Page 14 of The Bride Contract (Princes of Xaavia #1)

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Chapter 14 - Niska

Nighttime on a space craft is a strange experience. It’s always dark outside, and the only way you can tell we’re entering the nocturnal hours is that the lights in all the communal areas and corridors dim to minimal, warm, up-lighting. The hum of the ship’s engines are a constant, and honestly, should be able to lull me to sleep, but my brain just won’t switch off.

My whole life has changed in a short span of time. And to be honest, ever since coming to terms with my abduction, and the fact that I was basically ‘a product’ being sold back at the space station, I’ve been bracing myself for the moment I was eventually bought. I guess it’s no wonder my nervous system hasn’t been the same. I’ve had months of anticipating a life of horrific servitude and abuse, but now I’m safely tucked up in a ginormous four-poster bed that feels like laying on clouds with my friends.

I feel like I should still be waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I can’t help but feel like the Xavianns are being genuine with me. I don’t feel in danger with any of them.

So why can’t I just sleep?

Probably because you’re still selling your body in exchange for a better life.

I sigh as my stomach churns after I turn from my back to my side. The replicated human food we had tonight was interesting . We ended up having multiple courses, including the chef’s versions of spicy tacos, ramen, a bowl of dry Lucky Charms, and, at one point, just plain mashed potatoes. Each dish didn’t quite meet the texture or flavor requirements for the originals back on Earth, but out here? After months of nothing but strange alien slop to eat? It was like a divine feast - plain mashed potatoes and all.

Back home, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d run myself a steaming hot bath and put on an audiobook. Lifting my head, I stare at the doorway that leads to the suite’s bathroom. There’s a tub in there - a huge one, with what looks like massage nozzles and jacuzzi jets. But I think just filling that thing is going to be too noisy for my sleepy companions.

Finally, after not being able to stand it any longer, I peel myself out of bed and slip from the room without waking anyone. I’m still in my plain, utility gown that Mama Z’rykby sold me in. It was miraculously washed and dried for me in the time it took for me to shower earlier, but I swear the stench of the recycled air from the lower levels of Moon’s Rest Space Station still clings to the fabric. Vel had shoved each of us girls into this pod thing earlier that took all our measurements and vitals. She said they would use the information to have a whole wardrobe of clothes made for us, ready and waiting for when we land in Xaavia. My head has been swimming with curiosity over what these clothes will be like ever since. I’m guessing it will be similar to Vel and Lady Zalora’s attire, with corsets and skirts that look like they stepped right out of the Victorian era - except with a few alien extras. And of course, with the obligatory neck-covering.

Unconsciously, my hand reaches up to hold my throat as I absently walk the ship’s corridors. Zann had elaborated over after-dinner drinks that a woman with a bare neck may as well be standing there naked according to Xaviann society. But those of their kind that travel, like the royals and their ship’s crew, are more accustomed to seeing females with uncovered throats from other cultures.

It had reminded me of how Kiahn had acted back at Star Pleasures. With me sat on his lap, and his lips and fangs grazing the delicate skin of my neck. Something about the memory made me feel all hot and tingly. I hadn’t even realized I was teasing him so much, but there he was with a fang-boner in public.

I can’t help the wry smile that lifts my lips at that, my bare feet padding along the maze of hallways in the serenely-lit nighttime. I pass numerous doors, some with a light on above them, indicating that they are occupied and locked. Some are communal spaces, the doors constantly retracted to appear more inviting.

Just when I start to think I might be getting lost, is when a crew-worker turns the corner ahead of me. We both startle when we see each other, but he’s carrying a tray, and almost flings the thing up into the air.

“I’m so sorry!” I say, rushing to help the poor man. Miraculously, he didn’t drop a thing, but some of the empty cups had toppled over on his tray.

“Please, do not apologize,” he replies as he hurriedly rights the items. “Is there something I can help you with Lady…?” his words trail off as he looks at me expectantly, his eyes darting down once to my neck only to fly back up to my face.

Reaching up, I try to cover my throat, feeling oddly exposed now that I’m aware of those particular Xaviann customs. “Uh, Niska,” I answer. “Just Niska. And no, I’m fine, thank you. Unless… I shouldn’t be in this area?” I’m suddenly feeling unsure. Vel hadn’t mentioned anything about restrictions, but if this is an area just for crew-members, it would probably be annoying to have people wandering around.

“No, no, not at all, Lady Niska,” the crew-member blusters, bowing his head as a pink tint blooms on his cheeks. “You are Prince Kiahn’s breeding brid-” he stops himself from completing the term, instead opting to clear his throat as if he could swallow the words right back down again. “My apologies. You are Prince Kiahn’s special guest . You may roam where you please.”

“Oh, well… I was looking for the lagoon room?”

After that slightly awkward encounter, I’m armed with directions and start following them. If I can’t relax in the tub, maybe this will suffice. There’s something so calming to me about water, and from the brief look into the lagoon room we were afforded earlier, it had looked like a tropical-themed tranquil paradise.

“She is so fucking beautiful , Zann!” I hear a male voice groan once I reach the door I’ve been looking for.

“I hadn’t taken you for a human-lover,” someone replies, chuckling.

It’s Zann and Az. Their voices are coming from a room further along the hall - a recreational room if I remember correctly from our tour; one filled with lots of soft-looking seating options and tables to play games at.

“Not a human-lover,” Az corrects, “just her. Just Lois. She’s just… You saw her! Isn’t she incredible?”

I-… why am I smiling at this? It’s kind of adorable. Even though, I’m pretty sure Lois has no interest in getting caught up with any of these alien guys.

“I think you should calm down and go make use of the plethora of permissions you must have from your last season’s tour.”

“Nah, brother,” Az replies. “I don’t need any of those. In fact, I think I’ll get rid of them. It wouldn’t feel right using them now I know she exists.”

What are they talking about? Permissions? What does that mean?

I can hear Zann laugh. “Alright, no more pukpuk liquor for you, because what you just said is total insanity.”

“It’s not!…”

The brothers continue their late-night squabble over… God knows what . I decide that whatever it is, it’s none of my business, and I slip inside the door to the lagoon room instead.

The warmth rushes my skin, and I can hear the gentle tinkling of a running water-feature. The room is framed by huge plants that look like they’ve been plucked out of an alien jungle. There are ones with expansive black leaves with neon pink veining and others in maroon with lime green splotches. The tropical plants edge all around a large, irregular-shaped pool in the center of the room. The water looks inviting in dreamy turquoise and serene lighting. Some multi-colored lightning bugs hover across the other side above a mini waterfall, and a brightly-colored bird flits from branch to branch. I have brief second thoughts about getting in the pool due to the possibility of alien bird doo-doo and dead bugs being in there, when I remember Vel telling us that the plants are real, but the wildlife is just holograms meant to make swimmers feel like they’re vacationing on a tropical jungle planet.

And it does feel like that. It feels like I should be all warm and glow-y from being in the sun all day, and equally warm and glow-y from drinking Mai-Tais from a coconut with a little umbrella all day, too.

The lighting is still on low in here, but I know I could say something and the voice control would adjust that for me if I want it to.

But I don’t really want it to.

The turquoise pool has lights, and here and there, the tropical trees that reach right up to the fake night-sky ceiling have up-lights at their base. It kind of feels like I’m at some kind of fancy tropical resort, not currently flying through space. Truly, it feels perfect, just the way it is.

Sitting on the edge of the pool, I dangle my legs into the water and oh, my God! It’s so warm. Almost hot. It’s like a huge indoor lagoon of bathwater. It even smells clean and fresh. I think I may have found heaven on a spacecraft.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I whip the awful standard-issue dress-thing over my head, leaving me completely naked as I slide into the welcoming embrace of the water. I don’t even feel embarrassed over the groan of pleasure that leaves my lips. Dunking right under, I pop back up to float on my back, staring at the black ceiling that has dozens and dozens of tiny little twinkling lights embedded into it like stars. The water somehow feels more buoyant than what I’m used to, and it honestly takes me no effort at all to float along with my eyes closed. I think I could easily fall asleep like this, which wouldn’t be wise, but damn is it tempting to just… let go .

Let go of all the fucked up shit that’s happened to me like being abducted by aliens.

Let go of all the fucked up shit I saw at Moon’s Rest.

And, let go of all the fucked up shit I’m going to need to do for this damn contract I’ve agreed to.

I float there a while, the only noises being the gentle swishing of the warm water and my own breathing. But it’s my thoughts that are loud. Like how apprehensive I am about this deal I made with Lady Zalora; seducing her nephew, and pretending to try and make a baby with him. I don’t like the thought of deceiving anyone. It makes me feel kind of twisted up a little inside. Vel had described the bridal contracts as something very casual and formal at the same time. She’d said that after the period of the contract is up, male Xavianns just move onto the next one if there’s no baby as a result. Just like that. She had said that over three quarters of the contracts do not result in ‘successful breeding’, so the Prince should expect that outcome anyway. But I can’t help but feel that purposefully using a contraceptive without his knowledge is just enough to tip my guilty conscience over the edge.

Which is insane when you look at the bigger picture here. He’s a Prince . I’m an abducted human with no agency who has agreed to have sex with him in exchange for mine and my friend’s freedom - or, as close to freedom as humans can get out here. I met this guy two days ago - of course I don’t want to have his baby. I don’t really have a choice here.

And then I think of Lois and Jaya. They say through adversity, the strongest bonds are formed, and that has been true for us three. After coming to terms with my abduction, and realizing that I’d never be able to have hour-long phone calls with my best friend, Polly again, I thought I’d never have as strong a friendship as I had with her. Hell, she’s been my chosen family when I already come from a large family with eight siblings. She’s the one who drove for hours and hours just to help me move out from my boyfriend’s apartment when I’d caught him cheating that one time. She even helped me sew raw shrimp into the lining of his most expensive suit jackets, and put a ton of very fine glitter on the blades of his ceiling fans.

It’s not that my own family was bad or neglectful at all. My mom and dad did the best they could. And there were no major rifts between my many siblings and I. But it was like I had been a puzzle piece from a different box that somehow found my way into theirs. It was all noise, chaos and clamouring for attention. It was happy noise, and happy chaos, mind you, but something inside me had found that draining. So when I’d made a friend outside the family home, Polly was my person and mine alone. And I’d loved that. Lois and Jaya are my people too.

I sigh, to myself as I float here, my mind going around and around itself like a race car on a track. Ruminating isn’t helping me relax. Flipping on my front, I swim over to the mini waterfall, pleased to find a ledge over there so that I can sit and have the water cascading onto my back. The only issue with that is that this pool is obviously designed with Xaviann proportions in mind, so the seating ledge is too deep for me to sit on if I want to keep my head out of the water. After a little maneuvering, though, I find I can make it work if I kneel on the thing while the water pleasantly tumbles onto my back and shoulders.

I let out a groan again, loving the warmth of the water as it gently flows over my skin, and despite my racing thoughts, I do think my body starts to relax somewhat. I remember being back home on Earth in my apartment when I couldn’t sleep. When I’d take those hot baths in the early hours. I’d also have a rechargeable waterproof friend who would help me relax even further.

It occurs to me then, that it has been months since I’ve gotten off.

Obviously, on the scale of priorities, making sure I get some ‘me time’ comes in pretty low when you’re comparing it to actually surviving an alien abduction. It hadn’t crossed my mind once.

But now…

I glance around at the fancy lagoon room. It feels like some kind of wacky tropical spa. But it’s also the first time I’ve been truly alone. Moving out from under the trickle of the gentle cascade of the waterfall, I find that the ledge is a little higher here where whoever designed the pool, intended for it to slope up and merge in with the edge of the lagoon. It also makes it the perfect height for me to sit with the warm water engulfing everything below my ears.

Using one hand, I start skimming over my body, softly squeezing my breasts and lightly tickling up and down my thighs.

Am I going to do this?

I glance around again, but even as I’m asking myself the question, I feel my legs part beneath the water. My hand brushes over my mound once, twice, sending a forgotten zing of anticipation through my body before I fully commit to the act. Closing my eyes, I have one hand slowly teasing myself between my thighs, and the other cupping and softly kneading my breast, occasionally tugging on my nipple.

And I think about him.

I think about what it had felt like to sit on his lap, his huge frame so much more powerful than mine. I think about how me simply being so close to him seemed to make him lose his mind a little.

I think about how when we get to his home planet, he’s going to fuck me. I wonder if he’ll lose his mind a little then, too?

I tip my head back at the thought, my hand abandoning my breast to smooth along my collarbone and around my throat. He’d wanted to bite me there - his instincts had wanted him to claim me for his own.

It all feels so animalistic to think about.

Dangerous.

And hot.

My mind starts to drift down dirty avenues and filthy wander-ways as my fingers start to concentrate on rubbing tight little circles on my clit.

Does he like it rough? Could I take it rough from a man of his size?

Would he have me on my back? Would he take me from behind? Would he like for me to ride him?

His gorgeous green eyes flash in my mind and I almost whimper as the pleasure builds, and builds. I want to draw this out and take my time, but it’s been so long since I’ve had an orgasm, I think this one is going to sneak right up on me.

God, I hope he talks dirty to me while he’s trying to breed me.

If I wasn’t in the middle of something right now, I would probably feel embarrassed to even think that.

I bite my lip and groan, the gentle cascade of the lagoon’s mini waterfall almost covering the sound. “ Kiahn, ” I whisper to myself, feeling so Goddamn good as everything starts to feel taut with pleasure. I’ve really missed this kind of self-care. “ Mmh… Kiahn .”

“ Keep going, little female ,” someone rasps from the other side of my closed eyelids.