by Renee Rose
Paal didn’t know what to do with his human. Part of him still rebelled at having her. He was a warrior, for stars’ sake, and his species was going to battle—within a few planet rotations if he read the signs correctly.
No one had said for certain which day they would strike the Finn to drive them off their planet, but judging from the acceleration of preparations going on all around him, it had to be soon.
He wouldn’t even be around to train the human to conform to Zandian society. Veck, he might not even survive the takeback. There was a chance none of them would return.
And yet the idea of even releasing her from his room—from his sight—made every cell in his body rebel.
Already her sweet, exotic scent filled the chamber, was on his tunic, his sleepdisk. His fingers. He closed his eyes, savoring the memory of having her spread wide, giving over to her urgent need to come.
How could he even think about sending her away after he’d seen that?
Impossible!
The washtube finished and he heard the door swish open. Part of him thought he should leave now, because knowing her clean, naked body stood just a few feet away made him want to barge into the washroom, bend her over the counter and force himself on her again. Veck, if he didn’t want to claim her tight backhole this time, now that he’d seen how the anal plug had undone her.
He adjusted his cock in his pants. Not yet. He hadn’t even allowed her to finish her meal. Nor had he seen to her wounded feet. And a tour of the pod might be in order.
He suddenly wondered what the spunky human would think of it.
He’d lived on Zander’s pod since puberty and the minute he’d come here, he’d never wanted to leave. He’d hated the times he had to return to visit his mother at some new domicile she’d taken. With some new male she’d seduced.
He was supposed to be grateful to her because she’d taken him and left Zandia to live with an Igorian just before the Finn attacked. Yet he’d never found it in him to thank her.
All he ever remembered was the look on his father’s face as they left. His utter devastation at discovering his mate had decided a miner couldn’t provide enough for her and her son. And seeing his father so ruined had ruined him, too.
And so, with the logic of the 9-cycle-old he’d been, Paal had blamed her for Zandia’s demise. For the deaths of his father and every friend he’d ever had. And he’d been stuck watching his mother suck up to the ugly, rich Igorian, who within a few lunar cycles she realized wasn’t as wealthy or generous as she’d expected.
From there, she’d found a Niteean, then a Gambordian. But, because a surly adolescent interfered with her scheming, he’d long since been delivered to Master Seke for military training. Which was the best thing that could’ve happened to him.
Leti emerged, long hair hanging down over her bare breasts. The picture might have tempted him but he caught the knowing gleam in her eye as she twirled a section of the shiny dark locks around one finger. “Is this better?” She cocked a hip and used the ends of the section to tickle her bare nipple.
A growl rocketed from his throat. He cut the distance between them in a single stride and gripped the back of her hair. “Yes.” He tugged her head back until she gasped and had to follow. “Better for pulling.”
Anger flashed in the gold of her eyes before she hid it. “Master likes to control.”
Dammit if he didn’t want more of that anger from her. More of anything genuine beyond her vecking fake seductive excrement.
“I do.” Still holding her prisoner by her scalp, he cupped her mons, delighted to find her wet again. His middle finger dipped into her slick heat. “Tell me what it does to your pussy.”
A flush of color tinged her cheeks. Surely a sex pet wouldn’t be embarrassed? Angry, then. He realized, with a start, that she might have learned to be the first to offer up her body, because it allowed her more dignity than having sex taken from her. His little pet was no victim, despite her slave status. She’d kept that one small granule of control.
And he was an asshole for not letting her keep it. And yet her attempt at seduction was like the scrape of metal to his nerves. Every time she asserted her sexual power, he had to take it back.
Part of it was the game, a need to dominate and conquer. But part of it was something deeper, more personal.
He profoundly mistrusted the female.
He didn’t want to be made a fool of, like his father had been. Or all those other males his mother had used.
He shoved a second finger in his squirming female, using the heel of his hand to grind against the place Daneth had told him would arouse her.
Her lips tightened but one of her hands flew to cover his, pushing him deeper, rubbing his hand against her.
“Does this pussy get wet when I make it hurt, Leti?” He rasped in her ear.
She struggled against him, her backside writhing against his aching cock. “I don’t...want it to,” she admitted.
He laughed and released her. “That’s probably the first honest response you’ve given me.” Picking her up by the waist, he lifted her pussy to his mouth and gave it a soft kiss, then lowered her down again.
Her knees buckled under her and he had to catch his wobbling female to keep her from dropping to the floor.
Alarm shot through him. “Are you ill?”
She lurched out of his hold, toddling toward the food, once more. Head bowed, her hair fell in a curtain, hiding her face as she selected a berry.
“Are you that hungry?” he demanded. Stars, he needed to learn how to keep his little female nourished.
She didn’t look at him when she spoke, and her words sounded grudging, like she didn’t wish to say them. “No, I’m just a little...affected.”
Affected?
Ah, affected. By him.
Another honest moment. His heart squeezed with the sudden urge to soothe and care for his female. He rummaged through his clothing and produced an undershirt. He brought it to her where she stood, eating, and pulled it over her head. She threaded her arms through the holes with an air of surprise. Had no one ever taken care of her before?
That idea both enraged him and solidified his determination to see to her needs. Whether he ultimately kept her or not.
The shirt hung to her thighs but the material was thin enough for him to see her dusky nipples through. He picked up the flight tunic she’d been wearing earlier and helped her into it. “Put on those leggings you found on the ship, I don’t want any other being seeing those legs when we leave this chamber. I’m going to shove my fist down the throat of any male who looks at them.”
A genuine smile touched her lips. Not artful or calculating. Pretty. As if she liked the compliment of his jealousy. But just as quickly as it appeared, she turned away, hiding herself from him.
“You’re not wearing these any more, either,” he declared, holding up her boots and dropping them into the waste chute where they were whisked down to incineration.
Leti pouted. “I looked good in those boots.”
“You looked vecking amazing,” he admitted. “But they wrecked your feet.”
She let out a surprised laugh and looked down. “You’ve been looking at my feet?”
He nodded. “I’m going to bring you to the Prince’s doctor for treatment.”
Her full lips opened and closed soundlessly. Then she laughed again. “Master, I never know what to expect from you.”
His face split into a satisfied grin. “And that’s how it should be. Come,” he held out his arm. “Are you finished eating?”
“Yes,” she said, but shoved another cracker in her mouth and gave him a sly grin. “Almost.”
“You’ll never be denied food here, Leti. Zandian promise.”
A flash of vulnerability flickered across her face, but she covered it with a toss of her hair over her shoulder. She hooked her hand through his elbow. “Where are we going, Master?”
He would’ve thought by now the kick of lust that shot straight to his cock eve
ry time she called him Master would’ve diminished, but it hadn’t. He gritted his teeth and rearranged himself again. He’d have to veck her again soon, or he wouldn’t make it through the rest of the planet rotation with his sanity intact.
Damn the little temptress.
He led her up the lift to the main floor, straight to Dr. Daneth’s lab.
“Ah, the new arrival. Come in. Sit there on the table.”
Leti obeyed and Daneth peered at her with a clinician’s interest. “Appears healthy. I’d like to do a full examination—”
“No,” he interrupted. No vecking way he’d have Daneth inspecting his human. She’d have to get naked for that and then he’d have to kill the doctor.
Daneth arched a brow. “Zandian males do exhibit radical possessiveness when it comes to human females.” Despite Paal’s refusal, the doctor appeared to be approaching her with a needle.
“What are you doing? I brought her here for her feet, not for your testing.”
“A simple genetic screening will allow us to determine how she will breed and which warrior would be the best—”
“She’s not here for breeding.” His teeth almost broke from clenching them so hard. “Look at her vecking feet.”
“Out of line, warrior,” Daneth warned. At the look on Paal's face, his expression softened. "Paal," he explained, "I can delay the exam for now, but you know it's required for any newcomer to the pod. All arrivals need a full physical exam to assure their safety and that of the other residents." He gave Paal an even gaze. "I will treat her with the utmost respect."
He worked to calm his temper. Daneth was right. He may not be Paal’s superior, but he certainly ranked far higher as Zander’s trusted advisor. He forced a stiff bow. “Please, doctor.”
A tap sounded at the door, and it slid open before the doctor answered. The doctor’s pregnant female mate, Bayla, stood in the doorway.
“Oh, forgive me, Master.”
The doctor’s normally wooden face instantly softened, his eyes caressed the bump of Bayla’s belly. “Not at all. Come in. I could use your help.”
Bayla, a rosy-cheeked, dark haired human, brightened, casting a curious gaze at Leti. “What can I do?”
“Prepare to clean and treat this human’s wounds.”
Bayla dropped a curtsy. “Of course, Master.”
Daneth picked up one of Leti’s ankles and turned her foot to each side, visually examining the wounds. “Subject shows signs of vesicles and abrasions, likely from wearing ill-sized or restrictive footwear.” He touched a particularly angry red area and Leti jerked. “Some infection present. Proper cleaning, bandaging and local antibiotics should resolve the issue within a week, provided the footwear is discontinued.”
Relief swept through him. “So it’s not dangerous to a human? I know they are an inferior species.”
“Your female shows no sign of stress or systemic illness, although I’d still like to give her a thorough—”
“No.”
Daneth shrugged, but didn’t argue further because his mate came to stand by his side.
“Hi, I’m Bayla,” the female offered Leti with a soft, friendly tone. “I hadn’t heard of your arrival.”
“I just arrived.” Leti lifted her chin at him. “He stole me from the Emperor of Jujo.” She hesitated a moment, then added, her voice softer and a little uneven, "He...rescued me, that is." She looked at Paal for a moment, and her expression was something he'd never seen on her — almost worried, perhaps? But before he could analyze it, her typical haughty, strong expression was back.
“Ah. Lucky you. Zandians make great masters.”
He stiffened. Hearing females discuss his gender in generalities set his teeth on edge. Too much like his mother.
Bayla went on, chattering as she wiped an antibiotic cleanser over Leti’s feet. “They seem to find human females pleasing once they get used to us.” She winked. “Sounds like you already have this one halfway to a piercing ceremony.”
His stomach knotted.
No.
No vecking way.
He would not be the prize won by these scheming females.
“What’s a piercing ceremony?” Leti asked, her gaze swiveling to his face.
He forced his lips to move. “It’s for mating. But your friend is wrong.” He allowed scorn to splash over his expression. “I would never mate a human slave.”
It shouldn’t have hurt.
Hurt implied she cared, and she definitely did not give a shit about this arrogant Zandian bastard. As if she wanted to be mated to a fucking purple alien!
But it wasn’t like the Zandians who had human mates seemed like they thought they’d downgraded. Mina’s mate had doted on her, and even the strange doctor couldn’t stop looking at his pregnant mate.
So if Paal found her so repulsive, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to find another Zandian who would actually enjoy her extensive training as a sex pet. Why in the hell should she waste her talents and efforts on this one?
And it had already been made clear that she wasn’t stuck with him. Mina had been trying to help, but she’d set her up with the wrong purple horned man. She’d just find herself another. It took way more than a scornful master to get her down.
A helluva lot more.
The doctor released her with some of the antibiotic cream and the directive to return in three planet rotations for him to recheck the wounds.
“I will need a full workup, though,” he called after them as Paal directed her by the elbow out of the room.
Paal didn’t answer.
Funny that a male so irrationally possessive should also find her not nearly good enough.
Paal led her back to his chamber, hurrying her through the colorful corridors without giving her a chance to see much of anything. He pressed his palm to the plate outside his door and it slid open. He scooted her inside but didn’t follow. “Stay where you won’t get into any trouble. I have things to do.”
“I won’t get into any trouble outside your—”
The door slid closed in her face.
She tried to open it, but apparently it was programmed only to respond to Paal’s handprint. Damn the warrior.
Too bad. For a few minutes there, she’d actually imagined she might have more freedom with the Zandians.
Maybe Mina would come and set her free.
She returned to the tray of food, eating not out of hunger, but for sport. Because she’d never tasted such delicious food and it was hard to stop scooping it into her mouth.
She’d probably give herself a bellyache, but she didn’t care. What else was there to do?
Zander sat at the long oval table in what had become his war room. All his advisors sat with him, alert. Ready for battle.
This was it—the moment he’d spent a lifetime training for. Most of the males in this room had devoted their lives to preparing him for it. Having females in the room was altogether new, but with so many lives on the line, he needed his mate’s gift of sight. Rok and Lundric’s human mates were trained warriors now, and Taramina had taken a lead role with Erick’s diplomatic efforts.
Erick stood up to speak. “As most of you know, my sources report King Fluut continues to lose control of his empire. Very few Finnians linger on what’s left of Finn, their home planet—the toxins there are too strong after the last mining explosion. Fluut’s failed bid for Shanli seriously reduced his troops and weaponry. They are expected to pull out of that engagement by the next lunar cycle. We need to strike before they return to Zandia.”
Rok cleared his throat. “Strike where?”
Seke stood up and projected a hologram of the galaxy. He pointed to Shanli. “I propose a two pronged attack. We strike their fleet that’s residing in the airspace above Shanli, and at the same time we take out Fluut himself on Zandia.”
“Do we have enough ships for both offensives?” Rok asked. “I mean, I know what we have, but I don’t know what we’re up against in the Shanli airspace.”
>
“We will be outnumbered, but unlike the Finn, our ships are new and our soldiers fresh. They’ve suffered major losses. Morale will be low. It’s the perfect time to strike,” Zander explained.
Seke enlarged the hologram of Shanli airspace. “They have only one main galactacarrier left. It’s three times the size of ours, but that makes it slow and heavy. We park our galactacarrier here, in cloaking mode.” He pointed to a position behind the Shanli moon. “We stay in the gravitational pull of the moon and follow it around until we’re in perfect position. Then, we send a torpedo straight for the carrier. If all goes well, we won’t even use any of the small fighter ships.”
Rok nodded soberly. “Is this my assignment?”
“Yes,” Seke replied. “You’ll accompany Prince Zander. I’ll lead the Zandian invasion because I remember the layout of the capital better than either of you. I’ll need no more than one-third of the troops to sack the palace and eliminate Fluut.”
“And if they’re prepared for us?” Lundric, his Chief of Security asked.
“Considering the assassination attempt on Erick and Mina, they probably will be,” Seke offered. “All the more reason to strike now.”
“Who will remain here?” Lium, his tactical engineer asked.
“We’ll leave the females and young.” Zander looked at Rok. “Send over any of the humans on the training pod not fit for combat. We’ll consolidate here with a skeleton crew.”
Rok cast a glance at Lily. “You and Cambry should come here as part of the defense team. I don’t want you on the front line.”
Cambry, Lundric’s fiery red-headed mate, opened her mouth, but Lundric cut in. “Agreed.”
Cambry ignored him, appealing to Rok. “I can fly a fighter ship as well as any of your men.”
Lamira stirred beside Zander and he waved them quiet.
“You and Lily will be needed on this pod,” Lamira predicted. Her beautiful green eyes had the unfocused glaze they took on when she was seeing with her inner eyes.
A cold hook of fear ripped through his solar plexus. “Why?” he demanded.
Lamira stared unseeing out the window. Finally she shook her head. “I cannot see. They will lead something important here on the pod.”