by Amanda Boone
“As they say on Earth, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Melanie rose and strode over to Jane. Linking their arms, she escorted Jane from the room. “Come on, Jane. We’ll stroll on the beach while the men strategize.”
Unable to believe the friendliness of this royal woman, Jane moved along beside her. Princess Melanie was definitely an Earth being; she belonged to the human race, apparently just as Jane herself had. But why did the princess have a human body? Why had she not needed a new one?
As they walked barefoot in the sand, Melanie chatted cheerfully with Jane.
“How much to you remember from Earth, Jane?” she wanted to know.
“Not much, I’m afraid. Things come to me in bits and pieces—like I have something wrong with my chest when I’m with your son. It feels tight. I know it means something, but I don’t know what. And for the life of me, I don’t know why I still know English.”
“Didn’t Tyr explain all of this to you?”
Jane shook her head. “I don’t think he cared. All he wanted to do was get me pregnant so he could have a child.”
“But, like Lynne,” Melanie said with a frown, “that hasn’t happened yet.”
“Actually, yes, it did. I was pregnant, but Tyr told Hermo’our that Tyr gave me a potion so I would lose the child.”
“That’s despicable! What’s wrong with that boy, anyway? I always thought he was odd, which is why I had never let him come here when the boys were growing up. Today was the first time I allowed it, and it was only because of you being from Earth.”
Although reluctant to pose any question to the monarch, Jane spoke hesitantly. “May I ask a personal question?”
“Please do. I have no secrets because I believe that royalty should be honest with their subjects.”
“Why don’t you look like the rest of the people on Cartonia?”
Melanie smiled. “Odin gave me choice—either take a new body, one that was adapted to Cartonia, and forget everything, or keep my body and remember everything. That meant I had to get used to living in this atmosphere, but that wasn’t hard at all. I visited mountains every year when my grandparents retired to Colorado.”
“I didn’t get a choice,” Jane admitted.
“I’m so sorry that Tyr wasn’t honest with you. I’m sorry for everything he’s done to you. You’re with my son now, though, so your life will improve.”
“But I won’t be with your son all the time. Until we stop this coup, I need to stay with Tyr.”
“That is a technicality. You will be at the palace every day and sometimes at night. You will become one of my ladies in waiting. Do you remember what those are?”
“Not really.”
“That’s okay. You’ll learn. The important part is that you won’t have to spend every day and every night with Tyr. Here’s what I think we should do, though.”
From there, Melanie explained that she wanted Jane to pretend that she hadn’t liked any of the family and that she was only going to be a handmaid so she could be around to listen for anything that might give the coup information.
When Melanie had said everything she believed Jane would need to do, they strode back to the palace. There Jane learned some of her duties as Melanie’s assistant, such as taking messages to others in the palace. This would give Jane access to all areas without question, Melanie decided, because she often needed help in delivering orders or requests while she was busy.
Chapter 6
Time passed, and Jane found it difficult to get used to the changes in days. She would be exhausted when it was daytime, as though it should be night on Earth. Then there were times she would sleep fine at night, while other times she would be wide awake. No wonder Lynne had told her that she didn’t know how old people were.
Tyr had been placed as a palace guard, and every night after work they discussed what had happened. Sometimes Lynne and Fenrir were present, but often it was just the two of them. If Fenrir wasn’t there, Tyr left after they spoke, probably to report to his uncle.
Although she saw Hermo’our every time she was at the palace, they never had a chance to speak. Each time he smiled at her, her heart seemed to skip a beat. She wanted to run to him and embrace him. She wanted to be near him. She wanted him to join with her again. In short, she wanted him!
But they couldn’t mate or even be in the same room for more than a short time because she was supposed to not like him. That was the whole reason of her staying with Tyr and conducting her spy operations for Odin. She would be more than thrilled when this deception was finished.
As she walked through the palace halls to deliver a message from Melanie to Odin, a door beside her opened. An arm shot out, grabbed her upper arm and pulled her into the room. Before she could react, Hermo’our put his hand over her mouth to keep her silent.
“I miss you,” he whispered.
“I miss you, too,” she replied in a like tone.
“Something in my chest happens whenever I see you. I feel like my heart will explode.”
“I do, too,” she admitted. “How long before this is over?”
“Hopefully, it won’t be long.”
Jane stared up at him in shock. She’d never heard him use contractions before. “You’re using contractions?”
How had she known to call it contractions? She brushed the notion off as just another memory from Earth, which were coming more often lately.
“Mom has spoken like that all my life. I know what they are, but I don’t use them often because Dad prefers that I don’t.”
“Then why does he let her use them?”
Hermo’our chuckled. “He once told me that he considers it one of her charming idiosyncrasies. And I’m also speaking your language because of Mom. She made sure that we spoke both Cartonian and English.”
Reaching out, he pulled her against him. Oh, how good it felt to be in his arms again! Unfortunately, this wasn’t something they should be doing. She needed to keep her distance.
“We could mate right here, Jane, right now,” Hermo’our said in a quiet, seductive voice.
He pushed his pelvis against hers and cupped her buttocks to hold her in place. She loved the feel of him, and she was tempted by his suggestion. To show that she wanted the same thing, she rubbed her body against his.
“I so wish we could do this, Hermie,” she said, using the name he told her to when she had so much trouble pronouncing his full name, “but I just don’t think it’s a good idea. This is a sitting room. Somebody could walk in on us. You know how your mother likes to spend time in them.”
“Mom is the one who suggested this,” he told her. “She said we could have time alone.”
“I want to be alone with you, too, Hermie, but what if Tyr comes in to see what’s happening. You know he checks the rooms regularly.”
Hermo’our kissed her, forcing his tongue into her mouth to reunite with hers. She melted closer to him as his arms moved upward and embraced her. Her excitement grew stronger as his hand slid between them to caress her covered breast. Unable to contain the bubble in her chest, she moaned into his mouth.
Then he moved, gently pushing her backward until her legs touched the settee. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her and laid her on the couch. Finally, he came down on top of her.
Breaking the kiss, he unzipped her jumpsuit and slid his hand inside to caress her breast. Despite the excitement that increased in her loins as he toyed with her nipple, she pushed his hand away.
“We can’t, Hermie. When this is over, we can be together forever—and as often as we want.”
“But, Jane…”
“No,” she insisted. “I don’t want to until Tyr and Fenrir are stopped. If one of them discovers that we’re so close, the whole plan will fall apart. Is that what you want?”
“Of course not,” he said as he sat up on the sofa. “But I want to be with you more than anything else—even this coup that Fenrir is conducting.”
“Then maybe we should s
peed things up. Why don’t you talk to your father about setting the plan in action now instead of later?” She scooted up until she sat on the settee. “Please, Hermie. Please talk to your father.”
“All right,” he acquiesced. “I will talk to him as soon as he is out of his meeting. You know the plan already, so I won’t have to contact you when it starts. You have all the information. The person who will alert you is Tyr. When he tells you about what he learned today, you will do exactly as we planned.”
“What if your father won’t agree?”
“I’ll convince him. Don’t worry. You go do whatever you were doing, and I’ll find Dad.”
“That’s exactly where I was going, to deliver a message from your mother.”
“I could escort you.”
“No. You follow. You know how Tyr lurks in the halls of the palace. He could see us without our knowing it.”
Before she could leave, Hermo’our swept her into his arms and kissed her again. He laid her back on the settee and unzipped her jumpsuit again. His hands roamed over her svelte body, working their way under her to remove her clothing. Unable to resist, Jane lifted her hips to aid in the process.
With her body fully exposed, Hermo’our scrambled out of his clothes. As his eyes scanned her entire body, he asked, “Are you going to say no again, Jane? Or can we do this?”
“Please, let’s do this,” she replied, barely able to get the words through the tightness in her chest. What was that feeling?
Starting at her ankles, Hermo’our slid his hands up her legs. When he got to her female area, he dropped to his knees and kissed it. Jane lifted her hips to give him better access, because she loved the feelings he caused when he did that.
He only focused there a moment, though, and turned his attention to kissing his way upward. First, he caressed each thigh, using his thumbs to taunt her excited womanhood. He moved on to her stomach and her ribs, still taunting her hot cavern. His slips locked on to her right nipple for a moment before his tongue slipped through her cleavage to the other nipple.
Jane could scarcely contain herself. Oh, how she wanted to feel him inside her again!
Removing his thumbs from her wet area, he pushed himself up far enough to watch himself position his organ. He slid it across her hot, wet opening three times then …
A soft noise caught her attention for a moment, but her focus was on Hermo’our as he slowly entered her body.
He slipped into her until their pelvises met, and then he moved back until he nearly left her entrance. This he did several times, drawing Jane closer to her satisfaction.
Unable to bear the taunting any longer, she grabbed his buttocks and thrust him into her as far as he would go. Hermo’our groaned with pleasure, while Jane ground her pelvis against his. Her body was ready, and she convulsed around his organ. Completely spent, she collapsed against the couch while Hermo’our pounded into her a few more times then released a masculine cry as he also finished.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” Jane said, “but I’m glad we did.”
“I am, too,” he replied. “Now you should dress and leave. We’ve already been in this room together too long.”
Chapter 7
At dinner that night, Tyr asked Jane about her day, and she told him everything except her encounter with Hermo’our.
“Everything was very innocuous and mundane. I ran errands for Princess Melanie and helped her with her needs.”
“I saw you come out of one of the sitting rooms.”
Struggling to maintain her composure, she inhaled deeply and exhaled through her mouth. “I should be ashamed, but I needed a little time to myself. It had been a busy had at that point.”
“I also saw Hermo’our come out of the room later, but he had not entered.”
“What are you saying?”
“That you two met, of course. You had a rendezvous with my cousin when you said that you do not like him.”
“I don’t. That doesn’t mean that he didn’t deceive me. He drew me into the room without my permission.” She felt like she was being interrogated and wanted to tell Tyr to stop, but she knew that she needed to play along so he didn’t get any more suspicious than he already was. “I left as soon as I could without being disrespectful to a member of the royal family.”
“He has always felt very much entitled to whatever he wants. I believe he wants you.”
“What he wants doesn’t matter,” Jane insisted. “I won’t let him near me again unless there are others present.”
“That is as it should be. Now that you are here on Cartonia, you cannot go back to Earth, so we will find you another mate. You are not right for me.” Without hesitating, he changed the subject. “Have you heard that Odin and Melanie are leaving town?”
“No,” she replied in fake surprise that she could only hope he would believe. “The princess hasn’t said anything to me about it.”
“They will leave soon, and Fenrir will take over the throne while they are gone. By the time they return, everything will be in place.”
“Do you know how long they’ll be gone?”
“I understand it will be an extended period.”
“This is what we’ve been waiting for!” she exclaimed in excitement. “A bloodless coup is so much better than fighting for what you want.”
“That is what I keep telling my uncle. I impress upon him that if he is patient, his time will come. Now it has. We will be living in the palace with him before we know it.”
“Wonderful! I can hardly wait to live there.” And that wasn’t a lie. She couldn’t wait to live there with Hermo’our, though, not Tyr.
***
Jane couldn’t believe that she was riding in a carriage drawn by two beasts that appeared to be a cross between a horse and a cow. Cartonia was place advanced enough to fly to another planet, yet their transportation was quite outdated. When she questioned Melanie about it, the princess explained that here people either walked or took a mode of transportation that conserved what little energy they had. That gave them plenty for any inter-planetary travel they needed to conduct.
In a way, Jane was impressed by their determination to be conservationists. One of the few things she remembered about Earth was the automobile. Most times, it got people where they were going efficiently and expediently. Here on Cartonia, however, people were in no hurry—seemingly ever.
“Where are we going, Melanie?” Jane asked after they had been on the road for a while.”
“To a palace on the other side of the mountain,” Melanie explained. “Odin wants us to be away in case there is trouble at this palace. That’s also why Hermo’our is escorting us. He doesn’t want his son and the heir to the throne in harm’s way.”
“I don’t understand why you would take me as your helper when you have others that have been with you much longer.”
“For several reasons. One, you proved your loyalty by telling my son of Fenrir’s plans. Two, you stayed with Tyr, even though you dislike him, so we would have our own spy in the group. And, three,” Melanie paused and smiled at Jane, “because Hermo’our would have it no other way. He wants you away from the action as much as Odin wants me away. My son loves you, although I don’t think he really understands what that means. Cartonians don’t seem to possess the ability to love. They merely commit to another.”
“I don’t understand what love means, either.”
“That was why I didn’t want to take another body when Odin brought me here. I wanted to remember those feelings. I wanted to remember falling in love with Odin.”
“And you did? You fell in love?”
“Absolutely. And it’s a wonderful feeling.”
“Do you mind if I ask what it’s like?”
Melanie smiled as the carriage rattled along. “It’s such a magical feeling that it’s hard to describe. You want a person more than anything. You want to be near him, even if you’re not engaged in mating. I get a feeling in my chest like something is squeezing
my heart, making it constrict until my chest feels tight.”
“I get that feeling!” Jane exclaimed, excited that there was a name for what she experienced whenever she was around Hermo’our. “It happens every time I get near …”
A flash of memory jolted her, and she stopped mid-sentence. A piece of machinery pinned a man to the ground. People gathered around him, trying to help him get out. Someone shouted, We’re losing him! More activity ensued until a man said, Call it, Sally. Jane knew that something was wrong, that her life had changed in that moment—or had it been before that moment when she’d met Tyr? The scene frightened her.
“You remembered something, didn’t you, Jane,” Melanie observed.
“I think I know where I was when Tyr came for me,” she admitted. “I think I had lost a loved one. Maybe my husband?”
“It’s possible, but I can’t tell you for sure. Tyr likely took his body before he died so he could mate with you on Earth. That seems to solidify the connection between the Cartonian and the human, and makes the human want to go away with him. You had no idea it wasn’t your husband when you two made love.”
“That’s it! He posed as my husband and abducted me. Tyr is an evil being, and I never want to see him again.”
“You won’t have to. Hermie will see that he doesn’t come near you.”
Chapter 8
She shouldn’t be there; Jane knew it, but she couldn’t let Hermo’our return for the coup without her. She needed to be there in case anything happened to him. Given her memory from Earth, she knew that she had been with one mate at the end. It was what she did; she stayed with her mate and comforted and encouraged him.
Princess Melanie had stayed at the palace on the other side of the mountain with three other servants, and she had begged Jane to stay as well, but Jane refused. This was something she must do.
Now Odin hid in the throne room, ready to pounce when it was time. This coup would never succeed because he had vowed not to let it. He insisted that he would thwart Fenrir before his cousin had a chance to even begin a take-over.