An Unexpected Return (5 page)

“But—” He returned to the desk again and scanned the log. “I want you to take other clients before you make any decisions. It would be unwise to come to any conclusions based on one experience.”

“But I’ll have some time before that’s scheduled, right?”

He nodded. “Yes, you are only the first in the class. I have to be available for everyone’s first appointment. Then I will schedule someone new for you.”

She sighed with relief. “All right.” With twenty students in the class, she would have at least nineteen days to spend with Aris. She only hoped he stuck around that long.

After grabbing her clothing still in the office closet, she rushed back up to Aris’s suite. She couldn’t wait to tell him the good news.

Chapter Seven

Xia stepped out of the shower, refreshed after a long night of pleasure and passion with Aris, and then sleeping half the day away snuggled against him. She sighed, rubbing the veech towel across her sex-swollen mound. The past two weeks had been better than she ever could have imagined. Aris had paid for her services every night, and she massaged away every tense muscle before he used his own past experiences to take her to new heights in bed. Complete bliss.

But she had a problem. She’d fallen in love. Her heart longed for Aris. Even now, she yearned to feel his touch, hear his whispered words as his breath brushed across her neck. She’d tried to remain unattached, see him as only a client, but sleeping with him after each session and sharing her hopes and dreams, had kept the minnica walls away from her heart.

What am I going to do when he leaves
?
How can I be with anyone else after him
? A broken heart waited in her future, but until then, she’d spend every spare minute with the young man who’d captured her very soul.

With another day off from Schola Calei, she waltzed from the bathroom, naked, with the hopes of an unscheduled rendezvous. She entered the bedroom, only to find it empty.

Her stomach clenched. Why hadn’t he said goodbye? A tear trickled down her cheek, followed by another. Pain ebbed from her heart, throughout her body. She crashed onto the bed in a fit of sobs. Something jabbed into her side, and she rolled over.

A note lay beside her. She wiped her tears to read the words.

Xia,

Please don’t think I’ve left you. Well, I did, but only for a short period of time.

I had some shopping to do.

Meet me at the park we went to on your last day off. I will be there.

All my love,

Aris

She sighed, needing to get there immediately.

Reaching for her clothes, she paused.
Maybe this isn’t such a good idea
.

She’d already broken down when she’d thought he’d left. What would happen when he finally did? Perhaps she should end this now, before his time on Elatia was over, and she needed to take other clients. Yes, she’d meet him and conclude their love affair.

But what could he be shopping for?

With new determination, she dressed and bounded down the stairs.

“Xia, you’re still here?”

She spun around to face Jacobus, who stood beside two of her classmates, Sharise and Mandy. “Yes, but I was just leaving.”

“Before you go, I have to inform you of your appointment tomorrow night.”

Concern flittered in her mind. “Another night with Aris. Yes, I already know.”

He shook his head. “No. Aris is only scheduled for tonight. You will have a new client tomorrow night. A Mikashe, just like the mannequin you trained with.”

“But it hasn’t been nineteen days yet. What about the rest of the class?” She couldn’t get over Aris that fast. No, she needed more time.

“Some of your classmates, just like tonight, have serviced their clients in pairs. Therefore, it is your turn again tomorrow. Do you have a problem with that?”

Jacobus’ tone had turned authoritative, something she didn’t often hear. Which meant no chance to disagree. “No, sir.”

She slumped away, eager to get away from everyone, including Aris. She couldn’t see him again. Not if she wanted to recover from her broken heart before her next appointment. It would be easier to avoid him rather than tell him their time together had to end. But could she truly get over him without saying goodbye?

***

Aris sat on the lush hillside, brushing his hands through the soft grass. They didn’t have grass on Tyto, only rock. A lot of rock.

Would Xia be happy there? Or would she regret her decision to live there with him? But what about his parents? Would they accept a Terran girl as his bride-to-be when relations with Earth remained tense? Perhaps their union would help.

He thought too far ahead. She hadn’t said she would return with him. She hadn’t even arrived.

He’d only been waiting a short period of time, yet his gut compressed in anxious anticipation. He would proclaim his love for her here, present her with a ceremonial crown—and make sweet love to her.

Fingering the crown on his lap, he sighed. In the marketplace, he hadn’t found anything close to the elite farite crowns his family wore on Tyto. The precious metal was mined from the rock and forged into exquisite pieces of jewelry. He’d never cared to wear one, but Xia would so everyone would know she was his princess. He didn’t want anyone else.

For now, she’d have to settle for the crown he’d hand-woven using branches of eletin. Either way, no one could be as beautiful as she, no matter what she wore.

Clothing swished behind him as someone approached. He spun around and smiled. “I’m glad you came.” Reaching up, he helped her to sit beside him.

A light breeze tousled her dark locks. But the happiness he’d seen in her eyes during his two weeks on Elatia had disappeared.

“What’s wrong, Xia?”

She shook her head and laced her fingers with his as she stared out over the city.

Tourists meandered through the marketplace, some on the backs of slow, hairy orokes. No one seemed to be in a rush, quite different than on Tyto where no one relaxed until their daily responsibilities had been fulfilled. Even as the prince, he had his own chores to do. His home had never been a vacation destination—more like a hidden colony—but with Xia by his side, life on Tyto would be a dream come true. If, that is, she agreed to return with him.

He breathed in her scent: bimon, a citrusy fruit found on Otaria. The fragrance suited her better than eletin, a marking of his own heritage, giving him hope she would travel home with him. But how had she washed away the eletin when the herb flowed through the water? And where had she found the bimon? Exporting the fruit had been banned long ago. Had she found the scent for him, worn it to indicate her feelings for him? He glanced over at her, filled with optimism. “Xia, I want to take you home with me. I want you to be my princess.”

She gasped, and he caught the tears streaming down her cheeks. He couldn’t tell if they were tears of joy or sadness. Perhaps both.

“I can’t. I’m not a princess. I’m an Adamo. I have a life here, people who care about me, who have always been by my side.”

His gut clenched. Had he misread her? He stroked her face, needing some contact. He refused to let her go. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, inside and out. Every time I see you, my heart skips a beat.” Revealing the crown of eletin to her, he smiled. “Will you return to Tyto with me? Will you marry me and be my princess?” He hadn’t asked Madelia to marry him—still a custom on Tyto even when betrothed—saving the honor for the woman who would capture his soul. And now he’d found her, he could never love another, no matter what decision she made.

“Aris, I want to. It’s just—”

“I don’t care if you’re Terran. We can make this work. All I need to know is if you feel the same way, if you love me.”

She nodded, wiping the tears away.

“Then say you’ll marry me.”

“Yes, I will.” She bowed her head.

With his insides cartwheeling, he presented her with the crown and then pulled her onto his lap. “Gods, I love you so much. I never thought I’d ever feel this way until I met you. Why don’t we leave right away, start our new life together?” He kissed her with hunger, engulfed in her intoxicating essence. His life was now complete, perfect.

She pulled away, gasping. “Aris, I need a couple days. I have some things I need to take care of first.”

“That’s fine. I’ll help you.” He wanted to spend every minute with her, didn’t want to let her go until he had her on Tyto with him. Even then he would do his best to be away from her as little as possible. And if his parents disapproved, he’d settle elsewhere, anywhere, as long as Xia remained by his side.

She placed her hand on his chest. “No. I need to do this myself.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

What could she not need his help with? “Xia, what—”

She stroked his face. “I’m going with you. I just have a promise I have to keep tomorrow night. Then I’m all yours. We can leave the next morning.”

Pangs of guilt tore through her. She’d promised her heart, her life to Aris, yet she would take one more client?
It’s your job, and he knows it.

He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes, her soul. Could he tell she was hiding something from him?

Taking a deep breath, she smiled. She needed to change the topic, disintegrate the tension between them and forget her guilt. “Do you remember the first time we came here?”

She couldn’t wait to finish her classes that day, wanting to practice some new techniques on her repeat client. She’d spent her every free moment with him, and he showed her pleasure was just as fun to receive from a client as it was to give. But when she arrived, he wore a somber expression rather than the one full of lust she’d come to expect when she’d meet him in his room.

“What’s wrong?” she had asked.

He gazed up at her and reached for her hand. “I’m falling in love with you, Xia. I don’t want to ever leave you.”

She couldn’t help but beam with joy. Finding a regular client as an Echelon Two was rare, yet she’d done just that. “I’ll always be here for you when you visit. You’ll have priority over everyone else.” With the promise of his return, she could get through her training, take other clients, picturing him during each session she was with another. She’d rather travel with him, but knew that dream wasn’t possible, not with the history of animosity between their cultures.

He leaned down and kissed her with sweet passion. And there on the hill, they’d made love, their time together no longer about her bringing him heightened pleasure, but to simply be together, as equals.

“I will never forget a second with you.” As he did their first time together, and every encounter thereafter, Aris worshiped her body with his hands, mouth, and ravaging tongue.

As he kissed his way up her stomach, she drew in a quick breath. “Please don’t ever leave me.”

“I promise I’ll be by your side for the rest of my life. I love you, Xia.” Hovering above her, he joined his body with hers.

She moaned, oblivious to everything but this moment. She hoped he kept his word, for she could never give her heart to another. She would always be his.

Chapter Eight

Xia sighed as she left the suite. She hadn’t been apart from Aris for even a day, and now emptiness washed over her. And guilt continued to build. What would he think if he knew she was about to service another man? The idea tore her up inside. Yet, she had to go, had to keep her word to Jacobus.

With each measured step, she tried not to falter. How could she even think about keeping this appointment when she’d given her heart to Aris, accepted his marriage proposal and beautiful, hand-made crown? She leaned against the minnica wall in an effort to regain her composure. She couldn’t show up with hunched shoulders and a quivering lip. No, she had to be happy, filled with lust, ready to fulfill her client’s desires. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a bottle of eletin massage oil and rubbed it onto her face. Anything to improve her mood.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up straight and attempted a smile, one she couldn’t make happen.
No
!
Do this for Kalara and Jacobus
. They’d always been there for her. She had to make them proud.

Reining in her guilt, she continued down the hall. This was her last appointment. She could do this for her makeshift family. The client hadn’t booked her for the entire night, so she’d be in long enough to give him a massage, release his arousal, and then she’d be done. And if her life didn’t work out with Aris, she could return, become an Adamo Mistress.

She arrived at the door and retrieved her card from her bag to disengage the lock. But she couldn’t. The man on the other side of that door would not be Aris. She’d already promised him she would be with one man for the rest of her life, a promise she’d break almost immediately if she stayed.

Aris mattered more to her than anything. He held her future. No, she would have to go back on her word to Jacobus. As she turned to leave, the door opened.

An older man, covered in scales, stepped from the suite. He wore nothing but a veech towel around his waist. “Are you my Adamo? I’ve been anxiously awaiting your services since my quarantine period ended.”

A tear trailed down her cheek. She couldn’t leave now. “Yes, sir. Let’s get started.” She followed him inside and set up the massage table.

The sooner she finished, the sooner she could return to Aris and discover what her future held.

***

Aris turned the corner as Xia followed an almost naked Mikashe man into his room. The door slid closed behind them.

He narrowed his eyes. Fire burned through his body. How could Xia keep clients after what they’d shared? After agreeing to return with him? His heart ached as if splitting in two. Would she ever be able to leave this lifestyle behind, or would she continue to service others on Tyto? He couldn’t bear the thought.