Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

T he Next Afternoon

Ashlyn tried to remain calm. She’d grown up hearing stories about alien abductions and their methods. Probes. Dissections. Medical exams that people couldn’t remember fully. She shivered. Was that what they wanted to do now? Probe her?

She looked toward Zade as they entered the arena, her heart pounding in her chest. The building was huge, with a domed roof and seating for thousands. Mounted in the center of the ceiling were four large screens streaming a live feed from the arena floor. Additional screens were mounted at various places around the edges of the arena so every spectator had an optimized view. It reminded her of the basketball arena on campus when she’d been in college. Every seat was taken, the wild mix of alien species of all different sizes, shapes and colors so alarmed her that she tore her gaze from the crowd and stared at the hard, stone floor in front of her feet. She felt like an ancient prisoner about to be fed to the lions.

Judging by Zade’s thunderous expression, her worst nightmare was about to come to life. Ocliver Vii Salakoori, that slimy Cappran attorney, or at least that’s what she assumed was his role, stood in front of the panel of twelve Councilors, waiting for their arrival.

Hand in hand, they walked together to where the Council sat in a half circle. Without turning toward her, Zade squeezed her hand reassuringly and spoke through clenched teeth. “We came here today, as ordered by the Council. However, my mate has been thoroughly examined by my own medical team and declared fit,” he lied. There’d been no test. He’d instructed his medical team to enter false data and produce a report. They were loyal to him and would protect the secret to their death.

“I understand your… confusion,” Ocliver spoke up with contrived sympathy, his eyes blank, dead like black pools of obsidian. “All Council members from Cappra have been required to produce children, and often do so prior to taking the seat. This guarantees future generations of Capprans and has been a tradition for thousands of years.”

Zade glared directly at the Cappran, not the least bit intimidated. “A standard part of the test she took already confirmed her ability to bear children, and I am certain you are aware that it is the male of my species that controls the decision of when to produce offspring. If you wish to examine me, feel free to do so, but you will leave my mate alone.”

Zade squeezed her hand again. “As for bearing children to ensure future generations, we are newly mated. We may have children in the future, but I will give her time to adjust to her new life both as my mate, and as a Council member, before asking her to bear any. There is no need to examine her.”

Ocliver turned toward the panel of judges and simpered, “On the contrary, under the present circumstances, it is imperative that we assess not only the human’s general reproductive health, but her ability and willingness to breed with a nonhuman, as well. If either the female or male is unfit to have children, or more importantly, unwilling , surely that must play a part in the Council’s decision. C’Nar is more than willing to marry and breed the human as a sign of his commitment to her, and to the seat. Today,” he smiled, “if it pleases the Council. It appears the Caldorian is not willing to do the same. Perhaps they are not as committed to one another as they would have us believe. Perhaps this a ruse, after all?”

Ashlyn stiffened with indignation. “Excuse me, Your Honor. May I speak?”

The Councilor in the center nodded. “Please, do. We are all anxious to hear from you, Councilor Faro. You may refer to us as Councilor, followed by our given name. I am Councilor Vorax. I hail from the volcanic planet of Pyronis.”

Clad in intricately forged armor, Vorax emanated an aura of strength and resilience. His obsidian skin, etched with veins of molten lava, hinted at the fiery depths of his homeworld. Flames flickered along the edges of his armor, forcing the Councilors to his left and right to keep a safe distance.

“Thank you, Councilor Vorax,” she smiled tightly. “I would like to point out that our commitment to each other should no longer be in question. I wear Zade’s chains of obedience, chains which can only be removed upon his death, or mine. We successfully passed this test. I understand a test to verify our health, and we are both willing to undergo more testing confirming our ability to have children. However, I should not be required to have children to assume my rightful place on the Council. No one should.”

Councilor Vorax nodded. “I understand your reluctance.” He turned toward the other Councilors on his left, then right, had a brief discussion she couldn’t hear, then addressed her again. “We are in accord. Under normal circumstances, this would be a private matter. These are not normal circumstances. A highly coveted position on the Council is at stake. In an effort to make a definitive ruling within the timeframe allotted, we believe a full medical exam performed by our own, unbiased medical staff, including receptivity markers to nonhuman breeding, and implantation of active semen to ensure pregnancy, is reasonable.

“We are not here to undermine the traditions of the Cappran people. The Ubrions are within their rights, under the law you invoked, to demand proof of all these things as a means of establishing a prosperous union between you and the Caldorian prince. You have the right to refuse, of course, and forfeit directly, or marry C’Nar Ubrion. The choice is yours. If you would like to discuss this with your betrothed before making a decision, you may do so.”

Ashlyn swallowed. Hard. She had no words. None. She had to let them impregnate her during this medical exam? Were they insane?

She allowed Zade to lead her by the hand from the arena floor to a small, private room starkly decorated with only a small conference table and a few chairs.

Zade tucked a strand of hair behind Ashlyn’s ear and kissed her forehead. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

She looked up, dangerously close to breaking. Tears glistened in her eyes. “Thinking?”

“Yes, shenga . What is going on inside that head of yours?”

She frowned in confusion. “Isn’t it obvious? We have to forfeit the seat. Game over. Time to go home. I don’t see that we have any other choice. We’re not really engaged. I’m not pregnant. I don’t want to be pregnant. The plan was to fake everything, and there’s nothing fake about getting me pregnant. Besides, Rachel told me the men on your planet aren’t capable of activating their baby makers if they don’t actually want a baby, so it’s a moot point anyway. And no way am I going to marry C’Nar just to keep up the pretense of being C’Bor’s widow; a pretense that I never wanted in the first place. Time to quit while we’re ahead. This is it. The end.”

Zade took his time responding, keeping his amusement hidden. Baby makers? She was adorable. He didn’t want to scare her. If only she would acknowledge their union there would be no need to forfeit. In truth, he’d wanted to claim her from the moment he met her and had actively resisted the temptation to do exactly as the Ubrions were now demanding.

If she was a Caldorian, they would not need to have this discussion. He would have behaved as any other Caldorian male in his position would––by ensuring his seed was already well planted before his woman knew what was happening––then done everything in his power to convince her that she wanted to keep it there. Simple.

Did he dare do the same to Ashlyn? This might be his only chance to keep her. She was standing there telling him it was over. The challenge. The ruse. Them. He needed her. Craved her. He couldn’t let her go. Not now. Not ever. Especially not when he wanted exactly what they did–his seed deep inside her.

He closed his eyes as fire shot down his spine and pooled in his groin. His shaft hardened painfully as his sac swelled with a heaviness he’d never experienced before. His chest filled with determination as he realized what was unintentionally happening to him. Ah, shenga, the body follows where the heart leads. You may hate me later, but I cannot let you go. I cannot.

“Hello?” Ashlyn tapped Zade’s arm with her index finger. “Earth to Zade. Are you listening to me? We need to forfeit.”

Rather than argue, he bent down and gave her a passionate, soul-searing kiss, hotter than the sun. When she melted into him, he backed her up until she bumped into the table. She was small and took no effort at all to lift up and settle on the edge of the marble slab.

He growled in male appreciation. The position put her at the perfect height he could fuck her while standing. He shoved her dress up around her hips, ripped her delicate panties, freed himself and took her hard and fast right there on the table. There was no time to prepare her, but she was ready for him. Hot. Wet. Eager.

“Ah! Yes! Harder!” she cried out. She wanted, needed him deep inside her right now. She gave him everything. Surrendered to his primitive possession. Demanded more.

He set a punishing pace, almost savage in its intensity. He needed her to take all of him. Everything he had to give her. There was no holding back. Her passionate cries for more, the scrape of her nails, all fueled his raging desire to take. Conquer. Control. She gasped as he thrust into her with unrelenting determination, pounding her deepest pleasure points until she screamed in ecstasy.

Her body arched as he plunged inside her, driving her mercilessly towards another climax before the first had ended. With a primal growl, he gripped her inner thighs and spread them wider, tilting her pelvis up to meet his every thrust. He claimed her with a fierce possessiveness, penetrating until he reached the entrance of her womb before following her over the precipice and jettisoning hot, life-giving seed deep inside her. She could protest later. For now, he needed to secure his position as her mate, breed her, mark her as his own. From the moment he saw her, she’d become his everything. He couldn’t let her walk away from him. Couldn’t face another day without her.

Ashlyn floated down slowly. She couldn’t have moved had she tried. She was wrung out. Boneless. Zade’s dominant, almost violent lovemaking had echoed her own feelings of desperation and completely obliterated her ability to think rationally. The thought of never seeing him again, of the challenge being over so quickly, triggered a desperation within her that she’d never felt before. She’d allowed him to possess her completely, allowed him deep inside her heart in a way she'd never felt before. Held nothing back.

A pang of regret twisted her heart for what could never be. This was it. The end. She wasn’t ready to give him up, but they were out of time.

Zade pulled out and tucked himself back into his uniform, then helped her off the table, sliding her dress back down. “Come. Let’s get this over with. We have already kept the Council waiting longer than was probably wise. I will speak for us. There is no need for you to address them.”

“If you want to do all the talking, that’s fine with me. I hate public speaking.” Ashlyn stood up and straightened her dress the best she could, then finger combed her hair, which had become a tangled mess. Without panties, she was acutely aware of the state she was in. Their combined fluids were leaking down the insides of her thighs, and she smelled like sex and…she took a deep breath…Zade. How could she go out there in front of all those people, those aliens, like that?

What am I saying? Fuck them and fuck their stupid challenge and their stupid fucking Council seat. I never wanted it anyway and I refuse to let them make me feel ashamed of who I am or what I choose to do. If this is the last time I see Zade, the last few moments we have together, I’m not going to spend it worrying about what a bunch of assholes think. I hope they get a good whiff. No, I hope they choke on it right along with their stupid rules.

She marched over to where Zade stood waiting at the door, raised up onto her tippy toes, wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down and gave him a big sloppy kiss. Zade groaned appreciatively, making her laugh as she pulled away.

“Woman.”

“Zade.” She batted her lashes flirtatiously.

“I am Caldorian. I do not need much time to recover. If you keep looking at me like that, I will have to take you again.” He adjusted his growing erection to fit more comfortably against her.

She grinned. “Any time, anywhere, big guy.”

He kissed her long and hard, then grabbed her hand and tugged her along behind him as he led the way back to the arena. Under his breath he murmured, “By the gods, I hope you mean it.”