“Thank you for being so cooperative over these last five days, Diplomat Lian.”
Jaiya smiled as Idris offered her his hand, a human gesture he’d picked up after working so closely with her. She bowed her head; tilting their horns was how Daextru acknowledged each other. Her lack of horns wouldn’t deter her from a gesture as simple as a human’s wave.
“I look forward to our species working together for the greater good. I truly believe we will be able to learn a lot from each other in the coming years,” she said, shaking his hand.
He peered down at their enclosed hands, gently squeezing hers. A pleasant warmth radiated from his soft, scaly hands as she tried to file this moment away in her memory.
“It’s my dream for you to visit my home planet once your embassy is built,” he said, shooting a glance at her. “I hope I’ll be invited to do the same.”
Jaiya cursed her fluttering heart.
They weren’t meant to be and would probably never meet after this mission.
She forced herself to keep the smile upon her face, despite the conflict raging inside her.
When she had originally accepted the mission, she only meant to escort her brother—not take his place. But she knew if he had come alone, or even with her by his side, he wouldn’t have been as successful as she’d been. His fear of the Daextru and the deadly stakes would have ruined his chances of establishing a successful peace treaty.
Now that she had been here for almost a week and had become familiar with the Daextru, she didn’t believe they were responsible for the destruction of her mother’s vessel. These people were already involved in a brutal war. Why would they start another one? Especially with a people who could provide them with a vital resource and potentially aid them against the Vresqoxk.
And even though their explanation of their evidence of the past events were enough for her, they provided copies of holodisks filled with their records and data to take back with her to prove their innocence.
She wasn’t ready to be swept away by the incoming CTA representative tomorrow, not after working alongside these males and being treated asequal, instead of as a pair of tits on feet. Not once did any of them pull rank on her, even though Idris was a prince acting as a representative.
If she had been dealing with human males, they would spend more time puffing their chests and trying to one-up each other than working on the problem at hand.
That was what conflicted Jaiya.
A part of her didn’t want to return home and face the unknown but knew that she needed to accept the consequences of her actions. Another part wanted to reveal her true identity to the prince and hope he would understand. If he caught wind of news about her deception once things settled between their species, he would feel betrayed that she wasn’t the real Aydin. She hoped he never bumped into her brother before she had the chance to explain herself.
But telling him now would only jeopardize the peace treaty, and she couldn’t return unsuccessful.
“Of course, it will be a historic moment when the creators of the peace treaty shake hands at each other’s embassies. I can’t wait to see what your home planet Dzenshju looks like,” she told Idris.
“Even if his parents are the Sovereign and Overseer?” Erlyn teased.
Jaiya stilled.
Idris laughed, dropping her hand as he held his stomach.
“You should have seen your face, Aydin!” His laughter grew louder as dark hair bounced with his bellows. “Did you forget that I’m a prince?”
“To be honest, yes,” Jaiya explained, feeling the contagious joy roll off him. “You act sonormalcompared to the males I usually deal with.”
“Should I be worried?” he asked, settling down into a smile. “I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.”
“And what would that be?”
He jerked to attention, his body rigid and head held high. “I am Prince Idris, fifth in line of the Daextru throne, and a deadly starstorm pilot.” He smirked as he peered down his nose at her. If not for his sapphire-blue body and golden horns, scales, and tail, she would have mistaken him for the typical pompous male.
“I don’t know, Prince Idris, I heard you have a fan club back home.” She latched herself onto one of his arms, instantly gaining his full attention. He watched her intensely as she raised the pitch of her voice to imitate the women who always lingered around space stations, waiting to be the picked for a good night out and a one-night stand. “Oh, Stars! You are so handsome, big boy.” Her gaze dropped to his pectorals, and sensually traced aimless circles on the scales. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ll show you a good time.”
Resting her palm on his chest, she looked up to give him a teasing wink, but her breath caught. He stared down at her with a hooded gaze, watching her every move.
A hard cough jerked her out of her trance. She automatically let go of Idris and backed away.
Way to blow your cover, Jaiya! Why am I so stupid?
“I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me. Please forgive me,” she begged, unable to meet his gaze. She didn’t want to see him angry or upset that amalehad hit onhim, a prince, even as a joke—especially since his people rarely mated outside of traditional coupling.
