The Queen nodded. “My mental state has been in question since his betrayal. You see, I thought the man loved me more than life, but he did not. He loathed me. Had me killed when I told him I was the one with regal blood in my veins and I would make the decision about where women stood on our planet.”
Caleb shook his head, making his auburn curls bounce across his wide shoulders. “He always talked about his love for you. It’s insane to think he had that done and yet still spoke of you with only love on his tongue.”
“That is why I waited. I wanted the right moment to pay him back for what he tried to do to me. I bided my time, and it was I who sent a message to Earth and asked about one of their genetically modified females to be awarded to Kerr. Of course, I did so anonymously. And then I made sure that Kerr gave the girl my mother’s wedding ring.”
Emerald looked confused. “Why is that, Your Highness?”
“Because I had a simple yet very effective device placed in the metal on the underside of the ring. It works off another device I had placed in their ship. It has several messages I wanted her to hear over and over. It uses her own inner personalities to hear them and even brings out whatever powers lie within her.” The Queen stood and began to pace.
“The woman must think she’s going mad,” Emerald said as she took a drink and looked sad.
Caleb patted her hand and said, “But she’s not hurt, Emerald.”
Emerald nodded but looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. “Yes, but still.” She looked up to find the Queen frowning at her. “You have your reasons. I am not judging you.”
“As you shouldn’t. You have no idea of how it feels to think you are loved and then that person tries to have you killed. It’s a thing which takes your mind. Hers may be under duress right now, but will soon be fine. Mine will never be fine again.” The Queen sat back down and looked at her glass of purple liquor.
Caleb asked, “So, now your plan is?”
The Queen frowned and a despondent look crossed her beautiful face. “Kerr’s new bride will kill my husband and as long as Kerr doesn’t try to protect his father, he will still hold his position in the hierarchy. If not, then he is no better than the man who sired him and he can join his beloved father wherever he goes. Hell most likely.”
Caleb’s face went ashen. “Do you think his new wife would kill Kerr as well?”
The Queen gave a nod. “One of the messages is that anyone who tries to protect the King must be killed. She will kill him if he doesn’t let her do what she’s being programmed to do. I hope he has gained some love for her and doesn’t intervene.”
Caleb took Emerald’s hand and clutched it. She knew he was not happy with what the Queen was doing. At least, where Kerr was concerned, anyway.
The Queen looked at Emerald. “I can see you think of me as cruel.”
“No, Your Majesty,” Emerald said quickly.
“Do not lie, child.” The Queen pointed a long finger at her. “I now can smell a lie. It taints one’s breath with a nasty tinge of an acidic aroma. And I can smell your lie from here.”
Emerald went pale then said, “I am sorry. I know it’s none of my business. But there are other ways to handle things. Kerr is your son after all.”
“Nar is my sister, but if she defends my husband she too will die. I have nothing in my heart for people who love this man if they would put their lives at risk for him.” The Queen ran her finger along the rim of the short glass.
Jared cleared his throat. “If I may ask, what is to happen with the hierarchy?”
“I will remain head of it and if there is no one left to follow me I am preparing to hand the position over to another.” Her eyes leveled on Caleb.
He shook his head. “Not a thing I want, Your Highness.”
Emerald gave his hand a squeeze. “She’s not said a word, Husband.”
“He’s right,” the Queen said. “I have watched and listened to all the conversations you’ve had with my son and husband. You would make an excellent ruler.”
“I’m an Earthling and it wouldn’t be right,” Caleb said as he poured himself a drink, looking quite confused.
“You can no longer go back to Earth. You are as much a Euthenian as any of us are. To be born on a planet is nothing any longer. Who cares where you’re born. It’s where you live that makes you who you are. I’m so tired of the distinction between who lives where.”
Emerald smiled. “I can agree with that. It is one of the things my husband and I discussed.”
Caleb shook his head. “My plan was to rule with Kerr.”
“So you planned on ruling?” the Queen asked with one arched brow.
Caleb looked at her and smiled. “Caught that?” He gave her a sheepish look. “Well, I didn’t know you were alive back when I thought that.”
Emerald’s curiosity had her asking, “What were you going to do which had the King wanting you dead if I may ask?”
“I was going to put an end to the hook and the strap. End the one step behind practice and end the sterilization of people with imperfect genetics. Essentially, I was going to make women equals and my husband was having none of that.” The Queen sighed heavily and looked down at the floor with eyes full of sadness.
“So you only meant to make things better, and he wanted none of it. So much so he had you killed, or so he thought anyway.” Emerald shook her head. “So sad.”
The Queen nodded. “And that is why the man must die.”
Caleb and Jared nodded but Emerald thought there had to be a better way. But she kept quiet. The woman who sat across from her had the capability to have her killed as well.
Caleb asked, “What is it you want us to do. We are at your service, Your Majesty. Kerr would want me to stand behind you. If he tries to contact us, I’ll let him know you’re alive….”
“No!” the Queen shouted. “I will have no one told I am alive. All must do what it is they’re going to do for my husband without the knowledge of me being alive.”
Caleb stood and looked down at the Queen. “Your son believed you loved your husband with everything in you. You have to know he will defend his father, if only for you, Your Majesty. It’s unfair and I love Kerr as if he were my own brother. I will tell you now I will not stand by and watch him be killed because of your hurt.”
Her eyes went wide, and she placed a hand on her heart. “You do love my son. I have to tell you that is exactly what makes you so perfect for the role as ruler of Euthenia. You have courage.”
“Thank you,” Caleb took his place, sitting next to Emerald again.
“That said.” The Queen narrowed her eyes at Caleb. “You will never talk to me that way again or it will be your head. And if that is not incentive enough for you then add in that of your wife’s as well.”
Emerald gasped and looked at Caleb who had gone pale. He looked back at the Queen. “I will keep my thoughts to myself.”
“Excellent. It is I who rule as of now. It is I who’s orders will be followed.” She placed her hands in her lap and smiled. “So I have an offer for you and by the word offer I mean I have a position you will accept.”
Caleb gave her a nod. “Of course, my Queen.”
“Very good.” She smiled. “I want you to be my top advisor. I also want you to take a small expedition to the planet nearest us. Its primitive and I want us to start expanding where it is we all can live. Our planet is small and that has us limited to procreation.”
“Is the other planet inhabited?” Jared asked.
“I’m not exactly positive. We know a little about it, but not much. Our people are not explorers. We have no idea of how to live off the land. That’s why I need you Earthlings to help us. You have little fear and such a pioneering spirit. And if there are people living there, you aren’t discouraged by it.” The Queen shifted in her seat and looked out a window.
The first full moon hung there in the pane and she looked a little sad.
“How far away are they, Your Highness?” Emer
ald asked.
“A week,” she answered. “You will have three days to make the expedition and get back here with some ideas about what we need to do to make an expansion happen quickly. I want to get things going as soon as we can.”
Caleb stood. “We can take one of the export-import ships and a small group to check out the planet. Then we will get back here to be able to protect you when the Armada arrives. If that is suitable for you, Your Majesty.”
With a nod, she said, “That is the leadership I’m talking about. Thank you for stepping up, Caleb. You will be my right hand. Along with top advisor, I also want you to command my new guard force. You have much to work on and I will leave you in complete charge of getting it all accomplished. Use who you want and do what you think is best. I have complete faith in your abilities.”
Emerald thought to herself that she knew why the Queen had complete faith. She was holding both their heads over his and that was incentive enough to be sure Caleb would do all the right things.
The pressure on her husband would be immense and she planned on being there for him for all things. No matter the cost.
They excused themselves and left the room and went up to Caleb’s suite of rooms where Emerald fell upon the soft bed. “Wow! What a change in our lives, Caleb!”
“I hate this.” Caleb pulled off his boots and lay next to Emerald on the bed.
They looked up at the ceiling as their heads spun. Emerald laughed. “This life, husband. We’ll make the best of things. At least because of your excellent skills, we are at the tippy top of this new reign.”
“It’s Kerr I’m most worried about. He is devoted to his father and I want to give him an idea of what he needs to do to stay alive.” Caleb turned to his side and placed his head on his hand and looked down at his wife.
His fingers ran over her collar bone and down to the valley between her breasts. She caught his hand up and kissed his palm. “You have it within you to handle all, Caleb. I have faith in you and maybe a way will present itself for you to tell Kerr a bit without giving it away and having our heads roll.”
“You are so sexy when you talk about your faith in me.” His lips pressed against her neck and she moaned.
“You are so sexy when you take charge and make things happen,” she said as her hand ran over his large bicep and she gave it a squeeze.
Caleb’s hand crept into the opening of her shirt and found her plump breast. He gave it a squeeze and made her squeal with delight.
His lips met hers and she ran her hands around his neck then caught handfuls of his thick curls. As he moved closer to her, he hitched one leg over her and she felt his bulge begin to pulse against her hip as it grew beneath his pants.
Her heart beat harder and her body began to heat with a need for him. She moved her hands to push his shirt off and he let their lips part only long enough to allow her to remove his shirt and he took hers away as well.
Naked chest to naked chest, the two kissed and ran their hands over the other. Their desire for one another heightened with their kiss and Caleb pulled his mouth from hers again to rid her and himself of the rest of the clothing which separated them from the pleasure they sought.
She murmured his name over and over as his lips kissed her flesh all over. His kisses heated her core, and she ached for him. Caleb was taking his time on her. Touching every part of her with deft fingers which left heated trails behind them.
Emerald wrapped one leg around him and arched up to get him to understand she was ready for him. His smile she felt against her breast where he was suckling and nipping her into a frenzy of need.
Then he moved his body over hers as she arched up, but he kept himself just out of her reach. Her groan made him chuckle, and he gave her what she wanted, plunging into her with a hard thrust.
She moaned as her body filled with him and she inhaled his unique scent into her lungs and whispered his name as if adding the name to the smell which would reside in her memory forever.
Caleb’s cock was long, hard and pounding into her, making her body quiver as he showed her exactly who it was she belonged to. No one could ever make her feel the way he did.
Special, sexy, and needed. Caleb knew how to make Emerald feel as if there was no other woman in the Universe for him except her.
Warm lips moved from her breast up to her neck where he bit and sucked at the tender flesh just behind her ear. The sound of his heavy breathing made her insides melt.
Harder and harder he moved into her and she felt the quivering begin. Her body shook as she tried to hold the sweet release. Then his mouth left her neck, and she felt him looking at her.
“Let it go, Baby. I want to look at you as your body takes mine.”
She looked into his eyes and let it happen. His eyes held hers and he moved faster in an attempt to join her. She watched him and before she felt his cock jerk inside her with his climax, she saw his face nearly glow.
She caught his face up between her hands and placed kisses all over it, whispering words of love as their bodies worked together, pulsing and squeezing until nothing was left.
Emerald was happier than she’d ever been.
But how long will this last?
CHAPTER 2
Caleb
It had been years since Caleb, Jared, and Emerald had made their way through space to the Euthenian Nebula. Zin and Zan had never ventured away from their home planet.
The brothers were anything but nervous though as they looked out the large window at the front of the ship. Though neither of them had ever been on an actual ship, both had been trained to fly them.
Zan sat at the helm and Zin was his navigator. Both had wide smiles on as they flew at speeds they’d only ever read about.
The flight to the planet closest to Euthenia only took six hours. The black sky was dotted with the distant stars and none of them could stop looking at it all.
Caleb held Emerald close to him, his arm wrapped loosely around her narrow waist. Her long blonde hair pulled into a braid and wearing a pair of pants and a shirt with protective qualities which also took on the colors of the surrounding air and vegetation to camouflage the person wearing it.
All wore the same uniform to make sure they were as safe as possible while checking out the planet. In the large pockets of the pants were ropes and things to light fires with. Everything Caleb and Jared could think of to help them for the two nights they’d be on the planet.
Traveling light, they brought along powdered food to keep their bodies nourished and small filtration systems so they could drink from the water the planet offered.
“Look,” Zin pointed ahead to the swirling red line which ran in a circle around the planet. “There it is!”
The Euthenians called it the burgundy planet because of its red color. Other than that, they had never given it a real name.
Emerald looked a little worried. “Is that red stuff going to push the ship around? It looks like it’s moving really fast!”
Zan gave her a smile. “Nah. Our thrusters can handle it. I don’t think the particles are very thick. The dark color just makes them look that way.”
As they entered the atmosphere of the planet, Emerald held tight to Caleb. Jared smiled at his younger brother. “I need to go back and get my wife if we’re going to stay in the capital. I miss her sweet smile.”
Caleb winked. “And her warm body?”
Emerald frowned at him and smacked him on the chest. “Caleb!”
The men laughed as they made their way through the red cloud which surrounded the planet. It seemed to be a wall of red particles similar to dirt. Once they passed that barrier the skies were clear white with blue clouds.
A flock of large, birdlike creatures flew through the sky. The suns glistened off their orange wings. Their beaks were black. The birds had sharp teeth and sharp claws.
Zin commented, “They look terrifying. I’m not sure I’d like to share a place with them.”
They watched out the large
window at the front of the ship as one of the birds landed and were delighted to find it just ate grass and didn't seem to be a meat eater. Little creatures ate right along with him and none seemed worried the bird was about to devour them.
Jared walked to Zin and patted him on the back. “It seems harmless.”
“Seems that way, but I wonder why it needs those claws and teeth.” Zin gave Zan a knowing look.
“Maybe to fend off real predators,” Caleb said. “There might be some here that are very ferocious if the birds are equipped with such things.”
Jared tapped his left pocket. “Remember we have our sticks to fend them off, guys.”
Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Former: Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Books 1-5) Page 96