Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,23

advantage of your generosity. I apologize.”

“Stop apologizing,” he admonished. “I am happy to remain as your guard while you sleep.”

“Really?” She let loose a deep and trembling breath. “Thank you.” Fiora glanced around. “Should we…?” She looked toward the bed and then decided on the couch. She gestured toward the cushions.

Jaxx nodded. He sat on the end of the couch and arranged a pillow next to his hip. “Come.”

Fiora lay on the couch, facing the back. The top of her head was close to his thigh. He dropped his arm to hold her hand lightly.

The screams stopped, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes. “You’re better than Chandoo.”

8

Well, this was awkward.

Jaxx watched over Fiora as she slept. Of course, his body wanted to do much more than watch, and the arousal pressing against his pants refused to ease. When had he turned into a complete dragon who could not control his base urges? This woman needed protection, and all he could think about was not glancing at the soft rise and fall of her chest.

Which he was doing. Again.

Blast it all!

There was a difference between lying and choosing not to speak. Neither of which seemed to be options for Fiora. He couldn’t imagine being compelled to say every thought in his head. If he had, he would have confessed his attraction to her at a time when she was talking about the destruction of a city.

Not his proudest moment.

Fiora looked just like her sister, but he didn’t see Salena when he looked at her. He saw someone who’d had a rougher road to travel—and when he’d found Salena, she’d been starved and dying in a cliffside cave near Shelter City, so that was saying something.

He’d thought Queen Rigan standing up to the general was amusing at the time, but with Fiora’s warning, all humor faded. She was right. He didn’t have to be psychic to predict the general would retaliate. He was the type of man who always wanted retribution, even if it wasn’t justified.

Jaxx released Fiora’s hand to stretch his arms over his head. Instantly, she gave a small moan and turned on the couch. Her forehead wrinkled with a deep frown, and she began to toss in her sleep.

“Those poor babies,” she mumbled.

“Hey, easy,” he soothed as he dropped his arms to make contact with her skin. He took her hand in his. She instantly calmed. Her fingers twitched against him.

After several moments, he pulled his hand away, letting it hover over her. She moaned and kicked her legs. He put his hand against her cheek and felt her relax. She nuzzled against him.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered.

He watched her face to see if she was awake. Her chest rose in even breaths.

Jaxx didn’t know what to make of the reaction, but he felt a connection to her. For so long, he’d felt the chaos around him. It had gotten to the point it was all he felt. The Federation, with their hold over Shelter City, seemed to be locked in an eternal struggle with the shifters. He desperately wanted it to end, but not in the way Fiora predicted. Not with the death of all those in Shelter City.

And, still, maybe that was the only way to end the stalemate and get the Federation off his planet. He could see no other way, and he had looked. The Federation was too powerful.

But there were so many Cysgodians in the city, so many lives, so many who did not deserve such a harsh fate.

Letting them die was not an option.

Letting Fiora go back to the general was not an option.

Doing nothing was not an option.

There were no options.

What path could be chosen when there was no path?

Jaxx looked up at the ceiling. For a dragon, when there wasn’t a path that meant flying up. If the Federation smuggled people onto the planet, perhaps he could smuggle them off? How long before people noticed the missing population? How many could they free?

He’d discussed the idea at length with his parents and the Var princess, Payton, but every time they’d shot it down. A spaceship big enough to fit everyone wouldn’t be stealthy, even if they could convince a distrusting population to board. Not to mention they’d break the agreement by helping them escape.

There was no winning, only varying degrees of losing.

“Fiora?”

Jaxx picked up the softly spoken word before the door to the guest suite opened. Salena appeared, glancing around the spacious room before her