to the bed, blindfolded her, and teased and tasted her for hours before letting her come. And he never let her forget that he found her beautiful and sexy and gorgeous and perfect just the way she was.
Contrast all that with Douglas’s once-a-week pump, squirt, roll over and snore routine, and there was no contest.
Alli tried to imagine her life if she stayed with the big Kru’ell One—living in his floating space fortress, eventually having a baby—maybe more than one. But how would she educate them? What kind of life would this be for a child?
Humans were a subjugated race in this universe—would her children also be subjugated or would they have the status of their father? And could she really allow herself to love a member of the race who had taken over the entire Earth and made humans into their slaves and concubines?
She wanted to broach these ideas with Kane, but before she could, he read her thoughts.
“It would never work, baby,” he murmured, looking into her eyes and shaking his head ruefully. “You can’t stay with me. My kind don’t bond. We can’t.”
Alli frowned. “Can’t or won’t?”
“We don’t,” he emphasized. “The Overlord has forbidden it. And there are…other reasons as well.”
“What reasons?” Alli insisted, frowning,
Kane shook his head. He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke, he didn’t answer her question.
“Because I can’t bond with you, I would eventually have to take another concubine to feed on. You would hate me for that. And you can’t leave your normal life and your work for me. You’d be unhappy eventually and hate me even more for taking you away from everything that you know.”
“I suppose so.” Alli looked down at her hands. She hadn’t thought about the possibility of the two of them staying together in such stark terms. Hadn’t understood all the obstacles in the way. “I guess I thought I was different from your other concubines,” she said, still not looking at him. “I hoped I was special to you.”
“You are—so damn special!”
Kane lifted her chin, looking intensely into her eyes. For a moment the mirror sheen of his own flickered and Alli thought she saw Kane—the real Kane—looking back at her instead of just reflecting her face and her desires.
“Alli,” he said roughly. “I don’t want to let you go…but I have to. Please, try to understand.”
“I understand.” She looked away, not wanting him to see the tears that were stinging her eyes. “It’s fine. I need to go back anyway. I…” She lifted her chin. “I’m getting married soon. Well, if Douglas still wants me when I get back.”
“He’d be a fool not to,” Kane growled, his eyes flashing. “Gods, I hate sending you back to that idiot. He doesn’t deserve you!”
“Well, you don’t want me—not permanently, anyway,” Alli snapped her hurt and sorrow turning to anger. “What am I to you, Kane—just a meal? And once you’ve finished with me you’ll go looking for some other woman to feed on?”
His face hardened.
“That’s how my kind live, Allisandra. It’s the only way there is for us.”
“Fine.” Alli disengaged from him and climbed off his lap. “Well the buffet line is over—here at least. I’m done with this.”
Kane gave a short nod.
“We only have a few days until I have to take you back anyway. If you’re not pregnant by now, I doubt there’s anything more I can do about it.”
His words made Alli put a hand to her belly. Was she carrying his child? And how would Douglas react to the news that she was pregnant if, indeed, she was? How could she explain to her fiancé that she was having another man’s baby? He hadn’t wanted to be a father to any children of his own—Alli was certain he wouldn’t want to raise one that had been fathered by another male.
She shook her head.
I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, it’s time to cut this off—time to start getting over Kane. Otherwise it’s going to hurt so much worse when he takes me back to my own world.
As always, Kane seemed to know her thoughts.
“That’s fine with me, Allisandra,” he told her, his face as hard as granite. “If you want to spend our remaining days apart, be my guest.”
“Don’t you mean be your captive?” Alli shot back. “Isn’t that what I am?”
“Think what you want,” Kane growled. He rose from the Breeding Chair and fastened his trousers as he spoke. “I’ll see you at Last