by Renee Rose
“Hessag is harmless, Kenan. I swear. He has a good heart.”
He gives a snort of derision. When I look down, he places the tip of the crop underneath my chin, forcing my gaze back to his. The implement is cool against my skin, and I shiver so hard I half-wonder if I’m going into shock.
“Have any of the other servants communicated with you?”
“No, they haven’t. I’ve tried speaking with them all, but they have all ignored me. I swear I’m telling the truth.”
“Stand up.” His command is sharp.
“Don’t do this, Kenan, please. I beg you. Spank me instead.” I can hardly see through the flow of tears. “Or whip my breasts with one of your belts, please, Kenan.”
When he lifts me up and locks my wrists in the manacles above my head, one at a time, my heart teeters closer to the edge of the canyon. I have to stand on my tiptoes, the manacles hang so high from the floor.
I’m stupid for loving Kenan. He’s a monster. He’s the big scary bad man from the movies who’s completely irredeemable, despite being occasionally charming. Monsters can be charming. I know that now.
No matter how hard I fight, I’ll never be the brave heroine I used to believe I was. I’ll never escape him and save the day. Saving the day would mean making it back to Earth, with all the other taken human women at my side. And that’s impossible.
He pulls a contraption from his pocket that looks similar to the devices the doctor ran over me in the tent. Hovering it in front of my stomach, he crouches as he reads the device. When he stands up, he says, “You’re not with child right now. I didn’t think you were, since your aura should turn a darker blue if you get pregnant, but I had to make sure.”
I suck in deep breaths and pray for a miracle, pray for Kenan to have a change of heart, an epiphany that if he goes through with this, our relationship will be changed forever. There’s a flicker of regret in his eyes as he moves behind me, but before he disappears from my vision, the firm resolve returns.
“You’ll get twenty.”
“Are you going to make me bleed, Kenan?”
“You didn’t fear me enough to obey me, and now I must make sure you never, ever tell a lie again, Laylah.”
“Please,” I beg, one last time.
He doesn’t heed my sorrowful plea, and I hear the sickening whoosh of the crop before the line of fire spreads across my back. I scream, and then the world goes black.
***
When I awake, Hessag’s face is the first thing I see. He’s leaning over me and holding my hand. A dark bruise covers his left cheek, and both of his eyes are slightly swollen. I gasp and try to wrench my hand from his, but he smiles kindly and speaks in my mind.
Be calm, child. All is well.
I stop trying to remove my hand from his, but I don’t dare speak. I don’t want another beating. As I shift in the bed, I don’t understand why my back doesn’t hurt.
Memories return in fragments, and I slowly place them in order. I only recall Kenan striking me once with the crop, then I must have blacked out, either from pain or from fear.
I peer beyond the bed and catch a dark purple gaze.
“No!” I yell, this time successfully tearing my hand from Hessag’s. Pulling the covers up to my neck, I stare at Kenan as he approaches. But rather than confident strides, his steps are slow, and he looks wary. When he reaches the bedside, panic swells in my chest. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“Laylah,” Kenan says in a pained voice. “Please, let Hessag touch you. He has something to show you.”
I shudder. “But it’s against the rules.” What if Kenan is fucking with me to see if I’ll disobey him again? I can’t take that chance. I look to the ceiling where the manacles had hung, but they’re now gone. Retracted back into the ceiling, I suppose. That doesn’t mean Kenan can’t make them appear at any time and get out his crop again.
Kenan grabs Hessag’s hand and places it on mine. The first image flashes immediately.
I’m in the manacles, and Kenan delivers the first strike across my back. I scream, and it leaves an angry red mark, but my skin doesn’t break. As soon as he finishes delivering that first strike, Kenan lowers his head, as if ashamed, and tosses the crop on the floor. I pass out at this exact moment.
“Laylah!” Kenan immediately takes me out of the manacles. He carries me to the bed and inspects my back before turning me over and tucking me under the covers.
He strides to a hidden panel on the wall and types in a code. From Hessag’s version of the vision, I sense he’s summoned a doctor. Sure enough, the doctor enters the bedroom not long after, carrying a small bag. After a quick examination, the doctor assures Kenan I’ll be fine. The mark on my back, which the doctor applied a healing salve onto, will fade overnight. He says I have no internal injuries. I simply passed out from fear.
At the doctor’s proclamation, Kenan looks anguished as he stares down at me. He caresses my cheek for a moment, before straightening and ordering the doctor to examine Hessag in the servants’ quarters, give him any medical care he might require, and then scan his memory for signs of treachery against the Kleaxians.
The doctor concluded I have no ill intentions toward you or my master, Laylah, and that is why I’ve been allowed here. Prince Kenan was rough with me as he dragged me to the servants’ quarters earlier, and, yes, he hit me a few times, but he didn’t cause any lasting harm and he sent the doctor to treat my injuries, Hessag informs me between flashes of images. I’m not in any pain now, and, with the doctor’s treatment, these bruises will fade by this evening.
Kenan cradles me in his arms, and a single tear rolls down his face. “Laylah, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I swear on my life I’ll never take a crop or a belt to you again. I was wrong to think you needed that much fear of me.”
Eventually, the doctor sticks his head in the room to give the report about Hessag being innocent, other than breaking the rules and communicating with me. Kenan nods and, after the doctor departs, his look of anguish deepens. Another tear carves a path down his cheek.
He holds me and kisses my forehead, uttering apology after apology.
“I love you, Laylah, my sweet little human princess. I love you with all that I am, and I’m sorry I hurt you, and sorry I scared you so terribly.”
He gives me one last kiss and lays me on the pillow then arranges the covers over me.
The vision fades and I blink, suddenly back in the present. Hessag squeezes my hand and speaks into my mind.
Prince Kenan let me touch him and read his memories, so I might show you. He’s not going to hurt you, Laylah. I’ve felt his emotions and read his thoughts to know how sorry he is for what he did. He truly does love you, and, my child, I know you love him. We’ll talk again soon.
He smiles, drops my hand, and departs the room, leaving me alone with Kenan, who is standing a few paces from the bed.
I exhale the long breath I didn’t realize I’ve been holding. When I meet Kenan’s eyes, he starts walking to me, only to pause mid-step. I sense the turmoil in him, and I think it must mirror my own. Where do we go from here?
“If it’s all right with you, Laylah, I would like very much to touch you right now. To hold you,” he says gently. “Can-can I please touch you?”
I’m stunned. He’s never asked me for permission to do anything. Hope rises in my chest. I swallow past the burning in my throat and nod. “Yes, Kenan.”
A relieved sigh leaves him, and he moves to sit next to me. First his hand closes over mine, and he brings it to his lips and places a soft kiss on my hand. His warm lips are a balm to my aching soul. I sniffle, trying to keep my tears at bay, but it’s no use. The hot flow of quietly shed tears roll down my cheeks.
Kenan wipes them away with his thumbs. “I know this might not make it better, but I don’t think I could’ve hit you hard enough to make you bleed, Laylah. It shames me to admit this, but I wanted you to think I might. The crop is a horrible implement, though, and I know that one s
trike hurt badly. I promise to hurl the crop to the bottom of the Carmuit Lake.” He swallows hard. “Are you in any pain?”
“No, I’m just very tired. I-I thought all we had was lost.”
He shakes his head. “If anything’s been lost, little human, we will find it again. Together.” He gathers me against his chest, and the steady beating of his heart thumps against my ear like a hopeful lullaby.
“Kenan…”
“No, I have more say. Please, listen. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but please listen.”
“All right,” I murmur against his chest. Despite all that’s happened today, his arms are the sweetest refuge. Odd that I’m not recoiling from him in fear. I suppose it’s because of the images Hessag showed me. If not for those images, I would probably be cowering and begging Kenan not to touch me.
“Human women are not like Kleaxian woman. I should not have expected you to mold yourself completely to our ways, especially given I am half-human. Tomorrow I will issue a royal edict for the Dennian Mountain towns and declare it illegal for Kleaxians to beat their human females severely. I will pass this edict along to the rest of the royal family on other mountains and continents and recommend they adopt the same laws. The worst a human female can expect is a spanking, or perhaps a few strikes with a belt. No bruises, no blood drawn, and certainly no beatings with fists.”
Again, I’m stunned. I peer into his eyes, my heart overflowing with relief. To think all the human women I’ve been agonizing about no longer need worry about enduring a severe punishment, is more than I could have ever hoped for. I smile at Kenan.
“That’s wonderful news. Thank you.”
“Kleaxians who are caught breaking this law will be banished from Dennian Mountain, and their mates will be placed as servants, also to be treated kindly, in a law-abiding Kleaxian’s home. I doubt a single Kleaxian will defy the edict, as the mating bond is strong and no male wants to be without his mate.”
The shattered pieces of my heart reassemble at the bottom of the canyon. I cup his face and press a kiss to his warm lips. “Thank you, Kenan.” I might not be able to send anyone back to Earth, but at least the other taken human women will not have to fear horrible beatings from their mates. No more bruises, no more broken skin.
“I’ve postponed tonight’s dinner.” He tucks my hair behind my ears. “You need your rest, my love.”
“Do you really love me?”
He looks surprised. “Yes, Laylah. With my whole heart.”
I fall quiet for a while, then eventually say, “I haven’t told you this yet, but I love you, too.”
Confusion spreads over his face, and he withdraws from me slightly. “How can you say that?”
“It’s true. I realized it some time ago.”
“But after what I did to you…”
Grasping his hand, I kiss it in the same fashion he kissed mine only minutes ago. “I’ve already forgiven you.” I kiss his hand again. “I do love you, Kenan. With my whole heart.” He’s not the monster I thought he was. He wouldn’t have carried out the full punishment he’d promised me, even if I hadn’t swooned in fright. He’d tossed the crop down before he even realized I’d passed out, unable to administer any further blows.
“Turn over; let me check your back.”
I move onto my stomach, and he lowers the covers. His fingers trail over my back and the tension drains from his body.
“The salve has worked quickly. Your back is completely unblemished.”
He then proceeds to tenderly kiss every inch of my back. After he finishes, he lifts me onto his lap and cradles me in his arms.
I love sitting on his lap, and in this moment, I know without a doubt we will heal from this rift in our relationship and come out ten times stronger. My mended heart rises out of the canyon, as if carried on a cloud.
“We will have a wedding,” he says.
“What?”
“A human wedding. In the town square. A week from today, you will don a beautiful white gown and we’ll say human wedding vows before hundreds of Kleaxians.”
“That’s a lovely idea, Kenan.” I cup his face and smile up at him. “My husband.”
He holds me tighter. “My wife.”
Epilogue
“It’s a boy.” Mariella approaches with the red newborn bundled in white.
My throat tightens and I smile at my new son. He’s making little gurgling noises, but he’s not crying. The doctor says Kleaxian babies don’t cry very often, but I’m still surprised he doesn’t cry in the minutes after childbirth, being part human.
“He’s perfectly healthy,” the doctor says from the other side of the room, where he had performed a quick examination of the child after helping to deliver him in the middle of a thunderstorm. “Fourteen fingers and fourteen toes, like his father.”
Kenan puts a hand on my shoulder and leans over me. Mariella places the baby in my arms, and I fall instantly and madly in love. She guides my nipple to his mouth and he latches on greedily, seeking sustenance.
“He’s beautiful,” I say, glancing at Kenan. “And he favors you.”
But then I notice pale blue eyes blinking up at me when he briefly pulls off my breast, and tears fall down my face. Blue eyes. Our child has the most beautiful blue eyes. Eyes like mine. Eyes like my father’s.
“What shall we call him?”
Surprised, I stare up at my mate, my husband. I’d assumed Kenan would decide on our son’s name. We hadn’t talked about it yet. “Are you asking for suggestions?”
He strokes the newborn’s cheek, and the child grabs one of his fingers and holds on tight. We both laugh. My heart is filled to bursting in this perfect moment.
“What was your father’s name?” Kenan asks.
“John.”
“We will call him John, then. Prince John, son of Prince Kenan and Princess Laylah.”
I brush a kiss across Kenan’s cheek as he leans over me. “Thank you,” I whisper.
Mariella places a glass of water on the nightstand. “You must be sure to stay hydrated, especially since you plan on breastfeeding.” A light sheen of sweat covers her forehead and her gray wisps of hair are escaping her normally tight, severe bun. Dark circles rim her eyes. It’s long past the elderly woman’s usual bedtime
“You should get some sleep, Mariella. We’ll be fine.”
“Very well. I will get a few hours’ rest.” On her way to the door, she adds, “I’ll stop by the servants’ quarters before I hit the hay, though. I’m sure Hessag is anxious to hear the happy news. Oh, and don’t you dare lift a finger yet, young lady. Prince or not, Kenan can change a few diapers.”
I chuckle at her bossiness and, for the millionth time, count myself lucky for Mariella’s companionship. She came to live with us shortly after Kenan and I married, when it was discovered her master hadn’t obeyed Kenan’s edict that human women be treated more kindly. She had been a servant in one of the houses in the nearest town, and once I learned of her plight, I had begged Kenan to allow her to live with us. Since her arrival, she’s become a surrogate grandmother to not only me, but to Kenan as well.
The doctor follows Mariella from the bedroom, promising to visit tomorrow afternoon.
“Are you in any pain?” Kenan asks, concern drawing his brows together.
“Nope, I feel remarkably well. I can’t believe how fast he came out. My mother claims she was in labor with me for hours and hours.” No more than three hours could’ve passed from the first labor pain to John’s entrance into the world.
“I love you, Laylah.” He brushes damp locks of hair behind my ears. “I know you will be a wonderful mother.” He pauses, looking pained for a moment, as if a bad memory has flashed in his mind. “And I promise to be a good father to our son”
I lean into him while our son continues suckling at my bosom. “I know you will be a wonderful father, Kenan, and I love you, too. With all my heart.”
His lips touch mine in the gentlest of kisses. “My
wife,” he murmurs.
“My husband.”
After John drifts to sleep at my breast, Kenan carefully picks him up, a look of awe on his face as he gazes down at our perfect baby boy. My heart swells at the sight of my big, strong Kleaxian mate lovingly cradling our little newborn son.
About Sue Lyndon
USA TODAY bestselling author Sue Lyndon writes naughty romance in a variety of genres, from contemporary to historical to fantasy. She's a #1 Amazon bestseller in multiple categories, including BDSM Erotica and Sci-Fi Erotica. She also writes non-bdsm sci-fi romance under the name Sue Mercury. When she's not busy working on her next book, you'll find her hanging out with her family, watching sci-fi movies, reading, or sneaking chocolate.
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