Silas: Imperial Warrior (A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance) (20 page)

“The farewell salute,” Silas murmured, touched. He saluted them back, even though he was sure they couldn’t see him.

He and Katia stood together, watching as the very last of the ships disappeared.

“Are you sure about this?” Katia asked, biting her lip as she looked up at him.

Silas laughed and inclined his head because yes; he had never been more sure of anything.

Chapter Thirteen: Six Months Later

“Silas! We’re going to be late!” Katia called, annoyance lacing her tone. She’d told him five o’clock, and it was already after that time. She stood by the door, tapping her foot impatiently. “Silas, I swear to god.”

“I’m
coming
,” he called back, and all she could hear was good humor in his voice. The thing about Silas’ good humor was that it was infectious, and she could already feel herself getting ready to start smiling, even though she was irritated with him. He was just like that, and it was one of the things she liked the most about him. And there were a lot of things she liked.

Part of her always worried that he was going to regret his decision to stay, so she tried her best to make staying seem like a good thing. His habit of not being on time was one of her biggest pet peeves, and she was having a hard enough time getting her parents to accept the fact that she was dating an alien.

The rest of the world was crazy for extraterrestrials, though. The battle that most people hadn’t even
seen
had taken place just over six months ago, and people were still talking about it. They spoke about how HIMA had been brave to ride to their rescue and how at the end all the ships had dipped down to salute the humans.

Which, of course, only Katia and Silas knew wasn’t exactly how it had gone.

“Let them think that,” Silas had said, shrugging a shoulder. “There’s no harm it in, really.”

“But that was for you,” Katia countered, but he’d been shaking his head and smiling, opening his arms to her as he was so fond of doing.

“I don’t care. I know who it was for, and they don’t need to know that I’m living here anyway. I’ve heard taxes on this planet are brutal.”

They’d ended up laughing over it as the news reported seemingly endless stories and did interviews with people who were claiming to have seen more than they possibly could have. World leaders gave interviews of their own and held press conferences about the incident, answering the same questions over and over again. No, they hadn’t known about the threat or they would have had a plan in place. Yes, they were grateful for the assistance of whoever had come to their aid. No, they didn’t have any information about who the attackers were or who their saviors were, either. No, they didn’t think this would happen again.

“It won’t,” Silas said each and every time.

“How can you be so sure?” Katia finally broke down and asked him.

“Because undoing what HIMA has already done is like committing suicide,” Silas explained. “They aren’t going to risk our wrath.”

She didn’t call him on identifying with the army still. “Didn’t Ammaline wash her hands of Earth, though?”

“Yes,” he said. “But they don’t know that.”

Which was true enough.

They ended up being only a little bit late, which Katia decided she could deal with. When Silas emerged from the bedroom, clutching the tablet Cress had left for him, she decided she couldn’t be angry with him. They were going to spend time with her family, and Silas had left all his friends and the closest things he had to family behind.

“Sorry,” he said, giving her a sheepish look. “Soran was telling me a story, and it would have been rude to disconnect.”

“Who’s Soran, again?” Katia wanted to know.

“She runs The Skip.”

“Oh, right.” She smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. Mom and Dad won’t lose it over five minutes.”

“I figured they can’t hate me any
more
than they already do.”

“They don’t
hate
you.”

“Katia, my dearest, they most certainly do. And I understand. You’re their daughter, and I’m sure they wanted something different for you. Something better.”

She rolled her eyes at that. “You helped save the entire planet. What’s better than that? And anyway, I don’t care. I’m an adult, and I can make my own decisions. If I want to shack up with an alien, then I will.” Katia stood on her toes and leaned up to kiss him lightly at the corner of his mouth. “And that’s exactly what I want,” she murmured.

“Now we really are going to be late,” Silas murmured back, grinning.

“Brat.”

“Tease.”

“Let’s just go.”

Since she couldn’t afford a bigger house, Katia had compromised by getting a bigger vehicle so Silas wouldn’t be cramped all the time. Ava called it a gas guzzling monstrosity, but when she’d seen Silas, she hadn’t really been able to deny that it was necessary.

In fact her exact words had been “How does he fit
anywhere
?” Which really was none of her business.

Unlike Katia’s parents, Ava was happy for her. Thrilled, honestly, and every time they crossed paths at work, she asked about Silas and teased her about her alien paramour.

Katia knew it meant that she approved, so she didn’t protest.

Her parents were a different story, though. They had not taken the news that Katia was dating an alien well. There wasn’t really any way to
hide
the fact that Silas wasn’t human, the skin gave him away every time. She’d put them off for as long as she could, but eventually it had come out that she wasn’t living alone anymore, and when they asked who she had moved in with, Katia didn’t want to lie to them. So she’d been honest and her parents had been upset, and now she took Silas with her when she went to see them because she wanted them to get used to the fact that Silas was a part of her life.

They hadn’t said words like marriage to each other yet, but there was a commitment that came with him staying for her, and she liked it. Silas was always careful to let her know that there was no pressure. She didn’t have to keep him around if she didn’t want to, and he wouldn’t be offended if one day she asked him to leave.

“I can take care of myself,” he assured her. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Having that assurance felt good, if she was honest, but she couldn’t see herself ever wanting him anywhere but where he was. It felt like...like he was a part of her. A part that she couldn’t do without, and she missed him when she had to go to work every day.

A part of her wondered if that was normal, and when she’d asked Ava about it, her friend had seemed unconcerned.

“It just means you like him a whole lot,” she’d said, shrugging. “Nothing wrong with that.”

‘Liking him a whole lot’ didn’t seem to do the idea justice, if Katia was being honest with herself. She’d never felt for anyone what she’d felt for Silas.

Her parents were waiting for them when they got there, and Katia hugged them both tightly. “Mom, Dad, you remember Silas,” she said, stepping back so Silas could greet them.

“Mrs. and Mr. Alcott,” he said, bowing at the waist as he always did when he greeted her parents. “A pleasure to see you again.”

Her father sighed, and her mother’s lips were a thin line, but they both managed passable smiles eventually. “Silas,” her mother said. “So nice to see you again.”

“Still here, then,” her father said.

“
Dad
,” Katia hissed, already annoyed.

“It was an observation,” he insisted. “He
is
still here. Which is honestly surprising.”

“And there it is,” Katia huffed, shaking her head. “Where else would he be, Dad?”

“I don’t know. Gone back to his planet, maybe?”

“I’ve made a commitment to this one, actually,” Silas said. “I won’t be returning.”

Her parents exchanged glances. “Ever?” her mother wanted to know.

“Never,” Silas replied. “I’ve left that life behind me for good.”

“For our daughter?”

Silas shrugged a shoulder, and Katia had to admire how calm he was being.
She
felt like breaking something already, and she wasn’t even the one being interrogated. “For her, and for what Earth represents to me.”

“Which is?” her dad asked.

“A new opportunity.”

They exchanged glances again, and Katia sighed. “Can we have drinks now? I think I need one.”

Drinks were served, and they sat in the living room of the Alcott home in awkward silence. Her parents had grilled Silas about his plans before, and Katia was pleased that they weren’t doing it again, even though she was annoyed that they seemed like they wouldn’t even look at him now.

Dinner was uncomfortable, but that wasn’t surprising, and mostly consisted of her mom and dad asking questions that were rude and prying and Silas answering them with as much civility as he could muster.

Of course, that civility seemed to fray as the meal wore on, and soon enough Silas was arguing back with her parents. Using that authoritative voice that he’d used on his troops, she was sure. Her parents were taken aback, and Katia just smirked into her meatloaf, letting him handle it.

Dessert was a very quiet affair.

"Are you upset with me?"

The car ride home had been mostly silent up until that point, and Katia looked up, surprised at the question. Silas wasn't looking at her, which she had learned by now was a sure sign that he was uncomfortable. The man didn't shy away from confrontation at all, usually meeting his emotions and those of other people head on, but when he was uncomfortable, it was obvious, and she could tell that was the case now.

"Of course not," she said. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I argued with your parents."

Katia laughed. "I wouldn't be upset with you because of that, Silas. I've been arguing with my parents on your behalf for months now. They're wrong about you, and there's nothing wrong with you telling them that."

Finally he looked at her and cracked a smile. "Good, then. I just...I didn't want them to think that I'm rude on top of everything else they think about me."

She snorted. "They're going to think whatever they like about you, Silas. That much is obvious. But it doesn't matter to me. I chose you and you chose me, and that's what counts."

"I do want them to like me," he said. "I think it would make things easier for you if they did."

Katia shrugged a shoulder, glancing at him before returning her eyes to the road. "Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. My parents don't dictate my life, you know. When I was working two jobs to save up enough money to open my inn, they were always telling me I needed to work less. They believed in me, but they wanted me to do things their way instead of my own. And I couldn't do that. It's the same thing here."

He nodded slowly at that. "I understand. It's one of the things I admire the most about you, did you know that? The way you just...stand up for your right to do things the way you want to do them. You're so strong."

"Aw, you're going to make me blush, Silas."

He smiled more sincerely at her, soft at the edges, a smile she liked to think was just for her. Whether that was true or not, she liked it, and she smiled back. When he reached for her knee and pressed his hand to it while she drove, her smile only widened.

Silas was very tactile, and she liked that.

Honestly, the whole night had gone better than she'd been expecting. Her parents had been terrible, but she already had expected that, so it didn't bother her as much as it could. It did bother her, of course, but she wasn't mad. Just mildly irritated at their behavior.

Silas' rebuttals to their questions and the way he'd stood up for their relationship and all it entailed had made her proud, though. Proud...and a little horny.

She couldn't help it. When Silas was commanding and logical, he was so hot, and Katia hummed to herself as she drove, already planning how their night would go. She was sure Silas wouldn't have any objections to it.

"Have I ever told you," Katia said, pausing between words to kiss Silas' neck. "How hot I think it is when you get all 'captain-y'?"

His chuckle was deep and appreciative, fingers tight on her waist as he held her in place. They were sitting on the couch in their living room.

Well, he was sitting on the couch. Katia had made his lap into her seat, and she was straddling him with her legs splayed wide open, the angle making her skirt hike up, showing off her thighs. She smirked every time she caught him looking at her body.

"I'm not a captain anymore," he reminded her. "But you can tell me how hot you think it is."

"Doesn't matter," Katia said, her mouth pressed to his skin again and again, her hips moving in small circles. "Still hot. You've still got the captain attitude."

"Ah, so it's the attitude and not the title that appeals to you," he said, fingertips skating under the hem of her shirt.

"Maybe. Could be."

"I think it is."