Abducted By The Warrior Prince

by Roxie Ray

  But even as her mates attended to her, Lieja’s gaze was locked on me the entire time.

  “I would rather die in battle with all of the other mercenary warriors she hires from us,” I grumbled back to Leonix through one side of my mouth. “She is lucky that our current trade arrangement is so beneficial to both our planets, or else I would not tolerate her offers at all.”

  “Will you be returning to the palace with us, General Kloran? I have desired for too long to throw a feast in your honor,” Lieja called out to me from the throes of her retinue. Saucily, she scooted over on the cushions of her palanquin and patted the space next to her. “You may ride with me, if you wish. I am sure we could make room.”

  I knew that if I accepted, Lieja would shove her least favored harem member to the ground in an instant—and that he was unlikely to love her any less for it. She seemed to have some strange power over the males that she seduced. A power which, thankfully, had never particularly worked on me.

  “Unfortunately, Your Highness, I must decline.” I smiled as I said the words, and not just out of politeness, either. “We already have rooms prepared for us at the Lunarian Embassy. How kind of you to offer, though.”

  I failed to mention that I had made the arrangements with the embassy in full knowledge that it would allow me to avoid staying at Lieja’s palace. I did not wish to spend any more time around the Jeorkanian queen than was absolutely necessary, and besides, if I wished to bed Bree-ah tonight, it would be rude to do it in Lieja’s own home.

  Lieja frowned as I refused her invitation. Then something over my shoulder caught her eye, and her frown deepened even more.

  Immediately, I smelled Bree-ah’s scent in the air. If I listened close, I thought I could almost hear her delicate little heart pounding, too.

  I turned and caught sight of Bree-ah disembarking the ship. No wonder Lieja was frowning so. Leonix had dressed Bree-ah in traditional Lunarian finery, that of an unmated female—the likes of which I had not seen since I left home. Her pants were sheer from the thigh down, bellowing out from her hips then cinching in at each of her ankles. Her top looped around the back of her neck and ended at her waist. It looked even better on Bree-ah’s ample figure than it did on a Lunarian woman’s. At the sight of her breasts, full and pushed up beneath the top’s tight fabric and low neckline, I almost gasped in longing.

  Lieja’s harem members, lacking my reserve, actually did gasp—earning them a snarl each from Lieja’s poison-red lips.

  Best of all was that Leonix had dressed Bree-ah in House Dyoval colors, golden with jeweled purple accents. Now, it was clear not only to the warriors that had joined me at the base of the exit ramp that the human in our midst was mine and mine alone—it would be clear to Lieja as well.

  “And who is this little tart within our midst?” Lieja’s gaze was on me again. All of the seduction had drained from it completely. “I did not know you were entertaining humans these days, General.”

  “This is the human Bree-ah, Your Highness.” I held my hand out to Bree-ah, who looked as though she may faint again, and was quick to draw her near to me as soon as she placed her tiny fingers in my palm. “She is my esteemed and most honored guest.”

  Bree-ah’s hand trembled as I held it. Her skin was clammy and chilled. She could obviously sense the tension in the air between Lieja and the two of us. I could smell Lieja’s displeasure at Bree-ah’s presence, like rotten milk. But I hoped too that Bree-ah would catch the look I was returning to Lieja. The Jeorkanian queen’s gaze was a jealous glare, but my eyes flickered red with an unspoken threat.

  Any harm that comes to Bree-ah here will be returned to you and your people with a wrath like you have never before seen.

  “Your…guest,” Lieja repeated with a sneer. “Of course. How quaint, General Kloran. So kind of you to be willing to entertain lesser species even during your most significant diplomatic engagements. I am sure you must have a very good reason for bringing your little pet here.” Then, Lieja smiled eerily, all-teeth. “I look forward to hearing all about it during our official proceedings in a few days’ time, once you have had a chance to rest. Of course, you will not be planning on declining that invitation as well, General? I presume you will not be too otherwise…engaged.”

  Blood. Lieja was toying with me now. She knew that I had been promised to another on Lunaria. I had used the excuse to avoid her more forward invitations before. And if she chose to leverage that to hurt Bree-ah…

  “I would not dream of missing it, Your Highness. But as you have said, my people and I will require rest. Please, enjoy your evening. I will see you at our official dinner, as planned and promised.”

  “And you do love honoring your promises, General.” Lieja gave me a final, sinister look, then waved to her working slaves to lift her palanquin. Between the ten of them, Lieja’s slaves lifted the litter up onto their shoulders and carried her back toward the castle.

  Finally, we would have a moment of peace.

  “Take Bree-ah to my quarters at the embassy immediately,” I ordered Leonix. “I do not trust Lieja’s hospitality here, and Bree-ah must be protected at all costs.”

  “Of course,” Leonix responded.

  But Bree-ah did not seem so enthused about the idea.

  “Your quarters?” She drew her hand away from mine and placed it on her hip.

  “You will be safest there, vringna.” I smiled down at her fondly. Once, I had called her that as an insult because she vexed me. Now, it simply seemed to suit her. Her fire. Her spirit, which I was growing fonder of with every passing day.

  “Just would’ve been nice if you had asked first,” Bree-ah grumbled.

  “I will ask next time, then.” Grabbing her wrist, I pulled her against me once more. I could feel the gazes of my warriors upon us as I felt her body melt against mine. “May I kiss you, Bree-ah?”

  Bree-ah looked around anxiously. “In front of all these people?”

  I smiled. “I may not have had the chance to mark you as mine in front of Queen Lieja, but among my own warriors—yes. I would like my courtship of you to be known.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Courtship, huh? Is that what we’re doing now?”

  I dipped my lips down toward hers. “Are you not enjoying it?”

  Slowly, Bree-ah smiled. “Well. Maybe a little.” She laughed. “Okay. Kiss me in front of all your warriors then. If you feel like you have to.”

  Our mouths crushed together, needy and firm. I could smell her desire again, not so strong as it had been when I had knelt between her thighs to lap at her sex, but strong enough that every warrior in my retinue would be able to smell it too.

  Good. Queen Lieja would have to be dealt with in a more diplomatic way, but for my warriors, the kiss would be enough. They would know now that Bree-ah was my female. Mine to kiss and protect and adore.

  To Bree-ah, I was sure the kiss seemed like little more than showing off. In a way I supposed it had been. But beyond simply ensuring that no other Lunarian warrior among my men would get it into his head that perhaps he should be the one to breed her instead, it had also been a very necessary precaution.

  Lieja’s wrath was great, and her jealousy was infamous throughout the galaxies. And she felt both toward Bree-ah now—I knew it in the skin of my teeth.

  With that kiss, I had not simply marked Bree-ah as mine for selfish reasons. I had made my ownership of her known for practical reasons, too. Now, my warriors would know well not to allow her to come to any harm.

  She was my hope. Our hope. And if so much as a hair on her head was damaged during our time on Jeorkana, not only would the offending party pay dearly for the offense—any man among us who could have prevented it would pay, too.

  12

  Bria

  Waking up alone the morning after I’d fallen asleep in Kloran’s arms had left me a little confused about where things stood between us. On the one hand, he was rude, brutish, bossy, demanding and an actual, bona fide, honest-to-goodness
alien. Not exactly boyfriend material—if Lunarians even did the whole going steady thing.

  On the other hand, he’d apologized and he’d made me come so hard I’d almost passed out. Plus, he was undeniably hot—another mark in his favor. But since he’d taken off before I could wake up and talk to him in a non-horny manner, I’d had to remind myself that even thinking about something so silly as boyfriends right now was just, well, insane.

  Kloran was a general of his people with a ship to manage and I was just…some random human. One who was unfathomably far from home. Probably, he’d just wanted to sample the goods before he sent me back to Earth. I couldn’t exactly complain about it, either. Obviously, I’d enjoyed myself too.

  By the time Leonix came around to explain to me we’d be staying on the planet of a different species, Jeorkana, for a few days, I’d already sorted it all out in my head. People hooked up all the time back on Earth and saving myself for marriage hadn’t exactly turned out very well for me the first time around. It was normal to fool around with someone you were attracted to, I’d told myself. Especially when they were freaking six-foot-sexy, broad-shouldered and as handsome as Kloran was, with a tongue that essentially functioned like a sex toy to boot.

  It had been a one-night stand—one that I wasn’t exactly opposed to entertaining an encore for, if Kloran was up for it before he shipped me back to Earth. In a way, it was the beginning of my new life as a single woman. If I’d had a girlfriend to gossip with about it, I imagined she would’ve even congratulated me for getting Michael out of my system—though she might’ve raised an eyebrow over the literal alien I’d wound up falling into bed with.

  Ultimately, I’d felt positive about it all. He was hot and I’d enjoyed myself. We didn’t need to be anything more than that.

  Or, at least, that’s what I’d thought right up until he’d told Leonix to take me to his room on Jeorkana. Right up until he’d pulled me against him and asked to kiss me there in front of the ship with all of his warriors watching. Kloran had treated me like something he was proud of. Like something he owned.

  And as hot as all of that had been, I could actually feel it doing my head in as Leonix guided me into the passenger seat of the hovering vehicle that would take me to the Lunarian embassy.

  Now, I had no idea what Kloran and I were.

  But even as I mulled over the possibilities, I could feel myself getting a little excited over the prospect of finding out.

  The embassy was gorgeous, a massive building that kind of reminded me of the ancient Roman palaces I’d once seen in a movie the one time Michael had taken me to a theater. Kloran’s rooms within it were as lavish as any I’d ever seen. Just the other day, I’d been so happy to have my own little apartment on the ship that I’d nearly cried. But compared to this new set of rooms I’d be sharing with Kloran, my apartment on the ship looked like nothing special at all. After Leonix ushered me inside, I took one look around at the plush couches and extravagant artwork of my new surroundings then raced through the doors of the balcony, completely in awe and completely overwhelmed.

  The balcony overlooked what must have been one of Jeorkana’s oceans. It even had access to a private beach where the purple waves lapped lazily against bone-white sand. As I stared out across the water, I had to curl my fingers around the balcony’s marble just to steady myself so I could try to catch my breath.

  “It’s so beautiful here,” I whispered to Leonix, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene before me. The purple ocean extended all the way beyond the horizon where it melted into a rainbow-colored sunset. On the way to the embassy, I’d been able to take in the lush lands of Jeorkana, too—endless fields of lilac, gold, and green. “We don’t have anything like this on Earth.”

  “You do not have oceans?” Leonix scoffed as she came to stand at my side. “That seems unlikely.”

  “We do, they’re just…” I recalled the one time Michael had driven me past the beaches of Sector One shortly after our marriage. The waters had been disgusting looking, dirty brown with garbage churning around in their rough waves. “They’re nothing like this.”

  “If you find this impressive, then you will enjoy Lunaria even more.” Leonix straightened and puffed her chest out pridefully. “Our oceans are a deep, rich blue color, mottled with icebergs on the northern shores of House Dyoval’s lands. There is a palace there that makes this embassy look cheap and threadbare by comparison. If you could see it, you would never want to leave. Perhaps Kloran will take you there someday, if you ask.”

  “But I’m not going back to Lunaria,” I pointed out. My heart bubbled with sadness as I said it. I would have liked to see icebergs. We didn’t have anything like that on Earth anymore, either. But unfortunately, it was true. “You guys will have to enjoy them without me after you send me home.”

  “If you still wish to return home, that is.” Leonix’s purple eyes glinted with amusement, but I didn’t get the joke.

  “Is there even any other option?”

  Leonix shrugged. “That, I believe, is up to you.”

  I tried to imagine living on Lunaria. It sounded beautiful. I hadn’t even realized it was an option until now. But something in my brain couldn’t quite make the idea click.

  I loved the traditional Lunarian clothes that Leonix had given me to wear. The little slippers were cute and comfortable, and the pants and top made me feel like some kind of sexy belly dancer. Plus, the way Kloran had looked at me when he saw me in them had given me butterflies. But Kloran’s family sounded like they were incredibly wealthy, and I knew I’d have no idea how to act around Lunarian people once I was out of the more structured environment of the ship.

  I’d been born in a Sector Six trailer park. I hardly knew what to do with myself in these fancy new rooms we’d be staying in at the embassy. In a palace, I’d be too lost to function.

  “You’ve all been really good to me since you took me out of that prison cell, but it’s not like I exactly belong with you guys,” I said with a sigh. “Even here on Jeorkana, I stick out like a sore thumb. You saw how that queen lady looked at me.” My cheeks flushed a little pink even just remembering it. The Jeorkanian queen had glared at me like I was a cockroach she was waiting for Kloran to squish beneath his boot.

  “Queen Lieja is simply jealous of how taken with you Kloran is. He is not exactly one to hide his emotions.” Leonix smirked. “And on Lunaria, none would dare stare at you like that. There are not many females on Lunaria, and you are…extremely exotic-looking to our people. In a good way,” she assured me. “It would be Kloran who they would stare at in annoyance. I imagine his warriors here are already incredibly jealous that he has claimed you for his own.”

  “Claimed me?” Now I was blushing for a whole new reason. “Was that what that kiss was about?”

  Leonix chuckled softly. “If you have not yet realized how charmed by you my cousin is, then you are obviously blind. Blind, or perhaps just stupid.” With a roll of her eyes, Leonix ushered me back into the rooms. “Come. You should eat something before Kloran returns from his dealings with the Jeorkanian slave auctioneers.”

  “You’re buying more slaves?” I frowned at that. I’d guessed that there were other women in the other holding cells back in the ship. I knew what they were for now, too—being artificially inseminated by Kloran’s people to see if they could make Lunarian babies. But none of the other slaves had been released like I had, and the idea that he was out buying more turned my stomach so badly, I couldn’t imagine eating anything.

  “We are reselling the five we have and purchasing six more, yes.” Leonix gave me a hard look. “Recall that breeding slaves here in the galaxies offer themselves up willingly, though. Wealthy females of many races throughout the galaxies prefer not to carry children of their own for personal reasons, and the females of some species are better at surviving the dangers of childbirth than others.”

  “Oh,” I said with a nod. “Right. Like…indentured surrogates. That’s not so bad
, then.”

  “Essentially, yes. There are many species like mine, too, who have more practical issues with reproduction. If I begin producing eggs, I will be forced to return to Lunaria at once to mate with my betrothed. And even then, in my entire life I will only be able to bear two cubs. Female ones, hopefully, but males are significantly more likely. If I am so fortunate…” Leonix’s eyes shifted to a sad, dull gray for a moment before flashing back to their normal purple. “But that is enough of a biology lesson for one day, I believe. Presently, Kloran is attempting to select females of new species we have not previously tested with Lunarian seed. He will continue to do so until we find a species capable of interbreeding with—or else our own species will all but die out within a generation.”

  “That’s terrible,” I said softly. “I’m so sorry, Leonix.”

  Leonix gave me a gentle smile in return. “Not so terrible if we are successful in our mission—or if something else happens first.”

  I opened my mouth to ask her what the heck something else might be, but she put her hand on the small of my back and pushed me toward another room before I could.

  “Come. If you will not eat, then you must bathe. Kloran will be furious with me if you are not prepared for him before he returns for dinner.”

  I had something to say about that too—prepared for him? What was I, a plucked chicken, side of potatoes?

  But then Leonix pushed me through into the bathroom and any argument I might’ve been forming died on my lips when I saw the bathtub. It was huge, carved from white marble, with multicolored bottles all around its rim. When I opened one up and sniffed it, my entire body suddenly felt warm, like the first day out in the sun after a long, awful winter. It smelled pretty good, too.

  “Bubbles?” I asked Leonix.

  “Some are. Others are simply bath oils, specialized Lunarian luxuries meant to delight the senses. You are free to use as much of any of them as you wish.” She laughed as she saw my eyes grow wide with excitement. “Try the red one,” she suggested. “It is my favorite.”