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

by Anitra Lynn McLeod

  Ranic and Jarrett talked about what they should do, but it was Jarrett who thought they should go. If they were safe, and their bodyguard had heard the auctioneer swear that this was so, then they could go to another venue and talk.

  “But we are free to leave at any time.”

  “Well, yes. You are not under arrest.”

  Ranic and Jarrett rose, but rather than get close to the auctioneer, they stayed behind the protective bulk of their warrior. Pleased that they had convinced the officer of their inherent innocence, Ranic felt safe going down to the surface of Krase with him as their protector.

  “No one is going to mess with this guy.”

  “No.” Ranic grinned at Jarrett. “They see the mark on his right cheek and they know what that means.”

  “He really defeated three worlds?” Jarrett sounded impressed.

  “Krase are fierce warriors.”

  “Yeah. And horny freaks, too.”

  “Do not denigrate him for that, because I think that is what prompted him to become our protector.”

  “He still isn’t getting any.”

  “I think he just wants to be near us.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s fine.” Jarrett stood a little taller as they walked down the hallway. “I just don’t want him to get any weird ideas.”

  “There is no harm in that. It’s only if he tries to act them out that there would be a problem.”

  They chuckled but kept following. Eventually, they were taken to a shuttle bay. The four of them entered the back of the shuttle while another Krase warrior took the pilot seat.

  Ranic noticed that the pilot and their protector flashed one another a look, and while he strapped himself in, he pondered what it meant. And then, when their protector looked at the back of the pilot’s head and his eyes flashed black, Ranic had his answer. They were lovers. He grinned. It seemed even the war-hardened Krase had their softer moments.

  “What are you grinning at?” Jarrett asked as he leaned close.

  Ranic explained and watched as Jarrett tried to assess the two Krase without attracting attention to himself. He failed miserably.

  “You wonder at him and me?” the officer asked.

  “No. I was just…looking.”

  “You would be a terrible spy.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m an accountant by trade.”

  “And a scuba diver,” Ranic added proudly.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s like wearing a spacesuit out in space but I’m underwater.”

  The officer made that strange face again. He narrowed one eye and tilted his head. “Why would one do that?”

  “To see what’s under the water.”

  “Why would one care?”

  Now Jarrett flashed that odd look at the Krase warrior. “Curiosity?”

  The officer nodded and then darted a quick look at the pilot.

  To Ranic, it was clear he liked him quite a bit more than he wanted him to know. Ranic felt sorry for him. Maybe the Krase did love but it was very difficult for them because of the curious way of their kind. Unlike most of the galaxy, the Krase had three sexes. Male, female, and neutral. All the Krase warriors were neutrals. It was their job to protect the planet and expand the empire so their males and females could mate. However, Ranic knew that the neutrals were just as driven to have sex. Not for procreation, but strictly to release the buildup of fluids. If they didn’t, they could go into a terrifying battle rage and kill everyone around them. Ranic hoped for all their sakes their protector had recently indulged himself. Although, given how he’d propositioned them and his complaint about the lack of sexual slaves on the ship, maybe he was strongly feeling the need to find release.

  Since the auctioneer had decided to sit quite a distance away from them, Ranic moved into the seat next to the officer. When he did, his strosan squirmed in his trousers and Ranic considered moving away again, but his curiosity got the better of him.

  “Do you love him?” Ranic nodded to the pilot.

  “He is adequate.”

  “How romantic.” Ranic made a face, and the Krase warrior laughed.

  “Why do you care?”

  “Curiosity?”

  Again, he laughed. “I find I am richer for having met you and your slave.”

  “He’s not my slave.”

  “Yes. You wed him.” The Krase warrior considered them for a long moment. “How do you decide who penetrates whom?”

  “We toss a coin,” Jarrett said with a pointed frown at Ranic.

  “I didn’t ask him to ask that question,” Ranic pointed out.

  “It’s just really nosy and totally none of his concern.”

  “He asked me about the pilot,” the officer said. “He is the one who is nosy. Nosy? What a curious word.”

  “How about we all move back to our seats and stop asking the big, scary alien who he’s slipping his enormous sausage to?” Jarrett got up and offered out a hand to Ranic.

  “You are being silly. He’s our protector.”

  “I think it best if you move away.” The officer eyed Jarrett. “I would not wish for him to have a sitting protest at my feet.”

  It was a cruel dig, but it didn’t faze Jarrett. Once Ranic was out of his straps, he moved back over to where they had been sitting and settled in again with Jarrett at his side.

  “Are you angry with me?”

  “No.” Jarrett shook his head and took his hand. “You’re curious. So am I, but I am not brave enough to ask.”

  “I think he likes the pilot very much, but there is some problem there.”

  “Maybe he’s of a lower rank and the officer can’t take him home to mother.”

  It took a moment for Ranic’s translator to work, but when it did, he found himself explaining about the sex life of Krase. Fascinated, Jarrett couldn’t help but look at the massive officer and wonder that he wasn’t male. “He’s more male than a freestanding cock.”

  Giggling, Ranic explained in detail about how they went about procreating. None of it mattered in the least, but it kept them entertained and stopped them from pestering the auctioneer, who clearly wasn’t going to answer any questions until they landed on Krase and made their way to his office.

  Since they were with a fully named Krase warrior, they were allowed to land near the shuttle port. From their ship, they entered a private train car that would take them into the domed city of Gerfal.

  “It’s not much to look at.” Jarrett seemed disappointed by the severe, wind-torn landscape of Krase.

  “It has a harsh beauty,” their protector defended.

  “I meant no offence.”

  “Yet you still managed to succeed.”

  “You never did tell us your name,” Ranic interrupted, cutting off their sparring. He did this not because he feared retaliation, but because he thought it was a curious form of flirting for the officer.

  “I am Nobel Chaos.” He lifted his chin proudly.

  “Wow.”

  Nobel flashed Jarrett a dark look.

  “Whoa, no. It’s a cool name. Really. Kinda scary and yet fitting.”

  “Does he mock me?” Nobel asked Ranic.

  “He does not understand that Krase warriors must earn a name.”

  “What do you call them before then?” Jarrett asked.

  “They have a name, but it is not an earned, powerful name,” Ranic explained.

  “It’s complicated.” Jarrett nodded. “Like everything else on this planet.”

  “Finally!” the auctioneer cried.

  From their train car, they exited and walked perpendicular over to the auctioneer’s building.

  Jarrett’s jaw dropped when he looked up. The last time they had been here, it had been growing dark, so he probably wasn’t able to see everything as well as he could now. “Even our tallest building isn’t like this.”

  “Domed land is at a premium, so they build close together and very tall.” Ranic took his hand and tried not to feel self-conscious.


  “You came without your cloth.”

  “I must become used to being seen.” Ranic patted the pocket of his suit. “But I did bring it in case I become overwhelmed.”

  “You’re doing great.” Jarrett squeezed his hand.

  When their troupe entered the lobby, all gazes turned toward them, but Ranic noticed their eyes were on Nobel Chaos. He was simply the biggest creature by far in the entire room. A few darted glances were cast at him and Jarrett, but it was indeed the officer who simply commanded attention.

  The auctioneer moved over to the lift, and the four of them entered. It was a close fit, and Ranic was keenly aware of how the officer drew in long, deep breaths. At first he thought this was done in an effort to calm himself, but then he realized he was enjoying the smell of Ranic and Jarrett. It was very curious how he allowed himself to be so attracted, and even aggravated his need, but made no more moves upon them. Perhaps he was saving everything up for when he and the pilot returned alone to their battleship. The image of those two together was savagely seductive.

  Once they reached the floor, the auctioneer practically ran down to his office.

  “Damn, does he have to pee?” Jarrett asked.

  Ranic couldn’t understand why he was in such a hurry when it was supposedly bad news. Rather than ask, he simply followed behind. He felt safe with their protector that no harm would come to them while they were on Krase.

  The office was a bit messy, but once the door was closed, the auctioneer let out a breath that sounded like he’d been holding it for days. “This is a highly private matter.” He pointed to chairs, but neither he, Jarrett, or Nobel wanted to sit. “I had to be somewhere that I knew was not compromised in any way.”

  “Then tell us what the problem is.” Whatever patience Jarrett had it was long gone now.

  “You should not have been taken as a slave.”

  Ranic’s hold on Jarrett tightened.

  “The man who took you is being hunted, but we have been unsuccessful in retrieving him.” The auctioneer said something, an expletive, that didn’t translate. “Believe me, when I do catch up to him, he will regret swindling me.”

  “I don’t understand what that has to do with us.” Ranic wished the man would just tell them what they needed to know.

  “You cannot go back to Earth.”

  “What? Why?” Jarrett looked stricken.

  “Because you should have died there.”

  It was what he and Jarrett had already suspected.

  “When this slave trader took you, it created a potential time disturbance.”

  “So you’re not going to kill me?”

  The auctioneer glared at Jarrett with all three eyes. “We are not barbarians.”

  “You sell slaves.” Jarrett glared right back.

  “Legal slaves. I sell legal slaves. Or I did until this charlatan ruined my stellar reputation.”

  “That explains why he didn’t want to tell us until he got us here.” Ranic now understood the need for secrecy. It wasn’t just the auctioneer’s reputation, but obviously, the Krase government didn’t want anyone else getting the bright idea on how to get more human slaves without having to conquer the entire planet.

  “Of course not. I do not need this spread throughout the galaxy.” The auctioneer looked at Nobel.

  “I could be persuaded to keep my mouth shut.” Nobel cast a sideways glace at Jarrett. “Sell me one like him and I would not confess your secret even under pain of death.”

  “Oh, no. No, no, no. All the Earthling stock is being returned to me and set free. You are a full citizen with all due rights and responsibilities.”

  “Then you must return Ranic’s money.” Jarrett pushed forward a bit, as if he would physically fight the man for the outcome.

  “Yes. Of course.” The auctioneer seemed disappointed that he’d mentioned that. Perhaps he was hoping to get away with releasing Jarrett and keeping Ranic’s funds. “You are prepared to free him?”

  “Yes.” Ranic was happy to do so. They didn’t need to tell the man they were planning on doing that anyway.

  “So why did you keep calling me a dead man walking?” Jarrett asked Nobel.

  “Because you are a slave. You have no rights, so essentially you are a dead man.” Nobel frowned at him. “What did you think I meant?”

  Jarrett laughed. “I thought you knew about me being taken from certain death and that you—the auction house—was now going to kill me.”

  “If you attempt to go anywhere near Earth, we will. It is the one tenant of your release that cannot be broken.” The auctioneer looked at Jarrett. “Do you think you can accept that?”

  Chapter 15

  Could Jarrett accept the fact that he could never return to Earth? He would never see his family or friends again. Not like he was particularly close to his family, but it seemed cruel to simply go off without knowing how they were. He thought of all the things he told Ranic last night about what he would miss and all of them were things from Earth. But, to be fair, he’d never really lived anywhere else, so how could he say there wasn’t something in the universe that was better? But what decided him was that he could be with Ranic. If that could happen, the rest of it really didn’t matter.

  “Do they know what happened to me? I mean, not the alien abduction, but do my family and friends think I died in the Caribbean?” If that could be eased from his mind, he thought he could embrace a whole new life.

  “I imagine so.” The auctioneer straightened his robe. “Does it really matter?”

  “I’d hate to think of them wondering for the rest of their lives.”

  “I’m sure this fine businessman can find out.” Nobel considered the auctioneer. “If he is careful, he should be able to access news accounts.”

  “Yes. Of course.” The auctioneer’s voice sounded strained, and he looked like he’d love to punch the Krase warrior in the face for volunteering him, but for the whole being beaten to death with his own arm thing if he dared to do something so foolish. “It will cost a bit.”

  “And you shall pay for that and then sue the abductor for repayment.”

  Jarrett was pleased they’d taken Nobel Chaos along as their protector. The man certainly knew how to negotiate. Although, to be fair, he didn’t negotiate so much as he simply said what should be done and people did it rather than argue with him.

  “Yes. That is what I shall do.” The auctioneer looked ready to shoo them all from his office.

  “But why all the secrecy? Why drag us back here like this?” Jarrett had gone from thinking he would be killed to even out the universe to instead finding himself a free man with full rights. It was a little head spinning.

  “Because this is a huge violation of laws. Not just laws that govern the slave trade but laws of time, of history. It’s terribly dangerous to pull someone out of their set time line. Anything can happen.” The auctioneer actually looked kind of green, which was really odd considering his normal color was blue. “If you had succeeded in returning to Earth, you would have created a time distortion that might have rippled out and affected us all. Especially if they would have caught you with a spaceship.”

  “Earth is not aware of their alien neighbors?” Nobel asked.

  “No. Not most of us, at any rate.” Jarrett wondered though at some of the tales he’d heard. Maybe there was a grain of truth to them.

  “You seem strangely accepting.”

  “I fell in love with the first alien I met, so I’m probably not the best one to ask about how humans feel about aliens.” Jarrett smiled at Ranic, who grinned right back at him.

  Nobel again gave them a hungry look. It wasn’t filled with desire, not sexual desire, but there was something like envy there. Jarrett swore the warrior was thinking of ways to get his own human. If he couldn’t buy one, he might just go to Earth and steal one. Still, Jarrett had no proof other than his gut, so he didn’t say anything.

  “I have never been so relieved to be so wrong.” Ranic gripped his
hand a little tighter. “Now the only problem we have is where to go from here.”

  “Well,” the auctioneer said as he stood, ushering them toward the doorway. “As long as it’s not Earth, you’re free to go wherever.”

  “His citizenship papers. You have filed them?”

  “Oh. Right.” Again the auctioneer gave Nobel a dirty look. “I will have them drawn up and sent to you.”

  “No, they will be staying here at your expense until everything is set to rights.”

  “Yes. Of course.” The green was gone from his face, and now there was a hint of red. “If I give you a human, will you go away?”

  Nobel’s brows lifted.

  “I’m kidding, of course.”

  But Jarrett didn’t think he really was. “You’re not going to abandon us now, are you?”

  “No. Because I do not believe him. He doesn’t have a human to give to me.”

  Nobel wrangled a room for Jarrett and Ranic then went up with them to inspect it.

  “Wow. Nice. What’s up with the color?” It was shifting around to the point it was going to make him ill.

  “It reflects the color of the dominant person’s mood.”

  “A mood room? Holy shit! On Earth all we have are mood rings. Oh, and I think there’s some kind of mood lipstick, but I never wore any.”

  “Mood rings?”

  “Oh, it was a ring with a stone that supposedly displayed the wearer’s mood, but really, it was just liquid crystals that changed colors depending on the temperature.” Jarrett pulled Ranic close and kissed him.

  The room suddenly turned black.

  Jarrett and Ranic looked at Nobel, whose eyes were mostly black.

  “I should be going.”

  Disengaging from his mate, Jarrett walked over to the officer and offered out his hand. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

  Peering at his outstretched hand, Nobel finally offered his own, they shook, and then he let go.

  “Are you going to go and find a human?” Jarrett really should have kept his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help his curiosity getting the better of him.

  “I would not break the law.” Nobel stood a little straighter, but there was something in his eyes that said he might be so persuaded if the circumstances were right.