"What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy taking care of my mates?" she snapped, glaring at both of them.
785 sighed and nodded to the guards. "If this is the way she takes care of her mates it might not be necessary to kill them. She will do a better job than we can," he said, the semblance of a smile almost curving his thin, flat lips. "Have the guards return to their post."
157 looked at the Sarafin warrior rolling in pain and whimpering on the floor while the larger one moved back and forth doing the bidding of the female. He shook his head in wonder. Perhaps 785 was right. The female was doing a better job of controlling the males than even he expected. From the reports he had read, he would have never believed the Sarafin king would be jumping to the commands of a female.
157 nodded to the guards. He glanced back once more as the blond-haired female leaned over the male on the hard floor. His mind was working numbers. With her unusual looks he calculated the number of credits he could get for her. If she could handle five mates, including three Sarafin warriors, she could handle much, much more. His flat lips thinned as an idea formed.
Yes, 157 thought. She will bring in a lot of credits as long as I can keep her quiet long enough to sell her.
He knew just the trader to contact. There would be no questions asked; the credits would be deposited to his hidden account, and he would have enough to buy his own mining operation. If all went as planned, the strange female would be available because by tomorrow evening her mates would be dead.
Chapter 6
"I am much better, Lady Riley," Tor said, trying to gently move away from Riley’s fluttering hands. "My eyesight is almost clear again."
"Are you sure?" Riley asked, biting her tender lower lip that she had been worrying for the past several hours. "They still appear to be tearing a lot."
Tor would never admit that they still burned like the fires from the hot mountains back home or that his nose and throat weren’t in much better shape. He took another sip of the cool water that Lodar handed him. He glanced at his friend and gave him a nod of thanks.
"I hope Vox took that little cylinder away from her," Lodar murmured in a low voice as Riley turned away to check on Bob and Fred, who had just returned. "I don’t want to take a chance on her using it on me."
Tor wiped at his eyes with the cool, damp cloth again. "It burns like the fire moon! My throat and nose are on fire too. What did Vox do this time to upset her?"
"He said she smelled," Lodar responded with a grin. "She did not appreciate his observation."
Both men watched as Vox followed Riley around trying to get her to sit down and listen to him. It was almost comical the way he pleaded with her to just hear him out. Lodar chuckled when she swatted at their friend and leader. He had never seen anything like it before. The human female was totally oblivious to the fact she was running circles around one of the most dangerous men in the known star systems. There wasn’t a female alive that he knew of who wouldn’t envy her position.
"Do you think he’ll be able to catch her when this is all over?" Lodar asked curiously.
"More power to him if he does," Tor said hoarsely before taking another long swig of water. "She is almost as dangerous as the Curizan and Valdier were during the wars. More so if you take into account she has no idea half the time of what she is doing."
"Do you think all females of her species are like this?" Lodar asked, admiring the way her tight pants stretched over her ass as she bent down to pack something in her strange pink case.
Tor’s eyes followed Lodar’s over the curve of Riley’s rounded ass. He felt his cat purr. Maybe he wasn’t as immune as he’d first thought. His red eyes moved to Vox who had frozen in place as he followed her, his eyes glued to the same place as the other males in the room. When Riley straightened, she reached up and tucked her mass of curly hair back up into the bright pink scrunchie. The movement pulled the thin top she was wearing up, revealing the pale skin of her slightly rounded stomach and pulling the top tight across her ample breasts.
* * *
Riley froze as she was putting her hair back up into its messy ponytail when the whole room erupted into echoes of low rumbling purrs. She turned startled baby blue eyes on the three huge cat-shifting males who had their eyes glued to her. Three pairs of eyes—one a golden brown, one a very reddened greenish color, and the other a dark, tawny color—all stared at her breasts as they thrust upward while she wound the scrunchie around the mass of curls she was holding.
She rolled her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me!" she muttered. "I swear to God all guys who aren’t gay have a one-track mind!"
She quickly finished putting her hair up, trying not to turn as pink as the scrunchie as she watched their eyes follow her breasts as they bounced up and down. She didn’t care how much support the manufacture promised; when you were as big as she was there was still going to be some bounce. She lowered her eyes, refusing to give into the desire to cross her arms protectively in front of her. The only thing that did was push up the watermelons she carried around. Instead, she clapped her hands loudly.
"Hello?" she snapped, shooting an evil eye at Lodar and Tor. "It’s rude to stare!"
Lodar cleared his throat as Vox turned to glare at his two friends. "Yes, well… I… We… They are beautiful," he finally choked out with a sheepish grin. "And very difficult to miss."
"I wonder if they contain milk?" Tor asked, unaware he asked the question out loud. "I would love to drink from them if they did," he sighed.
Riley’s mouth dropped open as what Tor said sank in. "Oh. My. God. You did not just say that," she sputtered before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. "Do they… Oh my god, that is priceless." She continued to giggle, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes with the end of her shirt, totally unaware the movement pulled the cloth up, exposing her creamy flesh again.
Vox’s loud roar ricocheted throughout the small room as he tackled Tor. The force of his shoulder hitting his chief engineer’s chest knocked both of them backward through the air several feet before they hit the hard floor and slid almost to the far wall. Vox’s sharp teeth gripped Tor’s throat in a stranglehold while his claws dug into Tor’s shoulders, pinning him to the floor.
"Bad kitty!" Riley shrieked out from behind him. "Let him go! You are a very, very bad kitty. You let go of him, or I’ll neuter your ass. Vox, release him this instant. If you don’t, I swear I’ll go to the guards and tell them I need to borrow their stun gun thingy. I mean it. I’m out the door in three, two, one…"
Vox released Tor with a jerk and swung around to face Riley so fast she stumbled backward. Her heel caught on the uneven flooring, and she lost her balance, falling to the floor heavily with a sharp cry. She rolled over into a ball as excruciating pain exploded through her wrist as she tried to break her fall. She landed on it hard. Riley bit her lip as she pulled her left arm up against her, cradling it to her chest as she sobbed in pain.
"Riley?" Vox said hesitantly as he moved to kneel next to her curled-up figure. "Riley, I would never hurt you," he said gently as he tried to get her to look at him.
Another soft, pain-filled sob escaped Riley. "My wrist," she whispered. "It hurts so bad."
Vox turned his head, looking over his shoulder. "Lodar," he demanded hoarsely as worry engulfed him.
Lodar nodded as he stood up from where he was checking the puncture wounds on Tor’s neck and shoulders. They would heal. They’d gotten worse when they were training or just wrestling with each other. If Vox had been serious about killing Tor, he would have ripped his throat out. The marks were just a warning to Tor to be careful expressing his thoughts out loud. It was obvious from the smell of Riley’s fear when she saw what had happened that she didn’t realize that. Now, the smell of her pain was overwhelming to the three warriors. It was a dark, musky scent that brought out a protectiveness and need to care in all of them.
"Riley, let me look at your wrist," Lodar said gently as he knelt down next to her.
Riley bit her lip and shook her head even as she looked at him with her big blue eyes swimming in tears of pain. "I don’t want you to touch it. You might make it hurt worse," she whispered as her bottom lip trembled and a lone tear course down her pale cheek breaking his heart.
"Guall’s balls, Lodar, help her," Vox demanded fiercely, unable to handle the thought of his beautiful, stubborn mate being in pain.
Lodar’s lips tightened as he heard the desperate growl in his leader’s voice. "Riley, I need to see how bad it is," Lodar insisted as he reached down and gently rolled her over onto her back.
Fred hurried over with the pillow from the bed and carefully lifted Riley’s head so he could slide it under her. The little two-headed Tiliqua sat down next to her on the floor and tenderly brushed her hair back from her forehead, ignoring Vox’s low growl of warning. His right head turned and he glared defiantly at Vox.
"You hurt our mate," Fred growled back. "You scared her!"
Vox flushed a dark red but he lowered his eyes to Riley’s pale, tear-stained face. "I didn’t mean to frighten you, Riley," Vox murmured softly as he reached out one of his big fingers to tenderly wipe the tears that ran down from the corner of her eye.
Riley’s lips trembled as Lodar carefully lifted her arm. "You were hurting Tor," she whispered as fresh tears filled her eyes as she stared up at him.
"He wasn’t really hurting me," Tor said, leaning over Vox’s shoulder, oblivious to the blood covering his neck and shoulders. "We do this all the time, Riley. He didn’t mean anything by it. The Sarafin often use their claws and teeth. If he was really going to hurt me, he would have ripped out my throat."
Riley’s hiccuping wail filled the small room at Tor’s words. "You are not making her feel better," Bob said, pulling Tor away as he moved closer to Riley. "Go clean the blood off you."
"I think it is broken," Lodar said in concern as he carefully examined the discoloration and growing swelling. "She needs immediate medical attention I cannot give her here. We will need to summon a guard."
"I will go with her," Fred said as he carefully brushed her hair to the side.
"No," Vox snapped out, glaring at the small Tiliqua. "I will go with her."
"You…You can’t," Riley hiccuped. "They will see that your collar isn’t working. That goes for all of you," she whispered. "I’ll have to go alone."
"No," each of the five men said stubbornly.
"I will go," Bob said softly. "They do not look under my skin to see if I have my collar on. I am also the least likely to be considered a threat next to Fred."
Vox’s mouth straightened into a tight line of frustration. Riley was right. They would need to reactivate his collar, and that was still no guarantee they would let him go with her. He had noticed the extra security surrounding them. Bob was the least threatening next to Fred. He stood up, growling out in frustration and anger. Closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath, he turned to see Riley struggling to sit up.
He immediately knelt down next to her, sliding his arm around her and snarling silently at Fred who was trying to help her. He felt a moment of intense joy when she relaxed back against him before it was dashed again back down to the bottom of the mines when she turned her pain-filled eyes up to glare at him in reproach. He tried to look remorseful, but something told him she wasn’t buying it.
"Stop snarling and growling," Riley snapped as pain racked her. "That’s what got me in the position I’m in now!"
"Riley, you need to learn not to come up on me when I’m disciplining my crew," Vox tried to explain as he gently held her in his arms.
"I will most certainly come up on your hairy ass if you try biting one of my mates again," Riley snapped. "Only next time, I’m going to get one of those stunning rods so I can shove it up your stubborn backside, you moron! You. Do. Not. Ever. Sink your teeth into Tor, Lodar, Fred, or Bob again, do you understand me mister?" Riley demanded stubbornly, thrusting her quivering chin out. "Do you?"
Vox stared down into her big blue eyes and felt like he was a drowning cat. He would promise her the moons, the star systems, and Tor’s pelt for a rug if she asked. His head lowered on its own as he fell into the beautiful blue oceans of her soul.
"I promise," he whispered. "As long as he promises to never imagine drinking milk from your beautiful big breasts again. That is my fantasy."
Riley’s eyes widen before she reacted out of pure frustration. She threw up her good arm and popped Vox right on the end of his beautifully shaped nose as hard as she could. It wasn’t until she was connecting that it dawned on her that was probably not the best decision she could have made considering he was holding her up in the air and she already had a broken wrist. Thankfully, Lodar was standing close enough to catch her as Vox howled in pain and rage. Riley’s scream of pain mixed with Vox’s as her arm was jostled in the exchange. The sound was enough to draw the attention of the guards, and their door opened just as Lodar tripped over poor Fred who was trying to get out from under everyone’s feet. Lodar hit the floor with a wailing Riley while blood poured from Vox’s nose.
157 looked down at the sobbing female who was being held in the arms of one of her Sarafin mates before jerking to the other Sarafin warrior. The Sarafin king had blood pouring down his face while the third Sarafin warrior was sitting to the side wiping blood from his throat. 157 finally looked down at the small Tiliquan who was rubbing one of his injured feet. The only one not injured was the huge Gelatian.
"I do not even want to know what is going on," 157 muttered, shaking his head.
Lodar tucked his head so the Antrox guards couldn’t see his collar wasn’t glowing. "Our mate broke her wrist. She needs medical care," he said, rising with Riley in his arms.
Bob moved forward quickly, putting his larger body between the warriors and the guards. He reached out and scooped Riley into his arms and turned. Moving closer to 157 and the guards, he crowded them, forcing them back toward the door.
"I will carry our mate to medical," Bob said quietly. "The others are in no shape to do so."
157 tried to look around the massive figure in front of him but finally decided it wasn’t worth the effort. He was tired of being called down here. He would be glad when the final payment of credits was received and he could dispose of the males once and for all. By tomorrow, he would be a very wealthy Antrox. He had contacted the trader who dealt in supplying sex slaves for the pleasure houses on the nearby spaceport. He had been promised a large sum of credits and immediate pickup. By this time tomorrow, the males would be dead and the female gone.
157 turned to the two guards standing behind him. "Take her to medical and make sure she is completely healed. If necessary, keep her there the rest of the evening," he ordered.
Bob ignored the three low growls that escaped the men behind him. "I will remain with our mate and make sure she is safe. She will be returned safely," he spoke loudly enough to be heard by everyone.
"I…I need my things," Riley cried softly. "I…I can’t leave my things. They are all I have left."
"I will bring them to you, Riley," Fred promised. "I won’t forget."
Riley looked over Bob’s head and smiled a watery smile at her little friend. "Thank you, sweetheart."
"Riley," Vox started forward, still holding his nose which had finally stopped bleeding.
Riley’s eyes watered, and she shook her head gently. "Go," she whispered quietly looking at him with sorrow in her eyes. "It is better this way," she murmured before she laid her head tiredly on Bob’s shoulder. "Please take me to medical. I hurt."
Vox watched as the small group left the room, the door sealing behind them. A dark emptiness filled him and his cat as both of them felt the loss of their mate. Vox’s low, animalistic roar echoed through the level as he and his cat called for their mate to return to them.
"We will not leave without her," Tor said quietly coming up behind his friend and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Vox turned
dark, burning eyes on Tor and Lodar. "You bet your cat we won’t," he vowed.
Chapter 7
Riley felt much better several hours later. Bob had carried her up through the mines to a special lift that moved through the center of it. Riley vaguely saw the door to the control room as they passed it heading to the medical unit. The only reason she recognized it was because several Antrox guards were leaving the room, and they had to wait along the side of the corridor since Bob was too big to move past them at the same time.
The medical unit was a very small, depressing-looking room with only one bed in it. The healer was a dark red, leathery-looking man with little tufts of white hair hanging about his head in all different directions. Riley wasn’t so sure she wanted some guy that looked that weird working on her, but she was in too much pain to complain when Bob gently laid her down on the small, single bed.
The healer insisted that Riley stay the night, telling her and Bob that Antrox 157 wanted to make sure she was completely healed before he was allowed to release her. Riley didn’t think it was really necessary but decided it was probably for the best after everything that had happened. After the old healer put her arm in that strange looking machine it felt almost as good as new. Bob had been a darling through it all, especially since Riley didn’t handle being hurt very well. The huge Gelatian had refused to leave her alone. He had held her good hand in one of his and talked quietly to her the whole time in an effort to take her mind off what was happening. Fred, true to his word, had appeared a little over an hour later with all of her things. Her large, pink suitcase and her oversized purse had been hooked together, and Riley couldn’t suppress the giggle that escaped her as she watched the small Tiliquan struggle to roll it into the medical unit.
"Vox wants to know how you are feeling," Fred muttered under his breath as he sat down wearily on her suitcase. "This is very heavy, Riley. What do you have in it?"
Riley chuckled again as she watched both of Fred’s heads droop tiredly. "A little bit of everything. I don’t have much as I tend to move around a lot, but what I do have, I cherish. It is mostly clothes and shoes, but I also have a few mementos that I didn’t want anything to happen to. You never know when you might need something so I try to be ready for just about anything that can happen."
Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart Page 89