“Drink some water, little fighter.”
Dani blinked at the deep voice. Something pressed against her lips, and liquid splashed into her mouth. A very big, very dark man loomed over her, his purple eyes peering into hers. She thought she knew him, but couldn’t quite place his name.
She swallowed a mouthful of water, and her stomach cramped again. “Just a little at a time,” the dark man said.
Dani’s father peered over the man’s shoulder. “In trouble again, Dani?” he sighed. “One of these days you’ll do something I can’t buy your way out of.”
“Like me,” her brother Alan smirked. He crouched on the floor of the cave on the other side of the fire. He wore the uniform of the military school he’d been kicked out of after the incident with the thirteen-year old girl. Had they let him keep it in prison?
Dani’s head swirled. What was she doing in a cave with her father and brother?
Another dark man, his hair tidily braided into tight cornrows, knelt beside her. “Can you hear me, Dani?”
She tried to answer him, but her head buzzed nastily, and darkness was swallowing the men, the cave, and her self-absorbed family members. She melted into the black void.
When she found light again, it was on the outdoor stage of Dantovon’s central market square. Heat beat down on her, making it hard to breathe. Dani stood naked, the eyes of hundreds of people on her, aliens of all civilizations. They waited breathlessly for her to be punished, their avid gazes eager to witness her humiliation.
Alan stood off to one side, a shockwhip clenched in one hand. “You stand accused of running away from home. The punishment is ten lashes.”
“Please,” Dani croaked. Her voice was a dry, rattling wheeze. “I’m sorry.”
Emily suddenly stood at Alan’s side, her crazy clown makeup garish in the burning sunlight. “My daughter’s a star!” she shrieked, waving wildly at Dani as if miles separated them. “Look, Danielle! You’re the center of attention! Everyone is watching you now!”
“Don’t,” Dani said, terror and regret filling her in equal measures. “Don’t hurt me. I’ll be good.”
Alan laughed. “How many times have we heard that one?” he asked. He flicked his wrist, and the whip cracked in the air, sending a wave of tingling energy over Dani’s skin. She flinched, and he laughed again.
“Someone help me,” she whispered.
Cool wetness wiped over her face, relieving a smidgen of the glaring sun’s heat. A third dark man blotted her cheeks with a damp cloth.
“Hush, sweet girl,” he soothed. “It’s going to be okay.”
He tipped a container onto a cloth, rewetting it before pressing it over her chest and belly. Dani was relieved to find herself in the dark cave again, away from her punishment. The fire crackled pleasantly, unlike the shockwhip’s brutal air-fracturing sizzle.
“Krijero. Your name is Krijero,” she said, her voice too weak to really be called a voice.
“That’s right.” He smiled, but his gentle eyes didn’t smile with his lips.
“I’m sick,” Dani guessed. She didn’t really remember how she’d gotten here or what had happened to her.
“Yes, but you’ll be fine. You’re keeping the water down now. You just need to rest for a bit.” Krijero jerked his head to send a heavy lock of hair out of his pretty purple cat eyes.
“Okay.” She did feel tired. Exhausted, as if she’d been wrung out as hard as the cloth the dark alien used to cool her sweating body. She closed her eyes.
A dark eternity later when Dani opened them again, Krijero still hovered over her. Light spilled onto his face from the fire and sunshine streaming in the mouth of the cave.
Everything came back to her: the crash, running from the Kalquorians, being chased by Tragooms, and getting sick.
The Imdiko smiled down on her. His face was no longer tense. “Are you back?”
Dani felt as if she was glued to the ground. Her body didn’t want to move at all, but her stomach had subsided, and her head was clear. “I guess I am.”
Krijero lifted her to sit on his crossed legs. Cradling her head and shoulders in the crook of his arm, he lifted a canteen to her lips. “Drink this.”
The water was delicious and cold, and after her first gulp, the alien pulled the canteen away. “Slowly, little girl.” He gave it to her again, and Dani sipped delicately. “That’s it,” he said approvingly.
After another sip, Dani asked, “How long was I out?”
Krijero grimaced. “Two days.”
Dani stared at him as she tried to absorb that information. “Really? The Tragooms didn’t find us? Where are Gelan and Wynhod?”
Krijero gave her more water. “They’re scouting to make sure our enemies haven’t caught on to Wynhod’s trick yet. He left a false trail for them to follow. It seems to have worked, but we can’t let down our guard.”
The smell of roasting meat wafted into Dani’s nostrils, and she turned her head to see the haunch of some unknown animal browning over the fire. She felt hollow inside, as if she’d been gutted and left with only skin and skeleton. “Can I have something to eat?”
He nodded. “As soon as it’s finished cooking, but just a little to start with. You’ve been through a lot, and I don’t want you vomiting and dehydrating again.” Krijero took a deep breath. “We thought we would lose you, Dani.”
A curl of warmth lit in her breast to see the concern in his face. “Thanks for not abandoning me.”
Krijero’s expression registered horror. “We would never do that. We plan to take good care of you.” His arms tightened around her.
She rubbed her cheek against his bicep. His skin was velvet over the steel of his muscle. “Still, I know you’re pretty mad at me for putting everyone in this position. You could have left me and gotten away from the Tragooms easily.”
Krijero scowled. “Unthinkable. Has that been your experience in the past? People leaving you behind when things got rough?”
Before Dani could answer, the sunlight coming into the cave was blocked. Gelan and Wynhod entered, looking big and bad and beautiful. Dani’s heart glowed to see the Kalquorians, and she felt a smile stretch across her face.
Better them than my family, came the unexpected thought. Shock to realize she was actually glad to see the alien men dampened her spirits a little.
They knelt next to her and Krijero, identical pleased expressions on their faces. Gelan stroked her face with a feather touch. “You’re awake. I am so thankful. How do you feel?”
“Not much like dancing, I’m afraid.”
Wynhod took one of her hands and pressed her fingers to his lips. His chuckle vibrated pleasantly. “I would think not. Welcome back.”
The warmth in their gazes, the caresses they touched her with made something hard in Dani’s heart crumble a little. She could almost believe they liked her. She could almost like them back.
She felt a maelstrom of emotions as they tended her needs: confusion, hope, and fear.
Chapter 13
Another day passed, and Dani’s strength began to return with food and clean water. As her second day of lucidity waned towards night, the clan hunkered down around her. She sat upright on her own, and Dani almost laughed at her pride simply because she was able to be vertical again.
“We’ll head for the ship tomorrow,” Gelan informed her as Wynhod brought out his handheld. “Let’s go over our route so you know what to expect.”
Wynhod showed her a map winding in a roundabout circuit through the forest, leading into a swampy section, which emerged in a rocky flat before descending into marshland again. “We’re not taking a straightforward route simply because we don’t want to trip over the Tragoom party. Remember the rock formation we decided to meet at should we become separated?”
“Yes. The tallest of the group.” The formations had looked like fingers pointed accusingly at the sky.
He tapped the part of the map that showed the plain. “That’s this section. Even if the Tr
agooms pick up our trail again, this area will leave less traces of our passage.”
He spoke to her as if she wasn’t a slave to be hauled around simply because they’d spent a lot of money on her. As the Nobek pointed out natural signposts to look for that would mark their trail, Dani wondered at the respect he seemed to accord her. It was nice to be treated like an intelligent person, someone deserving of an explanation rather than just told what to do. It made her wish she was more to him and his clanmates than just a slave. She liked being included, something her father had never bothered to do.
As he put his handheld away, Wynhod’s sharp gaze examined her face. “Where is that sad look coming from, little fighter?”
Oh darn. She needed to guard her thoughts better. “Just thinking,” she replied, keeping her voice light.
Gelan’s firm grip closed around the back of her neck, turning her head so she was forced to look him in the eye. “What are you thinking about? I want to know.”
Dani scowled at him. “Can’t I have private thoughts?”
“We can’t properly care for you if we don’t know what makes you look so unhappy. Now, Dani.” Despite the command in his voice, concern bled into the Dramok’s tone. Both emotions kept her from arguing for her right to her own ruminations.
She blew an exasperated breath at him. “Fine. I was thinking how pathetic it is that my enemies include me in what’s going on with my life when my own father never did.”
Krijero cocked his head, like an inquisitive puppy. “Do you think he didn’t love you?”
“Of course he loved me. I mean, he had to, right? He was my father.” Dani’s brows pinched together. She’d had a better relationship with Perry Watson than anyone else in her family, distant as it had been. If one could call being moved around like a chess piece a relationship.
Maybe her father hadn’t loved her. He’d never said so. Hugs and kisses were doled out during photo ops on the campaign trail. The realization was like a hit of cold water in her face.
Her voice was small and hurt. “I don’t know if he loved me. He bailed me and my brother out when we got into trouble until Alan did something so bad no bribe would work. That counts for something, right?”
Wynhod brushed away the single tear tickling its way down her cheek. “Maybe you and your brother wouldn’t have found so much trouble if your father had made you more a part of his life. If he’d given you the attention you needed and deserved.”
“Maybe.” She grimly fought the urge to give in to more tears.
Krijero rubbed his chin, contemplating her situation. “And your mother wasn’t around either because of her illness. How much did you and your brother lean on each other?”
Dani snorted. “We didn’t. Alan was older than me by several years. We had nothing in common.”
The Imdiko sighed, his expression as unhappy as her emotions. “That’s a very lonely life to have, pet.”
Her eyes flooded, and Dani angrily ground her fists against her eyes. A sob trembled her words. “There, now I’m crying. Nobody loved me, and I don’t matter to anyone. Are you happy?”
Gelan released her neck to gather her in his arms. “You matter to us. No one here wants to see you in pain, little girl.”
He kissed her, muffling her weeping. The other two stroked her hair and body, murmuring sweet words to comfort her. It only made her cry harder.
“Stop being nice to me!”
Krijero’s breath was warm in her ear. “I’m afraid we can’t do that. You need men who will be nice to you.”
Gelan agreed. “You’ll just have to get used to it, Dani. You’ve got three years to get through being cared for.”
They petted her, giving her the tender affection her family had denied her. A part of Dani wanted to rebel, to deny the warm feelings. That part kicked and screamed like a child in the throes of a tantrum.
How dare they bestow such kindness, kindness that should have been given in her parents’ home! It was her mother and father who owed her love and respect, not these strangers. Perry and Emily should have been the ones to wipe her tears, to tell her how beautiful and sweet and wonderful she was. Instead, she had to hear it from aliens. From Kalquorians who no doubt lied!
But even as the blighted part of her raged, another part took refuge in the warm concern Gelan’s clan gifted her with. This aspect of Dani basked in the tender words and touches they gave her. It recognized that as her captors, they had no need to treat her so kindly. She was property. But they made her feel as if she was so much more to them.
The men caressed her like a troubled child needing comfort. Nothing about their manner hinted even remotely at sexual seduction. Yet Dani woke to them in that way, her body softening to them, growing wet and aroused. As they filled one need, others clamored to be satisfied. She was drunk on being the center of attention, wanting more, wanting it all. And wanting it to last forever.
The gentle press of Gelan’s lips on hers was too much temptation for Dani. Her tongue peeked out to taste him, and his breath caught. He pulled back to look at her.
“You’re still very weak, sweet girl,” he warned, but his eyes had taken on an intensity she’d seen before.
“You can be careful. Please, Gelan? This feels so nice. You make me feel wanted.”
“You are wanted, little fighter,” Wynhod rumbled. His eyes seemed overly bright.
“You will exercise caution,” Gelan said to the Nobek. “She’s been through a lot.”
Wynhod nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving Dani’s face. “I will handle her as if I was an Imdiko.”
“All right then. You go first. I don’t want your natural bestiality taking hold because you had to wait too long.”
Wynhod gave Dani a smirk. “Do you hear how little faith our Dramok has in me? You’d think I was an animal, not a man.”
Krijero grinned at him. “You’re a Nobek. Forcefulness is part of your nature.”
Gelan laid Dani on the soft dirt floor of the cave. He and Krijero arranged themselves on either side of her, and Wynhod knelt between her legs. “I will be careful with you, my little fighter,” he whispered, his hand rubbing up and down her inner thighs. “And the moment any one of us thinks it’s too much, I will stop.”
“Thank you,” she whispered back. But she hoped she would be all right. Wynhod was too gorgeous to deny herself the contact. She needed to be touched.
He stroked her sweetest flesh, finding her slippery with need. Dani moaned as his big hand fondled her, heating her insides. Meanwhile Gelan and Krijero bent to kissing her face, breasts and belly, their mouths balmy on her skin. Rough, catlike tongues lapped here and there, the flesh like coarse velvet. Dani closed her eyes and floated on the sensations.
A mouth closed over one nipple, suckling it to a peak. Another trailed kisses from her sternum to her navel and back up again. Fingers gently parted her nether lips open to allow other fingers to swirl in the pooled moisture of her core. They spread the slick honey all over her secret flesh, including her clitoris. She sighed at the swell of pleasure that lapped through her body.
The mouth left her breast to trail kisses to her lips. A tongue swept into her mouth, possessing her with tender force. At the same time another tongue whirled around her untasted nipple, bringing it to the same stark attention as its neighbor.
The soft touch of hair on her belly and thighs alerted Dani to Wynhod’s next action. As his talented fingers continued to explore the petals of her sex, his mouth closed on her clit. His tongue slid over it as he sucked. Dani moaned into the mouth covering hers, her senses igniting.
The wicked tongue played with her most sensitive flesh, delighting her with different levels of pressure. Her hips bucked helplessly in reaction as he twirled and rubbed and flicked and laved. One finger slid into her wet warmth. In and out it moved, taking her higher with every tender intrusion.
Nibbled. Nuzzled. Devoured. Dani moaned under the men’s delicious attention. Diamond bright flashes of arousal stabbed th
rough her belly. Her hands swept over the two bodies she could reach: Gelan and Krijero. The thick muscled bodies over hers made her feel small, dainty, and soft. The careful way they handled her gave her a sense of safety. She basked in the glow of being loved like a woman should be.
The moist sounds of Wynhod’s finger moving in and out so slowly, of his lips and tongue’s carnal kiss on her delicate nub made things below go tighter. Dani had never known mere sound could add to sensual excitement. Her hips moved up and down of their own accord, a hypnotized dance under the Kalquorians’ spell.
The mouth kissing her moved to her ear, the warm breath bringing gooseflesh out all over her body. Gelan’s voice rumbled. “You have no idea of how beautiful you are, do you? How stunning your body is, how wonderful you taste?”
“I’m small up top,” she protested. “I’m tall for a woman, I have a big butt, wide hips, and I’m awkward.”
“Your breasts are perfect,” Krijero growled, releasing the mound he’d been teasing unmercifully. “Flawlessly formed and sensitive. There’s not one damned thing wrong with these.” His mouth covered the other breast, sucking hard either to underscore his words or to punish her for hers. Dani groaned in reaction to the darts of pleasure coursing from his mouth to her clit, still adoringly tongued by Wynhod.
Gelan paused nibbling her earlobe to add, “Tall is good. So many of your kind are tiny, insubstantial creatures. I couldn’t touch any of them for fear of breaking one.” He looked into her eyes. “I love your round buttocks because I can fill my hands with them. These hips are perfect for cradling my big body. You have nothing – nothing – to dislike about yourself.”
Dani heard more of the praise in his tone than his words, because Wynhod was doing things to her that claimed the majority of her attention. He pressed a second finger into her core, and his hard teeth scraped over her clit, setting off firecrackers of sensation stuttering through her body. She arched against the solid bulk of the men on top of her, the heels of her feet digging into the soft dirt of the cave floor. She ground out a cry between clenched teeth.
Alien Slave Page 17
