“Of course,” I whisper. This is where he tells me to fuck off and find a new planet. This is where he tells me to get lost. This is where he tells me I was horrible in bed and I need to go away.
“Come here, Riley,” he doesn’t pat the bed next to him to motion me over. He pats his lap.
How can I deny him that?
Zeke is my King.
It only takes me a few steps to cross the room, and I’m standing in front of him. I’m standing in front of Zeke and he wants to hold me. The feeling is so great, so perfect. I don’t want to lose the way I’m feeling right now.
I don’t hesitate, don’t make him wait, don’t play coy. Instead, I make myself cozy on his lap, curling up into him. My head rests on his shoulder and he strokes my hair. This feels like it’s exactly where I belong, like it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be.
“I haven’t seen you in weeks,” I whisper. “Where did you go?”
“I had business to take care of.”
“You didn’t say goodbye to me.”
“I know.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes, but it’s not uncomfortable. It never is with Zeke. I don’t feel the need to fill the air as we sit in my tiny bedroom. I’m just happy he’s back. I’m happy he’s touching me.
It hurt when he was gone.
“I need to tell you something, Riley.” My body tenses, tightens. This is it. This is where the bad news comes, but he keeps touching me until I relax again.
Then Zeke speaks.
“I pushed you away. It was wrong of me, but I had my reasons.”
“What are you talking about? I thought you hated me.” Only it hadn’t felt like hate when he’d kissed me, played with me, fucked me.
It hadn’t felt like hate when he’d taken my virginity.
“There have been intelligence reports that suggest someone is going to try to kidnap Star.”
“What?” I turn to look up at him and he tightens his hold on me, pulling me closer to his chest. My body is still tense, but I try to relax in his lap. I think of May’s words: The guest list will be carefully vetted. “What are you talking about? Why are you telling me this? Can’t you stop them?”
“We don’t know everyone who’s involved. Riley, I wanted you from the first moment I saw you. You’re fucking gorgeous. Your curves, your hair, your smile: it’s all perfect. It’s all you. Just you. So uniquely Riley. Fuck. When I caught Dane with you, I almost punched him in the fucking nose.”
I can’t help but laugh a little at that because he did look mad. Still, this doesn’t explain his behavior.
“You treated me really poorly,” I whisper.
“I had to make everyone believe you were only my human. Everyone had to believe it, even you.”
“But…why?”
“Because you speak Drakonai, little human. Because you can go places I cannot. Do you really think a king can wander freely in his own castle? Never. You hear things others do not. You know things others do not. You speak with people who would never talk freely to me. Most importantly, you can eavesdrop without anyone realizing what they’re giving away.”
“You want me to be your little spy,” I say, finally understanding. This is why it was so important for me to learn Drakonai and cultural relations. I knew that, yet when Zeke pushed me away so many times, I questioned it.
I questioned everything.
“I need you to come to the party tomorrow. I need you to be my eyes and ears. If anything seems strange, I need your help, little one. No one will be looking at you. Everyone will be paying attention to Star.”
“What do you need me to do?” I ask. I have a feeling it’s going to be something specific, something I probably won’t want to do. I get the feeling that whatever happens at this party is going to be difficult to deal with.
I’m going to have my work cut out for me.
But more importantly, I’m not a spy.
I was trained as a luscious sex doll: not a warrior. I can’t fight. I can’t even really be stealthy. I learned history and language and culture, but spying?
Not so much.
“All of my servants are vetted before coming into the castle. Even if I buy one at an auction, I only buy from Hal. Ever.”
“Hal wouldn’t double-cross you,” I say firmly.
“No, but that doesn’t mean someone couldn’t have sneaked mischievous servants into the castle. There are ways. People have ways of getting what they want, and if what they want is Star, they’re going to try to nab her tomorrow.”
“This might sound like a stupid question, but why not just cancel the party?” It would be easier. It would certainly be safer.
“It’s her coming-of-age ceremony. It cannot be canceled. She’ll be presented as an eligible woman and will be able to take a mate of her choosing.”
The mating ceremony includes biting, blood, and an exchange of bodily fluids. It’s messy. It’s gross.
It also doesn’t have to be consensual.
“Zeke,” I whisper slowly. “Why would they wait until tomorrow to come and take Star?”
“Because,” he answers slowly, quietly. “If someone can get her alone tomorrow, if they can bite her mid-fuck, they’ll be mated to her. They’ll be the crown prince of Hanayemm. There’s nothing anyone can do to stop that.”
***
When I’m done freaking out, Zeke kisses me again to calm me down. We don’t stay in my room, though. He picks me up and carries me to his, making sure the door to his bedroom is closed. It locks automatically with a biometric mechanism. None of his staff members have access to his private room except for me. Shortly after I arrived, he programmed the lock so I can open it now, too. He didn’t do it because he liked me.
He did it so I could bring him snacks after he fucked someone.
Now, we’re alone in his chambers. We’re alone and despite our rocky history, it’s hard not to feel excited, aroused. We’re alone and anything could happen between us. Anything at all.
He lays beside me on the bed and we just look at each other. He touches my face and I close my eyes softly. The moment is sweet and gentle. It’s everything I hoped being with a dragon would be. It’s not perfect, though, because there’s still something I’m wondering about. There’s still a question that’s burning in my mind, and I have to ask.
“You don’t know anything about me. Why do you like me all of a sudden?”
“I don’t have to know everything about you to see the beauty in you, Riley.” His response is quick, gentle.
“But you don’t want a wife.” I hate the way my voice sounds strained. I don’t want him to know how much it hurts to know he doesn’t want me forever, doesn’t want me for always.
“I want you,” he says. “I want you, Riley.”
“What do you mean? You hated that I knew your name. You’ve insisted for weeks that you don’t want to get married. Has it all been for show?”
He grimaces, and I know I’ve caught him. I need to protect my heart. I know this. I need to protect myself because it would be so easy to fall for Zeke. It would be so easy to completely give myself to him, and even though I’m trying my best to stay strong, it’s impossible.
I’ve already fallen for him.
I’ve already handed him my heart, along with my virginity, on a silver platter.
I haven’t held anything back from Zeke.
I haven’t held anything back from my king.
“I liked you the second I saw you, Riley, but I could never admit it. Not to Lee, not to anyone. If someone knew how I felt about you, they could use it against me.”
“So you’re never going to try to love anyone because you might get hurt? That’s super fucking ridiculous, Zeke. Pardon the language.”
“I’ll never get used to the way you say my name.”
“I can stop.”
“Don’t. I love it.”
We just lay there for a little while, touching each other. His hands are on my face and mine are on his chest. I can feel his heart beating. I can feel it racing beneath my touch and I don’t want to move my hands. I just want to be here forever, always. I just want to hide away here with Zeke.
“You were mad I knew your name,” I finally speak.
“I was surprised. Who told you?” He moves his hands to my hair and plays with my locks, running his fingers through the strands.
I smirk. “Lee.”
“The fucker. I should have known.”
“Don’t punch him. It was an accident.” I’m not convinced he won’t do it, either, but then he changes the subject suddenly.
“Is it hard?” He looks concerned.
“What? Punching people?”
“Being so far from Earth.” He looks like he genuinely wants to know, like he’s really curious about my life before coming here. What is there to say? What can I possibly say to explain what it was like?
“My whole family is dead. They have been for a long time now. I left the night my father…” Only I can’t say it. Not to Zeke and not to anyone. I ran the night my father died and I don’t regret it, but part of me feels like I should.
Part of me feels like I should have played the role of the good daughter and given him a proper burial. Part of me thinks I should have waited before I ran.
Then reality kicks in and I remember that if I hadn’t left when I did, I never would have overheard Tank and Elf.
I never would have talked my way onto the ship.
I never would have had a chance.
Earth is gone, but I’m very much alive, very much yearning to have my own adventures in the world.
“Mine is, too.” Zeke whispers. I know they are. His family was killed during one of the wars. He wasn’t supposed to take the throne at such a young age, which is probably why he’s receiving so much pressure from the council to take a mate. His father was still king and his brother was next in line, but they were killed.
So Zeke stepped up.
“No one says my name because I don’t like to remember them.”
“Hearing your name reminds you of your family?”
“I thought it would. I was scared that it would. When you say my name, though, Riley…it just feels right.”
“Then I’ll say your name as much as you want me to, Zeke.”
“Aren’t you the little minx?”
“And you’re my big, bad dragon.”
Zeke climbs out of the bed and motions for me to come with him.
“Where are we going?” He’s on one side of the room, standing in front of a bookshelf. He pulls one of the candlesticks. A panel in the wall slides to the side.
“Are you kidding me right now?” I ask. This feels like a bad Earth movie from long ago, but he just shrugs.
“A king might need to escape from a dangerous situation.”
“What’s the dangerous situation you’re in right now, Zeke?”
“Thinking about the past.”
He takes my hand and I follow Zeke into the dark.