Promise

by Yolanda Sfetsos

  “The woman you invited into our sanctuary—the space traveler.” His lips were set in a grim line. The man never smiled. Well, unless Aleena favored him for the night.

  “What about her?” Damon walked across the room, to one of the storage cubes. He pulled out another shirt and added a new pair of pants as well. With the amount of fluffing about that the Priestess did in most of her conversations, he’d have enough time for a quick shower. Besides, he’d made sure to leave Levi behind to keep an eye on Alex.

  “She’s dangerous,” Elroy said.

  He closed the storage cube and held his clothes to his chest. Yes, he could vouch for how dangerous Alex was. Her curves were going to prove lethal. He wanted to touch her, found himself looking for any excuse to put his hands on her.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes, I heard you, but I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Something feels wrong about this woman.” Elroy crossed his arms. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s a change in the air, and I don’t like it.”

  “That’s funny, because she only feels right to me.”

  “That’s because you’re not thinking straight. She’s probably bewitched you already, and I refuse to let her do the same to our Priestess.”

  Damon couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, is that what you’re really worried about?” Although Aleena enjoyed the company of men, it was no secret she favored females. “You’re concerned about the Priestess losing interest in you and instead investing it in Alex?”

  Elroy scowled. “I don’t see that woman as a threat. I know where I stand with Aleena—”

  “Yes, you stand in line with a whole lot of others,” he interrupted, with a laugh. Elroy liked to think that because he was the head of Priestess Aleena’s trusted security detail, she considered him the most important lover in her life. Too bad everyone else knew she didn’t feel that way at all.

  “I’m not here to argue with you.”

  “Then, what are you here for, Elroy?”

  “I’m here to warn you about the traveler. Be careful with how much trust you put in that woman. Most of all, watch her very closely. Mark my words, things will get a lot worse around here, now that she’s invaded our home.” His eyes narrowed. “I intend to keep a very close eye on her, too.”

  “Elroy, don’t you dare!” Damon took a step toward him. “I’ll take care of Alex. You don’t need to keep an eye on her. She’s mine to watch, and I’ll protect her.”

  “Who do you intend to protect her from?”

  “Anyone who threatens her,” Damon replied, keeping his gaze pinned on Elroy. This was certainly a challenge, and he wanted the other man to realize he wouldn’t back down. He might not fully understand this instant need he had for a woman he barely knew, but he refused to ignore the call of magic.

  “I think we’re the ones who’ll need protection from her,” Elroy said. “You’re right about one thing, though. You’ve got no choice but to watch over her, now.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The reason I’m here is to let you know that Priestess Aleena has assigned you to be the space traveler’s personal guard.”

  “I’ve got no problem with the assignment.”

  Elroy rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think you would.” He stepped out of the room without another word.

  Damon didn’t bother to call him back. The conversation was over. Elroy was infuriating and enjoyed dumping his own opinions and words of foreboding on others, but he refused to listen to reason. The one thing Damon did agree with was keeping a close eye on Alex, but not because of suspicion. If he could stay with her all day and night, he’d be a happy man.

  Speaking of which, Aleena would soon be done boring Alex with the prophecy and feast details. If he wanted to squeeze in a quick shower, he’d have to hurry.

  Chapter Ten

  “You know. At some point, you could’ve mentioned that everyone and everything on your planet is totally insane. I would’ve appreciated the head’s up.” Alex glared at Damon. She watched him with narrowed eyes. He was attempting to avoid her gaze from across the room.

  A smile curved his lips. “I didn’t have enough time,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, what fun would that have been?”

  Fun? Is that what he thinks we’re doing here?

  She didn’t call almost being eaten by a pack of flying monsters, and then being led to believe she would somehow save a civilization she hadn’t known existed, to be a good time. She was confused, and a headache had crept up on her after the woman who called herself Aleena bored her with details Alex didn’t care about. She’d zoned out after a while, more interested in checking out the immaculate, landscaped gardens than whatever the woman had been raving about.

  When she hadn’t been able to get a single word in, she’d figured out Aleena wouldn’t provide any of the many answers she wanted.

  More and more, this was starting to feel like some sort of nightmare.

  She pressed her fingers to her temples.

  “What’s wrong?” Damon asked.

  “I have a headache. Do you have some magical way to fix this, too?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do.” Before she could stop him, Damon closed the door and was once again standing within touching distance. He certainly had a problem with personal space—he didn’t know the meaning of it.

  Alex made a move to step back, but he put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her steady. “You don’t have to run away from me. I won’t hurt you.” His green eyes were twinkling but still amused. He removed her hand from her temple, softly replacing it with his. He then rubbed his fingertips over her skin in small, circular motions, until the throbbing completely faded. “Does it feel better?”

  She swallowed. He certainly knew how to get her sensual juices flowing. How could innocently massaging away a headache make her gut clench with desire? She managed a nod.

  “Good. Now, I need you to sit down so I can fix your arm, as well as take a look at the other wound on your hand.” Damon turned away, leaving her a little breathless. He grabbed a small, wooden cart pressed against the wall and wheeled it toward her.

  They were inside a vast room with a bed, a large armchair, and several wooden storage units. The walls were all painted white, and a significant, curved window was placed opposite the bed. Not bad for a guest room.

  It looked like the lady of the planet had assigned this hunk as Alex’s keeper, while he’d decided to be her protector. Maybe he can help me in other ways, too. The way he kept holding and touching her, she wouldn’t be able to control herself much longer.

  “Damon, you need to be straight with me,” she sighed. “I have no idea what the blonde woman was talking about. Most of the time, I don’t even know what you’re babbling on about, either.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can, but not until you let me heal you.” The seriousness made him even more appealing. He reached for her arm and helped maneuver her into the armchair.

  She sat down. Being forced to spend too much time alone with this man would definitely lead to a lot of trouble. There was something between them, and she couldn’t deny it. It echoed in the way he looked at her—the small smile continually curving the corners of his mouth. She didn’t want to analyze it too closely just yet. I’m certainly not going to admit it out loud, either.

  Right now, she wanted her skin repaired and properly bandaged. With a resigned sigh, Alex removed her jacket.

  Damon looked at her while he grabbed a short stool. He placed it directly in front of her and sat down. He was positioned very close, with his long legs spread apart for better access to her wounds.

  “So, what do you want to know?” He unwound the makeshift bandage he’d made out of a piece of his previous shirt.

  While the
woman, Aleena, had walked with Alex across the most beautiful gardens she’d ever seen, Damon had disappeared long enough to change his shirt. Now, he wore a cream-colored, sleeveless shirt with a cord keeping the top of it together—definitely not enough to conceal most of his impressive chest. Matching pants covered his legs and fell over his bare feet. She’d noticed most people here walked around barefoot, but Alex decided to keep her boots on…for now.

  “I want to know everything.”

  “Okay, but where would you like me to start?” he asked, pausing to raise his dark eyebrows at her.

  “How did you know where to find me?” To be honest, Alex didn’t know where to start. This situation seemed surreal. He was affecting her so much, she couldn’t think straight.

  He dropped the dirty bandage on the cart beside him and met her eyes. The intensity in his stare made it hard to breathe.

  “Can you stop looking at me like that?” she blurted. Alex was starting to get annoyed with those bedroom eyes. The smoldering looks he kept giving her were playing havoc with her body. She couldn’t help but fantasize about what his long fingers would feel like all over her naked flesh. Would his eyes hold the same intensity while touching her? Or was this part of his seduction? Maybe he was just a tease.

  “How am I looking at you?” He grabbed the small washcloth floating inside a porcelain bowl filled with water.

  “Like you’re…like…”

  “Yes?”

  “Ah, never mind,” she said with a frustrated sigh. What was the point? One way or another, she already knew where this would lead. “Just answer my first question. How did you know where to find me?”

  “I didn’t.” Damon dabbed the washcloth against her arm, cleaning it. “You fell onto Eden hours ago, so I think you must have been unconscious for a while.”

  “Yeah, I was.” The watch wrapped around her uninjured wrist had confirmed it. She winced.

  “Sorry,” he said, dabbing softly. “I spent hours out there and walked past the same spot many times before you fell on me.”

  Heat rose up her neck and face. She cleared her throat. “That doesn’t explain why you were looking for anyone.”

  “Oh, yes. Priestess told us of the breach.”

  So, they did have ways of knowing when someone neared or entered their atmosphere. It gave her hope for getting out of here.

  “This must be terribly confusing for you,” Damon said with a small smile. “If it’s any consolation, we’ll take very good care of you. Priestess Aleena has been talking about the prophecy of the space traveler since I was a kid.”

  “You sure know how to make a girl feel special.” Special…and weird.

  “Alex, you are special, and not just because of the prophecy. Magic is woven deep inside you. I can feel it.”

  “Listen, you’re gonna have to stop with the magic talk, okay? I’ve already told you. I don’t believe in it.”

  “Just because you don’t believe in it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Were either of your parents magic users?” He dried the skin of her forearm with a small towel.

  She snorted. “No.” If either one of her parents had access to any sort of mumbo-jumbo, she would’ve known about it, because they’d have used it for self-gain.

  Damon stared at her for a moment. “Would you like me to show you some magic?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to pull a rabbit out of a hat or something? Trust me, I’ve paid good credits to see many an illusionist. Although most are good, they’re all frauds at heart, using sleight of hand and other acts of trickery.”

  Alex had been involved with an illusionist—a man who lived in a spaceport on the other side of the galaxy. Wondrous William had amazed her with a great many illusions, both in and out of the bedroom, but mostly he was good at swindling credits out of her. Will had been trying to contact her for weeks, but she’d ignored every message he sent to Promise during her stay on the Anteris Space Station.

  It was just her luck to now be stranded on a planet where magic and prophecies existed. It would have been easier to live the rest of her days naked on Zeal, the Aphrodite-worshipping planet.

  “There’s no trickery in magic.” Damon dropped the washcloth back into the bowl and placed the towel beside it. Then, he leaned over, pulling her arm closer to his face.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just relax and watch, okay?”

  Damon’s mouth hovered over her skin, and for a second, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he didn’t. Instead, he blew a line of warm breath along the cut he’d made when scraping the worms out.

  A shiver raced through her body. The skin of her forearm tingled—a thousand tiny pinpricks soothing her so much, she wanted to lean back into the armchair and close her eyes to the unbelievable sensations. Her nipples tightened inside her bra, and something hot stirred between her legs. For a moment, Alex felt as if she was going to have an orgasm.

  “Don’t close your eyes. Keep watching,” Damon whispered. His breath made her skin buzz.

  She squirmed in her seat but kept her eyes pinned to her arm. Alex watched, in disbelief, as the separated skin blended with the rest of her arm.

  “What the hell?” She pulled out of his grasp to take a closer look. The wound was completely healed over. She ran her fingertips over the smooth skin. It felt and looked as if it had never been cut. “What did you do? How did you do it?”

  “I worked some magic to heal you.”

  “No, really. How did you do it?”

  “I used the arcane all around us and connected it to your own magic to heal you.” His eyes were bright with wonder.

  “I’ve already told you, I don’t have any magic!”

  He shrugged. “Every living soul has some sort of magic within them. Wouldn’t you say that being alive is magical enough?”

  She didn’t answer. She just kept looking at her flawless skin. There wasn’t even a scar to mark where he’d cut her.

  “There are some who have it inside them but don’t know how to connect to it, but I can help you with that.”

  “No, thanks.” Alex refused to believe his insane claims. They lived in a time of technology and space travel, where most of the galaxy’s population chose to live inside space stations rather than on planets. Yet this place was different, starting with the tall walls surrounding the gardens, all the way to those hideous bird beasts, and whatever other dangers lurked outside this seemingly safe sanctuary.

  What was she doing here? More importantly, how the hell was she going to get out?

  “In time you’ll feel it, yourself. You won’t be able to hold it back any longer,” Damon said.

  “I don’t intend to be here too long.” Alex met his gaze with a harsh glare.

  Something crossed in front of those gorgeous green irises and seemed to disappear just as quickly. “I don’t wish to have the same conversation with you over and over again, Alex. It seems like you continue to dwell on the fact that you’ll soon leave, but you won’t. This is where your destiny lies—”

  “My destiny is out in space, delivering cargo.”

  “No, your destiny is here with me.” His jaw was clenched tight, gaze pinned on hers. He lowered his voice and said, “Besides, carrying stolen cargo originating from our planet isn’t exactly a destiny.”

  Alex didn’t bother to ask him how he knew for sure when she hadn’t confirmed anything about the liquid.

  She tried to keep the goosebumps at bay, but they were spreading all over her body. “No, your destiny is here with me.” Why would someone who was practically a stranger say something so bizarre? It reminded her of Ulric’s confession of love. What was going on? Why was everyone acting so strangely around her? Even Sackor’s sleazy advances had increased in tenacity lately.

  “Besides, you n
eed to help us,” Damon said.

  “From where I stand, it doesn’t look like your society needs any help.”

  Damon dropped his gaze and took her injured hand in his. He unraveled the bandage she’d wrapped around the Sackor-induced wound and stared at it silently, for too long.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “How did you get this wound?”

  “Someone accidentally scratched me.”

  “I think it’s infected.” He reached for the washcloth again and rinsed it to clear off the blood clinging to it. He wrung the excess water out and dabbed at the taut skin between her thumb and index finger.

  She winced at the instant sting and tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held on tighter. “Don’t move. I need to clean this before it gets any worse. Tell me who did this to you.”

  “An idiot. It’s not important.”

  “This might take some time to heal.”

  “Can’t you just blow on it and make it go away?” She wasn’t comfortable with his bogus claim to magic, but if it made the sting and the ugly redness disappear, she was all for it.

  “I don’t think it’ll work on this.” Damon seemed to be concentrating a little too hard on her hand.

  “Can you at least try?” She met his eyes with the same intensity he used with her. Why would his mojo-magic only work selectively? Now, that sounded far-fetched.

  Damon nodded and lifted her hand to his mouth. He pressed his lips together and blew out a soothing breath, making her giddy.

  Alex closed her eyes to once again enjoy the sensations travelling along her skin. She opened them in a rush and watched the open skin seal then split again within seconds. “What the hell just happened?”

  “Whoever did this to you wanted to make sure it couldn’t be healed,” Damon answered, frowning.

  “Why?” Questioning, or trying to understand, Sackor’s motivations seemed a waste of time. The bastard always had a reason for everything he did. No matter how corrupt or creepy.

  Damon took a closer look. “This looks like a marking of some sort.” He leaned forward, and the proximity of his body made her nervous. He smelled so nice.