Chapter 3

three

. . .

Lottie

Maybe I have hit my head. Did this weird, giant blue dude with snakes for hair just say he wants to marry me?

No, this can't be real. None of this is real.

Today was supposed to be a routine day on the job. Ferry the princess to a few events, make sure everything stays on schedule and everyone is where they're supposed to be. Then home to curl up on the couch with some Ben & Jerry's before doing it all again tomorrow.

Getting abducted was not on the agenda, damn it.

Neither was the strip search and forced bathing they subjected me to. Even if the whole thing felt oddly spa-like, with a drove of blue women coming at me with soft sponges and fragrant soaps. This robe they put on me might be the lightest, silkiest, most luxurious thing I've ever worn. Whatever they did to my hair puts every blowout I've ever gotten to shame.

Right before they brought me in here, they injected something behind my left ear and suddenly all their grunts and growls coalesced into actual words and sentences. Not that they said much, and certainly not to me. Just something about prince so-and-so and some sort of mating ritual.

Oh god. Mating ritual. That's what they meant.

I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting back the sudden urge to break down and cry. Crying isn't going to get me out of this nightmare I've found myself in. I need to think. Figure out where I am. Find a way to escape. Crying doesn't help with any of that.

But a few tears escape anyway and I swipe at them with the back of my hand.

"Princess Alexandra?" A large blue hand settles on my shoulders, a lot more gently than I would've expected. It's warm and weighty, and if I didn't know better, I'd almost think he was trying to comfort me.

No, that's not possible. "Don't touch me!"

To his credit, he takes a step back and pulls his hand away. Then he bends down to set the yappy little dog on the floor. The thing sits on his haunches, tail wagging wildly, glancing between the two of us like it's not sure whose side it should be on.

"Who even are you people?! What is this place? Why me?" I ask, channeling my fear into fury.

He grips the front of his robe–the one that matches mine–and rips it from his body. He tosses the entire thing away with a growl, stalking away from me with his white hair floating a big angry cloud.

He wasn't wearing anything underneath the robe. Nothing except a tiny little loincloth that barely covers his junk. Acres of blue skin stretch over rippling muscles. Shoulders as wide as a football field taper down to a narrow waist. Thighs as thick as tree trunks and just as long.

He reaches the end of the room and pivots back toward me. His features are strong–brow and jaw and nose–and there's a deep divot in the middle of his chin. The way he glowers makes him look even more intense, and also… kinda hot?

Fuck. Big grumpy alpha males are the things of romance novels. They don't exist in real life and they're certainly not attractive in real life. And they're definitely not attractive when they're abducting me.

He stops a few feet in front of me, hands on his hips, hair twisting and snapping in the air. "Hailar was supposed to explain."

Is that supposed to be an apology? "Explain what?"

He waves his hand around the room. "Everything."

I mimic his stance, planting my fists on my hips and scowling back at him. "Why don't you explain it then?"

For a second, he looks like he's trying to, but then he gives up and growls in frustration.

I roll my eyes. Apparently, males of all species don't know how to use their words. "Maybe start with who the hell you are?"

He pulls himself up to his full height, which forces me to lift my chin an extra inch to maintain eye contact. "I told you who I am. Prince Thundar of Aysgoth."

When he doesn't continue, I cock an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

He looks taken aback. "I am the crown prince of the noble planet of Aysgoth. I have liberated you as is dictated by sacred Aysgarthian traditions. Once we are married, I will ascend to the throne, and you will be my queen." He tilts his head. "Hailar really didn't mention any of that?"

I don't know what I should be the most stunned about. That he's from another planet, that he thinks he's liberated me, or that he expects me to be his queen.

"No! He didn't mention any of that!" I throw my hands in the air.

Prince Thundar snarls, looking askance at the door. "I will need to have a word with him."

I get the sense he doesn't mean a verbal reprimand.

Thunder stalks over to a padded platform raised a foot above the floor that I now realize is some kind of bed, and throws himself on it. All sprawled out, he groans as he flings one arm over his eyes.

If there's one thing he's not lying about, it's that he's royalty. He got spoiled and entitled written all over him. Princess Alexandra isn't nearly that bad, but her younger siblings definitely are.

The dog hops onto the bed and spins in a few circles before settling himself down into a furry little ball. Thundar turns his head just enough to glare at it before falling back again.

"This is a disaster."

He thinks this is a disaster? It's my day he's fucked with. I march over to him and kick his foot. "Then do something about it. You're the prince, aren't you? Tell them to let me go."

He lifts his arm off his eyes and frowns down at his foot like he can't believe I actually kicked it. And yeah, if I tried that with any member of the British royal family, I'd find myself in handcuffs, but he thinks I'm Princess Alexandra, right?

Thundar lifts himself up onto his elbows and a traitorous part of my brain notes the way his shoulder muscles bunch and flex, the way his abs stand out in sharp relief, the way his little loincloth is folded up, revealing tantalizing dark shadows underneath.

Nope. Don't look at his body. Stick to his face. Remember he's the abductor, the bad guy. I'm supposed to be angry at him.

"Have faith. I do not wish to be here any more than you do. I'm afraid neither of us has a choice."

"Why the fuck not?"

Instead of answering, he flops back onto the bed.

"Hello?" I kick his foot again. "I asked you a question."

He moves lightning fast, bolting upright, jumping into a crouched position in front of the bed faster than I can blink.

With a yelp, I jump backward, stopping only when I hit the wall.

He snarls at me, looking ready to pounce. "I will overlook that action since you are an alien and untrained in our ways. But be warned, I will not tolerate such disrespect again."

Fuck. Note to self, don't piss off the giant alien prince, Lottie. Not a smart move.

But Thundar's aggression evaporates as quickly as it emerges, and he sits himself back down with a heavy sigh. He plants his feet in front of him and holds on to the edge of the bed with both hands as if they're the only thing holding him upright.

"The royal council is not convinced that I am fit to be king." For once he's not growling. "They've decreed that I must be married before they will approve my coronation. In order to be married, I must first liberate my bride–" he gestures to me, "–and pass the isolation interlude with her." He gestures to the room.

"What the hell is the isolation interlude?" Because that doesn't sound sketchy as fuck.

"It's a period of five sun rotations where the bride and the groom are locked in the mating chamber together, during which time we… copulate."

I sputter and wrap my arms around me. "Copulate? You mean have sex? With you? I don't fucking think so."

And even as the words leave my mouth, my pussy clenches at the thought. The guy is huge all over and if whatever he's hiding behind that loincloth is anatomically proportional, his dick is going to be a monster.

Thundar's brow furrows as he rises to his feet. He advances toward me, slow and predatory. My back is already against the wall. I have nowhere to run.

He stops a hair's breadth away from me, red eyes darkening to mahogany. "You object to copulating with me?"

His voice is barely audible, more a series of rumbles that vibrate through my body to settle between my legs.

"I–I don't even know you," I stammer.

He lifts one arm, placing it against the wall by my head, boxing me in. "I told you. I am Prince Thundar of Aysgoth. It is the highest privilege to copulate with me. Many a woman would covet your current position."

"Th–then why didn't you abduct one of them instead?"

He leans down, tilting his head to the side to fit it against the crook of my neck. I try to turn away, but that only gives him more room to get closer. He takes a deep breath and lets out a moan as if he likes my scent.

A shudder runs through me, though I can't tell if it's from fear or desire. Because as much as my brain knows it should be fear, my body apparently has a mind of its own.

"Because Princess Alexandra…" With a single finger on my chin, he turns my head to face him. "I've chosen you."

His lips land on mine, surprisingly soft and gentle. They move slowly, almost caressing, coaxing.

Despite myself, I relax slightly, and when his tongue swipes across the seam of my lips, I gasp. He takes advantage of the opening to dip inside and the second his tongue makes contact with my own, fire zips straight down to my pussy.

I drench myself.

Thundar groans like he can smell my arousal and plasters himself to me. A thick thigh wedges itself between my legs, forcing me up onto my toes. One hand grips my hip while the other snakes around my back to the nape of my neck. He holds me to him, to all that hard muscle, and the very large appendage that's growing against my stomach.

Two locks of his hair wind around my wrists, not painful or tight, but firm enough to pull my arms up and over his shoulder. The rest of his hair wraps around me, finding every little gap in my robe and sneaking underneath to stroke my skin.

Fuck. What is happening? Why does this feel so good? Why am I so wet and ready to spread my legs?

I don't know this man. He's an alien. He abducted me. But my body has overruled my brain and decided that I'm going to jump on top of whatever he's got between his legs.

I whine–actually fucking whine–when he breaks the kiss. My head is spinning, my clit is throbbing, and all I want to do is drag him back down to me.

Then his lips curl into the cockiest smile I've ever seen. "It appears that you do, in fact, wish to copulate with me."