It was more than admiring her as a thing of beauty; I was pulled to her. I was compelled to want to be near her. Something had sparked when she had run into me and grown stronger the longer I held her in front of Rhone. There was something visceral about my drive to have her near…
I was only five feet away from her now and she was brandishing a lamp in front of her like a sword. I narrowed my eyes at her. Why must she resist?
She swung the lamp at me and I dodged away from it. She swung again, and this time I caught it in my hand. Her eyes widened, she bit down on her lip, and tried to jerk it out of my hand with both of hers. The tug hardly made me move. We Curan were so much stronger than humans. Even the Bordash, like Rhone, had insurmountable strength when compared to human beings.
“There’s no point in fighting. You belong to me now. I am your King. Look.” I waved my hand at the window where the Earth loomed, gorgeous and coated in pollution. “I have opened your eyes and already given you more than you would ever have had in your pitiful Earth life.”
Her lower lip trembled a little and I had to resist the urge to bite it…but, then, I wondered why I was resisting? What was it about her?
“You stole me. You kidnapped me.”
“Rhone was going to kill you. I saved you.”
She looked taken aback by that, as if she hadn’t considered that component yet. She thrust the lamp away from her with a sigh. I set it back on the countertop.
“Still. You took me from my planet—”
“Prepare for departure. T-Minus 5 minutes. Warp drive initiated.” The voice of my XO that echoed in the room made the woman jump. I gestured to the nearby couch and chaise.
“Departure will be rough for a few minutes. I suggest we sit down. Anchor ourselves. Then, you can ask me all the questions you need to.”
“Will you answer them honestly?”
I actually smiled at that. “I am never dishonest. I also, though, never obey someone else’s commands.”
She sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Fine, then I will not command you.”
Yes…but you just might have the ability to, someday…
I scowled at my thought. How could I be giving her so much credit?
The woman carefully sat on the chaise next to the outfit I had had prepared for her. I sat on the far side of the couch from her and tried to look pleasant. I wondered if my smile was crooked, or intimidating, or more of a sneer. I rarely cared if someone thought I was nice, but this woman was just…different.
“What is your name?”
She pursed her lips and I thought for a moment she wasn’t going to respond.
“Listen, you big Beast, I don’t have to tell you anything. Take me home!” I read her mind and could hear her lashing out, but aloud, she said: “Daphne. My name is Daphne.”
“Daphne, I am King Kajo Wilos of the Curan Empire. Welcome to my spaceship, the Unortho.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“You will come with me to Farian.” I couldn’t answer with more than that, because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with her either. But, I did know I needed her near me. I needed to figure out why I was so drawn to her.
“Where is Farian?”
“75 lightyears from Earth. We will be there in a few days.”
“That’s your home planet?”
“Yes.”
She nodded and looked around the room. She was sitting straight up on the chaise, stiff, uncomfortable around me.
“You don’t like the outfit I sent you?”
“I don’t dress for any man.”
“I’m not just any man.” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a growl, but it did. How dare she thwart my wishes?
“Yes, I know. You’re the Beast King. Why do they call you that? Because you’re king over Beasts? Or because you’re beastly?”
I lashed the two vases in front of me into the wall with my powers. They smashed and rained pottery shards onto her cheeks. “It’s because I am as wild and fierce as any animal! You would do well to remember that!”
She quaked away from me and then picked up the outfit. “Fine. I will change into it.” She looked around. I hid a smile. There were no doors for her to hide behind. “Turn around and don’t watch.”
“That sounds like a command.”
She glared at me. “Please, don’t watch.”
“I shall not.”
I should have been enraged that she was telling me what to do, but the smile on my lips betrayed me. I wiped it away quickly, grumbling to myself. Why did I allow her to rebel against me? This Earthling was bewitching…I slipped a surreptitious glance to the panel photo on the wall. Her reflection was vivid in its shine as she slipped out of her hoodie, revealing a simple calm underneath. She took a deep breath, her breasts rising and falling as she stretched to slip out of the cami as well. In just her pink lace bralette, she shimmied out of her sweat pants. Her silhouette was highlighted in the sheen of the panel. Her fair skin glistened and I was overwhelmed with the urge to dot kisses over every inch of it. As she bent down to pick up the outfit I had chosen, her shapely ass curved into sharp detail—
I shook myself and looked away sharply. I willed the engorged shape in my trousers to minimize its presence, hoping she took long enough that there was time for me to relax my arousal. I focused on the thoughts of Jorsin, my Second-in-Command. He was unfortunately asleep and there was no entryway through that curtain of unconsciousness. However, trying to break
