Nikol's Surrender (A World Beyond, #10)

by Howard, Michelle

The other women, who’d been watching from overly plumped pillows in shocking red, stood and gathered close with oohs and ahhs. They stroked Darcy’s bare shoulders and squeezed her forearms, adding their own enthusiasm and encouragement to Cecilee’s words.

  For a brief moment, their affection calmed her erratic feelings. Fear and anger faded to be replaced with a tranquil sensation Darcy hadn’t experienced since this whole nightmare began.

  Her eyes widened at the realization and she jerked away from their touch. Was this how the brainwashing started? She backed away, ignoring the worry drawing their brows together. “Listen, it’s great that you all are happy here doing...” she waved her hands about the lavish quarters, “whatever you do. But this isn’t for me.”

  She didn’t want to disparage their livelihoods. To each his own and all that. Sex work was good work if one chose that direction out of true desire and not by force. Darcy had other plans and they didn’t involve that—her nose scrunched—that horned bastard who’d glared at her with mockery.

  Amia gestured toward a low table covered in fruits, cheeses and vegetables. All alien to Darcy, but they’d described and explained the names for the food and she’d eaten the things they gave because it didn’t make sense to starve herself. “It is time to eat, Darcy.”

  Darcy didn’t want to eat. She wanted out of here. Her nerves were jittery. At night, she clenched the sheets in her fists for fear of the Marenian returning to take what she wasn’t willing to give. By day, it was lessons and etiquette. She could do the things they’d instructed her on by rote now. Not because she planned to be a good little whore but because she needed time to plot her escape.

  “Darcy?”

  She glanced up from her ruminations. All of the women were on their knees around the table, leaving a place at the end for Darcy to sit as they did for each meal time. Silver streaks glinted in their midnight hair, voluptuous bared breasts on display without hint of shame in their glittering shellams. While old enough to be her mother, there wasn’t one of them that wouldn’t draw stares back on Earth, horns or not.

  Each currently wore the same look of worry at her hesitation. Stasia especially looked on the verge of tears. Darcy had had time to decipher their personalities and Stasia was quiet and soft hearted. Amia came across as sweet but had a mischievous streak in her. Tashire was distant and probably the best representative of a humble lady of the harem, content with her existence.

  As she walked over to join them, Darcy’s gaze landed on Cecilee. Darcy kneeled in a flowing motion, drawing a nod of approval. Cecilee was the unofficial leader. It hadn’t taken long to figure that out. She was stern in her lectures yet generous in her compliments when Darcy executed something successfully.

  Many times she’d witnessed Cecilee brushing the long hair of one of the others with their head in her lap. It was more maternal than sexual though Darcy assumed them all to be of similar age.

  Square plates were handed about the moment Darcy was seated. Food was doled out generously and they all commenced to eat in dainty but determined bites as their fingers plucked over the delicacies.

  Sadness slammed into her at the normalcy of it all. How far she’d come from the eager woman anxious for a husband and family. The dreams and hope she’d felt as she boarded a ship that was to take her to a world beyond seemed like a distant memory.

  Not once had she ever contemplated that her life would take such a drastic turn. Darcy ate until she was full, blinking back tears. A soft hand landed on her shoulder. She looked to her left and met Cecilee’s brown stare. “You are thinking of home.”

  The lump lodged in Darcy’s throat made speaking difficult. She pushed her empty plate away and nodded. Cecilee leaned over and drew Darcy into her arms, her perfumed scent enveloping Darcy. One hand palmed the back of her head and the other rubbed her back. “If you are open to some advice, I would give it.”

  Darcy could only nod again as a single tear slipped free.

  “Marenians of deep faith believe that plans made are meant to twist and turn to provide clarity. A straight path devoid of obstacles does not prepare one for the darker times. This is why when things shift and change not in accordance with our expectations, we embrace it. Use it as the lesson it is meant to be so that we may grow stronger and wiser from the experience.”

  Darcy shuddered as she fought to withhold her sobs. Her chest tightened until she thought she’d pass out. “I..I..I don’t belong here.”

  “If not here, experiencing one of life’s beautiful turns, then where?” Cecilee countered, sliding a hand through Darcy’s hair.

  Darcy closed her eyes, leaning into the peace Cecilee exuded and inhaled deeply. She understood what Cecilee was trying to say, but if Darcy gave up without a fight and succumbed to what they expected, she was certain she’d lose a part of herself. She hadn’t been raised to live like this.

  After another moment, she drew a deep breath and pulled back. Cecilee didn’t release her completely, cupping Darcy’s shoulders and meeting her gaze with a steady look of contemplation. “You are going to be fine, Darcy. The gods have something wondrous at the end of the path for you.”

  Darcy snorted and swiped at the dried tear track on her face. “Well, I hope it involves freedom.”

  Cecilee patted her shoulder. “Something better. It involves happiness.”

  For Darcy they were one and the same but she didn’t voice her thoughts aloud. Two distinctive thumps sounded on the door. Cecilee moved away and the other women fluttered about and ended up standing by the quiet fountain at the center of the room. Darcy rolled her eyes and stood.

  The door opened by one of the two guards that stayed outside and probably slept there from what Darcy could discern. A small framed woman entered with brisk strides, followed by another. They wore thick, brown shellams about their hips. Not see through like the sheer pieces of flimsy material Darcy and her harem roommates were provided.

  Plates and leftover remnants from their meal were gathered and loaded on a tray by each of the servants. Neither lifted their heads or attempted to engage in conversation. No one offered to assist when the second woman’s tray wobbled in her grip. Darcy had tried helping once only to be rebuffed and stared at in horror. Amia had grabbed her wrist and yanked Darcy away with a fervent shake of her head.

  So yeah, helping servants was a definite no-no.

  Darcy turned away from the main door, eyeing the glass doors to the garden. Typically they sat outside to enjoy the midday sun after the second meal. Light hearted laughter ringing out constantly caused by Amia’s jokes as she tried to instruct Darcy in one thing or another.

  Gasps came from behind her, but she was too busy trying to remember the names they’d taught her for the purple flowers that grew on a vine and climbed the sides of the entrance.

  “I hoped Cecilee would have taught you better while I was away. Yet I find you on your feet, disrespectful once again.”

  Darcy’s breath stuttered as her fingers curled at her side. She slowly turned around and faced her nemesis, whose presence had been missing these last few weeks. He stood across the room with a glare aimed directly at her. Nikol.

  Amia, Tashire, Cecilee and Stasia formed a neat row on their knees between Darcy and him. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought they were protecting her, but found the idea doubtful.

  Cecilee had drilled it into Darcy’s head to lower herself in Nikol’s presence unless he said otherwise but her knees locked despite her brain screaming a warning to drop right away.

  Nikol strode easily around the women in his path. The aura of danger emanated from him in waves, each pulse a beat against her senses. Panic flared and Darcy knew what she needed to do to stop whatever he was about to do to her.

  Except instead of folding to the floor, Darcy tipped her chin up and gave him back the same glare. His dark eyes narrowed to thin slits, the firm lips hardening when he stopped before Darcy. She sucked in a deep breath and his gaze immediately dropped to her chest.
Nipples crinkled in reaction. Fear, she wanted to tell herself but the slick warmth growing between her thighs implied arousal as well.

  His hair was drawn back in a tight tail that fell below his shoulders. The long sleeved gray shirt he wore strained against a chest laden with muscles. “Have you learned nothing, Earth woman?”

  Panting, Darcy licked her lips and said in choppy Marenian, “Greetings, Nikol Wulven.”

  Learning the language was completely unnecessary, but she had nothing else to do to fill her days outside learning how to give good sex to her owner if it was up to Cecilee.

  Nikol’s lips parted in surprise. “You—”

  “Y-you will never truly own me,” she finished quickly and hoped she got all of the words correct.

  Rage flashed over his face along with another emotion she couldn’t, wouldn’t name. Darcy thought he would yell, curse. That she could handle and would fight him with pleasure if he tried to force her to her knees.

  What she wasn’t prepared for was him twisting his fingers in her hair and yanking her close. Their breath mingled in the slight pause to draw air and then his mouth slammed down on hers. Darcy’s hands flew to his chest to push him away but it was like trying to move a hundred pound weight.

  Nikol held her head in a steady grip that pulled the hair at her roots, providing a sting that danced from her scalp, down her spine and ended somewhere lower. More delicate.

  To her horror, desire exploded in her loins. Darcy dug her nails into his shirt, hoping to convey her resistance to his brutal attack. He groaned into her mouth as if he enjoyed the tiny pricks of pain. The thought made Darcy dizzy. She shoved at him a second time but he locked an arm about her waist, smashing their chests together.

  More sensations swirled through her body, while her nipples tingled from being abraded against the material of his shirt. In defense, Darcy bit at his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. It didn’t deter him at all. Nikol growled low in his throat, his fingers tightening on her hair. Then his tongue surged between her lips, leaving her no choice but to open.

  Like an invader taking what was his, he entered her mouth with a ruthless stroke and nipped her own tongue in retaliation. The kiss was over a split second later as he used the firm grasp of her hair to tilt her head back and snarl. “Kneel.”

  Darcy blinked. She was trying to catch her breath and get her wits about her when the meaning of his order sank in. “You jerk!”

  She raised her leg to knee him in the crotch but he shifted his hips and pressed his forehead to hers. “Kneel now.”

  He pulled back slightly to see if she’d follow through on the command. Behind him and to the side, Darcy caught Cecilee’s frantic glance. Darcy faced Nikol again. A knowing glint flashed in those dark brown eyes as his lips twisted into a smirk.

  “Kneel.”

  She held his gaze as she slid to her knees as much as the hand in her hair would allow. He leaned over following her motion until her knees met the floor before releasing her hair.

  To her surprise, he went to one knee beside her and glided his jaw alongside hers. His mouth hovered over her ear, creating betraying shivers, to whisper, “If I have to tell you again how to behave when I enter a room...”

  Uncontrollable anger filled her. She hated him. Hated what he stood for. “You’re an animal!”

  He licked the shell of her ear and stood. There was a thin trickle of blood on his chin from where she’d bitten his lip. He swiped at it, sparing a cruel grin at Darcy before turning on his heels to point at Cecilee. “You have work to be done.”

  The thick tension in the air dissipated the moment the doors closed behind him. Darcy shot to her feet but before she could speak, Cecilee was on her. “You are foolish!”

  Cecilee stormed away and went into the alcove assigned to her, drawing the curtain closed. The other women cast remorseful looks Darcy’s way but held their silence. Darcy huffed and went to the garden as she’d intended. Anger caused her steps to slap against the pavers. Not because Nikol had found a viable threat to use against her but anger because his kiss had drawn forth something she didn’t want to give him.

  Her passion.

  Chapter 9

  “What do you mean there’s no evidence of who did this?” Lothar asked in an even tone from behind his desk.

  It was hard to focus on his meeting with Lothar when thoughts of the red-haired Earth woman plagued him. Nikol folded his hands behind his back and contemplated how free he’d feel if he just walked out and returned to the woman who had his cock thick and swollen. It was a short thrill. He didn’t have the luxury of creating more animosity than what already existed between him and Lothar.

  Dutifully, Nikol recited what he’d sent in a coded message via comms the moment the discovery had been made. “Exactly what I said. I took Dain with me to the warehouse to check on the discrepancies in our inventory. As soon as I landed and cleared security, reports came in of an explosion. The facility was destroyed.”

  It was no great loss to them financially as it had been a smaller plant. The bigger issue was that it was a deliberate act to hide what Nikol had tracked down to be minor theft issues. He’d planned to make an example of the warehouse manager only to be thwarted by the explosion. After staying a few weeks to confirm, Nikol had to accept the conclusion. He had no evidence of the shortages now.

  “What about Ragan? You suspected him of thievery.”

  Nikol could only shrug. The manager was guilty but he couldn’t prove it. There was no warehouse, there were no records. As a result, Ragan would suffer soon enough without a job or funds. “He apologized for the accident. A chemical leak is listed as the official cause.”

  Lothar hummed under his breath and tapped a single finger on his desk. “Convenient.”

  Nikol let the quiet settle around them. He was in no hurry to speak or initiate conversation with Lothar outside business transactions. It galled him that his goal to finally eliminate the man before him was still far away. Somehow, someway, Mirim would have her justice.

  Sighing, Lothar pushed his chair away from his desk and leaned back. His hands rested casually on his midsection as he gave Nikol his full attention. “How is the new tutanis working out? Does she bring you pleasure?”

  Nikol had to be careful in how he answered. Body remaining lax despite the spike of adrenaline the question caused, he said truthfully, “She needs training.”

  Lothar nodded, his pitch black eyes unerringly pinned on Nikol. “To be expected. The females from Earth lack discipline. They are known to be willful and more trouble than the cost to purchase one.”

  Nikol controlled a flinch. Wasn’t that what he himself thought of Darcy? The difference was Nikol refused to use the same methods Lothar employed to get his tutanis in line. He liked rough in the bedroom as much as the next Marenian but a bleeding female while he mounted her wasn’t to his taste.

  Lothar stretched his legs up on his desk and crossed them at the ankle. He leaned his elbow on his chair’s armrest and propped his chin in his palm. “Medic Crox says you sent her for treatment before your trip.”

  The medic was one of Lothar’s favorites because he reported every incident to Lothar immediately. His loyalty could not be shaken, and thus, Nikol carefully navigated around him. “She seemed to have suffered injuries prior to you giving her to me. What good is a damaged female to me?”

  A harsh frown creased Lothar’s forehead. “Hmm, yes, I believe Brax was a bit rough handed.”

  Brax? Now he had a name for the one who’d caused her injuries. Nikol must not have hidden his reaction quickly enough. Lothar dropped his feet to the floor and stood with a chuckle. Nikol tensed as he approached, the camaraderie his father always tried to force evident on his face.

  “She belonged to Brax initially. He bought her from one of our auctions but didn’t follow the rules. I don’t want to draw more attention from the Jutaks and it has become obvious to all that selling or buying the Earth women will draw the might of the Allianc
e.”

  “It’s best to avoid the Enotians. Their guard is up,” Nikol agreed. The only living family member he cared about lived on the planet.

  Lothar clasped his shoulder and leaned in close. “They will pay for what they did to you. We will not take their actions lightly and run.”

  To that Nikol had no response. If he defended the Enotians, it would draw a closer look from Lothar, and if he agreed, it would give Lothar more motivation to increase his efforts to start a war. A war that would jeopardize the life of one specific Jutak Leader, Torkel Alonson.

  Lothar patted him on the back and stepped away. “Take time to be with your tutanis. Letting your seed find release often will help with the frustration you are feeling from the assignment.”

  Red hair and blue eyes teased at his memory. The feel of her soft body clasped close, her lips sweet and her taste heady. Nikol couldn’t care less about the loss of the warehouse and the credits it pulled but he would take this time to study the prize in his kitse. Nikol inclined his head. “I’ll be ready to leave again whenever you wish.”

  The game he played in his goal to defeat Lothar was a long one. He was so close. A few more things to set in place and he’d be able to destroy him.

  Lothar returned to his seat behind his desk, a familiar sign of dismissal. Nikol was grateful to leave. Being in his father’s presence strained the little patience and tolerance he had for him. The mention of the Earth woman also had him worked up. He closed Lothar’s door behind him with a click. Dain straightened from his post in the hall.

  “Where to?” his friend asked.

  “Training room. Lothar has decided I need time to recover from the disappointing mission.”

  Perhaps a fist pounding sparring session would get the woman off his mind. His shaft throbbed in his pants. He wouldn’t succumb so easily to the woman’s wiles if she was a plant by Lothar and there was no other available outlet to relieve him. He wouldn’t risk the females here by turning his attention to them.

  ***