by Abella Ward
“The guards will take you to a room where you can shower, rest and prepare yourself for me,” he said.
I looked up at him, so tall and strong above me. “As you wish, My Lord.”
Chapter Eight
The guards came and I was handcuffed and led away between them. The cuffs felt so silly and pointless. What threat could I possibly be to them? They were so much stronger than I was. But I did not fight in any way. I had agreed to this willingly, happily. In some way, it was what I wanted.
It felt strange to be back in my old room. I ran my hands along the thick red fibers of my coverlet. I looked at the screens, seeing the stars reflected back at me. I turned the lights all the way down and let myself breathe. There was food left out for me: bread, meats, cheeses and fruits. It was a bounty, but my stomach had shrunk and I was quickly full.
I peeled my disgusting clothes off and put them in the trash. I let hot water steam the bathroom before stepping into the spray. The water combed through my hair, dislodging all the filth and dirt and hay that had accumulated in the last few days. I turned around and opened my mouth, drinking the hot water, letting it wet my lips. Crying from relief.
I cleaned myself from head to toe. Every last bit of dirt was removed from underneath my fingers. I scrubbed myself roughly with a brush. The soap smelled like lavender, it was rich and silky, far nicer than anything I was used to.
I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. I didn’t even bother getting dressed. I dropped the wet towel at the foot of my bed and climbed between the sheets. The bed was so soft and warm. My eyes were heavy, I struggled for a moment to stay awake.
Was I worried about my deal with Strath? I felt that I should have been, but I wasn’t. I remembered our kiss from the night of the festival. His mouth on mine, the feel of his body, his strength and power had been intoxicating. I had wanted him then. Did I still want him now?
The fact that this great Lord who oversaw thousands was this interested in me seemed impossible. He was surrounded by beautiful women, at least three of them, at all times. I’m sure there were thousands of women on this ship who would have been thrilled to join him in his bed. But out of all of them, he only wanted me.
He thought I was free. He thought I was like him, answering to no master. I wasn’t though. I wasn’t like him. I had a cause I was tethered to. A cause I was not willing to give up.
I drifted off into a deep sleep. While I was sleeping, I had a dream that a man came to me. The room was only lit by the stars on the screen, I could not bear to turn them off before falling asleep. I watched his silhouette against the stars. He entered the room and removed his toga. I could see the strong muscles in his shoulders work as he walked towards me.
He sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand along my forehead, pushing aside a strand of hair.
With a gasp, I awoke. Strath was sitting above me. He bade me to sit up and when I did, he brought a glass of water to my mouth and I drank eagerly. He put the glass down and cupped my cheek in his hand.
He leaned down and kissed me. I kissed him back, my tongue sliding over his lips and into his mouth. He gripped my hair and pulled me even closer. My hand traced a line down his strong chest.
He broke the kiss and looked down at my wrists, still red from the chains. He shook his head and kissed them both gently, carefully. The sight of this strong Lord in such a tender pose made me want him even more. I broke my hands free of his wrists and wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him in for a kiss.
His hand found my breast and he massaged it gently as we continued our embrace. I broke the kiss letting my head fall back. I wasn’t expecting his touch to be so light. He was so strong, he could crush bricks with his hands, but he was so gentle with me.
His expert fingers explored my body, sparking fire along my collarbone and in the hollow of my throat. Then his mouth replaced his hands. He licked and kissed along my neck. The softness of his lips combined with the scruff of his jaw created an engulfing sensation that made me tremble in his arms. My entire body shuddered and then I could take no more, I pulled his head up again and kissed him hard.
“Come to bed,” I whispered to him. Our foreheads were touching and he nodded and slid between the sheets next to me.
He was on his back and I trailed a line of kisses down his chest and his stomach. He was hard and I grazed him with my lips before taking the length of him in my hand. He moaned and his head fell back as I moved my hand up and down, slowly, teasing him with feather-light touches.
I could have stared at his body all night. Each muscle was well defined and I could not stop from leaning down and kissing his stomach. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me to him. His lips crashed against mine. I lightened my touch on him. My fingers just barely grazing his hot skin.
He growled, took me by the shoulders and pushed me down. He knelt between me, my legs on either side of him. I felt suddenly exposed lying like this underneath him. My entire body was open to him. I tried to cover myself, but he gently grabbed my wrist and stopped me. His hands moved up and down my body, touching every inch of me. He massaged my breast and traced a circle around my nipple. He moved lower seizing my thighs in his hands. I could feel his strength as he dug into my flesh.
I was desperate for him to touch me. I didn’t care that he was a Dolcivs and I was a human. I only cared about his touch. I needed relief from the pressure he had built up. I writhed underneath him and he leaned down and took my breast in his mouth.
Arching my back, I strained for his touch. He sat back on his knees and stared down at me, drinking me in. Consuming me with his eyes. As he stared he reached down and took himself in his hand and then slowly, oh so slowly, he pushed himself into me. I gasped as my body adjusted to his size. For a moment, my entire body froze as he thrust into me. But it was only a moment, I was wet and ready for him. He began to move back and forth in a slow rhythm. My hands were on his shoulder, pulling him down to kiss me as he moved slowly in and out.
My fingers curled into fists. He kissed the curve of my neck and I took a ragged breath. I moved with him, lost in the sensations of his hands and lips and the feeling of having him inside of me. Then we were moving. He spun me over until I was on top of him, staying in me the entire time.
I sat up on top of him. He was deep inside of me. Pressing one hand onto his firm chest I began to move my hips back and forth. He grabbed my breasts, holding onto me as we moved together.
“Yes,” I moaned as he touched that part inside of me that was made of fire.
“Yes,” he groaned as I panted above him. Electricity was sparking through my veins. I sped up and a bolt of pleasure coursed through me. Passion was streaming through my veins, building up to a desperate release. I never wanted this to stop. It felt so good. I looked down and saw that he was looking at me, right into my eyes.
My lips parted and I whispered for him to keep going. I begged, the words falling from my lips, my mouth as out of control as the rest of my body. We moved together falling into a rhythm, working perfectly in sync. I had never felt anything like this before. It was overwhelming and uncontrollable and I never, ever wanted it to stop.
A blinding pleasure was pulsing through me.
“Don’t stop, Strath,” I begged. I clung to his shoulders as my entire body tensed and then relief was crashing through me. My body thrashed above him and he pulled me down to his chest as he finished with a few powerful thrusts.
Finally, it was over and I lay on top of him panting. His hands caressed my back as he was breathing heavily into my ear. We were both hot and I rolled off him and onto my back as his hand found mine.
We were both too spent to speak. I just rolled over and felt him follow me. He wrapped his arms around me and I settled back into him. He was warm and soft and within seconds I was asleep.
Chapter Nine
A light went on, pulling me from my deep sleep. Groggy, I stared into the light, it was from the open doorway. There was
a Dolcivs female standing there. She spoke softly, but I could not make out what she was saying. Next to me Strath shifted in the bed.
“Thank you,” he said to the woman who quickly left. Strath slowly sat up. I rolled over to face him, running my hands over his muscular back. I remembered last night. The way we had moved together. Would we continue? I wanted there to be more.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. My voice was rough and he handed me a glass of water and I drank it gratefully.
“Nothing’s wrong,” he answered taking the glass from me and then smoothing down my messy bed head. “It’s just morning and I have work to do.”
“It’s morning?” I asked. My internal clock was off. I had no idea how long I had slept. My wrists stung as they grazed the blanket and I remembered the fate I had just narrowly avoided.
“Yes. And as always, I have much to do. Though it is very tempting to lie here in bed with you,” he paused for a long moment and looked at the stars on the screens all around us. “However, you and I had an agreement and you have fulfilled your end. Your ship has been put back together and is ready for you to leave. No one will stop you when you go.”
“Thank you,” I said. I fell back on the bed. My head landing on the soft pillow. It was so tempting to just stay in this bed. To allow myself to become the plaything of this Lord. I could be like one of the three women he kept in his bed. My only obligation to look beautiful and please him.
Who was I kidding? I would never last in such a role. I would get bored and become quarrelsome. I would start trouble. No, I wasn't built for that kind of domesticity.
Strath scoffed, “Perhaps I should be thanking you.”
He stood up and I followed him with my eyes. “Will I ever see you again?” I asked him.
“That’s up to you,” he answered. What did that mean? Did he want me to come back, even with my ties to the rebellion? Would he want me even if I wasn’t as free as he was?
“Goodbye, Andromeda Nus,” Strath said stroking my cheek. “Be careful.”
I nodded. I knew that I should have said something, but I didn't know what. It was like I was holding a bag filled with all of my emotions. I kept reaching in and pulling out a new one: I wanted him, but I wanted to get the rebellion plans, I was attracted to him, but his people were my enemy. I wanted him but I knew I could never have him.
It felt strange to be back in my ship. Strath’s men had done their best to put it back together, but it still wasn’t quite right. Things weren’t where I left them, the settings were built for someone of Dolcivs size. I felt like a stranger in my own home, awkward and confused as I wandered from place to place.
I dallied. I fiddled with my machines, ran diagnostics. I should have just gone, started the engines and been on my way, but some part of me was still hoping that Strath would come. I didn’t know what I wanted him to say or what I wanted to say. I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him yet. I didn’t know if we would ever see each other again and I wanted to know what he was going to do. Where was he going to go? It seemed impossible that we had just met and already we were being pulled apart.
Finally, there was nothing left to do but go. I fired up my engines, received permission from the men in the command post and navigated out into open space. I fell into the gravity well of the red giant. From down here I could see the true size of Strath’s ship. It was massive, an entire city filled with thousands on one ship. It was so big it had its own gravitational pull and it was affecting my orbit. Pulling me back to it.
I entered the radio signal needed to locate the data packet. I had it memorized in my head and hadn’t told it to anyone. After everything that had happened, I had managed to keep the rebellion’s plans secret after all. All it had required was the best sex of my life. Not a bad deal.
I wasn’t worried about Strath following me. There was no way his great ship could traverse the thick, dangerous atmosphere of the gas giant. He had smaller vessels that could have survived in it, but it would be hard to follow me in the chaos of the planet’s poisonous gasses.
My ship descended into the gas giant. Red and yellow mists floated around me as one by one my sensors began to glitch and malfunction. The dense atmosphere messed with my equipment. It set off sensors and alarms even though there was nothing there. That’s why this planet was the perfect hiding spot.
I only needed the radio to work in order to locate the data packet. I sent out the signal and waited for the responding ping. There was a probe on this planet with the information. It was looking for me and I was looking for it, we just needed to find one another.
I had been flying for about five hours when my computer picked up a signal from the drone. I located the signal, zooming in on it. Thankfully, it wasn’t far away. I sped up my ship in the direction of it. My sensors were pinging and blinking and going wild. But there was no way to know what was setting them off. The gasses on the planet and the small bits of debris kept giving me false alarms.
I saw the probe, a trashcan-sized hunk of metal floating in the mists. I maneuvered my ship and sucked the probe into my cargo bay. I waited impatiently for the ship's life support to clear the gasses and then finally I was allowed to enter the cargo bay.
I pulled the data stick out of the computer and plugged it into the ship. It was designed for the newest Dolcivs warships. It listed everything: the crew manifest, how many weapons would be on board, weak spots. It was exactly what the rebellion needed.
Suddenly, alarms were going off. The ship rumbled and tilted to the side. I fell over, hitting my shoulder on a bulkhead. I got to my feet quickly and raced to the bridge, the ship rolling and shuddering. Someone was firing across my bow. It was a warning.
I reached the bridge and pulled up the main screen and there, in front of me, was a lone ship bearing the markings of the Dolcivs Regime. My heart stopped, I couldn’t believe this. I had just managed to get the plans and now the Regime was here.
Had Strath given my info to the Dolcivs Regime? No, I couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t part of the Regime, he was a free man and always would be. He wouldn’t betray me. They must have found me on their own.
Panic flooded my brain. I knew now that I would never last under torture. I would tell them everything. I would give them the plans and I would tell them how Strath helped me.
A message came in for me. It was the standard order to shut down my weapons system and prepare my ship for docking. Yeah right, I thought. I kicked on an engine burst and backed away from the ship. Maybe there was a chance I could lose it in the mist. I zoomed into the red mist of the planet going as fast as my engine would allow. But the Dolcivs ship was faster than mine. No matter what I did or how fast I flew, it was always right behind me.
I flew faster, my engines straining. I tried to get lost in the mist, but it was impossible. The Dolcivs ship was too fast. It would have me soon; I wouldn’t last much longer. The Dolcivs ship was broadcasting its message over and over again, but I ignored it. I would rather die than be captured.
I felt their tethers hit my ship, locking on with a strong magnetic force. The Zephyr shuddered and then slowed as the Regime ship reversed their engines and the tethers began to reel me in. This was bad, really bad.
The only way to get rid of them was to cut them off. I fired a missile at the ship, but their countermeasures blew it away. They suffered no damage at all. I shot everything I had at them. I emptied my weapons, but the Dolcivs ship struck them all out of the sky. Their defenses were better than my offenses and slowly I was being pulled into their ship.
I looked around my panel, desperately wondering what was left for me to do. My engines were straining, I was out of weapons, I had a small escape vessel, but it would never survive the dangerous gasses of this planet. I was lost. I was going to lose the plans and then be captured and the Regime would pull out every secret I had.
Just then, just when all seemed lost, another ship emerged from the mist.
It had the markings of Historan Strath. It
flew up through the mists and with two quick laser bursts it cut the cords connecting me to the other ship. Once free I zoomed forward, but I didn’t get far before my engines stalled. This most recent battle had been too hard on them. With a loud whine, they shut down and my computer told me it would be at least five minutes before they could come back on.
I was stuck in the mists, but Strath’s ship flew and settled between me and the Regime ship. He had come for me. I couldn’t believe it. He was angering the Regime, all for me. My heart swelled in my chest. I could never repay him for this.
“This is a ship of the Dolcivs Regime on official Regime business. That ship and its Captain are under arrest. Cease your actions immediately,” the ship that had tethered me was announcing this message to both my and Strath’s ship.
“This isn’t a Regime controlled system. This is my system,” was the stern voice of Strath. My heart pounded in my chest as I heard his voice. I wanted to see him. I wanted to be in the same room with him. I wanted to feel his strong presence and his hands on me. “Leave now, or your ship will be destroyed.” The powerful weapons on his ship came to life and I watched the Dolcivs ship back off and then to my relief, it flew away.
Chapter Ten
I docked my ship to Strath’s and waited. I paced up and down my bridge as my engines slowly came back to life. I was worrying my hands, nervously rubbing them together as I waited for him. What would he say? What would he do?
He entered wearing a dark, well-fitting jumpsuit. I wanted to run to him, wrap my arms around him and feel him holding me tight. I wanted his strong arms comforting me and telling me he would always keep me safe, but I held myself back.
He looked around my ship, appraising every inch of it. “Are you alright?” he finally asked.
“Yes. You saved me, how?”
“I had my men put a tracking device on your ship. I’ve been watching you since you left. When this other ship entered the system I knew it was coming for you and I knew I had to beat them.” He stepped towards me and I looked up at him. “When you left, it was like my heart left with you.”
