Her Alien Masters by Ann Jacobs Read Free Book Online Page B

yesterday,” Arik said as he helped Garnet to rise. No longer muffled by the leather that used to cover him from head to toe but for one eye, his voice was now deep and clear. Princely. “Come to my quarters since you are family now, and we will discuss it. It has been a tedious day, and I feel certain my mate is weary.”
    When they entered Arik and Emerald’s private tower, four royal eunuchs rose from their prostrated positions on Arik’s order. Romulus gasped at the sight. He’d seen the four royal eunuchs before, but not when they were unclothed. “They’re…”
    “My cousins. They were completely desexed, for no reason other than that they were the sons of my father’s late brother. I believe it is wrong to mutilate boys and men whose only wrongdoing was an accident of birth or circumstance.”
    Romulus tore his gaze from the eunuchs and looked at Arik. “You were a younger son, as well, were you not?”
    “For someone not born and raised on Obsidion, you seem to know our history well. Yes, I was a younger son, banished and hunted because, unlike my cousins, I refused to consent to being made a eunuch.
    “For that, I was chased to the ends of the galaxy by mercenaries my father hired. They very nearly killed me. Only some kind primitives on the planet Westphalia saved me, nursing me back to some semblance of health. Still I was left whole sexually, for which I am grateful. The only reason I am here now as my father’s heir to the Diamond Throne is because my older brother had the misfortune of picking a fight with the wrong sky pirates and losing his life. I endured months of torture last year at the hands of the surgeons, so I can walk among my subjects and not have them run away in terror.” Arik gestured toward the eye patch he wore before turning to his cousins as though to end that thread of conversation.
    “You may leave now,” he told them. “I believe my guests have seen enough of you.”
    Her touch gentle and loving, Emerald rubbed a hand along the prince’s muscular thigh while he watched his cousins leave and said, “You do not owe your subjects any explanation for your edict, not even a subject who is mated with my sister. What you have ordered is right.”
    “But has his highness considered what abiding by that order will do to Romulus’ and others’ business in the sex-slave trade? Not to mention what is to become of those homeless, unemployed eunuchs who may decide they no longer wish to ply their trade in the Street of Pleasure? Has Prince Arik considered what harm his order will cause to the tourist trade on Obsidion?” Garnet grasped Romulus’ forearm hard enough to draw his gaze. He found it difficult to keep from becoming obviously aroused from the simple fact of her nearness and the heat of her body touching his.
    Arik stood, a compelling figure in his black court garb. “Yes, little sister, I considered it. Some loss of business may take place, that’s true. I don’t believe there will be that big a drop in the tourist trade, though. Certainly not enough to justify continuing the barbaric practices that have become ingrained in Obsidion’s society.”
    “What of those like your royal cousins, who have already been altered? Would you have the surgeons attempt to make them whole?” Romulus asked.
    “I doubt that’s possible, though the cyborg maker Pak Song has made strides toward such restoration. There is an Earthling named Conan who reportedly does well with a bionic cock, although at this point, bionics are not sufficiently advanced to restore fertility. But I digress.
    “My intent is to see that no more boys are mutilated on this planet, and that none who have been mutilated elsewhere are brought here to service customers in sex slave parlors like yours.”
    Romulus stepped forward, determined to meet his ruler without showing fear. “But your highness, the edict says eunuchs may no longer be kept as sex slaves in the emporiums. What is to become of the ones