Stolen by the Zandian - Renee Rose Page 0,11

to use my belt?”

The thought is enough to make my body come alive with pleasure. Disciplining this human is even more arousing than I’d expected.

“No.” Her voice is suddenly quiet. “I won’t do it again.”

“And?”

“What else do you want?” Her tone rises in frustration. “Should I somehow bring you the universe on a platinum platter?”

I smile. Oh, stars. What I wouldn’t do to own this little warrior and battle with her like this on a regular basis—of course, that’s a ridiculous thought. She’s not meant to be my mate. I’m going to deliver her right to Dr. Daneth and King Zander...once I get her back. That thought makes me uneasy. I expected a grateful human, happy not to be put into service by Ocretions. All the humans on Zandia are thrilled to be there.

This one, though? She already had plans to be free. Granted, I doubt she would have accomplished it without my help, but I’m not sure she sees it that way.

Well, setting her free isn’t an option. I wasn’t lying when I said she wouldn’t survive without a master. Humans are not a free species in this galaxy. Without a benevolent master, she’d live a far worse life.

Besides, If I don’t bring her back with me, I will certainly face serious consequences for going on this mission without leave, on top of my already precarious position with the king.

She moves her body and her taut breasts push into the side of my thighs. The nipples are hard, and I have the urge to ease her down and take one into my mouth.

“Say my name.” I bark the order.

“I forgot it. It wasn’t memorable.” She sniffs.

I grip a handful of her ass, squeezing roughly, then deliver, a nice sharp slap on her right cheek. “Yes, you do.”

“Khrys!” she squeaks. “Khrys.”

And suddenly the thoughts in my head change from just sexual to ones of protection. In an instant, just hearing her say my name brings up the fiercest protection instinct I have. I’d do anything to protect this little being from harm.

I rub her ass, soothing away the sting I inflicted. “Good girl.”

She squirms on my lap. I pull her up to a sitting position and check her lovely face. “I’m the only thing between you and that.” I point to the starship window, where the blackness of space is immense. One of my arms curls around her back, my hand strokes the place where hip meets thigh. “Look, there aren’t even any stars in sight here. You can’t survive right now without me. I don’t care how smart you are—you can’t operate this starship by yourself. You have nowhere to go. Attacking me would be death for both of us. Understand?”

She nods then breaks our gaze. “I understand.” She sags against me, and my body revels in the sensation of her soft skin against mine. “Just, for a second there, I thought maybe…” she shakes her head. “Never mind.”

“You thought what?”

“I thought maybe I had a chance to get away. That maybe my life could be different from what it was.” I can barely hear the words.

Guilt burrows into my chest. Humans lead such difficult lives in this galaxy. On my planet, it’s far better than anywhere else, but she couldn’t possibly know or believe that.

“It will be different.” I touch her chin. “Kailani.” Her name feels good on my lips. “I’m not going to do to you what your previous masters did.” I look into her eyes, so she can see my sincerity. “That I swear to you. I won’t withhold your medicine. No harm will come to you.”

She stares at me for a long minute. “Why did you take me?” Her voice is skeptical. “At such great personal risk.” She looks around the craft. “And with such priceless tech. Your planet must find me valuable in some way.”

Veck. She’s right, of course. And I don’t want to lie. But I also want her to trust me and my species more before I ask for her willingness to help.

I pause to find the right words to convince her. “Our planet needs humans.” I eye her carefully, gauging her response. “Our species is nearly extinct. Only a handful of females remain alive. But we’ve found human females to be the next closest match for mating.”

She stiffens. “I am not a breeding slave.”

“No, no, no. That came out wrong. Humans aren’t slaves on Zandia. Zandians on our planet take humans as mates.”

Her blue eyes grow round. She swallows. “You want