AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s this?” I placed the photo down and pulled out a second item: a small, red, rubbery ball.
“Bouncy ball,” she responded.
She took it from me and tossed it toward the floor. It bounced back into her hand.
“I didn’t get many days off with the Quilthar before coming to Thodos III. But one day, it just so happened a carnival was in town. I didn’t have money, so I flirted with some men to get them to win me prizes. This was the only one the Quilthar didn’t confiscate when I got back. I spent hours on the nights I couldn’t sleep, tossing it against the wall.”
“And this?” I asked, pulling out a dried-out flower. I could tell it was once colorful and vibrant.
“Oh…” she responded sadly. “When I was living on the streets, there were long stretches of time where it was just day after day of fighting to survive. Just struggling every moment, only to have to do it all over again the very next day.”
Amber then stepped away from me, but not before I caught a sheen of tears in her eyes. She walked over to the painting and focused on the image of the nebula.
“During one point… I started to consider no longer fighting. Just letting my fate catch up to me. But then I found that flower.”
I joined Amber at the window.
“Alone, poking out of the cracks in the ground in some alley. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. And I thought if something pretty like that could survive in a dirty place like that… so could I. It gave me hope and I kept fighting. Of course, that then led me to the Quilthar and Conii, so…”
“Well,” I chimed in. “It also led you to me.”
Amber turned to face me. I placed a hand on her chin. Then I leaned in, our lips pressing together in a kiss.
AMBER
I was a terrible person. The knowledge kicked me in the stomach, even as I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss. I needed him to help me. I needed him to believe I wanted him. That I wanted this.
Ryrik tilted his head to the side and deepened the kiss. His body was warm, and I felt something stir within me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. When the moan escaped from my throat, even I was surprised.
My fingers moved up to his chest, and I unbuttoned his shirt.
“Amber…” he said. “Are you sure about this?”
For a moment, I paused. My hesitance had nothing to do with not wanting to have sex with him, but everything to do with the guilt coursing through me.
I nodded. “I want you, Ryrik.”
With a growl, he scooped me up into his arms and carried me toward the bedroom, his steps heavy but deliberate. As we crossed the threshold, I felt a pang of fear but quickly squashed it. This was for my survival. This was for me.
The room was dimly lit with a single holographic night light on the bedside table, casting dancing shadows on the walls around us. Ryrik set me down gently onto the plush bed and then he was above me, a dark silhouette against the dying light. His hands traced a path up along my side, sending shivers across my skin and igniting an unexpected desire in me.
I swallowed hard, as I ran my fingertips through his hair. His eyes held mine captive, a sea of emotions swirling within them that I dared not decipher. I couldn’t bear to think of them too hard.
It wasn’t my fault that I needed to do anything, everything I could to get free from Conii, to get Isa out.
His feelings were his own responsibility, I told myself sternly. And just because my heart beat like a trapped bird in my chest, didn’t mean anything.
I didn’t catch feelings. This was just survival. That his touch sent sparks through me, that his gaze nearly melted my resolve…
Well, I could deal with my own shame later.
Our breaths mingled in the small space between us as he leaned down to kiss me again, more fervently this time. It was a kiss heavy with promises and unspoken confessions. He relinquished control to me, then pulled away just enough so that I could make the next move.
Unexpectedly emboldened, I pushed him onto his back and positioned myself on top. Our eyes met again in mutual understanding. “I want you, too, Amber,” he said gruffly, his voice hoarse with desire.
His confession felt like a balm to my raw emotions, easing the edge of shame that gnawed at the corners of my mind. I leaned down to capture his lips again, losing myself in the intoxicating blend of fear, desperation, and an unexpected growing desire for him.
His hands moved to my back, tracing a path along my spine that sent tingles through every nerve ending. I couldn’t help but respond to his touch, the heat that radiated from him drawing me closer as if by some magnetic pull.
