“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s about time we headed back anyway.”
I led the way down the incline.
Zes was still struggling for breath as he threw his head back and gulped another large mouthful of oxygen.
“Just when you get to the top of the mountain, you have to march back down it again,” he said.
“I know just how you feel,” Sirena murmured, and trotted down the mountain in my wake.
Sirena
I was this close!
His lips were within a few inches of mine. I could have leaned forward and kissed him right then and there and, under any other situation, I would have. But that didn’t feel right this time.
Even with the deadline bearing down on me, I couldn’t force him into a kiss. He had to kiss me. Then his defenses would be lowered and he would be more likely to tell me what I needed to know.
It had been hard to restrain myself. The guy was as hot as could be and a lord to boot. What wasn’t to like?
What really got my goat wasn’t that he didn’t feel anything for me—I was certain he did—but that he came this close to kissing me and then pulled out at the last second. A gentleman didn’t dangle irresistible lips in front of a girl like that and yank the carpet out from under her.
Okay, so I was mixing up my expressions but my point was still right. Wasn’t it?
I slumped on the bed and felt like eating my body weight in ice cream. And whipped cream. Maybe some chocolate if I had room. Who was I kidding? I always had room for chocolate.
Had it really been so easy for him to deny me again? What was wrong with me? Did I smell bad on this planet? Were my eyes too close together?
I didn’t think so. After all, I recognized the lustful look in his eye. And his breath had hardened when he noticed I was lying next to him.
And that wasn’t all that’d hardened judging by how tight his pants became…
No. He was into me.
But something was holding him back.
But what?
The guy had made it personal.
I’d have to make myself so gorgeous he couldn’t refuse me next time!
To come so close not once but twice! Well, I wouldn’t let him get away with it a third time. No sir-ree.
I knew I was meant to be learning the depths of his loyalty to the Changelings but there was a line no man should cross, and he jumped clear across it!
Well, I’ll show him.
I slid imaginary sleeves up my arms and got to work.
I checked myself in the mirror. I had to say, I did look pretty damn awesome.
The dress was open at the front and exposed my legs—by far my best feature—all the way up to the thigh. The dress had a short train behind it but I pinned it up so no one could step on it, tear it, and show off my underwear to his friends and family.
Still, something was missing, I thought. Something to be the focal point and really pop.
Onboard their ship, the Changelings—a shudder ran through me the same way it always did when I thought about them—had given me access to something called a ‘replicator.’ It was a magic machine. You told it what you wanted and it could create it right there on the spot. The only problem was, the machine didn’t have any premade settings installed. So, I had to create the dresses, makeup, and jewelry from scratch.
I selected a plain gold necklace and held it against my skin. Its simplicity worked well against the elaborate dress.
I swore, if by the end of the night he didn’t kiss me, I would have to seriously question my self-esteem.
Once he kissed me, his defenses would drop. He had to admit his loyalty directly. A strong hint wasn’t enough. It had to be something the Changelings couldn’t deny and throw back in my face, obliterating our deal.
Failing that, I would slip that electronic device they gave me into the computer in his study. The device was small and fit neatly inside my clutch purse. That would be my Plan B. After getting to know him a little bit, I wasn’t convinced he was going to do something stupid like declare his allegiance in an email. Titans were old-fashioned. They could work around electronic communication.
The annoying part? All this could have been over already.
Earlier, when we first arrived and their head of the household, Aunzika, escorted me to my room, he left me by myself. With everyone so busy getting ready for the birthday party downstairs, I figured I could use the commotion to slip into Kal’s study and pop the device in the computer.
I’d set a new record for completing a mission.
I crept down the hallways with the excuse I would use if someone ran into me cocked, ready, and fully loaded: “Sorry. I’m new here and this place is so big!”
If the castle had any logic to it—and as I was on an alien planet there was no guarantee of that—I felt the study would be on the first floor. It just felt right.
If I was wrong and the study was on any of the other multitudes of floors, I wouldn’t need the prepared excuse as I would be well and truly lost. They might need to send Sherpas to come rescue me.
Thankfully, I’d been right. His study was on the first floor, tucked away beside the kitchen and dining room.
I was about to enter when I heard a growl.
That damn Niik stood right there in the doorway! It stood facing me, half-growling, half wagging its tail. I wasn’t worried it would bite me. It didn’t have the appearance of a particularly vicious beast, but the noise concerned me. It could draw others to our location.
And that was exactly what had happened.
Kal appeared through the doorway and called Niik to heel. Suddenly, getting inside the office wouldn’t
