Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Lauren & Her Dragon Prince

Lauren paced the room, wringing her hands. Thinking about her conversation with her two cousins. She couldn't help that meeting Daxter as a slave bothered her. Yes, he saved her from certain death. Then he bought her and all the other slaves in the market… telling them they were now free. He was the prince of this planet and could do that. But she had issues with it.

She didn't doubt that he loved her. It wasn't Daxter she was worried about. It was the Dragon King and Queen. They ruled Megoth. Or used to, they had turned a lot of the day-to-day responsibility over to their son. But still….

Her mind was in turmoil as she continued to pace and obsess about everything that happened to her and what her in-laws would think of her as a mate for their son. He was their only child—they couldn't help but be protective. Right?

When she ended up in the slave market on Megoth, where she met Daxter, it was the second time she'd been captured. The first was when the Siloth kidnapped her and Kaitlyn from their ranch in Texas. Along with the other female captives on the ship, they managed to force the aliens to land on this planet and then escape. But within just minutes of running from the spaceship, Lauren was captured again and taken to the slave market, where she was put in a small cage. At least on the ship, she'd been in one big cage with all the other women.

She remembered how the cage at the market was so small she couldn't stand up. But at least they all were within sight of each other. The memories of that time remained vivid.

Lauren sat on the floor of the large cave with her legs out in front of her. Stretching. There wasn't enough room in her cage to do a kata or to even just stand and stretch. The tops of their cages were pretty low. But she could sit and do dance warmups to keep her body limber. She noticed that Sissy and the other girls around her were doing the same thing. Even female slaves who hadn't been on the Siloth ship followed Lauren's lead and were exercising as much as they could.

If she got a chance to run—Lauren wanted to be able to move —not be too stiff to escape. As she stretched, she watched everything around her. The guards and their movements. The workers walking the floor with water and nutrition bars. The way the buckets that served as their bathrooms were swapped out section by section.

There was an uproar at the entrance to the cave when a man came in with a young alien girl. Her face and body were a mass of bruises and small cuts. The large alien dragging her was furious. In seconds, he threw the small creature into the empty cell next to Lauren. The young girl buried her head in her arms and wept. Great wracking sobs that filled the cavern. And the man stomped out.

Lauren moved to the bars between their cages and tried to talk to the girl. But she wouldn't respond. She tried to reach her hand through, hoping to offer the comfort of touch, and couldn't reach her. She realized later that the young girl probably didn't have a translator, so couldn't understand Lauren.

Finally, she slid down and sat, then started singing. Lullabies and protest songs that her parents and grandparents had taught her. Love—mixed with the will to overcome—and the combined backbone of millions who had been slaves on Earth. Their hymns and chants now offered hope on an alien planet.

Every once in a while she would mix it up with more popular tunes, and the other earth girls would join in. After a while, the small girl in the cage next to hers stopped crying. But throughout the cave, there was silence and faces pushed against the bars, their hands out to Lauren, urging her to keep singing.

The peace and enchantment of those moments morphed into her worst nightmare.

The Siloth guard she bested once, the heavyset one with the mean eyes, stood in front of her cage with a big stick. He'd come to terrorize her. He railed at the guard with the keys to the cage to let him in.

Lauren knew he planned to humiliate her and probably kill her in the end.

She wasn't going down without a fight.

Where she had used her voice for love and care before, now she used it against the Siloth. They had learned on the spaceship that the Siloth males could not stand any high-pitched sound. Lauren glanced at Sissy, making sure the female who was only part Siloth wasn't bothered when she sang an operatic aria that had some of the highest notes and most irritating vibrato.

Sissy was fine. But the Siloth bully screamed and attacked the guard. He managed to surprise and overwhelm the other alien. Her Siloth nemesis bent to take the keys from the limp body and threw himself at her cage. He had the door open in a heartbeat.

Lauren centered herself and took a deep breath, going into a fighting stance. She didn't have much room, but she figured she would get one kick, so she better make it good.

The beefy guard had to duck to enter her cage. Lauren immediately spun and snapped his head with a well-timed roundhouse kick.

She braced for him to come after her again, but a roar shook the cavern, and the guard was pulled out and thrown. Lauren saw a flash of muscled man follow the body. "What the hell?" she gasped and tried to calm her racing heart.

But she didn't hesitate for long. She picked up the keys the Siloth guard dropped when he was intent on getting to her—and started unlocking cages.

Daxter later explained about the mission given to him by his father, the king. He'd been asked to check out the slave markets and report on which neighboring planets were being harvested for slave-workers to sell in the markets. While headed to the men's section, Dax heard her singing and was enthralled.

He described how he had stood there for long moments just listening to her sing. Finally, he opened his eyes and searched through the cavern for the one whose voice kept him transfixed. When he saw her, he said the sight nearly brought him to his knees. The first glimpse of her made the blood pound through his body and he went blind for several minutes.

Then he explained how he felt the shift in his cells that signaled he had met the one woman in the entire galaxy that could warm his heart and his loins. He told her he'd been immediately enamored and fixated on her. That he thought her to be so tiny. But with his body flushed with immediate arousal, he knew that she was his and he'd closed his eyes to savor the moment. To savor the sound of her voice raised in song.

He made her blush every time he told her how he felt the first time he saw her. And he told her often.

She didn't doubt Daxter's love for her.

Lauren took a deep breath and tried to relax her shoulders. To slow her pacing and think for a moment. If his parents didn't like Lauren or treated her badly—what did she think Daxter would do? Rolling her eyes, she realized she knew the answer to that. Her man was very protective of her. He absolutely wouldn't put up with anyone, not even his parents, mistreating her.

She always got a little thrill when he would growl and tell her how when her song changed to a primal screech—he knew she was in danger. He explained how his eyes had flown open, and he searched the cave for the threat. Dax said when he saw the large, red Siloth standing in front of her cage, he'd been petrified for a moment. Before he had a chance to move to her defense, he'd been shocked to watch his tiny mate kick the huge hairy creature and knock him back several feet. He told her he knew she was his mate the first time he heard her voice, but he fell in love with her when she attacked the Siloth who was three times her size.

Lauren remembered hearing a loud, angry bellow, then having the Siloth who terrorized her pulled out of her cage and flung clear across the cavern. She always snickered at this next part of Daxter's story. How he had delivered the killing blow and picked up the body, intending to lay it at her dainty feet. As a gift.

She would have freaked out!

But Daxter was with a human male that he'd grown up with. A slave that had become first friend, then advisor, and had been freed long ago. Fred chose to stay on Megoth as it was the only home he'd ever known.

Fred knew gifting this Earth woman with a dead alien wasn't a good idea, so he'd blocked Daxter's path and shook his head no, violently warning him not to finish that action. His friend and counselor had pointed forcefully at the ground.

So Daxter dropped the body.

Daxter had saved her. Then he made sure she got a translator so she could talk to him, and he bought not only Lauren from the slave market, but all the slaves. Even the ones in other rooms in the huge cave system.

There were hundreds of freed slaves and they trailed after Daxter, following him home. Lauren figured she'd go with him for a bit. But she planned all along to return to the Siloth spaceship and find her cousin and the other women from their group who weren't taken to the slave market. Hopefully, they managed to escape.

They walked for hours through the desert, following Daxter. Along their path, vendors set up small booths selling food, drink, and clothing. Daxter made sure she had food and water—then made sure they were all fed and had something to drink. He bought clothes to cover those who were naked or were dressed in wisps of fabric, like Lauren.

She refused to talk to him or to say thank you. For what? Buying her as a slave? She was so upset. Angry. Not only for herself, but for all the slaves.

Lauren blinked and stopped her incessant pacing. She realized that she still had a kernel of that… anger … buried deep within her. Anger and shame that her mate had purchased her in a slave market. She knew he loved her so much that where he found her didn't matter to him.

But it did to her, and she didn't know if she could let that go.

She took a deep breath and looked around the room. Daxter's room. Their room now. It was beautiful. This castle was incredible. She remembered the first time she'd seen it. Walking from the desert into the mountains, and then just a few minutes later arriving at a palace that was built into the side of a cliff.

In the beginning, she'd been amazed to see how the outside of the castle was plain and imposing. Yet, the inside was beautiful and had running water and spectacular views of a courtyard and the desert beyond. The rooms were an eclectic mixture of plush and utilitarian. With rugs on the floor, turrets with arrow slits, and technology that would rival anything on earth—it was a mishmash of styles and ages. It was obvious the castle had been here for a very long time.

There were parts of the castle that were beyond beautiful. Like this room, and the washroom that was a part of their suite.

She walked into that washroom just moments after arriving at the castle. She'd been staggered by what she saw. She hadn't realized that she'd been separated from everyone else. That she was alone in the large and gilded space.

Walking over to the bed, she sat on the end and closed her eyes. Remembering…

She discovered a huge soaking pool that was fed by a hot mineral spring and several incredible showers. There were small couches and chairs, and several little beds that looked like massage tables.

It was a Sybaritic wonderland of baths. More like a health spa or indoor swimming pool, or something she'd see in an ancient harem. She was glad she didn't need to share but couldn't help imagining Dax in the room. Naked. Wet. And hers to play with.

After Kaitlyn and Lauren were kidnapped by the Siloth, they'd been examined by the alien doctor who gave them shots and told them he had ramped up their fertility and changed their human biology so she could be impregnated by aliens and would attract only one or two men in the universe.

The Siloth doctor told her and Kaitlyn that he did it so they wouldn't just be taken by anyone, but by someone who would treat them well. He even called it his Fated Mate Serum . The doctor had a mission to save them in his own way. She had no idea if he could really do that. But she worried she might use the idea of having Daxter as her fated mate as an excuse to do what she wanted?

Because her thoughts were pretty one-track. Sex and Daxter. Daxter and Sex. Shit. She planned to keep her distance from her owner. He was too appealing for her peace of mind, and she'd made a pact with Kaitlyn. They weren't going to have sex—so there would be no chance that they'd get pregnant.

She tried to quiet her mind for a moment. Let the circling thoughts go and focus on right now. She needed a bath. Or a shower. Or both. She was so dirty from her time on the spaceship, then being hauled across the desert, and being stuck in a tiny cage. So, she stripped off her clothes and decided to worry about the question of Daxter and sex… later.

Once she was clean and dressed, she felt better. More in control. Until she'd been taken to another room. No one else was in the room. She hadn't been reunited with the other women.

She didn't need to be told this was Daxter's room. Or what this meant. She also had a pretty good idea from his actions throughout the day that if she said no—nothing would happen.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? She didn't want to say no. She was a twenty-two-year-old virgin who'd been kidnapped by aliens. She didn't want to die a virgin. Well… she didn't what to die at all. And Daxter was the first male ever to appeal to her. Screw the Siloth doctor and his shot to increase her chances of finding a fated mate—she wanted this.

It wasn't long after she made up her mind that she wanted Daxter, that he joined her.

Lauren shuddered, and her breathing sped up. She hadn't committed herself to him yet, not in her mind. But she had decided that she'd have sex with him. It didn't mean she would stay with him. He didn't see it that way, but she had no way of knowing how sex with Daxter would seal her fate.

This memory was a good one. Daxter was an incredible lover.

She'd been standing at the window, staring blindly out at the courtyard. He walked into the room, came over to her, and took her hand. He led her a few steps away from the window and faced her. Then he placed her palm over his heart, on his naked chest.

That action ended what was left of Lauren's internal debate. She reached out. Surprised that his flesh was cool and so very soft. The contours of his muscles—were mesmerizing.

She stepped closer. Intent on trailing the lines from his neck down to his hip. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just some loose, soft pants. There was a lot to play with.

When one hand wasn't enough—she put both on him.

His scent thrilled her. She wanted to wallow in it. In him. Pulling the spicy aroma rising from his body into her lungs, she nuzzled him. Wanting more.

She was angry when the words spoken by the Siloth doctor popped back into her mind. Fated Mates .

"I don't believe in fate," she panted. Sticking her tongue out to taste his flesh.

He curved his much taller body around her.

"Not fate—genetic resonance," he murmured. And captured her lips with his.

She must have voiced the words aloud.

Sliding his hands downward, Dax skimmed the robe off her shoulders, pushing it down so he could have access to her.

Her body melted when his hand came up and cupped her breast. She pressed into him. Desperate for more. She ached for his touch. Moaned and shifted, pressing her breast into his palm. She pulled her mouth from his and gasped. "Please, touch me," she begged. Without knowing what she wanted and needed.

When he didn't move fast enough for her, she climbed his body and wrapped her legs around his hips. Forcing him to give her what she craved.

She held his mouth to her breast and strained for more.

He laughed and complied with gusto.

Shuddering, she opened her eyes and watched the bands of dark ink move across his skin. She thought those were tattoos. They inched toward her body, and she tried to draw back, to pull her nipple from Dax's suckling hold. To move away from him and the crazy ink.

It was her first indication that he was more than a man.

He kept her locked in place as the dark strips slid onto her flesh. Her body absorbed some of them, and the rest spread out, working with Dax's body and mouth to drive her crazy.

They pulsed, vibrated, and moved inside her. Teasing her inside and out. They pushed her to peak and kept her from going over. Torturing her with pleasure. Her body caught fire, and she burned, needed.

Desperately needed.

The fire created by the bonds only eased when Dax's mouth soothed, or the slide of his flesh partially satisfied the ache for his touch. His body and mouth created a different craving.

"I can't breathe, I can't think," she moaned. And thrashed in his arms.

Dax watched her with heavy lids, moving to place her on his bed. He stripped off his pants and moved over her.

Her eyes glazed with passion, and she implored him, "You've got to do something. Oh, god make it stop."

He had stilled and told her later that he'd forced his mating bonds to calm.

But that wasn't what she wanted. "Noooooooooo," she wailed.

"You said to stop."

"More. Moremoremore god, give me more."

She liked his touch. But she loved his tongue.

He kissed her and flicked her nipples with his fingers, swallowing her moans. Then he moved his body down and traced the red blush of passion as it covered her breasts. Breasts crested with full areolas and dark puckered nipples.

He lowered his body more and reached one hand down to her thigh. He pulled her leg up, opening her wide enough to rub the tip of his cock at her entrance.

She panted beneath him. Caught in the sensations and straining for more. Sucking in a sharp breath, Lauren's gaze locked with Daxter's.

Her hands flew up to pull urgently at his shoulders. There was no question she wanted this. Wanted him. She cried out and tried to pull him even closer. He flexed his hips in response to her demands and played the tip of his cock over her clit. Teasing.

He stilled for a moment.

"Please, Dax. Oh, God, don't stop!" Moaning, she moved her hips, trying to entice.

With his body over hers, he kept her locked in place. Open to him. Dependent on his every touch and stroke.

He leisurely smoothed his hand down her belly to slip over the trim curls at her mound. He dipped between her thighs and found her wetness. He groaned in delight and spread the moisture over her labia to coat her clit. Then, tormenting the little nub with his fingers, Dax teased her, making Lauren buck and thrash beneath him.

She gasped when he slid down and knelt between her legs. Gently spreading her folds and expose her to his sight.

Sticking out his tongue, he licked once, then sprawled on his stomach and put his hands on her hips to hold her in place. He brought her sex to his mouth and Lauren lost her mind.

His tongue was long and a little rough. He groaned when her fingers clutched the short hair on his head and pressed him to her. She wasn't letting him get away.

Lauren convulsed wildly when he pinched her clit with his lips. Plunging his tongue deep, he laved her, flicking rapidly. Concentrating the movements of his tongue on her swollen nub, he inserted his middle finger into her core and stroked. She lost herself in the pleasure.

Lauren was completely overwhelmed. Dax stroked, caressed, and licked her body until she was immersed in a blaze of sensation. What he didn't tease, the living strips of his tattoos did. It kept her hovering on a threshold that she couldn't cross. Until one more swipe of his tongue and she exploded in release.

But the sensations didn't stop. They just built again and again. Until finally, a more intense orgasm ripped through her and blasted every cell.

It took long minutes before she could breathe without panting, and Daxter crawled up to rest beside her.

As Lauren relaxed in satiated bliss, Dax stood and walked across the room, heading for a pitcher of water. His movement gave her a chance to see the fabulous body she had fantasized about all through the day-long walk. She particularly loved the sweeps of flesh down his side and on the inside of his thighs, where it looked like he had scales. Iridescent gray and green scales.

Obviously, after what she'd been through—she needed new fantasies, as hers were inadequate. The reality of his body was so much better than she imagined. He stood over her and handed her a glass of water. She sat up and drank.

Placing the pitcher and glass on the table, Dax moved back to bed. He was on his knees, his cock curving slightly upward, to a thick head. His chest formed a broad and powerful V down to narrow hips and strong thighs.

She traced the lines of the scales and found them to be softer than she thought.

And he loved her touch, moaning and moving into it.

When he reached out to touch her, she bent into his hand and held her breath. It wasn't just the sensual feel of his fingers trailing over her flesh, but the sight of his hand moving along her body—golden skin tracing her much darker flesh. And when he touched her, the bands stirred.

Running her hands up his strong forearms, she marveled at the taut muscles gleaming with sweat. A deep breath carried his unique, spicy musk scent. He bent over her sprawled body, bracing his arms on either side of her head, strength rippling in well-developed biceps. Her heart pounded in anticipation of more pleasure.

Kissing her, he thrust his tongue in her mouth. She moaned in delight when his broad chest brushed her nipples, triggering increased desire.

He parted her legs with his thighs and moved up.

Her sex clenched in anticipation of his first thrust.

"I love your scent," he murmured against her lips. "I love your taste. The dark musk of it drives me crazy."

Continuing to kiss her slowly, thoroughly, he braced his body on one elbow and reached between her thighs with his free hand. Long fingers stroked her outer lips, finding the creamy seam. Her hips rolled upward, seeking that soft touch. He made a low, exultant sound and slid one finger deep.

"Are you ready for me?"

"Please, yes!"

The smile came slow and triumphant. "Good." He angled his hips so she could feel the hot tip of his cock. "Because I'm more than ready for you. If it hurts, say something and I'll try to stop."

Lauren was sure he meant it. But she had no intention of stopping him.

He fit his body to her snug opening. Parting her folds, he pushed the swollen shaft gently, yet resolutely, inside her.

She caught her breath at the slightly painful, but oh-so-pleasurable sensation of his thickness gliding in to settle deep. Groaning, she wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her heels into his muscular backside.

The scales on his thighs and groin stimulated her in places that she'd never dreamed would feel so much pleasure.

Daxter lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Feel me, Lauren. Feel me claim you. See how good we are together. You're mine." He punctuated his possession of her with a strong thrust and buried his thick shaft to the hilt, his pubic bone rubbing her clit, sending shockwaves of renewed pleasure jolting through her body. He withdrew, only to plunge in over and over again while his mating bonds slipped over her flesh once more.

"Mine!" he growled.

She tore herself out of the memory and looked around their room. She let the soothing natural colors wash over her body.

Something was important about those tattoos.

The dark bands—he called them his mating bands—formed a physical and mental link between the two of them.

She found out much later—after she tried to leave him—that the bands on her flesh meant he would always be able to find her. It also meant that when she was hurt, sick, or stressed… he could use the marks to help her.

But their main function seemed to be the ability to bring her pleasure. Moving inside her, finding the spots only the bonds could touch, taking her pleasure to heights not known by many. That first time, one band circled his cock and slipped inside her body, finding pleasure points and triggers. While others rubbed across her nipples and clit, joining his fingers in the attempt to drive her wild. She would always crave this. The fierce, unmatched pleasure only Dax could give her.

She shuddered again and turned her mind away from the pleasure those tattoos gave her and back to what was important right now. Meeting her in-laws.

Lauren rubbed her wrists. Daxter's weird tattoos had moved down his arms the first time they were together and slipped onto her body. Two of the bands had stayed with her and wrapped themselves around her wrists. Nothing she did made them fade or move. She scrubbed at the dark ink, knowing there was nothing she could do to make those marks disappear.

They didn't hurt. They were just part of her now. Daxter told her that these were the marks of his dragon. That his dragon chose her for his mate. It was rare for the dragon to choose. It meant they were true mates.

Which should mean that his parents couldn't say anything about Daxter's choice. The dragon chose her.

Something else Daxter told her. That if she ever left him, he'd never have another mate. The dragon only mated once. Which meant that any chance he had of having children and a mate was with her.

If he hadn't found Lauren, he might have had a harem of women at his beck and call. But no mate. No children.

Now the size of the bathing room made sense. It was created for a harem.

She never really considered their mating being his only chance to have children. She wanted Daxter kids or no kids.

Huh.

So, if the King and Queen Dragon ever wanted grandchildren… she was it.

Lauren jumped up and did a little jig around the bedroom. She swung her hands over her bobbing head and wiggled her ass. The stress melted off her shoulders.

All her worries about meeting Daxter's parents dissolved. Every parent wanted grandkids. She figured the king and queen wouldn't be any different. In fact, they probably wanted them even more. She doubted she would need it, but there was a huge bargaining chip if they treated her poorly.

Screw with Lauren, and they'd never see Daxter's babies.

Hah! She was ready to go.

She heard a commotion out in the courtyard and went to the window. Glancing at the gates, she realized Daxter was back from whatever business he had.

He'd want to leave soon.

She still didn't have any idea what to wear to ride a dragon. Or what she would wear to meet his parents. It wasn't like she could take a lot of luggage.

For now… she needed to suck it up and cram a few things in her backpack so she could go ride her dragon. Surely there was a saddle or something, so she didn't fall off. Right?