The Claiming of a Virgin King

by April Andrews

  Heart now racing, William too stood, the mug of tea abandoned on the side table. He couldn’t quite believe that Dragan was saying what he was saying, and yet…he was…

  “Reach out, my king,” Dragan said softly. “Place your palm on my cock. You’ll feel how hard it is.”

  William did not need to touch, he could see! And his head was spinning, unable to believe that the alien lord was asking this of him. Of all the things he had expected, of all the concessions he had thought to make!

  “So the stories are true,” he gasped. “Your people lie with both males and females.”

  “We lie with whoever we desire,” Dragan said. “And I desire you. In truth, William, I am stunned by how much.”

  William almost groaned, shock making him feel ever so lightheaded. He moved away from Dragan and across to the window on the other side of the room, his thoughts rioting left and right.

  The alien lord did not move. He waited, his eyes narrowed, his arms crossed over his thick chest.

  William looked at him, took in everything about the male who wanted to fuck him, and struggled to find a response. How was he supposed to respond to such an outrageous suggestion? How, when so much depended on it, was he supposed to refuse? And yet, William didn’t see how he could possibly agree.

  “I am not that way inclined,” he eventually said.

  Dragan tilted his head, something like curiosity now flashing in his gaze. “You’ve never fucked another male?”

  “No.”

  “Or been fucked by one?”

  “No.”

  Dragan smiled then, almost as if that pleased him. “Females are beautiful,” he said. “Their pussies are soft and their tits even more so. But there is nothing like the raw power of a man. Feeling his pucker open and accept a cock…there is nothing like it.”

  William almost choked on his words. “I don’t—”

  “And females can suck cock all day long,” Dragan continued. “But they don’t know how it feels. They don’t know the exact right way to lick along a male’s slit until he is screaming with pleasure.”

  William shook his head quickly, trying to push away the images that Dragan’s words had caused to form in his mind. They made him feel…shaken…panicky…and that was unacceptable! As a royal, as the man tasked with producing an heir to carry on the line, sex with another male was something that William had never allowed himself to think about. Oh, he knew that many males fucked others. In the capital such activity was an accepted part of life, sex, regardless of the partner, was something to be celebrated and enjoyed, but it was something that William had tried to ignore. His people fucked, and constantly, with whoever they desired, but it was different for William. As the king his desires had to take second place to his duties. Any desire he had felt, and he had felt it for several males, had been ruthlessly ignored. He had to find a way to win the war, not spend his time spilling his seed. Once the war was won he had planned to find a female to marry, and imagined he would find someone he respected, someone he could sire a child with. But until then…

  “My words excite you,” Dragan said.

  Pulled from his rampaging thoughts William was quick with his denial. Too quick perhaps. “No.”

  “My king lies? I am not surprised. But no matter.” Dragan waved a hand. “Lie all you want. I don’t care if you admit your desire or not. I simply want you in my bed.”

  In my bed… William inhaled a shaky breath. “I cannot agree to that,” he said.

  “Why not?”

  William struggled to find an answer. How could he say that this was so far from what he had expected? That it had never even occurred to him that Dragan would make such a request. And that now, now that he had, the thought of allowing it made him feel shaky? That fucking a woman, never mind a man, was completely outside of his experience? That he had nothing to guide him? That he would be painfully nervous? Painfully ill equipped to deal with it.

  He couldn’t, he realized. He couldn’t allow the alien lord to know of those weaknesses. He had been too honest with him already. So, and instead, William pulled out the only excuse he could think of. “My people will lose all respect for me if they find out I traded sex in exchange for your help.”

  Dragan tilted his head, and the look in his eyes suggested that he knew William was being far from truthful. “I would have thought your people, those cowering below your capital, would be grateful for whatever their king does to save them.”

  “It is not as simple as that.”

  “No. It never is.” He paused. “But if you wish for this to remain between us then we can arrange for that to be so.”

  “How?” William asked. “A quickie here and now? Let you fuck me and you’ll assemble your army?”

  He meant his words to be cutting. To be brave even. But Dragan did not take them that way.

  “A quickie?” he laughed. “A quickie will not be enough to satisfy me. No, my king, I will need more than that. And, in fact, it makes perfect sense. We have time before the new moon, before the winter begins properly. Time enough to make our preparations before setting out to vanquish Maylor. Why not use that time?”

  “Use…”

  “To pleasure one another,” Dragan said. “To allow me to claim my king, and to seal this deal between us, once and for all.”

  Chapter Six

  The king’s struggle both amused and intrigued Dragan, but more than that it increased his arousal to the point where it was almost uncomfortable. He stood, arms crossed, cock aching in his pants, waiting for the king to find another excuse for his refusal.

  So far as Dragan could tell the king didn’t really have one.

  Of course, it was possible that he had a moral objection to using sex in exchange for help, but Dragan thought that was doubtful. When the first of the humans had arrived on the islands, some out of curiosity, some seeking shelter, Dragan had been very pleased to find that their attitude to sex was much like that of his own people. Sex was something to be celebrated. Something to be enjoyed. And over the years Dragan had fucked many humans. Had found himself intrigued by their silky skin and eager hands.

  He had fucked more males than females, because that was his preference, but he had never fucked one like the king. Perhaps it was because the other male was royal? But there was something about him that spoke of repressed desires. And the knowledge that he had never taken a male inside of him? Well, that made Dragan practically ache with the desire to be the king’s first.

  Already he found himself imagining how he would pleasure this male. How he would lick along his cock, how he would run his tongue along his pucker. And then, when the king was nice and wet…

  “If I agree to this…”

  His hesitant words made Dragan’s cock twitch in his pants.

  “Yes?”

  “You will accompany me back to the capital,” William said. “And deal with Maylor?”

  “I will deal with both Maylor and his army,” Dragan said. “The others? His people? I will bring them to the islands.”

  “You would have them here?” William asked.

  “It is entirely possible they have been bullied and cowed into this war,” Dragan said. “My strategists have suggested that all is not as it seems. You know that I have spies in their camp?”

  “I suspected as much.”

  “Well, they were not easily planted. Maylor knew everyone on his ship just as I know everyone on mine. My people had to work extremely hard to get accepted by the northern aliens.”

  “How did they do it?” William asked.

  “By appealing to Maylor’s ego,” Dragan said with a slight smile. “He has always believed he is in the right. Always believed that his style of rule is the only way. It took some time, but my people were able to convince him that they were unhappy with the society I have created and would prefer to live under his rule.” He paused. “They have taken a great risk.”

  “Why put them there at all?” William asked. “If you never intended to g
et involved in this war?”

  Dragan shrugged because he realized now that he was going to have to be...economical with the truth.

  “I like to think ahead,” he said slowly. “And it is a good job I do. The intelligence my people have collected suggests that not all of Maylor’s people are happy with what is happening. Why should they suffer because of what they are being forced into? They won’t. I will give them a chance to live peacefully here. To become members of this society that we have built. It is only right and fair that I do so. After all, but for the grace of the choice of ship…”

  “And if they do not settle peacefully?”

  “Then I will deal with them in the same way that I will deal with Maylor,” Dragan replied.

  “How?” William asked.

  “How?”

  “How will you deal with Maylor and his army?” William demanded. “Will you kill them?”

  Dragan shook his head because that was not something he was capable of. He suspected William thought differently because of his experiences with the northern aliens, but in truth they were a peaceful people. They had lived on a dying planet where any moment could mean the end, and after that had made their way through the stars, never knowing where they might end up, if at all. Life was precious to Dragan’s people and he would not take it from someone. How Maylor had become so twisted, had lost the lessons of their people, Dragan did not know. But two wrongs never made a right.

  “We will get rid of them in the same way that they arrived,” he said because he saw no reason to hide this aspect of his plan from the king.

  “On a ship?”

  “Yes,” Dragan said. “We’ll send them back into the stars.”

  “But…surely they will just come back?” William said. “And the war will start all over again?”

  “My ship has stasis units,” Dragan replied. “You understand how they work?”

  William nodded. “They put you to sleep? Sort of pause you?”

  “Exactly. We’ll put them in there for a generation and send the ship out on autopilot. By the time they come out of their cycle they will be far from this world, and we’ll ensure all memory of it is wiped from the crystal system. They will never be able to find it.”

  “Does Maylor know you can do this?”

  “Yes. Why do you think he has never tried to take these islands? Why do you think he sends as many messengers as you do? Our ships were designed identically, but Maylor’s ship lost their units many years ago. They collided with a comet and that part of their ship was lost.”

  “So…he knows you can do this,” William said. “That you are his only weakness? But how will we get them in the units? We’ll have to capture the entire army.”

  “Leave that to me,” Dragan said. “We have other technology that will help with that. All you need worry about for now is whether you are willing to agree to my terms.”

  The king shifted, indecision chasing so plainly across his face. “I don’t even know what to say.”

  “You’re confused,” Dragan said.

  “Shocked is more like it.”

  “You did not expect this.”

  “I thought you would refuse me,” William said slowly. “You refused to see any of my messengers.” He paused and ran a hand across his face. Dragan couldn’t help noticing that it trembled ever so slightly. “But then,” he continued. “On the journey over I thought about what would happen if you did not refuse me. I expected you would ask for something. But this?”

  Dragan uncrossed his arms and moved across the room. He couldn’t help himself, already he had waited too long. He halted just a few inches from the king, whose eyes widened on his approach. He looked down at him, though not as far down as he was used to, and let out a soft sigh.

  “Is your virtue worth more than your people?”

  “My virtue?”

  Dragan nodded slowly. “I cannot think what else prevents you from saying yes.”

  The king shifted again and in that moment Dragan found himself wondering how close to the truth his words had actually been.

  “Or perhaps it is your pride?” he suggested. “You are hesitating because you do not like the idea of fucking one of your subjects?”

  “You said all are equal,” William said. “So how can you be my subject?”

  “I said that,” Dragan replied. “Not you.”

  William tore his eyes away from Dragan’s, looked anywhere but at him. Again the struggle he was going through was so obvious, and Dragan simply waited, letting him work it out in his mind. When he finally spoke, his honesty increased Dragan’s admiration all over again.

  “It is not a question of pride.”

  “Then a question of virtue? Because if it is, believe me when I say that taking yours will be the most pleasurable experience either of us have ever had.”

  Dragan reached out then because it was impossible not to. He laid his palm against the king’s cheek and bit down hard on the inside of his mouth to stop himself from doing more. In truth, Dragan wanted to turn the king around, plant his hands either side of the window, pull down his pants and fuck him hard.

  But there would be plenty of time for that.

  Plenty.

  “It is not a question of virtue either,” the king said and he moved his head, trying to pull away from Dragan’s hand.

  Dragan did not let him. He stroked his fingers down and watched as the king shuddered. “Then say yes.”

  “I have no choice, do I?”

  “In all honesty, William,” he said. “You do not.”

  Chapter Seven

  Later that night William sat on the edge of the sumptuous bed in the chamber he had been provided. It was in Dragan’s home, on the very top floor, and both Bertram and Niahm had rooms next to him. His guards had been given rooms in the surrounding houses, and William had spoken with them all before settling down for the night in his own quarters. They seemed happy enough, eager to get to know the humans who were living on the islands, and perhaps even the aliens. There was no denying the differences between these aliens and the northern rebels.

  It was like night and day.

  And Dragan…William sighed and ran a hand across his face. He still couldn’t quite believe what had happened between them or what Dragan had asked for. Part of him was half convinced that he would wake up any moment, shaking his head, this being just another of the many dreams he had experienced on the journey over. Only, William had never had a dream like this, because such an outrageous demand had never occurred to him.

  Dragan wanted to bed him.

  That was the only way he was willing to give his help.

  It was outrageous, ridiculous, and William had no idea what he was going to do.

  A knock sounded against the door. William’s heart skipped a beat. Was it Dragan? Come to collect on his demands? Only, William had not yet agreed to do what was being asked of him so…

  “William?”

  Niahm’s soft tones floated through the wood. William’s heart slowed slightly.

  “Come.”

  The door opened, and Niahm stepped through. She was dressed in a green tunic and pants. The color suited her very well, and she was a welcome sight. William had seen her after he had left Dragan’s presence, but they had not had an opportunity to talk. Well, no, that was not true. William could have found an opportunity if he’d wanted to, but he’d needed some time to think everything through.

  “How are you doing?” Niahm asked as she sat next to him.

  “I’m not sure,” William said honestly. “This is…”

  “Strange?”

  “Unexpected,” he said.

  “But this is why we came.”

  “I know.”

  “So, are you going to tell me what happened?”

  He sighed. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “At the beginning maybe?”

  “Lord Dragan is…” He shook his head, unable to find the words.

  “Commanding?”
/>
  “You picked up on that.”

  Niahm laughed softly. “It was obvious from the moment he spoke. Did you see the way his people looked at him? And our people too for that matter? They adore him. He is their leader, no question.”

  “He was voted into that position.”

  “They have a democracy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Just as you hoped to do with our people.”

  “If we ever win this war, I will do that, Niahm,” William said. “You know I have never liked the idea that those who are born into a certain position must be the ones who rule.”

  “And will we?”

  “Will we what?”

  “Win the war?” she asked. “Because if you do your people will immediately vote you back into the position of leader. I’m afraid there will be no escape for you, William.”

  “I never expected there to be,” he answered honestly. “I long ago accepted that this will be my life, and,” he added. “I do not resent it. I will do what is right for my people.”

  “I know you will,” Niahm replied. “You always have. And now tell me, will Dragan help?”

  William inhaled a shaky breath. “Yes.”

  Niahm let out a soft sigh. “I never thought he would,” she whispered. “Never. What did you say to convince him? Or should I say, what did he request?”

  William stood up, his heart racing once again. It had been that way ever since he had moved away from the touch of Dragan’s hand and headed to the door. Dragan had smiled as he did so, happy to let him go now that his demand was clear between them both. He was in no hurry for an answer, William was sure about that. But William did need to hurry. Every day spent here was another day handed to the rebels.

  “William?” Niahm prompted. “What did he ask for?”

  “Something very unexpected,” William said. He turned and locked eyes with Niahm. He could see the worry in hers very clearly. Unlike the rest of his court Niahm had personal experience of this war. She wanted an end to it as badly as William did. “If Bertram were asking me that question I would be sitting here now thinking up what lie to tell him,” he added. “Because there is no way the court can ever know what I have to agree to in order to secure Dragan’s help.”