Page 29 of Dark Prince's Captive

I’ve always wanted to know what sex was like, but a roll between the sheets wasn’t in the cards for me.My medical conditions required every bit of my energy just to survive.I hardly had an appetite for food, let alone for sexcapades.

In my wildest fantasies, I dreamed about doing it backstage with the bad boy drummer of a rock band.He had a floppy fringe that fell over blue, tormented eyes and a self-assured smile with a slight hint of a smirk that said he could kiss—reallykiss—and he knew it.

Losing my V-card to a dangerous man with superpowers who claims to be my mate has never entered my sex fantasies.

Nowthatis scary.

And annoyingly hot.

But no.

Getting jumped against a wall in the smoky shadows of a stage with no strings attached is one thing.Being bound to a man who demands vows on the first date is a whole different ballgame.

“And then?”I ask in my best bartering voice.“If I agree to fuck you, will you let me go?”

Ferocious anger flashes across his features.It doesn’t replace the scorching hunger of earlier but rather adds to it, making a dangerous cocktail of simmering emotions.

With a gruff edge to his voice, he delivers the verdict.“Never.”

Oookay.See?That’s what I was worried about.

I retreat, forgetting about the mirror behind me until my back collides with the smooth, cool surface.“I’m flattered that you believe that’s what you want, but that’s not what I want.”

“What we want is inconsequential.The physical call of a mate’s bond is impossible to resist.”

“Then it’s lucky for me that we’re not mates.”

“The longer we wait, the harder it’ll be on both of us.”

“I don’t even know how I got here or what I’m doing here,” I say in exasperation.“One minute, I saw a circle of lights, and the next, I was in a jungle with the lizard dudes—I mean, the Phaelix.”

At the mention of the Phaelix, Aruan’s eyes gleam with undisguised violence.“They brought you here via a portal and then tried to hurt you.They got what they deserved.”

Being melted alive?Yeah, okay.I guess empathy and remorse aren’t high on my so-called mate’s list of traits.Though I don’t exactly disagree with him after what those monsters almost did to me by the river.

“Why did they bring me here?”I ask, shaking off the awful memory.“Was it really to sell me as a slave?”

It seems so primitive and unnecessary for beings that can open portals between worlds.Then again, the Phaelix seem to live in the jungle amid giant caterpillars, so they don’t come across as all that advanced.Neither do my current humanoid captors, come to think of it.I’m getting distinct Middle Ages vibes here… crazy powers excluded.

The brutality in Aruan’s gaze grows to epic proportions.“Probably.There’ve been rumors of Earth slaves among the Phaelix.”

How lovely.“The people on the barge… What’s going to happen to them?”

“I told them they were free to go.”

“Go where?If they’re from Earth…” I trail off, staring at him expectantly.

Maybe there’s a station or something where a portal to Earth is always open.Or where someone is available to open one.

If so, that’s where I’m hoofing it as soon as I get out of here.

He shrugs, like he doesn’t know or care.

I grit my teeth.“Couldyouhave sent them back?”Doeshehave the technology?

He shakes his head.“Not just anyone can create a portal to Earth.It requires a particular, very strong power.”

A power, not a technology then.“And that’s not your power,” I say, making a calculated guess.

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