by Zara Zenia
"There was no ulterior motive in my request, Kelly. I really do want to get to know you."
"And after a date and a quarter, you think you have me pegged, your Highness," she asked, eyebrow quirked. "This I have to hear."
I rubbed my thumb over her fingers, staring into her sparkling silver eyes. There was a challenge there, as if she dared me to make sense of the few scraps she had given me.
How I love it!
"You are a woman who prefers not to be known," I said. "Not because you do not wish to be, but because you believe it’s advantageous not to. What you hear, you will not believe and what you see you will not trust. And you believe that with enough information, you will be, if not safe, at least able to defend yourself."
The challenge vanished from her eyes, replaced by pure shock. But, to my surprise, she didn’t look displeased with my answer.
"Go on," she whispered. "What else do you know?"
"The first dinner, you agreed, hoping to get more filler for your article. This time, you came because you wanted to. But you weren’t sure at first. You aren’t sure even now, although so far everything I’ve said has been accurate."
"That makes it sound like I don’t trust you. You’ve never lied to me, why wouldn’t I trust you?"
That was the heart of the issue wasn’t it. Why no matter how sure I had grown, no matter how eager I was to have her as mine, I could not use the scanner on Kelly. I couldn’t read anyone in the universe— Human or Trilyn —as I could read her, and though she wanted to, she had not yet fully opened herself to me.
Why?
"You’re still afraid," I said, the weight of the revelation settling heavily on my shoulders. "Of the Corbins and what they may represent. Of the palace that could just as easily be a fortress. Perhaps of what a life with me would mean."
"What would it mean? You said I wouldn’t eat alone unless I want to. What would the rest of my days be like?"
Something in Kelly’s voice called to me. I slid to my feet, crossing to her side of the table as I spoke.
"Sunrise comes early in my country. Most of the year, we would live near the mountains where it stays cool. The lakes there are much like the one outside, but the waters are clearer. As Prince, my duties are to the main crown and our people. As my mate, yours would be to our family and our people."
"You mean raising the children," she said, turning from me back to her cup of wine.
I knelt beside her, resting my hand on her knee. A rush of gratification ran through me when she didn’t pull away.
"I hope there will be children." Did I hope! "Let them have your silver eyes and my strength. Let them always feel safe and loved. May they never know a fear they do not have the courage to face. And may their father never encounter a desire of their mother’s he cannot fulfill."
"I want the same thing everyone here wants, Lortnam," she said. A tear rolled down her cheek. "To feel safe. It’s the great unifier among my people, and we’ve done some pretty terrible things in its name."
Taking her face in my hands, I brushed the tear away with my thumb. It was maddening not to understand their cause, but I knew not to ask her. She wouldn’t know the answer any more than I did.
"Then that is the final change. It is hope that unifies my people, Kelly," I whispered. "You need never fear for yourself when you are with me. If it takes my last breath, you will be safe."
Kelly’s eyes combed over my features in search of a lie. When she found none, her shoulders relaxed and she melted into my touch. A faint tremble shook her body. Thinking it might be from the cold, I wrapped my arms around her, bringing our bodies close together.
"I should have taken you someplace warmer," I whispered. "Let me take you over to the fire."
When I pulled back to look at her, there was no discomfort or fear in Kelly eyes. There were no tears either. They had been replaced by a deep hungry look that set her silver eyes ablaze.
A small noise escaped Kelly’s mouth. Without warning she leaned forward, pressing her lips against mine. The kiss was tentative at first, as if she wasn’t sure an obscure rule might bar her from the contact. I pulled her closer, savoring the taste of her on my tongue.
A wave of desire raced through me, making me hard in an instant. Yes, this was how things were meant to be. Kelly in my arms. Her lips on mine. On Earth, on Trilyn, it could be anywhere if she was there.
My driver's voice cut in from outside the tent. "Your Highness, the palace routed a message to my console. They say it's urgent."
"It damn well better be," I growled loud enough for him to hear.
Kelly giggled softly. As the sound danced in my ears, I realized it was the first of its kind I had heard from her.
"The interruptions you forgot to mention," she said, the tease coming back to her voice.
This woman! I disentangled myself from her and climbed to my feet. With one last look over my shoulder at her delicious body curled on the plush rugs, I stepped out of the tent.
Outside, an expression of deep reluctance was etched on the driver's face. He passed me his pad, which held a photograph and a message from Special Agent Yadav.
New photos pulled from nearby camera. Still tracing these three, but almost sure they're working with Jake. All still in the wind. Watch yourself.
Dread settled over me as the words sunk into my brain. What a fool I had been, hoping for one night away from the responsibilities of my throne, from the plots and schemes meant to drive my family away from Earth.
If they didn’t get us killed first.
I swiped back to the photograph. The grainy, blue-tinted photograph held three Humans of average height, all men with pale skin and eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. I couldn’t have picked the three men out of a crowd if I tried. It was doubtful Rachel would do any better, if she could be persuaded to drop her heroic fable long enough to remember the truth.
Suddenly, the serene hillside camsite seemed too open and exposed to be safe. Could they have followed us here? Was Kelly in danger? No, the attack on the cultural center had relied on me following a schedule set weeks in advance. Nobody had known I planned to take Kelly to dinner until that afternoon.
I passed the pad back to my driver, nodding to him in thanks I did not feel. If I could have gone back in time and dismissed him without looking at the message I would have. Even better, I would have told everyone they were not to disturb me unless there was another attack or one of my brothers died.
Now, instead of visions of Kelly casually lounging in my sitting room, I could think only of Jake Corbin.
"Will there be any change to the evening's schedule, your Highness," my driver asked.
Despite the chill air, heat pricked the sides of my face and back of my neck. The safest course of action was to pack up quickly and return to the palace for a more secure meal. To pluck Kelly from the version of my home she had accepted in favor of the version she feared purely for my own comfort.
"There will not," I said simply.
My security team was nearby though out of sight if Jake Corbin's friends were foolish enough to try. But my conversation with Agent Yadav at our last breakfast meeting had swayed my interpretation of that night.
When I re-entered the tent, Kelly looked up at me, smiling gently. She had moved from the rugs back to her chair and pulled the heavy blanket around herself. It wasn't enough to drive the Corbins and their newly discovered accomplices away, but it cheered me all the same.
"I wish I could say that won’t happen often," I said, forcing a smile to my face.
Kelly winced. "Probably not a good idea to start with the lies on the second date. Is everything all right?"
Sighing heavily, I sat back down and lifted the lid from the stew tureen. The powerful scent flooded the tent, overpowering Kelly’s perfume. The distance from that intoxicating smell of hers might ease the aching hardness between my legs.
"Nothing so serious that it need ruin our dinner." I filled Kelly’s bowl and set it in front of
her. "We can discuss happier things."
Kelly didn’t reach for it. "And Nero fiddled."
"I don’t understand that reference."
"Nero was the emperor of Rome, thousands of years ago," she said. "Legend has it when the city caught fire, he played music while it burned instead of helping his people."
I raised an eyebrow. "My people are safe on my planet."
Kelly shook her head. "If I become your wife, I’m your people, too and I’m sitting right here. Tell me what’s happening, Lortnam. I won’t feel safe with the lie, even if it’s only half of one."
It was a simple request, one I should have had no issue granting. But the words died on my tongue as I brought them to my lips. I filled my bowl with the stew, using the moments to buy myself more time to sort through my cluttered mind. It did no good.
"That message was about the cultural center attack," I said. "Corbin may have more accomplices at large, but we knew that already."
"There’s more… isn’t there?" she asked, taking my hand.
"Just a thought somewhere in my mind. One that’s been forming for days." As my gaze wandered from her entwined fingers up to her eyes, I realized why the idea would not form itself fully.
The second I uttered the words— whatever they were —this growing connection between Kelly and I would face a strain it might not yet be strong enough to weather.
"Agent Yadav does not believe the attack was ever meant to take anyone’s life, much less mine," I said. "If that is true, then the only alternative is that it was designed to cause fear, not in my people but in yours. If your people believe the agreement to be more trouble than it’s worth, they would demand your leaders walk away from it."
Kelly leaned back in her chair, her hand falling away from mine. "If you’re right, that attack was just the first step."
Not even a first step, a warning. Whoever was behind this had resources and access to deadly weapons. They may have had an army of Corbin brothers, and we had no way of knowing how many men strong. They had patience, but we had no idea how soon it would run out or how deadly the consequences would be when it did.
All we could know for certain was that it would escalate.
"I may have to keep that promise to you sooner than I imagined, Kelly," I said, looking down into my bowl of stew. My appetite had vanished.
"The one about leaving?" she asked, her brow wrinkled. "You can keep that promise. I don’t want it anymore."
I smiled in spite of myself. "As much as it warms me to hear you say that, I meant what I said the day we met. I cannot stay on Earth if it puts you in jeopardy."
As much as I wanted Kelly Fillmore by my side, in my bed, in my life, I wanted her to live. A long happy life, if the universe were kind. It would break my heart, but I would pull up my palace and leave.
"You mean my people?" she asked, reaching for my hand again. "Before you go running away to protect me, I might have an idea. Let me interview Jake Corbin."
"Out of the question," I said without hesitation. The mere idea of my potential mate breathing the same air as Jacob was an affront to me, and my honor. And far too much of a risk.
But when Kelly pursed her lips, I knew the matter was far from settled.
"He might open up to a sympathetic ear. Not that I am, mind you," she said at my look of horror. "But Jake Corbin doesn’t know that. To him, I’m just another Human."
"He is being held by Humans, and I assure you he’s been far from forthcoming with them."
Kelly slid to her feet and stalked around the table, towering over me for the first time. I didn’t like her positioned above me. When she began to move, I thought she might move to her knees before me as I had done her. That I liked even less. Instead, she slid into my lap.
"They don’t have my powers of persuasion," she purred. "Or my motivation. They didn’t just find out their whole future depends on whether or not Jake Corbin talks."
Trilyn how I want her. But the moment I took her in that way, I would belong to her forever. How I knew this, I could not say, but I knew. As surely as I knew that she would not relent until I gave in to her request.
Would I ever tame this woman? Did I really want to?
"You will never be farther than the reach of my arm," I warned, wrapping my arms around her waist as if in example. "If he so much as tries to harm you, I will end his life right there."
A triumphant smile danced over Kelly’s lips. Her silver eyes sparkled as she nodded and leaned down to press a kiss to my lips. It was sweeter than any wine Rawklix's vineyards had ever produced.
"Promise," she whispered into my lips.
Chapter 14
Kelly
“How long until you and Prince Charming meet up?” Mei asked without looking up from her screen.
I glanced at the digital clock in the corner of the afternoon news’s bottom crawl and tried to ignore the slight dip in my stomach at the thought of Lortnam coming to my apartment for the first time. I didn’t dare grab a quick breakfast from the fridge. The only thing in its frosty confines were a few slices of leftover pizza. My white button-down shirt and bootcut jeans screamed intrepid reporter looking to make an impression. Tomato sauce stains would push the impression into ‘inexperienced hack’ territory.
"My transport will be here in ten minutes, maybe less," I said. "We’ve got everything we’re gonna get on the brothers. What about Miss Bleach Blonde Perfect?"
"Still trying to follow some leads. So far, nothing." Mei wasn’t convinced either, but with no solid information, she couldn’t give me any warning on what to expect. The frustration and constant frowning had left a deep wrinkle in Mei’s forehead I worried might stay there.
After my last conversation with Nora, I had decided it was better if I didn’t sleep in a room she had ready legal access to. She knew where I lived, but at least in my own apartment, I didn’t have to worry about fallout if I shot an intruder with the gun under my pillow. I hadn’t been anywhere but home or with Lortnam since my meeting with Nora Morse. They were the only places I felt safe.
Mei didn’t know the details of my conversation with Nora, but she knew it scared me. That had been enough to start Usagi digging. In the first day, Mei came up with everything easily found. Nora Morse was an only child, highly educated and filthy rich— not from her family wealth, but her own technological brilliance. She liked good wine, expensive clothes, and sunny vacations.
For a woman who loved to jet around the world, Nora Morse seemed to hate cameras. She hadn’t done the usual press rounds to court venture capitalists. She didn’t show up in the party scene, the fashion scene, the charity scene, or the art scene. When she bothered to date, all traces of a relationship vanished from the data after a few weeks. Her romantic partners were just as elusive. Women of her status tended to date people who made the news even if they themselves didn’t. Not Nora. She had never been on the arm of a heart throb, aristocrat, or fellow tech billionaire. To the outside world, Nora Morse didn’t exist.
After the easy stuff, Mei came up empty. There were no secret bank accounts or tax shelters. No shady romances. No drunk pictures from boozy cruises. When it came to the little hedonist that lived inside every Human, Nora Morse’s was on a permanent vacation.
At least, that’s what she wanted the world to think. In my experience, nobody had a record that clean anymore, but it was easy enough to buy one if you had Nora’s resources. For all I knew, she wasn’t really Nora Morse at all.
"It’s possible she’s just that innocent, Mei," I said.
She paused and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "Do you really believe that?"
"Not a chance in hell," I admitted.
"Then tell his highness you changed your mind and come here," Mei insisted. "This is getting out of hand, Kelly."
Out of hand is in the rearview mirror. Next stop: downright screwed.
"I can’t, Mei," I said. It sounded pathetic even to me. "Not yet."
Not until I knew for sure
what I felt for Lortnam. Not until I knew if he could feel the same way about Kelly Grant that he did about Kelly Fillmore.
Nora’s last check had cleared that morning, I suspected due to Laurie’s intervention. Technically, the case was closed and I was free to hop a plane to Tokyo as I’d planned.
But that was before I started to fall for Lortnam. Before he told me that the maniacal schemes of strangers might do more to keep us apart than my lies and fears ever could. Now, there was no way I could get on a plane and leave him behind. I was in far too deep.
"Then I keep working," Mei said firmly.
I opened my mouth— maybe to reassure her, maybe to argue, I didn’t know. The doorbell rang before I could get a single word out.
"Shit, they’re early." I climbed to my feet. "Let me tell them I need a few more minutes."
"We need another month, Kelly!" Mei shook her head, her voice brimming with emotion. "I don’t like this. Nobody this sweet is on Earth. She doesn’t want to be found."
"I’m a PI, Usagi. People threaten me all the time. Nobody ever follows through." I tried to keep my voice calm, but my heart was beginning to race.
Mei was right, there was nobody on Earth as pure as Miss Bleach Blonde Perfect. With her money, Nora Morse might only exist in a safe tucked in Miss Bleach Blonde Perfect’s closet. That might have been why she didn’t know how many lawyers she was paying to be at her beck and call.
Even knowing all of that, I couldn’t run yet. Until we figured out who Nora Morse really was, I had to assume that she had the money and connections to track me down anywhere in the world. Even Tokyo. Even to Mei’s guest room. I knew better than to think she would be bothered by collateral damage.
But I didn’t want to scare my best friend. My only friend.
The doorbell rang again. I held up a finger to Mei. "I’ll be back, I promise."
I jogged to the door and tugged it open, expecting to see a Trilyn guard on the other side of the door. Lortnam stood on the other side.