by Presley Hall
“I’ve got you!” I shout, and I hear him grunt in response.
And then, just when I think I can’t hold on a second longer, I see his face emerging into the sunlight, his body drenched with the sweat of the effort. He grabs on to the edge, hauling himself up, and I let go of the vine, reaching out to hook my arms under his and pull him up those last few inches. We both tumble into the grass, sweaty and panting and exhausted.
But we made it.
We both did.
“We did it!” I exclaim hoarsely, trying to catch my breath as Brele rolls off me onto his back.
He turns his head to glance over at me. As our eyes meet, I feel something pass between us—the question of what happens now?
For a brief second, all I want is to feel his body atop mine again, for him to roll over and press all of his hard, sweat-slicked flesh against mine. For him to sink into me and claim me… make me his.
He shifts in the grass, and I think for a moment that he’s going to do exactly what I just imagined. But then he sits up, reaching for my hand, and smiles at me.
“Let’s go home,” he says softly.
Even though it’s not my home, even though only a few days ago I ran away from it, I know what he means. And I want to go with him.
“Lead the way,” I murmur, slipping my hand into his.
The walk back to Brele’s house is quiet, both of us too exhausted to do much talking. The first bit of awkwardness springs up between us again when we walk inside and both of us make a beeline for the bathing room. Brele halts in his tracks, gesturing for me to go first.
“No, you can go,” I protest, shoving down the thought that wants to come out of my mouth—we could bathe together.
“You first.” He smiles at me. “I insist.”
Brele is the only being I’ve ever met who’s as stubborn as I am, and I desperately want a bath after the climb and the trek through the woods, so I don’t argue. Instead, I just thank him and walk inside the room, gratefully shedding my clothes.
I draw the bath and heat the water, suppressing a small moan of pleasure as I slip into it. The warmth of the water seems to seep into my very bones, relaxing me as I dip my head below the surface and then lather up with soap until the strands of my hair are squeaky clean between my fingers.
I think of Brele just outside, and a pleasurable shiver washes over me. How can so much have changed in just a few days? Before I ran off, I was more than a little afraid of him, and absolutely distrustful. It was my body that reacted to him, not my heart.
But now… now it’s something else, and it doesn’t frighten me the way it did before. Maybe it should. But how can I be afraid of someone who’s worked so diligently to show me that he can be trusted, who’s held back his own wants and desires to prove to me that he’d never hurt me, never force me, only keep me safe?
And why should it matter that he’s an alien? I’ve never known a human man to behave this honorably or work so hard to win me over. Brele is convinced that I’m his match, this mystical mate his people believe each of them have. I don’t know if I’m fully convinced of that yet.
But… would it be so bad if it were true?
I want to stay in the bathing pool forever. The feeling of being warm and really clean after days in the cave is almost as good as sex—although if I’m counting my intimate encounters with Brele, not quite. But I don’t want to be selfish, so I reluctantly climb out, wrapping one of the woven cloths he uses as a towel around myself once I’ve dried off my body and hair.
“Brele?” I step outside the room and look around.
He comes around the corner a moment later and stops in his tracks. His eyes darken slightly as his gaze roves over me, taking in my body wrapped in the cloth and my hair hanging in damp tangles around my shoulders.
“It’s, um… the bath is free,” I say awkwardly.
“Thank you.”
For a moment, neither one of us moves. I feel like I’ve stepped into a little bubble where nothing but the two of us exists, and it takes supreme effort to wrench my gaze from his and step past him to go into the bedroom.
I sit on the edge of the bed as I hear him walk into the bathing room, still clutching the cloth tightly around me. Now that my clothes are well and truly ruined, I should try to come up with something else to wear, but I can’t quite bring myself to get up and start looking for some material to turn into garments. Instead, I sit glued to the edge of the mattress, trying to make sense of the feeling building inside of me.
I know what it is. It’s need, plain and simple, but it feels magnified a thousand times by something else. Is it the bond that Brele told me about? It seems impossible to believe, coming from where I do, knowing the things I do about the nature of men.
It’s the same ache I feel whenever he touches me, the same growing desire I felt in the cave, the same demanding need that rose up in me behind the waterfall. I don’t want to be apart from him. I don’t want to go on like this, with this unspoken thing between us, stretching out through the days until finally, I’ll have to leave, and it will go unanswered.
I need… I need to see him. To talk to him. I need… something. Something that I can’t put into words, but that I know I can’t deny any longer.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I get up off the bed and head for the door, stepping out of the bedroom just as Brele is walking toward it.
He’s so close that neither of us has time to stop.
We collide, my face almost smacking into his chest as I bring myself up short. The shock of surprise seems to jolt something into place inside me, and I can almost feel the sparks exploding between us.
I don’t give myself time to think. I don’t want to rationalize it. I want him, and I’m tired of denying myself.
I want to finish what we started in the cave.
Without a second thought, I reach up and bury my hands in his thick, dark hair, dragging his mouth down to mine as my fingers drift up and curl around his horns. My tongue slides over his lower lip, begging to be allowed entrance to his mouth.
He growls, his arm going around my waist to pull me up hard against him, his mouth opening for me. I let my tongue slide against his, tangling them together as I close my eyes, deepening the kiss and losing myself in it.
He came from the bathing room fully nude, and as he pulls me against him, the cloth around me loosens, held on only by our bodies pressed together. With a single motion, he yanks it aside, tossing it to the floor so that my naked skin is touching his, molding against him as if our only goal is to become one person.
His cock is trapped between us, the rigid length of it hot against my belly, and I want to touch him, to slide my mouth over him again, to have him inside of me. I’m not afraid of it anymore, of him or the mate bond or anything else.
All I want is this, and I don’t care what happens after that.
The need is too strong now, all of the tension between us broken free. He growls against my mouth again, his hands plunging into my hair, sliding down over my shoulders, moving down to cup my breasts. When his broad palms slide over them, his fingers teasing the nipples into stiff, hard peaks, he breaks the kiss and looks down at me, his gray eye glowing silver as he takes in the sight of my naked body.
“Jade,” he whispers, almost reverently. “You’re so beautiful. I had imagined, but…”
“So are you.” I let my gaze drift over him, over the hard ridges of muscle lining his stomach, his powerful thighs, and the huge cock jutting up between them, throbbing with his need for me. I feel a fresh wave of arousal wash over me, my thighs slick with it now, and the ache inside me seems to intensify. I can’t bear to wait another second.
“Please,” I whisper, leaning against him again, my arms wrapping around his neck and my fingers threading into his hair. “I need you, Brele. Please, I want to do this.”
To my shock, he pulls away, shaking his head. The need in his eyes is almost painful to see, and he shudders as if bringing himself back unde
r control. He bends down, picking up the towel and handing it to me.
“First,” he says quietly, his eyes dropping to the floor, “there’s something I need to tell you. Before you can decide if you want the mate bond, you need to know the truth.”
20
Brele
The words taste like ash on my tongue. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to say in my life.
Desire burns fiercely in Jade’s eyes. I know how much she wants me. I can feel it in my body, in my blood, as surely as I can feel my own hunger for her. There’s no doubt anymore that the bond has chosen her for me. I can feel her emotions and needs as clearly as I do mine.
And that’s why I have to stop. Because the mate bond is sacred above all else. Once it is consummated, there is no going back. There will be no one else for us forever, and it must be willing. Jade’s body is willing, that much is clear, and it seems her heart is as well. But for her to truly choose me, she has to know everything. I can’t hold anything back, and the fear that washes over me at that thought is enough to dampen my own arousal. She has to know me, who I truly am, and all that I’ve done.
I’m almost certain that she won’t still want me, when it’s all said and done. Who would?
“Come sit,” I tell her softly, my heart beating hard in my chest. “I need to tell you something before we go any further. You need to know who I really am.”
Her eyes go wide, bright and green in her pale face, fringed by long, dark lashes. I want to feel those lashes flutter against my cheeks when she kisses me and closes her eyes, I want to see her looking up at me as I slide into her, possessing her entirely. I want all of her, mind and body and soul, forever. Losing her will kill a part of me—the part that still feels, and wants, and loves, even after all this time in isolation.
I almost think it would’ve been easier to never know that I could have had this. But as she follows me trustingly into the bedroom, sitting on the bed with her legs folded under her as she faces me, I know that’s not true.
No matter what happens, I will at least have these small memories with her. No matter how painful it would be if I lose her, every moment we’ve spent together has been a gift.
It’s more than I deserve, in truth.
“Before I lived out here,” I begin slowly, watching her quiet expression as she listens to me, “I was someone much different. I was a prince of Kalix.”
Her eyes widen even more, her mouth dropping open a little, and I know she must have a million questions. But she doesn’t ask any of them, instead patiently waiting for me to continue. She’s giving me the space to tell my story, however long it takes me to get the words out, and in this moment, I know that I love her. My beautiful, kind, brave Jade.
My Irisa.
I haven’t spoken of this to anyone since the day I was banished. But somehow, seeing her calmly sitting there gives me the courage to say it out loud.
“Prince Khrelan, the Kalixian I told you to find if I couldn’t get out of the cave, is my brother. My younger brother. I was meant to take the throne after our father grew too old to rule. I was raised to rule, taught diplomacy and military leadership, multiple languages and the history of the known universe alongside my brother, who it was expected would be my right hand when I took the throne.”
I take a deep breath, glancing away from Jade for a moment. But I know I have to look her in the eye as I tell her this.
“Unbeknownst to us, the Orkun were plotting against us even then. They have always been the scourge of the universe, more technologically advanced than many other civilizations and vastly cruel. They were known for inter-galaxy trafficking, although I wasn’t aware they’d progressed to taking and selling sex slaves until you told me. This was fifteen years ago, and we on Kalix thought we were safe. We had always generally kept to ourselves, a small planet that traded in foodstuffs, mostly. We never imagined…”
My voice trails off for a moment. It’s still difficult to wrap my mind around the magnitude of our loss, no matter how many years have passed.
“The Orkun managed to abduct me,” I say finally. “I was foolish, a mere child then, and although we’d heard rumors of Orkun tech scanning our atmosphere, I thought it was all blown out of proportion. I shrugged off my guard one night to meet a girl.”
I flush at that, looking away from Jade. I would never have been embarrassed about it before, but I suddenly hate the idea of her thinking of me with another female. I could never want anyone but her now, ever. No matter what.
The next part is the hardest to say.
“Once the Orkun had me, their plan was easy enough to execute. They implanted a chip into my brain, taking control of my thoughts and nervous system and essentially turning me into a robot, able to be piloted by their commanding warlord. There was nothing I could do.” I feel my throat tightening, the pain of remembering what I was forced to do agonizing even now, as if it happened only yesterday. “Inside, I was screaming, but I couldn’t move unless they directed me, couldn’t speak unless they allowed me to through the connection in the chip. I was aware, and yet completely helpless.”
The horror on Jade’s face makes a deep ache spread through my chest. The guilt of my past has always weighed on me, but sharing the story with my Irisa makes a fresh wave of shame wash over me.
“Oh god, Brele.” She whispers my name as she starts to move toward me, but I shake my head.
“Just… just let me finish,” I say hoarsely.
She nods and sits back, her face white and drawn, her lips pressed tightly together. She’s folded her hands in her lap, clenching them together as if to stop herself from reaching out to me. I want her touch desperately… but I can’t. I can’t let her touch me until she knows all of it.
“They used that control over me to execute their plan against my people. They made me tell them everything—every way to get in without being detected, everything about our population, every scrap of information and data they needed. They released a virus onto our planet, airborne and impossible to avoid, that would kill every female still able to produce offspring. It left all the males alive and well, but every single female below the age when fertility ceases sickened and died within days. My mother…”
I let out a ragged breath, tears burning the backs of my eyes as I remember learning of her death.
“After the Orkun attack, I was brought before my father. My strange behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed, and he believed I was in league with the Orkun. I couldn’t tell them the truth—that I had been abducted, forced, turned into a tool for the people who would try to bring about our extinction. I could only watch the horror and anger on his face and know that he thought I had willingly betrayed him.”
Jade swallows, the corners of her lips trembling as she makes a soft noise in her throat.
“My father should have executed me,” I tell her bitterly. “But instead, he only had me banished. In a way, I think he knew that it was worse than death, and he did it for that reason too, not only because it is not our way to execute our own people. He cast me out, telling me on pain of death that I was never to be seen by another Kalixian again.”
Tears are streaming down Jade’s face now, and the pain in my heart so great that it feels as if it’s breaking all over again. But she hasn’t moved. Hasn’t left. Hasn’t told me that I’m a liar and a traitor, that she could never trust someone who would do such a thing.
“Once I had completed my usefulness to the Orkun, they didn’t need me any longer. Instead of taking me back to their homeworld as I’d feared they might, they left me in the wilderness here. I should have killed myself out of shame,” I whisper. “But I couldn’t. I was too much of a coward to even do that. I foraged and bartered with foreign traders passing through, avoiding any place where I might encounter another Kalixian. Everyone knew what had happened to Prince Brele, and what I had done. They would have killed me if they saw me. Not every Kalixian believes in the mercy we ascribe to.”
I’ve always
wondered if Khrelan was partially responsible for convincing my father to spare my life. He and I were close as children, and although I betrayed him just as badly as the others, I want to believe that some part of him knows I didn’t mean to.
Not that it matters. What’s done is done.
“What I did…” I take a deep, shuddering breath. “Because of the virus, the Kalixian race is doomed. There will be no more children. Our warriors fight now for one thing: to eradicate the Orkun from the universe before the last male left among us dies, and our species is no more. But I can’t fight alongside them—because I’m the reason they have to fight at all.”
I look up into her eyes, which are calm and serious despite the tears filling them. I’m aware that she doesn’t know any of the people I’m talking about, or have any reason to care that the Kalixian race will be extinct within a generation. She’s not from here. She’s from another planet far away, another people, one that doesn’t even know my kind exist.
But I know she can understand betrayal. She can recognize a monster when she sees one.
I know she’ll reject me now, turn away from me and ask to leave. And I know that’s exactly what I deserve.
But that doesn’t stop the pain that fills me, the aching longing for her. The desperate wish that things could be different.
I look down at the blankets on the bed, my throat closed over with emotion, my eyes filled with tears, my entire being filled with shame at what I did.
And then I feel the bed shift beside me.
Her hands come to rest on my thighs, her long fingers pale against my bronzed skin. Without a word, she crawls over and climbs into my lap, kneeling on either side of my legs as she buries her hands in my hair, while I’m too frozen with shock to even move.