Page 28 of Forbidden Desires

“Beautiful.” She took a seat on the bed to watch as he contorted himself into positions that made her want to get down and dirty with him. “Do they teach martial arts on your planet?” she asked when he stood straight and seemed to give a sign to his goddess for a blessing.

“Martial arts.” He rolled the word around and before his eyes lit with understanding. “Yes, but I’m of the royal line. I was taught how to fight when I learned to stand. It was evident quickly that I would not be a warrior, but a healer. My path diverged, and I learned to keep my body in harmony, and from there I was taught to fight to keep my patients from harm. I’ve been in more than one war with active weapons fire while getting my patients out of combat zones.”

She watched as he walked into the refreshing room, probably to take a shower. She didn’t remember what the shower was called and wasn’t worried about it. When he came out dressed, she sighed, giving up on thoughts of a day spent in bed.

“What does the royal line have to do with anything?” It was asking questions or jumping him. Her stomach was reminding her that she hadn’t eaten in a while.

“When we have our children, they will be taught the art of war. This will keep them safe as they grow older, but it will also keep our people safe, their people.”

“You’re a healer, not the next king.”

“You’re correct, but I am royalty and so are you. We take our roles seriously and we grow up knowing that we are the last line of protection between the enemy and our people. I would die to keep them safe. I will die to keep you and our future progeny safe.”

Amelia’s hand covered her womb. She hadn’t been thinking about children last night. That was okay. It took more than onenight, right? Yeah, yeah, she knew all about biology, but right now she was trying to convince herself that she was okay even though they hadn’t used protection.

“Children?”

“You don’t want younglings?” He was watching her, as if deciphering her expression was all that mattered.

“I…” Hadn’t she thought about this earlier when she was having her existential breakdown? Did she want children? A girl with Zylar’s unusual eyes and purple hair. She was there for that. Would she live? Could they stay on the ship forever? That’s what she was planning on. That way, she’d never have to face the horror that came for her on earth.

“I do, but let’s wait until later.” She waved her hand, saying some distant time in the future.

“You mean until you know you’re safe and secure?” She raised guilty eyes to meet his. She should know that he would protect her, but after all she’d gone through, safety felt relevant to where she was.

“I think that’s a sound plan.”

“You do?” She wasn’t timid, but this was one of those subjects that could make or break a relationship.

“I do. It’s not good for a female to be pregnant when she is in a situation where she doesn’t feel safe. It’s not only an enormous amount of unneeded pressure on her, but it can also affect the child in different ways. I wish all females could be safe and happy as they deliver their children to term.”

She crossed the room and jumped into his arms, planting a big kiss on him. “Thank you for understanding.”

“Always.” He set her down, and they walked out of the room heading towards breakfast. “There’s something I think you should know.”

She slowed down, dragging her feet. The feel of the floor on them reminded her that she hadn’t worn shoes since she’d been aboard.

“What should I know?” He stayed silent while they were on the lift. Before they got to the cafeteria, he spoke.

“It’s time to go back to Earth.” Her world crumbled around her. He could have said anything except that, and she would have dealt with it, including I’ve changed my mind. I’m not your mate. Anything except it’s time to go back to the place where all of her haunted nightmares waited to attack her.

The past weighed her down, making it hard to smile brightly or think higher thoughts as they entered. Zylar led her to a chair while several crewmen looked at her like they were concerned.

“Why?” she choked out when Zylar sat them at a private table.

“Because you froze up thinking about it. There are small dots of fear lighting up your emotional board.” She gave a nod, acknowledging that she heard him, but was silent. He brought them breakfast and she played with it more than she ate.

The eyes of the Tan-ge who virtually held her prisoner and were trying to kill her were floating in her mind. They were so cold a glance at them made her shiver.

The thought of going back and running into him made her stomach sour with dread. Pushing her plate away, she got up and walked to the small view of space from the cafeteria.

“I laughed when they said there was intelligent life in the stars. We’re barely existing, I thought. How could the universe deal with two sentient life forms? Then you guys came and proved me and millions of humans wrong. That’s when I said it didn’t matter. I’d never see one of the alien monsters up close and personal. I was so naïve, look where I’m at now.”

“Is this a bad thing?”

She took her time to look at him. Was being with Zylar a bad thing? She knew the answer before he finished asking thequestion. It wasn’t, but that’s not what had her twisting in fear. He, the Tan-ge that made her life a living hell, wouldn’t stop until she was dead. There was no way she could fight him the way her cousins fought. She didn’t have any special skills or powers. She was simply plain Amelia who lucked up and mated a healer from a different planet.

“Being with you has been one of the best experiences of my life.” It was the truth, not that she was sure he was ready to hear it or that she was ready to say it. How much longer did they have if he was taking her back to Earth? Not once had he made a sarcastic or funny remark about her weight. Amelia wasn’t scared to take her clothes off in front of him. He never looked at her like he was judging her against the girl next door.

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