by Sabrina Kade
She will belong to me, as I will belong to her.
I have to get her to understand that.
I glance down after Blythe does not answer my question. And when our eyes lock, I hope for the best but expect the worst.
But she only shrugs.
That is okay. I will help her understand. With time, she will come to choose me as I have already chosen her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Blythe
For several days, I remain in Korben’s room, not seeing any of the others. There’s something resembling a bathroom in his tiny space, and when I’m hungry, Korben brings me food. When I’m thirsty, Korben brings me water. But when I ask to see some of the other girls, he pretends not to notice. I want to complain, but this isn’t exactly new territory. I’ve been separated from girls working the same assignment with me before, and while on some days I was screaming in my head to be let free, Korben hasn’t once treated me badly. But I still want to see the others. I’m curious about what’s happened to Taya, Phoebe, and Arizona. I want to know if the other Sidyths are as kind to Sloane and Alaska as Korben’s been to me.
I refuse to believe everyone here is going to be as gentle as Korben.
“When can I see the others?” I ask, hoping to keep my voice stern. The weaker I sound to Korben, the less he responds. Maybe he’s a man who likes his women tough. “It’s been days. I need to make sure my friends—er, the girls I came with, are okay. What’s happening to them?” I point at the curtain, aware of how silly it is that I never bothered to escape, but Korben seems to always sense me trying to leave before I have actual plans to. He’s shown up at the curtain during my first few escapes, and after fear took over of him getting tired of me, I decided to follow his command and remain in his room.
He turns away from the wall across the room from the bed and fixes me with a stern expression.
“Does it matter? You are well taken care of, are you not?” He quirks an eyebrow at me in a challenge, to remind me that despite my worries, I am doing well, but it’s not enough.
“Yes, but I want to make sure the others are too.”
“My brothers will do with you women as I have told them.” He smiles, and I’m not sure what he’s so happy about. Has he told them to be as kind as him? Did he give them free range to do whatever they pleased with his gifts? I can’t return the smile, and this seems to frustrate him as he stalks over to the bed in two long strides.
I hop off the bed to face him, never forgetting that while I’m not short, Korben’s six and a half feet tall. And thick. His muscles ripple as he faces me, trying to intimidate me into submission, but until this alien hits me, I’m going to find out how far I can push him.
He’s wearing a small pair of shorts similar to the ones he wore the first day I met him, and just like my uniform is designed to show off my shape, his seems to have the same goal in mind. But maybe it’s more than that. It’s hot here. Muggy. Sticky. For once I’m grateful for my tiny skirts and band of fabric for a top because otherwise, I’d have to get naked to find some relief. And as though this place isn’t hot enough, Korben has these weird lamps hanging all around his room, blasting the small space with more light and much more heat. He seems to enjoy it though, basking in the false suns like a python in the desert. The scales on his skin create a rainbow light effect on his skin as though he’s not already pleasant enough to look at, and I fight the urge to bite my lip as he leans closer.
He doesn’t mean any harm for the most part, but when he gets close like that, it’s hard to suppress my body’s uncontrollable need for him.
“The only woman I worry about is you,” Korben continues in that low, pussy throbbing voice of his. “But trust me; your friends will be fine.”
“How can I trust you?” I snap, losing a bit of patience. “You purchased Human Whores.” His broad shoulders bunch at my harsh words. Is he going to use force to shut me up? “You guys have expectations. And yet, nothing’s happened since that first night. Not to me at least.”
He quirks an eyebrow, dropping his attention to my skirt, and I pinch my thighs together in defense, hoping he won’t be able to tell that his eyes in that area alone are enough to make me wet. How can I not get excited? Despite his gruff behavior, Korben looks like a cover model other than his pale, scaled skin, and yellow eyes. His muscles are bulky and thick, and his gaze can grow so heated that I can practically feel my legs wanting to spread so he can dip his mouth between them.
“Would you like me to lick you again?” he asks.
“No!” I scream. Yes, my body screams back. “I mean… you paid for me. Don’t you… don’t you want to do… uh… things with me?” Oh Christ, and now I sounded like a needy high school boy.
“How many times must I tell you, yes?” His eyes drift back to my face, leaving me to my humiliation of getting so turned on by his gaze. But it’s only natural, right? Years of being a whore, my body is used to being fucked. And now, after almost a week of no action, I’m horny as a cat in heat.
I look at Korben, and he must be able to tell. Somehow his gaze grows more heated and his forked tongue darts out from his lips. I want that tongue in me.
“Are you ready to admit you want me to lick you? To give you pleasure?” he asks, tilting his head to the side. Light hair falls across one of his yellow eyes. Geezus, he is like a cover model. I curse myself for finding him so attractive. He’s using that fact against me. He wants me to beg for sex. He’s getting off on it.
“I want to see some of the other girls, and maybe we’ll talk,” I decide upon. This answer makes Korben’s stoic face turn to something more curious, and his head bobs further to the side. He’s considering my offer.
“I want you to admit that you want me to give you pleasure.”
“Why?” I snarl, throwing up my hands. “You can tell I do! You’re doing that weird tongue thing. I’ve worked with Sidyths before. I know what that means.” His eyebrows lift, challenging me to explain. “You’re like snakes. You stick out your tongue when you want to smell something.”
“Snakes?”
“Slithering fuckers. Like you.” I narrow my eyes. “Okay, and so I’ve admitted it. I want you to pleasure me. I want you to give me head, go down on me, and lick my pussy. Do you want me to word it another way? And by the way, you’re one sick prick for making me beg you. I mean, look at you.” I brandish my hand up and down his massive frame, and his eyes follow, making me angrier and somehow more turned on.
“What are you saying?” he asks.
“Just that you’re not hideous, okay?”
“So you do find me attractive?”
“OF COURSE I DO!” I pant, annoyed that I’ve allowed him to get to me the same way I was trying to get to him. “Do you have any idea how weird this is for me? I’ve been trying to figure you out since I got here, and I’ve got nothing. For one, you don’t say much. And though I know Sidyths are cruel, you haven’t been; other than not letting me see the others. You haven’t hit me or bitten me.” I pinch my eyes shut, allowing the overflow of emotion to come finally. I’m only so strong. I can only take so much. And Korben standing there like a kind, bulky, concerned sex God is not helping. The words keep flowing without pause, but Korben remains standing in front of the bed. I can’t tell what he’s thinking so I decide to let everything on my mind run out of my mouth because I don’t know when I’ll be able to do it again.
“I’m sure you know this already, but being a whore isn’t exactly a glamorous lifestyle despite what the brochures may tell you,” I say bitterly. “For years, I’ve been teased and tormented. Tied up and held down. I’ve been punched, kicked, bitten, and left to die. I wake up the next day and start all over. And despite how weird this situation is with you, it’s been one of the best I’ve had in years.” The tears crest over and Korben remains still. Of course, he doesn’t care. Sidyths don’t have emotions. “I guess what I’m trying to say is you’re not raping me, and I don’t know why. And I’m pissed off because I don�
��t know why. And I’m pissed off I care because… fuck, I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.”
I drop my face to the blankets, crying because I don’t know what else to do. I’m pathetic. A pathetic whore who’s pissed because the sexy alien won’t go down on her. Am I so gross? Have I gotten so rotten that even a horny Sidyth doesn’t want me to pleasure him unless I beg?
“Blythe.” Korben’s voice rumbles overhead as the tears continue to soak the blankets, but I’m too ashamed to lift my head. I don’t know why I’m crying anymore or why I’m so upset. I know that something’s wrong because nothing’s been right for years.
A heavy weight lands on my shaking shoulder, and Korben repeats my name. “Blythe, I do not want to see you cry while you’re in my care.”
“What does it matter who’s care I’m in?” I sniff, wanting to stop my tears, but his touch is surprisingly nice. Gentle. Soft. His fingertips smell like cedarwood as they gently run up and down my back. He doesn’t say anything else at first, only rubbing my back. Is this his way of trying to comfort me? I should be happy. Being a whore, there are few things better than having an assignment with a kind owner. I should try to be happy about this, and yet I still want to see the others. I can’t appreciate this rare kindness until I’m sure things are going well for the others.
Korben’s voice pulls me back to the room. “Am I not enough for you, Blythe?”
“What kind of question is that? I don’t understand why I need to stay in here in the first place. It’s not like you need me to fuck you yet. And though you’re nice to look at,” I blush when the one corner of Korben’s mouth tilts upward, “I’m not used to being so isolated.” It’s a lie, but maybe I can work Korben’s kindness to my advantage.
After all, when he needs to go down on me again, I guess I can oblige.
“How about this.” He speaks slowly, methodically. “I will let you see the other women.”
I brighten at this but remain cautiously optimistic. “Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“When?”
“There are some things I want you to do for me first.”
Of course. I frown. “I already said we could fuck—”
“This is not a sexual request, Blythe. Not yet anyway. I told you before. I will give you pleasure when you want me to.”
“I want you to,” I admitted slowly. “But as long as you’re giving me an option, can I be honest?”
“Of course. You may tell me anything.”
“I don’t feel right.”
His expression shifts slightly. “You don’t?”
“No. I don’t know what’s going on with the others, and though I’m relieved you’ve been nothing but kind so far, I need to know the others are okay. I can’t feel good about this assignment if I’m the only one who has it good.” I lower my eyes as his hand stops rubbing circles around my back. “Is that pathetic? I’m worried about—”
“You’re asking if it’s pathetic to worry about others?” He seems puzzled. “I spent my entire life trying to make things better for those I cared about. People I cared for. And look where it got me. But, I will say I would do it all over again. Blythe.” A large hand finds its way under my chin and tilts it up to meet his face.
There’s a trace of sadness in his eyes. An untold story. A past that remains unfinished.
“Blythe, I chose you because you care about the others. I will not keep you from them if that is what’s most important to you. But, I do want you to do something for me.”
“Suck your dick?” I guess.
I swear, he almost laughs, but his face quickly returns to something serious. “No. I want to know about you.”
I couldn’t be more shocked than if he asked me to suck two dicks – if he had them – which I’m 99.9% sure he doesn’t. Still, I cannot hide my surprise at such a strange request.
“You want to know about me?” I repeat, unsure if I heard him correctly. When his head bobs up and down, I pull away from his hand and slide back a few feet on the bed. Asking to get to know me seems dangerous. Like he wants to be friends or something. But if this is what he wants so I can see the others… “What kinds of things do you want to know about me?”
“I’m not even sure. I must confess. I don’t know a lot about humans other than the ones working around the galaxies.”
“The whores.”
“The entertainers,” he clarifies, reminding me of Phoebe. “I know the term has been twisted over the years due to the lack of respect in the Galactic Federation. You women were never supposed to be treated this way. But over the years people stopped caring. Others stopped trying to control themselves. I’d like to know why someone like you would sign up for something like this.”
“I didn’t have a choice. I was shipped here with those frogs.”
He quirks a brow. “Frogs? You mean the Todas?” I nod. “No, no. I mean, how did you end up becoming an entertainer in the first place? I imagine there are much better occupations for humans, yes?” I nod again. “So why this?”
“Is this what you want to talk about?” I can’t hide the skepticism in my voice. “You want me to talk about why I became a human whore in exchange for seeing the others?”
“Amongst other things.”
This gives me pause. “Why?”
He pinches his thick brows together. I’m still stunned that I’m sitting in a bed with a Sidyth, and all we’re doing is talking. Is it possible he’s only trying to get to know me? Is there such a thing as a kind Sidyth? Painful trips to the infirmary tell me, no, but I don’t see much evidence to the contrary when it comes to my time with Korben so far.
“… osen you.”
I only catch the end of Korben’s sentence; I’m so lost in my worries and questions. I assume his reasoning can’t be that important. Probably something about being bored. I guess it would make sense. So far this colony of Sidyths seems to have a pretty mundane time. I haven’t even seen a single female Sidyth, though. Questions of my own start to bubble to the surface and I ask myself, would it be so bad getting to know him as he’s taking the time to get to know me?
“Did you hear what I said, Blythe?” He’s reaching for me but not touching.
“Yes,” I lie. “And I guess it makes sense. If we’re going to be here together for a while, I suppose it’s only fair that we know a little bit about each other, right?”
He doesn’t look convinced. Maybe I should ask him to repeat why it’s so important for him to get to know me before he allows me to see the others. But I’m afraid to point out that I wasn’t paying attention. He’s my owner. My client. My assignment. However way I want to word it, or whatever wording I want to choose, I owe him my respect. At least I do if I want to live and get another job. And so, I pat the spot next to me, catching Korben off guard as he rises to his full height and quickly takes a seat.
“You said you want to know why I became a whore. Well, the truth is, I did it for the money.”
“I assumed as much,” Korben says.
“I did it for the money so that I could save my father.” I search his eyes for judgment of any kind, but there’s none.
I decided then, that if Korben feels less guilty fucking me later, I will oblige and tell him what he wants to know.
As I tell Korben the story about my father’s cancer spreading, Korben remains by my side, patiently listening. It’s not the most interesting of tales. My mom killed herself, and my dad got sick. I didn’t want him to die, because just as he was diagnosed, he found the will to live again after losing his wife. Occasionally, Korben pushes fallen strands of hair away from my face when I lower it, trying to keep my composure.
When he asks how things have been for me recently, it’s just as painful. Korben’s broad shoulders hunch when I tell him about some of the crueler owners I’ve had over the years, and they relax when he hears I’ve occasionally had good times. I tell him about the girls I’ve met over the years, and the different ways that different speci
es see humans. I’ve been a dog, a doll, a toy and even a slave. None of the options are wonderful, but knowing my father is giving the money to pay for his treatment gives me faith I made the right decision.
“Did you ever find out if your father is okay?” Korben asks.
I shake my head. “At this point, it’s only about the money, I guess. I mean, it has to be going somewhere.”
“Only money now?” He seems puzzled.
“Is there any other reason to do something like this?” I ask, brandishing my hand around the space. “I don’t go around fucking aliens because I’m some nympho.” He doesn’t understand this word, and I don’t bother explaining it to him, convinced that he already has the gist. “And that’s all there is to know about me. Mom dead. Dad might be dead. Most aliens are cruel. Not too exciting, I’m afraid.” My eyes drift back over to him. “What about you?”
His eyes widen. That pained look quickly follows as I’ve trod into dangerous territory.
“I guess I’m not supposed to ask, huh? It’s okay. I’m used to—”
“It’s not that,” he quickly amends. “Simply put, I’d prefer not to tell you right now.”
“Sure.” I’m not surprised by this. “So I guess that means I can see the others now, right?”
“No.”
“No?” I’m shocked and pissed off, immediately rising to my feet and rushing towards the curtain. I’m not surprised when Korben easily catches up and seizes my arm in a painful grip. He’s strong. I’ve forgotten how strong. How easily he can crush my bones in his hands. I cry out in pain, but his grip only loosens, not releases. “Let me go! You promised I could see the others if I told you about me.”
