“Shall I wait for you my prince?” Kelhan asked Kohl as he made to leave with Maya.
“Yes, please do,” he said as he got out and followed her to her door. She reached around a small plant near it and produced a key to open the way inside.
“That does not seem the safest thing to do,” Kohl murmured. She simply glanced at him and stepped inside. Her house was indeed small, the living area and kitchen melding into one area most likely not a dozen paces across.
After turning on a nearby lamp Maya turned on her heel to face Kohl.
“Are you going to do something about them?”
“Of course, I will gather my diplomats and speak to them accordingly. Their actions do not reflect…”
“Kohl you have to understand that my kind, we aren’t in competition. With anyone. Our leaders chose to approach your planet to extend the benefit of the doubt. To prove the rest of the UAP wrong about you all and hopefully add another planet to the alliance. We didn’t visit Ve’dra to bully your kind, not like you’ve done here. It’s more caution than ill will that led to a couple of our police to detain the drunk scientist. Why do you think we haven’t made more of a case to the UAP for reinforcements to kick you all out?” Maya put her hands on her hips, her chin raised as she met his gaze squarely. Even after all she’d just gone through, what she’d just witnessed, she still chastised him as an equal. Kohl was unsure if the warmth he felt in his chest was affection, disbelief at her audacity, or both.
“I…” He was truly at a loss for what to say. All Kohl could do was stare at her. That was until the urge to touch her became unbearable. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her softly on the mouth, aware of her cut.
“You are an exemplary woman Maya Lu,” he said once he broke the kiss. The barest of smiles touched her lips and he kissed her once more. “I will return here to you, for now I must meet with these wayward diplomats of mine.”
She nodded and clutched his cloak, still draped around her shoulders, while he quickly left her home.
As he got into the back of the idling vehicle he told Kelhan to take him back to the hotel.
“Kelhan…about what was done tonight—”
“You have claimed her as your own Prince Kohl, your reaction is justified in our culture,” Kelhan said, offering an excuse for Kohl.
“She is mine…though I do not yet know to what extent that means for me,” Kohl said in a low voice, mostly to himself. He studied the passing streets as Kelhan drove back to the hotel, still swarmed by the many human media personnel. Kohl figured he should say something to them before going back inside.
“Prince Kohl, do you have any comment as to what happened while you were away?” The first camera seemed to speak on its own as the bright light briefly obscured Kohl’s vision of anything else.
“I am concerned about the events that unfolded concerning my kind during my absence. I will be speaking to my fellow diplomats to gain a larger understanding of the events that took place. Once that has been done I will move forward with any appropriate course of action.” As soon as Kohl was done speaking, a barrage of questions assaulted his hearing. He gestured to Kelhan who helped cut a path through the media for him to enter the hotel.
Kohl went directly to the suite his four diplomats shared. They were all sitting around in the common area and stood at attention as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.
“My prince!” Beerus, the most ornery of the lot greeted him, as if things were as they should be.
“Don’t bother with niceties. Explain to me what is happening here,” Kohl demanded, his raised palm staying greetings from the rest.
“The humans are bold. They detained one of our own without any notice to us whatsoever, ignoring his diplomatic immunity,” Beerus said, his tone slightly belligerent.
“What’s more, their media suggests they may plan to ‘remove us with force’ from their planet,” said Caspin, one of the other diplomats.
“We believe it would be advantageous to bring in a legion of warriors, to place a heavier hand on these presumptive humans,” Beerus said.
“Of course we could bring them in under the diplomatic provisions, as guard detail…” Caspin added. Kohl stood silently, considering the suggestion. It would be well within Ve’dran expectation to do such a thing. But Kohl feared how it would be taken by the humans. They could see it as an act of violence. Not a simple show of Ve’dran strength and will. Worse, they could call on their allies in the UAP to help. Kohl felt he could not deny this suggestion, especially after killing two of his own guards over a human woman. He felt as if he were turning against his race. But Maya’s earlier words rang in his mind. The humans had simply acted out of caution more than anything else.
“If you are conflicted as to what the humans would think, we could simply state that we are bringing the extra military force to police our own. So that an incident such as this does not happen again…” Beerus said, his tone silky and persuasive.
Kohl did not want to seem weak to his people, nor did he want to disappoint his father by turning on the Ve’dran way. Kohl nodded his head once. “Fine, but only one legion. If there be a male over fifty count I will have your head myself,” Kohl said with deadly precision, expressing his point clearly.
“Of course my prince,” Beerus bowed low.
“And cease all this ruckus with the humans. You lot are no longer authorized to deal with the media.” Kohl added on his way out. He felt an odd twinge in the center of his chest. He wondered if Maya would understand his decision when she found out.
Chapter 9
Maya
Maya tried everything to get her damn hands to stop shaking. She took several showers, put on comfortable pajamas, and made a warm cup of tea. None of it was working to ease her nerves. She just couldn’t get the sight of Kohl slitting the throats of those two men. Men he knew, trusted, men of his own kind…for her. She glanced at the velvety royal cloak she laid out on her couch. What did it all mean? That he valued her, over his guards?
She hoped that he’d heard what she said though, about everything that was going on. She wondered it maybe she felt that strange connection to Kohl because she could somehow contribute to the outcome of the pending alliance. The only reason she’d even been back up in his suite was to see for herself if he’d really left. She was almost hoping to find that he was still on Earth and was in fact the asshole she originally thought him to be, and had let his kind be so unruly. But he’d come and saved her and been the opposite of what she expected. Which left her conflicted and confused. Mostly she was afraid to hope that maybe Kohl was different, that whatever made it impossible for her to get him out of her head was proof of some good in him. Otherwise why else would she latch onto him? Great sex was one thing, but…why was she feeling so anxious for him to come back to her house?
The rap on her door made her jump and the tea spilled from the edges of her mug onto her hands. She quickly shook it off and got up from the breakfast bar to open the door. She knew it’d be him.
Kohl stood on her porch awkwardly, his hands behind his back. His posture as careful as his gaze as he searched her face.
“Hi…” she said and stepped to the side so he could walk in.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, shutting the door behind him and latching it with one hand. His gaze still on hers.
“I don’t know…anxious,” she said truthfully. He took her hands in his and just like that they stopped shaking. She stared at him, dumbfounded. What was it? What did he have that made her feel better? She barely even knew the real him. Frankly she was annoyed with herself. If she hadn’t had Kohl on the brain she wouldn’t have gone up to his suite in the first place, she wouldn’t have been thrown around by those two guards. Nor would she be feeling even more of an attachment to him than she already had.
“Maya Lu…?” Kohl dipped his head, then let go of one of her hands to lift her chin. “Would you like to rest?” he asked softly. She had no words. He was bein
g…sweet, caring – two things she wouldn’t have associated with him a week ago.
“Yeah I think…yeah, I’m all muddled up here,” she tapped her head and the corner of his lips rose in a smirk.
“I can help with that,” he said and unexpectedly scooped her up to cradle against his chest.
“You know you don’t have to carry me,” she chuckled.
“I want to. Feet such as yours should never touch the ground,” he said.
“What does that mean?” she asked, a smile creeping into her voice from the compliment, even though she played coy.
“It means you are a treasure, rare and beautiful, and should be cared for with reverence,” he said, sending a fuzzy warmth spreading through her chest.
“Of all the times I’ve been rude to you or yelled at you and you think I’m a treasure?” she asked with a chuckle. Kohl slowly walked around her house, looking for her bedroom. She let him acquaint himself to the house. She had a feeling he’d be over often.
“Yes, for precisely that reason. But…if I may ask, why did you lay with me? It seemed as if you thought little of me,” he asked slowly. He’d finally backed into the bedroom and set her down gently onto the bed. She watched as he undressed, taking off what most closely resembled a suit, only the style was sleeker, more minimalistic than the suits guys wore on Earth.
“I don’t know, I think under all that I was just attracted to you and couldn’t handle it because…well no one likes you,” she said. Though she still questioned whether he was handling the alliance negotiations all that well, she hoped like hell he’d have listened to something she said and tried a new approach with his diplomats and his kind that he brought to Earth. She wondered again how that meeting he attended had gone.
“I hope to gain more of your affections,” he said slowly. It was very clear that he was stripping naked. Maya’s body warmed as she got a full view of him. He really did have the perfect body. Before he got into bed though, he knelt down and was tall enough to reach for the hem of her t-shirt and pull it off over her head. Her breasts bounced free once the shirt was off and Kohl paused to kiss both, right over each nipple.
“Um…do you usually sleep naked?” she asked, trying to make conversation to distract from her mounting arousal. The pressure was slowly building between her legs and Kohl was behaving as if what he was doing was the most natural thing in the world.
“No, but with you, I do not wish for there to be barriers between us,” he said. She was taken off guard by his continued honesty and gentleness. He hooked his fingers into her pajama shorts and pulled them off in one easy sweep, taking her panties with them. “I’ve wanted to taste you again…” he said while searching her gaze. Maya’s breath caught when he leaned forward to kiss just underneath her ear. He gently nudged her legs apart and a thrill went through her, causing her skin to flush and creating a subtle throb in between her legs.
“May I?” he asked her outright, as he kissed her neck, his lips sliding lower. Maya simply nodded, unsure if she said anything out loud that it would be coherent. He pulled her hips out to the edge of the bed and she laid back as his warm mouth sucked on the delicate skin of her lower belly. She couldn’t help her giggle as he lightly trailed his fingertips along her side, his lips inching closer to her bellybutton. Impatient, she wiggled underneath him and he smirked at her before putting some pressure on her hips to hold her still.
It seemed like forever, but finally his tongue slid up along the seam of her sex. He sucked on her clitoris briefly, then gently nibbled the sensitive nub with his lips. Maya moaned, her head falling back against the blankets. The pleasure stretched through her like warm liquor. He slid his tongue into her entrance before replacing it with his finger, his tongue on her clit as he pressed precisely against her g-spot. The slow burn turned to fire quickly then. Maya couldn’t sit still as she writhed underneath him with the pleasure, her mind and body lost to it. It didn’t take long for her to go flying into a sharp orgasm, crying out Kohl’s name. She reached for him once she came down from the high, her eyes half closed. She felt his chuckle and the warmth of his lips at her throat. Then his thick, hard length, was sliding into her with delicious slowness. She moaned and arched into him, gripping his strong arms to help ground her. He reached the deepest part of her and with his fast and intense thrusts she didn’t have a chance of not being completely lost and slave to the pleasure. Maya came hard, Kohl kept going, almost unbearably building her pleasure again. By her third orgasm she could feel his hot release emptying into her.
She fell limp against the bed, already falling asleep, though she wanted more with him. She felt his warmth nestling in behind her before she completely drifted off.
Chapter 10
Maya
Maya woke up to no Kohl. His warmth was gone and as she lay in bed, listening for any sign of him, she knew he wasn’t in the house. Sighing deeply, she figured she’d try and make good out of his absence and try to figure out her jumbled feelings for him. It was really hard to be so attracted to someone who was essentially forbidden fruit. He was seen as a terror by most of her fellow human beings and many of his actions proved that. But she felt she knew a different Kohl, one who was caring and kind and…sexy as hell. She couldn’t stop herself from having feelings for that Kohl.
She glanced at the time. It was nearly nine in the morning. She should be halfway to work! Maya jumped out of bed and quickly brushed her teeth while pulling her hair up into a bun. She found an outfit and put it on, finished with her morning bathroom routine. She had no time for anything, not even her usual coffee and news before work. Once she was adequately presentable she grabbed her bag and keys, then headed out. Thankfully she didn’t work too far from her house or else she’d be super late. If she sped a little she’d be only ten minutes late. She didn’t see or hear anyone as she ran into work to clock in. She only took a breath once she signed in for work.
“Hey Maya, did you see the news this morning? That prince is somethin’ else.” Eddie was standing in the security office with some other staff, crowding around the flat screen that had the news turned up.
“What…did he do?” she asked slowly, a cold sort of dread creeping into her chest. She hoped, hell she prayed that he had said or done something to turn things around. She really wanted to believe that the real Kohl was the one she was getting to know, the one who saved her and was gentle with her. The one who seemed like he knew remorse and decency, honor and respect.
Maya tuned into the news just as Kohl’s face, and whatever he’d been saying, was interrupted by a newscaster.
“Prince Kohl had allegedly called in more military personnel without clearing it by any Earth officials. Washington D.C. is under alert and is urging its non-essential personnel, to stay home under the threat of the imminent invasion. Again only medical, military, and first responders have clearance to travel directly to their places of work. All other citizens of the city are subject to a precautionary, but no less mandatory curfew…”
“Invasion?” everyone in the room got all ruffled feathered and perked up. That word nowadays was akin to ‘nuclear war.’ Maya couldn’t believe any of it. Her heart felt as though it would pound out of her chest. When she was with him last night, he didn’t seem like he’d just called in an invasion of Earth. Yet…did she really know him? Was it all just a front? A front to get her in bed with him?
“Just got the word from management by radio,” said one of the security men to the room. “We’ve all got to get everyone home or in their rooms. Skeleton staff only here.” Maya got swept up by Eddie who gently put his hand on her back, leading her out.
“I can walk you to your car if you want Miss Lu,” he said kindly, noting the shock and devastation on her face, wrongly concluding that she looked that way because of the news. She was actually thinking how wrong she’d been, thinking he might have listened to her the night before, and that there could be an actual chance for them…
She didn’t track anything around her
until she was outside, the cool fall air making goosebumps rise on her skin as she looked up amid the raised voices and even screams of fear and uncertainty outside the hotel. What should have been a cloudless and sunny blue sky was cast in a muted light. Like storm clouds had rolled in. But instead of black clouds, it was a huge, black, Ve’dran spacecraft closing in. Bristling with guns, it could not help but look like the start of an invasion.
“Come on Miss Lu, we can’t stay out in the open!” Eddie pulled on her arm and she looked down at the chaos that had unfolded. People running like ants without direction. All terrified, hell she was scared.
All because of Kohl.
Book 2: Exploring Hearts
After the incomprehensibility of his actions Maya gives Prince Kohl a chance to explain and prove himself. They spend nearly all their time together in their own bubble apart from the storm of the alliance negotiations. Maya learns that Kohl is simply trying to do right by his people. She sees another side of him, a softer side she didn’t expect. She can’t help but begin to fall for him harder, though she is afraid to let herself go completely. Meanwhile Kohl is trying to do right by both his people and the humans for Maya’s sake. He’s softened his approach in the negotiations and is hopeful for a peaceful outcome. His fellow diplomats are wary, but then to make matters worse, they find out about Maya and Kohl, and do not approve of the relationship at all. Can their budding love possibly survive this revelation, and the severity of Kohl’s Ve’dran colleagues?
Chapter 1
Kohl
“Prince Kohl, surely you understand our concern,” said the Executive of the Interplanetary Alliance Committee.
Kohl leaned forward, nearly coming off of his podium in the center of the meeting room. The same room Kohl had, not so long ago, offered the terms of alliance between the humans and his fellow Ve’drans. Kohl had half a mind to set that lofty desk on fire, he did not like the feeling of being on trial.
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