by Ravenna Tate
“What reason did he give you?” asked Thane.
“The same ridiculous reason I’ve heard others speak of since coming here. That they’d been watching us and our porn industry. They’d made the crazy leap that all our women were sex addicts and would have it with anyone, anytime, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”
She took a deep breath again. When Thane tentatively placed his hand over hers, she closed her eyes again. His skin was so warm. All the aliens were warm, but his touch was comforting rather than irritating. She gave his hand a squeeze and didn’t let go.
“I asked a lot of questions, which he didn’t answer. But by the time he and the guard left, it was clear why I was there. There was no point in trying to get away. The door was metal and locked all the time. I cried a lot. I threw up a few times from crying so hard. But in the end, it didn’t mean anything to them.”
Can I really tell them this?
“The first time I was taken to the room with others, my wait wasn’t long. I was shocked to see dozens of other women, just like me. It didn’t seem possible that this had happened. You know how when you have a dream that’s so frightening or uncomfortable you can’t handle it, and your mind tells you it’s only a dream, and then you either wake up or the dream changes to something you can deal with? That’s what I kept wishing would happen. That my mind would tell me ‘this is only a dream’ and then I’d wake up.”
But it hadn’t been a dream. And she wasn’t sure she’d ever recover from it.
“Two men whose faces were partially covered with hoods came in, took one look at me, and pointed. I stood there, frozen to the spot.” She wiped her free hand on her skirt as the memories assaulted her. “Two guards pulled me out of the room and onto the tarmac outside. I remember it was nighttime, because I kept staring up at the sky, mesmerized by the stars. It was the only thing that kept me from screaming.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Rune, brushing a finger along her arm again. She reached for his hand, and clasped that, too. Across the table, Fallon wiped away tears and then clasped the hands of Cord and Arlo on either side of her.
“The two hooded men took me to a land craft, so I knew I wasn’t going far. At least not off the planet.” She took another deep breath, but this time she glanced down at the table. She couldn’t voice this out loud while looking at any of them. “They … they took turns while the damn thing sped along roads. I went away inside my mind. I don’t know how else to explain it. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t have been. If I’d acknowledged the truth, I would have started screaming and wouldn’t have been able to stop until they killed me.”
It was so quiet she heard the clock ticking across the room, and then Thane and Rune both let go of her hands and jumped out of their chairs in identical gestures of rage. Their faces were full of anger.
“Would you recognize them again?” asked Thane.
She shook her head. “I doubt it. I didn’t try to remember anything about them.”
Rune swore in his own language, and even Arlo and Cord looked uncomfortable. She knew what he’d said, and they were the worst possible names to call another person in any language. It was tantamount to saying someone was a rat bastard and deserved to have his skin peeled off, inch by inch, in public, and then be burned alive after being bitten repeatedly by fire ants on their exposed muscles and nerves.
“This isn’t right!” shouted Rune. “Where is her sense of justice?”
“It’s in telling us this story,” said Arlo, quietly, “and in spreading the word.”
“But that’s not enough,” said Thane. “We need to track these men down. All of them. They should be held accountable for what they put Gia and all the Earth women through.”
“We all agree on that,” said Cord. “One step at a time. But thank you, both of you. I knew you two would be perfect here.”
She glanced up at both men as they took their seats again, and whispered her thanks as well. Her heart gave a strange lurch at the realization that two complete strangers cared this much about what she’d endured.
Rune took her hand again first. “Can you continue?”
“Yes.”
Thane grasped her other hand, and Gia gave each of them a squeeze once more. “They took me to a house. I have no idea where. They fed me, let me take a couple of baths, and gave me privacy to use the toilet when I needed to. I don’t know how long I was there. I didn’t know the language yet, and they didn’t speak English very often. Only when they had to tell me to do something. Oh, and to let me know I couldn’t catch any STDs from them, and they couldn’t get me pregnant. Then one day they took me back. Just like that.”
No one spoke. She snuck a glance at their faces in turn to find the expected combinations of shock and sympathy. “This happened three more times. Once with only one man, and then twice with three men. The first group of three was the worst. They really hurt me, and they didn’t care that they were doing so. I was only with them about twenty-four hours. They took me back and said they wanted a girl who didn’t…” She swallowed hard as more tears welled up. “Who didn’t cry all the time.”
Thane reached over and gently wiped her face. She flashed him what she hoped was a grateful look. “Then the man came during the storm. I didn’t know it was storming until we were outside. The thunder and lightning were amazing. I wanted to watch it only to have something normal to think about. About two minutes after we left, the craft made a horrible grinding noise, and he swore loudly, pounding his hands on the dashboard. He got out, sputtered something in bad English to me about staying put, but I crawled out when he went underneath the craft.”
She shifted in her seat as she recalled the details of that night. “I was soaking wet, but I didn’t care. We were near the woods, and there were large tree branches lying nearby. I didn’t think about it. I picked one up, and when he came out from under the craft I swung. It connected with the back of his head, and down he went. I didn’t check to see if I’d killed him. I simply ran.”
Fallon rose, went into her office, and when she returned she handed Gia a couple of tissues, then wiped her own eyes and nose. Even the guys looked like they might cry.
“Thank you.”
Fallon merely nodded in response.
“Can you go on?” asked Rune, gently.
“Yes. Thank you. I don’t know how long I ran. I was freezing cold and so wet. I had to lie down for a while, but I don’t think I slept. I kept shivering, and every noise made me think he was in the woods, looking for me. When I finally woke up, I thought I was back in my cell at first, but then realized there was a roaring fireplace near the bed, and the air smelled like apple pie. I had blankets wrapped around me, and a couple who looked to be a bit older than my parents sat close by, watching me with concern on their faces.”
She’d gone through the worse part. She could finish this now. “They said they’d found me in the woods while they were out gathering firewood, and I was so cold they thought I was dead. They fed me only soup and tea the first day, and eventually I was able to eat full meals. Apparently I almost died. I was with them nearly two weeks, and no one came looking for me. That’s what I feared the most. That the Tyranns would find that man and come looking for me.”
Even saying it out loud now didn’t make it seem real. Had that really happened to her?
“They spoke some English, and I’d picked up enough of your language by then that we were able to communicate. When I explained who I was and what I’d been through, they were so upset. I don’t know who they knew on Sera, but within a couple of weeks, I was in a spacecraft belonging to the Regum, and they brought me here. I’ve been here ever since.”
Rune surprised the heck out of her by releasing her hand and placing an arm around her shoulder. When she didn’t move or pull away, he pulled her close to him in awkward hug. It felt good. Really good. Warm and toasty, plus something she hadn’t felt in over two years. Lustful. All spicy and hot, like she wished she was alone with him somewhere so she co
uld find out if it was even possible for her to enjoy sex again. Consensual sex. Sex that didn’t hurt and make her cry with fear and hopelessness.
Fallon shook her head. “And I thought the three of us had it bad. I wasn’t raped. You were. And by more than one man. Gia, I’m so sorry you went through that.”
“I am, too. But if working here and getting the real story out to the people on these planets will help, then that’s what I want to do.”
Thane leaned close, and she inhaled his clean, masculine scent. What would it be like to make love to two men who bathed regularly, and who didn’t simply take her? Were these two the answer to her unrelenting prayers for the return of a somewhat normal life?
“You are one brave girl,” he said, his voice full of awe.
She didn’t know what to say. Gia leaned into Rune’s strong embrace, and gazed into Thane’s beautiful eyes, knowing she’d made the right move both in transferring to this department, and in telling everyone here what she’d gone through. She had crossed the bridge that up until an hour ago had always seemed impassable. Now, maybe … just maybe … she could pick up the rest of her shattered life and make it into something beautiful once again.
Chapter Five
During the next few days, Gia slowly realized that Thane and Rune were making up excuses to be in her office, from asking her opinion on something she knew very little about, to bringing her treats they’d pilfered from other departments. It seemed they knew many people inside the Ministry, and she got a kick out of imagining them charming their way into offices and conference rooms just to sneak out food.
The aliens grew a plant similar to wheat which they used to make bread and other types of dough, but it tasted sweeter and tangier than any dough she’d had on Earth. Consequently, every baked good she’d eaten for two years was like indulging in the most delicious cake imaginable, but it didn’t contain sugar. The taste came solely from the grain. She couldn’t get enough of it.
Once Thane and Rune discovered how much she loved the baked goods on their planets, they brought some to her several times a day. They also kept her laughing with stories of their childhood escapades on Sera. It sounded to her like they’d had boyhoods similar to those of her brothers. They’d been in all kinds of trouble, and listening to them was like talking to friends back home.
It made her both homesick and happy to finally have something in common with the aliens. Here, she was the alien. Consequently, it was difficult to think of these men as humanoid. They looked like her, and from what she’d learned in two years they had the same body functions. They needed less sleep and slightly less food than Earthlings, but their muscle mass was greater so they were much stronger, and their stamina was far greater than hers could ever be.
She’d found that out firsthand during her few weeks on Voyeur Moon.
No!
Not today. Not any day from this point forward. She would not allow those memories to overtake her ever again.
“Where did you go just now?” asked Rune, frowning.
She forced a smile to her face. “You two remind me of my brothers, but in a good way. They were always in trouble for something. It’s refreshing to hear such normal stories, but it makes me miss them.”
Her lie fooled them. Both men looked at her with empathetic faces. They exchanged a glance and seemed to communicate without words. She’d noticed them doing that all week, and it reminded her of a set of twins she’d known in school. They’d done that, too. With just one look, they each knew what the other was thinking. But she didn’t believe these two were twins.
“May I ask you both a personal question?”
“Of course,” said Thane.
“How old are you? You’re not twins, are you?”
He shook his head and smiled. “No, but we are mistaken for them. I’m forty-one, and Rune is forty-three.”
Good lord. They were each old enough to be her father. Yeah, if they’d had sex with your mother when they were barely out of puberty. “I’m twenty-eight. Too young for you?” Jesus H. Christ! Where had that come from? Gia put a hand over her mouth as the most delightful wicked grins graced their faces. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
“No apology necessary,” said Rune. “You’re not too young at all.” He gave her a long, searching look that seemed to burn right into her soul. “Would you like to have dinner with us tonight? We’ll cook.”
She swallowed hard. Was he asking her out, or was this merely a friendly gesture toward a coworker? “You cook?”
“Quite well.”
“All right.” There was no harm in that, surely. “But may I ask one more nosy question?”
“Ask as many as you’d like,” said Thane.
“Why are you two not married or with anyone?”
They both chuckled softly, and Rune shook his head. “You’re going to find many men on Addo and Sera have chosen to forego that state. Our women, you understand. They hate sex.”
“Not that we’re implying anything,” said Thane, a worried look on his face. “I mean about you … and us, tonight. Just dinner.”
She found his concern endearing, and it spoke to how much these two were gentlemen, underneath it all. “I understand, but thank you for clearing it up. So you live together, then?”
“We thought it would be easier for now once we took this position. It’s close to here. A short walk.”
“It would be nice to get outdoors again. I don’t do that a lot.”
“Why not?” asked Rune.
She shrugged. “I feel safer indoors.”
“They can’t land on Sera,” he said. “None of the Tyrann ships. They would never allow it.”
“But what if some of those men weren’t Tyranns? If what I heard is correct, even men from Sera went to the holding cells in disguise. Rumor had it that even some of the Regum were known to have frequented it, and Fallon told me some of the Regum came to the shows at the Zoo.”
They exchanged a glance. “All true,” said Thane. “But you’re safe here. No one is going to swoop out of a craft, on land or air, and take you away.”
“How do you know that?”
Thane sat close to her. So close she could count his very long eyelashes. “Because we won’t allow it,” he said quietly. “Fallon has Cord and Arlo to look after her, and now you have both of us. If you’ll allow it, that is.”
She tried to maintain a neutral expression while her pulse raced and her hormones stirred for the first time in two years. “What does that mean, exactly? And by that I’m asking what do you two want from me in return? What are your expectations?”
He looked like she’d slapped him, and she nearly recoiled. “We have none.” His voice was hard. “None at all, Gia. This isn’t about sex. It’s about us getting to know you, as a person, and about making sure no further harm comes to you.”
“You’ve been through more than any woman, Earthling or otherwise, should have to go through,” said Rune. “The last thing we would do is add to your fear or anxiety.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so bitchy.”
They both shook their heads, and Rune moved close to her as well. He took her hands. Once again, his warm touch was comforting, and this time it was also arousing. “No need to apologize. We’re not upset. We merely want you to understand that we’re not trying to trick you, or use you, or take anything from you that you don’t want to give us. We’re not like that.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She was blown away by both these men.
Thane grinned, and the gesture sent her heart fluttering again. “Say you’ll have dinner with us. Let us cook for you. Enjoy an evening away from this building and those tiny apartments.”
“I’d love that. It’s like living in a dorm again. Do you know what those are?”
Thane stood. “We’ve heard about them.” Her attention drifted to the bulge in his pants. Holy hell! She averted her gaze and hoped he hadn’t noticed. “We’d better get back to work. We
’ll see you at the end of the day.”
“All right. Thank you.”
As Rune stood, she caught a glimpse of his erection as well, but he turned quickly enough that she doubted he noticed her looking. Once they left, she closed her office door and drank two cups of water. The temperature in the room had nothing to do with the HVAC system. She hadn’t been sexually aroused in so long that it took her by surprise.
But it also brought back memories, and she struggled the rest of the day to keep them at bay. This wasn’t the same thing at all, and she’d never been sexually aroused by the men who had taken her from the holding cells. Not even close.
If something were to happen tonight, it wouldn’t be like that again. Thane and Rune wouldn’t rape her. They would never hurt her. They’d be patient and gentle, the way it used to be. The way she remembered from her life before the invasions.
She knew that as sure as she knew her own name.
As the day wore on, she found herself so busy that she thought less and less of her time in the holding cells, and more about what might happen this evening. It was Friday, and even on Sera inside the Ministry, some departments took weekends off. This one did, as she’d already been informed. She was also cautioned, though, that there might be times when they would need to work extra hours or off days. She didn’t mind. What else did she have to do, after all?
At the end of the workday, Thane and Rune followed her through the underground corridors to the building where hundreds of Ministry workers lived in apartments. The tiny dwellings made up in efficiency what they lacked in space. They told her they’d never been in one before.
“It’s not so bad. I’m fortunate in that this particular section is deemed a quiet one, meaning no slamming doors when you leave your unit, no loud talking or shouting in the halls, and you can’t play loud music or do anything inside that disturbs other residents.”
Thane glanced around. “You have it decorated so pretty.”
She flushed. “Thank you. I like colors and patterns.”
“There’s not much space,” said Rune, eyeing her tiny kitchen.
