13. ALICE

ALICE

The beach was as breathtaking up close as it had appeared from the balcony. I discovered that the aqua coloring of the water came from a myriad of rocks on the bottom and wasn't the water's color at all, which was just like on Earth, clear.

The silvery sand I had admired was fine and baked warm from the sun above, as I found out when I shed my shoes to step into the waves, which were a little cooler but not much.

The moment my legs moved into the water, I was surrounded by a school of tiny fish with frilly tails and large heads. They shimmered brightly in all colors of the rainbow as they swam around my legs, making it seem like the greatest fun to them.

"You like them?" Zayden asked in a deep voice.

"They're tickling me." I laughed. And they were, their tails' brushes were like the lightest stroke of feathers.

"They're not used to people here. This part of the beach is off limits to anybody except those I invite."

I turned and looked up into his orange eyes. "And am I?"

"Are you what?"

"Invited?"

Without bothering to take off his shoes, he stepped into the waves, his large hands surrounding my waist. "You are always welcome here," he rasped, sending goosebumps down my spine.

Did that mean he still wanted me?

He kissed you, didn't he? my snarky mind reminded me.

He might have kissed the others too, I shot right back.

"Alice." His voice was filled with longing, passion, and a question.

I rose to my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his. With a deep groan, his hands surrounded my ass and crushed me up and against him. My feet left the ground, and automatically I crossed them behind his back, pushing my core against his hard cock.

"Alice," he rasped. "Say you are mine."

The only thing I could compare the state of my mind to was a centrifuge in overdrive. My thoughts tumbled and circled, swirling in a chaotic dance of uncertainty. I didn't know him. I didn't know this world.

But I was here, wasn't I? And I wasn't going anywhere. Definitely not back to Earth. Whatever my future held, I would much rather face it with him than without him or anybody else.

He was on a deadline, though. I wouldn't be able to take the time to get to know him before I made a decision. I realized this was what people called a leap of faith, and I leaped.

"I'm yours," I surrendered. "If you still want me, after you met with all the other women."

"I only wanted you from the moment I first saw your hologram."

"Hologram?" Hot shame ran through me and must have reflected on my face.

"What is it?" Concerned, he brushed a strand of hair from my face.

"I… you saw me naked?"

He nodded, understanding blooming on his face. "I will have the entire database wiped out."

I closed my eyes. "It's okay. It was just a shock…" I laughed dryly. "It wasn't like I shouldn't have known."

Memories of the small chamber my abductors had forced me into came back to me. It was right after I was first taken. Shaking with fear and horror, I stepped into the small area and undressed as I had been directed. Pulling my arms up when told, turning when told, but not smiling when told. No, I never smiled for them.

"I will make them pay, Alice, I swear," Zayden promised.

"But you can't stop them, can you? And there are more of them, aren't there?" I queried.

"Ra, there are more, many more, and nef, I cannot stop them, but I can punish the ones who took you."

Did I want that?

Yes, yes I did. Was it realistic? Nope.

"It's alright." I put my hand on his enormous bicep, marveling at its hardness. "You have enough to worry about. If you punish them for acquiring what you bought… it will only anger the others."

"My wise Alice." He kissed my forehead, the top of my nose. Our eyes were mere inches apart. "You will make the finest queen in the universe."

"I just want to be with you."

"I'm afraid I come as a package deal." His lips quirked, but a hint of insecurity rushed through his orange orbs, even though he tried to appear arrogant.

"I will do my best to make you proud," I promised.

A larger wave caught me and made me almost stumble, but Zayden held me in his iron grip, never letting me as much as waiver. The water felt good. Being in Zayden's arms felt good, and I realized I felt good.

"Can we go for a swim before we return?" I asked, looking longingly at the growing waves. It had been years since I had swum in the ocean. I must have been a kid the last time I did.

"As you wish," he granted.

"There aren't any… sharks here, are there?"

"Sharks?"

"Big fish with big, sharp teeth that will eat you."

"I wouldn't allow anybody but me to eat you," he replied with a suggestive grin that made my heart stumble and filled my stomach with butterflies.

"Oh," I breathed.

He laughed, "Come, let's swim before I lose the rest of my self-control and take you in the water."

Agilely, he rose first one leg, bent it, then the other to pull his boots off and throw them to the shore, before we both splashed into the water.