by Tracy Lauren
I expect Madison to argue. I mean, how could I expect anything less from the contrary princess? But what I’m not anticipating is the worry in her voice. “You’ll come back for me?”
My brow draws down at the notion. “Is that why you won’t go on without me? You’re afraid I’ll abandon you?” I know she can’t help the way she feels, none of us can. But the fact that she believes I would leave her doesn’t sit well with me. I would think she’d know me better than that by now.
“No,” Madison is quick to say, her voice still laden with doubt. “I…I just don’t want to go without you.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere without you either,” I promise her. “But I don’t want to put you at risk. Wait right here and I promise you, Madison, I’ll be back.”
Her hands cling to me and even in the dim light I can see the worry in her eyes. I brush her hair away from her face. “Any chance I could get that kiss before I go?” I know I’m wasting time, but I can’t help myself.
I’m surprised when Madison leans in rather than pushing me away, but in the end she shakes her head. “I don’t know how—”
There’s a loud ping against the door. The Teverans are using something to try and break it down. I need to hurry.
“I’ll be right back,” I promise one last time. Then, I slip out the back door.
Chapter 15
Kethian
I race to the other side of the corridor, hoping to get the drop on the Teveran guards, but I nearly run headlong into one of them just as I clear a corner. Luckily I’m faster than he is and after a quick punch, I jab him in the neck with the stunning mechanism on the charger. The brawny Teveran goes down. I need to tie him up somewhere, but first I need to stop the other one from getting to Madison.
Luck continues to be in my favor and the next guard doesn’t even notice me as I approach. He’s working hard to jam an electric prod into the seam of the door and doesn’t look up as I edge nearer to him. I don’t even need to hit the Teveran—my charger does all the work for me. Quickly, I bind his wrists and ankles, then I go back for the other one.
It’s hell dragging his unconscious body down the long hallway, but a necessary one. And soon I have the pair propped up beside the door to the security dock. I type in the ghost code once more and the door opens. Inside I hear Madison gasp.
“It’s me, don’t shoot!” I tell her.
“Kethian! You scared the shit out of me. Did you lose my stepdad’s guards?”
“Just a sec…” I open the far door to the dock and usher Madison out into the hall. Once she’s out of sight I drag the guards inside the dark room. Already one of them is coming to.
“Prince of Atana or not, the Warrior King will have your head,” the male groans in a low voice. I rise and pull the door shut, not wanting Madison to hear any of this. Then I crouch beside the disoriented Teveran.
“The princess…Madison,” I correct myself, “is a grown woman. She has made her choice. Now it is time for your king to respect that.”
“She is not grown until her Rasarit,” the guard counters.
I scoff. Madison might be sheltered, but she is all woman. “Then you obviously haven’t met her. Regardless, tell your king that his daughter is safe but she will be continuing on her journey. That is, if you can remember to.” I hit the guard with another zap from the charger and he goes limp once more.
“Is everything okay?” Madison asks in a hushed voice the second I exit the security dock.
I give her a tight smile. “Let’s get you back to Earth.”
Chapter 16
Madison
We’re on edge the entire way back to the ship. We don’t run, because we don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves, but we keep our eyes peeled for more of my stepdad’s men. Despite the worry coursing through my veins, I find myself oddly focused on something happening between Kethian and me. You see, as we walk, my alien friend and I hold hands.
I must be crazy, because here I am trying to get back to Earth and away from all this alien nonsense, and still…I can’t draw my attention away from Kethian’s larger hand holding onto mine. It’s just that…well, I guess I’ve never really held hands with a guy before.
It’s dumb. I shouldn’t be so focused on a juvenile thing like hand holding. I mean, Kethian and I have been holding hands for one reason or another ever since he rescued me from that dungeon. But it’s weird because we keep holding hands. Like, every chance we get. Right now we aren’t even running for our lives, yet still…digits locked.
Kethian and I both breathe a sigh of relief when we make it back to the ship.
“What’s the plan?” I ask as we board his vessel.
“I’m headed to the bridge. I’ll need to map out a more randomized course to Earth. I’m sorry, Madison, our travel time will take longer, but this way there’ll be less chance of getting apprehended.”
“No, of course. I don’t want to get caught. I’m willing do whatever it takes.”
“You should get some rest, Princess; your days have been long ones.”
“Yeah…good idea,” I agree half-heartedly. Kethian and I begin to go our separate ways, but I stop and call out to him.
“Hey Kethian? I’m not holding you up or anything, am I? I mean, there’s no place you need to be?” I still don’t quite understand why Kethian is helping me in the first place. He’s got no obligation to me and this obviously isn’t a kidnapping anymore.
“Don’t worry about me, Princess. I’m exactly where I need to be.”
“But…are you going to get in trouble?”
“I’m going to get you to Earth and that’s all you need to worry about.” Kethian turns and heads for the bridge and I stare after him until he rounds a corner and vanishes from sight.
My emotions are in overdrive as I make my way to my borrowed room. It’s late, but sleep is the last thing on my mind. I kick off my dress and lament the state of my poor bare feet before I jump into the shower.
“I should be thinking about the fact that those guards almost took me back to Tevera,” I scold myself. But instead my mind keeps replaying the moment that Kethian and I nearly kissed in that security supply closet.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve spent the better part of the last nine years hating anything and everything that is alien. Yet…if I hadn’t been so shy and unsure of myself tonight, I’d have kissed Kethian in a heartbeat.
“What’s wrong with me?” I wonder aloud.
It’s even worse after I get out of the shower and pull Kethian’s sleep shirt over my head. “Why does this stupid thing smell so damn good?” I whine.
I breathe it in and rub the soft fabric on my face. Realizing how weird I am, I shut off the lights and crawl into bed. But I’m all wired and antsy. I can’t find a comfortable position to lie in and all I can think of is Kethian. I wonder if he’s gone to bed yet.
“He’s got to be tired,” I tell myself, turning the lights back on and sitting up. I consider going down to the bridge to see if he’s still there. But I don’t know what I’d say or even what I want to do. Do I want to kiss an alien? No. Not an alien. Do I want to kiss Kethian—the man who’s been sacrificing so much for me over the past few days? There’s a surge of butterflies that come to life in my stomach at the thought.
It would be nice to finally kiss someone. All these years though, I’ve been saving myself for another human—someone I can actually connect with and relate to. But don’t I connect with Kethian? Isn’t he the first person I’ve met in nine years that I actually feel I have a bond with? I sigh. It doesn’t matter. Even if I wanted a kiss, I just don’t know how to initiate it. That’s what happens when you spend your youth holed up in a castle. You miss all these wonderfully normal things like holding hands and first kisses. Not to mention all the stuff that comes after kisses. I tingle at the thought, because after all, I am a woman. I do have needs. Needs that have gone unaddressed for far too long. That decides it.
“I’m jus
t going to see if he’s awake.” At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Chapter 17
Kethian
I have the lights dimmed low and soft music playing as I recline in my seat, staring out into space. I figured I’d take my sleep cycle here on the bridge so I can keep a close eye on the scanners. I don’t want to let Madison down. We had a close call tonight and it was likely no coincidence that Teverans were on Titan Station. I should have known better than to use my personal cred reader. I imagine Vazrium has people searching for us all throughout this sector and the use of my reader could have easily given away our location.
Lesson learned, I think to myself as my eyelids grow heavy.
“Kethian?” Madison’s soft and questioning voice surprises me.
“Princess—” I start, sitting up in my seat.
“Are you…is this more mariachi music?” Her nose is scrunched up in the most adorable way.
I scrub my hand over my face, forcing myself to wake up and focus my thoughts. “I like it.”
Madison scoffs and comes closer. I notice she’s wearing the tunic I gave her. Other than that, her long legs are bare, her blonde hair is half wet and tossed to one side, and she’s washed all her makeup away. Somehow I find this look even sexier than what she wore on Titan Station…and damn if that dress wasn’t hard to beat. Yet still, I can’t imagine anything more beautiful than the way she looks right now.
“This song is pretty,” she concedes. “To be honest I’ve never really given much play to this kind of music, but you definitely picked a winner.”
“As I am apt to do.”
Madison rolls her eyes at me and drops down into the chair next to mine. She looks amused as she assesses me. “You’re tired,” she says as I recline back into my seat, propping my legs up on the control panel.
“Aren’t you?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she admits, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Good. Then you can keep me awake.”
“Okay. What, um…what should I do?”
Something about Madison’s tone sounds off and I prop myself up again. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah of course.” She answers too quickly.
“Madison,” I say, my tone giving warning.
“No, it’s stupid,” she says, avoiding my eyes and shrugging away my concern. “It’s just, I heard music and thought maybe we could finally have that dance.”
She hardly has a chance to finish her sentence before I’m pulling her out of her seat.
“I thought you were tired!” Madison protests, laughing at my eagerness.
“I will never be too tired to dance with you, Princess.” I bring her into my arms and my body nearly sags with relief when she doesn’t pull away. “You’re sure you like the song?”
“Yeah. It’s perfect…kind of sad and romantic at the same time.”
“Sadness and romance don’t mix,” I point out, taking her to the middle of the room and positioning my arms around her waist. I can feel the soft curves of her body through the threadbare tunic she wears and I fight the urge to let my hands wander. I will be a gentleman for Madison.
“For some people they do.”
“Your Justin has poisoned your thinking then. If you were mine there would be much romance and practically no sadness at all—perhaps only on rainy days. And even then it would be very short lived.”
Madison’s arms reach around my neck and her body presses against mine. Slowly, we begin to sway to the music. “I happen to like the rain,” Madison admits quietly.
“You see the power of romance? I’m cheering you up already.”
Madison chuckles. “You’re so lame.” I don’t know the word, but judging by the wide grin on her face, I’d say it’s quite the compliment.
“Thank you.”
Madison rests her cheek against my chest as we sway together to the soft music. “I’ve never done this before,” she tells me absently.
“What?”
“Danced with a man, unless you count my dance instructor, that is.”
“Is he handsome?”
“He’s 80 years old.”
“Then no, I don’t count your instructor. But I do find it hard to believe you’ve never danced with a man. How could it be you never took the chance on a handsome young prince at one of your father’s parties?”
“Easy.” She shrugs. “My pride. I hate doing stuff like that. I’d always skip out early at balls. My refusal to participate was like…a silent protest.”
“I don’t think I’ve never met a woman so reluctant to be a princess.”
“Well, you’ve never met me.”
I want to tell her that I have in fact met her, formally at least, from across the ballroom. But now’s not the time, not with her holding me the way that she is. And what’s it matter? Getting to know each other like this means so much more to me than a superficial conversation at a ball.
Madison’s hand slides off my shoulder and down onto my chest. I cup it with my own and feel Madison grow tense in my embrace. “Hm?” I grunt, letting her know that I notice the change.
“It’s just…this is another thing I’ve never done before.”
I furrow my brow, not knowing what she speaks of. Madison looks up at me, reading the confusion on my face. “Holding hands,” she supplies with a blush and our dance slows to a halt. Is she embarrassed? Suddenly her words in the security dock come rushing back to me. I asked her to kiss me and Madison didn’t say no. She said she didn’t know how.
“Are you telling me—” I have to stop and clear my throat as I try to gather the appropriate words. “You have never danced with a man. Never held hands with one—”
“Until you,” she interrupts.
I nod. “Until me. Can I assume that means you’ve never been kissed before and…never made love?”
Madison shrugs and retreats a few steps, slipping out of my grasp. “I mean, who would I have kissed? One of my ancient tutors?”
I follow her across the room. “So all this time I’ve been asking for a kiss, I’ve really been asking for your first kiss?”
Madison doesn’t speak, but the look on her face confirms my suspicions.
“Is that why you’ve been so reluctant?” I ask, but immediately I think of Justin and all her talk of hating everything that is alien to her. “Or is it because I’m not the man of your dreams? I’m not Justin?” For a while I hardly believed this Justin character was a real person, but perhaps he is. Perhaps Madison has been saving herself for him all this time.
Madison’s eyes go wide at the mention of his name. “No! I mean, it’s just…” Flustered, she struggles to find the right words. “All this is new to me. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Why would you be embarrassed?” I ask, reaching out for her hand. She twines her fingers with mine.
“I don’t know about your world, Kethian, but there aren’t any 22-year-old virgins walking around on Earth. And certainly none who haven’t even held hands or kissed someone before.”
Madison…she isn’t the type to share her vulnerability so freely, yet here she is in the middle of the night, voicing her most private thoughts. “Why are you telling me this?” I look down at our linked fingers and hope swells in my chest. For what though, I don’t quite know. “Why give me your first dance? Why hold my hand?”
I want her to say it’s because she’s developing feelings for me, because she’s realized that I am the man of her dreams and not this Justin Bieber.
“Maybe I’m making up for lost time?” She shrugs noncommittally.
I frown at the words as they sour the moment. “Are you using me, Madison?”
“What? No!” She rubs her forehead. “Sorry, that came out all wrong.” Madison takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before looking into my eyes. “This is hard for me, Kethian. I’ve never done any of this before. The space station, holding hands, dancing, it’s all new. And I’m doing it because…” She shrugs again, searching the room for a
nswers, “Because it feels good.”
My heart is pounding in my chest. This does feel good. But more than that, it feels right. I’ve always been drawn to Madison, but with each moment we spend together the more I come to believe that fate has brought me to this woman for a reason.
“Is this why you couldn’t sleep?” I question, brushing her hair away from her face. I imagine her in her bed thinking about kisses, but not knowing how to close the gap between us. “Is there something you want from me, Madison?”
“I…I guess I’m not ready for the night to end,” she says biting on her bottom lip, that cautious look still in her eyes. Oh, but if she could see what I do right now, all this nervousness would melt away in an instant. I’ve never met a woman more fascinating. She pulls at my heart. Without a second thought, I’ve put my life and my world on the line just to chase her whims. My brothers would think I’m mad. But I think…I think I might be falling in love.
I cup her cheek in my hand. “It doesn’t have to end.”
“No?” Her breasts rise and fall with each breath she takes and the look in her eyes is full of need.
I give the princess a teasing smile. “You do still owe me a kiss.”
“Owe you?” she asks, her expression changes and her tone is suddenly indignant.
“You know I had you beat at tilt.”
All that indignation washes away as she realizes what I’m talking about. “Hah! You wish!”
“Are you telling me you don’t know what my final tile was? You, the master tilt player?”
Madison cocks her brow at me and gives me a sly grin. “No, I’m not telling you that. I’m telling you I let you win.”
Now that certainly comes as a surprise. While I was aware of the fact that she took it easy on me more than once to keep me in the game I had thought my final play was pure luck. “Why would you let me win?” I ask, but even as I say the words, realization dawns on me. Madison must see it in my eyes because suddenly her smile drops away and she’s blushing again.
