Abducted by the Star Prince (Lords of Astria) (3 page)

He put a hand to her belly, closing his eyes and feeling the fertility there. The image of her womb came to his mind. It was beautiful and tight in there... she had never borne a child, and she’d had very few sexual partners. Even though she was a bit past her peak fertility, she’d be able to conceive quickly with Astrian seed, perhaps even bearing him twins. He could sense that two eggs were ready to release in the next two days. In spite of himself, he smiled.

Suddenly, the woman sat up, pushing hard against his hand. She tried to tear at it, shunning his touch, but he kept his hand on her. If she thrashed too much, she would undo the medical work. She tried to rip the oxygen mask away, her voice coming out in animalistic screams.
 

Poor, weak Terran. She has no idea what she’s doing. If she breaks out of her oxygen mask, she’ll undo what healing she’s received so far
. He held her down, gently but firmly. The little human could bear to be without her oxygen mask now, but he wouldn’t have her tearing it away. The woman ripped at her face, clawing at the slim metal mask. With his free hand, he reached up and pressed the mask on its side. It drew away, coming off easily in Kester’s grip.
 

The woman glared at him fiercely. Her eyes were a color he had never seen before -- a deep green with a blue about the pupils. Most of the people of Gemna and Delma were golden in tone -- both in hair and in eyes. This woman was golden of hair, but it was so light that it veered toward white instead. And her eyes... He kept his hand on her tiny body, holding her down as he put the mask back on the shelf. Before he could explain himself, she began babbling in a language he had never heard before. It was disturbing... the sound of it harsh and foreboding to his ears. He lifted away, trying to sign with his hands for her to be quiet until he found the language chips.
 

With a mighty roar, the tiny woman leaped onto him, knocking him down in the low gravity of his ship. She ran toward the captains chair, stopping for a long moment as she looked out of the window. Behind them was the ship she’d come from. She fell to her knees, clasping a hand to her chest. Kester watched her calmly, keeping his eyes on her. Right now, she was trying to process what had happened. For now, she was like a wild animal, cornered. Perhaps even dangerous. Even if she couldn’t physically overpower him, she could hurt herself.
 

Kester felt a surge of protection, watching her little body... and those big green eyes. She looked back at him, her face questioning. She spoke again, her language a harsh garble. He held up his hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture, not breaking eye contact with her as he stepped back to the ship’s shelves and retrieved two ear chips that would make them able to understand each other’s languages. He was glad the old ships came equipped with them. He’d never have thought to bring them himself. He would never have
wanted
to converse with a Terran woman.
 

He retrieved the chip and fit it into his ear, trying to gesture to her that it would help them talk to one another. She backed away, falling into the captains’ chair. He approached her again, trying to calm her. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, projecting an image deep into her mind. If he couldn’t speak to her, perhaps her weak brain would be able to pick up his signals. It was his only chance of getting her to accept anything from him.
 

Nadia

The space station expanded out behind them, and the ship blasted forward, away from Earth and heading out towards Mars. Well, not technically towards Mars. If she wasn’t mistaken, the ship was headed out to the asteroid belt. For what reason? And what the hell was this ship? An illusion? Something she’d dreamed in her state of near death? Or was it taking her to heaven... a spaceship guided by the tallest, sexiest man she’d ever seen. His muscles were perfectly visible beneath his thin shirt… each tiny detail showing off how cut he was.

“Where the hell are we? And why can I still see the space station? Am I actually dead?” She started to cry and hung her head low. The man didn’t seem... well he didn’t seem quite like other humans. She’d have banked on the spaceship trip to heaven if everything around her didn’t feel so real. The ship itself was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The controls weren’t visible, but she was betting they might be hidden beneath the surface of the smooth black expanse that sat under the large window of the ship. So foreign... so
alien
.
 

And the man, he was taller and more muscular than any man she’d ever seen. There was something strange about his proportions, as if his body was adapted to live in much lower gravity. But it couldn’t be. “Who... who are you?” She looked at him again, and he stepped forward, trying to show her a tiny chip that he’d slipped in his ear. She shrunk back and fell over one of the sleek chairs that faced the window, a searing pain shooting through her arm. Nadia tried to move the limb, to shake it out, but it was immobile, pressed against her body as if it were in a sling.
 

She glanced back at him, her face hopeless and sad. He didn’t seem to understand the words she was saying. She closed her eyes and wept again, thinking back to the accident at the ISS. It was
his
ship that had done this. It was he who had taken her away. Suddenly, a vision seemed to intrude in her mind. In her mind’s eye, she saw the man put the chip in his ear, and he spoke. In the vision, he gave the chip to her, and she put it in her ear. She was able to understand his words.
 

She put her hands to her temples, shaking away the images. A sick, twisting feeling hit her gut. This was technology that was far beyond what humans were capable of. And that meant... she shook the words away. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. Tentatively, she reached out her hand and gestured for the tall man to give her the chip. She had a heady feeling, swaying back and forth as she stood. He placed the chip in her hand and immediately stepped back again, giving her a wide berth.

Smart
, she thought.
He at least wants me to think he’s not a threat. But is he?
She glanced over his body, wondering at his muscles. He was sleek, but obviously very strong... perfectly built, but perfectly built for
what
? She shook off the feeling she’d had before – that he was built for low gravity – and slipped the thing into her ear. Nadia gasped. The device seemed to merge with her skin, expanding over her ear canal and blocking out her own ear drum. A wave of nausea hit her again. Was it worse that the man had sent her an image of what the tiny chip would do, or that she had blindly accepted it, believing him instantly? It could be monitoring her brain for all she knew. Still, she spoke, still huddled against the captain’s chair.
 

“Who are you? Where am I?” Her voice trembled, and he stepped closer. She cowered against the chair, wondering if this chip did indeed do what he’d shown her. Or if it was a brain-monitoring device... it was too gruesome to consider.
 

“I’m Prince Kester of Delma and the Lanids, Lord of Astria and heir apparent to the Lanid Empire.”
 

“What in God’s name...” She closed her eyes, her brain almost going blank and tipping into darkness again. Bile rose in her throat. There had never been any contact with alien life. There had never been any response from the radio satellites orbiting the planet. Trips to Mars had turned up nothing but dust, and the rumors of alien contact on Earth were all unfounded. Weren’t they?
 

“Stay calm, little human. I know this is a lot to take in. I’m not taking you for my mate... but I am taking you to Astria for medical treatment.”

“Your
mate
? No, no no,” she muttered to herself. “This can’t be real. I can’t be trapped on... what the ever-fucking-hell... on an alien spaceship. And he’s taking me as his mate. His mate.” She backed up further, cramming her body behind the chair to put distance between herself and the man. She looked at him, her eyes roaming over his body, considering him.
 

What the fuck
? she thought, her mouth going completely dry. There was a longing, a draw to him, reaching out from the core of her being. She shook her head as if to ward him off, to make him disappear from her consciousness.

“I said I
wasn’t
going to take you as a mate. You’re not the kind of woman a prince takes for a mate, and besides, I never wanted a Terran anyway. It was my father’s idea. You humans are so sensitive. I will get you healed and get you back to that clunky metal house that orbits your silly blue planet.”
 

“What’s wrong with me as a mate?” Nadia stood shakily, her voice angry. She sat back in the chair. “There are plenty of men who would want to mate with me. I’m an
astronaut
.” What was she saying? Why was she defending herself to this man? And what in the
hell
did he mean about taking a mate in the first place?

“
Now
you want to mate with me?” Prince Kester of the Lanids chuckled, a melodious sound, sweet and intoxicating to Nadia’s ears. “I’ve had many Astrian women, but none as small as you, Terran. I’d try it, but it would leave you quite sore... and likely pregnant. You are due to ovulate soon.”

“How...” Nadia put her hand to her belly, centered over her womb. “I take birth control pills. I can’t... That’s not... how in the hell would you know that anyway? Fuck me, I can’t be ovulating.” The tall man looked at her quizzically.

“You want me to... fuck you? From the chip that sounds like a crass word for mating. You keep bringing it up, so perhaps I should. I could give you a sedative that would render you able to take my size.” He stepped forward, a grin on his face. Was he
joking
with her?
 

“No, God no. It’s just an expression. And I’m not ovulating. And furthermore, I’m
not
going to your planet for medical treatment.” She’d just met this man — this alien — and he was joking with her. Maybe even
flirting
with her.
 

“Galaxy,” he corrected. “Astria is a galaxy. I’m from the dwarf planet Delma, of the Gemnian race of people. My father is King of the Lanids, the rich asteroid belt in our star system. I’d be taking you to the first planet with adequate medical facilities.” He stepped closer to her again. Nadia stepped backward and sat down in the chair, her head pulsing.

“I’d be able to get medical treatment on the space station. I need to be back with my people, and I need to be back at my job.” She huffed and shifted in the chair, another jolt of pain searing through her arm.

“The space... station? You mean the clunky metal house? That bizarre thing? There’s no doctor who could adequately treat you.” He was right. There were some astronauts with basic medical knowledge, but for the kind of care she needed, she would need to return to Earth ahead of schedule.
 

“How do you know? There could be a whole load of doctors.” The alien man sighed. Nadia thought she could see his muscles rippling. She felt a pinprick of desire, a tiny fire that hadn’t been there in years.

“I scanned the lifeforms on this ‘space station’ and found that none of them are trained in the medical profession. Besides, the medicine in Astria is far more advanced than Terran medicine. You could be healed in a matter of minutes.” He gave her an amused look. “And from what I can read in your mind, it doesn’t seem like you enjoy your people very much either. But I do understand about your job. And I will return you. Like I said, I’m not in the market for an Earthling mate.

“Okay. Well, I still don’t know if you’re abducting me or taking me somewhere I can’t escape from, or if you’re going to eat me or what. And don’t look inside my mind. I’m not sure I even believe you can do that. That’s… that’s insane.” Kester laughed, a deep melodic sound.
 

“Eat you? For food?” Kester laughed out loud. “Never. Though I would be tempted to taste you if there’s any of this ‘fucking’ you’re talking about.” He smiled again, broad and genuine and somehow tempting to Nadia’s brain. She felt herself grow wet at the thought of the alien’s tongue on her. How long had it been since she’d felt the touch of another human’s body? A year. Perhaps over a year. Nadia gulped. It
was
tempting to go see another planet... another whole galaxy. And it would be alongside this alien prince… she had to admit, he was a damn sight better looking than Dmitri. She’d have a hell of a tale to tell when she returned to the ISS.

“How... how long would it take to get there? You say this is another galaxy. Are you sure of what that actually means? Don’t you mean another solar system?”

“Solar... system? Like a few planets that orbit a star? No, this is another galaxy. The closest to Spiral Galaxy A549. ‘The Milky Way,’ I think you might call it.” Nadia’s head spun. That would take years... a century. Multiple centuries. She’d be dead and gone... or everyone she knew would be.
 

“That’s not possible! Take me back now. I can’t travel with you. Everyone I know will be gone. The time... How in the hell... How does this ship travel?” Panic rose in Nadia’s chest. There was a hard pull between her curiosity and her desire for safety. The alien laughed again, oblivious to this emotion.

Even if he can read my mind,
she thought
, he doesn’t understand how terrifying this is for me.
She sighed and watched him, observing his arrogance. He was used to traveling between galaxies like she was used to driving a car.

“It’s a network of wormholes. You humans are thousands of years away from discovering how to use space travel. We would arrive back in whatever time you wished. Even seconds before my ship passed by the space station, if you desire. You Terrans have such a paltry understanding of time.” He waved his hand, and the ship seemed to respond, speeding up so that stars hurtled by in a flash. Nadia crossed her arms and scowled. Her mind leapt and bubbled with the information... how could she refuse? Well, it didn’t seem she could
actually
refuse. The ship was speeding towards Mars and the asteroid belt at an unprecedented speed, a speed she’d never seen. And it was
gaining
speed.