Chapter Four

The four guards who had not so politely insisted she accompany them to Dazonia Major had folded her from the consulate to a ship capable of folding the entire distance from their solar system to Dazonia Major. She was thankful they had agreed to allow her to pack a couple of bags first, because she was more comfortable with her own underwear, but mainly, she wouldn’t have had a chance to secure the hair comb and poison first if they hadn’t been reasonable.

They had left her in a room by herself on the ship, and the folding had taken less than an hour. When they docked, the four Dazon had escorted her from the ship and across an orangestone floor, leading her into a huge palace.

Jordan still remembered the awe she felt at her first sight of Dazonia Major. The city was encased by a dome that protected it from the fierce lightning that raged outside, but the sky above was still perfectly visible, with its lush purple hues, and despite the situation and dislike she felt for the Dazons who were following the emperor’s path, she could appreciate the beauty of the planet.

That didn’t mean she was ready to move in and sign on as Aryk’s partner. She was just giving the best performance of her life, appearing to be cooperative and dutiful. Frankly, it was killing her, so she was happy when they left her in her own private quarters, giving her time to prepare herself. That had been the words of the one Dazon of the four who spoke. She didn’t know if the other three were mute, or if they simply deferred to their leader. He hadn’t been much of a talker either, so she had no idea for what she was preparing herself.

It was likely to be a meeting with the emperor, so she dressed with care. She hadn’t brought anything fancy, having no time or room to pack such things, but she was somehow unsurprised to find a closet full of garments that were unfamiliar, but beautiful, in the huge dressing room attached to hers.

She wondered if these would be her permanent quarters, guessing they would from the level of lavishness. Fortunately, there was no sign of male cohabitation, so Aryk hadn’t put her in his quarters. His room was likely somewhere nearby, perhaps even joined to hers by a door she hadn’t yet seen, but he wouldn’t be in her room all the time. It would give her a chance to compose herself and make plans.

As she was fastening the loop on a strange gold and white dress that was similarly fashioned to a cape as well, she had a haunting thought. What if tonight was her wedding night? It seemed unlikely. Surely, he’d want to make it some big state affair, but what if…? What if tonight was the night he expected to claim her as his wife?

Her entire body shuddered at the thought, and without thinking, she lifted her hand to the hair decoration buried firmly in the twist she’d use to confine her hair. She had dipped the blade into the vial of poison before securing it in the base, and now she practiced pulling the decoration from her hair carefully, but smoothly. It stuck for a moment, necessitating she anchor the base with one hand while tugging free the comb and the blade with the other.

It was an awkward system, and if she had time, she would have to practice the maneuver and perhaps find a way to help the hair decoration slide from the base more smoothly. She doubted the Dazon kept WD-40 around, so she might have to improvise.

When she could delay no longer, she deemed herself ready and left the dressing room. She stumbled to a halt and let out a small cry of surprise when she found two Dazon males standing in her bedchambers. She frowned at them. “Don’t you people ever knock?”

They didn’t respond to the snarky comment. Rather than lower themselves to talk to a human, or whatever, they simply inclined their heads and gestured for her to move forward. She got the message, but she wondered why none of them spoke. If she had a chance, she’d have to ask Aryk about that.

The idea of making normal, polite conversation with such a killer made her want to vomit, and she barely hid a grimace. She was going to have to continue to draw on her acting ability, and though she had no formal training, she’d grown up the daughter of an ambitious politician, one who had expected her daughter to project the proper image to support Evelyn’s career. That wasn’t Jordan, but she’d gotten good at playing the role over the years, and she was slipping back into it with surprising ease, even under the circumstances.

The guards escorted her from her chambers, walking side-by-side with her, though they didn’t touch her. It was enough to know they were within easy range of grabbing her should she try to run away to keep her walking steadily between them.

She couldn’t try to run away just yet anyway. She couldn’t attempt to escape this hellhole until she’d completed her assignment and assassinated the emperor. It was a chilling thought, and she wondered briefly if she would be able to follow through with it. Could she take a life, even one as odious as Emperor Aryk’s? Despite her doubts, she’d have to find a way to do so.

Perhaps when the ultimate moment came, she could simply disconnect her emotions from her intellect long enough to perform the act and deal with any repercussions later. That was probably the best way to handle it and not dwell on the actual act to the point where she paralyzed herself and was incapable of following through with any action when she was given an opportunity to do away with him.

They led her into a large dining room, one so ridiculously big that she felt like she would need an intercom system to speak to anyone seated at the opposite end of the table. The guards led her to the end of the table already occupied, and she was certain the one sitting at the head was Emperor Aryk. He bore some resemblance to Prince Ysaak, though she thought Ysaak was far more attractive, and likely that was because of the kindness in his eyes that was completely absent from Aryk’s when he looked at her.

To his left, there was a Dazon male who looked to be in his late thirties, and she instantly recognized him from reports and debriefings. Despite her best intentions to remain composed and not reveal any negative emotions, she couldn’t help scowling at Jorvak Ha as he smirked in her direction, looking pleased with himself, as though he was the architect of the evening, and the reason she was there.

Technically, that was true, and she looked away from him to meet Aryk’s eyes again, struggling to hide any reaction at all, certain it would weaken her position if either man knew how disgusting she found both of them. Without waiting for assistance, which didn’t seem to be forthcoming anyway, she took a seat on the other side of the table from Ha, at Aryk’s side.

Both men eyed her without speaking for a long moment, and she wanted to squirm under their gaze. Ha was looking at her like she was a bug pinned to a board and about to undergo a trip to the microscope, while Aryk looked at her with blatant hunger and clear interest in her physical assets. She would expect nothing less from either one of them, but it was still unsettling to have them so blatantly staring at her and making no attempt to hide that they were doing so or try to shield their thoughts from their faces.

Somehow, she resisted the urge to fidget as she stared back at them coolly before reaching for a goblet of some clear fluid. She smelled experimentally, deciding it was probably some type of wine. Taking a cautious sip, she was surprised at how good it was. It blossomed on her tongue, with a hint of the sweet taste she had come to associate with Sash when she gave him oral. “This is delicious wine.”

“It’s from the dahlia fruit,” said Aryk. “A tree grows on my balcony, so when you’re in my room, you can help yourself freely.”

She barely hid a shudder at the thought and simply nodded, incapable of speech. The arrival of their dinner brought a welcome distraction, and though she didn’t recognize any of the food, nothing was unpleasant, and a purple gelatinous blob was actually delicious. She didn’t bother to ask what it was, deciding it was probably better not to know the answer. It looked like grape Jell-O mixed with snot, but the taste was far better than its appearance.

Conversation was stilted, and she found herself staring pointedly at her plate in an attempt to avoid looking at either one of them, because they were still visually dissecting her with different thoughts visible on their faces. It was the most uncomfortable meal of her life, and she was moderately relieved when Ha pushed back from the table, deciding it would be at least a little easier to deal with only one of them at a time.

“Present yourself in my office in the morning, Ms. Saunders. I need to conduct a full exam and ensure the nanotechnology is functioning properly. We need heirs as quickly as possible.”

She nodded once, stomach churning at the thought of subjecting herself to his examination. She saw no alternative, though she wished she’d had some advance warning.

“I don’t mind bedding her as many times as it takes to get an heir, Jorvak.” Aryk chuckled, though it was more of a lecherous hiss than an actual sound of amusement.

Jorvak looked indulgent as he eyed his friend, clapping the emperor on the back. “You’ll have plenty of opportunity to do just that, Aryk, but we have to ensure she really is your ideal genetic match.”

Aryk flashed her what she supposed was his charming smile. “I need no confirmation, because I felt the mating flare the moment she entered the room.”

That seemed to excite Ha and propelled another five minutes of conversation that reduced her to nothing more than a slab of meat there for the emperor’s amusement. She was steaming with anger by the time they finished speaking and Ha strode away. It was a struggle to contain it, along with the urge to slap Aryk across his leering face. He was an odious toad, and if she’d actually been here to marry him rather than assassinate him, she would have drawn the hair comb from her hair and plunged it through her own brain in that moment just to avoid such a fate.

“I believe I’ll retire too. It’s been a long day.”

As she started to get to her feet, his hand clamped around her wrist, holding her tightly so she couldn’t leave the table. She sat down again, attempting to maintain a calm expression. “Did you require something else, Aryk?” She refused to call him Emperor. Aryk was about as civil as she was going to manage.

“I wanted to tell you the mating ceremony is in five days and make sure you know what to expect.”

“I’ve seen some mating ceremonies. I know there’s a kursti involved, and we’re bound together for thirty-one hours.”

“Those are Earth hours. Here, that’s a Dazon day. And night,” he added with a creepy look at her, his voice thick with lust.

She nodded. “And night,” she agreed, doing her best to hide her disgust. “Was there anything else?”

He licked his lips as he tugged on her arm, clearly trying to ease her out of the chair. She pushed her full weight down into the seat, trying to ignore the sharp pain in her arm when he pulled more forcefully. “What are you doing?”

“I’d like a taste of what’s coming.”

She made a production of looking around the room, counting the guards as she did so. Fourteen stood at various points around the room, two just steps away from the emperor. She supposed the large number made sense, because he clearly had many enemies. If he was like this with everyone, she couldn’t imagine there was anyone besides Jorvak Ha who didn’t want to see him dead. “We have an audience.”

He seemed oblivious for a moment until she pointed at one of the sets of guards. Then he laughed. “They’re paid not to see anything, Jordan. They won’t care what we do.”

She tried taking her arm away. “I care. I’m not doing that in front of anyone. You don’t have them in your room at night, do you?”

He frowned. “Of course I do. We must be safe.”

There was no we about it. She shook her head. “I’m not sharing a marital bed with you and an audience.”

He tightened his hand around her wrist hard enough to make her whimper despite her efforts to hide any reaction. “You’re not really in a position to dictate anything, Jordan. You should realize that now.”

She wanted to keep resisting, but she knew it wouldn’t work with him. She didn’t know the emperor very well, but she could tell he was the type who liked imposing his will and feeling like the most powerful person in the situation. She tried softening her expression and her tone, going for different approach. “I would feel more comfortable and less inhibited if we didn’t have an audience. Surely you can understand that? I don’t know how it is for Dazons, but on Earth, husbands and wives keep their intimate business in the bedroom. Alone.”

He seemed to mull it over for a moment, and gradually his hand loosened from her wrist. “Very well. As a wedding gift to you, I’ll dismiss the guards for our wedding night. They can wait in the outer chambers.”

She nodded, allowing her expression to relax into one of gratitude. “Thank you for the concession. It’s such an adjustment, and your kindness makes it easier.” She nearly gagged on the words, but he seemed to eat them up. She wondered if he was as inexperienced as most Dazon males, and if so, could she use that to her advantage?

Either way, it was clear the time to kill him would be on their wedding night, when he finally released some of his guards and had his room empty, except for her. He would underestimate her. She knew that already, because he was made that way. He would and did regard her as nothing more than a weak human female, so he wouldn’t consider her a threat. Their wedding night would be his last night at all if everything went according to plan.

Jordan spent the next two days seeing as much of the planet as possible, though Aryk wasn’t her companion. She was actually relieved about that, much preferring the silent company of the guards who escorted her around, along with the older man who acted as her guide. The second day, she managed to avoid dinner with the emperor and Ha, pleading tiredness from a day of sightseeing, but she wasn’t so lucky the third day.

They were touring the dome city when she received a call on the wrist communicator provided to her the day before. She pressed the button, barely hiding a grimace when she saw Aryk’s face appear in the view screen. “Yes, Aryk?”

He seemed irritated. “Return to the palace immediately.” With that, he ended the connection.

She waited until the screen had gone dark before sticking out her tongue at him, giving in to the childish impulse. She looked up in time to see Stuv Grimm, her guide, smothering a smile. She didn’t think he would betray her lapse of manners to the emperor since he seemed amused by it. She gave him a small smile and shrugged. “I guess we need to cut short our tour.”

When they arrived back at the palace a half hour later, having negotiated traffic in the city rather than folding directly back to the palace, she discovered a familiar face surrounded by guardsmen she entered the throne room. “Damon, what are you doing here?”

Damon Connors nodded his head at her before turning a glare to the Emperor. “The ambassador assigned me to be your personal guard, and I’m here to ensure your safety.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she shot an uncertain look at Aryk, who seemed irritated, but not enraged. “How did you get here?”

Damon snorted. “I folded in a ship, Ms. Saunders. I didn’t sneak in, and it’s not an act of aggression or war. I’m simply here to do my job.”

She looked at Aryk. “Is that acceptable, Aryk?”

He seemed to consider the matter for a moment. “Everyone leave us, except for the guards. I need to discuss this with my bride.”

Damon looked like he wanted to argue or struggle as the small group of Dazon surrounding him crowded closer, herding him to the door. She caught his gaze and shook her head slightly, and his stiff posture relaxed slightly. He stopped passively resisting and started walking with the others.

Once the door to the throne room had closed, she turned back to Aryk. “I hope you’ll allow Damon to stay. He’s my guard.”

The emperor crooked his finger at her, his expression unreadable.

The last thing she wanted to do was get closer to him, but she forced her feet to take her forward until she stood just a few inches from his throne. She couldn’t smother the cry of surprise laced with pain when he suddenly reached forward, grabbing her by her upper arms and pulling her onto his lap.

“Is he your guard, or is he your lover?”

His eyes shone with possessive madness, and she knew if she didn’t convince him, he would kill Damon. “Honestly, he’s my guard. He was with Ambassador Williams when she visited your planet. He’s usually her personal guard, but under the circumstances, I guess she thought I would be safer with Damon as my guard.”

He looked petulant. “Do they really think my bride needs to be protected from me?”

Undoubtedly they thought so, because it was true. Of course she had better common sense than to say that. She just shrugged instead. “We don’t know you, and we’re not clear about your intentions. We’re all cautious in the situation.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I offered peace to your mother. Doesn’t that show my good intentions?”

She stifled the urge to roll her eyes somehow. “Of course it does, but the peace has to last before people will relax and be assured we’ve formed a truce.”

“Very well.” His lower lip protruded slightly, and he truly appeared to be pouting. “I suppose your human guard can stay, though he should surely realize he’s no match for one Dazon, let alone my entire Royal Guard.”

She nodded, conceding that point.

“Of course, a favor this generous requires a token of gratitude.”

Her stomach churned with nausea, and she tried to keep her expression impassive. “What sort of token?”

“A taste of our wedding night to come.”

She followed a lump of moisture in her throat. “You would like a kiss?”

“For starters.” With that, his head descended, and he trapped her against him with one hand buried in her hair. She thought about resisting, but she was afraid the hair comb would be disrupted, and that could prove disastrous. He mustn’t realize it had been turned into a weapon.

Instead, she forced herself to remain relaxed even when his mouth covered hers in an urgent, hungry kiss that made her want to vomit. He tasted wrong, his sweetness so bitter it made her want to choke. When his tongue pushed its way into her mouth, she barely held in the urge to gag. She kept her mouth open, but she couldn’t actively engage in returning the kiss she didn’t want. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice the difference, though he was breathing heavily, and his erection poked into her thigh when he lifted his head a moment later.

He licked his lips. “You taste delicious.”

She managed a wan smile. “May I go tell Damon the good news?”

He laughed. “I don’t think you’re done expressing your gratitude yet.” With those words, he took one of her hands in his as he used his other to press the button on his neck, rendering him naked, though he seemed unbothered by the fact there were guards surrounding them, and he was completely nude. She tried to tug her hand away as he brought it closer to his cock, certain she knew what he wanted. “We aren’t even married yet, Aryk.”

He laughed heartily then. “I have seen a few reports about your culture. All your women are whores, and I won’t be denied what you’d give anyone else now that it belongs to me.” He squeezed her hand hard enough to hurt as he brushed her knuckles against his shaft. “You have your choice, my prudish little empress. You can use your hand or your mouth, but you owe me for allowing your guard to live.”

The stark reminder of what was at stake made her nod in compliance, and she no longer resisted when he wrapped her hand around his cock, covering it with his own as he began to stroke himself, showing her how he liked it.

It took everything she had not to reveal how disgusted she was by the whole act as she held onto him, allowing him to do most of the work. It seemed to please him enough, and he was soon coming on her hand and his as well. Like Sash’s, his fluid was thinner and more translucent than human males’ seminal fluid, but that was where the resemblance ended. Mainly because she enjoyed this act with Sash, whereas it was a violation thrust upon her by Aryk.

When his shaft stopped spasming, he released his hand, and she pulled hers away, whimpering again when he caught it in his, bringing her fingers to her own mouth and forcing her to taste him. She nearly threw up, and she couldn’t quite hide her grimace.

He frowned at her. “Don’t you like the way it tastes?”

Sensing she was on dangerous ground, she struggled to hide her repulsion. “It’s interesting. Very sweet…almost too sweet. It’s slightly bitter even.”

His troubled expression faded, and he seemed indulgent again. “You’ll soon adjust to the taste. I hear it’s quite addictive for human women. Soon, you’ll be begging for the honor of sucking my cock.”

Over her dead body. If for some reason her assassination attempt failed, Jordan vowed right then and there she’d end up killing herself before she allowed the emperor to make her his wife and keep her as his prisoner. The idea of sharing his bed was loathsome.

He patted her on the head, much like one would a child, and smiled. “Now go deal with your guard.”

She nodded stiffly as she slid off his lap, relieved when he donned his uniform with a flick of the button, hiding his nudity. She swore her hand burned where the cum remained, and the lingering taste of him in her mouth made her want to puke. Even knowing it was a psychological reaction didn’t help control it. She maintained a steady pace until she was out of his sight, and then she ran to the room assigned as her quarters, vaguely aware of two of his guards trailing behind, always maintaining an exact, and she presumed predetermined, distance between her and them.

At least they didn’t follow her into her room, and as soon as the hydraulic door hissed open, she crossed the doorway and pressed the button to seal herself in. She went straight to the bathroom, scrubbing her hands with the hottest water she could stand before cleansing her mouth. Though the only taste remaining was faint cinnamon from her toothpaste, she still imagined she could feel and taste him lingering on her tongue, which prompted her to brush her teeth once more.

Finally, feeling somewhat clean after the encounter with Aryk, she returned to the sleeping chamber, planning to track down Damon and find out why he had risked his life to come after her.

She let out a startled cry when arms slipped around her, and a hand clamped over her mouth. She fought, trying to free herself from her assailant, before the familiar sensation of folding swept over her.

When she opened her eyes a moment later, she was no longer in the bedchamber assigned to her at the Dazon palace. Instead, she stood on an alien world, unlike anything she’d ever seen before. She was on a beach, with tall purple mountains in the background, and the water had a lavender sheen as it washed gently onto the orange sand. The sky overhead was a riotous mix of orange, red, and gold, and there were two suns in the sky.

Her abductor had loosened his hold, and she elbowed him in the solar plexus in an attempt to escape. When he grunted, she recognized his voice, having heard similar sounds from him before, though prompted from passion rather than pain.

In shock, she turned to face Sash, staring at him with openmouthed shock. “What are you doing here?” She threw up her hands and looked around. “What are we doing here, and where is here?”

“I’m rescuing you, and this is Outpost 182. It doesn’t have a real name, because we haven’t colonized yet.”

She blinked, shocked to see Sash, and even more startled by the words coming from his mouth. “You’re rescuing me? Are you out of your mind? Now they’re going to kill Damon.”

He shook his head. “Damon is aware of the risks, but he’ll be folding away early tomorrow morning. He figures they’ll keep him under observation that long, and he’ll have a chance to slip away when they realize you’re not in your room.”

She shook her head, overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her in the last hour. Her legs failed her, and she sank to the soft orange stand, touching it without thought. She let the granules fall through her hands, appreciating how soft the sand was. Everything about the place was beautiful, including the smell. There was a hint of what she would call tropical flowers in the air, though she didn’t know what alien substance actually made the scent. It was a paradise, but it was also a prison. “How do you think this will help anything, Sash?”

He sat down beside her on the sand, his expression difficult to read. “I think it helps by freeing you from the necessity of mating with the emperor. We’ll find another way. I refuse to allow you to sacrifice yourself to him for the greater good.”

She bit her lip, deciding she had to tell him everything, so he’d understand why she needed to return. Before she could, he spoke again.

“I’ve been an idiot.”

Her head snapped up, and she looked at him in confusion. “What?”

He wore a rueful smile. “I was waiting for the mating flare, which is why I didn’t tell you how I felt. Even knowing the odds of feeling it were fairly improbable, I think I must have clung to the idea because I saw so many of my fellow Dazon experience it.”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, Sash, but now isn’t the time.”

He put his finger against her lips, silencing her gently. “It’s the perfect time, because it might be the only chance I have to tell you if we’re caught. I love you, Jordan. You’re my mate, and I don’t need the mating flare to tell me that.”

She could feel her resolve weakening in the face of his confession. “But you didn’t feel the flare.”

“I won’t either. I had Dr. Wy scan my latrael gland, and it’s shriveled to the point of uselessness. I’ll never feel it. I’ll never be guided by my shea. That part is a dead function in me. I have to rely on how I feel, and how my mate makes me feel. There’s no other woman that could ever make me feel the way I do for you. I won’t lose you to Aryk, and I won’t let you risk your life trying to create a peace he’ll never honor.”

She forgot her good intentions when he reached for her, pulling her into his arms. She was wearing one of the garments from the closet, so she didn’t enjoy the ease of removing her uniform the way he did, with a flick of a button, but with his assistance, she was soon as naked as he was.

He kissed her deeply, and she reciprocated, wrapping her arms around him as she caressed his tongue with hers, enjoying the connection. This felt right, and it was so different from the horrible kiss Aryk had inflicted upon her. She could feel a difference in Sash’s touch too, more certainty and no distance. He was clearly giving his all, having removed the last emotional filter between them.

She kissed him hungrily, allowing her mouth to move down his body, and Sash didn’t resist when she pushed him backward, straddling below his knees as she positioned her mouth to take possession of his shaft. It was a familiar act, but it seemed new and different. Through the knowledge that she was his mate, and he loved her, everything seemed new and different, as though they had never done this before.

She revised that opinion when she began to suck him with the familiar motions, knowing what suction he preferred, and reveling in his familiar moans of delight. Their shared love enhanced the familiarity, which was what made it new and exciting. It was always exciting with him though, and she moaned her own satisfaction as he twitched inside her mouth, coming down her throat with his familiar sweet taste.

He had barely finished coming before he flipped her onto her back, his mouth moving to her breasts, sucking her in just the way she liked. She buried her fingers in his hair, holding him against her as she contemplated what it would be like to have this for the rest of her life. She’d be happy here on this private Eden, and for that moment, she was tempted to stay.

Sash’s mouth moved lower, seeking out her core, and his tongue slipped inside her folds as he returned the favor. She moaned and arched against his mouth as he found her sensitive spots, having learned her preferences during the weeks they had been lovers. It didn’t take him long to coax her to climax, and she cried out his name as she clung to him, her thighs tightening around his face as she exploded in her passion.

She was still coming down from the haze when he lifted her into his arms, striding into the water. She let out a small gasp at the warmth as it swept over her, surprised to find the substance felt more like silk than any water she had ever been in. “This is amazing.”

“Not as amazing as you.”

It should have been a cheesy line, but his sincerity made it the tender gesture it was meant to be. She kissed him again as she wrapped her thighs around his waist, reaching between their bodies to find his shaft to guide into her. He surged inside a moment later, and she clung to him like velvet, as though he was made to fit perfectly inside her. It was always like that with them, but this time, it was even more intense, and their connection felt deeper than ever as she looked into his eyes while he cradled her buttocks, providing support as he thrust in and out of her.

She matched his pace, hands holding tightly to his shoulders as she strained against him, feeling as though she could never get enough. It couldn’t have actually been, but it felt like hours that they stayed in the water, making love and straining to reach fulfillment. She lost track of the number of orgasms she had, realizing that at some point they were just blending into each other, creating a sensual blur of pleasure as they both climaxed multiple times.

Eventually, exhaustion wore her down, and she slumped against him with her last orgasm. He held her tightly in his arms before emerging from the water and placing her on the beach. A soft cloth appeared a moment later, and he wiped away the water, leaving her dry. She could barely keep her eyes open, and when she looked up at him, she saw he was in a similar state. Their lovemaking had worn them both out, and when he directed her to a shelter he must have arranged before bringing her here, she crawled inside gratefully, collapsed on the mattress, and slept deeply as soon as he was beside her.