He had been polite to Jaya, Lois and I at dinner that evening, but had left soon after. In truth, he’d seemed more interested in the prospect that my contract with Kiahn will pave the way for future contracts with Xaviann women who can help strengthen relationships between the various principalities than anything else.
Which… I guess was the whole point of me agreeing to this whole thing. That’s what I signed up to when Lady Zalora and Vel explained their plan before they bought my freedom.
Kiahn had gripped his fancy golden dinner-spork tightly in a fist while his father had been talking about which lucky female he should be considering next, though. So maybe he’s not so open to the idea of further contracts as everyone claims he should be?
Is it wrong that I find comfort in that?
“Are either of you at the center yet?!” Lois calls from somewhere else in the palace hedge maze. Vel had given us a very brief tour of the various palace gardens and terraces yesterday but we’d made her promise to bring us back to the maze today for some fun. Xaviann mazes are not too dissimilar to ones back on Earth, except the shrubbery is super tall to account for Xaviann height, and the neat, topiary hedging is a deep plum purple instead of the usual green.
“No!” I shout back. “I think I got turned around. I’m pretty sure I’m heading in the wrong direction completely!”
It doesn’t matter, though. It’s all part of the fun and I know I’ll get there eventually.
“Maybe splitting up wasn’t a good idea!” a voice pipes up, sounding further away.
“Where’s your sense of competition, Jaya?!” Lois shouts back, teasing, her words almost echoing.
But then it’s quiet again, and I decide to try and head toward where I think Jaya might be. I take a left, then a right, and come to a dead-end. Ok, not this way, then. Backtracking, I take a left and then another left when I could have carried on straight. Two more rights and I’m confronted with another dead-end. Sighing, I turn around and jump out of my skin to come face-to-face with Kiahn.
Well… more like face-to-chest, considering.
“Shit!” I curse. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Apologies,” he chuckles, his hand gripping my elbow to stop me from falling flat on my ass from his sudden appearance. “Are you enjoying the maze?”
I catch my breath, willing my heart to slow with a palm on my chest. “Well, I was, until you abracadabra-ed your way into it!”
Kiahn tilts his head like a curious Labrador, and I realize he probably doesn’t know what that means.
“How did you find me?”
He grins and gestures for me to follow him. I do, curiously, almost colliding into his huge frame when he stops suddenly and points at the hedge beside him. “You see how this section is ever so slightly lighter in color compared to the rest?”
Now it’s my turn to tilt my head like a curious dog as I squint at the shrubbery. “I guess?”
Kiahn’s smile grows wider, and without answering he just… walks straight through that part of the hedge. And I don’t mean that he pushed the densely-grown branches aside, and forced his way through the bush. I mean, it’s like that part of the hedge isn’t really there and he… walked right through.
“What in the Platform-nine-and-three-quarters?” I mutter to myself, getting a closer look. Reaching out, I ghost my fingers across the small leaves of the hedge and feel nothing at all. The bush kind of shimmers a little if you focus on it. Pushing my hand forward, I hold my breath as my arm disappears into the maze.
I feel Kiahn’s warm hand engulf mine on the other side, and for a second I think he’s going to tug me through the hedge. But he doesn’t. He just waits. Holding my hand.
Once I step through, I’m greeted with another beaming smile. A girl could get lost in a smile like that.
“C’mon,” he says, jerking his head toward the hedge in front of us. “It’s a clear path through these to get back out of the maze.”
Snorting, I shake my head. “That’s cheating, you know?”
Kiahn throws a glance at me over his shoulder before he disappears once more. “Zann had secretly requested these from our groundsmales when we were younger and much more competitive,” he says, gently guiding me through not-hedge to not-hedge. “It took Az and I longer than I would like to admit to work out how he always beat us both to the center every time. Az even memorized the correct pathway down to every little turn.”
“Yeah, and the little fucker was still there waiting for me with a shit-eating grin.”
We’d reached the outside of the maze and here Az is, ready to join the conversation like he’d always been a part of it. He’s stood there shirtless and sweaty, which seems to be a normal occurrence for him. Vel said something about him training with his team and coach this morning. Lois had pretended not to hear, but I’m pretty sure she was paying attention.
“Big brother,” Az greets Kiahn, making a mock salute before he turns to me and bows properly, his tone a little softer. “Lovely Niska… Is… is Lois… in there?” he asks, his voice a little higher as he gestures with his thumb toward the maze.
“Oh, yeah, I should probably shout and tell the girls that I’m not in there anymore or they’ll-”
“I’ll tell her,” Az is quick to interrupt. “I’ll-I’ll find Lois and tell her,” he says before quickly disappearing through the purple bush.
“And Jaya!” I call after him, smiling when I hear that his response of ‘I’m on it’ already sounds a good distance away.
Turning to Kiahn, my heart stutters in my chest. He’s so handsome. And I don’t just mean ‘handsome for an alien’, which is a pretty arrogant line of thinking for any species - like humans are any kind of authority on beauty standards? But I’m an authority on what gets me going, and I can’t deny that Prince Kiahn fits the mold that I didn’t even know existed. His green eyes are dazzling and kind, while everything else from his cool gray skin, his spiraling horns, huge stature and those fangs that I know he possesses all hint at a certain danger and dominance that speaks to my girly parts in a way that surprises me.
It’s only when his smile falters a little that I realize I’ve been standing here, smiling up at Kiahn as I studied his beauty like a lovesick puppy. And, that he’d said something to me. What had he said?
Kiahn starts to rub at his right horn - a gesture I’ve come realize Xavianns do when they’re a little self-conscious or unsure.
And now I feel doubly bad for standing here gawking at the big guy without actually listening to him.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I ask, reaching out and placing my hand on his forearm in apology.
Kiahn’s eyes drop to the touch and his hand falls from his horn. “I-uh… I have a gift for you.”
“You do?”
He swallows and nods. The way this guy can talk me through an orgasm while he finger-fucks me out in the open on his balcony - with his guards right there - and also look so abashed about a gift is really doing it for me right now. The duality of a Xaviann man, I guess.
“Thank you, I’m sure I’ll love it,” I smile up at him, trying to keep my mind out of the gutter.
Kiahn clears his throat as he briefly glances down to my neck, and then offers his arm.
* * *
“This is your bride collar.”
I stand there, blinking in the dim room. There’s one shaft of brightness coming from an overhead spotlight that floats a few feet over a plinth. And on that plinth rests a red velvet pillow. And propped on that pillow, sits a very impressive piece of golden jewelry.
It looks like it belongs in a museum. Not just by the way it’s reverently presented, but just by how… opulent it is. The collar is made from gleaming gold with a base of intricate filigree-like patterns. And it’s adorned with jewels that look nothing like the rubies and emeralds of Earth. Some look like they hold shards of rainbows, and others seem to change color right before my eyes. The whole thing looks somehow both dainty in design and bold in size. The bottom of it dips to a widow’s peak-type of point that will rest right at the base of my throat between my clavicle. And from that point, hangs the biggest jewel of them all; a teardrop shaped clear stone that sparkles more than any diamond could ever dream to.
