Page 13 of Taken By the Zypherian King

Many things were piling up on my desk that needed to be done, yet instead of using this time to tackle at least one of them, my eyes stayed glued to the entrance through which she would be brought, impatiently counting the minutes.

My breath got stuck in my lungs when she finally arrived. She was a vision of beauty. I hadn’t forgotten the stubborn way she stuck out her jaw, preparing me for her first words.

“Your slave has arrived as summoned,” she declared haughtily.

With a wave, I dismissed the servants while suppressing a slight chuckle. Her defiance was refreshing after the last few days spent with females fawning over me.

“Slave, hmm?” I couldn’t help but tease.

I folded my hands behind my back and moved in a circle around her, taking her in from all sides, while I physically felt her ire rise, amusing me.

I stopped in front of her and tilted her chin up to stare into her dark blue eyes, shooting arrows at me.

“If you are my good little slave, you won’t mind if I take your cumbersome clothing off and carry you to the bed?” I dared her.

A tremor moved through her where my finger brushed against her proud chin.

“A slave must do as ordered.” She remained stubborn.

“Prove your obedience then, and take your clothing off,” I rasped, hoping she would.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” She slung her arms up in the air, turning on me. “What do you want from me, Zayden?”

My lips twitched, our gaze held. “You.”

She hesitated for just a moment. “Well, you could have fooled me, traipsing around with all these other women, flirting and promising to make them queen.”

I stiffened. “Is this what this is about? Are you worried you won’t be my queen?”

Suddenly, this game wasn’t amusing any longer. Had I misjudged her?

“You said you wanted to take me to the beach,” she reminded me.

I grabbed her waist and pulled her to my chest. I had to find out.

The moment she craned her neck and looked up at me, I crushed my lips to hers. Nef, the shudder that moved through her was real and wasn’t born from despisal. Neither was the soft moan escaping her when my tongue entered her mouth.

“You are infuriating,” I declared when I broke our kiss, drinking in her hazy eyes and swollen lips. Her cheeks were flushed, and the beat of her heart was fast.

“I know.” She lowered her eyelashes, surprising me with her admission. “Sometimes I just can’t help myself. But you”—she looked up again, this time her eyes were accusing—“you aren’t making this any easier.”

I chuckled. Of course she would turn her obstinacy on me.

“Come, let me show you the beach,” I offered as a token of peace, holding my hand out.

Surprisingly, she didn’t hesitate but took it.

Outside the balcony, a glider waited for us, as well as an entourage of guards, each on their own glider.

“Oh,” she said, looking at the oval disc I helped her step on, “they have those in the library.”

A jolt of happiness ran through me. “You have been in the library?”

She nodded excitedly, “Oh yes, it’s such a wonderful place.”

“What have you been reading?” I asked, honestly curious but unprepared for her answer.

“A lot about Zypherian history,” she said, stirring a fire in my loins. Had I held any doubt that she was the right person to be my queen, it would have vanished right then. All the other women had been able to talk about were the presents I gave them, their new dresses, the jewelry, or they had talked incessantly about Earth and how different their lives had been there. Some had complained about their capturers and how they had treated them, but not one had asked about me or my planet. The world they wanted to co-rule with me.

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