Alien Protector: Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Paranormal Romance by Ashley West Read Free Book Online Page B

anything wrong with her letting herself wish to see him again.
     
    She was still telling herself that on Monday when she returned to work for real, back in her pressed pants and her blouse with her blue vest over it, smiling and leading a group of uninterested looking fifth graders through the exhibit on Ancient Greece. Not even talking about battles and showing them weapons seemed to perk them up, and Stephanie shrugged it off, giving them her best until their teachers returned and claimed them, ready to take them back to the bus.
    A quick cup of coffee restored her energy, and she made her way back to the front, answering questions as she went and directing an older couple to the gift shop.
    Her lunch break came and went and there was still no sign of Draco. Steph kicked herself mentally because it wasn’t like he’d said that he’d be back right away. Not everyone wanted to spend everyday in a museum looking at things from times past, after all.
    It was a good mental reminder, but it served to make sure that she wasn’t really paying attention when Draco did walk in, an hour before closing.
    She’d been showing arrowheads to a group of teenagers, but she excused herself and walked over to him when she spotted him, trying her best to keep her composure. “Hi again,” she said with a smile.
    “Hello, Stephanie,” he said, smiling back. “How are you?”
    “Doing well,” she replied brightly. “And you? Did you have a good weekend? See anything interesting?”
    “I learned about cooking,” Draco said, voice a bit flat. “It was...eye opening. And dangerous. The...person I’m staying with here has a tendency to let things get too hot.”
    Stephanie laughed at the mental image. “I had a roommate like that in college. Where are you from, actually?” she asked. “I don’t think you ever mentioned it. You know. When we talked that one time…” And honestly, could she be any more embarrassing?
    “I didn’t,” Draco said. “It’s a place to the north. I doubt you’ve ever heard of it. No one has, really.”
    “Small town?”
    “Sort of, yes.” He stopped talking abruptly and then smiled. “I’ve lived there all my life, but I like to travel and see things. It makes coming back home even more special.”
    She smiled at that. “I wouldn’t know. I didn’t really go very far from home. I grew up about an hour away from here, and I go back all the time to see my parents. I guess I never really got the urge to leave, even though I’d love to see things.”
    “You should,” Draco replied, smiling back. “There’s a lot to see out there. And someone with your passion would love all the world has to offer.”
    For a moment she was speechless, not really sure what to say to that. One of the reasons why she wanted to travel was to learn as much as she could and see things, and his words had resonated with her deeply. “Do you really think so?” she asked, voice soft.
    Draco nodded. “I do. You remind me a lot of my best friend. He’s...in a position of power back home, so he can’t travel as much as he’d like, but I bring him things back from my travels and he hoards them and studies them and they make him happy.”
    “It’s nice of you to bring him things,” Steph said.
    “He’s been by my side since we were little kids,” Draco told her. “It’s the least I can do since he doesn’t have as much freedom as I do.”
    Stephanie couldn’t help it. Every word he said was just making her want him more, and she bit her lip, fidgeting a little in place. It was right there on the tip of her tongue to say something stupid like would you like to get dinner with me sometime, but she kept it back, not sure if the fond smiles he was giving her were just his way of being polite.
    Instead, she found something else to talk about. “So, I got to see the blade again the other day,” she said.
    That instantly brought his focus back. “Did you find out anything new about it?”
    “Just more dead