Chapter 16

The beeping of the alarm stirred Xan from his deep sleep. He ran his hands down the soft skin of his D’Auriel’s back. Sloan lay across his chest, her breath coming out slow and steady. Her wild curls were tickling him. Xan couldn’t help but smirk at her and stiffen as he thought of everything they’d done last night and everything he couldn’t wait to do with her later.

He smoothed down her hair and kissed the top of her head. They had both lapsed into unconsciousness immediately after their explosive night together. Xan had held her snugly against his chest with his arms bound around her. She fit perfectly into the crook of his arm with her head below his chin. Now that they’d shared this night together, he never wanted to be away from her. She was his home now.

“Turn it off,” Sloan groused as she swatted near his head, searching for the alarm. He hit the blinking red button next to the bed so that he didn’t get a smack to the face. Sloan made a few contented but indistinct grumblings and attempted to go back to sleep.

“My D’Auriel, I think it’s time to head to the ship.” He held his lips against her hair, breathing in her morning scent as he whispered to her.

“Five more minutes, only five,” she said, her lips barely forming the words.

“Anything you wish.” He kissed the top of her head again, then her forehead, before tilting her head up by her chin and planting a kiss on her lips.

“Have to love those magic lips.” She swept the hair out of her eyes and eyed him with a hint of mischief. “I know one way you could give me a proper wake-up call.”

She reached up, grabbed him behind the head, and drew him down for a hard kiss. Sloan slid up his body until she was completely on top of him. “Looks like I’m awake now. We have one hour until we lose our docking slot.”

“I have the perfect docking slot for you to use in the meantime.” Xan laughed, thrusting his hips up into her. Sloan straddled him, and Xan gripped her waist as she rocked back and forth against his hard cock. Xan watched her as she writhed on him, and he cupped her breasts. This was the woman of his dreams. He loved her, had probably loved her from the moment she rescued him, but it truly hit him at that moment.

Reaching back behind herself, Sloan gripped his manhood and placed it at her entrance. Xan bit back a moan and held her up as she slowly slid herself onto his member. Not being able to hold back a moment longer, Xan slammed Sloan down onto him, fully embedding himself inside. She let out a gasp and a moan and rode him with abandon. Xan flipped her over and continued to pound into Sloan as her moans became louder. Her nails dug into his back, and he felt his balls pulsating. Her hands slid up and down the shimmering scales that lined his spine, and it almost sent him over the edge. He continued to push his D’Auriel higher and higher until her legs enveloped his hips and she was riding him from below. It was a frenzy of passion as Sloan let out a loud yell, and Xan followed behind her, releasing into her for what seemed like an eternity.

Xan rolled over, still keeping Sloan in the circle of his arms. “That has to be my new favorite way of waking up.” Her face glistened with sweat.

***

Sloan couldn’t keep the grin off her face. She was not a flighty-in-love type of woman. Being the captain of a ship in territories that could be hostile to even the biggest badass had taught her that keeping your guard up at all times is required. With Xan, Sloan finally felt a sense of relief, safety, and acceptance. She hadn’t heard anything yet from D’Arian, and Sloan wondered if perhaps there wasn’t anyone left on D’Arian for Xan. It broke her heart to know that perhaps he was also alone in this universe like she was, but if that were the case, at least they would have each other.

Taking Xan’s hand in her own, she threaded her fingers through his and studied him, thinking this could be a new future for them both. Xan tucked one of the curls that had slipped out of her bun behind her ear. There was a large group of at least fifty security guards up ahead, more than there would normally be on Halkon for an influential visitor.

“Must be some important people around here for all this security.”

“That, or there’s been a problem. We had better round up the crew and make sure everyone’s accounted for. I’m not bailing anyone out of a cell. I told them that,” Sloan said as they passed by the large group. The group, flanked by security, made their way past Xan and Sloan when they heard a commotion and shriek from behind them.

“Xan. Oh, my God. Xan!” Someone called out his name. They whipped around to find who had called for him. Sloan reached for her blaster that wasn’t there. No weapons were allowed on Halkon except for authorized security personnel.

A woman around Xan’s age pushed her way through the security that surrounded her and burst out of the group to wrap her arms around Xan. His grip tightened on Sloan’s hand as he stared at the stranger who had wrapped herself around him. Her whole body shook with sobs as she buried her face into his chest. Eyes wide, Xan glanced at Sloan, still gripping her hand. His equally surprised and confused gazed stayed trained on her as the woman cried out.

“Xan. Oh, Xan. You’re alive. I can’t believe you’re alive!” She kissed his face all over and squeezed him in a tight embrace. “We’ve missed you so much. I can’t believe it. We thought you were dead. For so long we thought you were dead.” Her words were unintelligible through her sobs, but it was evident she knew Xan from before. Before his capture, enslavement, and torture, he was someone important to her. Eyes wide and her face awash with tears, the crying woman held her hands to his face. As Sloan was still holding Xan’s hand, she felt the visions from the stranger pushing her way into her mind through her connection with Xan.

Sloan saw them chasing one another in a palace so blue it could have been made of ocean water. They were playing in the gardens, running the halls together, reading with one another. Xan kissed her on the forehead as he sat with her in bed one night.

“Good night, brother.” She drifted toward sleep as she whispered the words.

“Good night, sister. I love you always.”

“And I you.”

The visions stopped because the connection was broken when Xan draped his arms around his sister and picked her up off the ground. Pulling back, he stared at her in wonder.

“Yaris?” he said in disbelief, like he was trying out a new foreign word. “Sister, is that you?”

“Yes, yes, Xan it’s me. We got your comm, and Cain insisted he come to investigate. Once I knew why he was coming, I demanded that I come along.” She choked back sobs as she brought him into a tight hug.

Xan gaped at Sloan, thoroughly confused. He brought his arms around his sister again, squeezing her as tightly as she was squeezing him. Now it was his turn to pull back and stared at her in disbelief.

“You’ve grown so big. I didn’t recognize you.”

“It’s been five years. I’m nineteen now.”

The security that had surrounded Yaris had now completely enveloped all three of them. One of the guards approached. By the symbols on his uniform, he must have been the commander of the group.

“Your Highness, I must ask that we move to a more secure location, particularly if this is indeed His Highness Xandru.” He was gruff in his mannerisms and held his arm, leading the way down the corridor.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Yaris wiped the tears from her eyes as she took hold of Xan’s hand, lifted the train of her emerald dress, and followed the guard. Unsure of where they were going, Sloan hesitated, wanting to be sure she could alert her crew. They had less than twenty minutes before their docking time was over. The guard moved to surround Xan and Yaris, effectively crowding Sloan out of the way, knocking into her as they sought to move the two of them somewhere else.

One of the guards took hold of her arm, trying to remove her. Sloan placed her hands on his, ready to break his wrist if need be. Before she could speak, Xan saw what was happening and immediately pushed back against the guard.

“Do not touch her.” Xan grabbed the guard’s arm, causing him to wince. Seeing that there was an issue, the other guards focused on Xan. Sloan removed the guard’s hand from her arm after he loosened his grip at Xan’s command. “She comes with me, and no one is to touch her. She is under my protection.” He growled at everyone present. His sister stared at him in shock and spun to the head guard.

The head guard moved in between Xan, Sloan, and the other guards.

“I am Cain, Imperial Commander. I am truly sorry for this misunderstanding. We would, of course, never wish to upset you. Please accept my apologies. We, all of us”—he glared pointedly at the guard who had tried to remove Sloan—“will be moving to a more secure location. Madame Sloan, I again apologize,” he said, turning to Sloan. “We will need you to come with us as well.”

Sloan eyed Cain, unsure after the guards’ actions. Xan moved to her side and held her hand. Yaris’s eyes bulged as she stared at their interlocked hands and shot a glance at Cain. “The ship has docking privileges for only twenty more minutes. The crew is probably back there waiting for me,” Sloan said.

“We can ensure that your ship will be provided unlimited docking privileges until we handle all the necessary requirements. Please let me know the ship’s signature, and I’ll arrange it,” said Cain. Sloan gave him the ship’s signature, and he dispatched one of the guards to contact the control room to secure the extended docking privileges. “Now, please follow me. We have much to discuss.”

Yaris was positively beaming, bouncing with anticipation to move along. Xan peered over at Sloan to make sure she was okay with the whole situation. He bent his head down to her ear. “We don’t have to go anywhere with them if you do not want to.” Sloan peered into his eyes and saw that he meant it completely. Xan, a man who had been through so much, had a chance to possibly reunite with the family he thought he had lost forever, and he wanted to make sure she was all right with the situation before proceeding.

“I’m fine. We need to figure this out together. Let’s go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” she said nodding and steeling her gaze.