by Ruby Dixon
“I prefer my privacy,” Froggy of the unpronounceable name says.
“So do I. Which is why you should leave me alone with your little pet here,” Big Blue replies.
The guy just does not give up.
Froggy grunts some sort of response, and then I hear a soft hiss, and the pressure change makes my ears pop. A door must have opened. “Inside.”
“What, with you and your guards? Gonna be mighty crowded in that bed.” The big blue guy seems unconcerned despite his words.
Guards too? I look up and catch a glimpse of some froggy-looking legs behind us. There’s at least two more in the hall a few steps behind the alien carrying me.
An orgy? Great. I didn’t think my life could get any worse, but I guess I’m wrong on all counts.
Duh, Fran.
I…feel like crying. I know I should fight, but the terror and exhaustion of the last few days have taken my last few ounces of strength. Hot tears slide down my face and drip onto the floor as Big Blue enters the room and carries me forward. I sniffle, trying to be quiet—and then I realize that it doesn’t matter. They don’t care if I cry either way.
So I let myself cry. I’ve been strong for days and it’s gotten me nowhere. I might as well give in to the tears and despair that are tearing me apart inside.
No sooner do I let out a sob than I’m flung backwards onto something soft. A bed. I bounce, startled, and look up to see the big blue alien looming over me. His eyes narrow at the sight of me, and then he puts his hands to his belt, glancing over at Froggy who lurks nearby. “I can’t talk you out of leaving? Little Kivian here’s a bit shy with an audience.” He gestures at his crotch.
“Little” might be a misnomer. It looks like he’s packing serious heat there, and that makes me sob again, drawing my knees tight together.
“Not leaving,” Froggy tells him.
Big Blue sighs. “Very well, then.” He taps something on his belt, then gets on the bed and crawls forward on hands and knees toward me.
Alarmed, I try to skid backwards, only to collapse underneath him just as he covers me.
He leans in and presses his cheek to mine. “Stall,” he whispers, and then sits up, pretending to study me.
Stall? Did I hear him right? Did my translator interpret that correctly? I blink up at him, surprised.
He touches the necklace between my naked breasts, and I automatically grab his wrist to stop him. His eyes widen, and he grins at me, as if delighted at my resistance. Big Blue leans in. “What’s your name?”
“Her name is Fhdo,” Froggy says.
I don’t know whether to laugh or scream in frustration. When the blue alien looks at me, waiting, I slap at his hand again. “Fuck you.”
“Strange name,” he murmurs. “I’m Kivian.”
“I don’t care,” I hiss at him.
“So unfriendly. I guess I deserve that.” He leans down over me again, planting one big hand on each side of my head. “Though it’s going to make things a little difficult in a few minutes.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Because you’re going to rape me?”
His mouth twists as if in distaste. “Wouldn’t call it rape.”
“Why? You think I’m going to enjoy it?” I give him a look that tells him just what I think of that idea.
The big blue—Kivian—just chuckles. “Didn’t say that, either.” His hand moves and he caresses my bare arm, thoughtful. “You’re so soft.”
I jerk away from him. “And you’re such a creepy prick. Oh, wait, is this the part where I hand out grateful blowjobs because I’m so happy you’re not beating me to death? Go fuck yourself.”
His grin widens, displaying those sharp, white teeth. “You’ve got quite the mouth on you. I like that.”
“Are you going to talk her to death or are you going to fuck her, Kivian?” Froggy demands.
“This is part of my foreplay,” Kivian calls out. “I’m getting her in the mood.”
“No, you’re not,” I retort.
Kivian puts a finger to his smiling lips in the universal gesture for silence. He acts like all of this is a big joke. What the hell’s wrong with him? “If you keep being mean, I won’t be able to get into the proper mood,” he reminds me, almost chiding. He widens his eyes imperceptibly at me and then flicks his gaze over to the side, as if trying to communicate something quietly with me.
What is it? What is he talking about? Is this part of his “stall” thing? Or is that just another tactic to catch me off guard? I don’t trust him. At all. Nervous, I skitter backward a bit more.
He grabs me by my leg, a wide grin on his face once more, and hauls my ankle into the air. “I must admit, the struggling is a novelty of sorts,” Kivian continues, examining my foot. “Most females are practically flinging themselves at me every time I come into port. Hm. Five toes. Interesting.”
“You’re not down here to count her toes, you idiot,” Froggy snarls at him.
I jerk my leg, trying to get free, but he’s holding fast. Instead of letting me go, he runs the pad of his thumb down the sole of my foot, and it’s surprisingly ticklish. Anger, loathing, and something else far hotter all skitter through me at once, leaving me confused.
“I don’t see why I can’t count her toes. They’re utterly adorable.” Kivian rubs his thumb over the bottom of my foot again and then leans in. “So small and pink and as soft as the rest of her.” He hesitates and then glances over at Froggy. “Don’t suppose you have any plas-film on you? Hygiene laws, you know.”
Froggy snorts. “You mesakkah and your strange laws. We ooli do not care about such things.”
“So you don’t.” Big Blue shrugs. “I suppose since I’m your guest, I must follow your rules.” He runs a hand down his chest and undoes a few intricate knots that tie the fabric of his shirt together in the crazy, decorative fastenings. “Though I have to admit it’d be my first with skin to skin.” His gaze flicks back to me, and another teasing smile curls his mouth. “You’ll be gentle with me, won’t you?”
“Fuck off,” I say flatly, and kick at the hand holding my foot.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ despite your tone,” he tells me, all cheerfulness. “Give me a wet cloth to wipe her down, my good friend.” He extends a hand out to Froggy as if the alien’s supposed to wait on him.
To my surprise, he does. “Don’t see what this is for,” Froggy grumbles in his weird language.
“Well, I plan on tasting her, but you haven’t been taking very good care of the poor thing, now, have you?” He turns my foot ever so slightly and shows my dirty sole to both of us. “Look at how filthy she is.” He tsks. “And here you say my people are strange for plas-film.”
I gasp in surprise when the warm cloth touches my foot, bathing it. It’s ticklish to feel him caress my skin with the damp material, washing it clean even as Froggy wanders away a few steps. I try to kick Big Blue’s hands again, but he catches my other foot easily and moves to cleaning it. His big hand strokes up and down my calf, as if he’s caressing me.
It almost feels good. Almost.
I really don’t understand what’s going on. This frightening, large alien with blue skin and the horns of a devil acts like he’s prim and proper. Even his clothing is far more intricate and detailed than anyone else’s I’ve seen. But the person that slung me over his shoulder wasn’t a pampered lord of some kind. I felt muscles. Hell, I see them even now, bulging through the gossamer fabric of his shirtsleeves and covered in rough-looking tattoos.
It doesn’t make sense. None of this does, right down to the incredibly intensive foot bath I’m getting. Is this part of his “stalling”?
I really don’t understand what’s going on.
“There. All better.” Big Blue finishes washing my feet and tosses the cloth aside. He leans in and nibbles on my toes, lips teasing at my skin. I’m so startled at this that I can’t do more than lie back and gasp. My body responds, however. Maybe it’s the ticklishness of it or fear, but I can feel
my nipples growing hard and my breasts tightening. It’s the last thing I want—to feel any sort of attraction to this alien, no matter how forced.
I close my eyes and shake my head, trying to jerk my foot away from him. “Stop touching me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” he murmurs around my toes. His tongue flicks against my skin again, sending shivers all through me.
I know this is leading to rape. Duh, Fran. I know this is awful and there’s a detached part of my mind that’s freaking out quietly. But I’m having a hard time focusing on that, because I can’t stop staring as Big Blue’s firm lips play against my skin. They’re a slightly darker blue than the rest of him, and when his teeth flash, they seem incredibly white against his skin. It’s oddly enticing, and I find myself waiting for another flash of those fascinating teeth and then the ticklish drag of his tongue against my foot. I can’t pull away. All I can do is watch in mute horror-mixed-with-fascination as heat pools in my belly.
“Just stick your cock in her already and give me back my toy,” Froggy says, and he sounds like he’s pouting.
“Maybe we should ask FuckYou what she thinks of that idea,” Kivian replies, and gives me a curious look. “Well? Or do you prefer Fhdo?”
I try to jerk my foot out of his grasp again. “I prefer neither.” My pulse is pounding hard, and I hate that I can feel it especially hard between my thighs.
“Mmm. Well, I suppose I can stop asking, then. I guess the name doesn’t matter after all.” He holds my foot in one firm hand and caresses the arch of it, then rubs his lips over my ankle. “I do have to admit,” he murmurs. “This skin-on-skin contact is positively decadent. No wonder there are so many lawbreakers out there.” He trails his mouth higher, sliding his big body closer to mine as he moves down my leg.
I’m breathing hard, both frightened and—I hate to admit it—titillated at the same time. He rubs his mouth—it’s not quite a kiss, not quite—along the back of my calf and then moves toward my knee…and my inner thigh. “So very many laws being broken,” he says in a languid voice. “Can’t say I’m displeased about that. I might become a hedonist after all. What do you think of that?”
His tongue flicks against the inside of my thigh.
I suck in a breath and my hands go to the front of my skirt, pushing the material down over my pussy protectively. I can just guess where he’s heading, and I’m freaking out.
A little turned on, sure. Duh, Fran. But still freaking out.
Big Blue licks the inside of my leg again and then gives me a heavy-lidded look, his face framed by my parted thighs. “Did all the fight in you disappear, little one?”
I scowl at him, any pulsings of heat disappearing at that. “If you’re asking if I want you to rape me, the answer is no. The answer will always be no.”
“Didn’t say it’d be rape,” Big Blue repeats with an enigmatic smile.
Something gives a soft chime, and the big blue alien grins against my thigh.
“In fact, it’d be more like a rescue,” Kivian murmurs.
I’m left trying to figure out what the heck that means. Before I can open my mouth to ask, Froggy waddles forward. “What’s that noise?”
“That noise,” Kivian says with a flourish, sitting up. “Is my crew contacting me. It goes off when it’s time for me to go.”
“Time to what—?” My owner’s words are interrupted as Kivian pulls out what looks like a gun of some kind from the inside of his vest and aims it at Froggy’s beady little eyes.
“Time. To. Go.” Kivian says simply. “By now, my men have loaded your crystal onto our ship. So we’ll be taking that. And we’ll be keeping our money, too. Which is kind of neither here nor there since I won it all from you.” He grins and then reaches down and gently takes my neck chain, twisting it around his hand. “I’ll be taking this little one from you, as well. Come, my sweet FuckYou. Time to leave.”
I stare at him uneasily, wondering if this is a joke. When he doesn’t break into laughter or tell me that he’s teasing, I glance over at Froggy. He looks furious, his gaze focused on the gun pointed at his head.
This…must be what he meant by stall.
He’s rescuing me.
4
KIVIAN
It’s good for me that Jth’Hnai pays his guards so cheaply. If they were decent mercenaries, they’d have already disarmed me and splattered my brains all over the gaudy carpets of the room. As it is, they’re just looking to their boss for direction, and he’s not giving them any.
Works for me.
I give another gentle tug to the human female’s chains, doing my best not to harm her. “Go and open the door, little one.” I keep my gaze focused on Jth’Hnai, because I don’t trust him not to worm his way out of this. He didn’t get to be a rich ooli by playing by the rules, after all. “Do me a favor and have your men move to your side,” I tell the idiot I’m robbing. “So I can watch all of you.”
Jth’Hnai scowls at me and then flicks a hand at his men, indicating that they should join him. Just as I suspected. Cheap labor. It makes things so very easy it’s practically criminal.
Oh wait. It is criminal. Oh well.
I wait patiently for the men to get next to their leader, and then I toss cuffs at the first one. “You know what to do.”
He doesn’t seem all that concerned, cuffing his buddy and then his employer before slapping the final pair on his own wrists and waiting for them to auto-link.
I give my blaster a little circle. “Now turn around, facing the wall.” When they do, I look over at my female, who’s watching me with narrowed eyes. She still hasn’t moved from the bed. “Come, little one,” I entice her. “We’re going to have a hard time escaping with their loot if you don’t start the getaway.”
She looks surprised, then scoots to the edge of the bed and gets to her feet. “You’re…taking me with you?”
Jth’Hnai makes an angry sound, but I ignore him. He no longer matters. “I’m afraid no one’s going anywhere very fast if you don’t open that door, my sweet.” I gesture at the entrance to the room, still locked and still preventing my crew from entering.
The female nods slowly, dark eyes wide. “And you won’t leave me here?” She glances over at the ooli. “With them?”
“I’d sooner shoot myself in the groin.”
Jth’Hnai snarls. “Save that pleasure for me.” He doesn’t turn around, though. Coward. He’s all talk and nothing more, just like I figured.
My little human gives me one last wary look and then moves to the door of the apartment. She studies the panel and then looks at me helplessly. I have to coach her through how to input the sequence to open it, but a moment later the doors open and both Sentorr and Tarekh enter, armed with their own weapons. The female skitters back a foot or two, casting an uncertain look in my direction.
“About time,” I chide Tarekh and Sentorr. “Where’s Alyvos?”
“With the ship.” Tarekh tells me. They muscle in, casting a brief look at the female. “What’s with the change in plans?” the medic asks, clearly in a bad mood. “We’ve been waiting on your ass for a good ten minutes to get back to the dock.”
“I was busy wooing my female. Is everything loaded?” I avoid answering his question and move forward, nudging the ooli and his guards into the water closet. Jth’Hnai doesn’t seem all that eager to go inside, but once Tarekh’s massive bulk—massive even for a mesakkah—looms over them, they march inside without complaint.
We strip them of any sort of communicators, look for weapons, and then lock them into the water closet. Tarekh shoots a blast into the control panel, locking the door and preventing them from coming out for quite some time.
I turn to see that Sentorr has the neck chain of my little human female, holding her hostage once more. Her arms are crossed over her breasts, and she shivers, looking worried and scared, her face pale. “What do you want to do with this one?”
For some reason, the sight of him holding her chain fills me with a
n irrational flash of jealousy. Fighting the possessiveness surging through me, I force myself to walk calmly to her side and take the chain from him. He doesn’t know that she’s mine, so there’s no need to grab him by the throat and choke the life out of him. “I’m taking all of Jth’Hnai’s wealth,” I tell the others. “And that includes her.”
Tarekh makes a frustrated sound as he rejoins us. “What are we going to do with a thing like that? They’re illegal.”
“So is stealing crystal, but I didn’t hear anyone complaining about that,” I tell them lightly, and then touch my fingertips to the human’s delicate chin. “Look up, please.”
She scowls at me but does as she’s told, and I attach an override key to her collar. A moment later, it falls from her neck, revealing the stark bruises that have been left behind. I make a low growl in my throat at the sight, and the urge to go back into the water closet and blast Jth’Hnai’s slimy head off grows. Instead, I toss the chain to the floor. “You’re free.”
The human blinks at me in surprise, and she doesn’t move when I do the same for her wrist-cuffs. Even after the metal clanks to the ground, she rubs her wrists and just watches me.
“Do you want to come with us?” I ask her.
Sentorr makes a noise of protest. I know what he wants to say. We’re wasting time.
I ignore him, focusing on her.
She just gazes at the water closet, where Jth’Hnai and his men are trapped, then glances back at me. “What are my options?”
“Time to go,” Tarekh says impatiently.
I pay no attention. He can wait a moment. She’s more important. “You can stay here,” I answer her. “But not many will help you. Even if I gave you clothing and money, a human is considered contraband. Others would immediately try to take you for their own and you might end up with a worse master than before.”
“Will you take me back home?” she asks. “To Earth?”
“If I tell you the truth, little one, I must say no.” It pains me to tell her the truth, but even my innocuous ship cannot get anywhere near that star system without risk.
