Vox smiled sharply down at her furious face. "I have no need for an army. You do not go anywhere unless I say," he stated coldly.
"We'll just see about that!" she replied quickly reaching beside him and slapping her hand on the panel to open the door.
Vox grunted as he fell backward out of the door as it gave way behind him. He landed on his back with a very furious, very determined white female tiger with blazing blue eyes staring down at him. She showed her teeth and snarled before she placed her left back paw squarely on his crotch and pushed down. Vox sucked in a breath hoping she wouldn't extend her claws to match the weight of the pressure she was applying. He understood the warning. He was in a very nerve-wracking position at the moment, and she was in no mood to negotiate who should be submissive; it wasn't going to be her.
"Riley," he bit out with a grimace of discomfort as he looked up into her snarling face. "Don't you dare."
The huge white tiger snorted before leaping off him and running down the corridor. Vox let his head drop back to the floor where he stared up at the ceiling until another face came into his view. He looked up into the sympathetic eyes of his chief engineer.
"What did you do this time?" Tor asked as he held out his hand to his friend and leader. "She looked as pissed as a traline slug," he added, referring to a nasty little creature on their planet that oozed pus when threatened.
Vox reached up and grabbed Tor's hand. "She insisted I give her something called ‘marriage' and jewelry when I told her I had given her my cub. She refuses to have my son without the items."
"So, give them to her," Tor said as he watched Vox straighten his shirt and run his hand over the back of his neck.
"I will once she agrees to having my cub and submitting to me," Vox replied with determination. "She is the most stubborn, hard-headed, demanding-"
Tor drew in a deep breath and sighed in envy. "Sexy, beautiful, unusual-"
Vox's lips curved into a humorous smile. "-and passionate female I have ever met."
"Then explain to me why you want to change her?" Tor asked, looking with confusion at his friend.
"Because she will end up getting herself in trouble, and I might not always be there or have someone there to protect her," he admitted reluctantly. "I will ask Viper to bring this marriage thing back to her, and I can give her jewelry once we are down on the planet. That should calm her for a little while-hopefully."
"What did your father say about your mating to an unknown species?" Tor asked as they walked back to the bridge. He had already contacted Lodar who made sure Riley was safely back in her living quarters.
"I haven't told them yet," Vox admitted. "There is nothing he can do now anyway. I have given Riley my cub. I could feel the moment her body took my son into her womb. She is my queen, and there can be no denying it now."
Tor whistled under his breath. "You know he was determined for you to fulfill the treaty. He wanted to make sure there was an alliance with the Valdier that could not be broken."
"There already is," Vox said with an impatient wave of his hand, dismissing the reason. "A mating between Zoran's youngling and mine will ensure that. It is not necessary for me to also marry a Valdier princess to keep the peace between our people. Besides, we know most of those involved in starting the war and have dealt with them. Ha'ven, Creon, and I are continuing our joint effort to eliminate the rest. There is no possibility of it occurring again. I trust Creon and his brothers as they trust me and mine."
"Yes well, your father remembers. He does not forgive or forget as easily what happened to his sister and her mate," Tor reminded him softly. "He wants to ensure there is never a chance of it happening again."
Vox scowled as he walked onto the bridge. "I have said it will not and it will not. I will not discuss it further."
He watched as Tor nodded before moving away to finish directing the docking of the huge warship to the Transfer Station. His mind drifting back to the murder of his father's sister and her Valdier mate. He remembered his aunt's soft smile when she looked at the huge Valdier warrior the one time he saw him. The warrior had found his aunt injured after a particularly nasty battle near their family's village toward the end of the war. She had escaped into the lower mountains after the attack on his family's old mountain village. He and his father later learned the attack was designed to look like the Valdier had done it. In reality, it had been done by a group of traitors using the nearby battle as a cover as they tried to eliminate his family.
His aunt had fallen in love with the warrior named Trevon as he cared for her. Trevon had hidden her in a mountain cave high in the meadows away from the village. Vox remembered his aunt being beautiful and innocent to the vicious ways of war. Vox had no doubt that the warrior loved his aunt just as much. They had been murdered while he had been away trying to discover who was behind instigating the war between his people, the Curizan and the Valdier. Witnesses who were brought before his father to answer for the murders swore the warrior begged them with his dying breath to spare his aunt. They swore the warrior had never harmed any of the villagers. The blame lay with the small group of men who fed rumors and prejudices by the traitors in the village. A small group of villagers were horrified by his aunt's behavior in accepting a Valdier as her mate. They had tied her to a stake and slit her throat in front of his great parents, telling them their daughter's death was the penalty for her accepting a Valdier as her mate. The warrior, unable to save his mate, had been beside himself with grief. The villagers had struck out at the warrior. Wounded, the warrior had disappeared into the mountains. It was said on some nights it was still possible to hear his dragon's roar of grief and see the shadow of the dragon warrior searching for his mate.
His great parents were forced to watch helplessly as their daughter and her mate were taken from them. When his father returned from the village after the investigation, he had sworn that never again would this happen. He had forged a treaty with the Valdier king, binding their two species together in peace by promising his first male great child to the Valdier's first female great child. Vox was to mate with a Valdier princess as well. His father had chosen this path to seal their commitment to the Royal House of Valdier. Now, Vox had broken the treaty by mating with Riley.
Chapter 20
All Riley could think about was getting back to their living quarters and hiding. How dare he think it okay that every male on board the ship knew what they were doing? It was none of their damn business. The only consolation she had was that hopefully he hadn't made a bet with his friends as to who could bed the fat girl. A low mewing of pain sounded from her throat as she neared their living quarters.
Mate gives us baby, her cat hissed quietly to her. Mates not give baby if they do not want us.
He said he won't marry me, Riley cried out in fury. Well, fine! If Grandma Pearl can raise me and Tina, then I know I can do it. Who needs the big jerk anyway? I don't! I am Riley St. Claire from Denver, and I'm going home and raising my baby! I know Tina will help me; she has always loved kids.
You Riley St. Claire of Sarafin now, her cat hissed back in irritation. That our home now.
Oh no, it's not! Not if that big doofus doesn't marry me. And if you argue with me about it I'll cage your horny ass and drop it off at the pound as soon as I get home! Riley replied to her cat as she shifted back into her two-legged form.
She walked straight to the bathroom, tearing off her camisole and boxers as she went. Stepping into the shower, she gave the request for it to turn on as hot as she could stand it. She scrubbed at her skin until it glowed a soft peach. She would be double-damned if she was going to let this make a difference. Sure, she loved the big lummox, but he needed to treat her with respect! That meant he needed to get down on his gosh-damn knees and propose. Hell, he could even add in a nice romantic dinner with wine and roses. She was worth it. She would love his ass like no other girl could, and she would never two-time on him like some of the girls she knew back home. She would have worshipped his sorry, hairy ass if he'd treated her right, but there was no way in hell that she would ever be submissive! The name Riley and submissive just didn't go together.
Stepping out of the shower, she quickly dried herself and walked over to her huge pink suitcase. Lodar said they would be leaving for the planet soon. She needed to wear something that would make Vox regret not thinking she was good enough to marry. She wanted to go for that right look of Mrs. Prima Donna/Kiss-My-Royal-Ass/You-totally-fucked-up-this-time. She bit her lip as she pulled out one combination after another before settling on a bright, multicolored, flowing, flowered skirt that floated around her making her feel feminine and delicate, matched with a white off-the-shoulder peasant blouse. She finished it off with a pair of deadly, four-inch-high pink heels. In this bad-boy outfit she not only looked like a million bucks, but she was almost as tall as Vox! She quickly added a touch of makeup and dried her hair until it fell in silky, wild curls down her back. Stepping back, she looked at her reflection critically.