PRIYA

A big, strong man who smelled like the forest on a sunny day held me close. I cuddled next to him, loving the feeling of being cherished and protected. Was I in heaven being held by a sexy angel? I seemed to remember seeing an angel flying. The thought of snuggling up to him appeared to be an excellent idea.

A familiar sensation pierced my thoughts. It was a pounding headache. Was there pain in heaven? If there was, I was immensely disappointed with the place already.

A deep, gravelly voice spoke beside me. “Everything hurts.” The warm body rolled away from me, leaving me feeling bereft. My headache was getting worse and pushed all other thoughts from my mind.

I sat up and tried to open my eyes. Piercing light struck my eyeballs, and I closed them tightly again.

“Priya?”

“Are we dead, Allex?”

“If we are, I’m very disappointed in the afterlife.”

His thoughts echoed mine. I laughed and immediately regretted it.

“Don’t say anything funny.” I held my head in an attempt to keep the sledgehammer from pounding right through my skull.

“I don’t think we’re dead, Priya. We’re experiencing the effects of oxygen deprivation — headaches and nausea, mostly.”

I pried open my eyes to see Allex gazing at me with unexpected amusement. He looked exhausted, and I probably didn’t look much better.

“Why aren’t we dead?”

Allex slowly stood and went over to the door. “The pyrrhus juice worked. All we needed to do was wait a little longer.”

There was a hole in the door about a foot long and two inches wide, just big enough to let in some life-giving air after we had passed out.

Memories came rushing into my mind. Had I really told Allex I loved him? I was terribly embarrassed.

Allex had an uncomfortable look on his face when he looked at me. “Do you remember anything about what we said before we passed out?” His fingers tapped nervously on his leg.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was starting to remember. “Yes, a little bit.”

He looked like he wanted to say something but abruptly changed the subject. “Let’s make sure we can open the door.” We pushed on it together. After a few hard shoves, we managed to pry it open and step through the opening into the cold, fresh air.

I took a deep breath. The air tasted better out here than inside. Without warning, my stomach began to rumble.

“I agree with your belly. Let’s go to the greenhouse and get something to eat.” He pointed toward the ceiling.

“Okay. I can’t deny I’m incredibly hungry.” We made our way to the greenhouse, where I nibbled at my favorite Earth vegetables, and Allex picked food from the Auxem sections. We ate together in uneasy silence, neither of us daring to start a conversation.

Had I spoken the truth? I had never experienced a near-death situation before, but I couldn’t imagine it making a person dishonest. I voiced what I had been feeling but had been afraid to admit to myself. I snuck a glance at Allex and felt like I was going to float away. It was happiness; I wanted him like nobody’s business.

Was I in love with him? Maybe. After a less than auspicious beginning, it was now hard to imagine being without him. I didn’t know where it had come from, and I didn’t have any idea where we were going.

But I loved Allex. There was no doubt in my heart.

* * *

ALLEX

I ate my vegetables out of habit, but my mind focused on the woman sitting next to me. I couldn’t forget what we had said right before passing out. I couldn’t imagine she had forgotten, either.

The shared memories left us in an awkward silence. Our confessions had spilled out because we thought we were about to die, but here we were, still alive.

Now what?

My feelings for Priya had slowly intensified since I met her. It didn’t surprise me that I had told Priya about my love. I had realized it in the morning, but I didn’t know what to do about it, and a deathbed confession wasn’t a promising basis for a relationship.

She had said it first, which must count for something. I wanted to talk about it, but I worried that I would be starting something I might not be able to finish.

It would be better to keep my mouth shut and see what happened. At some point, we also needed to find out what the pirates were doing. They had boarded our ship a while ago, but we didn’t know if they had followed through on any of their threats. I had separated from my family to help people, not hide with my girlfriend.

I still had hunger pangs. “Do you want some dessert, Priya? We’ll have to dig for it.” She looked surprised but nodded. I showed her how to dig for the deliciously sweet, creamy roots which were a favorite on Auxem, and we spent the next hour digging in the dirt and eating.

“That’s enough!” She put a hand on her flat stomach. “I’m so full.”

“We’re also filthy.” I could see dirt on her hands and face, and I couldn’t have looked much better. I dusted my hands off. “Didn’t I promise you a shower?”

Her eyes lit up. “You did.”

“Let’s go clean up. Once we’re civilized again, we’re going to spy on some pirates.”

It wasn’t a deep conversation, but it wasn’t uncomfortable silence either.

* * *

PRIYA

I was so excited to have the chance to clean myself up that I couldn’t keep from bouncing as I walked.

“Priya, we have to talk.”

Allex said my name in a way that made me know he wanted to have the talk. I had wanted to ignore it, but I knew we couldn’t overlook what we had said, no matter how uncomfortable it made us.

“About what?” Maybe playing dumb would work.

He was walking beside me, but he stopped so he could give me a sidelong look. His incredible good looks took my breath away.

“I think you know. The conversation we had about our feelings for each other.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it.” The thought of confronting my feelings was frightening when I wasn’t about to die. Everything seemed more complicated when you still had life left to live.

“Why not?”

“It’s awkward. I may have said some things prematurely. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re acting like what we said and did was meaningless.” I couldn’t figure out his tone of voice, so I stopped. Allex appeared furious. “Do you regret saying it?”

“I don’t regret anything.” I started to grasp for a way to explain how I felt. “But I wouldn’t have said it if I had known we were going to survive!”

A black look passed over Allex’s face. “I’m sorry, Priya. I wouldn’t have said those things either. But how could I be sure the pyrrhus juice would work?”

“Did you make something up because you thought you were dying?” My voice was becoming too loud.

“No. I didn’t say that.” He looked outraged I would suggest such a thing. “Did you make anything up?”

I frowned at him. “Of course not.”

He ran his hand through his hair and started walking again.

“Allex, what are we supposed to do now?”

“I have no idea.”

We walked the long way to the shower in angry silence. How dare he question my honesty? How dare he make me fall in love with him and then leave me hanging?

I didn’t regret anything, and I wasn’t a liar. What a bastard.

We went into a small room holding a few lockers. A single shower stall sat in the corner.

“I forgot to bring anything so you could dry yourself.” Allex silently searched the lockers and found a stack of towels which he moved to the bench. I followed him to the shower. Without saying another word, he showed me how to start the water and left.

I felt a sense of relief when he walked out of the room. I shed my clothes quickly and stepped under the stream of water. It had been so long since I cleaned myself under running water that I thought I was in paradise. I found soap and shampoo, using them to scrub myself all over and wash my hair three times. Once I was clean, it was time to relax. I stood and enjoyed the feeling of water running over me until I felt the air change. I caught my breath when a large, hot male body wedged behind me into the tiny shower stall.

A naked body.

“What are you doing?” I felt Allex’s rigid cock pressing against me.

“I don’t know.” His voice sounded rough.

I felt my nipples get hard and I swallowed. Allex kissed the spot where my neck meets my shoulder, making me draw in a quick breath. “Allex, what if I told you I wanted you to stop?”

“I would do what you wanted.” He kissed his way along and up my neck. Against my better judgment, I stretched my neck up, giving him complete access.

“What if I said I was angry with you and didn’t want you touching me?” I took a deep breath and tried to control my body’s response to him.

“I would believe the first part completely. The second, not so much.”

His hands came around and cupped my breasts. They were a good handful, and a satisfied sound escaped his throat as he felt their weight in his palms. Allex squeezed and pinched my nipples. I felt myself getting wet and held back a moan.

“Do you want me to stop?” His deep voice rumbled in my ear and made me shiver.

I was afraid to say anything. My heart and body wanted something different than what my head wanted. I thought I was angry at him.

“Do you?” Allex wasn’t giving up. His hands stopped their ministrations but didn’t leave my breasts.

I bit my lip, still not saying anything. Allex took his hands away, stepped back, and left me feeling cold. He was really going to stop if I didn’t answer him. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, no matter how angry I had been with him.

“Wait.” I turned and put my hands on his waist, pulling him toward me and bringing our bodies together again. I pressed my breasts against him. His handsome face looked conflicted.

“Allex, what are we going to do? This is crazy.”

“You’re right. It is. I don’t know what we should do about it.”

“We shouldn’t waste this water.” He made me feel wild. “You better take me out of here and fuck me.”

His eyes got big. “Wait a second.”

“Do you love me?” I needed to hear it again and know I hadn’t imagined it. “Did you mean what you said?”

He swallowed and blinked before nodding. “I do love you. I don’t know how it happened or why, but I love you like I’ve never loved anyone before.”

I had a lump in my throat, but I swallowed it so I could speak. “I love you too, Allex. What’s stopping us?”

“We’re not married.” He looked uncomfortable.

“Does that break the bond?”

“No. Marriage has nothing to do with bonding. But my father and brothers would be appalled if I bonded outside of wedlock.”

I glowered at him. “We’re standing naked in a shower together, and you’re talking about your family?”

“That’s a good point. We should get out.” That wasn’t exactly what I had meant, but I stepped out of the water so he could rinse off. I left and dried myself off before sitting on the bench in my towel.

I felt my heart begin to pound in my chest as he stepped out and I looked at his luscious body. How could a prince want me?

“I think there’s supposed to be a manual or something. From what I’ve heard, I’m supposed to have my wings out the first time we mate.”

“Whatever you say, alien guy.” I shrugged. I didn’t care about his weird rituals as long as he took care of the ache inside me.

“You don’t understand, Priya. I’m bigger when my wings are out. All of me.”

I glanced down at him. “Are you trying to tell me your cock is going to get larger?”

He nodded. “I want you to know because my brothers warned us about it. Their wives were shocked the first time they mated.”

“But they bonded, right? It’s not going to kill me.”

“Definitely not. Arnon says sometimes Jayne specifically asks to fuck with his wings out.”

I felt my eyebrows rise. “She likes it.”

“Apparently. Don’t tell anyone. Arnon shared with me in confidence.”

I shook my head. “I don’t intend to start a conversation about Auxem mating rituals anytime soon. Even if I wanted to, who am I going to tell?” I looked around. “Do you see me hanging out with anyone besides you?”

Allex came toward me and pulled me to my feet. The passion in his eyes was almost too much for me to bear. “Priya, I don’t want you to have to hide down here anymore.”

“Well, I don’t want to, either. I’m tired of being alone.”

“You don’t have to be alone anymore.”

“Take me to bed, Allex. I’ll be yours.” I wanted him to possess me and own me.

“It works both ways. If you’re mine, I’m yours, too. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

I frowned. “Of course. I love you, Allex. I want it all.”

He looked like he was about to lose control. “Let’s go home.”

The word home sounded special when he said it. It didn’t matter in the least that the home he meant was an oversized, unused heating conduit. Home, to me, would be anywhere Allex was. It sounded crazy, but it was true.

We put on our clothes, and I followed him back to our home, feeling excited and scared at the same time. I could hardly contain my desire.