Series: Zandian Brides Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
I learned that lesson once before.
I thought I found a mate, but she betrayed us all.
I won't let that happen again.
Not even when I find Sia and four other females nearly dead on a defunct planet.
Not when the lovely female is remanded to my custody.
She's not being honest about what she knows.
But with a little pressure, a little punishment, I might get her to talk.
Teach her to obey.
Find out all her secrets.
Because every human needs a master.
And I won't allow any other being to be hers.
Sia belongs to me now.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
Planet: Zandia
Sia
“You will answer to me from now on.” The Zandian warrior who rescued me from death smiles, but there’s a dominant glint in his gaze. It makes goosebumps race across my skin.
My new master clearly enjoys control.
I’ve never been a pleasure slave, but something about his gaze–or perhaps it’s the broad shoulders and purple skin–sends up a flare of desire.
Will he ask me to give him pleasure?
For some wild reason, I find myself hoping he will.
My body yearns for this powerful warrior in a way I’ve never wanted a male before. Ocretions–my previous master’s species–are disgusting slobs of creatures, but this horned male is exceptional. Fierce. Beautiful.
“After all, you yourself asked for me.” His horns seem to tilt in my direction.
“I did.” My memories since we were beaten by the Ocretions and left to die on a defunct planet have been hazy, but this I remember. I woke wanting only him. To feel his arms around me again. The touch of his large fingers on my skin. The deep, soothing rumble of his voice. My cheeks grow warm.
“So you’re mine for now. My job as your master is to protect you and help you heal. Keep you safe. Get your memory back. But also to ensure you acclimate to Zandia and accept your role here.”
He arches a smooth, almost hairless brow. “You will obey me. We are lenient masters here on Zandia, and allow our humans many freedoms. However, you are still under my charge.”
My belly flutters. Not from fear. From something new and different. “I understand.”
“Do you?” A smile tugs at his lips–a dark and dangerous smile.
My nipples tingle. What in the stars is going on with me? I’ve never felt this way before. “I’ll be obedient.”
“You will.” He chuckles, and my core clenches. “If not, Zandian masters have ways to keep our humans most compliant.”
For some reason, it doesn’t register as a threat. It registers as an innuendo. Teasing. Especially when he pauses and whispers into my ear. “You’ll see.”
The brush of his lips electrifies me. He has all of my attention now. It’s almost like we are tethered with some invisible electric jumper cables.
It’s almost as if he relishes the idea of punishing me.
My lips part. Inner thighs quiver. “What do you mean?” I’m melting. My body wants something I’ve never had. I not only like this new feeling, I crave it.
“We have unique methods to bond human to master,” he murmurs. “Don’t worry–most humans come to enjoy Zandian master methods as much as we do.”
He brushes his knuckle down the side of my face. “But for now, let’s figure out what you need to get back to full strength. Wait here.”
“Not that I have a choice,” I murmur. Where did that come from? I know better than to talk back to a master. But something in me wants to push his buttons. I don’t even know why–maybe it has to do with that feeling his lips sparked in my core. I want more of that.
“The correct response”–he takes my chin in his hand and holds it firmly–“Is yes, Master.”
I blink up at him. His grip is not painful in the least, but it’s masterful. Firm.
“Say it, Sia. I need your obedience immediately. Now. And every time I ask.”
Chapter One
One planet rotation earlier…
Sia
Pain explodes in my cheek.
The Ocretion guard’s warted face distorts with rage as he bends down. “Idiot slave. Why didn’t you tell us you weren’t the pleasure gift?” Laced in with the menace is a note of panic. “Now we’re missing the slaves we need. It’s your fault!” His foul breath washes over me like the soft tendrils of a bloated corpse. Like I’ll be, soon enough, if he doesn’t stop his attack.
“Please.” My voice rasps as my vision clouds. “We didn’t know. I’m sorry." He picked me out of the group to be the spokesperson, and I’m suffering because I can’t give him the answers he wants.
When he growls, my fear spikes. I improvise, “I’ll do better!” My throat is parched, but I squeak out the words, hoping to find the magic combination of sounds to make him stop hurting us. My earlier pleas: “Slaves go where we’re told,” and “You ordered us onto the cargo plane, so we went,” only brought punches to my face and kicks to my gut, so apologies are all I have.
“I can’t understand you.” His green-gray skin is mottled with boils–I can see it although my vision is narrowing, like I’m looking into a hole. He pulls his legs back, and I whimper and tuck myself into a ball, but the booted kick is to my head. “Please!” I wail, as white-hot pain flashes in my skull and sizzles down my neck to all my nerves. The implant must have loosened–he’s about to–
Suddenly I know what to say, and despite the pain in my head, I scream it: “Stop! I’m Alpha Two! An Experimental! We’re Alpha Two!”