Chapter 19
NINETEEN
They were making an unexpected stop. That’s all she knew. A simple way station set on an otherwise barren, rock of a planet in the middle of nothingness offered a place for ships to recharge and, if necessary, do repairs. As far as Madison knew, The Crib needed neither of those things.
They had just delivered some weapons to a rebel group and were off to pick up a shipment of something.
Madison didn’t participate in the missions and she was rapidly realizing that living on a spaceship wasn’t her favorite thing.
The confines of it suited the crew, but she found herself longing for solid ground.
They’d been traveling for the equivalent of an Earth month.
Madison had made some friends on the ship.
Niir, the communications officer, was teaching her the most widely used of the universal languages.
There were several of them, which didn’t make them very “universal” in her opinion, but she was picking it up.
She was eager to find a safe settlement to live and if she wanted to live out on this side of the galaxy, she couldn’t rely on a translator device. Not everyone would be wearing them, Niir told her, and even if they did, they probably wouldn’t have any of the Earth languages loaded in them.
Niir’s patience and kindness had not progressed to anything more, but some members of the crew had taken to flirting with her whenever possible.
She had no reason not to consider interest from another, but the truth was, she hadn’t thought about anyone else since Drex.
So far, she hadn’t felt a spark like that since.
There was still a sore spot in her heart where he was concerned, but it was fading.
It would go away, eventually. Her life would move on, even if his couldn’t.
It was such a waste, she couldn’t help but think.
He had so much to give, so much to offer, but it was locked away.
She strode down the corridors she now knew very well to a lounge-type space called the crash room, which was used purely for off-duty relaxing and socializing. She wore a snug black bodysuit that moved easily with her body.
It was no mystery why Anna dressed the way she did—the corridors were tight and loose or flowing garments snagged on things, making it harder to get around quickly.
Also, you never knew when you’d have to throw on a space suit, and those went right over clothes like the ones she now wore.
She’d even allowed Nandi, Trak’s assistant and nanny to Reo, to braid her hair in the style of Virilian women.
Anna had woven in a few strands of metallic blue, making the thin braids sparkle when she moved.
Anna and Trak were in the crash room, talking quietly and urgently. They stopped abruptly when she entered.
“Hi, Madison,” said Anna with a shade too much cheer. “How are you?”
“Um, fine?” She moved back toward the door. “Sorry. Leaving. Didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
“Not at all,” said Trak with a crooked grin. “Happy to see you looking so well rested.”
Well rested? Okay, something was going on.
Trak had a terrible poker face. “Thanks.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Uh, huh. Just spit it out,” she said. “Do you need me to watch Reo while you two go on a vacation or something?” She had taken over a lot of the Reo-watching since her arrival.
It wasn’t a hardship—she adored the little guy who seemed equally enamored.
Trak chuckled. “No, no. The boy’s perfectly capable of looking after himself.”
Anna elbowed him in the side. “What are you talking about?”
“I dunno.” He cast her a desperate look. “I’m improvising.”
“Please stop.” She grabbed her mate by the arm and tugged him toward the exit. “Sorry, Madison. Carry on. We’re leaving.”
“O—kay…” Madison watched them muttering to each other as they left. She ordered some food from the dispenser and sat in one of the many soft couches to eat.
During her time here, she’d done plenty of thinking. There were so many possibilities open to her. She was a very different person from who she had been when she left Earth. If she returned to Earth now, she knew she had the strength to face whatever crap her ex-boyfriend tried to pull.
Thing was, she didn’t want to go back. There was a new home waiting for her out here, somewhere, and the idea of settling back on Earth held no appeal.
She finished her meal and rose. Reo would be waking from his nap soon and would want his lunch.
She slid the tray into the disposal slot and headed for the door.
It slid open at her approach, but a large figure stood there blocking her way. Her gaze tracked upwards, over a wide chest crossed with thick gold straps to a stern face she knew heart-wrenchingly well.
“Drex.” The word slipped out on a whisper. She backed up a step in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to take you home,” he said gruffly. “Where you belong.”
Her defenses roared to life. Fists clenched and jaw jutted, she glared at him.
“If you think you came all the way out here to make me go back to Earth, you’re mistaken.
” She jabbed a tense finger in his direction.
“Trak and Anna said I could travel with them until I found a place I wanted to live. You can’t force me back to Earth. If I go, it’ll be my choice.”
He drew in a sharp breath through flared nostrils. “Sweet suns, you smell good.”
“Shut up.” She crossed her arms. “You don’t get to say things like that. You didn’t want me and I left. End of story.”
A crooked smile curled his lips, making him look like Trak for a moment. “You’re wrong on a few points.”
“I don’t think so.” But confusion unsettled her. “What are you even doing here? Why do you care where I go?”
He advanced on her, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her. “You and I aren’t finished, Madison.”
“Oh, yes we are.” She spun around, heading for the exit on the other side of the room. “Goodbye, Drex.”
“I don’t want to take you back to Earth,” he said, making her stop in her tracks. “I want to take you back to Virilia.”
That stunned her harder than a blow to the head. “What?”
“Allow me to clarify. When I said ‘home,’ I meant my home. Our home.” He spread his hands as his shoulders slumped. “I have made a mess of so many things with you, Madison.”
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “Wait. You want me to go back to Exir City? With you? But what about Tuli?”
“Tuli is dead.” His eyes tightened. “Nothing can bring her back. Denying myself the chance to feel again, to…love again, won’t bring back what was lost.”
“Excuse me, did you say love?” Madison was sure the room was tilting on its end. “You changed into your primal form for Tuli, not me. You were at her grave. I saw it happen.”
He took another step toward her, closing the distance.
One large hand closed on her cheek. It was still exceptionally warm, but no trace of the terrifying fire remained.
“I wasn’t at Tuli’s grave when I began shifting to the primal form.
I was on my brother’s ship, as I stood beside you.
I had been envisioning you in that garden, the day I found you there.
Your smile, the sheer power of my attraction for you, had frightened me to my very bones. ”
He dropped his hand and ran both through his hair. His eyes glittered with anguish. “I was afraid that if I cared for another, I would lose the memories of her. That I would lose what little I had left of her.”
“And now?” Madison asked breathlessly. She could barely believe she was hearing this. It was as open and vulnerable as she had ever seen him, and she resisted the urge to touch him.
He drew in a deep breath. “Tuli was my first love. I will always love her, but what I feel for you…” He shook his head, sending dark hair curling over his forehead.
“My primal form emerged for you, Madison. I knew I would become dangerously hot very fast, so I needed to get off the ship as quickly as possible to avoid harming anyone. I was afraid of how you would react to my changed appearance, so I told you not to watch me.”
“That’s why you ran off the ship like that,” she said, closing her eyes. “I wish you had told me.”
“I had no time to explain.” From a pouch on his belt, he took out the necklace she had returned. He held it out to her. “I have gotten so much wrong with you, Madison. Will you let me spend the rest of my days getting it right?”
She felt numb. A little disoriented. But through her overwhelmed mind threaded a gentle knowing that her answer would be yes. Ferias had matched them for a reason, and the feeling she’d had when she first laid eyes on him was still there, simmering, waiting, knowing.
She smiled, full and certain and happy. “It took you long enough, Drex.”
He lifted the necklace and fastened it around her neck, then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. The weight of the red pendant rested comfortably on her chest. She pressed against him, body to body, heat to heat.
She peered up at him through teary eyes. “I’ve spent the last month working on getting over you, you know.”
“How has that gone?” His voice was rough.
She cocked her head. “Not easy, but little Reo keeps me busy. I would miss him…”
“I intend to fill your belly with babies. As many as you want.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, when you put it that way.”
“Come home with me, Madison.” His teeth grazed her ear, making her shiver with reawakened hunger.
“And what would I be returning as, Drex? Your mistress? Your girlfriend?” It mattered. Maybe it didn’t before, but it did now, here. She wasn’t the same woman who had fled Earth desperate to be free of a powerful, controlling man. She saw all her options, and she intended to choose carefully.
“My queen.”
Her hands flattened on his chest as her heart stuttered. “What about your people?”
“What about them?”
“Would they accept a human?” She could barely believe she was having this conversation.
Those serious blue eyes narrowed on her.
“The citizens of Exir City will be ecstatic to have a queen, period. And even if they objected, I would not care. You are my queen. I think I have known it since I first saw you in my throne room. You looked as though you had been born to stand there, by my side. It was terrifying.”
The words jolted her. Whatever she expected, it wasn’t that.
Not in her wildest dreams did she imagine hearing those words coming from his mouth.
“Drex, I…” she trailed off, searching for the best way to share her own feelings.
She’d never had a conversation like this.
She tipped her head against his chest and breathed in the warm, intoxicating scent of him.
“I’m wondering if this is a dream. If I ate something weird and am hallucinating. ”
“This is real. And so is my love for you.” Wide hands cupped her face and tilted it up.
His mouth came down on hers. He kissed her deeply, passionately.
Her head spun with the bliss she had only known from him.
Her arms wound around his neck and her hands tunneled into his hair.
He pulled back slightly. “What do you think?” he murmured thickly.
“Will you give this great, bloody idiot another chance?”
“I’ve learned a few things since leaving Earth, and the most important one is that love always deserves a chance.” She smiled against his lips as tears of joy filled her eyes. “So, yes, Drex. A hundred times, yes.”