by Roxie Ray
“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you auctioning off a work contract then?” It couldn’t be for the money.
Her eyes widened like I was crazy for asking such a question. “The males, of course.”
I shook my head in confusion.
“You know, the ones in the breeding programs.”
I nearly choked. “I’m sorry, what?” I looked at the other two women in the room, certain I must be hearing things because they didn’t look fazed in the slightest by the fact that this chick just said breeding programs.
She nodded. “Yeah. You know, those planets that don’t have enough females or whatever. They want humans to have their babies.”
The way she said it, and the excited smile that accompanied it, told me that she was totally down with the idea. If I wasn’t so taken aback, I might have asked her what the hell she was thinking. Was I really that naïve about what women were willing to do?
I glanced at the other girls. “Are you here for the breeding programs too?” I nearly stumbled over the words.
One of them nodded, but the other shook her head. “I’m hoping I’ll go to one of the agricultural planets. It’s a fascinating learning opportunity to see how other societies and ecosystems grow their food.”
Before I could ask any more questions, a door at the back of the room silently slid open, and a short, stout human man walked through, gesturing at the two women who’d said they were there to auction contracts as breeders.
“You two, follow me, please. Your contracts have been purchased and require your signatures.”
They rose and followed him out of the room, leaving me with the farmer girl. I licked my lips, suddenly more on edge than I’d been so far. My contract hadn’t been purchased yet, then. What did that mean?
It means nothing. Chill out, Britt.
But all the self-soothing talk in the universe couldn’t make my stomach stop churning now. What if my contract didn’t get purchased? Or worse, what if this was all some ruse and I was being sold off for breeding too?
No. That couldn’t be the case. Tory had assured me that I would go to one of my top-choice planets. And besides, I think I would have heard if the IEP was actually some grand sex trafficking scheme…right?
“Don’t worry,” the remaining girl said to me, coming to take a seat beside me. “It’s not a trick.”
I gave her a wry smile. “Am I that obvious?”
She laughed. “Pretty much. If you wring your hands any harder, I’m afraid you might break a bone.”
Biting my lip, I tucked my hands under my legs. “I guess I am freaking out a bit,” I admitted. “What if no one purchases my contract? Then what happens?”
The question was mostly rhetorical because I knew what would happen then—I’d go back to Earth and resume my work as a housekeeper for pay that barely kept me treading water.
It was then that I realized how much I actually wanted this to pan out. I’d been reluctant and suspicious of the IEP up until a week ago. But now that Tory had filled my head with visions of a better life and sums of money that meant I’d never have to worry where my next meal came from… Well, I guessed I was all-in now. If my contract was purchased, that was.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Someone will purchase the contract. In fact, maybe the reason it’s taking so long is that there was a bidding war.”
I laughed at that. “Doubtful.”
Just then, the door opened once more. A different man walked in this time, short and sallow-skinned, and I wasn’t entirely sure if he was human or not. He looked human except for the fact that his eyes were extraordinarily large.
“Miss Stone?” he asked, glancing between the other girl and me.
I stood. “That’s me.”
He nodded once. “Your contract has been purchased. Please, come with me.”
He turned and walked out of the room without waiting to see if I was following, and I hurried to catch up with him. I stopped at the threshold and turned back to the girl.
“Good luck.”
She smiled. “You too.”
Then I was hurrying down a corridor after the man, barely able to keep up. The arched corridor was strange, the thick, curved walls made of some type of clear material I’d never seen before. It was unnerving seeing nothing but empty space beyond, and I made a point to stay right in the middle and not veer too close to the sides.
Fortunately, we didn’t go far. We made a left at the first split, then I was ushered into a small room that had a single desk with a chair on either side.
“Please, have a seat.”
I did as he asked, and then he was pushing a stack of papers and a pen toward me. I almost cracked a joke about how they were using old-fashioned pen and paper, but one glance at the man’s serious face had me focusing on the contract.
I flipped through it, scanning parts and more thoroughly reading others, until I was satisfied that it stated the terms just as Tory had explained them when she recruited me.
Most importantly, I made sure to read, reread, and then read once more the payment terms. It all seemed exactly as expected. For one year of service, the purchaser would immediately pay whatever sum they had bid at auction—part to the IEP and part to Earth’s government. My portion would only be paid out to me upon my completion of the contract once I returned to Earth one year from the date of signing.
The stipulation was that if I were to break the contract, the prorated fee must be returned to the original purchaser, and I would be the one responsible for it.
I hesitated on that particular clause. If I signed this, I would effectively be signing away a year of my life because there was no way I could afford to pay back such an exorbitant amount of money. I would be in this for the duration.
But I’d known that before agreeing. It just seemed so much more real now. Really, though, what was a year of my life in the grand scheme of things? I’d come out on the other side a very wealthy woman. And for what? Doing what I would already be doing on Earth—cleaning house.
It really was a no-brainer. Biting my lip, I picked up the pen, and before I could let my doubts take over, I signed my name on the paper.
As soon as I did, the ink began to glow, turning from black to gold. I blinked. What was that?
“Binding ink,” the man said as if he’d read my thoughts. “It’s an ancient technology from a distant planet. Utterly binding and unbreakable.”
Great. I gave him a weak smile.
“That takes care of it, Miss Stone. If you’ll come with me now, we can have your Hollander communicator installed and you will be on your way.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Were you not aware that there would be a communicator device implanted?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “I’m certain that’s made clear by the Earth division of the IEP before the contracts are ever auctioned.”
“Yes, yes,” I said, waving my hand. “I’m aware of that.” Tory had explained that a communication device made with advanced alien technology would be implanted so I could understand the language of my new planet and they could understand me. I didn’t quite know how it worked, but apparently the translation happened immediately. I would hear the alien language being spoken as if it were my own. Pretty crazy, but then again, so was everything else these days.
“But did you say Hollander? That’s not the planet I’m going to.”
He glanced down at the contract then back up at me. “It says right here your contract was purchased by a representative from planet Hollander.”
“What?” I snatched up the contract, my eyes going wide. It did, in fact state that I was to go to Hollander. “There has to be some mistake. You must have brought the wrong contract. I had three top choices, and none of them were Hollander.”
I didn’t know much about Hollander other than that it wasn’t one of the female-dominated planets—and I’d been clear on the fact that was a requirement.
&n
bsp; “No, Miss Stone. No mistake.”
“I don’t understand.” A knot of dread formed in the pit of my stomach.
He sighed impatiently then spoke to me as if I were a child. “Your contract was not purchased by any of the planets of your choice. Therefore, the only choices were to send you back to Earth or find another auction. Fortunately, several other auctions are taking place here today, and one of the buyers just happened to be looking for a housemaid. I’d say you’re quite lucky to not be on a ship back to your home planet or to a breeder planet like Raider at this very moment.”
My mouth dropped open, my ears buzzing, and my skin tingled as adrenaline dumped into my veins. What in the actual fuck?
I pushed up from the table, panic rising in my chest. “No. No, that’s not what I agreed to.”
He raised his eyebrows and pointed down at the contract once more. “I’m afraid you did.”
My gaze fell to the golden ink. Binding ink.
Anger welled inside me. No, no, no. How could this be happening? I wracked my brain trying to recall anything I might have known about Hollander. I couldn’t remember anything other than the fact that it was definitely not listed on the roster of female-led planets.
I slammed my hand down on the contract, glaring at the man.
He calmly stared back. “Are you ready, then? We mustn’t keep the medics waiting.”
“No, I’m not ready! Who purchased this contract?” I demanded. Oh, god, if it was some domineering asshole of an alien male, I didn’t know what I would do. I was fine with cleaning houses for a living, but what I wasn’t fine with was dealing with entitled, self-absorbed, narcissistic men who thought they could control women. Been there, done that, and I had no intention of being made to feel like I was less just because I was a woman. Hell, it wasn’t much of a stretch of the imagination that whoever had purchased my contract might feel as if they owned me.
“I think you will be more than pleased when you meet him. But I will leave the introductions to the appropriate officers. Now please, follow me.”
So it was a man then. Fury coursed through my veins, my blood boiling. I’d been tricked. All I’d wanted to do was take control of my life for once, to make a better life for myself. Instead, I’d fallen into a trap. I’d trusted Tory when she said I would go to a planet of my choosing—and look what happened!
When would I learn my lesson that the only person I could truly rely on was myself?
He stood and turned, obviously done dealing with me, and strode from the room. What choice did I have but to follow him? I’d signed my name to the contract. I had no choice.
Squaring my shoulders, I forced myself to breathe. There was no use in getting all worked up right now. I’d have plenty of time for that later. Like a whole fucking year.
Pushing the thought from my head, I steeled myself for what was ahead and followed him from the room. I could do this. I could handle this.
Still, it didn’t erase the fact that I felt like I’d been duped. They should have told me my contract wasn’t purchased. Given me the option of going home before selling me off to another bidder when I’d clearly had specific planets in mind. I ground my teeth together, digging deep and willing myself not to lose it completely. The last thing I wanted was to appear weak.
The medics who performed the implants were on another floor, and by the time I arrived in the medical clinic, I’d at least managed to steady my racing pulse and put on a mask of composure.
The man didn’t even glance at me as he dropped me off and returned to whatever trickery he got up to in his job. At this point, I didn’t trust anyone.
“Miss Stone.” A lithe woman with pale golden skin and flowing yellow hair smiled at me. “I am Farir, a medic from planet Hollander. I’ll be installing your communicator today.”
I grimaced. Great. A Hollander. I should be glad that it was a woman, but all I could think was that I’d been auctioned off to her home planet.
The procedure was fairly quick, and surprisingly painless. The communicator actually came in two pieces, one implanted inside my ear and the other behind my ear, just beneath my earlobe.
“There you go,” Farir said with a smile less than thirty minutes later. “You should be all set. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I blinked at her. “Are you not speaking English?”
She giggled. “No, I’m speaking Hollander now. I take it that the communicator is working sufficiently then?”
I nodded. “I guess so.”
“Very good.” She smiled again, and I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was. I wondered if all Hollanders were as attractive or if it was just her.
“If you’d like, you can wait here until your escort arrives to take you to your buyer’s personal ship. Or you can visit the lounge and have a drink while you wait.”
I frowned. “Buyer’s ship? What do you mean? I was told that I would be transported on a government-issued ship?” One more thing Tory had been incorrect about. When I got back to Earth, I’d be paying her and the Earth division of IEP a visit.
Farir giggled once more. “No, no. A government ship simply won’t do for someone in the service of your buyer. Not at all.”
“Why not?”
She gave me a conspiratorial smile; one I’d seen women exchange countless times when talking about men.
“Because, my dear Brittany, he just so happens to be a prince.”
3
Niall
I paced back and forth along the ship deck, waiting for them to bring her to me.
Brittany. They’d said her name was Brittany Stone. It had been all too easy to go in and make the necessary changes with the auction administrators. I’d simply stated my request, and they’d made it happen.
Was that an abuse of power? Maybe. I’d never done anything like that in my life, and I was still a little stunned that I’d thrown my weight around to get what I wanted, but I wanted her, and when I’d found out she was a maid, it seemed like fate.
But there was something about Brittany, something I couldn’t explain. I needed to know her. I still didn’t have an explanation for that strange sensation I’d felt when I’d caught that one and only glimpse of her. Even now, I wondered if maybe I’d imagined it. Maybe I was losing my mind or suffering from lack of sleep and impaired brain function.
I couldn’t be sure. The only thing I knew for certain was that in that moment, I’d been of a single purpose—I wouldn’t leave Novis Station without her.
Part of me felt guilty for hijacking her auction, for using my authority to get what I wanted—but not guilty enough to not go through with it. I had to find out what the strange pull I felt toward her meant.
I glanced at the clock on the wall above my ship’s entryway. She should be here any minute. I’d managed to pull the strings with the auction and get to my meeting in time. It had gone well. Oddly enough, though, the excitement at nailing the meeting paled in comparison to the anticipation I felt now.
“Excuse me, sir.”
I turned and acknowledged one of the junior crewmen with a nod.
“I’ve just been notified that Ms. Stone is approaching.”
My stomach pitched, and I felt a bead of perspiration break out on my forehead. What the hell was that about? Brushing it away, I moved to stand just inside the entry, squinting out toward the dock to catch a glimpse of her.
The crewman remained standing off to my right, and I turned to him once more. “That will be all, thanks.”
He bowed slightly and left, and I focused on trying to control my breathing.
Then there she was. Striding alongside a medic from my own planet—Farir, I believed her name was—Brittany approached the dock, her shoulders thrown back, chin lifted. The set of her jaw and sharpness of her gaze as she took in the ship gave me pause, but there was no time to dwell on it.
“Prince.” Farir greeted me as she and Brittany walked up the gangway and stopped just on the other side of the door. She bow
ed low, and I acknowledged her with a slight incline of my head, but my gaze was fixed on Brittany.
Up close, she was even more gorgeous than I realized. My chest tightened painfully as I ran my gaze over her. Dark hair tumbling in waves down her back, eyes a deep brown that was darker than the richest soils of Hollander. She was lean and had a shapely body that caused my heart to beat a little faster as I took her in.
When my gaze returned to her face, I found her glaring at me, those dark eyes blazing with a fire I didn’t expect.
“Hello,” I said in greeting, taking a step forward and giving her the slightest of bows. Not a typical greeting coming from a prince by any means, and I caught Farir’s shocked expression.
“I am Niall Holland. Welcome aboard.” I stepped aside and gestured for them to enter, but Brittany only narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she was angry. But that didn’t make any sense.
Frowning, I glanced at Farir. “Has she had her communicator installed?”
“Yes, my lord, I performed the procedure myself and tested it thoroughly,” she said. I nearly rolled my eyes. I hated when people called me that.
I nodded in approval and glanced at Brittany once more. “I take it everything went well?”
She only glared at me harder, so much so that I didn’t know what to make of it. She could obviously understand what I was saying, but she chose not to respond. Out of fear? Or something else?
One more look told me this woman wasn’t fearful of much. What was her deal, then?
I offered her what I hoped was a friendly smile, gesturing once more for her to board the ship. “Please, come aboard and I can show you around the ship, introduce you to the crew, and show you to your cabin before we take flight.”
Farir placed her hand on Brittany’s back and pressed gently. “Come along, Ms. Stone. I think you’ll find the prince’s ship to be quite accommodating.”
Brittany continued scowling but didn’t resist as Farir guided her through the entrance and into the main cabin. Brittany glanced around, taking it all in, her gaze zeroed in on the multiple corridors that led from the cabin like spokes.
