The Minister's Manipulation: (An Alpha Alien Romance Novel)

by Liza Probz

  Once they'd figured out this mess, she and Magnis could fly on home. Without having surrendered herself completely to the regent. Heavy emotion rose sharply inside of her at the thought of leaving him. She glanced up at him as he continued to verbally pound the creep beside her.

  "Sure, a great idea. Get both you and your ship in the same place so Hareema agents can take you both out in one fell swoop. I don't think so." X's tone was adamant.

  "Come on, X," she said. "We don't have any other leads. It's worth a shot."

  The regent's eyes narrowed. His skin was darkening, but not taking on a particular color. "If it's a set up, I lose any hope of finding out what happened."

  And you lose your hold over me. Once I have my ship back, I won't have to sleep with you for a ride home. As much as I was curious about making love to him, he was almost desperate to have a go at me. His obsession should have been disturbing, but it wasn’t. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a man in my bed, or simply on my mind.

  "I'm willing to argue the point." She straightened her shoulders before sneaking a peek at the prisoner.

  Jark'Khal was hanging on their every word, still terrified that he'd be accused of being an enemy collaborator.

  "But not here." She threw her thumb over her shoulder at the scientist. "Are we done with this guy?"

  "He's told us nothing." X shook his head. "However, he doesn’t seem to have anything worth digging for anyway.”

  "Then let's get out of here. These cells give me the creeps."

  Chapter 23

  Xivthar pushed the food around on his plate. He felt downright petulant. It wasn't like him, but he couldn't help himself.

  The most beautiful creature he'd ever seen was sitting across from him, making little moans of delight with each bite of the seafoam concoction in front of her. "My God, X, this has to be the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. Better than dark chocolate even. I can't stop myself from eating it all."

  And she did eat every last bite, moaning over each one as she gazed up at him. Then she licked the spoon.

  His cock twitched painfully under his sarong.

  When she'd finally finished torturing him, she hopped up from the table in his sitting room and stood in front of him, her mood having brightened significantly. "Let's go see about my ship.”

  X dropped his fork. It clattered against his plate, the discordant noise grating against his already frayed nerves. "As I told you in the Ministry of Science, it isn't safe."

  "And as I've told you a hundred times since, we don't have any other options."

  The regent ran a hand through his tendrils. They were more agitated than usual, waving against his head in disarray. "I'll think of something. I don't want you anywhere near your ship. It would be too easy to... to..."

  "Too easy to what?" She narrowed her vibrant eyes at him. "There's no reason to keep me from my ship. I'm in no more danger there than I am walking the hallways where your subjects keep calling for my exile. Or worse."

  She was right, and the crowds were only getting thicker. Xivthar imagined it was only a matter of time before the council was convened and his leadership was questioned. A crisis required swift action and so far he'd done little to protect his people. The defense shield was still down and his planet could be flooded with Hareema agents at any moment, or worse, maybe they'd already arrived.

  The point that seemed to stick out the most to his constituency was the fact that he was being seen with the Earthling female. They knew she was in his quarters right now. If his predilections were as widely known as they seemed to be, he had a pretty good idea of what his subjects thought he was doing with her in here.

  Which was exactly what he wanted to be doing.

  Except they weren't. They were arguing. Again.

  X had had enough of this verbal sparring. He'd rather engage in another type of sparring, one that involved his—

  "Listen, X, I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but right now you don't seem too focused on the task at hand."

  She sat back down, placing her elbows on the table and her face in her hands. Her position afforded him an uninterrupted view of her magnificent chest. Those pale globes, how badly he wanted to taste them, to touch them and see them on full display. She had opened her legs for him earlier. She would do it again.

  "You aren't even paying attention to me now!" she yelled, bringing his gaze back to her face. "You're too distracted to be any help to your people!"

  "I know!" he bellowed, standing up from his chair and stalking over to her. "You distract me like no other has before. I can't concentrate, all I can think about is possessing you."

  She leaned back in her chair to put some distance between them, but he pushed into her space, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her eyes to his. “X… what are you doing?”

  "I only know of one way to dispel this hold you have over me. I must have you." He pressed his face against her neck and licked her salty skin.

  "Stop," she whispered, her voice lower than moments before. She pushed at his chest, but her actions were futile, the woman barely putting her strength into it.

  "My body is screaming for me to take you. I've never experienced anything as powerful as this need I have for you. Don’t deny me, Sylvie. I wouldn’t deny you." He brushed his lips by her ear as she shivered and snuggled into him. He wasn’t alone in his desires, but she seemed the only one willing to fight it. "I know you want me too."

  "I do not." She moaned as he slipped the tip of her earlobe into his mouth, her fingers tightening on his back.

  "You lie only to yourself, pretty girl. Spend one night with me. One night to get each other out of our systems, to satisfy our mutual curiosity."

  "One night?" Her voice was soft, very unlike the woman he had seen only moments ago.

  Was she wavering?

  "One night."

  "And then you'll send me home?"

  His grip on her tightened, and so did the clenching in his gut that hadn't stopped since earlier. The clenching that demanded he claim her as his for all time.

  "Then I'll send you home," he said after a moment.

  "I don't believe you."

  Sylvie pulled away from him, slipping out of her chair and walking around the table. "You're the Supreme Regent. I'm sure you promise women the world when you want their bodies. How is it that I trust you to keep your promises afterwards?"

  X's skin bristled. Was she calling me a liar?

  "I make no other women promises. Any female I might be interested in tells me whether she wants to mate, not the other way around, and as for keeping my word," he moved around the table, his groin throbbing painfully as a light sweat broke out across his skin, "how dare you suggest that I wouldn't?"

  "What guarantee do I have? Hypothetically, if I did agree to sleep with you, what guarantee can you give me that will assure me of a ride home, immediately?"

  X growled, staring down at her, before walking to the console. He called up a standard order template, input the required information, and then signed it with a flourish. He reached into the image to pull out a hard copy.

  "Here's your guarantee," he said, rolling it up and tossing it to her. Why she wanted to get away from him so fast he would never understand. He could offer her everything – anything…

  The professor unrolled the parchment and read it carefully. "This says you are granting me immediate transport from Zanthar to Earth."

  "Indeed."

  She eyed him and he snatched the parchment back.

  "And you'll get it after we've spent the night together. As mates." He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, hanging tightly on the possibility that she would relent. He had already seen her sex up close. Surely it wasn’t about modesty anymore.

  Sylvie's eyes narrowed. "And how do I know your people will honor these orders? How do I make it through the mob to the transport?"

  X let out a huff of air. Would this infernal female always harass him like this? He strode to
the entrance to his chambers and stepped out the door.

  The guards standing outside straightened, and the crowd of protesters livened up, raising their signs and starting their chants. He ignored them all and turned to the older guard stationed there.

  "Major, if the Earthling female ever gives you this order," he said, showing him the order and his signature, "you are to take her immediately to the central hub. You will fly her on a transport back to Earth. When dropping her off, follow the standard protocol for dispatching undercover agents."

  "Undercover agents?" she piped up from beside him, but he waved a hand at her to cut off any questions.

  "Make sure you are escorted by two attack-class Teuthidas. I don't want her left defenseless."

  The guard, apparently a major, nodded his head. "I'll make sure she gets home.”

  X turned on his heel and re-entered his chambers, dragging her with him. Once inside the doors he didn't let her go, but ran his hands up and down her arms as he hovered over the top of her curly blond locks.

  Her skin was unlike anything he'd ever felt. His own skin was soft, but slightly more porous. Hers was firm and soft and so easy to caress.

  The tightness inside of him clenched down harder. The intense drive to take her slammed into him again. Damn mating. He wouldn’t be able to control himself for much longer.

  I must have her. Even if she plans to leave me afterwards. Nothing will stop me from possessing this female. Nothing.

  Chapter 24

  "Okay, you've got your ticket home. Tell me you’ll let me have you for the night."

  "Wait," Sylvia said.

  He was gently stroking her arms, and though she should push him back, it felt too damn good to make him stop just yet. "I just wanted to have the option. I didn't say I'd decided--"

  "Hush, woman." He grabbed her shoulders, and pulling her flush against him, the hardness of his chest pushed against her fingers as she lifted her hands. His heart beat against her fingers, the deep throb relaxing her and drawing her in.

  X ran his hands down her sides and pressed his fingers into her hips as he rocked his hips forward. The thick swell of arousal pressed against her stomach and she had to bite back a deep groan at the promise of what he could do to her. His tongue had left her needy and acting quite out of character. What could his cock do?

  "I've upheld my end of our bargain," he said as his mouth dropped to her shoulder. He planted a row of kisses down her skin and led up to her throat. "Time for you to uphold your end."

  How can I think when he's licking my neck like this? So fucking hot.

  She'd had a few sexual experiences, but none had ever promised such intense passion. She'd come to think of sex as good-natured fumbling in the dark in which both parties left a little bit happy and a little bit sore.

  But this... this was like a house on fire. The burn in her stomach told her that if she let him inside of her, it might not be him who was clamoring for more than one night afterward. It might be her.

  Don't let him press his advantage. You'd almost convinced him to let you see the ship. Then he tried to get around you with this feeble, albeit effective, tactic. Fight back! You won’t survive this.

  "I consider this extortion." She used the firmest, most disinterested voice she could muster. That her fingers continued to pull at his sarong meant little to nothing.

  He licked the sensitive spot beneath her ear and her knees buckled, his breath hot on her flesh. "No one will force you, my little cuttlefish."

  “Why does it feel like you already are?” she whispered, not quite able to find her footing again. How did he know exactly where to touch her to cause parts of her to melt?

  X laughed. It was a warm sound that loosened her resolve even further.

  "I don't know why you're fighting so hard against this," he whispered, running his fingers through her messy hair and tugging back as she glanced up at him. "We both want this."

  "I want a ride home."

  The regent pulled away from her, staring down into her face with an expression she couldn't read. "We're both adults, Sylvie. Each has something the other wants, and you lie only to yourself if you deny it. I can almost taste you on my tongue again due to the invitation your smell is offering. Your mind might be fighting, but your body is far beyond willing."

  “Stop seducing me. I can hardly think. There had to be a drug in my food.” She couldn’t pull together a cohesive thought. So this is what unbridled lust feels like. A groan left her and X tightened his hold.

  He tilted her head back gently, running a finger down her cheek, ignoring her murmurings. "I've never felt so attracted to another, never felt this urge to take someone and say damn the consequences."

  "These consequences are not so easily damned." She tugged from his grasp on her hair and pressed her lips to the skin beside the thick strap that held his clothing in place. "You've seen the mobs in the corridors. They don't want you near me. What if they found out you and I had…?"

  She was worried about him. About his reputation and his well-being. His association with her could ruin his career. He was a good leader, one who had his people's best interests at heart. And she was a distraction, one he really didn't need.

  If I give in, if I surrender to a night of passion, then I can go with no hard feelings.

  She could let her curiosity run wild for one night, and then she could leave. He'd be satisfied, and she'd no longer be around to stir up bad sentiment against him. It was a win-win.

  As easy as it all sounded, she knew, without a doubt, that saying goodbye now would hurt, but after making love, it might kill her.

  Just this once, just for one night. I'll give up my careful control and let feelings overwhelm me. Just to feel passion and pleasure before returning to my loneliness.

  Here, on this alien planet, in the arms of its leader, she would submit to desire.

  "Let me please you," he murmured. "Let me claim you."

  He leaned in, his face a whisper away from hers.

  "Yes," she said, and it came out on a sigh.

  X groaned, then took her lips in a furious kiss. Her world narrowed to his mouth against hers, to the sensation of soft lips and a skilled tongue. He made love to her mouth, pulling and sucking as she clung to him, trying to find enough air to keep the dizziness at bay.

  He broke the kiss and Sylvie cried out at his absence, the loss of him against her almost frightening. Too fast. Things were happening too fast. Sex was one thing, but recognizing the deep burn in the core of her heart was another. This isn’t good. Run. Now.

  X put a hand to her cheek and she opened her eyes to stare into his, the dark orbs penetrating past her worry.

  "I can barely control myself. If you aren't sure, say something now. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop." He brushed the soft pad of his thumb over her lip and licked at his. “Tell me, Earthling. Let me hear it.”

  Sylvie gave him a shy smile before moving farther into his embrace. "Promise not to stop. Even when I tell you to."

  His lips crashed down upon hers and she opened her mouth, welcoming his tongue, savoring his taste. Of all the delicacies she'd tasted on this strange planet, his kiss was the most rewarding, his taste sweet and musky. He was huge and dominant… just the kind of man she had dreamt about making love to her for the entirety of her life.

  There was no way she would walk away from the night unscathed.

  Chapter 25

  Xivthar swept the delicate female into his arms and carried her to his bedchamber. His urge to sink himself into her was close to overwhelming him, but he knew he had to savor every moment of their time. He might never have another chance to have her beneath him again.

  He settled her onto the bed and joined her, enfolding her in his arms as the gentle waves undulated against them.

  "Sylvie," he whispered, cupping her face and rubbing against her lips with this thumb. "You are exquisite. I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you."

  She didn’t speak a w
ord, but simply stared up at him wide-eyed. Was she nervous? The same woman who had fought off enemy agents was now trembling beneath him.

  "Don't worry," he said, pressing a kiss to the vulnerable spot beneath her jaw. "I will do everything in my power to make this the most pleasure you’ve ever experienced."

  Because Zantharian females made all the decisions surrounding mating, they were often the aggressors during the act. He knew that things would be different with the human female, which drew him in deeper. She had already aroused his aggressive tendencies, something that wouldn’t be allowed in mating with one of the females from his race.

  He'd been with several Zantharian females in his time. Power was a strong aphrodisiac among his people so plenty of women had sought him out, but he'd never felt strongly enough about any of them to agree to mate one.

  Reproduction differed on Zanthar than Earth. Fertilization could only occur when the Zantharian female was atop the male, and only when she chose to allow him to release his seed into her. That seed was allowed to fertilize her single egg, and a child would result.

  Therefore, mating on his planet was different from sexual dalliance, and much rarer. Both parties could get pleasure from the act, but it was nothing compared to a true joining.

  If a Zantharian male was lucky, he was chosen to mate a female once in his life. That one time, when his seed was released into the female’s egg chamber, was the pinnacle of his sexual journey. If a female told a male that she would accept his seed, it would cause him to enter into the mating frenzy, not allowing him to think rationally until she took his seed deep inside of her. It would make some of the weaker men of his race go mad… and a few had died due to the high levels of toxin the hormones produced.

  The frenzy was serious business. It forced repopulation to happen, as well as weeding out those mates who were considered unsuitable.

  He'd never experienced the frenzy himself, despite several Zantharian females hinting that they'd welcome his seed. At the time he'd told himself he was too busy running a planet, too wrapped up at untangling enemy plots.