Alien Intent (Captured by Aliens Book 3) (14 page)

“You’d
rather be out riding, eh?”

“Better
a zhala than these wild women eating me alive.”

The
voices diminished as they men left the area and took her hopes and dreams with
them. She collapsed on the bench, feeling cold and dead inside. Ordered to
seduce?

The
pieces fit together—his strange turnaround in behavior; taking a zhala that
would abandon them…he’d been ordered to seduce her.  He had never wanted her
for her. She knew the goal of these people was to prolong their race, to create
life where there was only death before. Somehow she’d bought into the fantasy
he’d falsely created. That silver tongue, the charm and guile had blinded her
to her own instincts. She felt like the ugly little girl with tangled wild hair
and too dark skin in a sea of mocking faces all over again. Her confidence
stripped bare by strangers laughing outside the room.

Jasmine
pressed a fist against her mouth, biting down on the knuckle to keep from
screaming in rage. Tears stung her eyes. She tried to blink them back and
failed.

The
glasses on the table clinked and tipped over as an earthquake rocked the palace
walls. Beyond the curtain, screams filled the air.

The
palace shook again, with what could only be a secondary explosion. Jasmine
gripped the bench, struggling to her feet. She ripped the curtain open.

“Seal
the palace doors and roof! No one in or out,” a soldier yelled. Decked with
stripes, he could only be some kind of officer in charge.

The
ballroom was a chaotic maze of women running wildly inside, seeking shelter and
protection. Jasmine scanned the room, searching for Cyndy and Samara. There
were too many people inside, too much commotion to do anything but run and duck
for cover.

She had
no idea who was attacking them or why—only that in spite of her anger, she
wanted Dar. She shook the feeling of helplessness off, running into the crowd
to search for her family.

“Jasmine!”
Samara screamed, meeting her in the middle like a magnet drawn to steel. They
hugged tightly, watching as the officers and soldiers emptied the room to
defend the palace.

“Where’s
Cyndy?” Jasmine asked.

“She’s
down in our room. Drank too much wine. I just came back to find you.”

Jasmine
nodded. “Let’s get everyone down there. It’s got to be better protected than in
here.”

Getting
the attention of a bunch of panicked women was easier said than done. It felt
like she was trying to bail flood waters out of her house with a teacup.

“Let’s
get a few at a time,” Samara said in exasperation.

“Good
thinking.”

They
each went to the perimeter of the room and grabbed the attention of a few
women, leading them back through the double doors, down the wide hallway to the
women’s quarters. The journey seemed to take forever, but after several trips,
more and more of the hysterical women came along until they had a full retreat
on their hands and the ballroom had emptied of all its guests.

The
harem quarters were deep in the palace interior, with many walls between them
and the outside. They could hear nothing of a battle outside. Jasmine had never
been so grateful to be in a small room in all her life. She changed from her
gown back to practical clothing, wondering if she was going to have to fight an
invading army of aliens. They were disconnected from stimulus, left to wonder
what their fate would be.

For
some, the stress was too much. Many sat in their rooms, wailing and crying. She
couldn’t blame them, but the sound got on her nerves and made her want to stuff
cotton in her ears. Cyndy laid on her bed, groaning about wine and a pounding
headache as Samara and Jasmine sat on a bed together.

Her
cousin’s arms around her shoulders was comforting. She wanted to talk about
what Dar had done, but a broken heart seemed silly considering a battle was
being fought above them. Was this the end of everything? A renewed sense of
homesickness gripped her. She wanted to sob, but she was too numb to do
anything but stare blankly ahead. Time slowed to an agonizing crawl. She had no
idea how long they’d been down there waiting for news of what happened above.

“Someone’s
coming,” a voice yelled. Others joined in a panicked cry.

“It’s
okay. I’ve been sent down to bring you all up,” Grail Arkane spoke to the women
as they tentatively came out of their rooms and surrounded him.

“What
happened?” Samara asked above the din.

Grail
reddened. “A brief insurrection. A faction of civilian rebels decided to attack
the palace. They’ve all been detained and taken away.”

“So
we’re safe?” Jasmine asked, feeling dubious.

“Yes.
Prince Zeta wants everyone outside for an announcement. He’s summoned the
entire city to hear the news,” Grail said. “Your presence is requested as well.
They are waiting upon you all.”

Reluctantly,
the women followed the guard from the safety of their rooms to outside the
palace. Remarkably, they could see only scorch marks from homemade bombs on the
outer walls of the palace, and only part of the courtyard had sustained any
real damage. A partial wall of rubble was cordoned off by guards standing at
the ready with spears tipped with glowing orange lights. Above them, off a
balcony, stood the prince of the city and his wife.

Jasmine
stood on her tiptoes, looking over the heads of the crowd to see past the
guards of the palace. With the darkness she couldn’t see far, but the sense
that hundreds—maybe thousands—had gathered for this announcement was strong.

Floating
above the crowd were small spinning silver balls. As she watched, each ball
projected an image just below it of the prince.

“We have
instilled peace in the city once again. A rebel faction has been detained. But
that is not why you have been gathered here today. I speak in the name of King Fallon
Anadaru. He knows that many of you have been denied your requests for your own
brides.”

A brave
soul in the crowd, from very far away yelled, “We want what he and the soldiers
have!  Women!”

“We want
our own women!” others joined in, chanting. Their intensity shook Jasmine to
her soul. In spite of the heavy presence of weaponry and guards, she still felt
fear.

Prince
Zeta raised his hands for quiet. The crowd, unbelievably, obeyed. “This we
know. Until now, we’ve had no expedience to procure mates for the populace, but
that is to change. King Anadaru has ordered the corridor be reopened.”

A
collective gasp echoed through the crowd. Jasmine and Samara exchanged a look.
As she returned attention to the balcony, she caught sight of Dar pushing
through the throng—headed straight for her. She went hot all over, sick in the
pit of her stomach as perspiration beaded her brow.

He
reached her and pulled her against his body in a tight hug. Rather than fight,
she allowed the contact, but remained stiff. “I am glad you are safe,” he said,
looking down at her and rubbing her arms.

“Yes,”
she said tightly.

“How
long?” another voice asked the prince.

“Construction
on the gateway has already begun and will be complete in a matter of weeks.
Lots will be drawn for the first to travel to the new planet. All who wish to
procure a bride will be allowed the opportunity. All my news is not good,
however. Our planet has been breached by outsiders and left a warning of
incomers. For those that remain, we must prepare for the possibility of foreign
invasion. Go now and rest. On the morrow changes will come.”

The
hovering balls stopped the projection, lifted in the air, and retreated. The
crowd slowly dispersed. Samara looked at them both and finally left them alone.

“What
does that all mean?” Jasmine asked Dar.

He
swallowed, stone-faced as he looked down at her. “You don’t understand?”

She
shook her head.

Dar
sighed heavily. “The corridor is a remnant from the old ones. It is a gateway
of sorts that connects the planets. They destroyed it themselves, long ago,
perhaps to keep us from escaping this planet. We’ll never know. We have never
had the technology to repair it—we still don’t. The king has paid the Nexus Lamians
to repair the old gateway here and on Earth. There could be other gates, but we
wouldn’t know where they are.”

“Wait.
So this means I can go home?”

He held
her gaze, his emotions carefully guarded. “You could. But there are higher
implications than that. I’m not so sure you will like them.”

“What?”
she asked with a frown.

He
grabbed her hand as if intending to lead her away. She jerked her hand free,
crossing her arms over her chest. “Just fucking spit it out.”

“We are
going to invade Earth, Jasmine. And if the warnings on the temples are true,
it’s possible by opening the corridor, the old ones and every civilization
they’ve encountered could do the same. The gateway will be open to them all.”

Chapter Fifteen

“Why the
hell did you have to drag me back to your place? I felt safer standing in the
fucking rubble at the courtyard,” Jasmine said, angrily slamming the door
behind her.

They’d
walked back to his house, against her better judgment, but she’d wanted to give
him a shovel to bury himself with stupid explanations.

“What’s
wrong with you? You’ve given me the cold shoulder the entire way.”

She
turned and poked a finger in his chest. “I just came here to save myself some
embarrassment. There’s no place in the palace where someone won’t hear. I know
about your mission. I heard the men talking about it. Try to deny it. It’s
true, isn’t it? You were ordered to seduce me!” Angry tears welled in her eyes.
She scowled, wiping them away and despising the show of weakness.

Dar
opened his mouth and snapped it shut, thinking before he added fuel to her
fire. He paced the room, dragging a hand through his hair. Finally, he stopped
and faced her. “It’s true. I was ordered to seduce you. Many of us were. The
king had plans to make this announcement when the gateway was ready to be
unveiled, but events eliminated the luxury of waiting. He couldn’t afford to
wait when the people are so close to an uprising—not if he wants to keep his
throne.”

“You
bastard,” she said in a deadly whisper. “So it meant nothing. None of it?”

Dar
caught her hands, trying to hold her, to pull her into a hug. She struggled
against him.

“Don’t
fucking pretend with me! I know you don’t want me.”

“Calm
down, Jasmine. You’re so angry you can’t—you won’t hear the truth. Yes, at
first I was only obeying orders, but that changed. I can’t resist you. I
couldn’t. You stole my heart.”

“Pfft,”
she blew out a sound, trying to break free. He dragged her flush against his
body, dipping her backward out of balance on her feet.

He
kissed her and she bit him, drawing blood. He let her go, touching a hand to
his wounded lip. “I mean every word I say.”

“It’s
lies. How can I believe anything you say? Do you know what it’s like to feel
ugly and unwanted?”

Dar
sighed, pulling something from his pocket. He held his fist out, encouraging
her to take what was in his hand. “I had intentions of giving this to you
tonight. It belonged to my mother. My grandparents pulled this stone from the
mines and gave it to my father for safekeeping as a sort of dowry for marrying
my mother. He had to find a jeweler who could be trusted to polish and set the
stone without spilling the secret to others.”

Jasmine
held out her palm, feeling the weight of warmed metal touch her skin. She drew
her hand back, examining the contents. Misery stabbed her chest. “What is this?
A proposal? A bribe?”

He
cupped her hands, taking the ring and easing it onto her finger. Centered in a
nest of small diamonds was a round purplish-blue stone as wide as her thumbnail.
Fire glinted in its depths and when she turned it to the light, the stone
shimmered with purple and red. He held up her hand and kissed her fingers. “We
called it the heart of Chalcydon. She was never allowed to wear it outside our
home, for fear it would be confiscated by the royal guard for the crown. When
you shine a light through the stone, it changes to magenta. There is no other
like it on this planet—like you. You are…like this jewel. The only one. Will
you be my bride, Jasmine?”

She
looked up into his face, trying to discern the truth. His stormy eyes looked
hopeful and wary, awaiting a death blow from her when she would finally say no.
“I want to believe you,” she whispered.

“Do not
my actions tell you how I feel? Some things can never be faked. I never
expected to feel this way.” He cupped her jaw, giving her a tender kiss on the
lips and meeting no resistance when she parted her mouth. He nibbled the
corners, warming her insides. “Can you not sense this is true? That I yearn for
you? I would endure a thousand knives in my soul if it meant one more night
with you.”

“I will.
I accept.” She ducked her head, cuddling against his chest. She sighed.

“There
is no desire to return to Earth?” he asked.

“I do,
but not if it means leaving you. I’m ready for a fresh start and a new life. I
understand now. I think maybe they were right. I remember Princess Adrienne
saying I reminded her of herself. Maybe she knew I was stubborn, that we both
were. Maybe she knew it would take being forced together to make love happen.”

He
rubbed a thumb on his chin. “I think you are on to something. I’ve never loved
before. When you are not around, there is this…soreness. An ache. It is hard to
describe.”

She
grinned. “I have an ache. And a soreness.”

He
chucked her chin. “You have a dirty mind. I am being serious and you can think
only of the bedroom.”

She
rubbed her body against his, enjoying his stiff reaction and the jerk of his
belly when she teased his waistband. She allowed her hands to trace the
contours of his chest and stomach. He hissed when she reached down and stroked
his groin. “You do too or you wouldn’t know what I mean.”

Dar
gathered her into his arms with a throaty growl, taking her to the bedroom. She
squealed and clung to his neck, kissing his jaw. “There better not be any more
secrets in your closet.”

“Only
that I need you as desperately as air,” he groaned before kissing her deeply.

She
broke from his mouth with a gasp. “Keep talking like that and you might have me
begging on my knees for more.”

Clothes
hastily hit the floor, and they collapsed on the bed, naked and entwined. Dar’s
hands roamed her skin, squeezing her breasts, urging her legs open. He scorched
her with his mouth, branding her as his forever. She explored his back and
shoulders with her hands, urging him to take her. He nestled against her,
wrapping his arms around her back and shoulders as he pushed inside her
willing, wet core. She arched, tightening her grip as he shifted his weight and
planted his fists into the mattress on either side of her chest.

Ecstasy
rolled in waves through her being. She felt a completion every time he stroked
her. He was everything she could have wanted in a partner and more. Their
lovemaking was fast and hard, frantic as if it was the last time, but it was
only the beginning between them.