Free Sex, Love, and Aliens 2 by Beth D. Carter, Ashlynn Monroe, Imogene Nix, Jaye Shields Page B

panting heavily. She wanted him out of there. “You have a transmitter?”
    “Yeah. Two in my pocket—one for you and one for me.”
    She removed them from his pocket, wincing as he groaned his discomfort.
    “I’ll alert your team,” she said. “And then we can—”
    Bang! Crash! The door thudded open and Marcus’s people hurried in. Looks of disbelief flooded their faces as they took in the tableau.
    Dria looked up. “He’s fine. But we’re going home. Joruzan, you can sort this mess out.”
    With that she depressed the buttons and the room turned black.
    * * * *
    The sun shone down as Dria left the palace. Her parents had been stunned at the ultimatum she’d just given them. Down below the mountain, in a small cafe, Marcus waited for her.
    For Marcus, she’d concocted a story about needing to return home and that her parents wished to meet him. Today wasn’t the time though. No, she needed the truth about Christina before taking a chance. Dria had reached the point of no return in the small shack when Marcus had been hurt. Like a lightning strike, it had hit her—he was the most important thing in her life.
    Her fingers shook as she transmitted to the cafe door. Peering in, she glanced around for him.
    He looked as nervous as she felt. Dria fussed with the collar of her gown before stepping forward. If she could somehow encourage him to open up, then she could make the most important declaration of her life.
    Marcus turned his eyes to her as she walked in his direction. “Everything done?”
    She smiled. “Yes. Let’s sit down.”
    He smiled tightly. “I already am.”
    The idiocy of her suggestion left her feeling more on edge than before as she tugged on a seat and lowered herself into the chair.
    “I’d like to talk to you about...stuff.” She almost groaned, realizing how lame the word sounded, but right now, all the careful rehearsal of what she meant to say eluded her.
    “Good. I’d like... There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.” His grin wobbled, and she leaned forward. “I need to tell you about Christina.”
    Now it was Dria’s turn to struggle with her smile. “Okay.”
    “Christina was... I met her on one of my missions. She was involved with the drug underground. My job was to extract as much information as I could from her. She had figured out who I was. Of course, that helped her achieve her ultimate aim. At the end, once she had the information she needed, she packed up her stuff, then decided she should tell me goodbye in person. Unknown to all of us, the cartel set explosives. Since the explosion, I’ve blamed myself because she waited to talk to me, as if it were somehow my fault that she was killed. Once the contents of her vehicle were listed I knew she had been planning on leaving me, but I held onto my grief and let it rule my life. I let her lies color my views on relationships and stopped trusting in what I could have.”
    Dria rubbed her forehead, struggling to understand what he was saying.
    “Did you love her?” The words were dragged from the deepest recess of her soul.
    He shook his head. “I thought I did. But I didn’t know what love was. Not then.”
    She tilted her head in his direction. He scrubbed his hand over his face, and the action left her feeling unbalanced.
    “Marcus...”
    “Shhh.” He stopped her words as he touched a fingertip against her lips. “Let me finish.”
    She nodded and kept her eyes locked on his face, entranced as he slipped from the chair and dropped to one knee. “I’m really not worthy of you. You’re a princess, and I’m a mere warrior. But I love you like no one else ever will. I love your passion and drive. I adore everything about you. Please consider finding a way to—”
    Her eyes burned as she dropped to her knees in front of him. “Marcus. I love you too. I have since... I don’t really know when. I’ve just informed my parents I cannot continue as Turana . It’s not who I’m meant to be. My