Cursed’s back.
“I know this isn’t the best way, but I was desperate. I had to see
you, and we have to convince whoever is in charge of the ship to
listen to Acerith.”
Honor felt a little crushed that Carver had not come to save him.
He quickly shook that off and asked, “What is wrong with Acerith?” “He has some connection to that Earthling who was killed in the
same blast as me. He says his name is Jeremy and that he’s near and
he’s in danger.” Carver nodded at Cursed. “He didn’t believe me or
doesn’t care. I’m not really concerned which one it is since I see no
reason not to help.”
“The Earthlings are on their own by order of—”
“Shut up.” Carver looked at Honor. “What can we do?” Honor was at a complete loss. He had no idea how he could get
onto the bridge to direct the crew anywhere. Everyone knew he was
no longer in charge. They couldn’t very well take Cursed up there
with a weapon in his back.
“Can’t you tell them to listen to Acerith?”
“Despite the fact that Venians are well known for their curious
paranormal powers, those who lead have said the mission to find and
free the humans is at an end.” Honor felt terrible crushing Carver’s
goal, but he had no other choice. Bad enough he’d lost one life on
Earth but to lose another before it could even get started was simply
beyond devastating. Honor felt for him, but he also wasn’t going to
pretend all was well or could even be restored. Nothing would be the
same for either one of them.
“Can’t we just help this last one?”
Honor looked to Cursed, who was glaring at him as if he would
like nothing better than to execute him on the spot. And then Honor
decided that if he was going to die anyway, what did another strike
against him really matter? He’d much rather go out saving someone
than sitting in his room like a coward.
“We are going to save this human.” Honor considered how he
could incapacitate Cursed in order to keep him bound but encourage
him to issue the orders they would need to get the ship moving the
right direction.
“The humans are no longer our concern.” Cursed kept his dignity
despite the gun in his back.
“They are my concern,” Honor said.
Carver smiled at him with so much pride Honor could almost feel
it.
“I trust the Venian that he can feel Jeremy’s presence.” “You’re a bigger fool than I originally thought.”
“How would he know there was another human in the same
accident?”
“Because your slave told him.”
“I didn’t.” Carver shook his head. “He saw Jeremy’s image in my
mind.”
“How would Acerith know—never mind. You think this is some
kind of elaborate scheme we’ve set. It isn’t. But nothing we say is going to change your mind, so I’m not going to waste my breath.” As Honor was considering how they would go about their mission, Cursed’s communicator went off. Automatically, he reached for the side of his neck where the device was implanted, prompting Carver to
nudge him with the gun.
“I really don’t want to shoot you.”
“He’s not going to say anything about us,” Honor said. “I’m not?” Cursed asked pointedly.
“How will it look to those who lead that almost immediately after
assuming control you lost it to one of the refugees?”
Cursed’s expression hardened. He tapped the side of his neck,
activating the unit. “Speak.”
“There is a problem with the ship,” a startled warrior began,
obviously put off by Cursed’s clipped tone.
“What problem?” Cursed darted a suspicious glance at Honor,
who shrugged. When Honor looked at Carver, he shook his head.
Whatever was happening wasn’t anything he’d done.
“We were on course to Krase, but now we’re not. I’m not sure—
one of the shuttles just released from the ship!” Normally, all Krase
were rather calm in relaying information so it was clear the sudden
departure of one of the dozens of shuttles was a shock.
“Where is it heading?”
“There’s a planet nearby.”
“Does this planet have a name?”
“I’m working on that, sir. It’s difficult to say when we don’t know
where we are.”
“Simply look at the information on your screen.” Cursed sounded
annoyed.
“That’s just it, sir. It’s saying we’re still in route to Krase, but we
clearly aren’t. The star charts say one thing, but my own eyes say
another.”
Again, Cursed flashed Honor a suspicious look, and then his eyes
widened as he looked over his shoulder. Carver didn’t move a muscle. He seemed to think that having Cursed think him capable of such a
feat was perfectly fine. But Honor knew he wasn’t involved. “Where is the Venian called Acerith?” Cursed asked the warrior
on the bridge.
There was silence as the warrior instructed someone else to locate
him. After a long beat of utterly dead air, the answer came back that
Acerith was gone.
“And I’ll bet he’s gone to save some idiotic Earthling.” “Sir?”
“Stop the ship if you haven’t already. Gather a team to follow the
shuttle.”
“Yes, sir.”
Cursed turned off his communicator with a tap. “Well, it looks
like you will get your wish after all.”
Honor was pleased but had no desire to rub his triumph in
Cursed’s face.
“But as soon as Acerith returns with my shuttle, he’ll be arrested.”
Cursed looked over his shoulder at Carver then fixed his intense gaze
on Honor. “All three of you can enjoy one another’s company in
holding.”
Chapter 14
“Holding? Is that like jail? I didn’t do all of this to end up there.” Carver had gotten what he wanted and, apparently, Acerith had followed his own plan to get what he wanted, but now Carver didn’t know where to go or what to do. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to be with Honor.
“Put the gun down, Carver.” Honor’s voice was quiet. “But what about him?” He pointed toward Cursed.
“He’s not going to hurt you or me. Or even Acerith and the
Earthling he brings back. He’s going to take us to Krase and let those who lead dole out our punishment.” “I don’t understand.” Carver thought Honor sounded almost like he was giving up.
“You forgot something about taking a Krase warrior hostage.” Honor stepped near and took the gun away. He disabled it then handed it over to Cursed. “His devotee has certainly told someone what’s happening.”
A slew of vile expletives passed Carver’s lips. Normally, he didn’t swear because it had always bothered his mother, but if any situation deserved a dozen curse words, this was it. “What we heard just now about the shuttle and Acerith—was any of that even real?”
“I believe so.” Honor took his hand and led him over to the bed.
Cursed watched them, his expression unreadable.
“We’re not going to cause you any more problems. Just let us be together until I have to stand before the magistrate.”
“But you didn’t do anything wrong.” Carver’s hand was sweaty and holding on just a little too tightly to his.
“I know. I’ll be given a chanc
e to explain, but I will have to confront the accusations against me.”
“And me?”
“I don’t think you’ll be punished because Cursed isn’t going to say anything about what happened.”
“But his devotee…”
“Did you tell him to inform anyone?” Honor asked Cursed.
“No.” Cursed holstered his weapon and looked not defeated but humbled, perhaps. Carver wasn’t certain. He was exhausted and worried about too many things to care about Cursed’s ego.
Carver leaned against Honor’s shoulder. “Did I make things worse for you?”
“No.” Honor shook his head then rested his head close to Carver’s. “I made my own mess. I’m just sorry you got caught in it.”
They sat there in silence with Cursed staring at them. He kept his hand over his gun almost as if he were seriously contemplating drawing it and dispatching both of them. It would certainly put an end to any potential embarrassment.
“We won’t tell anyone if you’ll just let us be together until we get back to Krase.”
Cursed’s hand caressed the grip of his blaster.
“Simply let Acerith save the last human, and then we’re done. You’re still in command of the vessel, and you can claim the last human as your win if you wish. I won’t say anything.”
“I don’t care about having saved one of them.”
“Then simply take us home.”
Cursed glared at them a moment longer then spun on his heel, leaving them alone in Honor’s rooms.
“I thought he was going to kill us.” Carver sighed.
“I think he considered doing so, but then realized he would have trouble explaining why he killed you.”
Carver lifted his head off Honor’s shoulder. “You mean if I wasn’t here he might have killed you?”
“Perhaps. It doesn’t matter now. I don’t want to talk about him when our time is so very limited.” Honor cupped Carver’s chin, pulled him close, and kissed him. When Carver tried to move back, to speak again, Honor pressed into him, deepening the kiss as he eased Carver onto his back.
Despite his strength, Honor was able to keep him pinned to the bed and remove his loincloth. It didn’t take long for him to stroke Carver into full hardness. At the back of his throat, Carver uttered growls and whimpers in a struggle to take control but also to submit. It was the music of alpha mating, and Honor echoed his cries.
Working together, they removed what little Honor was wearing, and then Honor was kissing his way down Carver’s body. He stroked lightly over the love bites he’d made on his neck and chest, grinning when his strokes against Carver’s sensitive nipples caused him to arch up. Slowly, he went lower. Just as he was ready to draw Carver’s cock into his mouth, he noticed a cluster of red dots.
“What happened?”
Carver looked down and then laughed. “Ah, my alien STD.”
“That isn’t translating.” Honor peered up at him.
“That’s how I got out of the shuttle bay and into Cursed’s private room. And I think I may have made your situation worse.” Carver hastily explained what he’d done and why. “I’m sorry if you get more grief because of that. It was the only peaceful way I could think to get out of there.”
“Peaceful? You pulled Cursed’s own gun on him.” Honor swirled his tongue around the tip of Carver’s cock, causing him to make a sound of ecstasy.
“He wouldn’t listen to reason, so I had to go all criminal on him.”
“You were very brave.”
“I was desperate to see you and to—oh!”
Honor sucked his cock down to the base and pulled hard. Just when Carver was about ready to blow, Honor released him. He retrieved the bottle of lube from his bedside table, slicked up his fingers, and then pumped them slowly into his ass. Carver stopped any attempts at conversation. He grasped his legs behind the knee and then spread them wide, allowing Honor unfettered access to his body. Teasing and tormenting him until he was thrashing on the bed, Honor finally placed the cock crusher on his shaft, activated it, and plunged inside Carver.
Carver simply enjoyed that most pleasurable sensation of having their bodies so intimately bound. He kept pushing away the fact that this might be their last time. As true as that was, he didn’t want to think of that when he wanted to stay right in the moment.
Pulling Carver’s ass right to the edge of the mattress, Honor thrust into him hard, then withdrew slowly. Honor held his gaze, his attention riveted as if he, too, knew this might be the final time and wanted to remember everything.
Honor drew the moment out by slowing his thrusts, but eventually, the rough animal part of him took over. He wrapped his fist around Carver’s cock and stroked down every time he plunged deep. Keeping his rhythm caused Carver to buck on the bed.
They climaxed within seconds of one another. Carver’s ass tightened around Honor’s cock so sharply he swore Honor released twice. And then Carver was sitting up, making his channel even tighter as he kissed Honor frantically. He didn’t want things to be over. He didn’t want to lose two lives before they ever fully began.
Eventually, they relaxed onto the bed, their bodies still intimately joined. As much as he wanted to stay this way forever, Carver knew their time together was now very short.
* * * * Carver was dressed in what looked like a pair of ill-fitting scrubs. They were the ugliest shade of gray he’d ever seen. They said he wasn’t a prisoner, but he certainly felt like one. For a while, he thought he would have to stand trial for killing the overseer, but it turned out he was a criminal slated for death so that didn’t matter to anyone. Not even Carver. He had killed the man but not in cold blood, and he felt no regrets for what he’d done. He had no idea what happened with Acerith. He hoped Acerith had gotten to Jeremy in time to save him and the child he had with him. If nothing else, Carver wanted to know how the man who’d been jogging toward him that fateful morning had ended up with a kid.
But he might never find out.
Carver was on Krase. Since much of the planet was brutally hostile to most life forms, the massive cities were domed. Temperature, light, humidity—all of it could be controlled and set to the most widely tolerated levels for most species. And there were a lot of aliens here. Carver had felt oddly bland by comparison. Some had multiple arms, eyes, or heads, with some having a fantastic combination of all three. They came in every conceivable color, including metallic sheens. Their skin was all different textures from elastic to leather. Even though they all spoke different languages, his translator was able to make sense of most of what he heard.
There was a vibrancy to the city that he’d never experienced living in Denver. He lived in a suburb, Arvada, but even downtown Denver wasn’t like this place. This was similar to New York but on a massive scale. Some of the buildings were so tall they appeared to bend over him, but he was pretty sure it was simply an optical illusion. The sidewalks were wider than most four-lane highways, and there was a superfast train-like vehicle between the rows of buildings. He could quite literally spend a lifetime right here in the city of Gerfal and never eat at the same restaurant twice or sleep in the same motel room.
Not that he had any intention of doing that.
No, Carver was a man with a plan. As soon as the battleship they’d been on was close to the planet, Honor was taken away despite Carver’s protests. Worse, he wasn’t allowed to rejoin the refugees in the shuttle bay. Cursed wouldn’t tell him why, but Carver swore he heard him mumbling something about Carver potentially leading another insurrection. He was kept in Honor’s quarters until Cursed returned with clothing and strict instructions on how he would conduct himself.
“If you ever want to see Honor again, you will follow my orders without a single deviation. Do you understand?”
There was a part of Carver that didn’t trust Cursed for a second, but he also had little choice. Without him, he wouldn’t even know where to start looking for Honor. So Carver had nodded, dressed, and was now following Cursed a
nd his devotee through the cluttered capital city.
“Are we going to see Honor now?” Carver had grown weary of walking because the shoes he was given were flat leather without any support. If he had his usual athletic shoes, he’d be running rings around Cursed, but he didn’t, so he was limping along behind him.
“Silence.” Cursed slowed his pace so that they were striding side by side with devotee walking five paces behind them. “I asked you to be quiet during our journey. If you cannot follow simple instructions, then how can I ever trust you to obey me once we are in the government building?”
“Sorry.”
“And again!”
Rather than say anything else, Carver shut his mouth and kept moving. For all he knew Cursed could be taking him to his death. But for some crazy reason he didn’t think so. He didn’t fully trust Cursed, but Carver did have a little bit of a hold over him. The fact that Carver had wrested control away from him—however briefly—was a powerful motivator for Cursed to be kind. Belatedly, Carver also realized it was a good reason for Cursed to kill him since dead men told no tales. Still, without Cursed, he would simply wander the city aimlessly. He had no money, no marketable skills, and no idea where to go to obtain either one.
Eventually, they arrived at the Krase governmental building. It was unlike human seats of government in that it was extremely plush. Garishly so. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was richly appointed. Carver felt woefully underdressed and totally intimidated, which he realized was probably the point. The whole building practically screamed we’re more important than you!
Since he’d played ball all his life, Carver was more than familiar with the idea of psyching someone out. Rather than allow himself to continue to feel overwhelmed, he stood taller and put on his game face. Whatever was coming his way, he’d deal with as best he could. And if he had to take on the whole damn planet to get to Honor, he would.
Cursed led him into an elevator that went up for a good five minutes, and then they went down a seemingly endless hall but they finally entered a room that was surprisingly empty. It was clearly an office but there weren’t any chairs or a desk. Carver couldn’t explain how he knew the room was the Krase equivalent of an office, he just did. Inside, a Krase officer stood near the window. Considering the view, he had to be pretty damn high up on the authority chain. He had fearsome scars and a facial tattoo with ten dots, indicating he was a powerful warrior.
-Enslaved-by-an-Officer[ Sold 8] Page 11
