by Sadie Carter
“Milady, we can take care of them,” Jaxan told her, easily keeping pace. “There is no need to run.”
“Zerconian warriors do not run away,” Macon added disapprovingly.
“His friends look large and mean. And what if they smell as bad as he does?”
Jaxan made a face. Did Macon actually wince? Nah, probably not.
“Besides, now I get to see what’s going on over here.” She slid through the crowd that had gathered in front of a large, wooden stage. “Is this some sort of show?”
Jaxan stared around. “It’s an auction, milady. But we cannot stay.”
“An auction? Great. I might find more bargains.”
“More?” Macon asked, looking alarmed.
“Oh, what are you moaning about? It’s not like I made you carry all my bags.” They’d paid to have her shopping delivered to the ship at the end of the day.
Both men looked pained.
“This auction has nothing you would want, milady. It only sells live, uhh, goods,” Macon explained.
She shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to check it out. Besides, this crowd provides a good hiding place.”
“Milady, the Crown Prince would not approve of you attending this auction,” Jaxan stated.
“The Crown Prince disapproves of anything that is fun. Is it dangerous?”
They looked at each other.
“I’ll take that as a no. If it’s not dangerous, then I don’t see a reason to leave. We’ll just wait here until we’re certain Stinky has moved on and then head straight back to the ship.”
Really, what could Dex possibly disapprove of? There were plenty of women in the crowd and none of them seemed to have bodyguards.
Around her, everyone buzzed with nervous excitement. She squeezed her way through the crowd until she grew closer to the stage. Glancing behind her, she saw that Macon and Jaxan didn’t have any problems getting through the mob.
The upside of being built like Rambo on steroids.
The auctioneer stepped out, dressed in a bright yellow suit. His stomach protruded out in front of him, so large in comparison to his short stature that it appeared as though he might topple forward at any moment.
“Welcome! Welcome to our auction today! What a great day you have chosen to join us.”
Yay, he spoke Standard.
“Here is our first specimen of the auction.”
Zoey’s jaw dropped as a large creature with green, leathery skin and a long, muscular tail walked out onto the stage. He held a thick rope in his hand. The other end of the rope was wrapped around the wrists of a tall, thin woman.
But it wasn’t the rope that had Zoey gaping in shock. It was the fact that the woman was stark naked.
“What kind of auction is this?” she asked Jaxan. He had to bend down to hear her as the crowd went wild, stomping their feet and cheering.
“It’s a slave auction, milady.”
She swallowed heavily, feeling ill. “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Giz.”
Zoey watched in silent horror as the female was auctioned off to the highest bidder, a large, curvy woman whose clothes were a few sizes too small and wearing make-up a few shades too bright.
“What did she buy her for?” she asked as the naked woman was led off the stage.
Macon scowled. “That is something we will not tell you, milady.”
No, but she could guess. “I think I want to go now.”
The guards looked hugely relieved and she didn’t blame them. “Umm, there’s really no need to tell Dex about this, right?”
Both men gave her incredulous looks. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
She turned away as the auctioneer started winding up again. Zoey didn’t turn around, knowing that poor, naked female was going to haunt her dreams.
“Next is a defective specimen. His deformity means that his current owners no longer have a use for him. He would be an excellent specimen for a breeding program.”
A breeding program? Please let him be kidding.
Unable to help herself, Zoey turned to stare up at the stage as a tall male was led out. What deformity? From what she could see he was absolutely beautiful. Every inch of him was toned, sleek. Powerfully muscular. His ebony-colored skin looked as smooth as silk.
His long, black hair, which had hints of blue and purple, was tied back from his face.
Yeah, he was gorgeous. Although he had nothing on Dex, of course.
The guard turned him and a murmur of disgust went through the crowd. While the right side of his body was perfection, the left was a mass of raw-looking scars and welts. What the hell had happened to him?
The scars started beside his left eye and traveled all the way down to his foot. The worst of the scars were on his left arm which hung limply at his side.
“Do I hear fifty credits?” the auctioneer called out. “No? Don’t let the scars turn you off. I can assure you that while his left arm might be useless, his rod still works.”
“Give us a demonstration!” someone yelled out.
Zoey stiffened. Oh, hell no. They wouldn’t.
“Milady, we must keep moving.” Macon placed a hand on her shoulder and Giz snapped at him, growling.
The auctioneer reached down and grabbed the scarred man’s penis. The male didn’t even flinch. He looked almost resigned.
“Milady?” Macon asked, keeping his distance this time.
She had no choice. She couldn’t just stand by and allow this to happen. She turned to Macon.
“How many credits do you have?”
Chapter Two
“I am going to lock her in her quarters until she is ninety.” Dex was exhausted, hot, and hungry. The robes he was wearing as a disguise were itchy and stifling in the sweltering temperatures. Musin had three suns and the heat bearing down on him was almost unbearable.
But it was imperative that no one recognize him. He’d received information that some of his warriors were going to be auctioned today, and he didn’t want to tip their captors off to his presence.
Normally, he would avoid these auctions. Slavery was abhorrent to him. But he had to bury his emotions and get on with his task. At least he would have, if not for his mate. His mate, who should have been back on the ship already. His mate, who should never have been anywhere close to this auction.
His mate, who had just bought a sex slave.
“And spank until she can’t sit down,” his best friend, Koran added.
“What would Zoey want with a slave?” Thor had to half-yell to be heard over the jeering of the crowd.
Dex clenched his hands as someone yelled out a particularly lewd suggestion. Red-hot fury filled him, pushing away every rational thought.
He moved towards the laughing male, but Koran and Thor grabbed his arms, holding him back.
“Do not, Dex. You cannot draw attention to us!” Thor urged him.
Dex growled down at his cousin. “Let me go.”
“Dex, Thor is correct!” Koran jumped in front of him. “We have to keep a low profile.”
Dex breathed in deeply then let it out slowly. Then again. Finally, the red haze cleared from his mind. “He insulted my mate.”
“He does not know that she is your mate,” Thor told him reasonably. “He was speaking Drashian. Zoey didn’t understand what he said.”
“She bought a sex slave.” Why? Was she unsatisfied with him? Had he let her down?
A sick feeling developed in his stomach as he watched the slave being led away. He couldn’t leave without seeing the rest of the auction through. By the time the auction was over, Zoey would be back on the ship.
With her sex slave.
How could she want that slave over him? Did she like scars? Dex had scars. Not as many as the slave, but all of his limbs worked. He could use both hands to bring her to pleasure.
“Dex, you must focus,” Koran urged him. “Jaxan and Macon will see to Zoey.”
“I specifically instructed them to return her to the ship before
the auction began.”
Thor snorted. “Since when does Zoey listen when she wants something?”
Being mated to an impetuous, headstrong, infuriating, loving, smart, and beautiful human was both exhausting and exhilarating.
At times, she tested his temper. Other times, she filled him with such joy it was hard for him to contain. He was a warrior. He was supposed to be stoic. His job was to protect and guide her.
He hadn’t expected to love her this much.
“Dex, look.” Koran nudged him hard and Dex turned to scowl at him. “It’s Tomas.”
Dex looked up at the stage to see one of his younger warriors standing on stage. He showed no reaction as the crowd jeered and shouted.
“Five hundred credits,” he yelled out.
He’d get his warriors back. No matter what.
***
“Not very talkative, huh, big guy?” Zoey asked the ebony-skinned male. They were back on the ship, in the quarters she shared with Dex.
The male she’d bought at the auction hadn’t said anything yet. She’d found him some of Dex’s clothes and left him to bathe while she grabbed him some food.
Still not one word.
She glanced over at Jaxan and Macon, who were sticking close to her. She thought they were being a bit over-protective. The guy might be large, but he’d shown no signs of aggression. The horrid people at the auction had actually placed a collar around his neck and attached a chain to it.
They’d expected her just to lead him away. Like a dog. Feeling ill, she’d taken the chain and led him off until they were out of sight when she’d quickly unlocked the collar and thrown it away. She’d half-expected him to take off; she probably would have. But he’d just followed her through the marketplace to the ship.
Macon had objected the whole way. He was still unhappy that she’d allowed him onto the ship, but she didn’t know where else to take him. She couldn’t just leave him on Musin.
“I guess he doesn’t speak Standard. How am I going to communicate with him? Do you know what race he is?” she asked her guards.
If it weren’t for his purple eyes and his strangely-colored hair, he could have passed for human.
Macon frowned. “I am not sure, milady. He could be from a number of different planets.”
“Is there anyone who speaks other languages?” Zoey asked in frustration. “I can’t help him unless I can communicate with him.”
“Racar might be able to help,” Jaxan offered. “I will find him.”
He raced out of the room and Macon shook his head with a sigh.
Zoey bit her lower lip. “He’s eager to please.”
“Too eager,” Macon replied. “A warrior should not be so impetuous or emotional.”
Zoey barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Instead, she turned back to the large, silent male. She’d tried to get him to sit, but he wouldn’t move from his position with his back against the wall.
“Eat,” she implored him. She picked up a bit of food. “See, like this.”
She took a bite of the doughy concoction. Instantly, her tongue was aflame; fire engulfed her mouth. Gasping, she dropped the food and reached for a glass of water, swallowing it down quickly. “Uhh, that tastes awful! What is that?”
“Lampat,” Macon replied, looking offended. “It is a staple food on Zerconia.”
“I’ve never had it before.”
“Females are not supposed to eat it. It is a warrior food. Only warriors have the constitution to handle it. If you had asked me before you ate it, I would have told you this.”
“You know, Macon, you are a—”
Her tirade was interrupted as the door to her quarters opened and Jaxan entered. Following him was a brutish-looking male.
“I am a what, milady?” Macon asked.
“Never mind,” she muttered. A sexist ass is what he was, but she had more important things to deal with right now.
For the next ten minutes, Racar tried to communicate with the male who just stared at him, arms crossed over his wide chest. Finally, Racar turned to her. “I’m sorry, milady, I tried.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him. “It’s not your fault. But how are we going to find out where he’s from if we can’t talk to him? Looks like he’ll have to come with us, at least until we figure out who he is.”
“We cannot take him with us, milady,” Racar protested, looking over at Macon and Jaxan.
“What else can we do with him?”
“You could set him free,” Macon replied with a scowl. “We do not support slavery on Zerconia.”
“For the last time, he’s not my slave! I bought him to free him. But I can’t just leave him here. What if those awful people capture him again?”
“Give him some credits and place him on a transporter,” he suggested.
“But what if he has amnesia and can’t remember who he is? Yes, that’s it. He’s not talking because he can’t remember anything. Is that it?” she asked him excitedly.
The others stared at her in confusion. Never mind, she was used to that. Moving closer, she grabbed the male’s hand. Around her, the warriors stiffened, but she ignored them.
“Milady, step away from him,” Macon ordered.
“Oh, chill out.” She was just holding his hand for goodness sake. Nothing exciting about that.
Macon stepped forward and the big male growled quietly.
“I am going to get you home,” she told him slowly. “You are safe here. I promise.”
As he stared down into her eyes, she got the feeling that he understood. Maybe he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, talk. But it seemed that he understood her. She smiled up at him.
“Let go of my mate!” Dex’s voice boomed through the room.
Zoey jumped and turned, letting go of the male’s hand. Dex stood just inside the room, his face thunderous, his eyes glowing red with rage. Suddenly, she was picked up and spun through the air. When her feet hit the ground, she found herself blocked from the rest of the room by a wide back.
Confused, for a moment she thought that either Macon or Jaxan were shielding her. But why would they try to protect her from Dex? Then she realized that it was the silent male who shielded her from her mate.
Dex led out a loud, fury-filled bellow.
Oh, this wasn’t good. Not good at all.
Zoey attempted to move around the male, but he matched her movements, blocking her path. She had no idea how he managed to anticipate her every move, considering he never once turned to look at her.
“Let me past. That’s Dex. My mate.” She couldn’t see a thing passed his wide back.
“Let me go!” Dex yelled. “I command you to release me.”
Oh, crap. When his ‘I-am-your-leader-you-must-obey-me’ attitude appeared, then Zoey knew he was holding onto his control by a thread.
“Dex! I’m okay. Dude, let me past or he’s going to kill you.”
The male didn’t budge.
Glancing behind her, Zoey grabbed a chair and stood on it, giving her just enough height to see over the male’s shoulders.
“Dex, calm down. I’m okay.”
“He touched you.”
She winced at the rage in his voice. Thor and Macon had each grabbed one of his arms while Koran clasped him around the waist from behind.
His fury-filled gaze was centered directly on the male still standing in front of her. “I’ll kill him.”
“For touching me? Dex, chill. Besides, I touched him.”
Dex snarled and pushed against the warriors holding him. They barely managed to hold him back.
Okay, wrong thing to say, Zoey.
Amazingly, the silent male didn’t seem to be the least perturbed by the infuriated Zerconian warrior threatening to kill him. Maybe he wasn’t quite right in the head.
“Dex, just let me explain. I bought him at a slave auction.”
“I know.”
He did? How?
“You were there? What were you doing there?” The im
age of the naked female popped into her head and she placed her hands on her hips, scowling at Dex. “Just what were you doing there, Dexanon Xa’a?”
“I was retrieving some of our warriors, mate,” Dex growled. “You were not supposed to be there. I left orders that you were to return to the ship before the auction began.”
“You didn’t tell me that I wasn’t supposed to be there.”
“Zoey,” Thor interjected in a strained voice. “Explain yourself quicker.”
She glanced over at the healer, who was usually pretty easygoing—at least in comparison to the rest of them. His face was strained, tense. The three warriors holding Dex weren’t weaklings. His rage must have given him extra strength.
“Dex, all I did was grab hold of his hand to tell him that I would help him. I was just trying to be friendly.”
“You are not to touch other males.”
Zoey sighed. “I touch Koran and Thor.”
“Stars, woman, are you trying to ensure our deaths?” Koran asked incredulously.
“You know I just see them as friends, it is the same with this guy.”
“He is a sex slave! You bought a sex slave!”
Oh. Crap.
***
“Dex, please stop pacing and talk to me.”
She was getting a crick in her neck watching him stride back and forth. Their quarters consisted of one big room with a sitting area, mattress, and a small bathing room attached. The mattress, or masic as the Zerconians called it, liked to float around the room, which meant that they didn’t have a designated sleeping area.
After Dex had calmed down enough that he no longer wanted to rip the male’s head from his shoulders, he’d ordered everyone from their quarters. Unfortunately, the silent male hadn’t wanted to budge. Zoey then had to spend twenty minutes reassuring the big fellow that she’d be fine before he would leave.
That hadn’t helped Dex’s temper.
His eyes still glowed red, an indication of the fury flowing through him. When Zerconians were overcome by strong emotion, their eyes changed color. Red for rage. Amber was arousal. Blue for sorrow. Purple was happiness.