MARISSA VOLANDER

 

Being CEO of the biotech company Gladonetics meant my schedule was always overbooked. So even as I ran across the front courtyard toward the doors of the glass skyscraper that housed Gladonetics, I was already running late for yet another meeting.

 

It was a blustery day out and I wished that I had pulled my long, brown hair into a tight bun instead of letting it loose with wild curls. I wished that I had worn a straight pencil skirt that was tightly fitted instead of the pleated, black skirt I wore that was riding the wind like it was surfing. It was hard to keep it down since I had digital tablet files in my arms as I scurried in my black heels. My hair was blowing in my face practically blocking my view in my flustered state when… BAM! I ran into a wall and fell backwards, flat on my back.

 

The tablets went everywhere, my hair was in my face, and my skirt was up to my waist, showing red panties and black, thigh-high stockings with a garter belt. I was mortified and hoped that no one had seen this catastrophe, but that notion was crushed as soon as I heard a voice.

 

“Allow me, human,” the deep, reverberating voice said.

 

“What?” I whispered while I was on the floor.

 

Through my strands of hair covering my face like a mask, I saw a large figure looming over me.

 

“Who are you?” I tried to ask.

 

Before I knew it, his hands had grasped my body like nothing and he helped me to my feet, holding me firmly against his body. I looked up into the face of a Drackon warrior. His long, dark-black hair was in tendrils down to his shoulders and his perfectly square jaw was adorned with full, pinkish lips. His eyes were a stark, sea green but with a long, vertical pupil, like the eyes of a cat. He was over seven feet tall, almost eight feet, and his thick, broad body was so hard that it was the reason I thought I had ran into a wall. But that was not the case: I had run into him.

 

Now I was in a precarious and ridiculous position with my head arched all the way back in order to look up at his face while his massive arm encircled my lower back, pulling me to him to steady me, or so I thought. But I could feel his hard member pressing against my stomach and my eyes grew wide as I realized just how big it must be. He must have known what I was thinking in that moment because he smiled at my response.

 

“You should watch where you are going, human. There are many that would prey upon your small, delicate size,” he said as he inhaled sharply, as though inhaling my pheromones—and he was.

 

This was what the Drackon did. They were a race of alien shifters with many abilities. The Drackon were a patriarchal, male-dominated society of warriors with a special ability to shift into part animal. It was this part animal that allowed them to sniff out pheromones in such a way. And although they looked like a larger and stronger version of males on Earth, they were vastly different in that they were able to shift into dragons.

 

This was not a complete dragon shift; it was a partial shift. When they did shift, large wings sprouted on their backs and shiny, colorful scale armor sprouted in various places on their bodies, but not into a full dragon. I had not seen it in person, but I had seen recordings of it. It was impressive.

 

Now one of these Drackon male warriors was holding me up and pressing his hard cock against me. A part of me wished that he was fully shifted at the moment, but he was not. In fact, he was well adorned and in regal dress.

 

He wore black leggings that were made of an unknown material with calf-high boots. His embroidered shirt was white and fit him in a snug manner, leaving little to the imagination. I had never seen a Drackon dressed so well. His face looked familiar to me, but I think I just wanted him to be familiar because he was so damn sexy. If I had met him at a bar later, I would definitely take him home for a one-night stand, but nothing else. But for now, I would have to put my oversized libido aside and remember that I was late for a meeting.

 

I placed my hands on the large beast of an alien’s chest and pushed myself away as I said, “Yes, thank you. I will remember that. If you will excuse me, I am late for a meeting.”

 

“Yes, I sometimes forget that the female humans are allowed to conduct meetings, just like the males. It is not so on my planet, and it never will be,” he said as he picked up my tablets that were thrown about the ground.

 

His words inspired an immediate rage reaction inside of me. I yanked the tablets from his hands as I said, “Yes, everyone knows that. That is why you come here and take human females from Earth: the Drackon treat their females so badly, there are hardly any left. It wouldn’t surprise me if they all ran away from you.”

 

He laughed. It was a loud, boisterous laugh that shocked me, as that was not the effect I was going for with my insult.

 

Then he said, “You speak as though the women are being forced to be mates of the Drackon. They willingly give themselves to us. They all register and there is a waiting list. You females WANT us, badly.”

 

I huffed in anger at his response. He was right. He was one hundred percent right. Ever since the Drackon opened lines of communication for finding human female mates to take back with them to their planet over twenty years ago, the waiting list had become famously over populated. Every female wanted a Drackon warrior to claim her as his mate.

 

I was never on that list, nor would I ever be. I was too much of a tomboy to be claimed by a male of any species. Still, I did not want to admit this to him moment because I wanted to win this argument, if it was in fact an argument that we were having.

 

“Not all of us want you badly!” I said as I stomped off toward the door. I lied. I wanted him. I wanted him badly, but not for a life-long mate: just for endless sensual and lustful encounters.

 

As I entered the door, I looked back over my shoulder at him. He was still staring at me and I took this opportunity to take all of him in. I looked immediately at his crotch and realized that the tight-fitted, wet-suit like tights were there with good reason. He was hard, and I could see his long, thick bulge. If the pants were not made of such thick material, it would have created more than just a bulge in his pants.

 

I looked to see that he was smiling at me. I quickly looked away. I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed that he had seen me practically half naked with my skirt up around my waist and embarrassed that he had caught me checking him out. The Drackon were the epitome of male dominance and I was too dominant to like their way of life.

 

“Nice of you to finally join us, Ms. Volander,” Archer Payne said as I walked into the board meeting. This was the meeting that I was late for, and a very important one. It was a meeting with the board of Gladonetics, and the seven men that sat around the conference table were all my bosses. They made all the decisions about the company and I oversaw making sure those decisions were implemented successfully.

 

“Apologies, gentlemen; my plate is full today. Let’s get down to business, shall we?” I said, taking a seat, not wanting to have to cater to apologizing to these men.

 

“Yes, we have news. We have been in quiet relations with the Drackon species for two years now, as you know,” Archer Payne said.

 

As soon as he said it, my stomach began to feel nervous. Was it just a coincidence that this meeting was about the Drackon and I had just run into one right outside the door of our business? That did not sound coincidental to me. I shifted in my seat waiting to hear what he was going to say. News of the Drackon dealings was not anything new. As Archer Payne said, it had been two, quiet years of dealing with them. We were a biotech company, after all, and their abilities to shift were of great interest to us. So the company had acquired small things from the Drackon, like DNA samples in the form of spit in test tubes. This was a great scientific advancement and we had an entire department devoted to analyzing the small samples the Drackon gave us. So we had in fact been in business with the alien race for some time. But it seemed that now there was a something new.

 

"Yes, we have, " I said in response to Archer Payne’s introduction to this meeting.

 

"We have been chosen by King Hanu Rykor of the Drackon to meet with his son, Prince Jarith Rykor, to further advance our agreement with them. The king wants to enter negotiations for a more open trade of biotechnology with Gladonetics.”

 

"That is unbelievable," I said, excited for the opportunity. I took my job very seriously. In fact, it was the only thing I took seriously; I did not have any outside life beyond work whatsoever. I did not date. I made it a point to use men for sex only. Romance only got in the way of my career goals, therefore I did not pursue it. To be chosen as the sole company to enter into such a drastic deal with the Drackon was a very important career opportunity.

 

"Yes, it is," Archer Payne said. "We want you to lead this project. It just so happens that prince Jarith was here on other business when we got this last-minute communication from the king earlier today."

 

"The prince is here?" I asked, already knowing that it was why the Drackon that I ran into looked so familiar to me; of course I had seen his face, and he was the prince.

 

"Yes, he is already here on Earth and in the city. You will meet with him in two hours. We expect you to use that time to prepare for the meeting."

 

I tried not to panic. After what had happened only moments before with the prince, I probably was not the best person to meet with him. He had already seen my panties; how would he ever take me seriously? I was in for a challenge. But I was not going to let it deter me from the biggest career opportunity of my life.

 

"You have my word; I will be ready."

 

"Excellent. We know we can count on you. You are a pit bull in the business arena. We want a fair deal where the Drackon are not taking advantage of us, but also not so hostile that we do not get what we want," Archer Payne said.

 

I nodded my head in agreement. I knew what we wanted. We had been after it since we had discovered that the Drackon existed. But we did not speak of it. It was our corporate secret that would cause a scandal and hostilities if anyone knew.

 

"You have my word, Mr. Archer Payne," I said, standing up and shaking the hands of every man in the room with a firm grip. I always had to be more masculine than feminine in these meetings, even though I knew my looks were extremely feminine and sexy.

 

I left the meeting and went to work. The first thing that I did when I returned to my office was close and lock the door. Then I sat at my large, glass desk and privately looked for the photographs that we had of the prince. Perhaps it wasn't him that I had run into earlier. Perhaps that was simply a warrior of the prince.

 

"Please, please, don't let it to be him," I whispered to myself as I typed in the search in the photo database. My fingers were shaking as I typed in the information. Then my stomach turned as the data began to load, but it wasn't quick enough for my nerves. "Come on, come on, you slow piece of crap."

 

Ding! The data was finished and I opened the envelope. There on my screen, staring back at me, was the prince of the Drackon alien warrior race of the planet Mooreah.

 

"Shit!" I shouted; the Drackon staring back at me was the same one that I had encountered. I put my head in my hands, feeling very embarrassed and pissed off at my ridiculous luck. Of course it was him. I looked back at the screen and took in his regal photo. His long, dark-black hair was loose, hanging down to his shoulders just as it was when I ran into him earlier that day. His eyes stared a hole in me even from my screen. They were so unusual in that stark, sea-green color with the black, vertical, long pupil, like the eyes of a cat. It made his eyes penetrate anyone he looked at, even through the computer screen.

 

I quickly closed the photos because I was starting to get hot and bothered. I had to confess that I had always wondered what it would be like to take a Drackon to bed. Many women of Earth did so, but almost all of them chose to remain monogamous with them after bedding them. I found that to be very intriguing and yet dangerous. This was another reason why I was so interested in their biology; perhaps they released some sort of chemical when they mated that caused a human woman to want to be with them forever.

 

So even though my interest in taking one to bed was very high with my extreme libido being what it was, I did not want to take the risk. I had too much going for me on Earth to suddenly fall head over heels for an alien warrior that we knew very little about other than their ability to shift into dragon men.

 

I prepped and reviewed all our Drackon information, scanning through anything that might be of use when speaking with the prince. It was to my benefit that I had already met him and saw what type of personality he was. Now I had to go through all the information of how humans have dealt with dignitaries of the Drackon alien race in the past. One wrong gesture and I could accidentally be giving the prince the equivalent of flipping him the bird without even knowing. Plus, doing the research kept me busy so that my mind did not drift off to the encounter I had with him earlier. Anytime I closed my eyes, I saw his gorgeous, strong, tall body lifting me up from the concrete. I had to force myself not to relive the moment over and over again in my mind because it would make my body become heated. That was not very professional.

 

Finally, two hours had passed and it was time to meet with the prince. I gathered all of my confidence and knowledge and walked into the boardroom where Archer Payne was waiting for me.

 

"Miss Volander, are you ready? The company's future is in your hands," Archer Payne said to me.

 

"No pressure there, huh, Archer?" I said smugly, not able to control my smart-ass wit even in this tense moment.

 

"I'm just making sure," he said quietly as we both turned toward the door as it opened.

 

An impressive sight entered the room: four warriors with stone-hardened expressions marched in, two on each side, escorting in Prince Jarith. The warriors parted and stood guard on each side of the doorway. It was a regal entrance that made my mouth water as I watched the prince with his tall, perfect stature walking in.

 

The prince looked at me and he smirked a delicious grin. I felt Archer Payne look at me, wondering why the prince was giving me such a welcoming smile.

 

"Prince Jarith, it is an honor. My name is Archer Payne, and this is the CEO of Gladonetics, Miss Marissa Volander." Archer Payne bowed to the prince and I did the same. Our eyes remained locked.

 

"Marissa." He repeated my name, and did this so seductively that my face flushed red. I cleared my throat and tried to get down to business.

 

"Yes, Prince Jarith, it is an honor to meet you at last. Please take a seat so that we may get down to business, please," I said, moving over to the table and sitting down, glad for the distraction. It was obvious that there was tension in the room and I could tell that Archer Payne was picking up on it.

 

"Thank you, Marissa," Jarith replied without taking his eyes off of me. It was very distracting. We all sat down at the table and I began to lead the meeting.

 

"We at Gladonetics are very excited for this new opportunity with the Drackon. Thank you for choosing us, and we are sure that these negotiations will be good for both the Drackon and Gladonetics. Now, should we get down to the specifics?" I said as we had not yet been told exactly what they hoped to accomplish with this first meeting, or what the negotiations would entail.

 

"Yes, in fact my father has insisted that he be included in this meeting," Jarith said.

 

Archer Payne and I looked at each other in confusion and I said, "Oh, is the king joining us? We were not aware that he was here."

 

Jarith stood up and said, "He is not." Then he moved his forearm across his chest and began to type on a gadget on his arm. Then a holographic projection appeared in the middle of the room; it was King Rykor.

 

Archer Payne and I stood up immediately and bowed to the king. He was a broad and robust alien male shifter, and at this time, he was fully shifted.

 

My eyes grew wide at his appearance. It was very intimidating. His long, dark-black hair was down past his shoulders and a large, silver crown sat on top of his head. His eyes were the same sea green with vertical pupils like his son, Jarith, and his square jaw was masculine and hard. He did not wear a shirt, and this is where the Drackon aspect could be seen. His chest was partially covered in silver, metallic scales that were shiny and polished. This was not an armor that the Drackon wore; it was part of their skin after they shifted into dragon form. The metallic scales were beautiful, like jewelry, but they were hard and impenetrable. Not even a bullet could penetrate it. But the real magic was behind the king…wings. The wings were a matte silver, not as shiny as the scales, but still beautiful. They stretched out half open behind the king and they framed him in a very regal manner. It was very intimidating but awe inspiring.

 

"King Rykor, it is an honor," Archer Payne said.

 

"Introduce yourselves," the king said in a very stern tone.

 

"I am Archer Payne. I am on the board of the Gladonetics Corporation."

 

"I am Marissa Volander; I am the CEO of the Gladonetics Corporation. We are honored to do business with the Drackon. Please tell us, King Rykor, exactly what you had in mind so that we can get down to the specifics," I said confidently.

 

"A human female that leads business agreements. I have never seen such a thing,” King Rykor said to the surprise of Archer Payne and I. Sensing that the king might be offended by dealing with a woman, Archer Payne jumped in and said, "We do things differently here on Earth, but you may directly work with me if it pleases the king."

 

"No, I want the human female. She seems to have a strong mind," the king replied.

 

"Yes, that is why we have her leading the business here," Archer Payne said, fumbling over his words, trying to please the king. I took this moment to glance at Jarith, who was smiling a devilish smirk as he stared at me.

 

"Yes, I am confident that I can handle the needs of this arrangement. Now, what exactly are we looking at in terms of the agreement, King Rykor?" I asked him.

 

"Yes, I can see that. As you know, my son, Prince Jarith, is currently on Earth to meet with your government administration. But since he is there, I have given him an assignment to meet with Gladonetics Corporation. I would like to broaden our trade of science with your company. But I do not believe this can be accomplished unless you send an ambassador to Mooreah to meet with me personally. You. I choose you," the king said.

 

We all grew silent. What exactly did the king mean? He looked at me directly. I looked at Archer Payne, who seemed to be shocked. Then I looked at the prince. He seemed to be very annoyed and was restraining himself. His lips were set in a hard line and I noticed that he had shifted from flirty to angry. What the hell was going on here?

 

"Excuse me, king, but I do not believe we are clear on your orders. You would like someone from our company to venture on a journey to Mooreah to meet with you?" I asked.

 

"Yes, and I have already chosen you, human female. You will accompany my son on his return journey. Only in person will I discuss the terms of the new agreement."

 

"Me? But..." I said.

 

"Miss Volander would be happy to make the journey to your planet, honored king," Archer Payne said, jumping in. I looked at him in shock.

 

"Excellent. My son will guide you through preparations. I look forward to meeting you, Miss Volander," The King said before he disappeared.

 

The room was silent for a few seconds. My heart was pounding. I could not do this! I could not go on a journey for weeks in space to a far-off planet. It was impossible. I would have to get out of this.

 

"You heard my father. We leave at 0600 hours, as you call it, in four days. Good day to you, humans," the prince said as he sternly walked out of the room and his warriors followed.

 

I waited until they had cleared the room before I turned to Archer Payne and said, "Are you insane?! Why did you agree to that? I cannot go on that journey? This is impossible. Why did you agree?"

 

"To buy us time. Let me speak with the board and see what they think of the matter. But Marissa, if this is the only way, then this is the only way. You will do it for the company. It is a big opportunity," Archer Payne said sternly, almost as a threat. Then he left the room.

 

I walked over to the bar and poured a stiff brandy and chugged it down. And then I poured another. This was absolutely insane. There was no way in hell that I was going to go to Mooreah on a spaceship with Prince Jarith. My place was here, running this company. Who knew what the hell would happen once I was out in space alone with these barbaric, alpha-male warriors. They did not respect women. I would despise every moment with him.

 

True, sitting with the king and negotiating terms was a business deal that was very appealing but it was the only part that was. The rest of it, the journey, being with the prince, and leaving my home planet of Earth was scary, and not in my plans.

 

I poured another brandy and chugged it down again. I sat in the boardroom drinking myself numb and feeling angry about the quick decision that I had no control over. I hoped that the board would vote down the king’s request and send him a communication for another means of doing this deal. The prince was already here on Earth; could he not act on the king’s behalf? He was already here at our corporation; why would the king want one of our people to go there?

 

It seemed very suspicious and strange to me the more that I thought about it. It made no sense whatsoever; unless the king wanted someone from Gladonetics to see firsthand the science and source of it that only existed on Mooreah. Maybe it was one of those seeing is believing factors that the prince would not be able to portray in words to us. I thought these thoughts over and over as I moved around the boardroom, getting drunk.

 

Then I left and went to the nearest hotel bar to drink some more. To think that in four days I could be on a spaceship. It was too unreal.

 

"Martini; make it a double," I said to the bartender.

 

"Rough day," a voice said. I turned to see an attractive man sitting near me. He would do. He had black hair, green eyes, and a muscular build hidden underneath a dark-black, expensive suit. I needed to relieve some tension and he was going to do that for me. I knew that his appearance reminded me of Jarith, and that was what I needed for this night.

 

“Yes, but I know a way that you can make it better. Much, much, better,” I said in a flirty tone as I moved over to him. His mouth opened at my eager aggressiveness. He pulled the chair out next to him and I took a seat.

 

“I’m David,” he said.

 

“I’m Marissa. Nice to meet you, David. You are a very attractive man; do you know that?”

 

Half an hour later, his cock was inside me. Pleasing me. Helping me to release some of that sexual tension as I closed my eyes and pretended that I was with the prince. This was my usual, one-night stand. I guess if I were a man I would be called a playboy. This is what I wanted, and I always got what I wanted.

 

I moved in every position possible with this stranger, all the while imagining it was the prince. I had a strange feeling when I was with this man, as though I was being watched. But I lived several stories high in a tower, and all the windows in the building across the street had shades drawn. Still, it was a very strong feeling. And although I released in climax over and over, I was still unsatisfied. Damn.