Rescued by the Space Pirate (Ruby Robbins’ Sexy Space Odyssey)

by Nina Croft

  “Sorry.” Rolling off her, I stared at the curved ceiling until I was sure my heart wasn’t going to explode. I turned my head to look at her. She’d shifted onto her side and was returning my gaze out of sleepy eyes.

  “Well, that was good.” Fucking amazing, but I didn’t want her getting big-headed.

  …

  Ruby

  Oh. My. God.

  I’d lost my virginity to a one-armed, one-eyed space pirate.

  Hah.

  I really didn’t want to think right now.

  That was the best sex I had ever had in my entire life. Uh, obviously, since—did I mention?—I’m a virgin.

  Hah, again.

  I remembered the time I had actually lost my virginity. It had been anticlimactic, to say the least. In fact, totally without climaxes of any sort.

  Right now, my whole body, from my vagina to the tips of my toes and the top of my head, tingled with residual pleasure. I squeezed my thighs together, and another ripple shot through me.

  “Yes, very nice,” I said as he seemed to be waiting for an answer, and I didn’t want him to think I was a pushover. He was lying with his metal arm next to me, the scar clear on his face, the silver eye restless. He had the most beautiful mouth I’d ever seen, with a full lower lip. And while his tongue might not be forked, he certainly knew what to do with it.

  “Good.” He gave a lopsided smile, and my insides turned molten. “You know, there’s no reason we can’t have a little fun together, until I find out where we have to send you.”

  Okay, so that brought me crashing back down with a bang big enough to create the universe. I’d almost forgotten the mission. How could I have forgotten Sarah and the others? Not to mention Yolanda Pendleton. I was such a weak-willed, sex-craved idiot.

  I pushed myself up, pulled my knees to my chest, and rested my chin on one knee.

  He didn’t move, just lay there with his arms behind his head, watching me lazily out of those mismatched eyes. God, he was gorgeous, all long and lean and scarred like a big old tomcat who’d spent his life fighting. I wanted to hug him, and pet him, and make him all better.

  Which was beyond stupid.

  Get your brain into gear, Ruby Robbins, and stop thinking with your vagina.

  So what had happened? Why was I here instead of on my way to rescue Yolanda Pendleton and ensure the safety of mankind? Could it be that someone didn’t want mankind to be safe? Rekowski had assured me that only he and Pendleton knew about my mission. Had he lied? Or had he somehow called the mission off? But we’d had a code word for use if he needed to contact me, and Kill hadn’t used it.

  How the hell was I supposed to get this back on track? I peered at the man still lying next to me. Kill had said that he’d rescued me. But why?

  I ran my hand through my wonderfully clean hair then pressed a finger to my forehead. How much could I tell him? Not the truth, until I knew more about who had employed him and why.

  I licked my lips and glanced at him, then away and back again. His cock was already hard again, sticking up, flushed red against the paleness of his belly. It was a beautiful cock. I’d never really thought of them in those terms, but it was long and thick and hard, the skin taut with a silky sheen, the head flaring. And it made my insides quiver.

  I wanted that cock.

  I forced my gaze to his face and found him grinning. “It’s all yours, sweetheart.”

  Focus.

  I took a deep breath, then rested my hand on his thigh, but kept my fingers away from that silky skin. “Why did you rescue me, Killian?”

  He scrubbed a hand through his hair and then pushed himself up so he leaned against the wall behind him. “I was paid to rescue you.”

  “Me in particular?”

  He nodded. “Ruby Robbins. And I was sent a picture. Someone was willing to pay a lot of money to get you off that ship. Someone loves you, baby.”

  “Who paid you?”

  “No clue.”

  Frustration clawed at me. “You must know. If someone paid you…”

  “It came through the Guild.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Just an organization that…brokers deals between interested parties. Look, don’t worry your head about it. You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”

  I gritted my teeth. “You need to take me back.”

  A frown put creases between his eyes. “Back? Back where? Back to Earth? Sorry, no can do. It’s a closed planet.”

  “No, back to that slaver ship.”

  The frown deepened, making his thick black brows meet in the middle. “Why the hell would I do that?”

  Because the slavers would hopefully lead me right to their base, and to Yolanda Pendleton. They were the only way I would find her. But my mission was a secret. I ransacked my brain for anything that might sound believable. I latched on to something he’d mention earlier. His big blue friend believed Earth girls signed up for the slavery thing. Looking for excitement and adventure. Yeah, right, because it had all been so exciting.

  But it might work. Killian liked me. I could tell that. And I was pretty sure he considered me a little dim. Maybe he’d send me back if I asked him nicely, and if he really believed it was what I wanted. He might not get paid, but he’d hopefully get his money back from the slavers.

  “Because I want to go back.” God, I’d always been a crap liar, but I could do this. “I signed up for this. I wanted to be a slave. I find the idea of being owned really exciting. I want to belong to a man totally, know I have no choice but to do what he tells me.”

  “You have no clue what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, I have. They told me.” Time to add a little realism. “You don’t understand. I was an accounts clerk. It was unbelievably boring. Every day was the same. Then I was approached. I guess they must have seen something in me. They told me about it—that I’d go into space. I’d be sold, but I’d be valuable and looked after and I’d experience life and…” I ran out of words. His face had taken on a closed expression, and a tic jumped in his cheek.

  “They lied to you, and you’re more likely to experience death than life. The average lifespan of a sex slave is around five years. Look, soon this will all be behind you and—”

  “Goddammit, I want to be a sex slave.”

  …

  Killian

  Anger was a tight knot in my belly.

  What the hell did she know about slavery? She thought she was playing some game.

  I pushed off the bed and paced the room a couple of times, coming back to stand over her. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, and she was gazing up at me out of her big blue eyes.

  “It’s what I want, Killian.”

  “You have no concept of what slavery is.” I whirled around to stand with my back to her and heard her small gasp. I knew what she was seeing; my back was a tracery of silver whip marks. I’d never accepted slavery well, and right to the end I’d fought against it and taken the punishment. The thought of a whip tearing her soft skin made my blood boil.

  “That’s what slavery is,” I said, turning back to her.

  She was gazing up at me, her eyes awash; she blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She was such a softie. Too soft.

  She swallowed, and I could see her visibly pulling herself together. Then she wiped her hand across her cheek, and her face set. “That’s because you misbehaved. I wouldn’t do that. I want this, Killian. Some of the stuff on that slaver ship was horrible, but it made me feel alive for the first time in my life.”

  “You really think it’s an adventure? That some handsome stranger is going to buy you and take care of you, make you come?”

  She nodded.

  She was a fucking idiot. “Have you no goddamn pride?”

  “No.” Her voice was small.

  I was missing something here. There was more to Ruby Robbins than met the eye. Trouble was, I had no clue what, and my anger was clouding my ability to think. There had to be some
way to get through that stupid thick skull of hers.

  How do you put someone off being an alien sex slave?

  It didn’t take me long to come up with a plan. I was the idiot. It wasn’t as though I didn’t have the perfect alien on hand to do that very job. Maybe a glimpse of what being a sex slave involved would change her mind.

  I pulled on my pants, not bothering with anything else, and pressed the comm unit on my wrist. “Zak, where are you?”

  “Bridge.”

  “Where’s the girl?”

  “Creb’s looking after her—she opened her eyes, took one look at me, and screamed her pretty head off. If I were a more sensitive man, I’d be hurt.”

  “Well, stay where you are. We’re on our way.”

  I closed off and studied Ruby’s hunched figure on the bed. “Get up.” I kept my tone harsh, and her eyes widened.

  “Why? What’s happening?”

  “Slaves don’t get told what’s happening. Isn’t that what you want?”

  She sniffed but gave a little nod.

  I went into the bathroom and picked up the length of chain. I hated doing this, but someone had to bring her to her senses, show her how wrong she was.

  Her gaze darted from the chain in my hand to the door, but she had to know there was nowhere to run. “What are you doing?” Her voice was a whisper.

  “Showing you that you really do not want to be a sex slave.”

  “Oh.”

  Her pulse fluttered as I attached the chain to the collar around her pretty throat. And my dick jumped in my pants. I might not agree with slavery, and I might be doing this for all the right reasons, but that didn’t mean my dick wasn’t going to enjoy it.

  I tugged on the chain. “Up the stairs.”

  She glanced from me to where my coat lay on the floor. “Can I…?”

  “No. Slaves don’t get to wear clothes unless they earn them.”

  “Kill, I—”

  “Call me master or sir.”

  She clamped her lips closed. Whatever she believed, I don’t think she was the obedient type. It certainly didn’t come naturally.

  I tugged again, and this time she got up. The chain was long enough to keep hold of while she climbed the stairs in front of me. The view was nice, peeks of blond curls and pink pussy.

  I made her walk two steps behind me on the way to the bridge and resisted looking back. I’d never had a slave, had only ever been one. I honestly didn’t know what to do from this perspective. Luckily, I knew someone who did.

  Zak had grown up in the Groth Imperial household, the crown prince until someone decided they had a better candidate and tried to off him. That was when our paths had crossed. We’d both been eighteen at the time, and we joined forces, stole a ship, gave her a brand-new name—the Helldiver—and never looked back. Of course, I’d seen him around before then; he’d come with his father to inspect the mines, but we might as well have been on different universes. And he’d been a total asshole. I like to think Zak would have eventually turned into a decent person without my help, but who knew? Anyway, he’d once told me he’d been given his first sex slave—and his first blow job—at the age of twelve.

  Zak had his back to us as I entered the bridge, my pretty little slave in tow. He was setting the autopilot but peered over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised; he knew my views on slavery.

  I turned to Ruby. She was gazing out of the forward screen, her eyes huge and mesmerized. I kept my expression cold. “Kneel.”

  She looked like she didn’t know what the word meant, so I gave the chain a downward tug. For a moment, she resisted, and I knew that I should have retaliated in some way, but I just couldn’t do it. That’s why I was here.

  Finally, she sank to her knees. I gave her one last look and hurried over to where Zak was still sitting in the pilot’s seat.

  “I need your help.” I kept my back to Ruby and spoke quietly so she wouldn’t hear.

  Zak glanced across at Ruby, and his nostrils flared. “Happy to. But how can I help you?”

  “She says she wants to be a sex slave.”

  He gave me his smug expression. “I told you. They sign up for it. Kinky bitches, the lot of them.”

  “Of course she’s not kinky. She was a goddamn virgin until half an hour ago.”

  He cast her an interested look. “A virgin? What’s that like?”

  I scratched my head. “To be honest, I didn’t notice any difference. She was tight, but she didn’t scream or bleed or anything.”

  His lips twitched. “So what do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to persuade her that she doesn’t want to be a sex slave. Show her how fucking awful it is. Honest, she hates being told what to do. For some reason, she’s trying to hide it, but I can tell.”

  “I can do anything?”

  I glanced at Ruby, at the stubborn set of her chin. “Just scare the crap out of her. Whatever it takes.” I thought for a moment. “But don’t hurt her.”

  Chapter Six

  Ruby

  I still couldn’t get the image of Killian’s poor scarred back out of my mind. Honestly, it terrified me, but at the same time, it made me more determined than ever to do my bit to put a stop to the slavers.

  I’d been feeling okay until we got here and found his blue friend waiting.

  They were talking quietly, so I couldn’t hear, no matter how hard I strained to listen. Kill had been angry. He still was, if the set of his shoulders was anything to go by. I wish he’d put some clothes on. All he was wearing was his pants, and there was far too much space pirate on show.

  At that moment, his friend rose to his feet.

  Christ, he was big. He must have been nearly seven feet tall and wide at the shoulder. He wore fitted black pants, and for some reason, my gaze strayed to the bulge in his groin. I remembered Rekowski’s words about aliens being bigger. But that was nothing to do with me. No way was I going to get to see his alien cock.

  Was I?

  Before, when he’d introduced himself, he’d seemed almost friendly. Now, his expression was cold and calculating.

  I flicked a quick glance to Killian, leaning against the console behind him, his arms folded across his bare chest, watching me. He raised an eyebrow when he caught my gaze.

  “What’s happening?” I asked, because I really couldn’t help myself.

  The big blue guy came to a halt in front of me. “Did someone give you permission to speak, little slave girl?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “No, master.”

  “No, master.”

  “Since you’re new to this, I’ll tell you what’s happening. My friend here”—he waved a hand toward Killian—“wants some help in demonstrating to you what’s involved in being a slave girl. See, Kill is a nice guy, and he doesn’t know.” He licked his lips with that forked tongue, and something fluttered in my belly. I wanted to put it down to nausea, but my talent for self-deception was wearing thin. “But I do.”

  I felt I had to point something out here. “But I don’t want to be your slave girl. I want to go back to the other ship and be sold in a slave market. I want the whole experience.” He raised a dark-blue eyebrow. “Master.”

  “Ah, but that’s the whole point about being a slave. You don’t get the choice.”

  I suppose he had a point, but not one that would help my cause.

  If I went along with this—and there was that inappropriate flutter again—and proved that I was up for anything they could send my way, would they send me back? I was beginning to doubt it, but what else could I do? This was my only hope. My heart was beating fast. I had a weird sensation that I was totally deluding myself. That whatever I did, they wouldn’t take me back. So why was I still kneeling like an obedient little slave girl?

  Because you’re a pervert, Ruby Robbins.

  And, somehow, I couldn’t believe that anything really bad would happen to me, not while Killian was present. He’d saved Maria. He wasn’t a bad guy. The
only problem was, I wasn’t so sure about his friend. Killian had brought me here because he knew Zak would do what he couldn’t.

  But how far would he let his friend go?

  For that matter, how far would I go? Did I even have a choice any longer?

  “Open your legs.” The order was barked. When I didn’t immediately respond, he shoved a booted foot between my thighs, parting them. “Wider.”

  I shifted, widening my stance.

  “Hands behind your head.”

  I raised my hands, clasped them at the back of my head. The position pushed my breasts out. My nipples were hard little points, and between my legs I was hot and swollen and needy. I was such a pervert.

  His hand cupped my breast, blue against my pale skin, and a finger raked over my nipple, sending a frisson of sensation down through my belly to my sex.

  Zak walked around my kneeling figure, coming to a halt in front of me. He rubbed his groin, and oh my God, it was getting bigger. “Shit, she’s a pretty one.”

  I was staring straight ahead. Now I twisted my head a little so I could see Killian. His pants were open, and his cock was fisted in his big hand.

  Hah, whatever he said about hating slavery, he was turned on by this. Seemed like I wasn’t the only pervert present. I dragged my gaze back to Zak. He was looking between the two of us.

  “Crawl over to him.”

  When I didn’t immediately move, he reached down, picked up my chain, and gave it a sharp tug. “Move.”

  I moved. I went onto all fours and shuffled across. Part of me knew I should hate this, but the rest of me was so turned on I was almost panting.

  When I reached Killian, I came up on my knees. I rested a hand on his thigh and peered up at him. He still had a fist around his cock, but he wasn’t moving, just staring down at me. His expression was… I couldn’t tell. But he didn’t look like a guy who was about to enjoy a blow job.