“We have ledgers—” He paused, frowning with a look of concentration on his face. “Sorry, no, I meant books.” When he continued, the words came slowly as if he were weighing them in his mind before he spoke. “Movies. Some games: strategy mostly, I’m not sure you’d enjoy those much. This ship is built for one passenger and short trips, so most of the activities are solo.”
She watched as he struggled to explain, and that brought her to a conclusion that should have been obvious from the start. He didn’t speak her language, at least not very well. The long pauses, the difficulty in finding the words, and the fact that he knew the word abduct but not kidnap which was more common made sense now. “How did you learn to speak English?” she asked.
“I didn’t. I know a few words but mostly I use a translator.” He turned his head and tapped a small device that looked like it was clipped to his ear. “It is not always quick or accurate,” he added with a long-suffering sigh.
She leaned in, looking at it curiously. It was tiny and black; she would never have noticed it hidden away in his dark hair. It was hard to believe that something so tiny was able to translate languages for him, but she’d read enough sci-fi that she could accept it. Someday maybe humans would be able to make tiny things like that. “Must save a lot of time. I’ve never been any good at learning other languages.”
“I speak twenty-three, which isn’t many when you consider the number there are in the universe. Your planet makes things more difficult than necessary. Most are not so fractured and separated; Earth has thousands of different languages. Far too many to learn just for the occasional vacation, so we rely on translators.”
“What is so interesting about Earth that you would want to vacation there?” she asked, surprised. She couldn’t imagine, with the whole universe to choose from, why Earth would be a popular destination.
He hesitated and the silence stretched out between them. She wondered if he was having trouble finding the right words again, but once he explained, she understood why he’d been slow to answer.
By the time he was done, her eyes were drying out from forgetting to blink and her mouth hung open in surprise. She stared at him in shock. “What?” It took several tries to get even that single word out.
He sighed. “This is not how I would have told you this, little hu—Rachael. I know it must be confusing to you.”
“Confusing?” A slightly panicked laugh burst from her. “You might say that. So, you’re telling me that your people come here to do … things with humans? Humans who like to feel pain? Are—are there really people who enjoy that?” She knew her cheeks were bright red because she could feel the heat radiating off of them. The words sounded flustered and scandalized because that was the proper response to hearing someone talk about things like that, but deep down, underneath, she was feeling something entirely different.
Excitement.
“Yes, many humans enjoy a little bit of pain during sex. There are a special few who enjoy more than a little. The latter is not a common trait in the universe but is very exciting to my people, so we come here looking for it,” he explained. His voice sounded deeper, husky, and the strange mellifluous tones she often heard when he spoke were gone.
“Oh,” she said softly. Her body tingled and things tightened inside of her. She licked her lips nervously and tried not to look at him. It wasn’t his alien appearance she was avoiding this time, but fear that he might read something on her face. She felt like all her secret fantasies had been exposed for him to view.
It wasn’t normal. Girls didn’t want things like that. Girls didn’t fantasize about being held down by strong men and forced to submit—but she always had. In a dusty, old used bookstore, she’d even found magazines with pictures and stories about women who liked that sort of thing, but of course, that wasn’t real.
She’d always been a good girl, but on that day, she smuggled them out of the store without paying because she couldn’t handle facing the clerk with them in her hand. The compulsion to have them had been too strong. She’d poured over them for hours, imagining herself in those positions yet knowing she’d never actually experience it. But now…
“Rachael.”
She looked up at him slowly, hoping he had as much trouble reading human expressions as she did reading his at times.
“Come over here.”
She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I can’t,” she said as she slowly backed up. She’d intended to step into the hall and then run away to hide in the lavatory until she stopped feeling so agitated and confused, but the door was closed, and she ended up with her back pressed to the cool metal instead.
She felt like prey, and maybe that was why he seemed to be stalking her with sinuous grace as he cut the distance between them. He came to a stop only inches from her and settled his hand casually on the wall next to her head. She knew she was trapped.
“The Guaran know that my people value those special humans and will pay highly for them. It's possible that he was looking for a potential sale when he found you." His voice seemed to get rougher with every word, and he pressed in until his face was almost buried against her neck. “It does make me wonder why he chose you.”
“He—he must have been mistaken,” she said, cursing the stammer. It went well with the way she trembled when he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her skin. Could he smell the lie?
“Was he?”
“I—Yes, of course. I’m not that kind of girl.” She didn’t sound convincing, even to herself. Her heart was thumping so loud she was sure he could hear it.
“No?” He drew his tongue slowly across her pulse point, and she moaned despite herself.
And then just like that he stopped and stepped back to examine her. She could only imagine what he saw. She felt like a shuddering mess of need and desire. Part of her wanted to beg him for more. She’d never been so excited, not even alone in her bedroom with those naughty stories. This was so much more real.
She didn’t understand the expression on his face, but she let herself get lost in his eyes and realized with a start that they were actually quite beautiful now that she’d gotten over the shock. She’d been thinking how handsome he was except for the eyes, but now she saw that they fit perfectly in his face. She wanted to kiss him, or she wanted him to kiss her.
Almost as soon as it popped into her head, she shut that thought down hard. She barely knew him, and he wasn’t even human. How could she be wanting this? What kind of person was she to consider throwing herself at a strange man? But the internal lecture and disapproval did nothing to change how she felt. She wanted him, wanted to explore those things with him.
“Are you going to…” She stopped and cleared her throat. “Are you planning to do those things to me?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to take it as an invitation, and she seemed to be wavering between hope and fear that those were his intentions.
He chuckled, “No.”
A wave of disappointment swept through her. “Oh.”
“Not unless—until you ask me to,” he added.
Until? It was like he could see deep inside and knew. She wasn’t hiding anything from him. Maybe he had smelled the lie on her. Her face had to have been crimson by then and radiating heat like a stove. “I would never,” she mumbled.
He just laughed again.
Chapter 5
After the first day on the ship things settled into a comfortable kind of companionship. They ate together. They talked and she tried to stick to innocent topics, while he liked to tease her with things that made her flustered.
That first night she discovered that the room she’d woken in, with its single bed, was the only bedroom. She experienced a moment of panic, but he didn’t say a word about it. Instead he laid out a blanket on the floor, dropped down on it and immediately went to sleep. At least she thought he was asleep, and she was envious because it took her a lot longer to drift off.
Her mind insisted on replaying the things he’d said to
her. It made her feel hot and needy, and she twisted and turned on the bed for hours before she finally slept. There was no peace in sleep, and her dreams tormented her with fantasies of his mouth all over her body; his hands holding her down as he claimed her.
She woke from the restless sleep aching with need and a throbbing between her thighs that couldn’t be ignored. She desperately wished for a cold shower to cool things down. Instead she found that the alien version had options for a different sort of relief. The sonics provided vibrations which could give a relaxing massage … or more. That helped, but it wasn’t him.
Days passed and he kept her busy with learning how to use the most basic of the ship’s technology for entertainment. It was completely beyond her for the most part, but he was patient and eventually, she learned how to access a section of movies and literature from her own planet. Once she was settled in with her new toy, he vanished, giving her some alone time.
She was oddly aware of his absence and found herself wanting to go see what he was up to, but until she got control of her body, she felt it best if she stayed right where she was. She flipped through the files looking for things to watch or read. It pleased her to find one of the horror movies she’d screamed in was available, but she’d already seen it, so she scrolled past.
Eventually she wandered out of the human section and went exploring what other planets considered entertainment. It only took a short time to realize much of it was blatantly sexual, even if that sex was apparently confusing and a little scary for some races. She backed out quickly but then a thought hit her and gave her a valid reason to go looking for her host.
She found him in the bedroom or sleeping room as he referred to it. The bunk had been folded flat against the wall and he was using the empty space to … fight?
It looked more like a dance, the way he lunged and twirled around the room coming within inches of the wall but never touching. Always in step and though she could tell he’d noticed her immediately, he continued working through a pattern of moves. She was in no hurry to interrupt. If anything, she was enjoying the show.
As usual he wasn’t wearing a shirt and the way his muscles rippled as he moved made her grateful for that. His long black hair flew out like wings behind him and then settled against his back again like it was made differently than human hair. He sweated like a human though, and the sight of the droplets rolling over his golden skin made her want to taste him.
There was such tight control in the way he flew around the room that it took her breath away. When he came to a stop directly in front of her the suddenness of it made her gasp and step back.
“Did you need help?” he asked, and she was amazed to realize that despite all the exercise, he wasn’t out of breath.
She’d forgotten she had a reason for finding him and swallowed back all the sexy feelings that had been rising as she watched him. “Oh, I—sorry, yes. It’s just that I was going through the files and well, I was curious about your people. I thought I would look them up, but I didn’t know…”
“Sadecs. My people are the Sadecs.”
She couldn’t tell if he was pleased that she was curious or worried about what she might find, but she went off again to look. There was a lot of info about their planet and their interactions with other planets, but not so much about their culture. Though there was a very interesting section about their mating habits, and she could feel the warm flush creeping over her skin as she read through it.
Sharing mates willingly and without jealousy? That was an interesting concept. Not one that went over well on Earth, but she found the idea of it exciting. Even more intriguing was the wider philosophy that it was the things they held most precious that had to be shared. That spoke of a lack of greed that you definitely didn’t see among her people. Her mother didn’t even let people sit on the furniture without covering it in plastic first to protect it.
The entry on the Sadecs wasn’t nearly long enough, and when she touched the screen for more info, there was nothing else available. It seemed to raise more questions about his people than it had answered, and she let out a frustrated sigh as she moved on.
It was just a few minutes later that she made the mistake of looking up the creature she still only remembered in pieces. It was only a matter of time before she got curious and looked up the Guaran, of course, but she hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. Her stomach roiled just seeing the flat pictures on the small tablet in her hands. She pushed it away violently, and it fell to the deck.
Her piercing screams had Kave running to her side, and he saw instantly what had happened. He grabbed the tablet off the floor, and with a wave of his hand the monster vanished. She just stared at the spot where it had been not comprehending that it had only been an illusion.
He snatched her into his arms and held her tight, but it took him time to calm her down. “Rachael! Rachael, listen to me. You’re safe,” he said.
“No—no! He’s here! All those teeth, all those claws! Please don’t let him take me!” The words were choked with sobs and mostly muffled against his chest.
“It’s not real, Rachael. It’s just an image. I promise, you’re safe,” he said, pitching his voice louder so she would hear him. “Look at me, Rassa.”
She couldn’t look up. She was too scared, so he placed his fingers under her chin and slowly raised it until she could see his face. She looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. “I remember all of it now. I fought him when he changed. I hit him in the face with my bag, and I think it hurt him because he broke my arm on purpose. And then there was a stabbing pain in my neck. I could see and hear, but I couldn’t move. It was like I was paralyzed.” The words were low and filled with raw emotion. He just listened, letting her talk as he held her.
“While I was frozen, he talked about what he was going to do to me. He talked about selling me to monsters who would hurt me every day and enjoy it. He—did he mean your people?” She bit her bottom lip and stared up at him full of conflicting emotions.
“Probably,” Kave admitted. “That’s how others see us, because we enjoy causing pain, but it’s not like that with our humans. We cherish them. We try to give them pleasure equal to the pain, and they enjoy it.”
She drew in a long shuddering breath and nodded like she understood, but she didn’t really. Not yet.
“You called me Rassa. What does that mean?”
He smiled down at her and one hand went up to stroke her hair. “It means ‘brave one’ in an older version of my language.”
She snorted and shook her head. “You can’t possibly think I’m brave after that hysterical fit,” she said dismissively.
He gave her hair a gentle tug in reproof. “But I do think you’re brave. Everyone needs to be reminded of their courage at times. I think I’ll call you Rassa when you need help remembering.”
She was oddly pleased by that, and she liked the name.
Later that night when she woke up from a screaming nightmare, he was there for her. He held her in his lap like she was a child until the tears stopped and the terror drifted away. As the fear left her something else rose inside. She turned until she was straddling him, and after a second to gather her courage she lunged forward and planted her lips on his, moving fast before she could change her mind.
He held still for a long moment. Maybe he was surprised by her action, but if so, he got over it quickly. With a groan, his arms wrapped around her tightly and his kiss turned aggressive, claiming her mouth as passion washed over them both. His tongue thrust into her mouth, and she whimpered, pressing against him as her panties soaked with desire. Eventually she had to come up for air but there was reluctance on both sides as she broke the kiss.
“Please—Kave, please I want you to do those things with me, please?” she asked breathlessly. Her body was on fire. Every nerve ending seemed alive and she moaned, wanting more of whatever this was.
He pushed her back, holding onto her upper arms as he examined her. The intensity of his eyes
didn’t bother her at all anymore, and she let her expression show all the need and desire she was feeling. “I did say that you had to ask but—Rachael, you said you wanted to go home. If we do this—if you are one of those special few, I won’t be able to return you to Earth,” he said carefully. He’d stripped the emotion from the words, but she could feel how tense he was from the grip on her arms, and she knew what he wanted her to say.
She froze. It was such a huge decision to make when her mind was dazed with wanting him, but when she thought about returning to Earth and never knowing what it would be like with him, there was painful wrenching inside her.
She couldn’t agree to this; she barely knew him! But … what did she have to equal fantastic adventure and a chance for love—or at least, really hot sex? Nothing but twice a year phone calls to her parents and a boring job. She didn’t even have a pet who would miss her.
So maybe running off with an alien was a bad idea. Maybe it was stupid—but he was offering her a chance to see more of the universe than her little mudball, and on top of that, he was willing to explore her deepest naughtiest fantasies with her. How could she turn that down?
“Then, I guess…” She took a deep breath. “I guess we’ll see what happens. And if I don’t get to go home, well— what’s the weather like on your planet?” she asked, with a nervous smile.
She had no idea what the future held for them. All she knew was what she wanted to happen and that what she felt for him was worth the sacrifice of her lonely, old life. She’d felt more alive in the past few days than she’d ever felt there.
His hand slid down to her backside and squeezed, but his eyes didn’t leave hers. “Are you sure?” he asked.
She knew it was her last chance to say no; her last chance to return home.
“Yes, I’m sure. Now show me everything. I want to experience it all!”
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