Thoroughly disgusted, he didn’t even bother to dress before he hauled her back and thrust her into her cell. She was still screaming when he left her—he thought. Most of them were screaming hysterically by that time, however, and it was hard to tell one from another.
“Satisfied?” he growled at Koryn when Koryn joined him in the interrogation room.
“Infinitely,” Koryn retorted dryly. “It’ll be all over the ship inside of five minutes that you raped half of them and left broken women in your wake.”
“I didn’t rape either one of them,” Tariq said disgustedly. “The first one passed out the minute I dragged my cock out and the other one was screaming so deafeningly I couldn’t focus enough to get it up.”
Koryn’s lips twitched, but he was wise enough not to smile. “It doesn’t matter what happened. It matters what they think happened.”
It was going to matter to Emerald, too, Tariq thought angrily, but she might as well get used it! He owned her not the other way around, regardless of what she seemed to think!
It wasn’t until he climbed into bed with her later that it occurred to him that he had absolutely no reason to suspect that Emerald was the least bit possessive about him. He should’ve been relieved about it, but he discovered he wasn’t.
Chapter Ten
Tariq was torn between absolute delight at the discovery that Emerald was indeed possessive of him and anger for the same reason. He was almost equally torn by the fact that it was Koryn who told her.
They’d met in his quarters to discuss what they’d discovered in the Dinjin ship over lunch three days later. He’d summoned Emerald to sit on his lap. It had started as a test of her obedience, but he’d discovered he enjoyed it even if it wasn’t particularly comfortable for either of them on several levels.
“The memory cards were in pretty bad shape,” he said with disgust, “but I got enough to confirm that the ship we found was part of an attack force. According to the propaganda issued to the fighters, the humans provoked it by attacking one of their colonies and the objective was to eradicate the threat to their interests.”
“There’s no saying that was true,” Koryn pointed out. “They would want to inspire the fighters to do their worst.”
“It doesn’t matter one way or the other,” Tariq said grimly. “The fact remains that they brought the fight here when the dispute was with the colonists. I’m not sure that would even weigh with the council if it is true. They knew exactly who it was they were attacking. I’ve confirmed that and the objective wasn’t merely retaliation. They fully intended to erase their existence. They’d planned to wipe out the people here and move on to the other colonies—which they knew about.
“That suggests that they’d already targeted the humans before there was any dispute. According to what Emerald told us, they’d taken great pains to prevent the Dinjin from learning about the other colonies. That could only mean that they’d been watching them before the humans knew they existed, let alone were a threat. I don’t see any other possible explanation.”
Koryn nodded agreement. “It’s good you managed to get that. I haven’t had much luck on my end. Not that I’m ready to concede defeat, mind you! There might still be some useful information if I can decode it.”
“Such as the locations of the colonies? I didn’t find that, unfortunately, and there’s a lot of space out there. Without at least a clue of where to look ….”
“The chances are that we’ll never find them—or know if the Dinjin succeeded or not.”
“No. I don’t believe they did, though. The defenders hit them so hard they took out almost half the battle fleet in the first few minutes of the battle. Unfortunately, the ship we found was one of them and that was where the recording stopped. We do know that there was a ground battle, though, and from what we’ve learned it was a fairly prolonged campaign.”
“I guess that rules out any mention of taking prisoners?”
“The two we found were dead when they hit the ground. There was nothing in the orders I found to suggest that was part of the plan, but the ground battle probably changed all the rules.”
Koryn frowned. “Don’t you think the treaty rules out the possibility?”
Tariq snorted. “With those arrogant bastards? No, I don’t. It might even have been part of the reason they proposed a treaty to start with—smug satisfaction that they’d wiped out our nest and taken the survivors as slaves.”
“So … what do we do with the information?”
“I’ll have to report. I don’t see an alternative and I think it might be a fatal mistake, for us—meaning you and me—to delay now that we have the information. The time we’ve spent gathering the Intel is understandable. Not turning it over now that we have it could be seen as treasonous. I’ll have to work on the report and contact the high councilor tonight.”
“What about Emerald? That isn’t going to give you much time to breed her.”
“No, but the council will meet and discuss it. They could drag it out for weeks or months. I doubt they will, but it’s a possibility. Even so, I’ll have a small window of opportunity to breed her and I’ll have to hope for the best. I’m certainly not taking her into battle. I’ll have to send her to Niribu if and when we’re ordered into battle. You won’t be needed. I could send her with you.”
Koryn studied Emerald speculatively. “At least your trip to the hold to examine the breeders seems to have had the desired effect. You know how gossip is. They’re saying now that you’ve already sampled half of them.”
It took Tariq a moment to realize Koryn had very deliberately switched to English. He’d already opened his mouth to remind Koryn, angrily, that he hadn’t fucked any of them when he realized Emerald had grown rigidly tense in his hold. That gave him pause. He didn’t know if Koryn had done it to stir up trouble for him, as a malicious prank, or simply to test Emerald, but he discovered that as much as it angered him that Koryn had told her something he hadn’t wanted her to know, he did want to know how she felt about it.
Wondering if he was simply imagining her reaction, he shifted her so that he could see her face and pretended his only interest was in playing with her. He discovered when he’d pushed his hand between her legs and pressed a finger into her sex, though, that she was bone dry—so dry it took an effort to push his finger in at all.
She was tense alright and she tensed more at his touch. He wasn’t completely satisfied that he was certain of the reason for it, however.
“Still tender?” he asked coolly.
Emerald flicked a look at his face and then looked away. “A little.”
Maybe, Tariq thought, but she was definitely angry.
Pleasure wafted through him for a moment before it occurred to him that, not only was he not done what she thought he had, but she had no right to be angry even if he had! “A pity. You’re more delicate than I thought. I suppose I’ll have to find another prospect in the hold.”
Koryn settled back in his seat, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “A man with your appetites should consider having at least three anyway. Then, too, that would be the best way to see which is the better breeder. You could keep the first one that becomes pregnant as your prime breeder and the other two or three strictly for fucking.”
“Good point,” Tariq murmured, lifting his hands to massage Emerald’s breasts. She jerked when he cupped them and then stilled, staring stonily at the table. “What did you think of the tall one with the pale hair?”
Koryn frowned as if mentally reviewing them. “I didn’t try that one myself. Was she any good?”
Tariq almost chuckled when Emerald turned to glare at him. He managed to kill the urge and return her look with a cool one of his own. He lifted his brows at her. “I do believe you’ve forgotten your manners,” he said evenly. “Three days and you’re under the impression that you can give me a look like that and there won’t be consequences? Go get in the bed.”
Her lips tightened, but she got up and stalked
across the room.
“What the fuck did you do that for?” Tariq demanded irritably.
Koryn’s expression tightened. “To see if anything we’d done had had any effect whatsoever. As you can see, it hasn’t. I think it would be mistake to send her Niribu. I could pack her in a trunk and whisk her off to your place and keep her hidden until you get back—maybe, but that’s a big maybe.”
Tariq frowned. “What do you suggest, then?”
“I don’t have any fucking suggestions,” Koryn responded irritably. His frown deepened to one of worry. “I almost think it would be better to use the cerebrum-wash on her. I don’t want to change her any more than you do, but you know what the reaction is going to be if anyone sees just how rebellious she is. They aren’t just going to be shocked that we tolerate it. They’ll be deeply concerned that it’ll affect the others and they won’t tolerate that. They’ll order it done or they’ll confiscate her and do it themselves and I sure as fuck don’t want them to get their hands on her. She might not be much more than a slobbering idiot when they’re through with her and I’d rather put her down than see that.”
Tariq felt a wave of nausea wash through him. “Don’t even think about it,” he said, his voice deadly cold.
Koryn looked taken aback for a moment. He shook his head. “You miss my point! She’d be better off dead than turned into some—mindless doll! Don’t you see that?”
Tariq shoved his chair back and stood abruptly. “It won’t come to that,” he said. “We set her up for that and you know it.”
“I do know it and I got just the reaction I expected,” Koryn retorted.
“The discipline is working,” Tariq reminded him. “I agree, she should’ve known better than to look at me like she wanted to kill me, but she kept that tongue of hers between her teeth. She’s learning. It was my mistake to give her a few days to mend. We should’ve continued without let up until we broke her determination and she accepted. We’ll start again. She’s stronger now. I don’t think we need to worry that it’ll be too much for her. We can focus on breaking that will of hers down. And there’s still the possibility that breeding will settle her. She’d have the baby to consider then.”
Koryn looked unconvinced, but he merely bent down to remove his boots. “We need to try to think of alternate plans just the same,” he said when he got up to remove his uniform. “We have to consider doing something radical.”
“Not if you’re suggesting doing something radical to Emerald,” Tariq said tightly.
“With her or to her,” Koryn said. “The alternative is a lot uglier. She doesn’t have to have a mind to breed.”
As angry as he was already, it was more provoking than it might have been otherwise to discover that Emerald was still angry enough to flatly refuse to cooperate. In point of fact, it took him completely aback to reach the bed and discover she’d bundled up in the covers. Gritting his teeth, he snatched them off of her and tossed them onto the floor. She promptly covered her breasts with her hands, staring stonily at the ceiling.
Koryn sent him an ‘I told you so’ look.
Tariq glared at him. “I think the position we used last time will be good.”
Shrugging, Koryn climbed over her and settled by the wall.
“Move your hands over your head,” Tariq said tightly.
She didn’t move her hands at all.
He stared at her for a long moment and looked at Koryn. “Change of plans. Restrain her.”
Koryn’s brows rose, but he sat up and grasped Emerald’s wrists, prying them from her breasts, and then drew her arms behind her back. Tariq watched the silent battle and turned, striding toward his storage compartment. When he returned, he was carrying a set of manacles. He secured them to Emerald’s wrists. “Now you can hold her legs.”
Apparently, Emerald had had enough time to reconsider whether it was a good idea to try to fight or not. She stiffened when Koryn settled behind her and slipped his arms beneath her knees, but she didn’t try to fight him when he pulled them up tightly against her shoulders, spreading them so wide the tendons on either side stood out.
Tariq settled on the bed on his belly. Using the fingers of one hand to press the lips of her sex back, he opened his mouth over her clit and began to tease it with his tongue to bring the blood to it. She bucked at the first touch of his tongue, discovered she could only move closer and went still, panting for breath. As angry and resistant as she was, she couldn’t prevent her body’s reaction to the stimulus. After a few moments, her clit was swollen with the rush of blood. Tariq sucked it into his mouth and pulled on it until he felt tremors begin to run through her. Satisfaction filled him when he’d pushed a finger into her sex and discovered she was wet. He thrust slowly at first, pulling at her clit a little harder until the muscles inside of her began to quake and clutch at his finger with each pass. Inserting a second finger, he began to thrust into her a little faster, gaining momentum as he felt the convulsions of her inner muscles increase. By the time it reached a point where they locked around his fingers he was pounding into her. He kept the rhythm steady until she uttered a choked groan and then began to whimper almost incessantly, continued resolutely until his arm was burning from the strain.
She went limp when he finally stopped and lifted his head to study her.
“Take the manacles off.”
She didn’t attempt to lift her arms when Koryn removed the binding. He nodded at Koryn to settle her on the bed and then climbed up beside her. Lifting the leg nearest him, he draped it over his hip and reached to massage the nearest breast. Koryn mirrored his movements, pulling her other leg over his hips and massaging her other breast, plucking at her nipples until they were hard with the blood engorging them. Tariq slipped a hand down her belly, parted the lips of her sex and pushed a finger inside of her as he leaned down to capture a nipple.
They alternated. When Tariq’s arm tired and he withdrew his fingers, Koryn inserted his and then each of them inserted two fingers and drove into her together until she was shuddering all over. Tariq refused to allow her a moment’s respite until he was tired enough to need it himself and only then for a few moments while he changed positions with Koryn. When she stopped whimpering and began to cry, he told her to hold her nether lips for him and returned to the foot of the bed to suck her clit and thrust into her.
She held still for several moments and then tried escape.
Koryn caught her and held her. When she finally stopped straining against Koryn’s hold, they changed positions and he held her while Koryn sucked her clit and rammed his fingers into her punishingly until she began to scream. Tariq muffled her shrill cries with his hand until she abruptly went limp.
Koryn lifted his head. “She’s fainted.”
Tariq drew in a shaky breath. “We might as well rest then.”
Koryn frowned. “I think she’s had enough.”
“She tried to kick me in the face not five minutes ago,” Tariq said pointedly.
“You have a point. We’ve been at it for hours, though.”
Tariq frowned. “We’ll give her a little time to recover. She’ll be desensitized anyway if we keep going too long.”
“Ice would numb her. Once the sensation returns it will have normalized.”
Tariq heaved a shaky breath. “I need to cool down myself,” he said tightly, climbing off the bed and heading to the shower.
Him also—or better than that, release, but he wasn’t sticking his cock anywhere near Emerald’s mouth after the way she’d fought both of them. Getting up, he went to the refreshment bar and got a cold drink and a glass of ice.
She came around with a sharp intake of breath the moment he touched a piece of ice to one of her nipples, slapping at his hand. Koryn fixed her with a hard look. “Unless you want to be tied to this bed I suggest you control yourself. Put your hands over your head and keep them there and spread your legs. I will do this either way,” he said through gritted teeth.
She stared at him
for a long moment and finally lifted her arms above her head and pushed her legs apart. She flinched when he applied the ice to her once more, lifting her arms and then resolutely dropping them to the bed again. “I hate you.”
Koryn flicked a look at her face, but despite his determination not to show it, the comment sent a hard pang through him. He swallowed with an effort. “I’ll live with it,” he growled.
He ran the ice around her nipple until it was rosy from the cold and finally moved to the other. She flinched all over again but she didn’t try to lift her arms. “Why?”
He didn’t look at her that time. He wrestled with the urge to answer, too angry to yield to it. When he decided he’d cooled both nipples sufficiently, he moved to the opposite end of the bed. Taking her ankles, he pushed her legs up and settled them wide enough on either side of her to give him easy access. Taking another piece of ice, he parted the lips of her sex with one hand and began to rub the ice slowly around and around her swollen clit. She jerked the moment he touched her, clamping her legs around his hand.
“Put your legs down. Now.”
“At least tell me why,” she said plaintively.
“Because I don’t want you dead … or worse,” he ground out.
She swallowed convulsively several times. “What could be worse than dead?”
“Alive and … vegetative.”
She was silent for a while. “I … won’t fight anymore.”
“Yes, you will. If we could trust that you wouldn’t we wouldn’t have to do this. And if you behave like you have and anyone else sees it there is nothing we can do to protect you.” He flicked a hard look at her face. “Understand that, Em. Accept it. Keeping your mind depends upon it. At the very least, they will use a cerebrum-wash—which may or not reduce you to a vegetative state—and then shove tubes into you if it does and use you for a breeder anyway.”
Deep Penetration; Alien Breeders I Page 16