Alexandre (24 page)
Alex groaned. Doom pressed down on his shoulders. No doubt, Hinekiri and Janaya had something to do with the phone’s amazing battery life.
Lily hurried up the stairs after him. Alex’s heart pumped in double-quick time. The scent of her arousal drifted to him along with the lemon-grove perfume from the shower gel. He turned to watch her sashay toward him. The subtle sway of her hips ratcheted up his interest. He wanted to make sweet love to her for the rest of the day.
But it wasn’t going to happen. Not yet. He grabbed his jeans and stepped into them. “I’ll go with Killer to check out the men while you take the call.” Alex thrust his arms into a crumpled denim shirt then strode across the room to plant a swift kiss on her lips before hurrying down the stairs.
Seconds later, Lily heard the clatter of Killer’s nails on the floor and the slam of the door. By the time she located her bag the ringing had stopped. Sudden nausea darted up her throat. Lily sank onto the rumpled bed and took a cautious breath. She’d obviously eaten something that didn’t agree with her. Her stomach danced uneasily, informing her of the fact. Or it could merely be nerves.
Alex or Alexandre. His real name sounded exotic. He made all the right noises, made love to her sweetly, telling her repeatedly how much he cared for her. But caring wasn’t the same as love.
Lily balked at jumping blindly. This time she intended to enter a relationship with her eyes open. Especially when the man looked like Alex. Gut instinct told her there was more to his story. While he hadn’t exactly lied, he hadn’t told the truth. Secrets. Lily hated them with a passion.
The ringing of the phone interrupted her unhappy thoughts. She answered, holding the phone to her ear. “Hello? Janaya. How are you? Where are you?”
“We’ve finished fishing and thought we’d come to pick up Killer. Where are you at the moment?”
“We’re in Nelson, but we are heading to Kaikoura to go whale watching. You could meet us there.”
“Sounds good. Can we go watching the creatures with you?”
The perfect opportunity to ask a few questions. “I’d like that.” Perhaps she’d ask a few now. If Janaya didn’t know the answers she could find out for Lily and let her know when they met in Kaikoura. “Janaya, have you heard of Alexandre Bellangere?” Lily picked a piece of lint off her robe while she waited for the important answer.
“Prince Alexandre. Sure. He’s second in line to the throne.”
“A prince?” Lily whispered. “I’ve been sleeping with a prince?” Alex had lied to her. A prince. She’d had wild, uninhibited sex with a prince.
“You’ve slept with him? Oh, man. When did you meet him? That’s gonna cause problems in the royal court!”
“What are you talking about? You sent him to me.” Lily’s belly roiled. “What sort of problems?” The sensation intensified. She swallowed rapidly trying to dispel her nausea.
“Wait. You’re talking about Alex? He’s not royalty. The Prince is blond and gorgeous. Alex has dark hair and looks nothing like Prince Alexandre. Last I heard the King had arranged a joining for Prince Alexandre. Citizens end up in the dungeons when his majesty is annoyed. Alex is lying to you.”
“No, I’m sure,” Lily whispered. “He told me this morning. He had a spell to change his appearance.”
Janaya’s shriek of horror nearly deafened Lily. “At least Alex is taking his anti-bonding pills. Maybe we can salvage the situation. We’ll come immediately. I’ll talk to the Prince, get him to see sense and escort him back to Dalcon. Maybe the King hasn’t noticed he’s missing. He might think he’s with a consort… By the Goddess, I’m sorry. I…um…didn’t mean… Shit!”
A burst of excited chatter sounded on Janaya’s end. Lily’s stomach rose and fell like a roller coaster ride at a fairground. A fully-fledged ache started at her temples. “What pills are you talking about?” He’d said his supplies had been in one of the stolen bags. This did not sound good.
“The pills to stop him bonding with an Earth female. For some reason, our psyches are compatible, and we bond if the circumstances are correct. It’s like soul mates.”
“He asked me to join with him.”
“Holy shit!” Janaya shrieked again.
Lily held the phone away from her ear until she heard Luke—her brother.
“Did I hear right? You’ve bonded with the Prince?”
Lily explored the uneasiness she felt inside. “If that means I hurt like hell whenever I’m not with him and I can’t wait to have sex—”
“Stop, cupcake. TMI.”
“It might be too much information, but I have to talk to someone. I guess you bonded with Janaya. You know how it feels.”
A rueful laugh drifted down the line. “Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know. I take it you can talk with the dog?”
“Yeah. Talking dogs. Who’d have thought?” Then Lily remembered something else. “But I hear it’s more a case of spy dogs. You and Janaya will buy that dog a collar. The best damned collar in the shop.”
Luke chuckled. “We’ve already packed it.”
“And don’t think the subject is finished. I have a long memory.” Lily attempted to swallow the huge lump in her throat but it stubbornly remained. “He lied to me, Luke. Alex lied to me.” The pain she felt inside echoed in her voice. “I wouldn’t join with him if he were the last remaining male on Earth. Or Dalcon.”
She had no future with Prince Alexandre. None whatsoever. The man was a liar. It was difficult to get past that fact.
Lily tossed her clothes in a soft canvas bag and zipped it shut. Dressed and ready to go. All she needed to do was wait for the Prince and Killer. Uneasiness assailed her gut. Her soul craved him, but she slammed the thoughts away and concentrated on what she needed to do to get through the next week. A few days in Kaikoura. A few in Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown then the drive home. She could do this. If she kept things on a business-like footing and they slept in separate rooms. No long, leisurely lunch stops. She shoved aside the pangs of loneliness. She’d get through this if she took things one day at a time.
“Lily! Lily!” Killer barked. “Men gone. Maxwell and I chased. Bit on bum.”
“Taste bad,” Maxwell growled.
Lily turned to the tall, handsome man who had ripped her life apart. “Did you see them, Prince Alexandre?”
“Yeah, I… You know,” he said, his voice expressionless. “Janaya must have told you.”
“Lies have a way of coming back to bite you in the bum.”
“I can explain—”
“I don’t want to hear. I’m packed. I’ll check out and wait for you in the car.”
Lily walked away, her chest tight, her heart pounding.
Concentrate on breathing. One day at a time
.
The drive back through Nelson took place in silence. Alex had tried to explain for a second time but Lily shut him down.
“I don’t want to leave Maxwell,” Killer barked for the third time in as many minutes. “I sick. My heart hurt.”
Alex patted the dog on the head. “You’ll see Maxwell soon. His owners are driving to Kaikoura the day after tomorrow.”
“Janaya and Luke are meeting us there,” Lily said as she concentrated fiercely on the road ahead. She would not cry, even if her traitorous heart ached. She aimed to hide her inner turmoil. Alex—the Prince—did
not
need to know how much he’d cut her inside, how badly her wounded self-confidence bled.
“Janaya and Luke stay till Maxwell come?”
Lily sighed. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask.”
“Is that vehicle following us?” Alex asked without warning.
Lily checked the rear vision mirror. “It wasn’t there last time I looked. We’re almost at the Wairau Valley. We’ll check out a few of the vineyards so you can decide whether the tour stops here or at Martinborough.”
Lily navigated down narrow roads, passing rows and rows of grape vines, as they wound their way to the first vineyard. The leaves were still green but had a tinge of color, of yellow and orange on the edges. Winter was on the way.
* * * * *
“That was the Prince.”
“About bloody time,” Mattio muttered. The royal had led them a chase, and he was tired of Earth. He couldn’t wait to leave this wretched outpost.
Jabot wound down the window and pulled his weapon out of hiding.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Mattio slowed and righted his mad swerve so the hired car returned to the correct side of the road. Taking one hand off the wheel, he drilled Jabot in the ribs with a pointed finger.
“Ow! Whatcha do that for?”
“Dumbass. How are you going to explain to the King that you’ve shot his son? Get out the tranq gun. Don’t shoot until I give the word. We have to pick our time and location.”
“But I wanna go home,” Jabot wailed. “I don’t like this place. No fuckable women. Food’s crap. And the devil creatures.” Jabot shuddered and paused to glance over his shoulder as though he expected one to jump from the backseat.
The dumbass. Mattio couldn’t wait to get back to Dalcon and ditch his cuz. If things worked as planned, he’d never need to worry again. He’d have people to carry out his wishes instead of doing other people’s dirty work. And it would happen. Success was so close he could taste it.
“Right,” he said. “Here’s the plan. We follow them for the rest of the day until we learn where they’re staying. Then tonight, we’ll use the tranq gun, shoot the Prince with the tranquilizer dart, call the captain to meet us with the spaceship. We’ll be back in Dalcon before much longer.”
“Females,” Jabot said with a beatific smile.
“Make sure you follow my instructions or else you’ll be off to the palace dungeons. You won’t see daylight, let alone a receptive female.”
* * * * *
“Did Janaya say what time they’d arrive?” Alex broke the quiet spell. The silent treatment was making his head hurt. He missed his happy companion of the previous days. And nights. A shudder worked down his body and ended at the tip of his aching tom. Hell, what was he going to do if she wouldn’t change her mind? He’d had no experience of this type of situation. Females never turned him down. Torment ate him up at the thought of Lily denying him the right to join with her. He had to make it right—he just had to.
“She said after dark so they were less likely to be seen by UFO hunters. They’ll ring when they arrive, and I’ll go and collect them.” Lily pulled into the parking area of a small beachside motel. “I’ll check in.”
Alex winced at the slam of the door. “That went well.” He turned to Killer. “What am I going to do? She won’t talk to me unless it’s related to business.”
“You stuff-up. Should have told truth.”
“How could I?” Alex demanded.
The driver’s door opened. “How could I what?” Lily asked. Without waiting for his answer, she started the car and drove down a narrow road that petered out by a cabin. She pulled up outside the building.
Alex climbed out to stretch his legs and rid his lungs of Lily’s spice-mint scent. It didn’t work. Looking skyward, he stretched again. Suddenly, he shot upward, about half the height of his legs into the air. His panicked grasp of the vehicle was the only thing that kept him from flying higher. Alex looked down. What the
basuko
? He took a deep breath and let it ease free. He’d noticed his hearing and sense of smell had improved since stopping the pills, but flying? Alex tugged himself back down until his feet planted firmly on the ground.
Lily climbed out of the driver’s side and glared across the roof of the car.
“I’ve said I’m sorry. I’ve tried to explain, but you won’t let me.”
“All right. Explain.”
She didn’t sound happy about listening, but Alex sensed he wouldn’t have another opportunity. He cautiously let go of the vehicle and only started talking once he was sure he would remain Earthbound.
“Life at the palace is hard to describe. As a prince in line to the throne, I have everything done for me. My position means both males and females in the court vie for my attention.”
Lily narrowed her eyes. “Charming. I imagine that means hot and cold running women.”
“Palace consorts. They jostle amongst each other, trying to sleep their way to a position of power within the court.”
“I do not intend to join that group.”
“That’s the point. I never asked you to.” Alex started to pace to settle his agitation.
“Fine, we both know where we stand.” Lily swung about, her black skirt swirling up to display her legs. Distracted by the sight, Alex almost missed his grab for her arm. He tried again, his fingers curling around her biceps as he jerked her to a stop. “I love you, Lily. I’ve never said that to another female. I want to commit to you.” He swallowed. He wanted to mark her.
Lily wanted to believe, but how could she trust him? That was the crux of her problem. “No, I can’t.” She blinked rapidly but tears still squeezed past her lashes.
“You’re treating me in the same way as the palace consorts. A male with a pretty face—worthy to fuck and brag about the deed later to your friends. I have a brain. I’m worth more than a fuck to brag about.” His hands fisted and for an instant, Lily thought he might take his anger out on the SUV. She tensed—ready to make a grab for his hand if he showed the slightest sign smashing one of the blue panels.