“Really?” Valene figured he would insist on separate bedrooms or something.
“Of course. We’re engaged. We should sleep together, don’t you think?”
“I do. I figured you’d nix any hanky-panky.”
Wyatt’s brows furrowed. “I never agreed to any hanky-panky.”
“But we’re sleeping together?”
“Yes. And that’s it. I’ll give you one side of my king-size bed. I’ll take the other.”
Valene’s eyes narrowed. “How about snuggling?”
“Okay. Snuggling is fine.”
“And kissing.”
“Sure. Kissing is the best.”
“What ifI curl up next to you during the night?”
Wyatt smiled. “I will wrap my arms around you and protect you with my life.”
“What ifour clothes accidentally fall off while we sleep?” She batted her eyes as he crossed his arms and gave her a resolute expression.
“Not a chance.”
“It could happen.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “Don’t tempt me, Vee. My wish is to remain honorable.”
“You already are, but what if this is the only chance we’ll ever have to be together?”
“What ifI don’t want to play thewhat ifgame anymore?”
“Wyatt.”
“Valene.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “What if we go get some much-needed sleep, because tomorrow we’ll be hunting down dangerous alien criminals through the woods all afternoon?”
Valene nodded. “You’re right. I am pretty tired.”
“Let’s go.” They stood.
Valene wanted to let Wyatt be honorable.If only I could get the butterflies in my tummy to settle down and my heart to stop beating so fast at the mere thought of some hanky-panky.
Chapter Eight
Noon – the Big Bang Truck Stop – basement conference room
“Settle down everyone. Let’s get started,” Diesel said, taking the seat at the head of the large oval table. The cacophony of voices lowered dramatically and everyone in the room turned to the man they called their Fearless Leader. Wyatt cracked a wide smile the first time he’d heard it years ago and still found the title amusing now that he knew Diesel was in fact an alien from another planet, just like their mascot, Maxwell the Martian.
Wyatt sat next to Valene in the assembled group that included all six of her brothers, plus lots of folks he would never have guessed were aliens. They held hands under the table. In his left pocket rested the ring she’d taken off right before they got out of her parents’ sedan to come inside the truck stop’s super-secret alien basement. Wyatt had wanted to bring his own vehicle, but Valene wisely decreed that needing to give him a ride home later not only saved on gas, but made it easier for them to be together by the end of the day.
“First of all, thank you for volunteering. I know this task won’t be easy. Traipsing through the woods to the north will be taxing. To that end, I’ve invited some help from out of town.” Diesel turned to the two men seated on either side of him at the head of the table. “To my left, many of you already know Royal Magistrate Guardsman Bubba Thorne. He’s the best tracker I’ve ever met from Alpha-Prime. To my right, I’d like to introduce Luther Boudreaux. He’s a top-notch bounty hunter and tracker from Ichor-Delta. Like Wyatt, he can also hit anything he shoots at.”
Wyatt glanced down the table at Boudreaux. They nodded at each other once. The other man looked oddly out of place even given the fact this meeting was being held in a secret room below stairs at an alien way station. While he was tall and fairly well muscled like the others from Alpha-Prime, his skin tone was pale compared to theirs. Not ghost-sheet white, exactly, but like he’d been tucked away out of the sunshine while he recuperated from a long illness. His hair was dark, so perhaps that made his skin tone seem extra light.
