Page 29

Elsie

W hat Aruan has done for me leaves me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. I still can’t believe I’m going to see my parents. It’s as if I’m floating on air when we walk back to his quarters. I’m still battling to process the incredible turn of events.

Once inside his room, I throw my arms around his neck and breathe, “Thank you,” against his chest.

The words are inadequate to express how grateful I am, but with my mind foggy with delirious happiness, I’m incapable of stringing together a sentence.

He kisses the top of my head. “My mother owed you, and you deserve nothing less.”

I wish I could show him how much I appreciate his consideration.

Tilting back my head, I stare at his perfect features. “Why did you change your mind?”

“I didn’t.” His tone is solemn, and his serious gaze carries a warning. “It’s just a visit, Elsie.”

“I know.”

I bite my lip. Is it, though? If I’m there, will I want to come back? And does it even matter? Because Aruan won’t let me. That’s why he’s coming with me.

Still, the concession he made, getting his mother to agree to an act that’s considered forbidden, has somehow tipped the scale in the dynamic of our relationship.

He’s shown me that he’s capable of being kind to me even when it doesn’t serve his own agenda.

There’s nothing he can gain from taking me home.

He’s doing that for no other reason than making me happy.

And if my happiness is important to him, he must care about me, even if it’s just a little.

Which only makes me fall for him more, and that scares the hell out of me.

He frames my face between his large hands, his sensual lips curving into a soft smile. “What is it?”

“I’m just…” I swallow away the tightness of my throat. “Happy.” Yet I can sense his tension at the prospect of going to a place where he doesn’t want me to return.

“Good.” He gives me a peck on the lips before setting me free. “We’d better get ready. We don’t want to be late.” He tilts his head toward a pale pink gown that’s laid out on the bed. “My mother had a dress delivered.”

I walk over and trail a hand over the soft fabric embroidered with silver thread. “Who makes these beautiful gowns?”

“We have several excellent seamstresses in the village as well as my mother’s personal dressmaker in the palace.”

“The dress is beautiful.” I trace the tiny silver flowers on the bodice. “That was very thoughtful of her.”

He goes toward the cleansing room, pulling his tunic over his head in the walk. “It’s her way of making amends, or at least trying to.”

I suck my lip between my teeth, admiring the well-defined planes of his broad chest.

He tosses the tunic in the wicker hamper in the corner. “It’s also part of her duties as queen.”

I raise a brow. “To make sure the royals’ dress code is up to standard?”

“To be a good hostess until you’ve had time to select and employ your own dressmaker.”

That sounds over the top. “Does Gaia have one?”

“Every royal female has one.”

That’s a lot of staff. “Where do they all stay?”

“Some of them live in the staff quarters in the palace.” He brushes his hair back from his face, making his upper arm muscles bulge. “Others live in the village.”

I tear my gaze away from his impressive biceps. “Well, your mother has excellent taste. She’s always immaculately groomed. Come to think of it, she doesn’t look a day older than Gaia. She must have a great skincare routine.”

He chuckles. “My mother is nearly three times my age.”

“What?” I gape at him. I remember what Gaia said, that Aruan was five years old when I was born—which means he’s twenty-seven. “That makes her just over eighty!”

“I take it that’s old in human years,” he says over his shoulder, amused, as he continues on his way.

“It’s obviously not on Zerra.” I follow him into the cleansing room. “How long does the average Alit live?”

He sits down on the bench to pull off his boots. “At least ten times my mother’s age.”

“Holy cow.” I stop in front of him. “Will I live that long as well?”

“Yes, my sweet. We’ll grow old together.”

I’m struggling to wrap my mind around the stupefying fact. “That’s almost a thousand years. People on Earth don’t live much longer than a tenth of that.”

I can’t even begin to imagine how it must be to live that long.

His gaze darkens when I undress and get into the pool that’s already filling with warm water, which must be Aruan’s doing, as I’m not testing my new powers. I can’t deny that his reaction to my body pleases me. It’s good to know I affect him as much as he affects me.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he says in a gruff tone. “Not unless you want me inside you.”

I roll my eyes, ignoring the way his words heat my belly. “You’ll make me think you only have one thing on your mind.”

“With you?” He raises a thick, dark eyebrow. “How could I think about anything else?” Openly staring at my breasts and then lower, he adds in a low, dark voice, “I could never get enough of your body.”

I flush hotter, then remind myself that he wants me because we’re mates, which is a result of our programming.

The mating system is ingenious from a biological point of view.

It not only ensures procreation but also prevents the messiness that comes with breakups and divorces.

Yet I still wish he liked me for me and not because some ancient programming in our DNA predestined us to be together.

His gentle question pulls me back to the present. “What are you thinking about that puts such a deep frown on your pretty face?”

“What you told me about the priests’ theory.” I sit down on the bench and stretch out my legs, enjoying the soothing warmth of the water. “About the tiny smart particles and all that.”

“Oh?” He rakes a gaze over my body as he sheds his pants. “Do tell.”

The sight of him naked always does things to me, things that make it hard to concentrate. I know where our bath is going to end if I don’t get my mind out of the gutter, so I force myself to focus on his handsome face.

“I think those priests are right. On Earth, we’re currently developing what could eventually become similar technology—some combination of artificial intelligence and nano-implants.

So if that’s what happened here, then you and I—and every Alit—are products of a highly advanced ancient technology, the end result of a merger between humans and AI. ”

He climbs down the steps into the water and sits down next to me. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.”

“It’s…” How do I explain AI and computers to a person who’s essentially from a medieval society? “You know what? Never mind. The key thing is, that could explain the mating phenomenon. You and I are literally programmed to be drawn to one another.”

“That’s what being mates means,” he drawls, locking his hands around my waist and pulling me onto his lap so that I’m straddling him. “We’re fated to be together.”

“Not fated, programmed . Like two pieces of software.”

He nuzzles my temple. “Uh-huh.”

“Do you realize what that means?” I lean back on his lap. “If it’s been done before, here on Zerra, there’s a very probable chance that humans on Earth will also succeed in developing into a species like the Alit.”

“Perhaps,” he says, his lips quirking.

I pout. “You’re not taking me seriously.”

“Oh, I am.” He strokes his palms down my thighs, grips my knees, and spreads them wide. “I just have other things on my mind right now.”

My reprimand is half-hearted at best. “Aruan.”

He goes from playful to serious in a second. “I want you, Elsie.”

My core tightens. I wrap my arms around his neck, knowing I’ll need to hold on. “Nothing has stopped you from taking what you want before.”

He encircles my waist and yanks me hard against him. “There’s something else you need to know about an Alit’s age, specifically about a female Alit’s maturity.” He smooths one hand up my side to cup my breast. “It takes only a few moon cycles for an adult woman to become fertile once she’s mated.”

My stomach contracts at the mention of the risk we’re taking every time we have unprotected sex.

Reading my mind as always, he says, “If it’s that important to you, we can wait.”

The declaration takes me by surprise. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“I thought you didn’t want to.” I search his eyes. “Wait, I mean.”

His gaze plays over my face, his expression honest and open. “I already told you. I want you to be happy.”

“Having children is important to you.” I can sense it through our bond. I can feel how badly he wants that.

He gives me a crooked smile. “It’s not going to happen overnight, so I may as well wait until you’re ready.”

“Why?” The word is a mere whisper. “What’s changed your mind?”

“You’re making an effort for me. I want to make one for you too.”

Wow. This is huge. Aruan is willing to compromise. For me.

“It’s not that I don’t want kids. It’s just…” I hesitate. “Things are a little crazy right now.” Waving a hand through the space, I continue, “This is a lot to take in, and there are so many pitfalls to navigate.”

He brushes a thumb over my nipple, sending ripples over my skin. “Pitfalls?”

“Obstacles to overcome and problems to solve.”

The light in his silver eyes is earnest. “I understand.” He draws lazy circles around my breast with a finger. “We won’t talk about it again until you tell me you’re ready. In the future, I’ll keep potions handy that’ll prevent you from conceiving.”

Is this the same man who’s keeping me captive here?

His voice heats. “In the meantime…” He slowly lowers his mouth to mine, making his intention clear. “I’ll pull out.”

Three orgasms later, my knees are still a bit wobbly when Aruan and I leave his quarters in what must be Lona’s finest attire. He wraps a hand around mine, offering me an encouraging smile, and I lap up the silent support he offers.

Instead of heading toward the banquet hall, he turns in the opposite direction.

I glance at him. “Where are we going?”

“To meet your family before the banquet.”

“Why?”