Page 11 of Royal Mate

11

P aige, Ten Hours Later

For some reason, with a little distance from Addan, I had clarity. Some, at least. I was still driven by the lusty need to have him bend me over every posh horizontal surface in my bedroom. It had high ceilings, a supersized bed with plush and sumptuous bedding that would be perfect to be tucked beneath with Addan.

What was wrong with me? Addan, Addan, Addan!

Yes, that was what I sounded like when he made me come.

Focus. The room. It had a fireplace. Thick area rugs. Glossy floors. Floor to ceiling windows that looked out upon… well, it was too dark to see, but I was sure the grounds outside were also aristocratic and spectacular.

I couldn’t settle. The bed was going to swallow me with the thick goose down. Wait. Did they have geese here?

“Geese,” I muttered. “I’m thinking about geese. And sex with Addan. All the sex with Addan.”

Thankfully he was somewhere else in this gigantic castle—probably planning their stupid war—and couldn’t hear my stupid thoughts or the whimpering need of my desperate vagina.

I might have been born to be their queen, which was ridiculous all by itself. However, that meant I was also supposed to rule an entire planet. Again, ridiculous.

I could barely pay my bills. Keep a roof over my head. Remember to buy milk or pick up quarters for the old-fashioned laundromat I used to wash my Trus-T-Kleen uniform. At home, I didn’t have time to rest. Lounge around. Think about how to rule an entire freaking planet.

Yet here I was, idle. I didn’t like to be idle, even for a night.

I didn’t know how to be idle. I’d spent as much time as I could stand reading about the royal family and the history of Insuri. Despite the fact that all the women in the history books looked shockingly similar to me, I still felt like I was reading about strangers. My brain was full of random facts and images going back hundreds of years. Mentally, I was exhausted. Physically, I had energy to burn. I was used to working all day, not sitting around sipping tea and reading books. Chill and relax were two words not in my vocabulary.

“Two jobs does that to a woman,” I grumbled. My night with Addan had me craving more. I needed to do something. To stop this ache.

Food. I could shove food in my mouth instead of Addan’s dick.

Although, he tasted so good. Then he’d reward me for my efforts, shove that glorious dick in my–

“Gah!” I tossed my hands in the air. I had to stop. If he wanted me, he would already be here, in my room. In my goddamn bed, like he was last night.

I was hungry–and not for dick. The meal Addan’s mother served–or her servants served–had been something from a five-star, gourmet restaurant. Beautifully presented with tiny portions and fancy sauces.

It was delicious, but I had no idea what I ate. Did Insuri have cows? Chickens?

“They have geese,” I said aloud.

What had I eaten? Not dark chocolate. That was for sure. And the wine they brought me tasted like someone stirred the contents of the glass with a piece of charred wood. In the end, I’d settled for water and a cup of tepid tea made from the bark of some fancy Insuri tree leaves. Bitter and unsettled. Like my nerves.

I’d all but squirmed in my seat in my pretty borrowed dress as I watched Addan eat and lick his lips. And swallow. And… breathe.

I needed junk food. Something sweet and salty and could take care of all my cravings.

I stared at the closed double doors that led into the central hallway. I could go out there. I was the queen. Surely, they wouldn’t mind if I found their kitchen and had a late-night snack.

My stomach grumbled again, louder this time. “Food. I need food.” My pussy clenched. “I need sex, too. But food. I’ll take food.”

Determined, I opened the door, peeked out. The hallway, with the chandeliers and glittering embellishments on the walls, practically sparkled. But it was deserted. Grabbing a flowing pale pink robe, I slipped it on over my matching simple nightdress. They were completely unadorned, but no embellishment was necessary. The fabric was gossamer soft and slightly transparent, as if made by… hummingbirds or unicorns.

I stepped out, quietly shut my door behind me. Looking left, then right, I didn’t know which way to go. I chose right since I knew left led to the entry of this huge-ass alien mansion.

The sound of my footsteps was swallowed by the rugs. There was a back stairwell, less grand than the front curved one, but still something to be proud of.

“How many people clean this place?” I whispered, making my way down one floor, then the next. Once I went below ground level, the stairs lost the carpet and became more serviceable. I recognized the shift between family and servant areas. I felt confident the kitchen would be on this lower level. I couldn’t imagine Addan’s mom getting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or making beef stew. Ever.

Meandering through the serpentine hallways, I found the kitchen. It was expansive with not one, but two, center islands. Stainless steel appliances were all over, although I doubted Insuri had stainless steel, and I didn’t know if they cooked like I did.

Opening and closing doors, I finally found the fridge. Pulled out a pitcher with a pink liquid inside. Sniffed.

“Fruity.”

I might rule the planet–ha!–but I didn’t dare drink from the pitcher, so I set it on the counter to grab a glass.

I inspected and sniffed various food items until I found what seemed like cheese. “Yes, cheese.”

A collection of rolls was under a small glass dome on one of the islands. It took a few minutes, but I found a knife, a pan and figured out how to turn on the stove, which didn’t have a flame, but the surface glowed a bright blue. It grew hot as I held my hand over it.

I prepared the cheese and bread, then set it in the pan. While letting it start to crisp up, I returned to the fridge and found leftover… salad from dinner. Something else that was red and yellow and smelled good. I set my snack on the island, then flipped my sandwich. It sizzled and the scent of melting goodness filled the air.

It made me smile. I wasn’t the type to complain. My mother had taught me that lesson, the hard way. When I was young, I either ate what we had in the house, or I starved. The day I moved out and got my first job, I swore I would never go hungry again. No reason to break that promise to myself just because I was on another planet.

Going down the line of cabinets, I found the drinking cups. They looked like fancy crystal that would cost a fortune to replace if my clumsy-ass dropped one, but I was going to pretend they were regular, cheap glasses. I poured the pink liquid into the bottom of one and took a sip.

Oh, yes. Perfect. Like strawberry lemonade but sweeter. I downed every drop and reached for the pitcher.

“What are you doing?”

Addan’s voice had me jumping and fumbling my crystal glass. I nearly dropped it, caught it against my stomach with my forearm, and thanked god the glass was empty.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I said, setting my hand over my heart. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my out-of-control pulse. The scent of him mingled with the aroma of melting cheese–or I hoped it was cheese.

He bowed ever so slightly. “I apologize, but why are you in the kitchen?” His eyes flicked over the room as if he’d never been here before. Maybe he hadn’t.

I went to the stove and checked my sandwich. Seemingly done, I pushed a few buttons, and the blue light went off.

“I’m making a snack.”

“We have cooks for that,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“I can cook my own grilled cheese.”

“What is cheese?” he asked, his brow forming a deep V.

“It’s, um… milk from an animal that’s been processed and fermented and made melty and gooey.”

His head cocked as if he didn’t know those adjectives.

Grabbing the pan, I tilted it so the sandwich slid onto the bare, clean counter. Picking up the sandwich, I tore it in two.

I smiled. “See? Melty and gooey.”

“That is not milk from an animal. It is craver, a–”

I held up my hand and half a sandwich. “I don’t want to know what it is. It smells good and I’m hungry.” I took a bite and closed my eyes. Whatever craver was, it was good. Better than cheese.

Addan’s growl had my eyes opening. “Do not make such sounds while eating,” he demanded. “Else I will think you have more needs than just slaking your hunger.”

Yes, I had more needs than slaking hunger. So many more.

I licked my lips, and his gaze dropped to follow the action. “Try it.”

He took the half I held to him, then took a bite.

“Good, isn’t it?” I asked, shoving a huge bite into my mouth.

He swallowed and nodded; his blue gaze laser focused on my mouth. “You taste better.”

I blushed, which was ridiculous since we’d done all kinds of very naughty things.

I squirmed at the memory, wanting him to do that again. And again.

“I shall make you a plate,” he said, heading around the island to get the rest of the mystery items I pulled from the fridge.

“I can do it.” I ate the last of my half, then wiped my hands on the luxurious silk pajama pants Sorcha gave me. Did they have silkworms? I’d add them to geese and stainless steel. The matching top hung off one shoulder like an oversized T-shirt. The fabric was soft, a rich brown color that made me think of milk chocolate and clung to every curve. Did nothing to hide my suddenly perky nipples. What could I say? My boobs liked this guy. A lot. So did the rest of me.

“You are the queen.”

I frowned at that answer.

“A queen has to eat,” I countered.

“Food that someone has prepared for you.”

“Addan, I’m not going to wake up a cook when I can make a late-night snack on my own.”

“You are–”

“If you say queen, I’ll get really mad.”

He pursed his lips.

Who was I kidding? I was already mad. And hurt. On the verge of tears, when moments ago I’d been just fine without him.

Grabbing the dirty pan, I went to the sink and turned the water on. My movements were jerky, irritated as I scrubbed the melted goo from the pan. Was he only here to lecture me? Reprimand me for what I was not doing right when he already fucked everything up? He should have been with me all night, at my side at dinner–not seated on the opposite end of the long table, explaining the history books to me instead of making me figure out how to ask my NPU to read them inside my head–which was really freaking cool and totally freaky at the same time.

Besides that, he had practically ignored me at dinner. And after. When he should have been naked in my bed, holding me after we were both wrung out and exhausted from too many orgasms, promising to help me figure out how to be queen of his stupid planet.

The pan banged against the sink when I fumbled it. Shit. Now everyone in the house would wake up.

Addan came up behind me, pressed his front against my back. His arms came around me to take the pan away.

“I won’t have my queen washing dishes like a common servant.” His gentle words made the pain in my chest tighten from ache to burn. How dare he be nice to me now? Pretend he cared now?

I let him take the pan. He set it in the sink, turned off the water and pried the sponge-ish thing I’d been using to scrub it from my fingers. “Princess…Paige.”

“What?”

“You are upset. Tell me what you need.”

Hah! As if. No way I was going to beg him to act like he was madly in love with me, couldn’t keep his hands off me, and wanted to spend the rest of the night giving me orgasms. He didn’t move away, and I had just enough room to spin around and face him. Then poke him in the chest. Seemed safer than wrapping my arms around him and begging him to care. That tactic never ended well, not for me. Not with my parents, or anyone else. Ever.

So, I focused on what I could deal with right now. I won’t have my queen washing dishes like a common servant…

“You remember what I was wearing when I got here? My uniform for my job on Earth. I cleaned businesses, entire buildings. I scrubbed toilets, mopped up all kinds of messes. I’ve had cooking jobs. Dishwasher jobs. Receptionist jobs. Any job so I could pay my rent.”

“That was on Earth, where your true identity was hidden.”

I shook my head, poked at him again. “The Earth me is my true identity. I wasn’t pretending to clean the Brides Center. I wasn’t pretending to make ends meet. I might be queen here, but this is the queen you get. One who makes her own grilled… whatever sandwiches.”

“Craver.” He was quiet, his dark gaze attentive and fixed on me. Assessing. “You’ve barely slept since your arrival. You should be in bed.”

With him, yes. We’d had sex more times than I could count in his quarters. Last night, he hadn’t let me sleep. Not that I’d complained. Now, everything had changed. He started calling me Princess. Hadn’t touched me since he found out I had a betrothed, even though I told him–and everyone else–I was not marrying my stupid cousin.

“Is your room not to your liking?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful. My mind is a little overwhelmed,” I admitted. “There’s too much to think about. It would be great if I could make my brain stop.”

Reaching out, he rested both hands on the counter, trapped me in the circle of his arms. As if I’d even try to escape. “If the Princess commands, I could assist. Ensure you cease thinking for the rest of the night.”

I huffed. “I don’t think that’s possible, but it’s a nice idea.”

“Say it, Paige. Command me to assist you.”

What was he up to? The way he was staring at me made me think he wanted to get me naked. No, more than that. That he wanted to ravage me. That he was holding back. But if that was the case, why didn’t he just say so? Why had he acted like he was indifferent all night? Like I was nothing to him?

Was it because I was engaged? Because I was going to be his queen? Did finding out who I was make him not want to be with me again? Gah! I hated being in my head this much. Thinking. Forget thinking. I was over it. Besides, what was he going to do? Pull out alien Monopoly or a deck of playing cards? Well, fuck it. Even that was better than sitting alone in my room, staring at the ceiling, wondering if my cousin, the queen, wanted me dead. “Okay, Addan. I command you to make me stop thinking.”

He leaned down and tossed me over his shoulder.

“Addan!”

“By your command, I vow you won’t remember your own name when I’m done with you.” The sexy growl in his voice made my pussy instantly wet.

“Put me down! I can walk!” I whisper-shouted as he carried me out of the kitchen and up the stairs. The hand he used to rub my bottom through the thin pajamas was driving every sane thought from my mind already.

“Not tonight. Tonight, I will service my queen. It will be my pleasure.”