Alien Alphas: Twenty-Three Naughty Sci-Fi Romance Novellas

by Grace Goodwin

  Chapter Two

  Three days later Kate knelt on a padded mat waiting for her trainer to arrive. The room was perfectly square with no windows and only one door. The thick pad on which she knelt was the only thing resembling furniture. Off-white and unadorned except for built-in storage compartments and drawers, the walls offered nothing to distract her from her anxiety. Instead, she stared at the door. The sooner her torment began, the sooner it would end. Still, she wasn’t sure if she wanted the door to open or remain closed forever.

  She’d been given one day to rest and ‘mourn her old life.’ One entire day in a windowless room not unlike this one. These aliens knew nothing about mercy. She’d cried and raged, moped and muttered about the horrible injustice. No one had heard her complaints. No one had cared.

  The second day she’d been taken from the cell and led by two attendants to a large room that looked more or less like a day spa. She’d been bathed and her body prepared for her first day of training. Her long brown hair had been cut into a shoulder-length bob with fringy little bangs, but her body hair had been removed permanently. She wasn’t going to miss shaving her legs, but she’d never felt so naked.

  Naked. She shuddered. She hadn’t been allowed any form of covering since Dr. Laemor had released her from the examination table. The only thing adorning her body was a wide leather-like collar with silver loops front and back. Her handlers attached a leash to the front loop whenever they took her from her room. When she returned from the spa, all fresh and shiny, the next humiliation was waiting for her.

  The door had slid open and Kate had staggered to a stop. In the back corner of her tiny room was a freaking cage. The cot she’d slept on the night before had been removed and the door to the cage stood open.

  “I am not going into that cage,” she’d sneered, jaw clenched.

  One of her attendants had casually released the short handled flogger from the belt at his waist and swung the multi-strand whip at her bare back.

  She’d gasped then groaned as heat crawled across her back and up onto her shoulder. It had been a warning. He’d barely hit her hard enough to hurt. The next swing would be much harder, she had no doubt. He stood with the flogger raised, ready to whip her again. Her ass was still tender in places from the paddling Lord Estifal had given her that first night. As with everything in this wretched place, she didn’t really have a choice.

  At least no one else was here to see this. She took a deep breath and sank to her knees, crawling into the oblong cage. The bars were rounded and close together, the floor mercifully padded. She couldn’t stand inside the cage, but she could kneel or sit. If she curled up on her side like a baby, she was pretty sure she could lie down. But what about food and a toilet? What the hell was she supposed to do if she needed to pee or worse?

  “You will be fed twice a day and allowed short breaks every three hours to deal with your bodily functions.”

  Apparently her handler had figured out what she’d been thinking. Kate only nodded as the young male connected a thicker chain to the back of her collar. She was already in a cage. Wasn’t the chain overkill?

  “Twice each day you will also be released and taken to one of the exercise yards. Pets must be sleek and healthy, unless a potential buyer requests a different body type.”

  Her food was carefully formulated to keep her body lean and healthy. In fact her stomach had flattened in three short days and her muscles had more definition than they’d ever had before. The aliens would make a fortune back on Earth if they sold whatever was in her food.

  Earth. She sighed. Her home world seemed very far away, almost as if it were part of someone else’s life. She rested her hands on her thighs and sat back on her heels, wondering what was taking her trainer so long.

  Had she been given to a male or a female? She’d meant as a trainer, but the thought widened her eyes. Did females buy space pets? She’d never so much as kissed another woman.

  The door slid open ending her rambling thoughts. If this was her trainer, he was definitely male. He was tall and muscular, but his body was long and lean like a swimmer rather than a body builder. His pale gray skin made his glossy hair appear even darker, but it was midnight blue, not brown or black. His features were angular without being harsh, his charcoal gray lips full, yet unsmiling. She thought his hair was short and slicked back, but he turned his head as he locked the door and she saw that it was actually long, very long. The thick mass had been secured at the nape of his neck, then the cord wrapped around the long tresses, forming a neat bundle that reached the small of his back.

  His outfit was as strange as his coloring. The upper garment was burgundy and molded to every dip and ripple of his torso and arms. It covered him from just below his chin to the first set of knuckles on each hand, yet it was so formfitting he might as well have been naked. The lower garment was loose, looking almost like a skirt until he took a step. Then separate leg sections were apparent. The garment was black and so long it skimmed the floor, making him seem to float rather than walk.

  “Good afternoon. I am your trainer. You will call me Master J or simply Sir. Though I prefer Master.” His voice was deep, distinctly accented, yet as expressionless as his face.

  There was that word again. Sir wasn’t much better, but Master accented the fact that they considered her a slave.

  She was a slave and nothing in this star system was going to change that fact. Yet in the privacy of her mind, she wasn’t ready to accept it. Might never accept it.

  “My name is—”

  “You have no name until your owner gives you one,” he cut her off emphatically. “I am your trainer, not your owner, so I will call you girl.”

  Whatever appeal she’d found in his unusual looks vanished with those two sentences. She glared at him, but didn’t argue. Lord Estifal’s stern chastisement had taught her one thing. She was going to have to choose her battles carefully.

  He moved closer and she tensed. She had so many questions, but his attitude didn’t make her feel very confident that he would indulge her curiosity. His unearthly gaze bored into hers as if he were searching her memory or reading her mind. She shivered. For all she knew that could be exactly what he was doing. The basic layout of his eyes was similar to a human’s though his irises, or his species’ equivalent of irises, were wider, leaving very little white. And the electric blue color was definitely not found on Earth, at least not naturally. The shade was so vivid she wondered if they glowed in the dark.

  “Lower your gaze. Pet owners seldom appreciate being eyeballed.”

  She lowered her gaze.

  “Commands will be obeyed and questions always answered with the proper respect. Do you understand, girl?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She forced the phrase out between clenched teeth, hating him more with each beat of her heart.

  “Open your thighs. Pets must have permission to conceal themselves in any way. That includes pressing their legs together.”

  She looked at him, then away, rebelling inwardly even as she slid her knees a few inches apart.

  “Farther.”

  She’d thought Lord Estifal was an asshole until she met this guy. Unable to suppress the defiant urge, she spread her legs wide as if to spite him.

  The bastard laughed. “Lord Estifal is right. You’re going to be trouble, but then humans always are.”

  “Am I allowed to speak, Sir?” She lingered over the title with sarcastic rancor.

  “Watch your tone.” His voice was stern, yet calm.

  “May I ask a question, Master?” Each syllable of the hated word tasted nasty.

  “You just did.” He actually smiled, though the attempt was anemic and fleeting. “Ask your question.”

  She started to say that she had more than one, but thought better of it. Choosing her battles and all that. “Are you allowed to touch me or is that privilege reserved for my new owner?” God, how she hoped these would be verbal lessons, maybe an instructional video or two.

  �
�I’m allowed to do whatever is necessary until you complete your lessons to my satisfaction.”

  The underlying threat was clear. He had all the power and he would only be pushed so far.

  “I’m not a virgin. I already know how to fuck. So what’s with the lessons?” She’d lie there like a corpse and shut down her mind until her ‘master’ had finished with her. How hard could that be?

  “You are so oblivious, you don’t even know what you don’t know.” There was no malice in his tone, just a calm statement of fact. “You’re in the ass end of the galaxy, girl. Males outnumber females nearly a thousand to one. But pets are different from street corner whores. It’s my job to teach you the difference.”

  She glanced at him then lowered her gaze, not wanting to piss him off over nothing. Her mind was filled with questions. Did she have to ask permission to ask each one?

  “Go on. I’ll be lenient with you for today, as long as you remain respectful.”

  “Thank you, Sir.” The title slipped out a bit easier this time. “Lord Estifal said I was picked up by a talent scout. What exactly did he mean?”

  “Human females are extremely popular right now. Many consider your kind exotic and exciting. So people like Lord Estifal send scouts to Earth. They search locations where young humans congregate and find females who are physically attractive and possess the intellectual capacity and a strong enough sex drive to deal with the life that will be expected of them.”

  “Well, the scout seriously fucked up with me,” she snapped. “There’s nothing about this I find appealing.”

  “Profanity is a punishable offense. Remain civil or this conversation is over.” He stood in front of her, while she knelt. He was fully dressed, while she was not only naked, but required to keep her thighs open so he could see her pussy. It was all so fucking twisted. She was doing well not to scream.

  “How could this scout assess my sex drive without actually knowing me? My social life is nonexistent at the moment.”

  “Occasionally the Daf Silva, my people, inherit a form of empathy that allows them to sense things in others. Sometimes the person might not know, or be ready to admit, what the scout ascertains. It sounds like you are one of those.”

  “You’re inferring that this talent scout knows me better than I know myself.” Her tone was sharp and sarcastic and he immediately tensed. “I’m sorry. This is all so bizarre.” She hated giving in to him so easily, but if she wanted to learn more about her situation, she had to play by his rules. No one else was allowed to speak with her. This stern-faced trainer was her only hope.

  He clasped his hands behind his back as he stared down at her. “Do you have more questions, or shall I begin?”

  She was definitely not ready for him to begin training her, so she asked the first thing that popped into her mind. “Why are there so few females in this part of the galaxy?”

  “We’re on the edge of a mineral-rich asteroid belt. Even with the highly mechanized techniques in use here, mining is backbreaking and unpleasant work. Few are willing to put themselves through the rigors, so the mining companies negotiated with various penal institutions, creating work release programs and a sort of indentured servitude. Certain prisoners are allowed to exchange years in prison for years in the mines.”

  “So most of the miners are criminals?” She shuddered. That’s just what she needed, to be bought by some violent criminal.

  “The vast majority,” he agreed.

  “Wonderful.” She lowered her gaze and fought for composure. He seemed to respond best to calm, specific questions, yet her thoughts were utterly chaotic right now.

  “Are you beginning to understand why you don’t want to end up in a brothel, at the mercy of such men?”

  She glanced up through her lashes. He really was rather handsome when he wasn’t scowling at her. “Will my potential owners be any better? On Earth it’s—”

  “Any thought that contains the words ‘on Earth’ is irrelevant. You are not on Earth. You will not be returning to Earth. The sooner you adjust your frame of reference, the faster you’ll accept your new place in the universe.”

  His words stung, angered her, but he wasn’t saying them to be cruel. He was right. American exceptionalism and due process wouldn’t save her from this. A ruthless talent scout had seen to that. “What sort of male buys a human pet? Doesn’t it bother any of you to own another person?”

  “Slavery is, and has always been, an unavoidable part of life in the outer rim settlements. I told you, girl. This part of space is barely civilized. Disgruntled slaves are the least of our concerns.”

  She accepted the explanation with a nod, even though she personally disagreed with the copout. Slavery was never unavoidable. It was immoral and despicable regardless of the location. “And my owner or owners? What will they be like?”

  Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he kept his intense gaze on her face. “Lord Estifal is known for procuring the finest pets in several star systems and his prices reflect the quality of his product. Your owner, or owners, will be wealthy and powerful men who will expect an intelligent, obedient sexual companion. You will enthusiastically submit to whatever they find pleasurable. If the talent scout was right—and they usually are—you will eventually find pleasure in the sessions as well.”

  “I understand all of that,” she grumbled. “Will I be kept in a cage? Will they share me with their friends? How bad can this get?”

  “There are numerous kinds of pets, each commands a different price. Part of training is to determine which kind of pet you will become. The final decision is mine, but in many ways the choice is yours.”

  She looked into his electric blue eyes, seeing a hint of compassion for the first time. Just like her, he was playing a role, behaving as he was expected to behave. “Could you please explain what you mean?”

  One corner of his mouth twitched as if he were fighting back a smile. “The best of the best become private pets. A private pet is owned by one person, generally a male, but there have been a few couples who enjoy sharing their private pet.”

  “What would I have to do to become a private pet?” A flicker of hope warmed her soul. Being at the beck and call of one person or even a couple was infinitely better than any of the alternatives she’d heard so far.

  “Obey each and every command without question or hesitation. Somehow, I think that will be hard for you.”

  She didn’t argue. Again, he was right. It was her basic nature to question everything. “What are the other types of pets?”

  “Many, if not most, of the ships in this star system travel with multiple pets. The officers often pool their credits and buy their own.”

  “So an officers’ pet would only have to have sex with the officers?”

  He nodded.

  “How many officers are on each ship?”

  “Depends on the size of the ship. The average would be between four and six.”

  Tension wound through her belly and her mouth went dry. Six different partners all demanding she meet their sexual needs? “What are the other types?”

  “Wealthy people sometimes buy house pets. They are also owned by one person, but their role is different than a private pet’s.”

  “In what way?” She was pretty sure she knew, and extremely sure she would try to avoid the situation.

  “House pets are given to guests and offered as entertainment at parties.”

  She nodded, acknowledging the information, but she had no intention of becoming a house pet. Not if she could possibly help it. “Are there any other types?”

  “Many crews have one or more pets to be shared by the entire crew. Again the exact number varies from ship to ship, but sometimes the pet services twenty or more males. As you can imagine, group activities are quite common for a crew’s pet.”

  She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. “I can’t do that. There’s just no way.”

  “Then do exactly as I tell you and apply yourself fully
to each lesson.”

  Frantically blinking back the tears, she looked at him and nodded. “I’ll be the best trainee you’ve ever had.”

  He finally smiled, but the expression disappeared as suddenly as it had come. Still, the warm image lingered in her mind. “Crawl over to the bank of drawers and pull open the top one.”

  Crawl? He expected her to crawl across the room on her hands and knees? She felt rebellion bubbling up inside her, but stubbornly fought it back. Her determination didn’t mean much if she refused his first command.

  She lowered her hands to the floor and took a deep breath. Why was this so humiliating after kneeling at his feet with her legs spread? Because she wasn’t a fucking dog! Fighting her need to rebel every inch of the way, she crawled to the drawers and pulled the top one open. Her eyes widened and heat suffused her face as she looked inside. Dildos and vibrators, and items she didn’t recognize filled the drawer.

  “Choose one, then return to the mat.”

  She raised her hand, not sure if she was still allowed to speak freely.

  “I already gave you permission to speak. If you lose the privilege, you will know it.” He had a nice voice, deep and rich. And she was starting to find his accent almost soothing. Stockholm syndrome already? That was so pathetic.

  “Thank you, Sir—I mean Master. Will I be using the toy on myself?”

  “Toy?” Now he sounded amused. “Humans call such things toys?”

  She glanced over her shoulder, not quite bold enough to meet his gaze. “Sex toys, if you want to be literal, but yes. What do your people call them?”

  “Pleasure aids or stimulators. You’re stalling.”

  She was, but he hadn’t answered her question. “Is the pleasure aid for me?”

  “Yes. I want to see how fast you can make yourself come, so pick whatever sort of ‘toy’ you find most pleasurable.”

  That made the choice easier. She picked up a fingertip vibrator and crawled back to the mat.

  “Lie on your back and bring yourself to orgasm.”

  She lay down, knees slightly bent, legs mostly together.