by Anna Lewis
“Please, rise,” the king told her.
“It is an honor to meet you and to have been able to treat your wife, Your Majesty. Thank you for your gracious hospitality,” Raven spoke softly before she felt the charge of Eoch’s hand on her shoulder. He helped her to her seat while King Vohdar made his way toward Queen Ozhenia.
The fanfare blared as the King of Xulara made his entrance and grand return to the palace. With the queen by his side, they motioned for the festivities to commence. Raven was in shock and awe as they watched from high above the soiree. Their tables sat on a mezzanine type platform that overlooked everything.
“This is unbelievable,” Raven’s smile couldn’t be contained. “Do we get to go down and mingle with the guests?”
Eoch cocked his head to the side with a slight chuckle. “Do your leaders mingle with guests at large celebrations?”
“HA!” Raven scoffed. “Not without an army of security around them.”
“We prefer to avoid that. The Xularese, and all others, have a firm understanding that the Royal family shall not interact in a setting as vast as this. We allow a select few to enter the palace ballroom and the rest of the celebration takes place at different venues around the planet. Even the few that you see here aren’t allowed anywhere else but this ballroom.”
“That makes sense, especially with your father here,” she nodded.
Their conversation continued through the night and they even shared a dance or two. It was all magical as they ended up walking through the palace garden while the celebration wound down.
The black dirt paths glistened under Xulara’s four moons. The subtle movements of the plants around them only lent motion to the ambiance around them. It was the perfect way to the end the night.
“You know my father wants to have a private dinner with you as a thank you for what you have done here. I would like to thank you as well,” he smiled.
Lacing his fingers through hers, the charge was subtle, or maybe Raven was getting used to it. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently.
“There’s something magnificent about you. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before. And believe me they’ve been trying to marry me off since my crown was fitted,” Eoch laughed.
“And how would they feel about this,” she held their interlocked fingers up into the moonlight.
“They could feel how they want,” he shrugged. “I choose who I want to be with. There’s nothing anyone can say or do about that. While they would prefer me to be with royalty, it isn’t the law of the land. Mother has made it very apparent that she wants me to be happy, as happy as she and father are together. You’re the only person who I’ve ever felt this charge with. I can’t let this go. I will not let you go.”
Raven was floored by his proclamation. It moved her. Her heart skipped a beat as he moved in closer to her. With their eyes locked onto each other, Eoch kissed her. Their lips pressed together with a passion that appeared to be emboldened by the light of the moons.
Engulfed by the moment, Raven melted into his arms as Eoch held her tight. The heat of his tongue warmed her entire body. Her pussy quivered with anticipation and excitement as she wondered what making love to a Xularese prince would feel like. All her inhibitions were gone the moment she opened her mouth and her heart to Prince Eoch.
The ground was softer than Raven imagined as Eoch laid her down right there in the middle of the garden. His hands travelled all over her body, removing her dress, exploring every inch of her tender flesh. The tingling sensation that accompanied his fingertips grazing her most sensitive areas was orgasmic.
Raven moaned with every pass of his fingers. The warm sensation of his tongue soon followed that. Eoch moved around her body like a skilled surgeon, and his tongue was his scalpel. He was exacting, following her responses, being especially gentle. It was better than any lover Raven had ever been with.
Panting, trying to catch her breath, she pushed back on Eoch to gaze into his eyes. His face was covered in the shimmering powder her body was doused in. A sweet and tender smile spread across her lips. Just when she thought she was going to protest them going any further, she threw caution to the wind. “Let me see and taste you too.”
“Your wish is my command.” Eoch grinned seductively as he rose to sit on his knees. He let the metallic kilt fall to the ground revealing a long, thick, navy blue cock.
Raven’s eyes lit up as she watched Eoch undress and let his grey hair fall around his shoulders. She truly thought him to be gorgeous. Without hesitation, she went to him, stroking him gently until the throbbing flesh between his legs firmed tightly in her grip. It was warm with a very low vibration.
Her mouth wrapped around the tip. Eoch tasted sweet, earthy… He was able to fill her mouth as she began to move up and down around him. His groans egged her on. She used her tongue as masterfully as he’d used his and she wanted more. More is what she got when she released him from her mouth and let Eoch slide into her waiting wet walls.
He moved with so much rhythm that Raven lost herself. She didn’t care that they were of two different species. She didn’t care that this violated most of her own professional codes of conduct. She didn’t care that they weren’t being safe. Their bodies moved as if they were in sync with the breeze moving through the night air.
Love was in the air that night. It was undeniable what Raven felt for Eoch. She was enamored with him. There was barely anything they had in common except for what they felt whenever they touched. It was electric. It was charged. And in this garden, it was everything Raven could have hoped for in a lover. Their bodies together, wrapped in their lust, rolling in love. Raven wished for it to never end.
Chapter 6
The door to King Vohdar’s study was larger than Raven remembered. Only a few days had gone by since she met the queen to discuss her attending the celebration. She’d been summoned by the king to meet him there and her expectations were to finish the discussion they’d began the night before. However, when she entered the room there was a much more somber tone than grateful.
“Good afternoon, King Vohdar,” she curtsied to greet him.
The more she looked at the king the more she saw Eoch in him. Their presence was indescribably similar. But she put thoughts of Eoch out of her mind to focus on why the leader of Xulara had called for them to meet privately.
“Please have a seat,” he motioned for her to sit at his desk. Vohdar stood tall in front of the large window. He gazed out at the land before him, never looking directly at Raven. After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat and asked her outright, “What is your relationship with Eoch?”
Her cheeks flushed a shade of crimson as thoughts of their passionate night replayed in her mind. Raven wasn’t sure how to answer the question, so she did so as vaguely as possible.
“We have become close during this time that I’ve been caring for your wife. I believe we care about each other. Our friendship is something we both appreciate and cherish.”
He held his hand up for her to stop speaking. A subtle groan escaped his lips. “And do you believe it’s suitable for someone of my son’s stature to associate himself with someone like you?”
Raven didn’t like where this conversation was headed as she replied sarcastically, “Well while your son is considerably taller than myself, it didn’t pose a problem for us relating to each other. I think he rather likes me this short, but I’m tall for an Earthling female.”
“Your humor is unwarranted, Doctor Glass. You are aware that you were brought here under the premise to care for my wife and you are violating that contract by fraternizing with my son. I appreciate all that you have done here, and you shall be paid for services rendered, but I cannot continue to allow your presence here. You are a disruption to the plan I have set forth for Eoch and you shall return to your home planet immediately. You are dismissed!”
“Wait,” Raven’s heart thumped against her chest. She could hear her pulse pounding in her
ears as she hadn’t realized the seriousness of the discussion. “I apologize for my crude comment. You’re right. It was unwarranted and I sincerely apologize but I can’t just leave. What about the queen? She needs me! I can’t just disappear. I must say goodbye to everyone, I need time to pack. I’m not ready to go!”
“It’s already done,” he waved her out of his study. Raven closed her eyes trying to fight back her tears wondering if she would get to see Eoch before she left. That idea became void as she exited the study to find Guarin waiting for her in the hall with all three of his eyes glued to the ground.
“I am terribly sorry, Doctor Glass. Your things have been gathered and your notes have been confiscated. The shuttle awaits your presence for its immediate departure back to Earth,” he told her in a calm tone.
Tears streamed down Raven’s cheeks as she walked through the palace wondering when she would be able to return; if ever. It was as if the halls emptied just for her exit. No one was around. Hopes of seeing Eoch were dashed as she made it aboard the shuttle without spotting a single inhabitant of Xulara.
Staring at Guarin, she bent down to hug him. “Thank you for all that you have done for me while I was here. I appreciate you. And if you could give a message to Prince Eoch for me?”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he whispered looking around. “The king is very upset with your relationship with him. I do not wish to upset him any further.”
“Please, just tell him to call me in about a week or so. I should be home by then. That’s all. If I don’t hear from him, then,” she paused to stifle her tears, “then I’ll know that his father’s word trumps his own. Thank you again Guarin. It has been an honor to work with you.”
Raven didn’t wait for him to respond. She didn't wait for him to agree to relay her message. She simply boarded the shuttle and strapped in for a long ride home.
Even with a week of travelling through space, Raven’s thoughts about Eoch made that time seem like an eternity. She also wanted to check on Queen Ozhenia. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach telling her all of her work would go down the drain if she wasn’t there to monitor her health. But that was no longer her concern. There was nothing left for her to do but to get back into her regular life back on Earth.
Her mood was dismal; her bedside manor deplorable; and her own physical presence was different as Raven sat around her office waiting for her appointments to begin filling up once again. She found herself to be irritable and nauseous more days out of the week than not. It was noticed by everyone around her as well.
It was Tracy who pointed it out first as she bopped into her office, with a bubbly attitude, a couple of weeks after Raven had returned. Her smile wasn’t contagious, and Raven found it to be quite annoying. “What do you want, Doctor Monroe?”
“Rae,” she wiped the grin off her face, “I only came in to check on you. I’m sorry if I bothered you. But your attitude stinks and I’m worried about you.”
Raven nodded but she couldn’t find the words to speak as the room began to spin, her stomach did somersaults and she flung her face into the nearest trashcan to empty out the contents of her breakfast.
“Yikes,” Tracy scrunched up her face as she moved to Raven’s side, holding her hair back while she vomited into the pail. “Maybe you should go home.”
“I’m fine,” Raven spat and then took a sip of some water. “I’m sure it’s just something to do with the adjustment after travelling.”
“That’s possible,” Tracy sighed. “Maybe you should still go home and get some rest until your body adjusts to being here again. I can run some tests on you just to be sure it isn’t anything contagious.”
“FINE!” Raven snapped. “Just run your stupid tests so I can get the hell out of here.”
“It’s going to be okay Rae. Whatever happened on Xulara, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m sure that it’s all going to be okay,” she told her softly before exiting the room.
Losing her temper with Tracy was unacceptable to Raven and she knew she’d have to apologize to her friend and partner when she returned. But there was something wrong, and she wasn’t sure it was all going to be okay. She was angry and sick all of the time, and she’d been back on Earth for a few weeks already. The space lag should have passed.
Tracy knocked tenderly before stepping into the office with her face frozen in an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry Tracy,” Raven sighed. “I’ve been unbearable these past few weeks and I guess I just miss Xulara, and I left in such a rush that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. No one’s contacted me with updates in regard to the queen’s health. I had a thing with the prince, but even he hasn’t reached out to me. I guess I’m feeling like I wasn’t even there. The only proof I have is the money I was paid but that just doesn’t seem like… I don’t know what I want.”
“It’s okay, Rae,” Tracy moved around her to take some blood and mouth swabs. “Like I said before, I’m sure it’s all going to be okay. Let me take this stuff to my lab and I’ll have your results back in a few minutes. Then you can go home and get some rest. Maybe you should have taken that vacation like you wanted.”
“Maybe you’re right about that,” Raven attempted a smile. She just didn’t feel like herself. A vacation sounded just right, but when Tracy came back into the room she wasn’t sure if a vacation was what she needed. “What’s wrong?!”
“Um,” Tracey hemmed and hawed, dancing around whatever her analysis sheets showed her. “Um, when you said you and the prince had a thing, did you two happen to sleep together?”
“Why?”
“Rae, you’re pregnant.”
Chapter 7
Raven did the math over and over again as she sat in the den of her parents’ house waiting for the dinner of all dinners. She would have to tell them that she was pregnant. Pregnant with an alien prince’s baby, who she was no longer allowed to see. It wasn’t such a rare occurrence, but Raven had never thought that it would happen to her. She forced Tracy to run her tests over and over again, but blood doesn’t lie. She was pregnant and it explained her mood and her queasiness. She couldn’t believe that she allowed herself to forget about her own birth control while on Xulara. Blinded by lust…that’s the excuse she was going to give her parents. That was going to be her excuse and she was sticking to it.
The dining room felt claustrophobic as Raven spoke to her parents. She’d told them just about everything from her trip to Xulara, except the most important part. Her brother kept eyeing her suspiciously, but she hoped that he wouldn’t blurt out something crazy. Or perhaps he should to distract them from the truth.
“What’s going on with you?” Bryce whispered to her. His hair was blonde, but they shared the same cool grey eyes.
“Nothing!” she hissed at him.
“Whatever it is, you need to tell them before you get called off the planet again,” he joked.
Raven knew he was right, so she blurted it out, “I’m pregnant with Prince Eoch of Xulara’s baby.”
Silence fell upon the room as Bryce’s jaw dropped and her parents stared at her waiting for further explanation.
“I’m sorry if this is a disappointment to you, but it’s happened. I don’t want to get rid of it. I’m curious as to what’s going to happen, but I wanted you to know before I just showed up here waddling or whatever.”
It took a moment for the news to register before they began pelting her with questions. She answered all of them to the best of her knowledge but many of those answers ended up being a solid, “I don’t know.”
Dinner felt like a disaster, but by the time Raven made her way home, her family was on board to support her no matter what her decision was. Although, her mother made her opinion blatantly clear that she thought Eoch did it purposely as some sort of Conquer the Human Conquest. She was disgusted by the idea of an alien grandchild, but Raven promised her it was going to be okay. She wasn’t sure how true that statement wa
s, but she pushed so hard on them she believed it herself. And in reality, things were going to be fine. Her finances were in order. She had enough support, and above all else, a baby conceived out of what she felt was love was off to a much better start than one conceived under different circumstances.
Sitting at home, alone in her bedroom, Raven thought of the possibility of telling Eoch about their child together. She looked at her phone wondering if she should send the message. She’d picked it up and put it down several times before she actually scrolled through her contacts only to see Guarin’s face.
There wasn’t a direct line to Eoch, or any of the royal family. She’d relied on Guarin once, but she wasn’t sure if the alien relayed her message, or if he did and Eoch chose not to respond. Either way, she didn't want to be the one forcing this relationship. So she put her phone down and tried to get some sleep.
It was nearly two in the morning when Raven was woken up by the vibrations of her phone on the nightstand beside her bed. Groggy, cranky, and nauseous, she answered the call without looking to see who it was, “What do you want? And why are you calling me at this godforsaken hour?”
“Why haven’t you returned any of my calls?” Eoch snarled back at her.
Raven sat up immediately, looking to the face on the screen, she pushed the projector button to allow the call to expand. Eoch’s face enlarged to the size of a television screen. She became angry, “What calls?! I’ve heard nothing from you since I’ve been home!”
“When Guarin told me you left, I went to stop the shuttle immediately but it was too late. I’ve been leaving you video messages at your office whenever possible. It’s taken Guarin weeks just to get this number. Where are you? You must come back to Xulara at once!”