“I told you it was only an offer,” he said. Of course, he had every intention of persuading her to accept an offer from him, but he didn’t think she was ready to hear that yet. Given sufficient time, he was certain that he could convince her to accept him.
“Yeah, right. And if I don’t accept?”
“Then you will remain a prisoner for the rest of your confinement period,” he said slowly. The thought appalled him, even though he had no intention of letting it occur.
“How long is that?”
“The penalty for breaking curfew is two years.”
“No! I can’t be gone that long.” Tears appeared in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “My brother needs me.”
A pang shot through him at her distress, but he didn’t fully understand her concern.
“Do you not have a female parent?”
“We have a mother, but she is… weak. I’m the only one who takes care of Benji.” She scowled, but he could see the desperation behind her anger. “Some offer. Fuck one of you goddam aliens or not see my brother for years. What happens if I accept your oh-so-generous offer?”
“If you are not with child at the end of one breeding cycle, then you have the choice to be returned to your original location. Your needs would be taken care of for the rest of your life.” Again, he didn’t tell her that it would never happen. Even if she did not become pregnant with his child, he had no intention of letting her go.
“And if I did get pregnant?”
“Then your breeder would claim you as his L’chka.” The very idea of claiming her filled him with great satisfaction.
“So, I’d never get home?”
“Your warrior would be concerned for your happiness. He could choose to take you to your former location or arrange to have your family brought to you.” He silently vowed that she would be happy.
“Right,” she snorted. “I’ll just have to find my own way out of here.”
He approved of her fierceness, no matter how misguided, but… “That will not happen, R’chel.”
She crossed her arms and glared at him. “You just wait and see.”
“Very well. Now you will cleanse yourself.”
Her glare intensified. “No.”
“If you do not, then I will cleanse you.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Without bothering to respond, he threw her over his shoulder and headed for the cleansing unit.
Chapter Four
T’chok wrinkled his nose at the odor coming from his female but he still relished having her so close. As soon as she realized what he had done, she started thrashing and pounding her small fists against his back. He chuckled and gripped her tightly to keep her in place, letting his thumb slide into the warm crevice between her legs.
“What are you doing? Stop that.” She squirmed some more but it only drove his thumb harder against her sex. “Stop that,” she repeated, but her voice had changed, becoming low and husky.
They entered the cleansing room and he reluctantly let her slide down his body. A flush heightened her cheekbones.
“Now you will cleanse yourself,” he ordered.
“No.”
“If you do not, then I will do it for you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’d better not.”
He didn’t argue—he simply lifted her top garment over her head before she could object. Her hands immediately went to cover her breasts, but he had already caught a glimpse of their perfection. Perfect little mounds tipped with ripe, dark nipples. His shaft, already stiffening simply from being so close to her, hardened to a full erection. The sight of her half-naked body reminded him of the observation devices present in each pod and he quickly used his wrist com to shut down the ones in the cleansing room. He was the only male who would ever see his female naked.
“What are you doing?” she asked suspiciously.
“Turning off the surveillance devices.”
“I knew it. I knew you assholes were spying on us.”
“It is for the safety of the females.” He didn’t mention that monitor duty was fiercely contested amongst the younger warriors.
“Yeah, right. Bunch of perverts.”
He had to scan his translation interface for the meaning of the word and then he frowned at her. “Yehrin warriors are not deviant. We always behave with honor.”
“Really? What about Commander T’ngorzul? Did he behave with honor?”
T’ngorzul had kidnapped the mate of his commander with the intention of selling her child and using her as a breeding factory to produce more. Nothing he had done was honorable, but how did his female know that?
“What did he do to you?” he demanded.
“Aside from those horrible inspections?” She shivered, then shook her head. “I guess it was just the way he acted—leering and smug at the same time, like we were all his personal little sex slaves.”
He growled, annoyed that T’ngorzul was dead and he wouldn’t have the pleasure of teaching him the error of his ways. Reluctantly, he let it go and focused on the much more enticing prospect standing in front of him.
“Now remove your lower garment.”
“Not in front of you.”
“If I leave, will you cleanse yourself?”
“Why does it matter to you anyway?” She avoided his question.
“You will be more pleasant to be around if you are clean.”
“That’s exactly why I don’t want to ‘cleanse’ myself.” She started to make a hand gesture with the words before she realized that she was uncovering her breasts and quickly crossed them across her chest once more. “I don’t want to be pleasant to be around.”
T’chok realized that he had taken the wrong approach. “It is also better for your health. Dirt breeds disease. Now will you cooperate?”
Apparently, that was still the wrong thing to say because she glared at him. “No.”
“Very well.” He removed his utility belt and placed it within easy reach. Her eyes widened and she began to back away, but he didn’t give her a chance to escape. With one quick move, he lifted her back over his shoulder, stripped her lower garments away and stepped into the cleansing unit. Trying not to groan out loud at the feel of her naked flesh against his body, he activated the controls and let the water cascade down over them. Too shocked to fight, she had stilled against his back, so he placed her on her feet, keeping a firm grip on one arm. He couldn’t help scanning her uncovered body. He had to bite back a growl at the sight of her ribs, clearly visible under her golden skin. But despite her slenderness, he could see the toned muscles and the sturdy frame beneath the starvation. The small, high breasts, the graceful curve of her waist, the unexpectedly lush ass—if he could have specified an ideal female, R’chel would have met his every desire.
Before she could recover her senses, he reached for the cleansing fluid. “Now I will wash you.”
Shocked both by the effortless way T’chok had taken charge and the quantity of warm water pouring over her head, Rachel was rendered speechless. When it finally sunk in that she was naked and alone in the shower with a Yehrin warrior, she panicked. She hit at him with her free arm while she tugged desperately to free her other, but he had it in a gentle and unbreakable grasp.
“Let me go,” she demanded.
“No.” He filled his hand with liquid soap and brought it toward her hair.
She twisted and squirmed, trying to break free. He gave a sigh and simply hauled her back against his body. With one arm holding her tightly, he used the other to begin rubbing the soap into her hair. God, that felt good. Despite her fright, she couldn’t help but relax a little as his strong fingers massaged her scalp, his claws only scratching pleasantly against her head.
“Good girl. Just let me tend to you.” His voice was a soothing rumble against her front and for a second, she just wanted to give in. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had taken care of her. But then he shifted her a little so that he could rinse th
e soap from her hair, and she felt his enormous erection against her stomach. Her suspicions rushed back.
“No, stop it. Leave me alone.” She started to struggle again, and he let her get just far enough away from his body for him to deliver a swift smack across her bottom. The sting of his hand against her wet flesh made her breath catch and her body still.
“Now behave yourself.” He pulled her back against him and returned to rinsing her hair. A confused mix of feelings flowed through her. Her instinct was still to struggle, even though she knew her efforts would be fruitless. Yet as he continued to tend to her, a feeling of safety and comfort crept over her. He was so much bigger than she was that she felt like a child and it was oddly soothing. She could still feel his erection, but he wasn’t attempting to do anything with it and her fear diminished. He kept murmuring quietly to her as he took another handful of soap and began washing her neck and shoulders before moving down her back.
The slow glide of his hands soothed her further and her body softened beneath his touch. When his hands reached her buttocks, she froze but he only caressed the firm globes with gentle strokes that felt remarkably pleasant—and arousing. With a start she realized that her body was responding to his touch. He slid a finger down the crevice between her cheeks, probing at the delicate flesh between them, and her breath caught. He teased her bottom hole with a fleeting pressure, and she felt the liquid heat of arousal. When he abandoned the secret flesh to move on to her thighs, she almost protested.
After he bent down to wash her calves, he turned her around to work his way up her front. As he reached the top of her thighs, he nudged them apart and she didn’t resist. When he stroked between them, a small choked sound came out of her mouth. No one else had ever touched her there. Between caring for her brother and whatever jobs she could find to supplement her mother’s uncertain income, she’d never had much time for dating. And no man had ever been interested enough to wait for the few moments she could afford to spare. The fingers parting her lips, and gently but firmly cleaning her private parts, made her shudder with fear and longing.
T’chok kept up the soothing noises but he hadn’t moved on. He explored her thoroughly, probing her untried entrance with a careful finger. When the tip of one finger gently brushed against her clit, she cried out.
“Does it hurt, little human? Shall I ease the ache?” he whispered as he continued the caress.
She couldn’t think, her whole body concentrated on that one spot as he made circles around the swollen nub. Her hand reached for his, not to pull it away but to press it closer.
“Such a good girl. You are going to let me take care of you, are you not?”
The words simply added to her excitement and she pushed harder against his hand. He swirled his finger around her clit again and then scraped it very gently with the edge of his claw. The wave crashed over her, her knees collapsing as her body shook, but T’chok held her tightly, murmuring words of praise.
When she stopped shaking, she raised her eyes to look at him. This close, she could see streaks of blue radiating out from those strange slit pupils in an oddly beautiful way. The intensity in his gaze didn’t frighten her but his face was drawn and tight. She was acutely aware that she was naked and pressed up against a very large, very aroused alien warrior and yet, the shiver that ran up her spine was excitement, not dread.
“Why—why did you do that?” she asked.
“To calm you down.”
Her excitement fled, replaced by anger. “You’re trying to manipulate me through sex? I don’t think so. Leave me alone. I can wash myself.”
“No, my zuzu. I am not trying to manipulate you; I am trying to comfort you.”
“And I suppose you didn’t get anything out of it?”
“On the contrary.” He grinned and his teeth were very white and very sharp, more like shark’s teeth than human teeth. “I enjoyed that very much. It was my privilege to feel your pleasure flood my fingers.” He brought up the offending hand and slowly licked each finger. “To taste your essence. Delicious.”
Despite her anger, a slow pulse of arousal hit her at the sight. How could she be scared, angry, and turned on—all at the same time?
“I thought you had to wait until the end of your Forbidden Cycle before trying to seduce me.”
He frowned. “I am not seducing you. I am taking care of your needs.”
“And that’s allowed? Any one of you can ‘take care’ of me?”
“No,” he growled. For the first time, his confidence faltered, and she saw a flash of... something cross his face. “It is only acceptable because I intend to claim you.”
Claim me? Her jaw dropped open. Shock, fear, and a tiny hint of something that felt suspiciously like longing vied for dominance.
“Y-you can’t do that,” she stuttered. “You said I had to accept, and I don’t. Not now, not ever.”
“You will.”
His arrogance had returned. Ignoring her outraged protest, he finished washing her, not slowly but with a possessive thoroughness that made her tingle. He converted the shower to a drying chamber, turning her easily to make sure the warm dry air reached every part of her body. He seemed unconcerned about his own wetness, but she noticed that his uniform dried almost instantly. Once the air had done its job, he took a drying cloth from the cubby on the wall and went over her, checking for any last drop of moisture, before wrapping her snugly in the warm cloth. Then he finally, finally let her go.
Rachel immediately headed for her discarded clothes, but he reached them first, moving with uncanny speed, and dropped them into the laundry chute. She growled and he gave a low chuckle which reverberated its way up her spine.
“You do not want to wear those filthy clothes, do you?”
She didn’t, not really, but they were her only connection to home. Her throat tightened but she refused to succumb to tears. Instead, she raised her chin and gave him a defiant look.
“Are we done?”
Chapter Five
T’chok stared appreciatively at his female standing so proudly before him. Even covered in dirt, she had been attractive. Now with her golden skin unmarred and her long dark hair in a shining fall down her back, she took his breath away. His cock throbbed, angrily reminding him that it was going to be a long six months until the Forbidden Cycle ended. His commander had been able to circumvent the law since his female had already been impregnated by another Yehrin, but T’chok would have to wait the full time period unless he wished to compromise his honor.
“You are very beautiful, little human.”
Pink tinged those high cheekbones before she glanced away.
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, but he saw the small smile cross her lips. “Are you going to go away now so that I can get dressed?”
He considered insisting that he would dress her and feed her but a glance at his wrist com reminded him that he had other, less pleasant demands on his time.
“No. I must leave. You will dress and you will eat.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she said sarcastically, but the words hung in the air with an unexpected emphasis. He had studied human mating literature, as he studied the mating literature of every planet they conquered, and he had read stories of adult females who gave themselves to a father figure who would take care of them, punish them, fuck them. The idea of having such total ability to care for his female sent a surge of lust through his body. His cock jerked and he had to bite back a growl.
“You had best obey me, little girl.”
He saw her eyes dilate and he left before he did indeed abandon all sense of honor.
In the main room, T’berdai was back in his post by the door. The women were scattered around the room, but all eyes came to him as soon as he opened the door to the sleeping space. Most of them looked uncertain but S’rah looked worried and L’zabet scared. The young girl rushed to his side.
“What did you do to her?” she hissed.
“Your friend is fine. And she will undoubte
dly be more pleasant to be around.”
S’rah gasped and he followed her gaze to where R’chel was emerging from the sleeping space. The white mutashi suited her, the color contrasting nicely with her golden skin and the wrapped tunic accentuating her slender build. He only allowed himself a brief glimpse before heading for the outer door to get T’berdai’s report.
“The inspections are complete?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any issues?”
“That one.” He made a quick motion in B’mbi’s direction. “She doesn’t like the food. She thinks her bunk is too small and she thinks she should have her own room.” He hesitated and faint color infused his face. “She implied that she would be willing to perform favors in order to receive additional privileges.”
“Did she specify what those favors would be?”
“No, sir.” He hesitated again. “She indicated that Commander T’ngorzul had promised her an early release.”
Damn that male. T’chok hoped he was roasting in the third pit of Dantishen. Could he have made promises to this female, or any of the others, in exchange for whatever his twisted little hearts desired? The breeder pods were supposed to be monitored at all times, but the commander in charge had the authority to turn off the visual record, as T’chok had just done in the cleansing room.
“Very well. Let me know if R’chel does not eat with the other females.”
“R’chel?”
He subtly indicated his female, who was now talking to S’rah and L’zabet. T’berdai’s eyes widened. “She is clean.”
“Yes.” He couldn’t help the satisfaction in his voice. “I will return tomorrow.” He permitted himself one final glance at R’chel and left.
Rachel knew the instant T’chok left the room. She had been trying very hard not to glance in his direction, but she could feel the impact of his presence. When he left, the pressure lifted, leaving her feeling oddly exposed.
“You look so much better,” Sarah said.
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