Alien Prince: (Bride of Qetesh) An Alien SciFi Romance (51 page)

Once we were back in our room, Novalyn dropped heavily down onto one of the plush sitting cushions and heaved a sigh. I would have gone to her, but I felt odd, not of that space. I longed for my tent and my furs, my carvings and the shuddering cold of the winternights that had first brought us together. I did not know how to be with her in this shining, expensive place; I did not know how to be myself in it.

“
Have you decided what you
’
re going to do?
”
I asked, hoping that she would put all of my deepest fears to rest.

She shook her head, not willing to look me in the eye. She was picking at the flesh around her nail beds, existing within that same pensiveness that had drawn her away from the dinner table. I had wanted to go to her, but when I rose to my feet, Rebecca Quimby had held out her hand to stop me in my tracks.
“
I will go,
”
she had said, wiping daintily at her mouth with her napkin. I had watched Rebecca go to my Novalyn where she stood by the picture window that framed a million stars. Ro Petathera had turned to me then and, in a voice gruff with lack of use, said,
“
Fear not, Odrik Nuh
’
ar. Your lady will not leave you.
”

“
How can you be so sure?
”

“
Because I lived it,
”
he said, a small smile playing across his lips.

“
Rebecca Quimby,
”
I said, and he nodded.

“
I loved her instantly, and I never dared to dream that she would stay with me.
”
He laid his fork down on his plate and laced his fingers again, resting his hands over the belly that had begun to bulge slightly with age.
“
She came to me, knowing precious little of the Qet and our culture. And it was nearly a year that we spent together before I bedded her, but I loved her desperately.
”
He grinned then, a devilish sort of grin.
“
And when she finally came to my bed, I was destroyed.
”
His demeanor shifted, his mouth took on a solemn line.
“
But even after we lost our child, she could not bear the thought of parting with me. I never had the strength to ask her to stay, and in fact I was prepared to send her home when the pregnancy failed. I had been mistaken in assuming that was what she wanted. Thus do I believe that is the mistake we make: when we love these strange creatures
—
so quickly, so completely, so desperately
—
we think there is no way they can love us back that much. But that is ego; and we are wrong.
”
He shifted in his chair so that he was leaning toward me.
“
Though they be smaller than we, and much softer, they are surely twice as strong.
”

I gave a vague sort of nod, if only to indicate that I had heard what he said. But I was not so sure that I believed him. Would she deign to stay with me? Could we be a family? Then, I could not help but ask him:
“
Why did you and Rebecca never try for another child?
”

He sniffed and leaned back in his chair, his eyes going into soft focus as he stared over at Rebecca where she stood with Novalyn.
“
She took the Qetling to term, but when it was stillborn, it nearly ripped out her womb when she delivered it. She simply could produce no further offspring. And it was quite a blow to her
—
to both of us.
”

“
I am sorry,
”
I had said to him, this proud and aging warrior.

“
So am I,
”
he had replied.

But then, in the private room I shared with my lady, I felt the heat of my blood rising into my face. I needed to know, needed reassurance. I could no longer exist in this state of questioning. My breathing was quick, my pulse the thrum of war drums in my chest.
“
I need you to tell me,
”
I said.

“
I cannot.
”

“
You would have me go to my death, not knowing?
”

“
I would not have you go to your death at all.
”
She stood then and raced toward me, taking my large hand in her small one.
“
Do not fight,
”
she pleaded.
“
You can run instead, you can take a shuttle and leave this place. You do not have to fight him, you can go
…
just
—
just
go.
”

“
What is there to live for if you do not stay with me?
”
My words surprised even me, and made all of the color drain out of her beautiful face. I withdrew my hand and crossed my arms over the broad expanse of my chest. I breathed, trying to make my heart slow down to a more manageable rate.
“
No,
”
I said, my voice sharper than I had intended it to be.
“
I will not run. I will fight. I will take back my position as a leader of my people. Because at least then, if I know I have them all to lead, I will have a purpose when you are gone.
”
She turned away from me then, pacing somewhat, and I longed to see the expression on her face. She crossed to the picture window and stared out into the dark.

“
I will not go,
”
she said, and I jerked my head to look at her. I could see that she smiled in her reflection in the glass; I think my jaw must have been hanging slack.
“
If you fight, and you win, and you
live
,
”
she said,
“
then I shall stay with you.
”

I parted the distance between us in three strong strides and swept her into my arms, bending to kiss her as I lifted her off of her feet.
“
And the baby?
”

“
And we shall become a family.
”

I crushed her to my chest, rocking her gently back and forth, shocked by the wave of relief that swept over me.
“
You seemed so unsure
—
what has given you this change of heart?
”

She wriggled somewhat in my arms and I put her down again, but I had to touch her; I was gripping her by the shoulder. She dislodged me when she shrugged.
“
I spoke with Rebecca, and she said
…”

“
What?
”

She shook her head; she seemed so distant somehow, so unsure.
“
She said I could never really go back to my life as I knew it, and I understand that she is right about that. So
…”

I nodded.
“
So you will stay because, why? Because you
’
re used to me now?
”
I furrowed my brow and tried to puzzle it out.

“
No, that isn
’
t it,
”
she protested and took my hand in hers.
“
But
…
I have to be honest with you, Odrik. I am
not
sure about this decision. I am just doing the best I can with the information that I have.
”

I nodded and turned away from her, troubled to find a lump in my throat.

“
I do love you, though,
”
she said, and I proffered the feint of a smile.
“
And I want you to live. Please.
”
She came around in front of me and gripped me by the fabric of my black shirt.
“
Please, do not die on me. I could not possibly bear it.
”

“
And if I do, you
’
ll go home?
”

“
I do not know,
”
she murmured.

“
Please,
”
I said and encircled her in an embrace.
“
Go home. If I am not there to care for you, I want you to go back to your home planet. It will be easier for you to take care of yourself there.
”

She gave a nod of her head.
“
If that is what you wish.
”

“
It is.
”
Novalyn pursed her lips and I saw her eyes turn glassy with tears.
“
Novalyn
…
?
”
She deflated then into sobs that shook her to her core, and I hugged her to hold her upright.

“
You must not die,
”
she said.
“
I forbid it.
”

I grinned; I could hardly keep from laughing.
“
Yes, my lady,
”
I said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“
I shall do as you say.
”

She sniffled and pulled away from me then, peering up at me with an expectant expression. She tugged her black shirt up over the top of her head, her breasts springing free, her nipples hardening in the cool air. Then she turned around and shimmied out of her pants, her bare bottom revealed in the dim light of our shared space. I swallowed hard, desperate to touch her, but wanting to prolong our moment for as long as I could.
“
Stand in the center of the room,
”
I said, my voice low with desire.
“
I want to look at you.
”

She obeyed and moved to stand in the middle of the sunken sitting space, framed by the picture window full of stars. She held herself straight, standing naturally with her feet planted on the floor, but after a few moments of me staring at her, she arched one sly brow and turned around. Bending at the waist, she climbed onto a cushion so that her knees sunk unto it. She was bent over, inviting me with a glimpse of her sex from between her thighs.

But when I did not move to come to her, she adjusted, spreading her thighs apart for a better view of the flower there.
“
I want to watch you,
”
I said quietly, my voice filling the air between us.
“
I will come to you when I see you glisten with your desire.
”

A pretty little blush rose into her cheeks and she stood up so that she could lie on her back, her legs spread wide so I could see all of her wet center. She pressed her middle finger to the pith, the kernel of her desire, and began to rub. With her other hand, she squeezed her breast, pinching her sweet, pink nipple between her thumb and forefinger. Her breathing quickened; her eyes came to a close. My member grew uncomfortably hard in the confines of the trousers with which I had been provided.

She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I could no longer stand the distance still between us. Shedding the constrictive garments with which I had been provided, I closed the gap, my cock in my fist. I mounted her then, her eyes popping open as she felt me draw near, and I plunged myself deeply into her with one strong thrust. She sucked in a gasp of air and arched her back so that her breasts were pressed against me, making room between her body and the cushion so that I could slide my arm around her and hold her to me as I undulated my hips.

As ever, I was shocked to find her so wet for me, this perfect, lovely creature. And me, what a monster I must seem to her, with my warrior
’
s scales down one arm, and the stunted, jagged edge of my lost horn. But oh, how she wanted me. How she spread herself wide for me.

I leaned forward and buried myself in her hair, which smelled sweetly of the still water pools of my planet. I breathed in the scent of her, earthy and warm, like dried flowers in the starlight, and buried my shaft in her warm and wanting sheath.
“
Harder,
”
she groaned, and I obliged, gripping her fleshy hip with one hand, my fingers digging in as I hastened my pace. Every other time between us, I had held back, conscious of the differences in our size, of the fact that she was, perhaps, not made of such solid stuff as I.

But maybe what Ro Petathera had said to me was somewhere in the back of my mind: she was stronger than I gave her credit for, and when she called out for me to fuck her with abandon, who was I to deny her wishes?

She cried out and slid her arms around my neck, hanging tightly onto me as I thrust into her, and I knew she was about to release when her body tensed against mine, when she held her breath, and when she spread her legs wider to allow me to go even deeper into her. Then, with a shudder, I felt the muscles of her internal walls clamp down around my rod, and I could no longer keep my own climax at bay. I let out a cry that must have, to her ears, sounded like the wail of a great beast, and released into her in a series of trembling gasps.