PRIYA

We had been fighting in the beginning. Allex loomed over me, trying to get me to back down, but I wouldn’t, of course. Suddenly I was in his arms, and his lips were on mine. It was better than I had imagined.

My body hummed and my heart pounded. Where was my head? Pirates were coming our way, and I didn’t have my trusted chunk of heavy pipe. Having Allex around was making me sloppy.

He whispered into my ear as I held back a shiver. “Let’s go get your whacking stick. It worked once before.”

I nodded and led the way back to my secret quarters. The voices were nearby. I guessed they were only a few minutes away. What would they do with me if they caught me?

I knew I wasn’t beautiful like a runway model, but I was young and female. Allex’s body had reminded me of that when I felt his hardness pressing against me. The pirates would certainly add me to their pool of sex slaves, and if they captured Allex, he would be the perfect hostage. They would have all the leverage they would ever need over the royal family. With Allex under their control, they could force his family to come out or fork over a ransom.

I realized I could protect him. Even if the pirates learned someone was living down here, they wouldn’t know there were two of us. If they were going to catch anyone, they might as well grab me. I could tell them I had been a stowaway and there was no one else down here. Allex could hide here indefinitely.

It would be terrible if they had him as a bargaining chip. And what if they decided to carry out their threat to kill all the men? Even if I became a slave, at least I would still be alive.

On the other hand, they might not be able to overpower us. It sounded like there were only two of them. If they found us, could we take out two pirates? I looked at myself with doubt. Even if we had surprise on our side and a hundred pipes, we weren’t going to be able to beat anyone up.

I grabbed the pipe as soon as we arrived at our quarters. I felt more confident wielding a weapon. Allex looked around for something he could use to fight, but all he found was a pail.

“If we take them out, the other pirates are going to know someone’s down here when they don’t return.” I followed Allex out the door. “What are we going to do?”

He stopped and looked back at me. When he spoke, his words came out in a whisper. “You’re right.” He set down the pail. “What do you think we should do?”

“We can’t let them find out anyone’s living down here. If they find the room, someone is going to start looking for us.”

“Come over here for a minute.” Allex took my hand and pulled me back to the door. The darkness of the sleeping area enveloped us. We stood next to each other so we could talk quietly. I briefly wondered if there was another reason why we were so close.

“What might encourage them to avoid searching this area thoroughly, Priya? We need to make them want to leave voluntarily.”

“Wasn’t there a bunch of rotten fruit in the greenhouse?”

“That’s perfect. All we need to do is gather some of the worst-smelling food. We’ll make this place stink to high heaven. They won’t want to come down here, and we can clean it up after they leave. Brilliant idea!”

I was glad he couldn’t see me blush in the dark. “Are you sure the prince doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty?”

“The prince will do whatever it takes to stay alive.” I wished I could see his face. I was sure his eyes were dancing.

“Okay. What should we do?” I was gratified when he didn’t tell me to stay and wait but included me in his plans. I wasn’t sure if it meant anything, but it made me happy.

* * *

ALLEX

It didn’t take long to gather the ingredients and assemble the vile package. I took a small risk and concealed it in the search path of the pirates. Once I knew it was secure, I dashed over to where Priya was waiting, took her hand, and led her back to our sleeping quarters.

There was no reason for me to touch her again, but I liked it. She was becoming more important to me than I could have ever imagined a couple of days ago. I would need to sort out my feelings soon.

“Go inside, and I’ll close the door behind us.” She nodded, dropped to her knees, and crawled in. I followed after and started to seal the conduit door.

“Allex, what are you doing?”

“I don’t want to smell that stuff. By my estimates, we should have about eight hours of breathable air in here. If we can make the cracks lightproof, we can turn the lights on, too.”

“I didn’t know you could secure the door like that.”

“I’m not just easy on the eyes. I’m smart, too.” I tapped my temple.

“Aren’t they going to wonder who left that pile of rotten fruit for them?”

I shook my head. “If they bother reporting it and they investigate further, they’re not going to find much. I tried to spread it around and make it look as natural as possible. In fact, they might think it shows the area has been vacant for so long that the food is spoiling.”

“What do we do now?”

I thought of all the things I wanted to do to her. Some of what I was thinking must have shown on my face because she started to blush.

“We’re stuck in here for the next few hours.” I tried to avoid staring at her. “Do you have any ideas?”

I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but she seemed to get even redder. She dropped her eyes and avoided my stare. I wondered if her thoughts were anything like mine. If so, they likely involved putting our lips together and pressing our bodies against each other.

“We can start by getting to know each other a little better. I’m starting to wonder how a woman like you ended up being a stowaway.”

Something wasn’t adding up. Priya wasn’t a criminal, I could feel it in my soul. The more I got to know her, the less I believed she might be a thief. If she was, she must have a good reason, and I wanted to know it.

“To be honest, I’m starting to wonder why a prince would run to the basement of the ship. Where’s the rest of your family?”

I felt my lips curve up into a smile. “They’re safe.”

“I’m sure there’s more to the story. Have a seat on my comfortable couch.” She gestured to the futon next to her. It looked a lot more comfortable than my pile of blankets.

I walked over and sat down, leaning back on the conduit wall. I got up the courage to pat the space beside me. Priya’s lips twitched like she was trying not to smile. She accepted my invitation but was careful to make sure we weren’t touching each other.

I took the lead. “I have a question for you. I’ve been watching you, and something doesn’t add up. Are you really a stowaway?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not. And it’s your fault I ended up here in the first place.”

“That’s impossible.” I was becoming more intrigued by her.

“Do you remember the day we ran into each other at the testing facility?”

“I do. It would be hard to forget something like that.”

“I was really upset when I left, and I wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around me. It was dark, and some assholes jumped me.”

“Did they hurt you?” I was concerned even though it was clearly behind her and I couldn’t change the past.

“Don’t worry. The worst thing that happened was losing a few credits. A passerby saw us and shouted at them, and when they were distracted, I ran and got out of there. I hid in a shuttle near the testing center.”

I turned my head to look at her. “You were in the shuttle Anders and I flew to the ship?”

She nodded. “I thought I could wait in the shuttle until it returned to Earth.”

“Why didn’t you say something? We could have brought you back to the planet immediately.” I felt relieved she hadn’t said anything. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be sitting beside me. I reached out for her hand, wondering if she would let me hold it. A warm feeling spread through my body when she did.

“I didn’t have the courage. All I knew about you was that you had been rude to me. If you were an irate shuttlecraft owner, you could have charged me with breaking and entering. It was better to stay out of sight.”

“Our shuttle never returned to Earth. Why didn’t you move to a ship that was making the return trip?”

“I didn’t know where to go, Allex. I had never been here before, and there wasn’t a map printed on the wall. I found some food on the storage level. I looked around for somewhere to go, but before long, I felt the engines engage.”

“Did you start to panic?”

“I had researched starships in school. A transport’s engines work hardest when they start moving to overcome rest inertia.”

“You knew we were leaving, didn’t you?”

She nodded while gazing at the opposite wall. “As soon as those engines started, I knew I was in trouble, and the instant we started moving, I became a stowaway. I was never going back to Earth, and I would never see my family again.”

“I would have lost my senses in your situation.” I felt upset for her. I couldn’t imagine being separated from my family again. Thinking about it made me sick to my stomach.

“I didn’t have a lot of choices. I still don’t. I could go to jail if I’m arrested. Maybe I’ll get off easy with a fine, or maybe I don’t have enough credits to pay for it, and I become an indentured servant for the rest of my life. Even if I get out of here, how am I going to get home? I can’t afford a return ticket.”

I sat quietly, holding Priya’s hand. I didn’t want to leave here to any of those fates. There were a lot of ways I could help her. “If we manage to get out of here, I’ll do everything I can to protect you and send you home. Credits aren’t a problem.”

“They aren’t?” An amused look appeared on her face. “Credits are a huge problem when you don’t have any.”

“My family is wealthy. I’ll promise you something. If we can keep your existence a secret, I’ll make sure you get a ticket back to Earth.”

“That sounds great.” She didn’t look as happy as I expected. “Thanks.”

“Don’t you want to go home?”

“Of course I do.” Priya flashed me a smile. There was something under the surface that seemed fake. “Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something in my teeth?”

“I’m trying to figure out why you wouldn’t want to go back home.”

The way she bit her lip and looked away from me made me wonder. “Priya, you want to go home, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.” She pulled her hand away from me and stood up. I watched her start folding the messy blankets on her bed. She seemed upset.

We just met each other. Priya couldn’t have feelings for me already, and I couldn’t have any for her. Was it even possible? If it was, it would be like something from a fairy tale. We were definitely not a perfect match for each other.

I felt my cock twitch at the thought of us getting together. Did I imagine things? She couldn’t have feelings for me, no matter how she had kissed me. I should focus on what I knew for sure. I had to kick the pirates off the ship and help Priya get back home. She said that was what she wanted.

I tried not to dwell on how I would feel if she left.