Good. She would learn. Hopefully sooner than later. He walked her to the kitchen.
Daneth, being the ever-capable advisor, had called ahead, and his servants there had already prepared several possibilities to feed her.
“Will this do, my lord?” Barr, the chef, asked, placing several plates piled with food on the counter. “Master Daneth was not certain what she would eat, but he suggested a few possibilities.” The chef’s eyes flicked to Lamira’s peach-tipped breasts and Zander’s horns twitched.
He wanted to throw the plates of food at the male. “She’ll eat what we feed her,” he growled, but he pushed her in front of the plates and allowed her to choose for herself.
He didn’t know what to expect, but she picked the same one he would have picked, had it been his day to eat—a meal of delicate birdflesh with fruit compote over a serving of grain.
She gazed up at him with a question in her eyes. Or was it a supplication? His horns leaned in her direction and his cock stiffened. He enjoyed that look on her. He imagined her on her knees, pleading for his mercy, or for him to grant her a boon. He wasn’t sure what it was she wanted now, though.
She dropped her eyes back to her plate and grasped the curved utensil.
He suddenly understood. She wanted her wrists freed to eat.
“Release cuffs.”
Oh Zandian sun, she was beautiful. Her smile of gratitude sent a wave of something unfamiliar through the center of his chest. He didn’t like it. She was trouble. A pain in his backside. She lied. She deceived. She couldn’t control her wild human emotions. She would distract him from his work to no end. The last thing he needed was to feel pity or...anything else for this female.
He did not often visit the kitchen, but there were far more servants crowding into the space than belonged. All of them stole curious glances at Lamira and her naked body.
She ate quickly, as if afraid someone might take the food away from her. She had been hungry.
No, he wouldn’t feel guilty about that, either.
She finished one quarter of the food on the plate and set the utensil down, pushing the plate away. She flashed a brilliant smile at Barr, th
e only being who remained in the kitchen now. “Thank you. This is the most delicious meal I’ve ever had.”
He wanted to throat-punch the chef. Which wasn’t fair. His entire staff—every being in the pod—was made up of Zandians. Many of them were highly skilled professionals, but they’d chosen to take serving positions to be near him, or perhaps to be near the Zandian crystals in his possession. His species needed them to survive, so, when they’d evacuated Zandia, they’d taken a load of crystal as well.
“Please, my lady…er—” Barr’s eyes darted to Zander.
No, definitely not my lady. She was far from his mate. But he suddenly didn’t want his staff thinking of her as beneath them, either.
“Lamira,” he corrected.
Barr bowed. “Lamira, please eat as much as you like…” he trailed off again, once more realizing he’d overstepped his bounds.
Zander gave him a cold stare. “She will require sustenance two to three times a day. She obviously eats very little at a time, however.”
Barr bobbed his head. “We will provide her with whatever she wishes.”
What emotions twisted around in his chest now? Some odd mixture of jealousy combined with satisfaction. He wanted Barr to care appropriately for his slave, but he didn’t like the way she smiled at him.
Stars. Having this vecking female created a starstorm of issues in his pod. She was not an honored guest here. She was a slave. Except only for him. “Treat her like a fellow staff member. No higher, no lower. She serves me like you do,” he snapped. He swept his gaze around the room, making sure they’d all heard it.
Everyone nodded their assent.
And stared at her breasts.
Excrement. She would not be allowed out of his chamber unclothed again.
~.~
She almost had to jog to keep up with Zander’s long strides back to his chamber. He refused to look at her, a muscle flexing in his temple. She couldn’t figure out why he’d be angry. She didn’t mind hurrying, though. Parading through the halls naked with her freshly spanked ass hanging out for all to see was not her idea of fun. It was utterly humiliating. It also had her sex wet again. Now that most of the pain had faded, the memory of the spanking strangely excited her. She imagined him doing it again, then forcing her to breed.
But no. She didn’t want that. She wasn’t supposed to want the attention of any male. Which might prove difficult here. From what she’d gathered, there were only males in Zander’s pod. And, yeah, the Zandian males were...very masculine. Something about being around so many huge, ripped bodies, giant cocks stuffed in tight pants, and horns pointed right at her while the beings stared at her body had her nipples hard and her pussy damp. It had her skin flushing and tingling. It had her wondering how big and long the Zandian prince’s cock might be.