| |
LANTA KNEW SOMETHING was wrong, but couldn’t put her finger on it. Instead of the molten hot looks that usually came her way, he was peering at her through squinty eyes and one twitched uncontrollably. She was sure he needed to see a medic about that.
After they returned from their factory tour, she and Una were stopped outside the docking bay. The trouble she sensed was confirmed.
“You need to come with us,” the palace guard instructed, as he blocked her path.
“Is something wrong?” Lanta brought her shoulders back and raised her chin. “I corrected my species identification with the head guard a while ago. Is there still an issue?”
“What did she do?” Una demanded. “Whatever it was has nothing to do with me. I demand you let me pass.” Una was already maneuvering around the guards effortlessly. Lanta’s panic rose. They weren’t here to stop Una. It was Lanta who wasn’t supposed to pass.
Lanta watched Una’s retreating back. Una didn’t have plans to find out what the trouble was or use her connections to attempt to fix it. Lanta was on her own.
“I’ll go wherever you want me to, but someone has to escort the Princess back to her suite and inform my partner I’m being detained.”
Without a word one of the guards broke away and followed behind Una. Una took one look at him and made a rude noise.
“Follow me,” the guard told Lanta.
Lanta wracked her brain, trying to figure out what she’d done wrong. She thought all was good since she’d changed her designation from Oncun to Human. If there was still a problem, wouldn’t Melis have told her about it?
The guard led them to the wing where the royal offices were. They passed Payton’s office and walked farther, finally stopping at double doors where two guards were stationed. When they arrived, one guard pressed the security scanner and the doors opened. Lanta stood behind the guard who’d escorted her, waiting for him to...do what?
The guard stepped to the side. “Enter.”
Lanta had to crane her neck to look at him. “Where is this? No one told me what I did.”
“Enter,” he said again.
Panic swelled. “And if I don’t?”
“Lanta. Come in.”
Melis. She couldn’t see him, but she recognized his voice. The tension faded away. She walked through the doors and they closed at her back.
The first thing she noticed was how beautiful everything was. And white. The walls were painted bright white but looked to be sprinkled with gold and crystals. Sunlight beamed through the painted windows and the effect was amazing. Even though everything else was white, bursts of pink, orange, blue, and red were splattered across the walls, carpet, furniture and desk.
Melis sat behind his desk, glaring at her. He stood, and the colors danced off his tunic and pants. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, as he came around the desk.
“Come here,” he demanded.
His lips pulled back, revealing sharp teeth. She wanted to cower under his stare. But she was not the cowering type. She widened her stance and clasped her hands in front of her. “What did I do?”
“Come here,” he growled out the command.
Power. She took in a shuddering breath. “Why?”
He snarled as his eyes darkened. “Because I’m Kgosi and I demand it.”
His control looked to be held in place by a thread, easily snapped. She wanted to submit, but only to him. Instead she raised her chin. Her heart thundered with excitement, passion. She liked this feeling and didn’t exactly know why. Her mouth watered. The heat intensified between her legs. “You’re not my Kgosi.”
His whiskers twitched. He narrowed his eyes, staring at her through the slits. There was a promise of pain there. “Then what am I to you?”
Everything.
“Melis.”
He turned his head, breaking eye contact. A growl ripped from his throat. The tips of his black claws breached his fingertips. “I invited you here because I wanted answers.”
“You invited me? Meaning I could’ve refused? Because I thought I did.”
“Payton told me of your feelings for someone on my waitstaff.” He glared at her again. “Who is this person? Tell me.”
“Why?”
His eyes sparked with fire, desire, pain, pleasure.
“Why does it matter if I have feelings for someone else, Melis?” she asked, her boldness coming from a place deep within. “You’re to be mated soon. Why do you even care?”
“Tell. Me. Who. He. Is,” he roared, punctuating each word.
She staggered back from the force of his bellow. “I only have feelings for one person in this palace,” she yelled.
“Who?”
She turned her head, not wanting him to see her weakness. “You, Melis. Only you.”
Melis crossed the room. Raw power radiated around him, threatening to drown her. And if this was the way she would die, she would go happily.
His body was on hers before she could blink. She was on the tips of her toes meeting his mouth. When he coaxed her mouth open, she received him. Her tongue met his. His hands were on the small of her back. His claws scraping against her clothes. She couldn’t feel their sharpness, but she wanted to. Oh, God she wanted to.
She fumbled with the front of her skinsuit, needing it off, yesterday. He grumbled low in his throat and she felt it against her chest. His tongue delved deeper into her mouth and she welcomed it with a moan. He helped free her arms. Somehow their lips didn’t break apart.
When she was naked from the neck down, Melis finally broke away. His heated gaze raked across her breasts. Her chest heaved up and down, as she struggled to catch her breath.
Different. The thought slammed through her.
She shielded her breasts with her arms. “Maybe if you close the windows...you won’t have to see me.”
His eyes met hers and his brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I want to look at you? You’re beautiful.”
She squeezed herself tighter. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know I’m different.”
“Different is good.” He pulled one of her arms down. “Different is exciting.” He tugged at the other until she stood in front of him exposed. “Different is...perfect. Beautiful.”
He grabbed her waist. His claws were on her skin. She let out a shuddering moan. Melis tightened his hold and pulled her forward as he crashed his mouth over one of her nipples. Her knees weakened when he pulled it between his lips. The roughness of his tongue sent flickering flames coursing through her veins.
Lanta fisted a handful of his braids and held on to his head. Melis’s groans deepened. He moved and gave the other nipple the same attention. His hands soon found their way to push her skinsuit past her hips and butt. When her clothes were bunched around her knees she stepped from the legs, snagging herself on her boots.
Melis pulled away from her breasts and she let out a small cry. “No. Don’t stop. This feels good.” She tried her best to step on the heels of her boots, working her feet out of them to free herself.
“Lanta.” She held onto his ears and stared down at him. His lips were swollen because all of the kisses. He’d called her beautiful. But he was the beautiful one. Perfect. “I hope this feels better than good.”
“Better than good,” she admitted.
He crouched to undo her boots then helped her from her clothes. “Why didn’t you come to me?” he asked with a gruffness to his voice.
“Because—”
“Because you’re not weak? You don’t want to submit?”
As Melis stood he rubbed his body against hers. The expensive fabric of his clothes felt fine against her skin. He gripped the back of her head, using the bun she’d placed her hair in as a tool to hold her. His nose almost touched hers.
She wanted to kiss him again—tried to kiss him—but he pulled away, denying her that pleasure.
“You’re not weak, Lanta. But you will submit to me.”
“You’re not my Kgosi,” she breathed out on a whisper. “Only Melis.”
“Oh, so defiant,” he teased.
His eyes darkened and one side of his lips ticked up to a smile. Then he was behind her, pushing her to walk. She reached his desk without objection. With his hand on her waist, keeping her standing in place, he used the other to push on her back, pressing her face and only her face to rest on his desk.
“Submitting to me won’t make you weak, my Lanta.”
He tapped her feet, opening her legs. She let out a shuddering breath.
“Do you feel weak in this position?” His voice was low.
With his hand on her back, holding her in place, she felt vulnerable. She closed her eyes and nodded.
“My, Lanta. My beautiful, Lanta. This position doesn’t make you weak.”
He scraped his claws down her right butt cheek. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough for her to understand the sheer scope of his control. The sound that left her mouth wasn’t a moan or cry, but something in-between.
His tongue, rough and flat, followed the path his claws had made. This time she did moan.
“This position makes me weak.” His breath was on her butt. Both hands scraped down both cheeks. Harder this time.
Her eyes rolled up. Her knees buckled. “Melis.”
“In this position it is I who submit to you.”
As he dropped to his knees he placed kisses on her butt, kissing each place his claws had scratched.
“You could ask me anything and I would grant it.”
She curled her hands into fists. She trembled. Her legs were weak. Her cleft between her thighs throbbed. His hands went to her butt and spread her wide. She let out a small cry.
His breaths came out hard, ragged. The minutes ticked by as he held her open, unmoving, studying.
“You’re making me feel self-conscious,” she finally said. “I’m much different down there than what you’re probably used to.”
Melis licked his finger then touched her clit.
“Oh, God.” Her eyes rolled upward.
It felt so much better to have someone else touching her there. The only other person she’d been with hadn’t touched or kissed her. Their encounter had been quick and painful. Lanta hadn’t told him she was a virgin and he hadn’t asked.
“This is called a clitoris, but humans call it a clit.” He rubbed it softly. “But I’m sure you already know all about it.”
She did. She’d studied the human manual since she was ten and began growing pubic hair, something Oncuns didn’t have.
Now she wondered why he knew.
A wiggle of doubt made its way through her. She’d encountered people who studied humans. She’d known to stay away from them.
They saw humans as something to study. Almost in a conquering way. To them, humans were the last frontier to be breached. They wanted to explore so they could tell their colleagues of their conquests and provide notes of what they’d seen, done and how it felt and compared to their other conquering exploits.
She knew this, because she’d fallen victim to this type of explorer.
She’d met him at a bar off-planet, during a certification training course to work for Aunt Varlah. He’d pursued her for weeks, telling her everything she’d wanted and needed to hear. He’d made her believe they’d shared a connection. It wasn’t love, but it was a relationship built on respect—she thought.
She had a birth control implant and didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant and his anatomy was compatible with hers and she’d figured, “Why not?”
It hadn’t been what she’d expected but she’d been relieved to get her virginity out of the way. Afterward she’d been thinking about giving a long-distance relationship a try. She could visit him between jobs and he could visit her.
The next day, when she showed up unexpectedly at the bar, she’d learned the real reason why he’d actively pursued her. She’d walked inside and found him discussing what it was like to have sex with a human. He was explaining her anatomy to the entire bar. It had been humiliating.
She burned with embarrassment. How many other females had he splayed across his desk? What about his current guests? How many of them?
Probably all.
Melis could have his pick of sexual partners, anyone on planet or off. He was handsome, rich, charismatic and a royal. There weren’t many people who would turn him down.
There was no other reason to be with her. She didn’t compare to his guests. She didn’t have anything to offer him. No connections or alliances. She would come into the relationship empty handed.
Lanta pushed off the desk and turned around. She needed her clothes. She had to leave.
Confusion pained his face. “Where are you going?”
“I refuse to be your human plaything,” she spat out.
Melis stopped her with a hand on her wrist. “Is that why you think I know about the human anatomy? Because I want you to be my plaything?” he asked softly.
She tried to pull from him but he wouldn’t let her go.
“When my brother took a human as a mate, I wanted to make her comfortable in her new home. I even decreed all staff read the human manuals as well. We wanted her to feel welcomed. Because if she was happy then she would want to stay. And if she stayed, Themba would also stay.”
Melis led her around his desk. “But, in reading the manuals I skipped over human sexuality. The information was not needed.”
Holding her by the waist he lifted her to sit on the edge. He then wedged himself between her legs and guided her feet to the armrests of his chair, which he’d pulled up behind him.
“I only learned about human sexuality when you came and I couldn’t get you out of my head.” He sat in the chair and scooted closer, all while pushing on her abdomen, making her lie back.
She propped herself on her elbows. “You don’t want me as your plaything?”
His eyes clouded with desire. “Oh, Lanta. I plan to play with this body every chance I get.”