My Alien King (Paranormal Romance Aliens) (11 page)

And that was all that mattered.

Clearly some of the Nalyi knew about the legend, because the older ones were explaining to the children what had happened. All around them, people were hugging their loved ones and crying, rejoicing the fact that they were alive.

Abon moved among them, soothing and offering information to fill in any gaps in their knowledge. Whenever someone called him ‘your Majesty’ he shook his head and pointed to his nephew. “The Nalyi have a new king now. You woke for him, not for me.”

Almost as one, the people looked at Asher. He could feel their eyes on him, and he blushed, but stood there with one arm around his mother. “I am your king,” he said, trying hard not to let his voice waver. “I know I was just a little boy when you went to sleep and that there’s still a lot for me to learn, but I want to learn it all. I want us to be great again. We can rebuild and get stronger. We can learn how to fight and how to craft. We can keep this from ever happening again.”

“King Asher,” someone in the middle of the crowd said and then the cry was taken up, bouncing off the sloped tunnel walls until it was ringing in Asher’s ears.

“King Asher! Long live King Asher!” The people went to their knees, kneeling in front of their new king with their heads bowed, and Asher was just about floored.

He caught Mia trying to kneel to him as well, and caught her hand, drawing her up and pulling her close. “Not you,” he murmured. “You don’t bow to me.”

“I’m not your queen yet,” she pointed out softly, and the word ‘yet’ made hope claw at him.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re not one of my subjects. You’re more than that.” And then, not caring who saw it, he kissed her right then and there.

There was going to be a lot of work to do before things were settled. Homes needed to be rebuilt, the palace needed to be repaired, patrols needed to be sent out because the Shaddoc weren’t going to go away just because there was a new king. Hopefully they would leave Earth alone now that Abon was back where he belonged, and if it came to fighting again, which it likely would, Asher would deal with that.

He already had ideas for how to make the Nalyi stronger. How to combine the old ways of fighting and conquering with the ways of being peace loving and focused on creation. He wouldn’t have his people defenseless.

Mia leaned against him as the people rose and began forming a line to get out of the tunnels. “Not bad, your Majesty,” she teased with a smile, and he smiled back.

Not bad at all.

“Oh my god,
yes,
” Mia cried as she arched her back, fingers tangled in the sheets under them. She was on her hands and knees on the bed (well, really her elbows and knees), back arched and bowed inward while Asher knelt behind her, hands on her hips as he pushed in and in, driving her crazy.

They were in their bedroom in the newly rebuilt palace, and this was the first time in weeks that they’d been able to be alone together like this for more than five minutes or when they weren’t both sleeping.

In the months since Asher had returned to the Nalyi, there had been plenty to do. The palace had to be repaired and most of the buildings had to be rebuilt. They’d had to find allies from other clans to come and teach the Nalyi how to defend themselves properly, and as the King, Asher had been at the forefront of it all.

He’d been learning and working and doing as much work as anyone else, and Mia was terribly proud of him.

For her part, she’d had a lot to learn as well. She’d been eagerly accepted by the people once they say how crazy their King was about her, and though she hadn’t yet become queen or even really brought the topic up again, it was well established that she was Asher’s partner.

People came to her with their questions and their gripes, and Mia tried to be open and understanding as she helped as best she could. After all, she knew better than most how it felt to be ignored and dismissed, and she never wanted anyone to feel like that because of her.

Asher’s mother had taken her under her wing, and the two could often be found conferring about something or just walking and talking together, and after five months of this, Mia found herself thinking fondly of the woman.

She also found herself thinking of her own parents.

She could only assume that by then they’d found her note, and she could just imagine how they’d react to it. Mia had told them not to look for her and that more than likely she wasn’t coming back. Part of her wished she could have been there to see the look on their faces when they found her note, but a much bigger part of her was glad to be done with it.

This new phase of her life felt so good, so right for her, and she was happier now than she’d ever been.

The Shaddoc were still a present threat, but Asher said that they were definitely better equipped to deal with them now than they ever had been, and that having the king back here would make them leave Earth alone.

It wasn’t an ending to the conflict, but it was a good start.

Things were bigger, brighter and better than they had been, and everyone had pitched in to make it so. It was easy to see the pride on the people’s faces as they went about their days, reclaiming the lives that had been stolen from them.

Mia was proud to be a part of it herself.

“Creators, you feel so good,” Asher panted in her ear, breath hot on her skin as he moved inside of her, draped over her back. “Missed you so much. So much.”

“
Yes
,” she gasped, working her hips in time with his. “God, can’t go this long again. I’m so. So close.”

She tipped over the edge and into her orgasm with a cry that she tried to muffle in the pillows, and from the way his hips were speeding up, she could tell that Asher was right there with her.

He groaned her name and then slumped over her back, panting hard.

For a moment they stayed like that, and then they were separating, Asher pulling out so that Mia could flop to the bed. He laid down next to her, fingers stroking through her hair as they both regained their breath.

“If only every council meeting could end like that,” he teased with a grin, and she laughed.

“If only. It was a productive one, this time, though. So you really can’t complain.”

His golden eyes were warm as they held hers, and he stroked her hair behind her ear. “No, I really can’t. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

In a few hours, they would have to go to dinner and report on what had been done in the last couple of weeks. In the morning, there would be more lessons, more work to be done, more people to speak to.

For the moment, though, there was just this. Mia and the king she had somehow managed to snare and the warmth that built in her chest whenever she looked at him.

Ashley West was raised in a small Midwest town. She has always been a big fan of science fiction and paranormal books and movies. Her all-time favorite movies are the first three Star Wars movies.

She started writing at a young age and has not looked back since. Ashley brings her worlds to life with vivid details and likeable characters. On her spare time, she enjoys painting, jogging, and curling up next to her favorite books.