by Erin Raegan
“I cannot bear your attention until the matter is solved, I will not be able to hold back.” He scowled at his lap and shifted uncomfortably. Right, the scorned females. I really was a homewrecker.
But seeing Tahk grin so arrogantly at my naked body while palming his thick member. I decided not to care. He wanted me. I wanted him. Neither of us expected the other, but here we were. And I would never regret that.
“Rest, I will return soon.”
“No, no way. I’m going.” I sat up and pulled a loose folded sheet around me. “I’m not letting Nonya get near you again.” Tahk scoffed, and I flushed from embarrassment. It so wasn’t cool to order him around. He said he was leaving them. This only made me look like I didn’t trust him. Which I did, but okay, Nonya was gorgeous for an alien, and what if he realized she didn’t come with so much baggage and ultimatums. I was hardly the catch in this situation.
Jeez, I needed to do some affirmations or something.
But Tahk laughed and nuzzled my neck. “These things are not handled in such a way. Her First Father as well as Anya’s and Filiya’s, will be present.”
“Those guys who tried to talk to you before?” A little flutter of something started to creep through my mind. “Did you already know you were going to dismiss them when we got here?”
“I knew the moment wet hit your eyes in the castle, my yula.”
“What?” I breathed, astounded. All day he knew. The whole time I cursed his name and imagined him gallivanting off to their rooms, he knew?
“Anya knew the moment I did not greet her. I have never kept such distance before.” He crossed his arms. I did not need to imagine what his old greetings to them looked like. I shook my head to get rid of the bitter jealousy. “She told her father upon arriving. They are aware of the nature of our meeting.”
“Oh. Maybe I should go to apologize.”
Tahk chuckled. “Your apologies are not necessary, mate. I assure you, Anya holds no feelings for me.” I highly doubted that, but Tahk was a guy, he wouldn’t see her aloofness for the cover-up I knew it to be. “And Nonya will move on quickly. She only seeks a powerful House and I have a few suggestions that will satisfy her.”
“And Filiya?”
“She insulted you on many occasions and was not a member of my House. I owe her nothing.” Tahk scowled as he talked about his ex-whatever-she-was. Consort in training? Possible consort? Consort in the running? Who knew. But yeah, I didn’t owe her anything after all the shitty remarks during our mating. That was terrifying for me, and she made it all the worse. I was glad he dismissed her so easily, though I would have to talk to him about letting her or any other pet all over him. But later, I was so done with the heavy today.
“She was pretty angry when you wouldn’t let her come here.”
“I have arranged for Filiya to be removed from the castle. She is to be sent south.”
“Why?” Jeez. He already kicked her out of his bed and House. Now he was relocating her?
“I do not trust her. I will be leaving. I will not allow her in range of you.”
“She’s that dangerous?” Filiya hated me. She let me know with every sneer and disgusted look. But Tahk was worried she would hurt me?
Tahk scrubbed his face. “I will not take a chance with your safety.”
That wasn’t an answer. I guess it was good she wouldn’t be around then.
“Okay, do you want me to go for you?” He didn’t want me apologizing, but did big bad Commander need backup around what was sure to be a tense conversation?
“Rest, my yula.” Tahk bent and kissed me on the lips gently. “You must prepare for my return. I have waited and now need you greatly. You will allow me to take out my frustration on every inch of you.”
“Okay.” I kissed him back and smiled at the bed as he left. I would make it up to him. Tahk was suffering the mating rage, and I was pretty impressed he managed to hold back when I couldn’t. To be fair, it was really hard to turn down a Commander who was hell-bent and determined to bring you to orgasm.
But Tahk was giving up a big part of who he was for me. I needed to make sure he knew I was grateful. And I was so, so grateful. I may have been wrong to demand this, but I loved him, and I knew even if I convinced myself now to look past it, it wouldn’t be long before the situation took its toll.
I was a tad bit jealous when it came to him. Over time, it would hurt, and I would grow to resent him. I would have a front row seat to Tahk’s other relationships, and the real kicker would be that it wouldn’t be cheating. It would be totally normal. Expected.
I couldn’t do it. I was selfish. I wanted him all to myself.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to return the favor. I was passed out long before Tahk got back. And before I knew it, the toyl stones were starting to brighten in the room, and Tahk was kissing me goodbye. His meeting took too long, and he hadn’t wanted to wake me up, and I would find myself regretting falling asleep for six very long days.
Now that we had made up, my libido was insane, and all I could think about was him. I was going to jump his bones the second he got back.
Chapter 10
Peyton
After Tahk left without fulfilling his promise no matter how much I tried to entice him, I fell back into a long sleep. My body was overwhelmed from all the traveling and needed hours of recuperation.
Isin woke me up when he skittered into the room. He was trying to be quiet, but I was too on edge in a new place to ignore his presence. I sat up, covering my body with a thick sheet. “Hi.”
He jumped a foot in the air and spun around bowing. “My lady, I am sorry to have woken you.” My lady? Wow, that sounded funny. I had never been remotely anything like a lady, but Vivian sure would have gotten a kick out of it. I think she had strived to encompass Elizabeth Taylor since we were kids. Elegance and poise was her thing.
“It’s okay, I’ve slept too long, anyway.” I needed to get back to the castle and check in with Viv. I didn’t like being so far from her right now. We didn’t know what dangers lurked about. Yilt was there, but he was about the only one we could trust. I had no idea if Ryt and Dao had left with Tahk or not. But I did know he wouldn’t leave any of us unprotected, so I wanted to leave, but it could wait a minute to get to know Isin. “So, Tahk said you’re here because you want to be?”
“My lord saved me from slavery. The Findilis Queen enslaved me at birth. I was not a desirable male. The Commander was confronting a group of Juldo on the moon I was assigned to mine when he saw them raiding and capturing slaves. I was hurt, and he took me in and gave me a choice. He would return me to my planet, or he would bring me here. I did not wish to return to slavery and chose to return with him. He did not ask me to serve him. It was my greatest wish to repay my debt.”
Isin breathed deeply after his heartfelt speech and then skittered to the wardrobe in the room.
“Wow, so they enslave you if you aren’t desirable?”
“I was not small enough, too tall. It is seen as a defect among my kind.”
Not small enough? He was already so tiny!
“I’m sorry Isin, that sucks.”
He tilted his head nearly to his shoulder and scrunched all four of his eyes. I tried not to shudder. I must have looked just as strange to him.
“Do not apologize, I do not know this word sooks, but I am grateful to my lord, and feel lucky to have been released. I have found great happiness and purpose on Home World.”
“Oh, well, that’s good. You’re really happy here?”
“Oh, yes. The Dahk are a peaceful species. There is always strife in any sector, but the Dahk take care of their own, and I have benefited from their kindness.”
I was happy he didn’t seem to be a slave or anything. He may be a servant, but he really did seem glad to be one. I would still need to make sure he wasn’t being treated like a humans idea of a servant had been in the past and in some countries still were, but I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. I flushed j
ust thinking of the awful ways my own species treated people in his position. Less than, not worthy. We really were primitive, practically savages compared to some species. Something was bugging me though, and as soon as Isin picked up my boots, I remembered.
“Wait, if your species are so small, how come your clothing is so large?” Isin was wearing a tiny tunic and pants, much like the Dahk did, but miniature sized.
Isin chortled and slapped his tiny thigh. “Oh, our females are not so small.” He shook my boots in hilarity. “These were designed for a female. They are much larger than males.”
He saw my face gape in shock and he laughed harder. “My lady, females are the dominant sex on Findilian. They birth dozens of young. Males do not,” he said like that explained everything. Like all females were twice the size of a male because they could push a kid out of their vag. And holy cow, dozens?
“Oh,” That was about all I had to say to that. He laughed and muttered to himself running around and tidying the room, even though it was already immaculate.
How in the world was Isin undesirable because he wasn’t small enough? Findilis females and human females had some seriously different ideas of a viral male.
Tahk was humongous, and it turned me on all the more. If he were half my size, I would never be able to take him seriously. Not to mention what he was packing. Was a big dick not awesome to all species? I flushed and looked away from Isin’s lap. I would totally freak him out if he knew what I was thinking. I couldn’t hold back a snort, though. Human men strived to be the biggest. If only they knew about Findilis females. Then again, maybe they didn’t procreate like us. I needed to stop comparing all species to humans. There were some major differences in the galaxy. Tahk was almost completely purple and had scales and wings, and horns. I was so lucky he wasn’t packing anything strange in that department.
Our first time would have been way more horrifying if he had been.
“I have acquired some clothing for you, lady. I believe Syn and Borv are waiting for you in the great hall to return you to the castle.”
Right, I was still in bed, and naked.
“Thank you.” I flushed.
He bowed and skittered to the door. “It is my honor to serve my lady. I will accompany you to the castle.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“My lord has tasked me with your care. I will be available for anything you shall need or desire.” With that, he left.
I left the bed, still bundled up, and stopped at the opening in the room that led outside. It was really nice to feel the cool breeze while I slept, but I worried I might catch a cold if it ever got even a little chillier. I might have to talk Tahk into some kind of doors. But looking out, I noticed it led to a terrace. I pulled the wavy curtain aside. It was so pretty, but strange that I had just woken up, and it was still dark out. The toyl stone dimmed and brightened just like Yilt had said, but it wasn’t by much. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and needed the hall light left on or I couldn’t sleep. It was doable as an adult, but I was too used to pitch black to sleep. It would take some adjusting.
I went to the bathing room and did my morning rituals. I needed a toothbrush or whatever the Dahk had. I would have to ask Isin. My finger wasn’t cutting it anymore. Yilt had given us a plant to chew on the ship, but he was so confused when we tried to ask him for a toothbrush, he got hung up on how flat our teeth were and brought us some kind of file. Even he seemed dubious when he handed it over, like he couldn’t believe we would file our teeth.
Gryo had told Vivian they didn’t brush their teeth, but we might be able to find something similar on Home World at the markets, that some would be selling other species wares. I used the chewy minty plant to freshen my breath and sighed at the mess on my head. I needed so many things, but it would all have to wait. Hopefully, Isin would know about some of these things. He had enough hair and it was all untangled. He had to brush it, or comb it, or something.
The tall wardrobe was filled with long dresses, but I was happy to see some new clothes I hadn’t seen the other female Dahk wear. There were tunics and pants pretty close to my size. I sighed happily when I pulled them on. They were a little short but way better than anything I had been wearing. The pants showed off my ankles and were made from a thick fur on the insides and a tough leather on the outside. The tunic barely covered my butt, but it was a thick sweater material. There was no underwear, so my butt was a little uncomfortable, and my breasts swung freely, but I wasn’t going to complain when I saw socks. They were a little big around the toes but so thick and warm. I practically danced my way into the coat I found, but immediately took it off. It was so warm and fluffy but far too hot to wear, yet. I stuffed my feet in the boots and carried the new coat with me out the door. I was already sweating when I finished dressing, but I knew I would be thankful when we got to the castle.
The stairs were easy enough to find, and I rushed down them into the entry hall. Syn was lounging against the wall when I got down. “Ah, you have woken. Come. Borv waits in the great hall with food.”
My stomach growled on cue. I had stuffed myself last night, but I was ravenous for more of the yummy food.
Tahk’s great hall was much smaller than the one on the ship and had two long rectangular tables with wide benches. There was no area to serve yourself, but there was a female serving a very grumpy looking Borv. He scowled at the female Dahk while I gaped at her. She was tall and far more muscular than any female I had ever seen.
“Human,” she boomed when she spotted me. If her wings weren’t so feminine poking out from the back of her robe, I would have second guessed whether she was female or not. Female Dahk wings were without claws and spikes. They were very distinctly feminine. And this Dahk’s were just as delicate as any females I had seen. But she was built more like a male. “I am Untya. Your food is growing cold.”
“Oh, sorry.” I flushed and looked away from her angry glare.
“Don’t mind Untya. She is always this merry in the morn.” Syn ducked when Untya chucked a thick plate at him. It crashed against the wall and broke in several pieces. Syn chuckled and guided me to an empty chair.
“I will retrieve your food.” Untya boomed and stomped from the room.
“Untya is the cook here,” Syn told me taking a seat next to me.
“She’s always so grumpy, and breaking plates?” I watched Syn throw his head back and crow with hilarity.
“She has been dismissed from the castle. She had hoped to regain her place, but it is not to be so now that Uthyf is King. He loathes her.”
“Why was she dismissed?”
Untya stomped back in the room and tossed down a plate in front of me, causing food to fly all over the black table. I jumped back and eyed her cautiously.
“She has a fierce temper,” Syn said grinning. “Not many can stand her.”
Untya whacked him on the back of his head. Syn just chuckled again and held a hand over his heart. “You wound me, female. I adore your fire.”
“You would not be able to handle that female, Syn,” Borv grumbled into his plate.
“No? I would think I could brighten her mood.”
Untya grunted and stormed out of the room.
“You would not last a spin beneath her.” Borv chuckled. “She would have you for first meal, and then you would be useless to another female.”
“Hmm, I would enjoy every moment of it.” Syn grinned wickedly where Untya had disappeared.
“Untya has no desire to mate. Lord Jirt knows, ask him how he fared after pursuing her.” Borv chuckled and stuffed a hunk of meat in his mouth.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked, picking up a goliv berry and popping it in my mouth. Untya had made some kind of meat, but it was still steaming.
“They have all departed to their respective Houses.” Syn clawed at his meat. He looked as ravenous as Colt often did as he tore into the meat.
“All?” I kept my eyes on my plate as I asked. Could
n’t let them see the hope that I wouldn’t have to endure any hair pulling this morning. I felt bad for Tahk’s consorts, but that didn’t mean I was willing to be their punching bag for being dismissed. I wouldn’t last a second.
“All.” Syn grinned at me, and Borv shook his head. “The Commander would not let them simmer in anger here.”
I blew a slow breath.
“Myrna will return shortly. She has been tasked to guide you in the Dahk ways.”
“What?” I nearly choked on a berry. “By who?”
“The Commander.” Syn seemed to enjoy my obvious despair.
“Why?”
“Who better to guide you then your First Mother?” Borv grinned, but it did nothing to ease my worries. Borv was too harsh to pull off humor. His face was full of rugged lines and thin scars. He actually looked a little demented when he smiled.
“She hates me,” I told them. I was not going for pity. It was fact. Myrna loathed me.
“You are human. She does not understand you.” Syn patted the air around me like he wanted to comfort me like Yilt often did but couldn’t quite bring himself to touch me. I didn’t know whether to feel offended or not.
I shoved a hunk of meat in my mouth and chewed as fast as possible. Grabbing a soft root that Viv and I liked to pretend was bread, I jumped from the table. “Okay, let’s go.”
Syn chuckled and shoved food in his mouth before standing as well. Borv grabbed his entire plate.
“You will not have hadlin?” Untya thundered from the door. Hadlin was sort of like a Dahk tea, only more bitter. It was something they had after meals, but I usually passed. I liked it at first but overtime I couldn’t stand the taste, it only ruined the fruity aftertastes of the food, and I normally had to gag it down. Colt, of course, inhaled his every time.
“My apologies, Untya. I would enjoy a cup with you for last meal.” Syn practically waggled his brow ridges for all the innuendo leaking off him. Untya looked unimpressed. She stomped from the room, and crashes and bangs could be heard from what I was guessing was the kitchen.
