“I’m sorry.” Jarrett sighed. “I keep saying that.”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry, too.”
“But we’ll make it work on Earth. I know we will.” Jarrett smiled, but it looked forced.
Ranic realized they were locked on course and there wasn’t anything for them to do for a while, so he took his mate’s hand and rose.
“Okay, where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see.” Ranic figured since Jarrett hadn’t been in space except for when he’d kidnapped him and this trip, he didn’t know some of the more interesting things they could do in zero gravity.
Jarrett was a natural once he overcame the queasy feeling that seemed to strike most beings with stomachs. They were in the middle of a delicate docking maneuver between their mouths and cocks when an alarm blared.
“What the hell is that?” Jarrett broke away, inverted himself, then struggled to get dressed.
Ranic returned gravity to the ship, dressed, and then made his way to the bridge. He thought it might be something to do with their low fuel, but what he saw outside made his knees almost turn to water.
“Holy shit! What the hell is that thing?”
“It’s a Krase warship.” Ranic would know those distinctive black–and-maroon marks anywhere. He didn’t speak Krase, and his implant couldn’t interpret the symbols, but it didn’t matter when he recognized them as being Krase in origin after his brief foray onto their planet.
“They sent out a fucking battleship for the two of us?” Jarrett dropped into the copilot chair and considered the console with frantic desperation. “Who am I kidding? Even if I knew what all this stuff does, we’re not going to get away from them, are we?”
“No.” Ranic turned off his engines and prepared the ship to be boarded before they even asked him to do so. In the face of such overwhelming force, he wasn’t going to try to fool himself that he could do anything but immediately surrender.
The massive cruiser was easily thirty or maybe even fifty times the size of their battered little ship. As he settled into the pilot chair, he realized the obvious. No one sent out Krase warriors unless the situation was deadly serious. Realizing that he might have only moments left with Jarrett, Ranic wanted to tell him everything in one great big blast. He turned. Their gazes met and held. Ranic opened his mouth to tell Jarrett that he was so grateful for the time they had together. It had been so dreadfully short, but it had been wonderful nonetheless. He wanted to tell Jarrett that he would never forget him and probably never love again. But none of that came out of his mouth.
“I’m so sorry.” Jarrett reached for him.
“It’s not your fault.” Ranic took his hand.
“I just wish we would have had more time.”
“I love you.” Ranic peered into Jarrett’s eyes and swore what he said seemed too minor at such a moment. Such a confession should be more enormous, and it shouldn’t come when death was right on the outside of their tiny little world. “I know that seems so small in the vastness of the universe, but I—”
“I swear that I love you, too.” Jarrett’s lips were upon his, tight, firm, so hungry and willing. “Maybe someday in another place, another lifetime from now, we’ll be together.”
Ranic nodded even though he didn’t believe in reincarnation. But if Jarrett did, then he wanted him to have whatever comfort that might give him.
“What in the hell are they doing?”
Ranic looked out and realized the loading bay of the Krase ship was opening like a huge mouth. For a moment, the sight held him transfixed. He was like one of the asteroid chunks being swept toward the crushing belts so they could strip him of vital minerals. Before he allowed himself to go too far with his imaginings, he pulled himself back and realized what they were doing.
“We’re so small I guess they’re just pulling the whole ship inside rather than boarding us.”
“I’ve never felt so insignificant in my life.” Jarrett’s hand on his squeezed so hard it almost hurt. “What should we do?”
“What can we do?”
“Lock the door and refuse to come out?” Jarrett laughed, but it was a little high and hysterical sounding.
“I don’t think that would work.”
Eventually the Krase ship swallowed them up. When they looked out, all they saw was the inside of a massive cargo bay. The area was remarkably bare, which made Ranic fairly certain that they had been sent to retrieve them at all costs. Keeping their ship empty would make it faster and give it a longer range with their fuel supply. Not that it mattered so much. They hadn’t really given them a challenge in any way.
“Maybe they won’t even come in.” Ranic thought that would make the trip back to Krase tolerable. He hadn’t had enough time to become used to people looking at him. The thought of being peered at by a bunch of terrifying Krase warriors without the protection of his suit made him shake.
“It’s going to be okay.” Jarrett was determined to keep positive, and Ranic couldn’t help but admire him.
Just when he thought maybe they would be safe inside their crummy ship, the Krase sent a message over the com. They were going to be boarded and taken into custody.
“Wow. They don’t mince words, do they?”
“The Krase are rather direct.” He thought back to the two who had fought so desperately to win human slaves from the same batch that Ranic had gotten Jarrett from. Perhaps that explained why the Krase were involved. Not only had the crimes happened on their world, but several of their own people had been involved in buying illegal slaves.
“God, you’re shaking so hard.”
“I don’t want them to see me.”
“Maybe we can find something to cover you up with.” Jarrett was up and moving swiftly through the ship, trying to find a way to protect Ranic from the prying eyes of the Krase, but there wasn’t anything that would work. Even the suits that were there so he could affect repairs on the ship in the depth of space were too small to cover him. The only clothing they had was the loincloths and their wedding suits. He’d never heard the phrase traveling light until Jarrett said it, but they were indeed traveling very light. The bulk of their belongings was the money they had acquired from selling Ranic’s suit and the two passages sent by the auction house.
They were waiting in the main part of the ship when the outer hatch opened. Into the tiny little ship that Jarrett had worked so hard to clean up strode two enormous Krase warriors.
Chapter 11
Jarrett stepped in front of Ranic. “He doesn’t have his suit, and he is Finoc. I request a covering for him.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. In a way, that was good because he wanted to protect his mate, but in a way that was very bad because he was standing up to two massive monsters who looked hungry. Just as Ranic said, they were eight feet tall, four feet wide, and had skin the color of dried blood. Their eyes were red, their teeth were sharp, and something was squirming in the front of their pants.
One of them moved a slight bit in front of the other. He seemed to have more markings on his uniform, so Jarrett thought he might be the superior officer. His bloodred eyes darted around in his skull very quickly, as if he were assessing the room. What he saw lifted one edge of his mouth.
That fucker is laughing at us. Jarrett was furious. Here he was scared out of his mind, and this overgrown demon spawn was silently chuckling at the state of their ship. Or maybe at them. Possibly both.
“I said I need—”
“I heard you.” The officer turned to the other and said something so softly Jarrett couldn’t hear, but he never took his eyes off Jarrett.
Ranic was behind Jarrett with his face tucked down against the back of his shoulder. He was shaking. Jarrett reached back to comfort him, and the massive beast was in front of Jarrett so fast he didn’t even see him move until he was just there. In order to keep eye contact, Jarrett had to tilt his head far back. It was disconcerting, especially when the creature smelled like raw meat.
“You stay still.” The officer peered past Jarrett to Ranic and looked ready to reach for him.
Jarrett had no idea what possessed him, but he reached up and clasped the Krase officer’s hand. “You will not touch my mate.”
He didn’t drop his hand, but he did stop moving it toward Ranic. The officer tilted his head and turned the focus of his scary gaze fully on Jarrett. Despite the fear that was slamming adrenaline through his body, he didn’t back down. If he was going to die, he would go out protecting the man he loved.
“You are brave.” The officer lowered his hand. “Foolish, but brave.”
Jarrett would take that assessment because he could have just eaten his face off and spit it out. Being complimented then denigrated wasn’t so bad when it could have been a hell of a lot worse.
The other Krase warrior brought a small square of what looked like golden fabric. Ironically, it looked very much like what Ranic had given him to cover up with at the auction house.
“For your mate.” The officer handed the fabric to Jarrett.
Turning slightly to the side, Jarrett gave the golden fabric to Ranic. “Will this work?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Ranic covered up his head, leaned close to Jarrett, and whispered, “You really are very brave.”
Bless him, he left out the calling him a fool part. Jarrett didn’t think it was possible, but he loved him even more.
“Why have you boarded our ship?” Jarrett asked. No sense spilling their guts about everything. Maybe these guys didn’t know. It was highly doubtful, but it wasn’t impossible.
“Your ship?” the officer asked pointedly while lifting both of his brows.
Jarrett met his probing stare with one of his own. Maybe he was cut out for a life as a criminal. After he realized these massive monsters weren’t just going to rush in and start tearing limbs off, he felt a little more self-assured.
“This ship is the property of Galf Lor of Yad.” The officer lifted his arm, touched what looked like a wristwatch, and projected a holograph of what looked like a title. As impressed as Jarrett was with the supercool technology, Jarrett didn’t let it show because it was clear from the ho-hum way the officer used the device that it was something he totally took for granted. “It’s clear from this paper that he is the registered owner.”
Rather than infuriate or embarrass him, Jarrett found the information gave him a burst of hope. Maybe all of this was over a stolen ship! “Clearly, there’s been a miscommunication. My mate”—Jarrett couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed calling Ranic that—“rented this ship for several days. It’s not due back until—”
The smirk on the officer’s face turned into a full smile. He chuckled low and grumbly, sounding almost like he was a lawn mower trying to start. “I was furious when I was sent on this mission. I could not believe that I, a fully named warrior with three planets conquered”—he pointed to his right cheek and Jarrett noticed an odd tattoo of a curve with three dots below it—“would be sent to apprehend a puny Earthling and a mysterious Finoc. Yet you are worth everything I’ve endured on this ship from the excretable food to the utter lack of sexual slaves.”
The officer’s gaze raked up Jarrett’s body and settled on his mouth. It was so blatant and suggestive that Jarrett felt molested even though he hadn’t been touched.
“I find I was entirely wrong about Earthlings.”
“Clearly, this is just a mix-up.” Jarrett forged ahead with his it’s-all-been-a-dreadful-mistake plan. “We were taking the ship back.”
“You were taking this ship to Earth.”
Jarrett was going to deny that, but if he did, he would have to tell this massive monster where they were going instead. Sadly, he didn’t know any other planet names. But maybe he could make his ignorance work to his advantage. “We got lost. I got us lost. I was trying to impress my husband, and I didn’t really know what I was doing. If you could just get us back on course to Aeirall, I’d be eternally grateful.”
For a brief moment he thought he had succeeded because a curious expression overcame the officer’s face. However, it washed away, and he was laughing again. Harder this time. “You are priceless.” The officer looked beyond Jarrett’s shoulder to Ranic. “I can’t believe you got him so cheap when he is truly valuable.”
“I wish you would stop laughing at me. It’s rude.”
“Rude?” The officer leaned over so his face was practically a breath away from Jarrett’s. “Rude is you treating me like a simpleton. Rude is you standing there telling me a story that wouldn’t fool a child. Rude is you acting like a big man when you are nothing but a dead man walking.”
His final comment told Jarrett it was all over. This officer knew the whole story and had only been toying with him. From what Ranic had said, Krasekind wasn’t very sympathetic. If they couldn’t fuck it or take it over, they generally destroyed it. Now it was clear they weren’t here for the ship. That was simply incidental. They were here for him. In a way he’d known it in his gut, but his hope had overshadowed that and messed with his mind.
“Don’t hurt my mate.”
The officer pulled back a fraction, his right eye narrowing.
“He didn’t know. He hasn’t done anything wrong except to try to protect me. If I willingly go with you, will you let him go unharmed?” Jarrett didn’t want to die, but if he had to, he sure as hell didn’t want Ranic to join him.
“Don’t offer yourself out like that.” Ranic stepped to Jarrett’s side and gripped his hand. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”
The officer considered them for a very long time without any expression on his face at all. Jarrett wasn’t sure if they were going to get laughed at again or if he was gearing up to start rearranging their limbs. If he were forced to choose, he’d rather have the laughter because that only hurt his pride.
“I have been ordered to take you into custody and escort you back to Krase.” He pointed to the other warrior and made a finger gesture that looked like some type of sign language.
The warrior nodded and left them.
“You will follow me without incident.”
“Or?”
The officer met his gaze. “Or I will separate you.”
Jarrett wasn’t sure if he meant him personally, like he would separate him into various piles, or if he meant he would take Ranic somewhere else. Since a fight with him was over long before it started, Jarrett decided simply to follow him wherever he wanted them to go.
Ranic pressed close to his side and said nothing, but it was clear from his trembling that he was scared out of his wits. No wonder. Krase warriors were gigantic. Now that he’d seen one up close, Jarrett found his brain trying to imagine how one of them would fit together with a human male. His ass tightened up in fear. Even if he were into anal sex, he still didn’t think a man could survive an encounter with one of those things. One slip and they’d crush the life out of their lover. Or slave. From what the officer said, there weren’t any sexual slaves on board, so Jarrett really didn’t want him looking at him for that.
“Wow.” Jarrett couldn’t believe his eyes once they stepped from the cargo bay into a hallway.
“What?” Ranic asked, keeping his voice so low Jarrett almost didn’t hear him.
“Now this is what a spaceship is supposed to look like.” The floors had some kind of grippy, spongy carpet that was so clean he could probably eat off it. The walls were covered in green fabric and there was a runner at about shoulder height that looked to be made of some kind of ridged plastic. Jarrett puzzled over it because he didn’t think it was strictly ornamental.
When the officer led them to a door with a panel right next to the archway, buried in the plastic liner, he realized it was probably a conduit for power lines. Since the ship was made of metal, that made sense. Not that it mattered, just that he was curious. And thinking about the ship and how it was engineered helped him to avoid thinking of his inevitable death.
For a moment, Jarrett thou
ght he would have been better off dying in the azure waters of the Caribbean. It would have been over relatively fast, and he would have died doing what he honestly loved. But then again, he never would have had his very brief time with Ranic. Dying earlier would have spared Ranic heartbreak, though. Jarrett wondered if he’d been given this chance to have this moment so he could die knowing what true love was really like.
“You will stay in here.” The officer opened the door and extended his hand.
Jarrett and Ranic stepped within to find a modestly appointed bedroom.
A low cough turned Jarrett’s attention back to the doorway. “If you cause me any trouble, I will put you in two separate rooms. This is a courtesy to you by me because I have thus far been entertained by your courage. However, do not attempt to break out because that would not be courageous.”
“That would be foolish.”
A little grin twisted the right side of the officer’s mouth. “You are far more intelligent than I was led to believe.”
“I can see the obvious.” Jarrett sighed. “How long until we reach Krase?”
The officer’s gaze went from Jarrett to Ranic to the bed. “You will have enough time.” He lifted one brow and then closed the door.
Jarrett didn’t bother to see if it was locked. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to try to break free, and he wouldn’t let Ranic attempt it, either. There was no point since getting out of the room meant they had to face dozens if not hundreds of those gigantic beasts. Since Jarrett couldn’t take on one in a fair fight, he sure as shit knew he wasn’t going to be able to take on a whole ship full of them.
“It’s not a bad room.” Ranic settled on the edge of the bed then took the golden fabric off. There were dried tracks of tears on his cheeks.
Enslaved by a Rebel [Sold! 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 8