Page 56 of Conquered Pet
“Your punishment is over. You will rest now,” he instructed.
“Here?” I asked tentatively. Now that I wasn’t lost in the throes of pleasure, their presence weighed that much more heavily on me.
“Yes. I want you here with me,” he said boldly. I wasn’t sure if that was typical here in the alien city, but something told me it wasn’t. My heart softened. His eyes were warm. “Don’t make me punish you like that again, pet. Am I clear?”
There was something else in his gaze that caught me off guard. Concern, maybe? I couldn’t tell.
He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against my forehead. If there was any doubt in my mind that he did care, it vanished.
“Sleep now, my pet,” he said softly, and I closed my eyes.
CHAPTER 11
Talyn
Even though I was supposed to be focusing on my men and our plans for the sacking of the old city of New York, I found myself looking at the small naked bundle sleeping on my couch. The red marks of my belt were stark against her pale skin. When she started trembling, I stopped what I was doing and sent one of my men to fetch a blanket. I draped it over her carefully. When she stopped shivering, I finally allowed myself to move away from her and get back to work.
I wanted to hold her. I wanted to wipe away the remains of her tears on her cheeks and tell her it was all going to be okay, but my world didn’t allow me that. My men would think me weak if I showed too much attachment to one particular human. I’d already pushed the limits by kissing her forehead and probably by offering her the blanket, but she deserved at least a little comfort after she’d been punished like that.
She most certainly didn’t deserve to be cold.
I found my mind wandering to her again and again. I worried that I’d been too harsh with her at first. Her convictions had been clear in her eyes. She was defending the remnants of her species and that I could understand.
I had a suspicion that she’d known about this group of humans all along and had never said anything about it to me. She didn’t trust me with that knowledge.
It irritated me, but I understood that too.
I glanced over at my men, watching their excitement build at the prospect of battle. We were a warrior species, specifically designed for war so much so that we hungered for it. I felt the need for it too, but it seemed oddly tempered by the naked little bundle sleeping on the couch.
When I’d been through with her, her gaze had been soft. She hadn’t been angry anymore. Would that be enough to keep her happy? Would she accept her place in my world now?
The human species was in its decline. They would be able to survive, but only if they succumbed to our rule. If they fought against us, they would die. If it wasn’t me who eliminated the rebels, it would be someone else.
I shook my head. Raiza was going to have to accept that this was just how the world was now. She wouldn’t be able to save them all. I answered to the people of my city, to my soldiers and to those that ruled over other territories.
If I didn’t take New York for myself, they would.
There were alien warlords out there that were far more savage than I. They wouldn’t hesitate to wipe out an entire colony with a bomb or worse, a biologic weapon meant to kill them where theyslept. I’d seen the effects of such barbaric weapons firsthand, and it had not been pleasant.
With a sigh, I sat back and stared at the maps that plotted out the city subterranean landscape. The tunnels went on for miles. It was clear that much of the records had been lost over time. Some of it was based off educated guesses and others through ground-penetrating radar, but those were only so reliable. Much of the layout was going to be discovered when we were on the ground.
That was a dangerous gamble.
From our understanding, it appeared that the humans had been surviving there from the time the city fell. They used the solar power likely to light certain areas. It was likely that they were used to living in darkness, which was something that my men most certainly were not. Our sight was perceptive, especially in low light, but I wasn’t sure how it would compare to humans who were living in the dark for more than one hundred years.
I didn’t want to rush into this. I wanted to be fully prepared. I hadn’t risen to my position based off rash decisions and I wasn’t about to start.
The hour grew late, and my men looked to me for direction. They wanted to hit the ground running tomorrow, but I didn’t feel right about it. Not yet anyway.
Raiza moved a bit on the couch. She was waking up and the sudden urge to take her upstairs overwhelmed me.
“Keep gathering all the intel that you can. Send a few men to scout out the areas we have no information on. Track their location and send them in pairs, fully equipped with whatever weapons they need. If anyone is hurt, I want to know when and where,” I commanded.
“I will see to it that your command is done,” Kathar replied.
I nodded once, giving my soldiers a cursory glance over before I shuffled over to the small human bundle on the couch. I took her into my arms and surrounded her with my warmth. She hummed quietly, but I was quite certain it was with contentment rather than alarm.
I carried her up to my quarters and locked the door behind me. When I was finally free from the watchful eyes of my men, I sat down and gathered her in my lap with the blanket still wrapped around her small body.
