Zandian Pet (Zandian Masters 7)

Prium’s was the place h

e stopped to let off steam during breeding season. When his biology raged at him to find a female and plant her with his seed. Too bad there weren’t any Zandian females left to implant.

At least, he’d believed there weren’t until two short planet rotations ago when two stunningly beautiful females had arrived in the palatial pod, leaving every male there senseless with lust. Which was why he’d chosen to get the hell off the space pod.

The females weren’t available, anyway. Talia, Master Seke’s daughter, came already mated to the warrior Tomis, and Eslyn seemed to be in relationship with three other criminals brought in from Zandia. Although judging by the rumors, she wished to shed herself of those males, which left every warrior in the pod clamoring to take their place, offering to share her like her previous mates had.

Sharing wasn’t Erick’s style, though. Even though he’d never had a relationship, he knew that instinctively about himself. He’d be a possessive vecker. If he had a Zandian female, he’d fight every male in the galaxy for her.

A stray nelot—one of the furry mammals usually kept as pets on Aurelia—curled around his ankles, blinking up at him. He bent and scratched its ears. “Sorry, I don’t have any food for you, little one. Zandians don’t eat often.” Only once every ten planet rotations, to be exact. Unless they were parted from Zandian crystal, the stone at the core of their planet, which gave them energy. The valuable gemstone behind the Finn’s invasion and massacre fifteen solar cycles ago.

The electronic doors sparked and zapped as he stepped through, but since he had no weaponry, he entered unharmed. The moment he entered, his muscles tightened with the anticipation of release.

Veck, he’d never needed to blow off steam more.

He’d just lost 750,000 steins of Prince Zander’s money.

In the years since the Finn took their planet, Erick had earned or helped Prince Zander earn millions through investments and business dealings. Wealth the Zandians desperately needed to wage war to regain their precious home. Wealth they’d used to buy airships and weaponry.

But he’d just come from his meeting with a broker empty-handed, his investment gone.

“Forgive me, Master Erick,” Behn, the pock-faced Eglentian broker who had put together the deal for three galactacarriers had said, twisting a giant Zandian crystal ring on his finger. Erick had traded him that crystal solar cycles before in another deal. “At this point, all I can tell you is that the deal has been delayed.”

Delayed his ass.

Although Behn had hidden it well, Erick recognized signs of his distress. The trickle of sweat running from his ear to his high ruffled collar, the ring twisting.

Erick’s fingers had twitched over the handle of his sword. He may be Prince Zander’s business and trade advisor, but he’d been warrior-trained by Master Seke, right along with the rest of them. No Zandian had gone unschooled except the very elderly, no matter what their role in the palatial pod was. They had a planet to recover and precious few of their species left alive.

Losing the bid to take back Zandia was unthinkable.

In the end, he’d left Behn alive, taking the crystal ring and an ancient Venusian talisman from his desk as collateral. It wasn’t Behn’s fault the seller had swindled him. Erick had left him with dire threats about recovering his funds. Not that he had much hope of ever seeing that money or the three galactacarriers.

The loss was a huge blow. They had precious few resources to win their planet back. It was a shame he preferred not to shoulder. He needed to salvage this situation because reporting his failure to Zander was not an option.

But until he eased the throb of his cock, avidly campaigning for him to storm the pod upon his return and spread the legs of one or both of those new female inhabitants, he wouldn’t be able to think.

So, Prium’s it was.

He skipped the lounge, pulsing with a hypnotic reverberation designed to lower one’s inhibitions. It didn’t help the heaviness in his loins. He went straight for a bidding room, where he could view holograms of the available females and purchase an hour or two with one.

Prium, himself, was behind the counter, and when he saw Erick, he sauntered over. Tall, slender, and pinky-white skinned, with pale, almost silver eyes, Prium, like most Aurelians, possessed an austere beauty. Even the males appeared feminine, with long, delicate fingers and elongated skulls. He wore a flowing, fur-lined robe in pale yellow and had intricately embroidered slippers with curling, pointy toes. “Welcome to Prium’s, Master…”

“Erick.”

“Master Erick. Yes, welcome back. I have just the female for you today.”

Something about the way Prium said it, or the assumption behind the words, made the back of Erick’s neck prickle. His hand drifted to his sword belt, but, of course, he’d stowed all weaponry in the ship. Excrement. He hated being unarmed.

“No trust me, you’ll love my newest acquisition,” the glamorous pimp drawled.

Erick had a personal rule about never believing any being who said trust me, so he kept his face impassive and waited. Why had he been targeted by Prium for this sales pitch? He wasn’t a frequent customer, nor a heavy spender. Something about it felt off, like a setup.

Prium launched a hologram, and it all became as clear as Zandian crystal. Not a setup. Ice flashed through his flesh, followed by prickles of heat. His fingers cranked closed into fists.

Prium has a Zandian female.

It took every ounce of control not to throw himself at the peddler of flesh and choke that smug look right off his face.