The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 90

POV: Lyra

Orion and Christian treated the alliance to lunch at a nutrient facility, and everyone dispersed after that. Christian went home to Annie, and the alliance headed back to the station quarters for rest.

When I got into Orion's transport pod after waving goodbye to the others outside the facility, Orion pressed his lips on mine without warning. He then pulled away just slightly before saying, "I want to show you something. Come with me?"

I averted my gaze and blinked to get myself out of my daze from the kiss but Orion pressed another deep one on my lips as he said in a husky voice, "Don't think, Lyra. Just say yes." He kissed me gently again before whispering, "Say yes."

I could only smile shyly as my thumb traced his lower lip line while muttering in a soft voice, "I was going to say yes when you first asked anyway."

He took my hands and kissed my cheek and said, "You're so cute when you're shy."

My already-warm skin became even warmer, shifting to deeper pink. "Orion, I'd like my hands back please." I glanced at my small hands secured firmly in his larger ones.

He grinned as he said, "No, you'll just cover your face. I like seeing you like this. All pink and warm."

I tried to control the color changes while thinking of a way out. "Unless the thing you wanted to show me is here in the docking bay, don't you think we should get going?"

Orion smirked as he held both my hands in one of his, and his free hand reached for my chin as he said, "Nice try, star-heart. We have time. I don't see the need to rush there." His thumb then started stroking my warm skin on my cheek for a moment before he uttered like he was in a trance, "Beautiful."

Doubt crept into my eyes, and I forced a meek smile under his gaze. His inner Lyrokan whimpered, fully aware that I still didn't believe I was beautiful. He pressed our foreheads together and kissed my lips before saying, "Lyra, you are the most beautiful creature in this Empire. Even the cosmos itself would be jealous of your beauty."

I scoffed but stopped myself from arguing with him when I saw that my reaction only made Orion look even more hurt. I kissed him on his chin and uttered sincerely, "Thank you, Orion."

The hurt didn't vanish, and Orion sighed softly before he kissed my fingers and said in a firm tone, "You'll believe me one day. I'll make sure of it."

He finally let go of my hands and reached for the pod controls, piloting us out of the docking bay and back to his private quarters. Orion then led me out of his hangar and towards the bio-preserve behind his home. The preserve was a massive dome containing Earth flora that had been cultivated for centuries.

When we reached the entrance, his eyes fixed on mine as he said, "It's quite a distance from here. We should use the transport bikes."

"Okay." I was turning to get one until Orion caught my hand and pulled me into another brief kiss before letting me go. We both got on separate hover bikes and headed into the preserve.

I felt the climate control adjusting to Earth-normal as we entered. Sunlight simulators beamed through the transparent dome ceiling. The adrenaline rush was intoxicating as we sped through the cultivated paths between the trees. After a good fifteen-minute ride, we came to two paths. Orion motioned to the left and that's where we went.

Through our bond, I asked, 'Where does the other one lead to?'

'If we kept going for another twenty minutes, we'd reach Christian's and Annie's quarters.'

'Oh. That's nice.'

He chuckled in response, and we kept going down the path until we came to a flowing water feature—an artificial river with stepping stones across it.

'I should carry you across.'

'The stones are quite broad. I think I'll be—whoa!'

Orion lifted me off my bike with ease, and carefully strode across the water before putting me back down when we reached the other side. After riding through another stretch of preserved forest, we came to a clearing. The sight before me left me awestruck.

My widened eyes took in the large field of freesias of all colors before us. I dismounted and took small steps towards a batch of red ones near where I was standing, inhaling the fruity scent. Orion was next to me when he asked softly through our link, 'Do you like it?'

My excited eyes met his nervous ones as I said, 'What's not to like? Look at the flowers! It's like they run for acres! I can't even see the end of this field. It's amazing!'

'You're amazing, Lyra.' Orion said and nuzzled my forehead. 'We're not there yet. Let me show you my spot.'

We walked hand in hand through the field until we reached a large acacia tree. The interesting thing was that this tree had its base surrounded by the flowers. The other smaller trees nearby didn't.