Free Reestrian Mates - Complete by Sue Lyndon, Sue Mercury

his tongue as he awaited her response.
    She sat up against the pillows and looked at him hesitantly. The strand of hair he’d tucked behind her ear fell loose and brushed across her cheek. “Who are you and what are you doing in my room?”
    “I am Prince Joseph, the oldest brother of Prince Alex, the one who is mated to your friend Princess Kira.”
    “Okayyyy… but what are you doing in my room?”
    “The Raavika’s propulsion system needs repaired, and we cannot complete the first space fold until we are a certain distance from Earth. It may take a few hours, and I wanted to make sure you were aware of the situation. It’s nothing to be alarmed about, we will still reach Reestria in time for the human wedding ceremony.”
    “Oh.” She looked like she wanted to say more. In fact, she looked as if a thousand questions rested on her tongue, but she remained quiet. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. When she didn’t ask why he had a human name, as most humans on Earth had after first meeting him, he supposed she’d heard that human names had been ever popular on Reestria for years. He wondered exactly how much she knew about his kind.
    Joseph found he couldn’t force himself to leave her quarters. He wanted to spend every moment of this trip with Angie, and he wanted to know why she feared him. Or perhaps, he thought with a bit of clarity, it wasn’t just him she feared. Perhaps she feared all men. Male humans weren’t always honorable and from what Joseph had learned during his studies of Earth, it wasn’t uncommon for a male to be violent to a female, particularly a wife.
    His gaze darted to her left hand and he spotted no wedding band, though her ring finger had a pale circle around it, as if she’d recently taken a ring off. She shifted on the bed and he sensed her heart beating wildly in her chest.
    “Why did you faint, Angie?”
    Her eyes widened and she glanced around the room for a while, until finally meeting his gaze again. She shrugged. “Space travel doesn’t agree with me, I guess.”
    “I sense you are lying.” He stated this kindly, not at all angry she hadn’t confided in him. But oh how he wished she would trust him.
    “Yeah, well, I don’t know you and you sort of just let yourself into my room. I’m feeling better now.” She blinked rapidly after a sheen of moisture appeared in her eyes. “How did I get in this bed anyway?” Fear tinged her voice.
    “I caught you before you fell and carried you here. I also summoned a doctor who told me you had a panic attack and fainted, and he said you would awake soon. He also said you might be weak after you regain consciousness.”
    “I’m not weak!” As soon as she yelled the words, she clamped a hand over her mouth and her expression became a mixture of fear and regret. When she uncovered her mouth, she said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you. Please don’t be angry. I’m sorry. Can you just leave me alone now? Please?” She retreated to the other side of the bed.
    “I cannot leave you alone, Angie. I find I do not have the strength to leave this room.” His nostrils flared as he inhaled her intoxicating female scent. Flowers and grassy meadows and fresh air. He wanted to bury his face in her hair and her neck, all the while running his hands over every inch of her body. And he still wanted to lick her freckles.
    Her lower lip trembled. “Wh-what do you mean?”
    “I will protect you. You are afraid of all males, yes? The Reestrians and the human men on this ship?”
    She exhaled a shaky breath and regarded him with suspicion. “How do you know that?”
    “I sense your fear, sweet one. I believe you fainted because my maleness scares you, but I promise on my life I would never harm you. You are the dear friend of my brother’s mate, and I will stay with you during the trip to Reestria, and then I will personally deliver you to my family’s home where your friend’s human wedding ceremony is to take