Page 44 of Radakk's Mate
Once she’s finished speaking, finished confessing her tragic story, I almost pull her to my chest and embrace her. Almost. My arms ache with the urge, but something holds me back. The knowledge that we’ll never share a heartbond.
I forced her to become my mate. I picked her because I thought she was beautiful and I liked the way she smelled. Because I’d felt maddeningly possessive of her after just one brief meeting.
A heavy silence permeates the sitting room, and I’m uncertain what to say. I’m outraged that her uncles and cousins are still alive. They deserve the same fate as her father. Males, all of them, and they failed to protect her. Instead, they exploited her. Not only that, but they stood by and watched while her father let her starve.
My wrist comm buzzes, and I suppress a growl as I glance down at the message.Fluxx. Not again.
“I’m afraid I must visit theRorrsa.”
Understanding, and perhaps a bit of relief, enters her eyes. I’m taken aback. Is she truly so happy to be rid of me?
“Your uncle?”
“Yes.” Given his catatonic state earlier, I’d believed my uncle was nearing the end stages offorlonggsa, but I now suspect his unresponsiveness was simply a ploy to make the medical workers let their guard down so he could attempt another escape.
“When will you return?”
“I am uncertain, but I will come to your room once I am back.” I stroke her hair. “It’s important that we copulate frequently, Thalia. I must spill my seed inside you every day at least once, however two or three times a day would be optimal. I will try to reduce my duties for a while so that I might attend to you properly.”
Her eyes go wide, and I lean forward to place a kiss to her forehead. It’s a somewhat tender gesture, but I find I cannot help myself. I stand and rush out the door, leaving her locked in the safety of my quarters.
Chapter26
THALIA
I can’t sleep.Not when I know Emperor Radakk will return at any moment and pay me a visit. Not when I know he plans to claim me. My face heats when I recall his comments about needing to spill his seed inside me at least once a day.
If he arrives in my room in the middle of the night, will he at least make it quick? Or will he keep me awake for hours as he pounds me with his shafts? Though I admittedly know very little about sex and what’s normal and what’s not, his stamina surprised me yesterday. He didn’t require much recovery time between climaxes. Thirty seconds at most.
A sigh drifts from me as I replay the conversation we’d had earlier in the evening.
I still can’t believe I told him about my family. About my mother going missing. About my father’s cruel treatment of me and the years I was forced to spy. About my jerkoff uncles and cousins.
I’d intended to keep most things from my past a secret. But when he demanded I tell him everything about my past, including my activities as a spy, I experienced a strong urge to divulge every little detail.
A fierce compulsion to obey that I couldn’t ignore.
Something shifts in my chest, and I place a hand on my heart. How strange. The feeling is both corporal and psychological, like there’s a tether between me and Emperor Radakk, and when he issues a command, there’s a pull on that tether. Most of the time when I experience the overwhelming urge to obey him, both my upper arms start tingling or itching. I don’t understand it, and I’m starting to question my sanity.
I remind myself that I’ve endured a lot lately. Maybe it’s only natural that I feel off balance for a while. Maybe once I become accustomed to life on theHaxxal, I’ll start to feel like myself again. Maybe once I get to know Emperor Radakk better, it won’t be so bad.
But will I ever get used to living here?
Wait… what? Why am I thinking about staying?
I shouldn’t allow myself to entertain the prospect for a second.
Shaking my head, I throw the covers off myself and jump out of bed. I walk to the viewscreen and peer at the fleet, watching as transport vessels move between the large ships, wondering if the emperor is on one of them.
But no. He’s not far away. I feel him. Isensehis nearness.
Placing a hand on my heart, I turn to the corridor. Aside from the closets and storage rooms, the only other room inside the emperor’s quarters that contains an actual door is the meeting room, which means I have a clear view of the hallway. Seconds later, I hear footsteps in the entryway.
He’s back.
My heart races and heat quakes between my thighs. I glance down at myself. I’m wearing a shirt and a pair of panties. Nothing else. He’d ripped my only pair of pajamas apart.
Feeling inadequately dressed, I dive back into bed and get under the covers. Then I curl up on my side and feign sleep. Maybe if he sees me sleeping, he’ll leave me alone.
