Page 5 of Zylonn's Human Bride
Gods, she smelled like the rare lunar flowers that bloomed on the Gerrona Mountains. His gaze swept over her luscious curves, and he appreciated that she’d worn a form-fitting dress that hugged her in all the right places. She had ripe, full breasts, and though she was a slender girl, her hips and bottom flared out nicely. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her, couldn’t wait to strip her clothes off and claim her as his.
Finally, they reached his abode. The front door automatically slid open upon their approach, and he ushered her inside and set her suitcase down, but he didn’t release her arm just yet. He was not entirely sure she wouldn’t try to run from him, and he had no desire to spend his evening chasing down his new mate.
“Luchunna amor-hel.” He gave the verbal command for the front door to lock, and only then did he loosen his grip on Nova’s arm. He didn’t have a security system in his house, but at least the front door locked and wouldn’t open unless he gave the command. If she tried to run now, she would not make it very far.
“You-you have a beautiful home,” she said softly, but avoided making eye contact.
Zylonn stepped back and stared at her, waiting to see if she would offer an apology for her disrespectful comments, but she pressed her lips together and said nothing more. She wrapped her arms around herself and shifted awkwardly in place.
“Nova, I understand you don’t wish to be here, but you must never again speak as you did earlier. I will not stand for it.” He stepped forward and placed a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Yes, you were bought and paid for, in a way. But remember, it was your people who sold you to me, and that makes me your master, little human. You had best not forget it.”
Defiance flashed in her eyes and her jaw clenched, but still she said nothing. No apology, and no hint of acceptance for her new place in life. He took a deep, calming breath, and tried to expel his building anger. But as she persisted in her stubbornness, glaring at him in silence, his rage began to simmer anew.
Didn’t she realize the price his people paid to maintain the TEC600 reactors on her home world? Gathering the materials needed to fuel the reactors was a dangerous undertaking, and many Tarkkuans had lost their lives while mining on the Feshinga Asteroid Belt. Zylonn had spent years there, living on a crowded ship in the cold darkness of space, until he’d reached his quota and mined enough reactor material to earn his retirement and his human bride.
During those bleak years, never once seeing the sun rise over the Tarkkuan mountains or breathing fresh air or hearing the rain splatter on the leaves in the forest, he’d watched many friends die in mining accidents. But every Tarkkuan male went to the space mines once they reached adulthood, unless they were ruling class members lucky enough to find themselves betrothed to one of the half-blood females, because the survival of their race depended on it.
Zylonn growled and jerked Nova against him, letting her feel the fullness of his arousal. Despite his frustration with her, her feminine presence, and the heady knowledge that she belonged to him, made his cock harden and his balls draw up tight. She gasped and all the defiance left her eyes, to be replaced with fear. But Gods, he didn’t want her to fear him. Not truly. Instead, he wanted her respect and her obedience, yearned for her to surrender her body and soul to him.
“You speak English very well,” she said. “I-I did not realize any Tarkkuans on this planet would have learned any Earth tongues. I mean, when I spoke so boldly outside before the marriage ceremony, I had no idea any of the Tarkkuans might be able to understand what I was saying.”
When Zylonn reached for her, she flinched, as if fearing he was about to strike her, but he simply wished to stroke her hair. Gods, it was soft. Her skin was soft, too. He let his fingertips trail over her neck, and a shudder ran through her.
She flinched again when he lifted his hand to resume stroking her hair.
“Nova, I will never strike your face. An honorable Tarkkuan does not hit his mate in anger.”
A sheen of tears formed in her pretty blue eyes, and she blinked hard and took a deep breath. “I suppose that is a relief, but I am still afraid of you, and I very much wish I could take back the words I spoke earlier. I-I did not mean them. Well, not entirely. It’s only that I miss my family and friends. I miss Earth.”
He appreciated her honesty and felt the rage draining from him. He continued combing his fingers through her hair and reveling in the silkiness of each individual strand. He tried to understand the situation from her perspective and felt a pang of sympathy for her. Though she’d been preparing for her journey to Tarkkua her whole life, having been taught his language and about his people’s customs by an elderly Tarkkuan teacher from an early age, he supposed even the knowledge that she would leave Earth couldn’t erase the pain of leaving behind everything she’d ever known. Friends. Family. All that was familiar and comforting.
Though he understood why she’d spoken out against his people, even going so far as to call them barbarians, he could not ignore the fact that she’d said it—and in a public setting, no less. He still had to punish her for speaking out of line, and he steeled himself to be firm with her.
“Nova, it is time we go upstairs.”
Chapter 5
The first thing Nova noticed when she walked into Zylonn’s bedroom was a leather strap hanging on the wall near the bed. From her studies of his culture, she knew Tarkkuan males typically kept an implement of punishment on display near the marital bed, the sight of it meant to serve as a daily reminder to their wives of the consequences of disobedience.
She gulped, remembering Zylonn’s words from earlier in the night.
If I heard my mate speaking as you just did, I would punish her severely for disrespect.
Oh, God. Would he really whip her before he claimed her? Her heart pounded and pounded, and she could scarcely catch her breath.
She turned, ready to bolt from the room, but Zylonn blocked her path with his huge body. His face was set in hard, resolute lines. He stepped closer, and she glanced at the bulge of his erection tenting the front of his pants. Would he claim her before he punished her, or vice versa? She wasn’t sure which option she preferred. Perhaps if she offered him a more heartfelt apology than the one she’d attempted downstairs, he might be swayed to forget about the strapping. She could only hope.
She swallowed hard and met his dark, penetrating stare. God, she felt stripped naked from the intensity of his gaze alone. She couldn’t imagine actually taking her dress off in front of the man, and she crossed her arms and dug her fingers into the fabric of her clothing, as if clutching onto the material would keep him from disrobing her when the time finally came.
“Pl-please, Zy-Zylonn,” she said, her voice shaking. “Please know that I am very, very sorry for the way I spoke about the Earth–Tarkkua trade agreement. It was a foolish and rude thing to say, and I realize it’s forbidden to speak out against the agreement our worlds have. I understand that your people are helping mine to survive, and I should have thought more carefully before I spoke.” Her eyes danced to the intimidating strap before she once again looked at her mate.
“I appreciate your apology, Nova; however, I cannot simply let you off with a warning.” He stepped forward, cupped her face, and stroked his thumbs along her cheeks. “You committed a serious infraction, and you will be punished for it.”
Severely punished. Those were his exact words from earlier. Fear clutched her heart and she started to tremble. How much would it hurt? How many times would he bring the strap down across her bottom? Her lips began to quiver, and tears burned in her eyes. Would he remove her clothing and whip her on the bare? She trembled anew.
She hadn’t been looking forward to her wedding night with her new Tarkkuan mate, but now she was dreading it even more. Would Zylonn really be such a beast to punish her before he claimed her? She couldn’t fathom it, and though it hurt her pride, she decided to plead for leniency.
“Please, Zylonn.” She took a deep breath. “I am truly sorry, especially for any upset my words might have caused you. I promise I will be more careful about what I say in the future, and I swear I’ll never speak ill of the trade agreement again. I give you my word. But please, please don’t punish me.”
