Page 30 of Alien Prince's Fake Bride
He eases back slowly. His tentacles retreat with soft, lingering caresses. His lips press a gentle kiss to my thigh, and I feel the warmth of his breath against my oversensitive skin. He crawls up beside me, his cock hard and straining against his pants, but he makes no move to take things further. Instead, he pulls me into his arms, as his large frame curls around me protectively. The starlight bathes us both, casting soft shadows across his indigo skin and my flushed body.
“That was…” I trail off, still catching my breath, my body humming with aftershocks. “You’re incredible.”
He chuckles, a low, satisfied sound. “I have no choice but to agree.”
His tentacles drape lightly over my shoulder.Their glow dims to a soft pulse, like a heartbeat. I nestle closer, my head resting against his chest, the steady rhythm of his breathing lulling me. The stars above twinkle through the skylight, a silent witness to our shared desire, our growing connection.
Exhaustion tugs at me. The warmth of his body and the lingering bliss pull me under. His scent, that mix of smoke and spice, wraps around me like a promise. As my eyes drift shut, one tentacle brushes my cheek, and manages to feel soft and reassuring. I want to laugh at the ludicrousness of it, but I’m too relaxed to bother.
13
- Mareliux-
Umbra falls asleep, exhausted after her experiences.
“I hope she won’t be traumatized by that gun turret,” I say softly as I push some of her thin, alien hairs from her forehead. “It must have been a terrible thing to go through.”
“She’ll be fine,”Bellatriz says. “That experience will fade in the shadow of the more recent and more intense one. Passionate sex can be good therapy. I wouldn’t be surprised if she can laugh about it at some point. But not yet.”
“I think that’s all a guess,” I tell her as I put my pants on. “But you do know how organics work.”
“Of course,”she snorts. “I’ve been around for seven hundred years and been owned by some really interesting warriors. You think this is the first time I’ve been around when someone’s needed to get rid of fresh emotional trauma?”
“You are a legendary sword,” I agree, looking down at Umbra’s sweet face. “You have seen more people at their worst and their best than just about anyone.”
“Yes,”Bellatriz says, then switches to an old battle language for privacy. “That AI of hers is smarter than I thought. I’ll lock all doors so Umbra can’t keep hurting herself or try to escape.”
“No need,” I reply in the same language. “She won’t try again. I’m using my own knowledge of organics for that assessment.”
“I’ll at least instruct the elevators to alert us whenever she uses them.”
“That should have been done already,” I tell her as I leave the room.
“Have you considered,”the sword asks in our usual Khavgrese as the door closes, “how strange it is that this alien female can hear you through the Syntrix? And that she climaxes so hard with you?”
“It may not be weird at all. Probably her species has a particular gift for using Syntrix. There must be a reason someone put that Syntrix veil around her planet. Maybe they can become so strong that they could use their Syntrix for evil purposes. And maybe Umbra simply is one of those women blessed with extra strong…um… peaks.”
“There’s another possibility,”the sword says as I get to my war room. “Have you thought about it?”
I give a hoot of laughter. “Are you about to suggest that Umbra, an alien woman, is my Soulbound?”
“I’m not suggesting anything,”the sword says, miffed. “It’s simply a possibility.”
“In which way is it a possibility?” I ask as I reestablish contact with my generals. “She’s an alien! From a different world! Of course she can’t be my fated mate.”
The leaders of my armies reappear with their images. Some are in space on ships like mine, some are on planets, and some are in the middle of a battle. They all greet me respectfully.
“Before we continue,” I tell them, “I have a new training scheme for gunship squadrons that show special promise. They will be deployed inthisremote solar system and guard this planet against any intrusion.” I pull up the location of Earth and share it. “There will likely be no intrusion, so they can spend their time with drills and war games. Ten days for each squadron, rotating…”
- - -
When I finally finish with the first of the war councils I will have today, I return to the bridge. Both Umbra and Caret’ax are there. Caret’ax is standing by the door, as usual, and Umbra has taken the weapon officer’s seat.
“Sir,” my bodyguard says, “I have taken the liberty of updating Umbra on the state of the Emperor and why the fake marriage is necessary.”
“Ah, very good. I was going to do that myself. You need to know, Umbra. The Emperor has demanded that I be married in order to inherit the throne to the Empire. The Empire desperately needs a new emperor. A strong one. That’s really all there is to it.”
Umbra nods. “Sounds simple enough.”
