Paige saw no envy on the young woman’s face. Only inconsolable yearning. Like a slave who hoped for nothing more than enough food, a safe place to sleep, a loving touch rather than a brutal slap or harsh words.
Compassion welled in Paige, threatening to overwhelm her. Swallowing hard, she lifted her hand. An invitation for Eeete to join them.
Ever obedient, she padded into the room, the floor vibrating slightly beneath her weight. At the sound of her footfalls, Zekin turned. Surprise, then confusion, swept his handsome face.
Afraid he might turn the young woman away—a rejection Paige couldn’t bear—she murmured, “We’re both here to pleasure you. Isn’t that right, Eeete?”
Her attention remained on Zekin’s body, not his face, her expression submissive. Dutifully…gratefully…she nodded.
“You want this?” he asked Paige.
She wanted him to be safe, needed him to be loved. To experience all the joy he’d missed in that crappy place he’d come from. In a perfect world, everyone here would be going to Seattle and staying there. Eeete and the others would find their own futures, someone else to adore and share their lives with.
Zekin would stay with Paige, allowing them to get to know each other better. To have their obvious attraction and mutual desire build into something deep and lasting.
She liked and respected him as a man. How easy it would be for her to fall in love with him. How very hard to let him go.
Paige stopped herself before she threw her arms around him again as she’d done repeatedly since he’d rescued her. If she surrendered to her deepest desire, there was no telling if she’d ever let him go.
“I do,” she said at last, having no fear of Eeete’s presence. Zekin liked the young woman, but he didn’t love her. Paige had no cause for jealousy, only melancholy. He’d do everything in his power to get her back to Seattle, while he remained here. Though not alone. She’d be leaving him in Eeete’s tender care.
He knew what Paige was doing. Her emotions, like those of the others on her plane, were so transparent. So alive. Zekin envied them. A man from her side would probably have agreed to anything she’d proposed, his concern only for himself with little thought to anyone else.
Zekin wasn’t that kind of man. He couldn’t leave those here at risk even if it meant losing his own life. What was there to live for if one didn’t have honor?
Where was the joy in that existence if one didn’t also have love?
Paige brushed her lips over his throat. Zekin released a needy, wanting sigh. Eeete trailed her fingers up the back of his leg. He grunted happily in response, the noise filling this small space. Helpless against both women’s touch, he rolled off Page and fell to the mattress.
Eeete cupped his balls in one hand and stroked his cock with the other, making his skin tingle and his shoulders bunch. With her mouth over his, Paige quieted his newest sounds and slid her tongue inside.
He stilled at how wonderful she tasted, like no woman he’d known on E2—or any of the pleasure slaves—everything about her enthralling him, demanding his full consideration. Zekin gave it freely until Eeete swirled her tongue over his crown.
A storm of sensation whisked through Zekin, making him gasp. Paige angled her mouth to quiet him. He stretched his legs and tried to do the same with his arms, needing to move, driven by both women’s actions. Paige stopped him, lacing her fingers through his, keeping him her prisoner, to do with as she willed.
Shamelessly, she kissed him as Zekin hadn’t experienced before, the noises she made wanton and wild. Eeete parroted the sounds as she took him fully into her mouth, the wet heat more than Zekin could manage.
He squeezed Paige’s fingers and curled his toes, his attention flitting from her kiss to Eeete suckling his cock and fondling his balls, then back again. Soon, the women worked as a team rather than competing with each other. As Paige deepened her kiss, Eeete decreased her pace, her tongue flicking his shaft rather than the head. She returned to it, licking the most sensitive part of his crown, when Paige’s kiss explored and grew tender.
They drained him of strength and replaced it with ecstasy, satisfaction, indescribable comfort.
Zekin rode on a wave of pleasure, never wanting it to peak and crash. In a flash, it did. He grunted against Paige’s mouth, her tongue muzzling him as his orgasm hit. Eeete drank his come, licking him repeatedly, making certain she got every drop.
Heat rolled in gentle waves through Zekin, sapping his will to move, speak, to do anything except enjoy the moment. It ended too quickly. Paige pulled her mouth from his and rolled away. At the same time, Eeete released his cock.
He muttered an oath neither woman knew. “Wait. It’s over?”
Paige laughed. The sound was free, musical, happy, even though she still wore a hint of unhappiness. “Get real. We haven’t even started. Have we, Eeete?”
Shyly, she shook her head.
Negotiating the narrow mattress with care and surprising grace, Paige went to all fours, presenting her ass and cunt to him. In the otherwise odorless air, her body smelled of sex, passion, animal hunger. All that Zekin craved.
Without comment, Eeete pushed to her feet and padded to the back of the bed, directly behind him.
What she had in mind, he had no idea. Nor did he question it. On his knees between Paige’s legs, Zekin lifted his cock and thrust into her cunt, piercing her depths until he couldn’t go any deeper. He clenched his jaw at how snug she was, her striking heat.
As he pushed closer, demanding to be as near as possible, Eeete slid her fingers between his buttocks, stopping at his anus.
Zekin held back a moan.
Undeterred by his silence, Eeete worked her finger inside his snug opening, even as she massaged his balls with her other hand.
He shuddered at the dazzling sensations she created. Giving him pleasure. The same as Paige, who’d welcomed his body into her own.
Chapter Eleven
Carefully, Eeete observed Paige, monitoring and mimicking her responses as she’d been trained to do with her betters. Hopeful that her actions would bring Zekin joy…wondering if he’d reward her with a bit of his attention.
He thrust his shaft into Paige’s cunt repeatedly and rubbed her clit, concentrating on their enjoyment. Unmindful of how Eeete continued to stimulate him, fondling his sac, her forefinger penetrating his anus.
Futile yearning welled within her, squeezing her chest. She labored to finish one breath, a swallow. Pushing the discomfort aside, Eeete never considered stopping or leaving. She hadn’t the right. From birth, she’d been trained to accept whatever happened, especially if it was punishment that pleased others or indifference from them because she’d never mattered to anyone. Longing for more and demanding it was a right for a ruler, Zekin, Paige, not her.
Faithfully, she caressed his balls. The wrinkled skin constricted within her palm. His anus narrowed further around her finger, betraying his excitement at being inside a woman he truly wanted.
Paige whimpered.
Once more, Eeete parroted the sound. Again, Zekin didn’t notice. His bellow and Paige’s cry rang through the room with their climaxes, his body trembling with its potency. Eeete removed her finger from him. She trailed her hands over his shoulders and back, relaxing him as much as she could, wanting him to be pleased with what she did.
Perspiration dampened his face, shoulders and chest. It seemed an effort for him to remain as he was. His limbs shook slightly. At length, he pulled out of Paige and sagged to the mattress. Eeete eased Zekin’s hair behind his ear and touched his unshaven cheek, loving the feel of both.
He reached for Paige and enfolded her within his embrace. Their panting mingled until they seemed to breathe as one, not noticing Eeete…forgetting her.
As they should.
It was the way of the realm she’d been created in. What she couldn’t change. Nor should she want to.
Again, she forced longing down, dismissing it as she watched them fall asleep. When th
ey had, Eeete smoothed back Zekin’s hair as she’d seen Paige do. She touched his mouth lightly—so as not to disturb—and did the same with his shoulder, biceps and hand. Honoring his body, while accepting that she’d never be the kind of woman he would truly desire.
Paige didn’t recall drifting off, nor was she quite certain what had awakened her. Wasn’t Zekin. Still asleep, he had his leg draped over hers, his palm on her breast. She smiled gently at his long fingers and gorgeous body, fragrant with his masculine scent.
On the floor next to him, Eeete slept. She’d propped her upper body against the mattress so she could rest her arm on his hip, her hand on his flat belly.
Aw, sweetie. Paige felt bad for not having given the young woman her side of the bed. Eeete had had so little in her life. Worse, she expected nothing. Not even the promise of Zekin’s love.
Take care of him for both of us, Paige prayed before she knew she would. Take care of yourself too.
She tried to imagine their lives here after she left. Eeete doing all she could to make Zekin happy, never believing or hoping his kindness toward her might turn into something more. Him rescuing another woman, risking his life again. How long could he keep doing that without getting killed? How long could any of them survive down here? Years? Months? Only a few more weeks?
Shuddering at the thought, Paige checked to see if any guards or water monsters lurked nearby, wanting in. Nope. Only smaller trout-like fish streamed past the pods. In those nearest this one, Paige saw numerous pleasure slaves, their hair, eyes and complexions a kaleidoscope of color more vibrant than the surrounding coral. Some of them slept, while others fucked like crazy, their hands and mouths exploring each other’s nudity. More than one young woman was on her hands and knees as a male slave pumped his erect shaft into her cunt or anus, while another slid his cock in and out of her mouth.
Although they were all in full view of each other, none openly stared at the sex going on around them. Nor did they meet and hold other’s gazes, not even those who screwed in the missionary position.
Most behaved as though they were comfortable with that emotional distance, or at least resigned to it.
Two were not. Her hair was a light ash brown. His brownish-black, his eyes a startling cornflower blue. No GQ or Victoria’s Secret models had ever looked as good as they did—not even after being Photoshopped—their perfection hard to comprehend. Even as another man mounted the young woman, she glanced at the male who had the amazing blue eyes. When their gazes met, they both glanced away…though only for a few seconds. Longing compelled them to sneak peek after peek.
Paige could see how much they wanted each other, their devotion unmistakable. The same as Eeete’s for Zekin.
He continued to sleep undisturbed, his face relaxed as though he hadn’t a care in the world. A faint look of yearning marred Eeete’s tranquil expression. Paige guessed that even in sleep, the young woman focused on him. Part of it a remnant of the ruthless training that had molded her into a pleasure slave. Most if it because she was so desperately in love.
Stifling a sigh that might disturb either of them, Paige turned and flinched. Bruda and Qatar—or men who looked very similar to them—stood in the pod’s doorway. Every word Paige knew evaporated with her surprise. Had he and Bruda watched her, Zekin and Eeete going at it like a threesome in an X-rated movie? If so, why? Was that an accepted pastime in this terrible place? A form of entertainment meant to replace cable or adult channels they obviously didn’t have?
They offered no comment, simply regarded her with the same impassive expressions Paige had seen Zekin use. She searched for identifying characteristics, a mole, scar, blemish, wrinkle that might assure her of who they were. Qatar’s wavier hair finally gave him away. Bruda’s slightly smaller frame and paler complexion seemed about right.
She frowned at their continued intrusion.
Qatar didn’t even blink. Bruda, however, seemed to be getting an eyeful as his attention flitted from her to Eeete and back. Only then did Paige remember her nudity. Heat shot from her chest to her throat and cheeks. She draped her arm across her breasts.
Zekin stirred with her movement and slid his leg from hers, which further exposed her pussy. Paige covered it with her other hand.
Qatar finally blinked.
Awake at last, Zekin pushed to his elbows, glanced at Eeete as she stood, then turned to his men. “Has something happened?”
“We had an idea,” Bruda said, serene as could be.
“The idea was mine,” Qatar corrected.
“We thought of it together,” Bruda mumbled, then added quickly, “A way to return Paige to Seattle.”
Immediate surprise and hope surged through her, followed by a wave of dread at the thought of leaving Zekin. Never seeing him again. Not knowing if he’d survived. Fearful that he’d died and that Eeete had too.
Bracing herself against such horrible thoughts, Paige blurted, “You figured out how to use the device?”
“Of course not,” Bruda said, as though she’d asked an idiotic question. “Only the guards know how to do that.”
“They’re here?” She glanced past him, panicked at what the guards would do, wondering why no one else seemed alarmed.
Qatar regarded her as he might a cretin, perhaps one of the subhumans on E4. “No. The. Guards. Are. On. The Sur—”
“I’m not stupid,” she cut in, then dragged in a calming breath. “If the guards are the only ones who know how to use the device, then what could your idea possibly be?”
Qatar actually puffed out his chest as though he were proud. “Bring one of them down here and interrogate him.”
“If he won’t talk,” Bruda said, “we’ll simply resort to torture.”
Simply?
“We’d have to bring him here first,” Zekin countered.
Paige didn’t understand. “How would you do that?”
Qatar spoke before the others. “Zekin will have to go to the surface to kidnap him from the outpost.”
“And risk his life to do so?” Paige said. “Uh-uh. No way.”
Bruda ignored her raised voice and turned to Qatar. “He could distract one of the guards with a female. While the guard was focused on her, Zekin could strike.”
Qatar nodded. “We could send Eeete with—”
“No.” Paige pushed to her knees, trying to maintain her balance as she covered as much of her nudity as she could. “No one’s putting Eeete in harm’s way, not while I’m here. Your people have put her through hell. She’s never had a life. No childhood. No adolescence. Not one single moment of happiness or freedom. No damn way will I allow her to be harmed to save my sorry ass.”
The men exchanged a glance. Eeete kept her head bowed, no doubt prepared to do whatever they wanted, even if it meant her death.
“Do. You. Understand?” Paige asked.
Bruda’s eyes narrowed slightly as though he wanted to frown at her snotty tone but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so. “Not entirely. We’re not familiar with some of the words you’ve used.”
“I could take one of the other females,” Zekin offered.
“No,” Paige cried. “I don’t want anyone getting killed because of me.”
Zekin touched her hand. “She may not get killed.”
May not? “Are you serious? These are human beings we’re talking about. They’re not toys you can use for your own purposes as if they have no feelings. They bleed just like you and I do. I don’t give a damn if they were grown in artificial wombs or how they came to be. You’re not using them. Why would you even consider doing such a thing? What in the hell is the matter with all of you?”
Bruda and Qatar offered no comment. Paige might as well have been talking to blocks of stone.
Zekin sighed. “Without a female to distract the guard, there’s a chance I may not succeed. Over time, the guards have grown cunning. I’ve had to wait long periods for them to emerge from their post so I could gain entry. We’ve concluded they’re using the de
vice more and more to travel through portals for the things they require—even most of their food and drink. Before they brought you to their outpost, I was on the surface for nearly a week, hiding in the drifts. If not for the guard who’d been outside, disposing of the slaves they’d already killed, I might not have been able to rescue you.”
“So true,” Qatar said. “And once they lose their fear of E3, they’ll probably manipulate the device to send their victims there rather than tossing them outside. Then we’ll have no way to enter their outpost. Until that happens, we have to use whatever means are available to us. If a female calls out and pounds on the door, their curiosity and lust will overcome any reservations they may have. They’re barely above animals in intelligence. Nothing more than savages.”
“It’s the only sensible way,” Bruda chimed in.
Paige wanted to laugh at their ludicrous and prejudiced reasoning. She could scarcely pull in enough air. Slightly dizzy and nauseated, she said the only thing she could. “Then I’ll go. I’ll distract the guard.”
Zekin stared at her. He pushed up and warned, “No.”
“It’s the only sensible way,” Paige said, saying exactly what Bruda had. She cleared her throat. “I’m the one who needs to get back, so I should be the one to—”
“You saw what it’s like up there,” Zekin interrupted. “You want to go through that again? You’re telling me you’re not afraid?”
“I’m scared shitless,” she muttered. “I want to hurl.”
“Hurl,” Bruda repeated. “Unfortunately, we don’t understand that—”
“Throw up,” she said, then raised her voice to drown out Zekin. “I’m so frightened, I feel sick, all right? However, that doesn’t mean I won’t do it.”
Zekin crossed his arms over his chest and tightened them to keep from grabbing Paige, shaking her until she was able to think clearly. “You could get both of us killed if you go.”
Stolen Desire (Outlawed Realm) Page 12