by Renee Rose
And keeping her close to him wouldn’t help him find control.
He stalked into the washroom and shucked his clothing, and stepped into the washtube. Better to wash Bayla’s scent from his body. Erase her from his mind. He needed space. Quiet. Sanity.
When he stepped out, clean and damp, he’d firmed his resolve. He put on his clothes and returned to the chamber.
Bayla lay in the same position he’d left her—humped over the bolster, her ass on display, legs parted. She still wore marks from her caning the night before. Neat red intersecting lines decorated her pale skin. Her dark hair spread out on the coverlet in silky waves.
He realized she probably hadn’t moved because he’d left her cuffed there. “Release cuffs,” he commanded, and the wrist cuffs fell apart.
“Wash and dress and gather up your things. I’m moving you to your own room.”
She hadn’t moved from position, but now she jerked up to sit. “Why?”
“I wish you to remain out of my sight.”
Her beautiful, bow-shaped lips parted, long-lashed doll eyes blinked. She scrambled to stand. “We had a bargain.” She sounded stronger than he’d expected, proof her submission was a farce. “I agreed to stay as your slave.”
His lips tightened. “If you wish, I will return you to the Ocretions.”
The color drained from her face but she jerked her chin into the air, grabbing her clothing from the floor and marching to the washroom. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll stay out of your sight.”
Odd. His mind ran in several directions. He wanted to laugh at how cute she was mad almost as much as he had to fight the overarching need to soothe her. But this was what he wanted. Bayla out of his hair. What did he care if she threw herself a fit over it?
Clearing his throat for no one in particular, he left the chamber. He needed to get the servants to clean up the mess he’d made in his lab and to arrange a chamber for Bayla. After that, she was on her own. Not forever. Until he knew his own mind again. Until he had control of his emotions and stopped thinking with his cock. Until he was sure he was the master and not her slave.
Chapter Nine
Bayla knocked on the prince’s door to check on Lamira. Though she’d showered and dressed, she felt anything but refreshed. A crushing weight pushed on her chest. Her joints had turned brittle, like she’d aged forty solar cycles. Cold numbness started in her hands and feet and crept its way up to her trunk.
The door slid open. Lamira lay propped up on the sleep disk, Lily, Leora, and Cambry by her side.
Bayla hesitated. The princess probably didn’t want her there, not when she had the women of her family to support her.
“Come in.” Lamira’s green eyes searched Bayla’s face with sympathy. She held a hand out.
Bayla had no choice but to enter and take the princess’s hand.
“Thank you for your help last night,” Lamira said.
She lowered her gaze. “It was the least I could do,” she mumbled.
An awkward silence followed, which Cambry, the bold redheaded female, finally ended. “I don’t blame you for what you did,” she said. “They think humans are animals to be used and bred. They forget we have hearts and minds, too.”
“Who is they?” Lamira asked, and Cambry colored.
“Sorry. I meant slave masters in general—I know the Zandians are different.”
“Yes.” She looked at her hands. Zandians were different, but she hadn’t considered that when she’d acted. She didn’t want to tell the women she’d chosen to stay, had given her word to participate in the study and then had intentionally thwarted it. How could she blame Daneth for not wanting her near him anymore? “Well, Daneth has no use for me now. I suppose I’ll be returned to the Ocretions.”
Lamira and Lily shared a look. “I doubt that,” Lily said.
“Why not?” she asked.
“You know too much,” Cambry offered. “You sat at the table and listened to the discussion of war plans. I don’t think they’ll be sending you anywhere.”
A shiver ran through her.
“You could come to the training pod to serve as a soldier with us. There are lots of humans there, and they’re treated decently. You just have to train for war, but it could be in any capacity. You could help Lily with the medical unit.”
She nodded. The thought of leaving Daneth made her sick, but even worse was staying, being near him but banished from his presence. “Could I? I’d like to help that way.”
“You’ll have to ask Prince Zander,” Lily said. “If he gives you his permission, you can leave with us this planet rotation.” She looked down at her sister. “That is, if you’re sure you’re going to be fine.”
Lamira nodded. “I haven’t had any more contractions.”
“Good.”
“Do you need anything from me?” Bayla asked.
“No,” Lamira answered. “Zander is in the meeting room in the long wing. Go and ask him and let us know the result.”
She curtsied. “Thank you—all of you.” She bowed her head in an arc to make the curtsy encompass each of them before she backed out of the room.
Her body trembled with nerves as she sought the chamber Lamira had indicated. She found the door open and Zander scrolling through holograms.
“Forgive me, my lord. May I request an audience?”
His eyes narrowed, but he gave her a single nod.
She entered, clasping her hands in front of her. “My lord...I was wondering if I might serve you and the Zandians by joining those on the training pod? I betrayed Master Daneth—and you. I deeply regret my actions and accept my punishment. But I wish to make amends. I want to be of service to the Zandians. I’m not much of a soldier but I could be of use to Lily in the medical unit.”
“Daneth will have other uses for you here,” he said stonily.
She curtsied. “My lord, I do not mean to disagree, but Master Daneth has banished me from his sight. He said he has no further use for me.”
“I see.” He pursed his lips. “I should throw you back to the Ocretions for what you did. But...I also recognize that you were of service to Lamira last night.” Prince Zander’s brown-violet eyes studied her for a long moment. “I will speak with Daneth. The decision will be his.”
She stiffened, not so much because she feared Daneth would say no—although she honestly wasn’t sure what he would say—but knowing the prince would speak to Daneth about her made her stomach flip flop.
If she was honest, she’d admit she was running away from Daneth. Away from the pain of his rejection, the devastation of witnessing his disappointment and knowing she was responsible for it.
Not knowing where else to go, she found her way to the kitchen, though she had little appetite. Still, Chef Barr was always happy to see her. At least one being on the pod was.
~.~
“Your human requested a transfer.”
Daneth gulped air, hoping Zander’s words would rearrange themselves into an order that made sense. “Pardon?”
“She said you have no further use for her. Is that true?”
Heat flooded his face—whether it was from anger or shame, he wasn’t sure. “The last egg wasn’t viable. I was angry,” he said stiffly.
Zander nodded, once. “You have my utmost sympathy.”
He scowled and looked out the window into the smoggy Ocretion sky. “These humans...are infuriating.”
“Yes.”
He whirled, checking to see if Zander was laughing at him. “You probably find it amusing how much I’ve lost control of the situation.”
Zander shook his head. “You haven’t lost control. You only feel that way because she aroused your emotions.”
Among other things.
“I never experienced such levels of anger, jealousy, or frustration before Lamira. Perhaps this is what it is to mate. Or do you think it’s more pronounced with humans?”
“I don’t know,” Daneth muttered and pounded the window with his fist.
“It’s hard to remember without Zandian females around.”
Zander considered him. “I, too, pushed Lamira away when I thought I couldn’t trust her. But it was a mistake. She bent my trust to protect her life. As an enslaved species, they’ve learned to do whatever they must do to stay alive. You must bear that in mind when you measure Bayla’s behavior.”
“I do. I have. I see my mistakes. I should have considered her feelings. Or inquired about them. I suppose I’m not used to beings with such intense emotions.”
“Do you wish her to go?”
He felt as though Zander had picked him up by the throat, an invisible fist squeezing his trachea. Of course he didn’t vecking want her to go. She was his female. His beautiful, precious, soft, sexy human. But she’d petitioned Zander for permission. She wanted to leave him. And she deserved her freedom, especially after he’d been so hard on her. He hadn’t meant to mistreat her, but he sure as hell had.
“Let her go,” he choked out, though he thought the words would stop his very heart.
Zander raised a brow. “Are you certain?”
He forced his head into a stiff nod.
“All right. I’ll give my permission for her to leave with Rok and Lundric. They will make sure she’s safe on the pod,” he assured him, as if Zander knew Daneth’s mind had already flown to what would happen to her there.
He walked back to his lab, his body an empty shell as if every organ had been removed.
Bayla...gone.
Why did that seem even worse than his life’s work being ruined? Than the end of the Zandian species?
Bayla belonged to him. With him.
But he had to let her go. He cared enough about his lovely female to give her freedom. Especially if she’d asked for it. He would never impose his will on her again. If she didn’t want him to be her master anymore, it wasn’t for him to insist.
He entered his lab and shut the door, leaning against it and closing his eyes.
He’d survive.
Somehow.
Chapter Ten
Bayla didn’t know which was worse—choosing to leave Daneth or hearing that he’d given his permission for it. For some reason, she’d thought he might fight to keep her. She’d imagined that even though he was angry, he still had feelings for her. But maybe she’d equated lust with love. Simply because she’d once inspired desire didn’t mean he cared.
She had no personal belongings but brought along the clothing that had been allotted to her since her arrival on the palatial pod. Rok pointed at an empty seat on his ship and told her to buckle up. She stuffed the small bundle of clothing under her seat and snapped her harness in place. The moment they left the dock, her eyes watered.
Which was stupid. Why would she cry over leaving a male who didn’t give a shooting star about her?
Lily sat beside Rok in the copilot’s chair, but, once they were flying, turned and gave her a sympathetic look. “I never conceived. I don’t know if I can. They shot me full of hormones to prevent pregnancy.”
Damn Lily and her sympathy. The tears brimming in Bayla’s eyes spilled over. She hadn’t been crying over her lost babies, but now that wound opened, too. “I have two out there somewhere.” She shocked herself at sharing something so personal. “One half-breed son born to a wealthy Ocretion. I’ll never see him again. And a human daughter, a slave somewhere.”
“Maybe Lundric could find her,” Cambry offered, shooting a glance at her handsome young mate.
The warrior buried his fingers in her long red mane and appeared to be massaging her scalp. Cambry leaned into his touch.
Bayla’s stomach tightened watching them, loneliness engulfing her.
“We can search the Ocretion databases.” There was a note of caution in Lundric’s voice. “But I don’t have the funds to buy another slave. I spent my life’s savings on your brother.”
Cambry’s face went soft, and she locked eyes with her lover, unspoken messages seeming to transmit between the two of them.
“Don’t ask me, I’ve been broke since I traded our last smuggling shipment for Lily instead of currency,” Rok spoke up.
Lily leaned over and said something in his ear that made him smile.
“Well, the first step is to locate the young. Then we can figure out how to retrieve her,” Lundric said.
She blinked rapidly to hide her tears of gratitude. “You all will really help me find her?” She’d never considered finding her babies possible. Had never dared dream of it, except the occasional sad fantasy that her daughter might end up in the same fertility farm where she worked. Even if that did happen, though, she didn’t know if she’d recognize her. The Ocretions would purposely keep any identifying information from them both.
For some reason, her hand drifted to her abdomen and she rubbed it, as if she still carried her child there.
Perhaps she would survive the heartache of leaving Daneth. She had new friends. They wanted to help her search for her baby. And she a purpose—helping a nearly extinct species. Not in the way they’d wanted her to, but she’d still try to be of use.
~.~
Daneth’s chamber screamed empty. The entire palatial pod echoed with silence, in fact. Or maybe that was his heart. Since Bayla had left and taken his vecking soul with her, the simplest tasks seemed a chore.
At first he’d thought his mood was low because his life’s work and dreams had been dashed, but the longer the hours without Bayla stretched, the more he realized it was her.
He missed her clean, citrusy scent, the pleasure of her plump flesh under his hands, the softness of her skin.
Never in his life had he liked being around other beings—preferring to bury his nose in science, in his studies, but he suddenly hated being alone. He found himself drifting out of his lab and around the pod, yet he met no other being he wished to share his time with.
Every cell in his body seemed to ache for Bayla. Simply living became an agony.
Several times, he considered going after her, but he resisted. She’d asked to leave. She deserved her freedom.
He probably deserved this pain. He hadn’t been kind to her. Hadn’t listened or asked questions. He didn’t know nearly enough about his lovely human. Sure, he had her file. He knew how many pregnancies and live births she’d had. Knew her age and her blood type. Knew her hormone levels. But he hadn’t found out what was in that beautiful mind of hers. That enormous heart.
She’d loved her babies. She must have, or she wouldn’t have found it too painful to have another taken from her.
Why hadn’t he guessed that? Why hadn’t he known what she held in the space behind those beautiful tits of hers?
He’d been selfish. He hadn’t cared, plain and simple. To him, she’d been a vessel. A particularly lovely vessel, but a body he’d purchased for one purpose.
Only now did he wish he’d seen the woman behind the body. And now it was too late.
He went to Zander’s room to check on Lamira, though he already knew from the sensors he’d implanted in her that she’d had no more contractions. He knocked on her door and entered.
She was alone, flipping through holograms on farming. He’d bought her from an agrifarm, and she’d brought her expertise in gardening to the palatial pod, filling the great hall with potted fruits and vegetables. He’d advised Zander to encourage her hobby, as it may benefit their species when they took back Zandia.
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” She closed the hologram. “Actually, bored. May I get up now?”
He shook his head regretfully. “No. Bayla was right about bed rest.” It pained him to say her name, and Lamira didn’t miss it.
“You haven’t forgiven her.”
He drew in a sharp breath through his nose. Had he? “Whether I have or not doesn’t matter. She’s gone, and my project is at a dead end.”
“None of the eggs were viable. Not even the one you implanted.”
He stopped breathing. He’d measured Lamira’s brainw
aves and seen for himself the extrasensory abilities she had. “Is that true?” he choked.
She nodded. “It would have miscarried by ten weeks. Bayla only hurried the process along.”
He staggered back a step, his gut reeling as if she’d punched him.
Bayla had made a mistake, but the outcome would’ve been the same if she hadn’t. He’d blamed her for the downfall of his project, but it had been doomed from the start.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I only saw it this morning. I’m sorry.”
He rubbed his forehead, suddenly exhausted.
“One more thing. Your project isn’t lost. There are two Zandian females of breeding age still alive.”
He went still. “What? Where?”
“I don’t know where. Master Seke’s two daughters escaped the genocide of Zandia with Rok. I believe they survived and are out there somewhere. Master Seke and his lieutenant, Tomis, are out searching right now.”
One small piece of his decimated heart rebuilt. Hope remained for their species. An even better chance of survival than his project afforded—if they could locate the missing females. He could extract eggs from them to impregnate multiple humans, even while the females themselves were bred. If the females and Master Seke allowed it, of course. And that hope immediately brought Bayla back to his mind. His perfect vessel.
“You should bring her back.” Lamira must have read his thoughts.
But he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. He shook his head. “No. This information doesn’t change anything. She’s better off where she is. She didn’t wish to be a vessel.”
“She didn’t want to have a child taken from her,” Lamira corrected, shoving a fresh blade of pain into his ribs. “Pregnancy itself could be a pleasure to her, under the right circumstances.”
His fingers curled into fists. He wasn’t going to breed her—though she’d be perfect for the job. The idea of allowing another male to rut in her made him want to commit murder. “You...see that?”