Gabe's Destiny (Alien Mates Book Three) by Serena Simpson Read Free Book Online Page B

humor and could make her feel better in stressful situations. That would be a good quality in a marriage. Not that she was getting hitched.
    She shut her brain down, because this could go on forever. She wasn’t getting married and that was final.
    He pulled a chair out for her at the kitchen table.
    “Do you want breakfast or lunch?”
    “What’s for lunch?”
    “Sandwiches and chips, hamburger and fries. I see left over lasagna and a few other things I can whip up if I haven’t mentioned anything you’re interested in.”
    “A nice sandwich and some chips sound good.”
    He reached into the fridge and pulled out lettuce, tomato, mayo as well as meat and cheese.
    Her stomach growled again. She walked over to him and stole a couple of chips before he swatted at her hand making her laugh. Snaking her hand out to catch a few more, she returned to her seat with a smile on her lips. He really was a man, err male, who she wouldn’t mind dating.
    Stop it, she chastised herself. There would be no dating, no marrying and definitely no kissing, even though she was sure she dreamed about kissing him.
    He brought her plate over with a flourish. Then he retrieved drinks and his own plate. She sat in silence as she ate. The sandwich was great, a thick roast beef. She couldn’t remember the last time she had one because of all the salads she was eating, none of which helped her bottom line.
    “Thank you,” she said before picking up a chip and popping it into her mouth.
    “Your welcome, I would cook for you any day.”
    She looked at him and realized he was telling the truth.
    “I believe you.” With that revelation came an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.
    She could feel herself stretching in his direction. There was a desire to be close to him, to feel his hands on her as he caressed her skin. The desire to touch him was even stronger. Without realizing it, she reached out and placed her hand on his.
    Her head drifted down as her fingertips caressed the back of his hand, learning the smoothness of it. He turned his hand over and she caressed his palm before allowing her fingers to trace his. There were callouses on his hand as though at one point he had done manual labor. His fingers were lithe and strong. The longer she touched him, the more little fires ignited in her belly.
    He brought his other hand up to trace the back of her fingers making her breath catch in her throat.
    “We haven’t known each other long enough to be attracted to each other.”
    “I thought humans believed in love at first sight.”
    “Not this human. I believe in being cautious and when I think I have all my ducks in a row, start from the beginning and do it all again. Remember I was a hospital administrator. Going too fast means missing things.”
    “Going to slow means the same thing.”
    “Where’s the middle ground?”
    “Taya, maybe you and I don’t get one. We either go fast or we don’t go at all.”
    “Gabe,” his name tasted good on her lips. “Maybe we need to look harder.”
    He smiled and stood to clear off the table. There wasn’t much to do but she helped him clean up before they walked back into the living room. She made herself comfortable on the couch and watched as he sat beside her.
    “Tell me more of this soul-bonding.” She wanted to hit her head on something. What made her say that?
    He gave her a small smile. “Marriage is something you can get out of if you have made a mistake. Soul-bonding isn’t. Being soul-bonded to the wrong person would be like a death sentence. Because of that, we would have to go through a trial. The trial would test us both and if we didn’t pass we wouldn’t be soul-bonded. The down side of that is you can only do it once. If you don’t pass there are no do overs.”
    It sounded like some mythical being, that knew more than you, telling you if you were compatible. She didn’t know if she liked that or not. At least it kept you from making a horrible mistake, but