by Renee Rose
It sounded much crazier now that she said it aloud. It could only be their reverence for her father that kept them from scoffing.
“And if the galactacarriers aren’t on premises?” Rok demanded.
“They are.” Mierna used her cryptic sage voice.
Rok rolled his eyes, which made Mina like him. He was no-nonsense. He lacked the formality and pomp of the rest of their species. In fact, she liked his whole team. Somehow, it felt like she belonged more with them than with the Zandians. Perhaps because they each were oddities in their own way.
“So tell us, oh wise one, does this operation have a chance in hell of succeeding?” Sarcasm dripped in Rok’s voice.
Mierna ignored it and tilted her head to the side, losing focus in her eyes. “A good chance, yes.”
“What does a good chance mean?” Erick asked, then rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I can’t believe we’re relying on a Venusian’s predictions to make a decision.”
“Eighty percent success. Maybe better.”
Erick slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair. “So what’s a partial success mean? We lose part of the team? That’s unacceptable. I am not sending a female—or any being—in as live bait. That’s insanity.”
Mina’s face flushed. She expected every male in the room to agree, but a silence followed Erick’s outburst. “I am the only reason we were given the coordinates to his ship. He wants me. I know this being. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that he won’t harm me. I’m nothing more than a rare object to him, but he cares more about his objects than anything else.” She lifted her chin in challenge directly at Erick.
~.~
By the one true Zandian Star. Erick rubbed his temples.
Mina had him hamstrung. The mere idea of sending her into danger had his pulse skipping erratically, his hands clenched into fists. He wanted to bash heads of his imaginary enemies. Break necks. Shoot first and forget the questions.
But Mina wanted this. And denying his female anything she wanted sent his heart lurching out of his chest, made him ready to fall on his knees, promising to do everything in his power to fix it.
The fact that she’d come alive since she’d come to Zandian Freedom wasn’t lost on him. His female was a warrior. She belonged in the fray. Whether he liked it or not.
“Do the rest of you believe we should go forward with this plan?” Incredulity crackled in his tone.
Guardo shrugged. “For the three galactacarriers necessary for our strike on Zandia? Yes. I’m in.” He looked at the rest of Rok’s crew. “We’ve successfully stolen or requisitioned goods with far worse odds.”
“Yes, we have.” Rok smirked. “But I’m reserving my vote until I’m sure Erick’s not going to pull a sword from his belt and start fighting us all just to keep Tara safe.”
The rest of the beings in the room swung their attention to Erick. He ground his teeth. “Vecking hell,” he spat. “Fine.” Somehow he forced the word out of his tightened lips. “But you’ll answer to me in private for this.” He glared at Mina.
Lily stifled a giggle, and he was pretty certain the rest of the group hid smiles, looking everywhere but at him and Mina, but he had his female pinned with his gaze.
A slow flush crept up her neck, but her blue-violet eyes turned more violet, and her nipples tented the front of her uniform.
Good. They’d both enjoy her punishment and then maybe he’d be able to move on and stomach this horrible plan.
“I’m in, then,” Rok spoke up. “But I’m not comfortable taking all of Zander’s top warriors on the mission. Lundric, you and Cambry will stay. My crew will go.”
“What about me?” Lily asked.
“And me?” Tal interjected.
Rok rubbed his forehead. “Lily, I’d rather you stay, but you’re part of my team. So, if you want to come, you’re in.”
“I’m in,” she said firmly. She glanced over at Mina. “I’ll go in a collar and leash, as well. I put my years in as a sex slave. I know the part.”
It was subtle, but something in Mina’s chest relaxed, as if she’d just exhaled, or dropped a piece of armor she’d been holding there. She smiled gratefully at Lily. “That would be great.”
“I can go as a slave, too,” Tal said. “It’d be hard to explain why you have a human along otherwise.
Rok nodded. “You’ll go as Mierna’s handslave. Guardo and Depri will be her crewmembers. Erick, Jano, Jasu, and I will be recon. We’ll find the galactacarriers and fly them out of there. We’ll need some kind of distraction to give the rest of you time to get out of there as well.”
“An explosion near his collectibles will send Neo Lin into madness.” Mierna used a singsong voice.
Erick was grateful for Rok’s cool command because he couldn’t think beyond Mina will be in danger, Mina will be in danger, Mina will be in mothervecking danger.
“I was thinking we could rig the slave cage with some kind of sleeping gas. In case I need a quick escape.”
“Yes.” He grasped the thin strand of safety that option provided. “Good idea. I know where to find a cage.”
Mina’s brow furrowed. “You do?”
He almost laughed. Was that jealousy behind her voice? Did she really think he’d kept pets before her?
Lily echoed it, tossing her hands onto her hips. “You do?”
“Yes, and neither of you want to know where I’m getting it.”
Mina’s eyes narrowed. “Why not?”
“Because it involves both your parents.”
“Ew.” Mina wrinkled her nose.
“Double ew.” Lily concurred. “Yes, please leave us in the dark.”
“Well, there’s a lot of work to be done before tomorrow. Erick, you get the cage. I’ll have the warrior Pal outfit it with a sleeping gas. He has one that’s toxic to those who haven’t been inoculated so you won’t need masks. Lundric, outfit the group and my ship with all the hidden weapons you can come up with. Any questions?”
“No, Captain,” they murmured as the group broke up.
Veck, he needed to be inside Mina. Everything could wait until he’d split those long legs of hers and wrapped them around his waist. And there was the matter of her punishment. He stood and grasped her elbow, directing her out of the office with a firm hand.
“Show me to your chamber.”
She darted a glance at him, her cheeks coloring. After they entered her tiny room—which must have been a closet in a previous incarnation—she pressed her back against the door.
“Clothing off,” he ordered. He’d meant to talk to her. To sit down and explain all his whip-tight emotions, but this was all he could manage. Punishment. Release for both of them.
Then, maybe they could talk.
When she didn’t move, he advanced on her, caging her against the door with his hands propped on either side of her. “You heard me, pet. I need you naked. Now.”
Anger and indignation seemed to war with lust in her eyes. She put her hands on his chest and attempted to shove him away.
He didn’t move.
“You have no claim on me.”
He fell back like she’d punched him in the gut.
And then he smashed his fist through the wall.
Mina stifled a scream, but she couldn’t have been afraid because, instead of running away, she lunged for him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. “You’re angry.”
He punched the wall a second time. “Yes.” A muscle jumped along his neck.
She must have felt it because she released him and stepped back.
He turned and followed, picking her up by the waist and pressing her against the wall, her feet dangling above the floor. “No. Not angry. I’m vecking terrified.”
They breathed together, nose to nose, both of them angry. Both of them needy. Her nipples brushed against his ribs, pointy and hard, even through their clothing.
“I never, never go into a negotiation with something to lose. That’s my personal rule. I
broke it at Prium’s trying to buy you, and that was bad enough. But this? This is sending you to your vecking death. How do you think I’ll be able to stand it?”
~.~
The fight went out of Mina in a whoosh.
Erick sounded too broken for her to resent his overstep. Her male was afraid for her. He needed soothing. If he wanted to let off steam on her ass, she’d take it. Hell, they’d both enjoy it, she knew with complete certainty.
“Put me down,” she rasped, her lips almost up against his.
Although he was twice as strong as she—and angry—she knew she still held the reins. He eased his grip on her, letting her feet slide back to the ground.
Slowly, holding his gaze, she peeled her tunic off over her head.
His lids dropped, relief and lust mingling behind his eyes, quickening his breath. She cupped her breasts, squeezing and lifting them. Weighing them in each hand.
In a flash, Erick had her wrists pinned above her head against the wall. He slapped her breast.
She gasped at the shock of sensation, the sting followed by heat. Pain and relief melding.
He slapped it again. And again. Four times. Five. The pulse between her legs grew more insistent. Erick switched hands and spanked her other breast.
She moaned, sinking into the pain, surrendering to Erick’s dark tastes.
He hooked his index finger in the waistband of her uniform pants. “What did I say about your clothing?”
She smiled and slid her pants and panties down until she stood naked before him.
The look he gave her body was mock-critical, as if she were a soldier reporting for inspection.
“Legs apart.” He patted her mons. The moment she parted her thighs, he brought his palm up in a slap, spanking her pussy. Hard.
She cried out but didn’t move. She sensed Erick was measuring her reaction. “More.”
“You like that, pet?” He slapped her again and stepped in close, his breath hot on her neck. “I’m going to spank you so hard, pet.” He buried his fingers in her hair and fisted them, tugging her head back. “You’ll have so many marks on that ass tomorrow, they’ll never question whether you’re a real pet.”
Her belly fluttered and leaped. One-third scared. Two-thirds excited. She was fairly certain he’d stop if she didn’t like it, but not 100 percent.
Still, it was better not knowing. The danger and thrill of it only added to the tension.
“Now— Spread. Your. Legs.”
She widened her stance even farther, and he started spanking her poor pussy, fast and hard.
The room swooped around her as a wave of thick lust made her dizzy. She clung to his shoulders to keep from falling.
He gave one more slap then showed her his fingers, which glistened from her arousal. “Spanking always makes you wet, doesn’t it, pet?”
“Y-yes,” she admitted.
He sucked her juices from his digits, one by one, his horns twitching and thickening with each pull.
He unbuckled his belt.
A wanton sound slipped from her lips—half moan, half whimper.
He shook his head. “This isn’t for your ass, pet. It’s for your wrists. Turn around and put them behind your back.”
She smiled and turned around, hitching her wrists together and wiggling her fingers.
Erick worked quickly, cinching the animal hide around her wrists and buckling it tight. “Now, climb up on the cot on your knees, facing the wall...perfect.” He moved in behind her. She expected pain, but she didn’t tense against it, just closed her eyes and waited.
Instead, his fingers slipped between her legs, rubbing along her dewy folds.
She leaned her forehead against the wall and arched into his touch, lifting her ass.
He growled. The pad of his finger circled her clit, and her breath hitched. Too soon, he pulled his hand away and let it fall with a smack against her ass.
“Oh!”
He spanked, slow and hard. Deliberate, measured strokes. The space between them gave her time to accustom herself to the pain, to convert it into pleasure. Her pussy dripped.
He dipped between her legs again, and whatever he found made him groan. He screwed his thumb inside her and used another finger to stroke her clit. “I’m going to eat this pussy all night long, pet. After I whip you, and veck you hard. And travel back to the damn palatial pod for your cage. Then I’m going to wake you up in the middle of the night with my lips suctioned over these lips.”
It was too much. Between his finger-vecking and dirty-talk, she couldn’t hold out any longer. Her ass cheeks squeezed together, and she lowered her hips, trying to take his digit deeper, grind her clit harder against his fingers.
He pulled his fingers away and spanked her pussy. “No.” The word sounded harsh, stern. “You tip that ass back for your master’s punishment. Do not come until I give you permission. Understand?”
“Yes, Master,” she warbled.
He picked up the thin rod she used to practice sword play and whipped it against his palm. “Yes. I think this will be perfect for spanking my naughty pet, don’t you?”
She couldn’t muddle through an answer. Didn’t know if she wanted to be whipped with the implement, so innocuous in sword play, but so frightening now.
“Seven strokes for all to see tomorrow. You’ll wear my mark on you when you go in there, Mina, and you’ll remember what it cost me to watch you do it.” Without waiting for an answer, he whipped the crop across her ass.
She choked on her breath and accidentally knocked her forehead against the wall.
“Easy, pet.” Erick burrowed his fingers in her hair and rubbed her head. Just a brief bit of comfort before he removed his touch and whipped her once more.
“Veck, Erick!”
“I know, pet. It hurts. Five more.”
She clamped her teeth together and held tightly as he brought the rod down. The welts from the first strokes had grown more painful in the interim, like lines of fire painting her ass. He made neat, even lines down the lower half of her buttocks and one where her cheeks met thigh and then he tossed the rod onto the floor with a clatter.
“That’s it, pet.” He lifted her to her feet, wrists still bound behind her back. His large hands cupped her tender ass, and she flinched when he squeezed, but after a moment of rubbing, his massage took away the worst of the sting. “Thank you, sweet female. I know you’re doing this for me. To solve my problem. That’s what vecking kills me.”
“You’re not going to lose me.” She meant she wouldn’t die, not that she was giving herself to him, but the words were out. They were out, and she couldn’t take them back.
“Promise?” His voice rasped against her ear.
“I promise. Are you going to veck me now?”
He gave a harsh laugh. “Yes, pet. The way you like it.”
She wanted to ask how he thought she liked it, except she wasn’t sure she’d like the answer.
Like a whore.
Like a degraded sex pet. The kind who wears a collar and kneels at her master’s feet.
Exactly what she didn’t want to be.
And she was right. Erick turned her to face away from him and shoved her torso over, so she stood, bent at the waist, her long hair falling down around her ankles. Her aching nipples brushed against her thighs.
He removed his cock from his pants and dragged the thick head through her juices.
She pushed back at the delicious contact. “Yes, please,” she moaned.
He cursed and thrust, impaling her with his sizeable length.
It was perfect and not enough, and she had exactly zero control or leverage in the position Erick put her in. She had no choice but to let him direct the show, which he did. Grasping her bound wrists, he yanked her back onto his cock then released her forward. He continued, using gravity and her arms to leverage her.
“Are you sorry, pet?”
“Yes!” she wailed, even though she didn’t know what she should be sorry for. She
needed release, needed satisfaction.
“Sorry for punishing me this way? Making me suffer, caught between my need to make you happy and my need to protect you?”
She surrendered completely, her body a loose, ragdoll veck-toy for her master. The male who cared more about her than she’d imagined possible. “Erick,” she choked.
He released her wrists and changed his grip to her hips, holding her immobile as he pistoned in and out of her.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted, her head bobbing at her ankles as he beat his cock into her. “Yes, Master.”
“Come now, Mina!”
As if her body had been waiting for his command, her muscles immediately tightened around his malehood, squeezing and pumping,
Erick let out a string of curses and came, his hot seed filling her. He backed them up, still connected, and sat on the cot, pulling her onto his lap and murmuring endearments. “Sweet pet. Lovely female. So beautiful.” He kissed her neck, her shoulder. “Thank you, beautiful.”
She gave a sigh of contentment and leaned into his strong embrace. If only her world could be this small, this simple. The act of giving and receiving in a small closet.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
But they had a planet to take back. And galactacarriers to hijack.
Erick, too, seemed to know they were on borrowed time. He eased her off his lap and tucked her into the bed. “I’ll be back late tonight. Don’t wait up—you need your sleep.”
Her mouth stretched into a pleasured smile. “Yes, Master.”
He gripped her jaw and leaned over, claiming her mouth in a breathtaking kiss. “Be good, pet. Don’t open the door unless you hear my voice.”
“I won’t,” she mumbled, sleep already overtaking her.
Chapter Eight
Erick frowned and adjusted his cock. “Look at her and you die,” he growled at Rok, who stood beside him.
They were surveying the two beautiful, naked pets in the cage loaded on Rok’s ship. One human, one Zandian. The females wore nothing but collars, wrist and ankle cuffs—incredibly high-tech voice-activated ones he’d found with the cage back at Zander’s pod.