by Alyx X
Then I turned to my desk and activated my device. I had to show Tessa how much I wanted her in my life, how much I truly considered her my equal. and to do that I had to take a chance on removing the biggest obstacle of all.
I scrolled through my contacts. There it was. The Terran Project. I pressed the button to call and speak to my rep, a grin on my face as fresh hope surged through me that I could actually fix this.
22
Tessa
My nose tickled as soon as I woke up. I hadn’t even opened my eyes, and my first thought was of Izon. He’d sent flowers to my room every day since I had stormed out of his office. Actual flowers—gorgeous, brightly colored ones with big, soft petals that felt like the fabric of the fine clothes he’d given me. Those and smaller, dainty flowers with pale blooms in a perfect baby-mouth pucker. They all smelled heavenly, although they were perhaps a little overbearing as they covered every flat surface in my small room.
Not to mention, I’d started to wonder if I was recently deceased. Where I’d lived on Earth, we’d usually only been able to afford flowers for the dead. They were such a precious commodity and we needed them growing in the ground by government decree.
I opened my eyes to the latest bouquet, probably smuggled into my room by Gabby on her quietest feet. Almost against my better judgement, I reached for the folded cardboard buried among the blooms. I’d grown used to seeing my name, like a series of slashes in Izon’s masculine handwriting. Just the sight of it set off fluttering in my stomach and heat between my legs.
All of his notes told me how sorry he was and how he’d work to regain my trust, but how could I believe him? He’d reacted so poorly to both his father’s harsh words, and my worry that I wasn’t right for the throne. Excusing that, he’d deliberately tested me, playing a game with my feelings, and I wasn’t ready to forgive him for that yet. Instead I avoided him and his explanations as much as possible. So far he seemed to be respectful of that—letting me look after the children and not inserting himself into our space, although that couldn’t continue forever, either.
The children missed him spending time with us all together, and they didn’t understand what had gone wrong. It’s not like I could leave while I figured everything out, either. I didn’t want the kids to think I was just going to disappear, to just be another adult who let them down.
It was all such a mess, and I was mostly sad more than angry now. I missed Izon. I missed the feel of his arms around me, the beat of his heart when I rested my head against his chest, the growl of his dragon when I flicked my tongue across the tip of his cock… Shit. Even now my pussy grew wet at the thought of him. I wanted him still.
Damn the man. I was angry at him, sad over him, yet I wanted him. How could I fucking work out how to feel?
I groaned and swung my legs out of bed, trying to avoid knocking the latest blooms over. At this rate, reaching my closet next week would be like trying to hack my way through the vegetation outside.
I really didn’t have time to either worry about the lack of space in my room—although it made me miss Izon’s room all the more—or think about how I felt about Izon. The children and I had some appointments and errands to run in the local town today, and it was rare we took a moment to escape the confines of the house.
I clung to Vike’s hand as he pulled me from a market stall, to a shop window, and back to another stall, but I was happy to follow his lead. His enthusiasm was infectious, and I loved the sights, the sounds, and the smells. I cradled Luka in a papoose against my front, and Jari walked a few steps between us, too old to be seen with her nanny but too young to be without me at all. Dyan followed at a slightly farther distance, but never far enough away to be unsafe.
This island never felt unsafe, though. The people here were kind. Welcoming. They loved Izon, and they loved his kids. And today, they seemed to also love me.
It started with one of the stallholders. He passed Vike a fresh, red apple, and Vike giggled as he crunched into it.
“What do you say?” I nudged him to remind him of his manners.
“Thank you!” Vike yelled his response triumphantly, and I hid my smile over the complete lack of humility in his disposition.
“Your Majesty.” The stallholder bowed his head in my direction, and I nodded back before spinning away, perplexed.
Perhaps he was new, but it didn’t stop with him. Shopkeepers and other market stall owners bowed to me as often as they did to the children, and I checked a time or two to see if Izon was standing behind me. Dyan behaved like he didn’t notice the new behavior, which was also weird. In fact, his casual dismissal of it bordered on too casual, and I was glad when the children and I arrived at the small café I’d reserved for our lunch.
“Your Majesty!” The owner swept toward me on a bubble of effusive hospitality and I shrank away before standing tall. Your Majesty?
“Oh thank you, but uh, Tessa is fine,” I said.
She frowned but recovered herself quickly. “I’ve prepared a private table for your party over here.” She gestured over to a secluded corner, away from onlookers and the type of curious stares we’d never received before.
I was glad when we sat down. Dyan remained standing of course, but I waved him over.
“Dyan,” I hissed.
He looked at me.
“Things feel…different today.” I felt stupid not being able to explain myself fully. “Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn’t things be okay?”
He had a point. Of course things were fine. I was out with the children, the weather was lovely, and— I stopped there. Because nothing was really fine while things were still broken with Izon.
Our server approached, the same teenager who always waited on us when we came to town. She stopped directly in front of me and swept into the lowest curtsey I’d ever seen. I was caught between admiring her flexibility and utter confusion at her strange behavior.
“Your Majesty,” she began, her voice excited. “The whole town is so happy at the news.”
“What…what news?” Suspicion began to creep through me.
“The news that you are to be our Queen!” An unspoken of course flickered across her face, but she quickly replaced it with a smile nearly wider than her face. She clasped her hands to her chest. “We’re just so happy for the children and The King.” She gestured around our table.
I blinked. The new Queen? Seriously, Izon? Sometimes, it would be nice to be consulted.
“Oh, uh, thank you, yes of course..” I sputtered, unsure what to say in this situation. At least this explained why everyone had been behaving so strangely today. They all looked at me as their new Queen.
We ate our meal, but our return journey to the palace wasn’t the same leisurely walk we’d taken through the market on the way to the café. I felt too vulnerable, too exposed, even with Dyan at my back.
What had Izon done? What did all of these people think they knew about me? I had to get back to the house. Typically, Vike dawdled, not caring about my hurry now he didn’t see the reason to run and skip.
But eventually, I was able to pile the children into our waiting car, and the ride home went smoothly. Once inside, Dyan plucked Luka from my arms and shooed the other two into the library to wait for him.
“There are some things waiting for you in your room,” he said, and he nodded toward the main stairs, redirecting me when I started past him to the staff staircase. “More flowers?” I rolled my eyes, but turned toward my room.
I walked up each step slowly, admiring the crystal droplet chandelier, as always, and looking ahead to meet Lyra’s familiar and knowing gaze. Only she wasn’t there. The spot that typically held her commanding gaze had been replaced with a painting of flowers. Typical. Ordinary. The hallway seemed strangely empty without her watching over it, and I hurried past, quickening my steps to reach my room.
Once inside, I breathed in the now familiar and overpowering perfume of an abundance of flower
s and closed my eyes briefly as I leaned against my door. I’d just get washed up then I could return to the children.
When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was the gorgeous dress, the color of Izon’s magnificent green scales, including their shimmer, and I sank down the door until I sat on my ass on the carpet. A note had been pinned to the low neck of the dress, and I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out the words, but all I could see was the familiar slash of letters.
Izon
What was he doing? What was going on?
I watched the dress for a little longer—like I expected it to leap from its hanger and dance toward me or something, but when it didn’t move, curiosity got the better of me. I stood up and unpinned the note. It was simply an address. I flipped it over, but Izon hadn’t written anything more. Damn him. He was probably somewhere laughing at me and my confusion.
I was tempted to refuse his clumsy directive. But as much as it might be quite satisfying to tell that asshole of a man no, I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I missed him.
And possibly above that, I needed to see him. If only to ask him why everyone seemed to expect me to be his next Queen.
I drew the dress from the hanger, and the material fell in a shining pool over my arm. It was stunning. After my shower, I slipped it on, and it whispered against my skin, clinging across my breasts and around my narrow waist. Izon wanted me on display tonight, apparently. He had always loved my body. He’d worshipped it often enough.
I moved some flowers aside and slid into my chair to prepare my hair and make-up. I deliberately dusted the shimmery powder liberally down the side of my face and neck then across my collar bone. And I created an up-do that elongated my neck. I could almost feel his kisses on my skin, and I shivered as a pulse of desire rocked me.
When I was finished, I descended the main stairs to an empty hallway. Izon wasn’t there. Instead, Dyan stepped out from the library.
“The car is ready for you outside,” he said.
I held out the piece of paper to him, and he shook his head.
“The driver has the address.”
I glanced out of the car window into the dark night. Dusk had claimed the island quickly and faded to the usual purple velvet pin pricked with stars. On the horizon, other small islands glowed with tiny lights, and I breathed out a sigh. I loved this life here. I couldn’t imagine any other.
The car slowed to a gentle stop outside the tiny restaurant Izon had brought me to on our first trip around the island, and I smiled at the happy memories it conjured. I stepped from the car and walked to the door but Izon pushed himself from the wall where he’d been leaning to watch my approach.
I froze, my heart suddenly beating a wild pulse in my throat. He was devastatingly gorgeous all in black. His blue-tinted skin gleamed in the moonlight, his scales shimmering as he moved. His gaze met mine, and he opened his mouth to speak. I almost didn’t want him to break this moment. I wanted to appreciate him forever, to drink him in and imagine him moving above me, inside me.
“Tessa, you look beautiful.” His voice was soft, and his gaze roamed my body appreciatively. He took the couple of steps down to me in a single bound and reached out for my hand. “I’m so sorry,” he said, the words rushing from him. It sounded like they’d been bottled up for a while. “I’m so sorry for the way I treated you and the words I used. I should never have let my father’s words get to me like that, and it was completely unfair for me to expect you to remain unaffected. I also shouldn’t have invited Alendra over to provoke a reaction from you. That was very wrong of me.”
I stared at him, unable to answer. I didn’t know how to agree without seeming rude, and I almost laughed at the thought.
He bowed his head. “I don’t have an excuse, but my feelings for you came swiftly. It took me a while to… I had to come to terms with the fact I was allowed to love you. That no one would see that and judge me or…” He trailed off and shook his head. “Because I do love you. I mean, I love you. I know you’re not Lyra. Of course I know that. You’re Tessa, and I’m happy for that, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.” I smiled inside at his words, noticing the jumbled way they had come out. He lifted his gaze, his beautiful red eyes softening as they met mine. “You make me so happy. You make my children happy, and we want you as part of our family.”
I shook my head as emotion threatened to overwhelm me. Tears rushed my eyes and I tried to blink them away.
“No?” His voice wavered.
I nodded. “No. I mean yes! Wait, did you ask a question?” I laughed as a tear broke free.
He shook his head. “I guess I didn’t, but I promise never to hurt you again.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper and handed it to me.
I opened it and my legs wobbled as I read the first line of text.
I looked back at him. “What’s this?” My voice barely croaked from my throat.
“It’s exactly what it says.”
“But…” I read it again. “You’re bringing my mother here?”
He nodded. “You should never have been separated.”
“You paid for her surgery? And her passage?” I almost couldn’t believe it.
He nodded again, his jaw set, and I saw a glimpse of the decisive king inside the man. “Of course. It was the least I could do.”
I leaned on him for support as I swayed and the world tilted. “Mom?”
“Of course.” He laughed. “I wouldn’t feel right marrying you without your mother present.”
It was all too much. I couldn’t hold the tears in, and I swatted my palm against his chest. “You asshole. This make-up took me a long time.”
“You look just as beautiful to me.” He pressed kisses to my cheeks and temple and drew me against him, holding me tight in his arms as I tried to swallow my sobs. “I love you, Tessa,” he murmured, “and I want nothing more than for you to be my Queen.”
We stood together until I finally shivered. “You did all this for me?”
“Yes. And once your mother is here, our family will be complete.” My heart clenched and a new round of sobs wracked through me.
Izon seemed to sense that my thoughts had wandered. “Hungry?” he asked, his voice low.
I shrugged. “Can we get it to go?” Suddenly, I didn’t want to sit in a restaurant among other people. I wanted Izon to myself, I wanted our privacy. I wanted to reclaim what was mine.
He chuckled. “I think I can arrange that. Do you have a reason for changing my carefully laid plans?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“Not really.” I shrugged carelessly but made sure the movement brushed the back of my hand against his cock.
I was rewarded with an instant bulge and he groaned. “Okay. Now I have to send the driver inside for our dinner. I don’t think my people should see their king walking around with a hard on. Even if it is for his Queen.” I smiled at the emphasis. Queen. Huh. That one would take some getting used to.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I replied. “Some of the women might quite like that, I teased.
“Hush,” he rumbled as he tilted my face up, angling my head to lean down and sweep his tongue over my lips. “I’ve missed that,” he murmured, and my pussy throbbed at the promise in his words.
We climbed into the back of the car, and he sent the driver inside the restaurant. Then he turned to me like he was about to say something, but I was too quick for him. I pressed my palm over his hard cock, seeking the fastenings to release him.
He grasped my wrist, pausing my kisses. “We can’t do this in the car. The driver could be back any moment.” But his voice didn’t really say no, and I grinned.
“Watch for him, then.” I slid to my knees in the spacious footwell and released his dick from his pants, smiling at him coyly from the floor as it sprang upright in front of me.
Then I leaned forward and pressed the softest of kisses to the underside of it.
He moaned. “I’ve missed that too,” he whispered.
He dug his fingers into my hair, and I drew back.
“Watch the hair,” I growled. “It took me ages.”
He laughed. “But no one is going to see—” He broke off, gasping as I closed my lips over the tip of him, toying with the fleshy pads. They were quick to react as always, swelling and signaling his arousal.
He inhaled sharply. “Shit, Tessa. I can smell you. I know how much you want me, and I you, but again this isn’t the best place...”
His words turned me on. The danger of getting caught also turned me on. “Is the driver on his way back?”
He shook his head.
“Add something to the order,” I said, returning to his twitching staff.
He slid his phone from his pocket and paused. “What though?”
“Whatever takes longest to make,” I growled impatiently as I slid my panties off.
I pressed them into his hand as he spoke to his driver, ordering two desserts and a random extra side, and he closed his eyes before bringing his fist and the crumpled scrap of fabric to his nose.
“Fuck,” he breathed as he ended his call. “Fuck. What are you doing to me?”
I grinned as I straddled him, my dress gathered around my waist. “Fucking you, Your Majesty.”
“Yes please,” he groaned as I positioned my pussy over his cock. “Yes, please.” He lifted his hips slightly toward me and inhaled a ragged breath. “You’re so wet.”
“Yes,” I agreed as I pushed down to meet him, his cock stretching me as I slid all the way onto him.
“Shit,” he gasped. “Oh shit, Tessa. You feel so good.” I captured his mouth with my own before he could continue, grinding his cock against my g-spot. One of his hands found its way to my covered breast and he made quick work of releasing it from its prison. He then drew his thumb teasingly over my nipple, toying with the sensitive skin. Our mouths continued to move together, tongues tangling, heated breath washing over each other. God, I had forgotten how good he tasted.