by Roxie Ray
“Bree-ah.” He breathed my name again against my lips, his hands smoothing down my back possessively. “Are you sated now? Did I…did I hurt you?”
I gave a little laugh, then nipped at his lower lip. “No. No, you didn’t hurt me at all. In fact…”
I took his face into my hands and kissed him passionately, forcing my tongue between his lips and tasting him all over again. When I pulled away, we were both smiling—and inside me, his cock was still impossibly hard.
“In fact, I think I might like to do that again.”
13
Kloran
I mated with Bree-ah so many times that night, I feared that neither of us would be able to walk the next morning. But somehow, my legs found the strength to carry me out to Leonix’s room at the embassy while Bree-ah slept. I knew when I got there, she would have a dirty look to give me.
When she opened her door for me, she proved me right.
“I do not like this, Kloran.” She held up her communicator, indicating at the message I had sent her as soon as Bree-ah fell asleep in my arms. “It is underhanded. Dirty. And she is still in heat, surely. Do you really believe this is necessary?”
“If we wish to save the future of our people, then yes.” I gave Leonix a stern look and held out my hand. “There is no length I will not go to in order to complete our mission, Leonix. Bree-ah entered her heat many days ago. We must do all we can to ensure that my seed has the best chance of taking.”
“This is filthy, Kloran. You will come to regret this, mark my words.” Nonetheless, Leonix reached into the pocket of her robe and shoved the syringe I had asked for into my hand. “The medical team from the ship had this delivered as soon as I sent for it. It will prolong her heat and heighten the likelihood that your seed will take in her womb—if she is able to bear cubs for you at all.”
“She will. I am sure of it.” I held the syringe in my hand for a moment, then put it into my own pocket. “Where?”
“Her hip. The needle is laser-thin. She should not even feel it. But, Kloran…it would be better to have a conversation with her about this first, don’t you think? Her paperwork claimed that she had been taking heat suppressants before she was abducted. Have you even asked her if she wishes to become a mother?”
“She mated with me, Leonix. What else did she think would happen? What else would we have done it for?” My voice raised to a snarl, and I could feel my eyes flash red. I had taken great pleasure in being inside Bree-ah, true, but it had been directly tied to the knowledge that I would have her womb full of my seed at the end of it. For Bree-ah, I was certain that her pleasure had been the same. “She will be pleased enough when she is pregnant with my cub, and then she will wish to return to Lunaria with me. She will not leave. That is all that matters.”
“You are making a mistake, Kloran,” Leonix called after me as I stormed away.
I let her warning slide off my shoulders as I made my way back to my room.
The injection took only a moment. Bree-ah was still sleeping, and as Leonix had said, administering the shot did not even cause her to stir.
Admittedly, I knew that Leonix had a point. I did not feel good about dosing Bree-ah with the fertility drug either. But it was not just the fate of Lunaria that was at stake here. The risk of losing Bree-ah, of her choosing to go back to Earth where she might be hurt again, where she would be so far away from me and with no memory of me at all…it made my heart ache in my chest just to think of it. I could not bear it.
Before I crawled back into bed with her, I disposed of the needle and took my communicator in my hand. At first, I thought to send along an apology to Leonix along with my thanks. But before I could, a message from Haelian had come in instead.
He and his warriors had a positive trace on Bree-ah’s true handlers, the people who had sold her to the auction house where I had purchased her. The snakes that had stolen her from Earth still had a ship within Bree-ah’s planet’s orbit—to gather more humans for sale, no doubt. Haelian wished for my blessing to fire upon the ship and take Bree-ah’s abductors into custody.
After some thought, I sent along word. Wish granted. But I also warned him to use caution and reserve. We would want to interrogate those aboard the slavers’ ship to determine how many other humans they had stolen and where those females had been sent. They would have to be taken alive.
With all of my business taken care of, I put the communicator aside and slipped back into bed with Bree-ah. Her body was still flushed and heated from our mating. I could hardly believe how good it felt to be so close to her, to have her small nude body curled up against my chest.
Pressing a kiss to her neck, I smoothed her hair away from her face and relished the way she smiled for me even in her sleep.
It was cruel of me to give her the fertility injection without her knowledge, yes. But if it meant keeping her here with me…what I had told Leonix was true.
There was nothing I would not have done. As long as I could keep Bree-ah by my side, I would have torn the whole universe apart if I’d had to.
And on our final day on Jeorkana, for a moment, it looked as if I might have to.
“Are you sure this dress isn’t too, um… slutty?” Bree-ah turned in a circle in front of the mirror just outside of the grand dining hall in Queen Lieja’s palace. Her skirts, once again in House Dyoval’s gold and purple, were long and full, but her top was once again deliciously low-cut and cropped to show off her delicate rib cage and tiny waist.
“What is this sluh-tee?” I purred at the sight of her. She was breathtaking, with her hair bound in a thick braid over one shoulder and wound through with golden vines.
To my delight, Bree-ah blushed. “Um. Like, showing off skin in a sexual way. Making yourself look, I don’t know. Whore-nee.”
“You do not look like a prostitute, vringna,” I reassured her. “You look like a prize.”
I offered her my arm and she took it gingerly.
“Okay. That, I can deal with. I’m just, um, not used to showing this much skin, I guess.” The dining hall fell silent as we entered it. Leonix and my warriors were already within, along with Queen Lieja and the whole of her harem. To my annoyance, she had not invited any Jeorkanian females to the event—to keep the eyes of her harem focused on herself, I was certain. But with Bree-ah’s sudden presence, Lieja had failed at this as well. As soon as she stepped into the hall, Bree-ah stole the gaze of every man in the room. “Or being looked at like, well…like this, either.”
I smiled and patted her hand where it rested on my arm. “Do not fear, sweet Bree-ah. They cannot help but look, but I will keep you safe. Looking is all they will do.”
As we took our seats and the meal commenced, for a moment I thought perhaps Lieja had found a way to contain her jealousy of Bree-ah. She barely spoke to us, instead choosing to stir the jealousies of her favored harem members by making them compete over which of them would be allowed to feed her gilly-fruit from their fingers. But to my dismay, Lieja grew bored of this quickly. By the time the dessert course arrived—honey cakes powdered with sweetdust and clotted milk fat—Lieja had banished all three of her favorite males from the table for vexing her and turned her attentions to me instead.
I was a man of war. Though I could not smell any scent of rage coming from Lieja, I knew the feeling of danger in the air well. I had been prepared for this attack ever since we landed here on Jeorkana—but unfortunately, the attack was not on me.
It was on my mate.
“Kloran, I am still so charmed by how graciously you are hosting your little Earth-pet.” Lieja’s red lips were curved in a cruel smile. “Tell me, must you take her into your gardens on a leash, or has she been trained to use the litterbox instead?”
My rage rose within me quickly. I opened my mouth to snarl at Lieja, but before I could, Bree-ah stole the words from my mouth.
“Oh, I am very well-trained, Your Highness,” Bree-ah said in a casual manner. She gave Lieja a smile even sweeter and sti
ckier than the honey cakes. “It’s such a shame that the same can’t be said for you. Kloran, you should have warned me that Jeorkanian women defecate from their mouths.” Idly, Bree-ah licked the honey from her fingers as she stared Lieja down. “How embarrassing.”
Lieja’s lips fell open in horror. She obviously hadn’t prepared to be insulted at her own dinner, and for a moment, she seemed unable to make words at all.
I could only grin with pride, though. Bree-ah had more fire in her than any female I had ever met. My heart swelled with the knowledge that she was so clever, and so very, very mine.
“So, she speaks,” Lieja finally responded. Her voice was like ice. “Then you must tell me, human, how will you feel when Kloran discards you, hmm? Like a used tissue, tossed away still sticky with his seed.”
A growl rose in my throat. Again, I moved to speak.
But again, Bree-ah did not need me to.
“It’s funny,” Bree-ah said, shaking crumbs from her napkin. “I was just wondering why he hadn’t fucked you yet, Your Highness. With so few Lunarian women to go around, surely someone as beautiful as you are would have no problem getting him into bed.” Bree-ah turned to me, brow furrowed in confusion. “Is it the mouth-shitting thing? I can’t imagine that’s nice to wake up to in the morning, anyway.”
“How dare you, you feeble-brained, weak-wombed little whore.” Now the rage poured off Lieja like a heatwave.
But as proud as I was of Bree-ah for sticking up for herself, I could not let that particular insult go without response.
“She is no whore, Lieja. I only wish I could say the same of the males in your harem.” I bared my teeth at her as I stood and straightened, offering Bree-ah my hand. “We will be leaving now. I will not tolerate this disrespect of my mate.”
“Your mate? How ridiculous, Kloran. You choose this disgusting human to be yours? My pride will recover, but poor Dianella, she must be absolutely heartbroken.”
“Dianella?” Bree-ah looked up at me in true confusion this time as she stood. “Kloran, who—”
I cut her off with a roar in Lieja’s direction. But Lieja did not even flinch.
“Oh, my,” Lieja purred, flicking a stray tendril of red hair over her shoulder. “I seem to have touched a nerve.”
I could not let this go unpunished. Lieja was attempting to play with Bree-ah’s head, and her previous insults to Bree-ah were beyond forgivable. If I could not make her cower in my fury, I knew I would have to hurt her in some other way.
“Leonix,” I called down the table where my cousin was sitting. “Prepare our ship and give word for all Lunarians on Jeorkana to board it.”
“Of course, General.” Leonix gave a nod then rose from the table to make the preparations.
“Leaving so soon, Kloran? Such a pity.” Lieja licked her lips, looking satisfied.
She would not look that way for long, though.
“Leonix,” I called after my cousin. “I do mean all Lunarians. Our trade agreement with Jeorkana is over. We shall release the slaves we have bartered for here before leaving. All warriors stationed here will return to Lunaria with us.”
“Of course, General,” Leonix repeated, though she did not look so certain of the order this time.
Lieja’s face had fallen as well. “Kloran, you cannot be serious. Without your host of warriors, Jeorkana will be defenseless—and in the midst of the conflict between the Rutharians and our allies, no less?” She stood abruptly, holding her hands out in surrender. “I can admit that my words were…too harsh. But recall that your people also need our breeding slaves, Kloran. Is the good of both our peoples truly worth jeopardizing over one worthless human?”
“She is not worthless, Lieja.” I put my arm around Bree-ah’s waist and drew her close to me as I snapped at the Jeorkanian queen. “She is my treasure, my greatest possession—my mate. With her by my side, I have no need for your breeding slaves any longer.” I turned to Bree-ah, stroking my hand against her pale cheek to try to ease the confusion from her brow. “I will stop at nothing to keep her happy and safe.”
With that, we left Lieja in the dining hall with her harem. My warriors followed us out. But for the entire ride back to the ship, Bree-ah continued to look troubled.
“Kloran, you didn’t need to do that on my behalf. It was fine. She was just a bitch. You didn’t have to end your entire trade…thingy over it.”
I chuckled at Bree-ah’s choice of words. I knew this word, the term for female breeders in animals, well enough, but I had never heard it used to refer to a sentient before.
“She disrespected you, Bree-ah. Had she attacked me it would have been another matter, but I will not have any bitch speaking ill of you.”
“Did you mean what you said? About me being your greatest treasure or whatever?” Bree-ah was blushing again. When I moved my fingertips back to her cheek, her skin burned at my touch.
“Every word, vringna.” I assured her, stealing a kiss as we soared over the fields of Jeorkana in the back of our hovercar. “Every word.”
14
Bria
I pressed one palm against the window of the viewing deck, regret flooding my chest as Jeorkana grew smaller and smaller before my eyes.
“I should have kept my mouth shut at dinner.” My fingers fell away from the windowpane. I turned to Kloran, wringing my hands. I hardly knew how to apologize to him for my actions, but I knew I’d have to figure it out. “It was wrong of me to talk to Queen Lieja like that. And now, her people won’t have your protection, and you won’t have access to the breeding slaves they train…”
But as Kloran took my hands in his, he only shook his head and laughed.
“Lieja lost our protection for her own words, not yours. As for breeding slaves, you heard what I told her.” He moved my fingertips up to his lips, giving them each a gentle kiss. “We will not need them anymore.”
“Because you and I slept together?” I blinked up at him, the furrow in my brow deepening. I’d thought it was a weird statement to make at the time, and now… “You think I can give you babies?”
“I know you are not a breeding factory, Bree-ah. You told me that from the start.” He chuckled again and pulled my hands to his chest. “But we did not exactly use protection or heat suppressants when we mated, and of course, it is my hope…”
“Oh. Gosh. I didn’t even think of that.” Damn Leonix and her lust bubbles! I wanted to pretend like they’d made me forget, but I knew that wasn’t right. Kloran had said they only filled the senses with the feeling of the person you wanted. And my mind had gone immediately to him. The lust bubbles might have set the scene, but I knew my desire for Kloran had been real. It was undeniable. “But…I mean, that’s moving pretty fast, don’t you think? I mean, we barely know each other, and I’m going to be transported home soon, and—”
Kloran frowned. “You still wish to return home? To the man that hurt you and the people who did not care to stop him?”
“Not to him, no…but the Earth is my planet, Kloran. And I wouldn’t exactly make a good wife for a high prince of Lunaria or whatever you are. That dinner with Queen Lieja pretty much proved that.”
“Mm. So you have thought about becoming my official mate, then.” Now, he was grinning. “I am a warrior right now, Bree-ah. When my father dies, yes, I will need to take up more diplomatic duties, but until then, dinners like the one at Lieja’s palace will be few and far between. Fewer and farther, even, if you are able to give me a cub.” His fingers brushed against my belly, sliding across my skin fondly. “Then we will no longer need to engage in the breeding trade.”
“Even if I was ready to be a mother, Kloran—and I’m not sure I am—I can’t exactly make babies fast enough to save your entire race. Not a baby factory, remember?”
“I have thought on this, yes. Already, I have tasked my warriors to find the people who abducted you from Earth so we may bring them to justice. We have reason to believe there are more human females scattered throughout the ga
laxies. If we can find them, they could be our salvation.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Buddy, I don’t think you quite understand human women yet. If there are more humans who’ve been abducted, and if you can find them, they’re not going to be keen on being baby factories, either.”
“Bree-ah…” Kloran purred my name and lowered his lips down toward mine so I could feel his breath on my skin. Immediately, I shivered—and he smirked. “I believe I am coming to understand you better than you think.”
Okay, fair play. He did know how to make me want him—but wanting to fuck Kloran and wanting to make a baby with him weren’t exactly the same thing.
“I see where you’re coming from, Kloran. Really, I do. And admittedly, I don’t know how my life will be the same now that I know all of this exists.” I gestured toward the window of the viewing deck, where the stars were flying by again in little streaks of light. “Especially back on Earth, I have no idea what waits for me there, or if I even want to go back. But…”
“If you wish to return to Earth, Bree-ah, I will not stop you. But you should know, it would not be feasible to send you back with memories of this ship, of all you have experienced…of me.” Kloran’s eyes were shifting toward that lifeless gray color again. “If humans are not yet aware of other life in the galaxies, your memories and knowledge of it would only put you at risk. Our healers would be forced to wipe your mind before you were transported and returned to your planet.”
“I…oh.” A sharp, brutal stabbing pain shot through my chest. Not another panic attack—for as long as Kloran wasn’t yelling at me, I was pretty sure I could keep those at bay now. No, it was heartache I was feeling. To forget everything I’d learned now, after everything I’d been through…to forget him, Leonix, all the kindness that they’d shown me… “I didn’t realize that. That…it sucks.”
