by Tana Stone
“I will make you a promise,” he said, setting the glass down and walking toward her.
She blinked up at him. “Why should I believe any promise you make?”
“You do not have to believe me, but I will give you my word as a Dre—” he faltered, shaking his head and clearing his throat. “I give you my word.”
She gazed up at him, glancing at his bionic eye and flinching slightly before focusing on his real one. “Okay.”
As Vox stared down at the small creature—close enough for him to smell the sweet scent of her hair—need coursed through him. He could take her now. Pick her up and carry her to the bed and claim her. He wouldn’t even need to restrain her with the straps, as her struggles would be easily overpowered by his considerable size and strength. The thought of burying his cock in her made him almost lightheaded with desire.
He knew what General Krav would have told him. Take her. Dominate her. Make her scream. Enjoy her fear. She is yours. That was the mission.
Vox shook his head to rid himself of the Kronock voice. No. He didn’t want her that way. He knew what he had to do, but he would do it his way.
“I will not force you,” he said, feeling her warm breath, quick and shallow. “I will only claim you when you ask me to.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Then that’s never going to happen.”
Vox brushed a hair off her face, his fingertip grazing her cheek. “You will want me to take you.”
“You’re pretty cocky.” Her pupils flared. “But, I’m never going to want that.”
“We will see,” he whispered.
“So you’re not going to touch me until I tell you to?” she asked, her voice shaky.
He cupped her chin in his hand. “I did not say that.” He rubbed his thumb across her jawbone. “I plan to run my hands and mouth over every bit of you. In time.”
She gasped and jerked back. “No fucking way.”
Vox shot a hand around her back to keep her from running, grasping a fistful of her shirt and pulling her flush to him. “We could always do it the other way. No one will interrupt us, no matter how much you scream.”
Her breathing was ragged, and her gaze darted to the contraption in the corner. “So you’re telling me it will only go as far as foreplay?”
“What is foreplay?”
Her cheeks reddened. “Kissing, touching, you know. All the stuff leading up to sex.”
His heart hammered in his chest. “Until you tell me you want more. Then I will give you more.”
She steadied her breath and met his eyes. “So you promise that unless I tell you to, you won’t…?”
He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should make such a promise. His entire mission depended on him impregnating her. Wanting her to be a willing partner was a luxury he knew he shouldn’t allow. It was one General Krav would have scoffed at. Then again, Krav had never felt the rush of desire flaring in a female’s eyes as he claimed her. Vox had, and knew there was nothing like it in the universe. The part of him that was not bionic needed her to want him as much as he wanted her.
He felt his resolve harden as he leaned close to her ear. “I promise I will not fuck you until you beg me, pretty human.”
He heard her breath hitch in her chest, as he nipped her neck.
“Okay, then,” she whispered. “It’s a deal. But my name is Shreya. Not ‘pretty human.’”
He repeated the name in his head, the sounds strange and soft to his tongue. “Fine, then, Shreya. You are probably eager to get out of those clothes.”
“Not real—” she began.
“I arranged for something more fitting for you to wear.” He crossed to a door set in one of the walls and slid it open, revealing a closet with garments hanging within. He pulled out a diaphanous, white dress knotted at the shoulders that draped in sheer layers.
When he turned around, holding it out, she was already shaking her head. “That’s like a see-through toga.”
He glanced at it as he walked toward her. “I do not know what a toga is, but this will look nice on you.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “I’m fine in what I have on, thanks.”
He frowned and cast a glance at the giant X. “I’m happy to tie you up and undress you.”
Her eyes skittered to the straps on the crossed beams, and she snatched the dress out of his hands. “Fine.”
She made a beeline for the open bathroom door, and he watched as she slammed it behind her. Vox did not mind a female with a little spirit. It would make it all the better when she finally submitted to him.
Chapter Five
Shreya leaned her back against the door of the bathroom once she’d closed it, cursing when she saw that the chamber had no windows. She shouldn’t have expected any. Vox may have been part machine, but he wasn’t stupid, and she doubted very much the alien fairy that ran the place was, either.
Grateful that she was alone and away from the imposing and watchful alien, she tossed the dress on the long vanity. She may have to wear it eventually, but she wasn’t putting it on until the last possible moment. Being in the bathroom should buy her a few minutes, at least.
At least there was nothing creepy in here, she thought. No straps or harnesses. Just lots of cream-colored stone, and a few matching towels draped on hooks.
Her gaze went to the corner where what looked like a larger circular shower head extended down from the ceiling over a single drain in the floor. No shower doors, and only a few buttons on the wall she assumed were controls.
Shreya felt the day’s grime on her, as she cast a nervous glance at the door. It didn’t appear to lock, but he wouldn’t interrupt her in here, would he?
“Screw it,” she whispered to herself, pulling off her clothes and tossing them onto the counter next to the dress. She was dying for a shower.
Stepping under the shower head, she cautiously pressed one of the buttons. Nothing. Frowning, she tried another, and water began cascading from the ceiling. Freezing water. She danced away from the stream with a small yelp, darting her hand to the buttons again, jabbing anything in her attempt to warm it.
Momentarily, the water heated and the room began to smell like a bag of potpourri. She stepped back under the stream. Not only was the water gloriously hot, it was scented and slightly slick. She rubbed her arms and saw the water bead. Leave it to an alien brothel to add scented oil to the water.
Shreya let out a small moan of contentment as she let the water pour over her, leaning her head back and feeling it cascade down her face and hair. With her eyes closed, she could almost imagine she was back on the Boat in her own shower.
“Turn around.”
His deep voice made her eyes fly open, and she flattened herself against the wall with a scream.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” she yelled. “Get out!”
“I’m watching you.”
She swiped at her face in an attempt to get the oily water out of her eyes, but didn’t turn to look at him. “You can’t just walk in on me in the bathroom like a pervert. That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“Would you rather I touch you? I could assist in your cleaning.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t need help. Can you please go?”
“I enjoy watching.”
Now, she twisted her head to see him leaning against the counter, his long legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. His arms were propping him up on the counter, and the huge bulge in his pants was unmistakable. “I’ll bet you do.”
“If you are done, I can assist you in dressing.”
She pressed the wall buttons until the water flow stopped, and then crossed her arms over her breasts as she turned. “I can dress myself, thanks.”
He pulled a towel from a nearby hook, and handed it to her as he stood.
Snatching it from his hand, she quickly wrapped it around her chest. She moved toward her discarded pants and shirt, but he blocked her, holding out the nearly sheer dre
ss instead.
“I’ve worn hospital gowns with more coverage than that,” she said, wrinkling her nose at the garment.
“Your other clothes are not practical,” he said.
She pushed a dripping strand of hair off her forehead. “Pants and a button-down shirt aren’t practical?”
“Not for my purposes.”
She swallowed hard as he extended the dress to her. It didn’t take a huge amount of intellect to understand his purposes.
Shreya hesitated, and he grabbed her wrist. “Fine. We will do it my way.”
“Wait.” She leaned back as he propelled her out of the bathroom and across the room toward the giant X. “I’ll put it on.”
He dragged her closer to the huge, flat beams with straps at the corners. “You had your chance, human.”
Jerking against his large hands seemed to have no effect on the alien. He was too strong. Panic clawed at her throat when they reached the apparatus, and he strapped one of her wrists to the top.
“You don’t need to do this,” she said, straining against his grip as he tugged her other arm into place and fastened the restraint over it.
“That is where you are wrong,” he said, his breathing heavy. “You must submit to me. That is the mission. Krav failed to keep the human female and bend her to his will, but I will not.”
She wasn’t sure exactly what he was talking about, but she had heard some whisperings on the Boat about one of the tribute brides being taken by the Kronock. Maybe that was the female this Krav had failed to keep.
The towel slipped from her body and dropped to the floor, leaving her exposed with her wrists bound to the top of the giant X. Oily water dripped down from her hair and mingled with the tears she felt squeezing out of the corners of her eyes.
“You promised,” she said, her voice cracking.
Vox picked up the towel. “I have no intention of hurting you, nor will I force myself on you. But only if you keep your promise to me.”
She flinched as he began rubbing the towel down her arms, relaxing slightly when she realized he was only drying her.
He patted her soaking hair, leaning closer until his face was inches from hers. “You should be glad it was me that took you, and not one of my Kronock crew mates. They would have already impaled you on their scaly cocks.”
She made a strangled noise in the back of her throat as he bent lower to dry her legs, and she could feel warm puffs of his breath against her stomach. He dragged the towel between her legs, and she twitched from the touch.
“Lift your foot.”
She looked down. “What?”
He crouched in front of her, the dress bunched near her feet. She lifted one foot and then the other so he could slip the dress over her legs. Leaning her head back and keeping her eyes closed, she felt the soft fabric pass over her knees and hips. He pulled it up over her stomach and her breasts, then tied the straps at the top of her shoulders.
Shreya opened her eyes and saw him appraising her, his gaze traveling from her feet up. When he reached her eyes, he closed the short distance between them and put a hand gently on her waist, his thumb rubbing up and down through the silky fabric. “Was that so bad?”
Her breath was quick and shallow as she shook her head, and a rush of heat throbbed between her legs. “Can you untie me now?”
“Soon enough.” He traced a finger down her throat, leaning his face close and inhaling deeply. “You smell good enough to eat.”
Shreya closed her eyes as he licked the side of her neck, her nipples pebbling and an unwanted shiver of pleasure jolting her body. You do not want this, she told herself. You do not want him.
Too bad her body hadn’t gotten the message. As he made a low noise, shivers shot down her spine, and she fought to keep from moaning aloud. It was a good thing her hands were bound and holding her up, or she certainly would have collapsed.
His touch was almost gentle as his hands skimmed the front of her dress, brushing over her hard nipples, grazing her hips and caressing her thighs. When one hand dipped under the hem of her dress, her eyes snapped open and her legs clamped together.
Vox’s face was above hers, and his one real eye peered down at her intensely. With one hand he held her hip, as he ran the other hand up her bare thigh. When he reached the place where her legs met, he paused.
“You’re wet,” he said, his fingers touching the slickness between her upper thighs. The pupil in his eye widened, the sea-green being overtaken by black.
Shreya pressed her lips together almost as tightly as she’d clamped her legs. What was wrong with her? Why was she getting turned on by this guy? Part-cyborg aliens definitely weren’t her type, even if he was built. And she wasn’t into bondage or kinky stuff, was she? Her pussy throbbed, and she cursed her traitorous body.
She closed her eyes again, bracing herself for him to force her legs open. Her body trembled and her breath was shallow. When she felt him pull away, her eyes flew open. Without a word, he dropped her dress and unstrapped her hands.
Rubbing her wrists, she stumbled away from him, even though she was unhurt. Shaken and freaked out by the fact that she’d gotten so aroused, yes, but not hurt.
“I told you I will wait until you ask me to claim you,” he said, crossing to the table filled with bottles.
That would never happen, she told herself, trying to ignore the slickness between her thighs.
Chapter Six
Shreya watched him standing at the drinks cart. She wouldn’t mind if he drank himself into oblivion, although considering his size, she didn’t know if there was enough liquor on the table for that. From what she’d seen and heard, Drexians could handle their booze, and, despite his current identity crisis, his biology was still mostly Drexian. At least she thought it was.
She felt ridiculous in the flimsy dress and kept her arms crossed over her breasts, since the fabric provided little coverage. She shifted from one leg to the other and stared at her empty glass on the table. Although she rarely drank, she wouldn’t have minded some more of whatever sweet drink he’d poured her. Anything to keep from dwelling on the deal she’d made, what she was wearing, and how her own body had reacted. What had she been thinking to agree to let him touch her? A shiver passed through her body, and she wasn’t sure if it was wholly from fear.
It wasn’t as if she’d had a choice, she told herself. Her other option had been to let him drag her off to bed right then and there. She believed him when he said no one would respond to her cries for help. It was clear he’d brought her to a place where women’s screams were commonplace, and she suspected the winged madam was paid handsomely to look the other way.
“Bitch,” she whispered to herself, as she thought about the alien fairy. She usually didn’t like to trash other women, but in this case, she thought it was well-deserved. A female who made her living off the pain and imprisonment of other women was pretty low in Shreya’s book, even if she did flit around on iridescent wings.
She didn’t blame the little one, Cerise, who had shown them to the room. That creature had seemed as frightened as she was, and Shreya wondered what horrors she’d endured, living on this lawless planet.
Keeping one eye on Vox, she backed away until she reached a pair of chairs to one side of the bed. Even though she was exhausted, she didn’t dare lie down. Instead, she sank into one of the plush, velvet chairs, letting herself relax against the gold-tufted pillows as she watched her captor from across the room.
Vox rubbed his forehead, leaning one hand against the table as his face contorted in obvious pain. She wondered if this had anything to do with what she’d discovered during her research. In decrypting the Kronock records, she’d learned that even though Kronock DNA had been added to his existing Drexian DNA, his cells had eventually begun to reject it.
Since she’d never seen the kind of experiments the Kronock had done on him, she had no idea what kind of reaction Vox’s body would have when the Kronock DNA fully degraded. The reason she’d bee
n on the rescue mission in the first place, had been so she could stabilize his DNA once they’d captured him. She’d prepared a series of injections she’d hoped would boost the Drexian DNA and stabilize it once the Kronock DNA broke down. Of course, all of that was back on the Drexian ship he’d abducted her from, which was probably light years from where she was now.
Shreya eyed him as he massaged his temples, his forehead creased as he grimaced in pain. If the DNA breakdown was happening faster than she’d anticipated, maybe she didn’t have to worry about her promise. From the looks of it, the guy wouldn’t be capable of doing much within a day or two. Maybe if she could wait him out, he’d keel over and she could escape.
Nice, she thought. Your entire mission was to save him and now you’re going to wait until he dies?
Vox poured himself another drink, swirling the green liquid in the glass before slamming it back.
But she didn’t really have a choice, did she? It wasn’t like she had a lab, or any of her supplies. Even if she wanted to save the guy whose entire mission in life seemed to be to impregnate her, she didn’t have the equipment to pull it off.
Vox pulled the scaly, gray armor over his head and set it on an upholstered bench. Beneath the armor, his chest was bare and huge.
Shreya couldn’t help staring at him, her pulse quivering. Although his arms were partially scaled, the sculpted curves of his muscles looked smooth. Hard and sleek, she thought, as her gaze traveled lower, to the bumpy ridges of his stomach and the v-cut that disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants.
She jerked her gaze away, hoping he hadn’t noticed her gaping. She also hoped that his stripping down wasn’t a sign that he was ready to take her up on their deal. She swallowed, but her throat was dry, and she ended up coughing so hard she finally put her head between her knees.
“Drink this.”
His voice jarred her, and she jumped when she realized he’d closed the distance between them and stood in front of her.
“Thanks.” She took the drink, grateful for both the cool liquid to stop her coughing and for something to fill her stomach.