Page 77 of Alien Prince's Claim

But there was no need for me to make her fear the situation more than she already was, by revealing the full history of their nature.

She needed hope and I was not about to take that from her.

“Yes,” I said, gently stroking her cheek. “Yes, I think he just might.”

“We’re getting close now,” Emily said, her body shivering with excitement. “Close to that twenty-hour mark when the Goblars will give up chasing me.”

My eyes flicked up at Cayah but I could only make out the back of his head.

It didn’t seem to stiffen or tighten as it would if he learned about the truth of why the Goblars were chasing us.

I took Emily by the arm and gently led her into the corner.

I doubted Cayah could hear me but I dropped my voice to a low whisper anyway:

“Don’t speak too loudly. Cayah cannot be trusted. If he learns about us, about who we are, about what we are, he would use it for his own benefit.”

Emily turned to look at Cayah once more and a soft frown dimpled her brow. “You’re being paranoid. He really wants to get her out of here. I think his ship really does have that Reflector thingy.”

“I hope so too,” I said. “But even so, I would not risk your life for anything. Not for all the riches in the Empire.”

Emily grinned up at me. “Which isn’t saying much. As the crown prince, you’ll end up with it all when you ascend to the throne!”

I threw back my head and let my laugh bark from my throat.

It was loud — especially in that small room.

It had been so long since I had laughed that way, since I had needed to laugh, and as I wiped the tears from my eyes, I grinned at Emily and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in tight.

I seized her ass in my hands and pulled her feet up off the floor so we were eye to eye. “All the riches in the Empire are right here.”

Emily snorted but I could tell she liked what I had said.

She kissed me on the lips, and although it was meant to be a single peck, I met it with my own and mashed them with hers.

Our tongues slipped into each other’s mouths, tasting, savoring, and I became as hard as a rock.

When we broke apart, I held her there, her feet still dangling above the floor.

I looked over her shoulder at Cayah, who now stared over at us, a blank expression on his face.

Watching.

I squeezed Emily even closer, not breaking eye contact with him.

If I could have made the threat any more obvious, it would have been tattooed on my forehead:

Risk my mate’s life and you forfeit your own.

He held my eyes for a long time before he broke it and turned back to his mate, continuing to dab at her face.

I focused on my mate and whispered softly in her ear:

“Once we get out of here, I’ll shower you with all the riches you deserve. Everything you can imagine. I’ll give you all your heart desires. You will want for nothing. This I swear.”

Emily’s smile faded and when she spoke, it was with a deathly serious tone:

“You are my treasure, too. You are all I need to survive. That, and chocolate. You can never have enough chocolate.”

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