by R. E. Butler
Kate’s eyes grew larger and she trembled. Paoli wanted to punch the soldier for even thinking about Kate that way.
Paoli said sternly, “I paid for her. She’s mine, necklace or not. If you don’t mind, we were eating lunch.”
Another soldier with pale blue hair snorted. “I’m sure a beautiful female like her wouldn’t want to be with a male who’s fucked any pussy with enough deenars. She deserves to be treated well by a male of worth, not trash like you.”
Kate rose to her feet, her skin suddenly flushed with fury. “Paoli, please take me home.”
Paoli looked at the soldiers, who were staring at her in surprise. “I assume we’re done here?” he asked.
Another soldier said, “Human, if you’re being held against your will, we can set you free by paying him what he paid for you. You shouldn’t tie yourself to trash.”
“I’m with him because I want to be. I can’t imagine a male more honorable then him, and if – in your society – that makes him trash, then call me Mrs. Trash.” She lifted her chin in defiance and a feeling of pride washed through Paoli.
The soldiers grunted in disgust and left them quickly. Paoli wasted no time closing the distance to Kate and putting his arms around her. She trembled violently against him and he rested his head on top of hers. “Thank you, Kate. You constantly surprise me.”
She twisted her hands in his shirt. “I hate this world. I hate that what you chose to do to save your family has labeled you as an outsider.” She lifted her head. “I don’t think you’re anything but wonderful, Paoli Forza. I’m glad to be yours.”
He pressed his lips to hers and everything inside him went quiet as the sweet feeling of her body against his made his heart sing. Her lips parted and he slid his tongue inside, his mind spinning at the sweet taste of her. Her skin was hot under his hands as he pulled her a little closer, aware that she would be feeling his erection through the fabric of his trousers.
He wanted to strip her, to lay her on the blanket and explore her body, to find out what she tasted like and what she sounded like when she fell apart, but he knew it wasn’t the time or the place. This first kiss, the most important one in his mind, was just a step in the right direction.
He eased away from her intoxicating lips and whispered, “I’m yours, too, Kate.”
She smiled, her eyes bright with happiness. He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles and said, “Are you ready to go back to the workshop?”
Nodding, she knelt and began to put their items back in the basket as he folded the blanket. She straightened and looked at the water. “Does the lake have a name?”
“It’s called Lake Blessu.”
She laughed. “Lake Bless You? That’s what we say when people sneeze.”
He chuckled. “No, Blessu is the name of the male who used to own this land. When the government wanted to purchase the land, he included the lake on the condition that the surrounding area be made into a park and the lake have his name. He died before I was born, but the government has continued to honor his request.”
“It’s really pretty here.” She turned toward him and smiled. “Thank you for bringing me.”
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that our time was marred by the soldiers.”
She shivered. “I don’t want to think about them. They’re wrong about you, and being soldiers shouldn’t give them the right to just go around being nasty to anyone they please.”
“Kate, I was what they say. I did sell myself into sexual slavery, and once I did that, I wasn’t allowed to say no to anyone. If a person had the right money, they could have me.” He’d never been ashamed of the choice he’d made to save his family, but there were many things he was greatly ashamed of that happened during the years he’d spent in a small cell that served as his bedroom. He’d given his body and his youth to save his mother and siblings. He’d had no options back then, and he hated the circumstances that led to his having to make that choice.
She turned to face him. “I know what you did, Paoli. I know that you’re what we’d call on my world a prostitute or a gigolo. It makes me angry to know that women had their hands on you whether you wanted them or not, and I’d like to hunt them all down and hurt them. Your world is so fucked up I can’t even begin to understand it. Instead of having a way to help disadvantaged people, your government makes them sell their bodies.”
He looked at her in confusion. “How would a government help people?”
She threw her hands up. “On Earth, your mother could have gotten disability payments for being injured on the job. The company she worked for would have had to pay her money every month even though she couldn’t work. And there are charities that give money, food, clothes, and anything else people need to them.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Nothing. Charity is giving something to someone in need without asking for anything in return. I wish there had been a place for you and your family to go when your dad died and your mother got hurt. I wish you hadn’t had to make the choice to go into slavery so you could save them from being forced into that state themselves.” Her eyes glistened with tears suddenly. “Do you know how amazing I think you are? That you gave yourself for them – for years – just…I’m awestruck at how good a person you are. I’m lucky that you were there at the Bordelayz when they brought me in, and I’m lucky you gave them all you had to set me free.”
His eyes stung at her sweet words. His mother had thanked him – once – when he first suggested to her that he could sell himself. She’d been all too happy to have him become a slave so she didn’t have to become one herself. He hadn’t told Kate about his mother’s reaction when he’d contacted her when they got out of the Bordelayz. He could tell Kate would be shocked at how furious she’d been and the suggestion that he’d condemned her and his siblings to the Bordelayz after all. He knew their straights weren’t truly that dire, and he refused to let her make him feel guilty for doing the right thing by Kate.
“You deserve so much better than I can give you,” he said.
She stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly and resting her head on his chest over his heart. “I don’t want to hear you say that again. You said I was yours, and you’re mine. I want us to stop living in the past. If I can get over not going home, you can get over your past.” She lifted her head and stared at him, her eyes blazing with emotion. “You’re not a slave anymore. That life is behind you.”
He lowered his head and kissed her gently. “Where have you been all my life?”
“Too far away, but I’m here now.”
They stood at the water’s edge, holding each other, for a long time. The silence between them was comfortable, and he didn’t think he could have picked a sweeter ending to their picnic. It had been nearly ruined by the soldiers, but he’d also seen that she cared for him. If she didn’t, she could have taken the soldier up on his offer to leave with him. Instead, she’d chosen Paoli, fiercely defended him when she was scared, and wanted them to forget both of their pasts. He knew he couldn’t truly ever forget what he’d been; he was the male he was today because of what he’d been through. But he could start over with her.
They left the park behind and walked to the workshop. After washing the dishes and putting their picnic items away, they went to see how her brooch had turned out. He watched as Kate’s eyes lit up when the brooch was extracted from the mold made from her drawing. The metal and the gemstone had melted together. The gem had given the metal a lustrous appearance that was wholly unique.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, her voice breathy and her cheeks flushed with excitement.
Eden fixed a pin on the back and handed it to Kate. “It came out great,” he said, smiling.
Kate looked at Paoli as if wanting his approval. “It’s perfect,” he said.
Her eyes lit up. “Can we sell it?”
Paoli shook his head. “You don’t have to sell it. I thought you would want to keep it.”
>
“No way. It’s gorgeous, but I can’t forget where the materials came from. It’s pretty, but I wouldn’t want to wear it.”
Eden said, “I’m sure one of my students’ mothers would be willing to purchase it for her jewelry collection.”
“Are you sure?” Paoli asked.
“I’m positive.” Kate answered.
Eden took it and walked to the front of the room where his students were using pieces of coalea stone to sketch an outdoor scene.
Kate looked at Paoli. “Is there a reason why you can’t sell it yourself?”
“I have blue hair.”
“So? Those soldiers had blue hair and they have jobs. Why can’t you sell a piece of jewelry?”
He loved her innocence. “Because of my slave status. I might be free, but I’m the lowest in our society because my hair is blue. An unmated, former brokah is…invisible to anyone of status.”
“Unmated? So you just have to get married?”
He shook his head and pulled her into their room, shutting the door so their private conversation wouldn’t be overheard by the young males. “A male’s hair is blue from birth. Only mating with his soul mate will change his hair to brown, and the only way to find a soul mate is to hire the soul-walk company.”
“Your people used to mate with each other, though, right? But something happened to the females so the soul-walk started to look at other planets.”
He nodded. “They became sterile. Some females can still have male children, but most are unable to conceive a child at all. Our world would die without new life, so the soul-walk company began to turn to other planets to find females capable of carrying children in order to continue our species. A soul-walk is very expensive. A male has to pay not only for the procedure to find his mate but also for the trip to abduct her.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Would your hair ever turn brown, if we…you know?”
He found her stumbling over the words attractive, and so did his cock. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “No, sweetheart, not unless I bought the serum. For males who choose to pick a mate and not go on a soul-walk, they have a serum injected into their bodies and their hair turns brown.”
“So let’s get the serum.”
“It’s expensive. But more than that, I don’t want to make love to you simply because having brown hair would make things easier.” He stepped close, brushing his fingertips up and down her bare arms. “I want to make love to you because you want me as much as I want you. It doesn’t matter to me that I have blue hair, it only matters to me that I have you.”
“You do have me,” she whispered, her eyes darkening with passion.
Their lips met and she melted into him. He considered picking her up and carrying her to the bed, but he knew the walls weren’t sound-proofed and the young males in the other room would hear everything. There would be time later to make love, when he could treat her the way she deserved to be treated.
He nuzzled her throat and kissed her pulse. “Eden can sell things for us. I just need your help.”
“With what?”
“Modeling. You will try my clothes on, won’t you?”
She grinned up at him. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to get me naked?”
Chuckling, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m absolutely trying to do that, but it would also help me out.”
“Okay. Now?”
“I have a few ideas. Let’s go into the sewing room.”
The hours passed quickly as he designed clothes with Kate in mind. Although Norlanian females were larger than Earth females, he was able to easily convert the size difference. Eden stopped by with Ashleigh several hours later, bringing dinner and one thousand deenars for the brooch.
“I’m happy to sell your clothes for you, as well,” Eden said.
Paoli said, “I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done for us.”
“There’s no thanks necessary,” Ashleigh said. “You’re like a brother to Eden and that makes the four of us family in my book.”
Kate smiled. “I like that idea.”
After dinner was over and they were back to working on a gown, Kate asked how much a home would cost. “A lot more than one thousand deenars, I’m afraid.”
“What about renting?”
“What’s renting?”
She laughed. “I guess that answers that question. I had a small home that I didn’t own. I paid someone every month to live there.”
“There’s no such thing here. Children live with their parents until they can afford a place of their own. The soldiers are the exception – they leave home at sixteen and join the military and live in barracks in Kyvern City. If they marry, they purchase a home.”
Kate encouraged Paoli to finish the work he’d begun, no matter how late it became. She was tired but enthusiastic, and Paoli didn’t want to stop until he was finished. Now, she stood in front of a long mirror in the gown he’d created. The sapphire color of the fabric highlighted her blue eyes and the color was perfect for her skin tone. The one-shouldered gown would have hugged her curves if it had been sized for her, but he still found her tantalizing.
She was already looking healthier than she had when they’d first left the community home. He hoped it was because she was happy. He was certainly very happy himself.
“It’s beautiful. You’re so talented,” she said, turning one way and then the other, inspecting the dress as it swirled around her.
“You can keep it,” he offered.
She smiled at him. “Are you going to offer to let me keep everything you make?”
He shrugged. “Probably.”
“Well, I appreciate that, but I want other people to see your beautiful creations, too, not just me.”
“Plus, we’d never get out of here if I didn’t sell anything I made.”
“There is that,” she said, laughing. “Help me out of this?”
He undid the fasteners and lifted the gown over her head, hanging it up in a small closet. The fabric had only cost ten deenars, but it was such a pretty design that he bet Eden could sell it for two hundred. He tried not to think about how much money they would need to get their own home. He really wanted to buy Kate a home in Polona, but it might take him two years to save that much money.
He could, though, probably save enough money to buy a home near his family’s house on the outskirts of Kyvern City in six lunar cycles or less. He didn’t want to think about Kate living in a less desirable area, but he wanted them to have their own place.
“Would you like to go meet my family tomorrow?”
Her eyes lit up. “I’d love to.”
He wanted to see how she felt about the area where his family lived. If she wasn’t too disgusted, then maybe they could find a small place there and fix it up. He could still continue to save money for a nicer home, but at least they’d be on their own. There was so much he wanted to do for her, but buying her a home was the top of his list.
“Ashleigh and I are going to see Sloan in Kyvern City tomorrow for lunch. Could we go after that?”
“Sure. Sloan’s a sweet female. She always made sure I was well when she came to check on Eden.”
“She is nice. So why isn’t she married?”
He opened the door to the sewing room and followed her out, heading into the bathroom where they cleaned their teeth. As they walked into their bedroom, he said, “She is completely infertile. She was engaged to a male before it was known that females were sterile, and he made her get tested to see if she was infertile. He broke their engagement when it was revealed that she wasn’t able to have children.”
Kate shook her head as she pulled back the covers. “I understand about your people not wanting to die out, but it sucks rocks that the males on your planet care more about having babies than taking care of their females. Have there even been any girl babies born from the soul-walk brides?”
“Over a dozen in the last five years.”
&n
bsp; She snorted in disgust. “Your females are abandoned as if they have no value, and all for a small number of baby girls who may or may not even be able to have children. It’s really sad.”
“It is, but it’s the way of dominant males to want to maintain their legacy.”
“I feel sorry for those girls,” she said as she moved onto the bed, covering her mouth as she yawned. “I’d like you to sleep next to me.”
It was music to his ears. After turning off the light, he stripped off his trousers, leaving only his shorts, and picked up his pillow and blanket from the floor. She scooted over and he set his pillow next to hers and stretched out on his back. She immediately moved next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He stretched his arm around her and her hand stroked his chest lightly as she sighed.
“This is a first for me,” he said.
“Really?”
“I get to go to sleep with the sweetest, most beautiful woman in the universe in my arms. It’s a really good first.”
“I’ve never spent the night like this with anyone either, so it’s a first for me, but with the most gorgeous guy in the universe.”
He grinned at her compliment. “Good night, sweet Kate.”
“Good night, Paoli.”
He closed his eyes, happier than he’d been since the day he met her. She was in his arms and she was his, and that was all that really mattered.
Chapter 4
Ashleigh laughed as the hover-machen, the Norlanian name for a hover car turned a sharp corner and Kate screamed in surprise.
Ashleigh grinned and patted Kate on the shoulder. “It takes a while to get used to the cars driving themselves.”
Kate shook her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it. I mean, you should have a steering wheel or something to grab hold of if the car suddenly stops working.”
“I guess I never thought about that. Eden says they’re perfectly safe. If it would stop working, it would lower to the ground and employ a distress signal for help.”