Imminent Danger: And How to Fly Straight Into It (41 page)

Eris turned bright red. “Varrin!” she shouted, cutting him off.

To her further embarrassment, Josh was now running his eyes up and down her body. “We didn’t,” he said. “But now that he mentions it, you’re pretty hot. What do you say? Two-for-one wing night at Stanbury’s tonight. We could totally go.”

“She’s not interested,” Varrin said.

“What, she can’t talk for herself?” Josh challenged. “C’mon, babe, whaddaya say?”

Eris took a deep, calming breath and then said, “No, thank you.”

“See?” Varrin smirked. “Now move along and leave the lady alone.”

Josh bristled. “What did you just say to me?” He took a step toward Varrin, puffing out his chest.

Varrin started toward the jock.

“Are you serious?” Eris seethed. “You’re going to get into a fight because he asked me out? You’re lucky I don’t lay into you for that sleeping together comment!” Turning to Josh, she added, “And you! If you don’t leave right now, I’ll tell Lisa you were hitting on me!”

Josh paled and glanced toward Eris’s suite. “Keep it down,” he urged.

“Maybe you should have thought of that before asking me out when your girlfriend was less than thirty feet away!” she snapped. “Now kindly get lost!”

Josh nodded. He hurried down the hall and slipped into Eris’s suite, slamming the door shut behind him.

“Nicely done,” Varrin said, switching back to Common. “You’re way too good for that boy.”

Eris stalked off toward the elevator, purposely ignoring Varrin as he hurried to match her steps. “Come on, Eris,” he wheedled. “Why are you mad this time?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said airily. “Maybe because you were acting like an overprotective jerk? Do you have to pick fights with every male we come into contact with?” She reached the elevator and pushed the down button.

Varrin scratched his head. “What are you talking about? I don’t do that.”

“Grashk, Hroshk, Kratis, bald thug guy, Kraigoth.” Eris ticked the names off on her fingers. “I’m betting you the jsgarn was male too. You even managed to get into a few arguments with Miguri, and he’s the sweetest creature I’ve ever met.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? Most males just can’t handle being in the presence of someone so inherently superior to themselves.”

Eris threw her hands up in the air. “You’re so
frustrating!”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” Varrin retorted. When she glared at him, he arched an eyebrow in amusement.

The elevator doors squeaked open a moment later. Huffing, Eris stepped inside. “Let’s just get dinner already,” she muttered.

Varrin laughed and followed her onto the elevator.

42

A
s Eris ate her dinner of chicken parmesan and a small green salad swimming in dressing, all she could think about was that this might be the last meal she would ever share with Varrin. She was still a little miffed at his earlier behavior, but she didn’t want their relationship to end on a sour note.
If this is really the last time I see him, I want this memory to be a happy one,
she thought.
And I might as well be honest with myself—I’m not quite ready to let him go.

“Do you want me to show you around campus before you head back to the shuttle?” she asked.

“Are you sure you want to?” Varrin said, putting down his fork and pushing his plate away.

“Of course I do.”

“Then let’s go,” he said, offering her his hand. She eyed it uncertainly and then accepted and let him pull her from her chair. “Maybe seeing more of where you live will help me figure out your convoluted terrestrial brain,” Varrin added with a grin.

They exited the residence cafeteria and stepped onto one of the pathways that meandered between the ivy-covered buildings. As they walked along enjoying the warm evening air, Eris thought idly about how things might be different if Varrin was an ordinary human like her instead of some fantastical alien prince with a penchant for trouble.
If he was just a normal guy, and he lived somewhere nearby, we could go on an actual date—watch a movie or something and see where the night took us. But then he wouldn’t be Varrin, would he?

Varrin walked silently beside her, glancing up occasionally at the starry night sky.
What’s he thinking about?
she wondered.
Is he already planning his next big heist? He probably can’t wait to get off this boring little planet.

Rounding the corner of Wells Hall, the pair walked down the hill and stopped at the bottom beneath the grassy expanse’s lone oak tree. Eris, feeling more and more depressed as the time for Varrin’s departure neared, collapsed on the ground beneath the boughs of the oak. She was surprised when Varrin quietly followed her lead.

“You look miserable,” he observed.

“You sure know how to appeal to a girl’s sensitive side.” She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

“You should be ecstatic to be back home at last, but instead you look like someone just accidentally swallowed your pet
kroompoi.
What’s wrong with you?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Eris said. “It’s complicated.”

Varrin swiveled to face her. She was entranced by the way the moonlight reflected in his gray eyes, and she fought the urge to push a stray lock of midnight hair out of his face.
I wish I knew how to turn off my feelings for him,
she thought miserably.

“Then make it simple for me,” he said. “Tell me why you’re being so mopey.”

“That isn’t a word.”

“I don’t care. Talk, Eris.”

“I just … Varrin, I hate it here! I thought if I survived my multiple abductions, and the lab, and the space battles, and the tongue baths, and—”

Varrin leaned forward. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Tongue baths,” Eris repeated. “Anyway, I thought that if I managed to live through all that, when I got back home I would just be able to fit back into my old life, pretend like none of it ever happened. But I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I hate my life! I’ve never liked it! I was always alone, and I never really knew where I was headed. My life was a huge, gray mass of dullness!”

“Your descriptive skills have certainly improved,” he dead-panned.

“And then you came along. Well, technically the Ssrisk came first, but then you blasted into my life like some fairy tale Prince Charming and rescued me. Of course, you turned out to be a complete jerk, selling me to Chakra Corp. and all that, but later I found out you’re actually a pretty decent guy.”

“Now, let’s not get carried away.”

Suddenly nervous, Eris looked down at her lap.

Varrin reached out a hand and lifted her chin. “Why are you really sad?” he asked quietly. “The truth, now.”

“I want to come with you, all right?” She threw her hands in the air. “But I can’t, obviously, since I’m a terrestrial and you’re wanted across the galaxy by pretty much everyone and their uncle for crimes I’m probably better off not knowing about because you have some weird need to double-cross every single person you come into contact with. So excuse me if I’m feeling a little upset right now!”

Varrin looked pensive. “You know,” he said cautiously, “it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Eris scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You have to get off this planet before the Psilosians pull themselves together and track you down.”

“Actually, I was thinking you could come with me.”

“You can’t just extend an invitation like that, Varrin.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we both know you’ll get tired of me hanging around after a few weeks—maybe months, if I’m lucky. Then it’s off to the slave mines for me, and a nice cushy paycheck for you from whatever random group you sell me to.”

“I wouldn’t get tired of you,” Varrin said seriously.

“Sure you would.”

“No, I wouldn’t. You’re … interesting.”

“Interesting?” she repeated incredulously. “What does that even mean? You just want to keep me around to amuse you. But what happens when you get bored with me? I mean, I could make you swear you wouldn’t ditch me, but I can’t think of any oath you wouldn’t break if someone offered you enough money.”

“How about marriage?” he said smoothly.

Eris’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, I’m pretty sure I misheard you. Can you please repeat that?”

“How about I marry you? That’s about as binding an oath as they come.”

“Are you being serious?” she gaped. “Varrin, you can’t ask me to marry you!”

“I can do whatever I want.”

Varrin suddenly swept her up in his arms and pressed his mouth to hers in a passionate kiss. His lips were soft and warm, and she could feel her toes curling in contentment.
Is this actually happening?
Eris thought wildly. Then she felt herself melting against him, unable to form a coherent thought through the haze of mingled happiness and confusion.

Finally, Varrin pulled away from her. Gasping, Eris stared up at him, trying to figure out what was going on behind his inscrutable gray eyes.

“Well?” he smirked, tracing a hand down her flushed cheek. “Any more protests?”

“You can’t propose to someone like that,” she told him sternly.

“I want you. And I always get what I want. Why else would I ask you to marry me? You’re the strangest, most infuriating girl I’ve ever met. You drive me crazy, and I can’t stand the thought of not having you around. Understand?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“All right, consider it this way. Why
wouldn’t
you marry me?”

Which reason should I start with?
she thought. “Well, for one thing, you’re appallingly immoral at times.”

“Which you’re well on your way to correcting,” Varrin noted.

His hand twirled a strand of her hair round and round. Eris loved the sensation but refused to let it distract her. “You have a history of selling me out to the highest bidder,” she added.

“Once you’re my wife, it would be economically impractical for me to do that.”

“I’ve never even had a boyfriend before!”

“Irrelevant,” he said, flashing her a devilish grin. “As I am a being of masculine perfection, any past lovers would be uncouth barbarians by comparison.”

“Not to mention you’re from an entirely different species.”

Varrin raised his index finger authoritatively. “I did some research, and it turns out that humans and Rakorsians are physically compatible in all the ways that count.”

“You did some research?”

“I did. And apparently, about ten thousand years ago, a small Rakorsian task force—”

Eris held up her hand to silence him. “I know all that already.” But she had one more reason, one she knew Varrin couldn’t refute. “You nearly got me killed.”

His smile abruptly disappeared. “I did, didn’t I?” Eris watched as the exiled prince stared off into the inky blackness of the night sky. “Maybe you’re right,” he said, a dark look in his eyes. “You deserve someone who won’t constantly put your life in mortal danger. I’ll go now.”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Eris snapped, seizing Varrin’s arm as he tried to stand. “I was just saying those things because I was confused. Of course I don’t want you to leave! I just wasn’t expecting you to propose to me. Look, you want to know the truth? I don’t care about what you might have done in the past. All that matters to me is if you’re willing to change. And you’ve proven that you are willing.”

“You always cared before about all the terrible things I did,” he said suspiciously.

Eris felt tears pooling in her eyes, but she resolutely brushed them away. “Varrin, you saved my life, in more ways than one. You said you couldn’t stand the idea of not having me around, remember? Well, I feel the same way. Do you understand what I’m trying to say to you?”

“Not a clue.”

“I love you, you idiot!”

“Oh. I already knew that.”

Eris was positively dumbfounded. “You did?”

“Of course. All women fall madly in love with me. It’s part of my charm.”

Kari, he’s dense sometimes.
“No, not like that,” she said. “I mean, I really love you.”

Eris expected a witty retort, but instead he simply stared at her as if trying to solve some unfathomably complex mystery that only he could see or understand. Then he gently drew her into his arms. “Eris. Look at me,” he said. “I’m an alien. I cheat, I lie, I steal, and I don’t give a damn about it.”

“As far as romantic speeches go, you fail.” She sighed.

“That’s exactly my point,” Varrin explained. “You … you make me care. I don’t quite understand
why
I’m supposed to care most of the time, but you always explain it to me. Or hit me. Either one usually does the trick.”

Eris smiled.

“You’re everything I’m not,” he continued. “Half the time I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about, or why you do the things you do, but …”

“But?” she pressed.

“I’d like to understand,” he said simply. “I don’t know why, but whenever you’re around, I’m … happy.”

Eris shot him an incredulous look. “You want to marry me because you’re
happy
when I’m around? That’s not something to base an everlasting commitment on, Varrin! You just said that half the time I make you crazy, but that makes you happy?”

“Yes,” Varrin agreed. Then he seized her and proceeded to kiss her senseless for the second time that day.

He’s actually serious about this, isn’t he?
she realized. Reluctantly pulling herself out of the kiss, Eris crossed her arms and fixed him with her sternest stare. “Varrin, if you’re really serious about having changed for the better, then you’ve got to actually commit to it.”

Varrin pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Anything you want,” he promised. Then he paused. “Within reason.”

“Okay. Then no more kidnapping me,” she said firmly. “No more lying to me, no more betraying me to various evil military personnel—oh, and you must call me by my proper name at all times. No more
girl, human,
or
terrestrial.”

The shaggy-haired prince grinned. “You’re an endless source of amusement, girl.”

“What did I just say?” Eris scolded, smacking him on the chest but with a smile on her face. “So do you agree to my terms?”