Harem Ship Saga MEGA BUNDLE: Complete 12-Volume Series

by S. L. Hadley

  The plasteel shipping container rested in the corner, tucked between the wall and the foot of the bed. As such, it took Kitty an annoying moment of reorganization to make create enough space to pry open the door.

  As soon as she did, the woman inside looked up. She had seated herself on the floor of the crate, bare legs drawn up against her chest. From the way she shielded herself from the room’s mild light, there was no guessing how long it had been since she’d seen anything but the inside of a blindfold. Though she was no longer wearing only her underwear, the ratty clothes she had on covered only slightly more.

  “Morning,” Kitty said, stepping back to allow the woman room.

  She stood slowly, raising her arms defensively and making no move to step out of the crate. The two of them stared at one another for a moment.

  “It’s okay,” Kitty said. “You’re safe. Just us women here.”

  The woman’s eyes widened a bit and she peered cautiously around the corner of the crate before stepping out. She relaxed visibly, though not entirely, and tiptoed quickly to the far end of the bed.

  “What’s your name?” Kitty asked.

  The woman swallowed then cleared her throat.

  “Nita,” she said.

  “Nita,” Kitty echoed, smiling. She glanced around the relatively spartan cabin, wishing she’d spent the time and credits to furnish the space more like her own. Oh well, no helping it now.

  The silence started to become awkward and Kitty cleared her throat.

  “I’m Kitty, welcome aboard the Feronia.”

  Nita made no reply and simply continued to stare at her. Sighing, Kitty donned what she hoped was a comforting expression.

  “I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions. Unfortunately, I need to get us into orbit before the dockmaster charges me for another day. Please, make yourself at home, though. Anything you need?”

  Nita fidgeted a bit and cautiously seated herself on the bed.

  “You’re the captain?” she asked.

  Kitty nodded and the woman visibly relaxed, just a bit. Then she grimaced.

  “Is there… where’s the head?”

  Chuckling, Kitty waved for the woman to follow and led her out of the cabin. Or, tried to, at least. The woman hesitated in the doorway, glancing around nervously.

  “It’s all right,” Kitty assured her. “Just us women here.”

  “Really?”

  This was the first hint of emotion—aside from fear—that she’d seen from the woman. The relief in Nita’s voice was palpable.

  “Really,” Kitty said, slapping her palm on the door to the head. “Careful with this thing, though. Sometimes the compensators make the lock stick.”

  Making her way toward the bridge, Kitty couldn’t resist the wide grin that spread across her face as the woman literally sprinted into the head. Poor thing. She’d probably been locked in that crate since the auction and who knew when she’d last had a chance to piss in privacy.

  ***

  Takeoff went as smoothly as Kitty could have hoped for. Though she was forced to work the sublight drive a bit harder than she liked, ten minutes was all it took until the Feronia escaped Five-Three’s gravity well. And, after a few routine diagnostics, she set the auto-nav’s directions and placed her life in the ship’s occasionally capable hands.

  Or, engines. Sensors? However the expression went.

  She found Nita back in her cabin, stretched out on the bed with her eyes closed. The moment the door opened, however, they snapped open and she immediately sat up.

  “At ease,” Kitty teased. It didn’t stop the woman from relaxing as the door closed, however.

  Before another awkward silence could fall, Kitty broke with her usual sense of decorum and plopped herself down on the floor, next to the abandoned crate.

  “So,” she said. “I heard you’re a pilot.”

  Nita nodded slowly.

  “I am,” she said. Then her face fell. “Or, was, I guess.”

  “Care to tell me what happened?”

  Nita tensed, drawing her legs up against her chest as she studied Kitty’s face, thoughtful.

  “Can I refuse?”

  It was a question, and an honest one at that. Kitty shrugged, then nodded.

  “You can,” she said. “Though, it might be a little impolite. I spent a lot of money saving you, after all.”

  Nita rubbed at her wrists, obviously lost in the painful memories. Eventually, she grimaced.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled. “You did. Forty thousand. It’s a weird feeling… knowing what you’re worth.”

  “That’s not what you’re worth!” Kitty growled, so fiercely it made the woman jump. At once, she regretted letting so much passion into her voice and cringed apologetically. “Sorry, but it’s not. You can’t put a price on someone’s life. I paid forty thousand because that was what it took to keep you safe from those… animals. I would have paid twice that if I’d had to.”

  For a moment, when Nita did not respond, Kitty feared she’d spoken too passionately. Then the woman smiled, almost a smirk.

  “So, I’m worth eighty thousand, then?”

  Kitty laughed, shooting her a playful glare.

  “Don’t let it go to your head,” she said.

  After another brief pause, Nita sighed and her smile faded.

  “I was… involved with another pilot,” she said. At first, the words came haltingly, but once she’d begun they poured out faster and faster. “One of those cliché, holo-film forbidden romances. You know how it goes. He got promoted and, like an idiot, I didn’t break things off. Eventually, I found out about the other woman. When I confronted him, he told the MPs the whole thing was my idea. He got a slap on the wrist, I got court-martialed. Just downhill from there.”

  As she trailed off, the look on Nita’s face told Kitty it would be dangerous to press any further. Or to allow her to dwell too much on the subject. No doubt she’d already been doing so for months, if not longer.

  “You were a good pilot?” she asked.

  Nita continued to stare distantly at the bed beneath her, but her smile returned slightly.

  “I was a great pilot,” she said. “Really the only thing I was ever good at.”

  It was time. Unwilling to savor the anticipation any longer, Kitty stood to draw Nita’s attention.

  “Want to be mine?” she asked.

  Nita’s eyes went wide, then narrowed in confusion.

  “My pilot,” Kitty amended hastily. “The Feronia’s nothing fancy, just a trawler, but she could use an experienced hand. Besides, the auto-nav’s getting old and I’d prefer not to crash into a moon while I sleep.”

  Nita didn’t just smile—she beamed. Rising from the bed, she straightened and somehow managed to salute in a manner that was both overly formal and playful at the same time.

  “It would be my pleasure, ma’am,” she said.

  Groaning, Kitty buried her face in a hand.

  “Nita,” she muttered. “It’s just Kitty. Call me ma’am again and I’ll throw you out the airlock.”

  “Aye, Skipper.”

  ***

  After leading Nita to the bridge and ensuring her new pilot was comfortable enough to avoid killing them both, Kitty excused herself and practically skipped back to her cabin. If Nita proved half as skilled as the brief tutorial had suggested, forty thousand credits would prove a steal. After all, having another human being on the bridge would free up hours to be spent on her… personal hobbies.

  Taking a running start, Kitty flung herself onto the spacious bed, bounced once, and resisted the urge to thrash with giddy excitement. A few weeks on the Feronia, and she had little doubt Nita could be coaxed into joining the fun as well. The mere thought left her giggling and grinning ear to ear.

  She took her time changing. Some things couldn’t be rushed, especially with the dozens of small clasps and buckles required to make her new outfit appear simultaneously sexy and dignified. In reality, it was little more than a leather
garter sewn onto a generic officer’s uniform she’d won in a game of Caravan. But the important part was that she looked—and felt—powerful while wearing it.

  And, after all, that illusion was everything.

  Twisting her smile into a commanding smirk, Kitty cautiously slipped out of her cabin. The only thing that could interrupt her plans was stumbling into Nita like this. Fortunately, the woman was still ensconced on the bridge, which allowed her to savor the excitement all the way to the secure hold.

  The door was dead-bolted and Kitty opened it as silently as she was able. No point in ruining the surprise too soon. True to her instructions, the handlers had left the crate unopened. Kitty circled it slowly, running her fingers across the rippled surface in silent contemplation for a few moments. At last, she took a deep breath and pulled open the door.

  The man inside might have been sleeping. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and regular. In fact, only the fact that his head was upright told Kitty otherwise. Well, that and the fact that she couldn’t imagine anyone falling asleep in such an uncomfortable position. The man’s wrists were still cuffed, each secured to welded hooks on either side of the crate. His ankles were bound as well, though the shackles there allowed him marginally more movement.

  He opened his eyes slowly, studying Kitty’s clothes for a moment before raising a single eyebrow.

  “What’re you supposed to be?” he asked, voice deep and raspy.

  It was all she could do not to jump him then and there. Her instincts had proven correct, yet again. If she had one weakness, it was the proud, quiet types. They were such a challenge.

  And oh-so-much fun when they finally broke.

  Continuing to smirk, she gave the man a shrug.

  “Your new mistress,” she said. “Come to inspect the goods.”

  “Oh,” the man said, grinning. It was not a friendly smile. “A flesh-peddler, eh? Going to give me the whole better-than-the-asteroid-mines speech?”

  Kitty laughed under her breath. This one was going to be beyond fun.

  “I thought about it,” she said, stepping closer and making a show of eyeing his tattoos. “That’s amateur stuff, though. By now, everyone knows they’re automated.”

  “How thoughtful of you not to waste my time,” the man replied. “I suppose you expect me to be grateful?”

  Snorting, Kitty stepped away and stared at him.

  “Some people might think it appropriate,” she shot back.

  “And what do you think?”

  “I think you have three choices,” Kitty explained, folding her arms. Not accidentally, the gesture had a rather flattering effect on her breasts. At once, the man’s eyes dropped—though only for a moment. When they returned to meet hers, there was anger in them. He knew he’d been played. But, equal to the anger was an unmistakable lust that forced Kitty to suppress a shudder of delight.

  Casually leaning back against the wall, she smirked. Partially to anger him further and partially to distract herself from how damp her panties had become.

  “One: You submit to me. Physically, mentally, and sexually. I’m talking complete and utter submission. If you agree, then after two years you’ll go free on a planet of your choosing.”

  For just a moment, the man’s eyes widened and Kitty knew she had him. Despite his offhanded protests, the man was certainly aware of how much worse his life could be. And the prospect of freedom was tempting enough to make him at least consider swallowing his pride.

  “Two: You can refuse. You’ll stay here for a month or so, until we reach another auction house. Feel free to take your chances with a new master.”

  The man’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly and he promptly tossed his head to mask the reaction. Kitty hid her own widening smile. The man wasn’t nearly as good as he thought he was.

  “What’s the third choice?” he asked.

  This time, Kitty grinned openly and gestured over her shoulder with a thumb.

  “Airlock,” she said. “I’ve got no room for dead weight.”

  The man laughed, still glaring.

  “Shouldn’t make threats, girl,” he growled. “Besides, dead weight? You of all people shouldn’t tal—”

  Kitty did not so much as blink as the man let out an uncharacteristic shriek and began to convulse. She waited patiently for the fit to end then flashed a murderous smile.

  “Obedience chip,” she explained as the man panted and sagged in his restraints. “Synced with a neural trigger. Say anything like that again and you’ll wish you’d chosen the airlock. Understood?”

  The man nodded with visible reluctance, dislodging a few of the many beads of sweat that had broken out across his brow.

  Grinning, Kitty approached and made a show of wiping his forehead with a gloved hand. Afterward, she allowed her gaze to trail down his body. It lingered at his waist, not entirely without reason and not entirely on purpose, either.

  “Good boy,” she purred. “I’ll be back later to hear your decision.”

  The look of unbridled dismay on the man’s face made Kitty want to squirm with delight. She resisted the urge, though only for the time it took her to slink from the hold.

  There was only one chance to make a first impression, after all. And she had a reputation to maintain.

  ***

  The first thing Kitty noticed upon returning to the hold—after a satisfying nap, of course—was the growling of the man’s stomach. The second was how exhausted he looked. No that it was surprising; hours chained to the inside of a shipping container would leave anyone looking a little haggard.

  Apparently, at some point during her nap his strength had given out and he’d ended up sagging in his chains. His legs were long enough that he could prop himself up on his knees, offering a chance to take the weight off his feet. The cuffs still held his arms aloft but, otherwise, he appeared a model of shackled comfort.

  Kitty cleared her throat. The man stirred slightly but did not open his eyes.

  “Good morning,” she said, louder.

  His eyes opened and rose to stare up at her. Grunting a reply, he climbed stiffly to his feet. The man rolled his shoulders, making them crack and pop.

  “Morning,” he growled, at last.

  Smiling playfully, Kitty folded her arms and stepped closer.

  “So,” she purred. “Have you thought about my offer?”

  To her surprise, the man’s face went red and he briefly dropped his eyes. He swallowed hard.

  “If I do this,” he said, cautiously. “You’ll take the cuffs off? And provide meals and the like?”

  The corners of Kitty’s mouth curled further upward as she gave a small nod.

  “You said two years? And then I’m free?”

  Again, Kitty nodded.

  Sighing, the man glanced at his chafed wrists in disgust. Then he shrugged.

  “Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll do it. Can’t be worse than this shit. Take them off, please?”

  Yet again, Kitty’s smile increased, this time into a wicked smirk. She approached slowly and chuckled throatily as she pressed herself sensuously against the man’s chest.

  “Tell me your name first,” she whispered.

  The man recoiled as if stung, then fixed her with a furious stare.

  “That wasn’t part of the deal,” he protested. “No way.”

  Clicking her tongue like a disappointed schoolteacher, Kitty leaned against him more forcefully. The front of her makeshift uniform, while firm, was both pliable and revealing enough to make the man gasp a bit.

  “Oh?” she murmured. “You don’t want the cuffs off? I must have misheard. I thought you wanted me to… take them off.”

  “Quit messing around!” the man said. “I’ve been stuck like this for—”

  With an audible click, Kitty popped open one of the metal fasteners securing her uniform’s corseted top. The man’s protests died at once. Kitty had to stifle a laugh as she turned away and continued to slowly undress. She could p
ractically feel the man studying her rear through her tight-fitting trousers and made a show of swinging her hips as though dancing to music only she could hear. Keeping her back turned, she shrugged out of the jacket and allowed it to fall to the floor.

  Metal-on-metal squeaked behind her and she peeked over her shoulder with exaggerated shyness. The man leaned forward, as far as his shackles would allow. Had it not been for the restraints, the intensity in his eyes would have been terrifying. As it was, Kitty found the expression exhilaratingly erotic.

  Cheeks warming from an involuntary blush, Kitty continued swaying her hips. Then, in a smooth, deliberately seductive maneuver, she slid her trousers down around her ankles.

  Another rattling of chains sounded and Kitty let out a soft giggle. Her panties and plain, racerback bra were flattering, sure, but not that sexy. For her new toy to react so eagerly, he must have been unimaginably pent up. Chained and sold by the underground… how long had it been since he’d gotten off? Weeks? Perhaps, longer?

  Stealing another peek, Kitty confirmed her suspicions immediately. An enormous bulge tented the front of the man’s tattered pants. The sight of it left her few remaining articles of clothing more than a little damp—one in particular—and deepened her blush for good measure.

  It always happened this way, every time she bought a new lover. She could lounge naked around the rest of them without a care, but merely teasing a stranger in her underwear left her face scarlet. Which meant there was only one thing to do.

  Taking a deep breath to keep her hands from shaking, Kitty peeled off her bra. Tossing the garment aside, she cupped her breasts in faux-modesty and turned back around.

  The hunger and desperation on the man’s face were so transparent that she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Like what you see?” she teased, tiptoeing closer.

  He didn’t answer, so she didn’t remove her hands until the last possible second, shielding her stiff nipples from view but making no attempt to keep them from pressing firmly against his bare, muscular chest.