“You just watch me!”
She shook her head and gently placed her hands on my arms.
“No,” she said.
“No?”
“No. I won’t let you give up your throne.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ve made my decision—”
“But I haven’t made mine. I love you, Fiath. I’ve loved you from the very first moment I saw you. It doesn’t have anything to do with the money or power you have. It’s the kind of person you are. You grew up in a palace and I want our kids to grow up to be just like you.”
She giggled at the image.
“Little princes and princesses,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve always loved kids but I’ve never thought about having them with someone before. I guess I always preferred the idea of having kids with the right person than the wrong one.”
“So, you’re okay with being the empress?” I said.
“I am,” she said.
I scooped her up in my arms again and spun her around.
“It doesn’t need to be forever,” I said. “Any time you want to leave and live somewhere else, we can. There’s nothing stopping us.”
“I know,” she said.
She lowered her lips to mine and we kissed. It began slow and sensuous and turned passionate like I was riding thunder and I couldn’t stop myself.
She was the best of me.
She was my heart, my soul.
She was my fated mate.
Hazel pulled her head back.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said.
She took me by the hand and led me toward the back of the cargo hold.
Further along, nestled in the corner, I spied the other guys cradling their fated mates in their arms.
It was then the seed for an idea took root. I wonder…
Hazel pointed to one of the pods.
“Look who it is!” she said.
The good feelings I’d been harboring faded as I gazed upon the figure who’d attempted not only to claim my life and steal my throne but abducted my future wife.
Slak was frozen inside the pod. He’d been outwitted by an “undeveloped species” as he liked to refer to them.
“It’s my wedding present to you,” Hazel said.
“It’s… beautiful,” I said.
Hazel nudged me in my ribs with her sharp elbow.
“Where’s my present?” she asked.
“My unconditional, undying love for all eternity,” I said.
“Well, I’ve got that already. What else?”
I planted a kiss on her lips and peered at the other couples over her shoulder.
“How about an extended family?” I said.
She pulled back and looked at me. She followed my gaze to her friends and their lovers. So joyful, so happy to be reunited once more.
“What do you have in mind?” Hazel said.
I arched an eyebrow and shared my idea with her.
She clapped her hands like a little kid.
She was in.
I doubted everyone else would be quite so ecstatic.
I enjoyed less than three minutes of a delicious lie-in with my gorgeous fiancée before the wedding staff carted me off to a separate wing of the palace.
It was hard to be separated from Hazel for so long. Every moment dragged as if the Creator deliberately drew time out to annoy me.
The stylists washed me, cut my hair, gave me makeup, dressed me, and then went over the directions for the wedding. The entire empire would be watching but I couldn’t say I was nervous.
I was looking forward to our little surprise event. The first thing we did once we returned to the palace was tell the wedding planners of our idea.
She was not impressed.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You might be the emperor and all-powerful, but it simply can’t be done. The arrangements have already been made.”
“So, change them,” I said. “There’s no way around this. It’s what is going to happen.”
Hazel placed a hand on my arm to calm me down.
“What my future husband is trying to say is… IF YOU DON’T DO YOUR JOB, SOMEBODY ELSE WILL!”
The wedding planner was so shocked by Hazel’s outburst, she fell off her chair and onto the floor.
“I… uh… I’ll see to the arrangements,” she said.
She scurried off to organize everything.
“That was almost cruel,” I said.
“Almost,” Hazel said. “People like her get stuck in their little ruts. She wouldn’t listen unless she was shocked a little. I’ll apologize to her later. Now, let me show you what real cruelty looks like…”
She then proceeded to suck my cock until I was ready to explode… and then she backed off and let me calm down before bringing me up to the boil again. By the time she finished me off—after making me (the emperor!) beg for release—I came so hard I felt lightheaded afterward.
“There,” she said, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. “That’s real cruelty… except for the ending.”
She got up to leave but I dragged her back to bed and performed the same cruelty game on her. By the time I was done with her, she was a quivering puddle on the floor.
I clapped off my hands.
“Never say I’m never cruel to you!” I said.
The wedding guests began arriving shortly after dawn. It was my job to greet them as they entered the ballroom where our wedding would be held. The TV cameras had been switched on since dawn and beamed our event to all four corners of the empire.
By the time the wedding began, my arm hurt from all the saluting. I was ushered to the front of the temple. The most devout Titans knelt as I passed. The others just bowed their heads.
I smiled and nodded politely at Hazel’s friends, who were seated on the front row. With them as Hazel’s only guests, it only seemed fair they got the best seats.
On my side of the room, I had family members, dignitaries, kings, queens, and a pope or two. But none of them meant anything like what Hazel’s friends meant to her.
Hazel wanted a traditional Earth wedding with a few Titan ceremonial dashes to keep it local. The wedding planner loved it. She thought it would make a great TV event that would be remembered for
