CHAPTER 5
CADEN
Caden woke up with bile rising in the back of his throat. Gagging at the taste, he rolled out of bed and wildly looked for a place to throw up. The room was so clean, he worried he’d make a mess out of things. But then, he spotted a tall glass door that was half open, leading to what looked like a balcony overlooking some of the palace gardens.
There!
In his half-asleep stupor, he nearly ran through the doorway and vomited into a tall potted plant with spiky leaves and bright red flowers. The knots in his stomach slowly began to subside but he stayed kneeling on the balcony with his head in the leaves of the plant just in case. After taking a few deep breaths, his mind cleared and the events of last night came back to him.
Oh, yeah. That sex had been amazing.
The previous night had blown away any and all expectations he had about Zata or what would transpire when he arrived. Xade – Prince Xade – was everything he had ever imagined he wanted in a man and more. He was incredibly sexy, mind-blowing in bed, strong, kind, protective, a great listener…
Talking with him last night as they explored the castle had been such a positive experience; the prince was amazing at pointing out the silver lining in every cloud and so levelheaded in his reasoning.
And now Caden had just thrown up in the potted plant of this amazing Zatan royal prince. It must have been the wine from the night before, he decided. Wine was great, but it for sure always came with a killer hangover.
“Crap,” he muttered to himself. The nausea had subsided but he still had something of a headache. He straightened and took a moment to look over the beautiful gardens. Goosebumps rose on his skin in the crisp morning air. The pale rising sun shone against the silhouette of the towers of the rest of the palace.
Last night, he and Xade had been free to roam the hallways and grounds in privacy as everyone had been in their chambers, but now Caden could see a hint of what the palace would be like in the daytime. A few gardeners were working amidst the greenery and he thought he saw the large forms of a few Zatans pass by the glass windows of a tower on the other side of the gardens.
After taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Caden was satisfied that he wouldn’t throw up on Xade when he returned to bed. He slipped back into the prince’s bedroom and got back under the soft covers, hoping he didn’t smell.
How could this be real? Caden turned to his side so he could watch Xade as he slept. The Zatan breathed very slowly, still deep in sleep. Caden marveled at the stateliness of his profile: a strong, straight nose, his lips relaxed in sleep. This Zatan man before him was royalty. There was no question about it.
Caden grinned, silently congratulating himself. He’d had his share of romantic escapades, but nothing like this before. Leave it to him to hook up with a prince. And not just any prince – but the prince of a race of aliens that was already influencing and changing human life with their superior technology.
You better not mess this one up, he thought, letting the seriousness of the situation dawn on him. Not only was this man so perfect for him, but he was also a powerful political figure on Zata. There was no way to look at what had happened last night as a simple one-night stand that they would both just move on from.
In fact… Caden rolled onto his back and looked up at the vaulted ceiling. In fact, Xade could be the one. The way his heart fluttered at the thought basically confirmed it. Caden had never before felt this way about a man, and only after knowing him for less than twelve hours…
This was something special.
He had come to Zata to meet the sexy Zatan guys, sure, but he had to admit that he was looking for something deeper too. At times, his life on Earth could be hard, lonely, and monotonous, working long hours and watching his friends pair off, get married, and start families. Coming to Zata had been the promise of a new adventure, no matter what happened once he got there.
And what an adventure he had experienced last night! Caden noticed that just thinking about it got his blood rushing to between his legs. He turned back on his side and got closer to Xade. He took in a deep breath through his nose, loving the prince’s scent: soft, deep, clean, and entirely comforting.
What was it that the prince had said into his ear last night in that sexy, deep voice?
Mine. As if he had claimed him.
Caden’s heart grew warm at the thought. He wouldn’t mind handing over himself and his life completely to Xade, living out his days in royal comfort, far away from Earth with the sexy prince at his side.
Caden waited for Xade to wake up, his mind full of fanciful thoughts of the future.