DangerouslyHis (8 page)

“Calm down. I didn’t want to see her fall.”

“I’d rather see her fall than risk Taio coming in here and
seeing you hugging on his sister.”

“He caught me. That’s all,” she said to Eva. She ran shaky
hands down her gown. “Thank you, JB.”

Eva grabbed her hand and led her away. “Bye, JB.”

Eva didn’t seem to care that she dragged her through the
room, bumping into tables and chairs. While Eva rushed to get away, she didn’t
notice that Saia kept her eyes on JB until they rounded the corner and he was
out of sight.

He fought against his impulse and didn’t follow Saia and Eva
out of the room. He’d convinced himself the sparks that flew between them at
dinner had been his imagination, something he had conjured up.

Now he knew differently.

And he was sure she felt the same attraction.

He’d never felt this way about anyone—ever. While his
friends talked about their first loves, describing feelings he’d never
experienced, JB had always laughed it off. How could a person experience love
at first sight? There was no such thing.

That was before he saw
her
.

He didn’t even know her. But the urge to stand next to her for
eternity was overwhelming. It felt so right to hold her hand. Hold her body in
his arms, to speak with her…touch her.

He understood why empires fell over women. He would gladly
take on a whole planet if he thought it would make her happy. He would do anything
she asked.

Just to see her smile again.

And he did.

That evening, during the meal, they only had eyes for each
other.

* * * * *

The next day, JB tried to bump into her more than once, but
Eva or Jess was always there, leading her away. Not being able to speak with
her didn’t cool his feelings in the least. They only grew. He was more
determined than ever to catch her alone.

Could he sneak to her room before the morning meal? What
about afterward? Saia and Eva always seemed to be in the grand hall overseeing
decorations. Maybe he could get Ship to help him lure Eva away, if only for a
few minutes.

A loud snap sounded in his ear, pulling him abruptly from
his thoughts.

“Snap out of it, playboy.”

JB looked at Kane. His best friend had arrived hours earlier
with his mate Sa’Mya for Jess’ upcoming bonding ceremony.

Rasha laughed and took a swig of the
santorilin
brew
that filled the mug he cradled. JB took a gulping drink of his own. The brew
burned as it traveled down his throat.

“You’re looking a little glassy around the eyes. Has going
without pussy for a couple of days demented your brain?” Rasha asked.

JB shook his head and took another drink. The brew settled
in the pit of his stomach. For once, pussy was not what he was thinking about
at all.

Taio grunted. “He will continue to do so, or else I will—”

“Hey, hey,” Kane interrupted, putting up a hand. “There will
be no death threats during Rasha’s bachelor party.”

“I feel like killing something,” Taio grumbled and shuffled
his cards. “This game seems too tedious and trivial.”

“That’s because you aren’t getting it,” Kane pointed out.

Kane and Taio had spent two months together on Volrais. Taio
had been very instrumental in getting their crimes as space pirates absolved,
and had also rallied for Kane to join the Galactic Council as a member.

As Kane’s sponsor, Taio had helped with his induction and
training. They had become fast friends during that time and Kane now had the
luxury of joking with Taio as Rasha did.

JB knew he and Taio would never be on joking terms. Kane had
to practically make Taio promise he wouldn’t beat up JB at the party. Even with
the promise, JB had come reluctantly. He liked Rasha, and he felt as if Rasha
was joining his family of ex-space pirates by bonding with Jess, but he didn’t
want to get throttled by Taio.

JB sat on the opposite side of him, nearest the door, which
hadn’t gone unnoticed by Kane and Rasha, who jokingly swore to hold Taio back
while JB made a break for it if Taio’s mood went sour again. To avoid that at
all costs, JB had promised not to bring up two of his favorite topics—pussy and
fucking. Which apparently, in his drunken state, Rasha had forgotten about.

“Explain it to him again, Kane. I have the logistics of it,
but I think one more explanation would help us both understand better. Clear it
up, if you will,” Rasha said, shifting his cards around.

“You guys are really going to kill my buzz.” But Kane took a
deep breath and explained the game of poker to both Taio and Rasha again.

They’d been trying to play for the past hour, though mostly
each round ended like this, with everyone drinking and Kane once more trying to
explain the game. Kane was still using the deck of cards JB had made for him on
The Vengeance
. JB hadn’t known he kept them. It did a little something
to his heart when Kane had pulled out the worn deck with JB’s poorly etched
pictures and started dealing.

Ten minutes later, they tried to play again.

“And human males do this at bachelor parties because it is
fun?” Rasha asked.

JB and Kane both laughed. “No,” Kane said. “Bachelor parties
are wilder. There’s usually a lot more drinking. A lot more women—”

“Naked women,” JB interjected. “And dancing.”

“Dancing with naked women?” Rasha asked, perking up.

JB shook his head. “No, the naked women are dancing.”

“Ah,” Rasha said. “Somehow I don’t think Jess would allow me
to dance with naked females.”

“Not if you want to keep all your male parts in working
order,” Kane pointed out.

Rasha shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The night went on until they’d emptied the entire case of
santorilin
brew. JB knew he’d had more than he should have, downing mug after mug. The
moment he realized everyone at the table had not only found their mates, but
were allowed to bond with them, reality set in.

He’d most likely spend the rest of his days lonely, sleeping
with random women, trying to fill the empty void within him.

“Time to call it a night,” Kane declared.

“Right.” JB rose to his feet. The room swam and dipped.
“Shit.”

Kane caught him as JB leaned precariously to the side. “Come
on. I’ll help you to your room.”

JB shuffled his feet as Kane led him out the door and down
the hall. For some reason he couldn’t get his feet to walk in a straight line.
“I’m not going back to my room.”

“Oh?” Kane asked. “Where are you going then?”

“To find her,” JB said.

“Uh huh,” Kane said as he helped him walk.

JB’s legs were wobbly and unsteady, but he tried his best to
put one foot in front of the other.

“I need to go the other way,” JB mumbled. His lips felt too
big for his face.

“No, your room is this way.”

JB shook his head.
Oh hell, why did I do that?
The
hallway tilted and rotated. JB stopped and closed his eyes. “Argh,” he groaned.

“You are so fucked-up,” Kane laughed.

“If the room would stop spinning I could get to her.”

“Oh no. You have to forget about it, whoever she is. Taio
isn’t going to let you keep fucking the females and live to tell the tale.”

He needed to make Kane understand. “But…but…” There were so
many reasons why he had to get to Saia. Why he had to hold her again.

“Nope. Keep your dick in your pants. At least until you’re
off Sonis.”

It wasn’t fair. He wanted her.

JB swung out, barely missing a gold-and-blue vase that sat
on a pedestal against the wall and spinning himself around. Kane turned him in
the right direction. “This way, lover boy.”

The hallway tilted again. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
His stomach churned and his mouth watered.

“That might actually be a good idea. Let’s get you to the
bathroom so you can get rid of that shit in your stomach.”

He let Kane pull him to his room and to the bathroom, where
the contents of his stomach erupted into the toilet.

* * * * *

“Saia.”

The sound of someone calling her name pulled Saia from her
dream. Opening her eyes, she scanned the empty room.

“Saia, are you up?”

She squinted through the darkness. The suns were still down.
The night was quiet and still.

Who’s in my room?
“Who’s there?” she called out.

“Saia. Saia! Wake up.”

JB? Is he here?

“Saia,” he called again.

Communication link.

She followed the noise to her com-link sitting on the small
table by her bed. She held down the button so JB could hear her when she spoke.
“Hello?”

She heard him let out a long sigh. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Are you up?”

“I am now.”

“Oh, sorry. You were probably asleep. Stupid, stupid,
stupid. Nice going, JB.”

She lay back and cradled the com-link in her hand. “No harm
done. Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I tried, but I can’t.”

“Why not? If you’re having trouble sleeping you should try
shikor
.
It has calming properties in it.”

“It’s not that. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I don’t
want to take anything that would
make me
stop thinking about you—ever.” His
voice slurred with his words.

He was drunk, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t control the
grin that stretched across her face. Or the way her heart fluttered at the very
thought of him thinking about her. “You were thinking of me?”

“I was. I mean, I am. Were you thinking of me?”

“Really? I thought you would have been thinking about the
females who were hanging on you at dinner.”

She remembered seeing the two humans fawning all over him.
To his credit, she did see him trying to push them away. But as determined as
they were, they didn’t seem to want to budge. She tried not to pay attention
but couldn’t pull her eyes away.

“Those weren’t…I mean…I used to hang out with them, but that
was before I met you.”

“And then what?”

“And then I haven’t been able to think about anyone else
since.”

“I admit that I was thinking of you before I fell asleep.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. Why had she confessed that?

“You were?” His voice was filled with hope and joy.

That’s why.
“Yes.” She pulled a pillow over her face to
muffle the happy yell that erupted from her.

“Meet me in the common room.”

She pulled the pillow away. “No! I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“My brother might find out.”

“Oh yeah, right. Let me come to your room then.”

“Absolutely not. That would be even worse.”

“I’ll be like a stealth ninja. No one would even know that
I’m there.”

“I don’t know what a ninja is, but I highly doubt that even
that
would elude the detection of Ship.”

“I forgot about him. How about the royal gardens? Meet me
there.”

“He can go outside as well, although he really doesn’t like
to.”

JB hiccupped. “But I want—I
have
to see you.”

“Well…he doesn’t go outdoors unless he has a reason. I’m
sure he has better things to do than follow me around. If he does show up,
you’d be able to see him.”

Although Ship’s species was thought to be invisible to the
naked eye, it was discovered when Eva came to Sonis that humans could see him.
He appeared as a purple haze to Eva. At first she’d thought there was something
wrong with her eyesight. It had taken a while for her to realize it was Ship
she was looking at and not some anomaly.

“Why do you want to meet with me so badly?”

“I just want to talk with you.”

“We
are
talking.”

“Okay, I admit. I want to feel you again.”

“JB!” Heat crept across her cheeks as she said his name.

“No, not that way. Your skin felt so soft, so perfect. I
want to see if it was real or if I dreamt it.”

Saia sighed. “I can’t meet you anywhere this late. It’s not
proper.”

“I understand. I’m drunk and I’m being too forward.”

She put a hand over her eyes. “But I can meet with you
tomorrow after I visit Jess and Rasha’s new dwelling.”
Oh Ancients.

“Yes!” She heard his yell peal through the link.

She grabbed and held the pillow tight to her chest. “Bye,
JB. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, beautiful Saia.”

* * * * *

“Jess, you’ve done a really good job here.”

Eva stood in the middle of what she explained was a “living
room” with her hands on her hips, surveying her surroundings.

Jess and Rasha had built a dwelling on undeveloped land near
the Singha Ocean. Jess said this was going to be a place where she and Rasha
could go to be alone and “take a break” from everything. That was another human
term Saia found confusing.

“It is very nice,” Saia added.

She understood why Eva and Jess were so excited. Even though
Jess’ new house was smaller and considerably cramped in comparison to the
palace, it was hers alone. The very thing Saia wished for herself. Kiehle had a
dwelling such as this one. His was located on a small and desolate planet,
Saurene. He had promised to take her there one day.

Now she didn’t think she would ever see it.

Saia didn’t want to remove herself from civilization as
Kiehle had, but a dwelling like this would be perfect. Growing up in a palace
her entire life, without privacy, had made her long to get away.

As she crossed the floor, the soles of her feet welcomed the
plush the carpet. When they had entered, Jess made them all remove their shoes,
including the two guards who stood by the front door. Carpeted floors were not
ideal for palaces as they would be very hard to keep clean. The amount of staff
needed to keep the floors cleaned alone would be exorbitant.

She stopped at the window and wrinkled her nose when her
hand met a slab of glass. She tapped the surface lightly. “What is this?”

“Humans are used to glass in our windows. We like to keep
out predators and other things.” Eva shuddered. “I would hate for one of those
flying creatures to find its way through Jess’ window.”

“I don’t have any problem with them, I bet they’d taste just
like chicken,” Jess quipped.

“What are you referring to?” Saia asked.

Eva turned up her lip. “The
hybonius
. I hate those
ugly things,” she said.