Prince? I wouldn’t have to let some old guy fuck me. Instead I’d be whoring myself out to a stranger closer to my own age in exchange for the lives of my crew.
What the hell. Let’s face it. There’ve been a couple of nights back on Earth where you did the same thing after a night at the bar and one too many margaritas—without such a compelling reason. Maybe you’ll get lucky and he’ll be as attractive as the two young guys you’ve seen so far. The odds are in your favor. Even this old High Priest still has a good-looking bod.
That’s what I’ve always done. Deflected with dark humor. I knew damn well what I’d be agreeing to. The prince would own me. I’d be sentencing myself to life on an alien world, forced every day to endure whatever treatment my royal mate chose to subject me to. If I refused to mate him willingly, he’d probably rape me, then order me put to death.
“I will agree—but only if you will assist my crew in repairing my ship and then let them leave. Unharmed.”
He gave me a solemn nod. “I agree. Remain here while I summon the temple maidens. They will accompany you to your mate.”
Like I had any choice. He disappeared through a door I hadn’t noticed on the far side of the room. It was much less grand than the formal entry, painted so it blended into the stone wall.
It seemed like hours passed before he came back. I made the rounds of the room, studying the tapestries. Strange animals with hides and fur in vibrant shades of purple and green grazed in lush meadows. Exotic plants in a rainbow of colors lined the shores of a vast lake. One tapestry depicted a huge stone palace surrounded by gardens brimming with flowers. So far, all I’d seen since I landed was an endless jungle. If these were scenes from Naxos, it was a beautiful planet.
I heard the door open and whipped around to see the High Priest ushering six young females into the room. My mouth dropped. They were all stunning. Tall, with lithe slim bodies like the female figures shown in the procession on the huge entry doors. They were all dressed in full-length versions of the short toga worn by the High Priest. Each in a different color, cinched at the waist with thin cords in a darker shade of the same hue. Soft yellow with a saffron cord, spring green with spruce. I had to admit, these aliens had a great sense of style. With their golden bronze skin and long dark hair reaching down to the middle of their backs, they looked like Greek goddesses. I had to wonder why the old man wanted me as a mate for their prince when he obviously had so many beautiful Naxians to choose from.
“You will go with my temple maidens. They have been instructed to accompany you to the palace and remain by your side until you are presented to the prince.”
Great. I had half a dozen bodyguards. Though they were slender, every one of them was nearly a head taller than me. I knew I could take any of them one on one, but I doubted whether I could fight all six and get away. Besides, where would I go? If I accompanied them to the palace willingly and the High Priest was a man of his word, at least my crew would be safe.
They bowed to the old man, then silently ushered me outside and into a transport vehicle as modern as anything we had back home. Driverless, it rose into the air, skimming the treetops.
I tried to ask questions but my guards weren’t exactly talkative. They smiled faintly and shook their heads as though my Tellex chip wasn’t functioning again. Finally I gave up and took in the view.
It was my first chance to really see Naxos. We’d crashed at night, and I left at first light, heading into a tropical jungle where even the ferns towered over my head.
The planet could have been named Eden. We were heading up the side of a heavily forested mountain, where trees didn’t come only in shades of green. The vista before me looked like a page from the holographic art screen of an exuberant toddler with a brand new palette. Splashes of color collided and melded together in every direction as far as the eye could see. Orange and red and yellow, just like you’d find in an autumn landscape on some parts of Earth, clashed with hot pink and electric blue.
When we hit the top of the mountain, I gasped. Had my ship’s on-board computer systems not been fried when we got bombarded by the asteroid storm, I would have been prepared for the sight spread out before me. The information systems would have provided me with data about Naxos. I imagined this was how an alien would feel crash-landing in an uninhabited valley in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, then being whisked to the suburbs of L.A.
One of the temple maidens pointed to the sprawling city just over the crest of the hill I’d trudged up for hours. “Antaris.”
It wasn’t a gleaming modern metropolis with shiny building reaching to the clouds. This city looked like a place where you’d expect the culture that built the ancient temple to dwell. Stone houses in warm shades of cream and umber and terra cotta lined wide avenues paved with more stones. Naxians strolled along the streets while transport vehicles filled with more of the city’s inhabitants sped silently overhead.
I’d wondered if the maidens were chosen for temple duty because of their beauty, but all the Naxians I saw were exceptionally good-looking. Not only that, there wasn’t an ounce of flab to be seen on any of them. Every single one, male or female, could have starred in a virtual ad back on Earth for the latest fitness pill. We passed several open plazas where children chased glowing discs speeding a foot or so above the ground. I wasn’t sure if it was a game or if they were trying to capture some alien lifeform.
We headed toward a huge structure in the center of town I recognized from one of the tapestries at the temple. The gardens surrounding it were even more breathtaking in real life than they were in the tapestry.
I gave my tour guides another chance, pointing. “Is that the royal palace?”
The one in yellow nodded.
I’d never been with a group of females who didn’t chatter nonstop and their silence unnerved me. Did they know something I didn’t about what awaited me there?
Chapter Four
The palace must have been alerted to our arrival. When the transport vehicle touched down, a swarm of Naxians surrounded it. I counted at least a dozen males I guessed were either palace guards or military. Every one of them was almost as gorgeous as my Tarzan. They wore colorful uniforms in a beautiful shade of deep turquoise that set off their bronze skin. Not your typical military-issue garb but the objects they carried gave them away. Weapons were pretty much the same all over the galaxy, usually items designed to point and shoot.
Along with the guards, there was a gaggle of what I presumed were servants. They were all dressed alike too, in a more muted shade. Both males and females wore one-piece garments in soft blue with hints of dove gray.
But one tall male stood out. Unlike the others, he wore a navy tunic and pants. He was older than the others with a rather prominent nose and his bronze skin showed a few wrinkles around his eyes. He stepped forward, opened the door of the transport vehicle, and ushered me out with a wave of his hand.
“Welcome to the palace of King Devan.” He inclined his head ever so slightly. “I am Crino, the king’s vizier. I was told you speak Naxian.”
It wasn’t really a question but he arched one eyebrow, so I nodded. “Yes, I am conversant in your language.”
“Excellent. Please, follow me. We have prepared private quarters for you adjacent to those of the prince.” He gave my sweaty clothes a once-over and winced. “Your handmaidens will assist you in preparing to receive your mate.”
I was a little offended by his disdain. It seemed the Naxians put a great deal of importance on looking good. If I wanted this whole mating idea to be rejected by the prince, maybe I could refuse to bathe and change clothes.
Then my rational mind took over. This wasn’t the time to say or do anything rash just because I felt insulted. If I didn’t mate with the prince, I had no value to the Naxians, and neither did my crew. They might look harmless enough in their bright colors, but those guards were toting serious weapons.
We went inside, trailed by the six temple maidens, a handful of pa
lace guards, and goodness knew how many of the servants. I wondered if they’d all been assigned to the project of getting me presentable enough to meet the prince or if some of them were tagging along so they could tell their friends they’d seen the alien bride in person.
I told myself the change in temperature from the hot, sunny garden to the cool stone interior of the palace caused the shivers running up and down my spine. The truth was, now that we were here I was scared. All my old romance novels talked about the bride having wedding day jitters, but at least the heroines in those books knew they were marrying a human. I already knew these aliens had kinky sex practices but I had no idea of everything in store for me. Were we going to do it in a tree out here in the garden with everyone watching, like the scene on those big doors in the temple?
Bride. Wedding day. Who was I kidding? I’d fantasized about my wedding day. What little girl hasn’t? But I wasn’t going to be saying my vows to the love of my life. I was nothing more than a vessel where a stranger could deposit his sperm and then hopefully collect an heir nine months later. For all I knew, they’d get rid of me once I’d served my purpose and assured the royal bloodline would go on. Or put me to death long before that if I didn’t deliver the goods. I didn’t even know if I could make a kid with a non-human, but the High Priest hadn’t concerned himself with researching interspecies breeding before he proposed this deal.
I was still processing all of this in my head when the vizier finally stopped. We’d wound our way through a series of corridors and up at least two flights of stairs. The place was a blur. I’d been so caught up in worry that I hadn’t paid attention to my surroundings. I was completely lost.
He opened a heavy wooden door and stepped aside so I could enter.
“Your quarters. I trust they will be... satisfactory.” He paused just long enough for it to come out as a veiled insult. Now I was really annoyed. He acted like I was some kind of filthy alien species that crawled out from under a rock.
My eyes traveled around the room and I gave him a dismissive nod. He walked out and shut the door.
I may be a prisoner here but at least I’ll be in a gilded cage. I had no idea why these archaic phrases kept popping into my head. Maybe it was a good thing I’d be taking a break from romance novels.
Still, I couldn’t help smiling. The room was beautiful. Wide windows overlooked a riot of colorful flowers in the gardens below and whoever had chosen the furnishings had carried the theme inside. Thick rugs in mouthwatering pastel shades padded the floor and woven tapestries softened the stone walls. Unlike those in the temple, the wall coverings here were abstract designs, swirls of apricot and honey and ochre that kept the focus on the incredible view outside. There was an intimate seating area in front of the window, a pair of upholstered chairs with a small table between them. Perfect for two lovers to enjoy a cup of tea in the morning or a glass of wine at night. A huge bed covered with a thick white comforter stood in one corner, angled so the occupant would wake up to sunrise over a range of deep purple mountains in the distance.
It was a room fit for a princess. Wait a second... I was about to be mated to a prince. Did that mean I’d be a princess here on Naxos?
Most of my retinue had dispersed, except for two guards who took up a place on either side of the door outside in the hall. The temple maidens had followed me in. They’d obviously been here before, because one of them opened a door on the far side of the room to show me a luxurious bathroom, complete with a raised tub set under a domed ceiling covered with glowing crystals and jewel-toned translucent stones like the ceiling I had seen in the temple. She touched a dial and a miniature waterfall poured into the tub over a stack of flat rocks imbedded in one end. Two of the other maidens came over and started pulling on my clothes.
I waved them off and tried to muster up some dignity as I stripped. Normally I wasn’t self-conscious about being naked but they all had such perfect bodies.
Sturdy. That’s how the high priest had described me. He was being tactful. I’m muscular and I have big tits but they droop a little now that I’m over thirty. Fortunately my ass hasn’t sagged yet but it’s curvy.
One of the maidens gestured to the tub. “Please.”
I sank into the tub, sighing. I hadn’t realized how much I hurt all over after hours of trudging through the jungle. The maiden in yellow filled a jug from the waterfall and motioned for me to tip my head back. She poured it over my hair, then began massaging my scalp with a pale purple cream that smelled like lavender, working it through my hair all the way to the ends. She filled the jug several more times to rinse my hair, running her fingers through the strands.
I sighed again and closed my eyes. I hadn’t been treated so well since I gave myself a day at an expensive spa back home as a birthday present. But my eyes popped open again when two others started washing me all over.
“No no no. I’ve got this.” I grabbed the furry ball from the one in front of me and started rubbing it all over my body. Oooh. No wonder these Naxians all had such glowing complexions. The fur stimulated my skin, making it tingle all over, and whatever lotion they’d soaked it in cleansed and soothed.
When I’d finished, one of them handed me a huge piece of fabric to wrap myself in and motioned for me to take a seat on a padded bench nearby. She and the female in green patted my hair dry and then started brushing it. I could get used to this whole princess gig.
“I can see none of you are into girlish confidences but if we’re going to be so intimately acquainted, at least you could tell me your names.”
The one in yellow smiled. “Aya.” She went around the room, pointing to the others. “Gera. Yenne. Sarit.” She rattled off a couple more names. They all looked so much alike that I tried to commit their names to memory by the colors they wore. I’d be screwed if they switched gowns tomorrow.
Still I was making progress. Those six names were the most words I’d heard out of her. “Can you tell me about the prince?”
She shook her head.
Okay, I’d try it another way. Frame everything in yes or no questions. “Is there...” How could I put this delicately? “Is there anything wrong with him? Physically?”
She shook her head no immediately. That took care of one fear. The High Priest hadn’t chosen me because the prince was hideously deformed and no Naxian female would have him, even if it meant she got to live in this palace.
“So he’s handsome?”
Big nod and a smile.
That led to my next fear. “Is he kind?”
She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded again but not as emphatically as before. I got the message, even without words. My future mate was a prick.
Meanwhile the two fussing with my hair—I think they were Gera and Sarit—finally finished. One of the others had been rummaging in a huge wardrobe along one wall. She came over and held up a gown like the ones they wore. Soft silky folds of fabric meant to drape over one shoulder, leaving the other one bare. It was creamy white and it would have looked beautiful on any one of them against their bronze skin tones. On me, the gown would accent how pale I’d gotten after spending months in space.
They insisted on dressing me, ignoring my protests. Slipping the gown over my head, fussing with the way the folds draped, fastening a gold cord around me to define my waist. When they were finished, Aya led me to a full-length mirror on one wall to take a look.
My hair looked fabulous. Shiny golden waves framing my face and falling to my breasts. But my face was a pasty white against the rich cream of the gown. I glanced around and didn’t see any jars of cosmetics. Not even a tube of lipstick. Of course, these females didn’t need artificial enhancements. They were all naturally beautiful.
The gown was tailored for a Naxian female. Tall, with a slender frame. Despite their best efforts, the fabric stretched tight over my boobs. And it puddled on the floor around my feet. I turned around to look at the back and frowned.
“It’s torn. Or unfinished or som
ething.” I twisted, grabbing the fabric in back to point out a large opening from the floor nearly all the way to my waist. I was bigger around than these females and since Naxians apparently didn’t believe in wearing underwear, my bare ass was peeking out of the slit.
Aya giggled. “For the...” She made a wavy gesture with her hand, kind of swishing it back and forth.
I’d been so overwhelmed by all the preparations I’d forgotten the point of all this. Outside the window, dusk had fallen. In a few minutes, I’d be meeting my mate. I was about to get fucked by an alien—right after he played pin the tail on the princess.
They led me through another doorway off the bedroom and down a short passage. Aya opened a door and motioned for me to enter the room. As she exited, I heard the ominous click of a lock.
Sturdy furnishings in dark wood, a couple of deep jewel-toned rugs on the stone floor—the prince’s chambers didn’t have the feminine touches of the room I’d been assigned to. Someone had made an effort to soften the atmosphere with candlelight, but all it did was to throw the corners of the huge room into darkness. For all I knew, the prince might be lurking in one of them right now, watching me.
I took one look at the enormous bed dominating the room and gulped. That’s where we’d be doing the dirty deed.
I headed for the window, trying to distract myself with the view. Darkness had fallen and thousands of tiny lights twinkled in the gardens below. If I had to be held captive on an alien planet, I could have done a lot worse.
“Even the fucking monkeys here are gorgeous,” I said aloud, trying to console myself. “This view is really beautiful.”
“Yes, it is.”
The deep voice sent a shiver down my spine—just as it did the first time I heard it. I whirled around. A tall figure strode toward me.
The handsome prince—a prick, if I’d read Aya right—was none other than my Tarzan.
Alien Alphas: Twenty-Three Naughty Sci-Fi Romance Novellas Page 43
