Betrothed
Chapter Seventeen
...
The steady hum of the stealth fighter's engines were a pleasant balm to Lotor's ears after hours of being subjected to Allura's cutting accusations and seething remarks. It was almost impossible for Lotor to believe that the gorgeous female sound asleep in the seat next to him was the same one who had screamed at him until she was blue in the face.
It was incredibly cute the way she thought any of her critics on his character could injure his feelings, much less alter his personal convictions. Still, he had to admire her for her attempts. She was passionate about her beliefs and unshakingly loyal to her friends, if nothing else. And her passion and loyalty only improved his opinion of her.
Once again, Lotor found his gaze drifting from the distant stars over to Allura's serene face. Her lips, her cheeks, her long lashes, the way her hair framed her face…each of her features were so perfectly befitting of a princess. No matter what situation she was in, she never lost her aura of imperial grace. Even while blustering mad, her authoritative cadence was nothing short of alluring, her namesake he supposed.
She was regal, through and through. Even in her noticeably immodest state of dress, curled up with her bare legs tauntingly slender and smooth… her thigh peeking out from the loosely synched robe. If he were a lesser man, he might have let his thoughts wander somewhere inappropriate.
He hadn't intended to walk in on her naked, but he didn't feel guilty about it in the least. Only a crazy woman would completely sleep through the ruckus her paladin friends had caused, and decide to take a shower whilst not even noticing that the ship was struggling to evade the stray laser fire from the Galra fleet.
He was lucky he was able to get her out of there in time. With his ship's cover a few more hits from being completely blown and boxed in by both the Paladins and an angry General Sendak, it would have put Lotor in one hell of a difficult position. Even if the Galra fleet did manage to eradicate the paladins by some miracle, General Sendak would have made sure to pursue and board the prince's ship at all costs. Heck, even if Sendak glimpsed his ship, he would report to Hagar about it. And, no matter what, that witch could not learn of his whereabouts.
She could never find him.
That's why, as soon as he and Allura were clear, Lotor ordered his generals de-cloak his ship and assist Sendak's fleet in their attack on Voltron. Better for his generals to initiate first contact, pick a side, then feign complete ignorance of their prince's whereabouts when they were questioned.
Acxa could lie better than anyone Lotor knew, even himself, which was quite an impressive feat. He had every confidence she could more than handle any of General Sendak's unorthodox and distasteful interrogation tactics. Besides, they still had the blue lion to barter with. Much to Allura's pure fury on that front.
"You're just going to hand over MY lion to Sendak and Hagar? At the first sight of a little trouble? Just like that?!" Allura had screeched, her eyes ablaze with rage.
"You're stunning when you're mad," Lotor had replied, coolly with a smile.
"Shut up!" she cried, "Does Voltron's power really mean so little to you?"
"Did I say that?" Lotor asked, lifting his chin.
"I-you-well, you're just giving it away!" she blustered.
"It's a worthy sacrifice if it ensures the protection of something far more invaluable to me," Lotor said.
"What are you talking about?" Allura demanded, a little wrinkle between her downturned eyebrows. "You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"
"My, my, nothing gets past you, princess," Lotor said, a small grin turning up the edge of his lips.
"Stop patronizing me and tell me what you're talking about this instant," Allura commanded. Lotor's smile suddenly turned wicked and his eyes went soft as he faced her. Then, he moved in, closer than he'd ever dared to go before, until his lips loomed scandalously close to her own. He made certain to soften his voice and sweeten his tone before he spoke his next words.
"I'm talking about you, my dearest," he said. Allura's crystal blue eyes widened slightly and her whole body went stiff in response to his proximity.
Surely she isn't afraid of me? Lotor wondered, they'd shared closer spaces while sparring. Nonetheless, her breath stilled in her chest, frozen like a small mammal, aware it was within a predator's clutches. Then, her eyes betrayed her. They dipped down in the briefest blink of an eye to his lips, before darting back up again. Lotor pounced on the opportunity.
"Do you want something… princess?" he asked, lusciously. "Ask and it shall be given." Despite himself, Lotor felt his heartbeat quicken with excitement. For how cool and temperate of a person he was, he hadn't expected that being in such close proximity with her would awaken certain…desires. Beautiful women didn't typically disarm him so easily, so why could she?
Allura hesitated, and Lotor liked to think she truly was struggling with whether or not she wanted to be kissed.
A kiss from a princess… I wonder what that would be like, Lotor mused. He was rather inclined to find out.
Huffing, she turned her face away from him, then folded her arms and stared stubbornly out the window.
"I-I'm tired. It's late and I would like to sleep now," she said, her eyes narrowing in defiance. Lotor chuckled and withdrew. He was not fully convinced that was what she wanted. He'd seen the indecision in her face, had watched her eyes calculate the risks of the temptation.
"You do enjoy testing me, don't you?" he asked. "Very well. Rest then, if that's really what you want." And with that, Lotor had turned his attention back to his piloting while she drifted off to sleep.
If only he could rest as peacefully as she was now. Grimly, Lotor reflected on the nature of their predicament. If he let his guard down even once, Allura could try to assume control of the ship. He had to be on high alert at all times. And while he could retrieve a pair of cuffs from the cargo hold and make her movements far more hindered than at present, he couldn't imagine that going over very well with his betrothed. Still, Lotor was armed, and he could not afford to let her remove any of his weapons from his person should he doze off.
Looking to one of his lock departments on the side panel of his ship, Lotor decided to remove the sidearm and the knives from his space suit's inner jacket and place them quietly inside. Closing the mini safe door, he spun the lock, scrambling the codes, and prayed Allura did not possess some knowledge about lock cracking. He imagined that it was more the scrawny green paladin's area of expertise. Still, Lotor wasn't about to underestimate Allura's capabilities.
He flew for several hours before exhaustion began to tug at his eyelids. Lotor blinked and rubbed the tiredness from them, desperate to wake himself somehow. He cranked up the cockpit's cooling system, welcoming the chilly air against his face. However, Lotor found himself 'resting' his eyes moments later. Shaking his head, Lotor frowned. He could lock the ship in autopilot. Make it impossible for the ship to conform to Allura's commands. But once again, that would be assuming she didn't know how to circumvent those types of security measures.
The fact was, Lotor didn't know how much of a clever woman he was dealing with. In all his counter measures for General Sendak and the paladins, he hated to admit he hadn't fully considered the tolls of trapping himself in the same ship with his very volatile princess. The notion that he'd overlooked such things both worried and excited him.
Has she somehow succeeded in lulling me into a false sense of security? Have I let my familiarity with her lower my defenses? Lotor was as disturbed as he was fascinated.
I'll have to be more careful. She's still dangerous…
Allura stirred beside him, her hand brushing back her hair from her eyes before they opened, taking in her surroundings cautiously.
"Where are we?" she asked, her voice slightly groggy. Lotor liked the husky sound of it.
"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information," Lotor replied.
"And why not? What am I going to do about it?" Allura pressed, folding her arms and huffing loudly.
Lotor glanced over to her, narrowing his eyes shrewdly.
"You can drop the helpless act now, darling. I know you noticed my firearm and I know you were hoping I would fall asleep so you could tamper with my ship's navigation system," he said.
Allura placed her hand on her chest and her jaw dropped.
"Lotor, you flatter me. I consider it a compliment that you would even think me capable of such things," Allura said.
"Good. Flattery was my intent," Lotor replied, cocking a brow at her.
"Now, enough games. Tell me where we are going. I know you have a plan," Allura tutted.
"I thought we would drift in space awhile, far out of reach from any of General Sendak's spies, and then return to the main ship once my generals send the all clear, actually," Lotor replied.
"And if your generals don't send the all clear?" Allura asked. Lotor didn't like to think that his first plan wouldn't go smoothly, but he had of course, like any good strategist, considered his other options.
"Then I have a small, hidden base that is not far. We will wait there, should there be any lengthy delay."
"Hmm," Allura sighed then stretched out her legs. The robe slid a tad farther off her thigh, catching Lotor's eye, before she snatched it back and stood up.
"I need to stretch my legs," she said, even as she was forced to duck under the slant of the cockpit window.
"Hard to do on this ship I'm afraid. There isn't anywhere to stand," Lotor said, his eyes lingering now at the low line of her robe over her cleavage. It was synched tightly at the waste, but with her needing to lean forward, it didn't leave much to the imagination.
"Are you staring at me?" Allura asked, lifting her chin.
"I am," Lotor replied, making a point to roam his gaze over her from head to toe, slowly.
"You are absolutely shameless," she declared.
...
A/N: Hi folks! So glad you're still with me for this story! I'm planning on quickly cranking out the next set of chapters fairly soon, so hopefully I can finish this story in the next few months! As always, thank you for your interest and your time reading :D