Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Karkonar

W e ate in silence, the female avoiding looking at me. If she thought that hid her feelings, she was mistaken. I felt her attention on me, saw the flush on her cheeks, and knew that she wanted me. That wasn’t unusual. Without false modesty, I am an attractive man, and as a prince, I received more than my fair share of interest.

The strange thing was how badly I wanted her, desired her with a fiery passion beside which the stars were cold. It’s the adrenaline, I told myself. Not a genuine emotion, just lust. I snapped from the middle of a fight to looking at her. It would be weird if I felt nothing.

“I think we can agree,” I said aloud, wanting to break the silence with something uncomplicated. “Goodhut pizzas are awful.”

“Oh thank fuck,” she said, dropping a half-eaten slice. “I can’t believe you liked this, even as a kid.”

“Thinking back, it’s possible that we were showing off by eating the junkiest food we could find.” I chuckled. “Human food is infamous.”

This time, she looked up at me. Her emerald eyes flashed, looking into my soul, and I held her gaze steadily. She had no trouble holding mine, either. I liked that.

“What exactly is it infamous for?” Her tone had a warning note to it. I raised an eyebrow.

“Cheap, artificial, and borderline toxic.” Her outraged expression was priceless, and I couldn’t restrain my laugh. “Hey, you asked.”

There was a touch of the surreal to the situation. My memories and my body insisted I was fighting for my life. Sudden assassins, an explosion, chaos everywhere. And then — nothing. I was days away from anywhere, on a rickety ship, alone with a beautiful, exotic female. One who blushed whenever I looked in her direction, but who still stood up to me. The emotional whiplash was disconcerting.

Focusing on her was a terrible idea. She was a smuggler, a criminal, and hadn’t so much as visited Aris. In no way was she a mate fit for a prince, but every time she smiled, I wanted to sweep her into my arms. When she looked worried, I wanted to slay whoever caused her stress. And I’d known her for less than a quarter-day so far.

This had the potential to be trouble. I had to manage it now.

“I must contact my family as quickly as possible,” I said, steering the conversation back to my situation. Elaine blinked, sat back, and nodded. Suddenly, she was all business. If not for her flushed cheeks, I’d have no clue that our proximity was still distracting her as much as it was me.

There I go again. Focus.

“Your family. Right. Well, once we reach Harry’s Moon, you can send a message and let them know you’re okay. Then they can come and get you.”

“I do not know this Harry’s Moon. All I know is that my enemies consider it a safe place to send me, which does little to inspire confidence. Not somewhere I can just wander into a courier station to send a message.”

“Point,” the captain conceded. “I could send the message for you, but whoever’s after you will expect a delivery from me.”

“Then we agree. We change course and head for the next nearest settlement.”

“Now, hold on. I have other deliveries on Harry’s Moon. I can’t just take a couple of weeks out. It’ll trash my reputation.”

“The alternative risks worse,” I pointed out. “Your employers will be there, waiting. If you arrive and do not deliver me as arranged, it might go badly.”

She lifted the pizza remnants, threw them into the recycler, and sighed. “Okay, that makes sense. Damn it. I’m running close to the edge on finances already, defaulting on these deliveries might sink me.”

“I will not permit that.” Anger flooded through me at the possibility that our meeting might leave Elaine worse off. Which made little sense, given that she was part of a plot to kidnap me.

That did not help, of course. My anger cared little for logic.

She stood, watching me carefully, with the air of someone who’d been disappointed too often to trust easily.

“I will buy out your contracts. Whatever penalties you face for late delivery, I will cover. That’s on top of your normal fare for transporting me to the nearest Cirial Nexus.”

Elaine blinked. Her fingers twitched as she looked away, then back at me. “That won’t be cheap.”

“You are speaking to the heir to the Black Throne. I can cover your losses. Though I am, unfortunately, without any immediate funds. I may not be able to pay until I am back on Aris, but once there, I will cover all costs.”

She muttered something I couldn’t hear, closed her eyes, deep in thought. Onyx flew down to land at her feet, rubbing against her ankles and purring approvingly. Was the little mischief maker backing me up? Hard to tell. Whatever he intended, though, it worked in my favor. The captain picked him up, stroking his fur as she nodded to me.

“Okay. You’re a prince, so I guess your credit is good. If you’re hiring me, though, we’ve got to do it right. A contract and everything.”

“Of course,” I replied. “I’ve no desire to have you worry about your pay.”

“And also…” she trailed off, licked her lips, took a deep breath. Started again. “And also, aside from my pay, there’s the question of professional and personal relationships.”

She fidgeted with her comm for a moment, and a contract hologram appeared for me to look at. My turn to hesitate. I wanted, needed, to claim this female. But the contract forbade ‘fraternization’ of any kind, and I reluctantly saw the point. Relationships between employer and contractor could turn bad.

For me, though, it would make our journey a frustrating one. But the needs of Aris took precedence, so with some reluctance, I put my palm on the hologram, accepting the contract.