Yuri drew her knees up, grabbed her meal bar, and took a bite. She grimaced as she chewed, seeming to have a harder time of it than he had. “You’re right. Even though it’s tasteless, it tastes like crap.”
Thargen squished the last bit of the water cube’s outer layer, making it dissolve, and laughed. “Doesn’t make any damned sense, does it?”
She glanced longingly at her water cube before taking another, much larger bite of the meal bar, nose wrinkling in disgust. When she finally swallowed, her grimace was even deeper than before. She looked up at him, her expression suddenly serious.
“I know we talked about this a little before,” she said in a soft voice, “but…I need to ask again. How are you not scared by any of this, Thargen?”
His smile faded, and he longed more than ever to be able to put his arms around her. “Want the inspirational, full of shit answer, or the real one?”
“As much as I’d love to be told everything is going to be okay, I…I think I need to hear the real one.”
He nodded and glanced upward as though the perfect answer were scribbled on the metal panels of the ceiling. “I should be worried. I know that. But I’ve stared death in the face so many times, Yuri, I don’t know when to flinch anymore. I’m either too crazy or too stupid to be scared.”
Thargen scooted a little closer to Yuri, sliding a leg past her and bending it to press his calf along the outside of her thigh; it was as near to a hug as he could manage. “But the truth is, fear is good, and there’s no such thing as courage without it. There’s no shame in being scared. It’s natural, it’s smart. And you should take pride in the fact that you’re still functioning despite that fear. You’re brave, zoani.”
Her eyes met his. “I really don’t feel brave. I’m scared out of my mind right now. What Taeraal said…what they plan to do with us…” She looked down at the partially eaten bar she was holding in her lap. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad I at least got to meet you.”
“Oh, you and me have a lot more to do yet, Yuri. A fuck of a lot more. Look at me.” When she obeyed, he tilted his chin down and stared into those beautiful green eyes of hers, unwilling to let her look away. “We’re getting out of this, together, no matter what I have to do.”
Six
Yuri sat huddled with her back against the wall, letting her gaze wander the room for lack of anything else to do. She didn’t know how long it had been since she’d woken in this cell; however difficult she’d found it to gauge the passage of time in the subterranean Undercity, it was a million times harder here.
Everything was so still, so gloomy, and other than Iljibi’s crude commentary and remarks to rile Thargen, the other captives had been relatively silent.
Her eyes shifted toward the violet-skinned female kaital in the next cell. The kaital’s long ears were drooped, and she was shivering. The metal collar around her neck looked huge in comparison to her lithe body.
That was one thing Yuri could be thankful for—at least she hadn’t been collared. She’d seen what those things were used for.
Firios had returned earlier to toss one more water cube to each captive. The female volturian had stepped forward again, looking just as proud and defiant as before, and given him another tongue lashing—or at least she’d started to. This time, Firios taken a small control out of his pocket, directed it at her, and pressed a button.
A light had flashed on the female volturian’s collar, and she’d convulsed as though being hit by a strong electric shock. Her strained cries had ended after a few seconds, when her suddenly limp body pitched forward. She’d barely caught herself on hands and knees, and had remained in that position, panting, as Firios calmly put the remote away and tossed in her water ration.
That felt like it had happened hours ago.
Yuri squeezed her thighs together, tipped her head back against the wall, and closed her eyes as though any of it could ease the discomfort in her bladder. That dreaded moment had come, just as she’d known it would.
She’d have been stupid to expect her body to comply with her wishes and just…not have to freaking pee. It was a natural bodily function—and she’d been holding it for a long, long time. Now, the pain was becoming unbearable. She hugged her legs desperately.
Please, please, please just…absorb back into my body, or magically disappear or something!
She fidgeted again, crossing her ankles and pressing her toes down on the metal floor.
“Just go,” Thargen said.
Yuri lifted her head and opened her eyes to look at Thargen, who was standing at the front of the cell. Though his back was toward her, he’d twisted slightly to look over his shoulder, giving her full view of the shaved side of his head and those wicked scars.
Despite her discomfort, she couldn’t stop her eyes from dipping to his taut ass.
“What?” she asked.
He turned to face her fully, and for a moment, her pain was eclipsed by the glory of his sinfully sculpted body. A rogue thought flitted through her mind—apparently, the whole erections lasting longer than four hours warning didn’t apply to vorgals.
“You’ve been fidgeting for a while, terran. You gotta piss, right?”
Yuri’s face warmed, and she covered it with her hands, replying with a muffled, “Yes.”
“So just go,” he said. “No reason to torture yourself.”
She watched through the gap between her fingers as Thargen stepped closer to her and glanced at Iljibi’s cell.
Thargen returned his attention to Yuri. “I’ll act as your personal privacy shield, or whatever.”
Iljibi, who was lying on his side, facing away from them, waved a dismissive hand. “Just shut up so Iljibi can sleep.”
“Now this fucker wants some quiet, huh?” Thargen grumbled, shaking his head.
Yuri lowered her hands, certain that her expression was the same one she might’ve worn when facing her own imminent death. What choice did she have? It was either pee in the hole or pee while she was sitting here on the floor. She couldn’t hold it in forever.
Pushing herself up to her feet, she moved to the corner of the cell and looked down at the hole. It was pitch dark inside. At least it wasn’t just some bucket collecting all their…excrement. Though now that she thought about it, sitting on a bucket might’ve been a little more dignified than squatting over a hole in the floor—not that anything about this situation left much room for dignity.
She felt Thargen just behind her. It was more than the heat he always seemed to emit, more than his masculine, earthy-sweet, leather and metal scent. His presence itself had become a physical feeling to her. It blanketed her with comfort, wrapped her in security, instilled her with a calm that probably shouldn’t have been possible given the circumstances.
She glanced over her shoulder to find him with his back turned to her, but he was looking over his shoulder, too. Their gazes met, and he gave her a small nod before facing forward.
You can do this, Yuri. It’s…just a stupid hole. Should be easier than peeing in a cup, right?
She positioned herself over the hole and groaned inwardly as she squatted down, resting her elbows on her knees and covering her face with her hands as though she could fool herself into thinking she were alone. Then she let it flow. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but the feel of an empty bladder was such a relief.
That relief was tainted by another complication.
There was nothing to clean herself with. What was she supposed to do, give it a good shake like man?
“I’m never taking private toilets for granted again,” she muttered.
“Not that I want to get into a pissing contest with you, but I think I had it a little worse,” Thargen said.
Though she was mortified, Yuri couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, you did.” She dropped her hands from her face and gave her bum a little shake before standing back up. “I’m done.”
She turned around to face Thargen. His back was still toward her, and his huge
body made this corner of the cell seem even tinier than it was. Given the amount of space he took up, he actually provided more privacy than some of the public toilet stalls back on Earth.
As he stepped forward, Yuri noted the tension in the muscles of his back, the stiffness in his movements. He was likely sorer than she could imagine, having had his arms bound behind his back this whole time, but something about him was increasingly reminding her of a caged beast—temporarily muzzled, perhaps, but increasingly agitated and dangerous. It was an instinctual recognition, a gut feeling, driven by changes in him that were so subtle she might not have noticed had she not been here with him for so long. It should have unsettled her.
She didn’t doubt the humor he still offered from time to time—it was genuine—but there was definitely something darker beneath.
And even after glimpsing that darkness, I don’t fear him.
Have I already gone insane?
Yuri hadn’t taken more than two steps away from the hole when total darkness swallowed her. She stilled, body tensing as her heart leapt. Fear trickled down her spine, sending goosebumps over her skin. “Thargen?”
“I’m here, zoani.”
His voice, deep a rough, staved off the terror that sudden darkness might otherwise have instilled in her. She raised her hands and held them in front of her, creeping forward until her palm pressed against him. Yuri moved her hand over that expanse of flesh, seeking his shoulder, until her fingers brushed a bit of metal and a nub of harder flesh—she was touching his chest, not his back, and that had been his nipple.
She felt his chest rumble, though it was too low to produce a sound, and she had to chew her lip to stop herself from acknowledging that she’d just stroked his nipple.
Yuri quickly shifted her hand to the center of his chest, settling it in that valley between his powerful pecs. The feel of his skin against hers grounded her the rest of the way and robbed the darkness of its lingering bite.
“What’s happening?” she asked. “Do you think something’s wrong?”
He grunted, and his chest swelled against her hand as he drew in a deep breath. When he exhaled a few seconds later, he said, “No, still feel that hum in the air from the engines. Probably just giving us a night cycle—or putting us in the dark to fuck with us.”
Though she couldn’t sense the hum he’d referred to, she accepted his answer; the only time she’d spent on a spaceship had been during the trip to Arthos, and she knew almost nothing about them.
As seconds passed, she slowly became aware of light ahead of her—thin vertical strips of it so dim that they must have been a trick of her mind. But those strips of light grew clearer with time until she finally realized she was seeing faint reflections on the bars of the cells. She turned her head toward the chamber’s entrance; there was a soft light over the door which, apart from casting that barely noticeable glow on the bars, only seemed to deepen the shadows in the room.
No, even that was wrong—there were two more sources of light, one a few cages closer to the door than Yuri’s and the other directly across the walkway. Both were from qal markings; the farthest belonged to the sedhi, the closest to the female volturian. Those qal didn’t seem to cast light on anything, and the volturian’s was weaker than ever, its orientation suggesting that she was lying on her side.
“Might as well lie down and try to get some rest,” Thargen said.
Yuri wanted to argue that she wasn’t tired, that sleeping was the last thing she wanted to do right now, but she knew he was right.
Keeping one hand on Thargen’s chest, she extended her other arm in the direction of the solid wall—at least what she hoped was its direction—and waved around blindly. She’d only taken a few dang steps away from it, hadn’t she?
Thargen chuckled. “Put your arms around me, terran.”
Yuri turned her face toward Thargen, narrowing her eyes. She could almost detect his shadowy outline. “Uh, Thargen, I don’t know if this is the time to…uh, you know. Do stuff. I didn’t mean to, um, touch you.”
“Not saying I’m not ready, but that’s not what I had in mind. I was just gonna guide you toward the wall.”
Heat flooded her face. “Oh. I knew that.”
Sure, right, Yuri. You totally did. We know what’s been on your mind. It’s not like you haven’t been sneaking peeks at his ass and cock the entire time, and you know he’s been looking at you. He’s probably checking you out right this…
“Wait, can you see?” she asked.
“Mmhmm.” His reply made his chest rumble; the vibrations flowed into her arm, making her toes curl, her sex clench, and her nipples harden into firm little buds.
Why does his voice have to be so damn sexy?
He can see you, Yuri!
“Damn it.” She crossed her arm over her chest to hide her body’s reaction, but it was likely already too late.
“Thought we were past that, zoani.”
“Well, you… How are you supposed to rest if you’re ogling my chest?”
Thargen chuckled again. “That’s my problem to deal with. Come here, terran.”
Cheeks burning, Yuri stepped close to him and slipped her arms around his waist, pressing her chest against his. His hard cock probed her belly. She flinched her hips back out of reflex.
A soft but unmistakable groan escaped Thargen’s lips. “It’s not gonna bite, Yuri.”
“But you might.”
“Oh, I will.”
Before she could respond, Thargen sidestepped, forcing her to move with him. When he turned, leading her along, she almost felt like they were in some sightless, stilted dance—and couldn’t help wondering if Thargen knew how to dance, or if he was willing to try it. Then he guided her backward another step. Her back touched the cold wall, and her breath hitched.
Thargen leaned over her, caging her between the wall and his big, solid body—his cock a hot brand against her belly—and pressed his face to the side of her neck. He inhaled deeply, like he was taking in her scent. That was followed by a low, appreciative growl.
A pleasurable shiver rippled through Yuri. She could feel Thargen’s warm breath and cool, hard touch of his tusks on her skin as he brushed his lips over her neck and shoulder, and she closed her eyes, instinctively tilting her head to give him more room.
When his tongue trailed up her neck to flick just behind her ear, heat flooded her core, and Yuri squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to alleviate the sudden ache between them.
“Thargen,” she rasped softly, digging her fingers into his back as she gripped him tighter; she needed him closer.
Thargen tensed, his muscles becoming as solid as tristeel, and he turned his face away from her. He drew in a harsh, shuddering breath. She felt his cheek against her ear, and just a tiny bit of moisture on her belly where his cock, still hot and throbbing, was trapped between their bodies.
Even if she couldn’t guess at what conflict was raging inside Thargen at that moment, she felt it radiating from him; her arousal wasn’t strong enough to make her miss how torn he was, how tortured.
And her recognition of his inner torment was like a bucket of ice being dumped over her head.
She and Thargen were locked in a cage, surrounded by other captives. It didn’t matter that it was dark—if Thargen could see, who else could be watching, who else was listening? For that brief, delightful moment, Yuri had forgotten where they were. All that had mattered…was him.
Yuri relaxed her grip on him and turned her face toward his, grazing his cheek with her lips. “Thargen?”
“Lie down,” he grated, voice rougher than she’d ever heard. He stepped back, and she let her arms fall away.
She froze, eyes widening in the dark. “What?”
Surely, he wouldn’t…
“Don’t know everything about terrans, but I know you don’t sleep standing up.”
“Oh.” Right. He meant for them to lie down and sleep, not to… She laughed nervously as she lowered herself to the
floor. “No, we don’t.”
She lay down on her side facing the wall, curing her arm to use as a pillow. The floor was cold and hard, but what choice did she have? It was either this or sleep sitting up—and that wall was just as cold and hard as the floor. The important thing was that she rested when she could. What better time than now, while she was blanketed in darkness?
And how exactly am I supposed to fall asleep?
Though her arousal had diminished, it still thrummed through her with dull insistency. She tried hard to ignore the cool, wet spot on her belly where she knew his seed was drying, but it was impossible.
Thargen grunted softly, and there was a muted thump behind Yuri. A few seconds later, his chest was against her back, and she could feel his breath through her hair. His voice was low and gruff as he said, “Not here, zoani. I wouldn’t take you here.”
Yuri allowed herself to relax against him. Guilt, confusion, and arousal battled inside her, making her chest tighten and her stomach twist into knots. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For thinking you would.”
He sighed heavily, scooted a little closer, and placed a surprisingly gentle kiss atop her head. “Get some sleep, Yuri.”
Something warm and soothing bloomed within her chest, easing the tension. Thargen didn’t look like someone who had a gentle side—he didn’t look like the kind of person who knew the word gentle at all. He was rough, could be crude, and took to violence with little hesitation and at least some enjoyment.
Yet Thargen had shown her nothing but care and consideration in the short time they’d known each other. Whether he blamed Yuri or not, he was here because he’d helped her. And he was the only thing keeping her grounded when all the uncertainty and terror in the universe was clawing at her mind from every side.
She lay there, taking comfort in his closeness, his warmth, and the sound of his breathing until it slowed and deepened, and she knew that he’d fallen asleep. But sleep eluded Yuri.
Savage Desire (The Infinite City Book 4) Page 9
