Page 21 of Radakk's Mate
“What? Why?” Agitation threads her tone.
“Because my duties as emperor will keep me away from you for long periods of time. In my absence, I want to ensure you are well.”
“That’s a little invasive, don’t you think?”
“You are about to become my mate, little spy. I own you and I wish to ensure my property remains unharmed.” My words are scathing to my own ears, but I don’t take them back. It’s important that I keep her safe and breed her quickly. If our union fails to produce a male child, my leadership will be challenged.
Thalia shoots me a scornful look.
“The bio monitors also contain a tracking device that will allow me to locate you should you ever go missing.” I sit down beside her and start to place my arm around her shoulders, but she pushes me away and jumps to her feet.
“I am not your property.” She crosses to the other side of the sitting room, then spins to face me, her eyes flaming with fury. “And I will not allow you to track me. I deserve to have some freedoms, don’t I?” The disdain in her voice is shocking. In all my life, I’ve never heard a Darrvason female speak to her mate with such hostility. I knew human females would be different, but this level of defiance is unsettling. Completely improper for an empress.
I rise to my feet and approach her, backing her against the surface of the viewscreen. Tension crackles between us. I place my hands on either side of her, caging her in. “You will watch your tone when you’re speaking to me, Thalia. A female’s mate is her master. You will obey me in all things or suffer the consequences. The bio monitors stay on. You need a special device to remove them anyway—a device I don’t keep in my quarters.”
“I’ll find a way to remove them.”
Dark suspicions form in my mind. Why is she so averse to being monitored and tracked? Is she planning to conceal something from me? Planning to hide from me?
“If you attempt to remove the monitors, little spy,” I say, putting my face level with hers, “I will punish you severely. Do you understand?”
“Oh, I understand perfectly.” Her flippant tone draws a growl from my throat.
I grasp her hand and lead her away from the viewscreen, deciding we’ve talked enough. “Come. It’s time.”
“Time for what?”
“Time to consummate our union.”
Chapter12
THALIA
Trepidation floods my senses.Not for the first time, I wish I could go back in time, three weeks to be exact, and stay the hell away from the docking bay. I didn’t have the best life on theJansonna, but my chances of obtaining freedom were a whole lot better before I became thepropertyof a highhanded alien admiral.
I still can’t believe he’d outright announced that I belong to him.
And shit… I’d lost my cool. Sweet, obedient, and submissive? Not so much.
I remind myself of what’s at stake.
If Captain Warren doesn’t believe I’m making Emperor Radakk happy, there goes my chance of learning what happened to my mother.
Still, I’m distraught over the bio monitors. Escaping my mate was already going to be difficult, but now I fear it’ll be impossible.
Unless I can find a way to remove the monitors without that special device he mentioned…
My hands tremble as he guides me into a massive bedroom.
Oh God. This is it.
He’s going to claim me like a barbarian. Thrust between my thighs with his dual shafts. Fill me with his seed.
Despite my nervousness, heated quivers leave me breathless and achy. I don’t understand how I can crave his touch when everything about him scares me.
He's a stranger. A stranger who wants to breed me. Force me to have his heir and who knows how many spares. I want no part of it. And yet, I don’t have a choice.
What if I get pregnant before I manage to escape? Or even more terrifying, what if I give birth first? Having children was never in my life plan, but I can’t imagine leaving one behind. Not when my mother did the same thing to me, even if she didn’t mean to.
