No one could doubt she was at a disadvantage since, in addition to being naked, she was on a ship far from home, and was my property. But pointing those things out would not win her over. No, I would have to approach her as I would a man—although with different discussion points. And we would at least be pretending she had the freedom to make decisions, so… I waved against a section of wall, revealing a cupboard. “Your dress is in there. It has been cleaned.”
“When was it cleaned?” she demanded, stalking toward me then reaching into the cubby. “I never saw anyone come in.”
“The process is automatic. I placed it in the laundry chute, which I will show you later, and it is automatically returned.” I would have normally put the head coverings I had soiled earlier in the chute, but I had been anxious to get rid of them before arriving on the bridge, so recycling it was.
She tugged the dress over her head, her voice muffled. “Since this is the only garment I have, I shall not be sending it away to be cleaned.”
No guilt at all. I expected this female to be mother to my young, but she had only one rather disreputable piece of clothing. “More shall be provided if needed. That is what I want to discuss with you.”
She studied the wall again. “Why can you operate these systems but not me? Is it based on your DNA?”
“No, not exactly, but if we reach agreement, I can make changes so that you will be able to open doors and closets and whatever you need. Now, are you ready to listen?”
She shrugged. “What choice do I have?”
“At the moment, the choice to be respectful to your Master”—I watched her brows furrow when I said the word—“or continue to rack up punishment for rudeness.” Taking her arm, I escorted her to my bunk and pushed her to sit. “Ready to listen?”
Her jaw was set, but she gave me a nod befitting a queen agreeing to listen to a commoner. “Yes.”
“Before I begin, I want you to remember that I am the commander of this vessel as well as your Master. That means I am in charge of everyone aboard as well as responsible for their welfare. If you were, as you said, in command of your own starship—”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Her eyes flamed, and so did my lust.
“Not at all, but if you interrupt again, you will be over my lap before our discussion rather than after.”
“Excuse me?”
“Much better. Now, if I may continue. I am responsible for this ship as well as the mission I was recently assigned: to track down and annihilate those who destroyed our planet. You have value to me both as a female, one who can bear young to repopulate our race, but also, apparently, as one with skills at least in your planet’s primitive ships.”
She grimaced. “Must you insult me in every sentence?”
I was puzzled. “I offer no insult. I am stating your worth, which is far more than any other female and, if you are able to learn to hold a position on this ship, more than any other crewmember. Do you not see that?”
Her sigh lifted and let her breasts fall. I was very glad she would be the only crewmember who could provide such distraction. “Okay, fine…Master. So, let me make sure I understand what you are suggesting. Are you offering me a job here? Something in the ship’s officer department?”
Officer… “I would have my lieutenant test you and see if he believes you are capable of filling one of the seats left empty by a few men who were on leave when our people were murdered. I am very busy and do not have time to do this myself, but if we reach agreement, I would have to trust that you would behave in a manner befitting a member of this crew. No matter what rank you held in your world, you are not a commander here. Understood?”
You’d think I’d offered her the riches of Zuul. Her eyes lit up, and she jumped to her feet, smiling. “When do we start? I’m certain I can prove useful, finally. I am not a brood mare.”
“To be clear. You are here to bear my young. That is your first duty, and to please me. The additional tasks are to fill your time until you are a mother.”
The furrow was back but quickly cleared. “As you say. Now, if you can find me a uniform that can be adapted for my size, I’d love to get a tour of the ship.”
She’d given in too easily, but her words held the tone of one who knew command. But that should also mean she understood rank and military discipline. I hoped she did. If not, she’d find her career in the Arythian space service a short one. I meant it when I said I was responsible for this ship and its crew. Undisciplined personnel could pose a danger to us all.
“Soon enough.” I strode to the bunk and sat. “First, your punishment for rudeness and interrupting me.” I patted my thighs.
I watched her face, could see the struggle between her desire to defy me and her need to take up a position on the ship. This was indeed her first test, and she passed when she approached and lay across my legs.
“Good, Shee-ah. I believe you are sincere in our agreement. If you prove capable, you shall have a place among the crew until you bear our child.” I lifted a hand then paused when she muttered something. “Did you have something to say.”
“No,” she said. “Until I’m with child, I will do my best as a member of your crew, Commander.
“In our quarters, still address me as Master.”
“Yes, Master,” she said as my hand came down for the first time.
Chapter Nine
Xia
Master. I nearly choked on the word.
I never thought I’d willingly bestow that title on another living being.
It was even worse when he pulled my gown up, bared my ass, and started spanking me. I wanted so badly to strike out at him, to snarl and hiss and fight with every ounce of strength I possessed. I had to will my mind to remember my objective. Luring my enemy into a false sense of confidence by pretending to bow to his authority. If calling him Master and lying across his lap to submit to this humiliating punishment would gain me the freedom to explore the ship at will, I’d be able to plan my escape much faster and more successfully than if I stayed locked away, naked, waiting for him to come fuck me again.
Yes. Fuck me again. I tried to concentrate on my ultimate goal. But, lying over his lap, I could feel his cock stirring, those wicked heads throbbing against my mound. Every time his hand cracked down, he rocked me against the hot hard shaft. And now I knew the pain of his stern whacks would soon morph into a wild thrill. The fiery sting on my ass was already making my pussy clench. By the time he finished punishing me, I’d be dripping wet, desperate to have him take control again. Tie me up with those invisible bonds and ram his cock into me until I came, over and over. Until Joran, no male had ever dominated me.
He’d found a weakness I never knew I had. Another reason to hate him.
He spanked me thoroughly, his huge hands covering both my rear cheeks with every smack. To my shame, I found myself arching my back, shoving my ass up. Welcoming the firm whacks, followed by the kiss of fire. I’d been injured in sparring matches, wounded twice in battle. My right leg bore the scars inflicted by a wild beast I once hunted down. But this wicked burn was like no pain I’d ever felt before. It sizzled like cybellus, only stronger, igniting a blaze deep inside me, filling me with dark desires.
When he stopped, instead of relief, I felt disappointment.
“You have taken your punishment well, Shee-ah. I think a reward is in order.”
Yeah, reward me with your cock.
He ran his hand over my stinging bottom, caressed it, then pulled my gown back down, letting it fall to my ankles. Lifting me off his lap, he deposited me on the bed, face up. It still came as a shock that he could toss me around so effortlessly. Locking eyes with me, he stripped off his uniform. Freed of its restraints, his cock sprang to attention. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one turned on by that spanking.
“Reach down and lift your gown to your waist. Then put your hands above your head.”
The bastard was going to milk my new submissiveness for all it was worth. Instead of fighti
ng him, I fought my instinctive desire to tell him to go to the seventh hell of Sidaris. If I sassed him, he might change his mind about giving me my freedom onboard the ship. And you might not get fucked, whispered my inner slut.
I clenched my fingers around the hem of my gown, so he wouldn’t see them trembling, and slowly pulled it up. He followed it with his eyes. A wave of deep purple spread across his body, like an all-over flush of arousal.
“Spread your legs for me, Shee-ah,” he demanded, his voice rough with need.
Emboldened, I tried out this new power I had over him. The power of submission.
“Yes, Master.”
I shifted, opening my legs. Exposing my pussy like a brazen temptress.
“Wider,” he growled.
His commands were arrogant, assuming I’d obey without question. Was this my reward? A lesson in submissiveness? If so, it was working. I’d never known obedience could get me so hot. Heart pounding against my ribs, I did as I was told.
He climbed onto the bed, positioned himself between my legs. “If you move before I give you permission, I’ll engage the Controller, cover you with cybellus, and leave, like I did before.” He sat back on his haunches and searched my face. “Do you understand?”
Another exercise in giving up control. My pussy clenched. “Yes, Master,” I breathed.
He bent his head.
I nearly bolted up off the bed. I’d thought his cockheads were incredibly erotic. But his tongue—dear gods, the sensation of his long raspy tongue running over my labial folds, flicking my clit—it was almost more than I could bear. And being forbidden to move made it the ultimate test of his mastery over me.
I’d never allowed a man to put his head between my legs. I’d never wanted to be that intimate with anyone. But Joran’s dominance overrode my inhibitions. This decadence was pleasure beyond anything I ever dreamed could exist.
He took me up slowly. Licking, lapping, then fucking me with his tongue until I was quivering with need. Begging him, pleading with wordless cries. He drove me higher, lashing my clit until it swelled and throbbed. When he fastened his lips over it and sucked, I exploded. Shattered into a million razor-thin shards, sharp enough to tear through the walls I’d built around me.
He lifted his head. Gave me a wicked smile. “I cannot lie to you. That was as much my reward as it was yours. I have hungered to taste your juices.”
I sagged against the bed, still shuddering. For the first time in my life, I’d met someone stronger than I was. Submitting to the power Joran wielded over me was seductive. Addictive. If I wasn’t careful, he’d make me his willing slave.
“Try this on.”
Joran tossed me a steel-gray tunic and matching trousers. He’d taken me to a storage room and was rummaging through a pile of uniforms stored there.
I’d been naked in front of him many times, but after the last vicious climax he’d brought me to, I suddenly felt vulnerable. As if he could see right through me. See the walls I’d hidden behind all my life crumbling away.
I half-turned, pretending to examine the fabric. Yanking my gown off, I quickly dropped the tunic over my head. Despite my curvy frame, it was so big I felt like a child playing dress-up.
I shoved the sleeves up to my elbows then stepped into the trousers. Fortunately, Arythian warriors were slim-hipped for their size—and I wasn’t. But they did have longer torsos. I gave the waistband a couple of turns to take up the slack. “This will work. Do you have a pair of scissors? I need to cut off the lower part of the sleeves and trim some fabric off the pant legs so I can walk without tripping.”
“Scissors? I do not know that word. But I can fix the problem.” He dug through a box on the top shelf and pulled out a slim black wand. “This is not meant for altering clothing, but we have no uniform designer on board.” He knelt at my feet and held the tip of the wand against the fabric. I heard a sizzling sound and a blue light shot out the end of it, vaporizing everything it touched.
“I wish I’d had one of those at the academy. I was the only female in Tridacian wrangling, and the men’s uniforms were usually too long for me, just like this one. My instructor wouldn’t let me just chop them off because the ends frayed, and I hated spending all that time hemming them.” The sizzling noise grew louder, and I glanced down to make sure my foot was still attached to my leg. “Uh…have you ever used that thing on a uniform while someone was wearing it?”
“No, never,” he replied absently. Then he stopped and looked up at me. “Worried? I promise I won’t make anything important disappear.” He ran a hand up the inside of one pant leg, stroking my thigh. Though he’d just brought me to a mind-blowing orgasm, a bolt of lust shot through me, and I hoped his hand would drift higher.
Instead, he went back to his task. After shortening the other leg, he trimmed the sleeves so they fell at my wrists. Then he got up, stepped back, and gave me a once-over. Instinctively, I snapped to attention, squaring my shoulders and lifting my chin.
“I can tell you’ve trained as a warrior,” he observed. “You have a military bearing. Not the kind of compliant female I would have chosen to provide comfort to a race of warlike aliens. I know now that you did not volunteer for this duty. How did you come to be included?”
It was the first time he’d asked me a question about myself. The first time he’d shown any interest in me as a person, rather than a sex object or a breeder.
“It’s been a while since I told anyone my story,” I replied. “Last time I did, I ended up in prison.”
“You were in prison?” His eyebrows raised. “What was your crime?”
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “My crime? Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I told you I commanded a Terran starship. We’d been ordered out on a routine mission, along with five other ships. Basic recon. We got caught in an asteroid storm, and my ship took a hit. It knocked out our communication systems. There was no point in going on, so I turned back. But I couldn’t contact anyone to let them know I was on my way to base.”
“My ship was part of the squadron assigned to guard Earth’s capital city, where our leader, Ravensworth, lived. When I got back to base, he was in the middle of loading a shipment of priceless antiquities onto his personal starcruiser. He’d been looting the vaults in the National Museum, aided by the head curator. Some items were sold to wealthy private collectors, others they kept for themselves. The palace guards were in on the scheme. They’d been chosen specifically by Ravensworth because he could buy their silence. When I found out what was going on, I told him I was going to report him to the Federation. With the help of the palace guards, he framed me for the theft. After a sham trial, I was sent to prison.”
“Ravensworth?” Joran interrupted. “He is the one who responded when we asked your Federation for help. He said he could not offer assistance because the Federation prohibited its members from forming an alliance with aliens from other vectors of the cosmos. He said he was sending us a gift—as a gesture of goodwill. A shipment of human females to see to the needs of our men.”
“To see to the needs of your men.” I was so angry I wanted to strike out at someone. Anyone. Instead, I paced back and forth in the confined space, raging all the while. “No wonder you expected me to be your whore. You asked for help?” I shook my head. “That’s not what Ravensworth said. He told everyone on Earth our world had been threatened by a race of bloodthirsty alien warlords. That you’d already invaded other planets outside the Federation. He claimed he’d negotiated a deal with you—he’d send you a shipment of gold and rare minerals and you’d move on and leave us alone. He called it the Federation Defense Fund. Every planet was required to pay their share.”
“We never asked for gold or minerals,” Joran declared. “Only for sanctuary while we gathered our troops together and mourned our loss. We hoped in time to form an alliance with the Federation, one that would assist us in tracking down the enemy forces that destroyed our planet and stop them before they wiped out anot
her world.”
“That bastard! He probably stole the gold and minerals, just like he stole the antiquities. He sent you a ship—but it wasn’t filled with alien groupies looking for a new thrill. My guess is that all the other women he sent you are like me. Women he needed to get rid of forever. Women who could destroy him if we got together and told the Federation High Council what he’s been up to on Earth.”
Chapter Ten
Joran
I’d put some of it together already, but when Shee-ah filled in the gaps, my shock at the behavior of her planetary rulers, Ravensworth in particular, swelled. “And your other leaders,” I asked her as we strolled toward the bridge, “did they go along with everything this Ravensworth dictated? Is he in charge of the entire planet?”
“No,” she replied, her voice still tight with anger. “But he seems to have the ability to make people believe the most unlikely things, and often, as in this case, without proof.”
“And the Federation planets as well…”
She nodded, picking at the smooth edge of her sleeve where I’d performed my makeshift alterations. “Some recent attacks against outposts at the far reaches of the Federation’s governance have everyone on edge. In each case, they’ve left no one alive to report any details, and no messages have been received beyond initial distress calls. Various ships have been sent in response, and, so far, they have also disappeared. People are desperate to put a face to the villain responsible.”
“And this Ravensworth…”
“He is expert at feeding fear. He even managed to get an exception made for chancellor term limits and is now in office ‘for the duration of the threat.’” Her eyes sparked, a flush deepening the color in her cheeks. “I had been lobbying to be on the next ship to investigate before my imprisonment.”
“But then you saw something you should not.” Her tone had been as level as mine was now despite her anger. I admired her discipline since I was struggling to maintain my demeanor. “And instead of commanding a ship on its way to investigate or perhaps battle an enemy, you were imprisoned and given to an alien stranger to do with as he pleased.”
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