Page 15 of Kenan's Mate
Over six hundred souls had been aboard theStargazer, about half of them women. Though I hadn’t gotten to know any of them well, my heart aches for the horrible fate that has befallen them. I stare at Kenan as my throat constricts.
“Will some of them be hurt badly?” I ask. “The human females. Will any of them be killed if they aren’t…obedient enough?”
He shakes his head. “It’s forbidden to kill a female. In fact, the penalty for killing a female or causing her permanent damage is death. You will probably find this hard to believe, but we do treasure our females, our mates, even those from other alien races, like the humans.”
“You’re right. I do find it hard to believe.”
“By claiming you today, here on this bed, Laylah, you legally became mine. Until death parts us. Iwilltreasure you.” He takes a deep breath and for the first time since I met him, he appears vulnerable. “Idotreasure you. You aren’t Kleaxian, so you cannot feel it, but a bond has formed between us. You are my treasured mate, and I will spend the rest of my days caring for you.”
“You forced yourself on me, Kenan,” I whisper shakily.
“Would you rather I waited to claim you, so another Kleaxian male could challenge my ownership of you? Though my home is well protected, I did not want to take the chance. Once a Kleaxian claims his female, a light blue aura appears around her, which tells all other males to stay away. You can’t see it, because you’re human, but I can see it. You’re surrounded in a faint blue glow, Laylah, because you belong to me.”
I don’t know what to say, so I walk around him and crawl into bed. He tucks the covers up to my neck and gazes down at me with a tenderness akin to affection. Reverence, even. But, as soon as the emotion flickers into his eyes, he stands up and strides around the bed then slides in next to me under the covers.
His legs tangle with mine, so warm and so solid, and he props himself up on his elbow and reaches for my hair. But I stop him by touching my hand to his. I’m curious about his seven digits, and I thread my fingers through his and gaze intently at his hand.
“How many fingers do full Kle-Kleax …”
“Kleaxians. My mother was a Kleaxian princess.”
So it’s true. About him being a prince. Tearing my gaze from his hand, I peer into the recesses of his dark visage. “Do full blooded Kleaxians have seven fingers?”
When he shakes his head, his black wavy locks tumble over his shoulders. “Kleaxians of royal blood, like my mother, have eight fingers on each hand and eight toes on each foot. Kleaxians of the lower classes only have six. The half-human, half-Kleaxians can have anywhere from five to seven.”
I’m fascinated, and I want to know more about his people, but my eyelids grow heavier with each second. I cover a yawn and the urge to curl up against his chest falls over me.
But I can’t forget what happened the last time I was in this bedroom, and I draw away from him, wondering if perhaps I would be better off in the cage.
He stiffens.
“Laylah, you have nothing to fear if you obey me.”
“That’s not true. You said you would hurt me sometimes, simply because it pleases you.”
He strokes my hair behind my ears and his breath fans against my face like a soft, warm whisper. “Perhaps I didn’t choose my words very carefully at the time. I will hurt you sometimes, yes, for no other reason than it pleases me to redden your bottom or make you squirm and plead a little before I claim you, Laylah. But those aren’t the times you should fear me. Now, close your eyes and sleep. Tomorrow is a big day…the first day of your new life on Tallia.”
I open my mouth, preparing to ask about tomorrow, but his stern look silences me.
He draws me deeper into his embrace and my eyes flutter shut.
As the waves crash against the alien shore and the night insects buzz louder, I drift to sleep in the arms of my captor.
Chapter Seven
I awake to a knock on the door.
Blinking, I touch the bed beside me, discovering Kenan long gone; the sheets are cool. Sunlight spills in from the large window, illuminating the entire bedroom in a vibrant yellow-orange glow. Through the lush green trees, I spy the rising sun and a light-blue sky. The white, round ghosts of the twin moons rest beyond the sun.
Another knock sounds.
I sit up and clutch the covers to my chest.
“Come in!” I call, assuming it’s a servant. Kenan surely wouldn’t knock.
Heggal enters, balancing a tray of food in one hand and holding a dress in the other. He smiles and places the tray across my lap. He brushes his hand on my bare shoulder.
You must eat and dress, child. I believe Prince Kenan wants to take you to town.
