by Joanna Wylde
“I had no idea,” Dani said, tears building in her eyes. No wonder the Guild wouldn’t allow members to own slaves.
“When we were ten, our entire crèche was sold in one lot to a broker,” Calla continued. “He had been taking orders throughout the mining field, and since Jess and I were born in incubators next to each other, we had sequential identification numbers. That’s the only reason we ended up together at Jenner’s.”
Calla looked up at Dani with a soft, mocking smile.
“It was easier for the accountant to give us to her, it made the books look tidy. That’s all we were, numbers in a book.”
“Calla, I don’t know what to say,” Dani whispered after a second. “I didn’t realize…”
“Few people do realize,” Calla said harshly. “Besides, I wasn’t even conceived. I’m not even human. Why should it matter?”
Dani just sat there, trying to digest what she’d heard. She had known there were slave farms, had guessed they were awful places. She never approved of slavery, never owned slaves… but she had friends who did. With horror, Dani thought of the times she’d been served by a slave in a restaurant. How many of her clothes had been made by slaves? Public slaves cleaned the streets and corridors of most communities where she’d lived. How many times had she carelessly dropped a food wrapper? Not often, but enough.
“So you see,” Calla continued. “I’m not actually that afraid any more of what Seth might do to me. I am afraid of things. I’m afraid of the asteroid field, I’m afraid I’ll get caught, and I’m afraid that I’ll never find Jess. I’m even afraid of Seth. But I’m tired of living in fear. I got soft at Jenner’s hostel—she was actually a pretty good mistress. She fed us and she was too cheap to pay for obedience conditioning. In fact, she was so good to us that we forgot she could get rid of us. Jess wanted to escape but I talked him out of it. I was wrong, Dani. We should have gone while we could. If I can’t find Jess, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Tears were pouring out of Dani’s eyes, running down her cheeks and even dripping on her beautiful silk tunic. She dropped her head in her hands, overwhelmed by Calla’s story. Calla seemed unmoved, carefully picking a small piece of lint off the elegant yet practical traveling outfit she wore. Her hand shook, though, and Dani realized she was not as calm as she appeared.
“Dani,” Calla said after a second. “It’s almost time for me to go. I don’t want our last moments together to be sad. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again, but if I make it I’ll send you a letter to let you know.”
Dani pulled herself together. Calla was right. This was no way to say goodbye; realistically, they might never see each other again.
“I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for me,” Calla said, then stood and held her arms out to her friend. The two women embraced for several minutes without talking. Dani, the taller, rested her head against Calla’s, wishing they had more time. Calla had become far more than a friend, she realized. This was like losing a family member. The past few weeks had brought them closer than many people would get in a lifetime. There was a soft knock at the door, and the house manager stuck her head in.
“Your client is here, Devora,” she said, looking at the younger woman with sympathy. Devora had made friends during her brief stay at the house; they were all concerned about her.
Dani put both her hands on Calla’s shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. Then, her voice breaking, she whispered, “Whatever anyone ever tells you, you’re just as much a beautiful, strong and fully human person as anyone else—I’ve known that from the day I met you. Don’t believe what Jenner told you, and don’t be afraid to go out and take what you deserve.”
Calla pulled away from Dani’s embrace, and wiped her eyes. Then she straightened herself resolutely and pulled a light veil down over her face. Dani handed Calla a satchel. A larger trunk—filled with her new clothing—had already been sent ahead to Seth’s ship.
“Goodbye,” she said briefly, then turned away from Dani. She stepped out of the room and walked over to where Seth stood, glowering at her. His face was grim, and he had several armed guards with him. He watched Calla, fingers flexing with anger, then turned his attention to Dani.
“I won’t forget this,” he said, flaying her with his eyes. His hands clenched again, and for a second Dani was worried he might break into violence right then and there. Poor Calla deserved better than this, she thought. She’d failed her friend with this contract—Seth was a madman.
When Calla reached his side, he reached out for her satchel. After a second’s consideration, she handed it to him. He passed it to one of his men, then placed one hand at the small of Calla’s back to guide her. The implication was clear—‘Devora’ was his. As they left the House of Lilies, the only thing giving Dani any hope for Calla was the fact that his touch had seemed gentle.
With a sigh, Dani allowed herself to sink into a chair and dropped her head back. It was over; there was nothing more she could do. Tension flowed out of her, and she realized she was shaking. It was time for a vacation, she though wearily. And then perhaps a new work placement. She was sick and tired of Discovery station.
* * * * *
Calla’s last trip through the station was a blur of excitement and trepidation. After seventeen years of slavery, she was finally free. All she had to do was make it out of the station unrecognized. Given the contingent of warriors surrounding her, that probably wouldn’t be a problem.
Seth had a transport waiting, which deposited them at his ship within five minutes of leaving the House of Lilies. The ship—only briefly visible to Calla through a porthole in the station’s bulkhead—was small and light. The kind used by smugglers. There wouldn’t be much room on board, she realized. His men must not be going with them. That was all right with her. The last thing she wanted was to have to service another man if Seth got tired of her.
“Your things are already in the sleeping room,” he said, firmly guiding her into the ship. She could feel the tension in his arm, though he remained gentle. “As you can see, it’s small. There’s the cockpit, an all-purpose room and galley, the sleeping chamber and some cargo space. Stay out of the cockpit unless I tell you otherwise.”
With that, Seth turned away from her and entered some numbers in the portal control panel. The little light over the door went from green to red, and Calla could hear internal pumps clearing the air out of the airlock. They were really leaving the station. She could hardly believe it!
“Can I watch as we leave?” she asked excitedly. She had all but forgotten he was angry with her. Seth looked at her with surprise; such enthusiasm wasn’t something he’d expected.
“Very well,” he said after a second. It wouldn’t harm anything, and while he was still upset with her for refusing to come with him earlier, she was his now. He could afford to give her this. “The cockpit is up the ladder. Go stow your things in the sleeping room, then join me there.”
Nodding, Calla all but ran through the all-purpose room toward two small doors on the other side. She looked back at him questioningly, wondering which one she should use. With a gesture, he indicated the door on the left. The other must lead to the cargo area, she concluded.
The sleeping area was not what she’d expected, since at the hostel she had cleaned his room many times. There had been nothing personal there, but this was different. Clearly he had lived on this ship for a long time, because there were pictures littering the walls. Setting down her satchel, Calla examined one closely. There was a man who looked somewhat like Seth, with a woman and three little boys. Seth’s brother? She wondered.
There were quite a few pictures of children in the room, she realized, looking around more carefully. Several were of the boys in various stages of growth. There were also colorful drawings, clearly the work of a child. One showed a large house, with two suns shining down on it. Another was a picture of a woman holding a baby. In large, scrawling print across the bottom was the name “Tasha.” Nex
t to the drawing was a photo of the little girl. She looked about six months old, and she was smiling beautifully for the holo-cam. The fearless warrior had a loving family back home, Calla thought. Somehow it made him seem more human.
A vibration went through the floor beneath her feet. Seth was powering up the drive; it was time to get up to the cockpit.
Calla made her way back through the main room then pulled herself up the ladder to the cockpit. She noticed a series of handholds along the way, and wondered if the ship was big enough to have artificial gravity generators. The only other time she’d been in space was when she’d come from the slave farm. There was no gravity for that flight, and the experience had been hideous. She’d never forget the sounds and smells of thirty children vomiting for days.
Pulling herself into the cockpit, Calla gazed around in excitement. Seth was seated in a comfortable-looking chair in front of the main computer. There was a large view screen in front of him, but it was covered by a set of metal plates for the moment. Turning briefly, he gestured to the chair beside him.
“You’ll want to strap yourself in,” he said without looking at her. “It shouldn’t be rough, but it’s usually about five minutes before the internal gravity comes on line.”
He was being extremely civilized about things, Calla thought as she strapped herself in. Dani had overreacted. She wasn’t in any danger from Seth.
It took him several minutes to run through his pre-flight checkout. Once it was completed, he tabbed the com panel and asked the station’s flight control for clearance. The flight controller gave it to him and with a flick of a finger he pressed a button to open the panels covering the screen.
Calla gasped with surprise and pleasure at the vista unfolding before her.
It wasn’t a view screen after all, she realized, it was actually a window onto space. To one side she could see the mass of the station’s exterior bulkheads stretching away from them. All around were ships, and in the distance she could the faint outline of an enormous ore-transport at one of the free-floating processing plants. She had lived on the station most of her life, but she’d never personally seen the commerce that gave it life. Vid screens weren’t the same, she realized. What else would she see on this trip?
Trying to act casual, as if this was nothing new to her, Calla asked Seth, “Are we going to light speed, or are you planning to use the standard drive for now?”
Seth looked at her curiously. He thought everyone knew you couldn’t use a warp drive in an asteroid field; it was simply too dangerous, not to mention overkill. But then again, she was a pampered pleasure contractor who probably never had to worry about transportation. She had clients to take care of that for her, he thought with a spark of disgust.
“We’ll be using the standard drive,” he said curtly.
Okay, he doesn’t want to talk to me right now, Calla thought. That was fine—he might still be angry, but she wasn’t going to let it get in the way of enjoying this experience.
The vibrations running through the hull increased in pitch, then with a click they broke free of the station and the vibrations eased. Seth eased forward with a small control stick.
Calla realized he was manually guiding them. She’d thought computers would do all that.
As if reading her thoughts, Seth spoke. “I like the feel of the ship under me,” he said softly. “She’s small enough that I can feel every motion, every change in tempo. Sometimes she’s touchy, and I can handle her better than any computer program.”
The sound of his voice, low and smooth, sent a chill through Calla’s spine. He spoke like the ship was his lover. She wondered if he would ever speak about her that way, then mentally kicked herself for the thought. She had to keep her priorities straight: Seth was a Saurellian. He wouldn’t stay interested in her for any length of time. Dani had told her time and again not to allow herself to get attached to him. Their futures were too far apart for anything other than sex.
The ship was moving through the traffic now, joining a ragged line of other ships, transports, and even the occasional cruiser headed toward the belt. After about half an hour they had cleared the worst of the traffic. Seth switched on the autopilot, then pulled up a course-plot on the holo-projector.
“We’re headed to mining outpost 12563 first,” he said, pointing to a small dot on the chart. “It’s here, in the alpha quadrant of the field. It should take us about three days to get there.”
Turning the projector off with a click, he turned to face her.
“So, how are we going to pass the time, Devora?” he asked, inspecting her slowly from the tips of her small feet to her carefully groomed hair. His voice was low and smooth, and his eyes flashed with desire. He licked his lips, and smiled as Calla shivered in response. He was a predator, and she knew instinctively that she was the prey. “Any suggestions?”
Chapter Five
The question hung in the air between them.
“Well, I suppose there are a number of things we could do,” Calla finally said, unable to bear the silence any longer. “I’m here to serve you. What would you like?”
“Why don’t you show me what you have to offer?” he said, gesturing languidly toward her small frame. His gaze moved across her body in a mixture of lust and something else, making her feel naked under his stare. “Unless you want to talk? We could discuss your refusal to start your contract until now.”
The something else was definitely anger, Calla realized. She had to distract him quickly, before things got out of control.
“I’d rather show you what I have to offer,” she said, purring sensuously. Turning her chair to face him, she pulled off her veil and shook out her long, brown hair. It was nothing special, but with Dani’s help she’d put in some soft highlights. Seth failed to respond, but Calla decided she just needed to take things a little further. Kicking off her shoes, Calla raised one foot delicately and rested it on his lap. Then she leaned back in her chair and started unbuttoning her dress slowly.
Seth still wasn’t giving her any kind of reaction, but as she reached the buttons over her breasts she felt a stirring against her foot. She continued unbuttoning, allowing the dress to gape open nearly to her waist. The movement exposed the silken black undergarments she’d put on that morning, another gift from Dani. The bulge of Seth’s manhood against her foot was growing as she rubbed it with her toes. Then she reached down inside her dress to her clit, rubbing herself sensuously with one hand. The other cupped a breast through the black fabric of her lacy camisole.
Calla saw the pained look Seth had on his face, but she couldn’t get him to say anything. Apparently he had decided to make her life difficult because she’d held out on the contract, Calla thought. She knew he was aroused. She could feel the evidence against her foot. She was just going to have to work for her money; that was all right, she was grateful for the opportunity. She’d make sure he got what he paid for.
She gave one last sinuous stroke to his hard length, then removed her foot slowly and stood in front of him. Slipping her dress off her shoulders, she allowed it to fall to the floor. Kicking it away, she deliberately squeezed her breasts before running her hands down the length of her body to her clit. Working her swelling flesh gently through the fabric, she leaned over and kissed his mouth with closed lips.
Dropping slowly to her knees, Calla ran her hands lightly from his shoulders across his chest, enjoying the tight sensation of his clenching muscles. He was far from unaffected, she thought with satisfaction. He wanted her, regardless of how angry he might be.
His stomach was hard and muscular under her hands, and the bulge in his pants leapt in response to her touch. Leaning over, she started giving his belly delicate kisses through the light fabric. His thighs clenched, and almost involuntarily his hand reached down to grasp the back of her head. He pressed her down further. With a knowing smile, she complied.
His cock was rigid under the fabric of his pants, straining desperately for freedom. Resting either
arm on his thighs, Calla sat back on her legs and gave it a light kiss through his pants. His entire body jerked at the sensation, and his hand pressed her closer. Molding her mouth around the fabric, Calla gently engulfed as much of the head as she could. She could feel it pulse against her as she started softly sucking. Then she grasped the rest of his length with her hand, massaging it in time with her mouth.
Seth strained against her, as if he would shove his penis directly through the fabric and into her mouth. The cloth of the pants was too strong for him, though. Calla increased the tempo of her motions, sucking and working him harder with her hand. He started moving against her rhythmically. His breath was coming quickly now; his thighs had turned to steel under the strain of his arousal. Calla paused for a moment, thinking to open his pants and pull out his erection, but the cessation of movement was too much for him.
He pulled her mouth back down over the now-damp fabric roughly, straining himself up at her. The hand at the back of her head kept the rhythm with her as his hips thrust against her warm opening.
Following his direction, Calla kept moving and he started moaning. She could tell he was close to coming despite the fact that she had yet to touch his bare flesh. The realization was empowering—as long as she could give him this kind of pleasure her position would be secure. She redoubled her efforts.
Seth groaned loudly in response, bucking his hips. He ground Calla’s face against his cock, and his cock jerked beneath her mouth. Then he crushed her against him so tightly she could barely breath, and a warm liquid started soaking through the cloth; Seth had come without even removing his pants.
A heady combination of satisfaction and arousal coursed through her at the realization.
Dropping his head back for a moment, Seth cradled her head against his still hard cock. He encouraged her to continue her ministrations for a few seconds, then watched as she raised herself slightly to rest her cheek against his stomach. His hands held her gently to him. His release had helped with his anger.