by Tracy Lauren
I frown as I watch their interaction. I do not know his race, but he’s much taller than my Madison and he leans down to say something into her ear. I ready myself to step in, but Madison looks at him with no interest in her eyes and shakes her head, no. I can’t hear what they say, but the male shrugs his wide shoulders and walks away.
“What did he want?” I ask.
Madison leans close to me to answer and I can feel the tickle of her breath on my neck. “A dance,” she tells me.
“I’m glad you got rid of him.”
She cocks a brow at me, waiting for a reason.
“If I can’t have the first dance at your Rasarit then I want it here,” I tell her.
She scoffs and the look on her face tells me she does not take me seriously.
“Actually, I’m going to go dance with them,” she says, pointing across the room. I follow her finger, angry that she has chosen another male over me. But the only people I see in the direction she points is a group of women.
There are five of them in total and judging by the hues of their skin, they look to be Aragrandani. They also seem more concerned with making one another laugh than they are with their dance moves. As I watch, a male tries to join them but they are quick to turn him away.
“Why would you want to dance with—” I begin, but Madison cuts me off.
“Hold this for me.” She shoves her half-finished drink into my hand. Before I even have the chance to protest, she’s already joined the others. I watch her lean in, asking to join their group. They nod and welcome her warmly.
At that I sigh. It’s easy to understand the dynamics at play. Sometimes women have more fun dancing with each other than they do with men. There are no expectations there, just fun, and I resign myself to the fact that I won’t be getting my dance with Madison tonight. Instead I relax against the bar and sip at my drink. While this isn’t my ideal, it is exactly why I brought Madison to Titan—so that she could finally have some fun. Though I had imagined her pressed close to me on the dance floor, this isn’t so bad. At least it’s better than her dancing with another male.
The songs change and the women keep dancing. Perhaps an hour goes by as I watch Madison with her new found friends. They shout jokes at one another and Madison teaches them some moves she surely learned on Earth. There is much laughter. But eventually they grow tired and make their way to the bar. Steward of my princess’s fun, I quickly order a round of drinks for them.
Madison moves to my side. She is relaxed now and she leans against me as if we are old friends. While she and the women talk over the music I take the opportunity to steal one hand around her waist. I might only have her for a little while, but tonight she is mine, whether she knows it or not.
“Having fun?” I ask.
She looks up at me with a happy smile. “What do you want to do now, Keth?”
“You’re not done dancing already, are you?”
She nods and I wonder if she knows how devastatingly sexy the grin she’s giving me right now is.
“Will your new friends be joining us?” But already, they are tossing back their drinks and pulling one another to the dance floor. They reach for Madison, but she shakes her head and points to me. The women shrug, leaving us behind, and Madison looks to me expectantly.
“Have you ever played tilt?” The princess did mention gambling…
At that, her eyes light up. It seems we have our next adventure ahead of us. My princess’s hand slips into mine as I lead her away from the dance floor.
When the doors to the club glide shut behind us, the music becomes nothing more than a steady vibration humming throughout the station. Soon we are out in the bustling halls of Titan, my ears still ringing as we make our way to the elevator.
“It was loud in there!” Madison shouts, causing a few surprised glances to shoot in our direction. Madison winces and ducks against me as we hurry down the hall. “I guess that was loud too,” she says more quietly, a blush on her cheeks. We pass fellow travelers, some heading toward the dance clubs and others up to the gaming level, like us.
“Are you enjoying this place?” I ask.
“I am. I noticed you were getting a glazed look in your eyes though. I figured we better move on before you started to regret taking me out.”
“Impossible, I could never regret such a thing,” I counter.
“Yeah, but I want you to have fun too.”
“I’m having a wonderful time. My only regret is that I didn’t get an opportunity to dance with you,” I tell her as we step into an elevator. As busy as the halls are, we’re the only ones inside and I hurry to close the doors before anyone can join us. I want a moment with Madison all to myself.
“You could have danced with me,” Madison says simply.
“I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time. But tonight I was loath to miss out on the view I had from the bar.”
“The view?” she asks, crinkling her nose.
“Of this dress of yours,” I tease, tugging at the short hem. My knuckles graze Madison’s thigh and she narrows her eyes at me. But her lips betray her, because her smile is a wide one.
“Hands off the goods, frog boy, I’m saving myself for Justin.”
I groan at the mention of his name. “And where has your Justin been all these years?”
“In my heart, obviously!” She sighs dramatically and clutches at her breast. I have to laugh at that.
“Are you truly so loyal to a man you haven’t seen in a decade?”
“What can I say?” She shrugs. “Justin got me through a lot of lonely nights back on Tevera. I guess I just owe the guy.” Her tone is playful and teasing, but I dissect her words and press closer to my princess.
“How exactly did he help you get through lonely nights on Tevera?”
Madison’s mouth drops open and her creeks flush a rosy red. “I don’t know…it was just a joke.”
“I don’t think that it was.” I take her hands in mine and bring them to my lips. Madison watches me with wide eyes but she doesn’t look away. Gently, I kiss her fingertips. “You know, you’re not alone anymore.”
“I’m not?” she asks, seeming distracted by my mouth. I press my luck a little further, and give those fingertips of hers a teasing lick. Her mouth falls into a gentle O as she’s caught mid-gasp. Our eyes lock and I shake my head, no. But before I have the chance to offer to keep her company in more intimate ways, the doors to the elevator glide open and the sounds from the gaming level filter in.
Madison straightens abruptly and rushes out onto the open hall. Catching her hand before she can get too far, I pull her back to walk alongside me. I watch the princess from the corner of my eye, loving the wide-eyed look she wears and the flush that still lingers on her cheeks.
“Where are the tilt tables?” she asks, composing herself.
Crowded gaming kiosks are aligned in long rows all around us and it’s their electronic pings and whirrs that make the room so noisy. I seem to remember the tilt tables being along the far wall, near the wide windows looking out into space. I spot what we’re looking for and point them out to Madison. When she sees them she nods in acknowledgement and begins to quicken her pace.
“What’s the rush, Madison?” I ask, expecting her to respond with more shyness. But instead she pulls me along, looking over her shoulder with a teasing smile.
“I’m just ready to kick your ass at tilt. But if you’re a sore loser I can understand why you’d be dragging your feet.”
“How it is you don’t have a reputation for being so funny, I’ll never know. Have you ever even played tilt, Princess?”
Madison rolls her eyes. “I think I’ll be able to figure it out, frog boy. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Ahead of us I notice a table with a few empty seats. “Sit with me Princess, I’ll give you tips when you’re struggling. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.” I hold out a seat for Madison, but she moves to the opposite end of the table, squeezing in be
tween a Nh’Rudi and Itharene—both of whom look up from their tiles to appraise her. Madison doesn’t seem to notice them in the least. Instead, she innocently bats her eyes at me. But something about the look on her face tells me I’m in more trouble than I realize.
Chapter 14
Kethian
We’re only four rounds in and Madison’s already wiped out half the table. Only an Ihasa, an Iredescan, and the Nh’Rudi are still in the game with us. A crowd has gathered, and all eyes are watching the young beauty across from me. The young beauty…who happens to be an exceptionally skilled tilt player.
A soft smile pulls at the corners of Madison’s rosy lips and she looks up at me from under thick lashes, just before she drops a tile onto the table. The Ihasa grumbles, pushing his remaining tiles away and the crowd nearly loses their minds. People are laughing and jabbing one another with their elbows. More than one person has started taking bets on who will beat the pretty blonde. Thing is…I’m not sure if anyone will.
Hell, Madison nearly played me out more than once already. I can’t be sure, but I think she’s going easy on me, playing less important tiles to keep me in the game. But cutting the Ihasa out…that was calculated.
“Who taught a girl like you to play tilt anyway?” the Iredescan questions.
“A girl like me?” Madison asks, looking confused. She isn’t feigning coyness; she truly has no idea what the Iredescan could be referring to. Madison can be a spitfire at times, but in so many ways she’s sheltered and naïve.
“Someone so beautiful,” I venture. Madison narrows her bright blue eyes in my direction. I can tell she thinks I’m trying to throw her off her game with pretty words.
“My etiquette tutor,” she supplies. “When I was being a brat and didn’t want to work we’d play tilt instead. Don’t tell my dad,” she adds wryly.
“As long as you don’t tell him I brought you here.”
“I don’t know about your etiquette, but you’re not half bad at tilt,” the Iredescan tells her.
Madison sets down another tile. “Not half bad?” she asks. The Iredescan does a double take, looking from his tiles to hers. A slow smile spreads across his face as he leans back into his seat, realizing that he’s been beat.
“Excuse me. You’re damn good,” he corrects. Rising from his seat, he reaches for Madison’s hand. She offers it to him, thinking he’s giving her some kind of farewell, but I know better.
“The girl’s mine,” I tell him firmly as he pulls her hand toward the spines along his jaw—the ones that release heavy doses of pheromones. He stops just before they make contact, looking across the table at me.
“Apologies, effa, didn’t seem like it.” He drops a kiss to Madison’s fingertips instead and gives her a low and formal bow.
Madison pulls her hand back into her lap, looking flustered for the first time since we sat down.
“Getting tired yet?” I ask, taking my turn.
“Nope.”
“Just let me know when you’re ready to move on.”
“It’ll definitely be after I beat you.”
“I suspect if you really wanted to beat me you’d have done it by now,” I point out.
“Pardon me for prolonging the magic. I was looking forward to a few rounds of tilt. This is the main event for me tonight.”
“We could make our own magic back on the ship. I’ll let you prolong anything you like,” I promise.
Madison scoffs, trying to downplay my flirtation. But she can’t stop the blush from rising on her cheeks.
The Nh’Rudi still at the table plays a few tiles aggressively. But all it takes is one from Madison to knock him out of the game. The crowd is enthralled by the move, but Madison and I seem to be lost in our own little world.
“Looks like it’s just you and me, Princess.”
“Don’t get too comfortable, frog boy, I’m coming for you.”
“Madison, Madison, Madison. You can come for me anytime you like,” I tell her and her eyes certainly go wide at that. The next tile she plays is a more aggressive one and I follow suit.
“What do you say we make this more interesting?” I offer.
“I find beating you plenty interesting. But I’m open, I don’t mind upping the stakes if you have something worth betting besides creds.”
“Well, you definitely have something I want.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” she asks, feigning disinterest.
“If I win, I want that kiss.”
“And if I win?”
I notice she doesn’t shut me down. “I’ll take you to your home world,” I offer with a grin.
She rolls her eyes. “You’re going to do that anyway.”
“I’ll take you out for a night of fun then.”
Now Madison is laughing. “You don’t have anything to offer that you haven’t already given up for free, frog boy.”
“I’ve still got a thing or two you might be interested in.”
“Oh yeah?” She tosses down a tile. “Let’s see it then.” Someone in the crowd snickers.
“I don’t know if present company would want to see what I’m offering you, Princess.”
“Whip it out!” a rowdy woman yells from deep in the crowd and if it hadn’t been for that, I might not have seen them in time. Embedded with our onlookers, I see a pair of muscled Teverans watching us with grim expressions. They work to push their way to the front of the crowd.
Madison plays her hand and the stars align. I have one last game piece in my hands and I glance down at it. Two black dots are etched into the thin white tile. “Make that bet with me,” I beg one last time.
“We never agreed on what I’d get if I won.”
“What if I promise to get you out of this mess?”
“Huh?”
“Can you run in those shoes, Princess?”
“Wha—?” Madison pales and her eyes go wide with understanding. Quickly, she squirms in her seat. Smart girl. She’s kicking off her shoes.
“Hey you!” I call to the rowdy woman who asked me to whip it out. I toss her my tile and she catches it. “Tell me who won?”
Eagerly, the woman looks down at it and the crowd leans in, on bated breath. But Madison and I have our eyes locked on one another and before the woman can call out the winner, I flip the table, sending tiles everywhere. There are shouts of dismay and I hear one of the Teveran guardsmen call out to Madison. But we’re already running.
Hand in hand, we cut through the endless rows of gaming kiosks, swerving in and out of players. Madison and I both glance back. The Teverans are in hot pursuit.
Madison’s eyes shoot to a woman serving liquor and she upends the woman’s cart, sending bottles and drinks crashing across the floor. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” she hurries to say and she grabs my hand again. Patrons bend over to help the woman and the Teveran guards run headlong into the blockage Madison created in their path.
I see a service door open ahead of us. “This way!”
We duck inside. “Go, go, go!” I tell Madison, urging her to run on ahead. I pause for a moment at the access panel and enter a quick code. The door glides shut, locking it…for now at least.
“Hurry up!” I look up to see that Madison hasn’t taken a step without me.
“Do you know your way back to the ship?” I ask.
“Do you?” she answers with a frown.
“They’re going to get through that door soon. I can lead them away from you and meet you back on the ship.”
Madison’s brow furrows. “I don’t want to do that.”
Already I hear the Teverans banging on the service door and I let out a growl of frustration. There’s no time to argue. “Fine, come on.”
Together, we run ahead to the next service door. “Hold it. I have an idea.”
I stop to interface with an access panel again, searching for a nearby security dock. “Got it!” Quickly I work to memorize the map of the utility halls of Titan Station. Then we are off and running again. It isn�
��t long until we hear the sound of boots in pursuit. Madison doesn’t speak, but I can see the dread written on her face. She doesn’t want to go back with them. And hell, I don’t want to get caught like this—before Madison has the chance to see Earth and make the final decision for herself. She may or may not wish to stay, but it should be her choice, and she deserves the freedom to exercise it.
Turn after endless turn, we can’t seem to shake the Teverans and I begin to worry that I have gotten us lost. But then I see the blue paneled security dock. “There!” I tell her and we race to the sealed door. Madison pulls helplessly at the handle, but clearance is required. Luckily I can fake such a thing.
There’s a keycode that needs to be entered, specific to this dock, but I happen to know a “ghost code,” which can open security docks on any number of space stations. Well…I did once upon a time. Hopefully I can remember it.
I try my luck once. Twice. “Dammit!”
“Kethian!” Madison frets, clinging to my arm. I look up to see the guards rounding the corner. I try one last code and the door falls open. I push Madison inside and am quick to follow her, locking the Teverans out.
It’s dark in the security dock, but when we move a dim, blue light flickers on. “Grab a charger,” I tell my princess as she eyes the stock of stored weapons. I grab my own and stuff a few wrist binders into my pockets.
“Kethian, we can’t shoot them. These are Vazrium’s guards,” she whispers.
“I have no wish to start a war, princess. We’re setting the chargers to stun.”
That’s when I notice a second door on the back wall. “Hold it.” I open it and peer out. “This security dock is accessible from two corridors,” I tell Madison, shutting us in once more.
“Perfect. Let’s go out that way.”
I shake my head. “I have an idea. Wait here and I’ll come back for you.”
