Page 21 of Taken By the Naga King

But it had been two days now since he told her, and she had already done extensive research on what the word “mate” meant to the Niri. Most of yesterday had been spent in the library.

And now, she was lounging on a couch in that same library after a long day of reading.

“You’re practically glowing,” Xenia said from the opposite couch.

“I’m really happy,” Azha told the female.

She had told Vespira and Xenia the news two days ago as they were helping her get ready for bed that night. To her surprise, they both said they already knew. At first, she had been offended that Gravon had told them before telling her, but they assured her that that was not the case.

“Why else would a Niri king bring a human girl back to his planet and treat her this well, if not for the fact that she was his mate?” Xenia had said. “It was so obvious. Besides, Niri have a sense of smell that would be hard to explain to a human, but we could smell your compatibility.”

Back in the present day, Vespira sighed. “I can only hope that I find a mate like yours one day.”

“Yes, how lucky are you?” Xenia added.

She sensed no jealousy from the two females, only admiration. And Azha was glad she had these two Naga to call friends. She’d never had many friends back home, not permanent ones. Her life of slavery had made sure of that.

But she could see Vespira and Xenia being life-long friends, and the thought made her incredibly happy.

“You guys will be at tonight’s dinner. Right?”

“We will. Though I’m not sure if we’ll be attending as guests. The king will probably just want us there on standby should you need anything.”

Azha didn’t like the thought of that. She knew they were servants, and she knew they liked their jobs. She didn’t want to insult them or anything, but Azha really wanted them to attend the dinner as her friends.

She really wanted their support, for tonight she would be attending a royal dinner and ball to formally announce her and the king’s mating. She had yet to meet his court, or really anyone here besides Vespira and Xenia, so she was incredibly nervous.

Gravon hadn’t said much of his people’s acceptance, so she really didn’t know what to expect. And her two friends weren’t of much help in that department either, seeing as how they were always with her.

“Maybe I can ask him if you can just attend as guests. Would you be okay with that?”

“Of course! Whatever you want,” Xenia said.

Vespira nodded and shot Azha a smile.

“We should probably get you into a bath now. That way your curls are dry by the time we get you ready to go.”

“Good idea!”

Azha followed them to her bathroom, where they set up her bath and grabbed her a robe to put on after. Then they left her. She sank into the hot water and let her head rest against the tub.

As Azha was relaxing, she heard the bathroom door open and close, but she didn’t open her eyes. She assumed it was one of the girls, who had just forgotten something.

That was until she felt a hand begin snaking down her body. Her eyes shot open to see Gravon.

“You scared me!” she shouted, playfully smacking his hand that was still on her.

“I wanted to come see you before dinner.”

The look on his face said everything she needed to know about the mood he was in. His eyes appeared almost glazed over, and he couldn’t take them off of her, his gaze drifting lower and lower to take in her naked body.

“Gravon…” she said.

“I did not expect you to be in the bath.” His voice came out more like a husky whisper.

Chills ran through her body, and her brain couldn’t fight the sensations anymore. It took over her as well, and she felt something she was absolutely sure he was feeling, too. Pure, raging lust.

She needed him now. Nothing could stop her.

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