by Lisa Lace
A magnificent display of food was on the table, and I was afraid everyone would pair off. Avren and I were certainly not a couple, but we were off the hook because they separated into groups of men and women. Jayne walked off by herself, taking a tour of the place, and the other women followed her. The boys congregated in the kitchen, standing around while Arnon passed around Auxem alcohol.
I stood by myself, feeling like I wasn’t part of the group. What was I doing here?
Avren was engrossed with his family, which was how it should be, but I clearly wasn’t a part it. I needed to get back to work. I should never have set foot in the room. I turned to let myself quietly out the door, knowing I didn’t belong when I heard Gwen’s voice echoing across the house.
“Where is the other ginger hiding? Vanessa, come over here.” I turned toward the sound of her voice. Gwen appeared in the hallway and beckoned to me. “Where you think you’re going, girl? You don’t want to be left alone when the Madellan brothers are catching up. Make sure you bring both of your X chromosomes with you. We have a lot to talk about.”
I blinked, overcome by her kindness and unrestrained warmth in front of the Auxem princes.
Anders called out to her. “Take your two X chromosomes and get out of here, Gwen. I’ll deal with you later.”
Gwen winked at him and nodded at me, indicating we should proceed down the passageway. We walked toward the sound of chattering women.
“Is there somewhere you needed to be tonight?” She looked at me curiously.
I shrugged. “Avren and I aren’t married. I could never do what you do, behaving casually in front of famous people.”
Gwen burst out laughing uncontrollably, and I watched her, feeling bewildered. Had I said something funny? She laughed so long and so hard that she ended up clutching her belly and needing to use the bathroom.
“Thanks, Vanessa. I needed a laugh. I’ve been stressed lately, and that’s not safe for the baby.”
“I still don’t understand what I said that was so humorous.”
“A while ago, I couldn’t even talk to them. I started sweating if I knew I was going to be in the same room as one of them. I couldn’t speak. They probably thought I was an idiot.”
“That sounds completely unbelievable. You’re just saying something to make me feel better.”
I knew I had offended her immediately.
“I would never tell a lie. Come here. Let me show you something.” Gwen grabbed my arm and dragged me out onto the beautiful terrace at the back of their suite. The ground was cement and ended in some perfectly manicured grass. Lamps that looked like torches surrounded the sitting area. A complete set of comfortable living room furniture filled the space. Off in the courtyard were trees, fountains, and benches.
But my attention wasn’t on the surroundings.
“Girls, please tell Vanessa how I used to behave around your husbands.” Elle made a dismayed face. Jayne laughed, then covered her mouth. Priya grinned. “Come on, don’t be shy. She doesn’t believe me.”
Elle shook her head. “I can hardly believe it myself. Vanessa, she only started talking to the guys recently.”
Priya spoke up. “She used to tell Anders he wasn’t a prince, and he was just a pilot. She made him feel like she only loved part of him.”
“I couldn’t handle it, Vanessa. I had a weird phobia. It was funny because Anders, the prince, never made me feel nervous at all. We were together all the time.”
“You really wouldn’t say a word when they were around?”
Gwen nodded her head. “What do you mean, you don’t belong?”
“You’re all the wives of princes. Doesn’t that make you princesses?”
Four disgusted faces in front of me forced me to start laughing.
“We’re women from Earth, just like you.” Priya stood up and ran her hands up and down her body. “None of us are princesses at heart, no matter what our official titles might be.”
“Vanessa, what’s up with you and Avren?” Jayne spoke sweetly and innocently, but I couldn’t help feeling she wasn’t quite as wholesome as she looked.
“We’re researching the cause of Auxem wing pain.” I frowned. “I thought you all knew about it. We’ve isolated the gene, and we’re trying to alter it to remove the agony...”
I trailed off. Everyone looked like they had more questions for me.
“I’m not as polite as Jayne.” Elle seemed like a shark out for blood. She had brown hair in a short pixie cut. “Are you two together or what?”
“Avren and I?” Against my will, I started nervously thinking about what we had done last night. “Why would you ask me such an embarrassing question?”
Gwen’s eyes lit up, and she grinned at Priya, who smiled back. “Did you notice she didn’t answer the question?” Gwen sounded like she had heard something funny.
“Rumor has it you and Avren dated before, but it ended badly.” Jayne frowned at Gwen and Priya.
“Yes, that’s about right. How do you know so much about me?” I was unwilling to share any further details. Everyone seemed nice, but I didn’t know them. “There’s nothing between us now. We’re colleagues.”
All the women around me had a look of disbelief on their face. The baby had been squirming around in Jayne’s arms. Jayne put her down on the floor, and the little girl crawled around before finding a chair to pull herself up on.
“We don’t want to be pushy, Vanessa.” Gwen frowned thoughtfully. “Well, I do. They don’t.” She waved a hand at her sisters-in-law. “But you two look like a little more than colleagues.”
I decided to try another approach. “Would you believe we’re old friends?”
“Maybe, if that was only the beginning of the description. Is there a ‘with benefits’ tacked on at the end?” Gwen waggled her eyebrows at me.
I sighed and sat down in one of the chairs. “We were trying to keep our relationship professional. I was, at least. But things happened.”
The women started cheering and only stopped when Gwen forced them to quiet down. “And...” she prompted. “Last night you got your groove on, didn’t you? I can see why. Avren is cute. Not as cute as Anders, of course, but there’s something about him.”
Her comments touched off a spirited discussion about which Madellan brother was the cutest. In the end, the consensus seemed to be that Ayrie was gorgeous, Arnon distinguished, Anders devilishly handsome, Allex just plain hot, and Avren was cute in a bookish sort of way.
I agreed and appreciated the heat getting off my back for a few minutes.
“Here’s the thing, Vanessa.” Gwen reached out to take my hands. “You seem to be a terrific person, but Avren is part of our family. We don’t want to see him get hurt.”
I looked around, and everyone had a similar solemn look on their face. Some were nodding in agreement.
“We heard you broke his heart the last time you were together.”
“Who told you that?”
“Does it matter, Vanessa? All we want to know is if it’s true.”
“I think we hurt each other. We were much younger back then.”
Priya nodded, looking sympathetic. “Avren said it was pretty complicated.”
“It was. But neither of us is going to have problems this time. It’s just sex.” I could see doubt emanating from their bodies. “We’re not getting involved. We’re hooking up.”
“Does Avren feel the same way you do?” Gwen had a concerned look on her face.
“Of course he does. Why do you ask?”
Gwen looked around at the others for support, and they nodded. “When he looks at you, there’s a lot more than lust in his eyes.”
Chapter Nine
AVREN
I was still thinking about yesterday’s dinner while I was at work the next day. I missed my family when we were apart, and having Vanessa join us was heartbreaking. Part of me wished we could be like the other couples around the table. Together, happy, and having a lot of sex.
&nbs
p; But we couldn’t.
I still liked having her there. Vanessa made me happy, and I hated it. She was going to leave when our project ended, and I’d have a hole in my life again. I just couldn’t stop myself from enjoying her presence while she was with me, no matter what misery awaited me in the future.
“Vanessa, aren’t you glad I forced you to take an early lunch break?” She ravenously tore into the food I brought. It looked revolting to me, but she seemed to enjoy it.
“You know something? I forgot to change my schedule. If someone’s looking for me, they’ll think I’m in the lab.”
“If that’s your biggest concern right now, you don’t have a lot of things to worry about. Who would be looking for you?”
She tilted her head from side to side, considering. “I guess you have a point.”
It was a gorgeous day, and we were eating outside in the sunshine in a large courtyard next to the lab. Vanessa suddenly stopped eating and focused her green eyes on me.
“I’ve meant to tell you something. Your expert scientists either made a colossal error or intentionally misstated the results of your fertility tests.” A disgusted look passed her face. “I need to read through the study again, but there are a dozen holes in the data, each one of them big enough to pilot a spaceship through.”
I winced. “You’re going to have to show me. I don’t know why anyone would do something like that.”
Vanessa wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air. “Do you smell something weird?”
I shrugged. I couldn’t smell anything except Vanessa’s appalling lunch. She continued berating the scientists who had decided Auxem males were going to be infertile. “It’s shoddy science. We don’t have the time to do this, but someone should commission another study immediately. If they made a mistake, we have to know.”
“I’ll get Carsegon to organize it. He’s quick and accurate.”
She glanced up from the exotic Earth food she was eating to look at me with a penetrating glare.
“And I’ll make sure to check on him every step of the way.” I slapped the table for emphasis.
“Exactly.” Her eyes twinkled. “And go through the outcome with a fine-toothed comb. But Avren, why would someone alter their results? It’s not like they’re going to benefit from a mistake like that.”
A roar sounded from across the courtyard. We watched in horror as our lab burst into flames and started disintegrating.
We ran to the far side of the courtyard, away from the fire, forgetting about our meal. Emergency services began screeching in our direction. A hovercraft appeared and began pouring water on the fire.
Personnel streamed in through all the doors and secured the area. One of them was about to go into the lab, but I ran over to stop him.
“You don’t have to risk your life. There’s no one in there.” I put my hand on his arm.
“Don’t tell me how to do my job. Vanessa Dwyer’s working in there right now.” He pushed me away and headed for the door.
“I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but it’s wrong. She’s right over there.”
He looked in the direction I was pointing and called out. “Are you Vanessa?” She came over to present her identification.
We waited around while the firemen did their jobs and security started an investigation. Vanessa couldn’t stop pacing. “Did you send our samples to the team, Avren? Tell me we didn’t lose all our work.”
“We’re going to be fine. The team at the third-party lab was verifying our conclusions. I already called to double-check.”
“Okay.” She stopped walking and rolled her shoulders. “I can’t believe someone would do this to us.”
“Maybe it was an accident, Vanessa. We have some volatile chemicals in there.”
“They’re all properly stored and cared for. Nothing like this should have happened today.”
She was right. But I didn’t want to imagine what her implications could mean.
The head of the security team approached us with black smudges on his face and arms. “I have bad news, Your Highness.” He bowed his head and waited for me to speak before looking at me. It was protocol, but I hated it.
“You can call me Avren. Just tell us what you’ve learned.”
He seemed uncomfortable and avoided using my first name. “Someone sabotaged your lab.”
“They were trying to destroy our research?” Vanessa was fuming. She had guessed it already, but this was her first independent confirmation. “Why would someone do that?”
“Not exactly. They weren’t trying to ruin your work.”
“What do you mean?” I had the feeling we weren’t going to like what he was about to say.
“I’m very sorry, Miss. They were trying to kill you.”
VANESSA
The head of security spent some time explaining how they reached their conclusion. The explosion had happened at my station. There weren’t any samples there today because I had been solving some equations on paper. The detonation was rigged to look like an accident. Even if the blast didn’t get me, the toxic smoke would have killed me within minutes.
It wasn’t the first time someone had made an attempt on my life, either. The attack on our fighter might have been intended for me. It was frightening to imagine someone was trying to kill me again, especially since we didn’t know who was doing it or why. It was probably related to the research. It would change everything for Auxem, and some people didn’t like change.
“Avren, can I just go back to my room now?”
The head of security answered my question, not Avren. “It depends on where you’re staying.”
“I have one of the guest rooms.”
“No, that’s not a secure location. You’ll have to stay in the prison tonight.”
“Are you kidding me?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I’m not saying you did, but it’s secure, and nothing’s going to happen to you there.”
“We don’t have to go that far — Vanessa can stay with me.” Avren looked like he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I have three bedrooms, plus the living room and a den.”
I blushed, but the head of security wasn’t looking at me.
“That’s good enough for me.” Apparently, he was only concerned about my safety, not whether Avren and I were fucking. “The royal apartments are the only rooms safer than the prison.”
“I’m glad we agree. Come on, Vanessa. I’ll show you to your new room.”
“Whatever you say.” I felt dazed and overwhelmed. Everything was happening too quickly, and I wasn’t used to this much excitement in my life.
“I’ll have a guard escort you. Don’t go anywhere without your personal security detail, Avren.”
Avren nodded reluctantly. “We’ll do whatever we have to do.” He took my hand and led me out of the courtyard.
AVREN
Vanessa had almost died in front of my eyes.
The thought shook me. I didn’t know what I would do if anything happened to her. I couldn’t have her, but I knew I still cared about her.
When we reached my suite, I got Vanessa settled on the couch and went into the kitchen to make us a drink. I needed something to soothe my nerves. Vanessa seemed distracted, too. Anyone would have trouble processing an attempt on their life.
I brought two drinks on a tray and set it on the coffee table in front of her. She leaned forward and took a glass, sipping until her hands began to shake so badly that she couldn’t hold it anymore.
I took the cup from her and gently put it on the table before sitting down on the couch and wrapping my arms around her, pulling her close to me.
“They were trying to kill me, Madellan. You and your lunch date saved me.” She stopped, unwilling to contemplate what might have happened.
I was so thankful for my decision that I didn’t know what to say. Vanessa held on to me as if she were afraid to let go. “I didn’t intend for t
his to happen, Vanessa. I would never have asked you to come to Auxem if I thought you might be in danger.”
“I know.” She pulled away and looked up at me. She had tears on her face, and I wiped them away with my thumb. “You couldn’t have predicted what happened.”
“I understand if you don’t want to stay here.”
She frowned. “Are you trying to kick me out, Madellan?”
“No.” I pulled her to me again. “I don’t want you to go.” I had accidentally spoken a profound truth, but I pressed on.
“I want you to be able to sleep tonight.”
“Someone’s trying to kill me, and I don’t know why, Avren. Don’t you think the best place for me to be is in a fortified castle?”
The stress of the day hit me. Having Vanessa here in my arms seemed a very good thing. “I think the best place for you is in my bed. I don’t want to let you out of my sight. I couldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to you, Vanessa.”
Her eyes softened. “Your bed sounds pretty good to me right now, although I’m not sure if I feel like fooling around.”
My mouth dropped open. “Do you think I would try to seduce a traumatized girl?”
She smiled and batted her eyes at me playfully. “Yes? I’m not going to let a single day affect me too much.”
The servants brought her clothes and put them in one of the guest bedrooms in my large suite. We met in my room when we were both ready to sleep.
She gave me a nervous look, but I led her to the bed, tucking her in. Then I went around to my side and climbed in, spooning myself against Vanessa’s back and wrapping my arm around her.
She gave a contented sigh. “Nothing’s going to happen to me here.”
I kissed her cheek. “Of course not, Vanessa.”
After the crazy events of the day, we both fell fast asleep, more exhausted than we had imagined.
VANESSA
Snuggling with Avren all night had been terrible and beautiful at the same time. I had slept deeply and awakened feeling refreshed.
I even received a call from Genetic Futures, but I didn’t bother returning it. They probably just wanted to return the research samples I sent in with my application. What I was doing now seemed more important than racing to call them back. They rejected me. They could wait.