Royal: A Sci-Fi Romance (The Jekh Saga Book 5)

by H. E. Trent

  Alex rolled his eyes.

  Obviously curious, Autumn crept up behind the co-pilot’s chair, well out of the way of the camera’s view.

  All Mother could see, probably, was Luke leaning onto the panel and grinning as though he’d just discovered the meaning of life and had put his dick into it.

  Alex snorted.

  “Hi,” Luke said. “Nice to meet you. I’m Luke.” He looked over his shoulder. “She speaks English, right? ’Cause I gotta tell you, other than that, I’ve only got Italian, Slovenian, Spanish, and enough German to sound like I’ve got major congestion.” He squinted at Alex. “Have you heard my Italian? In my experience, it has something as an aphrodisiac quality, not that you need any help with that, lover boy.”

  “I like this guy,” Oreva murmured.

  Alex gritted his teeth and tried not to laugh.

  He was straddling the dangerous precipice between being completely amused by his circumstances and scared witless. “She speaks English as well as I do.”

  “Alexander, sit where I can see you,” she said in Norwegian, apparently having found her voice.

  “Baby, that didn’t sound like any language I know,” Luke said.

  Alex sighed and stayed put. “What do you want, Mother? You may as well speak English. Anything you say, I’ll end up translating for them, anyway. Or they’ll run the recorded transmission through the translator later and get the gist of it that way.”

  “You’ve evidently turned into a savage in multiple ways since going to that wretched place.”

  Alex rolled his eyes again. “She says I’m a savage.”

  “I’m ashamed of you.”

  “And that she’s ashamed of me.”

  “Stop repeating what I say!”

  “Speak English and I wouldn’t have to.”

  She growled. For a moment, she disappeared out of the screen and there was a loud shattering noise—like glass or some delicate ceramic thing.

  A maid hurried out of the room behind her, and Mother shrieked, “You come back and clean that up!”

  The maid didn’t. Probably for the best.

  “I thought my father was a Disney villain in the making, but man, she’s an outright stereotype,” Autumn whispered.

  “Mm-hmm,” Alex hummed through clenched teeth. He met her appalled gaze and said, “I wish I could say that she was once sweet and some devastating event turned her surly, but I’d be lying. I imagine she was only sweet until I was born. After that, well, obviously, her place was solidified.”

  “Alexander, I order you to face me,” Mother said.

  Groaning, Alex nudged Luke out of the way and knelt before the camera, just to get the shit over with. “Hello, Mother. Tell me that I look well, and I’ll lie and tell you the same. Let’s get the pleasantries out of the way so we can get down to the nitty-gritty.”

  “Let’s skip the pleasantries,” she said, actually in English. “You know your role. You know what your responsibilities are. It’s time for your gallivanting on that wretched planet to come to an end.”

  “Yes, yes.” He made a rolling gesture with his hand. “Cue the bit about how I’m not getting any younger, and so on and so forth. That was coming next, right?”

  “You know what you’re meant to do. Haven’t you…” She made a sour face. “Sowed your oats enough?”

  “Have you?”

  “You—”

  Alex hit the mute button and waited for her spittle to stop flying and for the violent red coloring in her face to recede a bit. He didn’t want to be responsible for causing the woman a heart attack from such a great distance. He turned the sound back on. “If and when I return to Earth,” Alex said, “I’ll be doing so at my leisure and with no royal business in mind. If father has any remaining messes here on Jekh, I’ll deal with them. Otherwise, our arrangement is, for all intents and purposes, severed.”

  She cocked her chin triumphantly. He already knew what was coming.

  “And so your credit will be severed as well. No one will loan you money.”

  He sucked in some air. That wasn’t a hundred percent true. He could still get money, and he still had some of his own money, but his credit line was a hell of a lot higher with his family’s assets put behind it.

  “When you’re broke and starving and living in squalor with your boy toy, don’t come running back to me.”

  Luke guffawed. “Boy toy? Lady, let’s get one thing straight. I’ve got him by a year and some change. Also, I—”

  “Also—” Autumn squeezed between the two of them and scowled into the camera. “There’ll never be any point where he’s washed up in a gutter. I’m filthy rich. Sliding him some credits here or there isn’t going to hurt me any. In fact, maybe I’ll do it anyway just for shits and giggles. I’ve always wanted a pet to spend money on, but I never had the time. I suspect Alex would cause me fewer allergic reactions, anyway.”

  “Spend it, baby, spend it,” Oreva shouted. “Buy him a pony and a Ferrari. That’ll show her.”

  Alex covered his face and stifled a laugh, looking back just in time to see Autumn wagging her finger at the screen.

  “And another thing, we’re all grown-ass adults here. Sorry for being disrespectful, if I am. I don’t know how normal people are supposed to behave in front of people who’ve married into royal families.”

  “Oh, that’s a burn, Autumn,” Oreva said with a cackle. “My father’s culture is huge on respecting elders, but I’ve always chosen to be selectively Chinese.”

  “So that’s what it was. My mother’s from Nepal.” She blew a raspberry. “Runner-up for Miss World. Said it was the worst thing that ever happened to her because it’s how my father found her, but she says at least she got me out of the ordeal.”

  “Nepal is lovely.”

  “It is. I wish I could see my grandparents more, but they’re so deep in the interior that—”

  Mother cleared her throat, which annoyed Alex because he was fascinated by Oreva and Autumn’s side conversation. He was learning so much about the two of them.

  Oreva crooked her thumb toward her. “Anyhow, she doesn’t like being reminded that she’s an in-law at best.”

  “Good to know,” Autumn said.

  Mother shouted, “Oreva, I will—”

  “I wasn’t done,” Autumn said.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “Hi. Autumn Ray. Filthy rich because my father’s a money-grubbing troll and I started bailing myself out when I was seventeen. There’s profit in self-preservation, apparently. So again, I’m filthy rich Autumn Ray who’s gonna bankroll your son so he can maintain the lifestyle he’s been accustomed to. Personally, I’m becoming fond of his spoiled bastard look and don’t want to see it change.”

  “It’s got a certain appeal, doesn’t it?” Luke asked.

  “I’m not sure if I should be flattered,” Alex said over their heads to Oreva.

  Oreva gave a dismissive wave and put his hand back on the joystick. “You don’t care. She’s offering to buy you. Sounds like foreplay to me.”

  “Alexander!” Mother shouted.

  Alex dragged a hand down his face. “Yes, Mother? If you have no further ultimatums, we’ll have to disconnect now to conserve fuel. When we’ve landed again, I’ll be certain to get in touch.”

  “Don’t you dare—”

  “And Mother?” he interrupted; panning the camera to be certain she saw him. “If you threaten my sister again, I will personally go to Earth and turn your life upside down.” He held up two fingers. “Two weeks. That’s how fast I can get there now if I use Luke’s ship.”

  “You’d take her side over mine?”

  He shrugged. “You’re making this about sides. There’s room enough for everyone to be happy. Apparently, you thrive on people being miserable. Well, I’m not going to be. So. Farewell.”

  “But Alex, I—”

  He disconnected the call and programmed in a lockout so that his frequency would be hidden to hers. Eventuall
y, she’d catch up to him in some other way, but for the time being, at least the console would stop beeping.

  Luke ruffled Autumn’s hair on the way out of the cockpit and winked at Alex. “You coming?”

  “Yes. I just need to…” Say some things to Autumn.

  Groaning as she pulled herself to her feet, she shook her head. “Sorry for butting in,” she said. “I guess I used her as a surrogate and said all the things I wish I had told my father.”

  “No worries.”

  Wringing her hands, she furrowed her brow. “So, you’re not mad at me for interfering?”

  “Not at all. In fact, I wanted to thank you for what you said.”

  She cringed. “Maybe it was a little dramatic. I think I picked up some bad habits from guys in boardrooms. Their threats tend to be hyperbolic.”

  He lifted the corner of his mouth in a half grin. “So you don’t intend on financing my superlative lifestyle?”

  “I mean…if you need me to, I…I mean, I do have the money, so it’s up to you if…”

  Laughing, he chucked her chin as he departed for the rear of the ship. “You’re sweet. Thank you.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been called sweet,” she said quietly. “By anyone except my mother, anyway.”

  Alex plopped onto the bed beside Luke and closed his eyes. She was sweet and full of surprises. He would have never have expected her to come to his defense.

  She had, and he never forgot a good deed.

  And he could understand a little better why Luke was so fond of her.

  The woman was deliciously ferocious…except when she wasn’t.

  When he opened his eyes, she was curled into one of the chairs at the sides, holding her tablet and looking out the window. Always alone, even when she was with others.

  A shame.

  “Autumn,” he whispered.

  She looked at him.

  He moved over and patted the space between him and Luke. She’d leaped to his defense without being asked. The least he could do was try to understand her. “Come tell me how you’re going to spoil me.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Autumn looked searchingly toward the rail, hoping there was a cart nearby. The moment Alex had set down the ship at the Beshni farm, curious residents eager to catch up had swarmed the vessel. Marco and Precious were both there, as were Ais and Owen, and various other parties who just…knew too much.

  Autumn needed some space to think and to figure out her next steps.

  And she needed to find Cree.

  Moving discreetly away from the chatter and toward the cart call box, she gave her wristband a double-tap. At the COM’s voice prompt, she told the device to find her sister.

  She was twenty yards away and lifting the clear weather shield on the cart call box when Cree finally came on the line.

  “Hiya!”

  “You’re sounding cheerful,” Autumn said. According to the blinking map, the closest cart was about two minutes away. A glance over her shoulder confirmed that no one was watching her. She could bound away without being pulled into any conversations.

  She felt silly and dramatic, having interfered in Alex’s business the way she had. He’d taken her behavior in good stride, but he had to be thinking she was some sort of loon. She didn’t know what had come over her. She’d just been triggered by the strident sound of that woman’s voice and the way she wasn’t at all trying to broker a reconciliation. She was making demands, not trying to understand her son.

  Autumn’s father was too much like that, and she knew there would be no changing him. She was sad for Alex.

  “Today’s been fun,” Cree said. “I went with Trigrian and Sera to the stream and helped them seed some crabs there. Precious brought them back from Earth. Tiny little buggers, but maybe they’ll be worth something in a couple of years. Where are you?”

  “At the farm, just waiting for a cart.” Again, she looked over her shoulder.

  Luke had detached from the group a bit and kept looking around, but every time he did, someone would distract him with conversation. As long as they continued talking, she’d get away scot-free.

  “Tell me about your trip,” Cree said. “Anything good come of it?”

  “Lots of good. Also, lots of…things I’m not sure of.” Autumn grimaced. “Anyhow, I need to get into town and try to take care of my immigration issues, and also to check on the apartments. There’s got to be a way I can get things back on track.”

  “Well, they’d been making pretty good time before they ceased working, and the weather’s been pretty stable overall, so at least you don’t need to worry about rot and mold and such creeping into the framework before you have a chance to get the masonry up around it.”

  Autumn could see the cart’s single headlight flashing as it rounded the bend. “Maybe it’s a good thing the project got delayed. I have some ideas that spawned from my brainstorming in The Barrens. Some ways to make the housing more accessible, and to also connect it better to Little Gitano proper. I guess I need to find Amy Mauren. She might be the only person around here with enough clout to override the mess.”

  “Amy’s in Buinet right now.”

  “Ugh. Of course she is.”

  “Hey, you’ll figure something out. I’m on my way to the farmhouse right now. Are you heading that way?”

  “No, I’m going to the lodge, assuming I can get a ride once I get to the road. I probably should have thought of that.” The cart stopped in front of Autumn, and she dropped her bags into the opposite seat.

  Or, at least, tried to.

  A sun-kissed hand reached past her and lifted out her tote, and then her duffel, gently moving her to the side.

  “Where are ya going?” Luke asked.

  Oh, shit.

  Forcing down a swallow, she turned and dragged her tongue across her lips. “Um. Cree? I’ll call you back.” She disconnected and met Luke’s curious chocolate gaze. “I figured I’d get out of everyone’s hair. Plus, I need to—”

  “Work. Yeah.” He pressed his hands to her upper arms and chafed them through her blouse.

  She’d been wearing it for two days. She was dying for a change of clothes, but Luke didn’t seem concerned at all.

  And his touch felt nice—it felt needed. One taste of him wouldn’t be enough.

  She let out a breath and allowed herself to seek satisfaction just once, but then she really needed to go.

  “The work can wait a little while. Dinner will be ready soon, so what’s the point of rushing off?”

  “Well, my paperwork is…” Staring into his face, which seemed so close to hers, she couldn’t remember what about the paperwork was so troubling. “And the apartments. I have to…”

  “Hmm?”

  Her face practically vibrated with her embodied sense of overwhelming when Luke’s lips skimmed over hers. Gently, softly, teasing as he smoothed his hands up her back.

  “Don’t worry about the damned paperwork,” he whispered against her lips. “We’ll take care of it tomorrow. We’ll take care of everything.”

  Reflexively, she closed her eyes and lifted her chin a little more for him. She liked the feeling of his soft beard scruff against her cheeks. Liked the way his breath felt as it tickled her neck. Liked the way he took command and turned her face and body where he wanted them when she was too slow to respond.

  Her face was between his palms and his mouth over hers. She moaned into his and lazily chased his teasing tongue around her mouth. Nipping sensuously at her lips and chasing away the tiny stings with the tip of his tongue, he tucked his hands beneath her ass and pulled her body more firmly against his. There was the beginning of an erection pressed against her belly, and he had no shame.

  Pulling back with a gasp, she swatted him away, or at least tried to. “Stop teasing me.”

  “Who’s teasing? And why don’t you touch back?”

  “What?”

  “When I’m kissing you. Both of your arms are free.” He picked
up both of her hands demonstrably and planted one over his crotch.

  Oh, God.

  “You can do what you want,” he teased with a grin.

  “It just doesn’t feel right, touching you.” All the same, she curled her fingers around the thick length and took a measure of it. She’d been a witness to the fact that he knew how to use it, easily the most erotic scene she’d ever seen. She’d spent an extra five minutes that night in the bathroom of Alex’s ship trying to rein her arousal back. “You…have a boyfriend.”

  Rocking his crotch against her lazy hand, he chuckled and draped his arms over her shoulders. “I think you were going to buy him a pony. Alex really wants that pony.”

  “He does?” Tentatively, she moved her other hand around his waist, curious if the rear end that displayed so well beneath canvas and denim was as firm as it looked.

  “Mm-hmm. I think he never got what he wanted when he was a child.”

  “Poor baby.”

  “I know, right?”

  She gave Luke’s ass a quick confirming pinch and moved her hand away.

  He laughed and moved his hot mouth down to the crook of her neck. “Was that supposed to hurt, or are you just kicking my tires?”

  His thumb passed over the bead of her nipple and a wanton moan fell out of her mouth.

  “Uh.” She gulped. “The latter. What are we doing?”

  “That’s a good question,” came the voice of the newcomer behind her.

  Before she could turn around and tell Alex, “This isn’t what it looks like,” she found herself pressed between two hard male bodies.

  Alex draped his arms over Autumn’s shoulders onto Luke’s and sighed. “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I?”

  “She was absconding.”

  “Why?”

  “I have…stuff to do,” Autumn stammered. “Forms and…”

  She didn’t even know what else. She was the boring filling in a sandwich with really pretty bread. Life suddenly didn’t make much sense. She didn’t know what the rules were or how she was supposed to behave.

  Or if she was supposed to behave.

  Alex clucked his tongue.

  “You gotta get rid of the immigration inquiry, Alex,” Luke said. “It’s distracting.”