by KD Jones
“Spread your knees.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
The medic glared at her. “I will get a sample from you whether you agree or not!”
She was about to say something but a voice cleared across the room. She glanced at the man coming in and shivered. The medic was cruel but the man walking in was deadly.
“What is going on?” The new man asked.
“I was trying to get a sample of her female fluids. There may be something we can identify that causes males to lose their senses and explain how the Katierans are easily controlled by them.”
Melody snorted. “You think my pussy is a secret weapon out to enslave men? You are an idiot and fucking crazy!”
“I will get that sample. You may survive my tests or you won’t. It doesn’t matter to me either way.” The medic went to grab her legs but she kicked out at him.
“Stop!”
The medic turned to look at the stranger. “Who are you and why have you interrupted me?”
“Medic FeEZ, I have been ordered by Leader OrIN to interrogate her. You will leave us now.”
“What? I was just getting started. I need to take samples of her female fluids to make sure that she is not infectious.” He held up a clear tube.
“If there is any of her left when I am done, I am sure you can start then. Only after I am completely done questioning her.”
Medic FeEZ wasn’t happy at all. He glared at Melody throwing his tablet and the clear tube down on the counter and storming out.
Melody wasn’t sure if the medic being ordered to leave was a good thing or not. Now she had to deal with this guy who, when he looked at her, seemed to look right through her. He was there to interrogate her, which sounded ominous.
She watched as the man with the blond, military-cropped hair walked around the room. She found him to be really sexy, but not a drop-dead gorgeous hunk like AshOR. This man was dangerous and sexy.
He was methodical in everything he did. He checked everything out, every nook and cranny and opened every drawer. He dimmed the lights a little, which was a relief to her because they had been really bright. What made her nervous the most was his absolute silence. He was like a predator stalking his prey.
She just couldn’t take it anymore. “If you’re going to question me, I would rather you get on with it.”
He leaned his hip against the counter. She had to admit, he was sexy as hell. His eyes were piercing and body muscled and toned. He reminded her of a fallen angel, beautiful and dark with danger.
“Are you so eager to be interrogated? Maybe you are disappointed that I interrupted the examination that medic FeEZ was about to give you.”
She tried to pull her wrists free. “Fuck you!”
He moved toward her so quickly she didn’t have time to react. He was suddenly leaning over her and she stared mesmerized into his strangely beautiful eyes. His golden irises—a feature of all Katierans— glowed and there was a strange ring around his eyes.
“You like to use that word fuck a lot. Do you realize when you say it males can’t help but actually picture doing exactly that to you? Is that your intent? Do you want me to fuck you?”
She shivered from his closeness. An image popped in her head of them naked. She couldn’t think of him like that, he was the enemy. “No.”
“Have you fucked a male since you’ve been on Katiera?”
She couldn’t help thinking about AshOR. She regretted that she had been so closed off with him.
“AshOR? Commander AshOR? Is that the male you shared sex with?”
She blinked in surprise. She had never told anyone about her night with AshOR. How did he know about it? She must have asked that out loud.
“Commander AshOR of the Colony. Was it one night or more that you shared his bed?”
“I—don’t have to tell you anything.”
“I suspect one night. He must be a fool to not have you every night beneath him.” He reached down and stroked her cheek with his finger gently.
She moved her face away from his touch. “We enjoyed each other and moved on.”
“You’re a singer, I never heard it being a profession but that’s what you do, isn’t it?”
Again, she was stunned that he would know so much about her. “Who are you?”
He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I’m your only hope of escaping this place in one piece.”
“What?”
“If you want to live through this, open your legs for me.”
“I won’t.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m just going to get the sample the medic wants. It will buy us time.”
“Time for what?”
“To find a way out of here.”
“Why should I trust you?” She wanted to, she wanted to believe that he was there to save her.
“I can’t explain myself to you right now. Time is almost out and the medic will be back. If I get this sample, it will keep him busy for a little while.”
She had to take the chance that he was telling the truth and he was there to help her. “What do you want me to do?”
“Open your legs. I’m going to use the tube to collect your fluids. I promise to make it quick.”
She felt cold, so cold. Closing her eyes, she slowly opened her knees, spreading them for him. This was so fucking messed up. She felt his hands massaging her thighs and couldn’t help but open her eyes to stare at him as he stood near her feet.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re not producing the fluids needed. I’m just trying to help you.” Their eyes locked as his hand moved up her inner thigh and stroked her through her panties.
“I don’t let men I don’t know touch me.”
“I’m StrykER. You’re name is…?”
“Melody…Song.”
“Now we know each other.” He pressed his fingers into her. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I’m not going to hurt you. Give me what I need, Melody.”
She couldn’t help but respond, it was a while since anyone had touched her. This was neither the time nor the place, and he wasn’t at all the type of man she usually found attractive. So why was her body responding to him? Her nipples tightened and her hips moved against his hand.
He moved her panties to the side and stroked her with his fingers. He pulled away long enough to grab the tube. He scooped up her juices and put the top on the tube. Then he stroked her again before putting her panties back in place. She watched as he lifted his fingers covered in her juice to his lips and sucked them.
Holy shit, that was hot!
“I’ll give Medic FeEZ this sample and ask him to treat you so that I can interrogate you more. I’ll be back later. Rest for now.”
“How will we escape?”
“That’s what I need time to work out.” He turned and left her there on the table. She was feeling so many things; fear, nervousness, and now she was a little turned on. She prayed that he was being honest with her, and not just trying to take her off guard. Melody was going to have to trust that he really was there to help her.
Chapter 6
StrykER had the urge to punch something or someone. Why had he touched her, tasted her. He was telling the truth, he needed to get the fluids from her to give to the medic so that he could buy some time to plan their escape. He had watched her for an hour before he stepped in and stopped the medic from running tests. Then he was with her for about an hour. It brought the time OrIN gave him down to about twenty-two hours.
He found FeEZ waiting for him outside the med room. He handed the male the tube. “Here is the sample you were looking for. I am not done interrogating her. Treat her injuries but do nothing else. I must tell Leader OrIN what I have found out so far.” He left the stunned medic standing there.
How was he supposed to set her free and get them out of there when he had no idea where in Kitana he was? Because they were underground, he suspected they were on one of the mining colonies located on a l
una. Which one and how far away from Kiljor were they?”
He passed a pair of lieutenants wearing grey uniforms and had matching caps. He looked down at his own clothes, which were the dark blue of the Kiljorn warrior. He stood out, and that was the last thing he needed, or what they needed. They would need to blend in with the crowd.
StrykER walked to command central and requested to see Leader OrIN. A few minutes later, he was escorted into OrIN’s office.
“It’s only been about two hours. What do you have to report to me?” Orin asked, staying seated.
“I am just beginning with her. I will go in every few hours to keep her off her guard.”
“Keep her off her guard. Is that why you touched her?” OrIN pointed to the video feed playing on OrIN’s digital tablet of him stroking the female’s pussy.
“Medic FeEZ need a sample of her fluids and I wanted to prove to her that I had control over her, all of her.”
“She responded to you? Are you not worried that she is contagious?”
“FeEZ will find out for us if she is. So far, I’ve found her weak and not very intelligent. I can easily break her.”
“Your abilities allow you to see in her mind. What do you see?”
“I don’t see everything in her mind, but if she has an image in her mind with strong emotions tied to it, I can pick that up. All she showed me so far is a male she shared sex with on Katiera.”
“Just one male? I was told that many of these females go from male to male. Even KadEN’s mate was not innocent.”
“The female, Lindsey, I have met her once or twice. She was not unappealing but nothing special.”
“Of course she’s not special. How could KadEN choose another female over Prima AriELa? There is no comparison.”
He’d heard this before. He tested OrIN’s mind and images of the Prima filled him. He’d had an infatuation with her for years. “The Prima is mated to another.”
OrIN snorted. “He is an unfit male. She deserves so much more and I will see to it that she gets it.”
Suddenly images appeared in OrIN’s mind of him walking the Prime building on Katiera and at his side was Prima AriELa smiling at him. The male was delusional.
“Well, I’ll get back to interrogating the female.”
OrIN waved him out of the room, already disinterested in listening to anything else. His delusions were consuming him and driving him to make irrational decisions.
On the way out, StrykER ran into Commander MarIK. The male fell in step with him as he walked toward his quarters.
“How are things going with the female?”
“I can access some images from her mind, but nothing really important. She does not appear to be a threat.”
“Did you tell that to OrIN?”
“No.”
“It won’t do any good. He has his own agenda and won’t be deterred from it.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“I’m curious, how exactly do your abilities work? Can you read minds?”
“No, I can focus on someone and see images in their minds, and sometimes words form if there are strong enough emotions.”
MarIK motioned for him to follow him. He whispered low so no one else could hear them. “I wonder if your abilities could intercept my thoughts.”
StrykER understood immediately. MarIK wanted him to use his abilities on him. They stayed out in the hallway so anyone seeing them would think nothing of it. StrykER never had anyone want him to read their minds before, so this was a first.
StrykER blocked out the sounds around them so that he could focus on MarIK. Images practically sprung forward. He saw himself and the female going through the tunnels. Words popped up. East tunnel. He saw two warriors stationed at the opening that led to the surface. Then he saw images of him and the female on the outside, on the surface of the luna. More images came to him. The last thing was a time that popped up, 03:00, and finally the images stopped. He took it to mean that 03:00 was the time for him to make his move.
He looked up to find that they were now standing outside his quarters. He looked at MarIK. “I stand out around here.” He looked down at his uniform then looked at MarIK.
Images of a nearby supply closet sprang to MarIK’s mind. He would have asked about weapons but knew MarIK may draw the line on that. He did not agree with OrIN but he cared about his people.
“Why?” StrykER asked him out loud.
“I still have my honor.” He clasped StrykER’s forearm and then left.
StrykER went inside his quarters. He had a lot to do before 03:00. He removed his clothes and went to the shower. He still didn’t know where he was or how far away from any one whom could lend assistance, but if they could get off the planet, they had a fighting chance.
*****
Melody watched as the medic studied her sample using his alien technology. He hadn’t spoken at all when he came back in. He grabbed a medical scope and gave her an injection. She began to heal. Her pain eased and the bruises on her arms were fading. Her stomach growled.
“Hey, could someone get me something to eat?”
The medic glared at her. “You are not a guest, but a prisoner of war.”
War? What war? These guys were more like terrorists in her opinion. “Well, that guy who was here before, he wants to question me but if I don’t eat, my sugar level goes down and I pass out. If that happens, he won’t get any answers, now will he?”
For some reason, the mentioning of the other male scared the medic. He used his comm link to request food be brought. Ten minutes later, a young warrior, probably barely eighteen years of age, came inside carrying a tray of food.
“Medic FeEZ, you ordered food.” The male’s voice cracked, making Melody rethink his age. He couldn’t be more than fourteen years old. The medic waved him over to her.
The warrior turned to her and so many emotions raced across his young face: fear, curiosity, wariness, desire. She smiled to try to put him at ease but that seemed to only make him more cautious.
He approached her slowly, setting the tray down on the table next to her. “I brought your meal.”
“Thank you. Could you untie me so that I can sit up and eat?”
The young warrior glanced over at the medic. “Go ahead, she’s a weaker species. At least this female is.”
The warrior leaned down to undo her bindings, careful to keep a distance from her. Then he stepped back to let her sit up.
Melody’s stomach growled again and she gave the young warrior an apologetic smile. “Thank you for bringing food. I haven’t had anything since I was kidnapped. I don’t know how long ago that was. Maybe two days.”
The warrior frowned, not liking what he heard. Even a male as young as him knew to treat women better than that. Maybe she could convince him to help her.
She took the tray and sat it on the exam table next to her. She recognized some of the Katieran fruit, so she ate that first. It was delicious. She glanced over at the young warrior who was fascinated with watching her eat.
“What’s your name?”
The warrior first looked at the medic to make sure it was okay before he answered. “I’m warrior TaymAR.”
“Hi, TaymAR. I’m Melody. Why aren’t you called a lieutenant? Most warriors I’ve met are called lieutenants.”
“I have not earned the rank of a lieutenant. We all start out training was warriors and work our way up. May I ask you some questions?”
“Of course.”
“What was it like being interrogated by StrykER?”
She was confused. “StrykER was the male that came in earlier, right?”
He nodded his head.
She shrugged. “It was—intense.”
“I thought for sure you would have fallen into hysterical cries. That’s why none of the other warriors wanted to bring your food. They didn’t want to be weakened by seeing a female cry.”
“I think crying would have been a bit extreme. He was more intimidating than threatening.�
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“You don’t know who was here, do you?” The warrior looked at her in shock.
“No, who is he?”
“Interrogator Stryker was trained on Kiljor as a warrior but he specialized in code breaking, interrogations, and finding the enemy’s weaknesses. Once he even made a Morin cry during interrogations and torture. The few children we have are taught to at an early age to do what we are told or we may get a visit from the terrifying StrykER.”
“So he’s like a boogie man.”
“What is that?”
“On Earth, parents tell children stories of a boogie man who comes for them if they don’t follow the rules.”
“Could I ask you about your planet?”
“Absolutely.”
“I heard that the females from your planet are full of diseases. That you enslaved your males and came to Katiera looking for other males to enslave.”
“Earth is not as medically advanced as your people so we have suffered through diseases over the years. On my planet, the females work just as much as the males do. We are considered equals. Slaves have existed on my planet but we made strides to eradicate that.”
“If you are equal to your males, why did you come to Katiera?”
“My planet is dying. We are overpopulated and our natural resources are almost non-existent. The Katierans offered relocation and assistance. I am sure all the women who came to Katiera had different personal reasons, but mine was more of a career move.”
“Career?”
“I’m a singer professionally. It wasn’t going well for me so the offer to take my talent to another planet was too good to be true.” She took a small nibble of the meat. It didn’t look familiar and tasted a little bitter so she put it back on the tray. She guzzled the water down.
“Singing is a profession?” TaymAR looked confused.
She nodded her head. “Yes, in fact I was singing in small shows and at ceremonies on Katiera.”
“Why did you leave Katiera if your—career was going well?”
“I wanted to see more of the other planets, share my music with them and maybe write songs about your culture and give comfort to people.”
