Heavenly Claimed Boxed Set

by Bertina Mars

  All she could do now was to try and get away and then come back for the others if it was at all possible. But she still had no idea how she was going to escape anyway. It all seemed terribly hopeless.

  Then, Maya noticed more Blood Sharks arriving from the direction of the city. They were flying up to the auction on sleek one-person flying vehicles that looked very similar to the hyperbikes from back home. She knew how to ride them and these didn’t look much different. Her attention fixed on the flying bike closest to her. It was several feet away and if she ran fast enough she might just get to it before anyone could stop her.

  Unfortunately, the slavers and more Raja-kellan soldiers were watching the women attentively, making sure there wasn’t any trouble. It was too much of a long shot to make a run for it now.

  Frustrated, she looked away from the bike and back in the direction of the ziggurat. When she did, her heart leapt into her mouth.

  Two more men had emerged onto the lower terrace of the building, and were looking down at the proceedings in the courtyard. They were both Raja-kellans and the skinny, creepy-looking one looked like a clown in his multicoloured outfit and gold crown with its exaggerated plumage, but she barely gave him a glance. It was the taller man next to him that had captured her attention.

  He stood with a distinctly military bearing, his toned, well defined body gorgeously accentuated by the simple dark uniform he was wearing. It contrasted with the gaudy red and gold outfits the other Blood Sharks were dressed in, and he held himself with a far more reserved and dignified manner than the others.

  Her pulse raced faster as she took in his handsome good looks, with his powerful jaw and sleek nose with its slightly flaring nostrils. His mouth was a firm flat line with finely sculpted lips and his short; jet-black hair was slicked back against his skull and complimented with a topknot. Eyes of stormy silver looked out at the world and for the briefest of moments they locked with Maya’s searching gaze.

  An electric chill went through her being and she looked away quickly taken off guard by the intensity of feelings that he provoked inside. He exuded a dark energy of immense strength and virility and every muscle in his body seemed to be held tight by rigid discipline.

  Maya found herself magnetised by the handsome warrior, and she was certain he was a warrior. He had all the hallmarks of man who had seen real action, just like her dad.

  The cold voice of logic frosted over her raging feelings. No matter how attractive and fascinating the man might be, he was still a Raja-kellan and he was on the side of her captors. He was the enemy and she had to treat him as such.

  “My noble lords, I bring you ripe fruits from Earth,” the Yojaridan slaver captain called out to the crowd. “All these beautiful lovelies have been specially selected for your pleasure. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!”

  With that, he brusquely forced Tia up onto the selling block. The girl stared out at the men in absolute terror and tears ran down her eyes as the slaver captain started the bidding for her.

  Maya’s stomach twisted with anger as she was forced to watch the spectacle. Unable to interfere, she focused on her own escape, biding her time for the right moment. As she waited, Tia brought a good price even being the subject of an intense bidding war between several of the Blood Sharks that threatened to break out in a full-scale brawl.

  As it was though, the brightly coloured guy standing with the brooding man who had taken her breath away interceded and bought Tia for nine thousand rubies, which put a wide smile of the ugly face of the slaver captain.

  He fawned disgustedly over Tia’s new owner and Maya quickly figured out that this was the so-called Prince Consort. That made sense now.

  The moody guy must be his bodyguard, she mused to herself, again raking her eyes over his broad shoulders and imaging kissing his olive-dark skin. He’s more alert than the others, always on guard, always watching.

  She quickly looked away in case he caught her checking him out again. She didn’t need any distractions right now, and he was definitely a distraction.

  After the frightened Tia had been taken into the ziggurat by a couple of the guards, the auction continued in full swing. One by one, the girls were led up to the selling block to be auctioned off and each of them found enthusiastic buyers. Maya was the last of four prisoners to be put up for auction and she prepared herself for action. If she was going to make a break for it, it was now.

  “Now we come to Number Eleven,” the slaver captain called out as he grabbed Maya’s arm and pulled her onto the selling block.

  “A curvy little piece and plenty of meat on the bone, those breasts are round and juicy and could be played with for hours. Shall we start the bidding at a thousand rubies?”

  Maya ignored the sexual insults and leers directed her way by the Blood Sharks and kept her eyes on the laser pistol the slaver captain carried in his gun holster.

  Her heart pounded with all the force of a sledgehammer against the inner wall of her chest and taking a deep breath she suddenly lashed out when the slaver least expected it. She snatched the gun from his holster before he released what was happening and levelled it at him.

  “Don’t move!” she snarled, “or I’ll fire!”

  Though there was enough conviction behind her voice, she very much doubted she could gun him down in cold blood, regardless of how vile he was. She had training in firearms when she enlisted for the Space Marines, but she hadn’t stayed in the service long enough to see real action and killing someone who wasn’t armed was one step she was unwilling to take.

  “You insolent bitch!” the slaver thundered. “Give me back my gun!”

  Regardless of the danger he lunged at her. With lightning speed she lashed out with her leg and aimed a savage kick straight into the slaver’s chest. It was one of the many self-defence techniques she’d learnt off her dad and it was designed to knock the breath from the slaver’s body.

  It did the trick, and he staggered back. Waving the pistol around, Maya kicked off her heels and darted barefoot toward the vacant flying bike.

  “Stop her!” yelled the slaver captain as a great gale of laughter and cheering went up from the Blood Sharks. They were clearly greatly entertained by this unexpected development. Maya ignored them, her attention fixed on the bike and her one slim chance for escape.

  One of the native guards suddenly appeared in front of her his energy weapon raised. It was a sleek rifle like mechanism with a bayonet fixed on the end of it. The soldier looked ready to shoot her down stone cold dead, but she struck out with the butt of her pistol before he could do so, sending a clumsy swipe across his temple.

  He grunted and staggered back lost his balance, falling ignobly onto his butt. Relief surged through her and she bolted past him. Just when she thought she was clear of him though, he jabbed out clumsily with his bayonet.

  She felt a searing pain in her lower leg as the tip of the blade punctured her skin and she let out a sharp yell, dropping her pistol in the process. She felt the sticky drizzle of blood running down to her foot.

  Despite the wound she lurched forward, almost inches from the waiting bike. Panting hard she grabbed its handlebars and attempted to climb onto the seat. A blur of dark grey shot towards her from the corner of her eye and suddenly immensely powerful arms wrapped themselves around her chest and pulled her away from the bike.

  A body of iron hard muscle pressed against her and with a sinking feeling, she realised who was holding her.

  “That’s enough now,” a deep, silk soft voice purred into her ear.

  “Excellent Vron,” the Prince Consort called out as he sauntered towards them. “That was a most entertaining show.”

  Maya tried to struggle but it was impossible to free herself from the iron grip of the man called Vron. His close proximity made her tingle in a way that wasn’t appropriate for the situation.

  “Let me go,” she said in a surly voice. “You have no right to do this.”

  “I have no right,” Vron
said quietly, his voice so close to her ear, it sent shivers down her spine, “but the Prince Consort has. Anger him and you’ll be sacrificed to the Blood God.”

  She bit her lip and glared at the gaudily dressed man as he reached them. “For a big girl, she runs as fast as a cyber-jaguar.”

  “A thousand apologies your Excellency,” the slaver captain said in a servile tone. He had lumbered over to them with his grubby hands clasped in front of him in supplication. “This has never happened before! I will have this rebellious cow executed at once!”

  “I suppose you must, but it is all frightfully tedious,” the Prince Consort said in a bored voice. “Though she does show some fiery spirit, it would be a shame to snuff it out. If she were a little less rounded, I’d buy her myself. No matter, her death will make an amusing diversion. Carry on then, captain.”

  “Wait,” Vron’s voice cracked like a whip, making all three of them flinch. He loosened his grip on Maya by just a fraction. “I will bid for her.”

  The Prince Consort’s eyes became wide as saucers and Maya had a feeling she looking equally shocked. Her mind whirled at these sudden turn of events and she wasn’t sure whether she wouldn’t prefer death over slavery.

  “You want this little firecracker, Vron?” the Prince Consort asked in a surprised voice. “You never take part in the slave auctions.”

  There was a pregnant pause before Vron answered. “She . . . interests me. My bid will be six thousand rubies. I doubt you will get a better offer.”

  “No, that is most generous sire,” the slaver captain said gleefully. “She’s yours for that price.” He shot an anxious look at the Prince Consort. “With your permission of course, your Excellency.”

  “I give my permission,” the Prince Consort chortled. “You always continue to surprise me, Vron. I was beginning to worry it had dropped off. You can have your buxom beauty with my blessing. Now captain, if you have finished being humiliated, let us continue the auction, shall we?”

  With a sweep of his cape the Prince Consort marched back towards the watching Blood Sharks, with the slaver captain hurrying after him like an obedient mongrel. Maya and Vron were left standing alone next to the flying bike.

  “If I let you go do you promise not to run off again?” Vron asked in a flat voice.

  Maya swallowed hard, still tingling at his body against hers. She knew she had to escape, but this moody, powerful man exerted an irresistible power over her. She was too tired and confused to resist.

  “I won’t try anything,” she said stiffly.

  “Good. Because if you did you’d be hacked down in minutes by the guards and I would have wasted a season’s salary for nothing.”

  He let her ago abruptly and she spun round, shooting him a sharp look. The ghost of a smile vanished from his lips a fraction too slow for her to miss. Swiftly though, his expression became serious and grim again. His stormy, silvery eyes brushed over her face and she felt her chest tightening. His gaze moved down to her leg.

  “That wound will have to be seen to,” he said flatly.

  She frowned at him in confusion, completely forgetting the wound she’d obtained in her wild escape attempt. She looked down and saw that the blood smeared her leg and had oozed between her toes. Without a word, Vron ripped a strip of material from his uniform sleeve and kneeling down he tied it round the wound as a crude tourniquet.

  Maya stared down at the top of his head, painfully aware that she wasn’t wearing any panties. Finished with the leg, he stood up abruptly almost brushing against her again. Her skin tingled at his closeness and she couldn’t help from shuddering.

  “That should check the bleeding for a little while,” he said in a serious tone, seemingly oblivious to the effect he was having on her. “I’ll attend to it when we get inside.”

  “Inside?” Maya asked numbly. “You mean in the ziggurat?”

  “The palace,” Vron corrected. “Yes, we’re going in there, unless you want to stay out, here being ogled for the rest of your life?”

  “No,” Maya said.

  Vron gave her a curt nod. “Good.” He hesitated, and gave her a hooded look. “Come on then. Do you want me to help you walk?”

  The thought of having his hands touching her again was too much to cope with. Her hormones were already doing crazy cartwheels. “No,” she said defensively. “I can walk on my own.”

  Vron nodded. “Good,” he said again in a clipped voice. “Come.”

  He turned his back on her and started walking briskly toward the palace. Surprised at his apparently trust in her to follow, she did just that. Any thoughts of escape right at this moment disappeared.

  She would have to come up with another strategy when she’d learnt more about this mysterious Vron character. The thought both frightened and excited her.

  The flagstones were warm beneath her bare soles and she hurried to keep up with him. A few yards away the auction was carrying on, and Maya felt the knife twist of guilt for leaving the other girls to their fate. It couldn’t be helped though.

  She had enough problems of her own to deal with. As they neared the men, several of them turned and leered at her. One of the Blood Sharks licked his lips and winked at her.

  “Fuck her hard, Vron!” he called out.

  Vron froze in his tracks as if he’d been physically struck. Maya’s heart jumped into her mouth as she watched him slowly turn his head and shoot the man who had called out a look of pure frozen anger.

  The unlucky Blood Shark flinched at the icy gaze, and, looking decidedly cowed, quickly turned back to the auction. Vron lowered his eyes and the storm clouds gathered in their silver depths again, erasing away the raw power he’d just unleashed.

  Its intensity still lingered with Maya though, and she found herself hoping that he never turned that devastating gaze on her for any reason.

  What’s wrong with you? She asked herself angrily. You’re supposed to be figuring out a way to escape this nightmare, not worrying about offending this scary guy. Correction, she should not be worrying about offending this scary and sexy guy.

  Maya let out a deep breathe. This was just getting too intense to bear.

  *

  The interior of the palace was all blood red stone and gold trim and was as heavy and foreboding as its exterior. She could literally feel the dark presence of the Blood God, its cyclopean, bodiless head exuding a miasma of dread and oppression.

  She read it on the faces of the downtrodden servants they passed, and the red-liveried guards on duty. The Blood God was a tangible, malevolent presence controlling their lives.

  Only Vron seemed unaffected. He remained stoic, moving with the grace of a great predator. This was a man used to the role of command and to violence. Maya knew that mark only too well.

  She’d recognised it in her dad and his buddies when she was only three years old. Vron might be an alien from a barbaric planet that was light years away from Earth, but he was made from the same stuff. He was a warrior through and through.

  “These are my quarters,” he said sullenly, showing her into a Spartan looking set of rooms near the rear of the palace. “I’ll make arrangements with the House Matron for you to have your own apartment when I finish my duties.”

  “That’s very gallant of you,” Maya drawled. “I thought as your sex slave I’d be chained to your bed?”

  A pained look flitted across Vron’s face before his impassive expression quickly returned. “I’ll need to dress that wound,” he said as if he hadn’t heard her. “Sit down on the bed please.”

  Maya found his reserve rather appealing. It made a change from the cocky chauvinism she’d encountered both on this planet and on Earth. She went over to the slab of dark wood with its weave mat covering and sat down on its hard surface. “Wow, you sleep on this?” she asked incredulously. “No wonder you’re so grumpy.”

  Vron pursed his lips and headed over to a cupboard next to the wall. He opened it and took out what looked like a medical field kit. Maya w
atched as he took out various jars and wadding. When he’d gotten what he needed he padded back to the bed.

  “The wound isn’t deep,” he said as he knelt down in front of her. “It shouldn’t take much to patch you up again.”

  “You should have let them kill me,” Maya said blackly, feeling the stress of her situation bubble up inside again. “I don’t think I can take much more of this.”

  Vron looked up at her and frowned. “Is being owned by me such a terrible thing?” he asked, a sliver of hurt in his voice. “Would you prefer to be the plaything of one of those oafs outside, or the Prince Consort? Believe me, you would pray for death if that was the case.”

  “I don’t want to be owned by anyone!” Maya snapped. “I’m not a piece of meat to be passed around by a bunch of thugs! I want to go home!”

  “We all want things that we can’t have,” Vron said in a world-weary voice. He frowned and suddenly looked up at her. His silver eyes speared her for a split-second and her heart did a flip-flop. Damn! Why was he having such an intense effect on her?

  “I’ve just realised, I don’t know your name,” Vron said.

  “Does that really matter?” Maya snapped, feeling a flush of anger at how she was turning to jelly in his presence. “I’m just your property, aren’t I? You can call me whatever you like!”

  “Please, just tell me your name. There is no need to be antagonistic.”

  The respectfulness of his tone now made her guilty for snapping. She fumed at how easily he was manipulating her feelings. “My name’s Maya,” she said, softening her voice. “Maya Callahan, for what it matters.”

  “Maya,” he repeated the name, and the sound of it in his deep, rich voice made her tingle. “It is a beautiful name.”

  She resisted the urge to thank him. He might be all old world charm and gentlemanly manners now but it didn’t change the fact that he was still her captor, and men were jerks no matter where in the universe they came from.

  “It’s just a name,” Maya said with a shrug. “You’re called Vron, right?”