He ran his hands through his hair. “Something about you called to my soul. And in response, I deliberately disobeyed an order and brought you instead to my barracks. Then I brought you here. I could be killed for this if I’m found out. That’s how serious of a breach it is.”
She studied his face while his words sank in. He’d saved her on purpose because he wanted her. And to protect her from a horrible fate. Finally, she understood what he’d been telling her since yesterday.
Callie stood and tentatively sat on his lap. He put his arms around her, but his eyes still held an expression of hurt. “Forgive me, Jakara. I’m trying so hard to make sense of all this. I’ve lost everything I knew. Please give me time to accept it.”
His gaze finally softened. “I know you have. I do tend to forget that because your very presence makes my blood boil, and when I look into your eyes my heart melts.”
She sighed out loud. No man had ever come close to speaking to her in such words. And she knew he spoke from his heart. There was nothing phony or rehearsed about his speech. “In addition to the porn you all seem so obsessed with, did you ever read any of our books, or watch any of our other movies?”
“Yes. We studied all of it.”
She smiled.
“Why do you ask?”
“I was wondering what you thought of our fairy tales.” Because you’re my knight in shining armor, flying a spaceship instead of riding a white horse.
“Their very name suggests they are not to be taken seriously.”
“You’d be surprised how many girls grow up to be women who still believe in them. Far more than we believe in the ridiculous stories in pornos.”
“I suppose we might have misjudged the thought processes that went into the making of such an industry.”
“What you’ve done is only look at one side of it. The male side, for the most part. You forgot to take the female views into account.”
“I believe the term you’re searching to call me is sexist.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Not in so many words. But I’m not upset by it. It’s a different society than the one you grew up in. This is who we are. The sooner you accept it, the easier this will be for you.”
“And what happens when you grow tired of me?”
He looked at her like she’d just asked him why the sky wasn’t yellow with pink dots. “Why would I grow tired of you? Do you still not understand that I’ve claimed you? You’re mine. I won’t give you up. Not for anything.”
Callie felt dizzy as the realization of what he meant hit her. This was her life now. She was here, with Jakara, and no one but an old neighbor of his knew about her. Even if her family were still alive, they wouldn’t be able to find her. If her friends and neighbors from Earth came here to look for her, they wouldn’t succeed.
Lizzy must be wondering by now why she never showed up for work. She would never know the truth. Callie O’Doyle, for all intents and purposes, had ceased to exist. She was a prisoner now. Jakara’s prisoner. And there was nothing she could do about it.
Chapter Six
Jakara showed Callie how to use the communications system to contact him if she needed to, and she asked intelligent questions about it, but he knew from the tone of her voice that something had changed since last night.
When she asked him when he had to leave again, he told her he could spend the day with her and leave in the morning. He showed her the rest of the house, and then took her on the roof where she spotted the telescope.
“Can we see Earth?”
“No. It’s too far away, and this isn’t powerful enough. But tonight we’ll come up here and look at the stars.”
She glanced around at the dry, rocky terrain. “Does it rain here?”
“Not very often. But there is plenty of water underground. I’ve dug two wells for this home, so that will never be a problem.”
“Is that why no one wants to live here?”
“It’s a large part of the reason why.”
“What do you do in your spare time? Don’t you have friends?”
He gave her a sheepish grin. “I read a lot.”
“What do you read?”
“Your planet has a wealth of books on military history.”
“You’re kidding. You read about battles for fun?”
“Not for fun. For education.”
“What was the last novel you read?”
“I’ve never read fiction.”
“When was the last time you listened to music for pleasure?”
“I don’t.”
“All right. I have a plan. A proposal, if you will. I’ll stop crying at the drop of a hat, and will try my damndest to accept my fate, if you agree to read a novel and listen to a symphony. Just once.”
“You have no bargaining chips, Callie.”
“I can refuse to enjoy sex with you.”
The slow, sexy grin that spread across his face sent desire racing through her body. The moment she said it, she knew she was in trouble. He put his arms around her, and her pussy was instantly wet.
“I seriously doubt that would last long.”
She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but it was too late. Those big, strong arms held her firmly now. “Pretty confident in your abilities, aren’t you?”
He gave her an incredulous look. “And what do you call last night? You came five times. Tell me how often in your life you’ve had five orgasms in one night.”
“You put some kind of a spell on me.”
He shook his head. “I told you I don’t possess such powers. What happened last night was real. I exerted no control over your reaction to me.” His voice was soft, soothing, and it filled the frightened, lonely spaces inside her head until all she wanted to do was hold him and fuck him again. If he wasn’t doing this to her, what the hell was? Where had she kept this passion hidden? Or maybe it had only needed the right man to unleash it?
Jakara kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and clung to him like a life raft. When he lifted her in his arms, she assumed they were going back to bed, but instead he carried her down the stairs and into the bathroom. Then he placed her on her feet.
He opened the faucets in the bathtub, and then he peeled off his shirt and pants. He wore no underwear, and it struck her that he hadn’t had any on last night, either. She reached for the hem of her tunic, but he shook his head. “Allow me.” He lifted it over her head, then gazed at her breasts for a moment before removing her pants as well.
“Does anyone on your planet wear underwear?”
He smiled slightly. “It gets very warm this far south. Why wear extra layers of clothing if there is no need to?”
“In that case, wouldn’t cotton be a better choice for that outfit you just took off me? It’s cooler than silk.”
“But I prefer silk. The fabric lies nicely against your curves, and when I run my hands over the material, it’s more pleasing.”
He pulled her close and held her, caressing her hair and back until Callie moaned softly and pressed against his dick. When he released the embrace, he took her hand and helped her into the warm water. He handed her a cake of sea green soap that smelled like peppermint. “Wash me, Callie. Touch my body the way a lover would.”
Callie looked into his dark eyes and thought of the boyfriends she’d had. Certainly not a lot by today’s standards, she’d still never had an experience like this with any of them. She wasn’t even sure she’d loved any of them, and only one had told her he loved her. She’d been fourteen. As if anyone knows what the hell they want out of life at that age.
But Jakara looked at her now with love in his eyes. Or at least, tenderness. One thing was certain. He was true to his word. He hadn’t hurt her, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. She felt that in the air. There was no logical explanation for it, but she didn’t want one. She only wanted to immerse herself in the moment and enjoy this seductive, gorgeous man.
She too
k her time with the soap, reveling in every quiver of his muscles and sighing out loud at each deep, sexy moan. She’d never touched such a perfect body. When she washed his dick, she also reached underneath and gently brushed her soapy hands over his balls. That earned her loud groans and a hard tug on her hair as he brought his mouth to her neck. He nuzzled it, sending tiny jolts of electricity straight to her already throbbing clit.
She moved her hand over his balls, his dick, and even his asshole while he nibbled at her neck and tugged on her hair almost to the point of pain. Her entire being was on fire for him. She had no clue if what she wanted to do would work in the water, but she put the soap back on its dish at the side of the tub and climbed on top of him.
When he realized what she intended to do, he had to help her sheath her pussy over his dick, and because they were under the water without lube, it hurt for a moment or two, but once he massaged her clit and kissed her again, the pain was replaced with the most exquisite, decadent pleasure she’d ever felt.
He grasped her hips and bounced her up and down, fucking her like a runaway freight train. The water splashed over the sides of the tub, and Callie’s orgasm tore through her, forcing loud moans from her throat.
“Oh baby … oh that is insanely good. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”
His voice sent fresh desire coursing through her, and it was all Callie could do to hang on as a second climax built. When she came, he did, too, yelling her name over and over as he bucked into her fast and furious.
When he lifted her out of the water, she clung to him as he stepped over the side, and then he placed her on her feet and dried her off. She was still panting when he led her back to bed, where she curled up in his strong arms and slept again.
****
Callie woke and sat up, glancing around for Jakara, but he wasn’t in the room. She had no idea how long she’d slept. The clock said eleven-ten, and then she remembered him telling her they used military time. That meant it couldn’t have been too long because it was still morning. But where was he?
Her clothes were on a chair. He must have brought them in from the bathroom, so she put them on and glanced around for her shoes, but didn’t see them. She heard male voices coming from the direction of the kitchen, and one of them was Jakara’s. Who else was in the house with him? He’d told her no one knew about this place except Lesha.
She edged closer to the archway leading into the kitchen, and flattened herself against the wall to listen.
“If you’re not with us, what do you stand for?” That was the male voice she didn’t recognize.
“I stand for what we started out to do,” said Jakara. “There was no talk of building a compound where we would exploit the Earth women for profit or entertainment. We fought for our freedom, and to live the way we wanted to without having to account for every pleasure we savored. Without having to deny our basic needs in the name of an ancient moral code that only a few still subscribe to.”
“And yet you fly to Earth four times a week and round up the girls left behind.”
“It’s my job. I have to do that.”
“Jakara, you can’t have it both ways. You’re a soldier in their army and this is your mission, but on your own time you hide out here and refuse to help us with this project.”
“What I do on my own time is my business, Walton. It always has been. I don’t ask you to account for your whereabouts.”
“I’m not here to accuse you. I’m here to warn you. Logan is watching you closely, and so are a lot of the Section Chiefs. They know you were in your barracks last night but then you were gone, and you missed a sweep today.”
“I contacted them this morning and told them I was ill.”
“You don’t look ill.”
“It’s none of your damn business whether I am or not.”
“You’d best take caution with your actions and your words. You know how precarious our situation is right now. Don’t draw unwanted attention to yourself, Jakara.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No. It’s a warning from your oldest friend. At least, I still consider myself a friend. Do you?”
“I don’t know. That depends on how much of this conversation you take back to them.”
“I wouldn’t do that. But if you don’t start making at least a cursory effort to help with this project, I can’t cover for you any longer.”
“I never asked you to cover for me.”
“I can’t reason with you. I’ve done what I came to do. If you choose to continue down this path, it won’t be on my head.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
She heard a door slam, and then had a moment of hot panic when she realized that if Jakara found her here, he’d know she heard the conversation. But he was in the kitchen, slamming around dishes and pans. She forced herself to wait for a moment, then walked in. “Are you okay?”
He whirled around, still holding a frying pan. “Yes. No. I don’t know!”
She took a seat at the table. “Is it something I did?”
He put down the pan, and his gaze softened. “No. Of course not. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“I heard you arguing. Was it with Lesha? Is she upset with you?”
His eyes narrowed slightly, and she cringed inwardly. What if he was able to tell she was fishing for information? But then the expression was gone, and he sighed as he took a seat next to her. “It wasn’t Lesha. There is one other person who knows about this house. His name is Walton, and we were friends in our youth. He rarely comes here, but he did today because my Section Chief isn’t convinced I was too ill to fly a scheduled sweep.”
“Isn’t that dangerous for you?”
“Yes. Living here is dangerous. It always has been.”
“Will Walton betray you?”
He shook his head. “I no longer know whether he would betray me, but you’re safe. He doesn’t know about you.”
She refrained from telling him that his assessment of the situation didn’t make her feel any safer. “What do I do if he comes to the house while you’re gone?”
“He can’t get inside, and if Lesha is here she won’t let him see you. You have nothing to worry about.”
She wanted desperately to ask him about the things she’d heard, but would he be upset to learn she’d been eavesdropping? “Then his voice must be the other one I heard. I thought it sounded male, but since you’d told me only Lesha knew about the house, I thought I was mistaken.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Why could I understand you? Why weren’t you speaking your own language?”
“We speak yours to practice.”
“You and Lesha do that, too.”
His gaze turned suspicious. “What exactly did you hear me and Walton say to each other, Callie?”
“I heard him tell you to be careful, and I heard something about exploiting Earth women for profit and entertainment.”
He sighed out loud and rested his face in his hands for a moment, and then he stood and held out his hand. “Come with me. I need to show you this. Maybe then you’ll understand.”
Chapter Seven
Jakara suspected Callie had heard more than she told him, but since there was nothing he could do to change that, he wouldn’t make an issue out of it. He had neglected to tell her about Walton, so they were even. He took her up to the roof and pointed the telescope toward the north, then told her to look through the viewfinder but not touch a thing.
She did, and then she asked what the building was.
“It’s a compound that I assumed we were building to house the Earth women. The original plan was to bring them here and make them our partners. Yes, for sex.”
“You already told me that.”
He forced himself to calm down. It wasn’t fair to be angry at her for this, and now that he’d discussed it with her, he realized how much they’d taken for granted about the women on Earth, and how wrong they’d been about some of their assumptions. But he couldn�
�t do anything about that, either. And he’d certainly never be able to convince the others they were wrong. He was in deep shit here, but he still didn’t regret bringing Callie with him.
“I know. Let me explain. Obviously we didn’t dig deeper than the surface. Your obsession with sex is evident in everything. Your literature, your advertising, and your popular music. Had we taken the time to explore further, we would have realized there are boundaries and mores, just as the Regum have. Though not nearly as strict, I assure you.”
“So why not just let everyone know you were wrong?”
He snorted. “Because they’d probably kill me. Or sentence me to a lifetime of hard labor in the mines on Addo. This runs deeper than choosing to conquer your planet. The Tyranns have been trying to fight for their independence for over forty years. Other planets have been conquered by the Regum for various uses, but this was something we wanted. Something we could do to assert our needs. They try to come into our homes and tell us how to behave. They want to control our thoughts. They want to exert power over our very souls. They try to force us to deny our basic needs.”
“Why do they do that?”
“Because they’ve been in power for centuries, and instead of pushing us toward progress and enlightenment, they’ve actually moved us backward in terms of thinking and feeling. We’re so advanced in technology. Do you know we can actually travel outside the galaxy now? It won’t be long before we can explore the very edges of the universe as we know it.”
“So why are they so uptight about sex? I’m assuming you need it to procreate, right?”
He shook his head. “Even that might not be a reality soon. They’re very close to producing our babies in incubators.”
“Brave New World.”
“I’m sorry?”
“It’s a novel. You know … that fiction you don’t read. It was written in 1931 by a man named Aldous Huxley, and it’s set in London in the year 2540. It’s his vision of a world where we make our babies in test tubes and dictate which class they’ll belong to from birth. One of the ways they accomplish this is by making them listen to affirmations so they’re perfectly content in their lives. To rebel against such ideas or have aspirations to be something other than what you were born to be is considered the height of idiocy and subversive behavior.”
Kidnapped by a Warrior Page 5