She shrugged, her full breasts lifting the tunic as she did. My cock hardened. “More or less.” But then her brow furrowed. “What happened to me matters little in the course of events. I thought I would lose my life, or in any case, never return from the mission I sought. But that I undertook willingly in the service of my people.”
“And this assignment?” I asked, pausing near a private-viewing-chamber door. “Do you now accept it, in the service of my people?”
She tipped her head back and met my gaze, hers steady and cold, no fire left. “What choice was I given? But I submit to you, do I not…Master?”
“I wonder that you’re suddenly so pliable, Shee-ah. I am skilled in pleasure and pain, but you are no weak-willed hedonist to have that be enough. Tell me, is it easy for a female of your people to become a starship commander?”
“No.”
“How many are there?”
Her eyes glistened. Could I have brought her to tears? “None. There are none. Now.” A single tear tracked down her cheek, and, unable to stop myself, I reached over and wiped it away with my thumb.
“Let’s step in here for a moment, Shee-ah, to allow you to compose yourself before you face the men on the bridge.” I waved, activating the door. “You’ll be able to do this yourself once I’ve had the settings adjusted. Just go in and we’ll sit a few moments and regain our appreciation for the bigger picture.”
She moved ahead of me into the opaque-glass-walled alcove, taking halting steps into the darkness. “What is this? A closet?”
“No.” I activated the outside wall and the glass cleared, presenting one of the best views of the passing stars. “It’s a chamber where a crewman or maybe two can come and be quiet, appreciate beauty. Meditate if they choose. Do you think it beautiful?” I guided her to the two reclining chairs and settled her in one. “I find it gives me perspective.”
After a moment, she said, “I can see why. Until I was accepted on my first ship traveling past the solar system, I thought I knew the stars, but I didn’t. Not really.”
About to take the other seat, I changed my mind and lifted her in my arms then sat with her in my lap. “No, there’s nothing like it. We’re all made up of stardust you know.”
She choked out a short laugh. “How poetic, Commander. I admit, I did not see that coming.”
“Did you think I was just a brute with no appreciation for the finer things?” I faced the midnight sky dotted with stars and a gas cloud, a comet in the distance, all the other wonders of space I’d been taking for granted for a while now, so focused on being homeless in the galaxy, but one look at Shee-ah’s face and it all came rushing back. My love for the vastness that drove me to make a career of this. Many people didn’t realize how many colors were visible in space, picturing all black and white, but as Shee-ah pressed her palms against the curved glass and tipped her head back, I could see an array of hues, some of which I’d never even seen from Arythios but appreciated nonetheless.
“I’ve never been in this sector,” she murmured, tracing a finger along the path of a shooting star. “But I think I recognize it. Where did you say we were going?”
I suppressed a smile. “I didn’t. But since you’re going to be joining the crew, there’s no need to keep it a secret.” I pointed. “One of our ships spotted activity in that direction. They believe the enemy we seek might be behind the destruction of yet another planet. So we’re going to see if we can get there before they move on to another target.”
“I see.” She went silent, but I could almost hear her thinking before she went on. “That’s taking a big chance because they’ve always been gone before anyone could reach them, if they are the same ones destroying the Federation outposts. So why do you think they’re doing that? Do they have an innate need to wreck things? It’s not as if they are colonizing or, from what little we know, are actually stealing anything of value. Just lots of death and no logical reason. “
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my career,” I told her, “it’s that no two civilizations approach anything alike. Not even on an individual planet. But generally, actions are taken for benefit either of the individual or the group they represent.”
She leaned her head back on my shoulder, still staring out at the heavens. “It’s a puzzle, isn’t it? I do think this is why our planet and the Federation bought Ravensworth’s lies about a ransom of sorts. It added something they could understand.”
I pressed my lips to the top of her head, enjoying the moment of relaxation with my fiery female. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had peace like this. My thinking felt remarkably clear even if my cockheads were trying to figure out how to get through the layers of fabric separating them from her molten depths. Usually, it was one or the other…clarity of thought or lust.
“What do you think…? ’You’ve been in this battle for longer than we have and have suffered the ultimate loss.” Her voice held both query and compassion. Who was this female? One moment fighting me tooth and nail, the next trying to help me complete my mission.
“You do care about what happened to Arythios, don’t you? Not just your own people’s misfortunes.”
“Setting aside what my planet’s citizens allowed to happen to me and those other women, I probably could be forgiven for not caring if Earth were invaded and destroyed. I care about what happened to your planet and all those others for the same reason I care about mine. Of course, as a military officer, I am sworn to protect the innocent, and while I am certain there were bastards on your home as well as mine, most people are just going about their day, raising their children, loving their parents and spouses…trying to make a living and a good home.”
“Yes.” The reminder brought a vid of images through my mind, faces of those gone, never to be seen again. Parks full of young playing, grandparents gossiping over tea… “For the most part, people have that in common. And most of those who do turn their attention to evil are usually looking for gain. What, Shee-ah, are these evil ones gaining by destroying and moving on?”
She turned to look up at me, lips moist and parted. “If we could figure that out, we might stand a chance of stopping them. There is an ancient god on my planet, worshiped by a certain group, who was called Shiva the Destroyer.”
I grinned, unable to stop myself. “Sounds very similar to your name Shee-ah.”
She giggled, a musical sound that hardened my cock even more. “Do you want to hear more about this, or do you want me to pull my clothes off and submit to you…Master?”
I recognized a challenge, but hoped I was up to it. “First, I would hear, and then you may submit…female.”
“I…” Her expression was comical as she realized her mistake.
“Tell me about this Shiva—Shee-ah.” I stroked her nipples, which were tenting the uniform fabric, and she gave a little shudder.
“I only remember some of what I learned in a college class, but, basically, he and his mate destroy and reshape the universe…so bring it back transformed.”
“I have heard of no transformation, only descent into chaos.” I slid my hand down between her legs. “You’ve given me much to think about, Shee-ah. We are due on the bridge, but first, I believe I will accept your offer.” Lifting her to stand, I gave a nod. “Remove your clothing and straddle my lap.”
“But anyone could come in…” She let her hands hang at her sides, making no move to obey my orders.
“No, I wouldn’t allow one of my men to see something they cannot participate in at this time. Unless we are able to find more willing females, our congress must remain behind locked doors.”
She gaped. “Are you saying if there were enough women to go around—I’m not even getting into the topic of whether they would be willing—you would fuck me in front of others?”
“Possibly. There’s no shame in possessing one’s female.” I opened my uniform enough to free my cock, the heads already moving in search of her body.
She swallowed hard but sai
d no more, just removed the uniform and stood before me nude, behind her all the depth of space. Continuing to obey, she climbed onto my lap and sat. “I prefer privacy.”
I reached between her legs, finding her as wet as I could wish then adjusted her over my cock and filled her with a single thrust. “I will bear that in mind.”
Chapter Eleven
Xia
Cold.
So cold. And so hungry. Both strong enough to override the fear.
I followed the faint mewling noises to the mouth of the cave. The stench inside was so horrible if I’d had anything in my stomach, I would have lost it. Peering into the darkness, I was entranced at the sight of three fat furry creatures tussling around, nipping and batting at each other.
One of the babies, braver than the others, ventured into the light. I reached out from my hiding place, and it licked my hand.
I drew the warm ball of fur into my arms. Laid my head against its chest and felt its heart beating. It was soft and cuddly, like the one I’d slept with in my bed every night. I missed my bed.
Bursting into tears, I stroked the furry creature. “Kitty, kitty, my kitty,” I sobbed.
“Shee-ah. Shee-ah.”
I woke with a start, snarling and scratching. Someone grabbed my hands.
“Hush, Shee-ah. It’s all right. You were having a dream.”
“Joran.” I pulled my hands away, wrapped my arms around my body to stop the trembling.
“Who is Keety?”
“Nobody.” I turned away.
He drew my body against his. “You are shaking. And water is dripping out of your eyes. You were calling out in your sleep, in distress.”
“I’m sorry I woke you, Master. If you would allow me to sleep alone as I asked, I would not disturb your rest.”
I used the title deliberately, hoping he’d be so pleased I was being submissive for once that he’d stop questioning me about the dream.
I hated sleeping next to anyone, most of all this huge alien. Being so close to him, inhaling his scent all night, I always woke up horny. Desperate to have him take me any way he wanted. I hated the power he had over my body. Fantasizing about the things he did to me made it much harder to think about planning my escape.
Joran took my face in his hands. Locked his eyes with mine. “You have had this dream before. It upsets you. Tell me why, Shee-ah. Tell me who keety is.”
“I told you. It’s nobody.” I knew I was being petulant but I’d be damned if I’d spill my guts to him. Getting me hot and desperate to be fucked was bad enough. It was even harder to think about leaving him when he treated me tenderly. I hadn’t had much tenderness in my life.
I fought a strange urge to give way to tears. He said I’d been crying in my sleep, but he had to be mistaken. I never cried. I hated showing weakness even more than I hated having to sleep next to him every night. I banished the uncomfortable urge by turning to anger—an emotion I was comfortable with. “Why don’t you treat me like the slave I am and make me sleep on the floor?” I snapped. “Or lock me away in another room at night when you’re through fucking me?”
Normally, such disrespect would have earned me a punishment—and changed the topic. This time, he refused to rise to the bait. He shook his head. “If I am to impregnate you, your body must accept mine. Our scientists tell me sleeping together, being close as often as possible, will increase the chances of that happening.” He stroked my cheek. “Besides Shee-ah, I want to know everything there is to know about the female who will bear my offspring. Tell me what this keety did to upset you so much.”
He’d picked a lousy time to display his sensitive side.
“You want to know? Fine. I’ll tell you. Then maybe you’ll understand why I have such a hard time accepting this submissive crap.”
I scooted back against the wall. Drew my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.
“Does your race have stories of Arythians being raised by animals?”
Joran looked puzzled at the abrupt change of topic. “We have ancient myths of gods who are part Arythian, part beast.”
“So do Terrans, but that’s not what I’m referring to. We have legends of human children taken in and raised by animals. Suckled by wolves, reared by tribes of gorillas. They’ve always been regarded as fairy tales.”
I took a deep breath. I’d trusted very few people with the truth about me.
“In my case, the stories are true. Kitty is what I called my mother. I was a feral child. Raised by a pride of lions.”
“A pride of ly-ons?”
“The most dangerous creatures on Earth. There’d never been a documented case of a human child surviving and thriving with such a vicious predator. In their species, the females are the hunters. The killers. Why that beast didn’t tear me limb from limb when she returned to her cave is still a mystery. Maybe after days wandering in the wilderness and hours of curling up with her cubs, I smelled more like a lion than a human.
“I’d been lost in the mountains of northern Africa,” I explained. “Terrified. Starving. No one knows how old I was when she took me in. Maybe three, maybe as old as four, since I somehow managed to survive on my own long enough to get to her cave.”
Joran listened without saying a word as I combined my earliest memories with what I’d been told by the nomads who eventually found me. I described how I’d come upon the lion’s den, played with the cubs until I fell asleep.
“I woke to find the cubs nursing. Hunger drove me to imitate their mewling, rub the top of my head against the female’s fur like they did. The lioness batted me away several times, but after her cubs had nursed their fill, I crawled up to her and fastened my mouth over a teat. I don’t remember anything about my family, but I remembered sleeping with a cat every night. Curling up next to her furry warmth. I guess the lioness reminded me of my childhood pet, so I called her Kitty. I was too young to know that I should have been terrified to get anywhere near her. Maybe that’s why she let me stay. She didn’t smell fear in me.
“I don’t know how long I lived with the lions. Months, maybe even a couple of years. I ate the raw meat she dragged home for her young. Foraged for wild fruit and berries. Drank from the streams that flowed through the mountains. Along with her other cubs, Kitty taught me how to hunt. I learned how to stalk my prey. How to kill.”
I told him I was eventually spotted by a tribe of Tuareg nomads traveling through the mountains. How they took me in.
“I’d been raised by the greatest hunter in Africa, a female lion, so they made me a member of the Kel Tamasheq, the clan descended from their first queen. They believed I’d been protected by the magic of djinns. The matriarch of the clan declared that I was born under the star Amanar, destined to be a warrior of the desert. Though I never donned the blue robe of a male, I became a Tuareg warrior, fighting and training with the men.”
Joran smiled. “Lucky men.”
“I don’t know who I once was, or where I came from. The Tuareg said clans from the north told them of a family from India who had been traveling through the mountains and never arrived at their destination. It was thought all of them had been killed in an accident, or perhaps attacked by bandits. I have brown eyes and darker skin than a Tuareg, so it’s possible I was their child. Maybe the chance that I had an Indian heritage led to my fascination with the story of Shiva and other Hindu tales.”
I shrugged. “I know I could find out what country I came from with genetic testing, but whatever life I had before hardly matters. Kitty is the only mother I remember. The Tuareg said I barely looked human when they found me. I was naked and filthy, and my hair hung down to my waist, so matted they had to cut it all off.” I ran my fingers through the short dark curls. “I’ve worn it this way ever since.”
“It is beautiful hair.” He ran his fingers through it, too. Joran loved playing with my hair. “Now I understand many things about you. These jins who protected you…they are a race of gods?”
“Djinn aren’t r
eal. They’re mythical beings. The Tuareg believe they possess powers beyond those of humans.”
“Not so mythical if they saved your life. I salute your jins. Truly, you have been blessed by the gods. The Terran rulers who gave you away are fools. Now I understand where you got your fierce spirit…and the gentleness that lies beneath it.”
“Gentleness?”
He nodded. “The beast who took you in and kept you alive…she was a gentle creature at heart. She must have been to raise a helpless young one from another species as her own.”
Joran leaned forward. Kissed me softly. “I, too, have been blessed by the gods. They have sent me a mate who knows how to love and nurture a being different from her own kind. The perfect mother for a mixed-species offspring. For our young.”
I tried to pull away, but he gathered me into his arms, kissed me again then held me against his chest. He’d never kissed me before unless we were having sex. And never tenderly.
My stomach ached, and my hands balled into fists. He hadn’t hurt me, so it would have been wrong to strike out at him. I fought back an irrational stab of fear. I knew how to fight. I knew how to fuck. And Joran was teaching me how to let go of my need to control and submit willingly to his dominance during sex, though he still used the force field from time to time, especially when he found out how much it turned me on. But I had no idea how to react to tenderness.
Confused, I reached for his cock, but he shook his head.
“Do you want me to pleasure you with my mouth?”
“I am not seeking release. I’m giving you a hug. Little Shee-ah wasn’t hugged very often, was she?”
“No, never,” I muttered.
“Think of it like curling up with your keety. Hugs are meant to make you feel warm and safe. Cared for. As a child, when I had a bad dream, my mother would come to my room. She’d sit on the bed in the dark and cuddle me until I fell asleep again. Cuddling is like hugging, but it goes on for a longer time. Sometimes, she’d sing while she cuddled me.”
Centauri Captives Books 1-3: A Dark Sci-Fi Romance Page 23
