The Vampire King’s Virgin (The Vampire King Series #4)

by T. S. Ryder

  "Yes, sir." The dragoness saluted and walked stiffly from the ready room.

  Shay's brow furrowed as he watched her go. As soon as they returned to the home world, he was going to request a replacement. The Science Board might not be pleased with him for doing so, but this was a ship. And on his ship, his word was law.

  He couldn't have a second who undermined him, especially not when it came to something as critical as Gemma's wellbeing. Suggesting that they perform procedures on the baby when it could not give consent? That was blasphemy, and he wouldn't have it on his ship.

  Nothing was more important than his human and their child. Nothing.

  Chapter Three

  The new room Shay had given Gemma was twice the size of her apartment. It was cozy, decorated in neutral colors and hung with portraits that shifted to different pictures every few minutes. When Gemma tried to touch them, her hand had passed right through. Holographic projections, she guessed. Now that she had had some time to process the whole situation, it was actually quite fascinating.

  There was a knock on the door. Shay again.

  Gemma sucked in a deep breath, her heart going double time. She knew she should still be furious with him, but she had calmed down enough that she was ready to listen to him. Plus, if she was honest, just hearing his voice was reassuring in this crazy situation.

  She couldn’t believe that he had been malevolent when he took her from Earth. There had been lots of times since they met when a cultural element had confused him. Perhaps this was one of those times. Maybe it was something in his culture that made it okay to abduct people. She'd have to tell him that it wasn't, though.

  Blowing out her breath, Gemma tucked her legs under her, smoothing down the canary-yellow robe she had been given to replace her flannel PJs. It was the softest fabric she had ever touched, embroidered with patterns of flowers.

  "Come in."

  Shay stepped in, wearing a red robe that hid the shape of his magnificent body. He offered her a cautious smile, the kind he always gave her when he was unsure if she was angry at him. Gemma smiled back.

  "I'm still upset, but not as much as I was," she told him. "It's just a lot to take in."

  He nodded deeply and came to sit on the sofa beside her. "I apologize for not telling you about myself before I brought you to my ship. It's just that… well, I should not be able to have children. And yet you are pregnant. It swells my heart, and I admit I did not think my actions through. I acted emotionally, and there is no excuse for it."

  "That's okay." Gemma gave him a tense smile. "Just take me back home and we can talk about it."

  He shifted. "I'm afraid that's not possible."

  Her shoulders tensed and hands clenched. "Why?"

  "We are currently on our way to my home planet. I have to deliver my findings to the Science Board, and I would like to get opinions from other bio-medical professionals to make sure I'm reading the scans right and that this pregnancy is normal in every way."

  Gemma's shoulders relaxed despite herself. Normal. "So what you're saying is that the hybrid risks aren't actually risks in this case?"

  "I see no indication that you or the baby are anything but perfectly healthy."

  "Good. Now, what's this Science Board you mentioned?"

  "Our highest level of government."

  Gemma's brows furrowed. Shay had always had an almost religious approach to all things scientific, but to have a science board ruling over the planet? That was nuts! She shook her head–his culture was different to hers. It wasn't her place to judge.

  "Gemma, I want you to know that I love you. I may not have told the truth about everything, but I did about that."

  Heat rose into Gemma's cheeks and she dropped her gaze. She'd had plenty of boyfriends before Shay, but none of them had made her feel beautiful the way he did… He didn't mind that her ass was a little too big, or that her breasts were just a tiny bit too small for the rest of her body, or that she had a double chin. When he touched her, he did it with such reverence that he might as well have been touching Aphrodite.

  "Don't distract me," she said, shaking her head again. "I know that you love me. That doesn’t mean I shouldn't be angry with you."

  "I know. I just want you to know it was never my intention to cause you pain."

  "After you give your findings and get the second opinion thing, you'll return me to Earth, right?" Gemma glanced up at him. "I have a life there. I can't just disappear."

  But did she really have a life there that wasn't Shay? She had lost her job, and it had been months since any of her friends had called her. She had no family, either. Well, her landlord would miss her when she didn't pay next month's rent, at least. Mr. C was a nice guy. She couldn't let him worry.

  Shay's shoulders slumped, but he nodded. "Of course. I acted in haste, but you are right. Your home is Earth. I'm sure I will receive permission to continue to dwell on Earth with you if that's what you want. Only it will be better this time." His eyes lit up and he gave her the dazzling smile that always had her heart melting. "This time, I won't have to hide my true forms from you."

  Gemma returned the smile, though her heart was sinking at his enthusiasm. She didn't want to hurt him, but the truth was she wasn't certain if she could continue dating an alien. He was an alien.

  "Wait. Forms? Like more than one?"

  Shay nodded. "Yes. We have the form you see now, and what we call our beast form, which we can shift into."

  "Okay," Gemma muttered, storing that away for later. She still needed to wrap her head around this form, let alone another one.

  She was still freaking out in a low-key sort of way, although she had come to terms with the fact he was an alien and she was on an alien spaceship. Technically he had also kidnapped her, but she wasn't so worked up about that anymore. Shay was one of the sweetest men she had ever met, although he could get a little superior when talking about things she didn't understand.

  "Are you hungry?" Shay asked.

  Gemma shook her head just as her stomach rumbled. Shay laughed and leaned forward, then stopped. His blood-red eyes grew worried and he pulled back.

  "Can I still kiss you?"

  Gemma bit her lip. This whole situation was nuts. Wasn't it? But despite his scales, Shay's face was exactly the same. There was even that little pucker in the brow above his left eye that appeared when he was worried. She felt herself relaxing, even though she hadn't realized just how tense she still was.

  It was still him. Still Shay. She nodded.

  Shay pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, and it was the same kiss she knew. The one that made her heart beat faster and made her forget why she was angry with him. She moaned, parting her lips. His tongue darted into her mouth, but as she flung her arms around his neck, Shay pulled away. He was smiling, though, and a deep chuckle vibrated in his chest.

  "I think it would be best if we took things a little slower than that, don't you think? You're still getting used to this. I don't want you to move too fast and then freak out."

  "I… you're right." Heat flooded Gemma's cheeks. "And I am hungry."

  "I'll get something for you."

  Gemma settled back as Shay went to the kitchenette. It suddenly struck her as surprising that there were a fridge and stove instead of alien cooking appliances, but then she shrugged. He’d probably had this place custom made for her or something.

  One of her hands rested on her belly, and she smiled when she remembered how happy he had been when she had told him she was pregnant. He had actually danced around the apartment. She had been a little afraid–not of the thought of having a child, which was something she always knew she wanted–but that Shay would react badly.

  Now he was taking her to his home planet because he was so happy. Knowing that he wanted their baby as much as she did helped the rest of her tension disappear. It would take the time to adjust, but that didn't mean that she couldn't.

  "Would you really move back to Earth for me?" she asked, as Shay
cracked a couple of eggs into a frying pan. "I mean… you must have family, friends, hopes and dreams and all sorts of things on your own home world. Would you really give it all up?"

  Shay added some mushrooms to the eggs and Gemma felt her mouth watering. She loved mushrooms, especially when they were in scrambled eggs.

  "I don't have any family left on Bronæl. That's the name of my home world," he added, before she could ask. "I was an only child and both my parents died when I was young. I was raised by my grandfather, and he died just before I decided to come to Earth."

  It was exactly what he had already told her, only he'd said Canada rather than Earth when he told her the story the first time. Still, it felt good to know that he hadn't lied to her about his family. He threw a couple of pieces of bread into a toaster as her stomach growled again.

  "And of course I would live on Earth with you," he continued. "I do plan to be the youngest dragon to ever be appointed to the Science Board, but I still need to prove myself worthy of the position, and I have just over fifty years to do that. Not even a dragoness has been appointed at my age."

  Dragons. Dragonesses. Gemma frowned. He had told her something about two forms, hadn't he? Could he seriously turn into some sort of fantasy creature?

  "I still have a lot of research to continue on Earth. We may not be able to live on Earth while the baby is young, though. There has never been a human-Stlozyn child before, and I'm not certain what traits will be dominant. Once the child is old enough to use shimmer cloak… but in the meantime, we can stay on my ship and commute to work. And I hope you'll be open to visiting Bronæl often."

  The baby. Gemma clasped her hands over her abdomen, her anxiety kicking up again. Shay saw it when he returned with her eggs, and he sat beside her, taking her hand in a comforting gesture.

  "What is it?"

  "Am I going to explode? Or like, is the baby going to eat its way out of me? Am I going to have a two-week pregnancy? Am I going to lay an egg?"

  Shay's brows rose. "An egg?"

  "You're talking about dragons and stuff!"

  He sighed and took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs along her knuckles. "Gemma, it's going to be fine. You see me right now, don't you?"

  Gemma narrowed her eyes. She hated it when he talked to her like that, like she ought to know something she didn't. It didn’t happen very often, but it did happen.

  "Stlozyn and humans are very similar. We share a closer relationship than humans and chimpanzees. Even polar bears and grizzlies. I assure you, if you were going to lay an egg, our reproductive systems would be too different for you to get pregnant in the first place."

  "How do you know?"

  "You know the scientific definition of a species?"

  "A group of organisms that are capable of interbreeding and producing viable young." He'd explained that to her enough times.

  Shay nodded. "Now that I know our child is growing normally and healthily, it's clear we're technically the same species, just different subspecies."

  "But how is that even possible?"

  "Stlozyn ancestors were human, taken from Earth a few hundred years ago. We were genetically… not modified, really. Just certain genes were made more pronounced, which is why I have scales and you have skin. But there were also additional strands of DNA added into our code that separate us from humans. This DNA allows us to shift shapes, much like the mimic octopus changes its coloring to camouflage itself."

  "Changing skin tones is way different than changing your body." Gemma frowned.

  "On the surface, yes, but the basic science behind it is very similar." Shay hesitated. "Would you like to see my beast form?"

  Gemma quickly shook her head–there was enough craziness that had happened today without seeing whatever shapeshifting magic Shay could do. "So is that why you call yourself a dragon?"

  "Our beast forms resemble the dragons in European mythos." Shay nodded. "But I'm a dragon because I'm male. Humans call themselves man and woman, Stlozyn call themselves dragon and dragoness."

  Gemma nodded. That, at least, she could understand.

  Shay brushed his fingers against her cheek. "You need to eat before your toast gets cold."

  "Right," Gemma muttered. She picked up her food and offered Shay a hesitant smile. He grinned back, and she felt her smile widen further. He really was the perfect man–or dragon–for her.

  This is crazy, but yeah. We can make it work.

  Chapter Four

  Seeing the beautiful ruby of Bronæl was better than Shay thought was possible. There were things he missed about his home planet, but he hadn't realized that he missed the planet itself so much.

  He stood on his command deck, an arm around Gemma's waist as they approached the planet. His crew had been very enthusiastic when Gemma started to leave her room, so much so that Gemma had had to ask him to get them to lay off the congratulations. He had explained just how important children were to Stlozyn, but the attention still got to her.

  "There it is," he said proudly, turning to Gemma. "Bronæl."

  Utter awe shone from Gemma's face. "It's beautiful."

  It was, but not half so beautiful as the human leaning against him. Shay gazed at her, tracing the curve of her lips and reveling in the softness of her skin, the auburn of her hair. She was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen. He wished he could let her know just how beautiful she was, that the 'flaws' she thought she had–large ass, thick thighs, even her hairy toes—were all perfection to him.

  "We'll have to take a transport ship to the surface," he said, turning away from both beautiful sights. "This ship is too large to land except for in emergencies."

  "So, Science Alpha. Does that mean you're like a general?" Gemma asked, as they headed to the docking bay.

  Shay grinned and shook his head. "More like a governor general."

  Gemma's brows rose.

  "Think of this ship like a colony and me its head. I report directly to the Science Board. There are other ships like this one out there, but I have far more power than a general would."

  Gemma nodded. Shay could almost see the thoughts darting around in her head as she processed this. He had to admit, he was surprised at just how well she was taking everything. It was as if she met aliens every day. He did worry that it might be because she was still in shock, but she was showing no other symptoms of being in such a state.

  Once they landed on the planet, they took their time getting to his apartment, Gemma constantly asking questions. Shay checked the time when they finally arrived. He was due to deliver his findings to the Science Board soon. He quickly showed Gemma around, making sure she knew how to use the holographic entertainment system and cooking appliances. Finally, he showed her to her room.

  "We're not staying in the same room?" Gemma frowned at him. "We were living together on Earth. Are Stlozyn more uptight about sex than humans?"

  Shay stared back at her in surprise. Although they had kissed a little on the way here, he had been trying to give her space to come to terms with everything, and not force their relationship to get back to what it was. It was the reason that he thought it would be best for them to have two separate rooms.

  "You want to sleep with me?"

  Gemma nodded. "I'll admit that all this situation is a little weird–make that super weird–but being with you makes it less weird. At least for me…"

  "I just thought… I'm glad I was wrong."

  He bent to kiss her. Her reaction caught him by surprise–Gemma flung her arms around his neck, parting his lips and darting her tongue into his mouth at once. Shay groaned, tightening all over as he pulled her lush body against his. Her fingers tangled into his hair and she wrapped a leg around his hip. Atoms of the universe, she was moving fast! It reminded him of the first time they had made love. Gemma was demanding, eager to please, full of vigor. So passionate, emotional–everything dragonesses were not.

  Gemma let out a gasp as he moved his mouth to her neck. He sucked at her skin, lov
ing the cool taste of her. If only he didn't have a meeting to attend! With a groan, he forced himself to move back.

  His human narrowed her eyes in confusion as he gently peeled her away from himself. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. It's just that I have my findings from Earth that I have to present to the Science Board. I can't be late. They are very busy individuals and would not look kindly on me being even a minute tardy." He sighed as Gemma wrinkled her nose, but she nodded her understanding. "I'll be back for supper, though."

  "Supper," Gemma repeated, following him out of the bedroom as he headed towards the door. "Will it be more Earth food or something from here? Will your food be poisonous to me? Will I be allergic?"

  "I have several dishes in mind made from ingredients similar to those that can be found on Earth," Shay replied. "I would not have brought you here if I thought our food would harm you. But there are still some supplies from Earth left. We can have whatever you want."

  Gemma's gaze became sultry. "I want something spicy."

  Shay groaned with desire. He quickly gave his human a kiss. Walking away from her at that moment was the hardest thing he had ever done. But he didn't have long to get to the Science Board, and he could not keep them waiting.

  ***

  Shay had expected his findings to be met with excitement and anticipation of a brighter future, when they arrived on Bronæl. He had expected the news of Gemma's pregnancy to be celebrated, to be broadcast on all information channels. Perhaps even for a human-Stlozyn breeding program to be considered.

  He did not expect that the Science Board would ignore all the exciting possibilities his finds had opened up. He did not expect to be ordered to keep Gemma's pregnancy a strict secret.

  He most certainly did not expect that the Science Board would reprimand him.

  When he entered the Board's throne room and saw the Board sitting on their high chairs wearing blue, the color of discipline, he tensed. What had he done that would be worthy of discipline? He had shared all of his research. Could this be because of Gemma? But it couldn't be. Interactions, even mating, were not forbidden between Stlozyn and other species, though there were few that were sentient enough to bother with.