by Renee Rose
“Don’t move those hands from the wall. If you do, I will whip your ass until you scream. Got it?”
She ought to be angry at the thought of receiving abuse from yet another oppressive master, but only flutters of excitement filled her belly.
Lundric’s huge palm crashed down on her upturned ass, and she listed to the side. “You are wearing panties.”
Does he sound gleeful?
He pulled her back into place. “You hold this position for me, baby. This is punishment, and I’m going to make sure you learn something from it.”
Again the strange flutters. What did he expect her to—ack. She held her breath when his hand crashed down again, then stayed on her ass, rubbing away the sting.
He shoved her tunic up and pulled the back of her panties down until they just bared her ass. “Vecking stars, that’s pretty.” He sounded almost reverent. To her shock, he grasped the front of her panties and yanked them up, pulling and tightening the fabric until it applied pressure to her clit.
She couldn’t restrain the gasp of surprise and pleasure rocketing through her. Tipping her hips forward, she leaned into it, hungry for more.
She also made the perfect target for his palm, which smacked her tingling cheek once more. She tucked her tail to dodge the next spank, and he followed through, pulling up on her panties even more, sending a wave of dizzy pleasure through her.
She panted, waiting on her tiptoes, fingers splayed wide against the wall, desperate for more.
“That’s where I want you.” He spoke more to himself than to her and began spanking her with hard, swift strokes. She danced under the onslaught, leaning into her panties, which pleasured her with every twist and turn as his hand punished, making her ass burn with the intensity.
“Stop, please,” she whimpered, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he began to jerk her panties up in short bursts, fast and hard, never pausing in his assault on her ass.
She crested the peak and fell over the other side in an eruption of pleasure, her pussy clenching on nothing but a pair of panties, head swimming with visions of Lundric’s bare torso, those enormous muscles in all their power.
He spanked and panty-jerked her right through her climax but stopped the moment she collapsed her head against the wall, one of her hands sliding down as she sagged. He surged to his feet, caging her against the wall, his big hand covering the one that had slipped, his body pressed against hers. She registered his cock at her back with an aftershock of pussy-clenching. His lips found her ear, breath came hot against her neck. “What did I tell you about moving these hands?”
Her ass throbbed in response, already hot and tingling from the hand spanking. She sure as stars hoped he wasn’t serious about whipping her.
“Please, Lundric.” She wanted to kick herself for begging like a helpless female.
He bit her ear, hands coasting down her sides to squeeze her throbbing ass. “Now I forgive you,” he murmured, pulling up her panties. He continued to massage and squeeze her bottom over the panties, and she helplessly pushed it into his hands, loving the way he made her feel, even if it confused the hell out of her.
“Captain Lundric?” The disembodied voice sounded from somewhere on her floor.
Lundric cursed and jumped back, stooping to search the pile of his tunic and undershirt for his comms unit. “What is it?” he snapped.
“There’s a disturbance in cell 8—a fight amongst refugees.”
“I’ll be right there.” He turned to her. She’d already taken the interruption as an opportunity to yank her head back to reality. To steel herself against whatever this bizarre interaction had been.
But the apology on his face sank her. Like he owed her something more. When he hadn’t even taken pleasure. Had only given it—along with punishment.
Confusion swirled with post-orgasmic languor and lack of sleep. She watched, blankly, as he pulled his clothes back on over his beautiful chest. She wondered how he’d explain the blood on his clothes. Picking up her bloodied leggings, he said, “I’ll wash these tonight so they’re dry by morning. Push the chair against the door. It won’t keep it from opening, but it will serve as an extra barrier in the dark until I install a latch. I’ll drop the your leggings on the chair when they’re done.”
She nodded.
“I’ll keep watch over your room, baby. You can rest.” Without warning, his arm reached out and snaked around her waist, and he yanked her body against his. His cock still stood rigid, and she experienced a stab of guilt he hadn’t found release. Not that she’d been ready to offer it to him. “Thank you,” he murmured.
She pulled away, and he let her go. “For what?”
A roguish grin split his face. “For stabbing me. How else would I get my hands on that tight little ass of yours?”
Dearest Mother Earth, he’d made her blush. Nothing made her blush.
He grasped her nape and pulled her head forward to drop a kiss on her hair. Then he winked and left, pulling the door shut tight behind him.
She waited, listening for the sound of his boots as he walked away, but there was only silence.
He was waiting for her. “The chair?”
“This chair isn’t going to be a barrier to anyone getting in,” she grumbled, but a goofy smile stretched her lips as she dragged it into position. He cared about her safety.
“Thank you.” Stars, she loved his deep, gruff voice.
Her clit throbbed in time with her ass as she walked the two steps to her cot. She sank down onto it with a sigh of pleasure. She hadn’t slept on anything even semi-cushioned in a hundred planet rotations. Not since she’d killed the guards and been caught escaping the factory housing.
She hooked her thumbs in her panties and slid them off, bringing her knees up to her chest to get them over her feet. Her hands slid over her heated ass, exploring the sensation.
She’d been beaten as a child by the Ocretion factory foremen, and when she was grown, they’d used shock-sticks for punishment. Nothing compared to this sensation of heat and tingling and pain, more exciting than unpleasant because of the context. Her fingers found her pussy, and she shivered with pleasure at her own touch. Her folds were swollen and slick, and a little raw, but in the best possible way. She worked her sex and pictured her giant Zandian warrior—how he had to duck to fit through the doorway, his beautiful muscled chest and arms, the way his lids had drooped with desire for her, the sense of tightly leashed lust. What else could he do to her body?
I’d have you pinned down with those sexy thighs spread wide…
Her hips snapped up with another climax, her internal walls contracting once more on nothing. For the first time in at least four years, she wanted to have sex. Wanted to know what that powerful body felt like over hers, under hers, behind hers.
She slowly lowered her hips back to the cot, stroking all the aftershocks out of her pussy. She’d probably regret all of it tomorrow, but, for now, it felt like in a lifetime of oppression, one small thing had gone right. She had a cot, her own closet, and two orgasms. It wasn’t freedom. It wasn’t finding Tal, but it was a start.
Chapter Three
Cambry took a front row seat for the first training session. Or she would have if there were seats to be had. While the Zandians had sent supplies and battleships, they still didn’t have chairs, or beds or changes of clothing, so they’d all sat on the floor of the large hall where she’d slept—or actually hadn’t slept—the first night.
Rok, the young Zandian warrior who appeared to be in charge, had sorted them into groups based on their interests. Some would learn to fly the battleships, others would practice navigation and communication skills to serve as co-pilots, and most of them would learn hand-to-hand combat. Those too sick or wounded had been taken to a sick bay where beings interested in learning medical care and assisting with battle wounds would nurse them.
She’d volunteered for pilot training. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the only way off the uninhabitable planet th
ey’d crashed into was in an airship, so she intended to learn how to fly one. First chance she got, she’d fly herself straight out of the galaxy. No way she was waiting around to fight a war on Zandia she had no stake in.
Rok stood in front with his crew of non-Zandians. An unkempt old Venusian, two Stornigians, and a huge being of a species she didn’t recognize.
Rok’s human girlfriend came in and dropped to the floor near Cambry. “Hi, I’m Lily,” she said, holding out her hand in the ancient human gesture of greeting.
If she weren’t hoping to ingratiate herself with the trainers enough to get into an airship, she would have rebuffed the girl’s overtures. This was the female who’d been singing the song of human freedom on Zandia, trying to get them all to believe in some kind of “promised land.”
She reluctantly put forth her hand. “Cambry.” She supposed she shouldn’t begrudge Lily her misplaced faith in the Zandians. And maybe, for Lily, the promised land would be true. After all, she had captivated her Zandian warrior so well, he’d been willing to take down this entire death pod to save her.
Now Rok and his warriors were stuck with the two hundred other beings who had come with Lily. Of course, they couldn’t just set them free. If word got back to the Ocretions they didn’t all perish, Lily and Rok would have a price on their heads. So, they’d decided to make soldiers out of them for their own purposes.
Most of the beings there were just content to have had their death sentences cleared. Nothing much changed for them. They’d traded one master for another; Work and obedience were still required of them with the penalty death if they didn’t give it.
But Cambry had decided back at the factory, when her brother was taken from her, it was time to get herself free. She had a rare opportunity to learn a skill that would facilitate her goal.
Rok whistled and brought the room to attention. There were about one hundred beings there, and all their attention went to the large warrior. His gaze traveled over the group, resting on Lily, where Cambry had the feeling he’d wanted to focus all along. His face went soft, as if she had the power to bring him to bliss simply with her presence in the room.
Cambry stole a glance at Lily, who appeared equally riveted, cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. “How’d you meet?” she found herself asking.
Lily smiled, not dragging her focus from her male. “I stole his ship.”
Cambry choked on a laugh, her opinion of the young woman rising. “Is that so?”
“Yeah.” Their eyes were still locked. “But then he caught me and kept me prisoner.” She said it like it was the sexiest, most romantic thing in the galaxy, and after what happened with Lundric last night, she almost understood.
How would she like to be Lundric’s prisoner? Tied up and available for his use. Or bent over his knee and punished for disobedience.
I will whip your ass until you scream.
Why did she almost want to push him into delivering such a consequence?
As if conjured by her lustful thoughts, Lundric strode in. He appeared tired and a little pale but still panty-dropping gorgeous. She hoped the pallor wasn’t from blood loss. If he’d been a human, that wound she’d inflicted could’ve been deadly. She shuddered to think how horrible she’d feel if Lundric were lying in the sick bay now, fighting for his life because of her. Sweet Mother Earth, how she prayed he hadn’t been downplaying it for her sake.
Rok launched into some kind of introduction, but she only had attention for Lundric. He stood at attention behind Rok, but his gaze immediately fell on her, as if he’d known where she sat from the moment he walked in the door. His eyes blazed with heat and a promise. A tingle of warmth swept through her, the memory of what they’d done the night before barreling into her mind and making her belly flutter. Veck, was she blushing?
“Looks like you’ve found a Zandian admirer, too,” Lily murmured.
“I stabbed him last night with his own dagger.”
Lily stifled a giggle, finally tearing her attention away from her mate to look at Cambry. “Well, I guess that’s the key. Maybe you have to significantly offend them to win their undying love.”
Undying love.
Her stomach clenched. That wasn’t what she and Lundric were about. Shared lust, yes. Mutual pleasure, absolutely. She’d already decided she wanted more. But she wasn’t looking for a mate. She had one boot out the door. As soon as she found her chance, she was escaping. And yeah, stealing one of their ships, just like Lily had. Heh.
Maybe Lundric would take her prisoner. Except she couldn’t be caught, and she wasn’t playing around. She needed to find and free her brother. Only then could she consider any kind of future with any species of being. Who knew? Maybe the Zandians would win their planet back, and she could return the ship and waltz back into Lundric’s life.
But no, her gut said he’d never forgive her for deserting.
She considered the intensity with which he’d treated her—watching over her, securing her safety, washing her leggings and returning them neatly folded in the middle of the night. He might not think this thing between them was as casual as she did.
Even that niggling worry couldn’t dissuade her from wanting more of Lundric, though. And soon.
~.~
Lundric couldn’t stop watching Cambry, his beautiful female. She’d blushed when he first saw her, her porcelain skin turning an enchanting shade of pink beneath the smattering of freckles. He wondered how she’d look with that mane of hair flowing free over her shoulders and around her face. Like a vecking goddess. He wanted to bury his fingers in it, wrap it up in his fist, tickle her breasts with the ends.
Rok gave the refugees the rundown on how training was going to go. Lundric had to admire Rok—he wasn’t one to hear himself talk. He kept it brief then ordered them to break into groups of twelve and assigned a Zandian warrior to each group.
“Take them to a ship. Let each one sit in the cockpit and handle the controls. There’s no better way to learn than doing. Test them until they have it down.”
He marched over to take Cambry’s group, which also happened to contain Rok’s female. Rok squared off with him. “I’ve got this one.”
He willed his jaw to relax. “You’ll need to make the rounds and supervise. I’ll take this group after you’re finished demonstrating.”
Rok’s mouth flattened into a thin line. Lily slipped her hand through his arm, and his shoulders relaxed by a fraction. She murmured something only he could hear, and Rok’s expression turned musing as he contemplated Lundric. When he turned to give Cambry the same look, though, Lundric growled.
Rok’s lips twitched. “I see. All right, Captain. We’ll go to the ship together, then.”
Lundric fell in beside Cambry as they walked to the hatch, where they each took an oxygen helmet for the short walk from the pod to the battleship. He resisted the urge to double-check Cambry’s to be sure she had it on correctly. Not only was she an intelligent, capable female, but she wouldn’t appreciate his treating her like a child. He’d seen the way she’d sat front and center for the meeting. She was there to learn. The best thing he could do was stay out of her way.
Once everyone had suited up, they stepped into the interim chamber then out onto the barren land of Shooku, the uninhabitable planet where the pod had crashed. Waterless and made of red dust, the planet’s landscape looked the same in every direction. Its air didn’t have enough oxygen content for their lungs, and the temperature was hot enough to make his clothes stick to his body within moments. They quickly boarded an airship and closed the hatch, crowding into the small cockpit.
“The only way to learn to fly is by practicing,” Rok announced, guiding Lily into the pilot’s seat. “That’s how I learned. It’s how you will learn, too. By the time we enter a real battle, you will know how to fly the hell out of these things.” He then explained every button switch and control on the panel.
One of the human males cleared his throat. “So, how exactly will this battle l
ook?”
Rok flicked a glance at Lundric. A smuggler who had been raised away from Zandians, Rok wasn’t really one of them. He’d earned his position by being the best pilot of their species. “I’m not sure yet. My job is to ready pilots for the fleet. But Prince Zander and others like Captain Lundric have spent most of their lives preparing for this. Isn’t that right?”
He couldn’t deny the flare of satisfaction at the curiosity in Cambry’s gaze. “That’s true, yes.”
“How old were you when Zandia was invaded?” Rok asked.
He cringed. It was odd to have this bonding moment in front of every riveted being on the battleship. “Seven solar cycles. You?”
“Eight. How’d you survive?”
He swallowed hard. The memory wasn’t a pleasant one—not in the least. “I got lucky. I was off-planet at the time with my grandparents.”
Rok leaned past Lily and flicked on the engine then dropped into the co-pilot’s seat. “I escaped with a guard who was able to fly an ancient airship we found, no bigger than this one. If he hadn’t known how to fly, we would’ve died. It’s a skill every being should have. So, let’s get started.”
He instructed Lily and allowed her to take off and fly a few hundred meters before helping her land. “Lundric, take my seat. Let each student practice takeoff and landing—three times each, until they get the feel of it.”
“Yes, Captain.” He didn’t know what Rok’s exact title was, but since he answered to him, he thought he ought to give him one.
Rok’s lips twisted into a lopsided grin. “Am I a captain, now, too?” He bent his arm at a ninety degree angle in the traditional formal Zandian greeting but then threw it away with a cavalier, “Thanks, friend.”
Lundric lifted his chin at Cambry, inviting her into the pilot’s chair. He slid in beside her. She’d paid attention to Rok and was quick to execute the steps necessary for takeoff, as if trying to do them all before he prompted. He closed his mouth and let her do her thing, waiting until she had a question.
