by Zara Starr
“We need to take care of your wound,” Tanya said. “Now that the danger is over, we can go to a hospital.”
Mal shook his head.
“Why not? You are a free man. You bought your freedom. They will be able to help you at the hospital.”
“Is there a first aid kit onboard?” he asked. “There should be.”
Tanya frowned and climbed out of her seat, going to the back of the spacecraft and looking around. Sure enough, there was a first aid kit. She brought it to Mal, who had climbed out of his pilot’s seat and moved to one of the passenger seats in the open passenger area.
He opened the first aid kit and rummaged around in it, finally finding a small blade and a pair of pliers.
“What are you doing?” Tanya asked, horrified.
“I am taking out the bullet,” Mal said.
Tanya shook her head. “This is crazy. You are going to faint from the pain.”
“I don’t feel pain the same way others do, remember? I just need to find the bullet. I have an idea where it is. I can feel my body refused to heal on that spot, so that’s where I will begin. It won’t hurt too much, it will be fine. Like a paper cut.”
“I hate paper cuts,” Tanya said. “They hurt like hell.”
Mal chuckled. She watched in horror as he brought the blade to an area of his skin that was still smooth, mottled with blood but not injured. He made a thin, long line, parting the skin and flesh beneath it.
“Oh, God,” Tanya said, looking away.
“It’s not a big deal,” Mal said.
“Are you kidding me? It is a big deal. You’re practically operating on yourself. In a spacecraft. Without any kind of anesthetic.”
“I am a warrior, Tanya,” Mal said. “I am used to pain. I don’t feel it the way you do anyway. I just explained it to you.”
Tanya nodded, biting her lip, refusing to look. A moment later, Mal made a grunting sound of approval.
“Got it,” he said. When Tanya turned her head back to Mal, his hand was red with blood, but between his fingers, he held the small metal round – the bullet.
Mal was grinning from ear to ear, seemingly not in pain at all.
“You will heal fully now?” Tanya asked.
“I already am,” Mal said, turning to the side so that Tanya could see the wound he had inflicted on himself. And sure enough, as she watched, the skin knit itself together, healing. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
“That fast?” she asked.
Mal nodded. “The skin is healing up so that I don’t bleed out. The inside will take a little longer, but not a lot. Physical injuries like this don’t take too long to heal. Some others – any head injuries – take longer. But I was lucky, I wasn’t hit in the head.”
Tanya shook her head. “If you were hit in the head, you would be dead.”
Mal chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”
Tanya couldn’t see the humor in it, but she was glad that Mal was okay. He was healing and they were both free.
“I can’t believe this,” she said. “Do you realize what we have done?”
Mal nodded.
“We won,” he said. “Not just the battle, but the war.”
Tanya grinned.
“Absolutely.”
“Come here,” Mal said, wrapping his arms around her. She embraced him also.
“Does it hurt?” she asked, trying to be careful of his injuries.
Mal shook his head.
“It doesn’t, you don’t have to worry,” he said. And then, he kissed her.
They both had their freedom. And everything was perfect. They were together. Tanya couldn’t believe how they had managed to get away from the awful fate that had awaited them both.
Now, there was a whole new future stretched out in front of them, and they could head toward it, together.
The kiss turned fiery. There was no other way – they were touching each other, intimately, and they were alone. Together. Free.
It was the best feeling Tanya had ever experienced. The way Mal kissed her made her want more. All of him. She wanted to prove her affection for him. Because after what they had been through together, she felt so much for him that it felt like she was going to burst if she didn’t let it out.
Mal was a lot more forward with her this time, compared to how he had been the last time they had been together. The sexual tension in the spacecraft became so thick, it got hard to breathe. Tanya felt heat rushing over her, her skin on fire and a need developing at her core, an ache that only Mal could satiate.
He ran his hands down her back and over her ass, pulling her against him. They rolled onto the floor between the seats, and he was on top. His enormous body covered hers completely, but he held himself up so that he didn’t crush her. He gyrated his hips against hers, letting her feel his hard cock. She moaned in response, letting the need for him take over.
Tanya wasn’t sure who started it, who tugged at whose clothes first. She still wore the dress that Slinin had forced her to wear. Mal was in such a hurry to get it off that it ripped down the side.
Tanya couldn’t say that she was sorry. The dress was just a reminder of the man that had bought her and intended to keep her for himself. No matter how beautiful the dress had been, it was just an adornment, because she had been a toy for a monster to dress up.
Mal’s clothes were easy to get rid of. His bloody shirt had already been cast aside when he had operated on himself, and working down the sweatpants he wore was simple.
And then they were both naked, and his enormous cock was free, pushing up, straining toward Tanya, eager for her.
She wanted him too.
Tanya reached down between them and stroked his cock along the length. Mal sucked in a breath between his teeth, his eyes darkening, his face only inches from her.
“I’m going to take you now,” he bit out through clenched teeth and she let out a breathy moan at the statement. There was something incredibly hot about the way he was taking charge.
The first time, she had been in control, showing him what to do. It turned out Mal was a fast learner.
He didn’t push into her right away, which was what she had expected after his speech. Instead, he kissed her, lowering his head to hers, his lips brushing against hers before he moved down to her neck. He left small kisses behind in his wake, nibbling the skin here and there. He held himself up with one muscular arm, but with the other hand – large and able – he massaged her breasts, tweaking her nipples, making her squirm.
He paid so much attention to her neck, her shoulders, her breasts, that when he positioned the tip of his cock at her entrance, it was unexpected and Tanya shivered. When he pushed into her, she cried out.
He split her open, her body yielding before making way for him. She moved around him, adjusting to his size and to the pleasure that already rolled through her in waves. She was already ready for her first orgasm. His attention to her neck and breasts had brought her so close to the edge.
“You are everything,” Mal growled, his mouth close to her ear so that she felt his hot breath against her ear and neck, and as he said it, he thrust deeply into her a couple of times. It was all it took – she let out a cry and an orgasm shook her to the core.
When she came down from her sexual high, Mal’s eyes were on her. He looked happy that he had managed to bring her such pleasure.
“My turn,” Tanya gasped. She wanted to be on top. But Mal shook his head.
“Let me worship you,” he said.
Tanya had never been treated with so much respect and reverence…and animalistic instinct at the same time. Everything about Mal was delicious, from the way he treated her like the female he wanted here and now, to the princess he wanted to be with forever.
Forever? Was she thinking that? Yes, there was no denying it.
Before she could argue about who would be in control next, Mal scooped her up. She yelped. He lifted her with ease. She was so much smaller than him.
&nbs
p; His cock was still inside of her as he marched across to the cargo area of the spacecraft. It wasn’t very large, but it would do. Since there was no cargo, the wall was open. It was slightly rounded, but Mal pushed Tanya up against it and she found that nothing mattered other than the feel of his body pinning her to the wall, his cock buried deep inside her, and the way his dark eyes bore into her very soul.
She let out a gasp as he started bucking his hips. He fucked her against the wall, pushing harder and faster, and she wrapped her legs around his waist because there was nowhere else to put them. She wouldn’t be able to reach the ground, and if she could, she wouldn’t be able to use her legs anyway. They felt like jelly.
Her second orgasm came in no time at all and she fell apart, her body clamping down around the thick cock inside of her, her muscles contracting. Mal groaned.
“I’m going to finish,” he growled.
“Please,” Tanya gasped. “Let’s do it together.”
His face changed, becoming almost animalistic. He spun her around and found two boxes standing on each other in the corner. Fridges, or something. He put her down on them so that her ass was on the edge and he fucked her like that, with her sitting and him standing.
No matter which way he did it, it was absolutely perfect.
Mal started bucking his hips faster, pumping into her, fucking her harder and harder. His strokes shortened and she knew he was getting close by the way he knitted his brows together and pursed his lips, his eyes becoming fierce.
He was hitting all the right spots and she was nearing her third orgasm.
When he came, he released inside of her with a blast of heat that she had never felt before, his body rocking against hers, curling around hers. It pushed her into her third orgasm and she cried out as they came together.
And it was perfect. They were perfect.
It felt like a long time that they were caught up in a spell of sexual bliss. Tanya didn’t know how long she came for, or how long he continued to pump inside of her. But eventually, the sexual energy died down. Mal pulled out of her, his thick cock slick with their combined sex, a little limp and hanging at half-mast.
Tanya closed her legs and scissored her thighs. She was sore from the sex but in the best way.
Mal found a blanket and wrapped it around her before he carried her back to the seats. He sat down in one of them and she curled up on his lap, her head against his chest. His heart beat against her cheek – strong, powerful. Alive.
They sat together in silence for the longest time, with Mal running his fingers through her curly hair. Her eyes were closed and she listened to the beating of his heart. She was perfectly content.
This wasn’t the life that she had imagined for herself – how could it be? But it was so much better than what she had before. Tanya realized that she hadn’t thought about Earth and her life there in a while. In fact, since the moment that she had been sold.
At first, it had been because she had thought she would never go back home, that she would be a slave forever.
But then Mal had arrived and she hadn’t thought about home because she was deliriously happy just being with him.
Wherever they were.
Obviously, Mal had been thinking about the same thing. He cleared his throat and tipped her head up with his finger on her chin, looking deeply into her eyes.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked.
“Where are we?” Tanya asked, looking out of the window. It seemed like they were in space, she couldn’t believe that was where they had ended up. The last time she had paid attention, they had been just above the city after seeing Esimin.
“We are in orbit around Saitha,” Mal said. “But we can’t stay here forever. The authorities will pick up on us soon enough. They have radars everywhere, and I am sure this spacecraft is still registered to Slinin. If they haven’t found out about his death yet, they will soon.”
“Will we be in trouble?” Tanya asked. “Even if we are free?”
Mal nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. I may have bought my freedom from Esimin, but it didn’t go down the right way. I paid with stolen artifacts from a dead man. And I took you. We will have to look for a new home, somewhere far away from here. But then, we can live free.”
Tanya thought about it. They could go back to Earth. She had a life there – a home, a company, everything that she had always wanted. When she looked at Mal though, she couldn’t imagine him fitting into a life like that.
A life of boardroom meetings, merger negotiations… She couldn’t imagine him being happy with the wealthy old men who had been investors, looking at her chest for too long. Mal had grown up as a warrior and a slave. He wouldn’t understand life on Earth.
And to be honest, Tanya couldn’t go back to that either. After everything she had been through, she wasn’t the same person she had been when she had been abducted. Everything was different now. She was different.
What about her sister? She would worry. But Tanya could send her a message that she was okay, somehow.
Although, she doubted that her sister was too worried in the first place. She knew that Tanya was tough.
Tanya looked out of the window again. There was a whole universe out there that she could never have imagined. She had seen the worst of it. Now, she wanted to see the rest.
“Are you sure?” Mal asked.
Tanya nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think that Earth is my home anymore.”
Mal nodded. Tanya clambered off his lap and wrapped the blanket tightly around her. She didn’t want to get dressed in the green dress again. But Mal pulled on the pants he had worn before. He started walking toward the pilot’s seat.
“Hey,” she said, calling him back.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“How did you know how a paper cut feels anyway?”
Mal chuckled, shaking his head, and turned to pilot the spacecraft.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mal
They had to get out of there. Soon, the authorities were going to come after them, and if they didn’t know that his former Master was dead, they would find out soon enough and have enough evidence to put him and Tanya at the scene of the crime.
If that happened, Mal knew exactly what he was going to do. He wouldn’t let her take the fall for Slinin’s death. He would take the blame himself.
They would all believe it too. No one would even question it – he had grown up fighting and killing for a living. And there were stories about slaves losing it, going crazy, turning on their Masters.
No one would believe that Tanya, the small human female, had it in herself to kill someone. Especially not the wealthiest Saithin on the planet.
But Mal didn’t want it to go that far. He didn’t want to be captured again, be thrown in a cell. Because now, after tasting freedom, after being with Tanya, he would know what he was missing out on. And it would be pure torture.
When he sat in the pilot seat, Tanya sat next to him. She was still wrapped in the blanket, and he liked it. He liked how much skin it showed, how she was trying to cover up and only barely managed to do so. Everything about her was beautiful and sexy and he couldn’t get enough.
But for now, he had to focus on doing the right thing.
“What about your home planet?” Tanya suddenly asked.
Mal frowned. He hadn’t thought about home for a long time. He tried to remember his childhood.
“Well, the cities are carved into cliff sides, and the beach that I played at when I was a child stretches across a very long distance. The sand is white, almost like snow, and the greenery that grows against the mountainside is so lush that it is in great contrast to the sand.”
“It sounds beautiful,” Tanya said.
Mal nodded. “It was,” he said. From what he remembered, at least. But there was a dark cloud in his memory too.
“It’s not all sunshine and… What is the expression?”
Tanya smiled. “Rainbows. And roses.”
�
�Okay,” Mal said. “It wasn’t always a happy place. The Saithin took over the planet. It was one of the reasons why I ended up in slavery – they chose the children that would become the best warriors and took them away. I think they are still there. I don’t know what it is like now. I don’t know if I want to go back.”
Tanya nodded. “I can understand that. I wouldn’t want to ruin a good memory either.
“There is another place though,” Mal said.
Tanya looked at him, eager to hear.
“I’ve heard some of the other gladiators talk about it,” Mal continued. “It’s supposed to be beautiful. And peaceful. It’s a popular tourist destination where we can blend in.”
“Really?” Tanya asked.
Mal nodded. “With so many different species and races visiting the planet, it’s not strange to see all kinds of different creatures. They won’t think it strange that we are there.”
“Well, then I think I know where we should go,” Tanya said.
Mal nodded, and he drew up a map of the galaxy on the screen. It was easier with the screen having pictures. He chose the planet as the destination. When the coordinates were entered into the spacecraft computer, the craft turned and headed in that direction – Mal didn’t have to do anything.
He hoped that the spacecraft would be suitable for long-distance travel – it was only meant to travel from one city to the other, not between planets. But they would find out soon enough. He trusted that they could make it.
Tanya and Mal fell into silence as they traversed the universe. It was beautiful out here in space. They were surrounded by darkness, but not in a scary way. Stars were everywhere, and it was beautiful. Breathtakingly so.
When he looked at Tanya, he saw the stars reflected in her eyes. It was everything he had always wanted – and he hadn’t even known it. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Maybe they could have a future together. That was what he wanted. He imagined a future where they could be together. He didn’t have to fight to survive, he didn’t have to keep proving himself over and over again to Masters who wanted their money’s worth. He wanted to be free. And now, he finally had his chance.