Page 12 of Princess for the Space Cowboy

She leads the way as we begin to walk. I glance around at the crowd. Some look entirely human, and others are more like Asher, taller with tails of varying lengths and skin almost like shimmery gold. Guards flank us as we walk in an orderly procession out of this place that seems like a church.

The air is warm and soft outside, and the sun is bright. Asher holds my hand, bending low to say in my ear, “We will be able to go to our home soon.”

“Okay.” I promised myself this morning I would just go with the flow since this is all so new to me.

We walk through an archway of beautiful flowers. I marvel at seeing actual flowers for the first time in my entire life. We walk alongside a river where birds are chirping nearby until we reach a gated area we’re ushered through.

Asher bends low to tell me, “This is my family’s area. Our home is over there.” He gestures toward a winding path that rises over a hill. “We can’t see the house from here. You’ll see it this afternoon. I hope you love it.”

Whenever I look into Asher’s eyes, my feelings are pure, raw emotion. I think it’s love, but I don’t really know. It’s so different from how I felt about my ex.

Through the gate is a beautiful garden area with walls surrounded by tall trees that appear to serve as a natural protection. Long tables contain food, and people and aliens are everywhere.

I’m introduced to what seems like hundreds of others. Asher’s parents, the king and queen, are seated at the head of a table, and Asher and I are seated at another table nearby. We are feted with toasts, and the food is delicious. I’m used to rations on Earth, which are simply enough but no more due to the constant supply issues.

It’s strange to see and taste so many foods. “Everything is delicious,” I say to Asher at one point. I’m too nervous to eat much, but I do enjoy trying new things.

He smiles down at me, leaning over to give me a lingering kiss. My heart beats faster, my pulse wild and uncontrolled. I wonder how long it will take me to get used to him, to get used to feeling like this. I wonder if the intensity will start to fade.

I also wonder if I’ll ever get used to this life. I glance around, my eyes landing on Helena. She’s deep in conversation with an older man at a table nearby. She catches my eye and smiles encouragingly.

A sense of festiveness permeates the area until a group of men enters. One of them casts a glowering look over the crowd. I watch as they walk in what appears to be a formation with two men leading and four flanking them at an angle behind them. They stop in front of our table.

Asher glances up, his eyes narrowing. “Yes?”

A frisson of fear races down my spine. I don’t know why, but I sense a threat from these men. Asher reaches for my hand underthe table, lacing his fingers through mine with his thumb moving in a soothing pass along the edge of my wrist.

The man in the front studies me before his eye shifts to Asher. “Felicitations on your marriage,” he says slowly.

Asher holds his gaze, lifting his chin slightly. “Thank you. This is Princess Jane.” He releases my hand, sliding his arm around my shoulder before gesturing toward the man. “This is Honnell. He is from Silver, a town on the other side of the planet.”

Honnell looks back at me. “Greetings, Jane.”

Although I kind of think it’s silly that everyone is calling me “princess” today, I mentally clock that he doesn’t.

I sense tension begin to emanate from Asher. “She isourprincess.”

“Oh, come on,” Honnell says. “Princess Jane.”

It feels as if an entire conversation happens in front of me without many words. All kinds of undercurrents zip through the air. The men leave, and Asher seems to relax again. I’m beginning to get tired. Between the excitement and utter insanity of being on a new planet and getting married to a sexy alien space cowboy, it’s a lot for me to absorb.

The party gradually breaks up, and Asher’s parents come over. Even though I can’t believe I’m technically a princess, I have to resist the urge to call her queen.

We stand off to the side of the tables near the arched entrance into this lovely garden. Asher’s father levels his gaze with Asher’s. “Do not worry about Honnell. He’s been stirring up trouble for months. Now that you’re married, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I know,” Asher says simply.

Something passes between Asher and his father, and I have no idea how to interpret it. I don’t think about it for long because he takes my hand and leads me away. Only momentslater, he walks us along a pathway. I’m coming to realize that a security detail slips back as we walk through another archway into another walled area where a door closes behind us.

Asher glances down at me, stopping on the stone pathway lined with beautiful flowers.

“Inside these walls, it’s just us unless we choose to bring someone in.”

He gestures to the walls, and I realize they tower high into the sky. He points farther up. “There’s a shield above us. Any break in it, and we’ll be alerted instantly along with the security team.”

I study him. “I think you and Helena and your mother tried to prepare me, but I didn’t realize how much security there would be for us.”

He shrugs lightly, adding, “It’s just part of my life, and it’s not all the time. It’s only been recently because I hadn’t married yet, and there was a threat to the order of succession. We keep some things in place no matter what, but it won’t be so stressful in a few months when everyone has accepted our marriage. Come with me.”

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