by Tracy Lauren
I flick on the light and a brown beetle-like bug scurries across the yellow and time-worn countertop.
“For fuck’s sake,” I breathe out. “Fucking princess of Tevera in a god damned hovel.” I smash the bug with an angry fist and turn on the shower.
By the time I get out I imagine that Madison will be back. But she isn’t and I pace her tiny room thinking of all the things I wish I could say to her. But I can’t exactly ask her to run away with me, can I? Madison loathes being a princess. If she came home with me, I’d just be bringing her to another castle—one that has been allied to her father’s world for generations.
I look again at the paper peeling from the walls and this sorry excuse for an inn. Is this truly what she would prefer? This over a castle? This over her family? This over me? I want to punch a hole in the damn wall. I want to throw the tiny cooling box she keeps her food in through the front window. I want to grab Madison and demand that she stop this nonsense.
I try to calm myself, but as time passes my anger only brews. I was seething when I found Madison’s note in the morning—and I still am when she finally returns hours later.
“I brought food!” she calls as she steps inside the door. She doesn’t even bother looking around the room before she steps inside. What if someone had broken in? What if there were a villain waiting to attack? The idea is not so farfetched considering this awful place she has chosen to make her home.
I grab her by her arm when she enters. Only then does she bother looking up. “What if I had been a criminal, Madison? Will you simply barge into dark rooms blindly once I am gone?”
“Where the hell is this coming from?” she huffs, yanking her arm away.
“I’m going to leave soon. I need to know you’ll be safe! Do you truly think you will be in a place like this?” I demand, gesturing around the room.
“I’ll pick up some pepper spray, alright? Geeze.” She moves past me to the small cabinet that will serve as her kitchen and sets a flat box atop her stove. “Want some pizza?” she offers.
“More garbage to eat? No thank you. I’ll pass.”
She turns to look at me, her brow drawn in confusion. “You sure do have a bug up your ass.”
Her words only make me think of the bugs sneaking about this room and I scrub my hand over my face in frustration. “Don’t get me started on the bugs in this place. Do you know how many beetles I’ve killed today?”
“Ew, gross. They’re called cockroaches and please don’t tell me how many. I’ll just put some poison out.”
“A princess shouldn’t be putting poison out for vermin!” I exclaim.
“Luckily I’m not a princess!” she counters, her hands on her hips.
“You may not want to be a princess, Madison, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are one. Gods… If my brothers could see this place. If your father could!” I lament.
“No one is going to be seeing this place, because I ran away from that life—remember? I ran away from all the spaceships, and the aliens, and otherworldly castles, because guess what? I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about any of it! This place that bothers you so much? It’s fine by me, because it’s mine! I made it back to Earth and everything I have here is going to be because I want it--not because someone else is trying to force it on me!”
I throw my arms up in frustration. “Is this really what you want? To live in filth and squalor?”
Madison gives me a severe look and crosses her arms over her chest. “This my story now, Kethian. My happily ever after. I’m not riding coattails anymore. At least here I have the chance to make my own way in life.”
It’s time for some brutal honesty, I decide. “Just stop! Stop pretending that Earth is the only world which’ll allow you to exercise free will. You could have your own life anywhere you wanted it, Princess, instead you chose to linger on this childish dream.”
Madison’s jaw drops open in shock. She isn’t just defensive anymore. No, now she’s pissed—maybe even as pissed as I am. And I’m glad, dammit. As much as this woman says she’s tired of being a princess, I sure as hell have been tiptoeing around her like she is one. Someone needs to give her the truth—because she refuses to see it for herself.
“How dare you?”
“How dare I what? Shatter this beautiful fairytale ending? Look around you, Madison—is this really what you wanted? Is this the happy ending you’ve been dreaming about?”
“I already said it was!” she defends.
“Like hell it is! And you know it! You’re just too much of a spoiled princess to admit it.” She gasps in horror at my words, but I press on. “You’re willing to make yourself miserable here, for the rest of your damned life, just to prove a point—just so you can keep on punishing your parents for finding each other—for falling in love without your permission.”
“That’s not what this is,” she insists, her voice hard and indignant.
“Isn’t it though? Isn’t this just your revenge for not getting your way? You’ll play the martyr and look back on your wasted life—blaming your mother and father the whole time.”
“Stepfather!” she grits out.
“And there’s the 12-year-old princess again. No wonder they call you ungrateful.” I shake my head and gesture at the room around us. “This is a fantasy, Madison—thinking that you can be happy here. You’re chasing the dream of a child. When are you going to grow up and realize that happiness is right in front of you?”
“Show me my happiness then!” she shouts, tears welling in her eyes. To my surprise her anger cracks away, exposing her sadness…her vulnerability. “Where is it, Kethian? Because I’ve travelled the galaxy and I’m still miserable! Can you really blame me for wanting to come home?”
“This isn’t your home anymore, Madison.”
“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think I could tell from the moment we stepped foot on this planet?”
“Then what are you doing here? Why do you have to be so stubborn?” I shout back at her.
“Because I have nowhere else to go, Keth! You’re right. I had been looking at this place through rose-colored glasses. But I’m not being stubborn—this is me out of options! I know as well as you do that I don’t belong on Earth!” She looks aghast at her own admission.
“But you’re just going to stay here anyway?” I accuse.
“There’s nowhere left for me to go! Nowhere in all the universe that I belong. I’m not Teveran. Hell, I’m not even an Earthling anymore.”
“Am I truly so poor an option, then, that you can’t even picture yourself with me?”
Madison scoffs and wipes at her eyes, trying to turn away from me. But I don’t want to leave it at that. She has to know how I feel; I can’t hold it back any longer. I move to her side and pull her hands away from her face, forcing her to look up at me. “If you’re looking for where you belong, Madison, it’s with me. Can’t you see that?”
“Don’t play with me, Kethian.”
“How can you think this is a game? I’ve risked my life to bring you here, I’ve risked the safety of my entire planet—all just to see you smile. And if you were truly happy, I’d walk away. Even though…even though it would break my heart.”
“Kethian—”
“But I won’t leave you here on this world to wallow in your sadness, Madison. That I refuse to do.”
The princess’s shoulders bow and she hangs her head. Her shoulders shake with each sob and I pull her against me, cradling her against my chest.
“This has been my dream for so long,” she whispers.
I cup her cheek with my hand. “All dreams end, Madison. The real beauty is when you let life begin.”
“I really can’t stay here, can I?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Finally, she meets my gaze, blinking away big, wet tears. “You think I’m a spoiled princess,” she accuses.
“Well…that may have been a harsh assessment.”
“Ma
y have been?” The despair begins to slip away from her tone. There is sadness there still, but the deep and aching loss is already beginning to wash away. And I don’t miss the fact that Madison’s hands slide to my shoulders.
“Call me a frog again and we’ll be even.”
And she laughs, even though her nose is still pink and sniffling from all her tears. “I’m sorry I’ve been so hard headed. If it weren’t for you, Keth, I’d have always looked back in my memories and missed Earth. At least now I know for certain, this isn’t where I belong.”
“I hate to have been the one to shatter your dreams, Madison.” I stroke her hair. “That was never my intention.”
“It’s okay. I think I’m tired of dreaming anyway.” With that, she leans in and kisses me.
I welcome her lips against mine. And even though she hasn’t said it, I know what this charged energy is between us. Madison is giving herself over to me. Finally, we are in this together.
All that emotion that had been welling inside us—the anger, the despair, the heartbreak—it surges forth now, changing with every impassioned swipe of our tongues. It’s like I can feel it transforming into something beautiful. It is our love for each other, blossoming beyond friendship and becoming something more—something that is unbreakable and eternal.
And now that Madison has finally put her childhood fantasy aside, I know all that is left is us. I’ve belonged to Madison since the moment I saw her and now it’s time I claim her as my own.
We tumble to the bed and already her hands are working to undress me. I have to chuckle at that. “So eager?” I ask.
“You have no idea,” she replies breathlessly. “Don’t you fucking tease me again,” she begs. “Not now. I don’t think I could take it.”
“No more teasing,” I assure her. “It’s time to make you mine.”
She whimpers in hungry agreement and we tear at one another’s clothes. When her breasts are bared to me she digs her nails into my shoulders, pulling my mouth to her tits. As if that was not exactly where I was headed…
Her hands grip me and her legs twine around my hips. Madison’s hold on me is tight. It’s as if she still fears I’ll try to stop this momentum between us. But nothing could stop this. This is where we’ve been headed all along, isn’t it?
“I’m yours,” she breathes as I drag my teeth over one pebbled nipple.
“All mine,” I growl.
“Every part of me. My lips…”
“These beautiful breasts,” I add. “And this pretty pink pussy.” Madison gasps as my fingers seek out her folds. Already she glistens with arousal and my cock strains as I realize just how wet she is for me. When I push my digits inside of her, Madison screams in delight.
“I’ve never felt this way before,” she pants, clenching her teeth through her keening. Fingers twine in my hair and she grips my arm tightly as I play with her cunt.
“And there’s no one else who could make you feel this again. Only me, Madison. I know exactly what you need.”
She whimpers, nodding her head fervently as I lean down to lap at her clit. Again, she grips me, as if trying to keep me from pulling away—not trusting that I’m in this completely now. I guess it’s time I prove it to her.
I devour her, one last time, eating her pussy as if I’ve never tasted anything so sweet. And damn, I don’t think I ever have. But now it’s time for more.
Madison cries out when I pull my face away from her cunt. “I want more of you, Kethian!” she begs, her whole body tense as she tries to drag me back.
“You’re about to have all of me, Princess.”
“Yes. Please…” she says, sounding relieved. I even see some of the tension leave her as she relaxes onto the bed, spreading her legs for me. I run my hands up her thighs, admiring her body. My cock aches to be inside her.
“When I say you’re mine, Madison, that means forever,” I warn, strumming her clit.
She looks at me then, her gaze locking onto mine, and I search her eyes. Does she really want this? Does she want it as much as I do?
When she speaks, her voice comes out soft…but desperate. “Promise?” she asks me. And that one word hits me like an arrow straight to the heart.
“You have my word”—I reach up and knead one of her perfect milky breasts—“my heart, and you’ll have my cock too.” I lower myself over my beautiful princess and slick the head of my dick along her seam. Her breathing deepens and I watch her breasts rise and fall with each anticipating breath. And just as I align my cock with her core, she digs her heels into my ass, drawing me into her.
Her surprised scream cuts through my pleasure.
“Are you alright?” I ask, trying to pull away. I need to see her face and know that I haven’t wounded her. But she tightens her hold on me and links her arms around my neck.
“Don’t stop,” she gasps, her cheeks flushed and her voice needy. “Don’t you go anywhere.”
“Madison,” I growl. “I’m never leaving your side,” I promise again. Still, she twines her fingers in my hair, just to be sure.
And together we start a slow rhythm. The walls of her tight pussy grip onto me, like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I bury my face in her neck, breathing in her scent. She’s mine, I think to myself. All mine. Now and forever. I won’t let myself think of what happens after Earth. Of what life will be like once we return to Atana or Tevera or wherever the hell it is that we end up. Instead, I give myself over to the moment, licking at her delicious collar bone and tracing my tongue up the side of her neck until I can nip at her earlobe.
All the while Madison is crying out, whimpering and pleading in her ecstasy, begging for me to make her feel good. I thrust deep, brushing against her clit as I do. I can already feel her body coiling for release and I want to push her over the edge.
“This pussy is all mine.” My voice rumbles close to her ear as I thrust into her and she must like what she hears, because that’s when I feel my princess snap.
Madison cries out, throwing her head back against the pillows, her eyes squeezed shut. I make my thrusts firm and deep and her pussy spasms around me, clenching me so unbelievably tight. Then I feel my own wave cresting and it washes over me, spilling into her. I’m cumming, right along with my beautiful princess.
Chapter 31
Madison
I’m gasping for air. I feel like I just ran a marathon when Kethian crashes down beside me. And even though we’ve both climaxed, he doesn’t stop showering me with lusty affection. One of his strong hands plays with my nipple and he keeps his face buried against my neck, giving me gentle love bites as he continues to whisper dirty things into my ear.
He swears no one else can do what he just did to me, and damn if I’m not inclined to believe him. I’ve never been so attracted to a man as I am to Kethian. But it’s more than just attraction…it’s far more. Alien or not—I love him. Because when it came down to it, when it came down to my heart, Kethian stepped up. Even before he really knew me, he was ready to sacrifice everything. And maybe for a time there I thought it was because I was a princess and he really did care about those bragging rights. But I know better now. I can see the truth. It was because he saw something in me—the connection we were always meant to have.
“How did you know?” I ask.
“Know what?” His busy hand cups my cheek as he plants kisses to my temple.
“That we were going to fall in love?”
Kethian’s hand stills and he lets out a long and pained sigh. “I didn’t. I mean—I knew I was in love, but I never thought you’d return the emotion.”
I push myself up on my elbow. “Really?” My brow furrows. His words make me sad. He really was going to sacrifice everything for me—even his heart.
“I hadn’t planned on stepping between you and your dreams, Madison. I was ready to walk away if this was really what you wanted.” He gestures at the room around us. “Luckily I got the feeling it wasn’t. Look, Princess, I was harsh earlier—when we were
arguing. I didn’t mean to be. I said some things—”
“Things that needed to be said,” I say, cutting him short. “I’d have regretted it if I stayed here. I’d have regretted losing you. You were right about this planet. After all these years, I think the only things I still miss are the familiarity and all the garbage food as you call it. And is that really enough to make me want to live out the rest of my life here?”
“Is it?” he asks.
“Heck no! Keth—I’ve only found one thing in all my life that’s worth its weight in gold and that’s you.” At my words, he grabs me and hauls me onto his chest so that he might deliver a tender kiss to my lips.
“What now?” he asks once we pull apart.
“Cold pizza?” I suggest.
Keth snorts out a laugh. “I was asking where you wish to go.”
I groan, not wanting to consider the logistics of what our lives are going to be now. In the end I only have one answer for him. “With you.”
He chuckles and I can feel his breath fanning against me. “That I can make sure of.”
“Just no more castles and no more bullshit titles,” I add.
Kethian’s caressing hands grow still and I worry about what he might be thinking. “You can still tell people you bagged a princess though,” I hurry to say.
“Bragging rights to last a lifetime,” he jokes.
“You don’t care, do you? That I don’t want to be a princess anymore?” For a moment I’m scared he was looking forward to taking me back to my parents’ castle on Tevera—that he thought maybe we’d all live there together. I cringe at the thought.
“To me, you are simply Madison, regardless of what title others place on you.”
“Good,” I say, his words quelling my fears. “Maybe you were right before anyway—maybe we should just run away together. We could hop from planet to planet, go on adventures.”
“And never settle down?” he asks, not sounding so sure of my plan.
