The Claiming of a Virgin King (5 page)

“
Lord Dragan?”

He nodded at the king’s question, and
realized then that if he had been smarter he would have waited
inside for the king to come to him, to put himself in that position
of power. But Dragan had been anxious ever since he had sent Lei
back to the coast to welcome the king onto land. There had been no
choice in that. Dragan would send messenger after messenger away,
but the king...there was no way he could have sent the king away.
Like or not thousands of humans now lived on the islands alongside
his own people and they still idolized their king. To turn him away
would be a great insult to them, and Dragan had no intention of
insulting people who were now under his care.

That was no way for a leader to
behave.

And so here they were…

The king smiled, looked around the
crowd then took a step forward. As he did so his advisors and
guards did the same. It was, Dragan thought, like watching a flock
of birds all moving together.

“
I am awed by the beauty
of these islands,” the king said.

Sighs of pleasure fell from those
surrounding them, and Dragan realized that was exactly what the
king had wanted to happen. He obviously knew how attached Dragan’s
people were to their new home, that they took pride in it, were
pleased that others thought it as beautiful as they did.

“
We have made them home,”
Dragan said.

“
You have tamed a barren
landscape.”

“
Not barren. There is life
and beauty in the most unexpected of places. Indeed,” he said
slowly, “sometimes that beauty is
very
unexpected.”

A pause and then, “I look forward to a
proper tour,” the king said. “To see as much as
possible.”

“
To experience all the
islands have to give?” Dragan asked.

The king nodded. “Of
course.”

He stepped forward then and held out a
hand. There was no way Dragan was not going to take it, both
because it was expected of him, and because he wanted to feel the
king’s skin beneath his. Part of him was also curious to know if
the king had picked up on the meaning behind his words, realized
that he was saying more than just what seemed, and by moving
closer, by gazing deep into his eyes, Dragan was sure he would be
able to tell.

“
It will be my pleasure to
conduct your tour,” he said, and waited…but then their hands
touched and Dragan forgot exactly what he was even looking for. A
familiar, but surprising, sensation sizzled along his spine,
wrapped around his belly, and moved all the way down to his cock.
It twitched in his pants, thickening from a rush of desire and from
something else entirely, something Dragan could not put his finger
on.

“
That would be
appreciated,” the king said, and though his eyes were lowered
Dragan’s cock thickened further still.

A moment later and the king pulled his
hand free. Dragan allowed it because he could see no way to stop it
then remembered what he had been trying to see. But it was too
late, the king moved back and Dragan had no choice but to gesture
to the door behind him instead.

The king nodded and moved
inside. His advisors and guards followed of course. Dragan had
expected that, and in a way that cheered him. Something
should
be as he expected
considering the king was not.

Still, Dragan had no intention of
speaking to the king surrounded by dozens of others. He wanted this
male alone, to see his reactions completely unadulterated by those
around him. To see what type of male he really was. More than that,
he wanted to look into his very blue eyes, to stand close to him,
to touch him again…

It was perplexing
just
how
much he
wanted that and Dragan almost halted on his way inside, trying to
work out why he was so suddenly so affected by this man. It was so
unexpected…so strange…but it was absolutely there.

An excitement.

An anticipation.

A
desire
.

He shook his head, continued on and
waited until they were all inside before gesturing to the greeting
room. “We can talk in here.”

The king nodded and moved forward,
once again his court followed.

“
No,” Dragan said. “I will
see the king alone.”

“
Unacceptable!”

Those words came from one of the
advisors directly behind the king, an elderly, pinch-faced man in
fact. The other advisor, a beautiful red-headed woman, remained
silent. Under any other circumstance Dragan would have enjoyed
looking at the female, would possibly even have considered bedding
her, as he had a particular affinity for the red-headed females of
this planet. But next to the king, next to the man who already had
Dragan shifting uncomfortably, she paled into
insignificance.

The king held all of Dragan’s
attention.

Again, Dragan was not sure what to
make of it.

“
It is more than
acceptable,” the king replied, silencing the other man with a quick
look. “Lord Dragan will ensure you are looked after.”

“
But—”

“
As you say, your
grace.”

The female’s words were
enough to silence the elderly man, and after a shared look with
her, the king walked into the greeting room. As he did so he pulled
loose his overcoat. Following behind him, Dragan could see that he
had been right. William’s form was
exactly
to his taste.

“
Show our guests to their
rooms,” Dragan said to Lei. “I will take care of the
king.”

Lei grinned and his other people
rushed to follow. Dragan knew that they would, and so closed the
door on them all with a satisfying thud.

“
Please take a seat,” he
continued, gesturing to the two chairs grouped around the crystal
fire. “Your people will be settled in no time. You have no need to
worry for them.”

The king draped his coat over one of
the chairs and sat down. “I don’t,” he said. “If I thought there
was any danger to me or mine, I would not have come
here.”

“
Despite the fact that I
am an alien?” Dragan asked.

The king,
William
, smiled at that.
His smile did something to his face that made Dragan’s cock thicken
again. “Despite that.”

“
I am surprised by your
visit,” Dragan said as he took the other chair, more to stop
himself gazing upon the king’s body than anything else. It would
not do him any good to have his interest known so soon.

“
I thought it…prudent not
to send another messenger.”

“
Because I have sent them
all away?” Dragan asked.

“
Precisely.”

“
Your father thought the
same thing once,” Dragan said, and he watched as William’s face
softened. He was glad to see that because the comment had been
designed to gauge the king’s reaction to the man who had sired
him.

“
Father came to see
you?”

Dragan nodded. “On three
occasions.”

“
To ask for your
aid?”

“
Yes.”

William shifted on his seat and Dragan
waited, because there was no avoiding the reason behind this visit,
and to Dragan’s mind the sooner they got to it the
better.

“
You did not give it,”
William finally said.

“
I did not,” Dragan
replied.

William frowned. “And may I ask
why?”

“
The war you fight…”
Dragan paused. “I made a choice many years past not to become
involved in it.”

“
The war we fight
is
not
by
choice.”

“
Wars very rarely
are.”

“
Maylor chose to fight
it.”

“
Maylor is…” Dragan shook
his head as he thought about the man who despite being from his own
species was just about as different as could be.

“
What?” the king demanded.
“What is he?”

“
Foolish,” Dragan said.
“He bites the hand that feeds him.”

“
But you do
not.”

Dragan answered honestly. “I ignore
it. Here, on these islands my people are safe, more than that I
keep some of yours safe too. They came here, to answer your
advisor’s earlier question, because they had no choice. They are
all refugees who fled from the north.”

“
They should have come to
me.”

“
You misunderstand me,”
Dragan said. “They could not make it to the capital. By sea was
there only option and their ships led them here. To my mind these
are as much their lands as mine. They are welcome.”

“
You treat them equal to
your own people?” William asked. “The same rights? The same
privileges?”

Dragan started, shocked by that
question. “Of course. All who live on these islands are equal.
Myself included.”

“
And the northern rebels?”
William asked. “Are they too equal?”

Dragan sighed at those words. “There
is much I could tell you about them,” he said. “Much, but now is
not the time.”

The king shifted again, leaning
forward now so that there was scant space between them. As he did
so, and perhaps because he had now removed his winter furs, Dragan
became aware of the king’s scent. It was light, slightly woody, and
it intrigued Dragan. He found himself wondering if all of the
king’s body would smell that way, and as soon as those thoughts
blossomed others did…

“
When is the time, Lord
Dragan?” he asked. “When?”

“
It is not
now.”

William frowned before taking a deep
breath. “It is, because I need your help, and as your king I have
come to request it.”

His words were so earnest, the
expression on his face so serious… “Request?”

“
Yes.”

“
Not demand?” Dragan
asked.

William sighed. “And how would I
enforce that demand?”

Dragan did not answer that because
there was no need. Both males knew that there was nothing William
could do to enforce anything. His bravest, most loyal generals were
already engaged with the northern rebels. The rest
were…cowering…

“
But ask yourself this,”
William added. “What will happen when Maylor sweeps through my
lands? As he undoubtedly will. There is no question of that now. It
is just a matter of time. But after that? Once he controls the
entire continent? Will he be satisfied? No. He will come for
yours.”

“
He will not succeed,”
Dragan said. “My islands are protected.”

The king narrowed his eyes
at those words and for the first time Dragan saw anger flash
through his features. “They are
my
islands.”

“
No,” Dragan said. “Not
anymore.”

“
You are lord of them, not
king.”

“
A title I never wished to
take,” Dragan said. “Your father insisted only because he thought
it placed me below him. I am below no one. All are equal
here.”

Anger flashed again. “He never meant
it in that way! My father also believed that all are
equal.”

“
And do you believe that,
William?”

“
Of course.”

“
And yet you remain as
king. A role that puts you above all.”

“
As your role of leader
puts you above all here!”

“
No,” Dragan said. “It
does not. I work for my people, not the other way
around.”

“
And I do the same!”
William said, his voice rising with each word. “I have no choice
about that. Do you think I wanted this? To be responsible for
everyone? I have no choice. None!”

He paused and shook his head, almost
as though he regretted his outburst. Dragan did not regret it
though. In that moment, and that moment alone, he realized exactly
what had brought the king to his door. Oh, he knew it was because
of Maylor, knew that the rebels were fast approaching, but he
hadn’t realized, perhaps because he had never really considered it,
what the situation must be like from William’s position. His father
had been killed by the very rebels that William was trying to beat
back. That death had thrust him onto a throne he clearly did not
want, and yet he was not walking away. He was trying to do what he
could to control, to fix, the situation. In that moment Dragan
found himself admiring the king, and his admiration equaled his
attraction.

“
The war leaves me no
choice either,” William said after a moment. “The stories coming
from the north…” He shook his head. “Maylor does not treat all as
equal. He is enslaving my people. Just last month he held a market
where he sold a number of females to his generals.
Sold
them. Do you have
any idea how that feels, Lord Dragan? To know that they were being
treated in this way, but that there was nothing I could do about
it. Nothing.”