by Zara Zenia
I nodded in agreement, too tired for a moment to use my voice. Lortnam bent down and scooped me into his arms, tucking me against his chest just as he had in the warehouse. I leaned into his chest, just letting myself enjoy the feeling of being in his arms. He smelled like rain and fresh earth as if he carried his country with him even in Baltimore. I’d loved being in Lortnam’s arms from our first date, but this was the first time I realized how much I would miss them if the worst happened when I told him the truth.
I should have been honest with him that night. I'd known then what kind of man he was. I guess I was still wondering what kind I was.
Lortnam carried me up the staircase and through the halls covered wall-to-wall in art from his planet. The automatic lights switched on, then dimmed with a quick guttural whisper from his lips. He set me down not in the chair beside the desk where I had interviewed him, but on a soft cushioned sofa beside a fire.
"The associate who found information on Jake Corbin and Nora Morse, was it Mei?" He pulled away before I could answer, crossing to a side table that held a decanter of wine and four glasses. "Because if the answer is yes, she should be warned about what happened."
"Do your people allow jailhouse phone calls?" I asked, fishing in my pocket for my cell phone.
Lortnam plucked it from my fingers, replacing it with a glass of the peach-colored wine. "The UEG will have to do that, Kelly."
"They'll arrest her, your Highness," I pleaded.
He slid his hand beneath mine, guiding the rim of the glass to my lips. "She is a witness in an open investigation and a friend to my people. They will not dare. Now please, drink. You're pale and your hands are trembling.”
I took a sip as he asked, letting the passion fruit and apple drive away memories of dark hallways and homicidal henchmen.
Lortnam went to his desk and summoned his assistant. He gave her my phone, instructing her to pass Mei's information to David and have a personal guard travel to her immediately. He also told her to have dinner ready, and make sure there was enough for both of us.
I tried to find some optimism in the idea that he expected me to have an appetite when we finished talking. I needed to find it somewhere.
"It'll take them hours to get to her," I said, dread creeping over me. "Even if she's awake."
"With Trilyn technology, it will take a fraction of that." He came back to the couch, pulling up a heavy wooden chair and setting it in front of me. "Your rabbit will be fine, Kelly. You need not fear for her. I give you my word."
"Right now, yours is worth more than mine." I leaned forward, bracing my forearms against my knees to steady myself. "But I want to put that right. My name is Kelly Grant. I'm a private investigator with a local agency. Nora could only have gotten my information from them."
The worry melted away from his face, replaced by the stony neutral expression he wore when handling official business. "What were the terms of your employment?"
I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. "I was to get close to you and use the connection to prove you or one of your brothers staged the attack on the cultural center. I figured out pretty quickly that was a load of bullshit."
"Before or after you agreed to dinner with me?"
"Before. But after the interview. I didn't find anything connecting you, your household, or any other Trilyn to those bombs. I told Nora so while I filed my final report, but she wouldn't listen."
"Did your reports include the details about the Trilyn culture and mating habits I shared with you?"
I shook my head. "That was beyond the scope of my case. Except for the fact you had more reason than anyone to want the cultural center to stay open. Anything I learn that doesn’t directly relate to the matter I was hired to investigate stays confidential.”
"What about the information you gathered about my personal habits?" he asked, climbing to his feet. He strode to the side table and poured another glass of wine. "How much of those remained confidential and how many were deemed relevant to the case?"
"Your tendency toward being honest she knows about," I admitted. "Everything else fell beyond the scope of my case. But I have reason to believe Nora was having me followed."
Lortnam didn't respond. He came back to the chair beside the sofa and sat down, taking a slow, deliberate sip from his glass.
"Was it all a lie?" he asked finally.
"Mei is my friend, and I really do call her rabbit," I said. "I do prefer gardens over cut flowers. I don't have any siblings. And I really do have feelings for you."
It felt like cheating to throw in the last part, but I'd never said it to him before. For all I knew, Lortnam was about to banish me to the bowls of the palace alone to spend however many months it took to find Nora.
"The ticket across the ocean? Was that true too?"
I nodded. "I was supposed to leave after Nora's check cleared."
"I'm sorry, Kelly, I don't think you will be receiving that check." Lortnam climbed to his feet, draining his glass. He twirled it between his fingers, apparently considering something before he spoke again. "But I believe your account."
"The check cleared before our picnic," I corrected him. "I could have run at any time, Lortnam. If I'd been thinking with my head instead of my heart, I would have bailed when I realized she was having me watched."
“Why didn't you?" he asked. "It would have saved you and Mei a lot of trouble. You've been afraid for your life this whole time, yet the opportunity to run came and went, and you let it pass you by. Tell me why, Kelly, and make me believe it."
His eyes stared right through me, leaving me nowhere to hide from the truth. But for the first time since I'd met Lortnam, I didn't want to.
"Because the more I got to know you, the more I fell in love with you," I admitted. "Once it started, I couldn't walk away."
I watched Lortnam for a reaction, fighting to keep my breath under control. Lortnam seemed to consider my words. He set the glass down on the side table and came back and knelt on the carpet in front of me.
Something changed in Lortnam's eyes as I held his gaze. He'd gone from the cool administrator to the passionate scholar. The emotions he'd buried beneath the surface were near boiling over.
"Do not speak to the Prince you have wronged, but to the man," he demanded. "Tell me again, Kelly Grant. Make me believe."
"I love you, Lortnam," I said without a moment of fear or hesitation. "I stayed in Baltimore instead of going to Tokyo because I don't want to be anywhere you aren't."
The Prince didn't miss a beat. His arms snaked around my waist. In one smooth motion, he pulled me off of the couch and into his lap. His hungry lips connected with mine in a blazing kiss.
That was it. Everyone and everything else in my mind fell away as his lips crashed over mine. I made a small sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan. His tongue slid over my lips, caressing the roof of my mouth. None of our kisses before this had been nearly so intense. I'd been too afraid to let them be and now I knew why. Just the feel of the alien Prince's tongue against mine left my center moistening.
When he pulled away, I gasped for air, sinking my fingers into the rough fabric of his tunic and hanging on for dear life. The firm outline of his growing erection throbbed against my core.
"Then do not leave my side and walk into danger again," he commanded, caressing my lips with his thumb. "Promise me."
"Keep going, and I'll do whatever you ask me to." I leaned my head back, unable to stop my hips from bucking against the gentle throb beneath me. "Please."
I caught the probing thumb between my teeth. My tongue darted out to tease. A hiss of pleasure caught in Lortnam's throat. His hand snaked below my crisp white shirt, threatening to snap the buttons as his fingers danced over my breasts. He leaned back just long enough to grab the hem of his tunic and rip the whole thing over his head, then he pivoted, shifting our positions so I was on my back and he hovered over me.
"I've been dreaming about this since the night we met, my Kelly." His def
t fingers popped the offending buttons open and pushed the fabric aside. Desire burned in his eyes as they lingered on my face then moved down, raking over my body.
"You aren't the only one," I moaned. Even though I was still wearing most of my clothes, I felt fully exposed beneath his gaze. There was nothing I could hide from him, nothing I wanted to anymore. The thought of it— and the smoldering need in his eyes —made my heart beat so fast my lungs struggled to keep up.
"Tell me," he demanded, unbuttoning his fly and pushing his pants down to his thighs.
The hand that had been caressing my breasts slid down to my zipper and quickly undid my jeans, pulling them and my panties away in one tug. For a few seconds, Lortnam hovered above me, his eyes drinking in every detail of my seminude body. A look of deep appreciation crossed his face, then he leaned forward and nuzzled his lips against the sensitive flesh of my neck, nipping and sucking until I shivered.
"Tell me," he said again. His hand caught my hair in the same place Jake Corbin had, but instead of pulling, gentle fingers massage and teased.
"I wanted you the night we kissed outside Jezebel." I gasped as his fingers teased my slick folds. His massive hand cupped my thigh and pushed gently to coax them open. "That's why I wouldn't let you take me home."
Lortnam's thick finger slid inside my wet core. He claimed my lips at the same time, stifling my cry of mingled surprise and pleasure. Wasting no time, his thumb rubbed against my clit. I squirmed beneath him, trying to hold his heated gaze. There had been so many lies between us, but our bodies had always told the truth. Our entire relationship had been one of kisses we couldn't stop ourselves from taking. Now, I wanted him to see the evidence of how badly I wanted him. I wanted my moans and writhes of pleasure to make him as crazy for me as I was for him.
"Only at Jezebel?" he crooned, trailing his kisses over my breasts and across my belly. "The line seemed perilously close in the tent as well. It certainly was for me. For example, I haven't been able to get the thought of this—" His tongue darted out to taste me, making me whimper. "Out of my head since then. Except for the brief moments when it had to be."
Lortnam lowered his head again, pressing his lips against my center, licking. Savoring.
Yes. I wanted to answer him, but his caressing fingers were too skilled at manipulating me. In no time at all, I couldn't do anything but reach for him weakly as my hips searched desperately for deeper contact. I wanted more of him. Needed more. But my body wasn't used to hands and lips so intent on pleasuring me. All too soon, I felt the edge barreling down on me. I tensed, trying to hold back, to keep enjoying the feeling of Lortnam's face between my thighs and his greedy mouth drinking me down like fine wine, but it was a useless effort.
I screamed as an orgasm ripped through me, sending waves of pleasure thrashing against my rib cage. The force of it took my breath away. The room around me faded into a haze of gray. My hips bucked against him, desperate to keep the contact, even as the sensation felt so good I didn't think I could stand it for a second longer.
A week ago, if anyone would have told me I'd end up here, licked into oblivion by my alien lover in his fortress high above Federal Hill Park, I would have laughed in their face. Now, there was nowhere I would have rather been and no one I would have rather been with.
Lortnam moved over me, his weight and size covering me like a shield. His straining erection hung in the air between us. He kissed me again, gently this time, as if he knew I still needed time to recover before what came next.
"This is usually the part where we talk about protection," I whispered breathlessly.
"Will you stay?" he asked, holding my gaze. It was such a simple question, but the depth of emotion in his eyes betrayed how badly he needed the answer to be yes.
The question was about more than staying in his palace. Would I stay and learn to be the wife he needed? Would I leave behind everything I knew, making his planet and people my own? Would I allow him to use the scanner once it was fixed? Even if the result was that Lortnam and I couldn't make a child together and all of this ultimately came to nothing?
I pushed myself up with my hands, kissing him tenderly. "Wherever you're going, I'm with you."
Lortnam held the kiss, easing himself between my legs and at my entrance. He pushed inside of me. Deeper, filling me. His hips set a steady rhythm, as desperate as his kisses. The last barrier between us evaporated, and our happy life had been given a name. Sooner or later, we would have to face it, but for now we had each other. For now, I had his arms around me, and the feeling of him inside of me.
I clung to him as a second orgasm ripped through me. His name came to my lips, but the force of it took my breath away. My inner core clamped down around him, serving as his only warning as a fog of ecstasy over took me.
Lortnam froze and cried out. His body jerked and spasmed as the first stream of warm liquid shot from him.
"Kelly," he whispered. "My Kelly."
My Lortnam. What little energy the wine had given back, Lortnam's greedy tongue and hungry cock had stolen away again. The same heavy fatigue I felt in the transport settled over my muscles again. But this time, I didn't feel exposed.
My Prince was with me. He loved me and I loved him.
I kept my eyes closed, but eventually I felt Lortnam roll away and stretch out beside me. He shuffled around a little and then a wave of warmth radiated from the fireplace.
"Considerate of you," I said, smiling. "I definitely don't have the energy to go anywhere. Much less put my clothes back on."
"There is only one place we need to go," he said. "I will delay the task as long as you wish, but it is one we must complete."
I hated the heaviness in Lortnam's tone. It told me too much about the task, and what it might mean if we failed. The genetic scanner.
"Is it fixed? Where is it?" I reached down and entwined our fingers. "How long will it take to get scanned?"
He pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder. "My scanner is in the safe in my bedroom. I found out today that it has been updated with new programing and assured it will work. It would only take a few seconds to scan you, but there is no rush."
It took every ounce of energy I didn't have, but I peeled my eyes open and looked at Lortnam. Every time I was in his arms, I felt completely safe. The whole world could have been burning down around us and I would have trusted him to get us through it. He just needed the occasional reminder not to sacrifice himself in the effort.
"There sure as hell is a rush," I said. "If we're not compatible, then that puts a timer on things. If it's not there, I need to know it's not there so I can enjoy the hell out of every last moment I get with you."
A weak smile came to Lortnam's lips. He let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "My sweet, fearful Kelly, what if we are compatible?"
Take what you can get and don't get your hopes up.
"Then I want to start over," I said. "Tonight, if we can."
Lortnam climbed to his feet and grabbed his discarded tunic. Gently, he pulled me into a sitting position and leaned me against the couch.
"This will be easier to wear than the clothes you came in," he said as he guided the tunic over my head.
The lower hem pooled around my hips. Lortnam slid an arm beneath my thighs and hoisted my body into his arms and against his chest. He carried me out of the room and down the hall. Compared to the sitting room, Lortnam's bedroom was barely furnished. The rooms were the same size, but this one contained only a dark cushioned reading chair and a bed twice the size of mine. It also had a master bathroom and a closet almost as big as my living room.
"Yeah, I find it hard to believe you liked my apartment, Lortnam," I scolded.
"Your apartment has you in it," he said. "It will always be better than anywhere that does not."
Lortnam set me down on the edge of the mattress. He pressed a kiss to my forehead then pulled away, disappearing into closet. When he came back, he held a metal scanner slightly larger than a pistol.
"Is that it?" I asked.
He nodded.
I swallowed. He aimed the scanner at me and pressed a button. Nothing happened.
I released a breath, letting my shoulders slump forward. Then the scanner beeped. A rainbow of pink, green, and white hues arched over the body, making it look like the casing had begun to glow.
Lortnam stared down at the scanner in his hand, his eyes wide and mouth agape. His shock only lasted for a few seconds. When he looked back to me, the wide grin on his face let me in on the good news.
"We're a match," I whispered, terrified to believe it. "Tell me we're a match."
He set the scanner down on the bed and knelt in front of me. Settling between my legs, he lowered his head into my lap. "We are."
"Then you'd better have them bring dinner in here," I said, reaching down to caress his bronze hair. "And soon. I'm gonna need some energy if we're starting over."
Lortnam pulled away reluctantly to call his secretary. I leaned back against the bed, letting my back sink into the soft blankets. Everything in the room smelled like rain and fresh earth and clean mountain air, just like Lortnam.
Chapter 19
Lortnam
Never had I known a night as peaceful as the one I spent with Kelly Grant in the wake of her survival. The genetic scanner's confirmation of our compatibility removed the only obstacle in our path. Kelly made good on her pledge to begin again. Over a dinner, she told me more about herself than she ever had. Her hopes and dreams.
I listened to her speak all night, always hungry for the next bit of information. The wild tales she remembered from her childhood were my favorite.
That night we made love again in my bed. My Kelly was a hungry lover, and the sound of her moans was like the sweet song of home to my ears. I fell asleep with her scent in my nose and her body in my arms, knowing it was the first night of many.
If my mission had been kinder and our enemies fewer, Kelly and I would have stayed in bed the next morning too. And the next. But Nora Morse's disappearance cast a shadow over it all. Her manipulations couldn't hurt Kelly or me anymore, but my unmatched brothers were still vulnerable. Mei still needed protecting. There may still be more mercenaries willing to play idealist like the Corbin brothers. One day, there might be real terrorists again like the Humans First group. As long as Nora Morse could turn the world against us, we would never be safe.