Page 11 of Forbidden Desires

“I see.” Zylar sighed. SaKura probably understood. He knew him from the time he was born and had lots of insight into how he ticked.

“Anna and Sarah mentioned there being another woman who would come soon. They told us all about their great escape and how you’re a god among males.”

He couldn’t keep from smiling. They were gifted with strong imaginations.

“All I did was deliver a child and get them out of a bad situation.” He could look at the future queen and know that she suspected him of harboring her cousin. It would make her a good queen in the future.

“I see,” Jenna settled on saying. “That was all you did.” She snuggled into SaKura’s chest, indicating the next question was his.

“Who did you take to the ship?”

That was a direct question that Zylar couldn’t avoid. “I have Amelia Astor on my ship.”

“Your ship? You have my cousin on your ship. Where is she?” Jenna craned her neck, trying to see further into the room.

“I left her in the outer room, not that I expect her to be there when I get back.” The grin on his face gave Jenna pause. She wanted to tell her cousin to come home at once, but the feeling that this might be what Amelia needed sat on her chest like a heavyweight. You get what you sow was another thought.

“I do. That’s why I got in touch. She seems to think that you and your sister ordered her death.”

Jenna gasped. Did Amelia think so little of them? Or did she think little of herself and assume everyone else felt the same? If she hadn’t been so caught up in her dreams of SaKura. Then there was Jeffrey who was stalking her, maybe she could have seen that her cousin was in trouble and helped her. It was too late for her to help now, but that didn’t mean it was too late for Amelia to get help. Zylar the healer, looked like he might be up to the task.

“Neither Bella nor I want Amelia dead. We were hoping to help her, but she refused by running away.” Zylar stared at her, weighing the truth of her words. When he was satisfied, he nodded.

“Since she has done nothing to warrant death by the crown, I’ll take care of the situation.”

“Not death,” SaKura growled. There were shadows of remembrance in his eyes. Jenna quickly kissed him as a reminder that she was alive and on his lap.

“I’ll meet out any punishment needed.” Zylar’s growl was filled with satisfaction. His cousin was a male of his word. Amelia was the cousin of SaKura’s mate. They were truly connected. Tell Rakha I’ll be in touch soon. I have a naughty mate to track down. Consort and soon-to-be queen, it was a pleasure to meet you.” He could hear SaKura asking what he meant by soon-to-be as he disconnected.

The outer room was empty like he knew it would be. He growled. His mate would not enjoy what happened next.

Chapter Seven

Amelia ran. She was pretty sure she knew what not to do, which narrowed her choices of what to do. She’d be on the ship and halfway to Earth before he knew she was missing. Who did he think he was threatening to spank her? Why? She was riveted at the thought of his big purple hand caressing the globes of her ass before his hand came down in a hard thwap. Corporal punishment didn’t do it for her. She was a modern woman. No one was putting their hands on her, even if it was just to make her feel good. Her head made a decisive move to collaborate. What was she thinking? If there was any spanking to be done, she’d be on the giving end. She may have watched one or two spanking videos when she was younger, not that she was admitting to it.

She was on the lift and off before she had time to think about it. A sigh of relief came from her when she saw landmarks memorized from the first time she was on the floor. A quick look around assured her the corridor was empty. She ran to the end and slipped through the door before anyone could spot her. Thehangar was empty and the ship she came upon was sitting there waiting for her to commandeer it. The edges of her lips lifted in a slow grin.

Who did Zylar think she was? With a hurried stride, she made her way to the cruiser and walked up the lowered ramp. She wanted to look around, but knew now wasn’t the time. She made her way to Zylar’s seat, which she assumed was the captain’s chair, and stared at the control. How had she forgotten the controls were written in a foreign language? Where was Google Translate when you needed it?

Sometimes you must do things the hard way. She started pushing random buttons.

“Start. I know there must be some fancy AI program somewhere in here. Start the ship. I want to go home.”

“You’re saying a lot, but it sounds more like gibberish.” She fell out of the chair, clutching her chest. Her heart was pounding and for a minute or two, she thought it was coming out of her chest.

“Who said that?” she asked, pulling herself up to take the captain’s seat once more.

“The smart AI whose attention you were trying to get.”

“Are you truly sentient?”

“Are you truly a bossy human?”

“Hey!” She didn’t like being called bossy. “You’re not all that nice.”

“I call them like I see them.”

“Why do you sound like you’ve been on earth all of your life?” Her mind started producing conspiracy theories. Honestly, she should start a YouTube Channel with all her theories.

---