“Anyway. Before we knew it, the Phaetons were there at the base of the steps yelling something at the guys holding our leashes.”
“Leashes?” Pixie gasped. “You didn’t say anything about leashes.”
“They led us up there as if we were dogs,” Maisey said in disgust. “Keep in mind, we still couldn’t understand what was being said but they were much more normal than some of the others that were bidding on us. Tammy and I both knew they were the better option, so we didn’t fight when they took us to their ship.”
“I feel like I need popcorn,” Poppy muttered.
“Ten. Pound. Baby,” Pixie said without looking at her sister.
“Never mind. Go on,” Poppy grumped.
“On the ship, they injected the translator chip and we were finally able to talk to someone. Believe me, they were as stunned as we were we’d been snatched. Hudson was there for me from the start. He listened and made sure we were comfortable and told us everything would be fine.” Maisey’s voice broke on the last words. “At that point, it was what we needed to hear.”
“What does that mean?” Pixie asked confused.
“He didn’t say that we could go home. He just said we were safe. Honestly, that was what I needed to hear.”
“When the Phaeton council heard of the women, they informed us that we were not going to be able to return them to Earth. The risk was too high that they would speak to the government about what had happened. We could not take the chance that our existence would be discovered before we were ready for it to happen.”
“And you were okay with that?” Poppy directed her question to Maisey after Hudson’s words.
“At the time, no. I knew we didn’t have a choice.” Snuggling into her husband, she smiled at the sisters. “I don’t regret one bit of it. Not even the kidnapping. If I had never been taken, I wouldn’t have Hudson or Tempest. They’re my life now.”
“Don’t you miss Earth?” Pixie asked softly, trying to wrap her head around Maisey’s situation.
“I did. Especially at first.” Maisey tilted her head to the side in thought. “Now that the pact is in place though, it means I can get things I missed from Earth. Hudson has ordered me enough Ben & Jerry’s to keep me happy for a while and I was able to make sure my ranch was taken care of. Don’t get me wrong. It was hard to make the adjustment. Really hard. But overall, I’m happy with the way things have turned out.”
“Sweetheart, I am going to take Temp back to our apartments to nap. Would you like to visit with the women for a while longer? I can send an escort to get you when needed.” Hudson’s deep voice interrupted their conversation.
“That sounds great, honey.” Maisey leaned over to give him a kiss before Hudson stood carefully with their daughter in his arms.
“Message me when you are finished.” Hudson looked over at Poppy and Pixie. “Ladies, try not to get into trouble.”
“Who? Us?” Poppy asked innocently.
“Yes, you. I have heard some stories from Wheaton,” Hudson replied with his brow arched.
“Well, he’s going to get a talking-to, then. Who does he think he is, spreading lies about me?” Poppy gasped dramatically, putting her hand to her chest as if she were competing for an Oscar.
Pixie moved to sit next to Maisey on the couch as she watched the exchange. “Don’t worry. I promise she’s not as crazy as she seems.”
“You two are going to be fun,” Maisey replied, smiling at the sisters.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“I had so much fun today,” Maisey said as she hugged Pixie.
“We did too.” Pixie stepped back so Poppy could move in for a hug as well.
“And don’t worry about my sister. She normally isn’t such a spaz,” Poppy teased.
“Hey, I forgot the table was behind me. I’m lucky I didn’t bust my ass or Dathrow would have put the kibosh on our dancing,” Pixie said in defense of her klutziness.
“Like you would ever allow him to tell you what to do,” Poppy argued.
“True.” Pixie nodded in agreement. “I’m done with being dictated to.”
The sisters reached out to each other and bumped fists as they walked Maisey to the door.
“I can’t believe how much time passed. It feels like I’ve only been here an hour and instead it’s been four.” Maisey opened the door and nodded at the warrior standing there. “Hi, Taron.”
“Maisey.” Nodding shortly in greeting, the warrior turned to the other women and bowed stiffly.
“This is Taron. Have you guys met yet?” Maisey asked as she handed her bag over to the warrior when he reached to relieve her of the burden.
“I haven’t.” Reaching forward to shake his hand, Pixie stepped outside the door. “Do you mind walking me back to my place too?”
“Wait, you’re not staying for dinner?” Poppy interrupted.
“Sis, no offense but I want to have a nice quiet dinner with Dath tonight.” Pixie leaned forward to peck her sister on the cheek. “Plus, you’re bushed. You should probably nap if you want to be awake at all later.”
“True,” Poppy agreed with a frown.
“We don’t have to be together every single day,” Pixie pointed out.
“I know, I know. I just missed you more than I expected when I came here and it’s good to be able to see you again. Especially since you’re back to the old Pix again. I missed her.” Poppy’s eyes started to water as she spoke.
“And that’s my cue to leave. Love ya, sis.” Pixie turned back to Taron and Maisey as they waited patiently for her to untangle herself from her sister.
Walking down the hallway with their guard a few steps ahead, Maisey peeked over at Pixie out of the corner of her eye. “What did Poppy mean by you being back to ‘the old Pix’?”
“I was in a shitty relationship on Earth,” Pixie answered honestly.
“Haven’t we all been?” Maisey joked.
“Yeah, but the sad thing was I didn’t know it.” Breathing out a heavy sigh, Pixie rubbed her forehead. “I let myself become someone I didn’t even know.”
“That sucks,” Maisey said, her voice full of compassion.
“Yeah. I’ll admit the worst part about it is if I hadn’t caught him balls-deep in someone who I thought was a friend, I might not have ever woken up about it.”
“Ouch.” Maisey linked her arm with Pixie, the gesture one of support.
“I wasn’t even that upset about it. I mean… I was upset, but not heartbroken. I was more angry than anything.”
“I get where you’re coming from. I was actually in a similar relationship right out of college. He didn’t cheat on me but instead helped himself to some of the money my parents left to me.”
“Geez. We pick winners, don’t we?”
“Hey, Hudson is a winner. I just had to come to space to find him.” At Maisey’s words, both women started to giggle.
“That should be on the volunteer commercial, ‘leave your lame Earth losers and find a man out of this world!’ Women would be signing up left and right.”
At Pixie’s words, Taron turned around and smiled. “That might be a good idea.”
“He speaks!” Pixie bumped Maisey with her shoulder. “Did I tell you that my sister and I drove Finch insane?”
Maisey gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand. “Are you the reason he’s been in the rec room sparring every night?”
“Maybe,” Pixie drawled the word out.
“Dear Lord. That is funny.” Maisey studied Pixie with new appreciation shining in her eyes.
“Hey, if you can’t stand the heat…” Pixie winked at Taron who had dropped back to walk beside them.
“I am so glad you guys signed up for the pact. I needed friends before I went crazy.” Maisey stopped at what was apparently her door.
“I’m glad too. In fact, this was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Giving her new friend a quick hug goodbye, Pixie turned to Taron as the door shut.
“Do you know t
he way or should I show you?”
“I am familiar with which apartment Dathrow inhabits.” Taron started walking down the hall, not waiting for Pixie to keep up.
“You realize you have longer legs than I do, right?” Pixie huffed as she struggled to keep pace with the tall warrior.
“I apologize. I am not used to being around Earth woman.” Slowing his steps to the equivalent of a turtle’s speed he waited for her to walk before matching his strides to hers.
“So, are you in the groom pool?”
The question must have startled Taron, because he glanced over at Pixie sharply.
“I am.”
“Cool.” Pixie was unsure what to say to the tall man who seemed to be a little on the stiff side.
“Here is your apartment.” The words were accompanied by yet another sharp bow.
“Well, it was nice meeting—”
“I will contact a security officer to stand guard until Dathrow can relieve him.”
Pixie made a face at the warrior’s back as he walked away from her. That was going to be one tough nut to crack. Walking into the apartment, Pixie tossed her bag onto the small round table in the dining area. She was exhausted. She could already feel the burn from her enthusiastic performance with Dath in the shower that morning and then dancing with Poppy. Pixie hadn’t wanted to admit it, but when she’d started to fall earlier, she’d tensed up and her back was starting to hurt a bit. Rooting through her bag, she breathed a sigh of relief when she located a couple of ibuprofen stashed in a pocket.
“Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.”
Gulping them down with a couple swallows of water, Pixie eyed the couch. Damn, she really needed to get those pillows ordered. With the way her back was feeling, the couch was more like a torture device than anything.
“This is gonna suck.” Pixie moved slowly over to the couch and gently lowered herself. “Yep, it really sucks.”
Grabbing the remote from the cushion next to her, she figured now would be a good time to do something that required minimal movement. Opening up files, she started sorting videos. For some reason, Pixie found this calming. She normally liked organizing things and this gave her the feeling of working a puzzle. Plus, she would be amused every now and then when she came across one of Dathrow’s alternative titles. Some of them were descriptive and some were based on his opinions. Judging from the label of “never again” he’d put on Steel Magnolias, Pixie was going to have to have a talk with him.
Pixie moved through the tabs until she reached the folder containing videos that hadn’t been viewed yet. Poppy had let it slip that Dathrow had grilled her on some of Pixie’s favorites so Pixie assumed these were movies he’d gotten for her. The list contained thirty titles, all labeled “unknown”.
Opening the first file, Pixie felt her eyes tear up as one of her favorite movies started. The Dark Crystal was one she’d watched over and over with her parents when she was little. Every so often she still would pull out the DVD and indulge in all …the memories it brought back. The next one made her giggle. Dolly Parton was one of her idols and the fact that Dathrow had found and downloaded The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas was amusing. Labeling them quickly so she could see what else he’d gotten for her, she finally made it to the last unviewed title.
What. The. Fuck. This was definitely not something that held a special place in her heart. The screen was filled with what looked like a low-grade porno. Pixie jabbed at the remote, her fingers fumbling for the Cancel button when a voice stopped her in her tracks. When she looked up, she realized it was Dathrow’s voice coming from the video. Oh my God, that was her husband. That was her husband fucking someone.
Feeling as if she was going to vomit, Pixie pushed frantically at the buttons. Her harsh actions caused the button to jam in the plastic, making the remote useless in stopping the train wreck playing in front of her.
“Holy fucking shit!” Pixie stomped to the wall to hit the manual control, trying to keep her eyes away from the screen. Just as she was reaching for the pad on the wall, she froze.
“No.” Pixie had to have imagined what Dathrow’s image whispered. There was no other explanation for it. She had to be hallucinating.
Blinking hard to control the tears fighting to break through, Pixie forced herself to step back. Calmly moving her hand to the control pad, she hit the Rewind button. Feeling bile rise in her throat, she watched as Dathrow made love to what she assumed was a worker in the Pleasure Sector. Waiting for the moment she needed to hear again, she watched his face closely. Crouched behind the woman on the screen, Dathrow made a face Pixie was now familiar with when he climaxed. A hot tear tracked down her cheek as she saw his hand trace a finger down the glistening back of the female. Holding her breath, she waited for it.
There it was. Her heart was broken. As Dathrow came down from his climax, he threw his head back and whispered one word that managed to stab straight into Pixie’s chest. Pixie felt as if someone had ripped her heart right out.
Sinking to the floor in front of the screen, Pixie put her hands over her face to block out the image. There was no mistaking what she’d heard.
“No, no, no, no, no,” she cried out, the pain in her chest unbearable. Standing up, Pixie sobbed as she started smacking her hand against the screen. Soon that hand turned into a fist as the emotions welled over.
When the glass cracked, she focused on the face of the man she loved. A man who had said he would never hurt her. A man who had the ability to apparently shatter her with one word.
The video had frozen as he slumped in satisfaction…after whispering one word. More specifically a name…
Poppy.
After what seemed like hours, Pixie stood up and moved to sit on the couch. The screen had gone into sleep mode. No longer was it projecting a vision of her husband but instead was dark, the cracks in the screen apparent against the black glass. Rubbing her right hand, she realized it was now starting to ache. She couldn’t believe she’d hit the screen at all, much less hard enough to actually break it.
Pixie was drained. The overload of emotions had exhausted her. Glancing over at the clock, she saw two hours had passed since she’d arrived home. Home. What a joke. She was married to a man who was in love with her sister.
As if a light had been turned on in her brain, Pixie now recalled all the instances when he’d said how alike the sisters were. For her, the relationship had been fast because it felt right. As for Dathrow, he’d obviously been using her as a substitute for her sister.
Oh God. Poppy.
How was this going to affect Pixie’s relationship with her sister? Did Poppy know that Dathrow was in love with her?
Pixie shook her head. No. She couldn’t have known. Poppy had always been supportive of Dathrow and Pixie’s match. There was no way she would have kept something from Pixie. Her sister would never do that to her. Poppy was in love with Wheaton, that was extremely apparent. So whatever feelings were between Dathrow and Poppy were one-sided.
There were so many questions and finding the answers to them might kill her. First thing was that she needed to talk to Dathrow and figure out how to dissolve their union. There was no way she was going to stay in a marriage where she came in second. Dropping her head to the back of the couch, Pixie let out a sigh of relief. At least they had been smart and decided to wait before starting a family. That would have been a complication Pixie wouldn’t have known how to deal with.
Hearing the tone of the door indicate someone was entering caused Pixie to tense. Sitting straight on the couch, she waited for Dathrow to enter.
“Hello, sweet one.” Moving into the room, Dathrow dropped his bag onto the floor by the door and frowned at her. “What is wrong?”
“What is wrong?” Pixie scoffed at the question. “Everything. Everything is wrong.”
Anger filled her as tears started tracking down her cheeks again.
“Are you okay? Are you in pain? Why are you cupping your hand?” The questions were
asked in rapid fire as Dathrow rushed over to sit next to her. He pulled her hand toward him and gently turned it. Catching sight of the bruises starting to appear on her knuckles and surrounding flesh, he hissed. “Who did this?!”
“I did,” Pixie said in a voice that was unrecognizable to her own ears.
“Pixie, what is going on? You are worrying me.” Dathrow’s panicked voice jarred Pixie out of her thoughts.
“I’m going to pack a bag. I want you to message Wheaton so he can come get me.”
Pixie knew she needed to talk to Dathrow about what she’d seen but right then she was having a hard time functioning. When they talked about this, she needed to be firing on all cylinders.
“What? Why?” Dathrow asked sharply. “Talk to me.”
“I’m packing a bag. Message Wheaton and then when you’re done, watch the video that’s loaded on the player.”
Dathrow glanced across the room and finally noticed the broken glass on the screen. “Is that how you hurt your hand?”
“Dath, if you care for me even a tiny bit then you will do what I ask. I can’t talk right now about this. I need time to gather my thoughts.” Pixie stood, feeling the muscles in her back and legs tighten up from her exercise earlier. The physical reminder of their lovemaking earlier caused a fresh lance of pain to shoot through her.
Dathrow nodded. “I will do what you ask but we will talk about what has happened and why you are leaving.”
“Maybe tomorrow. Right now I just need some space. Just watch the video. It should explain most of it.”
Pixie walked into the bedroom after making sure Dathrow messaged Wheaton. Pulling one of her bags from the closet floor, she filled it with her comfortable clothes. At this moment she felt like wrapping herself in cotton wool and just collapsing. As she gathered a few of her toiletry items, she heard the video playing in the living room.
Unable to stop herself, Pixie covered her ears with her hands. She couldn’t handle the sound of his voice while he was intimate with another woman. A broken sob came out of her throat before she was able to control it.
Strong hands cupped her shoulders, causing her to jump.
Dathrow Page 23
