Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

Lomax

“D id you enjoy your dinner in the dining hall, sadora?” Regan closed his apartment door and locked it as I kicked off my shoes and collapsed on the sofa.

“I did. Thank you for introducing me to Wallen and Emily. Emily is very sweet, and I think we could be friends,” I said. I twisted on the couch to watch Regan walk to the kitchen and brew some gallberry tea. He leaned on the island that separated the kitchen from the living room as he waited for it to brew.

“She talks a lot,” he said.

I laughed. “She certainly does. I don’t mind, though, and am happy to let her do the talking. It’s kind of what we introverts do. We latch onto an extrovert, and they do the small talk for us.”

“I am glad you found someone who could be a friend, my mate.”

“What about her husband Wallen?” I asked. “Do you like him?”

“I do not know him well. He works in the docking bay, and besides Boken I do not speak to many Draax outside the guard. He seemed friendly enough at dinner.”

He joined me on the couch, carrying two mugs of tea. He handed me one and sat beside me, pulling my feet into his lap before drinking some tea. I sipped at the hot tea, enjoying the warmth it brought. I’d been freezing most of the evening, and Regan studied my face before setting his tea on the coffee table and cupping my feet.

“Your toes are frozen. I can feel how cold they are even through your socks,” he said.

“You think they’re cold now, wait until we’re in bed, and I stick them on your legs to warm them up,” I said.

He laughed, and I yelped in surprise, trying not to spill my tea when he pulled me into his lap. He nuzzled my throat. “I am always happy to warm up my mate.”

“Is that right?” I set my mug next to his and traced my fingers across his jawline. “Well, maybe you should take your mate to bed and warm her up right now.”

“Whatever my sadora wants,” he said with a slight grin.

I squealed and clung to him as he stood up from the couch, his hands cupping my ass and his tail sliding around my waist. He carried me to the bedroom, moaning softly when my roving hands played with his flat nipples and cupped his hardening cock as he walked the short distance.

When he set me beside the bed, I immediately yanked his shirt over his head, impatient to see and touch his perfect body. He hissed out a breath and cupped the back of my head when I sucked on his right nipple, teasing it with my tongue.

“Sadora, you wear too many clothes,” he said.

“You should do something about that.” I traced a path down his chest with my tongue.

He groaned and lightly pushed me back. He quickly removed my multiple layers of clothing until I stood before him in just a bra and underwear.

He tugged lightly at my panties. “I preferred it when my sadora didn’t wear these.”

I laughed. “You’re the one who bought me all the clothes back on Earth.”

He kissed me, and my amusement was replaced with hot desire. Would there ever be a time when his touch and his kisses didn’t turn me into a quivering, soaking mess? I hoped not.

He stripped me of my bra and panties and studied my pale body in the dim light before tracing one hard nipple with his fingertip. “Open for me, mate.”

I spread my thighs, and he cupped my pussy, toying with the soft hair before he rubbed my clit. I moaned and clutched at his arms, already swaying on my feet as hot need rocketed through me.

“Such a good mate to be so wet for me,” he said, the approval in his voice sending another wave of lust through me.

“Regan,” I breathed as he bent his head and sucked one throbbing nipple into his mouth. “I need you, okay? I don’t want to be teased tonight.”

“Are you sure?” He gave me a soft smile but pushed me gently on my back onto the bed before removing the rest of his clothes and kneeling between my thighs. “Your orgasms seem more satisfying when I tease you for a while.”

“Lies,” I moaned as he rubbed the head of his cock back and forth over my pussy. “I come just as hard when you get straight to the fucking.”

He laughed and leaned over me, nuzzling my throat again before kissing me slow and soft. “My sadora is so impatient tonight.”

“I am,” I panted, reaching between us to grasp his cock. I stroked it firmly, watching with delight as his head fell back and he made a low moan.

“That feels good, sadora.”

“My pussy will feel better,” I said, giving his cock a gentle tug in the direction of my aching pussy. “Fuck me, my mate.”

“Yes, small one.”

We both cried out when he pushed into me with one smooth motion. I clung to him, breathing through the stretch and the slight burn as he waited patiently.

“Okay, sadora?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Make me yours, Regan.”

He groaned, and our bodies moved in a slow rhythm, our hips slapping against each other as the pleasure built in my pelvis. He dropped down on me, his chest against my breasts, his warm breath blowing against my neck as I hooked my legs around his waist.

Our bodies moved harder and faster, our breaths catching, our soft moans and cries growing steadily louder. I was on the precipice of my release when Regan kissed me softly and whispered, “I love you, my sadora.”

I cried his name, my hips bucking wildly against him as the pleasure soared through my body. Only a few seconds later, hot warmth flooded through me as Regan came hard. I squeezed around him, my body quivering as Regan peppered my cheeks and mouth with soft kisses.

When he rolled off of me, I turned to face him, snuggling in close as he reached between my thighs and gathered his seed. He coated my breasts and belly before kissing me and holding me tight against his big body.

His bed was far bigger than the one at the western palace, but it didn’t seem to matter that we had room to spread out. We woke each morning, our bodies plastered together in the middle of the bed.

I yawned and rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. His hand rested just over my heart, and I smiled at him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said.

I yawned again. “I really should get up to pee, although I guess the juice would heal any potential UTI.”

I giggled and kissed his chest. “Man, there are so many benefits to unlimited juice.”

Regan stroked my back with his free hand. “Sadora, are you happy here?”

I leaned back so he could see my face. “I’m happy with you , Regan. That’s all that matters.”

He still looked worried, and I cupped his face. “No regrets, my love. I promise.”

He pulled me close again, pressing kisses into my hair. “I love you, Lomax. Always.”

* * *

“Thank you for walking with me, Lomax.” Emily gave me a cheerful smile as we walked the palace hallways. “I swear I’ve been going a little stir-crazy now that the cold season is here. Before it got cold and started snowing, Wallen and I would walk in the forest every evening. It was so lovely, even if one time we saw a groden.”

“You saw a groden?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, it was terrifying. Even Wallen, who is normally completely unflappable, looked worried. They’re just so big and, Wallen says, really aggressive. We had to back away very quietly before it saw us, and then Wallen hustled me back to the castle so fast. We haven’t gone that deep into the forest since. Of course,” she sighed and stared out the window as we walked through the great hall, “we haven’t left the castle in a month and a half. I knew the cold season would be hard, but I didn’t expect it to be this difficult.”

She rubbed her round tummy. “It doesn’t help that the castle is falling down around our ears.”

“It does seem a bit… rustic,” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “That’s being generous.” She looked around before lowering her voice. “Wallen doesn’t say anything bad about the king, ever, but I heard from Vanessa that her mate, Jeren, isn’t shy about complaining. Apparently the king’s quarters are in perfect condition and warm.”

She sighed. “Jeren works in maintenance, and I guess his supervisor has been asking the king for ages for money to fix the heating system for the entire castle, but the king won’t do it. Of course, the heating system in his part of the castle is fixed immediately if there are any issues.”

“The perks of being the king, I guess,” I said.

“Yeah, I guess.”

As we left the great hall and headed deeper into the castle toward the dining hall and kitchen, Emily said, “I heard that the western castle has a giant indoor garden right in the middle of it. The king opens it up to the public in the cold season so they can enjoy it. I wish we had a garden here.”

“It would be nice,” I said.

“We have a pretty great library if you like to read,” Emily said.

“Really? I love reading,” I said. “But are all the books in Draax?”

“There is a surprising number of books from Earth. Wallen said they always buy books to bring back whenever they’re on Earth, so there’s a variety of reading material. But there is, weirdly, an excessive number of thriller/suspense books and romance books,” she said with a grin, “so if you love either of those genres, you’re golden. It’s in the castle’s east wing, and it has some comfortable couches and chairs and even a fridge stocked with gallberry juice, so you could hang out and read there if you want. But it’s near the room the king’s guard trains in, so you have to block out the sounds of swords clashing and, occasionally, shouting.”

I laughed. “I can imagine it’s not quiet. I’ll check out the library. Thanks, Emily.”

“Sure.” She rubbed her stomach and lower back before pointing to a hall to the left. “Hey, let’s take this one. It’s a shortcut to the dining hall, and I have a sudden craving for juice. This pregnancy makes me want to practically bathe in the stuff.”

I laughed. “Do you and Wallen know what you’re having?”

“No, but it’ll most likely be a boy. Even with us humans, they don’t have a lot of girl babies. Although,” Emily brightened, “the western province queen had a girl. Wallen says she’ll be the first ruling queen in over a century. Isn’t that cool?”

“Very,” I said. “It’s surprising that Eastolf hasn’t mated, isn’t it? His people must be nervous that he doesn’t have an heir yet.”

“Probably, but Eastolf has shown no interest in finding a wife so far.” Emily glanced at me. “I don’t think he likes women very much.”

“Yeah, I got that impression, too,” I said.

“Of course, he doesn’t have to marry, does he? He can just breed with a woman until she gives him a baby and then send her back to Earth, which is what he’ll probably do. I think it’s for the best because I can’t imagine any woman being happily married to him. Although, I already feel sorry for whoever gets chosen for him when he decides to breed. I bet he’s a selfish lover.”

I frowned. “Chosen? Don’t you get to pick which Draax you want to breed with when you join the program?”

“Oh, yeah, you do,” she said. “You look through this huge database of Draax, and then you can choose as many as you’d like for more information. Once you’ve done that, you’re given the additional information on them and recorded holograms where they talk about themselves, that sort of thing. I picked Wallen because I love hiking and being outdoors, and he was very passionate about nature, and he had a kind face.”

“Were you sick?” I asked. “Is that why you joined?”

“My mother was sick,” she said. “Dying of a brain tumour. Shocking, right? Another lower dying of cancer. Anyway, she didn’t want me to do it, and she cried buckets when I went ahead and signed up, but I have no regrets. Wallen is wonderful, and while we had a few hiccups when we first got together, we worked them out, and now I can’t imagine my life without him.”

“So you’re not planning to return to Earth once you’ve had the baby?” I asked.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “Even though life in the palace isn’t exactly how I thought it would be, and I miss my family a lot, I love Wallen and our baby, and I won’t leave either. Besides, Wallen said once the baby is born, we’ll return to Earth a few times a year to visit my family so they can see him.”

“That’s nice,” I said as we turned a corner.

“Anyway, when you read through the breeding contract, there’s a section about what happens if you’re a guaranteed breeder.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means you have a higher chance of having a baby. Like, you test super high or whatever for the gene needed to conceive a Draax baby. Anyway, if you’re one of them, you go on a special list, and the higher-up Draax, like the kings, have the first pick of you.”

“What if you don’t want to be mated to one of the higher-ups?”

“Oh, you can say no and choose from the database,” Emily said, “but the agency strongly advises you not to say no. I can’t imagine many lowers would refuse. Who wouldn’t want to be married to a king, right?”

“Would you want to be married to Eastolf?” I asked.

“Good point,” Emily said. It was particularly cold in this hallway, and she shivered as she rubbed her arms through her sweater. “Ugh, I always forget how cold it is in this hallway.”

“Why is it so cold?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Probably because it leads to the dungeon, and Wallen says it’s freezing there.”

“Hold up,” I said, slowing to a stop. “Did you just say dungeon?”

“Yes,” Emily said, pointing to a door just to our left. “That’s the door that leads to it right there.”

“This castle has an honest-to-god dungeon in it?”

“It does,” Emily said. “I haven’t been in it or anything. Wallen says it’s no place for a woman, but I heard it’s not very nice. Cold and dirty, and there are cassowarys all over the place. I know the Draax think they’re cute, and one of the Draax, Kelten, even has one as a pet, but I think they’re so freaky looking with their hairless bodies and how they can tunnel through the dirt so fast.”

I stopped at the door to the dungeon as Emily continued walking. “Have you ever seen a cassowary race? Oh wait, of course, you haven’t. You just arrived on Draax a few weeks ago. The races are kind of cool, actually. You should ask Regan to… Lomax?”

She stopped and backtracked to where I still stood. “What’s wrong?”

“Why does Eastolf have a dungeon?”

She glanced around and lowered her voice again despite the deserted hallway. “I guess Eastolf uses it for Draax in the castle who piss him off or break a castle rule. He throws them in there for a few days with hardly any food or water.”

“That’s awful,” I said. “I thought the Draax had law enforcement similar to ours.”

“Sort of,” Emily said. “It’s all military based, but they’re the ones in charge of law enforcement in the province. But Eastolf does what he wants here in the castle. Always has, Wallen says.”

I frowned, and Emily touched my arm. “Hey, I know that’s not great, but you can’t make waves about it, okay? Especially since you’re Regan’s mate. King Eastolf wouldn’t do anything to you, but you wouldn’t want Regan to lose his job or something, right?”

“I know,” I said. “I’m not going to risk Regan’s job.”

“Okay,” she said. “C’mon, let’s go. It’s freezing, and I really am craving the juice, something awful.”

We left the hallway, and I could practically feel Emily’s relief when we got to the dining hall. It was still an hour before lunch and the dining hall was primarily empty except for a few Draax sitting at the long tables.

Emily grabbed two bottles of juice, and we sat at one of the empty tables. She drank most of hers in three big gulps before sighing happily. “Better.”

“Good,” I said, sipping at my juice. “Do you want me to get you another one?”

“No, this is good.” Emily gave me a bit of a nervous look. “Hey, you wouldn’t be interested in starting a book club, would you? I’ve been trying to think of something to do with the other women as a group. Our mates keep us tucked away a lot, and I know some of the women are bored like me. Honestly, I’m surprised Wallen was okay with me going for a walk with you this morning. Usually, he likes to be with me when I go for a walk. But if we did a book club, we could meet at one of our apartments, right? Make a night of it, maybe do some appetizers. We don’t get much Earth food here, but we can ask the head chef what he would recommend as Draax finger food.”

“Sure, “ I said. “I would love to start a book club.”

“Perfect!” Emily’s smile beamed out of her. “I’ll get something set up. You’ll love the other ladies, I promise. They’re all great. Well, except for Meredith, but she’s not here anymore.”

“Who’s Meredith, and where did she go?” I asked.

“Oh, she was this older lady who was a real hag,” Emily said. “She came here with a Draax named Goden. He works in the kitchen and is a sweetheart, but she was awful to him. It was obvious she was just here for the juice. Anyway, just before the storm hit, King Eastolf booted her off the planet and sent her back to Earth.”

“Why?” I asked.

“No one knows, but Goden doesn’t seem too upset by it, and the rumour is that the king gave her a shitload of juice before he sent her back to our planet.”

My stomach dropped. I suddenly knew exactly who Meredith was - Madison’s mother. I hadn’t even thought of the possibility that she might still be here, and I was incredibly thankful she wasn’t. I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have spit in her face after knowing what she’d done to her daughter.

“You okay?” Emily asked. “You look kind of sick to your stomach.”

“I’m good,” I said, taking another drink of juice and changing the subject. “So, when were you thinking of starting this book club?”