“What do you mean?”
I turned over and leaned onto his chest, looking into his eyes. “When I was young, I could see bands in everyone’s aura. Think of it as color-coded emotions hiding inside the aura.”
His eyes widened. “You can do that?”
“Yes. Or at least I used to. Now I’m having trouble remembering what some of the colors stand for.”
“So…” He was clearly speechless for a moment.
I guess I’d neglected to tell him the depth of this ‘gift.’
“What do you see when you look at me?” he finally managed.
I raised myself up to sitting, facing Murda. “You’re happy. A little uneasy or worried.”
“I do not trust them.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“If you plan to go, let us talk with the others. You can practice on them.” He grinned.
That reminded me…
The smile dropped, and I frowned. “That’s right, you told them.”
My shoulders slumped as I remembered what he’d said. How could I forget? It was true I’d said yes to save my hide, but I wouldn’t be sleeping with him if I didn’t feel something.
I crawled out of bed and headed to the shower.
“Millicent?”
I heard but didn’t bother turning around. He didn’t get to see the hurt in my eyes, no matter how nice he’d been or how much sex we enjoyed.
“Millicent?” He gently grabbed my upper arm. “Are you upset that I told them?”
I couldn’t look at him. Not right now. I don’t know why it bothered me so much, but I felt an ache deep inside. After losing everyone, I thought I’d found someone to talk to, someone to depend on. I’d finally let someone in, but I should have guarded my heart more.
Stupid!
Maybe if they had a gym where I could train, something to take my frustration out on. Maybe I should…
“Millicent?” He lifted my chin gently with one finger, forcing me to look at him, and his colors.
Concern. I’d seen it many times around Jenna. Confusion. I not only saw but heard it in his voice.
“I heard. Gar asked if it was strategical, and you said yes, that’s the only reason you would bring a Human here. But you also told them I had abilities.”
Turquoise flared brightly, muting the other colors.
He cupped my cheek. “I regret not only saying those words, but that you heard them. I was…unprepared to answer them. Feelings are not discussed.”
Regret. That must be the turquoise color.
I shrugged. “I knew it was strategical. You said as much when you offered me a way out.”
“It was more than that. I felt…” He almost grimaced, like it pained him to voice whatever it was he wanted to say.
“Felt what?”
“Protective. Almost from the beginning, when I couldn’t scare you away.”
I smiled, covering the hand that cupped my cheek. “You tried.”
“I did. Your strength impressed me, the way you never hesitated when we fought the Andores.” He shook his head. “To endure so much and be so strong is a quality our species admires greatly.”
I held his gaze, watched his brimstone eyes soften. “Thank you.”
A weight lifted and suddenly I felt vulnerable, exposed. I wasn’t ready for whatever this was, so I stepped back and took a deep breath. “So, what’s the plan?”
He took the hint and let me change the subject. “Shower, breakfast, and then you practice on Gar, Strikr, and Venge.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to shower.” Looking over my shoulder, I grinned. “Want to wash my back?”
His eyes heated as I held my hand out for him to take it, leading him inside with me.
_______________
The others acted peculiar at breakfast. Nobody really talked and they wouldn’t look at me. At least, not in the eyes. I leaned over and whispered, “What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?”
“They won’t even look at me.” After considering it for a minute, I gasped, then whispered to Murda: “You said they didn’t see!”
He gave a wolfish grin. “They didn’t, wife, but they do have ears, and you were not quiet.”
I buried my face in my hands. “Oh, God!”
“You said that a time or two.”
“Shut up!” He chuckled. “I was drunk!” I sighed, shook my head and tried to get past the mortification. “This is why I shouldn’t drink. Ever!”
Sutar delivered ham and eggs and after taking one look at them, I shook my head. They were burnt. Not as bad as before, but still barely edible.
“I can’t eat this.” I glanced up at Sutar. “Sorry.” Then I pushed up from the chair. “I’m going to make some food for everyone.”
If I’m being honest, it was an excuse to escape and regroup. That was so embarrassing.
Looking over the selections, I decided to fix myself an omelet with cheese and mushrooms. But what to cook for the rest of them?
“Hmm…”
And then I spotted something I would NEVER eat: escargot. The government didn’t spare any expenses feeding our guests. I wished I could say the same for the common person just trying to live...
Their breakfast looked horrible, but I carried plate after plate to the dining room anyway. Eggs adorned with escargot.
Yuck!
I watched as Murda took his first bite. His eyes widened, then he took another bite.
“This is delicious!” he cried enthusiastically, and the others all nodded their agreement.
“Of course you’d like snails. You probably would’ve liked the frog and the worm.” I shivered in revulsion, forcing myself to dig into my mushroom and cheese omelet.
With everyone enjoying their meal, they seemed to have forgotten my sexscapade.
Thank God for small miracles, I thought with a sigh of relief. And snails.
Breakfast turned to business when Murda asked, “Did you get the meeting set up?”
“Yes. It will be noon tomorrow.”
Murda scowled. “They enjoy setting late meetings, knowing that is our sleeping time. So be it.”
Gar took another bite of food, then swallowed. “How do you wish us to precede?”
“This time, we take a strike team with us.”
“You are expecting trouble?” Strikr asked.
“No. But I will not be caught unaware.”
I knew what he meant, even if the others didn’t. Neither Jyan nor the colonel were the kind of men who took defeat lying down. Especially when the prize was stolen from them. Even though I felt safe with the Tizuns, I still worried a little.
“Gar, after you have assembled a team, I want you, Strikr and Venge to meet me in the office.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gazing around at the confident sea of alien male faces before me, I shut my eyes briefly. Somehow, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that people were going to die tomorrow.
I only hoped it wouldn’t be Murda’s people.
19
Millicent
My hands trembled as we waited for the others to arrive.
“Stop that.” Murda took my hands in his. “You are the strongest female I know.”
“And how many females do you know?” I meant it as a joke, but when he frowned, I suddenly didn’t want to know. “Forget I asked.”
In truth, I still didn’t know much about Murda. Most of the information I had was limited and pertained solely to Earth. On his planet, he could be a man-whore for all I knew; he sure as hell wasn’t lacking in sexual experience! And right now, I didn’t want to know about other women he’d slept with. I chose to keep my head buried in the sand, pretending that he’d be here on Earth forever.
Dread settled deep. I’d placed those little jammers in the rooms—almost—and my gut said the Tizuns wouldn’t be here long much longer.
I never asked Murda about it, not really, but the respect his presence demanded every ti
me he entered a room told me he was important to his people.
Like who is he exactly? The president of Tizunai? Some kind of lord or knight or whatever the hell Tizuns have for rich dudes? And what in God’s name is a Kyrios, anyway? I asked myself.
“Millie. Where did you go?”
“Just thinking about stupid stuff.”
“Well stop.” And to take my mind off things, he cupped my cheeks, lowering his lips to mine. They moved tenderly, caressing and moist, offering comfort and reassurance. It worked.
When the kiss ended, he pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arms around me. My own arms circled his waist. I knew I was falling in love with my homely yet mesmerizing Tizun.
The problem with that was, for all his admiration, affection, and intimacy in the bedroom, I was painfully aware that he wasn’t in love with me. Hell, who knew if Tizuns even had that kind of emotion? Could I really spend the rest of my life mated to a man who liked, admired and desired me, but didn’t actually love me?
Dammit, I’m so stupid!
A knock sounded at the door. We broke apart and Murda called out, “Enter.”
The others walked in and he nodded for them to take their chairs.
“Is everything in place?”
Gar nodded. “Yes. They will be ready.”
Drawing in a deep breath, it was time to focus and hone my skills while Murda implemented our plan. I knew most of the colors now, but a little refresher course would help to regain my confidence.
“Gar.” Murda sat back and crossed his arms, looking haughty. “I am demoting you. Venge will be my second.”
There it was again, a color I didn’t recognize. I ignored his blank facial expression and mentally picked at the strands, sorting through his emotions. Then I moved onto Venge.
“Strikr, as we have not been rescued yet, I am replacing you.”
“With who?” he burst out, but one look at Murda’s hard face and he was sitting back, lips clamped tight.
I knew how they should feel, so that allowed me to place colors with the emotions. I’d verify it when this little experiment ended. Now, one more thing left to do…
“What do you think, Millicent?” Murda asked casually. All eyes turned toward me.
“I think you’ve made the right decision.” And then I watched. Indigo and purple. Two similar yet not identical colors washed out all the others.
After a beat of silence, Murda asked, “Well?”
I looked at all three men. “They all feel the same right now. At least I think so.” Studying them, I asked, “Are you resentful?” The purple deepened. Anger.
“Answer her!” Murda demanded.
They stared, now refusing to answer to me. “Tell them, Murda.”
“Are you sure? This is your decision.”
“They’re so angry right now, I fear a revolt,” I confessed.
“Very well.” He looked each man in the eyes. “Millie has the ability to read emotions, to know if someone will kill on a whim. And yet she hasn’t practiced in a long time, and has lost some of her knowledge as a result.”
Their eyes shot to mine. The colors changed and I smiled. “Frustrated and confused?”
Their eyes narrowed; they didn’t want to answer.
“Everything I just said was to test emotions,” Murda continued. “Gar, you are still my second. Strikr, I could never replace you. You do superb work.”
“Happy and relieved?” I asked. I knew that happy was correct, but…
“Yes,” Gar answered.
“And in the beginning, you felt hurt, jealous, and angry?”
He nodded, even though he clearly didn’t like me knowing that.
Looking at Venge, I added, “You felt somewhat happy, yet uneasy, almost sad.”
He nodded but didn’t elaborate.
Continuing on with Strikr, I said simply, “Resentful and angry.”
He nodded.
There was still something though, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I said as much.
“Perhaps…” Gar crossed his arms. His next words were clipped. “It is a mixture of betrayal, hurt, and anger.”
“Maybe.” It sounded reasonable since it was his feelings I was trying to figure out. Sighing, I shook my head. Gar especially didn’t like being left in the dark, not with me knowing more than him. “Don’t be upset with Murda. He made me a promise, and he was only honoring it.”
“The three of you are the only ones who know,” Murda added, “and it shall remain that way.”
This seemed to ease the tension as it reassured them that they were still in his innermost circle.
“The colonel?” Gar asked.
“Is unaware,” Murda supplied.
“I don’t know what possessed me to tell Murda, but I did.”
His eyes caught mine. “I had you at ugly.” Then he grinned and I burst out laughing.
“You were a bit scary yourself.”
He held my gaze. “For some reason I cannot explain, I could not leave you unprotected.”
“Is that why you gave me that emergency call button thing?” I glanced at the other three, who were very silent; Gar’s eyebrows almost reached his hairline.
“Yes.” His expression sobered. “Keep it with you. I don’t know what we are walking into.” Facing the other three, he added, “As you know, Millicent is the niece of Colonel Petroff. He is her only living male relative, which made him her protector. The good colonel wanted to strengthen his and Earth’s government’s ties with the Andores, and as such, he promised Millicent’s hand in marriage to Jyan.”
Gar’s face twisted in outrage. “Does the colonel realize what the Andores do to females?”
The look of fury and horror on Gar’s face made my gut twist. I didn’t want to know the details about what happened to the unfortunate women; my imagination was more than sufficient.
Swallowing hard, I sniffed. “If he does know, he doesn’t care. He’s not a compassionate man.”
“So if he befalls some unfortunate accident…” Gar began.
“Everyone would be much better off,” I finished.
He nodded his approval. Good. I didn’t want them to hold back on my account. As far as the ‘good colonel’ was concerned, he was just another bureaucrat out for himself.
Murda stood. “We have much to do before we journey to Human Territory.”
The others filed out one by one. When Murda and I were finally alone, he held out his hand. I gladly took it.
“This will be over soon enough,” he said.
“I hope so.”
Back in our room, I paced. Murda had left to take care of…things… I didn’t really ask. So many scenarios ran through my head. It could very well be an ambush. Or maybe the colonel just wanted proof? Nah, ambush seemed more likely.
Shit!
I threaded a hand through my hair and scrubbed my face. Picking through my clothes, I needed something that didn’t look like I was heading into war, but could still conceal my daggers.
Normally when I visited the colonel, I had to travel through metal detectors. It was a bit comforting knowing I wouldn’t be going through the front doors this time. Tizuns weren’t allowed to, and the others would never suspect that I was armed.
With all the gooey-eyed women pining over the Andores, Human women were considered weak. That certainly worked to my advantage.
“Now, what to wear?”
__________
Later that night, Murda returned to the room.
“Everything okay?” I asked worriedly.
“All is well, wife.”
“Good.” But I still worried.
“Come. Let us get some rest before we travel.”
“Are you kidding? I can’t sleep!”
He took my hand and tugged me toward the bedroom. “Then rest. You will be no good if you are exhausted.”
In the bedroom, he stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the corner. Next went his pants. Following his lead, my shirt and pa
nts joined his.
With my head on his shoulder, he hugged me close. My mind wouldn’t shut off and I needed a distraction. Not a sexual one though; we needed to conserve our energy.
“What happens if your people show up?” I asked abruptly.
“Not if—when.”
“You think they will?”
“Yes. If I know my father, there will be many ships sent to this sector until they find proof that our ship was destroyed.”
“So…they could show up anytime?”
“Yes. Even though I keep hoping to receive word, they will remain silent until they are here.”
“And me?” My heart hammered away. Always before, I never felt like I had anything to lose. Honestly, I didn’t even care if they killed me, so long as I could exact revenge.
“What do you mean?” He hugged me tighter as I drew circles on his chest with my finger.
“Will you take me with you or leave me here?”
“As my Ryges, you go with me. Unless…you do not wish to go.”
“What is your world like?”
“Hmm…more technologically advanced, but without the unnecessary fluff.”
I scoffed. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“I will have to show you one day.”
“I’ll admit, that both scares and excites me.”
“Explain.”
“It’s a little scary thinking about leaving Earth and living on another planet. But if I stayed here—” I didn’t need to say that there was nothing left for me. Only running, hiding, and killing. Because now, I would be a wanted woman.
“I will protect you. Now rest. Daylight will be here soon enough.”
Being in his arms, feeling his heat seep through my skin…I don’t know how, but I faded off to sleep.
20
Millicent
“It is time to get up, wife.” Murda kissed the top of my head.
“Wow, I can’t believe I actually slept.” I sat up and stretched my arms over my head.
“We need to get ready.”
That sobered me up. After climbing out of bed, I took out my daggers and strapped one onto each thigh as always.
Murda drifted over and said, “Here, I want you to take this too.”
Falling for the Alien Prince Page 16