With a whoosh, a wormhole opened on the other side of the stairs, stealing away the opportunity to ask. Four helmeted figures rushed through, making the small home feel even more crowded. They wore the same blue fatigues as Bryce and saluted him before removing their helmets and lowering to one knee in front of her. Stars, even after so many years, she couldn’t escape such nonsense. No one needed to kneel in front of her. She glanced at Bryce, hoping he would tell them to stand. Instead, he copied their motion, bowing his head. “Princess Lalia, we are at your service.”
Stumbling back, she stared at the four men and one woman on the floor, all of differing races, and expecting something of her she couldn’t give. She wasn’t royalty. Not anymore. “Get up. Please, get up. I’m not a princess.”
***
Bryce winced as his squad knelt before Princess Lalia. He hadn’t once bowed to her as he should have. Too wrapped up in his own lust and guilt, he’d ignored protocol, forgotten her royal blood, as he had when much younger. He fell to one knee before any of his squad shot a questioning glance his way. Sure, rumors had floated around the Galactic Defenders about his relationship with her, but his former team members had retired, each replaced by one of his or her children. Others had perished in battle, never having the chance to start a family or retire from a life of service. They considered her the lost princess of Hemera, an important civilian who needed to be reunited with her family.
As much as he wanted the relationship they’d once had to continue, to become far more than a secret fling, they both had extenuating circumstances to deal with before they could be together. If she wanted him at all. They’d survived without each other for most of their lives, and he could go on alone if need be. Until he completed his commitment to the Alliance, he didn’t have time for a relationship. Lalia could be nothing more than the last part of their mission, a journey to Hemera to reunite the princess with her brother and introduce her unexpected daughter. His daughter. No, she couldn’t be anything to him until he retired from service. The Galactic Defenders couldn’t learn about his daughter’s lineage. Drawing in his emotions, he bowed his head, not daring to look at either woman. “Princess Lalia, we are at your service.”
“Get up. Please, get up.” Her voice wavered, and she stepped back. “I’m not a princess.”
“And your name’s not Lalia, either.” Katrina eyed his squad, most of them not much older than her. Then she stared at him, her brows furrowed. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing,” Bryce interrupted before she could say anything to give away their relationship. The moment any of the Defenders found out, she would be thrust into his world, torn from her mother when she’d just learned the truth about her heritage. As much as he’d yearned for a child to someday take his place, he refused to give Katrina up. Not after only meeting her. He bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Your Royal Highness, but in all the grief you experienced at seeing your father killed, you must have missed me telling you your mother is the princess of a planet called Hemera. And Lalia is her given name. She must have changed it to fit in on Earth.
Lalia nodded. “Lindsay. I went by Lindsay. Though, I doubt I’ll be called by that name again.”
Rising to his feet, Bryce stalked across the room, putting as much distance as possible between him and the mother and daughter. He couldn’t chance Naf, a Mingot, reading more than his need to protect the women. “Rebreg, when is the ship scheduled to land?”
“O-one-hundred, Major. In about thirty Galactic minutes.”
“Great.” He nodded to the squad. “I want you to set up a perimeter, ensure there is no threat to the princess and her daughter in reaching Hemera.”
Standing by the sole door, he waited until all of his squad had left before returning his attention to Lalia and Katrina. Regardless of his regard for them, he had to keep both women at a distance for the time being. Or perhaps because of his affection for them.
With a heavy breath, he turned to face them. “Katrina, I am happy to find out you are my daughter, and I want us to get to know each other. But, do not mention our relationship to anyone or in front of anyone.”
Lalia gasped. “Bryce, how can you say that? I know I should have told you, but...”
Clasping her elbows, he stared deep into her eyes, guilt at her reaction eating at his gut. “Trust me, please. I am a Galactic Defender. I never expected to find you here, but since I have, I want end my service to the Alliance. I need you to be patient with me and keep our family a secret until then.”
Rebreg stuck his spiked head inside the door. “Shuttle arrived early. We’re loading up.”
Bryce jumped back from Lalia, breaking their connection. “We’ll be right there.”
“Yes, we will.” Katrina stuck up her chin and rushed past him but turned around before she disappeared out the door. “Because some of these Galactic Defenders are hot, and I’m going to get to know them better. Since you’re not my father, you can’t stop me.”
“Katrina!” Lalia stormed after their daughter. “You have no right to talk like that.”
Bryce didn’t worry about the young Defenders. He might not have control over his daughter, but he did over his squad. And if any one of them dared to touch her, he’d have them reassigned to a guard on the prison colony.
Chapter Three
Lalia drew off the thin cover and slipped from her bed—a shelf sticking out of the wall with a single-sized memory foam mattress on top of it. She couldn’t sleep, had to see Bryce and beg him to get the ship turned around, or at least set its destination for another planet. Her daughter lay on her own shelf-bed on the other side of the small space, softly snoring, a sure sign of her exhaustion. A feeling Lalia shared after their quick departure from Earth and tour of the carrier once their shuttle had docked with it a day later. And getting used to Galactic time again after living on Earth stole any energy she had. But the twisting sensation in her gut refused to let her rest. She had to voice her concerns before they reached Hemera and she reunited with people she’d believed long dead.
Glancing one last time at her daughter, she pulled on her robe then exited the room.
Confident of their safety on the carrier and in space, the Galactic Alliance hadn’t assigned them any security. They’d been housed in the guest quarters, three floors up from Bryce and the rest of the Defenders.
No one patrolled the hallway at all, making her passage past the communal bathroom and to the lift easy. “Second floor, Defender’s Lounge,” she recited to the computer after the doors slid closed behind her. The chamber softly glowed around her, no buttons or emergency phones on the walls like elevators on Earth. While Bryce had told her to locate him in the lounge if she had an emergency, she doubted he’d expect her so soon after he’d left her. But she couldn’t share her objections in front of her daughter. If they did end up on Hemera, she didn’t want Katrina to know how much she’d detested life on her home planet.
“Destination reached,” the computer said in a neutral tone, neither male nor female.
Peeking out, she spotted no one. With all the Defenders she’d met on board, she’d expected to run into at least one of them. Instead, closed doors surrounded the gleaming floor of the large, circular room. Tables, chairs, couches, and other odd-shaped furniture rested along the far wall, as if pushed there before one of the crew had cleaned the floor.
Would she leave marks on the polished surface if she stepped across it, evidence of her visit to Bryce? Or, worse, set off an intruder alarm?
The lift door whooshed toward her. Lalia jumped out of the way to avoid getting squished. She paused, waiting for an ear-piercing wail, for all the Defenders to come rushing out to see what had set off the alarm. Yet, an eerie silence hung around her, all the doors remaining closed.
She tiptoed around the edge of the room, searching the entrances for some marker indicating which one led to Bryce. Nothing. They all looked the same, brushed metal without even a window to help her find him. No number or any sor
t of identification to tell them apart from each other. How did any of the Defenders find their own room?
Without warning, a whoosh came from the first door to her left. The metal lifted, and a woman ducked out. The skin-tight suit she wore—not Defender blues—clung to every curve of her body. Loose strands of her hair had fallen out of her bun and hung around her flushed cheeks. She’d obviously had fun with whichever Defender she’d visited.
“Excuse me.” Lalia rushed toward her, hoping the young woman could help find Bryce’s quarters.
The woman spun around then curtsied, her medical tag swinging across her chest as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. “Princess Lalia! Are you lost? Tell me where you’re going, and I’ll help you get there.”
“No.” She shook her head, still not used to being greeted as royalty. “I’m not lost. I cannot figure out how to find a particular Defender, though. All the doors look the same. Do you know where I can find Bryce?”
“Bryce? Sure, I just left him.”
Lalia’s gut twisted. She rolled her finger across the chip behind her ear, unsure if the translator had interpreted the woman correctly. “That’s his room? The one you came out of?”
She nodded with a friendly smile. “He’s probably really tired right now. Wasn’t very cooperative at first, but I managed to tame the beast.”
Her chest ached, rage threatening to burst through her ribs. When he’d said he wanted to keep their family a secret, she hadn’t expected him to go and bang some other woman, especially one not much older than their daughter.
Lalia rushed into the room, the door closing behind her. Instead of the sexually satisfied man she wanted to scream at, she found Bryce wrapped in multiple bandages and scowling.
“What did that woman do to you?” Not what she’d assumed, but not anything she’d expected either. He hadn’t seemed injured when they’d left Earth.
“Defenders aren’t allowed to have bruises or scars. They weaken us in battle.” He ripped off some of the bandages and rolled them in his palm before tossing the ball into the corner of the room. “It’s ridiculous. On Kalara, we wore our battle scars as badges of honor. With the Galactic Defenders, the Alliance has their nurses apply ice and healing creams the minute we arrive on the carrier, sometimes even on the shuttles if the medical team is not busy.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Some days, after coming home from her landscaping jobs back on Earth, she would have appreciated a cream to sooth her aching muscles. Especially one without a menthol smell that made her eyes water.
“No, it makes us forget the pain. And when my squad forgets the pain of battle, it makes them sloppy. They no longer have to worry about how to avoid injury, and can wind up dead.”
Lalia nodded in comprehension. “So, I guess you got pretty banged up with all those Erebus at my house.”
He reached out to her, and when she took his hand, he pulled her toward him, guiding her onto his knee. “It was all worth it to see you again.”
A surge of guilt forced bile to her throat. She swallowed the burning sensation. As much as she loved Bryce, she couldn’t forget Quinn. He had been a good man to take her in and raise Katrina as his own before the divorce. And now he simply didn’t exist, reduced to a puddle of black goop before her eyes. The same as her parents. “Bryce, I can’t go back to Hemera.”
He rubbed a hand across her back. “I know you’re scared. It’s been a long time since you left, but it’s your duty.”
Jumping to her feet, she narrowed her eyes at him. He had no right. “Duty? You want to talk about duty? Do you remember when we met? How I was supposed to marry some baron I didn’t love because it was my duty?”
“I know, and that’s why you need to return, show them a better way, make your brother understand why his daughter should be allowed to marry the man she loves rather than the baron who makes political sense.”
With a sigh, Lalia released some of her animosity. She could do good back on Hemera. Yet, she still held onto some resistance. “Why can’t we settle elsewhere? With you?” She’d dreamed of such a situation from their first night together, of living on Trenorb or Vellab, raising a family without a monarchy guiding her life.
He stood and pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead. “As much as I would love to, I can’t. I have my own duty to the Galactic Defenders. If I apply for retirement, and the Alliance finds out I have a child, they will expect Katrina to take my place. She’ll be taken from me before I have a chance to get to know her.”
The weight of his words pressed on her chest. She hadn’t realized the commitment Defenders made when they joined, thought her life on Hemera the worst. Holding him close, she glanced up at him. “So, what do we do now?” The happy ending she’d hoped for upon seeing him again wouldn’t happen so easily.
Cupping her cheek, Bryce brushed a thumb across her bottom lip. “You go back to Hemera with our daughter. Take your rightful throne, or rule under your brother, it is up to you. I will apply for retirement, and while my application is being processed, I will ask to be assigned to Hemera, an easy mission to finish off my career.”
Resting her head on his chest, she took in his musky scent and relaxed for the first time since they’d boarded the carrier. In a situation where she felt out of control, she had to trust someone. Stuck on Earth for so long, she’d lost all connection with the Alliance, had no knowledge of how to get what she wanted.
Bryce ran the tips of his fingers up and down her back. “Take some time to figure things out. It’s been so long, and we’ve both changed a lot. You fell in love with someone on Earth. Maybe you’ll do the same on Hemera. After all, I’m a Defender, not even close to royalty.”
“Do you think I care?” She stepped back, out of his hold. “I tried to ignore what my mother said about you. She didn’t know the kind soul I did, the loving man who cared more about everyone else than himself. Remember when we snuck food from the banquet and took it to the commoners? They had a feast, and no one even missed it.”
“I do remember. It’s one of the reasons I knew you were different from the rest of your family.”
“I’m still the same person, only older and with a daughter. On Earth, I volunteered in the kitchen of the local family shelter, and helped run the Christmas gift program there. And I never stopped loving you.” She reached for his hand. “I fell in love with Quinn because I believed I was stuck there for the rest of my life. I didn’t think I would ever see you again, no matter how much I wished I would, dreamed of you coming to rescue me.”
A sudden realization dawned. While he’d mentioned getting to know his daughter, he’d never once said anything about them getting back together. She’d simply assumed they’d be an automatic family. Pulling her robe tighter, she headed for the door. “I’m sorry. Universe, I should never have come here. I read too much into your offer. I won’t stand in the way of you getting to know Katrina, but I won’t bother you either. You’re free to be with whomever you want.”
“What are you talking about?” He stood behind her, his hand on the door above her shoulder. “Who said anything about anyone else?”
“Well, no one. But, you want me to be with someone else on Hemera.”
“Lalia, I’m a Defender. While I might be granted retirement, it will take some time.” He ran his palm along her cheek, brushing his thumb over her lips. “As much as I want to spend every minute with you, I can’t make that commitment yet. I’m giving you the opportunity to fall in love again without worrying about me.”
“But I only want you.” In every way possible.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, chewing her bottom lip.
“Good.” He untied her belt and let the robe fall open. “Because I want you.”
He slipped her robe from her shoulders and let it fall to her feet. “I always have. Always will.” Brushing his lips along her neck, he made her feel young again, like a rebellious princess falling in love for the first time. A spell she woul
d willingly fall under time and time again with the man who had stolen her heart many years ago.
Lalia moaned his name. “Promise me you’ll be with me when we land on Hemera, help me through the first couple of days.” She couldn’t do it without him, had no will to return without him by her side.
Lifting her chin up, he stared into her eyes, his lustful gaze leaving her weak in the knees. “I promise.” His mouth crashed down on hers, sweeping her away to a world where no one but the two of them existed. He grasped her hips and drew her closer, his hands sliding around to the globes of her ass.
In a swift motion, he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, his erection evident through the thin layers of clothing between them. Lying her on his narrow bed, he kneeled between her thighs and cupped her cheek. “I will do everything I can to be by your side for as long as possible.”
She slid her hands under the waist of his pants and began to slide them off. “Take me.” As much as she wanted his promises, she wanted him more, to experience the connection they’d once shared. Need pooled low in her belly, driving her hunger. Lifting her hips, she slid her panties off one leg at a time. He took too long.
She reached between them and wrapped her hand over his engorged shaft. “Please.”
The word seemed to flip a switch in him. He kicked his pants the rest of the way off. But instead of joining her on the bed, he picked her up again and twisted around. He lowered her onto the edge of his desk, holding her tight to him. Leaning down, he kissed her, ramping up her desperation. When he ran a finger across her clitoris, she nearly came undone. He moved farther down, stroking between her labia, and finally entering her channel.
She gripped his biceps, struggling to maintain control.
He kept up a slow pattern, teasing her to the brink of release then letting off. Her mind numbed to everything but his touch and the electrifying sensation it caused.
BRYCE (Galactic Defenders Book 1) Page 3