Rich gaped at him. “Why?”
Nate laughed. “Why not? The males here are pampered and cherished, our every need seen to. You might think me a selfish old fool, but I quite enjoy being taken care of. Back on my home planet, it was a competition for who could have the biggest dwelling, the most credits in their accounts. Here, it is a gentler way of life. Well, more violent in some ways. The females are fierce and strong. They’re the fighters, the protectors, the hunters.”
“Do the men have that same weird hair?” he asked, thinking about how he could possibly bribe someone to help him escape. But although many of the men had long hair, it didn’t move like the womens did.
“No, just women have that hair,” Nate told him. “Crazy, huh?
“And what do all of you do?” Rich asked, a bit disgusted by the other man’s laziness. It was obvious by his and the other males’ soft bodies that they didn’t do any hunting or fighting. Did they have no pride? Rich knew women could do anything and everything, but that didn’t always mean they had to. He believed in playing to a person’s strengths. Surely, the males should be contributing in some way.
Nate nodded. “I can see you’re disgusted by us. I don’t blame you. When I first arrived, I thought it was heaven here. My needs were all taken care of. If I wanted sex, I got it. If I wanted food, it was provided. I never wanted for anything. But I think if I’d realized how soft and lazy I would grow, I may have thought twice. The Trinan females rule around here. They are warriors. They take care of our needs, but they don’t truly care about us. I think they believe it would make them soft to care about us too much.”
Not care about them? Did he mean love? Rich nearly scoffed then he thought of the way Laylla abandoned him and how hurt he still felt. Had he hoped she might love him?
Of course not. But the way his stomach clenched made him feel uneasy.
“So, you just stay here, in this building, being waited on and fucked whenever you want?”
Nate’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment Rich thought he wasn’t going to answer. “Yeah, guess so.”
Rich took a deep breath, trying to calm his temper. It wouldn’t do to piss off the only person who he could speak to. “So how do I get out of here?”
Nate looked surprised. “You want to leave?”
“Of course, I want to leave. Unlike you, I don’t want to sit around here, wasting my life. I have things to do. I have a task to fulfil, and I have people coming to rescue me. I need to get back to my ship or they won’t find me.”
Nate tapped his chin. “Oh, they’ll probably find you. This isn’t a big planet, and there aren’t many settlements like this one. Yeah, they’ll find you eventually.”
He gritted his teeth. Did this man do nothing himself? Rich wasn’t going to just sit around and wait to be rescued.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not take my chances.” He forced himself to speak civilly. But from the other man’s grin, he thought he hadn’t covered up his annoyance that well.
“You sure you want to leave here? You’ve been claimed by Laylla. Every male wants to be claimed by her. Of course, we all thought she would claim Eion, especially after the ceremony.”
“What are you talking about? Laylla has not claimed me.”
“Of course, she has. I heard she did it in front of everyone before she’d even spoken to the elders.”
“She stood by while they carried me here. She hasn’t claimed me.”
“I forgot you can’t understand their language. You’re here because she’s being punished for missing the ceremony. The elders are angry at her and trying to save face since she essentially disobeyed them. So, they set her to work on the wall for three days. It’s an insult to someone of Laylla’s standing.”
His mind reeled. She’d claimed him? She was being punished? He didn’t like that at all.
“What did you mean by standing?”
“She’s Elder Torin’s granddaughter. One day, she’ll to rule this village. That’s probably another reason why they’re annoyed with her and why you’ve been sent here. You’re an unknown. They wanted Eion to father her babies. They thought he would produce strong female offspring for some reason. But she disrupted their plans. She’s not taking part in the ceremony, and she claimed you.”
“What ceremony?”
“Each month a female is called up to take part in the ceremony. A male is chosen for her. If she has not participated in a ceremony before, she will be prepared by the elders about how to fuck a male. They fuck for three days straight in the hope of producing a child. There aren’t many children being born around here.”
“And they wanted Laylla to fuck this Eion so she’d get pregnant with his baby. And then what? He’d claim her?”
Nate shook his head. “Claiming is a whole different process. The elders choose who takes part in the ceremony. But a female can claim any male she wishes, not the other way around. A claiming is serious. It’s for life. Once you’re claimed, you belong to that female. They decide everything for you. And you don’t take part in anymore ceremonies.”
“Then why am I here? Did Laylla want me to come here?”
“I think you’re here as part of her punishment. Plus, the elders want to watch you. Make certain you’re not a risk. Many claimed males are left here during the day while their females work.”
“Like a freaking male day care. This is ridiculous. I cannot stay here.”
She wanted him.
His insides did a little dance before he squashed the feeling. He wasn’t staying. Even if he wanted to stay with Laylla, he couldn’t live like this. He would go insane.
“Wait, did you say the females are prepared by the elders for the ceremony? But they’ve had sex before then, right?”
Because Laylla hadn’t been a virgin, he would have known. Wouldn’t he? Maybe not, she wasn’t human after all. But she certainly didn’t act like a virgin did.
“Not unless they have participated in the ceremony before. The women around here don’t engage in casual sex. They have sex during the ceremony or with their claimed male. Of course, they certainly engage in a lot of oral sex.” Nate looked over with a grin as another male yelled his satisfaction as a female sucked him into orgasm.
It had been her first time? And he hadn’t even known?
“Has Laylla taken part before?”
“No.”
Rich shook his head. “I can’t live like this. I have things to do. I come from Earth. I was returning there to overthrow the current ruler when my ship crash-landed here, so I really don’t have time to sit around and get my cock sucked.” Rich looked over in disgust at that same male as the female rose and walked away. Jesus, did they have no self-respect?
Nate chuckled. “You certainly sound like you have things to do. But this place is closely guarded, my friend. You try to escape, and you’re going to land yourself in a world of trouble. If I was you, I’d sit back and treat this like a mini-vacation until your friends find you. You’ll see, this place isn’t so bad.”
Chapter Seven
This place was hell.
Twice, he’d attempted to sneak off last night and twice, he’d been caught. The females who’d caught him had just dragged him back to his furs, growling something at him that he figured was a warning, then left.
He was stuck here.
And he was going slowly mad. How did these men do this day after day without losing their minds? He couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. He could feel his brain cells dying from boredom. Was that possible?
He guessed Nate could be right, and if he just hung tight, Logan and his team would find him. He hoped that Alice or Annabel hadn’t tried to contact him already. They’d get worried, then they’d convince their mates to start searching for him, and the last thing he needed was the Zerconians finding him like this.
He would never hear the end of it.
A group of females entered the room, calling out something. The men around him all rose and followed some of the women towards the door. Nate appeared beside him.