Chiseled cheekbones, square jaw. Lips set in a firm line. A face made up of hard angles without a hint of softness. I’d seen that same face, those hard angles, many times on many worlds. Some with battle scars, some who carried their scars deep inside. The face of a warrior.
He was bald, but his skin wasn’t wrinkled, and he had black eyebrows, leading me to believe the lack of hair on his head was a choice, rather than a physical trait of his species. His eyes were deep-set. Gray, like his skin. I found myself wondering what he’d look like with a full head of thick hair. Would it soften the hard planes of his face?
Barely breathing, I strained to watch his huge hand run over my body. Felt him stroke my tits, fondle my nipples. They hardened at his touch, poking up under the thin fabric of the body-skimming gown they’d given me to wear when the prison guards delivered me to the unmarked government facility.
He pinched a nipple. A fresh wave of pheromones poured off his body. He drew in his breath. When his mouth opened, I caught a glimpse of what lay hidden under his stern façade, the fullness in his lips that hinted at a sensuous nature.
Next, he ran a hand through my hair, idly wrapping one of the short dark curls around a fingertip. He froze, and I saw a glimmer of something come into his eyes. It may simply have been curiosity, but I thought I detected a flicker of heat.
He let go of my hair and used both hands to raise the hem of my gown. Those full lips curved into an unmistakable smile when he revealed matching dark curls below. A blast of rage tore through me when he reached down and twirled one around a finger.
I opened my eyes and glared at him. He met my stare unflinching and slid his finger lower to probe the folds of my pussy.
’That was when I knew.
A torrent of curses flooded my mind, but I found myself powerless to voice them. The invisible force holding me in place left me unable to speak or move. Unable to protest. Unable to stop him.
’There was nothing as swift as the rumor mill in prison. We’d all heard about a previously unknown alien race entering our vector and the interplanetary war they’d waged. Their side lost. Their world was destroyed. All the beings on it slaughtered, leaving only a handful of ships filled with bloodthirsty warriors traveling through the cosmos. They sent a message to the Federation, asking for help to track down and fight their enemy.
Fear led our leaders to turn them away. They told the aliens our Federation was a union of neutral parties when it came to interstellar conflict with beings from other parts of the galaxy. We refused to allow them entry, even for a short time. But the rumor spread that, fearing an attack on our world, Earth’s leader, Ravensworth, planned to stave it off by sending them a gift. “A token of Terran goodwill,” he’d told them. “To see to the needs of your troops.”
That rat bastard decided to take care of two problems at once. He’d shipped human females to an alien species.
Given them. Traded them. Sold them. He could call it what he wanted. It didn’t matter what term he used to justify his actions. I knew the truth. Our leader was a coward. Willing to sacrifice his own kind to save his sorry ass from any possible harm. With tokens of Earth’s goodwill.
Otherwise known as whores. Sex slaves. Fuck toys.
And I was one of them.
Chapter Two
Joran
Admiral Dylos had given me charge of the fleet. I’d protested because, for all the sol cycles we’d been adrift in the galaxy, the sole remnants of our planet and its people, we’d followed this larger-than-life leader. Dylos had seen us through dark times where we often wanted to give up. Many of us felt, with all our females gone, we had no future as a people, and knocking around from place to place endlessly held no purpose.
Sure…revenge had its charms, but despite the enthusiasm for that—which I must admit I shared to some extent—it wasn’t enough to justify living. Not that I’d considered the alternative because, as I’d told several of my men who’d come to me one at a time to say we should just fly into a nearby sun and burn up in a blaze of glory, there is no glory in giving up. Those who fought in the impossible battle that destroyed our planet deserved no less from those of us the gods allowed to go on.
I’d sworn on the lives of my family, my friends, and our dead leaders to avenge their loss. But more, to assist Admiral Dylos and my fellow commanders to see to it that the Arythian people did not fade into dim memory. My kind mother who lived to make her family’s life one of comfort and happiness, my strong, stubborn father…my sweet little sister, they all deserved my very best efforts since they no longer breathed and could not speak or act for themselves. And my betrothed. Had she lived, she would have given birth to the next generation of our family.
But even I sometimes had my doubts. Our greatest scientists, while Arythios still stood, had found it impossible to clone our beings. They had managed with most of the flora and fauna of our world—but something about the genetic material we carried had made it impossible to successfully make more of us in any but the usual way of reproducing. Arythians wanted families.
I wanted a family.
And in the depths of our despair, when we’d been turned away by those in whom we’d placed our hopes, the Terrans had changed everything with their gift. One no Arythian would have ever made, but one we had no choice but to accept.
Despite long odds, it appeared Dylos would soon be a father. As well as Captain Mantsk. The Federation had rejected our many entreaties for assistance against the enemy who destroyed our planet. An enemy just as likely to attack any one of their home worlds as they had ours. We’d warned them the assault came in such a furious and unexpected way, none of them would be able to defend against it. Our fate could as easily be theirs.
Despite their refusal to offer us shelter, even temporarily, they had however sent a number of Earth women, most of whom were still in stasis on Captain Mantsk’s vessel. The captain had successfully impregnated his chosen female. As had the admiral. The admiral’s impending fatherhood was why he put me in charge of the fleet and why it seemed an odd choice that, after doing so, he’d insisted I select a female of my own on the way back to my ship.
If Dylos, who still in effect held command, had chosen to step behind the scenes somewhat to allow him to give adequate attention to his breeding female, then wouldn’t it be more logical for me to remain single while leading the fleet?
But my logic fell on deaf ears. It seemed each captain or commander would be required to take a female, whether as partner or just breeder was entirely up to each. But we must serve as examples to the others, show them our race, even if a bit diluted, would go on while we searched for a new home planet and fought the enemy in the starry depths of space.
Which was why, instead of sitting in my command seat onboard my ship, planning strategy with my officers and the commanders of other vessels, as would be appropriate for such dire times, I was strolling between rows of unconscious women as if shopping for melons in the farmer’s market. And I had just about as much knowledge of either. My promised mate had died with all the others on Arythios, and, while we had not known one another well, the arrangement having been one between our families, our future, our children, gods be willing, had been set. My sweet mother had wished for me to have the pleasures of a family of my own, although my career kept me away from home for many sol cycles at a time.
The wedding had been arranged for the upcoming spring, and I had been getting incessant messages from both my mother and my betrothed with requests for me to make decisions about things I had no interest in. What flowers should be planted for the wedding gardens? Should the bridal gown be long or short, the interlocking bracelets be adorned with precious stones or filled with the glowing creatures of the deep as the ancestors had done. Small cakes or a banquet? How many guests and would my ship be able to remain on planet long enough for my men to attend?
In those pre-massacre days, I thought the only blessing in sight was that, after impregnating my mate, I’d be off to the stars ag
ain. Now, I recognized how callow I’d been, regarding my work as my true duty to our race, my marriage only an occasional distraction. I’d offered so little affection to the woman who was tying her future to mine. Of course, I had no reason to believe she felt any differently. No words of love passed between us—we were near strangers embarking on a future where we’d rarely even see one another. I would do my secondary duty, my family with progeny. And, now, that duty, which I’d thought no longer mine, had returned. If only I could pass it off to one of my officers. Not that I disliked copulation. But leading the fleet into battle and fathering children seemed incompatible.
Dylos had brushed aside my objections, in his usual way. The admiral rarely changed his mind once he’d reached a decision. So I didn’t argue long. And, now, I found myself in this chamber filled with unconscious females, under orders to select one and fertilize her as soon as possible.
How did one select a breeder anyway? Several had wide hips, which I’d overheard my mother and her gossiping friends say was good for fertility and birthing. But these females were all so small, and I doubted their ability to even take me inside them, much less grow a full-sized babe. I feared I’d tear her apart in the attempt. But I took some consolation in the fact two of my colleagues had impregnated them, so at least that much was possible.
I paused by one then the next, trying to decide. There were a variety of hair colors, pale to dark, and some reddish tones, curly and straight, most of their tresses long, a few short. One had very attractive bright blue and green strands spread across the table around her.
Some of the females were darker in skin than others. One with a tone almost black, gleaming under the lights, intrigued me. She had high firm breasts, even lying down, but all the rest of her was very slim, as if the gods had chosen to place the only fat in her body in that one area. Her features were regular, her brows straight lines, hair long, dark, and silken. What would our babies look like? And was she always this shade? Dylos had mentioned the Earth females did not change colors as we did, that his merely went from pale cream to shades of red when disciplined or sometimes when she was emotional. It seemed most Earth females were emotional often—if the two awakened so far offered any example. But with such skin, as dark as the stones of the Mira-Ba a cavern area of Arythios where many precious gems were mined as well, would this female also display similar shades?
On the next table lay a woman with pale gold hair waving over her shoulders. Her breaths lifted and dropped small breasts with nipples poking through the fabric of her robe, her lips parted in a way that hinted at the warm cavern within. While I had more interest in my career than spending time drinking honey wine with winsome females, I had no objection to plunging my cock into the mouth or other orifice of a female—as the pleasure planet employees could verify—and some of the females had more than the ordinary number of orifices to enjoy. Perhaps the golden-haired one would provide a measure of pleasurable dalliance in the breeding process.
A slight gasp drew my attention to the woman opposite her. This one had short, dark curls, and her skin bore a warm bronze tone. I stepped closer to find her watching me through dark irises rimmed with a lighter brown. She blinked, long lashes sweeping down to hide her eyes then up to reveal them again. Despite my lack of contact with Terran people, anger and betrayal were not hard to discern. Her lips were rosy, the dress she wore clinging to sensual curves. I caressed her breasts then pinched a nipple, watching it come to a stiff peak. The hair on her head was soft as silk and, remembering something else I’d heard about these females I lifted her skirt to find matching curls adorning the apex of her thighs. Wrapping a lock around a finger, I found it nearly as soft as that above. Softness was something not often found in space.
Interested to learn more of how this female reacted to stimulation, I fingered her female folds, finding them moist and welcoming. I increased my speed, watching her eyes widen, and her lips part, her breathing hitch. She seemed similar in construction to the females of our world, although the little button, the cluster of nerves and the way to a female’s heart, lay a bit farther forward, and was smaller and hardened under my touch. How interesting.
In the interest of satisfying my curiosity, I continued to rub and swirl, bending close to observe the swelling tissues and a trickle of liquid trail down her thigh. The muscles in her legs contracted, no doubt in an attempt to move, but whether closer for more stimulation or farther to escape me, I was unsure until I glanced up at those expressive eyes again.
She hated me.
“Will you feel the same when I drive you to the edge of orgasm and stop, little human?” I continued to stroke, but slowed, keeping her from reaching her pleasure. “It is something we will discover, but for now, come for me, female.” I sped my touch, learning how red she flushed when reaching her peak. Despite the stasis, a moan escaped her as she flooded the table under her with her juices. I’d never seen a female with so much liquid to spill at her zenith. “If I choose you, you will learn to obey, to beg me for this pleasure.”
We stared at one another for a long moment, me considering, her no doubt wishing me to the depths of the fiery pits, before I inhaled a deep breath of her scent and smiled.
“She seems agreeable to my touch,” I said to the tech who’d arrived at my side, lifting my finger to show the dampness clinging to my skin.
“Indeed, sir.” He nodded approvingly. “So, is this one your final choice?”
I shrugged. What difference did it make, really? And, although I was loath to admit it, her responsiveness spoke to me. She would be mine to play with, to torment if I chose, and to impregnate. I wiped the moisture on her dress. “Have her brought to my shuttle and hand her over to the lieutenant. He will bind her as needed.” I turned away, dismissing her from my thoughts. Almost. “I must speak to Captain Mansk before I depart.
Chapter Three
Xia
The huge alien had apparently chosen me as his personal fuck toy.
I’ve never understood why people are so obsessed with having sex. I like doing it. Occasionally, I even crave the release of orgasm, but, for the most part, I’ve found it’s more gratifying to take care of my needs myself at those times than to look to a man for satisfaction. Maybe ’it was because I’ve lived in a man’s world, fought side by side with them, all my life. I’ve never found one who’s as strong as I am. I don’t mean just physically. I’m talking about the whole package—mental toughness, intelligence, control over their emotions. They’ve all come up lacking.
But, at the moment, I was having trouble controlling my emotions. I wanted to scream. I felt like a butterfly put on display while ’it was still alive, trapped by sharp pins driven through its wings so the collector can examine his new plaything. Touch it, torment it, and watch it squirm. With one difference. If he’d used pins, I could have torn myself loose. I had no idea how to overcome the invisible force pinning me to the table. Or how to cope with the riot of feelings pouring through me.
I was still shuddering with aftershocks of the orgasm he’d wrung from my body when the alien strode away.
He said something as he left to the one who seemed to be in charge of the female cargo. At first, I thought he’d changed his mind and rejected me, but then the handler wheeled me, table, and all, out of the huge room and down a passageway. As we moved along, bands of color appeared on the walls and ceiling to light our way, then faded after we passed. At the end of the corridor, he handed me off to yet another tall gray being.
The being had the same hard lines in his face as the one who’d casually brought me to climax, the same powerful physique. Another alien warrior, from the looks of him. The new one waved a hand over the table, and the force field holding me in place eased. He slid one arm under my knees and the other under my shoulders, lifted me into his arms, and carried me through a wide doorway into a cavernous space. Though well-lit, it was so big the far reaches were in the shadows. He headed for a small alien craft about the size of a short-haul t
ransporter, one of dozens lined up in front of us in what seemed to be the alien ship’s landing bay.
I’m not a small woman. I stand a little over six feet and every inch, except for my generously endowed tits, was packed with muscle I’d spent years developing. But the huge gray being handled me as though I weighed no more than a child.
Despite his bulk, I could have fought him. Caught him off-guard and put him on the floor in two smooth moves. I thought it over and chose not to. After all, what would that have accomplished? Though I was on an alien vessel, I wasn’t in any imminent danger. I’d been pawed and fondled without my consent then brought to a shattering climax, but I hadn’t been harmed. From the sheer size of the landing bay, this wasn’t anything like an average Federation starship, which meant it could be carrying an army of enemy aliens just like him. Even if I overpowered the one carrying me, I couldn’t fight them all. And if I somehow managed to get away, I had no idea where to go. I was damned if I’d end up as some gray alien’s sex slave, but I needed a whole lot more information to plan a successful escape.
He stepped inside the nearest craft and lowered me into a reclining chair at the helm, then sat on the chair next to me. Somehow, he’d activated the damned force field again, leaving me helpless. He pressed a series of blinking lights on the panel in front of us, and the craft rose then moved forward silently.
This time, at least I could move my head. I swallowed and tested my vocal cords. “Where are you taking me?” I spoke English, since I hadn’t heard enough of their language for the Tellex chip to allow me to string a couple of words together coherently, let alone carry on a conversation.
Not only did he not answer, he acted like he hadn’t heard me.
I studied his movements as he piloted the craft. It seemed to be controlled through a sequence of blinking lights.
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