by Roxie Ray
“I do,” I told her. “You are.”
“Then as your queen, I order you to wash me.” She blinked twice, deliberately, like she was trying to draw attention to how long her eyelashes were. To the bright, luscious green sparkling in her eyes.
My mouth fell open slightly.
Prior to this moment, I had pitied her for what King Brixta might do to her if I could not find some way to stop him.
But now…
Perhaps it was King Brixta himself I should have been pitying.
Neither soldier nor king could resist a female who looked at him like that.
“Then I will obey your will.” I moved back to the tub and brought my hand up to cup Alora’s cheek. My eyes were locked on hers. “My queen.”
Every part of her body I had only glimpsed through the water before, suddenly I was now able to touch. To hold. Even, briefly, to squeeze and caress.
I lathered the soap between all four of my hands until it was thick and fragrant with the scent of nalpure fruit and loolap leaves. Bright and clean, deep and earthy. When I smoothed it over her body, she moved to accommodate my touch wherever it went.
Her shoulders shifted beneath my hands, leaning into the broad circles I made around the blades. Her hips lifted so I could cup her ass. When I slipped my fingers between the cheeks, she hissed, but did not pull away.
Was this wrong? Oh, yes. It was wrong. By every creed of my people, even within my belief in the nine moons that circled Lunaria, I should not have been touching Alora so. She belonged to another. I knew that. So did she.
But was it so simple as that? Alora’s impending marriage was to a false king, one who had spat in the very face of Lunarian culture and Lunarian faith.
She had given herself to me in this small way because she wanted to. I was obliging her, because I wanted to.
Could anything truly be so wrong about that?
“Your thighs. Spread them.” I gripped them in two of my hands by their undersides and gently parted them. She allowed me to. She did not hesitate.
And then, I was touching her between her legs as well. Her sex burned even hotter than the water. Between the lips of her cunt, she was even wetter than the liquid that filled the tub. I was quick about washing her there, but oh, how I could have lingered.
My fingers only passed over her clitoris, where pleasure swelled and throbbed, for just a second.
She gasped in delight when I touched her there. It was the finest second of my life.
For once, there was finally a disadvantage to having four hands instead of the normal two—in that my hands allowed me to work faster than I would have liked.
It was all over far, far too soon.
“There.” I rinsed my hands off in the water, careful not to catch Alora’s skin with my claws. It was a shame I had them instead of her softer human nails.
Even though it was over, I would have very much liked to touch her skin again. Even if only by accident.
“There,” Alora echoed.
“All clean,” I said.
She sucked her lower lip into her mouth and released it slowly, then nodded. “All clean.”
“I will have Kali return to dry you off.” I forced a half smile. “I hear humans begin to wrinkle if you are left in the water for too long.”
“Or you could dry me off,” Alora offered.
I clenched my jaw as my cock throbbed once again. It had been doing such an assault on the seam of my pants that at this point, they were in danger of splitting completely.
“I could,” I said with a soft chuckle. “If I thought my heart could stand it.”
If I thought my cock could stand it, was what I meant—but of course, I did not say that.
“Goodnight then, Ronan.” Alora stared at me for a moment longer, then closed her eyes. Her lips were smiling too, smug. She looked pleased with herself. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
It was a fine look for her.
I supposed she had every reason to be.
“Goodnight, Alora,” I moved toward the door, far too slowly. I could no longer see her perfect body over the edge of the tub, but just being in her presence was like standing in a ray of sunshine. I did not want to leave, but I knew I must. “I look forward to seeing you as well.”
5
Alora
I was in trouble, and I knew it.
I’d been in trouble from the moment I first laid eyes on Ronan. From the moment he first laid eyes on me. There was something there between us, something undeniable and impossible to ignore. It was like stealing a taste of a moist, rich chocolate cake every time you passed through the kitchen, even though you knew you were on a diet. Like trying not to bite your nails when you knew the habit had to be broken, or else.
He left with his military jacket in hand. I could see the muscles of his shoulders rippling through the thin fabric of his white shirt as he left. He left me hot and soaked, and not just because I was still sitting in steaming water.
Every time he was near, my body called to him. And every time my body called, he answered. In attempted kisses, in caresses that we had to pretend were chaste. In catching me when I stumbled and holding me when I fell.
I needed to get a grip on myself, and fast. Another bathtime like that, and I wouldn’t be able to go through with my duty to my people—or to the king of Lunaria, either.
Not when the only duty my every cell was screaming to fulfill was to him.
“You got yourself washed off okay, then?” Kali rushed into the room and picked up a towel just as I was getting out of the tub. Any longer, and I was going to be shriveled up like a dried grape. “I’m really sorry about that, but—”
“You look like you had fun.” I smiled as I noticed how flushed Kali’s cheeks were and how tousled her hair was. “Did you?”
“With Orion…I always do.” Kali’s cheeks flushed even brighter as she looked away. “We can’t mate, obviously—just kiss. Neither of us are twenty-one yet, and since King Brixta demands virgins for his harem—”
“Why does he do that? Surely, he has enough women in his harem, it wouldn’t matter.”
“He has a thing for them, I guess.” Kali shrugged as she rubbed the towel up and down my legs. “I suppose you’re one too, huh?”
“Virginity is considered…sacred in the sectors.” I sighed. It was a silly notion, but one that I’d bought into far too long ago to try to change now. Even when handsome Lunarian warriors were tempting me at every turn. “A gift that one can only give one’s husband.”
“Huh. Guess now I understand why Brixta’s Lunaria and your country get along so well.” Kali rolled her eyes. “Although, if you ask me, King Brixta is drunk on baiju so often that I don’t know he’d actually notice if someone was a virgin or not either way. Loads of his harem faked their own virginities. Loads more have probably never slept with him at all.”
“That’s…good to know.” Now that I knew a little more about my husband-to-be, I tucked that information away with care.
His forces had killed Kali’s younger brother. He’d imprisoned Kali’s parents himself. And if Ronan didn’t like or respect him… I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage it.
Maybe I could get away with not sleeping with him either. I’d rather be a virgin for life than be bedded by a tyrant.
Some small part of me still hoped that these rumors were untrue, of course, but I wouldn’t be able to decide that for sure until I’d met him for myself.
Unfortunately, by that point, there was a good chance it’d be far too late to go getting cold feet.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I wasn’t sure what else I could say. If I could impress King Brixta as much as my father hoped I would, maybe I would be able to convince him to leave Kali alone…but I didn’t know if he would even like me that much. I didn’t know that it was even possible. “For what it’s worth…as long as the king doesn’t find out, I don’t mind what you and Orion do behind his back. You can trust me. And I’ll do whatev
er I can to keep him away from you, too.”
“I’ve gathered that, actually.” Kali gave me a flash of her short fangs as she smiled and tossed the towel at my chest. “I didn’t want to, mind…but I think I might like you, Alora. Maybe you’ll be able to save us all.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I admitted, clutching the towel to my chest. “But I’ll certainly try.”
“We’re hoping tides will turn toward the rebellion before I come of age anyway, honestly.” Kali went to a panel on the wall and waved her hand over it. It parted to reveal a rack of clothing. She selected a long, sheer white nightgown from it and brought it over to me. “Hands up.”
“The rebellion? So…there are forces working against the king. Ones that hope to depose him.” I swallowed hard as I raised my hands over my head. Generally speaking, I supported rebellions. They usually happened for a good reason. But at the same time…if I was queen and the rebellion succeeded, it was likely that my head would be on the chopping block as well as the king’s.
“It’s in the mountains. One of my father’s friends, Lord Haelian, and a few of my father’s former warriors as well.” Kali slipped the nightgown over my head and tugged it down over my body. The fabric was cool and soft against my skin. “If we’re lucky, they’ll kill the king and crown Ro—”
Kali’s jaw snapped shut suddenly. Her eyes widened. Her irises swirled with yellow.
“Crown who?” I asked, curious. If I was doomed to be beheaded, hanged, dragged through the streets or otherwise…it would at least be good to know who the opposition was.
This certainly hadn’t been in my briefing. But I couldn’t help but hope that no matter what happened to me, if my destiny was to die as the deposed queen of Lunaria, at least a better man would take King Brixta’s place.
“It’s nothing. Just a few angry lords married to some of the initial humans who made their homes on Lunaria. They’re all holed up in Lord Haelian’s palace. I grew up there. It’s a stronghold. They’re on the defensive, not the offensive right now.” Kali forced a smile that didn’t meet her eyes. I didn’t miss the way she’d dodged my question, either. “Probably nothing for you to worry about.”
“I, ah…I remember when the abductions on Earth first happened.” If Kali didn’t want to answer my questions right now, I wasn’t going to push her. I’d earned a little of her trust tonight, but obviously not enough. “Your mother might have been one of the women I saw on the news when I was just a little girl.”
“I’m not sure if she would have ever made it on the news…but I think she’s glad she was taken, in the end.” Kali moved behind me and twisted my hair into braids. I wanted to stop her—when I braided my hair wet, it could get pretty wild looking. Not at all like the pin-straight style I was used to. But I supposed she knew what styles were popular on Lunaria better than I did. “Her first husband, her human one, was abusive to her. She was taken when she was trying to run away from him and sold to my father by accident. He didn’t realize she hadn’t been enrolled in the breeding program at first.”
“She’s happier on Lunaria, then?” That could be a good sign for me. I doubted I’d fall in love with the king—the more I heard about him, the more I felt he was going to be a captor more than he would be a husband—but it would be good to know that at least a few of the women who’d ended up on Lunaria were better there than they had been on Earth.
“She was, until King Brixta came to power.” Kali sighed as she wound my hair up on top of my head and secured it there with a few heavy combs. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. I don’t mean to keep speaking badly of your future husband…but it’s hard not to sometimes, if you know what I mean.”
“I do, unfortunately.” I let Kali guide me to bed. She turned over the covers and took my hand to help me beneath them. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Afraid or not, you’re braver than I am.” Kali gave me another of her forced smiles. “King Brixta eventually loses interest in the members of his harem. That’s why he always needs more of them. But you…you’ll be his wife. His queen. I don’t know that I’d wish that on anyone. I’m sorry it has to be you.”
Kali left abruptly. I didn’t blame her. This conversation had confirmed that she didn’t hate me anymore, which was great, but it had confirmed a lot more negative things as well.
Every time my future husband’s name was in someone’s mouth here on the ship, it sounded like they had a death wish for him.
And if this rebellion that Kali spoke of decided to go on the offensive, I could easily be swept up in that death wish myself.
When Kali was gone, I got up out of bed and went to the clothes I’d arrived in. They were still rumpled on the floor…even though I was pretty sure Kali was supposed to take them away for cleaning. It didn’t really matter, though. I picked them up myself and folded them neatly. As I did it, the communicator I’d been given nearly fell out of the pocket of my skirt.
I put the clothing aside and stared at my reflection in the glassy black surface of the communicator’s screen. My eyes looked…sad. Not exactly ideal for a bride-to-be.
Not exactly unexpected, given what I’d learned today.
After all that studying, I was annoyed to discover that the stupid briefing I’d been given hadn’t really contained anything useful for me at all.
I pressed the button to make the screen light up, just so I wouldn’t have to look at myself anymore. When I did, a message from Knox appeared.
Call me when you’re settled. Don’t let Big Bad Mr. President get you down.
I smiled a little at Knox’s words. For us, Big Bad Mr. President had been the childhood equivalent of the big bad wolf. It had been hard to imagine a fairytale villain more horrible than our own father—so we’d written him into every story we knew instead. Our father had been everything from Cinderella’s wicked stepmother to the butcher’s wife from Three Blind Mice when Knox was done retelling all my favorite bedtime stories to me.
It was strange, the realization that, if King Brixta was as bad as Ronan and Kali seemed to think he was, I’d finally have a new villain entering my life.
“Hey, big troublemaker.” I held the communicator in one hand and used the other to lower myself back into bed as Knox picked up my call. “Here I am.”
“There you are, little troublemaker. Nice updo.”
“My handmaiden did it for me.” I touched the damp coil of hair piled on top of my head and laughed. “It’s going to be a big frizzy mess in the morning, but I guess that’s not my fault.”
“None of this is your fault,” Knox assured me. “I heard dear old Dad talking to you earlier. How are you holding up?”
“Do you want the truth, or a lie?”
Knox smirked. “Let’s hear your lie first.”
“Well, I’m just ever so thrilled to be engaged to such a generous, powerful and beloved king, Knox,” I deadpanned.
Knox laughed. “And the truth?”
“He’s a monster, Knox.” I shook my head mournfully. “He forces women into his harem, gets them pregnant against their will—”
“But that’s just Lunarian tradition, isn’t it?”
“If you call something that he’s only implemented within the last decade or so tradition.” I sighed. “I had no idea how bad things were there, Knox. There’s already a rebellion mounted against him. I’m going to end up like the last First Lady of America before the sectors took power.”
“Maybe not. With all the oil it looks like those Lunarians put in your hair, they’ll have a hard time tying it to the flagpole, at least.”
“Oh, ha-ha. Very funny.” I rolled my eyes. “I just…I wish someone had told me any of this before I arrived. I could have prepared better. Figured out policy changes that would appease my future people…or even just mentally prepped myself for how much they’re going to hate me when I become the wife of a king they all despise.”
“If I’d known, I would’ve told you. But…ugh, there’s nothing to do ab
out it now. You’ll just have to roll with the punches. When things get hard, if you remember what’s at stake here—”
“Thousands of lives that will be lost if Lunaria cuts us off from their technology when you become president. I know, Knox. It’s hard to forget that I’m being offered up as a sacrifice here.”
“You’re making a big sacrifice, Alora. I’m not going to pretend that you’re not.” Knox’s brow furrowed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “But that’s the role we play in all this. The price we pay for the station we were born into. I’m marrying someone I don’t want to marry too, remember.”
“Lovely Lena.” I laughed, maybe a little cruelly. Lena was lovely, the gold-class daughter of one of my father’s most powerful business allies. It was no misnomer. Unfortunately, lovely was all Lena was. “Has she tried to do math again?”
“Not since you had to explain to her what negative numbers were at that state dinner last month.” Now, it was Knox’s turn to roll his eyes. “But she’s making me take her to the opera-ation this weekend—her word, not mine. I don’t know if she’s expecting arias and an orchestra or live surgery on stage, but I’m thrilled to find out.”
“Lovely Lena.” I laughed a little as I sat up on the bed and shifted into a more comfortable position. With my back to the door like this, Knox could see more of my room. Maybe later, I could give him a tour. I had to admit, it wasn’t exactly reassuring that Knox was struggling with his future marriage as well, but at least it made me feel a little less alone. “At least she’s pretty.”
“As pretty as your king is handsome,” Knox said with a smirk.
“What?” I blinked at him. “You’ve seen pictures of King Brixta?”
I’d been eager to see photos of him as well—something, anything. But so far, no one had taken me up on my request. If Knox had seen something I hadn’t, though…
“No,” said Knox. He nodded at me, looking over my shoulder. “It’s just, he’s right there, isn’t he?”
I turned, half excited, half terrified. I hadn’t been aware that King Brixta was on the ship, but it gave me a moment of hope.