by Zara Zenia
Darbnix stood up straight and placed his hands behind his back, clearing his throat abruptly. I turned around and noticed that his personal guards were still standing behind us, staring straight ahead and awaiting dismissal.
“That will be all,” Darbnix announced, and the guards disappeared back behind the wall, giving us privacy.
I turned back and grinned up at him, taking in his stature and handsome jawline. His skin was smooth. I didn’t want to ever leave his side. I was in trouble emotionally, allowing my heart to lead me instead of keeping my head level and sensible.
“So?” I smiled. “What is on our agenda for tonight?”
“Follow me,” he said and took my hand, pulling me down a hallway lit with various colored lights pulsing in tiny little round, clear cases up above our heads. It was magical, modern, and a treat to the senses.
Each hallway we turned down had a set of walls that disappeared into the next, creating hallway after hallway.
“Where, exactly, are we going?” I asked, getting curious.
“I’ll show you,” he said in a mischievously evasive way.
“You like to surprise people, don’t you?” I laughed. I wasn’t scared. I trusted Darbnix with every fiber of my being. I clung to his masculine grip without an ounce of apprehension.
Another wall disappeared, and we were spilled into another room. As soon as I entered, I gasped and glanced up at him.
“Are we . . . outside?” I was confused. It wasn’t farfetched. It seemed like we’d traveled the ends of the earth. It was confusing, the way the walls evaporated into the next, as if we were walking through a maze.
“We aren’t outside, but this is what prevents me from becoming homesick,” Darbnix attested with a proud glance around the vast open spaces. “I like to come in here and reflect. This room keeps me sane, keeps me grounded so that I’ll always remember where I came from and what my ultimate goal is.”
“What is your ultimate goal?” I didn’t mean to be so prying, but I wanted to know where I stood with him, and I suppose that unconsciously, my heart was verbalizing its demands. I wanted to cringe, but I didn’t have time to recover because he answered in an instant.
“To be honest, I don’t want to use that genetic scanner.” His voice was blunt and open as if he wasn’t going to hold back and he was prepared to speak his mind.
“Okay . . .” I trailed off, uncertain how to react or respond to that, but I felt it was probably better to ease my way in with him so that he would be able to vent in his own way.
“So, what is this place?” I wanted to change the subject and get his mind on a different subject than his problems and fears.
His features softened. The ceiling was like a floating sky, serene and baby blue with white fluffy clouds overhead that looked as soft as cotton. Vast farmland stretched as far as the eye could see, and I wondered whether it was just an optical illusion playing tricks on my mind.
Then, before he could answer, I figured it out on my own. “Is this . . . Noor?” I pointed at the landscape and a babbling stream glistening in the virtual sun gleaming overhead.
“It is.” He nodded with a peaceful smile.
“This room is incredible.”
“Thank you. My most highly-skilled engineers equipped me with this room.”
“They are amazingly talented,” I observed, then added, “Do you think that they could come to my house and add a room like this to my house?”
This amused him. He smiled and laughed, brushing the hair off my shoulder. “You are really cute. You know that, right?”
“No one ever tells me that.” I chuckled. “But it makes me feel good to know that.”
“Come on,” he said and nudged his chin to the side of the room. “Let’s go sit by the stream.”
“Okay.” I smiled, following him.
When we arrived at the stream across the enormous room, it looked and sounded real. Water splashed on rocks that looked as slick as glass.
“Go on,” he coaxed. “Dip your feet in.”
“Really?” I glanced up at him, shocked. “Will it feel real?”
“It will.” He smiled with pride. “My engineers are the best on the entire planet of Trilynia.”
I sat down on the ground, feeling the cool soil. I dipped my feet into the water and gasped. It was wet and refreshing, tickling my ankles as the water drifted downstream.
“This is amazing,” I declared. I never wanted to leave this room.
“Thank you,” he whispered. It was then that I noticed a shadow of melancholy and grief flood his features.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling comfortable enough with him to probe about something that would make his handsome features fade into such sorrow.
“My brothers want to ignore my concerns about the scanner,” he whispered softly.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said and consolingly patted his thigh.
He stared at my hand stroking his knee as if he wanted to pounce on me in an instant. It made my heart race in my chest.
“It’s not your fault,” he said in a noble voice. “It’s something I have to work through on my own.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” I mentioned. “You can talk to me. Maybe I can even help you.” I gave him an innocent smile as he met my gaze and looked adoringly into my eyes.
“I wish more people were like you,” he stated.
“How?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” He sighed and leaned back, propping his arms behind him. “Pure. Genuine.”
“There are plenty of people like that out there in the world.” I shrugged.
He scoffed, staring straight ahead. “Not as many as you think.” His features turned a shade darker, bitter.
I didn’t know what was bothering him, but now I was afraid to press the issue. If he wanted to talk to me about his problems, then he would be the one to decide how in-depth he wanted to go with me.
“I don’t trust the scanners,” he said gravely. “I think they are vulnerable, too easily compromised.”
“Do you have reason to believe this?” I asked, casually curious.
He glanced at me. “Maybe.” His jaw squared as he placed his bare feet into the water beside mine.
There was a quiet pause between us, then he let out a labored deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about the scanner anymore.”
“That’s okay,” I said gently and began to rub his back, noticing as chill bumps of pleasure began to follow the grazing of my fingertips across his skin.
“Keep doing that and maybe I’ll forget all of my problems.” He chuckled as he continued to stare straight ahead.
I could tell that he was still distracted by something. “Thank you for bringing me here,” I admitted. “To be honest, I needed the stress relief too.”
He looked surprised. “You did?”
“Well, yeah.” I shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone?”
I had no idea what kind of pressure he was under as a prince, especially a prince who needed to find a biological match to help him produce children. It all seemed so artificial and too rehearsed.
“I guess so.” His expression relaxed and his shoulders loosened. Then a smirk cracked at the edges of his mouth. “maybe I’ll just ignore the issues with the genetic scanner and I’ll adopt one of my brother’s kids as an heir. I’d rather do that than marry someone I don’t love.”
His voice sounded sad and made my heart ache. I wished there was something I could do to help him. His face contorted with conflict. I didn’t respond to his proposal because I knew that he was probably just trying to think out loud.
He turned to face me. “Being out here in the open with you really helps me relax, though.” He smiled. “You know, given the circumstances.”
“I know what you mean.” Desire continued to flow like lava through my veins. I wanted him to kiss me.
Then, as if reading my mind, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. Sensual bliss surged through me. I held my br
eath, never wanting him to pull away. I wanted the moment to last forever.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and gently stroked his hair, raking across his scalp with my fingernails. He grunted in approval. He kissed my neck as if he wanted to devour me whole. I frantically kissed him back with desperate urgency as if I was afraid that he would disappear right before my eyes like one of his palace walls.
A frenzy of emotions ravaged through me. A wetness began to pool between my legs as he stroked my inner thigh, sending me on a wild ride of erotic pleasure. “Keep doing that,” I begged into his ear, praying that this wasn’t just a dream that I’d wake up from before I had a chance to climax.
Every sensation in my body was blazing with desire for him. My insides pulsed with burning longing that I couldn’t control. I panted into his ear, moaning softly as he gently pulled my pants down to expose me in the most erotic way possible.
“I want to taste you,” he requested.
I nodded. I couldn’t form words. My throat was too narrow with hunger for him. I opened my legs, ready to allow him access into my private world. I was throbbing between my legs, sensitive and wet, ready for him to take me.
Darbnix ducked his head between my legs. I gasped as his mouth parted my slit and he flicked his tongue on my magical flower, blossoming with desire for him. I ached for every movement he made with his mouth, struggling to breathe through the pleasure.
My body began shaking with ecstasy. The warm sensation of an orgasm began brewing inside me and an eruption of pleasure shuddered through me. I clamped my legs around his head and dug my nails into his back, wailing with pleasure as the orgasm ravaged me.
Darbnix came up for air a few seconds later, grinning wildly with a mouth glistening and wet from my climax. He pulled his shirt over his head and I helped him fumble out of his pants.
His dark manhood throbbed before my eyes, exposing his thick girth that made my eyes grow huge. I was pulsing again for him, yearning for him to ravage me.
“Is this okay?” he asked in a whisper, diplomatically giving me an option to bow out if I wasn’t comfortable.
My cheeks were flushed with a burning, intense heat of raw sexual desire. “It’s perfect,” I croaked, barely managing to speak.
He pressed himself against me. I cried out with pleasure as he entered me. I shifted my weight to help him plunge inside. Once he was buried deep within me, my soul wept with joy.
He rocked back and forth with fluid, gentle movements at first and then began to go faster and faster as we melded together as one. Being with him felt so natural, as if we were two people interwoven in a chemistry that sent electrical jolts of pleasure and a current of bliss through us.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, digging my heels into his back. He was panting harder and harder as he continued to thrust and pump faster and faster.
Then in an instant, he grunted again, and he emptied himself into me, convulsing on top of me as we became one naked, sweaty mess. He pulled out, the contents of his manhood continuing to drip and ooze out of me with a warm sensation.
I collapsed beside him on the grass beside the stream, gazing fondly up at the sky. If this was what heaven was like, I never wanted to leave.
Chapter 9
Darbnix
Watching Rose sleep lulled my senses, sending me into a dreamy state of relaxation. Her chest rose and fell in perfect rhythm. She was tantric, alluring. Her long red hair flowed naturally around the pillow like crimson feathers belonging to some kind of exotic bird.
She was beautiful, simply stunning. Her cheeks were rosy, and her lips were delicately parted in peaceful, tranquil deep sleep. I leaned down to kiss her cheek as gently as possible, careful not to wake her.
She roused slightly, sighing with a contented moan as she shifted her weight in the bed and moved over to sleep on her side. She didn’t wake up. Her eyelids remained tightly shut.
I couldn’t sleep, and there was no use in trying to ward off the insomnia or put up any kind of fight against it. I pushed the sheets off my legs and touched my heels to the floor, walking over to the edge of the room where I gazed out at the sky and the vast blank canvas of outer space just off the horizon.
I profoundly missed Noor and the wide-open countryside, but having Rose with me helped comfort me to some degree. I hated being lonely on a foreign planet, even though I was surrounded by dozens of people all the time.
No one else had the capability of quenching my hunger—that is, until Rose entered the picture. She was intoxicating. I was already beginning to throb again, just picturing her legs spread for me, glistening and wet, welcoming me into her deepest, most private place.
She fed my need to be stimulated by another intellectual. I didn’t care about the fancy parties. To me, they were meaningless. There was no lasting stimulation to pacify my screaming mind.
I hated the idea that I had no choice but to appease some woman out there who didn’t care about me and who only wanted me for my money, wealth, and status. I didn’t want to find a mate that way. I still believed in doing it the old-fashioned way. I wanted to court a woman like Rose who made my heart pound and made the flesh between my legs pound with desire.
She made me feel impulsive in the most magical way possible. She awakened my senses and breathed new life into my mind, even though I didn’t know her that well yet. I enjoyed every moment we spent together, and every time I got lost in her eyes, I never wanted to leave. I wanted to get lost in her gaze because she was pure and mesmerizing.
The moon was high in the sky tonight, glowing and illuminating a milky white light across the landscape of the sky. I took a deep breath and wandered back to the bed. Rose was still sleeping peacefully with a tranquil expression.
I wished that I had the capability to forget all my problems and float away to the oblivion of a dreamy peaceful state. I’d made her come hard, and I relished the thought of doing it again. Hearing her moans through the night made me sizzle inside. I couldn’t get enough of her. I was afraid I was becoming addicted, which posed a bit of a problem.
The genetic scanner was still looming in the back of my mind, trying to force its way to the front and center of every consumable thought I had. My heart raced. I didn’t want to use it on her. I was afraid of staring the results in the face if she wasn’t a viable match.
Every fiber in my body yearned for Rose to be my perfect mate, but I wasn’t ready to have disappointment shatter the fun I was having with her just yet. I wished there were some way I could hold onto her forever, never letting go. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.
I walked to my office, shuffling along robotically as I journeyed down the corridors, making my way to my private quarters. I was the only person on the planet who knew exactly where to find my genetic scanner, which I’d purposefully hidden so that nobody would be able to tamper with it. I was especially cautious and paranoid now that Davon had proposed a feasible threat by one of the world’s most intelligent engineers.
I’d figured that after the whole Darla fiasco with my older brother Gardax, there would be copycats out there. My ultimate goal was now to keep this thing safely locked away. Even though Gardax got his wish in the end and was able to marry his one true love, I didn’t trust that I would be lucky enough, nor any of my remaining brothers yet to find their matches.
I was cynical, yes, but I had reasons for my doubts, both scientific as well as having chemistry for one another. How was I supposed to ever perform sexually with a woman I didn’t love or felt no stimulating attraction to?
For me, it wasn’t all about looks. For one thing, I had to be agreeable to be matched with someone who might not necessarily be the most beautiful woman on earth. As long as her personality shone through, I was willing to let that part go.
I wasn’t so superficial that I needed her to be gorgeous, and smart. I knew I would have to compromise on one or the other, but that’s where I was running into the most problems. I had issues with not wanting to marry some
one I despised just to be able to keep our race going.
How far was I willing to go to breed for my planet? I wasn’t sure I had an answer for that just yet. I finally made it to my office. The automatic lights switched on immediately because they were hooked up to motion sensors to detect when someone entered a room.
I sighed and plopped down at my office chair, staring at my computer. My genetic scanner was tucked away in a drawer beside my desk. It was as if it were burning through me. I could feel its energy and it wasn’t even turned on. How could I be so afraid of using an electronic device?
It was because that very device in question was going to seal my fate and held all the power at controlling my future. I was normally a laid-back type of guy who tried to research all options before coming to a conclusion, but these scanners just didn’t sit well with me at all.
I was so conflicted that the lines of right and wrong began to blur until I was totally losing perspective altogether. I picked up my phone to dial Davon but then quickly set it back down on the desk again after I realized it was far too late at night to have a reasonable conversation with anyone. I would just have to keep myself company with the thoughts in my mind and wreaking havoc on my wellbeing.
I walked over to the locked drawer where the device was kept. My hands were itching to unlock it, but I needed to work my way up to doing that.
“This is crazy,” I muttered under my breath. “It’s just a scanner. What harm could it do?”
The answer was a lot, including substantial damage to my emotional state.
My ears burned. My chest pounded under a beating heart that was not prepared in the event that the scanner wouldn’t light up when I placed it in front of Rose.
What if I placed the scanner in front of her and it didn’t read her as a match, but she really was the match? What was the success rate? There was no way to gauge that because Gardax had been the only one so far who had found his mate.
My thoughts shifted into bitter discontent as I pictured him lying beside his wife, Amy, perfectly blissful in his new love. I wanted those same options. It didn’t seem fair. I didn’t want to sound like a sullen, spoiled child, but I wanted to have my cake and eat it too.