Alien Dragon (6 page)

I wonder what happened to the other girls, the ones who were sent to work in factories and offices on the planet. A few were selected as teachers and will work in schools, teaching Teneyemm children about Earth and how to speak English. It seems like a fun job to me. I hope they have happy lives. Those girls, the ones who were chosen for tasks like that, aren’t even at the auction house.

It’s just the rest of us lucky brats who are.

Hal and Jenika wouldn’t explain the entire selection process to me. Honestly, I wonder why they couldn’t just place me at the King’s castle. They placed all the secretaries. Shouldn’t it be the same with the King’s little fuck dolls?

Apparently, it’s not.

Apparently, he’s a bit choosy and likes to select girls at auction.

Maybe it’s some sort of game for him.

I take a deep breath as I stare around the room. Lights turn on, enveloping the center area in light. This makes it difficult to see the crowd, though not impossible. It definitely makes seeing
us
easier for the men.

The auction begins.

They start with the girl next to me and begin moving away. This means I’ll be the last girl showcased, which I knew. Hal planned it like this so he can try to fetch an even higher price. The King of Teneyemm, or one of his men, is here today. They said he sometimes comes in disguise, but he has some sort of presence at every foreign auction.

Why?

He needs a bride, or so the rumors say. I don’t know if he needs an heir or just someone to look pretty at royal events, but I’m here.

There’s no guarantee that he’ll choose me and to be honest, I don’t want to be last. Who does? When I asked Hal how he knows I’ll stand out, he just held my face between his palms and whispered sweet nothings to me.

Though I had years of training in preparation for this moment, I can’t help but feel a twinge of nervousness. What if I’m not chosen? What if I have to go to another planet? What if I’m cast away?

I take a deep breath and look out into the crowd. I can’t see faces. There are bright lights shining on us girls the way lights would shine on a stage during a play. I suppose that’s to keep us from freaking out when the crowd sees us. When a girl is chosen, a cameraman moves in front of her and her image is projected on screens throughout the stadium.

The whole auction is digital. Each attendee has a screen on a handheld device that shows everything the auctioneer is saying, the film of the girl, pictures taken before the auction began, and other information. If someone wants a girl, they bid on their screen. The numbers are also projected on a large overhead screen we can all see.

The first girl goes for 22,000 units. Most people don’t notice Hal and Jenika exchange looks, but I see it. They’re happy about this. It’s more than they expected to get and I wonder what I’ll go for.

Despite a few girls who are crying quietly, the auction goes by quickly. The truth is that most of us are happy to be here. Most of us are happy to have a shot at life again. I sure as hell am.

Goldilocks gets picked for 29,000 units. She seems insanely happy. She might have been a bitch to me, but I don’t wish any harm to her. I hope she finds happiness at her new home. I hope she doesn’t go to a sadist or someone who would hurt her. I hope she gets a real chance.

Before I can think about her, the next girl is sold.

Then the next.

And then it’s my turn.

The cameraman steps in front of me and I give him a small smile. Hal coached me on exactly how to smile like a cute little slut without looking like an overeager beaver.

Yes, he used that phrase.

“Riley is an earthling who knows how to cook, sew, clean, and dance. She is also fluent in Drakonai.”

Immediately, murmurs start spreading throughout the stadium and although the girls are now lined up against the wall, I can tell they’re glaring at me, seething.

They’re probably wondering how the fuck I learned the dragon language before we arrived. Most of them can speak enough to follow orders, but I’m the only one who knows the language inside and out.

The numbers on the screen start scrolling up and up and up. Just when I think they’re about to slow down, the announcer adds, “She is also a certified virgin.”

And I know we’re going to be here for awhile.

The man who buys me is tall, dark, and handsome. He introduces himself as Lee and we leave the mansion hand-in-hand. I feel very, very small next to him. His hand is so big that if he squeezes mine too hard, he’ll break me.

But Lee doesn’t seem like that type of man.

He takes me to a small vehicle and opens the door. Like the train, this doesn’t have wheels. Instead, it hovers slightly off the ground, and I climb inside.

Lee stands outside the hover car and leans inside. I can smell his cologne and almost instantly, I’m aroused. It’s been years at this point. Years of teasing and taunting and testing. I’m just ready to finally get to have sex.

Oh, he’d better fuck me.

And soon.

He straps me into my seat and then shoots me a surprised glance.

“I thought you were a virgin,” he says, and I nod, biting my lower lip. Fuck. He can smell my arousal. I need to keep that under control, at least until I get my bearings. I don’t know if he’s the King or not. I don’t know if he’s some wealthy businessman. I don’t even know if he plans to keep me. Some people “flip” girls the way old Earthlings would flip houses. It’s illegal, but it still happens. Hal warned me about this. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done to stop it.

“I am.” I look away, suddenly embarrassed and shy. My reaction to him shouldn’t be so feral. Lee is a typical Taneyemm. He’s taller than me by a full foot. His broad shoulders showcase a muscular chest and his hair is just a little bit shaggy.

It’s just a little bit perfect to run my hands through.

I start to reach for it, but then I catch myself and pull my hand back. What the hell is wrong with me? He seems to notice my reaction, too, but doesn’t say anything. He just closes the door. I hear him talking, and I try to peek out and see who he’s speaking with, but the windows are too dark to see out.

Instead, I wait very not-patiently and twiddle my thumbs. Is he the King? He doesn’t look like a King, and I wonder if he’s just some billionaire playboy. He doesn’t seem mean, but that could all change once we’re alone.

The auction was so crazy that Hal and Jenika didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to me. Not properly, not in my opinion.

They each hugged me quickly, but then they were rushed away to care for the other girls, manage paperwork, and deal with processing.

Now I’m alone with the man who purchased me and it’s time for me to remember my training. He gets in the car and mumbles something in Drakonai.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” I look sharply at him, but don’t say anything. Did he forget I could speak his language? Lee reaches for something on the dash and holds it in front of me.

“I’m sorry,” he says in English. “I need to blindfold you.”

“Why?” I ask, even though I know it’s standard for all the girls. “I’m not going to run away.”

“You might, once you see what I have planned for you.”

“I have nowhere to go,” I say simply.

“Your planet is gone,” he says. “What about your family? They could have escaped. Maybe you’ll want to go be with them.”

“My family is dead,” I say. Then I close my eyes. I hear a sigh, then Lee touches me very, very gently. His hands press the soft silk to my eyes, then he ties it behind my hair. For just a moment, I think he’s going to run his hands through my hair, but he doesn’t.

“Is something wrong?” I ask him softly.

“You aren’t what I expected,” he says.

“What did you expect?” I say in Drakonai.

“I expected a refugee,” he says. “But you are a seductress, little human, and you are throwing a wrench in all of my plans.”

***

When we arrive at our destination, Lee guides me from the car, but does not untie me.

“May I see, please?”

“Not yet, and don’t speak.”

I open my mouth to say okay, but clap it shut. He rubs my back softly.

“Good girl,” Lee murmurs, and I feel a rush of pride. Something so small, but it makes me feel really good, like maybe things won’t be so bad.

Like maybe they won’t be awful.

“Careful. There are a few steps,” Lee warns, but instead of helping me climb, he swoops me into his arms and carries me up the stairs, into the building, and down a hall, I think. When we stop moving, he sets me down, and reminds me again to be quiet. Then he knocks on the door and opens it.

“About time,” a voice says. “She looks fat.”

My jaw drops and Lee quickly says, “She speaks Drakonai.”

There’s a pause, then the other person says, “Then she should know she looks fat. Start her on a diet immediately.”

“As you-“

Lee doesn’t get to finish his sentence because all of my training goes out the window at that moment. I rip the blindfold off my face and throw it on the ground.

“Listen here, you asshole,” I say, marching forward. “I am not fucking fat, but if you want a half-starved waif of a woman, then by all means, fucking return me. I’m sure you’ll be quite satisfied with one of the other sluts.”

I’m so busy yelling at this stranger that I don’t see his face at first, but when I meet his eyes, oh, do I meet them.

The arousal I felt with Lee?

Um, that’s nothing compared to this.

I’m instantly wet and if I was wearing panties, they’d be soaked.

I stop talking and just stare. Lee is mumbling apologies and I can tell he’s about to freak out.

Yeah, Lee’s definitely not the one who bought me.

It’s this guy.

And judging by the royal flags hanging on the wall, I’d say he’s definitely the King and I’ve definitely made an impression.

And I’ve definitely just thrown away four years of hard fucking work for nothing.

I don’t waste another second. I don’t want to be killed or sent to another planet. Even if Bleoi isn’t that bad, I don’t want to go there.

The hard wooden floor hurts my knees as I fall forward, but I ignore the stinging pain and begin apologizing.

“Your majesty,” I say quickly. “My deepest apologies for my unruly and unacceptable behavior. I am so sorry for my harsh and inappropriate words to you, my King.” I keep mumbling in Drakonai, droning on and on about what a noble and wise King he is, and the two men are silent.

Finally, the King puts me out of my misery.

“Enough,” he says. “Rise.”

I’m crying at this point because I just know he’s going to kill me. This King? He’s not someone you should fuck with, and I’m pretty sure calling him out for a comment obviously designed to get a rise out of me counts as fucking with him.

I stand slowly, staring at the ground. Then I stare at my hands. Then I stare at my feet. I stare at anything but him, but I can hear him moving from behind the desk and walking over to me. He circles me and I have the distinct feeling that he’s sizing me up the way a lion would size up a small bird it planned to eat.

He touches my back, then his hands wander around to my front and he cups one of my breasts. This time, I don’t flinch. I don’t move at all.

This time, I stand perfectly still.

“She has quite a little mouth on her, doesn’t she?” The King says to Lee.

“Yes, sir, I would say that is accurate,” Lee comments. “However, I should say that her behavior did not become naughty until she was provoked.”

“All I’m hearing is that she was quite well behaved when she got her way, but the moment she didn’t like something, she threw a tantrum.” His hand twists my nipple and I bite back a cry of pain, ignoring the growing arousal between my legs. “She is a naughty little girl, indeed.”

The King continues to touch and tease my body and as much as I’m trying to ignore him, there’s pressure growing in my body. Between my legs, there’s power. There’s desire. There’s a need to climax that he’s trying to wrench from me, but I have a feeling he’s not going to make this an easy orgasm.

“How old is she?” I realize the King hasn’t said a single word to me. He’s just talked to Lee
about
me.

To him, I am simply an object. I’m simply something to be used.

“28,” Lee’s deep baritone voice says. “She is fluent in Drakonai, and she can dance.”

“Anything else?” The King asks. He tweaks my other nipple. I know he’s a dragon. I know he can smell my arousal. I know he can scent exactly how he’s affecting me.

I also know he’s enough of a sadist not to let me come until he gets what he wants, no matter what that might be.

“She’s a virgin.”

The King stops touching me.

“Impossible,” he says, turning to Lee, and suddenly, I feel embarrassed.

Put on display.

Suddenly, I feel like a caged animal in a zoo, designed to be looked at and admired from afar, but in a distant sort of way.

Not taken home as a pet.

This whole time, Hal and Jenika made it seem like being a virgin would be a good thing. What King wouldn’t want a virgin bride, right?

Ruby made it sound like the King would love the chance to deflower me, to be my first. They trained me in the art of seduction, but somehow, no one thought he might not want someone who wasn’t experienced physically.

The made it sound like I would be a rarity: something special.

Instead, I suddenly feel like a freak show and my arousal is gone.

“It’s true,” Lee says, flipping through some papers. “She was found on Earth at age 24 and had no sexual experience at that time.” He hesitates, then I hear him speak again. “Your majesty, forgive me if I am out of bounds, but I thought this would be beneficial to you.”

“I need a drink,” the King says. “Leave us.”

“As you wish,” I turn and watch as Lee bows to the King, then leaves the room without so much as a goodbye.

So much for having a new friend.

I go back to staring at my feet and wishing I was working in a factory instead of being humiliated.

It would be so much easier.