Enslaved by a Rebel [Sold! 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)

by Anitra Lynn McLeod

  Ranic pulled the cloth off his head. “You can look at me. If you want.” His kind words to Jarrett softened Ranic’s heart toward him.

  The officer turned slightly and looked Ranic right in the eye. “No wonder your kind stays hidden. You are very beautiful.”

  Ranic wanted to thank him but found he couldn’t speak. He wasn’t certain what this Krase officer wanted. If he might be their unexpected ally, Ranic certainly didn’t want to say anything that would put him off. But if he was only taunting them to delay their moment of pain, Ranic didn’t want to seem hopeful and thereby unknowingly fulfill some cruel streak in his soul. All he’d heard about the Krase was their war lust and their hunger for interesting slaves.

  “If I offered to buy him, this one”—he pointed to Jarrett—“would you sell him to me?”

  Chapter 13

  “You want to buy me?” Jarrett tried to contain his utter shock, but he was fairly certain surprise was clearly etched all over his face. “I thought I was a dead man walking?”

  “You are.” A look of confusion crossed the Krase’s hardened features.

  “So you would buy me and then secret me away somewhere?” Not that Jarrett was actually considering it. Or was he? Just how far was he willing to go to be with Ranic? Could he submit himself to this massive creature and then find solace in Ranic’s arms? It was madness to even consider such a situation. Certainly, Ranic would never want to share him with another.

  “I realize you are very outspoken for a slave, but I am speaking to your owner.” The Krase’s red eyes had a touch of black to them that seemed to deepen when he looked at Ranic. Jarrett wasn’t certain what that meant, but his gut told him this was a situation that could get out of hand very quickly.

  “He’s not for sale.” Ranic’s voice was calm but curious. Jarrett got the distinct impression that, like himself, Ranic was wondering what this officer’s interest might mean for them. They were both listening without judging because if he could get them free from here, they might be willing to do all kinds of things for that dangling possibility.

  The officer nodded slowly, but he didn’t seem terribly surprised by Ranic’s reaction. “Have you considered renting him?”

  “Oh my fucking God! I’m not some intergalactic whore that can just be bandied around to a bunch of horny aliens.” Jarrett had always had some overinflated, lofty notion about alien life. He thought they would far surpass humanity in technology, the arts—everything—but it turned out they were just a bunch of randy perverts. Maybe it was a good thing he was going to be put to death. Better that than to become a universal rent boy.

  The warrior moved so fast Jarrett hadn’t even realized he was attacking him until it was too late. He found himself pressed against the wall with the officer’s hand cupped around his face. The officer was pinching his cheeks in like he was trying to make them meet in the middle of Jarrett’s mouth. He rammed his lower body into Jarrett, and whatever in the hell that squirming thing was he’d seen yesterday, he now felt it stroking side to side like it was gearing up to slide out of his trousers and wrap forcefully around Jarrett’s cock.

  “You are very interesting to me, but if you insult me again, I will kill you.”

  “And get in a shitload of trouble with your government.” It was a guess, but apparently a good one because the officer lightened his grip. Not by a lot, but enough that Jarrett was able to take a full breath without wheezing through his mouth.

  “Let him go.” Ranic touched the Krase’s arm, which caused the officer’s eyes to go from red to black and back so fast it was almost like a trick of the light.

  “What does it mean when your eyes turn black?”

  He smiled, displaying his terrifying teeth. “I am aroused.” He pressed close. “Do you feel that dancing against your cock? That is my strosan. It braces my cock for fucking, which is what I would like to do to the both of you.”

  Jarrett had never had anyone be so frank while right up in his face. He was alternately flattered, terrified, and deeply disturbed. He had a feeling that Krase warriors took allegiance to their rulers very seriously. That this officer had let his lust get the better of him could surely get him into trouble if it were known.

  “He isn’t my slave.”

  The Krase’s eyes darkened with lust. His long, pink tongue licked over his bottom lip.

  “He’s my mate.”

  Disappointment wiped all the black out of the officer’s eyes. Apparently, if black was for lust, then the red must be for anger. Jarrett thought that about summed up what he’d seen of the Krase race so far—horny and pissed.

  Ranic reached up and gently but firmly pried the officer’s fingers off Jarrett’s face. “I love him.”

  At that, the warrior let go and stepped back. “I thought you had bought him as a sexual slave?” He couldn’t have sounded any more upset if he tried.

  “I thought that’s what I had bought him for, too, but apparently fate had other ideas.” Ranic smiled lightly at the officer. “Please, can’t you help us? I would do…anything.”

  “No you won’t!” Jarrett stepped in front of him.

  “If he will help us to escape, then we should consider a trade.” Ranic was earnest, and Jarrett swore he could hear the Krase warrior licking his lips again while his dick-bracing snake slithered around in his pants.

  “Not with your body or mine. I can’t—no. I just can’t do that.”

  “But you could live. If I gave him a night…”

  “You’re the one who told me what these guys are packing in their trousers. Neither one of us would survive him fucking us.”

  “I wouldn’t hurt you.” The warrior considered them, and the thing in his pants seemed to stretch out like it wanted to inspect them.

  Jarrett took a step back and kept Ranic behind him. “No. The answer is no. Besides, I don’t see how he can get us out of this mess.”

  “It is true that I don’t know specifically why you were called here. I just wanted to know…”

  “What?” Jarrett asked then edged away a bit. It was just scary how fast he moved for such a big guy.

  “I saw the look in your eyes when I put you in that room. I know what you did.” The officer’s gaze bounced between them.

  “Did you watch?” Ranic sounded utterly repulsed, and Jarrett had to admit the creature’s interest in them was pretty abnormal. Or maybe not. He was an alien after all. According to Ranic, sexual slaves were pretty common on Krase. Maybe watching alien porn was common, too.

  “Despite what your human thinks of me, no. I did not invade your privacy. But I wanted to know what it would be like to feel what you felt.”

  “I don’t understand.” Jarrett found the whole universe was slightly crazy.

  “There is another Krase warrior, who bought one of your kind.” The officer reached out and trailed his finger lightly down the center of Jarrett’s chest. “It is said that he fell in love and freed him.”

  “That is what I wish to do.” Ranic again gripped the officer’s wrist. Jarrett swallowed hard because Ranic’s rather large hand didn’t come close to encircling the Krase’s thick arm.

  “They didn’t kill his slave?” Jarrett asked. Had they somehow gotten everything wrong?

  “No. Why would they?”

  “Because he’s a dead man walking like me.” Jarrett thought it stood to reason that if the slave trader had taken one human right before his death, he would have taken more in the same way. By taking them moments before they were to die, he could cover his tracks and no one on Earth would be suspicious. Especially if he chose means of death that left no body behind.

  Again, the officer made a face and tilted his head. They were using the same phrase, or at least it was being translated that way, but Jarrett had a gut feeling they had two very different meanings. Just as Jarrett opened his mouth to clarify the phrase, there was movement at the far end of the hallway.

  The officer turned and started walking as if nothing had happened. Ranic
pulled his golden cloth over his face, and then he took Jarrett’s hand as they fell into step behind him. They were able to use his bulk to hide behind so they could get situated. If they were very lucky, they might get another chance to plead their case and sway the Krase officer to help them. As perverted as it was, Jarrett wouldn’t be above trading sex for freedom, but he wasn’t going to go all the way. He might be desperate, but he had his limits. Maybe the horny officer would be happy with a dual hand job provided by him and Ranic. They could do that without totally selling their souls. Maybe.

  Jarrett looked over at Ranic. He saw the glint of his beautiful blue eyes under the golden cloth and in that instant he realized he couldn’t do what he was thinking. He couldn’t give some randy alien a stroke on the half-assed promise of freedom. Jarrett had been willing to go to his death thinking that Ranic would be free to pursue another, but now he was worried that some unscrupulous creature would try to trick him or take advantage of his grief.

  Ranic was kindhearted, and last night he’d shown Jarrett just how amazing they could be together over the long haul. Both of them were willing to bend and accommodate the other. They were each willing to try something new, and even something old, in the hopes of rewriting what was with what could be.

  “I can’t do this.” Jarrett stopped. “I am not just going to walk into my death like I’m going to the goddamned mall.”

  “I don’t know what that means.” Ranic pulled the golden fabric off his head.

  Jarrett discovered that he was crying. His tears glittered down his cheeks. Just as he’d suspected, his husband had sparkles in his tears and managed to look beautiful in his grief. Reaching out, he touched the edge of the moisture, feeling it flow toward his finger as if even his tears knew Jarrett would do anything to comfort Ranic.

  “It means if they want me, they are going to have to come and get me.” Jarrett couldn’t fight the Krase officer. He was too small and had no weapons at all but his hands and feet. They were useless against the massive warrior. But Jarrett had the benefit of his people’s history. There was something to be said for passive resistance. Jarrett sat down right in the middle of the hallway.

  “What are you doing?” Ranic leaned over and then flashed a worried look at the officer.

  “I’m resisting without fighting.” Jarrett offered out his hand, and Ranic peered curiously at him. “I cannot fight and win. If I continue to walk forward, I go willingly to my death when I am not willing. So I am going to sit here and make them drag me. It’s called passive resistance. It’s been rather effective on Earth.” Jarrett didn’t mention that this particular strategy was generally used in situations that weren’t life or death.

  “I will join you.” Ranic settled down cross-legged right across from Jarrett.

  They clasped hands.

  “I will cling to you until they forcefully pry me away.” Ranic tossed the golden fabric into his lap. “And I will do so with my face proudly showing.”

  Jarrett already knew he loved him, but in that moment of sheer defiance, he loved him even more.

  In perfect sync with one another, they both turned and looked up at the looming Krase officer. His face was guarded, but the black had encroached on the lower portion of his eyes. It was clear that he craved what they had. And maybe that was enough to sway him to take their side.

  “We will not move unless you drag us.” Jarrett waited for him to hit him or for him to lash out, but instead, he laughed. It was a low, vibrating chuckle that was oddly intimate and somewhat envious.

  Lifting one hand in what seemed almost like a salute, the Krase officer said, “I will not touch you.” He dipped his face in a curt kind of nod. “I have performed my sworn duty by bringing you back to Krase. The rest is up to them.”

  Jarrett followed his gaze down the hallway. “Who are they?”

  “I know not.” The officer tilted his head in that curious way. “You could request my presence as an officer of Krase to ensure you are well treated.”

  “You would do that?” Ranic asked.

  “I would.”

  Before Jarrett could ask the obvious, the Krase officer met his probing, suspicious glare.

  “I will ask nothing in exchange for defending you in this way.”

  “No kinky sex acts?” Jarrett asked jauntily.

  “No.” The officer reached out, but rather than touch Jarrett, he stroked one massive finger against Ranic’s cheek, taking a tear away. “Sparkles.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence when he lifted the mark of pain to his mouth and licked it away. Jarrett had never seen anything so oddly touching and yet totally bizarre.

  “Why did you do that?” Jarrett asked.

  “Because I wished to know what the tears of love would taste like.” The officer turned away as the people—aliens—who had been moving toward them reached their sit-in protest in the hallway.

  True to his word, the Krase officer stopped them short of Jarrett and Ranic. It wasn’t much, maybe only a minute or possibly ten longer, but it was them taking a stand. Jarrett was proud of that.

  “You are so strong.” Jarrett wrapped his hand around Ranic’s forearm, as he did the same. They were bracing themselves against one another to make the effort of dragging them away that much more difficult.

  “You are so brave.” Ranic reached for Jarrett’s other arm.

  Pulling him into his lap, Jarrett nestled him close. They clung together, waiting for brutal hands to pull them apart. As Jarrett buried his face against Ranic’s neck, he smelled the rich scent of his fear, but also that of his love. His body was cooler than his own, but there was heat down below where their bodies meshed. Surely, if they could sway a hardened warrior, they could get others to take their side or to see their plight. If they refused to fight because of the love they shared, then surely, someone would see. Someone else would help. There had to be a way for them to stay together.

  Ranic picked up his golden cloth, but rather than pull it over his head to hide his face, he draped it over the two of them, giving them a golden cave of privacy.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Ranic smiled and tears of joy slipped beyond the corners of his beautiful eyes. “I’m not leaving you.”

  Jarrett realized that if they took him away to kill him, Ranic would come with him. He wanted to stand, to push him away, to say no in a thousand ways, but he found that he couldn’t. Just as they had sworn to in their vows, they would stay together through thick and thin. Jarrett realized that even death couldn’t part them, not if they faced it together.

  Chapter 14

  Ranic was terrified beyond reason, but he was determined to stay with the man he loved. He hadn’t been certain until a war-hardened Krase warrior, with three planets under his massive conquering boots, found their love so strong, so unique, that even he was persuaded to stand up for them. If he could find the spark to turn from his usual tack, then surely Ranic could, too.

  But then Ranic realized he’d turned from the usual road of his species long before now. His kind stayed hidden behind thick suits, immutable laws, and restrictive planetary codes. Ranic didn’t think he was the first of his kind to seek happiness beyond the limited scope of his rulers, but he thought that maybe he might be the first to effect a change.

  “I’m not leaving you. Even if they throw us in a pit of fire, I’m not letting go.” Ranic could see that Jarrett wanted to argue. It was his nature to be protective, but in this, Jarrett recognized that Ranic would stand firm. And he relented.

  “You amaze me.”

  “Do I?”

  “You are so strong to do what you have already done and then to defy them with me makes you totally amazing.” Jarrett pulled him tight against his chest, and for a moment, Ranic weakened. He wanted to stand and make a grab for the Krase’s weapons, but he knew that was crazy. He didn’t know how to wield such instruments of death. He only knew how to blast asteroids apart and how to make his mate utter cries of bliss a
nd submission.

  “I honestly don’t know what they are protesting.” It was the three-eyed auctioneer. He was peering past the imposing blockage of the Krase warrior. “No one is getting killed or beaten or anything!”

  “What do you want them for?” The officer refused to step aside.

  “It is not your concern.”

  “I am here to protect them while they are under Krase law. They asked me to aid them during this time.” He straightened just a little more, and Ranic had the impression that the officer had always done what he was told, and he enjoyed his work, but taking a stand for helpless aliens gave him a strong sense of personal satisfaction. “Surely you must understand that having their ship commandeered and being taken captive by an entire contingent of Krase warriors is disconcerting.”

  “It wasn’t my idea to send you steroid-riddled monsters.” The auctioneer realized what he’d said about two seconds after he said it. He took a wary step back. “Your government forced me to let you—them—get involved.”

  “Then I shall stay.”

  Frowning, his three eyes blinking in a chain—plink, plink, plink—the auctioneer considered where they were. He looked at the hallway from the floor to the ceiling. He shook his rounded head. “This is not the place for our discussion.”

  “Where would you have them go?”

  “My office.”

  The Krase officer considered.

  In a huff, the auctioneer explained that what they had to talk about was a private matter and he simply couldn’t tell them about the problem in the middle of a hallway on an unsecured ship. He offered them safe passage to his building on Krase. On his honor, no harm would come to any of them and they could bring their warrior if they wished.