She couldn’t breathe.

At least that is what Tempest felt like. It was like she was drowning all over again.

Except this time it wasn’t water that was suffocating her, it was Dron.

Tempest shouldn’t have suggested that they come to this festival. If they were home, sure she’d be bored, but at least this wouldn’t be happening.

The tears clouded her vision, but she refused to let Dron go. If she let him fight this man, it would ruin him. Dron’s already fragile reputation would be broken beyond repair. Tempest didn’t want to be responsible for that.

Dron was absolutely focused on Cynic. It was all getting out of hand. Tempest reached up to grab hold of Dron’s face, but instead she heard a deep growl coming from Cynic was already on the attack.

"No! Dron!" Tempest screamed and tried her best to push him out the way. It was like bouncing up against a parked car. It wasn’t until Dron wrapped his arms around Tempest and swung them both around that they were actually moving.

Cynic continued to attack Dron. Tempest was worried that Dron would simply push her aside and go back to fighting.

Tempest rushed to find some purchase, get her feet under her. She reached up and grabbed hold of Dron’s chin so he was forced to look down at her.

"Dron, take me home. I want to go home." She didn’t know what else to say.

The second he looked down into her eyes once again, something clicked in Tempest’s body.

She was floating, but she knew that wasn’t possible. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground and Dron had her in his arms.

It wasn’t her body that was floating but her soul. She could feel it leaving her skin. It was like it latched onto Dron’s. There was a connection that she didn’t know she could have.

Dron gasped, but he didn’t take his eyes off Tempest. It was as if he wasn’t even aware that Cynic was still trying to hurt him.

A bit of blood splattered on Tempest’s face. Dron grunted and lifted his finger to wipe the blood away.

The entire atmosphere around the two of them changed, and Tempest was no longer just breathing for herself. She was living for the both of them. Dron seemed to be confused, as if he didn’t know what was happening to him either.

She didn’t have to ask, she could feel him. Dron was floating just like she was.

Cynik and his group of bullies must have figured out that Dron was no longer paying them any attention.

Everyone else was, though. Tempest looked around and could see the crowd had completely stopped what they were doing and were staring at the fight.

Tempest didn’t care. She knew she should back off and explain to everyone that it was all under control, but Tempest wasn’t worried about any of that. She just wanted to be in the moment with Dron. She wanted to be closer to him. Wanted to feel more of this magic that she just couldn’t explain.

She looked back into Dron’s eyes and could see he was still flustered, but at least now Cynik wasn’t attacking anymore. He’d taken the hint and backed off.

The threat was finished, but Tempest didn’t want to break the spell.

Instead, she pulled Dron closer, and he came to her willingly. A few seconds earlier it was like she was trying to push against an elephant, but now with just the slightest pressure from her fingertips, Dron moved like a feather.

The power was intoxicating.

She was doing this to him.

Never once had she ever had even a slither of this type of connection or power when it came to her relationship with Sam. Was this what she was missing all these years?

Was she really ready to give this up?

In just a few months, Tempest would be going back to earth, and she’d leave Dron all alone. With these monsters who called themselves civilized.

It pained her.

Tempest didn’t know if it was worth it. Before tonight, getting home was the only goal. Now her goal was to feel more of this.

Tempest slid her hand up Dron’s arm, over his neck, which was as taut as a cord before she buried her fingers in his hair. She tugged a little.

The sound that he released from his mouth was nothing less than absolutely magestic.

Dron moaned loudly, his eyes fluttering as she continued to thread her fingers through his hair. Dron pulled her tighter against his body, and now it was Tempest’s turn to moan.

Her breath was coming so fast, it was remarkable that she hadn’t passed out yet.

Tempest pressed her up on her tiptoes. What she wanted more than anything was to kiss Dron. She wanted him to take the lead and just ravish her.

Though Tempest could see that Dron was just as affected as she was, she knew that he would never do what she wanted him to do.

They were just too different. She was too lost, and Dron was just too controlled.

Tempest took a breath in; she had to get herself together. She let go of Dron’s hair and slowly started to unravel herself from him.

One step at a time. Slowly she did what she had to do.

Slowly the magic that surrounded the two of them started to fade away. The crowd around the two of them began to make Tempest self conscious. She just wanted to go back to where she knew it was safe. Back to her gorgeous room and to where Dron could once again live his life in solitude.

She hated that it was the best option for him. Or at least the only option she could think of right now.

"Let’s get out of here. I think the festival is over." Tempest whispered to Dron. He cleared his throat and inhaled deeply through his nose.

"You’re needy." He muttered, his gaze getting harder as he continued to look down at Tempest.

Tempest gasped. She thought about the last time Dron had said that to her. It was when she was aroused. Tempest squeezed her legs together, and there was no denying it. She was soaked. In fact, she was so wet she was surprised there wasn’t a stain coming through her dress. It seemed as if she were producing more lubricant than she should be.

Tempest didn’t understand why or what was happening to her body, all she knew was it had to be Dron. She’d never felt anything like this before.

Tempest would figure out what was going on with her at another time.

"I need to get you out of here. This surprisingly isn’t the scene I was going for." Tempest smiled up at him, trying to lighten the mood.

"Are you sure? We could stay a little longer." Dron nodded his head.

Tempest tilted her head and fought the urge to pull Dron against her body again. Even with everything going on around him, he was still most concerned about her.

Tempest had never known a man like Dron. Forget the fact that she was on an alien planet and he was an alien man. Just his character. He’d been through so much in his life. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Tempest knew that Dron was just desperate to be loved. Desperate to have someone to care about. Hidden behind those cold walls he tried to erect was a man so capable of care and compassion that it made Tempest’s heart ache for him.

Tempest opened her mouth to speak, but she hesitated. Now that things weren’t as heated, she could clearly hear the people around them. For a while she thought they were silent. They weren’t; she must have just been too wrapped up in what was going on to pay attention.

"He’s defective."

"Did you see how he provoked Cynik?"

"He shouldn’t be around everyone else, I feel like I might be getting sick just breathing in the air around him."

"Poor girl. She’ll never survive the marriage."

All around them it seemed like the people had more to judge Dron on. No one seemed to want to believe that Dron wasn’t the bad guy in this situation. No one was on his side.

Tempest looked around once again, but this time instead her eyes found a friendly face. Mexyn was there. She was stone-faced, but she wasn’t staring at Tempest; she was looking straight at Dron.

Tempest wanted to know what Mexyn was thinking. Maybe now would be a good time to ask her. That way it wouldn’t look like she and Dron were running away. Tempest didn’t want these people to believe that they’d gotten the best of them.

"Let’s go see our friends first. Put the rest of this day behind us." Tempest wrapped her arm around Dron’s waist and started walking in Mexyn’s direction.

Tempest tried to calm her body down; it was all over.

She knew it was, but what she didn’t know was if she would ever recover from this feeling.