Page 34 of Alien Orc's Prize

LUNA

Galbrath and I slept tangled up in each other, neither one of us quite willing to let the other go. Only problem was I forgot to go pee afterwards, and halfway through the night my bladder woke me with a vengeance. I managed to creep out from beneath Galbrath’s heavy arm and scurry to the bathroom.

It was mid-pee that I remembered I’d left the kitchen an absolute disaster. I cringed as I wiped and washed up. Maybe my cafeteria job hadn’t been some fancy chef gig, but I’d always taken pride in the cleanliness of my workspace. I knew that nobody probably expected the high princess to clean up her own messes, least of all Galbrath, but I still expected it of myself.

After my hands (and my sticky thighs) had been cleansed and dried, I tugged on my pants and shirt. I paused in the doorway to look back at Galbrath, admiring the mountainous outline of his body on the bed. The body that had loved me so well tonight.

Loved me.

He hadn’t said it, of course. And maybe he never would. He didn’t strike me as the romantic type, and he certainly wasn’t a chatty guy, especially where feelings were involved. He wasprobably more likely to tell me that he loved the way my pussy smelled than he was to get all gooey-eyed and say he lovedme.

But maybe… Maybe he didn’t need to. The way my body had opened for him, the way he’d so tenderly and possessively worked his knot inside me, every one of his movements as dearly familiar as my own breaths… It had felt special.

Special. Just like what he’d called me earlier.

I knew I had an idiotic smile on my face as I tiptoed out of the bedroom. I practically floated through the halls until I reached the kitchen. By the time I got there, all traces of sleepiness were gone.

I wanted to let Galbrath get some sleep after all the stress he’d been under, and I was pretty sure if I returned to the room now I’d be waking him up by straddling him. So instead, I decided to get back to work. Apparently, sex inspired me, because I jumped right back into my tasks with renewed vigour. The only problem was that I’d now run out of seaweed. I didn’t feel like stopping or going back to sleep yet, so I slipped out of the castle with a basket to go and get some more.

As I approached the lift that would take me down to the moonlit beach, I paused, a sound catching at my ears. It was a low hum. I was sure that if I were any closer to it, if it were any louder, I’d know what it was immediately, because it sounded familiar.

For some reason, I just couldn’t ignore it. I went past the lift down to the beach and walked around the outskirts of the palace, heading for slopes and fields I’d never visited before. As I walked along a path between swaying stalks, opalescent in the light, I wondered if this was the wheat Galbrath was so worried about. As far as I could tell, these stalks looked healthy enough.

The sound got louder, and all at once I realized what it was. It was one of those hovering vehicles that Galbrath and Althrop rode around on. I frowned, trying to figure out why the hell I washearing such a sound out here, in the middle of a huge stretch of farmland where there were only narrow paths, no roads for riding.

My heart stuttered as I began backing up. The sound was so loud I was suddenly terrified of getting run over. Apparently, my instincts were dead-on, because a second later, in the place I’d been standing a moment before, a vehicle turned and raced up the path. The rider saw me, swore, and barely stopped in time before knocking all my blunt human teeth out. In my haste to back up further, I dropped my basket and fell onto my ass.

“Lana! What are you doing out here?” That was Althrop’s voice.

He sounded more harried than he had this morning and had obviously forgotten my name again. He turned off the engine and jumped off his vehicle’s seat. It was only then that I noticed that turning off the vehicle hadn’t made it any darker. There hadn’t been any lights engaged while it was on, even though he’d been flying in the dead of night.

“What areyoudoing out here?” I asked, standing up and brushing off the seat of my pants. I picked up my basket and held it up between us, almost like a shield.

“I… I often like to come ride out here at night. The moon. It is beautiful, is it not?” His voice had resumed its silky-smooth tone. I was sure that many women found it panty-droppingly charming.

I was not one of them.

“Yes,” I agreed, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Beautiful,” he said again, his eyes dropping to my mouth, then my tits. “Much like yourself.”

Oh, boy. Here we go.

“I need to get back.”

“What’s the hurry?”

Jesus, when had he gotten so close to me? He smiled down at me, his handsome face contorted into a leering mask.

“I’ve wanted a chance alone with you since this morning,” he added.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” I said icily.

He shrugged. “I’ve never much cared for what’s appropriate. Especially when inappropriate can feel so good…” His voice went husky. “I could make you feel good.”

“That’s high princess to you!” I gasped. “In case you forgot, I’m married to Prince Gal! Your cousin!”

My words didn’t have the cooling effect I’d hoped they would. Althrop merely laughed.