Page 9 of Her Alien Prince
He spoke so formally, like a diplomat, I supposed. Even when he spoke of things like wanting me to yank on his kan. Color spread to my cheeks and heated the tips of my ears at knowing he’d enjoyed what I had recently considered assault. Moments ago, I had been worrying about how my actions would affect future peace negotiations with Krelis. He had said I gripped his kan?
"Your horn?"
"Krelins call them kan. In our tongue, it means to feel or sense. That is their purpose, and your touch has confirmed things for me." He leaned in.
"What kinds of things?" I scooted back in my seat, though that didn't really separate us much. His hot breath on my skin gave me goosebumps.
"That glow thing you did with your loh, can you do it again?"
I cringed. That was not something I could do on command. His lips were hovering so close to my face, and his scent was in the air, a musk like that from the forest after a rain, fresh and alluring. My mouth opened as if in invitation, and I ruined it by saying, "No, I've never been able to do that before. I'm not even sure if I could do it again without being provoked."
"Is it a defensive mechanism of estrelds?" He spoke softly, and his hand reached up to trace the edge of my chin, almost as if he were trying to see if he could force it out of me in that moment. Just a little more teasing, and just a little more fear, but I wasn't afraid of him. My heart rate picked up, and my breathing quickened. My eyes widened at the realization that I wanted him in a way I’d never wanted anyone before. I guess I’d always knew in theory how I was supposed to have the family I always wanted to make, but this need growing between my... I'd never felt that, and I certainly hadn't thought I would feel it with a krelin.
I licked my lips and shook my head, speechless.
CHAPTER FOUR
Trent
FROM THE TIMEI saw her after my meeting with the Almder of Estreldez to having her appear on the transport shuttle, she was mesmerizing. From the deepest green emeralds of her eyes to the darkest of tarnpul hair, pulled back atop her head. She wore more clothing than most estrelds I'd seen. Her robes were made of a thicker material you couldn't see through, even if the moon's light was shining directly upon it. Why did I wish to see beneath her many layers? I found her more alluring than the females with their gauzy, light robes that left nothing to the imagination.
Krelins loved the humidity of Estreldez. The heat was nothing for us, but I understood why many of the estrelds wore very little fabric. Their bodies took in the atmosphere differently than a krelin. Yet, Mabel could wear such thick robes with not a single sign of perspiration like a hardened krelin warrior with no wind to soothe her skin?
She made me curious from the moment the Almder chose not to admonish her for interrupting a meeting with a delegate from another planet. Then to see that every inch of her was covered excepting her shoulders. Curiouser, I mused, but I couldn't shake her from my thoughts. Sitting across from me, questioning me about my mating habits, I swore to myself that my interest was nothing more than curiosity. Until she spoke of kantos sacks.
Was that all it took for me to let my mind wander?
I imagined my mouth plunging between her legs as she grabbed onto my kan. Her small hands stroking up and down the sensitive conductors, sending vibrations down to my core, stirring my cock to life. My cock hardened at the mere thought of making her moan as I plunged my fingers into her tight sheath, preparing it for what would be a strain on her if I were to enter her heat at full mast. With my imagination already thickening my cock, I didn't know whether an estreld her size would even be able to fit my girth. Grinning, I knew there was plenty else I could do that didn't involve my cock at all. She was such a small thing, even for her species.
My throat dried in anticipation of drinking her juices as her pleasure erupted from what my tongue would do to her clit. I've been told estrelds had them located beneath their pleasure centers and that they vibrated to stimulate their mate’s release of their gland's secretions.
This tiny estreld did not understand what she was asking of me when she requested to create a kantos, which estrelds called larva. I could tell from the way her face stayed serious and lacked much in the way of seductive interest, she didn’t know as much about krelins as she thought. That didn't stop me from imagining her giving me what I needed to create one for her. Would she still agree to have me make her one if she knew it would involve tasting the nectar between her thighs as I brought her pleasure?
She sought to have spawn, not to have a mate. That was the way of the estrelds, I reminded myself. My cock was already becoming attentive, preparing to fill her once I’d finished devouring her essence.
I had always wanted someone to share a kantos with, perhaps more than one, eventually. But if I wanted to seek peace with this planet I needed to mate with the Almder's daughter, Luan. Estrelds didn't need kantos sacks. I would contribute nothing but my secretion to my political engagement, but I had hoped for more. Knowing I mated with the future leader of this planet would solidify my hold over the fleet, and prevent my mother from waging war. If nothing else, my mother would not be able to sway the warriors under my control.
My mother... If it weren't for her, would I try to convince this slight estreld to be my queen? I blinked, clearing my vision with my second eyelids. What was it about her that was so fierce and attractive? Her own clan thought her unworthy to participate in the mating ceremony, and I’d said as much.
That was my mistake, but also possibly the only reason why she sought to touch me. Her grip was strong as she yanked my kan down to tug me at her eye level. I assessed her stance; it was grounded, and her knee was positioned to lift should it need to. Her other hand was ready to deflect me if I moved.
She was trained.
A thrum pulsed down my kan into my core as the electricity of her touch heated every nerve, even into my fingertips. I suppressed a moan so as to not frighten her away. I liked the way her touch felt, and I wished to know what she sought from me. Would she demand I make a kantos for her this instant? I would gladly do so. The musk from my wings could have easily subdued her, but it wasn't every day that someone challenged me, and I didn't want it to end so quickly.
"My value isn't in whether I mate with anyone, least of all you," she hissed.
I couldn't help the grin forming on my lips because she all but confessed that there was nothing between her and my escort, Gaven. There was concern with the way he was possessively stalking her, and, as she pushed me aside, my grin broadened even more at the dejected expression on Gaven's face. He composed himself when he noticed I was observing him.
Politics aside, I wanted this Mabel to be my mate, though she was right earlier: I could not publicly claim her. For all outside observers, I had to mate with the princess of this planet, the Jewel of Estreldez. Because I was the Prince of Krelis, and it was expected of me if I sought peace against my mother's wishes. But she was wrong that she would be second to Luan.
Krelin males only have one mate.
Luan was the reason why I was even here to seek her as a mate. I had no intentions of being swayed by another alluring estreld, but there was something about her that drew me in. It was necessary to have a queen that sought for peace between our planets, a queen that would go the extra effort to do things others would find beneath them. Luan was that queen. She’d proved it to me over the last cycle winning over my Chief of Trade, and influencing the continued peace during exchanges on their small moon, Bina.
I suspected that the last misstep had everything to do with my mother’s interference, Luan’s absence at the exchange, and Ong’s new-found comfort of thinking everything was solved. I couldn’t dismiss the efforts Luan had made for our planets, and I would honor my original plan to make her my queen in name, for the sake of peace.
The reason why there were rumors of a Krelis harem were because our females did not keep a mate at all, but male warriors once bonded, only mated with one. If I made a kantos sack with Mabel, she would be my queen, whether or not the galaxy knew of it or not.
