“Enough, Galan. I have made my decision. I am sorry, human, but you will be returned to your own planet tomorrow morning,” Quill said.
“Galan, take the human to the west wing of the castle. We will place her in one of the empty living quarters and post a guard outside of the room for the evening,” Teo said.
“No.” Quill leaned forward. “Return her to the infirmary and have Sigan hook her up to the gallberry serum for the night. Tell him to give her as much juice as she can drink as well.”
“Quill,” Teo said, “it is a waste. I have read Sigan’s report on the human. The cancer is throughout her body. A night of serum will not be enough to cure her.”
“I am aware, Teo,” Quill said. His gaze landed on me and for the first time I saw a flicker of compassion in his eyes. “Galan, return her to the infirmary and have one of your men stand guard outside of it.”
“I will stand guard,” Galan said.
“No,” Quill replied. “You will return to your quarters and get some rest.”
“Quill, I -”
“Enough, Galan,” Quill said. “Return the human to the infirmary and then retire to your quarters.”
“Yes, my king.”
Galan grasped my arm and he helped me to my feet. I bowed and said, “Thank you, uh, your highness.”
“You are welcome, little human. I am sorry your fate is such a grim one.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just nodded and followed Galan out of the room. His hand was still around my arm and he was walking so quickly that I had to jog to keep up with him. His tail flicked back and forth in the air in agitation and his green skin had darkened considerably.
“Galan,” I puffed, “can you slow down?”
He slowed, although his tail continued to cut through the air like a striking snake. “Sorry, human.”
We walked in silence for a minute or so before I looked up at him. “Thank you for your help.”
He snorted angrily. “I was as useless as a botakin.”
“What’s a botakin?” I said.
“A small creature who lives in the forest and has no purpose other than as a meal for the groden,” he said.
“What’s a groden?”
“An animal similar to your grizzly bear,” he said.
“Oh. You were helpful,” I said.
Frustration coloured his words. “I was not, human.”
“You were. I’m pretty sure the only reason the king is giving me gallberry serum tonight is because of you.”
“It will not be enough to cure you,” he said.
“I know. But it’ll probably give me a few more weeks, right?” I said. “That’s better than nothing.”
I meant what I was saying. Sure, it would have been fan-fucking-tastic to be completely cured of the cancer but when you were staring down the barrel of a three-month life expectancy, even a few extra weeks were a gift.
He stopped in the hallway and stared at me. I held out my hand. “Seriously, thank you.”
He shook my hand and the moment his rough warm palm pressed against mine, my nipples went hard and my brain went blank. I licked my lips, staring up at his mouth. God, he was so handsome. I’d seen plenty of Draax on Earth, but never one as good looking as Galan.
“Human?” Galan’s hand squeezed mine and dammit if my pussy didn’t go damp. “Are you all right?”
“You’re so pretty,” I said.
He blinked, surprise registering in his beautiful copper eyes. My face went a bright red. Oh my God, I just told this huge warrior alien that he was pretty. What was wrong with me?
Ask him if he wants to have sex. You’re gonna die anyway, right? Why not bang a smoking hot Draax before you do?
My inner voice made a very good point. Even if I somehow talked my way out of prison, I was dead in three months anyway. I should be living my life to the fullest and at this exact moment, living my fullest life meant finding out just how big Galan’s dick was.
“Human, are you all right?”
I took a deep breath. “I’m good. Galan, would you like to have…”
Ukana. Ukana. Ukana.
The words dried up in my throat and stuck like flypaper. What the fuck was I thinking? Galan would never sleep with me. No Draax would.
“Would I like to have what?” Galan said.
“Nothing. Never mind.” I tried to drop his hand, my breath catching in my throat when Galan tugged me closer. The heat of his body was like a drug and