Page 32 of Alien Healer’s Mate

That was the mission. That was why Laarn had put him on a shuttle, not so he could ruin one small human female’s trust in him, and that mission had to come before anything he owed Delilah.

Even if she was his mate.

Through the bulkhead he heard her laugh—bright and unguarded—and the sound hit him low in the gut, the same way her scent did, straight past every defense he had. He closed his eyes.

He had to tell her. He would tell her. But after the conference, when the mission was done, and he had no duty left to hide behind. He would do things the way he was supposed to do them. He would court her properly, and he would tell her about all of it. About the match and the fact he’d already called her his kelarris. His beloved. He would tell her everything and offer her the courtship he should have started with, done properly, every step of the way.

The docking clamps engaged with a shudder he felt through the deck, and he rose, settling his sash across his chest and adjusting it until it hung correctly. He was Lead Healer of Devan Station. He could hold himself together until after the conference. Just a few days more.

Squaring his shoulders, he went to collect the one person in the galaxy with the power to take him apart if she so wished, even if she didn’t know it yet.

The ramp was still lowering when Delilah got her first look at the station, and her mouth fell open before she could stop it.

It was nothing like Devan Station, not at all. Devan was all pale metal and arches, at least in the areas she’d seen, built for function by a warlike species. This place was something else entirely. A vast crystal dome rose overhead, light bending and reflecting through it, and walkways spiraled up through the center of the space, suspended in thin air. Something must be holding them up, but she couldn’t for the life of her see them. Figures moved along them in robes, leathers, some in colors she didn’t have names for.

“Holy shit,” she breathed, her hand tightening on Kellat’s arm. “Is that a chandelier or a small moon? I can’t tell.”

His lips quirked, and he covered her hand with his. “It’s a structural support. The conference center was designed to impress.”

“Yeah, well… Mission accomplished.” She leaned into him, letting his larger form block some of the crowd noise. It was almost deafening, the dozens of conversations in languages the natty translator thingie they’d given her caught but couldn’t untangle quick enough. “I feel very small and human right now.”

“You are very small and human.” He guided her down the ramp, his pace shortened to match hers. “That’s not a liability.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s going to trip over this dress in front of the entire galaxy.”

“You won’t trip.”

“You sound very sure about that.”

“I am.”

She slid a glance up at him, and her stomach did a flip. He wasn’t watching the crowd or the chandelier. He was watching her, then he smiled and she almost melted on the spot.

Okay. We are not making heart-eyes at the alien in public. Be cool. Be normal.

So she faced forward, chin up, and tried to walk like she belonged.

The main hall was bigger than anything she’d ever seen, but she didn’t get chance to see everything. Kellat walked fast, moving through it all like this was just… Tuesday. To be fair, for him it probably was. People seemed to know him anyway, nodding as they passed. Other delegates approached him in clusters, their expressions and greetings warm. She stayed on his arm and smiled through the introductions, nodding at names she forgot the second she heard them.

“—and this is Healer M’Rell, who trained with me under Lord Healer Laarn,” Kellat said, his voice warmer than she’d ever heard from him. “M’Rell, this is Delilah Sawyer, of Earth.”

The healer was older, his braids shot through with grey, and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he inclined his head. “A human. We’ve heard much about your people. Welcome.”

“Thank you,” she said brightly, instantly liking the older healer. “I’d curtsey, but I’m pretty sure I’d fall over, and then someone would have to explain why the conference started with a human-shaped dent in the floor.”

M’Rell blinked. Then he laughed, a low, deep rumble. “She’s charming, Kellat. Make sure you don’t let this one get away.”

Kellat’s hand settled at the small of her back, warm and possessive. Her heart did another flip. Seriously, she really was going to have to get that under control.

Kellat traded a few more words with M’Rell… something about a paper, a technique that sailed straight over her head, and then steered her onward, his palm never leaving her back. She leaned into the touch, letting it anchor her in the swirl of alien faces.

“You’re good at this,” she said, low enough that only he could hear.

“At what?”

“The whole…” She waved her hand at the room. “The thing. The doctor thing. The important-guy thing.”

“The important-guy thing.” His tone was dry, but the corner of his mouth twitched. “I am a lead healer, Delilah. It’s my profession.”