Reign Read online

  “My King?” Galan was sitting at the kitchen table with the human. “What is wrong?”

  “What are you doing in here?” I snapped at him.

  “Visiting with the human. Teo asked me to bring her breakfast and keep her company for a while.” He gave me a curious look as I glared at him. My tail was flicking back and forth, and Galan eyed it before standing and bowing.

  “I will leave you alone with the human.”

  “No.” The little human stood up, rubbing her hands over the front of her thighs. “No, I don’t want to be alone with him.”

  Galan frowned at her as fresh guilt flooded through me. “Do not speak so disrespectfully to the king, Sabrina.”

  Another little burn in my belly when Galan said her name.

  “Leave us, Galan,” I said abruptly.

  He bowed and left. Sabrina backed up until her delightful ass bumped against the counter.

  “Your translator works now,” I said.

  “Yes.”

  I stared at the glass of gallberry juice on the table. She had eaten her breakfast if her empty plate was any indication, but she hadn’t drunk any of her juice.

  “Sit down and drink your juice,” I said.

  “I don’t want it,” she replied.

  “You will do as I say.” I cringed inside. The human was afraid of me and acting this way was not going to help reassure her. But Krono, knowing that Galan was here alone with her all morning was driving me crazy.

  “I’m not injured,” she said. I blinked at the note of stubbornness in her voice. The human was afraid of me, but not so afraid that she wouldn’t defy me.

  I sighed and said, “You must drink your juice every day regardless of whether you feel ill or are injured.”

  “Why?” She said.

  I snorted irritably. “Because it is good for you. Drink it, human!”

  “Fine!” She dropped into the chair and drank the entire glass in four large gulps before slamming the glass on the table. “Better?”

  “Yes.”

  “God, are you always this bossy?” She stiffened when I sat down across from her but didn’t try to leave the kitchen. I decided this was progress.

  “I am your king, and you will do as I say.”

  “I’m human, not Draax,” she said. “You’re not my king.”

  My mouth dropped open. Were all human women this infuriating? What had happened to the frightened little human of last night?

  “Why are you no longer afraid of me?” I said.

  “Because I know last night was an accident.”

  “I am sorry for what happened,” I said stiffly. “It was not my intention to hurt you, and if I had known you were not my intended mate, or that you were innocent, I would never have fucked you.”

  She winced. “Yes, I know.”

  There was silence and I said, “Why did you allow me to fuck you?”

  She turned bright red, and I had to force myself not to stare at her upper chest to see if it was moving down her body. She was wearing the stretchy pants again, but her upper body was covered with a blue shirt that clung to her breasts and showed a healthy amount of cleavage.

  “I got carried away with the moment,” she said finally. “I made a mistake too. I’m sorry I, uh, acted like such a baby last night. I was afraid, but I’m not anymore.”

  I scowled unhappily. Why did it make my gut burn to hear her say it was a mistake to fuck me?

  “If you’re not afraid of me, why do you not wish to be left alone with me?” I asked.

  Another brighter flush in her cheeks. “I just – never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Tell me,” I said.

  “No,” she replied.

  I wanted to turn her over my knee and spank her for her defiance but instead I said, “I spoke with Teo. He told me he explained the error to you.” He had failed to mention that he sent Galan to spend the morning with her.

  “Yes, I figured it out last night, but I didn’t know how to make you understand.”

  “As soon as the storm ends, Teo will find out who the Draax male is, and we will exchange you for Evelyn.”

  “Right,” she said. “Listen, speaking of the storm, I don’t want to stay in the apartment by myself the whole time.”

  I shrugged. “You have no choice. We cannot risk you becoming attached to one of my men and mating with them.”

  “I’m not going to,” she said. “I could go to prison for not holding up my end of the trade agreement. Besides, I’m not interested in mating with anyone ever again. Ever.”

  This time the guilt made me feel sick to my stomach. “Human, what happened last night is not how it is during fucking. If I had known you were innocent, I would have taken more time to prepare you. I would not have entered you so roughly, nor would I have forced you to take so much of my cock at once. A female’s first time does hurt, but not in the manner in which you suffered. The next time you mate, it will not hurt.”

  “Thanks for the pep talk, but I’m not risking it,” she said.

  “Human -”

  “I don’t want to talk about this with you,” she said. “Can I leave the apartment or not?”

  “No.”

  She glared at me and her tiny hand balled into a fist. “You could give me a chaperone.”

  “What is a chaperone?” I frowned at the unfamiliar word.

  “It’s a,” she waved her hand in the air, “it’s someone who keeps an eye on me to make sure I don’t get in any trouble. Maybe Galan could be my chaperone. I like him.”

  I snarled and leaned forward. “You are not to let Galan fuck you.”

  She blinked at me. “I just told you I’m not interested in that. I want to explore the palace a little. I’ll go crazy if I have to stay here by myself. I’m a social person, do you understand that?”

  I shrugged and stood up. The human’s scent was intoxicating, and I couldn’t stop my gaze from dipping to her cleavage. I needed to leave before I tried to touch her. “No. You will stay in your quarters.”

  “You can’t keep me prisoner!” She shouted at me.

  Krono, the little human was adorable when she was angry. I hurried to the door and said, “You will do as I say, little human.”

  “My name is Sabrina!” She shouted at me as I opened the door and slipped into the hallway. I shut the door and walked quickly to my own quarters as I adjusted my half-hard cock. I needed a cold shower.

  Chapter Five

  Sabrina

  “Yep, that’s the winner.” I held the paper plane to the light and admired its design.

  In the six hours since Quill stalked out, I had explored every inch of the apartment. Drawers were opened, cupboards were inspected, books were investigated. The books were written in Draaxan, but once I ripped out the pages, I had entertainment. I hadn’t made origami animals since my early teens, but the art of folding and creasing and bending the paper was easy to fall back into. I felt guilty about destroying the books, but that’s what they got for leaving me alone.

  Once the high of origami creation dwindled, I’d moved on to paper airplanes. The living room floor was littered with the corpses of failed designs, but I had high hopes for this one. The key was a slightly longer nose and a little junk in the caboose. I creased the nose into a sharper point, held it over my head and let the paper plane fulfill its destiny. The door to my little apartment opened. The plane crashed into a broad, cotton-covered chest and joined its fallen brethren on the floor.

  Galan stood in the doorway and heat invaded my body faster than the Gokmards raided a planet.

  “Hello again, Galan.”

  He studied the graveyard of paper planes. “Hello, Sabrina. I brought your meal.”

  He was carrying another plate of food and a glass of the gallberry juice. My mouth watered. Great, I was addicted to the pink stuff.

  “Thanks. Will you join me?” The raised pitch of my voice betrayed the casual vibe I wanted.

  His gaze slipped to the closed door. I
gave him a pleading look and sat at the table. “Please? I’m so bored.”

  Galan approached the table and I watched in fascination when the end of his tail wrapped around the back of the chair. I studied the tuft of black hair on the end of it. Their tails were surprisingly long and the look of them reminded me of a lion’s tail. He used his tail to pull the chair back as he set the tray of food and juice on the table and his butt on the chair.

  Holy shit. Would I ever get use to the tails?

  “What does bored mean?” Galan’s voice drew my scrutiny from his tail.

  “Um, it’s when you have nothing to do and you’re just hanging around feeling, well…bored,” I said. “God, that’s a terrible explanation. I’m dying to do something, anything. Even wash dishes.”

  “Ah.” His face was as blank as Carrie’s had been when I tried to explain how to program the AutoBroom.

  “Great, now I’ve bored you. It’s funny how there are only a few words in English that aren’t the same in Draaxan. Most of the words are easily translatable.”

  “True. When we needed an alien race to help us breed, we searched for ones like us. Eat, please.”

  I stared at the food on my plate. I hadn’t eaten earlier, my anger with Quill had made my appetite disappear like a Havoc Cruiser in hyperdrive. The plate was piled with that pepper flavoured, I-think-it’s-meat-God-I-hope-it’s-meat, meat. The rich, spicy smell made my stomach throw up a hallelujah. I recognized the yellow chunks as the fruit-like food from the night before, but the Smurf-blue rice piled next to it was new. I poked at the blue rice with my fork while Galan watched with interest.

  “What is this?” I held out a forkful of the blue rice.

  “Orechoke.”

  I returned the orechoke to my plate and shook it off my fork. “Don’t suppose you have fries on your planet, huh?”

  “The orechoke is healthier than fries.”

  “You know what fries are?”

  “I have spent time on your planet.” Galan’s gaze dipped to my cleavage for only a moment, but more heat invaded my belly.

  “What are these?” He pointed to the three rows of paper animals.

  “It’s called origami,” I said. “It’s a hobby on earth. You fold paper to make animals.”

  He picked up the paper rabbit that was closest to him. I thought he would scold me for ruining the books, but he studied the rabbit before smiling. “I like this origami.”

  “You can have that one.”

  “Thank you, Sabrina.” He made it disappear into the pocket of his pants.

  “Yeah, don’t mention it.” I popped a chunk of the sweet yellow fruit-like stuff into my mouth and chewed. “You said you searched for other races. How many did you check out?”

  “Not many, and humans were by far the closest. Anatomy and technology.”

  “And decorating choices,” I said.

  “Right.” His voice was polite, but his face was confused. Confused as a cat caught in a time tunnel.

  “Never mind.” I ate more food while I contemplated the pink-make-my-mouth-drool juice just within reach.

  “You are a rather weak species, though.” His tone was pragmatic not apologetic. “It almost stopped my people from choosing humans.”

  “So, why did you?” My hand inched toward the gallberry juice. I really shouldn’t, but God, I craved it.

  “Drink. It’s good for you.” Galan was feeding my addiction. “We knew you were about to become slaves to the Gokmard race. We knew you would be desperate for help. We knew we could defeat the Gokmards.”

  His tail movement was a slow, smooth, sensual distraction. “And according to my grandfather, we were scratching for a fight.”

  “I think you mean itching for a fight.” My laughter didn’t bother him.

  The Draax were very blunt and I was digging it. Galan picked up another origami animal – this one a crane - and traced its creases and bends while I ate the rest of my meal. My earlier belief that the Draax were emotionless had disappeared. I had certainly learned that wasn’t true in the last twenty-four hours. The range of emotions I had seen from Quill – amusement, irritation, anger, regret – were testament to their emotional capabilities.

  Don’t forget lust. You saw plenty of lust from him.

  My pussy throbbed at the memory of Quill’s hard mouth and warm hands. I scowled at my crotch and scolded it silently. Stop that! It might have felt good at first but don’t forget the agonizing pain at the end.

  “Sabrina?”

  “Yes? I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I said it was easy to convince your governments to help us when their race was on the verge of being enslaved.”

  “Yeah, I bet it was.” I took a big drink of the gallberry juice. “So, what do you do?”

  “What do I do?” He repeated.

  “Like, for work,” I said. “I know Quill is the king and I think Teo is his second-hand man?”

  “He is his advisor, yes,” Galan said.

  “Right. But what do you do?”

  “I am the head of the King’s Guard,” he said with a hint of pride.

  “Wow. That’s really cool. So, have you seen a lot of battle?”

  “I have seen my fair share.” He didn’t elaborate, and his green skin had begun to darken, and the end of his tail was thumping against the legs of his chair. I was already figuring out they were signs of agitation or discomfort for the Draax.

  “Does Quill fight in your, uh, battles?” I asked.

  “He did. He used to be the head of the King’s Guard before me. He was and still is, one of our fiercest warriors,” Galan said.

  “How long has Quill been the king?” I asked.

  “Not long. After his father died, Quill’s older brother was declared king.”

  “What happened to his brother?” I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  “He is dead,” Galan said bluntly. “Finish your meal, please.”

  I knew well enough when someone was changing the subject. I ate a few more bites before asking, “Do you have any females in the palace?”

  He shook his head. “No. Only you.”

  “You’re kidding,” I said.

  “I am not,” he said. “There are human females in the western province, quite a few actually, but none that live in the palace.”

  “Oh,” I said. “You should consider trying to find some females who want to breed with, uh, you guys at the palace. Your new queen will be lonely when she arrives and would probably like some female friends.”

  “I will speak to the king about it,” Galan replied.

  “So,” I took another drink of juice before saying casually, “if you’re not busy, do you think you could take me for a walk outside of the apartment? I’d love to get some exercise and see a bit of the palace.”

  “Teo has informed me you are not allowed to leave your quarters,” Galan said.

  Dammit.

  “Oh, I’m not allowed to leave alone,” I said. “But I’m sure Teo would be fine with it if I had someone with me.”

  Quill had specifically said I wasn’t allowed to leave even with a chaperone, but maybe Teo didn’t know that.

  “I will ask him,” Galan said. “If he says yes, I will take you for a walk tomorrow after breakfast.”

  “Great, just like a dog on a leash,” I said.

  “What?” He asked.

  “Nothing.” I was being an ungrateful brat and I made myself smile at Galan. “Thank you, Galan. I really appreciate that.”

  “You are welcome, human.”

  Galan was big and broad like Quill, although the king was taller than him by a few inches. His gaze flicked down my body, stopping at my tits and there was that little thread of lust again in my belly. God, what was happening to me? Normal women didn’t get the hots for two men.

  Does it matter? You’ve become a self-proclaimed nun, remember? My inner voice said smugly.

  I crossed my arms across my chest and Galan immediately raised hi
s gaze to mine. His copper eyes had darkened, but he gave me a look of embarrassment before drumming his fingers on the top of the table awkwardly.

  “So, uh -”

  “Sabrina, would you -”

  We both stopped, and Galan said, “Sorry.”

  “It’s fine. What were you going to ask me?”

  “I was going to ask if you were interested in joining the breeding program.” His tail thumped against the chair.

  “Oh, uh, I already have a nanny contract.”

  “I realize that,” he replied. “But when it is finished, you could join the breeding program and stay on Draax. Our planet is quite lovely during the warm season, and you could have as much gallberry juice as you wanted.”

  My mouth watered again. They knew how to push the juice, I’d give them that.

  “I’m not interested in breeding with a Draax male,” I said.

  He sighed and leaned forward. “Sabrina, I know what happened with Quill was very frightening and painful, but I can assure you that -”

  “You know what happened?”

  He nodded. “Of course. Teo told me.”

  “Oh my God,” I moaned. “That’s so embarrassing. Did he tell everyone?”

  “I do not believe so,” Galan said.

  “He shouldn’t have told you!” I said.

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s private.”

  He shrugged. “I will not share it with anyone else.”

  “Great, thanks,” I muttered.

  “As I was saying, I know it was painful and frightening, but if you were to agree to breed with me,” his gaze flickered to my chest again, “I promise it will be different. I will not hurt you.”

  “I’m incompatible for breeding.” I waited for his disappointment, but he smiled at me.

  “I have no wish for young ones. So, you are the perfect mate for me.”

  Shit.

  “If you want, I will bring you to orgasm with my hand right now,” Galan said. “To show you that it can be pleasurable. We could even try fucking a couple of times before you leave to be a nanny. If you enjoy being fucked by me, we can keep in touch while you are working, and I will claim you as my mate when you are finished with your trade agreement.”