Page 23 of Royal Alien Mate

At least she would have an entire day to sort out her thoughts before she spoke with her parents again. After exhaling a deep breath, she eyed the door of Vaath’s chambers and decided to go in search of her mate. The door zipped open upon her approach and when she found him standing in the corridor, he stared at her with concern, as if he sensed her upset over the tense conversation she’d just shared with her parents. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her down the hallway, though he kept their pace slow. She supposed they were late for breakfast by now, but he wasn’t rushing her, and she appreciated his kindness.

“How did it go?” he asked just as they turned down another corridor.

“Not as well as I had hoped,” she admitted.

He grasped her hand. “I am sorry to hear that, sunshine. Is there anything I can do to help? It pains me to see you looking so sad.”

“Thank you, but I think this is something I need to take care of on my own.” In spite of her dark mood, she forced a smile, wanting him to understand she appreciated his offer of help.

They soon entered the noisy banquet hall and took their seats at the head table, where the king was already seated, as well as several of the Martians she recognized from the royal bunker. She was stunned by the hundreds of Martians in the massive room—she had never seen so many aliens in one place before. But as she looked around, she glimpsed over a dozen human women, too. There were even two Martian females seated on the far side of the hall.

Vaath followed her gaze and leaned down to speak directly into her ear. “I will introduce you to the females after you eat something, my sunshine.” He nodded at the plate a servant had just placed before her, prompting her to pick up a utensil.

Though the food was probably delicious, she didn’t taste much as she picked at her breakfast. She was too distracted and overwhelmed by all the activity in the room. Did all these people live inside the palace? She noticed most of the Martian males wore black, like the enforcers who patrolled the streets on Earth. Perhaps these were all the palace guards, as well as a few of their mates.

When she spotted a familiar face entering the hall, she felt both joy and relief. It was Faith, along with the green Martian who’d picked her up from the spacecraft yesterday. Vaath hadn’t yet told Esmay the name of the human woman who’d perished in the attack, though she knew it was one of the women she’d met on the journey to Mars. Though she grieved the loss of that woman, whomever she was, it was wonderful to know Faith was all right, and the sight of the brunette laughing at something her mate said brought Esmay hope.

If some humans and Martians could find joy in one another’s company, perhaps it meant the mating unions didn’t feel like forced marriages to most of the women. She snuck a peek at Vaath as he spoke with his father, admiring her mate’s strong masculine profile. She thought him the most handsome of all the Martians in the room. He was certainly the most powerful looking, with his bulging muscles, thick forehead ridges, and horns that were longer than most of the other males in the gathering. Her face heated when she realized she was practically ogling him and she quickly glanced away.

But his hand came to rest upon her leg and he gave her thigh a firm squeeze. A low rumble left his throat and when she turned to peer up at him, his nostrils were flared, his eyes black yet glimmering. She flushed hotter and resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. The first tingling of arousal was heating her core, all because she’d allowed her mind to drift and she’d started admiring him. Slight as the tingling was, he still detected her excitement.

“Hurry and finish your breakfast, my sunshine. I believe I am suddenly eager to be alone with you again.”

Chapter 17

After they finished breakfast, Vaath wanted nothing more than to escort his sweet mate directly back to his chambers. His blood heated with the urge to claim her once more. But he’d promised to introduce her to the human women who lived in the palace, so he set about honoring this promise first. He led her through the hall, pausing in front of each human-Marttiaxoxalian couple they came upon.

She took the time to learn each woman’s name. Some of the women got up to hug her and welcome her to the palace, while others shook her hand. One female in particular, a dark-haired woman named Faith, gasped with joy when they approached. Apparently, Esmay had met her aboard the spacecraft that had brought them both to Mars. It pleased him to see her making friends so easily with the other females in the palace. Even the two Marttiaxoxalian females, Tresma and Kariss, both of whom were married to palace guards, approached her to introduce themselves.

Perhaps if Esmay felt welcome here, she would begin to think of Mars as home, and in the wake of such happiness, mayhap her heart would open to him.

Vaath couldn’t deny the warmth he experienced whenever he looked upon his mate and he wondered if she yet harbored any affection for him. He knew she desired him sexually, which of course pleased him, but he longed to conquer her heart, to truly claim her as his.

Having her as his mate by law simply wasn’t enough. As he guided her out of the banquet hall, he considered how he might cause her to fall in love with him. It was a wildly romantic notion, one which he had never imagined concerning himself with when he finally took a mate, yet he was determined to succeed in this endeavor.

Once they reached the corridor that led to his chambers, he tugged her closer and then swept her up into his arms in a playful manner. His soul danced when she laughed and feigned trying to escape.

“Vaath!” She giggled again. “Put me down!“

He responded by holding her tighter and giving her a stern look as she struggled more fervently. The scent of her arousal, now heavy in the air, prompted him to growl and walk faster. When her slippers fell off her feet during her wiggling around, he didn’t pause to retrieve them from the floor. There was no time. His cock pressed to the front of his pants, hard and ready to sink into the sweetness between his mate’s thighs.

Moments later, Vaath carried Esmay into his chambers and called out a verbal command to seal the doors, as he didn’t wish for any interruptions, not even from a well-meaning servant come to clean his chambers or place freshly laundered clothes in the closets.

He set her down beside the bed and immediately divested her of the blue gown and her undergarments. Her breath caught in her throat and she trembled before him, even as the scent of her feminine essence filled his nostrils. Gods, but she was intoxicating.

Holding her gaze, he stepped back to remove his own attire. He tossed the garments upon the floor and reached for Esmay at once, desperate to assuage his need to claim her. Since this wasn’t her first time, he hoped to be a bit rougher with her, to pound into her faster and deeper than he had last night.

“My sweet sunshine,” he said, cupping her face.

He leaned down to kiss her, delving his tongue between her lips and causing her to whimper against his mouth.

Mine.You’re mine, and one day your heart will belong to me.

Not breaking the kiss, he guided her onto the bed and settled himself atop her, groaning at the feel of his hardness gliding through her slick nether lips. She was wet for him, and when she parted her legs wider without his encouragement, he gripped her hips and surged forward, pushing to the hilt in one rapid drive. She gasped into his mouth, only for him to kiss her harder.

Her needy moans spurred him to set a rapid pace of thrusting in and out of her. Sweltering in his desire for her, he finally broke their kiss, only to release a deep growl that made her eyes go wide. She leaned back upon the pillow, gasping for air as he continued the savage claiming.

Releasing one of her hips, he clutched her chin and forced her eyes to his. Her gaze was heated, though she also appeared surprised. Had his roughness shocked her? He breathed in deep, savoring the scent of the slickness between her thighs, the enticing aroma evidence enough that she was enjoying herself.

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