6. Jasmine

6

JASMINE

J asmine wasn't sure that she deserved such unconditional acceptance, especially given how little Ell-rom truly knew about her. Not only that, she was the only person he knew other than the doctors and the nurse.

When he got exposed to more people, he might not like her, especially after he got to know her better. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with her, but she was a nobody with average intelligence, better-than-average looks, a better-than-average voice, and a mediocre acting talent. She also had a witchy ability that she was still exploring.

Not bad for a random human, but Ell-rom was a prince, and once he remembered what that entailed, he might realize that he needed a female of a higher caliber than her.

"You think too highly of me." Jasmine averted her gaze. "I'm not as pure of heart or as strong of spirit as you believe. You don't know anything about me."

"I know that you are a wonderful singer and storyteller, and I know that you went searching for me and my sister despite the journey not being easy. You saved both our lives. Then you sat by my side day and night. That makes you pure of heart and strong of spirit in my eyes."

She leaned over to the bedside table and picked up her latte to buy herself a moment to think.

Honesty was important in a relationship, but they didn't really have one yet. They were in the courtship stage, and during such a vulnerable and impressionable time, it was better to throttle the insecurities and doubts while inflating all her positive attributes. It was the selling stage, not the settling stage, and being an actress, Jasmine was an expert at selling herself.

Still, a little self-deprecation was always a good strategy as long as she didn't overdo it.

"What you feel is gratitude." She took another sip. "But you forget that I wasn't the only one there. The three gods, Julian, Edgar, and their mates, were there too."

He arched a brow. "Did all of them go trekking through the dangerous mountains to look for our pod?"

"Only the gods and I went trekking, but the mountains weren't all that dangerous. I twisted my ankle because I'm a clumsy city girl who is not used to hiking, trekking, or any of those outdoorsy activities. If it were Jade instead of me, I'm sure nothing would have happened to her."

He chuckled. "I'm sure of that as well, but that makes your sacrifice even greater. You volunteered to do something that you were not good at, something you did not like and that was potentially dangerous to you, and you did that because you wanted to save lives. That's admirable."

"I was searching for my prince," she reminded him. "The prince that the cards promised me."

"Oh, yes. The foretelling cards. I am still waiting for you to show them to me." The smile died on his lips. "Perhaps you can do a reading for Morelle."

Her eyes widened. "Why didn't I think of that sooner? I should go get them."

He put a hand on her thigh. "Not yet. I'm so tired that once you leave, I'm going to fall asleep, and I'm not ready to part with you yet."

Goddess above, that was so sweet.

Out of all the nice things he had said to her so far, that was the sweetest.

Putting her latte back on the side table, she kicked off her flip-flops and lifted her legs onto the bed. "Bridget will probably have my ass for this, but it's worth it." She stretched out next to him on her side and leaned to brush her lips over his. "This is probably the first time you've had a woman in your bed. Do you want me to take a picture?"

Without waiting for his answer, she pulled out the phone from her jeans pocket, activated the forward-facing camera, and lifted it over the two of them. "Smile!" she commanded while beaming at the screen.

Ell-rom did as she asked, but his smile looked more like a grimace. Nevertheless, she snapped several pictures before putting the phone on the side table. "Why did you make a face at the camera?"

"I saw my reflection on your device, and it looked terrible. I have no hair on my head, but I think that I'm starting to grow hair on my face. My jaw looked dirty in the reflection."

Frowning, Jasmine leaned closer, cupped his cheek, and rubbed her thumb over his skin. "You are right. It's still just hair follicles, so I can't feel the stubble, but you are starting to grow facial hair. I thought that you didn't have any."

"Why? Kian has facial hair, and so does Julian. What about the gods? I don't remember if Aru had hair on his face. And what about the Kra-ell?"

"Aru either shaves or has stubble. I've only gotten to see the Kra-ell males that Jade brought to carry the stasis chambers to the catacombs. They all looked clean-shaven, so maybe the Kra-ell don't have facial hair, but we can ask Jade the next time she comes to visit."

"If she comes." His eyelids drooped, but he forced them to open.

"Right."

Lying so close to Ell-rom and not getting any reaction from him was a little disappointing. His fangs were still dormant, and his eyes weren't glowing.

He tried to shift to his side, but he ended up needing her help. "I walked today. I should be able to turn on my side."

"You are exhausted. Don't be so hard on yourself."

He looked down at the teardrop hanging from her neck. "I guess being hard is one of the idioms that don't translate well to Kra-ell." He lifted his hand and brushed her hair aside, exposing her ear. "Do you experience the same in reverse? When these devices translate what I say for you?"

"Rarely." She brought the hair forward to cover her ear again. "I forget that they are there. Kra-ell probably doesn't have many idioms and is more straightforward than my language."

She still hadn't told him that the earpieces were doing more than translating Kra-ell to English for her and that they were filtering compulsion.

He must have misinterpreted the guilty look in her eyes. "Tell me why you think that you are not as pure and courageous as I think you are."

Listing her shortcomings was not something Jasmine wanted to do, but it was better than telling him what the earpieces were really for.

"I am an actress. Do you know what that is?"

He nodded. "A performer. You sing and tell fictional stories."

"I also enact fictional stories. I don't know if you have movies or theater on Anumati. The gods do, but maybe the Kra-ell stay away from such entertainment. Here on Earth, it's a highly desirable profession, and many hope to become a star, a face that everyone recognizes." She looked into his eyes. "Are you following so far?"

"I think so. What qualifications do you need to become a star?"

Ell-rom was a smart guy, and he was grasping concepts with surprising ease.

"Good looks are important, and many use surgical means to enhance their appearance, but I'm proud to be all natural. Acting skills are required as well, the ability to memorize scripts quickly, being easy to work with, which means taking directions well and not being overly demanding or fussy."

"You seem to have all those requirements covered."

"Thank you." She smiled. "I do, but that's about it. I'm good, but I'm not exceptional. It's not easy to get rejected over and over again and still go on auditions hoping that a miracle will happen and I will fit the director's vision for a breakthrough part. There are two ways to get great parts. One is to be already famous, and then they want you because you have an audience that will come to see you no matter what the movie is about, and the other is to fit a role so perfectly that the director will be willing to take a risk on a no-name."

"Sounds tough."

"It is." She sighed. "At times, I pretended to be attracted to males to gain favor, hoping it would help me get chosen for a part I wanted." She shivered. "It's a nasty business, and many young people are exploited. I should have given up on dreams of fame and fortune as soon as I realized how sleazy it was, but I convinced myself that if others could do that to get ahead, I could do it too, and that it wasn't a big deal." She smiled nervously. "I bet that didn't translate well to Kra-ell either."

"No, I got the meaning." He lifted his arm with effort and wrapped it around her. "I'm sorry you had to go through such unpleasantness."

The guy was a born diplomat. To call her basically whoring herself out for parts an unpleasantness was a masterpiece of understatement.

"It wasn't as bad as it sounds. I don't like sleeping alone, so I would have probably picked up some loser who I didn't care for anyway. At least by seducing casting directors, I got a few parts."

Jasmine fell silent, memories of lonely nights and hollow victories washing over her like a wave of muddy water.

Ell-rom squeezed her hand. "Nothing of what you told me contradicts my assessment of you being pure of heart and strong of spirit."

"You are pure sweetness." She leaned to plant a soft kiss on his lips. "I've never met anyone like you."

He smiled. "And I have not met anyone like you."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't remember meeting anyone at all."

His smile wilted. "From the little I remember, my sister and I were alone most of the time. Our mother was too busy to visit, and the head priestess who knew what we were under the veils was not the kind, loving type."

As tears prickled the back of Jasmine's eyes, she kissed him again to hide the pity she felt for him and his sister. What a horrible way to grow up.

Ell-rom returned the kiss, his touch gentle but filled with so much passion that it made her heart race.

It was like being fourteen all over again and stealing kisses with Jason Moreno behind the bleachers.

Jasmine had lost her virginity young and hadn't looked back, but she had to admit that the change of pace was nice, and taking it slow was kind of charming. Why did everyone rush into sex before getting to know each other?

If she had done her due diligence instead of jumping straight into yet another relationship, Jasmine might not have gone with Alberto to Cabo. But then she wouldn't have met Margo, wouldn't have ended up on the Silver Swan , and would never have found her prince.