Page 69 of Star Prince

“Fuel depleted,” agreed the pod’s computer. Though it did no good, the voice sounded ever so sorry.

On Grüma,Lara emerged from a café wearing an expression of triumph. Her delicate silver jewelry sparkled in the moonlight. “They tell me the princess’s crew is staying at that inn”—she beckoned with her chin— “across the street.”

“That’s odd.” Gann walked alongside her. “Why aren’t they on their ship?”

Her breath misting in the chill predawn stillness, she said, “Well, according to that man in the café, these folks just got out of jail. They were released only an hour or so ago. Perhaps their ship is impounded, like mine.”

He gave her a small smile. “By the looks of it, yours will soon be back in your hands.”

Once they reached it, Gann banged his fist on the door to a guest room within which the man in charge of the crew supposedly slumbered. He hoped, for Tee’ah’s parents’ sake, that the gentleman in question wasn’t at that moment sharing his bed with the princess.Vashroyal women were expected to be virgins when they married. But then,Vashroyal women were expected to stay home too.

He knocked again. Sounds rustled from inside thedoor. Then a deep and very irritated voice called out, “Coming.”

Armed and ready for trouble, Lara stood a few paces behind him, her collar turned up to ward off the chill. There were a few more thumps. “You Grümans don’t let up, do you?” the man grumbled from inside. “This had better be good.” The door slid open.

For a heartbeat Gann lost his vision in the bright light spilling out from the room. Then a shadow loomed in the doorway. Gann blinked, squinting at the giant towering above him. “Great Mother, Muffin! What in the blazes areyoudoing here?”

In the pod,Tee sat back on her haunches, her expression one of utter disbelief. “We’re out of fuel?”

“We even used up the fumes.”Think.There had to be another way out.

“I don’t believe this,” she said. “The ship is right there”—she slammed her open hand on the porthole— “full of air. And we’re here.”

Four hours and forty-one minutes.The air-remaining readout was extrapolated out to the ten-thousandth place. The speed-blurred descending digits were a taunt, a challenge.What are you going to do now?He dug through boxes, storage lockers, lifted the padded flooring and peered underneath. There was a solution hidden, somewhere. There had to be. The thought of passively waiting for rescue revolted him on the most basic level.

Tee’s hand rolled into a fist. “It’s the computer. It did this to us.” Her knuckles turned white, and she let out what sounded suspiciously like a growl. “I swear to you, Ian, if I ever get my hands on the manufacturer, I’ll wring his neck.” She gave a wan, crooked smile. “Pilot, negotiator, cook…murderer—look at all I’ll have on my resume after this stint. Oh, and marksman. We mustn’t forget about that.”

Her attempt at humor coupled with her obvious apprehension drove a stake through his heart. He thought of her jump-in-feet-first enthusiasm, her desire to make the most of each moment. The likelihood now loomed that her life would be stolen from her, too soon and unfairly.

“I shouldn’t have dragged you into this mess,” he said. “I’m sorry I ever offered you a job that day on Donavan’s Blunder.”

“No, you aren’t.” She crawled to where he sat and placed one hand on his raised knee. “And neither am I. No regrets—do you hear me, Earth-dweller?” Her chest rose and fell, and her eyes grew strangely bright. “These past few weeks have been the most glorious time of my life.”

Her confession drove home the sacrifice he had made when he put aside his personal wishes for the good of theVashEmpire. He wanted Tee as his wife, though reason told him a future with her was as frustratingly out of reach as the ship floatingoutside the porthole. In a quiet voice, he admitted, “I feel the same.”

She sighed, and he pulled her close. For long moments they stayed like that, cheek to cheek, breathing in unison. Succor and sexual arousal mingled as naturally as scent and smoke from burning incense.

Four hours and twenty-seven minutes.

“Hold me tight,” she whispered. Their arms came around each other, their legs tangling. As the contours of their bodies fitted together, their lips met in a kiss—soft, warm, and loving. She clung to him as he buried his face in her hair and, before he had the chance to analyze all the reasons he shouldn’t, he murmured, “I love you.”

She threw her head back, bewilderment, fear, and joy filling her wide golden eyes. The mental and emotional affinity he had felt with her since the day they met surged, combining in a powerful physical attraction.

In wonder, she touched her fingertips to his mouth. “I know we can’t be together, but—”

“Don’t give up on us so easily.” He wanted her, damn the consequences.

The welfare of all outweighs the desires of an individual.Hastily he summoned theVashteaching that was supposed to remind him of his duty and make him feel better about falling in love with the wrong woman.

It didn’t.

Softly, she said, “We might die.”

“We’re not going to die,” he ground out. He shot another glance around the pod, looking for an answer, anything to fix this mess. “We’ll find something. We always do.”

“But if we don’t...” Her hands smoothed over his thighs. His muscles bunched under her palms. Ian, “I don’t want to die not knowing what it was like to…make love with you.”

He grabbed her fingers and squeezed. She winced, and he relieved the pressure. “I see. We make love, because we don’t have to worry about consequences. Nothing matters anymore, right? But it does, Tee. It does to me. Yes, we might die. But I’d never do it for that reason alone. I’ve wanted you forever. I’ve wanted this consummation too.”

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