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Traveling by ship in a comfortable cabin with your whole future ahead of you was a lot different than traveling with an unknown alien who threw you naked in a tiny cell with pulsing electric bars. At least Darcy assumed them to be electric by their static-like blue glow. The menacing buzzing sound they gave off also served as a sufficient warning. Whatever. She had no intention of testing what would happen if she touched one.
Her kidnapper only stopped by to shove a tray with odd, tasteless porridge and water to her twice a day. Each visit shook Darcy. He was large and muscled from his thick arms and chest down to his beefy thighs.
After his first leer, she avoided eye contact, which had the added benefit of avoiding the fact that he had curled dark brown horns at the side of his head. He never spoke to her, only grunted as he shoved the tray through the gaps in the energy bars, but there was no missing the way the crotch of his blue pants jumped and bulged as he watched while she finished the strange food and water.
Probably because she had no clothes on and he’d paraded her from the auction to this ship in the nude. There had been two other guards with him, but they hadn’t been back to see her, only the one who’d purchased her and made sure she was fed. Obviously, he didn’t want to damage the goods he’d bought.
Bought. Darcy shook her head in disbelief, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she, an actual being, had been sold like livestock or merchandise. An object without thought or rights. The very idea was unfathomable in this time and age.
Adding to her growing level of fear was the loss of time. Darcy had no clue how long she’d been with her new owners. The length of travel on the ship couldn’t be deciphered, but they must have reached their destination if the chain and collar swinging from her captor’s wide palm was any indication.
“Come.”
Tempted to refuse the gruff demand, she reminded herself that survival was the name of the game, not foolish stances that would see her killed immediately.
Although she wanted to cower, Darcy rose and approached him on shaky legs. The glowing blue lights of her prison bars winked out.
Her captor smiled, the gesture full of evil. “Good. You follow direction.”
His rough hand twisted one of her wrists and slapped a cuff on it, then clamped the collar about her neck. He dragged her from the cell and they exited the room into a narrow corridor with running lights along the ceiling.
“Where are we going? What do you want with me?” There was no one else around, but she attempted to shield her nudity with her free hand as she skipped to keep up with his larger stride.
He didn’t answer. Not so much as a grunt or glance in her direction as he led her through doorways. The level of her terror increased as they passed more of his kind in black and gray uniforms who leered at her.
They stopped in front of double metal doors that slid open at their approach. A shove made her stumble forward and into an elevator of some sort. The alien muttered a command and they dropped. Darcy gasped and grabbed at her stomach from the weird sensation. Unfortunately, it was the hand attached to the leash.
“Cease!” he snapped with a glare.
Darcy curled into herself from the harsh tone. Lack of clothing added to her feeling of vulnerability. “Can I at least have something to put on?”
The doors swished open, bringing a swift draft of cold air. Taken off guard by the chill she sucked in a breath. She didn’t have time to recover as her captor yanked her forward. The chain connected to her neck clanked with the movement.
Their steps led them to an opened archway and Darcy glimpsed paved grounds outside. A guard stopped in front of them, blocking the way and tapped his chest upon arrival. Her buyer tapped his chest in the same gesture, his grin wide. His bronze skin and rough features were not enhanced by the gesture.
“Welcome home, Brax. Was your journey profitable?”
“Indeed.” Brax yanked her forward and grabbed the end of her ponytail to control her movement. “This is a prize worth having, Calix.”
Calix studied Darcy with a piercing gaze, his brown eyes narrowed in contemplation. A low rumble rolled up from his chest as he cupped her jaw in his rough grasp. “A female from Earth?”
Her instinct to pull away warred with her desire to survive. Hadn’t her mother warned her about her impulse control?
‘One day, your lack of forethought will lead you into a world of trouble, my child.’
If she only knew. The Singles Program had been a glaring issue between them, her mother thinking it rash and dangerous. Encouraged by the seemingly positive success rate boasted across vid ads, Darcy had ignored the warning. Welp, guess you were right again, mom. Maybe Darcy would live long enough to tell her that too.
“Yes. There were several in the auction at Tua-20. This one looked decent enough.”
Calix released Darcy’s chin and eyed her nude form. Lust ignited in his brown gaze and he licked his full lips before speaking. “Lothar warned that we were not to partake in the beings from Earth. It would draw too much attention from the Alliance. The Jutaks have increased their vendetta against us.”
Whatever this Jutak was seemed to truly frighten Calix. Brax, laughed and pulled Darcy in close until her face smashed against his chest. “No one will know. I plan to keep her in my rooms and use her well. My curiosity about them was too great to resist the opportunity.”
Then to Darcy’s horror, he reached down and grabbed her crotch, a blunt finger sliding roughly through her folds. She batted his hands, twisting to the side to protect herself from the violation.
“Cease!” A stinging slap to her face accompanied the command.
The pain was neglible. Her action had caused him to remove his hand as he struggled to contain her again. She’d take that over what he was doing any day.
Calix walked away shaking his head. “Good luck getting her in without someone telling Lothar.”
“I’m not worried,” Brax declared in a cocksure tone to his retreating back.
“Who are the Jutaks?” Maybe they could save her.
“No one you need to worry about.” Brax dragged Darcy behind him to the outside of the ship. There were other ships around. Some smaller, some bigger. They were sleek in design and coated in a reflective black color.
Brax shoved her into a vehicle at the end of the lot where hover-cars were parked. The squat style was bulky and looked heavily armored. Earth had similar vehicles, but they were lightweight and for commuting. This hover-car appeared made for battle.
“You won’t get away with this. Earth has laws in place.”
“Shut up!” Brax attached the end of the leash to a bar that ran across the dashboard.
Fury replaced her fear. Before she knew it, Darcy dove across the bench seat and clawed at his face with her free hand. He roared and swung out. The blow landed on her head and lights exploded across her vision. Darcy didn’t stop. She snarled, swinging madly. He pulled back with a curse and slammed his elbow into her right eye.
Darcy screamed and reached for it in reflex. The chink of the leash kept her left arm down. “Let me go! Let me go!”
Brax subdued her easily, pressing his whole arm over her breasts to shove her back against the seat. Darcy jerked her head down and bit, sinking her teeth into the flesh beneath his shirt sleeve. Another fist to the top of her head. Dizzy, she slumped down in defeat.
With her no longer resisting, Brax pressed a button and a cross-shaped harness slid over her chest and pinned her to the seat. It was a tight fit and she couldn’t fight anymore. Exhausted and face throbbing, Darcy blinked back tears. Her fingers clenched in her lap.
The further they traveled, the more despondent she became. She’d known she’d be leaving her family and friends behind when she signed up for the SP but the loss was to be balanced with a new family and the love of a spouse and children. Not this cruel fate.
***
With his gaze focused on the bland beige wall straight ahead, Nikol swiveled his hips and pumped back and forth over the writhing female beneath him. Sweat dripped down his face and ran into his eyes as the strands of his hair fell around his head. The perfumed aroma of sex sharing scented the air in the room with every breath as he dragged air into his chest.
“Oh, stars! Yes! Give it to me harder,” the feminine sibilant voice commanded.
Grunting with effort, Nikol braced his forearms on the bed and slammed harder into the warm channel gripping him tightly and rippling over the rings of his cock.
“Oooh. Just like that. Ram that vicious cock into me.”
Harsh moans and piercing shrieks rose around him, a sweet symphony that fed the need riding him. Nikol kept his gaze resolutely to the right of the flushed face beneath him and stared at the crinkled sheets as he drove his hips forward fiercely. Pleasure zinged up his spine and his impending climax had him growling under his breath. Only a little more and he’d reach the momentary escape he longed for.
Heels kicked at his back and dug in. “More!”
Cursing, Nikol edged himself and the female faster toward the cliff of ecstasy.
She raked her nails in a deep path down his back deeper than he allowed from her. Nikol hissed out another curse. The violent jab of pain severed his climb to orgasm and pierced his disconnected haze. Going still, he blinked and stared at the woman below him at last. Her sharp features were flushed, teeth locked in a grimace of pleasure while she fought to find her release.
Nikol roughly gripped her flailing arms from around him and pinned them to the bed above her head. Enough was enough. He’d warned her before.
Realizing that he was no longer moving, Nitra glared from wide-set silver eyes, the strands of her white hair whipping about the pillow in protest.
“I’ve told you about the claws. Keep them sheathed or I leave,” he said, moving his hips in a grind against her protruding pleasure bud to emphasize what she’d be missing if he left.
She growled, baring fangs as deadly as her claws. Nikol hovered and waited patiently. The three-inch nails sprouting from her long narrow fingers were sharpened to a razor point. He could already feel drying blood on his back from where she’d accidentally...or deliberately drawn it. It was common practice for her race to enjoy a bit of blood and pain in the bedroom during their heated mating cycles.
A crease folded between Nitra’s eyes and her long lashes fluttered. Her inner channel squeezed his shaft as if testing his point, but he ruthlessly controlled the desire to finish. He would be enraged to leave undone, but Nikol was past the age of willfully jeopardizing his safety. The act of taking a Volvian to bed during their heat cycle was risky enough.
“You would stop? Now?”
Her disbelief was understandable. They had an agreement. One Nikol loosely made with two other females to meet his sexual needs. Never did he leave Nitra’s bed without making sure both of them got what they wanted. He should have gone to one of the others tonight but Nitra was closest and he had to return to Marenia soon. The last few months had been spent cleaning up one mess after another. He’d needed a good fucking before going home.
“Really?” she snapped impatiently.
With total honesty, he said, “Yes.”
She jerked her arms, but he only tightened his hold on her delicate wrists. The blue veins pulsated beneath her shimmering silver skin. Another stretch of silence as she sent him sharp looks. His body cooled during the impasse though his cock didn’t flag. It had been too long since his last release outside his hand.
“Fine,” she gave in with a pout that only served to enhance her beauty. There was a reason Nitra had caught his eye. Silver skin, eyes like moonbeams when they weren’t enraged and glowing white hair that moved independently about her head. Even now, strands lifted to tease about his shoulders and neck.
At her acquiescence, Nikol nodded abruptly and resumed fucking her. The momentum of earlier was lost, but he proceeded with single-minded focus and let go of the restraint on his own pleasure when she screamed and arched under him with bone-shuddering relief.
As soon as his cock finished spurting, he rose and pulled away from the wet clasp of her center. A swipe of the sheet over his chest took away the surface moisture and musk from their aggressive joining. Afterward, he stood and searched the floor for the clothes she’d ripped from his body the moment he arrived in her darkened bedroom.
“No second round this time?” Nitra asked in a languid voice now that she’d gotten what she wanted.
Nikol pulled his shirt over his head and did up the fastenings with familiar briskness. “I am needed home.”
Truthfully she’d annoyed him with the prohibited clawing and he was no longer interested in spending the night as he’d originally planned.
“Hmm.” Nitra slid from the bed, all long limbs and slender grace. Every move she made was graceful and geared to entice. She wrapped her body in a white robe, her breasts and mound visible through the sheer material.
Bare bodies were nothing new to Nikol so he turned from her and drew on his undergarments and pants. He sat on the bottom of the destroyed bed to pull on his first boot.
“I should let you know this is the last time I’ll be available for these meetings,” she said.
Meetings. Nikol snorted and searched for his second boot. It was almost hidden under a bit of froth and silk. The dress Nitra had been wearing before he tore it down the middle. Nikol tossed it to the side, slid his foot into the boot then stood.
He studied her slouched form leaning against the wall, one foot balanced on top of the other. “Will you indulge me by saying why?”
Not that he was overly concerned. What they shared had gone on for close to a year. He would have ended things on his own soon enough to keep Lothar or anyone else from discovering their association. In fact, the year he’d been coming to sporadically fuck her was longer than he stayed with any female.
Nitra had served her purpose far greater than he’d expected and she never hinted at wanting more. Her appetite for the things they did in the bed matched his own.
She laughed at his question though the twist to her face was bitter. “My time here is wasted. I have found a man on my world who wishes to mate and have children with me.”
He wished her well. Nitra was only on this entertainment colony to be a singer and performer but unfortunately lacked the talent to garner much success at either. Her looks and sexual voracity had served her well here. There was only one last thing he needed to cover before he took his leave. “Remember my warning, Nitra.”
Her skin flashed a vibrant shade of red. She tossed the twitching strands of her white hair back and waved her hand dismissively. “I will never speak of what occurred between us. I will never acknowledge I know you outside a business structure.”
The darkness concealed his features but he had ceased using a facial covering with her once he secured her agreement to silence by threatening her life.
“No.” Nikol stood and approached her to make his point very clear. Nitra flinched and pressed her palms flat to the wall behind her as he leaned forward, using his size to emphasize his meaning. He braced his arms by her head and inched closer. His lips brushed along the soft skin of her jawline as he whispered, “You will never acknowledge you know me in any way.”
It was for her safety. Lothar would think nothing of taking this woman from her home, torturing her endlessly and trying to use her to discover a way to control Nikol. He wouldn’t give in and Lothar would eventually realize she served no purpose and kill her.
Nikol had witnessed the same thing happen twice when he was much younger, so he became adept at hiding any female who shared her bed with him. Nikol cupped her face and pressed until his fingers left light impressions on her skin. Fear darted through her gaze despite her attempt to meet his stare with bravado. “Do you understand me, Nitra?”
“Yes, damn you! I don’t know you. I’ve never seen you. Never sucked your cock or let you fuck me until we both screamed.”
Chuckling, Nikol dropped his hand, the corners of his mouth edging up when he finished. “I never screamed, Nitra.”