She looked away. His words hit her hard. Because no one called her eyes beautiful. There was no belief that they were.
He must have seen the confusion on her face because he stood up straighter and looked around for a second. "What?"
"Now I know you're lying. You said my eyes are beautiful."
He stepped closer to her, as close as he could be to the bed without touching it.
"I do not lie. They are stunning to behold. I could stare at your eyes all day. I love how they shift from one color to the other, blue and silver and darker blue and hints of gold mixed into the flecks."
"No one has ever told me my eyes were beautiful."
"Your eyes are special."
"I--"
"Shh," he said. He leaned into her. "You are. You are special, Princess Eleanor. And anyone telling you otherwise is not worth your time."
One of his hands touched her side, and she leaned into the warm contact. He felt so safe and strong to stay in. "And what are you going to do? Protect me from all the negativity?"
"If that is what must be done, then yes."
She'd had guards and protectors around her all her life for the sake of the Imperial family. Yet, not one of them seemed to be as committed as this Rhimodian was, and she'd met him merely a few hours before.
"At least the negotiations won't last too long. You'll only have to do it for a few days." She leaned into him, and they were doing this sort of side-hug embrace, where she was on the bed, he stood next to it. It was more than he had his arm around her, but not a full-on body-to-body hug.
Yet it was enough that she could feel him breathing and smell that warm musky man smell he had.
He shook his head. "I will protect you for as long as you need me."
She turned her head, so her face was pressed against his chest for a minute, savoring the comfort of him. Then she tipped her head back and rested her chin on his chest, so she could see his face. "What if I need you more than just through the negotiations? Will you come back to the Terran Empire with me? Protect me there, too?"
"If you wish."
"I was kidding." And she was. Sort of. Because no one made those kinds of commitments to her. She wouldn't expect that from anyone. Though it was fun to joke about such things.
He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down so they were almost nose to nose. "I promise you, Princess Eleanor, I will do whatever you need. If you need protection, I will take care of you. Here. On Sol-3, when we get there. Or on your homeworld, if it is needed."
"That is a lot of commitment."
"You need a lot of protection. You keep breaking things. It is good I can fix things." He ran his hand along her shoulder. Again, she loved how he felt touching her. Safe. Comfortable. Trustable.
And then there were her own versions of the Cravings, the part of her that really wanted to stop talking right now and find other things to do.
She smiled. "You're not wrong. I need a lot of things."
"Such as?"
"Another kiss. Even if it's pointless."
"As you like."
He leaned down toward her, and their lips brushed. In a moment, the kiss deepened. His tongue touched hers, and the intimate dance between them began. It was a waltz of sorts, him moving forward and savoring her. Then she repeated the steps back to him.
A kiss could be so many things.
Something chaste and straightforward.
Hard and cold.
