by Bobbi Ross
Anula squealed as I presented the box of heavenly chocolates to her. She tore into the wrappings like a child on Christmas morning. She positively glowed when she lifted the lid and eyed the small, delectable chocolate army she was about to conquer. When she lifted that single, dark, succulent morsel to her lips, her excitement betrayed her station and she bit down hard.
“Mmmm!” her eyes rolled and she moaned so loudly and so long that the next three couples, the nearest 20m away, got off their lounge chairs and peered through cabana curtains to see what the fuss was about. Her near-orgasmic response must’ve been contagious, because behind her a demigod broke the surface of the pool’s crystalline water. His long, wet dark green locks clung to his face, obscuring eyes that I knew were capable of peering directly into my soul. Golden skin glistened and rivulets of water cascaded over straining muscles as he hoisted himself from the water.
I stood gripping the towel the princess had laid out for me and made the mistake of looking his way. Those pouting lips. Those broad muscular shoulders, wide as the horizon. My knees shook like Hebizian jelly. I've never felt so drawn to anyone, and I may have started to move towards him. The queen-to-be redoubled her moaning as she engaged her second chocolate lover. I pulled the towel up to my face as though I could hide behind it, when I discovered in a deep draw of intoxicating aroma, that the towel belonged to him. A high-pitched gasp escaped my mouth as I dropped the tantalizing fabric. His head snapped up at the sound. His smoldering gaze leapt like a tiger and pounced on my resolve. I took an involuntary step back, trying to free myself from something that felt like it should be mine forever and—
Splash!
My ass hit the water hard, and I sank like a stone to the bottom of the pool. I could make out the prince and princess looking down on me with what could've been concern, but might as well been raucous laughter. Hard to tell due to the distortion of the water's surface, which I refused to break. Thankfully, I could hold my breath for a long time. Teaching me how to swim had been one of my grandmother’s pet projects. God bless her soul.
Chapter 11
Rohn grappled with the black rope around his neck. No matter how many times he tried, the black silk knot always slipped from his fingers. It might not have been so bad, had the high collar of the white tuxedo shirt not been choking the life out of him. He gasped and struggled like a wild Tarkelian jackbeast caught in the snare.
"You wanted to dress in traditional Terran fashion to impress Emery," Anula reminded him from her perch on the velvet dressing chair next to the three way mirror inside the large walk-in closet.
"How do these Terrans breath and why do they hate their males?" He wailed.
Having garnered what she considered enough amusement from his antics, Anula rose to her feet and swiped the prince's hands away from his throat, lest he succeed where his vile uncle had failed. "Here let me do that," she commanded, deftly working the silk into an elegant bow. "See, it's not that hard.”
"Can you hurry up please?" Rohn pleaded, tapping his fingers on his leg. "I want to be there waiting for her when she arrives. I just hope she talks to me this time." He reached up and once again pulled at his collar, disturbing Anula's work.
"I'm pretty sure you're hoping she does more than talk to you," she chuckled, as she pulled the silk tie just a little tighter than necessary, until he relented with an incensed look and dropped his hands away.
"Tell me again, why didn't you let me fish her out of the water right away this afternoon?" His questioning emerald eyes narrowed in on her.
Anula shook her head, "you know, if you weren't the Crown Prince, I'd slap some sense into you."
"You're the Princess, you can do whatever –."
– SLAP! –
"Ouch!" Rohn yelped, as he lifted his left hand to sooth his face, eclipsing the red handprint that was quickly staining the bronze skin of his left cheek. "What was that for?"
"That poor girl could swim just fine," Anula responded. Confounded eyes stared back at her. The man had a genius level intellect, except when it came to Emery. "She was embarrassed. I'm pretty sure if she had gills she would've stayed under the water all day. During your many "Aska-louw" tête-à-têtes the last few months surely you realized Emery's independent nature."
He nodded. He was well aware of that and much more about his Emery through the dream dancing, although much of their time in the dreamscape involved more...physical pursuits. His manhood stirred as images of her sweet naked body swarmed his mind.
"Rushing after her and forcing her - an avid swimmer - out of 6 feet of water, making a spectacle out of her would have been extremely embarrassing," Anula pointed out in a serious tone. "Instead you allowed her to keep some of her dignity and diffused an uncomfortable situation by providing her assistance when she actually needed you. Your thoughtfullness must have earned you some major points in her data pad."
His expression changed to a wistful smile as Anula's words sparked more memories of their afternoon at the pool. "When she grabbed on to me and I lifted her out of the water, oh my goodness her skin was so soft and she smelled magnificent!"
Anula rolled her eyes and chuckled, "you're such a fledgling boy around her. I'm surprised you haven't asked me to pass her a note in athletics class."
“How do I look,” he asked expectantly, poignantly ignoring her last comment.
Having finished with his tie, she stepped back to assess her handiwork. “You look very handsome. Emery will be very pleased.” Her eyes beamed with pride. She then helped him slip into his black silk custom tailored tuxedo jacket. Once on, Rohn attempted to flex his muscles and take his arms through a full range of motion.
“Stop fussing around unless you wish to burst through the seams,” she admonished.
Why did Terran males bound themselves up like this? He had no clue.
“Good night An, and thank you,” he uttered as he gently bent forward and kissed her hand. Then he hurdled himself over the fainting couch and vanished through the door slamming it shut, before Anula had a chance to respond.
She silently whispered a prayer for him, hoping beyond hope that tonight he wouldn't get in his own way.
Chapter 12
In a show of monarchial magnanimity, the royal couple had dismissed me for the rest of that afternoon, giving me time to dry my hair and towel off my pride.
Now if I had a normal job, this would leave me free for the evening. However, tonight was Tuesday. As it happened every Tuesday and Saturday, the hotel threw a massive party for all of its guests. The staff was expected - read commanded - to attend. In a crowd of more than 300 people, avoiding the royal couple was easy as pie. Well, earth pie. Some of the pies up here would actually reach out and grab you if you passed too close to them.
The hotel’s grand ballroom was crafted out of the rarest Altizerian crystal. Imagine if you would those pictures of the blue and white houses you always see from photos of the Greek islands. Now take those houses, remove all the angles and replace them with curves. Keep that same stone quality but imagine they had a satin feel to them. Also lighten the blues, add muted oranges and soft pinks that shot up in twisting spires to support the roof, and then give it consciousness... Voilà, you have Altizerian crystal.
Hence a number of things were in my favor. The organic infrastructure allowed for plenty of places to hide, and exits to slip away. Another little secret that not everybody was privy to: The queen-to-be wasn't the only one on Titan who would do a back flip for chocolate. Apparently the crystal had a sweet tooth. I'd been feeding it small savory tidbits each month, since the first time I’d accidentally dropped a piece on the floor about three years ago. Faster than lightning, she had absorbed it and immediately responded by sprouting a blue-green and salmon colored fountain where the chocolate had been. We've been good friends ever since, and I knew she had my back. She would pick up on my apprehension, and I could count on her to rearrange the room to keep the prince away from me.
Standing outside the entra
nce to the hall I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I double checked to make sure “the girls” weren't going to get too uppity tonight. My blue Zedrovian silk dress wasn't exactly demure, but it was better than my downright sultry green sheath dress. Considering I could only afford two dresses, I picked the lesser of two evils. I drew a number of odd looks from the staff with my choice of eveningwear. They all knew that blue meant Saturday, and Green meant Tuesday. I caught a number of them glance at me and then have to check their calendars.
The earth circa-1940s jazz music weaved its way around the guests and the symbiotic foliage the crystal allowed to grow inside of her. Pale yellow lights rippled across the ceiling as she breathed, making me think of moonlight underwater. The clinking of champagne flutes and Cellaxian martini glasses seemed to chime in time with the band. Delectable morsels from over 30 worlds were arrayed at numerous stations around the room, and the automated drink carts always seemed to be keenly aware of when your glass was empty.
Keeping to the periphery, I was relieved not to see the prince or princess. Maybe the day’s activities proved too much for them and they lacked the energy to come out tonight. Even better, maybe they were actually doing what a couple on their honeymoon is supposed to do. At least I told myself this was for the best, even if I couldn't bring my heart to believe it. Nevertheless, their absence made my impending escape much easier, because now no one was expecting to see me. Twenty minutes and I could ditch this sideshow to go get some actual sleep.
It’s not like I wanted to dream about anyone or anything. I was just plain tired. Keep telling yourself that, Emery.
The music changed and one of the massage guys started a conga line, getting everyone on the ballroom floor. The ruckus created by over 300 people shouting and stomping their feet always a half-step out of tune with the music gave me the opening I needed to make myself scarce.
Grabbing a glass of the good stuff from a passing cart, I downed it in one gulp. And why shouldn't I? I think I deserved it after my latest debacle. Tossing nonchalant glances to and fro, I assessed the coast was clear and slipped out an exit the crystal had created just for me. Thanks, girl!
Taking a moment to enjoy the cool night air as it gently kissed my face. The only things on my mind were my bed and getting out of these damn heels. Seriously, who invented these calf shrinking, spine twisting monstrosities? Hell, if you want good-looking calves, just climb the stairs and do some butt exercises. I kicked off the angry, glittery, blue shoes and nudged them with my toe like they were spider-ridden and poisonous. They felt more like medieval torture devices and looked like Dorothy's rejects, but they were all I could afford with my meager salary. Now for my green dress, I had a pair of green Soprano Fluevogs that I could hike the Himalayas in. There's a designer who appreciates women.
Still ranting in my head about my poor aching feet, I bumped headfirst into something solid. As I raised my head, silky, flowing green locks tickled my face while smoldering emerald eyes locked onto mine with such intensity, my lady bits went ablaze. The scent of clean water and man overtook my rational mind. I shuddered, overwhelmed with the desire to nibble on those perfectly carved, sensual lips swollen with need. I leaned in for a taste.
"I – I didn't see you at the party, Your Highness," I stammered instead.
"For some reason, the room would not allow me to enter," he answered softly into my ear, his breath a warm contrast to the twilight night. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you Emery?"
He shifted his stance so the front of his body pushed in tightly to mine, allowing me to feel his swollen length. Sparks of electricity raced through my spine. Knowing I could bring him to this precipice excited my body to respond in kind, pressing my more than ample girls into his muscular chest. My nipples hardened at the feel of him, showing their approval of our close proximity.
Up to this point, I had but a few fleeting moments with the sexy alien of my dreams. Not only was he a total stranger to me, a hot as hell stranger, mind you but he was also without a doubt, most definitely married. Yet disgusted as I was by that prospect, the uncontrollable need to be near him was second only to the light that filled my heart when he was close to me. Even as a child I’d never gotten as close to pure joy as I was right now. Defying any kind of logic or rational thought, I felt as though I'd always known him and he’d always known me. But at least I had a dream backing up my crazy. What was his excuse?
"Do you not dream of me?" he pleaded, while running the back of his fingers down the side of my now useless arm. If only he knew.
"You are my Asanti. We're destined to be together," he professed in his gentle deep voice.
"I am yours," I managed to rasp out. My mouth went desert dry and my southern region hit hurricane season.
My whole being drank him in. My body yearned for his touch while my aching core craved for his hard shaft to fill my warm, silky sheath.
Wait a minute, what the hell am I saying? My heated desire from a moment ago froze into fury. "You are freaking marr-ried!" I growled.
I didn't care if he was literally everything I've ever dreamed about, I wasn't about to be the other woman. Not for him, not for a passing grade, not for anybody. I certainly would never do that to Anula. I punched against the solid rock wall, which was his chest.
"I can't, not like this," I stammered as tears filled my eyes. Tears for the loss of something I never really had. Tears for the loss of someone who was never really mine.
"There you are Emery, I've been looking all over for you," a familiar voice called out.
He faltered, his eyes stricken with pain and I slipped out from under his spell. Putting as much distance between us as fast as I could, I strode purposefully to Bev. Her twin sets of teeth gleamed in the night.
"Glad I found you. Ms. Hoofsmear says we need more sapphire wine, and asked for you to go fetch it." Her posture stiffened and her claws scraped together when she caught sight of my wet, flustered cheeks. My eyes silently pleaded with her and I gave a barely perceptible shrug.
Bev forced down her fiercely protective Zedrovian instincts, put an arm around my shoulder, and led us away from the prince. I slid my arm around her waist, leaned into her and silently thanked her and whatever deity had decided to watch over me.
Chapter 13
Way too much drama for one day. Safely walled up in my box-sized room, all I wanted was a good night’s sleep. Shimmying out of my dress, I let it drop to the floor. I'd pay for that with ironing later, but I didn't have the strength to care. The sweet embrace of darkness collected me in its arms before my head even hit the pillow.
Then the darkness filled with stars. Not again. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. Because, unless I had sleepwalked the three quarters of a mile it takes to get to the gazebo, naked, I was most definitely dreaming again. The familiar warmth from a presence behind me told me I wasn't alone.
To be concluded in Titan Rising: Part 2
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Bobbi Ross, Titan Rising 1 (Syalantian 1)
