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No one knows how truly terrified I am of being rejected by the one thing I want more than anything, more than being a prince or even being accepted by my people. I am what I am. I cannot change it, nor do I want to. “I don’t really know where to go from here. So I’ll follow your lead.”

“To bed?”

My Storm writhes inside me, swelling my shaft and stirring to life cravings that make me feel like a loose cannon. “I’m up for that.”

Jovie smiles and laughs softly like she’s surprised. “Alone, Aura. I’d like to clean myself up and have a moment to recollect my pride while I reassess my future. A lot is changing. I just need a night to think about it.”

The rejection crushes my need in a cold flash. “I see.”

Jovie takes my hand. “But I want you to show up at my door ready to be yourself. All you did today was help me and rescue me. That’s not what I hoped for.

I need to see I can contribute too, and in a way beyond just being a vessel for children.

I need to have a purpose in your world. So let me pull my pieces together after this embarrassing night and meet you in the morning. Can you accept that?”

I’m a wreck of desire. I don’t want to let her go. I need to keep her against me. Years have led to this moment. “I don’t want to let you go.”

She hums a sad note. “I don’t trust my instincts, Aura. They’re not as visible as your Storm. I just need one night. Please.”

“Okay.”

She hooks her arms around my neck, draws me closer, and kisses me with passion. Her touch is surprising and has me breathless and struggling for air.

My pants tighten, my cock swelling with demanding need. I clutch her to me, hoping she feels my raging erection and knows how badly I want her.

Jovie breaks the kiss. “Thanks for saving me three times in a row tonight. I want to trust you because of it. I just need time because it’s a huge change from my old life.”

I try to find the words to keep her with me, but I’m still working the sweet taste of her around in my mouth.

“Goodnight, Aura.” Jovie leaves one more kiss on my chin, then crosses the balcony and walks inside.

I watch Jovie leave. My unsatisfied urges make my balls ache from lack of release, but I respect her for taking the time to be sure I’m what she wants.

The more distance she puts between us, the more unsteady I feel. And soon, I’m trailing after her, ensuring she enters her room for the night. I can’t help it. I don’t want to let her out of my sight.

“A real bed?” she gasps.

The AI in her room replies. “Yes, Jovie. Anything else you require, just say so. I will get it for you.”

Jovie sings a note of joy. A springy thump suggests she’s jumped onto the mattress.

I smile to myself, but I’m left wondering what arrangements she had on Earth if she finds such delight in simple things.

Sure, I’m always grateful for a bed after sleeping in the dirt.

But Jovie isn’t a soldier. And yet, it sounds like she’s been living like one.

Once I know she’s safe, I continue to my quarters. I wish there was something I could do to help improve the situation on Earth.

But I no longer have the power of my people or my position behind me.

As I pass a dark hallway, an eerie sensation that I’m being watched makes me slow and squint into the darkness. “Hello?”

With no response or visual clues, I brush it off as paranoia after the last race and continue toward my room.

But even as I open my door, the feeling grips me again. I check down the hallway but don’t see anything. When the door is shut behind me, I close my eyes.

“How are you this evening?” the room’s AI asks.

I think back to Elix and Zariah being taken from a room not far from the Glitter Ball arena last heat and how MONA, Elix’s ship, gathered us up and took us to where they were being held. I wanted this to be all fun and games, but the last week has been a harsh dose of reality.

It was foolish to think I could have a normal life.

“Can you confirm this facility is secure?” I ask.

“I have no reports of foreign threats. You are safe in here. Abr has changed the encryption programming for the racers’ rooms and upgraded many other systems. It is unlikely another intergalactic incident will occur.

But your vocal patterns suggest ambivalence about your situation.

Perhaps you should rest and try again tomorrow. ”

But I can’t stop thinking about the Denarso on Earth, in orbit near Mars, and the attacks on my people. I should be thinking about Jovie.

Lying back on my bed, I stare up at the ceiling and think back to the feeling of her against my chest and how she wriggled when I zapped her after I claimed her.

I’m not sure, but I think she’s as crass and horny as me. I’ve just got to find a way to coax it out of her. I want her to be herself and feel safe opening up to me.

I can’t do anything about the other situations with my position of power removed. Guilt still makes me want to try.

But all I want to think about is my beautiful mate and the orb we created together. She is mine. We are meant to be bonded.

As I sit in the dark with only the pale light of my body and the stars to give the room shape, I consider the real possibility that I may not return to the fleet. They need help, and I want to be that source, but I am no longer, legally, one of them.

I must protect my mate. I need her. I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe. Whatever it takes, even if it means never going home again.