“Yes we will,” Alaina said. “We’ll make this chance again. We won’t let them stop us. But it means you have to fight and you have to win, and you have to be well to do both.”
He pulled her closer, their bodies brushing, legs tangling together, but he let his head hit the pillow and just folded her hand against his chest. His eyes were tired, Alaina thought. But they were beautiful and when they were focused on her, it was like the rest of the universe and all its wickedness just faded away.
“But you’ll stay the night,” he murmured. “Won’t you?”
Alaina smiled, brushing her nose to his, and then pressed a kiss to his mouth as if to seal the deal. “I’m not going anywhere until they drag me away tomorrow morning.”
Vega smiled too, and it was such a rare expression on his mouth that it sent Alaina’s heart fluttering all over again.
“You’re such a strange creature,” he said. “Human. Beautiful and strange. I never could have imagined you.”
“I couldn’t have imagined you either,” Alaina admitted. “You’re strange to me too. But...not so strange at all.”
He chuckled, and shifted his weight a little, getting an arm beneath her to fit her snug against him. And then he tucked his face against her hair and breathed, in and out, and she could feel the warmth of his breath against her ear.
“We’ll get out of this place together,” he whispered.
“Together,” she agreed softly.
“And then there will be a hundred more nights and a hundred more mornings for me to prove how deeply in love with you I am.”
Alaina’s heart melted right on the spot and she smiled, and she felt an ache in her belly that was all things desire and happiness and terror. Men had said they were in love with her before, but she had never believed any of them. Maybe they were in love with the idea of her. The strong woman, the EMT, the woman who went charging into danger to save lives. But she was too independent for every last one of them. She made too many demands of them all. And in the end, none of them ever really loved her. But when Vega said it, she believed him. He’d seen only the worst of her, only the lost and the strange and the foreign, the confused and chained down Alaina, but he still loved her. He loved her in spite of her fragility, and for her continued strength, and she could tell it was so by the way he spoke.
“I love you, too,” she whispered, the words so delicate on her tongue, so careful. A tiny, breakable gift.
Vega kissed her hair and they fell asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
In the morning, Vega woke with Alaina still fit close against him, and he thought it would have been perfect had they only been anywhere else but the station. Anywhere but the palace of House Chara. Where the politics of the system couldn’t touch them. But at least, now, in this moment, they were together. Eventually as they’d slept, they’d gotten under the blankets on the bed. Alaina curled on her side and Vega was curled around her, an arm snug about her, his nose in her hair. He liked the smell of her hair. The smell of her hair was perfect just as it was. He inhaled the scent, shifting a little so he could kiss her shoulder. And the curve where her shoulder met her elegant neck. She stirred a little in his arms, waking, and he could see her smile. So he kissed her throat. Her jaw. And when she pressed her back against him, desire woke in him as well.
“They’ll come for you soon,” he murmured against her skin, his arm tightening around her because he didn’t want to let go of her. Not yet. “But we have a little time.”
“Are you sure?” she asked softly.
He knew she wasn’t asking about the time. He knew she could feel what he wanted, and Vega took stock of himself, of how much pain he was in. But his desire for her was stronger. And they had so little time he didn’t want to waste it.
He slipped his free hand beneath the blankets, caught the hem of her dress and eased it up her thigh, to the slope of her hip, then let his fingers coast down, over her soft belly and further down. Her breath hitched and she opened her legs a little to accommodate the journey of his hand, and he realized she was holding her breath until he cupped her sex. Then she exhaled, and his longing for her was so sharp he ached with it, pressing his hard cock against the curve of her buttocks as he slipped two fingers between the folds of her sex. She was warm, wet, and he kissed her throat as he slid his fingers inside her. She turned her face into the pillow and arched against him, and he held her close, curving his fingers within her, coaxing.
“Vega,” she gasped.
“We’ll be careful,” he said. “We’ll be slow.”
He closed his eyes, let his fingers explore and learn her as he inhaled the scent of her hair again and again, memorizing the way she smelled and the way her sex felt as his fingers plundered her. She reached down, hand covering his, guiding his touch and the rhythm of his fingers, and sooner rather than later she was panting into the pillow, hips moving against his hand, and he was so hard he could barely stand it. But careful, he’d said. Slow. And he held all that passion in check, pulling her towards climax with every slide and slick curve of his fingers, with every press of her sex against his palm.
He’d thought humans fragile before, but Alaina was gorgeous in her ecstasy, sweat glistening along her skin as her heart beat and her eyes closed. Her lips parted in a silent scream as she came into his hand, and she grasped her own breast through her dress. Vega bit down lightly on her shoulder, growling softly, and she trembled and smiled and reached to pull the hem of her dress even higher.
He withdrew his fingers from inside her, sighing as she lifted her ass a little, invitingly, the curve of one buttock brushing back against his cock. He shook a little with the effort of going so slowly, but he curved himself more completely against her, her back to his chest, and listened to the thundering beat of her heart.
“Gently,” she whispered. “But oh god, Vega, do it.”
“I love you,” he told her, because it was true. “I want you to marry me.”
“Yes.” She gasped and laughed and he saw the glisten of tears in her eyes. “I want to marry you, too. I want to be with you forever.”
Vega’s heart sang. He hooked a thumb into the waistband of his pants and tugged them down over his hips, freeing himself against her.
Then he slid his hand down over her ass, lifting her leg a little, and the head of his cock found her entrance, sliding along it, and she shuddered in his arms in anticipation. Slowly, so slowly, he slid the length of his cock inside her, easing in inch by hot, aching inch until he was fully sheathed inside her. Now he was panting into her hair, and she squirmed back against him, touching herself at the same time. Vega pulled out a little, then eased himself back in, and felt her clench herself around him as though to keep him there. He nearly lost it then, but withdrew again, the entire way, and then thrust himself in one huge buck of his hips fully back into her.
“Oh my god,” she gasped, gripping at the pillow.
He gripped at her, his arm still around her, held her tight to him and grasped at her exposed hip with his free hand, then began plunging himself into her at a pace. It was still slower than he would have liked, more careful because he had to be, but each time hips hips met her ass —and she moaned, he grunted with the effort of holding off his own climax— the pain melted away. Each gasp from her lips as he pushed his cock into the hot folds of her sex, each slow withdraw and forceful reentry, how she trembled and her muffled cries for more made him insane with passion. He drove into her over and over again until he couldn’t delay the moment any longer. With a groan into the soft skin of her throat, he came inside her, spasming with the force of it, the flood of ecstasy and warm satisfaction pouring through him. He gripped her tight, still deep inside her when she stroked herself to climax a few seconds later.
Then they lay trembling in each other’s arms, interlocked, the throbbing of their lovemaking matching the beat of their hearts. Reluctantly, Vega pulled himself from in
side her and she rolled onto her other side to face him and kiss him hard on the mouth. He brushed at her hair, returning her kiss, tasting her, and it nearly brought his desire to bear again, but the kiss broke. She put her forehead to his, and together they lay there breathing, silent and recovering and just at peace with each other for the few minutes they had left.
“I mean it,” he whispered. “I want to marry you. I want forever with you.”
“I did too,” she said. “But how?”
“We’d have to get the domina’s permission.”
He opened his eyes and saw Alaina grimace. “She’ll never give it.”
“No,” he agreed. “So we’ll do it in secret. Then, when I win the lists and my freedom, they’ll have to let me take you with me.”
She looked at him, her eyes a little wide, and he saw wild hope in their depths. “Will that work?”
“Yes.” He smiled a little. “If we’re clever. And careful. And if I win.”
“You’ll win,” Alaina said fiercely. “I know you will.”
Vega’s smile broadened, his heart swelling with her confidence in him. “I’ll win.”
She kissed him again and he held onto her, to the moment, until there was a curt knock on the door.
“Behave yourself,” he whispered. “Keep yourself out of the cells. And I’ll handle the rest.”
He pressed a kiss to her brow and let go of her. She lingered a moment in his arms and nodded, resigned, tugging the hem of her dress back down. She crawled to the edge of the bed and then to her feet. As she shook out her dress, she cast him a look over her shoulder and smiled a little, then opened the door.
Three guards waited in the corridor.
None of them looked towards Vega in the bed. One of them took Alaina by the arm and pulled her out of the room, and another closed the door behind her. Vega let his head sag back against the pillow and closed his eyes, holding the memory of her in his arms close in his heart. It would have to be enough to get him through the long days ahead.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alaina felt like her whole body was still on fire, even as the guards walked her down the corridor and towards the baths. It even took her a moment to realize they were taking her to the baths and not her own room, because her mind and heart were still too full of Vega. He wanted to marry her. And she wanted to marry him. And they were two totally different species and she couldn’t have cared less. Her hope of escape did not diminish even a little bit, but instead of trying to get home to a planet which held no real love for her, she would escape with Vega. And they would go wherever they wanted, anywhere, and Alaina knew she could be happy just so long as they were together. She wanted to see his home planet. She wanted to show him Earth. She just wanted to be with him, every second, every day, for the rest of her life. It was madness. She was giddy with it.
She barely noticed the slaves removing her clothing this time. Or the ones who led her down into one of the pools and scrubbed at her skin and hair. She let it happen and her mind drifted over and over again to Vega. She could think of nothing else, and she didn’t want to think of anything else, because he was her best thing. She thought she could endure any number of indignities so long as she could think of him and let everything else fall away.
They bathed her, dressed her, and braided her hair. This time they put her back in the clostrata beneath another sheer, silvery gown, and Gurun waited for her as she walked back down the corridor towards her room. He looked her up and down and grunted reluctant approval.
“This will do,” he grumbled, and waved a hand, indicating that she should follow him.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Upstairs. The domina and dominus are hosting and would like you to serve.”
Alaina frowned. “Hosting what?”
Gurun sighed, as if greatly put upon. “It is the day before the games, donara. Tomorrow, House Chara will fight House Ka’ani of the Jiayi for claim to a planet in the contested system. So today they meet to discuss the terms of the games.”
“And I’m to, what, stand there and be looked at again?” Alaina’s frown sharpened.
“No, you will serve,” Gurun snapped. “You will bring them food, wine, whatever they like. House Ka’ani does not use a donara, and the domina wanted them to see the prize that inspires House Chara’s cursii to fight as courageously as they do. Our illustrious house is bringing back an old tradition by having a donara and they want the other houses to see how well it’s going.”
“Fine.” Alaina tried to get the word out without sounding angry or indignant. She tried to remain calm and sound obedient, thinking of what Vega said, to keep herself out of the cells. “I’ll do my best.”
“Yes, you will. Or you’ll end up in the cells again.”
Alaina didn’t say another word as they went up the stairs to the higher palace levels. She really didn’t want to have to see Atticon again, but she kept telling herself to stay calm, to keep her head down, to just do as she was told and trust Vega would get them out of this. It might take longer than she’d anticipated with his wounds, but she’d seen him fight in the Arena. She knew he could fight his way free. Knowing he would find a way to take her with him sparked that beautiful ember of hope in her heart towards a full flame.
Gurun led her out of the elevator and into the gardens, through the winding paths which had been clogged with people the evening before but were deserted now. All evidence of the makeshift arena was gone. Not a single grain of sand or drop of silver blood left on the floor to remind anyone of what happened there. Alaina couldn’t help wondering what had been done with Lohar. Did he have a family on some distant Errai planet like Vega did? Would he be sent back to them? Would they be paid the rest of his life’s debt even though he hadn’t died in the proper Arena like he was meant to? She wondered if they were also farmers, or if Lohar had come from more warlike stock.
The sound of the string instruments brought her back from her musings, and she pushed thoughts of Lohar and his death from her mind as she followed Gurun into the garden’s center sitting area. The low couches had been rearranged from the night before, in a perfect circle now around a low table piled with food and decanters of wine. Apparently aliens had no sense that drinking wine all day long wasn’t healthy. Or maybe their bodies were different, Alaina thought, and it didn’t matter. Gurun stepped out of the way and she approached the circle of sofas, only to be brought up completely short.
Standing across the circle from her, holding a silver tray, was Yfia.
They locked eyes, and Yfia smiled at Alaina. Alaina returned the smile, so very relieved to see her again. She wanted to go over and hug her, and tell her about everything that had happened since last they’d seen each other.
But then she heard Atticon. “Donara, come here.”
And the relief and delight in her heart at seeing the pale Jiayi woman again fled. She bowed her head and went over to Atticon’s sofa as ordered, curtsying a little because she wasn’t sure what else to do. “Dominus.”
“Lift your eyes, donara, so that our guests can see your face.”
Alaina looked up. First, she looked at Atticon, whose expression was smug and self-important as usual. Lennai shared his sofa, sprawled back with a piece of fruit dripping juice down her arm. She didn’t seem to care. On the next sofa, a pair of Jiayi nobility lounged, looking at her with curiosity, their tall, twisting antlers shining and elegant in the garden light. And on the last couch, to Alaina’s surprise, sat Captain Rua. She expected to see him smirking, but he wasn’t. He was looking at her with plain surprise and curiosity. She figured he hadn’t expected to see her alive.
“What an interesting creature,” the Jiayi nobleman said, smiling. “Didn’t you buy her from Rua? In the same batch we got our slave?”
“That’s right,” Lennai confirmed, nodding. “I knew it was a risk but I just had to see what all the fuss was about. Rua, it’s been very interesting. I have a
newfound curiosity about your race.”
Rua laughed uncomfortably. “We are a peculiar variety, my lady.”
“Do you have any more of them?” the Jiayi noblewoman asked. She looked at Alaina, plain desire in her eyes as they traveled from the top of Alaina’s head down to her toes. She blushed. “How delicious.”
“Not at the moment,” Rua said apologetically. “I’m afraid it’s quite a distance. I only stop when I’m passing by and I haven’t been to that system lately.”
“Well, you’ll have to keep an eye out for me next time,” the noblewoman said.
“Of course, my lady.”
“I find you despicable in the best way, Rua,” Atticon drawled. “Snatching up your own people to sell as slaves.”
“It’s a living, my lord.” Rua looked down into his cup and Alaina thought she could see some shame on his face, if she squinted hard enough. “And as you know, I had to work my way to my own freedom, just like anyone.”
“Yes, your ambition has gotten you far,” Atticon agreed. Then he smirked. “But I wonder if it will get you through the games tomorrow.”
Rua shrugged. “You don’t understand, my lord. And how could you? I would rather the chance to fight for my freedom than spend another day working for the Ankaa.”
The Jiayi nobleman snorted. “Disgusting race. I think you’re being very smart, Captain. Get as far away from them as you can or die trying.”
Rua’s smile was dark. “That’s the idea, my lord.”
“Well, you’ll have to get through Parape tomorrow,” Atticon said, holding up one finger. And then a second. “And Vega.”
Alaina heard Lennai make a frustrated noise, though she said nothing.
Rua laughed in disbelief. “You’re making the champion fight? Didn’t he nearly die last night, my lord?”
“What good is a champion that cannot fight?” Atticon asked. “Of course he’ll fight.”
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