"That's the issue. I'm not important."
"You are."
"No, really. I'm not. I can't remember much before my mother died. And after? Well, my position was defined quickly by my father, so I would never forget where I was in the order of things." She took a seat on the bed, pulling her legs up to her chest.
He stepped next to the bed. His hands grazed the top of the mattress as he spoke. "Master System would not want you protected if you were not important. Master System is always right."
"Master System doesn't know me," she said, her gaze running over him. He was very close to her, standing at the edge of the bed like that. But it didn't frighten her. She wasn't fearful of him at all. He was just there.
There was a soothing feeling she felt from his presence. A comfort she'd felt from very few people.
He shrugged. "I don't question Master System. While I can adjust my interpretation of protocol, I still trust that Master System has a bigger vision of the situation than I can see."
That was it, though. Seeing the whole picture. Sometimes, Eleanor wanted to see everything and couldn't. Or wasn't allowed to. "Unfortunately, the one who has the bigger picture is also the one that's causing all the problems," she said. "My father is manipulating this, I am sure of it."
"You misunderstand what I mean."
"Then explain it to me."
"It is like when your ship was attacked. There were five of our ships surrounding yours. One, maybe two of us Rhimodians saw what actually happened, including the point of attack. I was not one of them. Because we are connected, Master System saw it. Master System knows what happened and adjusted orders based on the latest data."
"But what if you're wrong? What if this is a waste of time?"
He stared at her for a beat. Maybe two. The way his expression shifted and emotions, or perhaps it was understanding, passed over his features, she felt terrible.
"It is not a waste, meeting you, Princess. Regardless of how this progresses from this moment on, I will never regret meeting you. Protecting you. Or even kissing you."
Her cheeks heated, and she covered them, staring at the bed mattress.
"Do not do that," he said and put his hand on her arm, guiding her hands down.
She looked at him. "Do what?" His unique eyes drew her in. White as they were, she could feel them. She could see them. It was intense, the growing attraction between them, and she felt so odd about it.
She didn't expect to find it.
Not with him.
Not really with anyone. As much as she fought her father, she knew deep down she would wind up a barter with another system, some way to solidify a treaty. She could fight it all she wanted, but that would be her lot in life. She had always hoped she'd be mildly attracted to them if she was forced into something and would have some sense of connection.
Jedriek, though.
She felt far more with him than she ever expected to feel.
With anyone. And from the way he stared at her, she knew he felt it too.
He called it the Craving, but it was the same thing. That growing, burning attraction.
His thumb caressed her cheek, and she felt so much moving between them. Intensity and attraction. She'd felt a lot when they'd kissed, but this was different. Granted, she thought he was hot. And he made her feel tiny and protected whenever he was near, just from the sheer size of him.
Maybe the intensity of the day was what sparked this desire between them.
Perhaps that was all it was.
But did it matter? Really? If all it happened to be was sparked desire from a very intense introduction and encounter? She had read plenty of books in her life where the main characters met under extreme situations and wound up being very attracted to each other.
"I," she whispered, still a little embarrassed that she'd not been able to look him in the eyes.
"Do not be afraid to look at me with those beautiful eyes of yours."
