Page 7 of Into The Rift

“I’ll ask again. Are you male or female?”

“Why would you ask me such a stupid thing? It should be obvious.”

“Ah, but you see, it really isn’t. We were told you’d be royal princes. Or that was our understanding. Now that we have you on our ship, we see that you present yourself as a female, with your long hair and this dress you’re wearing.”

“It’s not a fucking dress! It’s a robe. The sapphire robe of a Tygerian royal.”

“Ah. What about the one captured with you, who wears men’s clothing but seems to be having a child? Like a female. Both of you are small and very pretty, but he’s a different species than you. So you’re telling me neither of you are princesses?”

I scowled at him but didn’t answer. Fuck him. Princesses, my ass.

He smiled over at one of his companions. “It seems I have to ascertain the gender for myself. Ah, the sacrifices I make for my country.”

He moved on me so fast then that I couldn’t react, or even get out of the way in time. I was so surprised, I went willingly, or at least I didn’t resist too much as he pushed me against the wall. He was so strong that it wouldn’t have helped me if I had. He was quite a bit larger than I was, so I let him do what he wanted.

I’d never been touched by a man before—not intimately, and I thought I might be perilously close to having it finally happening. I felt hot all over and little sparks were shooting off inside me at the idea of it, but at the same time, I was alarmed. This close, he had a scent that was strange and exotic and oddly inviting—like some kind of spice but unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. My breath was gusting out of me, and he stopped to look down at me.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I won’t hurt you. I just want to find out for myself.”

I gasped and thought, if my omak knew what was happening to me, he’d be appalled. He’d kept me innocent, just like his omak Blake had always kept him. This beautiful, powerful man was crowding me, pushing his hardness against me, and it seemed like nobody was going to stop him. Certainly not me.

“I-I’m not afraid of you,” I said, maybe trying to make myself believe it too.

He leaned closer, bracing his hands on either side of me now, holding my wrists and boxing me in. He looked down into my eyes and shook his head, murmuring to me in a soft voice.

“You shouldn’t be. As I said, I don’t intend to hurt you. But what are you?” he said again, pushing his body against mine and burying his face in my throat. “Tell me.”

“I-I could ask you the same question.”

He laughed softly, pulling one hand away and moving it over my flat stomach. He made an appreciative noise as his hand moved down and he groped me thoroughly. His other hand suddenly found its way up under my robe, baring my legs to anyone who wanted to see.

I let him press his wicked, lush lips against mine as he continued to fondle me, and I never resisted at all. I’d never had feelings such as he was causing me to have, and I didn’t know what to do with them. His kiss was aggressive and dominant, but he never really hurt me in any way. He was gentle and careful, almost as if he knew this might be my first kiss. My first everything.

He was so close to me that I could feel a hard ridge of flesh pressing against me, and I groaned at the same time he did. He slipped his tongue inside my mouth and my knees went out. His arm slipped around my waist, holding me up, as he brushed his lips against my ear.

“Sweet,” I thought I heard him say.

I moaned, afraid I would disgrace myself if he didn’t stop moving his hand, and he whispered to me again. “Gods, they had no business letting you out of their sight.”

His tongue began to probe at my lips, seeking entry again, but just as I opened up for him, a voice behind us made him quickly pull his hand away and straighten up. He held onto me though, and it was a good thing. His hand around my waist was all that was keeping me on my feet.

“Your Excellency, I’m sorry to disturb you…”

“Then don’t,” he snapped at someone behind him, never moving from in front of me. I buried my face against him, feeling the surprisingly soft, warm scales on his throat.

“Go away.”

“Yes, Excellency,” the soldier replied, and I heard him and the guards who had been with him scurry back down the corridor. The man who’d been fondling me gazed down right into my eyes, like he was searching for something, and I couldn’t read his expression.

I knew I should be furious. I’m sure I was supposed to be. So my pride made me say the first thing that came to mind. I tipped my chin up defiantly at him. It might have even worked if my words hadn’t come out so soft and breathless.

“Another minute or so of that and you’d have to marry me, sir.”

He smiled as he took his hand away from my groin and continued to gaze down at me.

“You have male genitals, but I think I need to inspect them more carefully later on just to be sure.”

“T-the hells you will.”

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