by Hope Hart
I blush, and he laughs, relaxing back in his chair as he picks up his cup and takes a sip.
“You will give me your map, and I will give it to one of my most trusted warriors.” He holds up a hand as I open my mouth to protest, and I slam it shut, gritting my teeth. “He will take five men to this area, and they will study it for any signs of your missing friend or the dragon. If they concede that either of them have recently been in the area, I will personally travel with you once Varic is no longer a threat.”
I raise my eyebrows. That’s more than I expected. Beth told me all about Varic and how he’s decided that he’s now a qatai. The guy sounds like a garden-variety sociopath.
“Here’s the problem I have with that. We don’t know how long Varic will still be a threat. We don’t have weeks or months to wait.”
Dexar narrows his eyes at me. “If your friend is somehow still alive, there is no reason to believe that the dragon will suddenly kill her within a few weeks. Besides, Varic will not be a problem for much longer.”
I think it over. “You don’t think Charlie is still alive.”
“No, I don’t. But if you do, I will do this for you.”
I blow out a breath. “Fine. I agree. You know, there’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while. You never seemed surprised by the fact that we landed on your planet,” I say. “Rakiz and Terex were stunned, and it took them a while to come to terms with it. But you never seemed surprised. Why is that?”
He looks surprised now and strangely discomforted. “I find that I do not want to tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because it will give you another reason to want to leave this camp.”
Now I’m really curious. “Please tell me.” I say it simply, and Dexar sighs.
“Your ship is not the first to crash-land on this planet.”
“What?” My pulse begins to race. “When did the other ship crash?”
“Approximately forty revolutions ago.” Dexar is watching me carefully, which is the only reason I’m able to prevent myself from getting up to pace. I need to burn off this excitement somehow, and I start tapping my foot lightly on the ground.
“Where is it? I want to see it.”
Dexar narrows his eyes at me. “Why?”
I stay silent. Because even if it’s been crashed for forty years, it may have parts that I can salvage to use on our other ship. Depending on the type of ship and where it came from, of course.
Dexar tilts his head at me knowingly. “And that is why.”
“At least tell me where it is.”
“Close to where you think the dragon’s territory is located.”
I stare at him. “And what happened to the people on that ship?”
He shrugs. “They were all dead when my father arrived.”
My mind is racing as we finish our meal. I get to my feet, moving toward the bathroom so I can wash my hands. Dexar’s hand whips out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me close.
“Hey!”
“Remember our agreement, Lexi. I have trusted you with this information. Do not think to sneak out of this camp.”
I roll my eyes. “I told you, I agree with your plan to get rid of Varic before we go anywhere.”
I widen my eyes innocently at him. After Varic is no longer a threat, all bets are off.
He studies my face, and finally his mouth tips up in a slow grin. “Ah, Lexi,” he says, and my nipples harden at his low voice and the dirty promises in his eyes. “With you, I am never bored.”
I raise one eyebrow, and he laughs, leaning close to nibble along my neck. I close my eyes with a sigh.
I’m never bored with him either.
Dexar gets to his feet with me still clutched securely in his arms. His eyes are dark, and I feel like I’m already naked as he moves back toward his bedroom, his gaze on my face the entire time.
He places me on his bed, and I shiver at the look in his eyes. He moves with a restrained power as he pulls off his shirt, and my gaze moves greedily over his chest.
God, the guy is built.
He reaches for his pants, and I don’t waste time. I unlace my dress, racing him as he crawls onto the bed, suddenly naked. He reaches for me, and within moments, my dress is gone.
He freezes, and I glance down. His eyes widen as he brushes my tattoo with his fingers, entranced.
I’m completely naked, but it’s this that makes me blush. He runs his lips over the ink and raises his head, confusion in his eyes as it doesn’t smudge.
“It’s a tattoo.”
He repeats the word, and suddenly the lethally handsome alien king is…cute.
I grin. “It’s an atom. I’m kind of a geek.”
He returns his attention to the tattoo. “How did I miss this?”
I blush again as I instantly get a visual of the way I crouched over his face last time we were busy in this bed.
“You were, uh…focused on other things.”
My atom is designed to look like a compass, and it curves up my hip, reminding me once again about my commitment to get home.
Then Dexar kisses his way along my hip and across the sensitive skin of my stomach. He moves up my body, his arms sliding beneath me as his body cages mine. My breath quickens, and he drops his gaze down to my breasts, suddenly predatory.
Lust hits me like a drug, and I’m instantly heavy-lidded as he drops kisses along the tops of my breasts, then finally, finally, he leans up and kisses me, his lips hot as he steals my breath.
His tongue presses into my mouth, possessing, enticing, and encouraging me to kiss him back.
I groan, pouring everything I have into our kiss.
He chuckles against me, and I suddenly need to turn the tables. I slide my hand down, finding the hard length of his cock, and his whole body tenses as I run my hand up and down his shaft.
He pulls away, staring down at me. Then he leans down, sucking at my nipples, alternating between them as he grazes them with his teeth. Pleasure bursts through me, and I shiver, groaning as my muscles turn to water and I throw my head back.
He slides his hand down, over my sensitive folds and into the place where I want him most. He drags his slick fingers back up, stroking my clit, and I grind against those clever fingers, already close to climax.
“Now,” I choke out. “Now, now, now, now.”
He laughs, but it’s tight, his voice hoarse as he positions himself before finally thrusting inside me. He pulls back and thrusts again, and I arch my back, writhing against him as I pull his head close, running my teeth down his neck.
He curses, and I grin, and then I’m gripping his back, urging him on as he speeds up, thrusting faster and faster as he rocks into me.
My body clamps down, and I gasp as contractions of bliss hit me. I cry out as my orgasm goes on and on, and Dexar thrusts once more, his body shaking as he empties himself inside me.
I rest my eyes as Dexar rolls, pulling me close until I’m sprawled over his chest.
I sit on the top of the stairs, hidden in the shadows. I’ve been here for six months, but I’m doing it wrong. Whatever “it” is.
“You had one job. Give me a fucking kid. Not only did you fail at that, but you decided the best idea was to raise someone else’s mutt?”
I flinch, betrayal ripping through me like a knife. I like Brian. He never makes me call him Dad. He took me fishing once and taught me how to reel in a small fish with seemingly infinite patience.
But he’s just like all the others.
“She had one purpose. Make us a family. The kid barely even speaks!”
“You wanted her too, Brian.” Julie’s voice is shaky, but I know what’s going to happen next.
I creep back upstairs and begin to pack.
I jolt awake, frowning. I didn’t think I was tired enough to fall asleep, and I shake off the memories that cling to me like spiderwebs. Talking to Dexar about my childhood has opened up Pandora’s box. Now I need to close it down.
I ro
ll off his chest, ignoring his hand as he reaches for me.
“I’m sure you’ve got things to do,” I mutter, pulling my dress back on.
Dexar watches me out of dark eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll see you later.”
Dexar
Alexis is pulling away. Even a blind male could see that she is determined to not feel anything for me. Her vacant smile when we finished tumbling and the way she has been spending less time in my rooms make it clear that she has no intention of being my qatal.
I am attempting to be patient.
Lexi was abandoned when she was just hours old. This means that she is likely wary of being hurt again. My hands fist at the thought of whoever could leave behind such a precious gift.
So how do I convince her that I will not hurt her?
Perhaps you should start with being honest.
I rub at the back of my neck, glowering at the exit that Alexis just strode through. If I tell her about the prophecy, she will leave me. Perhaps not today, perhaps not even tomorrow, but she will never trust that my feelings for her are real.
I sigh. While I have attempted to keep Alexis close, I don’t want her to feel smothered by me. She is used to being independent, my Lexi. Now she is watched wherever she goes, by warriors who are ready to jump into action and protect her from any possible harm at a moment’s notice.
She’s allowing it. For now.
I spend the afternoon hearing petitions in the Great Room. But I am noticeably distracted, and I’m instantly alert when a warrior steps into the room, moving to Brix and whispering in his ear.
Brix’s gaze flicks to mine, and I lunge to my feet, striding toward him as the room goes silent.
“What happened?”
He glances around us and gestures toward the entrance. I run my gaze over those who are still waiting to bring me their issues and problems.
“I have an emergency. This will continue tomorrow.”
Murmurs break out, but I ignore them, stalking out of the kradi with Brix.
“What happened? Is it Alexis?
“She is fine. But…she is with your mother.”
I close my eyes as I curse. My mother isn’t the problem. It’s the female who spends such large amounts of time with my mother that worries me.
I jump into action, striding through the camp. My mother’s kradi is large, with a small garden outside, overlooking the river. She refuses to move into my kradi, insisting that she spent many revolutions surrounded by the tribe and now prefers privacy.
As much as the security risk unsettles me, I understand her need for her own space.
The three women are sitting in the garden when I arrive, deep in conversation. My mother is sitting close to Alexis, who is now pale as she stares at Ini as if she is a snake.
Ini is the wisewoman, and I never intended for the two to meet. At least not until I had explained why Alexis is here.
I close my eyes briefly, wrestling with fury, and then stalk forward. Alexis visibly stiffens, her gaze immediately finds my face, and her shock and dismay transforms to anger.
“You!” she spits, and my mother jolts for a moment, staring at Alexis in shock. The shock turns to amusement as Alexis gets to her feet, hands fisted as she stares me down.
“I suggest we take this to a more secluded location,” I begin, and Alexis lets out a choked laugh.
“Why bother when everyone in this tribe knows exactly why I’m here?” Her voice hardens further. “You know, I wondered why people kept calling me qatal. I figured it was a polite term for the qatai’s girlfriend or something.”
“Alexis—”
“But no. They’re calling me that because of some stupid prophecy.”
Ini clears her throat, but her eyes are dancing with amusement, not narrowed in offense.
My mother gives me a look of rebuke. I can practically hear her asking me why I failed to inform Alexis of the prophecy.
“One year,” Alexis hisses. “You said I could go home in one revolution!”
I wave my hand as I step forward, lowering my voice. “Yes,” I say silkily, fury beating a drum inside my head. “One revolution. So look me in the eyes and tell me you would not leave me at the first opportunity.”
“Dexar—”
“Deny it. Deny it, my little liar.”
Alexis’s mouth drops open, and my mother shakes her head at me, closing her eyes for a brief moment. Ini looks even more amused, her wrinkled mouth trembling as she holds back a grin.
“You’re calling me a liar right now?” Alexis gapes at me.
I give her a look. “What would you have had me do?”
“Uh, maybe when I asked you what the hell Nara was talking about when she insisted she was the chosen one, you could’ve told me? Or any time I expressed confusion about why the hell a random human woman was being targeted by your enemies, you could’ve said, ‘Oh hey, Alexis, they think that fate sent you here,’” she snaps.
“And then what?”
“And then maybe I would’ve thought twice before sleeping with you, you arrogant jackass!”
My mother shoots me an amused look, and Alexis follows my gaze, her cheeks turning red.
“You have a purpose here, child,” Ini says, and Alexis flinches, her face draining of color. I frown at her, unable to understand the haunted look in her eyes.
I reach forward and grab her hand, shooting Ini a dark look as I pull Alexis into the kradi.
“You did think twice,” I murmur. “You pushed me away at every opportunity, even when it became evident that we were right for each other.”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “Right for each other? Why? Because I’m ‘light of eyes and white of hair’? You don’t actually want me, Dexar. You never wanted me. From the moment you saw me, you saw a way to protect your tribe. Someone with a purpose.”
Something about this word has wounded Alexis deeply, and I attempt to be patient.
“That’s not true. From the moment I saw you, I wanted you for my own.”
She rolls her eyes, and I reach for her, but she backs away, almost tripping over a chair.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Enough!” I growl. “Tell me, what would have happened if I had told you about the prophecy when we first met?”
“I would never have agreed to stay here.”
“And sacrifice a chance to find your friend? I don’t think so. You would have stayed, but you would have attempted to escape at every opportunity. And you never would have believed that I truly wanted you and not just because of the prophecy.”
“Because you don’t! I don’t believe in prophecies, but you and all your people obviously do. God, I feel like an idiot, wandering around thinking people were just being nice to me when they really expect me to stay here with you so you can have one hundred revolutions of peace and prosperity!”
She throws up her hands, turning away, and I attempt to push down the panic that’s rising. Alexis is looking at me as if I’m a stranger. As if she doesn’t even know me.
“You are pushing me away because you are scared,” I say. “Because you were abandoned and hurt again and again as a child. Is that the life you wish to return to?”
“You know nothing about me,” she says quietly.
“I know you have a chance for happiness here, with me. I would be yours for the rest of your days, Alexis.”
She immediately shakes her head, her shoulders hunching as if protecting her from my words. “You only want me because Ini gave you that prophecy when you were a kid,” she says. “If you’d never heard it, you would’ve let me go when I arrived here. Admit it.”
I’m silent for a long moment, and she nods.
I sigh. “Look at me. Look at me,” I say, and she finally turns. “Was I immediately entranced when I saw you? Did I think of the prophecy? Yes. I won’t deny it. But it only took a few moments with you for me to want you. I don’t know what I have to do to make you believe this.”
> She’s already shaking her head again, and I wrestle with my frustration.
Anger makes my words hard. “We are going around in circles. With time, you will see that you are the one for me.” She snorts, and I grind my teeth, fury rising at her instant denial. “If you attempt to leave this planet, I will have both ships destroyed,” I snarl, and she whirls, her hands fisting.
“You ruthless bastard. You’d do that to the other women?”
“You would do that to them. You may not believe me, but we are meant to be. Even without the prophecy. I will wait as long as it takes for you to accept this.”
She laughs coldly. “You’ll be waiting until hell freezes over,” she says. Her eyes fill with tears, and I step forward, my chest tightening at her obvious hurt.
And then she turns and stalks out of the kradi.
Chapter Twelve
Alexis
Betrayal makes my hands shake as I wander through the camp. I have nowhere to go—nowhere except back to Dexar’s rooms.
I ignore the eyes on me as I walk with no destination in mind. I knew not to trust Dexar. After our conversation in bed, it was clear that every decision he makes is with the best interests of his tribe in mind.
“Alexis? Are you okay?” Beth takes my arm, her face sympathetic, and I realize my cheeks are wet. I reach up and brush off the tears, but more drip from my eyes. I’m a mess.
“No.” I sniff.
“Come with me.”
I keep my head down in an attempt to hide my devastation from curious eyes as we walk back toward Beth’s kradi. The sun is warm on my skin, the breeze refreshing, and I suddenly want nothing more than a brutal storm to rage and reflect my meltdown.
Neither Javir nor Zarix are in the kradi, and Beth directs me to a huge pillow, handing me a small piece of cloth to wipe my face with.
I scrunch it into my hand and sob.
Beth’s eyes fill with tears, and despite myself, I let out a watery laugh.
“I’m sorry,” she mutters. “I’m terrible when other people are hurting. Do you want to tell me about it?”
I take a deep breath and blurt out the entire horrible story. My eyes sting when I’m finished, but I’m no longer crying. I’ve now moved on to cold fury.