Alien General's Bride: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) (19 page)

For a moment, she was afraid that it was not. They were Brions, after all. War was a natural state to them and Rhea was a jewel. Then Eleya smiled and Isolde thought she felt Diego relax, standing beside her.

“Well put,” the senator said. “However…”

Isolde’s blood ran cold. What now?

“As I said, I approved of the attacks and I do not exactly like sharing Rhea, although I will obey the Elders. It took some time for Diego to convince me that I was not following their orders. Do you understand that if your
gerion
is wrong, every last one of us would slay you where you stand?”

There was something vicious about her, so vicious that despite being among the Brions for more than a week now, Isolde feared for her life. Suddenly the overwhelming strength of the Brion generals seemed so very vivid to her. She was walking in a nest of vipers.

Sell it! You have to give the right answer
.

“I understand,” she said, though her voice shook. “But he is not wrong. I trust him.”

She felt his hand on her shoulder, letting her know she had done well. It sent pleasant vibrations all through her body, followed closely by regret.

Then the holoimage of Eleya visibly relaxed, her eyes becoming kinder up to the point Isolde could no longer imagine finding her scary. “Alright,” the senator said. “Then I am with you, Grothan.”

As they set to laying down the details of their plan, Isolde knew the reason she’d been able to convince Eleya was that she hadn’t, ultimately, lied. She
did
trust Diego, at least in that, but whatever she had said to keep their deception alive, she did not forgive. Not him, nor any of them. They were simply the lesser of two evils.

All throughout the meeting, Diego’s hands brushed against the curls of her hair or against her bare skin, half the time Isolde didn’t even realize she had lifted her own to respond to the touch or leaned against him. At regular intervals, increasing as the day went on, she looked to him to always find him watching, his eyes kind and loving. All lies.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Diego

Isolde did well.

Diego felt he should have been happier. It had taken days of convincing and all his diplomacy to get Eleya to even consider hearing him out. Given that he usually handled problems with the sharp edge of his spear and Eleya was more stubborn than all the Brion generals put together, that was a victory in itself, one he would receive no laurels for.

Not even bringing up Senator Eren’s hated name had immediately brought her on board. Generally, mentioning him seemed to set a lot of wheels in motion one way or another. Many supported him, but there were equally many who would gladly oppose him. Diego thought back to their last conversation about Isolde’s fate – he now held a personal vendetta against the senator.

But the day finally arrived when Eleya was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and he got to explain what he’d already told Faren, and the senator’s face had been serious. All manner of bravado and boasting were gone when there was talk of the future of the Brions.

Eleya had agreed to give Isolde the same benefit of the doubt. She’d demanded the human come to the meeting, so she could see and judge her for herself. Diego had seldom felt such dread before a meeting. Without Eleya, they would have gone to Briolina practically blind and mute, with the senators lining up all their defenses. It was essential that Isolde play along.

She had done well. Diego doubted the binding lie passed Eleya’s perception, but she would hardly care. It was more important that Isolde had managed to convince her she would do her part. That, at least, made her safe with their
allies
.

Yes. Isolde had done… well, and he, escorting his
gesha
back to her rooms, was pulling off the act. It was like walking on coals, which he’d actually done.

Her scent was an aphrodisiac in a way that nearly overcame his self-control. Every look she sent him, coyly watching him from under those long eyelashes… there was no mistaking the lust, nor the need. The way her long silky hair felt under his fingers was driving him insane with desire to bury his hand in them, pull her close and kiss the air out of her lungs, bury himself in her warmth, have those eyes cloud over in pleasure as he drove deeper and deeper into her…

Coal.
He would have preferred coal to holding Isolde in his arms like this, a mockery of what was supposed to be his,
was
his and denied to him. It would have been better if they’d been systems apart, with only her memory to sustain his needs. Much better than to act out the binding, to pretend to have everything you ever wanted but kept away from it.

It was physical torment. The moment the door closed behind them in Isolde’s quarters, he released her and stepped away. He had to get out of there, away, far away before he went completely insane. Yet he had to spend at least some time in her rooms not to arouse suspicion as to why they were avoiding each other. It was unnatural for a bound couple. Isolde was looking at him with that ever-cursed fear.

“Do not look at me like that,” he snarled, making her back away even further. “How many times do I have to repeat myself? I will
never
hurt you.”

“You can’t promise that,” she said, her voice trembling with something he couldn’t identify. He had tried to tune out every sign her body gave him, another torture to add to the ones already plaguing him.

He had noticed that when she was mad, or worse – upset, or worse – scared, her voice seemed to hurt him as well. It was as if when she was happy with him, her voice soothed his very soul, and when she was not, it literally hurt him. He could not bear it. Couldn’t bear the thought of being the cause of her pain.

“Of course I can,” he snapped, a bit harsher than he’d intended, but the anger was becoming harder to control. Not anger at her, exactly – he couldn’t bring himself to be angry with her – the situation in general, rather. “My word is my pledge. I will never lay a hand on you.”

“Not what I meant,” Isolde said then, very quietly, her eyes still wide with… fear? Diego wasn’t suddenly so sure.

Isolde’s beautiful green eyes were big, focusing entirely on him – he’d thought it signified fear, did it not? Yet she approached him with caution, reaching out to lay one gentle hand on his arm.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to make anyone suffer like this.”

In hindsight, as Diego thought over the rushing emotions and Isolde’s voice ringing softly in his ears, he should have known better. He could fool most anyone. After all, they
were
meant for each other, the pretense came easily, if not without a cost. But he should have known that the one he most certainly could not fool was Isolde. She had to have seen through him without even trying, must have seen the pain she was causing him.

She did not fear him. It was obvious to him that Isolde saw him hurt and suffered because of it. That just proved the binding was real, but how could he make Isolde
understand
that? Frustration rose to the surface again, washing away all the calm her touch had brought. He moved a step closer, to try and find words with which to explain, only to have her back away, the message clear in her eyes – don’t.

He changed the topic to take his mind off the fact things were about to get so much worse. “Did you understand everything that is expected of you on Briolina and on Rhea?”

Isolde nodded, visibly relaxing a bit. It hurt him on a level he couldn’t even discern. She paced around the room, removing the jewels she apparently found uncomfortable to wear in her own time from her hair. Diego’s eyes clung to her curves as she walked, gorgeous in the dim light of the room now that Isolde’s eyes were slowly getting used to the light settings on Brion ships. She shone like a star, the way the dress flowed over her ass making his mouth water.

He swallowed hard, his cock straining against the tight armor he wore, a constant reminder of his need to claim her, pound himself into her soft, wet heat, feel her flesh throb in pleasure against him. He was on the verge of asking Isolde to stay still and stop her maddening teasing, but caught himself. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, not to mention he couldn’t bring himself to ask her to stop when he found even the torture so deliciously exciting.

“I think I do, yes,” Isolde was saying. “I… I will worry about Rhea when we get there. I’m much more concerned about Briolina. The senators, they…”

She caught his eyes and now there was concern in them. “Are you sure we can trust Senator Eleya?”

Diego found he was still able to grin, at least. Not all life had been drained from him, it seemed. “Generally, I wouldn’t trust that one if I held her at gunpoint, but I will trust her in
this
, yes.”

“Why?” Isolde asked.

“She has her reasons. Trust me.”

When Isolde remained suspicious, reality crashed back like a bucket of ice cold water. It should have been, no, it
could
have been so easy. A
gesha
trusted her
gerion
and his judgment and vice versa. Yet here he was, having to prove his every word to her.

“Does she hope to be a general again if she helps you?” Isolde ventured.

Clever girl. At least you have a friend on the ship, if you will not trust me. But no. Lie.

“Perhaps,” he allowed, twisting the truth instead. “Among other things. But you heard her, she believes, as I do, that the senators are acting in their own interests.”

“She
is
a senator.”

Another grin – Diego hated it as much as he loved it. She was so amazingly stubborn. He would have liked nothing better than to hold her against him, laugh with her, ease her worries, and make her smile in return. “Not truly. Not like the others.”

She seemed to accept that, at least.

“Things will be expected of us on Briolina,” Diego took the opportunity to say. “Not all bound couples are the same, and no two act alike, but we have to remain close to each other while we are there. All eyes will be on us. Not just the Brions, but the galaxy will take interest as well, as soon as this gets out. There are the GU’s ambassadors on Briolina. If it looks for a moment that I am…” he took a breath to calm himself, “holding you against your will, they will report it to the Council. Those who hate us will do it anyway. The more honest ones will look for an excuse first. The humans will be shocked and the Palians will suspect foul play.”

A sad smile appeared on Isolde’s lips. “Yes, the humans will be shocked. Not only because this has never happened before, but also… well. On Terra, the chances of a woman like me getting a man like you – I don’t know if the humans will believe you, honestly.”

A mad surge of protectiveness coursed through Diego’s veins. He barely noticed when he’d already crossed the floor to fold Isolde into his arms as he’d longed to do all day, every day since he’d met her. His voice dropped to a growl as he brushed his hand against her cheek. She didn’t struggle against his hold.

“I will make them believe,” he snarled. “You are safe with me, but I am still Diego Grothan. Any man or woman stupid enough to even hint that you’re not good enough for me will get to regret that in a very unpleasant way.”

Isolde’s eyes spoke volumes to him. Her desire for him, her own need – hot and desperate – and her longing, so clear from the way she pressed herself against him for, resting her head against his chest. Diego put his arms around her shoulders, breathing in the scent of her even if he knew he’d regret it later in his rooms, which had never felt empty before he realized they had always been waiting for Isolde to make them complete.

Her hands tightened reflexively around him, holding on to him with all the strength she had, unwilling to let go even if they both knew the moment had to end. Diego was surprised that it was him who broke their embrace. He simply couldn’t take it anymore. Being so close to her and knowing it was not to be felt like death had come to him already and he’d just refused to stop breathing.

Isolde’s eyes were brimming with tears. It was too much. He could handle his pain, but not hers. Diego left her alone, seeking some distraction to bring his mind peace again.

He paused for a moment behind Isolde’s door. Narath and Deliya still stood guard, dutiful as ever. His eyes wandered over Deliya’s body, but what used to excite him was now a mere fact instead of something alluring. She was beautiful, he couldn’t deny that, but that was it. For a man who had found his
gesha
, other women were dull and grey in comparison.

“If she needs you, be there,” he told the warrior woman instead, meaning both her guard duties and being Isolde’s friend.

Then he went to
his
only true friend.

---

Urenya was one of the few people who dared to fully speak her mind to him. Isolde should have done the same, but Diego didn’t want to think about that. He made his way to the medical bay, not even to seek any aid or council, but simply to clear his mind of the rush of emotions intent to drive him mad.