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Stars, the things I want to do to that woman.
Grux returned to his father’s study and found his dad sitting at the desk again. He turned immediately to his son with a look on his face Grux wasn’t exactly fond of.
“What’s going on in that cauldron, Father?” Grux quipped.
His father let out a deep chuckle.
“I think it would behoove us to avoid the obvious political advantages this situation has presented to us. You know I’ve been wanting to find a way to strengthen a relationship with Earth, and rescuing one of theirs might bring me closer.”
Grux let out a sigh and then sat down on a chair nearby. He knew all about the tensions between their people and Earth’s. If they brought Scarlett back, it could trigger some kind of truce.
He had been nervous about his father’s reaction to another Terran after what happened with Kozien, but he had hoped that saving a stolen woman would land on his father’s more benevolent side. It wasn’t like Grux was renouncing his claim to the throne.
He leaned his head back on the chair and tried to listen as his father droned on.
“It has been years since any leader reached out directly. I’m sure the idea of reconciliation hasn’t crossed anyone’s thoughts for a long time now. But you have made something bloom, son. Something blooms in my mind.”
Grux knew what his father was like when he got an idea in his head. It was like giving a dog a bone and being surprised when it devoured it. It was inevitable that he was going to get to the root of it all, to find a silver lining in a dark and strange situation.
“How close are you two?”
Grux sat up from the chair. He hadn’t been completely listening. “Hmm?”
“You and Scarlett,” his father said with a wide grin. “How close have you become during your travels?”
Grux crinkled his nose at his father. He didn’t want to be completely honest with him, because then he could easily use the information against him. But at the same time, he wasn’t entirely sure where they stood.
Lust and desire were certainly mounting between their craving bodies, but was there anything more?
Grux shrugged, trying to play off his deepening thought process.
“We are congenial,” Grux said. “She is very thankful that I’ve brought her here instead of back to the Flemlars.”
Suddenly, Grux’s father clapped his hands together. He stood up from the chair, came over to his son, and then grabbed him by the shoulders.
“That is it then, boy,” he said. “I want you to get closer to her. Get cozy. The closer you get, the more likely we are to achieve utter political harmony.”
Grux’s stomach turned. He wasn’t fond of using Scarlett in such a way. If it had been any other woman, he would certainly give it a go. It was for his kingdom, after all.
But he hated the way his father would use his heart for political gain the same way he would ban his own son from their planet for falling in love.
He nodded instinctively. “I will do that, Father.”
“That’s a good lad!”
His father clapped his son’s chest, making a loud slapping sound, and a sting moved through his body.
“You use that classic charm and report back to me!”
His father began laughing uproariously. Clearly, it was an exciting time for him, but Grux wasn’t entirely sure about lying to Scarlett about his intentions.
He eventually decided to go to bed, realizing it was getting late. His father encouraged him, asking him to get started on his “mission” immediately.
Grux went up to check on Scarlett, secretly hoping that she was indeed asleep. He wanted her physically, deeply, more than anyone he had ever wanted before, but he really didn’t wish to lie to her.
He listened in on the door, hoping to hear some faint breathing. But she was awake. He could hear her humming to herself.
Grux breathed in deeply and then raised a hand to knock lightly on her door. He heard her excitedly leap off the bed and come to him.
