Page 57 of Possessed By the Leonid King

“Horrid.” Rupex took her hand. “Yet they stayed on?”

She shrugged, stabbing her fork into the tender pink duck breast. “I’ve seen it before. A jerky boss treats you well until you’re committed to staying on. They all signed on again, probably because they didn’t know where to go or thought they hadn’t saved enough to get safe housing and survive while looking for work. Their original contracts were auctioned off when they were fourteen. They were a burden on an overtaxed system and they weren’t chosen for adoption. They might have had some options, but not a lot of knowledge on how to use it. I didn’t teach them...” Layla stopped, the flowers and the food no longer working their magic.

“You were how much older?”

“Two years.”

“Why weren’t you in the same predicament?”

“My contract was auctioned at fourteen—and bought by the Sapien-Three Public Childcare System. I was allowed to remain in group housing because I worked twenty hours a week doing cleaning and laundry for the facility.” Layla gave him a tired smile. “I didn’t mind. I could do it, and I stayed with my family.” She swallowed a gulp of wine. Family. The word hurt so bad to say. “When I realized they weren’t going to be adopted and their contracts were being put up for auction, I snuck to the library and used a database computer to look at vacancies in our region. There weren’t any for the Public Childcare System. I knew their contracts would go to someone else and we’d be separated. I quit my contract and found a basement flat that had been abandoned. I tried to get them to run away, but they wouldn’t come. They didn’t think I could support them. They didn’t know who would hire them.” Layla drained the glass. “And that’s the story of Layla’s Awesome Failure.”

Rupex growled. His claws indented the edge of the table. “That is the story of Layla’s Heroic Heart. By Bastet, you tried! They’re still alive. We’ll get their contracts. They can clean the ship. Didn’t you say Wendy wished to work with children? She’ll help us with our cubs. If we have none, then perhaps she’ll help with someone else’s cubs!” Rupex’s tail curled around her ankle and stroked her calf gently as his paw closed over hers. “I’ll place the bids now.”

“I already did, just to hold a spot. I had enough, thanks to the big deposit you gave me. If you can advance my next month’s salary...”

“I can, and I will. But I will make the next bid. We need staff and you need your family. I need you to be happy.” Ru smiled at her. “I haven’t had anyone to be happy with in so long, my Layla. It isn’t very romantic, but would you care to sit on my lap while I double your bid for the contracts?”

“I think it’s incredibly romantic. Let’s eat first. Then we can digest over contract work before we do anything that might be...jarring to the meal.”

His eyes widened, the pupils round with lust. “Excellent planning.”

THESE CONTRACT BIDS are ridiculously low—by Leonid standards, Rupex thought as he doubled the amount Layla had already entered. Still, he heard her suck in a tense breath.

“How serious were you earlier? About not leaving?” Layla gripped his shoulder as she stood beside him, too nervous to sit.

“Very serious.” A formal proposal tickled his tongue, but he pressed it to the roof of his mouth instead.

“Could we... could we renegotiate my contract? I’d say get rid of it but in case... I don’t know. I trust you, but I don’t trust life so much.” Layla gave him a guilty look, her eyes only able to hold his for a second.

“You’d like to renegotiate it? Why?”

“People in love who want to stay together and have a family together don’t need to be paid to try to have a baby. I want... I want that for you. For us.” Layla’s smile was wavery but didn’t vanish. “And the money you just spent trying to get my friends aboard your ship—”

Control had always been very important to Rupex, as a King and the captain of the Comet Stalker. Having a contract in place and handling this delicate situation as a business had been his preference—and his shield.

Layla pierced his armor more effectively with her heart and her bravery than any laser artillery ever could.

The proposal almost tumbled out—but instead, he kissed her, stalling. Rupex knew the perfect time to ask her, and it wasn’t quite yet. “Layla, you can see we desperately need crew, down to the most menial of tasks. What I bid is an offer slightly below what I would normally offer inexperienced Leonids on their first tour of duty. If I left it any lower, I might get a bad reputation amongst other Long Flight Class ships and their crews.”

“But that’s a fat amount of credits for Sapien-Three,” Layla protested, stroking her hand through his mane, tugging it lightly at the ends. Her touch woke him up, making his nostrils flare. A faint hint of blood and arousal put a painful bulge between them.

“Then let us hope that between your love and my money we entice them. There’s nothing else we can do for now. Once they give us their answers, we can make transportation arrangements.”

Layla nodded, wiping her eyes. “But still. As your... as your Queen-friend—do you call them girlfriends? Mates? Never mind. As your partner, this isn’t just business anymore. We can alter my contract.”

“We’ll take care of your friends first. Then,” Rupex suddenly squeezed her hands in his own, “then you can take a course. Paid training.”

“Oh? Am I not busting out enough moves for you?” Layla teased, swiveling her hips against him, a playful gleam in her eye.

“Not a course in sexual satisfaction. I believe you’re naturally talented in that respect.” Rupex closed his eyes as one of her hands pressed firmly down his chest and ended on the crown of his engorged cock. “A course in Information Systems. You have an affinity for database computers, patience for negotiating contracts, and ingenuity to find resources I’ve requested. With a few courses, you could become a licensed Starcraft Information Officer. And in case you didn’t know, that is a well-paying job. You’d be in demand, especially in Felix Orbus. Especially on my crew, my little Queen.”

And you could leave me and take your friends with you.

But you’d never be forced to fear hunger and homelessness again.

“Ru...” Layla blinked up at him, her pretty little mouth half open.

“Don’t argue with me. It’s what we both want, isn’t it? You would be happy doing that sort of work, and I’d be happy if you were happy.” He smiled and pressed his muzzle to her forehead.

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