite two days since he’d met Hazel, but the circumstances were different. They needed him, just as he needed them.

She paused by the large windows and Reyvor came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He felt her tense and then she melted against him. He wondered if she was thinking about their kiss. It had been replaying in his mind since it had happened.

“What do you think of the house?” he asked softly against her ear.

“It’s big. Maybe too big. Whatever would you do with all this space?”

“I was hoping you might help me with that.”

She nodded. “I can easily help you pick out furniture.”

Reyvor chuckled. “That wasn’t what I meant, Hazel. I meant I had hoped the girls and you would live here with me. Nikki wasn’t wrong, you know. We could become a family, live here together.”

“Reyvor… we need to slow down.”

He sighed. “The guest house is too small for four people, Hazel, and I won’t have you living on the streets. Am I that repulsive that you can’t stand the thought of being with me?”

She turned in his arms and placed a hand on his cheek. “Don’t ever think that. I thought it was obvious I’m attracted to you, and anyone can see you’re a kind, honorable man. But I’m damaged, Reyvor, and I come with three little girls. You shouldn’t have to deal with an instant family.”

“Maybe I want an instant family… if that family consists of Nikki, Winnie, Abby, and you. Did you know I married my mate within two days of knowing her? I never strayed and I gave her the best life I could offer at the time. If you’re worried about me becoming bored with you and having a wandering eye, you needn’t be. Hazel, you’re beautiful, inside and out.”

“Just… give me a little time? You won’t be able to move into this house right away. It takes time to set up a closing. Give me until then to make a decision.”

“That sounds fair enough.”

Reyvor went in search of John and informed him they wanted the house. John wrote up the offer and promised to fax it over the moment he returned to his office. Dragging the girls out of the house was a little harder than Reyvor had anticipated, but he promised them a surprise if they came willingly.

When they reached the motel again, Reyvor went straight to the front desk and told them he was checking out. The woman behind the counter seemed flustered, but told him she’d be happy to assist him. Within an hour, their things were packed and loaded into the limo and Hazel and three girls were looking at him with curiosity.

“Where will we sleep tonight?” Winnie asked.

“Well, it seems we’re going to be in a hotel for a bit longer than I had planned, so I thought you girls might like to have your own room.”

Their eyes lit up and Hazel glowered at him.

“Which you’ll share with your mother,” he added hastily.

“How are we going to do that?” Abby asked.

“There’s a hotel I heard about from my friend Xonos, who happens to be a doctor. They have larger suites than the place I was staying. There are a few Terrans who stay at the hotel so you may see more people like me wandering around. Will that frighten you? Most of the Terrans I know are at this motel, but you aren’t exactly free to leave the room because of the manager.”

The girls shook their heads.

“When we get there, I want you to stay close so we don’t get separated. Then we’ll get settled into a room and discuss what we want for dinner. Since I’ve put an offer on the house we looked at this afternoon, I think we should go somewhere to celebrate.”

“Can we wear our new clothes?” Abby asked.

He smiled. “Of course. You may wear anything you want. Maybe all my girls would dress up in pretty dresses for the night?”

Their faces beamed at being called his girls, and he earned a sour look from Hazel. But if he wasn’t mistaken, her eyes said she wasn’t exactly upset, more… cautious. And he could understand that. She wanted to protect her girls and he commended her for it.

The limo pulled to a stop in front of a grand hotel that was top to bottom glass. The girls looked at it in wide-eyed wonder. Even Hazel’s jaw dropped a little. Abby and Winnie slipped their hands into his and Reyvor led them inside and up to the front desk. The man behind the counter looked at him and his small entourage and his eyes widened.

“May I help you?”

“I need a two-bedroom suite. I’m not certain how long I’ll require the use of it. Possibly a week, and possibly a month. I’m between homes as it were, and need lodgings until I can close on a new home.”

The man was nodding eagerly. “Of course. We’ll be delighted to have you stay with us. Will the Terran council be paying for your stay?”

“No.” Reyvor pulled out a bank card, something he still wasn’t quite used to, and set it down on the counter. “I’ll be paying for my own accommodations.”

It took a bit of tapping on a keyboard, two phone calls, and one swipe of his card before they were led to their new quarters. The little girls squealed with excitement when they saw how large the suite was, and they rushed into the bedroom on the right. Hazel looked around while the limo driver and hotel staff brought their belongings up. They were on the tenth floor and had a wonderful view out the living room windows.

“You don’t talk about your friends,” Hazel said. “If we’re to be married, do you think I could meet them sometime?”

“Does that mean you’re seriously thinking about mating with me?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “I told you I need some time, but meeting your friends will help. I’d like to see the kind of people you hang out with.”

“You’ll get to meet one of them soon.” Reyvor pulled out his phone and sent a text to Zanar, asking him to deliver his Harley to the new hotel. If he hadn’t had four females with him, he’d have ridden it over, but he hadn’t wanted to leave them alone in the limo. They still seemed a bit uncertain and he wanted to ease their concern.

“What would you normally be doing right now?” Hazel asked.

“You mean before meeting you?”

She nodded.

“Honestly, I was at a low point in my life. I haven’t been myself since losing my mate. I told you I was kicked off my world and why. But when I got to Earth, I discovered the bar down the street from the Terran station. One of my kind runs it and it allowed me to see a familiar face without going to the station, where I’m not exactly the most favored person. Alcohol doesn’t affect Terrans quite the same way as it does humans, but I still get a bit of a buzz. It allowed me to numb all of those overwhelming feelings.”

“So you’re saying you’d be drinking right now?” she asked, arms folded.

“Yes. And then I’d spend the rest of the night riding around town on my bike, until I finally got tired enough to sleep without dreaming about her.”

“You really miss her, don’t you?”

“I’m not sure how to answer that. I wasn’t there for her as much as I should have been. I said yes any time I was asked to fly a shuttle to Earth, when I should have been saying no and spending time with her. We never grew as close as we should have and I can only blame myself for that.”

“Your job was important. I’m sure she understood.”

“She never complained. Even when she was so sick she couldn’t walk, she never uttered one word of complaint. I was there for her at the end, but it didn’t make up for everything else I’d missed. I did her a disservice the day I took her as my mate, and I’ll always live with regrets.”

“What’s changed? Why do you think you’d be a good mate now compared to then?”

“I’d like to think I’ve learned my lesson. For one, I don’t have a job anymore, so I’ll have time to devote to a mate and children. I have a meeting in the morning to speak to someone about investing some of my money, so it won’t run out. I’m also transferring the rest of my money to my Earth account. So if you’re worried about whether or not I’m financially secure…”

She shook her head. “I haven’t been around you long enough to determine if you have a temper. I left my boyfriend because he was abusive.”

“Hazel, I would never harm the girls or you. I’d rather cut off my hand than ever cause any of you pain.”

“But you were a drinker, and drunk men hurt people.”

He gently took her in his arms. “Hazel, not all men are abusive assholes. I never got so drunk I couldn’t ride my bike. And now that I’ve found the girls and you, I haven’t touched a drink, nor do I want to. I could have slept all day and hit the bar by three o’clock, but I didn’t.”