by Abel, Regine
I slowly nodded and smiled noncommittally at his less than subtle meaning. “There indeed seems to be some interesting times ahead,” I replied in a neutral tone. “I will keep in mind that so far you have kept your word regarding releasing us. However, one of yours hijacked my ship once. Who knows if another of yours hasn’t hacked it further while we were detained in those cages?”
The Emperor stiffened, looking mildly offended at that remark. “Your ship was hacked by a Hunter to capture you and your females without violence; a wise and effective choice on his part. You are being released by my edict. All viruses have been removed from your ship.” A sudden gust of wind blew the Emperor’s long hair in his face. Nemrox flicked the offending locks over his shoulder with a certain level of annoyance. “You will also note that, while we were readying your ship, my head of security has sent a message to both your son Anton and Magnar Ravik informing them of your imminent return. They have sent a small fleet to meet you along the way.”
“Then we should probably get going soon,” I said in a taunting tone. “We wouldn’t want that fleet to come too close to your home world.”
“Indeed,” Nemrox replied in a neutral tone.
“Until we meet again, then,” I said, slapping my chest with my fist in the traditional Braxian greeting.
“Until we meet again,” the Emperor echoed, with a slight bow of his head. He turned to my woman who had just given a last hug goodbye to Gatina and was walking towards us. “Take good care of the Councilor, Madam,” Nemrox said to her in that incredibly soft and gentle voice he always used with women, regardless of their station. “I suspect he will play a major role in the future that awaits all of us.”
“I certainly intend to,” Hope responded as she stopped by my side.
I slipped a possessive arm around her waist and drew her against me. She leaned into me with a soft smile, then allowed me to lead her towards Siona.
“Remember your promise to me for I will not forget mine to you,” the Prince said gently to Siona. He then turned to me with that same serious and mature expression that never ceased to amaze me. “I will trust you to keep my mate safe until the day I finally get to reunite with her. In the meantime, may you have a pleasant journey home.”
“Farewell, young prince,” I said before boarding my vessel with my females by my side.
Yulan and Zartag, already aboard the ship, made quick work of getting us airborne. After seeing to my females being comfortably settled in, I went back to the bridge to first send a video confirmation both to my King and my three sons that we were on our way. However, not knowing whether to trust the Emperor about any viruses that might not have been cleaned from my ship, I kept the communication neutral and non-committal. Ravik knew me well enough to read between the lines. Along with my crew, we spent the next couple of hours running full ship diagnostics and checking for any form of viruses, backdoors, or suspicious subroutines in the system that could make us vulnerable to hijacking or eavesdropping.
By the time I returned to my quarters, Hope had already tucked in Siona for the night. Although still a little early, the ordeals of the day had taken their toll on the young girl. Even I felt somewhat bone weary. But any thought of sleep fled right out of my mind the minute I entered my room to find my woman dressed in nothing but a translucent, short white nightgown that hid little of her delectable curves, and the perky nubs of her erect nipples. Blood rushed to my groin, and a hungry growl rose in my throat.
My female gracefully descended from the bed where she had been sitting with her legs crossed beneath her. She slowly strutted her stuff towards me, the panels of the open front, sleeveless top she wore parting with each of her steps, giving me tantalizing glimpses of her belly button. The scent of her blossoming arousal made my nose twitch and my cock jerk in my pants. Stopping in front of me, my female slipped her hands under my shirt, caressing my abs upwards all the way to my chest. Her thumbs circled my nipples before her nails clawed their way down my stomach, the exquisite burn drawing another groan from me.
My hands reached for the perfect globes of her ass left exposed by the three flimsy strings that served as her so-called thong. But before I could get a proper grip, Hope dropped to her knees, her delicate fingers deftly opening the magnetic clasp of my pants. My abdominal muscles knotted in anticipation as she freed my cock from its confines. The burning feel of her hands on my length stroking me ignited a blazing flame in the pit of my stomach. My fingers closed around the beautiful horns gracing her forehead as the inferno of her mouth closed around the head of my shaft. She sucked me slowly, teasingly, and licked at my slit while her hands squeezed and caressed me at an increasing pace. I pressed my thumbs at the sensitive base of her horns. She moaned, immediately responding to their erogenous quality, and the scent of her musk rose another notch, making my mouth water.
But as much as I loved the feel of her hands and mouth on me, I wanted to be buried deep inside her, the rippling ridges of her sheath squeezing me from all sides, the heat of her body pressed against mine, her labored breath fanning against my shoulder, and those sexy as fuck moans she emitted while I pounded into her filling my ears. I swiftly removed my shirt, ignoring the sting of the fabric pulling at the wounds from my lashing. Then, holding onto my female’s horns again, I pulled up, forcing her onto her feet.
She gasped and gave me a surprised look. One hand still fisting her left horn, I slipped my other one between her legs while crushing her lips with a possessive kiss. I growled in approval at feeling her slick, hot, and wet for me. In a single brutal move, I snapped the flimsy string of her thong before rubbing the engorged little nub between her legs. She moaned against my lips as my tongue invaded her mouth. My female all but melted against me as I plundered her mouth, savoring her sweet taste, and reveling in her trusting submission to my dominance.
Without breaking the kiss, I lifted her up with my hands on her ass. Hope immediately wrapped her legs around my waist. I rubbed my throbbing cock against her core, her shivers of pleasure making me painfully hard and aching with the need to possess her. It took all my willpower to gently impale her on my cock. Hope gasped against my lips as I pushed myself deeper and deeper into the tight grip of her sex. I hissed with bliss as her ridges tightened around me, sucking me in farther, and undulating around me in the most exquisite caress. I could never have enough of this, of her. She was my drug, my addiction, my everything.
As she adjusted to me, I gave up holding back, surrendering at last to the rabid hunger that had plagued me for the eternity we’d been separated while being detained in that damn cell. I held her up, my hips pumping upwards, in and out of her in a frenzy. Fire coursed through my veins, further fueled by the throaty moans of my female and the searing feel of her feverish skin against mine. Hope’s nails dug into my wounded back as she began to crest. The pain only turned me on even more, awakening the beast, transforming blood rage into unbridled lust.
Closing the short distance to the nearby wall, I pinned my female against it and then thrust into her brutally. Hope shouted my name as she came apart, her inner walls convulsing around me with greed as my seed shot out inside her. I roared in ecstasy as my essence poured out blissfully but continued to thrust in and out of her until I hardened again. My Vaya chanted my name as I wrested two more orgasms out of her before relenting.
Eyes locked with my woman’s, my cock still buried deep within her, I slowly walked to the hygiene room and reluctantly pulled out of her before settling her on the counter. I ran us a warm bath in the large tub scaled to my Braxian dimensions. Carrying her in, I sat down and placed her in front of me, her back to my chest. Taking my sweet time, I washed every inch of her, slowly, reverently, like the goddess she was to me. Hope turned around, a strange glimmer in her eyes. For a moment, she appeared to want to say something, but then held back at the last minute. It disappointed me, and yet, it didn’t matter. My heart already knew the words that had burned her lips. My Vaya’s eyes told me everything I needed
to know.
Without a word, Hope reciprocated, washing me carefully, as if she feared to break me. It was odd, and yet I couldn’t recall any female touching me with such tenderness and affection. Something within me shifted, and I further melted for the delicate female that had captured my heart. As soon as she finished, Hope moved closer to me and, in a fashion similar to our very first time together, my woman grabbed my cock and put it inside her before hugging me and burying her face in my neck. I closed my arms around her, a profound emotion choking me. I had never been loved this way by anyone. This was no longer about sex, it was about us, my Vaya and me, being one soul, one body, joined for eternity.
“You are mine, Hope. And I am yours,” I whispered in her hair, not caring that emotion made my voice unsteady. “You are my heart, my mate, and the very air I breathe. I love you.”
Hope’s arms tightened around me, and her slender body trembled against mine. After a moment, she pulled back and looked up at me, her beautiful face staring at me with an expression that I could not put into words. All I knew was that, for as long as I drew breath, I would fight the entire galaxy itself so that she would always look at me this way.
“My giant,” Hope whispered with a trembling voice. “My magnificent Krygor, I didn’t know what life was, except for pain, hardship, and despair until you taught me that happiness was possible. You are my heart and my soul. I love you beyond words, and I can never thank the Goddess enough that she would take pity on one such as me and bless me with one such as you. You are beyond anything I could have ever dreamt of. Anything.”
I captured my woman’s lips in a slow and tender kiss in which we expressed our love and devotion. Rising out of the water, I took my time drying her and then letting her dry me in return. I carried her to our bed and spent the next eternity showing her how much I worshipped her. It was gentle and tender, devoid of the feral hunger that had animated me earlier. By the time we fell asleep in each other’s arms, we were bound for life, body and soul.
Chapter 19
Hope
My heart was attempting to pound its way out of my chest as a tall human male named William led us to the elevator simply labeled ‘One’ in luminous letters inside the HQ of Venus Hive. In the nearly two weeks it took us to travel halfway across the Quadrant from Sarenia to Anton’s main space station, my nervousness at meeting my mate’s firstborn son steadily escalated. Where Siona couldn’t have been more excited, I felt faint with worry.
It didn’t help that we had arrived so late in the evening. By the time we had landed, my baby had already been struggling to keep her eyes open. I stood nervously next to my mate as the lift flew up to the penthouse. Siona leaned against me, half dozing, while William and Krygor made small talk. Despite the size of the cabin, my man all but filled it up. Even William, with his non-negligible size, appeared tiny next to my giant.
The lift came to a smooth stop, a high-pitched chime resonating before the doors parted. A stunning human female, perched on the highest heels I had ever seen and dressed in an elegant sarong expertly wrapped around her perfect body, stood next to Anton. Her delicate hand held his massive one. I had seen pictures of Grace, her performances as a singer having earned her galaxy-wide admiration. At first, I had assumed her fame was owed to her marriage to the big boss of the Hive Network. However, the first time I heard her sensuous, throaty voice, I had been sold. She was more beautiful in person than I had expected. To my surprise, she appeared shy and yet welcoming, nothing like the entitled bitch one often unfairly assumed the wife of one of the most powerful men in the galaxy would be.
And Anton was indeed one of the most powerful men in the Eastern Quadrant. With his wealth, he could wreck the entire economy of major cities and even lesser planets. His reputation of being a shrewd but ruthless businessman preceded him. He was known to have an almost magical ability to read people, to understand what drove them down to their deepest desires, and to manipulate them into getting exactly what he wanted. Whenever you did business with him, no matter how beneficial it was to you, it was always ten times more beneficial to him. But right now, I would be the one facing his scrutiny; a test I couldn’t afford to fail.
He was his father’s spitting image, but a smaller version—although small was a relative term where Braxians were concerned, even a hybrid. Anton would still be deemed a giant compared to humans, but small compared to purebloods.
“Thank you, William,” Anton said with a friendly smile to his right hand and head of security.
William nodded, went back into the elevator, and left. Anton’s dark eyes, the same intensity as his father’s, glided over me, pausing on my face. My stomach knotted at the reminder that I looked a great deal like his mother; the mother he hated. The Goddess only knew to what extent it would impact whatever relationship he and I could have in the future.
His gaze moved down to my daughter, who was blinking furiously to keep her eyes open, looking mightily embarrassed and nervous that her tiredness might come across as rudeness. An almost imperceptible smile stretched his lips before he looked at his father. Like my giant, Anton’s face became almost terrifying when he smiled. And yet, my heart melted at the love and pride that lit up his eyes upon seeing his father.
“Krygor!” Grace exclaimed. “You’re here at last. I should scold you for scaring us like this. Naya won’t stop demanding to know when she will see her Grappa Krygor.”
Krygor chuckled. “Apologies,” he replied not sounding remorseful in the least.
“Right,” mumbled Grace with false displeasure. “And these two lovely ladies must be Hope and Siona, correct? I am Grace, and I married scary-big-guy junior.”
That made me laugh, and I instantly liked her. Krygor had told me she was a sweet lady, but I had not expected this almost youthful innocence that emanated from her.
“Hello, Grace,” I said with a friendly smile. “Thank you for welcoming us in your home at such a late hour. We had meant to arrive much sooner, but this one ended up having never ending meetings with the fleet that had met us halfway.”
I cast a severe look at my mate, to which he responded with a shameless grin.
“My father is well-known to be almost as hopeless a workaholic as I am,” Anton said in a teasing voice. “Welcome to my home, Hope, and you, Siona. Father has spoken highly of you both. I want to hear all the details about that foolish Guldan Ambassador. But that will have to wait. The little one seems to be in dire need of a restful place to lie down.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Siona, looking mortified. “I don’t mean to be rude.”
“Nonsense, sweetheart,” Grace said. “My own three children are long gone into la la land. I can’t wait for you to meet them in the morning. My daughter, Naya, will be crazy about you. I hope you won’t mind if she gets a little grabby with your horns,” Grace added sheepishly. “My youngest one is a little obsessed with them. She’s relentless with the Magnar’s children.”
“I don’t mind,” Siona said, a charming blush creeping up her cheeks.
“Come on, honey,” Grace said, extending a hand towards my daughter. “I will show you to your room.”
I smiled with gratitude at the younger woman. She winked at me, gently took Siona’s hand, and led her down the hallway on the opposite side of the luxurious seating area that sprawled in front of us, three steps down from the elevator’s doors. Seconds later, the elevator chimed again. Startled, I turned around to see William bringing in our bags on a hovercart. I felt silly for having already forgotten them. With a final nod, the human male left, bidding us goodnight.
“Please make yourself comfortable,” Anton said, gesturing at both of us to take a seat on the dark leather couches in his spacious living area. “Father, I count on you to offer Hope a drink while I take your bags to your room.”
“Thank you, my son,” Krygor replied.
My giant led me to the three-cushion couch which faced a wall decorated with a large portrait of the family. A series of smaller pic
tures depicting their three children in various activities surrounded it.
“They are beautiful,” I said, looking at the adorable and exotic faces of the little ones.
They were the perfect mix of their parents, with their mother’s beauty and a cute, smaller version of their father’s broad, flat nose and prominent forehead. Although their Braxian heritage couldn’t be denied, their features were refined and not as brutish as a pureblood or even a hybrid.
“Too pretty,” Krygor mumbled while pouring us both a drink. “It’s fine for females, but males should be fearsome.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his grumpy expression. It was so odd to have spent the past few days with a species that took great pride in its tremendous beauty, and now be with another that sought the exact opposite. For a Braxian, the more brutish the features, the purer the bloodline, and therefore, the more fearsome and stronger the warrior. It had been hilarious watching my giant curse up a storm when the Veredian healer from the small fleet that had met us on our way back from Sarenia had proven a little overzealous in tending his wounds from the lashing, also mending old wounds and battle scars he had taken great pride in.
And yet, as I sat here waiting for his son’s return, tension painfully stiffened my back and shoulders. Krygor approached me with a glass filled with an amber liquid that I wasn’t familiar with. I gratefully took it from him and drank deeply, before coughing like a novice at the burn. My mate laughed as he sat next to me, a commiserating look on his face.