“W ow,” she whispered as we pulled into the driveway of the manor .

I grinned. “It’s really not much. Back when the Federation ran this area it was a doctor’s outpost. They kept it and expanded it to what you see. My mother lives here too .”

She raised an eyebrow. “You live with your mother ?”

I chuckled. “And a handful of servants that help me to look after her. After the Dragselian empire changed, she lost a bit of herself. Now, she needs someone around to keep an eye on things. Stoves getting left on, kettles boiling, that sort of thing .”

“Oh,” Clara said softly. “I suppose it’s good to have a place like this then .”

“I love it here. The original apartments were kept intact, I live on the top floor and my mother lives two floors down. I can keep an eye on her without being underfoot .”

“Wow,” she said as we got out of the taxi .

I paid the driver and opened the front door. “At this hour, most of the help is asleep. We don’t like a lot of pomp and circumstance. I hope you don’t mind that we will be fending for ourselves .”

“No problem at all .”

“I think that the landscape is stunning during the day. It’s one of my favorite aspects of this place. It was a small outpost several years ago, until the Dragselian took control and built new housing for everyone. The manor stayed because of its sentimental value to Zaruv and he gifted it to my mother and I after the other houses had been torn down. Now it’s just farmland .”

“Well,” she said, nudging my arm. “Maybe I will get to see it sometime in the daylight. You never know .”

I wrapped my arm around her and led her to the elevator. Suddenly, I was thankful for spending the money and having the vintage bearings replaced. It barely made any noise as we moved up to the top of the building. There was only one floor above us, a large pool area that I used for training and swimming. This was my home and I loved it here. Dragselian had never felt like this to me .

“Wow,” she whispered again as the doors opened and we stepped out .

“I’m glad you like it. I decorated it myself,” I admitted sheepishly. “I wouldn’t normally admit that, but I think you’ll appreciate it .”

“You’re right. It’s so native, I love it. The pieces here look so old and detailed .”

“Most of them are vintage. I know most men love the sleek look of metal, but there’s something about wood that just makes a place feel warm .”

“I couldn’t agree more,” she whispered .

I smiled and sat down on the couch, a bottle of wine was waiting for us on the table. “I had my mother’s maid leave some out before she turned in. I hope you don’t mind .”

She shook her red hair. “No, it’s perfect .”

“I don’t know about that, but its home. So how did you get caught up with Adams? Why does he think you are a spy ?”

She sighed and sat down. “I didn’t always run freight for the mines. Before that I worked as a shipping freighter for the Federation. My parents and myself were all citizens until I defected and came here .”

“Ahh, so he thinks your loyalties still lie with the Federation then?” I asked .

The more she told me about herself, the more cautious I found myself. So far, she wasn’t doing a very good job of proving her innocence. No doubt it would look marvelous, the son of the doppelganger and the Federation spy becoming an item. I liked her though, I couldn’t believe that she would do something underhanded unless she was forced or had a very good reason .

“No,” she said with a sigh. “Not long after the Federation shot me out of the sky and I made Vaxvia my home, information started to get leaked from the militia to the Federation .”

“Still, that’s a big leap between taking haven and becoming a spy. Wait,” I stammered. “Did you say you were shot out of the sky by the Federation ?”

“Yep,” she said casually. “Because there is a spy, I just don’t know who. Someone told them I was helping Federation territory refugees to get across the war zone and safely to Vaxvia .”

“Because this planet is a haven,” I said in shock. “We are protected here by other governments as well as our own .”

“Like I said, someone leaked the information and we crashed, but managed to get another hundred or so people safely here along the way. After that, the Federation had my tracking information and a price on my head. I had to ground my crew and ship here so we started running coal .”

“Wow, your brave .”

Clara shook her head. “No, I just couldn’t see people getting stuck in the middle of things when they had nothing to do with it .”

“Speaking from personal history?” I asked her .

She nodded before collecting herself and smiling again. “Of course, that isn’t why Adams has it out for me. I’ve turned him down now on three separate occasions. I think he believes that he can berate me into submission, but he’s got another think coming. I don’t give in that easily .”

“I’ve noticed,” I said in awe .

“A lot of the locals aren’t sure about me either. I mean, they all know that I’ve helped refugees get across to Vaxvia, but at the same time, one of them or one of the crew is probably the spy. Adams has a big mouth, he tells everyone who will listen that the leaked information keeps leading back to me .”

“I know the feeling of not being welcomed,” I muttered honestly. “I’m sure you noticed that the other night at the bar .”

“Yeah,” she said. “Wanna tell me what that was all about ?”

“Maybe another time, I’m caught up in your story,” I said quickly .

I liked her, but people’s feelings for me tended to change once they heard who my father was and what he’d done. Not many people were able to believe that my blood and lineage didn’t inherently make me evil. The drunken man at the bar the night before hadn’t been my first run-in with someone like that and I knew that it wouldn’t be my last. I had a pang of guilt when I thought about pulling Clara into a world like mine .

“You are a very guarded man. You flash around that badge then bring me here and now you don’t want to talk ?”

“I know, but there really isn’t much to tell. The royals are distant cousins of mine. I was set up with a decent trust fund that gets me by .”

“Sounds very serene .”

“If it were, I couldn’t stand it,” I told her. “I spend almost all of my time looking through the abandoned outposts. The Dragselian people were prepared to take on the members of the planet that already lived here, but the influx of refugees came as something of a surprise.” I couldn’t suppress the smile that crossed my lips. “I guess now we know who to thank for a big part of that .”

“Oh no, I didn’t think about any shortages,” she said with concern .

“It’s no problem. Still, it will take some time to get supplies out here so I head up a team that scours the old ruins of Federation loyalists that left when Dragselian took over the planet .”

“I’m surprised those monsters left anything behind, god knows they didn’t care about their people .”

“They left in a hurry. Much of what we find is salvageable. Anything that we can give to them, we do. I only take the bits and pieces to create new furniture. If I can’t use it here, I give it to someone who can .”

“Wow, is there anything that you can’t do ?”

“I’m terrible with people. I hate it when people recognize me as a member of the royal family. I like to be low key. I have to say, you are definitely not that .”

“Is that a deal breaker for you?” she asked carefully .

I didn’t even have to think about it as I shook my head. “Nope, not at all. It’s one of the things I like about you. I just feel sorry for everyone else .”

“Me too,” she whispered. “Wanna stir up a little trouble ?”

I smiled and leaned over to pour us another glass of wine. I could tell her horror stories of my past. If she knew my father had slaughtered thousands, she wouldn’t look at me with so much lust in her eyes. Even beyond that, I could see the bond between us strengthening as we talked through the night .

A silence fell between us, growing longer and filling with the same thought. There was nothing else for us to talk about, at least not in the late hours of the evening. We both wanted the same thing. I set down my glass and leaned back on the couch, carefully running my fingers up her arm as I did. I’d never felt so nervous before with a woman. I’d only been with one other human woman. I knew they were more fragile, small, and flexible .

I inched closer to her, sliding my hand up her leg slowly. I didn’t want her to feel pressured to be with me. My cock was throbbing uncomfortably beneath my trousers though, reminding me of the intense bond between us. She sucked in a sharp breath as I worked my way up to her hip, pulling her closer to me, I had to taste her skin. I bent down, kissing the hot skin of her shoulder and slowly worked my way up to gently bite at her earlobe .

It was obvious from her body language that she was enjoying herself. Her nails dug into my shoulders as she moaned softly against my neck. I broke away from her slightly and took her chin in my hand. Gently, I tilted her head toward mine and finally claimed what I’d been waiting two days to take. Her lips crushed against me, breaking down any wall of restraint that I had. I wanted to please her in way’s she never dreamed existed .

She plunged her tongue into my mouth, shocking and thrilling me all at once. I growled and countered with my own tongue, feeling every crease of her sweet mouth. She tasted like the sweet wine, her perfume mingled with the flavor and almost made me blow my load right away. It wasn’t like me to be so careless, so free of inhibitions. Clara was a special woman. Tonight, wouldn’t be the end of our relationship if I had anything to say about it .

The couch shifted underneath me and I realized we were running out of room. I wanted to have her spread out beneath me, like a fine dessert for the taking. I groaned and pulled myself away from her as she gasped for air. The slight pout of her lip told me she didn’t want to end things for the night either. Her beautiful eyes locked onto me and in that moment, I would have gone to war for her. Clara was the most pure and beautiful creature I’d ever see .

For a moment, I couldn’t even speak as I took in her raw beauty. I was feelings things that were new and frightening for me. Pushing them down, my desire took over. I had to have more of her, the questions and insecurities could wait for morning .

“Would you like to go to the bedroom?” I asked in a barely audible voice .

She nodded her head. “I thought you would never ask .”