Roswell Fanatics

PART 22

Matt had just been on his way to find Sas when Belle had accosted him, begging a ride to the coffee shop. “Mom and Dad are arguing,” was all she said. In their house, arguing led to slammed doors and missing parents and things kids didn’t need to know about. Suffice to say, their parents always made up after an argument as spectacularly as they reunited after an absence.

While he really wanted his first meeting with Sas after their almost sex last night to be when they were alone, he couldn’t very well leave his sister stranded, so he agreed and watched as she hopped into the back of the Jeep. When he turned around, Sas was walking towards him wearing a cute flowery sundress that showed just enough leg to kick his pulse rate into overdrive.

Their eyes met and skittered away and blushes tinged their cheeks. But their hearts sang as they drew closer together. Memories of last night were still fresh in their minds and caused their moment of shyness. It disappeared surprisingly quickly, though.

A new awareness of herself and her own femininity pervaded Sas. And with it, came knowledge of the effect it had on one Matt Evans.

She kept walking until she was pressed against him, lifting her face for his kiss. “Hi Matt.”

He felt that low greeting all the way to his toes. Slipping his arms around her waist, he brushed his lips over hers, enjoying the slight hitch in her breath when their mouths met. A soft groan escaped his lips unbidden, the soft kiss not nearly enough.

“Morning.” Was that his voice sounding so hoarse?

Standing to tiptoe, Sas wrapped her arms around his neck, her mouth hovering a breath away from his. “How are you this morning?”

His eyes burned into hers. “Hungry.”

“You are?” Each little syllable feathered across his mouth, making him want her more.

“Oh yes!” He bent his head, only to have her pull back so she stayed just out of reach. “Sas!” he growled impatiently. He wanted… no, he needed to kiss her properly.

“Will some pancakes do for the hunger?” Her eyes were dancing with mischief as she licked her bottom-lip slowly and deliberately.

“Hell no,” he replied and snaked his hand into her hair, halting any further retreat so he could finally claim her lips.

Both of them sighed into the kiss.

Sas opened her mouth after Matt asked for entrance with little flicks of his tongue against the seam of her lips. The thrust of his tongue made her feel dizzy and lightheaded, reminding her that she may win some battles, but Matt still held the upper hand sexually speaking and will definitely win the war.

His other hand had moved down to her bottom arching her into the cradle of his thighs. It was pointless now to try and keep her away from the evidence of how much he desired her. After last night, they had very little secrets left.

“Hello!” Belle’s voice from the car cut through their daze. “This is the driveway to our parents’ house, Matt Evans! Not to mention that Sas’ father also lives here and wouldn’t need a gun to get rid of you.”

Matt leaned his forehead against Sas’. “Damn,” he muttered with feeling. But Belle was right. There had been enough suspicion around the breakfast table this morning already, he shouldn’t be groping Sas in plain view and making things worse.

Sighing, he nuzzled Sas’ face.

“Do I have to use ice to pry you two apart?” Belle yelled again.

“I’m going to turn her hair purple,” he told Sas in a low voice before pecking her cheek and taking her hand to help her into the Jeep.

“Finally,” Belle grumbled. She hated admitting this, but she was having twinges of jealousy for not being the most important person in Matt’s life anymore. She loved Sas like a sister, which made it easier, but seeing Matt zone out to anything but the existence of the girl in his arms made her feel a little… left out.

And lonely.

Unlike Matt, she had gone on a few dates. Innocent ones to the movies and so on, but she hadn’t met anyone that intrigued her. That made her feel something other than friendship. Wasn’t she supposed to be overrun by handsome friends of Matt’s? Why did he not have tons of guys coming over to the house to hang out that she could meet? Why did she have to have the brother with two close male friends and a fixation with his only female friend?

She sighed dramatically. She really loved Matt and she wanted him to be happy, but was it too much to ask that she be happy too?

“Sorry,” Sas was saying from the front, her face red with embarrassment.

“It’s okay,” Belle hastened to assure her. She didn’t want her friend to think that she didn’t want her to be happy. “So, did you guys have fun at the prom?”

Sas’ blush deepened. “Yes, we did.”

Hmmm, Belle thought, this was interesting. And so not something she wanted to think about relating to her brother!

So she changed the topic. “Tell me, did Sally McDonald wear something awful?”

This made Sas laugh. Sally viewed herself as the school’s unofficial fashion queen, but mostly she wore ridiculous outfits.

Matt smiled to himself as he drove to the coffee place where Belle wanted to be. It warmed his heart that his sister and his girlfriend got along so well. He didn’t know what he would have done if Belle had hated the girl he loved. Risking a glance over at Sas, he saw that she was turned around in her seat, animatedly talking to Belle behind her. Her one leg was bent onto her seat, and he slid his hand over her bare knee, secretly thrilled when she swallowed and paused during her description of someone’s dress.

They dropped Belle off at her destination, and Matt turned to Sas. They just gazed at each other for a silent minute.

“So, where are you taking me for breakfast?”

She gave him a brilliant smile. “Take the route to Las Cruces. I’ll navigate.”

“Okay.” Like he really cared where they were going!

When the Jeep was out on the road again, Sas shifted closer, leaning her head on Matt’s shoulder. “I’ve never been this happy in my life,” she admitted softly.

Matt leaned his head against hers, silently resolving to make sure that she always stayed this happy. “So I guess your dad didn’t say anything about how late we were last night?”

“No,” Sas said with some surprise. “He just asked if I enjoyed myself. And if you were a gentleman…”

Matt jerked the steering wheel in shock. “He did?” he asked after he had the car back under control.

“Yes.” Sas was grinning now. “I told him I had been in good hands.”

Swearing under his breath, Matt tried to shove the images of Sas arching beneath his hand out of his mind. “Are you trying to kill me?”

This time she giggled. “No.”

He cast her a disbelieving glare.

“Turn right up ahead,” she said blithely, too happy to worry about death stares from handsome alien crown princes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The little diner was next to the old highway. It looked like a reject from many years ago, filled with Native American artifacts. Matt was amazed. “Where did you find this place?”

“I heard someone at school talk about it. Do you like it?” she was looking at him somewhat anxiously.

“It looks wonderful,” he assured her.

They found a booth and sat down across from each other. Sas wasn’t sure if she liked the arrangement since it meant she was just too far away from Matt to touch him properly, but she didn’t want to look too clingy.

They ordered breakfast, both of them taking the blueberry pancakes that the waitress had assured them were very good.

Matt waited until their coffee had arrived before leaning over the table and grasping Sas’ hand. “So, we’re leaving next Thursday.”

“I heard,” she nodded, looking away from him. She didn’t want him to know, but she was terrified of going to Dendar with him. On Dendar she was a nobody, while he would be hailed as the son of King Zan. She was so afraid of what the few days on her mother’s home planet would mean to their relationship. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the bad thoughts away and looked up to find Matt’s eyes on her, filled with worry.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes! I’m fine,” she lied, taking more deep breaths and gripping Matt’s hand harder. Seeing that he didn’t believe her, she told him half of the truth. “It’s just going to be weird, you know? Going there as a couple this time…”

He watched her silently for a beat. “It would be even weirder not going as a couple.”

“You’re right,” she smiled at him before sobering. “It’s kind of scary, Matt. How quickly it started to feel wrong to be away from you.”

A crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “It feels wrong to be away from me?” He sounded as if he had heard something that was too good to be true.

She blushed. “Yes.”

“That’s good, because I feel the same way.”

They were still staring in each other’s eyes when the steaming pancakes arrived.

“Aren’t you two sweet!” the waitress told them indulgently, causing them to laugh.

Watching Matt digging into his breakfast caused a funny twist in Sas’ stomach. It felt so right that they should be sharing breakfast. “I love you, Matt,” she blurted out, seeing him freeze and look up at her in surprise.

“Thank you,” he finally said, a light of joy in his eyes. “For allowing us to be.”

The reply made her blink.

“Do you think you can come eat the rest of your pancakes on this side of the table?” He held out his hand.

Taking it, she slid out of the booth and joined him on his side. He hugged her to his side, resting his forehead against her temple for a few seconds. “Okay, let’s finish this breakfast so I can go kiss you somewhere where we won’t have an audience or get interrupted.”

Her breath caught. Lord, she wanted to be alone with him so badly!

To her surprise, Matt let her pay for the breakfast without making a fuss. Even though she had told him she was taking him out, she had half expected him to try and wrestle the bill from her. She liked that he didn’t.

Afterwards, he practically hauled her to the Jeep and took off in the opposite direction from town. A couple of miles later, he drove them into the mountains, finding a place to pull off the road and out of sight.

She tumbled into his arms as soon as the engine was cut, pressing a wet trail of kisses all over his face. He let her be while fumbling to find the lever and push the seat back as far as it would go, allowing him to pull her onto his lap.

While Matt pushed the skirt of her dress higher, she straddled him, settling onto his thighs while maintaining eye contact. There were fires in his eyes, leaping flames that made her short of breath and warm from the inside.

She initiated the kiss, leaning forward slowly until she could touch her tongue to his lips. He sat beneath her rigidly, letting her tease him while his fingers dug into her bare thighs. He was breathing heavily when she finally pulled back, watching her with hooded, almost black eyes.

“Can I?” She lifted her hands to the top button of his shirt.

He nodded mutely. It was her turn to explore.

One button after the other came undone beneath her shaking fingers, revealing more and more of his skin. She hesitated for a moment when reaching the last button, just above the waistband of his jeans. He helped her by tugging the shirt from his pants and she finished her little task before spreading the flaps of his shirt wide.

Unexpectedly, instead of caressing him, she slid her hands around his waist and pressed herself against his bare skin, her ear over his heart. Her cheek rubbed against the heat of his chest as she listened to his heart speed up. It took only a moment before his arms came around her, hugging her close.

And she suddenly knew, this place had been made for her head. She was where she was supposed to be.

This was home.


PART 23

He was a saint.

It was nearly a week after his breakfast with Sas and Matt had managed to more or less keep his hands off her until now. They had kissed and cuddled, but nothing more than that since that day. It was driving him crazy.

The Thursday of their departure had finally rolled around. His father had left two days ago to prepare the group of Antarians that would be traveling with them, while he and James had been left in charge of Liz, Shilla, Belle and Sas. All in all, not a bad job, but then again, that hadn’t taken into account that he had had the girl who consumed his every waking thought and all of his dreams, suddenly living under the same roof as him.

After Max had left, James and his family had moved into the main house, and Sas had ended up sharing Belle’s room. Just across the hall from his own. How much temptation did these adults think he could withstand?

His mother had not asked him anything about that night after the prom again and he couldn’t help but wonder why. But hey, he was not looking a gift horse in the mouth. The last few days of school had been boring as heck, so he had ended up spending a lot of time with Sas in between classes and during lunch. However, at home was a different story. Everyone had been preparing for the trip to Dendar and Tresar, and he had only had a few alone moments with Sas. Mostly they had ended up cuddling in one of the deck chairs next to the pool late at night. Not exactly the best place to make out with your girlfriend…

There had been no repeat of third base yet.

He really was a saint.

Not for the first time, Matt worried about Sas. She’d been having these quiet moments these last few days, but she told him she was tired whenever he asked her if something was wrong. He didn’t buy that for a minute. He wished he had a mental connection with her like his parents had. Surely his dad had an advantage when trying to make his mom feel better as a result of this. He, on the other hand, had to guess and he was not doing well with it.

After loading their stuff into the mini-van that would take them to the woods near Roswell, they locked the house and all of them piled in. Matt had offered to drive the first stretch and Sas sat up front with him. Liz and Belle took the back seat, with James and Shilla in the middle. Just before pulling out of their driveway, Matt glanced at his mom in the rearview mirror. She was staring out of the window absently. She always got quiet whenever his dad was away for longer than a night. It was only after he got to high school and old enough to notice, that he saw that other people’s parents did not kiss each other goodbye like they couldn’t bear to leave before an absence. Or that very few people told each other ‘I love you’ quite as often as the phrase was heard in his house.

But while he had noticed before that his parents were different, he now knew how they felt. He had observed from an upstairs window how tightly his dad had held his mom before he left a few days ago. And how reluctantly they had let go of each other’s hands just before he drove off.

His eyes automatically found Sas next. I would feel the same way if I had to go someplace without her now, he realized.

It was a long and silent drive. James eventually took over the driving and Matt moved to the back, taking a seat next to Shilla. He and Sas were still being careful with their relationship around their parents and kept their physical contact to hugging and handholding. Matt had seen James in action a few times, among others once when some poor idiot tried to mug his mother, and he did not intend courting death so soon in his life.

Looking around the car, Matt pondered their little group. Belle was sleeping like a baby, she always does on long trips. He still remembered how she used to sleep on their dad’s lap when she was little. His mother was obviously anticipating seeing his dad again, she had that far-off look she sometimes got when she went into her ‘Max world’. And Shilla and Sas were both quiet and introspective. This was a far cry from previous trips. Normally, everyone was chattering, looking forward to doing something very few other people from earth will ever get to experience.

But this time, something was different.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was turning dark by the time they arrived in Frazier Woods. Max was waiting for them and hauled Liz out of the van and into his arms while smiling hello to his kids. Belle rubbed the sleep from her eyes and waited for her turn with her dad patiently. She always got hugged next, she was her daddy’s little girl after all.

Matt and James unpacked the luggage in the meantime, after which they all congregated at the large tables set out by Nick and the guards that will be going along for the trip.

Matt decided it was time for everyone to know about the change in Sas’ status, so he walked up to her and gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead.

Utter silence descended on the group of Antarians watching them.

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed her hand and turned towards their audience. He caught Nick’s eye first. Nick, his wife Grace and their daughter Madelaine, had been a part of his life since the beginning. Grace had helped deliver him and Nick was his father’s most important advisor.

He was smiling.

A scatter of applause started and soon turned into a crescendo, completely surprising Matt. He looked down at Sas, seeing the unshed tears in her eyes, and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her comfortingly.

“It’s about bloody time!” someone yelled from the group as Nick came over.

“We thought you two would never get together,” Nick told them with a grin as he hugged them both.

This surprised Matt and Sas even more. Everyone had been expecting them to fall in love? Wow!

His parents were watching them and he suddenly remembered that among these people, he was a prince. And that he should act like one. “Thank you, everybody,” he said with a smile, still hugging Sas. “It means a lot to us to know we have your support.” This earned him a proud look from his father and more applause from the men gathered around them.

Liz was looking at Shilla throughout this whole exchange. She had a small smile on her face, but her eyes still looked haunted. Liz could guess what she was thinking without even talking to her. Shilla was thinking that Max’s people were not the problem since they’ve already coped with a King that defied tradition and chose a bride out of love. But that Sas and Matt will have real problems when they arrived on Dendar, a planet where the class system was still very much in place. It almost made Liz wish that Max didn’t have to attend that Council meeting on Dendar and that they could just go to Tresar directly. All this would spare her son and the girl he loved some heartache.

On the other hand, it was probably better to get the whole mess out of the way as soon as possible.

It was like he had announced an engagement, Matt thought dizzily a few minutes later. Everyone wanted to congratulate him and Sas and it made him glad that he didn’t have to subject someone he hardly knew to this much fuss. The only indication that Sas was nervous was the fact that she was digging her fingernails into his palm. But he wasn’t complaining, the sooner everyone understood that she belonged with him, the better.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As always, the ship arrived with little fuss, silently settling in the clearing in the woods. The group knew the drill by now, so they all trooped on board silently after the Dendarian captain made the usual profuse welcoming gestures to the royalty he was going to transport.

Max and Liz got the Royal Suite they traveled in the first time they went to Dendar, while Matt and Belle each got their own rooms. Sas normally shared a room with Belle, while her parents and the rest of the group were housed further along the passage.

Having decreed that no work would be done until the next day, Max disappeared with Liz into their rooms and Matt, Sas and Belle took this chance to chat in the girls’ room. It was getting easy to be close with his girlfriend in front of his little sister, so Matt made himself comfortable on one of the beds, sitting with his back against the wall so he could pull Sas to sit in between his legs.

“I wonder if Luca is going to be home this time?” Belle asked no one in particular. “I don’t think we’ve seen him since he was 13!”

“I know,” Sas answered, snuggling closer to Matt. “He was always off studying somewhere. Eric and Sarah sure took his education seriously.”

“I hope it helped him, he was really annoying the last time I saw him,” Belle announced with a pout, making her brother laugh.

“What?”

“You did your best to annoy him back if I remember correctly!” Matt reminded her.

“Hmmpf,” was all the response he got.

Much later, Belle had thrown Matt out of the room to take a shower and change for bed, so he dragged Sas with him to his room. It was glorious to be able to kiss her again, it felt like ages since their last kiss.

She sighed into his mouth. He was starting to crave that little sound. He was starting to crave a lot of things about Sas. The way she looked into his eyes, the way she smelled, how soft and warm she felt when he held her, the little sounds she made when they kissed. It was all just magical to him.

Sas felt humbled by the gentle way he was caressing her. They had been alone so rarely the last few days that she had expected an explosion of passion for their first moments on their own. Instead, he was kissing her sweetly and softly, his hands cupping her face tenderly.

“I love you,” he told her huskily when he finally lifted his mouth from hers. Then he spun her around in his arms and gave her a little push towards his door. “Now go to bed before I get into trouble…”

She was so amazed by the abrupt dismissal that she had reached the door before she turned around to look at him. Incredible longing painted his features. He was watching her go and hating it.

“Matt!” she cried and ran back into his arms.

This time the kiss was wild and deep, like he was trying to prove his possession of her. She dimly heard him groan against her mouth, but none of that mattered as much as the fact that he was pressing her close to him… like he never wanted to let her go again.

“Please, Sas,” he eventually begged, “you are making this very hard for me.”

Nodding against his chest, she gathered her strength to be able to leave. “I know. I’m sorry.”

They were leaning against each other, breathing hard.

“Sweet dreams, princess,” he whispered.

“You too…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So that plan didn’t work.

Matt had rolled around for hours, trying to keep his mind off the fact that Sas was sleeping just across the hallway. As a result, he had heard immediately when his door had slid open softly, revealing Sas in all her glory.

She had tiptoed to his bed, pulling up short when he sat up. “Is something wrong?” he had asked.

“I… I wanted to… Can I sleep here with you? Just for a little while,” she had pleaded when it looked like he was going to object.

He was an idiot, so he said yes.

And now she was sleeping, curled up in his arms with her hair fanning over his chest and pillow. Her gentle breathing made him feel peaceful and overheated all at the same time; he could see her breasts rising and falling rhythmically and the sight practically made him salivate.

He really was a saint.

Worry about what lay ahead for the two of them on Dendar kept him from really enjoying this moment, though. He felt mildly better now that he had his own people behind his relationship, but who knew what those weird Dendarians would think. Unconsciously, he held Sas closer, hearing the little sound she made as she adjusted to the new position.

He could face whatever was coming, but he didn’t want it to break Sas’ spirit. No, he would fight to his last breath to make sure that her own people didn’t make Sas feel inferior again.

Even if he had to marry her…

tbc

PART 24

Waking up in Matt’s arms was glorious. He was curved around her, holding her as if he was trying to protect her from something. His warm breath stirred the wisps of hair behind her ear, and now that she was awake, it made her shiver. She wondered what time it was, she had removed her watch last night for her shower, and she couldn’t see the one around Matt’s wrist since his arm rested just beneath her breasts.

“Mmm, Sas…” He stretched against her lazily, rubbing their bodies together before flipping her over onto her back so he could see her face.

Was there anything as sexy as a sleep-tousled man? One with warm skin and lips, heavy-lidded eyes and caressing hands.

“Morning,” her voice was still husky from sleep.

In answer, he just smiled and nuzzled her face, breathing in her warm, sleepy scent. It was incredibly intoxicating. “You even wake up beautiful,” he murmured in her ear, smoothing his hands over her stomach and thighs.

Momentarily, she was tempted to tease him about all the romantic things he kept spouting, but she didn’t. He was a sweet guy period. Instead she turned her head, sharing a pillow with his, and met his eyes. “Thank you.”

They looked at each other for a long breathless moment, basking in the glory of being able to wake up together. Their hands moved in slow caresses, familiarizing themselves with each other’s forms.

Sas eventually broke the silence. “What time is it?”

Just about to answer, Matt was stopped short when his door opened, revealing his sister, still in her sleepwear.

“I thought so,” Belle quipped, planting her hands on her hips and giving them the evil eye. “You better move back to your own bed, missy,” she stabbed a finger at Sas. “My Dad already came to our room and wondered where you were.” She made a dismissing motion with her hand. “Don’t worry, I told him you were in the shower, but—”

“Oh my goodness!” Sas cried in alarm and started struggling to get out of Matt’s hold. He let her go reluctantly.

Belle hung around to make sure Sas didn’t get distracted on her way to their room and Matt caught her arm just as she turned to follow Sas across the hallway. “Wait, sis.”

Then Matt did something he hadn’t done in a long time, he wrapped his arms around his little sister and lifted her off her feet as he squeezed her until she begged for air. It was an old childhood game. Only setting her down when she pleaded for mercy, he kissed her forehead. “Thank you for looking out for us.”

She kissed his cheek. “Don’t mention it. I’m just racking up brownie points for when my time to sneak around arrives. Remember that!” She was giggling as she traipsed out of the room.

This was going to come back to haunt him, he just knew it. Belle was going to expect him to help her whenever she falls in love, and he feared he would have the same reaction as his father: to chase the guy as far away from his sister as possible.

Apart from Max giving Matt a penetrating look when he joined his parents for breakfast in their suite, Matt and Sas got off scot-free.

Which was actually a bad thing.

Because now Sas ended up in his bed every night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few days later, Shilla couldn’t stop grinning when she exited the “royal suite”. She felt like she had traveled back in time to the first time she served Max and Liz on this ship. Max had been in meetings during the morning, but had returned for lunch, making it clear that he wanted to be alone with Liz.

And to think that, years ago, the ship’s captain nearly made the mistake of offering Max some “female entertainment”!

A contented sigh escaped Liz as she burrowed closer to Max. There was nothing like making love in the middle of the day, so she always enjoyed these trips on the ship immensely. Max was not office bound and that meant she saw him a lot during what would usually be office hours. It was a pity their life on earth couldn’t be like this.

Her thoughts drifted to her son. After seeing him with Sas the day after the prom, she had come to the conclusion that he had not had sex with his girlfriend. The two of them were still too cagey about intimate touches with each other. She could see that something had happened, but that whatever it was had not amounted to actual lovemaking.

However, the past few days on the ship were another story.

“Max?”

“Hmmm?” He sounded sleepy and sated, a very stimulating combination.

“What if James catches them?”

She felt Max sigh. “Then he has to face the music.”

After a quiet moment, Max answered Liz’s question before she even opened her mouth. “No, I’m not going to run interference with James for Matt. He knows the risks he is taking and if James gets mad, Matt will have to sort this out himself.” He chuckled. “But if you ask me nicely, I will stop James if he tries to kill our son.”

Liz rubbed her bare legs against Max’s, feeling like a pampered cat. “’Kay.”

“Has she been in there every night?”

Liz smiled. “I guess she has the same trouble with the Evans attraction that I do.”

“So… they’re not, you know… sleeping together, huh?”

“Not yet,” Liz replied, wondering when she got so calm about this. Maybe seeing Matt and Sas together all day every day for the past few days had shown her how serious this was. The signs were all there – the looks, the touches, the kisses, the soft words. If Matt was at all like his father, there would be no one else in his life, ever again.

Flattening his hand over Liz’s stomach, Max reflected on how magical it had been when she was pregnant, seeing the glow of his child inside her reacting to his touch. They had gone through so much on this ship while Liz was pregnant with Matthew. Like the time he first remembered his “Shani” and the pain that had accompanied the initial tear of the thick curtain between his past and present lives.

He still couldn’t take his eyes of Liz. Liz who was wearing his royal seal. Max’s vision was starting to blur and it felt like his head was being split open with pain. “Shani,” he said again, grabbing his head and squeezing his eyes shut. Who the hell was Shani? And why did he remember seeing Liz in the royal garb before? “Liz?” he pleaded, trying to get up and go to her, but the pain in his head forced him back in his chair with a groan.

“Oh God,” Max moaned, clutching his head in his hands. “What is happening to me?” It was a hoarse whisper. “Liz… Liz, please?” he begged again.

Liz rushed forward to drop to her knees in front of him. “I’m here!” she cried softly, running her hands through his hair and raining little kisses on his bent head, over his hair and his forehead.

Max was starting to shake, images of Liz wearing that white and green royal outfit and laughing gaily were still spinning through his head. He saw her in a garden, in a huge ballroom among many people wearing similar clothes, looking up at him with wide eyes and a moist mouth. He groaned again. And throughout the visions, he kept hearing himself say ‘Shani’ over and over again.

He wrapped one arm around her, pressing her against him and muttering hoarsely: “Don’t leave me again, please… my Shani…”

“Max,” Liz said urgently. “It’s not Shani, it’s Liz.” She hugged him closer.

***

“I think you have remembered something from your past,” Nick said carefully. “Although I am not sure how what you’ve seen is possible.”

Max looked at Liz’s downcast head. “I saw you, my love,” he informed her huskily. “You wearing these clothes in places we have never been.”

Liz felt her breath hitch in her throat. “That can’t be.”

***

Nick stared at them. “Yeah, uhm… ‘Shani’ is an Antarian word. It’s an endearment. It means ‘love’ or ‘beloved’…”

***

He fell onto his back heavily, his eyes still on Liz. He could see how valiantly she was trying not to cry. “Liz…”

She ignored his weak plea, helping him into bed and managing to drag the blanket from underneath him and cover him with it. Only then did she meet his gaze, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Max Evans, no one will ever love you like I do,” she whispered. “Please don’t ever forget that.”

Ever since that first time, the memories had been coming with less pain each time, but he still didn’t remember all of his previous life. The most intense things he remembered the best – dreaming of Liz, despair at losing her when he had to marry Ava, dying…

Liz’s pregnancy with Belle-Mari had been much less dramatic.

“I love you,” he told Liz again. This tiny woman nestling so perfectly in his arms had gone through so much to give him the life he had dreamed of. In fact, she had given him so much more.

She had made his life perfect.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Finding Matt’s room empty when she went over that night, Sas stood around for a few moments, unsure of what she should do now. Spotting one of his sweaters, she grabbed it, pulled it on and set of in search of him.

He was standing in front of one of the large windows in the games room, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Sliding her arms around him from behind, she hugged him tightly, feeling the tension in his muscles. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He even sounded tense.

“You are lying to me,” she reprimanded him softly.

“I just…” he paused, searching for words, “I just don’t know how to tell you this without making it sound bad.”

She walked around him, looking up into his face apprehensively. “That statement is bad enough.”

“No!” He grabbed her hands in his. “It’s not bad, it might just sound bad.”

“And the difference would be?”

He bit his lip, then plunged ahead. “I can’t sleep with you anymore, because—because... It’s too hard, Sas!” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he blushed profusely. “I don’t mean…” Actually, he had inadvertently stated the exact problem. Sort of.

“I understand,” she replied, smiling slightly.

“Do you really?” he asked. “Do you really understand just how hard it is for me not to just give in? How much I want you?” He gripped her hands tighter. “Which reminds me, how the hell can you just sleep like a baby every night when I lie awake wanting you?”

Sas knew not to grin about his last outburst. “You make me feel safe.”

“Well, you shouldn’t!” he fairly cried. “All I do is lie there thinking of ways to…” he cut himself off. “Please, have mercy on me, sweetheart. I love you. I want to love you. This is too hard for me.”

“Then why are you doing this to yourself? This was your decision, not mine. I just went along with it.”

He was staring at her in disbelief. “You mean you want to…”

“Yes, I do.”

“But we’ve only been dating a few weeks, this is too soon.”

This time, it was three words that made his world spin off its axis.

“Not for me.”


PART 25

He didn’t drag her off to his room immediately and he was really proud of himself for that. No, instead he stood there like a drooling idiot just gaping at her. She had just given him permission to make love to her. And to do it right now. He could not manage to get his vocal chords to work to save his life.

The problem was, it never had been about getting her permission. It had been about him wanting to give her time to make sure of her feelings. And to get used to being his girlfriend. He wanted both of them to be comfortable with taking the next step.

Pulling her closer, he let her feel what her words had done to him. He just held her, pressing her face into his throat where she could taste the thunder of his pulse. She smelled of himself too, his sweater enveloping her like he wanted to. “I love you,” he told her fervently. “I love you and I’m going to marry you one day.”

Sas’ eyes were filling with tears. How could she have denied herself this for so long? Just because her mother’s planet had some weird idea of the lowly station of a servant? She still couldn’t quite believe that this wonderful man, holding her so tightly, was hers.

But she wished he would stop trying to be so noble about making love to her. He had given her a taste of heaven the night of the prom and have been withholding it ever since. And it didn’t feel right to experience a climax without him now.

She needed him to do it again.

“Matt…” she was whispering against his skin, heating his blood further. Her fingers dug into his back urgently. “Please.”

The word ricocheted through his soul. Burning images of that night after the prom starting racing through his head, confusing him further. “Let’s go.” His voice was hoarse, hinting at the struggle inside him. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he had to do something...

The silence in the games room was disturbed again minutes after they left when a tall figure unfolded himself from a chair in one dark corner. James was stunned. Not only had he heard every word, but he had seen a side of his daughter he hadn’t known about.

He had no clue what he was feeling. He was proud of Matt for not having sex with Sas yet, even though she’s apparently spent a lot of time in his bed. He was shocked at Sas’ blatant invitation to Matt that he has just witnessed. He had an urge to run down the corridor and stop whatever is going to happen in Matt’s room right now. He was jealous about losing his little girl. But most of all, he had a sense of inevitability about this relationship between Matt and Sas - it was here to stay and the sooner he accepted it the better.

For a while now he had been wondering whether they really have waited to have sex as he had requested them. It was heartening to know that Matt had kept his promise. That still didn’t mean James was going to sleep a wink tonight. How strange that sex does not seem such a big deal until it is your own daughter involved.

What was he going to do?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Matt didn’t remember the walk to his room. All he could concentrate on was the girl walking next to him, pressed into his body, clinging to him. He was painfully aware of every little breath she took, every minute muscle movement she made. He felt every slide of her thigh against his and every inch of her breast where it pressed against his side.

How he wished he could just throw all his dreams away and just give in to the moment. But he wanted it to be really special…

Saskia could hardly breathe with all the excitement pouring through her veins. A humming had started low in her body and it felt like she was ready to jump out of her skin if Matt didn’t release the pressure inside her somehow.

The door slid shut behind them with a soft hiss.

Matt held his hand over the sensor and the door locked silently. Not that he would have heard anything if the lock mechanism did make a sound, the blood was roaring in his ears too loudly.

His hands shook as he lifted them to cup her face and he suddenly knew there was no way he could make love to her right away, he was so on edge it would be impossible to do it slowly. They needed to relieve the pressure first.

Something he knew just how to do.

Something he had been dreaming about for a long time.

But now he needed to kiss her. Covering her mouth with his and sliding his tongue into her warm, sweet depths, he experienced a paradox. The desire in his body increased and let go a little at the same time. He had her in his arms… but he needed more.

Sas was trying desperately to get closer, squirming against him, needing his embrace. He seemed to sense her need because he slid one hand from her hair and cupped her bottom, lifting her into the hardness of his lower body.

She was on sensory overload. Tasting him in her mouth, feeling his arousal rubbing against her, hearing his soft groans… it was incredible.

But she still needed more.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled herself closer to his mouth and he helped eagerly, his hands urging her thighs around his hips. This time, a groan was torn from both of them at the sudden deeper contact.

And the kissing went on. He kissed every part of her he could reach, her nose, her closed eyes, her cheeks, her ears… Sucking at the skin of her neck, he enjoyed seeing the small marks he left on her.

Mine.

His hunger for her overwhelmed her. He had been just as desperate for more of her, but he had hidden it well. It gave her a small sense of triumph to know what she did to him, but as his mouth found the sensitive spot just underneath her ear, all thought flew from her head.

Matt sat down on the edge of the bed carefully, making sure her legs stayed around his waist. Between them, they managed to rid Sas of Matt’s sweater and her tank top and divest Matt of his shirt without too much interruption to the drugging kisses they were still sharing.

Electricity jolted through them as their bare upper bodies came in contact.

“Oh god…” Matt muttered, moving his hands until his thumbs just brushed the sides of her breasts. Her answering arch nearly made him overheat. Damn, how on earth had he managed not to do this for so long? Then he remembered why and spanned her rib cage with his hands, tugging her back slightly so he could look into her eyes.

“Wait,” he whispered when she moved towards him again.

Looking at her made his heart hammer in his chest. Her face was flushed, her hair a tangled disarray, her lips moist, puffy and pink. She wore all the signs of his lovemaking. She had been kissed long and hard, touched, nipped, stroked… aroused. He could feel the agitated movements of her breasts against his chest and her moist warmth nestling against his hardness – it nearly diverted him from his planned speech.

“Matt?” Lord, she sounded so… hungry.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t stop staring at her. At her lovely face and her inviting mouth and her glorious curves. Impulsively his hands inched higher, softly grazing the undersides of her breasts.

“Matt!” A shiver went through her.

He was thoroughly sidetracked now, staring in fascination at the reaction of her body to his light touches. Little tremors followed his fingers and the hard tips of her breasts begged for more from him.

He was supposed to say something, but what was it again?

Jerking his hands away, trying not to cave after her disappointed moan, he swallowed and cleared his throat. “Sas… I need to say a few things first.”

She just nodded, her heavy eyes focused on his mouth. This was not helping!

“I…” He licked his lips, noticing her mimicking his actions. “Don’t…” Boy, he was having trouble being coherent. “I mean, I wanted you to know… that—that you are the only girl I ever want to be with like this. I… want you to know that I’m committed to you… completely.”

She had gone still in his arms and was watching him through a sheen of tears. This halted him momentarily. “Don’t cry,” he instructed her gruffly while touching his forefinger to her nose.

“Go on,” she smiled tremulously.

“I guess I’m trying to say that… that this is it for me, Saskia Mulder. You are it for me. No matter what… happens in the future.” He was staring into her eyes intently as he spoke as if trying to underline his words with his looks. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.” She had trouble forming more than that one syllable.

His eyes skittered away from hers as his hands tightened on her hips. “Do you… How do you—?”

“Feel about what you said?” she supplied in a voice thick with tears.

“No.” He glanced at her and quickly looked away again. “How do you feel about me? I mean, I know you’re in love with me, but…”

She gave him an unexpected, crushing hug. Hearing his slight uncertainty about how deep her feelings went just increased her love for him. Even though he had ample reason to be, he was neither cocky nor arrogant. “Yes, I love you more than I can ever say.”

He was holding her convulsively. “I don’t want you to feel… obligated… to stay with me if you change your—”

“Are you crazy?” She reared back from him, staring at him in shock. “I haven’t changed my mind in 17 years, why would I change it now?”

“I just meant…”

Her heart softened at his concerned look. “I know what you meant and… thank you. But I intend to stay with you too. Until you grow tired of me.”

“Never,” he told her fervently.

“Forever then,” she promised him back.

It was a reverent moment for both of them, making this life-long commitment to each other. Matt sealed it by placing his hands on her face and connecting with her, sending her his love and desire. Sas sent hers back, their feelings intermingling, amplifying them.

Gently lifting her up off his lap, Matt held her gaze as he unfastened her pants, letting them drop to the floor. Tenderness flowed through him as he saw her blush. Last time they had not really done the undressing part so deliberately. It felt strange and exhilarating all at once. “Get in bed,” he instructed her softly, seeing her increasing distress at being so exposed in front of him.

He helped her into the bed before undressing himself, leaving only his boxers. She wriggled closer to him as soon as he slid in next to her and he sucked in his breath when he felt her nakedness gliding against him. All she still had on was a tiny pair of white panties and he itched to take them off her too. All in good time, he promised himself.

Their mouths found each other again, their kisses instantly urgent as their tongues dueled and danced. Hands explored bare skin unencumbered by clothes and Matt gloried in each little gasp he teased from Sas.

Her fingers drifted over his abdomen, causing a kick of need in his gut. If he let her keep this up, he would be in real trouble way too soon so he caught her hands in his, pinning them next to her hips and started kissing little trails over her chest.

Arching beneath him helplessly, her movements just incited him further. He wanted to prolong her enjoyment, but the lure of her breasts proved too much.

Sas cried out at the first touch of his tongue, finally experiencing the ecstasy of his moist mouth on the hardened peak of her breast. She had woken up so many nights from restless dreams in which he did this until she was mindless with want. Until she couldn’t take anymore.

Eventually, he had to let her hands go to reach beneath her to lift her even closer to his caressing lips. The sounds of her small moans mingled with that of his harsh breathing.

“P—please!” she begged shamelessly for release. Begged him to make her fly again like he did that other night. “Oh please…”

Matt heard. Still not letting up on the magic he was weaving on her breasts, he flattened one hand low on her belly. He could feel the tiny muscle spasms beneath her skin and he nearly cried out with the need to be inside her and experience them in the most intimate way.

She was going crazy by the time his hand, moving excruciatingly slowly, finally rested between her thighs. Clutching the sheet with one hand and his hair with the other, she tried to hang onto the only constant thing in her rapidly disintegrating world – Matt.

She heard him groan something as his hand encountered her heat. Gently nudging her legs further apart with his thigh, he started to caress her rhythmically. It didn’t take long for her to take up the rhythm, rubbing herself against his hand in a desperate effort to find release.

He was kissing a line from the valley of her breasts to her bellybutton now, distracting her fleetingly from the touch of his hand.

“Noo…” she moaned in panic when he suddenly sat up, removing his mouth and fingers from her body.

“Easy, love,” he gentled her while hooking his fingers in the elastic of her panties and dragging them down her thighs. With her eager assistance, the article went flying to the floor in no time. “Close your eyes,” he instructed her.

Her eyes flew open as soon as they were closed, because his mouth was suddenly caressing her moist heat. She was shocked for a moment, but then sensation took over, ripping a cry from her throat.

Her climax came too soon, but he had primed her so well that it took only a few strokes of his tongue before she turned into a quivering mass, riding the waves of release.

She was still shuddering when he hauled her back into his arms, holding her close until she quieted down.

Much later, he whispered her name, feathering light kisses over the side of her face, waiting for her to come back to him.

“Please Matt,” she begged him hoarsely. Why was he still torturing them both? She could feel the tension in his body as he kept himself away from the edge deliberately. And she knew she wanted more.

He sounded anguished when he finally answered her. “We can’t!”

She blinked up at him in confusion. What on earth did he mean?

tbc

PART 26

“We can’t,” he repeated, looking like he was ready to cry.

Sas alternated between anger and worry. Anger because he might just be saying no again due to some silly idea he had in his head that she still wasn’t sure she wanted to spend forever with him, and worry that he has now found a new and very real reason for stopping them. “W—what do you mean?”

His hands shook with tension as he cupped her cheek, gently brushing away the tendrils of hair that had fallen across her face during her climax. “We… I’m not prepared. I don’t have… I don’t want you to get pregnant.” He was blushing furiously by the end of his stammered sentence, his breathing still erratic from what he had just shared with her. And from the fact that his body was screaming for release.

Wow, she hadn’t even thought of that! No protection! Her mind frantically sifted through several options. Her mother? No way. Mrs. Evans? Yeah right! ‘See Mrs. Evans, here’s the thing, your son and I need to make love and we don’t have protection, could you loan us some?’ Maybe she could ask someone else on the ship…

“Why don’t you have protection with you? Were you planning on never making love to me?” she burst out, sounding pretty annoyed with him.

“Sas—” Obviously his effort to stay a gentleman was not appreciated here.

“Don’t Sas me! What were you thinking? Please enlighten me.”

The situation was beyond weird. She was lying in his arms, naked, still flushed from an orgasm, and she was having a fit because he felt strange keeping condoms around in case he got lucky with her. “Uh…” There wasn’t really anything he could say that wouldn’t get her madder. Besides, he was having trouble thinking clearly right now, his blood having left his head and all.

“N—not never. Just…” He faltered, feeling like an idiot. A very aroused and frustrated idiot. “Just not on this trip yet.”

Her eyes darkened, causing him more worry. “You planned to just kiss me the whole summer? While we are together on another planet?”

“Uhm…” His guilty face gave him away. “I had sort of thought that we would just be building this relationship further…”

She stared up at him for a long time, and Matt tried to move his hand from very low on her stomach to a safer location, like her hip, without attracting her attention. He had been trying to lessen the temptation by not packing a bunch of condoms since he really believed he should give her more time. Now he was kicking himself. What more was left to prove by the both of them? They had basically promised that they were going to stay together and the issue of marriage had already come up.

She was right, he was an idiot.

After calming down some, Sas rubbed her hand over Matt’s arm. “We’ll make a plan… right?”

“Yeah.” He had no clue how they were going to fix this, but he hoped they could before he self-combusted.

The rubbing alerted her to the stiffness with which Matt was keeping himself away from her.

His body had had no release. The thought slammed through her and she looked up at him with renewed respect that he could ignore his baser instincts in order to talk to her. She should really help him out.

Matt was surprised when she pushed him onto his back, so he didn’t offer much resistance. His surprise increased dramatically when she attacked his mouth with hers, kissing the very breath from his body while rubbing herself against his chest. He moaned against her lips. Was she trying to kill him?

Sas was determined to help Matt. Snaking her hand down, she encountered the waistband of his boxers, but this only deterred her fleetingly. Her questing fingers moved lower and found him hard as steel and soft as velvet. Sliding her hand over his arousal gave her a huge thrill. Knowing she was the first girl ever to be allowed this intimacy made it so much more special.

Arching against her hand helplessly, Matt fought to breathe. And he forgot to be blasé. His fingers uncurled from the bed sheets long enough to desperately shove his boxers down his thighs. More, Sas, please... but the words didn’t leave his lips.

With his boxers out of the way, Sas was free to really explore and caress him. She broke the kiss, wanting to look at him and at what she was doing too. Far too aroused to be bashful, she drank in the sight of him, hard and throbbing in her hands. Seeing him in all his naked glory was awesome, and the feeling was intensified by the fact that she had brought him to this state.

His breathing sounded harsh and loud in the room, spurring her into faster movements.

Matt was lost. Lost in the magic she was weaving over his body and over his mind. He could hear himself panting frantically for air, could feel himself tremble violently against her body. He was so close…

So close, it only took one touch from her soft lips against his hardness for him to tumble wildly over the edge into a pulsing release. Her name spilled from his throat harshly while his fingers tangled in her hair.

As soon as he was able, he lifted her back up, kissing her deeply, tasting himself on her tongue. He molded their bodies together, wanting to have her naked against his skin for the rest of time. Her breasts pressed against his chest and her slim legs tangled with his, and nothing had ever felt this right to Matt in his life.

He would never let anyone else experience this with her if he could help it.

My princess.

Sas was smiling when the kiss ended. “So, I guess I can stay?”

His own smile was embarrassed. “It will probably mean the death of me, but you’re not sleeping anywhere but here from now on.”

Hearing those beautiful words, made her sassy. “What did I do wrong this time?”

Matt was confused. “No, you didn’t… What do you mean?”

“You didn’t nearly pass out all over me, I was wondering what I did wrong?” She was giggling by now, causing Matt to frown at her sternly.

“I’ll teach you,” he told her naughtily after a small pause.

Her eyes grew round. “You will?”

Not wanting to get himself into serious trouble, Matt backtracked quickly. “One day. Not now, I don’t want my head to explode before I can really make love to you.”

His chest felt so warm and comfortable. “We’re going to have to wait until we get to Dendar, Matt.” She was slightly embarrassed at how pathetic she sounded about it. Matt had really made her shameless in trying to get into his pants.

“Yeah,” he sounded worried. “Wait, why on Dendar?”

“I could go see a healer there… You know, to see if they could help us… me.”

“I’ll go with you,” he said immediately.

“You will?” She sounded so incredulous he lifted his head to meet her gaze. “You do know it might be like a visit to the gynecologist, don’t you?”

“Uh…” Actually he hadn’t known that, but he still didn’t want her to go do this alone. It was for both of them after all. “I’ll still go. I’ll just hold your hand and not look.”

This made Sas laugh out loud. “We’ll see,” was all she said, knowing full well Matt would probably have cardiac arrest if he ever saw what a gynecologist really did to a woman.

“We should get some sleep, love,” he said, even as he started to kiss her again. Deep, sweet, languid kisses rejoicing in their love. His hands traversed her body, for the first time truly able to caress every inch of her without the barrier of clothes.

“Yeah, sleep…” she mumbled against his mouth, moving even closer to him, her tongue starting to dance with his. Would she ever get enough of his kisses? His touches?

He wanted to kiss every inch of her. His mouth trailed over her neck and shoulders before skimming over her arms until gooseflesh raised her skin. He spent endless moments learning the exact shape and curves of her breasts and then moved lower, finding her bellybutton and the soft swell of her hips. Sas gasped when he rolled her over gently, only to start charting her back and bottom with his tongue.

He was driving her mindless. Until the only sounds she could make were cries of need. She wanted to touch him back, to see him feel the same way she does right now, but he wouldn’t let her. He kept her hands pinned next to her until she was begging him to let her find release.

A small hitch in her breathing started the chain reaction. Matt slid his fingers inside her and held her through her orgasm, breathing nearly as hard as she was. Feeling her body contract around his fingers rhythmically almost did him in.

Afterwards she shivered uncontrollably in his embrace and he rained tiny, soothing kisses all over her face, gentling her. “I love you,” he told her for the umpteenth time. “I love seeing you like this.” I am in so much trouble. I need to be inside you so much I can taste it, and it’s only going to get worse...

Breathing deeply, he taught himself a new mantra: I won’t get Sas pregnant, I won’t get Sas pregnant…Please don’t let me make Sas pregnant!

~*~*~*~*~*~

James paced in his room furiously, glancing at his sleeping wife occasionally. How could she sleep so peacefully when their only daughter was losing her virginity not far down the corridor at this very moment? It was driving him insane. Visions of what must be going on in Matt’s room were racing through his mind until he wanted to scream.

He needed to calm down, he told himself. This would have happened eventually. In fact, he was amazed it hadn’t already. He had seen Max look at Liz with the same hungry expression that Matt wore whenever Sas was near and he knew exactly what that meant. It meant an Evans had spied his mate.

Sas seemed so happy with Matt. James had to admit that if Max’s son were at all like him, Sas would never be unhappy with Matt. So he just had to grit his teeth and get through this night.

Not to mention tomorrow morning when he will look into the eyes of his little girl and know she now belonged to another man in every respect. And look into the eyes of the guy that had sex with his daughter. That should be fun.

James growled in frustration. Would this night never end?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Would this night never end, Matt asked himself as he readjusted Sas’ sated body against his frustrated one. He had worn her out and had urged her to sleep when she wanted to “help him out”. What had he been thinking?

Now she was curled against him so trustingly while he was going insane.

He thought of going off to a cold shower, but he knew he would be exactly where he was before he took one as soon as he got back into this bed with Sas. Gloriously naked and stunningly sexy Sas.

Ideas on how they were going to explain the new sleeping arrangements were not coming. For right now, he supposed they should try to keep it to themselves.

And he should keep his hands to himself better.

Yeah right, that’s going to happen!


PART 27

By the time breakfast rolled around, Matt had a spring in his step. Sas had found him in the shower this morning and had more than made up for all the discomfort he had suffered throughout the night. He sighed blissfully, wondering if he would ever get used to being loved by Sas’ hands and mouth. Or having her naked skin next to his. Or being allowed to touch and kiss her in the most intimate way.

Damn, why did he not bring protection?

Only two more nights until they reached Dendar. Surely he could make it!

Swinging into his parents’ suite, he found most of their group congregated around the breakfast table. He tried hastily to wipe the stupid grin from his face, but his eyes collided with James’ and he knew he was too late. James glared at him in such a frightening fashion that a shiver went down Matt’s spine. What was going on? Did Sas’ father suspect where she had spent last night? Suddenly Matt felt like every little thing he had done to Sas was written in huge neon letters across his forehead.

“Morning, sweetie,” his mom said cheerfully, thankfully giving him a reason to look away from James.

“Hi Mom,” he mumbled, glancing at her quickly and taking a seat as far away from James as he could get. Silence reigned at the table as most everyone turned their attention to an increasingly nervous Matt.

“So… where are the girls? Not up yet?” Shilla’s innocent question caused all the heads to swing back to Matt again, increasing his blush. What should he tell them? ‘Last time I saw Sas she was very much awake and trying her level best to make my head explode?’

“I… uh—”

“Morning everyone,” Belle’s cheery voice saved Matt from answering as she entered the suite with Sas in tow. This took all of the attention away from a briefly relieved Matt. Everyone but James was now greeting the latest arrivals. Matt swallowed, he had no clue what was going on, but he realized that acting nervous wasn’t helping. Squaring his shoulders, he met James’ gaze head-on, not saying anything. I love your daughter. I will never intentionally harm her.

James seemed slightly taken aback at first at Matt’s courageous look. Matt blinked when the older man’s eyes took on a sad look before he slumped back in his chair, looking defeated. He thinks I’ve taken Sas away from him! Matt realized with a pang. This made him feel horrible, sure that he would feel the same one day if he ever had a daughter. A daughter with Sas.

Watching the whole exchange from the sidelines, Liz felt her heart contract for both these two men. For James because he was mourning the loss of a daughter and for her son because he was just trying to love a girl. She did, however, wonder what had prompted James’ emotional display. Had something happened that she wasn’t aware of? Sas was sliding into a chair next to Matt and they glanced at each other with shy smiles before turning away abruptly.

Max took her hand underneath the table, gaining her attention. He had obviously been privy to all her thoughts and was silently asking if he should intervene. Shaking her head, she gave him a small smile. Matt seemed to have handled the situation calmly and for a change it was Liz that believed they should let this be between the two men in Sas’ life.

After breakfast, Max took Matt off to one of his meetings, wanting his son to start learning about the affairs of Antar and the Whirlwind Alliance Council. This was actually a relief to Matt, who had had visions of trying to stay away from Sas throughout the day.

On the other hand, Sas had decided to investigate the possibility of finding birth control on the ship and she went off in search of some of the ladies involved in the “entertainment” of dignitaries on board. Finally managing to locate the quarters of these “entertainers”, she was immediately noticed by an old man who was standing in the corridor. “Can we help you, Miss? Do you need someone?”

Sas was very relieved that she didn’t have to go knock on various doors. “Oh! Yes, please! I was—”

“Let me see who is available right now.” The old man looked back at her. “Or do you have a specific preference?”

“P—preference? No, if I could just—”

But by then he had a hold of her arm and was propelling her into one of the rooms, clearly very exited that at least one of the members of the Antarian Royal Entourage was finally going to make use of their services.

“No, please! You don’t—” Sas was panicking. It’s not that she was thinking that someone would force themselves on her, it’s just that she wasn’t sure what on earth she would see before she managed to straighten out this misconception.

The room was medium-sized and it housed a guy lounging on a big bed. A guy without a shirt and wearing what looked like really tiny briefs. Sas felt herself flush in embarrassment and she hastily turned away from the bed. “No, please, I was looking for one of your… uhm… ladies.”

This statement caused the old man to get completely flustered. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Let’s go. I’ll show you to another room.”

Sas was pulled in another direction, leaving the man on the bed gaping after them in fascination.

All the rooms where the “ladies” usually were, were empty. Sas assured the old man she would wait, and ended up in a room where a servant was cleaning. She noticed the tattoo her own mother carried on the girl’s wrist immediately. And, just for a moment, she let panic take over again about going to Dendar at the side of Matt Evans. The cleaning girl hardly looked at her and Sas’ heart ached for what her mother must have gone through when she lived on Dendar. No wonder Shilla had been so eager to join the Antarian Royal couple – they were as unconventional as it got.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Observing his father in action during the holo-conference with dignitaries on Dendar, Matt’s respect for Max climbed another few notches. At the moment, most of the talks were about creating an agenda for the Council Meeting and Max was obviously trying to keep the time he would have to spend with the other leaders to a minimum. As a result, everything that could be handled in advance, was handled.

Dendar had a new King by now, a man a few years older than Max by the name of Shing that seemed okay to Matt. He had a son that was around 23 who was also sitting in for the holo-conference. Aran and Matt were introduced to each other and they silently sized each other up over the light years that still separated them. The future kings of two very different nations.

Aran reminded Matt a little of Shilla. They had the same dark complexion, but since the guy was sitting down in the holo-room on Dendar, Matt could not see if he was as short as the Dendarians normally were.

It quickly became clear that Aran was really running the show on Dendar. Shing mostly sat quietly, listening to his son, and Matt wondered what his dad thought about this. Max was being his stoic self so it was difficult to hazard a guess. Not that Aran was doing anything specifically annoying, Matt just got the impression that he would have trouble being friends with the guy on any scale.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After waiting for an hour, Sas decided to give up. She approached the servant girl and politely asked her to relay a message to the lady of the room. Could this lady please give her some advice on birth control? Leaving her name and room details, she finally took her leave. Maybe she could convince Belle to join her in the games room…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The holo-conference drew to a close near lunchtime. Matt could see that his father was getting antsy and had to hide a grin. Max wanted to go back to his wife and he was trying very hard to hide his impatience. All went well until Shing finally made a statement of his own.

“We shall be happy to host you and your lovely mate here on Dendar again, King Zan. She truly is a treasure,” he was grinning at Max now. “I remember how feisty she is too. It must not be a hardship—”

But Max had heard enough. “Yes,” Max rose from his seat. “We thank you for having us, but we will only be staying for a few days.”

Women did not really feature in the Dendarian culture and Max had been annoyed on previous occasions with the attitude of the men towards Liz. He guessed if a marriage was for convenience instead of love, a man would not mind too much to hear how other men were coveting her, but he felt way too possessive about his Liz to listen to such talk.

Matt was completely stunned. How could the man talk about his mother like that? And whoa, he could see his father was not impressed either. At least the man hadn’t said anything about Belle too, that would truly put a damper on relations!

Striding out of the room with barely controlled fury, Max waited until they were out of the earshot of anyone else before glancing at Matt. “Let that be a lesson to you, son. Idiots come in all shapes and sizes and species. Just like good people.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sas had eventually tracked down Belle in their room, where she was having a girl talk moment with Liz. They invited her to join and soon they were swapping stories about school and guys.

Both girls always enjoyed hearing about when Max and Liz were still in school in Roswell. And about their whole group including Maria, Alex, Michael and Isabel. And about the annoying Pam Troy who never wanted to give up on Max and kept chasing after him even though he had been very much off the market.

“…she was relentless,” Liz was saying as a soft knock was heard from the door.

“I’ll get it,” Sas announced, bouncing off the bed to open the door, hoping it was Matt coming back for lunch. She needed to kiss him again. Badly.

Instead, a strange woman stood outside, wearing some kind of uniform. “I need to see Miss Saskia Mulder?” And in a blinding flash, Sas knew she would be busted. “About the birth control?”

The deafening silence behind her did nothing to calm Sas’ suddenly racing heart. The woman had spoken quite clearly, there was no way Matt’s mom had not heard her. “Uhm…” she nodded vigorously, trying to look as if this wasn’t something horribly embarrassing to her. “Just—just give me a minute.”

Liz was staring at her when she turned around and Belle’s mouth hung open in shock. “I—I need to go...” She gestured over her shoulder, trying to avoid Liz’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ll… I’ll be back later…” With this, she whirled around, wanting nothing more than to escape the room and the vicinity of the mother of the man she intended to make love with.

“Sas, wait,” Liz’s voice was soft but firm, freezing Sas in her tracks.

Damn, she was in big trouble now!

tbc

PART 28

Still stewing over the stupid comments of the Dendarian King regarding his mother, Matt didn’t notice the muffled sobbing from inside his room until he practically stumbled over Sas’ shoes in the middle of his floor. He went into complete panic mode immediately, rushing over to drop to his knees next to the bed. “Sweetheart?”

The sobbing got louder, but at least she squirmed closer to him.

“What is wrong?” Alarmed now, he stroked her hair tenderly.

Since she mumbled her answer into the pillow, all he could make out was ‘mother’ and ‘slut’. “Sas, sweetness…” He gently rolled her over and lowered himself on the bed next to her, scooped her against his side and tried to tug her chin up so he could see her face. She resisted this and buried her head in his shoulder, but she gradually calmed down until all he could hear was the occasional sniffle. Caressing the side of her face with his fingertips, he pleaded again. “Tell me.”

“I—I made a huge mistake,” she finally whispered, her fingers fisting in his shirt.

What could be so bad, he wondered? “I’m sure it’s okay,” he soothed. “What happened? Did your mom upset you?”

“No.”

He waited impatiently for her to elaborate, but she now seemed struck dumb, just clenching his shirt tighter by the second. Matt was quietly starting to freak about this. Sliding his hands under her arms, he lifted her higher on the bed until their heads shared a pillow and he could see her face. “You are making me crazy here, sweetheart, plea—”

“Your mom thinks I’m a slut,” she interrupted in a rush, her eyes still downcast. He could see tears pooling in the corners of her eyes again.

“She thinks what?!” he practically yelled, making Sas jump in fright. This so did not make sense. He didn’t think his mom had ever used the word ‘slut’ in her life. “She said that?” he asked incredulously.

Sas’ bottom-lip was quivering again and she bit down on it in an attempt to stay in control. She couldn’t remember feeling this horrible in a long time. “She… she heard me… I went to… and then—then, the woman came…” Losing the battle for control, tears started coursing down her cheeks again.

Matt was speechless. Her tears tore at his heart. Nothing she said made any sense to him and he still couldn’t believe his amazing mother would say such a thing to the girl he loved. Catching Sas’ face between his hands, he kissed her wet cheeks and her closed eyelids, while murmuring soft words of comfort. He had to get her calmed down first before he could get to the bottom of this mess. “Shh, honey, we’ll work this out, I promise.” His thumbs wiped at the moisture on her face as he kept on kissing her softly. “I love you,” he promised her again. “So much.”

It took him about 15 minutes before he judged Sas to be okay to talk. “Now tell me, please.”

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Sas plunged in, telling Matt about trying to find out about birth control from the ship’s ‘entertainers’ and how one of them had found her with his mom and Belle. “Your Mom wanted to talk to me about it… Matt she looked so… disappointed in me.”

Wow, that was a lot to take in! Sas had been finding them birth control? His Mom now knows they are contemplating having sex? Even worse, his sister now knows about his almost sex life? Sas had gone to the seedier part of the ship… alone? “What did my mom say?”

“She… said I shouldn’t have… gone to the—the ship’s prostitutes for this…”

“And?” he asked worriedly when she fell silent.

Biting her lip again, Sas looked away from him. “I… sort of didn’t let her continue. I just… I told her that I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me when we… you know, when one day we…” She was waving her right hand around agitatedly. “Anyway, so I needed to get some advice and… experience and—”

“What!” Matt cried. “You told her you went to these people for ‘experience’? Why?”

He was staring at her with an expression eerily reminiscent of the one his mother had worn when she made the stupid statement earlier. “I panicked!” She grabbed his shirt again in distress, willing him to understand and not walk out on her or something. “Matt, it sounded like she was mad about us planning to have… I didn’t want her to think you were breaking your promises to her, so I… made up that story.” Sas fought fresh tears. “She looked at me like I was… She thinks I’m a s-slut now.” Flinging her arms around his neck, she begged shamelessly. “Please! I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please don’t be angry. I love you.”

Matt wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry after hearing this weird tale, so he kept quiet. The only solution that occurred to him was to go talk to his parents about the whole debacle. And boy, he had really hoped he would never have to actually face his parents about planning to sleep with his girlfriend!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Not having located Liz in their suite, Max had gone in search of her only to find her on her way to a part of the ship they had never needed to go before. “Liz!”

Her name called in what Liz termed Max’s Royal Voice stopped her in her tracks. She was on her way to tell the ship’s sex workers to stay away from anyone of the Antarian kids on board, and Max was breaking her speed. She arched her brow at her husband, hoping he wasn’t going to delay her too long.

“Liz, what are you doing?” Max’s voice was quiet and soft, telling her he was still deciding whether he should get upset or not.

“I’m going to—”

“I can see where you’re going,” he cut her short. “Are you crazy? Who knows what could happen to you here? You know I don’t want you going off alone!” He sounded pissed. “And where is James?”

“Since this is about his daughter, I didn’t want him along, so I slipped out,” she informed him, turning away again. “Let me just—”

“Whoa! Wait a minute!” He rounded her with a few steps, blocking her path. “You deliberately left James behind?”

Liz folded her arms and sighed. Trust Max to home in on the fact that she was off alone, instead of the reason for her actions. “Yes, I did. Now, can we talk about this later, I really need—”

“Hell no! We can’t talk about this later, this is serious.” He took hold of her shoulders, twirling her around until she faced the way she had come. “Get your cute behind back to our room so we can sort this out.”

“Max!” Liz was getting irritated now. Sometimes his over-protectiveness just drove her insane. “Let me go, I really need to do this.” She was struggling in his hold.

All he did in response was to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. “And I really need to talk to you.” He walked back to their rooms with long strides, ignoring Liz’s scandalized complaints.

On the way they drew some very interested stares, and a few hysterical giggles.

Arriving at their suite, Max slid Liz down to the ground and caught her mouth with his to stop the torrent of words he could see was waiting to tumble from her lips. He kissed her hard and deep, teasing her tongue with his until he could feel her giving in. Her arms crept around his neck slowly and he finally opened their door, walking her inside backwards, still not ending the passionate kiss they were now engaged in.

Neither of them noticed the two nervous and uncomfortable teenagers waiting in their lounge.

Matt had decided that they should talk to his parents, and specifically his mom, to clear up the confusion of this morning. Unfortunately this meant telling his parents about his sex life, but he could see no way around it. Not if he ever wanted to make love to Sas, who now believed his parents would have a cow if he stayed with her. So they had been waiting for his mom and dad to return from wherever they had gone and he had gripped Sas’ hand tightly, making sure she couldn’t bolt from the room. He had been sure that his parents would at least be mildly upset and not in a good mood. He had certainly not been expecting his parents to literally come falling through the door in a clinch, practically devouring each other.

“Max…” Liz sighed as he kissed a trail from her mouth to her throat, his hands tangling in her hair to arch her neck for better access.

“Dad!” Matt knew from experience that his mere presence wouldn’t register and put an end to any physical activities by his parents. If it hadn’t been his own parents, he would have found the flurry with which they pulled apart quite amusing.

“Matt,” his father acknowledged him in a voice that managed to also convey how inconvenient his appearance was.

“Yeah…” He looked at his mom, who still seemed a bit dazed. “I’m sorry for barging in like this, but we… need to talk to you.”

Liz was still clutching Max’s arm, keeping herself upright, but the worry on the faces of her son and his girlfriend was penetrating the fog Max’s caresses had put her in. Looking at Sas, who was not meeting her eyes, Liz knew what this was about immediately. “I think we should sit down, Max.”

Max was clueless. He could see something had upset his wife, his son and Sas, but he had no idea what. Maybe he should have paid more attention when Liz was trying to talk to him earlier…

Waiting until his parents were seated, Matt cleared his throat, not sure where to start. “Mom, I think we need to clear up a misconception that might have… arisen this morning.” He waited, but Liz just nodded while his father started frowning. “Sas wasn’t going to these… prostitutes for—”

“I know that, honey.” Liz surprised them. “I know she was just trying to find, er, protection.”

“Then you know I wasn’t serious when I said I wanted, uhm… experience from them?” Sas sounded slightly relieved. “Because I wasn’t!” She rushed ahead, not giving Liz a chance to react. “I would never do that to Matt. I was just trying to protect him and—”

“Calm down, honey,” Liz told her with a half-smile.

“What on earth is everyone talking about?” Max was looking between them with confusion.

“Sas had asked one of the ship’s ‘entertainers’ to help her find protection—”

“Mom!” Matt cried. “Can we stick to the point that you maybe misunderstood Sas?” He was blushing furiously and avoided his father’s gaze at all costs.

“There was no misunderstanding, Matt,” Liz assured him. “I just didn’t want you two to go to these… people for assistance. You should have come to your father and I. I really didn’t like that Sas had gone to these people who know nothing about love-making and everything about sex.”

“Uhm…” Matt was at a loss. He loved his mom, but did she seriously think he was going to come tell her he wanted to have sex and could she provide him with birth control?

Max, on the other hand, was amazed. Was this the same wife and mother he had had to drag off to make sure she didn’t interrogate their son a couple of weeks before? Now she was offering to help him with his sex life? “So, this was what you were on your way doing just now?”

“Yes.” Liz gave Max a glare that told him she was still going to make him suffer later for dragging her away from her mission.

Sharing a look with Sas, Matt looked at his mom and gathered all his courage. “C—can you help us then?” He could barely get the words out, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Sas’ fingernails were digging into his palms.

Now it was Liz’s turn to look uncomfortable. “Well, actually I can’t…”

Well, this was just getting worse by the minute, Matt thought silently. After all the badgering he finally asks his parents for help and now they say ‘no’? He was beginning to think he was going to die a virgin.


PART 29

As he stood gripping Sas’ hand and watching Dendar come closer in the huge window of the shuttle ferrying them from the ship to the planet, Matt marveled again that he had managed to live through these last two days. They had been the most weird and wonderful of his life.

On the one hand, he had gotten even closer to his parents after what was probably the most embarrassing talk they’ve ever had. On the other hand, Sas was now a permanent fixture in his bed, even though they haven’t actually made love yet. But most of all, James had let him know that he knew about the new sleeping arrangements, and, although it is very hard for him, he accepted them. Matt had surmised that James had somehow come to the conclusion that he and Sas were having sex, and, while that was very awkward for Matt, he decided not to say anything to the contrary.

The worst obstacle was lying ahead though. Sas was wrapped around his arm while clinging to his hand and he could see the fear in her eyes as she stared down at her mother’s birth planet. Casting a glance over his shoulder, Matt could see Shilla was as white as a sheet too. Gritting his teeth, he vowed to make sure their arrival on Dendar was as painless as possible. If he had learned one thing in these few days on this ship, it was that there was no limit to how much he could love someone. To how much he could love Sas. And if someone upsets her down on Dendar, he would hurt them.

Folding his arm around his trembling girlfriend, Matt contemplated the talk they had had with his parents. He now knew so much more about their love life than he had ever wanted to. They didn’t use condoms, never had since his mom’s birth control pills started working. His mom had been on the pill until they had found out about a reversible and painless alien procedure that made sure a woman couldn’t get pregnant unplanned. No wonder they are all over each other all the time – no reason to worry about consequences!

Liz had offered to go with Sas to a healer to get this done and Matt had again insisted that he would go along. His father had given him an enigmatic look, saying only that Matt should maybe leave this to the women. He wondered about that, but he still felt that he should not let Sas go through this alone as she was doing it for both of them.

Of course, this had meant two more sleepless nights for him. Kissing the top of Sas’ head, he smiled slightly. They were getting pretty good at all the other stuff two lovers can do when they couldn’t have sex. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of the little sounds Sas made when he loved her. Or hearing her say she loved him. Or touching her soft skin and kissing her sweet mouth.

If only he could manage to wait a little after the famous procedure was done! Not only wasn’t he too keen on having everyone in their group know exactly when he and Sas would finally consummate their relationship, but he also wanted it to be special. So, that would take some planning and a whole lot of self-control.

The ship docked with a soft bump, and everyone waited for his parents, clad in the Royal Colors of Antar, to take the lead. Matt and Belle were the only other people wearing the colors, while the rest of the group wore plain robes befitting an entourage.

Sas felt like she was going to hyperventilate any second now. Matt was holding her firmly to his side and she loved him for it, but the look of pure dread in her mother’s eyes was causing her own panic levels to spike.

A warm hand, taking her free one, jerked her back from the brink and she blinked to find Belle on her other side, smiling up at her encouragingly. Tears pooled in her eyes at the wonderful gesture from her friend. She was now surrounded protectively by the Evans family. “Thank you,” she whispered to Belle before turning to Matt who promptly wiped a lone tear from her cheek with his thumb.

“We love you... I love you,” he told her seriously. “We’re doing this as a family. Okay?” He waited for her nod, and then she noticed that Max and Liz were waiting for them too. She smiled at them in gratitude and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

“Let’s go,” Max sighed, not sounding like a King who was going to be received with pomp and ceremony, but rather like a man who was being led to some horrible form of torture. He, too, gripped the hand of the woman next to him. Only his gesture was possessive, intent on making it clear to everyone that Liz was an extension of him and should be treated as such.

The reception hall was filled as it usually was for these occasions. Shing and Aran stood in front, wearing the rich clothes of Dendarian royalty. Shing’s three wives stood a few paces back, leaving the limelight to their husband and first-born son. Not for the first time, Max missed the old King who had been in power when he first came here – Shing’s father. The man who had finally put the issue of his “destined mate” to rest.

The greetings were formal, according to tradition and everything went fine until the Dendar King spied Sas. A huge silence suddenly filled the room as he stared at her in shock.

Quickly taking action, Max introduced Sas to Shing and Aran as Matt and Belle’s friend, his tone of voice making it clear that she better not be snubbed.

Both Shing and Aran floundered after this. They had never had to deal with a situation like this before. They ended up giving Sas curt nods. Complicating matters was the fact that Sas did not really have an official position yet. There was no such thing as a “girlfriend” on these planets, only bonded mates and concubines.

“Thank you for sharing your hospitality with us again,” Liz said with a formal smile, trying to divert the attention away from Sas, who was now more or less under Matt’s shoulder, her cheeks flushed with shame. This made Liz really mad and Max caressed the back of her hand with his thumb, soothing her.

Shing turned a sickly sweet smile on Liz and stepped forward to offer her his arm. “Always a pleasure, my lady!” Liz had no option but to take up his offer, but she held on to Max’s hand and ended up walking between the two men – one whose touch she never tired of, and another whose touch made her cringe.

When they finally made it to their suite in the palace, after being invited to dinner by Shing, Sas managed to hold herself together until she made it into Matt’s room. There she collapsed onto the bed in tears of relief. The first test is finally over!

Matt was arguing with Max outside. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about and she didn’t particularly care. Right now, all she wanted to do was sleep for hours and forget about the ordeal of being stared at like she was a bug.

A soft stroking of her hair woke her up a few minutes later. Matt was perched on the bed next to her, looking distressed.

“Are you okay?” he asked her worriedly.

“Yeah, thanks. I was just… overwhelmed. I’m better now that it’s over.”

Guilt flashed in his eyes momentarily before he looked away from her.

“What’s wrong?” Now she was concerned.

He sighed. “Tonight’s dinner. You were… not…”

“Invited?”

“Yeah.” His hand moved in her hair agitatedly. “I’m sorry. I talked to my dad, but he feels we should just leave it for now…” He didn’t mention that Max said that until Sas was an official member of the family, he couldn’t very well make a big deal out of getting her invited to a stupid official dinner.

“Matt, I so don’t care about this dinner. In fact, I cannot tell you how relieved I am about not having to go.” She sat up, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you for trying, but I guess I’ll just have to stay here and warm the bed…”

This teased a smile from him and got her a kiss. A warm, loving kiss that reminded her that this current mess was only a small hitch in an otherwise perfect life.

The kiss quickly turned into a heated make-out session and neither of them saw Belle halt in the door, before going out and quietly closing the door behind her.

Seeing her brother so happy made her feel lonelier and she wandered outside to the balcony, deep in thought.

“Hey baby.” Her father’s voice startled her and she swung around to see him lounging on a bench.

“Hey Daddy. Where’s Mom?”

“Talking to Aunt Maria over the communicator.” He patted the seat next to him. “So I have time to talk. Come tell me why you look so sad?”

She hesitated only a moment before rushing over and falling against her father’s chest. Being wrapped in his safe, comforting arms was one of her earliest memories and he held her close again now as she fought the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.

Pain constricted Max’s throat. He hated seeing his little girl like this. “What is it, baby?”

“I’m a horrible person, Daddy,” she informed him forlornly.

This made him chuckle. “No, you’re not. You are a sweet, loving, beautiful girl – just like your mother.” He squeezed her tightly. “I was proud to see you helping Saskia today.” He held her away from him so he could see her face. “Now tell me.”

“It’s just… seeing Matt and Sas… I…” she trailed off, biting her lip.

“You feel alone?”

Nodding, she leaned against Max’s shoulder. “Matt used to be just mine. And… why did I not fall in love with any of the boys that liked me Daddy?”

“Maybe because it was never the right boy?”

“I know.”

Max put his arm around her, letting her rest her cheek against his chest. “For some people it takes longer than others to meet their mate. I don’t know why. But I do know that your brother loves you very much. And so does Sas.” He kissed the top of her head lovingly. “You are special to us all.”

“I know.”

“Meanwhile, please have some mercy on me. I’m not sure I’m ready for you to fall in love and leave me.” He had a smile in his voice, but he meant every word. The thought of Belle with another man made him ill.

“Daddy!”

They grinned at each other and Max caught his breath at how much Belle looked like Liz that year when he healed her from the bullet wound in her stomach. The Liz that had first started loving him back. “I love you,” he whispered to her.

“I know,” she smiled at him. “Almost as much as you love Mommy.” It was a childhood game.

“Right.” They grinned again, enjoying the quiet moment they could share. Father and daughter. Her hero and the apple of his eye.

The rest of the afternoon was spent quietly by everyone. Liz napped, while Max had a session with Nick, strategizing for the next day’s meetings. Matt and Sas had fallen asleep in his room, holding each other tightly. James was holding Shilla too, hoping she would start to feel better soon. She was so worried about their daughter and kept blaming herself for the position Sas was in.

Belle had stayed outside, staring over the expansive gardens of the palace until dusk crept over the city. Turning her eyes up to the three moons that orbited Dendar, she wondered if maybe someone was out there looking at the stars and hoping to meet her one day. If maybe… no, he wouldn’t be thinking of her, that’s for sure!

But he was.

Far away, a pair of piercing blue eyes stared up at the night sky too, remembering the warmest pair of chocolate-brown eyes he had ever seen in his life. Wondering if he would ever find his soulmate… And if maybe that soul mate would have eyes like Belle’s…

tbc

PART 30

Dinner was a sad affair. Shing’s whole family, wives included, irritated the hell out of Max. Both Shing and Aran took to fawning over Liz and Belle, while the women were all giggling idiots, trying very hard to get Matt to give them some attention.

“You are going on to Tresar from here, are you not?” Aran asked Matt while the last course was being served.

“Yeah.” Matt didn’t much feel like talking to the arrogant Crown Prince of Dendar.

“You should know that there have been rumors of a rebellion against the royals there.”

This brought all the attention to Aran.

“A rebellion?” Max looked at the young man with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or stirring up trouble.

“Yes. Some of Dak’or’s people have resurfaced it seems. They are not impressed with what happened to their leader 18 years ago.”

Matt glanced at his father, seeing him clench his jaw. “I’ll speak to Eric when he arrives tomorrow,” was all Max said on the issue.

After dinner, Shing held Max back while looking at Liz with a gleam in his eye. “We can offer you some… alternative partners for tonight if you like…”

It was all he could do not to throw the man across the chamber. “As I’ve said before, no thank you. I’m extremely satisfied with my mate.” Max’s voice was tight with anger, but Shing was oblivious.

“I can see that you would be. I was just hoping you would share—”

This time Max couldn’t help himself and he grabbed Shing by the front of his robe. “Let me make this clear then. No one touches Liz but me. Don’t even think about her, she is way off limits. Unless you want a diplomatic mess on your hands, stay away.” He let the shocked man go. “And that goes for anyone in my party.”

Belle and Matt glanced at each other as their father came up from behind to catch their mom against his chest. Neither of them needed to ask what was going on. It was clear that Shing had made another comment about Liz and that Max had lost his temper. So they walked in silence back to their part of the palace while Max continued to walk behind Liz holding her tightly.

Matt was just as eager to get back to his room and Sas. Politics was beginning to sicken him. If being King meant having to deal with idiots like the Dendarian Royal Family all the time, he wasn’t sure he wanted the job.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When daylight filtered through the windows the next morning, Sas had trouble getting her eyes to open. She was still dead tired from all the tension of the previous day as well as from waiting up for Matt to return from dinner. And, of course, from everything she and Matt had gotten up to after his return.

Shivering as she recollected the previous night’s passion, Sas suddenly realized that she would probably go to the healer today. This caused a sharp contraction low in her stomach. Matt would be able to really make love to her tonight! By now, he had shown her so many ways to find fulfillment without being inside her, that she found it hard to imagine there being anything better. She could hardly wait to experience it all. Her boyfriend had magic hands and a magic mouth, and his eyes could do things to her equilibrium that should be outlawed, but she craved for him to fill that empty ache he creates deep in her body. She craved to be filled by him until they were one.

Matt slept like a log next to her, his arm slung over her bare stomach. Sas was hungry, though, so she inched from beneath him, wincing when he mumbled his dissatisfaction about her absence as soon as she stood next to the bed. A quick shower later, she dressed in her plain robe and hurried outside, wanting to find both breakfast and Liz.

Food was served out on the patio, but there was no sign of any of the other members of the Antarian group. Fighting disappointment, Sas ate some of the strange fruits of the planet, all of which tasted familiar to her even though she hadn’t grown up here, and decided to go for a quick walk to get rid of her nervousness about the appointment with the healer later.

The gardens were huge and Sas made sure that she kept the palace in sight while she strolled around. It wouldn’t do to get lost on this momentous day in her life. Clasping her arms around herself, she had to restrain herself forcible from dancing through the flowers in abandon. She had so many reasons to be happy. Matt loved her. There had been no real backlash about her relationship with him yet. Matt loved her. She was now allowed to share his bed. Matt loved her…

A giggle escaped her lips and she allowed herself one swift twirl that sent her robes flying around her. “Matt loves me…” she whispered.

“You seem happy this morning,” the unfamiliar voice caused her to stop her antics. She recognized him immediately as the Crown Prince of Dendar even though his name escaped her for the moment.

“I am,” she answered cautiously.

He walked around her, looking his fill. “Do you know who I am?”

“Y—yes, you’re the Prince of Dendar.” Sas’ heart was starting to beat furiously, she didn’t like the Prince’s attitude. “I remember meeting you yesterday.” Subtly, trying to remind him she belonged with the Antarian Royal Family.

“And I remember you clinging to the young Antarian Prince’s arm.” He grinned at her speculatively. “I must say he has good taste. I assume you serve him well?”

For a moment, all Sas’ fears and insecurities came roaring back, reminding her she was the daughter of a servant and not an official member of the Antarian Royal Family yet. It reminded her that this man in front of her was so much more powerful than she was and that he could order her death with a flick of his wrist.

But then she got angry. He had no right to treat her like she was a thing for his amusement. She was a person in her own right. “I don’t serve Matt,” she said firmly, hiding her fear.

He only raised an eyebrow. “You don’t? These Antarians have strange customs. You are not his mate or his whore then?”

A soft gasp escaped her before she could tame it. “I am his…” But she had no idea what to say.

He was towering closer now, hemming her into a bush. “What you are, is a servant. Now and always. And since you are in my city and in my palace, you will serve me if I so command it.”

The last vestiges of fear were rapidly being erased by a fury the likes of which Sas had never experienced before. “I am nothing of yours and I will only follow the instructions of my parents or my real King,” she responded heatedly.

“Do you want me to order your mother to instruct you to keep me happy?”

Clenching her fists at her sides, she fired back. “Do you want me to ask King Zan to take up your conduct with your father?” His cocky smile made her even madder.

“So, you keep King Zan happy too then, that he would do this for you?”

This was the last straw.

Her fist connected with his nose in a move so unexpected it sent Aran staggering back a few paces.

Sas was speechless. And shocked. What had she done?

Aran whirled around in a rage. “You—”

“Don’t even think about it!” Matt’s voice came from the side as he rushed over towards Sas. “Keep you hands and your mouth off her!” And then he was there, stepping in between Aran and Sas, shielding her with his body.

“She hit me!” Aran sounded like he was going to burst a blood vessel.

“She had a reason,” Matt said more calmly now. He had no idea what had been going on here, but he knew that Sas wouldn’t have hit the man without being provoked. He felt like hitting the guy himself.

“This breaks protocol—”

“No, what broke protocol is your conduct towards my intended mate,” Matt interrupted him. “I would appreciate it if you could apologize to her right now.”

Sas inched around Matt and stood at his side, silently watching Aran. Only when Matt took her hand, did Aran finally mumble that he was sorry about the ‘misunderstanding’.

Tempted to say so much more, Matt held his tongue and walked away. They were only here for two more days, and he could certainly ignore the irritating Prince if he needed to. He was more worried about Sas. “Are you okay? Did he… try anything?”

She smiled up at him with such adoration it nearly blinded him.

“No, I hit him before he could touch me. He was just being a… jerk.”

Stopping, Matt hugged her close. “I am so relieved you are alright,” he said into her hair.

Then he burst out laughing. “You should have seen his face after you punched him! He was flummoxed!”

Sas was more worried though. “I’m sorry I got so out of control. Will it cause problems for your father?”

“I don’t know.” Matt was still grinning. “We can go tell him what happened so he can be prepared.” He slung his arm around her shoulders and urged her forward, back to their suite.

He chuckled all the way.

The walk was long and torturous for Sas. Now that the initial adrenaline rush had passed, she was panicking about her rash actions and the implications they would have for her King. Because she had suddenly realized that was exactly what Max was. Her King. She was not a servant girl belonging to a planet she never really knew. She was the product of a marriage of love that made her a part of the Antarian race.

They found Max having breakfast, but he was clearly waiting for them. Matt wondered if his father’s famed connection with his family had alerted him to his son’s anger just now. He opened his mouth to speak to his dad, but Sas rushed into speech, cutting him off.

“Oh, Mr. Evans!” she cried. “I’m so sorry, but I sort of… punched the Dendar Prince in the nose…”

Max’s eyes widened for a second and then he grinned. “You punched Aran?”

“Yes,” she answered uncertainly. “He was being mean and he wanted me to…”

“So he deserved this punch?” Max asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Then what is the problem?”

Matt stared at his father open-mouthed. Clearly Shing’s antics regarding Liz had made Max annoyed enough with the Dendarian Royal Family not to care about a diplomatic incident. “We were just worried that you might be in a difficult position about this,” he informed his father.

“I don’t think so.” Max rubbed his hand through his hair. “I told the King last night that I did not want anyone near any of you. If his son broke that rule, it was his mistake, not yours, Sas.” He gave her a stern glare. “But don’t go off on your own again in this city. These people have no regard for women and I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

“Yes, Sir,” Sas answered with a smile.

“And always come and tell me if someone is treating you badly. You are part of our family now.”

“Thank you,” Sas whispered. Her earlier urge to dance for joy was returning rapidly.

“We need to find Mom,” Matt announced.

“She’s on her way,” Max told him, not noticing how blasé he was about the fact that he knew his wife’s location all the time.

Sas’ nervousness returned in full force.

Liz came out on the patio looking fresh and happy. “Morning, you two! I’m glad we found you, I was getting worried that you had chickened out,” she teased them.

“No way!” Matt said under his breath. Unfortunately everyone heard him and they burst into chuckles, causing him to blush.

“Are you taking James with you?” Max asked.

At Sas’ panicked look, Liz shook her head firmly. “Would you want to be there when Belle gets this done?”

Horror showed on Max’s face, making Liz laugh. “Didn’t think so. No one but us four knows about this, and I would like to keep it that way. Could you spare me someone else?”

“I guess you could take David?” Max caught Liz’s hand. “But James is going to wonder why you are going somewhere without him.”

Putting on her best beguiling smile, Liz wrapped her arms around Max’s neck from behind and pressed her cheek against his ear. “That’s why I was hoping you could go with us? Please?”

Sighing, Max caught Matt’s grin. “Can we do it early then? I have to be in meetings in a couple of hours.”

“We certainly can!” Liz gave him a smacking kiss on his temple. “You are so wonderful.”

“That I am,” he joked back.

Liz straightened and looked at her son and the girl he loved. “Shall we go then? We don’t want to be late for my appointment with the healer.”

Nodding, Sas followed Max and Liz into the suite, trying not to think about the fact that she was on her way to get ‘fixed’ so she could start a sexual relationship. She marveled at the way Liz had been helping her. She had made an appointment in her own name, trying to keep the knowledge of Sas’ procedure away from any gossips. But it was still weird, being taken to a healer by the parents of the boy you are going to have sex with.

Matt’s warm hand enfolded hers and he gave her a nervous smile. It made her feel better that Matt wasn’t being cool about the whole thing. And knowing that he was going to get his first taste of a gynecologist visit made the corners of her mouth turn upward. This should be interesting!

This would be a new era in their lives, but, like everything else, they would do it together.


PART 31

Let it not be said that Aran was cowed easily.

Max had told James that he would be accompanying Liz into the capitol city for a few hours in the morning and would James please look after Belle. Apparently Belle was still sleeping, so James had taken to playing cards with himself in the living area of the suite. He was interrupted by a commotion at the door of the Royal Suite – the Crown Prince of Dendar was angrily demanding to be let into the Suite.

Hurrying over to help David, who was guarding the door, he found the two men at a standoff. “Can I help you, Your Highness?”

Aran sighed dramatically. “I was trying to get inside so I could ask the young Princess to go for a walk with me, but this arrogant guard is refusing me entry.”

“What’s going on, James?” A sleepy Belle was trudging down the stairs, woken by the commotion.

The look that came into the eyes of the Prince at her appearance caused James to bristle. Lustful gazes should not be sent the way of his daughter, or the girl that was practically his daughter, so James stepped up to Aran, blocking his view of Belle. “My King gave express orders that his daughter is not to leave this Suite until he is back,” he informed the young man in front of him firmly.

Aran did not like being dismissed like that. “And if I command you—”

“I only follow commands of King Zan,” James interrupted him rudely. “If you have a problem with his orders, I respectfully request that you take it up with him.” James knew full well that Aran would never do that. The Prince was another of those men in power that was all bluster and no action. Aran functioned well with people who are cowed and awed by his position and did not think to go against his wishes.

“I’ll be back later then,” he announced and strode away.

Belle was smiling at James when he turned back to her. “Thank goodness! I don’t want to be anywhere near that arrogant jerk!” She threaded her fingers through her hair, looking around with a frown. “Why is it so quiet? Where are my parents and Matt and Sas?”

Actually, that was a good question, James thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The healer’s rooms had been cleared for the arrival of the Antarian Queen, and Sas thanked her lucky stars again that she had gotten involved with an Evans. However strange it was to have Max and Liz trailing along for this procedure, she was still very relieved for their assistance.

And if she weren’t so nervous, the way that Matt was clinging to her hand would have been amusing. Max was also looking a little uncomfortable, clearly aware of what his son was in for.

“Do you want me to come in with you?” Liz asked softly, rubbing her hand comfortingly up and down Sas’ arm.

“I’ll go,” Matt said firmly.

“Matt, I don’t think—” Sas was trying to not have him see her trussed up for the doctor like that.

“I need to go,” he replied. “I need to be there for you.”

Liz was smiling at her son sympathetically. “It doesn’t hurt or anything. Remember, the healer just need to temporarily change a few things inside her.” Matt’s eyes were growing larger as she spoke. “He will do an examination first and then do the procedure. It’s not painful, just… weird. So Sas would be okay, I could go with her.”

“No.” Matt was looking greener by the minute, but he stayed determined. “I’ll go.” He looked at Sas. “If that’s alright with you?”

Well, this was a quandary! Sas wasn’t sure who would be better. Liz, who had been through this and could be a gentle, calming female presence, or Matt who wanted so much to support her in this. As Matt squeezed her hand tighter, she realized what she needed right now was for Matt to not let go of her hand ever. “Thank you, Mrs. Evans, but I think Matt and I would be fine alone.”

Nodding, Liz impulsively gave her a hug and pulled Max into the waiting area. “We’ll be here when you get out.”

The healer, a wizened old man, showed little emotion when they arrived in his ‘office’. Dendarians were not known for being overly emotional people and he treated his patients almost dispassionately. A far cry from the way things are done on earth.

Swallowing convulsively, Sas started praying that this will all pass quickly.

“Take off your robes,” the healer instructed her and she heard Matt gasp next to her. This caused her to grin fleetingly before she complied. The healer didn’t leave the room, but ignored Sas as she undressed.

Matt, on the other hand, was trying not to freak out. He felt a compelling urge to rush over and shield Sas’ appearing nakedness from the eyes of the man who was going to examine her in a few minutes. He didn’t want any other man to see her like this, so he watched the healer for any sign of an interested glance.

After disrobing, Sas perched on the table, pulling a light blanket over herself. Her and Matt might have been naked together a lot the last few days, but she still felt self-conscious to be sitting around without a stitch on.

As soon as the healer moved towards Sas, Matt hurried to her side and took her hand, unconsciously glaring at the healer who was blinking confusedly at Sas’ attempt to cover herself. Apparently modesty was not too much of a problem on Dendar.

Sas was made to lie down and she smiled up at Matt to calm him down. He was gripping her hand so tightly that her fingers were turning white. She wriggled them to alert him to that fact and the dazed expression on his face cleared for a few seconds.

“Oh crap, sorry, sweetness!” he whispered fervently and loosened his hold slightly.

The healer jerked the blanket away from Sas’ lower body and moved his hands over her without touching her. Matt bit the inside of his cheek in an effort to keep still. He concentrated on tracing Sas’ features with his eyes so he could ignore what was happening below her waist.

He sighed with relief when the old man stopped what he was doing. Only to have a near heart-attack when the man started with an internal examination. “Why are you doing that?” he blurted out, staring at the surprised healer in anger.

“Because we have found that our senses sometimes deceive us about the finer details of what is going on inside a person.” The man turned his attention back to his task, clearly put out that he was being interrupted.

Matt feared that he was going to either pass out or explode in anger. He hated that the man had his hands where Matt thought only his would ever go. Not to mention the intense way in which the guy was studying Sas between her thighs. A slight wince from Sas brought him back to reality. He immediately opened his mouth to yell at the healer, but Sas gave him an imploring look.

“Could you turn your back please? Before you squeeze my fingers off?” Sas asked him with a grin.

But he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the healer. He was afraid that if he stopped watching the man, he would get up to… well, something he shouldn’t be up to.

The examination seemed interminable to Sas. She kept her eyes on Matt, seeing his concern and jealousy and tightly controlled anger. “Hey,” she called him, managing to get his attention so she could smile at him soothingly.

He let out a long sigh and leaned forward until his forehead was pressed to her temple. “If I knew you would have to go through this, I would have tried harder to curb my urges,” he groaned hoarsely.

“You wouldn’t have had a chance,” she teased him.

He pulled back with a rueful look. “No, probably not.” He smoothed her hair from her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it just feels strange.”

Leaning in again, he gently kissed her forehead. “I think I’m going to be a wreck if you give birth one day! Maybe we shouldn’t have kids, I don’t think I can handle a lot of these types of situations.”

Sas had held her breath throughout his little speech. He was talking about their kids so casually that it was clear that in his mind it was an accepted fact that he would marry her and have children with her. A wave of giddiness swept through her. “I love you,” she whispered passionately.

He seemed a bit confused as to why she felt the urge to blurt that fact out right then, but he answered her anyway. “Me too.”

The healer suddenly straightened, startling them. “Let’s do the procedure.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Outside, Max was rhythmically threading his fingers through Liz’s hair as they waited for Matt and Sas. He had already told Liz how Sas had decked Aran earlier and now he was just enjoying having a quiet moment with her.

Resting her cheek against Max’s chest, Liz listened contentedly to the steady sound of his heart. It was the beat according to which she lived, the beat that underscored her happiness.

“Liz?” His voice rumbled in his chest beneath her ear, making her shiver.

“Hmmm?”

“Are you okay with Matt… you know, becoming sexually active now?”

She pushed herself up so she could meet his gaze. “It’s with the girl he’s going to be with for the rest of his life, Max. I realized that this is not a teenage hormonal thing that will blow over, so I adjusted my thinking.”

Max was smiling at her when she stopped. “Just like us, heh?”

“Not quite,” she returned. “We were written in the stars. We are soulmates.”

He looked at her for long moments. Then he bent his head and brushed his lips over her mouth. Once. Twice. Three times. Until she made a small pleading sound.

“Ask me,” he breathed, his mouth hovering over hers.

“Kiss me,” she sighed, parting her lips in invitation.

Their mouths met and melded, breathing mingled and tongues touched. Max poured all his love into the kiss. His hands angled her face so he could deepen the contact. Her arms crept around his neck, urging him even closer. Her reaction heated his blood and increased his heart rate. Her caresses reaffirmed the indelible truth that he was hers. Heart, mind, body and soul.

He kissed her harder still. And you are mine too, Liz Evans.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Matt finally turned away from where the healer was working on Sas, his fingers fluttering in the air low over her stomach. Weird lights had danced on her skin and a sick feeling had settled in his gut when he saw the tremors in her body. She had assured him it was only tingling, not hurting, but he panicked again. What if this man screwed up and they could never have kids?

Matt cursed himself, his eyes tightly closed. Just because he had trouble keeping his hands to himself he could have doomed them to a childless existence—

“What are you thinking?” Sas asked softly, worrying about the fierce frown creasing his brow.

His eyes snapped open. “N—nothing much,” he mumbled. “I just wish this is over.”

“Soon,” she promised him.

“I’m done,” the healer announced. “You can dress and leave.”

Sas dressed quietly, suddenly very shy. Whatever had happened here had changed things for her and Matt. Excitement and fear were intermingling in her bloodstream.

They caught each other’s gazes and looked away again. They could have sex now. They would have sex now. They wanted to be with each other so much.

But would it be all they dreamed it would be? And how would it change their relationship? And would they not disappoint each other?

Frantic and similar thoughts raced through both their minds as Matt held her robe for her to slide her arms into. He impulsively hugged her from behind. “Don’t worry.”

Sas just nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.

“We’ll be fine,” he added.

She nodded again jerkily.

“Please don’t worry, this doesn’t mean I’m going to… We don’t have to rush things, okay?” Matt swung her around, ignoring the hovering healer. “I promise I’m not going to drag you off to my room right now. Let’s just get used to the idea first.”

“Okay.” He was being so sweet! And by taking the pressure off, he made her want him more.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He held out his arm with a flourish. “Shall we go have sex then?”

Giggling, she smacked his arm for being a clown. “Maybe later.”

Definitely later, she promised herself as they walked out. Loving by this man was way too good to pass up.

tbc

PART 32

“We’re done,” Matt announced when they emerged from the healer’s rooms to find his Mom half-asleep on his Dad’s lap in the waiting area. He hugged Sas tightly to his side, not willing to let her out of his sight until he was sure there were no adverse side effects to the procedure that was just done. He felt light-headed now that the adrenaline rush of watching Sas being subjected to the healer was over.

“How are you feeling, Sas,” Max asked her with concern while lifting Liz up and placing her on her feet.

“Fine, I guess,” she replied. “My belly feels a little… warm, but it doesn’t hurt.”

“Warm!” Matt said with alarm. “Is that normal?” he asked his mother.

“Uhm…” Truthfully, Liz couldn’t really even remember her own experience anymore. It had been done for the last time after Belle was born, and that was 16 years ago.

Max gave her an exasperated look. She could probably describe in exact detail each of the times when something had been wrong with either him or their kids, but her own health did not feature among her priorities. “Yes, it is normal. Liz had that too. It lasted about a day or so.”

By now Matt was rubbing his hand over Sas’ stomach. “Can I heal it?”

Max shook his head. “It’s not something wrong, just her body adapting.”

Not looking happy about this new development at all, Matt pulled Sas in tighter.

“I have to go be in boring meetings,” Max announced. “Let’s go back.”

Matt and Sas followed his parents out of the rooms. After being quiet for a way, Sas took her eyes from the hand-holding couple in front of them to speak to Matt. “I think you should go with your Dad to the meeting.”

“No way,” Matt responded immediately. “I’m not leaving you alone while you are burning up!”

“I’m not burning up,” she exclaimed exasperatedly. “And I’m just going to be lying on a bed sleeping for the rest of the day, in any case.”

“I don’t care. I can watch over you and—”

“Matt, please, I…” She bit her lip. “I need to talk to your Mom and… my Mom before we…”

Her blush told him everything her words didn’t. He stopped and turned her fully into his arms. “Honey, I told you we are not going to make love right away. You don’t have to worry.”

“It’s not that.” She ducked her head. “Not exactly. I just… I need my mom, Matt. I know you love me a lot and that you want to be there for me in everything, but… you’re not a woman, Matt. And right now, I need one.”

Taken aback at first by the fact that she was basically telling him to get lost for a while, he recovered quickly. He had a sister after all and was very much aware that things went on with females that he or his Dad could not always fix. “Okay,” he said softly, running his fingers tenderly down her cheek. “But you have to promise me that you will come find me if you need me.”

“I promise.”

Feeling a compelling urge to show her how much he cared, Matt leaned down and touched her lips with his tenderly. It was a sweet kiss that didn’t last long enough to really carry all the emotion that was swirling between them. Matt kissed her nose and her forehead too and then pulled away.

They turned to walk again and noticed that Max and Liz had halted to wait for them. The two parents had the sappiest looks on their faces, reminding Matt of the night of his senior prom. There were no doubts that his Mom and Dad were happy with his choice of girlfriend and he could not even begin to describe how much that meant to him. His parents and sister were the most important people in his life. Or used to be.

Now they share that honor with the girl walking by his side.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, back at the Antarian Royal Suite…

Belle had finished brunch, but stayed outside to stare over the gardens and contemplate her life. She had a great life. She had the best parents ever, even though they regularly embarrassed her with their sappiness. She had a wonderful brother that would walk through fire for her. She got good grades. She had nice friends, even though most of them had no clue she was ‘different’. Guys seemed to think she was cute…

So why did she suddenly feel this hollowness in a corner of her heart?

Blinking at the stupid tears that unexpectedly gathered in her eyes, she jutted out her chin. This was ridiculous! These were modern times. She did not need someone else in her life, she could be very happy on her own. She nodded fiercely to herself. Yes, she could…

He had been watching her for a few minutes now. First, to recover from the shock of seeing her so grown up and beautiful, and then because he was mesmerized by the various emotions chasing each other over her face. Even though she was half-turned away from him, he saw how sad she was at first. And how that changed into determination a little later. By the time she nodded to herself he was grinning.

Belle turned around to go back inside and her gazed clashed with eyes so blue she had never quite managed to forget them. The sight knocked the breath from her body momentarily and she grabbed onto the back of the nearest chair to keep her balance.

Five years had elapsed since she saw him last. Boy, had he grown up! He was just as tall as Matt was now, with the same raven hair, but he was more solidly built than Matt was. Licking her lips, Belle’s gaze returned to his slowly after her inspection of him.

He was still grinning at her.

And her hackles rose immediately. He has always made her feel vulnerable and she did not like it one bit. “Well, hello Lucas,” she drawled. She preferred to think he was laughing at her and to ignore the warmth that had been in his eyes as he observed her.

His smile disappeared immediately and it gave her supreme satisfaction to see.

“I see you are still a prickly little princess.” He sounded condescending, like he was talking to a child.

This was the Luca she remembered. “And I see you are still a jerk.”

They stared at each other silently, trying to come to terms with seeing each other after all this time when both of them had changed so much. And so little too.

Belle felt bad. The poor guy had not really deserved her overreaction, but there was no way she would admit that to him. What would she tell him? I’ve always had a crush on you and now you are even more handsome? You scare me because I sense you could come too close if I allow you to? The way you just looked at me awoke something in my body that I don’t understand? Yeah, right.

Luca watched her chew her lip, the small action doing something to his gut that he didn’t want to inspect too closely. The pigtails she had had when she was younger were gone, and in their place her dark hair lay like a rich waterfall down her back. His fingers itched to feel if it still felt like silk, like it used to when he pulled those pigtails to annoy her.

She had been a spunky kid. He couldn’t remember her ever running to her parents when he had made her mad. And that had happened a lot. When he was a kid, he never really questioned why she didn’t, he just accepted it with relief. Max Evans was not a man he wanted to be on the wrong side of, and he sensed that one sure way to get on that wrong side was to hurt the man’s little girl. Not that he had ever hurt her, in fact, he had gone out of his way to make sure nothing bad ever happened to her. He had just always made her mad. It was their way. He teased her and she got mad.

Becoming uncomfortable with the long silence, Belle folded her arms protectively. She was not going to back down!

The gesture rocked Luca to his toes as his gaze landed on the material now pulled taut over her breasts. His mouth went dry. The girl he used to know had turned into a very desirable young woman.

Her whole body flushed when she realized he was staring at her chest. She uncrossed her arms quickly. What was wrong with the man? She was wearing a T-shirt that had a high neckline and could not be described as provocative by any stretch of the imagination. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but then their eyes met.

And his were filled with such heat it stunned her back into silence and sent her heart rate into orbit.

Oh no! No! No, no, no, no. This could not happen. Not with this guy who had made it his business to anger her when they were younger.

And who lived on a world that was light years from her home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The group that arrived from the healer found James pacing in the entrance hall and as soon as Max stepped inside, he hurried over. “I need to talk to you,” he said to Max, his gaze straying to Sas that was trailing behind Matt. “Oh, and Luca Alexander arrived. He’s outside with Belle.”

“He arrived alone?” Max enquired with a frown.

James nodded. “He said he would explain everything to you when you got here.”

Liz squeezed Max’s hand. “I’ll go say hi. You talk to James.”

“Okay.” Max brushed his lips over her forehead and followed James into the lounge while Liz, Matt and Sas went to the balcony.

“Luca!” Liz exclaimed when she saw him. “Wow, you’ve grown up!”

Her arrival had ended the glaring/staring contest between Luca and Belle-Mari abruptly as he whirled towards Liz and Belle bent her head to stare at the ground.

“Hi, Mrs. Evans,” Luca said, smiling at Liz warmly. He hadn’t seen her in two years, the last time she and Max had come to Tresar without Matt and Belle.

Matt had cast a look at his sister and was amazed to see a light blush on her cheeks as she continued to study her feet intently. He moved his regard back to Luca, wondering what had been going on here. As he shook Luca’s hand, he looked at him intently, but the other Prince met his gaze steadily. “You remember Sas?” Matt asked him and put his arm around her.

The move made Luca smile. Typical Evans reaction: This is my girl, keep your hands off her. “Yes, I do. Although she’s changed a lot.” But what hasn’t changed is that she is at your side. “Hi Sas, nice to see you again.”

“Uhm, Mom? I’m just going to take Sas upstairs if that’s okay?” Matt was still worried over the effects of the procedure on Sas. And she looked pretty tired to him.

“Sure, Matt. Let me know if you two need anything.”

After Matt and Sas left, Liz ordered drinks and gathered everyone around the table to wait for Max so she could grill Luca about Eric and Sarah. Were the problems on Tresar so bad that they couldn’t come to Dendar for the Galaxy Council meeting? Luca’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“So I see Matt and Sas got together?”

Liz had assumed Luca was talking to Belle and she looked over at her daughter. But Belle was staring off into the distance, completely ignoring the young Prince. What on earth was wrong with Belle? “Yes, they finally admitted they were in love. They’ve been dating… what, a month or so, Belle?” Her attempt to draw Belle into the conversation was not too successful.

“I guess.”

Never having seen her daughter act like this before, Liz was quite shocked. Belle was being pretty rude. She caught Belle’s eye and frowned at her, resulting in Belle blushing and looking down. Liz was going to say more when a wave of anger from Max caused her to nearly choke.

The next instant he came striding out to the balcony to pull Belle to her feet and hug her fiercely. “If that bastard even talks to you again, you come and tell me. Okay, baby?”

“What is going on?” Liz stared at her normally placid husband in confusion.

“Aran was here while we were gone,” Max answered over Belle’s head. “He wanted to take Belle out.” It was clear that Max was furious over this.

Liz was mad herself too. “Don’t go anywhere without one of us or one of the guards, sweetie,” she told Belle before turning her attention to Luca to try and explain what was going on.

But Luca was staring at Belle, his eyes dark and stormy.

Max finally let Belle go and also turned to Luca. “Let’s go talk inside.”

Nodding, Luca rose and waited for Max and Liz to precede him. When Belle passed he grabbed her elbow. “Listen to your parents. Don’t be alone with Aran,” he instructed her firmly.

His tone did not go down well with Belle. “Don’t tell me what to do! It’s not like you care or anything,” she replied hotly.

“I…” he faltered. Ido care. “I don’t want you near him.”

This made her snort. “You sound like a father and I already have one, thank you very much. You can mind your own business.” She flounced inside, leaving him standing where he was. But he had not sounded like a father, he had sounded like a possessive boyfriend and it gave her a secret thrill.

And then it scared her all over again.

The faster the Crown Prince of Tresar went back to his own planet, the better for Belle-Mari Evans!



PART 33

The meeting had been going on for an hour and still Luca was getting grief from the Dendar and Karek Kings. “I speak for my father,” he repeated firmly, this time while on his feet. “Trading onyx for workers amounts to people trade. We do not approve of this proposal at all.” He shot a determined glare at the two delegations that handed in the proposal. “And we never will.”

“And I support the Prince of Tresar, so this proposal cannot be approved,” Max spoke up from next to Luca. “Can we move on to the next issue?”

There were grumbling from across the table, but no one opposed moving forward with the agenda.

Max was amazed. Luca had informed them this morning that his parents had opted to stay on Tresar because of the problems with the renewed uprising of the militant Dak’or’s followers. They now have a new underground movement going that did not like the pacifist ideas of the current King. The movement seemed small at the moment, but his parents hadn’t wanted to take chances. So Luca was here to represent his planet.

And he was doing it well.

Luca was 18 too, a few months younger than Matt, but unlike Matt he had grown up as an only child. Most of his life had been spent in training to take over from his father, so the only times when the Evans’ had had time to get to know him was when they visited for long periods when their kids were younger. That all ended five years ago when Belle and Matt had gotten busy with their own lives and spent summers doing their own thing. From then on, visits between the Royal Houses of Tresar and Antar had been short and mostly included only the parents. Max felt a little sad about this, he had always wanted Matt and Luca to get closer. They were in the same position and it would be of great help if they could be friends by the time they had to rule their planets. A strong alliance on the Galaxy Council was needed to keep the strange actions of some of the other Kings in check.

Sighing, Luca sat down, very annoyed at being treated like he was some gatecrasher at the meeting. Aran was sitting smugly next to Shing and Luca felt a powerful urge to go punch his cocky grin off his face. They had attended a few courses together at a military academy on Tresar and had never gotten along. The guy was a jerk, pure and simple. This, like most other thoughts he had today, led him to thinking about Belle. Ever since his run-in with the beautiful Miss Evans this morning, he has been unsettled and he cursed silently for the millionth time. He shouldn’t let her get to him like this. She was headstrong and obviously spoilt rotten by her doting father, and he did not need complications in his life right now.

He glanced at Aran again. The thought of that bastard near Belle made him feel sick. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to rid himself of an image of the two of them. She had a very capable brother and a very protective father, he should not become obsessed with her safety himself.

Not with a threat hanging over the future of his family.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sas had spoken with Liz for a long time during the morning. She needed to know stuff about sex and she wanted to ask Liz. It was one of the most uncomfortable conversations of her life, but she stuck it out. Of course she had known the basics, but she had other questions, like how much would it hurt the first time? Could it hurt again in future? Was it better to take it slow or not for their first time?

Liz had explained everything patiently, quietly wondering why Sas did not talk to her own mother about this. The discussion told her a lot about how far her son and his girlfriend had already gone and she was surprised that they had abstained from the final act for so long. They talked about feelings and Liz told her that it was even more important to say ‘I love you’ than to hear it. Women always complained about their men not saying it enough, but sometimes they forgot that men needed to hear it just as much. And to be shown they are loved. “And talk to each other about sex,” Liz told her. “Ask him how he feels about things, what he likes… And tell him what you enjoy. Or connect with each other to share these things. Communication only makes it better,” she ended with a smile. “At least in the beginning, later on you will know each other so well that you can read him like a book.”

This made Sas grin. Obviously Max and Liz have the reading-like-a-book thing down pat.

“And making love is a two-way thing,” Liz continued. “Sometimes, you should make it all about him. Too many women have the idea that they should be made love to by the guy. You should make love to each other.” Coming over to sit next to Sas on the bed, Liz hugged her tightly. “Oh sweetie, there is nothing in this universe like sharing something so intimate with the person you love. Sometimes it’s just so perfect that you will feel like you are flying. It’s the most amazing thing two people can share.” She leaned away. “And you are doubly lucky because being Antarian means you can share it on a much deeper level. When you can feel everything he feels, when you share that wonderful connection … remember that only a handful of other people on earth know what that feels like. It is a rare gift.”

After Liz had gone, Sas had taken a nap, trying to gain courage for the talk with her mother.

And it started out as horribly as she had expected. Shilla had burst into tears when she heard that Sas had gone to a healer without telling her and Sas had felt terrible. “I was afraid you would try to stop me, Mom,” she finally admitted.

Shilla was staring at her hands, neatly folded in her lap.

“Mom, he wants to marry me one day,” she tried again.

This led to a long sigh. “It has never been about whether or not Matt is serious about you, honey, we know he is. I just wanted to spare you from what happened yesterday. You will never be accepted on this planet, not while we have a Royal Family that perpetuates the class system for their own gain.”

“But Mom, how much time am I going to spend here anyway? Maybe a few weeks every year? I can handle that,” she replied. “I will handle that if it is the price I have to pay to be with Matt.”

Another silent moment passed between them. “I don’t understand you,” Shilla said finally. “You grew up so differently from me. I cannot comprehend going against Dendarian customs—”

“But you have, Mom! Don’t you see that? You married an Antarian and you left this planet for one that you knew nothing about.”

“I did it for your father.”

“And I’m doing this because I love Matt.”

They looked at each other in quiet understanding.

“We thought you two have already…” Shilla waved her hand vaguely.

A deep blush suffused Sas’ features. “No, but we will. Soon.”

Shilla merely nodded. In both the Antarian and Dendarian societies, bondings were conducted during the teen years. “Are you two going through a bonding ceremony then?”

Sas went pale at this. “N—no. Matt hasn’t said anything…”

Shilla said nothing in reply, but her dissatisfaction was clear. While she was being more tolerant than any human parent would probably have been, she was still a mother that didn’t want to see her daughter being treated with anything less than the utmost respect.

On the other hand, Sas was quite happy with things as they were. After all, Matt had practically told her he wanted to marry her and have kids with her. That promise for the future was enough for her right now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dinner that night was a strained affair, leaving Max and Liz perplexed. Undercurrents were flowing between most of the people around the table, but very little of it made sense to them.

James, Shilla, Nick and Grace were out to dinner. They all remembered being on Dendar before and wanted to sample some of the sights of the city. This left Max and Liz with their two kids and Luca and Saskia around the table.

Matt and Saskia kept glancing at each other when they thought the other one wasn’t looking. Liz had had to explain in detail how Sas was doing after Matt had returned with Max from the meeting and he still seemed worried that she was not okay and hiding it from him. The looks from Sas were easier to read. They were filled with adoration and love, all melded with a silent joy that he was with her again.

Tired lines creased Luca’s eyes, the day having taken a definite toll on him. He had admitted to Liz earlier that he worried about his parents at home under such uncertain circumstances. He also stared broodingly at his plate most of the time and only chatted with Matt every few minutes.

Belle was even quieter than Luca – unusually so. Liz wondered again what was wrong with her daughter. Most of Belle’s time at the table had been spent pushing her food around on her plate. By now, this had gained Max’s attention and he watched his little girl with growing concern. Leaning over, Liz scraped her nails over Max’s thigh, smiling at him warningly not to make a big scene about Belle at the table.

He frowned at her darkly, but clenched his jaw to stop himself from talking to Belle. Horrible scenarios had been flying through his mind – did Aran come back? No, Belle would have told him. His eyes moved back to her, just in time to see her peek in Luca’s direction and look away again. A weird feeling washed over him fleetingly. No, it can’t be. It’s too soon! He cleared his suddenly tight throat and found that all eyes around the table had swung to him.

“Luca, do you mind if we just talk about the rest of our trip quickly? You don’t have to leave, I just need to hear some opinions.”

“Sure, Mr. Evans.” Belle was glaring at him when he turned away from her father. What was up with this girl? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss her or spank her.

“Okay, you all know that things are a bit… strained on Tresar now and I was thinking that maybe we shouldn’t go there. I don’t want to put any of you in danger.” Max looked at each of them separately.

“I agree, Dad,” Matt responded immediately, taking Sas’ hand. He didn’t want her near where trouble could be brewing.

“Why don’t we just go there for a week?” Liz asked as Max found her hand with his under the table. “We just won’t spend the whole summer there like we planned, but I’m dying to see Eric and Sarah again.”

Max looked dubious. “Belle?”

She kept her gaze carefully on her plate. “I—I guess we could go for a week or so…” Now, where did that come from? She had fully intended grasping this opportunity of getting away from the irking presence of the Crown Prince of Tresar with both hands. Looking up, she found Luca’s eyes on her, his face set in an unreadable expression.

“Is it safe enough for us to go visit your parents, Luca?” Max needed to know for sure, otherwise he would just overrule any possibility of going there out of hand.

“I think things are relatively okay at the moment, Sir. My parents have a lot of people working on trying to find this underground movement and so far there haven’t been any incidents.” He glanced at Belle for a moment. “But I would suggest that you only go there for a short visit and keep a shuttle on stand-by to leave quickly if necessary.”

Max turned his attention back to his family. “I think we should all take some time to think about this. We can talk at breakfast. I need to know then whether you want to go home tomorrow or go to Tresar for a few days.”

Everyone prepared to leave the table, busy with their own thoughts. Liz dragged Max out of the room by his hand, while Belle and Luca followed them, still avoiding eye contact and unaware that they were both worried about the same thing – would they see each other again after tomorrow?

Matt and Sas followed them at a more leisurely pace, nervous about being alone in their room tonight. Who could concentrate on whether they should go to some other planet tomorrow when tonight loomed ahead of them like Mount Everest. Could this finally be the night they have been dreaming about for so long?

tbc

PART 34

Only intermittent rumblings from the sky above the Dendar Palace broke the silence in the room. Sas stared out the window from where she lay spooned against Matt’s chest, fighting her disappointment. They had taken a shower together earlier, with Matt making sure that her stomach wasn’t so warm anymore, but he had quietly slipped on his boxers afterwards and gotten into bed. So she had kept on her tank top and panties and climbed in next to him.

He was worried about her, he had explained, so they could wait a little longer. She should try to get some sleep tonight. His kisses had belied his calm words, though. They were laced with need and want and silent desperation. But her attempts to get him to give in had led nowhere.

She knew he wasn’t sleeping yet either, his body was tense against hers. Outside the storm got progressively worse, but inside the room was absolute stillness. As if they both knew that one wrong move would lead to an explosion.

When she woke up hours later, it was dark outside and the storm had grown into a constant roar.

“Hey,” Matt whispered in her ear. “Storm wake you up?”

“No,” was all she said. It wasn’t the storm, it was the ache in her body getting worse. Dreaming about his hands on her had only compounded the problem. Sighing, she pressed back against him and found him aroused.

They stilled.

“Sas…” He sounded strangled.

“I don’t want to wait anymore, Matt.”

He sighed. “Me either.” His hand slipped beneath the edge of her tank top, his fingers moving against the soft skin of her belly. “I want to make love to you now... here, in the middle of the night.” He flattened his hand over her womb, where the healer had worked that morning. “But only if you’re ready.”

“Yes.”

“I planned to seduce you one night with candles and everything,” he admitted ruefully as he continued his lazy caresses on her stomach.

“I don’t need that. I need you.” She shivered against his fingers, feeling his capitulation even though he said nothing. “I have a million butterflies inside there.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Even though we’ve… done… other things, this is different, Matt.”

“Yes, it is.” And he was humbled as he thought about what a gift she was giving him. Getting up, he turned on a soft light and took off his boxers, very aware of her watching every move he made.

He’s undressing because he is going to make love to me. The thought washed over her like a caress, moistening her with need. The sight of his aroused body brought a quiet moan from her lips. Her desire had a shape now, as instinct made her aware of a hollowness that ached for what could provide. More than release, she wanted to be filled.

Pushing herself upright, she slowly pulled her tank top over her head and saw his gaze darken as he sucked in a breath.

He came to the edge of the bed. “God, you are so incredibly beautiful.” His voice was husky as he put a knee on the sheet and helped her pull off her last piece of clothing before placing his hand carefully over her breast.

They both moaned with the contact.

He had been dreaming about this moment for what seems like most of his life. And tonight, in that place between slumber and wakefulness, he had dreamed again. To taste and caress her breasts was heaven. As the tempo of her breathing quickened, he lightened his touch, not wanting to bring her to the brink too fast. They had hours to enjoy each other. And besides, he knew where he wanted to be when she climaxed this time.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured again.

“You too.” She ran her hands over his chest, brushing across the hills and valleys created by his muscles. She reached lower.

“Not yet.” He drew back, knowing he couldn’t tolerate her hands on him until he was more in control. He teased her flesh with his fingers and tongue, causing her to flush even pinker. Moving back up, he found her lips with his and toyed with her tongue in a blatantly suggestive way. He was so hungry for her.

With one last flick of his tongue in her mouth, he pulled away. “Do you know what I want now?” he whispered against the skin between her breasts.

“I… I think I do, but…”

“I want you to be ready for me.” That was all he said until her soft ‘okay’ ended his tense anticipation and he moved lower. He touched her gently with one finger and she gasped. He kept his caresses subtle as he planted lingering kisses along her inner thighs. Desire was surging through him hotly.

At last he kissed her dark curls and she moaned. She started writhing when his tongue touched her too. The taste of her made him groan with delight. As her cries of pleasure filled the room, he immersed himself in sensory overload, relishing the sight, sound and scent of her, and most of all, the passionate girl coming apart in his arms.

Her release came quickly, too quickly for him. She lifted her hips and he took all she offered, but as she sank back, quivering and gasping, he settled in for a more leisurely exploration.

And he used all he had learned about her in the past few weeks – the touch that made her whimper, the stroke that pushed her closer, the teasing flick that drove her wild. As he coaxed her towards the precipice a second time, a fierce possessiveness took over. Rational thought played no part as he claimed her, drawing from her the most intimate of sounds as she gave herself up to wave upon wave of shattering convulsions.

He brought her gently back to earth with feathery touches and light kisses over her thighs and curls. At last he drew up slowly beside her and brushed the hair back from her flushed face.

She gazed up at him, her green eyes filled with dazed wonder and adoration. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

He smiled. He was gratified that he’d created that expression in her eyes. He trailed a finger down the curve of her throat and over her breastbone to her bellybutton.

Her gaze grew smoky and she ran her tongue over her lips.

“How do you feel?” he asked tenderly, his love for this girl threatened to overwhelm him.

Her voice was low and throaty. “Utterly loved. How do you feel?”

“Like the luckiest man alive.” He brushed his finger against her lower lip and his eyes turned serious. “Are you… ready for…?”

Her smile was pure seduction. “Yes.”

Just one word and he felt like exploding already.

He moved his body over hers and they gasped at the new sensation of being naked in this position together for the first time. Sas was gazing up at him, her breath shallow and her lips parted in anticipation. He was so overcome with the picture she made, lying there beneath him he could hardly speak. He lifted his gaze to hers and swallowed. “You’re perfect,” he said in a tight voice. “I love you more than I thought possible.”

“And I love you.”

He stroked her breast, loving the softness beneath his palm as he cradled the supple weight. “I’ll be careful.”

“I know you will.” She closed her eyes and arched into his caress. “Oh, Matt, I am addicted to having you touch me like that.”

He paused momentarily, floored by her sexy words. Then he leaned down and covered her breast with his mouth.

She sighed and lifted upward, encouraging him to take more.

“Are you still… sure this is… what you want?” he asked against her skin as he slid a hand down to the moistness between her thighs.

“Y—yes!” She drew in a quick breath as he touched her intimately. “Oh, yes!”

Caressing her now took on a different meaning, because now, at last, he would know the wonder of being inside her. His blood sang in his veins as he stroked her, preparing her for that sweet invasion. And he would be the first. Lord help him, he was filled with joy at that thought.

Sas sensed the change in Matt’s touch, as if the promise of completion gave new urgency to every caress. If anyone but Matt had been caressing her, arousing her, she would have leapt from the bed, unsure if she truly wanted this change after all.

But Matt was there, loving her, making her ache, making her long for the firm thrust of him, deep inside her. She no longer cared about the pain that would be part of it. If only he’d finally claim her, complete her in ways she’d only dreamed of until this moment.

He lifted his head, watching her as he slipped a finger deep inside.

It was the penetration she longed for, but not nearly enough. A sudden shyness overtook her, causing her to close her eyes before she asked for what she wanted. “More,” she whispered.

He eased two fingers in, placing soft kisses on her mouth. “Are you still okay?”

“Yes.” Her breath caught as he moved his fingers gently back and forth. “Matt, please!”

His kiss was soft and lingering, but still she felt the barely leashed power of him as he moved between her thighs and propped his arms on either side of her head. Quivering with excitement, she wrapped both arms around his back and felt his muscles flex. She couldn’t tell for sure because of her own trembling, but she thought he was shaking too. His breathing was affected as he started pressing inside her.

“Keep your eyes open,” he instructed softly, tightly. “I want to see how you’re doing.” He eased slowly forward and his eyes darkened.

She noticed the flicker of uncontrolled desire in his eyes before she became totally absorbed in sensation when he entered her. She registered warmth and size. He withdrew and eased in again, and she moaned in pleasure at the friction that was unlike anything he’d provided before.

“Sas?”

“That was… a… happy moan,” she murmured, looking into his eyes. There was that flicker of primitive need again. She found it thrilling that he was having to fight to stay so in control.

His breathing was labored, but he kept his movements slow.

Everything else, she began to realize, no matter how delicious, was only a lead-in to this, the ultimate connection. Nothing in her world had ever felt so right as opening her body to this man and being filled by him.

He slid forward, and met resistance. He stopped immediately and looked into her eyes. “Ready?”

Her heart thudded wildly as she nodded her head. One movement and her life would be forever changed. One movement and she could welcome the whole length of him and know the wonder of joining intimately with another person. And not just any person. Matt. The guy she had loved her whole life.

She slipped her hands down to his buttocks and gripped firmly. “Please, Matt. Now.”

As he pushed gently forward, she rose to meet him, determined to share in the moment. The sharp pain brought a cry to her lips.

“Damn.” He stopped, his gaze troubled.

“It’s… okay.” She trembled against him. “It’s going… away. Please… please love me.”

With a groan, he pushed deep, locking their bodies together, his hips cradled between hers. And the fierceness she’d expected to see earlier flared in the depths of his eyes as he gazed down on her.

As she met that gaze, she felt an answering intensity rise within her. She did not just love this man, she wanted him with her whole being. And he needed her just as much.

Her world shifted, for she knew that the connection they were making would last forever.

Perfect, Matt thought. He’d never been anywhere in the world that felt so absolutely right as being here, as close as he’d ever been to Sas. It seemed as if their entire lives had been leading to this moment. Linked in spirit since they were children, they had finally created the ultimate link, and a sense of destiny washed over him.

Mindful of her tender condition, he moved carefully, but still he moved, needing the friction it created desperately. “Okay, sweetness?” he questioned softly.

“Very… okay.” Her eyes shone.

He eased back and edged forward again. Yes. And again. Oh, Sas, his mind sighed into hers.

“Matt… Matt…”

The wonder in her eyes and the richness she poured into his name told him all he needed to know. She was with him. He cupped a hand beneath her bottom, steadying her as he found a new, more urgent rhythm. She caught on quickly, rising to meet his thrusts. Her movements drove him wild.

Very wild.

He changed the angle, brushing the tips of her breasts with his body, pressing against that place between her thighs that would bring her with him.

Her breathing grew shallow and experience from their nights together told him he had found the spot. This first time, he wanted to give her the gift of knowing how good it could be, how much higher she could climb when he was deep within her, coaxing a response that would vibrate down to her toes.

Her eyes widened and her breathing quickened. He played to that response, urging her on. So good. He’d never dreamed making love could be like this. Her body rose to meet his thrusts, tightening around him. The moment built in the depths of her eyes and echoed in his body.

“Oh Matt!” She arched against him. “I’m—”

“Yes.” His voice was hoarse with need. Mine now. With one final thrust he brought heaven raining down on them.


PART 35

The bed was cold when Liz woke up. Rolling over, she found Max bathed in the pale light of the rising suns, sitting in a chair next to the bed. He was only wearing boxers, his long legs stretched out in front of him. It was clear that he had been watching her sleep for a long time. A faint smile lifted one corner of his mouth when their gazes met, but his eyes were troubled.

His feelings washed over her, a mixture of concern, melancholy and love. Snuggling into her pillow, she smiled at him gently. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

After a long silence in which his eyes stayed on her, filled with emotion, he sighed. “Our kids are growing up, Liz.”

“Yes, they are,” she replied, understanding immediately what he was thinking about. She knew so well how he felt. It made her incredibly sad to know that she would not have Matt or Belle with her for much longer.

“I love them so much,” he murmured, raking a hand through his hair.

“They know that.”

“Besides you they were all I’ve always wanted.” His amber eyes pleaded with her to understand. To help him feel better.

“And you were the best father they could have asked for.” She sat up, clutching the sheet to her breasts, not wanting to disturb the moment with her nudity. “You are the best father. They will always be ours… wherever they are. And they’re not leaving yet, sweet.”

“I know.” He tore his eyes away from her and glanced out of the window where the signs of the violent storm were still noticeable. “It just kind of…”

“Hit you suddenly?”

His gaze came back to her. Like it always does. “Yeah.” He gave her another half-smile for understanding him so well.

“Could you come over here so I can make you feel better?” Her voice was seductively husky as she dropped the sheet.

Dropping his eyes to her breasts, he feigned a pathetically sad look. “I’m not sure I will cheer up easily.” But the amber in his gaze had darkened with heat. “I don’t want you to be disappointed later if it doesn’t work.”

Liz lay back down on the bed, lifting her arms above her head as she arched her back invitingly. “I’ll just have to keep trying until I succeed then, won’t I?”

He was already moving towards her, his eyes drinking in the inviting sight she made sprawled over the pillows in naked abandon, her slumberous eyes causing his blood to boil.

“I’m going to need you to take those off first.” She stared pointedly at his boxers, halting his advance.

Max fought to keep his delighted grin off his face. He was a lucky, lucky man that his wife still did her best to excite and surprise him after all these years. The boxers were yanked off hastily and he caught Liz looking at him when he straightened. The expression on her face raised his blood pressure further.

“Oh Max, you are so gorgeous!” She sounded awed.

This time he couldn’t contain his smile as he knelt over her, his knees resting on the bed on each side of her sheet-covered hips. “You’ve seen me like this millions of times,” he reminded her indulgently, leaning over and lacing his fingers through hers above her head.

“I… know.” There was that wonderful hitch in her voice he loved so much. “But…” Another shallow breath as she watched his mouth move closer.

“But what?” he teased her.

“Uhm…” Her eyelids were flickering closed.

“Open your eyes,” he urged her, suddenly desperately wanting to be able to look into those eyes when he kissed her. He wanted to see his future there.

Liz was drowning in need. How had he taken the initiative from her so effortlessly? She had been all ready to seduce him into mind-blowing sex to take his mind of his children, but here he was kneeling over her, his lips a breath away from touching hers, and all she could do was beg him to kiss her. A small sound escaped her mouth, and he licked his lips in reaction.

Then he licked hers.

Slowly, from one corner to the other, ignoring her efforts to deepen the contact. Only his hands and his tongue touched her.

“Maaaax.” It was a low, deep, shuddering moan and he finally let her take back control.

He was on his back in seconds and this time Liz was crouching over him. She slid her warm fingers over the hard, heated skin of his abdomen before kissing him softly just below his navel. Max sucked in his stomach on a startled breath.

She circled his hardness with her hands and nuzzled his arousal against her cheek.

“Liz,” he groaned. “Honey, you’re killing me.”

Her mouth trailed over him. “I love how you smell, Max.”

In a strangled tone, he asked, “How do I smell?”

“Warm and musky. Sexy. Very male.” Leaning forward, she drew him deep into her mouth.

Max groaned and for one instant, his hand tangled almost painfully in her hair. She smiled fleetingly and slid her mouth slowly down the length of him until she couldn’t take any more. Max’s only reaction was a broken moan.

After all this time, she knew exactly what it took to drive him insane. And it was only a few minutes before his entire body started to tremble in taut expectation, causing him to pull away from her and sit up abruptly.

“Max?”

“Not like that,” he groaned. “Not this time.” He knelt down in front of her, his hands hard as they grabbed her around the waist and lifted her onto his lap. He drove into her with one smooth, powerful thrust, and came almost simultaneously. Liz was so excited herself, knowing she had driven him to such a degree of desire, she only had to continue to move on him a short time before she too found release, then slumped against his chest.

We’ll always have each other, my husband. Always. The whisper drifted through his sated mind gently, reminding him that he still held what he had always wanted most in life, right here in his arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Unaware of her father’s distress about her, Belle had been fighting her own demons throughout the night. Even though she didn’t want to be, she was very aware that Luca was sleeping in a room somewhere down the hallway from hers. What had possessed her to say she wanted to go to his planet?

She rolled onto her other side for yet another time and punched her pillow in irritation. He had been high and mighty when they were younger and he was just as bad now. She didn’t like the way he made her feel. Out of control. Yearning. Angry. Confused.

Her life was planned out nicely. She would go to college, get a teaching degree and only help Matt when he needed her with his “otherworldly duties”. She would fall in love with a nice normal guy who had a nine-to-five job and who did not have to chase all over the universe like her father had. One who was safe. And boring. She squashed that thought ruthlessly. Her whole life she had watched the light go out of her mother every time her dad was away, and there was no way she was going to fall that hard for someone. Especially not a guy who lived on the other side of the universe from her parents and brother. On a world where she would be an alien.

But his intense blue eyes still haunted her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sas had woken to a soft humming in her body, and found herself on her side facing a sleeping Matt. The events of a few hours earlier had rushed back, causing her to shiver slightly. Her life had changed so much with one intimate act.

Matt held her hand in his, pressed against his chest and for a moment, she had felt faint under the weight of her love for him. He had been so incredibly gentle and loving with her. He slept soundly, allowing her to observe him undisturbed. His ridiculously long eyelashes fanned his cheeks and his mouth was parted slightly, his breathing even. His heart beat steadily against the back of her hand and the slight vibration reminded her of the humming she could still feel. Frowning, she wondered what it was.

Rolling over so she could see out the window, she became aware of the slight tenderness between her thighs. Matt better not find out about that, she mused silently.

“Find out about what?” his voice was still furry with sleep, but it startled her nonetheless.

“I didn’t say anything,” she told him, frowning again.

“I heard you…” He faltered. “You didn’t?”

She shook her head and they stared at each other silently, wondering what was going on.

“I love you,” he said suddenly, surprising her. He let go of her hand he had still been clutching and brought his fingers to her cheek. Sas noted absently that the hum died down until he touched her again. “Last night was…”

“Amazing,” she finished. “Wonderful.” Her big green eyes shone with emotion. “I’m so happy it was you.”

“Me too.” He was still stroking her face. “If we… when we bond, would you… where would you want that to happen?” He seemed endearingly nervous while he voiced the question.

“I don’t mind.” And she didn’t. The thought of being bonded to him was way too wonderful on its own to care about where it happens.

“No, tell me where,” he insisted.

Sighing, she could see this meant a lot to him for some reason. “I guess… here on Dendar then.”

“Why?” Watching her intently as he cupped her cheek.

The images and feelings flooded her without warning. All of them from Matt. He was planning their bonding ceremony. And he wanted to have it as soon as possible! Tears pooled in her eyes. “Matt…”

Realization dawned on him and he jerked his hand away from her with a curse. “You shouldn’t have seen…” He was genuinely upset.

The hum was gone again.

“I’m sorry,” she said, not sorry at all. He threw her an exasperated glance and they burst out laughing. Reaching out, he brought her close against his chest again and they quieted down to experience the connection that now sprang up between them as soon as they touched.

“Wow.” Matt’s awed voice echoed her own feelings. Until now, he had had to deliberately open a connection between them. He held her like that for a long time. “Well, that ruins my surprise.”

“I love you for trying,” she smiled against his throat. “I love you.”

“I know,” he answered, wonder in his voice, for he could feel everything she was feeling.

“Is this like your connection with your parents and Belle?”

“Not really. We have to actively focus on connecting with each other.” Ever since his parents had learned that their kids could connect with them, they had trained Matt and Belle in how to shut off that connection and only use it when needed. After finding out just how much of his parents’ time went into intimate things when he was a teenager, he was eternally grateful to them for doing it.

“So, this is going to… just happen now?”

“Looks like it.” He pulled away from her, looking at her anxiously. “Does it bother you?”

“No!” She giggled. “There isn’t much about me you don’t know already.”

Giving her an evil look, he rolled her beneath him. “How about some fantasies?”

This made her eyes widen in shock. “No, Matt! You wouldn’t!”

“You don’t want me making your fantasies reality?” He slowly slid his body over hers, causing her to gasp.

“Would you want me seeing those times you… you were alone and… thinking about me?”

This snapped his head up. “Uhm, no.” A flush stained his cheeks. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Matt!” Goodness, there was just no way to win an argument with this guy.

His face turned serious. “Are you okay, love? After last night, I mean.”

“Yes.” Mostly.

“I heard that,” he told her in a threatening voice and she rolled her eyes. This connection thing is going to take some getting used to!

tbc

PART 36

This was one of the most important moments of his life. Matt was seated across from James and Shilla in his parents’ small private lounge and he felt like nervously chewing his nails.

Even though he had feared breakfast, imagining that everyone would give him and Sas one look and know that things have forever changed between them, nothing had really happened. The discussion had centered on the possible trip to Tresar and had diverted the attention from his love life.

In the end it was decided that they would go to the other planet for three days and would be leaving late that night. No one really objected after Max stated that neither he nor Liz had had any bad premonitions about the trip and felt that it was probably safe to go for a short while. Of course, Max had threatened them all with severe consequences if they took off without guards while on Tresar and had given Liz a pertinent stern stare while he was saying this. Matt’s parents really amused him sometimes.

What hadn’t been amusing was the task hanging over his head of talking to Sas’ parents about the future. And the fact that Belle and Luca seemed extremely skittish around each other. In spite of being absorbed in his own problems, Matt had intercepted enough looks between the two of them to make him wonder.

But right now he had to ask a very large man if he could bond with his daughter.

Shilla was clinging to James’ hand. He was her rock in all times of uncertainty and this was one of those. She was about to lose her little girl.

“Uhm, James and Shilla, I…” Matt swallowed. “I know this seems soon, but I love Sas with all my heart and I want to make a commitment to her.” No reaction was forthcoming from the two adults listening to him. “I’m asking your permission to bond with her.”

This time James and Shilla shared a look.

“Please.” He was not above begging.

“You are right, Matt, you two are very young in earth terms. You realize that this bonding will not mean anything back home?” James spoke quietly.

“I realize that it won’t mean anything in a court of law, but it will mean everything to me… to us. We are making a forever commitment here.” He thrust his hand through his hair in a gesture reminiscent of his father. “I need to show Sas that I am married to her in my heart already. This will just make it official.”

“And when you go away to college next year?” Shilla asked.

“I’m not going far. Just to Phoenix. I’ll be home every weekend and as much as I can in between.”

“Matt, I appreciate you asking us, and I also appreciate you wanting to make this commitment to my daughter. But you must also understand what you are asking of Sas. You are going to be the King of an entire nation one day, and this will mean Sas would be the person your enemies could use to get to you.”

“I realize that, Sir,” Matt kept his voice reasonable. “But which enemies are you talking about? My parents had a bad start, I know that, but they have managed to put an end to all that and there hasn’t been any problems since Belle was born.” He took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “The point I’m trying to make is that while danger is an option, it isn’t a natural result from being with me. And I would protect her with my life.”

Shilla was wiping tears from her eyes.

“Why are you asking us now?”

“Sas wants to be bonded here on Dendar. Where her mother came from and where you two met.”

A long silence hung in the room and Matt’s mouth ran dry with fear that they would turn him down.

“Okay.”

Only one word from James and relief crashed through Matt like a huge tidal wave. He suddenly remembered to breathe again. “Thank you. I promise I’ll be everything she needs.”

“You’d better.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Luca flung the last of his clothes into the container and rolled his tense shoulders. He had just spoken to his parents on the communicator and felt reassured that nothing untoward had been going on at home. Eric and Sarah were overjoyed that the Evans family was on its way—even if they could only see them for a few days.

“I’m coming, Matthew,” he heard Belle yell outside his door and sighed deeply. Little Miss Evans had been acting weirdly around him ever since he arrived yesterday and he didn’t like the fact that she was now doing her best to ignore him. For one thing, he wasn’t used to being ignored, and for another, well, he liked Miss Princess better when she got mad than when she was withdrawn. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed and her small hands waved in the air…

What the hell was wrong with him?

No girl has ever riled him like this one. Not his life-long friend Veshna, who everyone is assuming he will bond with eventually. Not any of the numbers of girls that hung around at functions for the royal family. None but Belle-Mari Evans. He grit his teeth. And now she was going to invade his home. Damn, he just knew she would get into trouble and he would have to bail her out. Just like when they were kids. Well, sort of like when they were kids. Then he hadn’t had this overpowering urge to kiss her into submission…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

His next target was his own parents. Matt did not expect much resistance from them, but he felt he needed to tell them about his plans too. After all, he wanted them present at the function. And most of all, he wanted them to support him in this. Never mind how old he gets, he would always want his father’s approval for his life decisions.

His mom squealed in delight when he told them his plans. He got hugged breathless by her and then she shed a few tears on his dad’s shoulder. Max had to hold his emotional wife with one arm while talking to Matt. “I’m proud of you for being so mature about this relationship, Matt.”

Matt fairly glowed. Praise from his father was high indeed. “Thanks, Dad. I love her and I want her to feel secure about my commitment.”

“Have you talked about the future with each other?”

“Oh Max…” Liz sniffled from the side, pressing closer to him. That earned her a sweet kiss on her forehead.

“Well, uhm, I’m still going to college, if that’s what you mean.”

“Okay.” Max was being the great listener again while he rubbed a soothing hand rhythmically over Liz’s hair.

“And then when Sas comes to college, we could find a place to stay or something. I’ll stay in the dorm for the first year, I think.”

Max and Liz shared a look and a thought. This is going to be so hard for Belle. Leaning forward, Max brushed his lips over Liz’s, trying to calm them both. Liz responded by putting her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly. Her little boy was getting ‘married’ today!

“Uh, guys?” Matt attempted to get their attention back. Boy, did he remember this from when he was a kid. His parents would start staring into each other’s eyes and forget all about the rest of the world.

Ending the hug, Max turned to his son. “When are we doing this then?”

“This afternoon, if Nick agrees.” Matt was starting to get really exited. Sas would be his in a few hours. He could stop fretting about their sleeping arrangements. Sas would be his…

“Oh honey!” Liz gave him a teary smile from beneath Max’s chin. “This is so amazing.”

“Yeah.” Suddenly feeling a little emotional himself, Matt changed the subject. “Do you think you could find Sas one of the Royal robes to wear after the bonding ceremony?”

Nodding, Liz clutched at Max harder. “Sure. It would be an honor.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Matt muttered, meeting his father’s gaze worriedly. What was going on with his mom? Max gave him a small I’ll-take-care-of-it smile and waved him off.

Liz launched herself onto Max’s lap as soon as Matt was out of the room, curling her fists into his shirt. This was the only place she really felt safe, and the only place where she might find solace for the fact that her son was taking his first step towards leaving home for good.

As he experienced all that she felt, Max couldn’t help being a little amused. This morning, Liz had been the calm one while he freaked out about their kids growing up. But now, with the evidence of it staring them full in the face, Liz was breaking down. “I love you,” he murmured into her hair while tightening his hold on her. “I’ll always be here. Always.”

Lifting a wet face up to him, Liz smiled. “I know. I’m sorry for bawling all over you.” She bit her lip in that endearing way of hers.

“Love, you can do a lot of things all over me, I don’t mind,” he teased her lightly.

This resulted in a small hiccupping laugh from her. “I just wasn’t… expecting this so soon.”

“Me either.” He traced her mouth with his finger. “But he isn’t getting married and starting a family yet. I guess that’s—”

“Kiss me, Max,” she interrupted him.

He blinked at her for a second. “Anytime.” He touched his mouth to hers tenderly. “Always,” he whispered against her lips.

She kissed him desperately, her hands coming up to grip his cheeks and pull him into her harder. More, her mind urged him. Sliding a hand under her hair, he spread his fingers to cup the back of her head, holding her still for his kiss. A small moan from Liz and a wider parting of her lips were his reward. He groaned and thrust his tongue deep, telling her with each movement that he loved her. Only her.

“Me too, Max…”

A discreet cough from the door broke them apart. As Max struggled to get his breathing back under control, he saw a flash of amusement in Nick’s eyes. “Yes?”

Nick ignored the abrupt tone his King was uncharacteristically using. “The King and Prince of Dendar are here to see you.”

Muttering a curse, Max looked at Liz. “Are you okay?”

“Yes…”

He kissed the tear-tracks from her cheeks. “I won’t be gone long. Why don’t you go upstairs?” I’ll come finish this then.

Her eyes shone up at him. “Okay.”

After another kiss, Max followed Nick into the foyer. He was amazed to see Shing and Aran with an entourage of about 20 people milling around. A silence descended at his appearance.

“King Zan,” Shing greeted him formally.

Frowning, Max returned the greeting. “Can I help you with something?”

“We are here about the bonding ceremony your son is planning with a Dendarian servant girl.” Shing waited for that to sink in. “We have come to voice our official opposition to this move.”


PART 37

“Excuse me?” Max was incredulous.

“Since Saskia is the daughter of a Dendarian servant, we have jurisdiction over her and we cannot allow someone of that class into a royal family,” Shing explained with a longsuffering expression.

“How did you know about the planned bonding?” Max demanded. “So help me if you spied on us…”

“No, no, dear King Zan.” Shing waved his hands. “Of course we would do no such thing!”

Narrowing his eyes, Max glared at the smug bastard. “Then how?”

“Your servant girl told her friends in the city just now. They found it necessary to inform us of this planned travesty. Of course we acted with all due haste.”

“Travesty?” Max feared his head was going to explode in anger. “Who my son bonds with is nobody’s business but his own. You know nothing about Saskia and she was never one of your subjects, so I fail to see why this development warrants a whole delegation.” He felt Liz slide into his side, obviously arriving to support him. As he put his arm around her, curling her into his body, he sent a glare at Aran for trying to talk to Belle yesterday.

Shaking his head sadly, Shing aimed a sympathetic grin at Liz, causing Max to tense up more. “You are wrong. Your servant still carries the sign of her servitude on her arm and that means she still swears allegiance to my family. As such, her daughter is very much my subject too.”

Vaguely remembering the tattoo that he had seen on Shilla’s wrist a couple of times, Max had a fleeting moment of concern. “Saskia is half-Antarian.”

“That she is, but it still does not remove the fact that she is half-Dendarian and thus under my rule too.”

A soft sob from the door to the lounge snagged Max’s attention. Shilla was clinging to the wall, as white as a sheet. “And if I allow this match?”

“Then your son and his mate would never be welcome here.”

This time Liz gasped. “You mean you would end the relations between our two nations because of this bonding?”

“Yes. This undermines our traditions here.” Shing kept his gaze on Liz as he continued. “And I’m sure your King would do the same if this issue pertained to you.”

Max ground his teeth. Shing was right, if the issue had been about Liz, he wouldn’t hesitate to end relations. But he could not allow this mess to get any worse. “Shilla?” he waved her closer.

It was all Shilla could do not to fall on her knees before Max. Silent tears were coursing down her cheeks and she stared at him pleadingly. Please help me. Help my daughter! Please, PLEASE don’t let her suffer because of who I am…

Liz was close to tears herself. What a horrible development! She had never seen Shilla as distraught as she looked now. Pressing closer to Max, she willed him to fix this.

Spying James in the doorway that Shilla had just vacated, Max was stunned to see the vulnerability on the face of the big bodyguard to whom he had entrusted Liz’s life on so many occasions and was quietly grateful that neither Sas nor Matt were around to witness this. Praying that it would bring a solution, Max gambled on Shilla’s love for her daughter. “Who is your King, Shilla?” he questioned softly.

Tradition warred with earned loyalty and respect inside Shilla until she shook with reaction. Her heart was screaming at her to say that Max was her king, but her mind had many years of programming dictating its decisions. So many eyes were on her, Shing and Aran’s mocking one’s, Liz’s tender one’s, Max’s earnest one’s… But in the end, she turned to the man for whom she ignored tradition 18 years ago. James. James who stood watching with trembling hands and distress in his eyes. James who would never interfere and who would abide by her decision. James who lived and died for the man she was facing.

Her eyes swung back to Max. The King and his mate who allowed her, a servant girl from a planet they knew nothing about, to bond into their inner group. Who had made her family so much a part of their lives that her daughter was going to bond with their son, a Prince in his own right. Because his parents had allowed him to choose with his heart.

“Shilla?”

Could she make such a big change? She glanced at James again and he gave her a small smile, nearly stopping her breath. She had made the change already, she realized. Many years ago when she followed her heart and it led her first into the arms of this Antarian guard, and then to earth. She had just never made it official.

Without saying a word, she squeezed her eyes closed and knelt before Max, her back to Shing. Nothing needed to be said.

The whole thing caused a rush of emotion in Max. This was the first time that someone that hadn’t been born into his nation had chosen to follow him. It was a profoundly humbling moment. “Give me your wrist,” he instructed as Shing and Aran sputtered in shock from behind her.

The arm she lifted to him was trembling violently and Max felt incredibly sorry for Shilla. She was taking a huge leap today. Liz clung to his other hand as he covered the mark on her wrist and slowly waved the tattoo into oblivion. Shilla stared at her empty wrist for a few seconds and a choked sob escaped her.

Stepping forward, Max helped her to her feet and smiled down at her, welcoming her as part of his people. As Liz rushed over to hug Shilla, Max turned to a fuming Shing. “This is an Antarian issue now. Was there anything else?”

Aran’s attempt to say something was squelched by a heated glare from Max. “Then let me say something. We are political allies, not friends. I don’t appreciate the fact that I cannot leave my mate or my children alone for fear of them being propositioned by you two. So, this is the last time I’m saying this. Stay away from Liz, Belle-Mari, Saskia, Shilla and any other woman in this group. They are not here for your pleasure.” Liz returned to his side, slipping under his arm. “I also expect the proper respect for my son and his mate from now on. You expect me to recognize your family members and I expect you to do the same for mine.”

This was such a turn-on, Liz thought irrelevantly as she watched her husband lay down the law. He gave her an exasperated look for distracting him with that thought and she had to stifle a giggle.

A deafening silence had descended after Max had stopped talking. Both Shing and Aran looked flabbergasted, while the members of their entourage all stared at the ground in fear.

“Do I have your word?” Max was sick of this crap.

Everyone waited for Shing to respond and he took his time about it, glancing uncertainly at his more dominant son. After a tight nod from Aran, Shing bowed his head to Max. “You have our word.”

The delegation left silently, leaving a scattered group of Antarians behind. Some were hovering in doorways leading off the foyer, some were hanging over the balustrade on the second floor, but all their eyes were on Max, Liz, James and Shilla standing in the middle of the entrance hall.

As soon as the door closed, a thunderous applause broke loose. Max looked up in surprise, seeing his daughter among the people watching from the second floor. Sas was running towards her mother with Matt in tow and Luca was standing near Nick, looking like he had been ready to step into the action.

“Thanks, Dad.” The two Evans men hugged, causing more tears from Liz and Matt left his emotional mom in the capable hands of his father for a second time that day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The bonding ceremony took place in the garden of the Palace of Dendar that afternoon. The whole group of Antarians was there, but the inner circle surrounding Matt and Saskia were comprised of Max, Liz, James, Shilla and Belle, all holding hands. They wore the traditional white bonding robes and Nick presided over the ceremony, just as he had with Matt’s parents.

As always, the bonding was done in complete silence, the inner group being linked mentally to the two people being bonded. Liz and Shilla sniffled through the whole thing and Liz was eventually held to Max’s side in a break with tradition. They saw the flashes of their children. From playing in sand pit together in the old Evans house when they were toddlers, to the prom and the trip to Dendar.

As Matt and Sas stood staring into each other’s eyes, Liz was reminded of her own two bonding ceremonies with the man holding her so protectively. The man that had loved her through two lifetimes and had given her this beautiful son. Their first bonding had been for each other…

They faced one another, surrounded by a circle created by the linked hands of their friends. Nick was conducting the ceremony. No words were spoken. He put a hand on Liz and Max each, causing sensations and images to fly through their minds. They were not supposed to touch until the end, but Max couldn’t stop himself from taking Liz’s hands. It caused Nick to falter for a few seconds, thrown by the strong connection flowing between the two young lovers.

They stared in each other’s eyes, seeing images of their past together. Memories of shared kisses, shared pain and shared pleasure. Then they saw the promises for the future. Their hopes and dreams. Among them there were dark-haired children that made Liz gasp and Max grip her fingers more tightly.

Nick ended the ceremony by putting his hands on both their heads. ‘Now you are one.’

He stepped away, but Max and Liz didn’t even notice. Max raised his hand to press it over her heart and waited while Liz mimicked his gesture. “Liz, I love you. Always.”

“And I love you. Forever. My Max.”

And the second one for their families…

The sun was just setting over the horizon as the ceremony started. It was a strange and wonderful experience for the Parker’s and Evans’. Nick presided over the ceremony and he motioned the four friends and four parents closer to Max and Liz. They complied, linking hands to form a circle around the couple. This time Nick didn’t even blink when Max took Liz’s hands against tradition again. As before, he marveled at the strength of their connection. And it was even stronger now that they have been intimate…

The utter silence throughout puzzled the parents at first until they were also privy to the rush of images flowing through the group.

Max and Liz seeing each other across a playground for the first time when they were small children.

Max and Liz working together in the bio-lab, smiling at each other shyly.

Max healing Liz from the gunshot wound. “You’re all right now.”

Standing together at the Crash Festival. “It’s not safe.” “I don’t care.”

Liz falling into Max’s arms through his bedroom window and again standing close together before she left. “If anything weird happens… anything at all, you come back.” “I promise.”

Max and Liz’s many almost kisses.

Having fun together at the old soap factory.

Their first kiss.

Their first date. “This is the best night of your life.”

“Maybe that’s what we both need right now… to take a step back.” “I
just wanted… to remember.”

Kissing each other breathless in the back of the Crashdown, images of Max’s planet rushing through Liz.

“Then tell me, Max… what’s my destiny?” “I only know the part I’m hoping for.”

“You’re the one, Liz. The only one.” “I’m in love with Max.”

“Get out of here!” “Not without you…”

Max’s anguish when he thought Pierce had killed Liz.

“You’re what kept me alive, Liz. The thought of you. The way your eyes look into mine. The touch of your skin. Your lips. Whether I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny’s the same. It’s you, Liz. I love you.” “I love you.”

“But you mean everything to me.” “Good bye, Max.”

Being in the camp the first time and their mutual distress over not being able to be together.

Liz being afraid to wake up one morning because Tess made her think she would cause Max’s death.

Their first bonding ceremony. “My Liz. Forever.” “Always. My Max.”

Max getting kidnapped and Liz finding him via their connection.

Making love for the first time. “Will you marry me, Liz Parker?” “Yes!”

The torture of being apart when they went back home.

Facing the gunman that threatened Liz at the Crashdown.

Going back to the camp and telling their parents everything.

Getting through the ordeal with Tim. “I never want to be so scared in my life, ever again!”

And through it all, the little group around Max and Liz could feel their emotions with every new development. Wonder. Awe. Happiness. Sadness. Fear. Relief. Despair. Joy. Need. But underlying all these emotions was the most overwhelming one of all. Love, so pure and encompassing that it threatened to blot out everything else.

As before, the images of future promises made Max and Liz gasp with wonder. This was the second time they saw the two dark-haired children, laughing and playing. ‘Mommy! Daddy! Come look!’

Max pulled Liz closer to him, not caring that he is breaking the rules somewhat. Nothing about him and Liz had ever followed the rules anyway. With Nick’s ‘now you are one’ ringing in his ears, he promised Liz: “I know that this will never be normal, but I will always love you. More every day.”

Leaning away from him, Liz smiled into his solemn eyes. “What’s so great about other people’s normal? This is OUR normal, Max.” She leant her forehead against his. “And I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love you.”

And here today, her son was experiencing the same wonderful fulfillment. Finding a mate, one that complemented you was a rare thing in this universe. Being allowed to share your life with that person was even more precious. Liz pressed closer to Max and sent up a little prayer of thanks for the life she had had. One in which her dreams had come true so spectacularly. And she wished the same for her son.

Belle was also wiping away the tears. Her big brother now had a mate of his own. The ceremony tugged at her heart, filling her with envy. Lifting her head, she found Luca’s eyes on her from outside the circle. His expression was soft, but she turned away quickly, refusing to acknowledge that she had a violent urge to run over to him so he could hold her.

“Now you are one.” Nick’s soft words echoed in the silence.

And started a whole new chapter in the lives of Saskia Mulder and Matthew Evans.

tbc

PART 38

The mood in the Antarian suite was festive after the bonding ceremony was completed. Sas, now wearing the royal white and green robe given to her by Liz, didn’t budge from Matt’s side for anything as the whole group gathered to eat and drink in celebration of the newly bonded couple. She was tired though. Those few minutes waiting for her mother to make a decision about her allegiance had been some of the longest in Sas’ life. She had so clearly seen the intense struggle going on inside Shilla—it had felt horrible to be the reason for that struggle. The fleeting panic that she should end it all had been firmly halted by a squeeze from Matt’s hand and a quiet ‘don’t even think about it’ in her mind. So she had had to wait with baited breath for her mother to fight this one final demon in her life on her own.

That had been followed by the adrenaline rush of the bonding and now she was fighting drooping eyelids. Not having slept much the previous night did not help either.

“Want to go catch a quick nap before we leave for Tresar?” Mat inquired in her ear.

Flashing him a grateful smile, she nodded eagerly.

“Do you need me to come along? I wanted to talk to my Dad…”

“No, I’m fine. Just make sure the ship doesn’t leave without me.”

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Not a chance!”

On her way up to her room she was intercepted by her father. His serious expression made her nervous.

“Could we talk to you for a minute?”

Following him into her parents’ room, she found her mother already seated on the edge of the bed. James indicated a chair to his daughter and joined his mate. “We just wanted to tell you…” He swallowed. “That we want you to be happy.” Another swallow as Shilla swiped at her eyes. “And that you will always be our daughter… That you can always come to us if you need anything.”

All three of them had moist eyes by then.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

“We know Matt loves you very much and… and that he will take care of—”

Sas had jumped up and was hugging both her parents by then. “I have no words to thank you for all the sacrifices you have made for me!” she told them fervently. “I promise to make you proud of me.”

“We already are, honey,” Shilla whispered into her hair.

“And I’m not moving out or anything yet. I’ll still be under your feet all the time.”

They nodded at her, but all of them knew it would not really be like that anymore. She was Matt’s now.

She left her parents holding each other after a few more minutes and finally managed to make it to her room. She was dead to the world as soon as her head hit the pillow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Slight chaos reigned while all the luggage of the Antarian group was being loaded into the waiting shuttle. A crowd was gathering with the aim of seeing off the foreign royalty, which now included the Crown Prince of Tresar and the new mate of the Prince of Antar. All the Evans’ were wearing the dark green robes of their station, a row of swirling white signs around the edges. Luca was wearing traditional clothes from his planet – a type of uniform – since his planet was basically the military center of the Whirlwind galaxy. The pants of the black uniform fit snugly and over it he wore an overcoat that came to mid-thigh with a dark red and cream emblem around the high collar.

To Belle he looked quite forbidding.

So she continued to avoid him.

King Shing and Prince Aran arrived with the usual pomp and ceremony to bid farewell to their visitors and Belle shivered when Aran’s eyes raked over her. She walked in another direction, but he kept on staring at her, mentally undressing her with his eyes. Just about to go over and smack him, a broad back suddenly obscured her view of the Dendarian Prince. And his of her.

Luca.

Luca had stepped in between her and Aran.

Belle saw red. “I can look after myself, you know!”

His shoulders stiffened before he turned around to face her. As he did, she could see that Aran had moved his gaze away from them, probably cowed by a fierce glare from Luca. “What is your problem?” he asked her irritably.

“You are my problem, Lucas,” she replied heatedly. “I don’t like your arrogant attitude.”

Anger suffused his face and she took a small step back in reaction. No wonder Aran was cowed so easily, he could look really frightening.

“Well, Princess, your attitude isn’t all that attractive either.”

She was still gasping in fury when he strode off, dismissing her.

Belle-Mari Evans was not used to being dismissed.

Shing’s farewell speech was sickeningly sweet as he wished them a good journey onwards and expressed the hope that Dendar would soon be graced again by the presence of the Antarian royalty.

He looked at everyone in the group but Sas when he said this and Matt bristled in anger at the slight to his mate. Only Sas’ hand, curled in his, stopped him from saying something he would have regretted later.

Everyone moved off to the shuttle, but a lagging Belle was snagged by Aran, his hand hard on her upper arm. “Don’t be a stranger now,” he told her silkily. “We didn’t have time to get to know one another well this time.”

Risking a glance over her shoulder, Belle saw that most of her group had already boarded the shuttle. “Let me go, Prince Aran,” she told him firmly. After her small rant at Luca about being able to look after herself, she was determined to prove it.

Instead of following her instruction, he stepped closer. “Don’t you think it would be a good thing if our families were united? You could become my first bonded mate.”

“I have no intention of being one of many mates to any man,” she threw back at him, tugging to get her arm out of his grip.

“I would provide well for you. And you would give me pleasure, I’m sure.”

“The answer is no, and let me go,” Belle repeated, itching to flatten her hand over the man’s chest and fry him a little.

He hauled her up against him. “Don’t cross me, that would be a mistake,” he hissed menacingly.

“The mistake is yours, Prince,” Luca’s voice from behind Belle made Aran’s head snap up. “Unless you want a scene in front of your subjects, let her go.”

Belle stumbled right into Luca as Aran practically shoved her away. Luca caught her around the waist with one arm to keep her on her feet, but kept his eyes on Aran. While she was relieved he had arrived yet again to end an uncomfortable situation, she was mad that she had looked like a weak damsel in distress in front of Luca one more time. His body is so hard and warm. The stray thought threw her and she missed Aran stalking off.

Then Luca’s eyes were on her. “Are you okay?” he asked tightly and she became aware of the tension vibrating through him and the heat in his gaze at the same instant. Her breath lodged in her throat.

“Y—yes.” No smart comeback this time.

He let her go, doing it so abruptly that she nearly lost her balance again.

“Get in the shuttle then. You got in trouble because you dawdled around aimlessly as usual.” His voice was hard and he was staring at a spot over her shoulder as he spoke.

For some stupid reason, his words stung and she whirled away, biting back silly tears as she practically ran into the shuttle. There was no way she would let this jerk of a Prince see that he’s upset her.

Luca followed more slowly, cursing himself for being an idiot. He had taken out his anger at himself—for his body’s reaction to her proximity—out on her. And he had made her cry.

For the first time since he’s known her, he had made her cry.

And he didn’t like the ache that settled in his heart as a result.

Matt watched his sister come tearing into the shuttle like the devil was on her heels. But it was only Luca. Luca who avoided his gaze and moved away from the group to stare out of one of the windows of the shuttle.

An enormous wave of protective anger crashed over Matt. He wanted to go over to Luca and find out what had happened to upset Belle. His little sister. And if Luca had done something to her, he would smash his face in.

“Aran was bothering me, Daddy.” His sister’s words stopped him in his tracks. “We chased him off.” Belle was against his Dad’s chest, being soothed by Max’s strong hands. Matt risked a glance in Luca’s direction, finding the other man’s eyes on him. A mirthless little smile tugged at Luca’s mouth, telling Matt he knew that Matt had planned to come deck him. It lasted only a moment, then Luca turned away again, his hands clenched to fists at his sides.

Why did the damn shuttle taking them to the ship have to be so small, Luca thought angrily. Now there was no way he could avoid being near Belle or hearing her sniffles and knowing that he had started her tears, not that ass Aran. He couldn’t get away from his own impulses either, and right now, they told him to go yank Belle from Max’s arms so he could beg her forgiveness and hold her himself. No freaking way. He folded his arms across his chest and berated himself. I need to stay as far away from that girl as possible.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They arrived on Tresar mid-morning the next day, having traveled on the same ship they come with from earth. Their reception was in stark contrast to the stiff and cold one on Dendar. Instead, Sarah rushed over to hug her son first and her friend Liz next. Eric and Max shook hands (Eric having lived on earth for many years picked up a lot of human habits) and marveled again at how far they’ve come since their first meeting in Roswell when they had had to forget that Eric had been on earth to find and destroy Max because both their loves had been in trouble.

In the end it was laughably easy to find Eric. Max and Michael both saw him at the same time. He was sitting on the edge of the pavement across the street from the Crashdown and, ironically, right in front of the UFO Museum. The others stood back, watching as Max approached Eric. Michael kept a watch out for Eric’s men. Surely they couldn’t be far away…

Max halted a few feet away from Eric. He knew that he should hate him, but just like with Tess, he felt nothing. He remembered nothing. All he saw was a guy with sadness lining his face. Max saw the moment Eric became aware of his presence. His body tensed perceptibly and he slowly stood up.

The others watched, holding their breaths, as the leaders of two alien races faced each other on a street in front of a cheesy alien museum in a small town in New Mexico.

Eric looked at Max warily. “Who are you?” But he knew. Somehow he knew that this was the Max Evans he had heard so much about since he came to Roswell. ‘Was he coming to gloat over taking Sarah from me?’

“Max Evans. Some of your people have Sarah. And my Liz.” Max figured he would get straight to the point, hoping that it would circumvent any misunderstandings between them. He saw Eric’s eyes widen in shock.

Eric took a while to recover from Max’s unexpected news, but he held up his hand, halting the advance of his men immediately. “What are you talking about?”

***

Michael watched in concern as Max suddenly went pale. “Maxwell…”

“We have to find her, Michael! Now!” Max’s tone brooked no argument. They turned to Eric. “Where would Tim have kept them? Is there any place—”

“Yes.” Eric straightened. If only he had known earlier his own people had Sarah. His mind reeled with the fact that he had been betrayed like this.

“Let’s go!” Max had to force himself to partially block Liz’s distress from his mind. He needed to concentrate on finding her first.

***

Straightening and turning to Eric, he stood eyeing him from across the room. “I want this to end…”

Bowing his head, Eric said softly. “So do I.”

Nancy held Liz against her side as she watched Max and Eric look at each other. This felt a little surreal to her. Here in the middle of small Roswell, NM, she was watching the leaders of two different planets, both of them still young men, preparing to hold peace talks.

Max and Eric faced each other across the dining room table. There wasn’t much to say. Neither of them wanted to continue the war they had been intended to continue. In the case of Max, he had no planet to go back to. His only home was here, on earth, with Liz.

“I’m not going back to my planet. I hope they will assume that I’ve done my duty and leave us both alone from now on.” Eric sounded tired too. He had been living on the run for so long that it seemed quite amazing that he would never have to live like that again. His mind struggled to accept that he would be able to go live somewhere, with Sarah, permanently.

Max interrupted his thoughts. “I guarantee that my people will leave you alone.”

Eric nodded. “I…” He wondered if he could say the same. After all, it had been his soldiers that created this whole crisis. “Those of my men still with me will do the same for you.” He took a deep breath. ‘And may no-one from my planet come here one day to try and finish us both off.’

They got up and walked towards each other, shaking hands to seal their deal.

Eric swallowed. “I’m sorry. About Liz. Sarah says she is a courageous lady.”

A small smile slid over Max’s lips. “Yes. She is.” I’m so proud of her.

“I wish you both well.” Eric’s sincere statement surprised Max.

“You too. And Sarah.”

But Eric had come back to Tresar eventually and had taken back power from the dictator Dak’or and peace had reigned under his rule for many years. And the Royal Houses of Antar and Tresar, once mortal enemies, had become allies and friends. Max felt a little sad for Eric that he now faced renewed opposition. At least he has a very capable son to help him this time.

Shifting his gaze over to Eric’s son, he noticed Luca staring at Belle with a strange expression on his face. One that disconcerted Max. There were definitely vibes between Luca and Belle and his gut rebelled at the thought. He didn’t want any guy close to Belle. Not now. Not soon. Not ever.


PART 39

“Congratulations you two!” Sarah was thrilled to hear that Matt and Saskia had bonded. “I wish Luca and Veshna could start moving in that direction too,” she told Liz, Belle, Matt and Sas confidentially. “They have been friends forever and we are all just waiting for them to see the light like you two have.”

“Mom, do you mind?” Luca had arrived without Sarah noticing and had overheard her last statement. Crap, he hadn’t even noticed that Veshna wasn’t here until now! “Where is Vesh?” he asked belatedly, avoiding Belle’s gaze.

“She’s gone to her grandfather. She said to give you her love when you got back and she’ll see you in two weeks.”

For some reason, Luca felt really uncomfortable talking about Veshna when Belle stood there listening. “Can I show everyone to their rooms?” he changed the topic.

“Thanks, honey, I’ll do it,” his mom stated and herded their guests towards their quarters. He watched them go, his eyes finding Belle even though he was doing his best not to look at her. Her head was bent as she walked away, those glorious chocolate tresses spilling down her back and hiding her face. He wondered what her reaction to the Veshna topic had been. He grit his teeth. What did he care? She probably had her own boyfriend at home.

But that thought didn’t sit well with him either.

Matt and Sas’ room was first and they waited impatiently to be alone. Both of them had been stewing with desire ever since they woke up this morning and their feelings had built to a fever pitch by now. Holding hands all the time meant they had been privy to each other’s needs… and fantasies. The combination was deadly to a couple that had made love only twice by now, but had wanted one another their whole lives.

“Sas…” Matt murmured unsteadily as soon as the door closed behind their hostess, his shimmering amber eyes hotly pinned on her.

Emboldened by the discovery that he could look helpless too, Sas smiled, all female. Up to now their unions had been gentle, but she was determined to unlock that urgency she had glimpsed in Matt a few times.

It wasn’t necessary to do anything though. He was hotter for her than she could have dreamed.

There was nothing gentle about the way he grabbed her, and there was nothing cool about the manner in which he kissed her breathless. He brought her down on the bed and she wound her arms around his neck, willing him through their connection not to be gentle and slow.

“You look incredibly beautiful in this robe,” he breathed, his gaze roaming intently over her as he came down on the bed beside her. My robe… my colors… Mine…

Sas drew him down to her, drowning in the glow of his eyes. Their mouths connected, clung, and she went weak, letting her head fall back. He followed her down, prying her lips apart with the tip of his tongue, ravishing the moist interior that she opened to him with a ragged groan.

They were both dizzy with need.

She pulled his robe off and as he fought his way out of his shirt, she let her palms smooth up over the warm, hard wall of his chest, her fingertips teasing the skin. With an earthy growl he brushed her hands away, thrust her top up and found her breasts.

Gentle, careful Matt was gone.

It was her turn to gasp and quiver as his fingers pushed up her bra and tugged at the hard peaks of her breasts. Her back arched in a blinding wave of excitement, spurring him on.

“Please tell me you’re not still sore. I can’t be… I want you so much,” he breathed, grazing her swollen lower lip with his teeth.

“I’m f—fine…”

His dark head swooped down and seized her breast, increasing her blood pressure. She dug her hands into his hair, driven nearly mindless with the hot, drugging pleasure he was creating. She went out of control without a murmur, her heart slamming against her ribcage, every nerve raw with sensation.

He ran a hand up the length of one slim thigh, wrenching her skirt out of his path. Their mouths met again in a torturously hungry mating, and she was shaking, trembling, her hips shifting upwards in a primitive rhythm, all consciousness centered and driven by the erotic brush of his fingers skating over the taut triangle of cloth still dividing her from him.

She burned and panted for breath as he tugged the panties away and discovered the damp, hot center of her desire. Suddenly he was pushing her back, shifting over her, unexpectedly stilling when she was poised with anticipation, every nerve-ending ready to scream with frustration.

“Don’t stop!” she gasped.

She could feel his worry about his rough treatment of her through their connection. “Sas—”

“Don’t stop,” she begged shamelessly.

She felt his hands impatient on her thighs, and then, with a suddenness that stole her breath away, he thrust into her hard and deeply. An ecstatic cry escaped her. She stretched up, kissing his throat, licking the salt from his skin, adoring him. But he pushed her back, arching over her, demanding absolute control, thrusting harder and faster, filling her again and again with a driving force he had never shown before. The tension exploded inside her and she shuddered under him, a wild excited cry torn from her as the waves of violent pleasure engulfed her. He followed her almost simultaneously, her name tumbling from his lips rawly.

Lying shattered and winded in the circle of his arms, listening to the ragged edge of his breathing, she was conscious of a surge of love so intense it hurt. She rubbed her cheek sensuously against his sweat-dampened shoulder, drenched in satisfaction.

“Lord… we didn’t even get our clothes off!” Matt sounded shocked.

“This is what I needed… wanted, Matt.”

“Really?” He sounded both hopeful and doubtful.

“Can’t you feel it?”

A short pause. “Yeah.” A deep breath. “Wow.”

Wow indeed.

Not a bad way to pass the time before lunch.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After spending most of the afternoon and the early evening catching up on each other’s lives, Liz, Sarah, Belle, Sas and Matt went to bed, leaving Max, Eric and Luca up to discuss the possible threat against the Tresar royal family.

Max pondered idly about what a difference it made to be in a palace where he didn’t have to worry about having Liz and his daughter off alone. No, on Tresar, the threat was outside the well-guarded palace, not inside, and this meant his family could roam around inside without their guards shadowing them.

“Well, we still haven’t managed to find the underground movement, but they haven’t made any attempts against us either,” Eric was saying. “So I think we are okay for now.” He paused. “I’m confident in my people, we’ll find them sooner or later.”

“That’s good,” Max replied, wondering if Eric was trying to paint a more rosy picture than was the truth, but opted to say nothing. Instead, he turned the discussion to the meetings they had had on Dendar.

It was very late when he made it back to their bedroom and silently slid in bed next to a soundly sleeping Liz. When he reached out his hand and touched her, it was the most natural thing in the world to slip his arm beneath her and draw her closer until she was pressed fully against him, her breath warm near his ear. When she sighed, desire moved through him in a warm stream. It was nothing like the hot, sharp twisting in his gut he sometimes experienced with her. Just a steadily growing pull that she still fanned without trying after all these years.

Liz was trapped in a dream—in that state somewhere between waking and sleeping. She was with Max. She could feel his heat. And his scent was seducing her—wrapping around her until she could not breathe without drawing it in.

Max took his hand on a leisurely journey along the delicate line of her throat, exploring the soft curve of her breast, the narrowness of her waist and the smooth length of her thigh. Slowly, he repeated the journey, savoring the contrast between cool silk and warm skin.

He felt his need grow, but he didn’t rush. He didn’t want to. And Liz was still asleep. He ran his fingers along the line of her jaw, felt the race of her pulse beneath her throat. The tug in his center grew stronger.

Liz had taught him so much about desire through the years. With her, learned that just the sound of a sigh could light the fire in his blood. The simple flutter of a pulse beneath his thumb could make that fire spread in a slow burn.

When he could no longer resist, no longer control his hunger, he used his thumb to tilt her chin upward, then brushed his lips against her, teasing, tasting, then teasing again. Even when the blood began to pound in his head, urging him to hurry, he took his time, using his tongue to trace her lips, re-learning their shape. They were so soft, so moist. When they parted, when her breath shuddered into him, filling him, he finally pressed his mouth fully against hers.

She was still dreaming, Liz thought as she poured herself into the kiss. Max was still downstairs somewhere and she was dreaming about him. But the body pressed against hers seemed so real. His mouth was as soft as always. She dipped her tongue in search of more and a thick pleasure seeped through her. She didn’t want to open her eyes and look. She didn’t want him to disappear.

What she wanted right now, more than anything, was for him to go on kissing her in this slow, deliberate way, as if he had all the time in the world and intended to take it. There was such hunger here. She could feel it in the nip of his teeth on her lower lip. In the press of his hand at the back of her neck. Her own hunger sprang up to match it.

Threading her fingers into his hair, she shifted herself on top of him, pressing herself closer, arching against him in invitation. Once again, he began to touch her, his hands moving over her thoroughly as if he was determined to memorize every inch of her anew—the firmness of her breast, the curve of her hip, the softness of her inner thigh. When his fingers lingered there, massaging, she felt her muscles melt.

Arching against him again, she urged him on. When his fingers found her and slipped into her wetness, the sensations streamed through her. He drove her higher and higher, until she felt herself explode into a thousand little pieces.

And still her dream continued…

He held her close against him, absorbing each tremor, until her heartbeat slowed and her breathing steadied. Then he whispered in her ear, “Touch me.”

She wasn’t sure he’d said the words, but she’d heard them. Music sang in her veins as she ran her hands over him. Charting familiar but still such exiting paths. She ran her fingers over his eyebrows, along his cheeks to the firm line of his jaw.

And his mouth. She had to taste him again. With her tongue, she traced his lips, drawing the pleasure out, letting the ache build again. She moved her mouth lower. The skin was damp at his throat, the taste as addictive as always. Her urgency increased and she touched him again, sliding her hands over him, pressing, possessing.

She could feel how much he wanted her in the way his muscles bunched beneath her palms, in the way his breath caught in his throat then shuddered out. A dream couldn’t possibly be this real, could it? But reality was that Max had not come to bed yet, and she needed him now. So she dreamed him.

In this dream world, their lovemaking was slow enough that she could relish in each separate sensation. The way his body trembled beneath hers. The race of his heart against her mouth. The hard press of his hands as he gripped her hips, shifted her beneath him.

For just a moment, she opened her eyes and watched as he rose above her. She saw herself trapped in the depths of those amber eyes and slid into the world of dreams again. Max Evans loved her thoroughly in her dreams too.

When he slipped inside her, his moan merged with hers. Mouth to mouth, flesh to flesh, they began to move as one. He could hear the sound of her breathing at his ear grow faster. He knew they were getting close. He knew her. For a moment, he fought against the speed, trying to hold back, wanting the pleasure to go on. But it was too late.

“Max…” He felt her tighten convulsively around him, felt the shudders of pleasure shoot through her. Digging his fingers into her hips, he pushed one more time, hard, and lost himself in her.

She curled up against him almost immediately, and he realized for the first time that she hadn’t woken up completely as he had made love to her. A small smile curved his mouth as he remembered her sighing his name at the end. It still awed him that he filled her dreams too.

Opening his mouth to whisper ‘sweet dreams’, he stopped himself with a crooked grin. The words were redundant anyway…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As most of the inhabitants of the Palace slept peacefully, a small meeting was taking place in the mountains outside a small town a few hours from the capitol city. There were only four people there.

But they had big plans…

tbc

PART 40

It finally felt like a holiday to all the Evans’ and their people. No worrying about meetings or obnoxious royals trying to accost the females, just visiting with friends, relaxing and having fun.

Matt and Sas felt like they were on their honeymoon and spent most of their time in their room or off alone somewhere. Thankfully everyone kept tactfully quiet about it.

The only real excitement had been Belle falling off a shenga, the Tresarian version of a horse, on the day before they left. She had gone riding with Sarah, Nick, James and Luca and the shenga got spooked by the sudden appearance of a small animal on the trail they’d been following. Luca had been kneeling next to her before she had time to register that she was winded.

“Are you okay?” he had looked uncharacteristically pale.

Not having her breath back yet, she had only nodded, trying to sit up. His hands had been gentle as he helped her.

“Are you sure?” He had brushed her hair from her face, studying her intently.

Her lungs had started functioning with a rush and she had coughed helplessly. By then, the rest of the group had been surrounding them.

His touch had evoked feelings in her that she didn’t want to experience and she had jerked away from him as soon as she could. His eyes had darkened with anger immediately and he had stood up, glaring down at her.

When she was on her feet too, he had snapped at her. “Stay behind me this time like I told you to.”

“Fine,” she had snapped back. Why don’t you go find your precious Veshna, she had wanted to add. She probably does everything you tell her.

They had lapsed into ignoring each other again after that. It was easier to do than to face the reason they had trouble keeping their eyes off each other. Or the reason Luca forgot about the existence of his best friend with Belle under his nose and Belle was sick to death about hearing about said best friend from his mother. Or why they both wondered what it would feel like to kiss. Or the reason they both lay awake at night…

The day of their departure broke sunny, but brought mixed feelings to everyone in the palace. Max and Liz, while worried about their friends, were glad to be going home. Glad that they would still be on holiday and could be with each other every minute like they wanted to. Belle told herself she wanted to go home too, but her heart ached at the thought. Matt and Sas fretted about what going home would mean for their living arrangements and Matt silently resolved to discuss the issue with their parents as soon as they were on their way.

The shuttle that would take them back to the ship had arrived while they were having breakfast. Max had noticed that Eric was very quiet throughout the meal, but he decided to let Eric come to him if he needed to talk about anything.

Sarah went with Liz after breakfast to help with the packing, but Eric held Max back, asking to talk to him. They retired to Eric’s study and Max sat down to watch his friend pace.

“Is something wrong?”

Eric swung around. “Actually, yes.” He started pacing again. “Things are coming to a head here. I think…” He paused. “I think those people trying to dethrone me are going to make a move soon. I haven’t told Sarah yet, I don’t want to worry her needlessly. Only Luca knows.”

Accepting this statement, Max stared at the floor between his feet silently, debating on how to help. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yes, there is.” Eric had stopped his frantic movements and sat down on the edge of his desk. He seemed almost hesitant. “I’m not sure I have the right to ask you this…”

“You can ask me anything. I will say no if I can’t do it.” Max felt honesty was the best way to go right now.

“Okay then,” Eric sighed and relayed his request.

It was one Max could understand in the light of the situation. He felt a little uncomfortable about agreeing, but in the end, he had no choice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The shuttle was uploaded before lunch, ready to take the Antarian group back to the ship and everyone was saying good-bye. Liz and Sarah got weepy while Max had no words to tell his friend he would be thinking of him during the obviously tough times that lay ahead of the Tresarian Royal House.

Belle stood at the window of the palace, looking out over the land she had come to enjoy again. Being here these few days reminded her how much she loved being on Tresar when she was younger. It was a wild planet, so different from earth, but it had a mesmerizing magic to it for a girl with a tendency to dream like she did.

Sarah was bawling all over Luca when Belle turned around. It only took her a few seconds to put the pieces together. He was going with them! A wild joy speared through her before she reminded herself that she did not want further entanglements with him.

Matt and Sas fairly bounded into the shuttle and the rest of them followed more sedately. Luca was incredibly tense. He had had a huge argument with his father about being sent away to earth when he should be here, helping his family. His father had pointed out that he needed one of them to stay alive and that it would seem less suspicious if Luca went off somewhere under the guise of further training. Eric hated having to keep Sarah here, but he needed her close and he didn’t want to tip off their enemies that they were on to them.

However, Luca had his own plans.

The ride in the shuttle was uncomfortable as Luca kept himself aloof from everyone else. He could feel Belle’s eyes on him and had to forcibly keep his thoughts away from the lure of following his father’s instructions and earning himself more time to be around her. He grit his teeth. Now was not the time to start thinking about a girl. Now was the time to keep his full attention focused on his family’s future.

He risked a glance at her anyway, meeting her wide doe eyes. Time stood still for a few seconds before he managed to tear his gaze away, cursing himself for letting her twist his insides in a knot without even trying. He purposely let his eyes drift over the rest of the passengers on the shuttle. Matt and Sas were seated closely together, talking to each other softly and looking very much in love. James and Shilla were together too, not as obvious about their affections, but still noticeably a couple. Then there were Max and Liz. Liz was napping with her head on Max’s shoulder, her small hand curled in one of his, his thumb caressing her lovingly. She looked incredibly content, like she was in the place where she wanted to be most in life. She probably was, Luca mused.

How amazing to have such a simple equation for true happiness. If they were together, Max and Liz’s worlds were perfect. He sighed deeply. He had never found that. Never found that someone that filled the spaces in his heart that had been empty for all of his life. Maybe because you haven’t allowed someone to fill them. The stray thought annoyed him. It was too late now anyway. He couldn’t allow someone into his life now that it meant danger.

Especially not the beautiful young miss sitting a few feet from him, watching him intently.

He would just have to ignore this craving to touch her, kiss her, until he was away from her and could find time to rid himself of this unbidden obsession.

Arriving at the ship a few hours later, everyone dispersed to their rooms, not really looking forward to the long journey home.

Belle had lagged behind as usual. This time because for some reason she was convinced Luca was up to something. He had acted strangely all through the shuttle ride. And how would you know what constitutes strange actions for that man? She refused to answer that for herself, not wanting to consciously admit how much time she had spent studying him the last few days.

So she noticed he did not leave the shuttle with them.

Instinctively she ran back into the dim interior of the shuttle that was waiting for the luggage to be offloaded before returning to Tresar.

Luca was still standing in front of the window.

“What are you doing?” Her voice came out sharper than she had meant.

He whirled around, staring at her. “Go back out,” he finally told her in a strained voice.

It dawned on her then. “You aren’t planning on coming with us?” He looked away, confirming her suspicions. “You can’t!” Horrible visions of war assailed her and she abruptly had an overpowering urge to keep him from harm. “It’s too dangerous. You have to come with us!”

He looked at her for a long time. “It’s my family, Belle,” he said softly.

Her name on his lips caused a jolt in her body. “But…” She cast around wildly for something to say, wondering if she had enough time to go fetch her father before the shuttle left. “You can’t…” she whispered fiercely, walking closer to him.

“I have to.” But his eyes were filled with incredible longing as he looked at her.

“P—please don’t.”

Below their feet a humming started as the shuttle was activated.

With a succinct swear word, he dragged her close, taking her mouth with a wild, ravishing hunger that drove the breath from her lungs and left her aching for more. Every nerve-ending in her body went crazy in that powerful embrace. Plastered to every aroused line of his taut length, the scent of him and the taste of him and the feel of him went to her head with the potency of a mind-blowing narcotic.

Dragging his mouth from hers, he buried his face in her tumbled hair. The sharp shock of separation hurt. His heart was crashing against her crushed breasts. She could literally feel him fighting to get himself back under control. A long, shuddering breath ran through him. “Good-bye, Princess,” he forced out as he walked her backwards towards the door. This time his mocking nickname for her sounded like an endearment. “Be happy,” he told her and pushed her out the shuttle with unsteady hands, sliding the door closed in her face.

She was too stunned to do anything and could only watch in numb shock as the partition dividing the ship from the shuttle closed automatically. A soft hissing sound signaled the departure of the shuttle.

And the departure of Luca Alexander from her life for many years.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The trip back to earth was long. Even though Max had tried to get the shuttle to turn around, its operator was from Tresar and had refused to ignore the orders of his Prince.

Belle had never cried so much in her life. With that one kiss, Luca had torn down her barriers and her heart was breaking. She woke many nights to find her father sitting next to her bed, tenderly stroking her hair. No one could pry the reason for her sorrow from her, and if Max suspected something, he said nothing.

It was supremely ironic to Saskia. She had anguished about loving her Prince for many years, always wondering if they would and could end up together. Now, the Prince of Antar was her official mate, practically married to her and very obviously in love with her. As she hugged her sad friend on the night before they would arrive back on earth, she silently thanked fate for letting her story with her Prince end so beautifully.

On the other hand, Belle had never wanted a Prince. She had wanted a normal guy, someone as far away from royalty as she could possibly get.

Instead, she had fallen for another Prince. One that was currently in another galaxy. One she might never see again.

No one ever said loving a Prince was easy.

THE END

Author’s Note: That’s it, the full Experiment Series. Thank you to everyone that ever read and enjoyed this series and also a big thank you to the voters who gave me the awards for this series so long ago! It was a special time in my life when I shared these stories with you. Lastly, as I said before, I never wrote Belle and Luca’s story. By the time I would have written it, Roswell had broken my heart. My apologies to anyone who would have wanted to read about them.
Regards,
LivE.