Alexis tossed and turned as the vision of Nabvan came to her in her restless sleep. His pale body was on display, just as it had been when he joined her in the shower that day when they had first kissed. It was the first day and the last day she had allowed herself to dream of a future that didn’t belong to King Shene and the rest of the Milisarians. She had been naïve, thinking that when you loved someone, you did crazy things to be with them. You did everything in your power to defy fate and make sure you ended up together. Real life was not like that, and had she been out there living it instead of playing secretary to a bunch of NASA hot shots, she might have known that before being kidnapped and pulled onto a Milisarian ship. She never would have expected any more than to become a gloried slave to King Shene, made to look pretty in public and with expectations for her body in private, which she still had not lived up to.

In the dream, he kissed her just the same, but she let her hands find his body, admiring his six-pack and the veins that she could see through. These were the very pieces that kept his body going. It was his very essence.

Then, her hands moved down his body to wrap around his pale, thick member, which was hard for her. She remembered it now, how it had grown up against her body and ground against her skin so deliciously. She had wanted him so much at that moment and had felt empty when he let go and backed away.

Alexis woke up with a start, a cold sweat coming over her body. She felt a need inside of her that only Nabvan would satisfy, but it wouldn’t be so easy. Yes, he still looked after her sometimes, but the king was always around; everyone was always around always watching her. She had become famous to the Milisarians in such a short time as the king’s mate. She knew what they all assumed too: that she had slept with him and that any moment her belly would be as round as Destiney’s. But that wasn’t the truth at all. She just let them think it so she could keep her freedom.

It was all about looks for King Shene. What was civil behind closed doors had to be true and on fire in public. She couldn’t help but think that was what led Nabvan to finally pay her some attention the day before at the wedding. He had seen them together: the way she had acted like she was smitten with the king. Nabvan couldn’t handle it, and she couldn’t blame him. Alexis didn’t know what she would do if she ever saw Nabvan with another woman, especially knowing that he believed in mating for life like most of the rest of the Milisarian knights. It would be devastating.

The thought made her go somewhere she was afraid to go in all of this: her feelings. Her feelings had taken a backseat in order for her to survive her new life. If she thought about her heart for too long, she never would be able to keep King Shene happy enough to keep her dignity. She would be crying in her room with more lash marks on her back that she wouldn’t want to heal this time. But she knew more than anything that she was in love with Nabvan. She knew it because as she played in her mind every moment they had together, it played just like a love story. From annoyance to lust and then beyond. It was the makings of an excellent romance novel, but in real life, it just hurt.

She knew that Nabvan would be standing outside her door right now as her guard until King Shene came to get her for whatever they were to do that day. She could easily pull him into the room with some excuse about needing food or something, but she didn’t feel ready just yet. She didn’t want to fall apart in front of him with all her frantic thoughts. Instead, she thought she would wait and get some perspective on how this was going to work. How was she going to get time with him and then hide how she felt? How would she still let King Shene touch her the way he did after spending time with Nabvan?

A knock came at the door, and she shot up, running her fingers quickly through her hair and tying a lace robe around herself; she made it a point to never let King Shene see her at her worst. It was funny since seeing her at her worst was exactly when Nabvan began to have compassion for her. Maybe she was afraid to let King Shene in because he might actually begin to feel more for her than covetous lust.

“Come in,” she called to him, and the door slid open to reveal King Shene. Nabvan turned his head to look inside for a moment just as the door slid shut again. His look was lingering and longing, and it just made her feel shakier where she stood.

“You look lovely today, Alexis,” King Shene told her as he came up to her to give her a kiss on the cheek. His lips actually landed on the side of her lips. She tried to act like it didn’t faze her and hoped she was convincing. She wrapped her arms around him in a sweet embrace just in case.

“Thank you,” she told him. “So, what is on the agenda today?” she asked him, hooking her arm in his, expecting him to lead her out of the room and on to breakfast and a day full of royal duties. But he hung back and hesitated, leading her to the bed instead.

“I actually wanted to take the time to talk to you today and see how you were feeling, how everything was going. I was hoping you could tell me you liked it here,” King Shene added. It was a question she had not expected. Did he really care about her answer? They had never had such conversations before.

Alexis thought for a moment about what she might say to him, and she decided to take the time to finally speak up more about the other women. She knew very well they were still being mistreated. They deserved at least as much freedom as she had. “I am happy now that I am a bit freer to experience Milisaria. It is a beautiful planet. I hope to see more of it someday,” she commented, easing into it. Maybe that would be a hint that she wanted to see beyond the inner city as well.

“I think that can be arranged, but I sense there is something else. Why don’t you tell me? I want you to be my partner. Do not fear me,” he told her, picking her chin up gently.

“The women. I know they are still being locked in their rooms. I know that they aren’t cooperating very well, but you have to understand what they came from and where they were going. They didn’t expect to be forced to breed with Milisarian knights. Things might go better if they were given a little more freedom. They would feel happier.” There, it was out. She let a breath out and slouched into it. It felt like she had been holding that in for a while.

“I think I can do that, but there is something I must ask of you in return,” he told her, his face looking sterner than before. Alexis prepared herself for whatever would come from his mouth next. She was afraid of what to expect, but she knew she would have to face it for the sake of those women. “I need you to consider mating with me. That was the whole reason for bringing these women here, and I feel I have been very generous to you now. I’ve been trying to give you a good life here with me.”

Alexis had thought he would say something like that. It didn’t surprise her, but it was hard when the first thought that came into her mind was about Nabvan and how he would handle something like that. Though, the truth was, if she was to survive, that was where this whole thing had been headed all along. She would have to give in at some point. “I will think about it, yes,” Alexis told him, nodding her head. She didn’t look at his face because she didn’t think she could just yet.

“I am glad to hear that, but I think it is appropriate to tell you that I will be busy for the next week, and that is how long you have to decide,” he warned her, standing up. There was no malice in his voice, but Alexis sensed there was something else to it: a reason for that specific deadline.

“What happens in a week, Shene?” she asked, using his name to catch his attention. He looked like the ruse of it affected him and gave him hope that is how she had meant it, even if she decided not to mate with him. She needed to know those consequences, though. She would talk them over with Nabvan in that week. One week to fulfill all of her dreams about a man she loved before giving into whatever she had to.

“This experiment with the women has not worked. It had clearly caused pain to some of my men as well as the women. So, we have decided that on our next voyage to Earth, these women unwilling to cooperate will go with us. We will take them back there and drop them off. That way they can choose to live a life on Earth again and be free of Milisaria. There is no need to keep them here if they will not mate, and I am afraid the same should go for you.”

Alexis nodded her head, not liking what she was hearing. For her, going back to Earth would not be so bad. She would just go see her family like she should have in the first place, but the other women would not have such options. Some of them would even end up back in jail for the crimes they were granted leave of on the agreement that they would leave the planet. She wondered if they even knew that it was the plan to take them back. If so, many of them must be even more afraid than they already were. But she let it go.

As King Shene opened the door, he turned back to her with an afterthought. “I will leave Nabvan to keep you company for anything you need while I deal with business this week. I will be away in the villages. I hope that your answer when I come back means I can take you with me next time.” Nabvan looked to Alexis, hopefully at that. He had not heard the rest through the door, of course. What would he do when he found out the terms of their agreement?

She watched as the king left, feeling more distressed than she had in several days. This was no longer just about Nabvan. This was about the future of more than one woman.