24. Aurora

24

AURORA

I ate the banana and the blue-skinned apple, (which had soft, sweet, golden flesh like a mango,) and took a few bites of the giant strawberry fruit. It had a tart-sweet flavor that was pleasant but I didn’t like the gritty texture caused by the many tiny black seeds that were scattered throughout it.

I cleaned up and put my plate in the sink. I had just finished using my tooth-washer to get the seeds out of my teeth when Slade called for me.

“ Hang on—just a minute,” I called back. I was wearing a house dress and I wanted to change to something nicer to go out in.

I found a dark green dress that brought out my eyes in my luggage and put it on. Then I quickly fixed my hair and put a little gloss on my lips. Ready at last, I slipped on my shoes and came out to see that Slade was dressed in another one of his immaculate suits.

This one was black with a very subtle golden pinstripe running through the fabric. He had a crisp linen shirt on under it and the collar and cuffs looked snowy white against his pearly grey skin.

I hated to admit it—even to myself—but my new husband was extremely handsome. His golden eyes and golden horns contrasted perfectly with the black suit, giving him an air of royalty which I guessed, in a way, he was. The Four Brutal Clans were considered to be a kingdom of their own. Or maybe four separate kingdoms might be a better way to describe them. If you looked at it that way, Slade was a prince as much as I was a princess.

He gave me an appraising look, his golden eyes traveling up and down my body.

“ You look ravishing, Princess ,” he growled. “ Fucking gorgeous . Are you ready to go?”

When he looked at me like that, it made me feel hot and cold all over! But I tried not to let it show as I took his offered arm. Just touching him made my body react and his warm, spicy scent seemed to call to me, making me want to press my face to his throat and breathe him in—an impulse I squashed like a bug.

“ Thank you. Yes , I’m ready,” I said primly, determined not to let him know how he affected me.

He inhaled deeply and gave me a mocking smile.

“ Not quite, but you will be soon— very soon, Princess . Come on—let’s go.”

I thought about asking what he meant…but I already knew. He seemed certain that I was going to beg him to skewer me on his enormous shaft which I told myself uneasily was not going to happen. So I said nothing as he led me out of the penthouse suite.

We rode the vertical lift back down to the hotel lobby. As before, all of the staff said hello and Slade greeted them by name. They all seemed to like him, which I had to grudgingly admit raised him in my estimation. My mother used to say you can tell how a man will treat you by the way he treats the staff. She often emphasized to me that the maids and grooms and footmen who worked in the palace were people too and that they were doing a job.

“ You need to make their job easier—not harder,” she used to say. She didn’t believe in the idea of either my brother or me being “spoiled royals” which was another reason she made me take lessons with the cooks in the kitchen and help out the maids when I wasn’t busy. I thought that Slade might have been raised the same way—at least partially—by the way he treated the staff at the luxury resort.

“ How long did you say you’ve lived here?” I asked him as we left the lobby and headed to the parking area.

“ About ten years,” he said. “ I came here shortly after my mother died and my father married Lyrah .”

“ I take it you and Lyrah don’t get along?” I asked, probing for a little more information.

He blew out a breath and got an annoyed look on his face, but I sensed his irritation wasn’t directed at me.

“ No —she’s pretty much the exact opposite of my mother, who was sweet and kind and didn’t like drama. Lyrah fucking lives to stir the shit—the servant turn-over rate at my Sire’s house is astronomical because none of them can stand her.” He shook his head. “ I guess I just can’t understand why my Sire would want to be with someone so completely different from my mom.”

“ I always wondered why my own father never married again after my mother died,” I said thoughtfully. “ But I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with a ‘wicked stepmother.’”

“ I don’t know if Lyrah’s wicked so much as opportunistic,” he said darkly. “ She’d like it if I was out of the way because then my half-brother, Hrake , would be next in line for the Chieftainship of our Clan .”

I looked at him, surprised.

“ You don’t think she’d try anything, do you?”

He shook his head.

“ I doubt it. She knows that trying to kill the Chief or the Heir to the Chief means an automatic death sentence—she wouldn’t risk it.” He made a face. “ Unless her plan is to fucking annoy me to death—that might happen if we have to move back in with my Sire .”

“ Are we really going to go stay in your father’s house?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea. Then again, I wasn’t sure that staying in the penthouse suite all alone with Slade was a good thing either. There was too much chance that we might get closer and closer until I gave in to my body, which seemed to want to be near him all the time, even if my mind didn’t. If only he didn’t smell so good!

“ I’m afraid we might have to,” he growled, looking irritated. “ My Sire was content to let me live on my own as long as I wasn’t mated, but now that I have a wife, he’ll want us back under his roof so he can keep the family all together.” He shook his head. “ I’ll put it off for a long as I can but I just don’t know…”

We flew in silence through the skies of Rigelis Nine . Slade seemed unhappy about the idea of moving back in with his father—there was a brooding look on his chiseled face as he operated the ship’s controls. I decided to leave him alone and keep my silence.

Sin World looked different in the daylight. The enormous glowing hologram ads weren’t as visible and the buildings weren’t outlined in bright lights. It was still the most enormous city I had ever been in though and I stared at the other flying vehicles—some hover-coaches and flying cars and others high-end ships and space cruisers like Slade’s —whizzing through the air in orderly traffic patterns around us.

I wasn’t sure where we were when we finally flew into the parking area in the side of another tall building. Slade came around to the passenger door of the ship and lifted me down, his muscles bunching under his immaculate suite jacket as he did so.

“ Where are we?” I asked, since the parking area didn’t offer any clues.

“ It’s a surprise.” He offered me an arm. “ Come on— I’ll show you.”

Bemused , I took his arm and let him lead me into the lift. Inside was an attendant in a brown uniform standing beside the lift’s floor display.

“ Good morning, Sir ,” he said, nodding respectfully at Slade . “ Will you be visiting your tailor today?”

“ No , Bartly , not today,” Slade answered. “ Today we’re here for my wife—isn’t she gorgeous?” He put an arm around me and smiled proudly.

“ She’s beautiful,” the elevator attendant agreed, making me blush. I wished Slade would stop showing me off! Then again, it was kind of nice to be thought of as beautiful. I had been nothing but a spinster princess—just my brother’s hostess, back home on L’Crist .

“ Take us to the ladies clothing floor,” Slade said. “ We’re going to be doing some serious shopping.”

“ Which floor, Sir ?” the attendant asked. “ We have outerwear, lingerie, and shoes.”

“ Hmm …” Slade looked down at me, his brow wrinkling. “ Let’s start with outerwear, shall we?”

“ I guess.” I shrugged. “ I brought plenty of clothes with me but I wouldn’t mind getting something that would help me fit in with your family.” I could still see the nasty-nice smile on his stepmother’s face when she called my gown “old-fashioned.”

“ That’s exactly what we’re going to get you,” Slade promised me. “ Come on, Princess —let’s shop.”

And shop we did. The lift let us out into a floor absolutely filled with all the latest Rigelis Nine women’s fashions.

I looked around in awe as we wandered through the racks of clothing. Every few feet there was a holo display, showing a woman actually wearing the clothing that was for sale. The holograms modeled, turning from side to side so you could see every angle.

The only thing that worried me was that all the clothing seemed to be made with skinny women in mind. I didn’t see anything that was going to fit my broad hips or wide behind—especially since the Rigelis Nine fashions were much tighter than the clothes I was used to wearing on L’Crist . I hoped I wasn’t about to be embarrassed in front of Slade when nothing he tried to buy me fit!

But I barely had time to worry before a female attendant wearing a neat green smock came over.

“ Well hello, Sir and Madam ,” she said brightly. “ It’s lovely to have you here with us today. Is there anything in particular I can get for you to try on?” She looked at me. “ What’s your size, Madam ?”

“ Oh , er…” I was immediately embarrassed because I had no idea what my “size” was. As a princess, I never lacked for clothing but I wasn’t used to shopping for it. The palace employed a seamstress who made the Royal Family’s outfits so we all just wore what she gave us.

Velma was a dear old soul, but she had rather stuffy tastes. The gowns she made for me were the exact same fashion as the ones she’d made for my mother—and my grandmother before her—and they were all extremely modest. Most of them had long sleeves, high necklines, and long skirts— I had never worn a short skirt that showed my legs or a pair of trousers in my life. And I never, ever wore dresses that showed cleavage—that was considered scandalous.

“ I think you’ll need to measure my wife to see what size she’ll be here,” Slade answered the saleslady, coming to my rescue. “ She comes from a different planet and I’m sure the sizing is different there. Isn’t that right, Princess ?” he asked, looking down at me.

“ Er , yes. Yes , it is.” I nodded gratefully.

“ Very good—that’s not a problem,” the saleslady chirped. Reaching into the pocket of her smock, she pulled out a device that looked like a bar of silver. It was about as long as my middle finger and twice as thick. “ This is my measure-all,” she explained as she had me step forward and placed the silver bar on top of my head. “ Just hold still and it will give me all your measurements.”

I felt a slight tingling and then I was suddenly enveloped in a bright blue circle of light that made me blink. It zipped up and down my body several times and then I heard a soft beep and the attendant took the bar off my head.

She held it in front of her face and pressed a button on the side.

“ Hmm —it says here that you’re a Zetta double-plus-extra-curvy,” she said to me. “ We have an extra-curvy section on the other end of the department—just follow me.”

Slade took my hand and we followed her as she bustled down the aisles until we found ourselves in a section of larger clothes. I let out a private sigh of relief. At least they had things that would fit me—even if most of them looked terribly immodest, at least compared with what I was used to wearing.

“ Is there anything in particular I can find for you?” the saleslady asked.

I opened my mouth, but Slade beat me to it.

“ Yes , I want to see this in my wife’s size,” he said, pointing to a red dress. “ And this and this—oh and also these.”

“ Absolutely , Sir !” The attendant nodded and began gathering the clothing he was pointing out, pulling my size off the racks with lightning speed.

“ Hey —don’t I get a say?” I asked, frowning up at Slade .

“ Sure , baby. Pick anything you want. But first I want to see you in these.”

The sales attendant had already gathered a whole pile of clothes, which she had hanging over one arm.

“ This way to the dressing rooms,” she said brightly, smiling at us.

Slade and I followed her to a luxurious side room carpeted in some kind of pink fur. There was a large circular platform in the center of the room. Mounted behind it was a 3- D viewer that would show the person standing on the pedestal from all angles.

Ranged in a ring around the central pedestal and the viewer were a number of dressing rooms, each with its own separate privacy door. The saleslady led us to the far door and opened it, showing a room with its own mirror and a padded bench to sit on. There were rows of hooks on the wall where she hung Slade’s choices. Then she nodded at us and told us to call for her—(her name was Belonda )—if we needed anything else.

I expected to go into the dressing room alone, but to my surprise, Slade came in with me.

“ Hey , I’d like some privacy!” I protested as he shut the door behind us.

“ Well , that’s too bad because you’re not going to get it,” he growled. “ Besides , I’ve already seen you naked, Princess . I washed and dried your beautiful body and made you come last night—what are you ashamed of?”

I could feel my cheeks getting hot at his dirty talk but I tried not to let it bother me.

“ I’m just not used to getting undressed in front of people,” I pointed out.

“ Well , I’m not ‘people’— I’m your husband,” he growled. “ Besides , you might need me to help you with buttons or zips.”

He settled himself on the padded bench and I saw that there was no budging him. I wished I could get him out of the dressing room, but I sensed it wasn’t going to happen. Thank goodness I had worn my good underwear—a set of matching beige lace bra and panties.

“ Fine ,” I said, turning my back on him and beginning to pull off the dress I was wearing. “ Hand me that first one, will you?”

Slade obligingly handed me the red dress he’d chosen and, as he had promised, helped me do up the back after I had wiggled into it.

“ Well , look at you,” he growled, when I finally had it on. “ Fucking gorgeous . Especially now that I can see all your curves.”

You certainly could see them—much too much as far as I was concerned. The red dress was much tighter than anything I had ever worn back home. I tugged at it, trying to loosen it up some so it didn’t show so much but it was no good—it clung to me like a second skin. Also it showed a shocking amount of cleavage.

“ This is too tight!” I protested to Slade , who was standing behind me, watching me in the mirror. “ And the skirt is too short, too!”

“ It comes down almost to your knees,” he pointed out. “ That’s longer than a lot of the fashions here on ‘ Sin World .’”

“ Well what about the neckline?” I demanded, pointing at my cleavage.

“ What about it, baby?” he rumbled. He came to stand behind me and reached around to cup my breasts. “ Goddess , it makes me want to pull down this dress and suck your ripe nipples all over again,” he growled in my ear. As he spoke, he lightly thumbed my nipples, making me squirm as sparks of pleasure ran straight down to my cunny.

“ Stop , Slade !” I protested, but I wasn’t trying to pull away, even though I knew I ought to. “ This is a public store!”

“ Which is why I’m not feeling you up out in the middle of the clothing aisle,” he pointed out. “ We’re in a private little place, all our own. Why can’t I touch my wife?”

There it was again—the possessive note in his deep voice when he said, “my wife” made me go weak in the knees for some reason. I tried to tell myself I was being ridiculous and I shouldn’t like it when he called me that, but somehow I couldn’t quite make myself believe it.

But the way he was touching me was really affecting my body. I had to bite back a moan when he gently pinched my aching nipples. I was afraid I was beginning to feel The Need again and I didn’t want that happening when we were out in public!

“ I … I thought we were here to shop,” I panted, wiggling against him. “ But I’ve only tried on one…one dress.”

“ All right, you have a point.” He released my breasts and took a step back. “ It’s just that I’ve waited so many years to have you, Princess —now that I’ve got you, I want to be touching and tasting you all the fucking time.”

“ Well , you’ll have to wait,” I said primly, still trying to catch my breath. “ For now, hand me the green dress, please.”

I tried on dresses and even a few pairs of lady’s trousers which felt wrong to wear at first. But Slade encouraged me to experiment.

“ Have fun—choose whatever feels comfortable—whatever you like, baby,” he urged me.

I decided to follow his advice. I got a lot of clothing that would never be considered appropriate on L’Crist just because I liked the way it looked. Most everything I bought was much more flattering that the dresses the palace seamstress made me.

I couldn’t help thinking it was too bad I would only get to wear all my new things for six months. There was no way I could bring them back home with me—the people in the palace would think I had turned into some kind of woman of the night if I tried to wear them there.

But what about The Need ? whispered a little voice in my head. What will you do about that when you’re away from Slade ?

I pushed that thought to the back of my head. Probably I would stop having The Need once I left him for good, I told myself. But I couldn’t help feeling just a little sad at the idea. I wasn’t sad about not having strange sexual urges and getting cold all the time if he wasn’t near me, but I was sad about the idea of not seeing the big Brute anymore.

Then I told myself I was being ridiculous. Slade was my enemy—the enemy of my kingdom. His family had been extorting money from us for years— I was right to want to get away from him.

But still… I couldn’t help enjoying his banter and compliments as he helped me try on clothes. Almost everything he had chosen for me to try on looked amazing on me—he genuinely had good taste, even if what he had picked was sometimes indecent, at least by L’Crist standards.

The only problem with having my new husband helping me try on clothes was the fact that Slade kept touching me. And every time he did, I felt more and more drawn to him. I wasn’t cold, so at least my teeth weren’t chattering. But my nipples were so tight they hurt and I began to get that hot, achy feeling in the V between my legs.

I was getting the embarrassing feeling that I was getting really wet down there, too. I hoped that Slade wouldn’t notice there was a damp spot growing in the beige lace panties I was wearing.

At last, after I had chosen more clothes than I could wear in a year, Slade suggested we look at the other departments.

“ You need shoes to go with all these new outfits,” he pointed out. “ Come on, let’s see what we can find.”

So our next stop was on the floor that housed the shoe section. I was amazed all over again at the selection. Back on L’Crist we had a palace cobbler the same way we had a palace seamstress.

Bartholomew was a little old man who was mostly deaf and half blind, but he had been making all of the Royal Family’s shoes for years. The men’s boots came out fine, but I had to admit that the slippers he made for me weren’t very delicate—or very pretty. I never had the heart to complain—my mother had raised me not to. Now , however, I had my choice of as many pretty shoes as I wanted.

I wandered through the aisles, choosing pairs I thought would go with my new clothing. Slade chose some too, most notably a pair of gorgeous deep red pumps that had extremely high heels.

“ I’ll break my neck trying to walk in those!” I protested, when he presented them to me. I was sitting in a comfy chair trying on the others and I already had several pairs I really liked.

“ These aren’t for walking.” He gave me a salacious grin as he sank to his knees before me.

“ What do you mean?” I asked, rather breathlessly as he lifted my right foot and slipped the red shoe on. It had long red leather laces attached to the heel and Slade wrapped them around my ankle and tied them expertly. He placed a soft kiss on the top of my foot before looking up.

“ I mean, these are what they call ‘fuck me shoes,’” he growled as he put the other one on me. “ You wear these and I won’t be able to resist you, baby. And believe me—you won’t be on your feet for long because I’ll have you on your back in bed before you know it.”

“ Slade !” I hissed, looking around to see if any of the attendants were listening. Luckily , none of them were.

Slade just gave me an irrepressible grin.

“ Come on—try them. They match your new dress,” he pointed out. He had talked me into changing into the red dress he had chosen for me in the clothing department. I had to admit that it looked good on me, even if the hem was too short and it showed too much cleavage.

Slade helped me to my feet to try out the shoes. I wobbled for a minute, then regained my balance. The heels were higher than any I had ever worn before but I thought I could manage them if I was careful.

“ Good , Princess —now walk in them,” Slade urged me when he saw I had my balance. “ Go on—walk down to the end of the aisle and then come back to me.”

Feeling slightly awkward, I began strolling down to the far end of the shoe aisle. There was a full-length mirror at the end and I could see myself striding forward, wearing my new red dress and the “fuck me” shoes.

The sight of my new outfit and the way it emphasized my curves made me feel tingly all over. As for the shoes, the heels were so high I couldn’t walk normally in them. They made my hips and behind sway from side to side—by the time I reached the far end of the aisle, I was practically strutting.

I turned and saw Slade staring at me, his golden eyes lazy with lust.

“ Now come back to me,” he said, motioning.

I did as he said, strutting back down the aisle. I was getting used to the sky-high heels by now and I found I liked the way they made me thrust out my breasts and roll my hips. I felt sensuous—sexy and sophisticated. Like the women in the restaurant last night, before everything went bad. I would definitely fit in here on Rigelis Nine in these clothes and shoes.

Also , I couldn’t help liking the way Slade was looking at me. I tried to tell myself I didn’t—there was a hungry light in his golden eyes that gave me the shivers. But there was a part of me that responded to him when he looked at me that way.

“ Fuck , baby—you look so fucking hot,” he growled when I got back to him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to his big body. “ Just want to take you to bed right now and eat your sweet pussy until you moan for me,” he murmured in my ear. “ And then I want to fuck you while you wear those shoes—a nice, long, slow fuck while I open your hot little pussy with my cock and fill you full of my seed.”

“ Slade !” I protested, but my voice was breathless. Why wouldn’t he stop talking like that? Nobody on L’Crist talked like he did. Hearing him say how much he wanted me—and exactly what he wanted to do to me—was shocking and enticing at the same time.

“ What ? Can’t I talk about Breeding my own wife?” he growled, pulling back. He looked down at the shoes and shook his head. “ You better take those off for now. Otherwise I’m going to want to taste you right here and now.”

“ Please , Slade —don’t talk that way! You know I can’t let you do that,” I protested, feeling my cheeks get hot with a blush.

“ Mmm -hmm. When The Need gets bad enough you’ll be begging me to do it,” he said confidently. “ Come on, let’s finish up here. We still have two more departments to go.”