As I sat on the bottom of the shower, I wondered how I would get back up, and how I would make it back to the bed. If I asked him to help me dress, I knew we would end up doing much more. Not that I would mind, but I knew it was best if we didn’t.
I couldn’t reach the soap and winced when I tried to stand again. Bracing myself against the wall, I managed to stand long enough to wash. After rinsing, I dried off and collapsed on the floor. I pulled the blue shift over my head and called for Randar.
“Susan?”
“I’m in here,” I called from the bathroom.
“Are you okay? Why are you on the floor?” he asked, kneeling beside me.
“I was too weak to stand for long.”
“Why didn’t you call for me sooner?”
“I didn’t think it would be a good idea for you to help me shower. What if Sylon had walked in?”
He grimaced. “Good point.”
Lifting me into his arms, he carried me into the bedroom. I could have stayed like that forever. The feel of his muscular body against mine made me want him again. I had a feeling I would never get enough of him, no matter how many times we made love.
Whoa. Made love? Since when had I ever thought of sex in those terms? It was slightly frightening and I felt my heart pounding. Apparently, Randar did too.
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“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I answered with a smile. “Do you think I could sit in the living room for a little while? I’m tired of being in bed.” He returned my smile and stepped away from the bed. “Of course.” After he sat me down on the couch, he reached for the cards. He’d promised to teach me to play cards and I was looking forward to it. It would help break up the monotony of my day, and it would be fun. I hoped Sylon would let Randar visit me again after I was well. Despite the fact that Randar had tried to make love to me, I liked having him around. It was nice not to be alone all of the time, and I had a feeling I would be left on my own a lot.
“When do you think Sylon will return?”
“He’d told me it would be two days originally, but he stopped by while you were sleeping this morning and said he would be gone longer. I told him you were still weak.” He gave me a sad smile. “Thankfully I’d already gotten out of bed and dressed.” I sighed.
“You miss him?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. I preferred Randar’s company, but admitting as much didn’t seem like a good idea. And yet, I kept thinking of how Sylon had acted while I’d been sick, wishing to see that side of him again.
“You either do or you don’t.”
“I don’t know him well enough to miss him, but I feel like I should. I know I’m just his slave, but I wish I could be more. Does that make any sense?” I asked.
He grinned. “Yeah, it actually does.”
“I know he has a temper,” I said softly, remembering something he’d said before, hoping he would tell me I was wrong, even though I’d seen proof with my own eyes.
But when he gave me a pitying look, I knew I was right.
“If I could take you away from this, from Sylon, I would.” I gave him a half-hearted smile. “Do you think he’ll be angry with me when he returns?”
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“No. He seemed to understand he was to blame for your illness. He won’t take that out on you.”
I nodded, feeling relieved. He’d seemed nice before he’d left me with Randar, but he was also unpredictable. I didn’t doubt that he could be volatile and I knew it wouldn’t take much to set him off.
* * *
A few hours later, Randar said he had to leave for an hour or two. I didn’t want him to leave, but I couldn’t exactly demand he stay with me. So I wouldn’t think about being alone, or being bored, I went to bed and closed my eyes. I wasn’t really tired, but there was nothing else for me to do.
When I heard a door open, I thought he’d come back, but I was in for a pleasant surprise, or maybe unpleasant. It wasn’t Randar, it was Sylon.
I smiled at him and opened my arms.
He lay down beside me and pulled me close. “You act as if you missed me.”
“I did.” Okay, so I hadn’t been sure before I really missed him or not, but seeing him made me realize I had.
His eyes turned chilly, but his smile remained. “That’s not what I hear. I heard you enjoyed Randar’s company.”
“He tried to keep me occupied while I waited on you to return.” I gave him what I hoped was an innocent look, hoping he didn’t know I’d spent the night in his cousin’s arms. “When he told me it would be longer than two days before I saw you again, I was disappointed.”
“I told you my wife came first,” he growled.
“I know.” I lowered my eyes. “I can’t help wishing I had you to myself.” He tipped my chin up. “That will never happen, Susan. You might as well put it out of your mind.”
I nodded, hoping it had appeased him, although I hadn’t exactly lied. I did wish I didn’t have to share. I belonged to Sylon and had to do as he said. And if he said I wasn’t allowed to wish he could be with me, then that’s what I would try to do. I doubted I would be successful though.
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“Are you feeling better?” he asked, caressing my arm.
“Much,” I answered before I kissed him. I felt him grin against my lips and he buried his hand in my hair.
He kissed me until I felt out of breath and dizzy. Maybe he had missed me? It didn’t seem possible, but if he had, my life might be more pleasant than I had thought.
Perhaps I could make him care for me, ensuring that I wouldn’t have to deal with his temper.
His hand trailed down my arm and caressed my hip. He froze and lifted his head to glare down at me once more.
“What are you wearing?”
“A slave garment.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t leave this for you.”
“Randar brought it. He thought it would be better for me while I was recovering.”
Watching his eyes spark with fury, I knew I’d said the wrong thing. It was hopeless. I’d angered him again, and would continue to do so. I had thought him different from my previous boyfriends, but now I was starting to wonder.
He ripped the garment from my body and I nearly cried from the loss. I knew he would make me wear the rough one instead.
“You aren’t allowed to wear anything I don’t give to you. Do you understand?” I nodded and scooted closer to him. I had to play the part of the good slave.
Caressing his face and burying my hands in his hair, I gave him a tentative smile, hoping to calm him.
He palmed my breasts and I knew I’d won, at least for the moment. If I could please him in bed, he might forget he was angry with me.
His thumbs stroked my nipples and I arched into him, whimpering in pleasure.
Bumping my hips against his, I hoped he would be finished soon. I wanted him to touch me, but I wanted him to be gentle. Randar’s words had stuck with me, but it wasn’t him that I wanted to show me kindness and pleasure. It was Sylon.
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He rolled my body beneath his and entered me with one long stroke. He didn’t seem to care if I enjoyed myself or not and took me rough and fast. At one time, that would have pleased me, but today I wanted more. I closed my eyes and wished I were anywhere but in his bed.
“Look at me,” he demanded and I opened my eyes.
He slowed, his strokes becoming gentler. Bracing his weight on his arms, he stared down at me, his gaze intense. Slowly, he lowered his head to mine and kissed me, his lips moving softly against mine. I pulled him closer, burying my hands in his hair, wanting more.
Breaking the kiss, I lifted my hips, taking him further inside of me. “Sylon,” I whispered.
With a frown on his face, he buried his face in my neck, nipping me.
“There’s something you aren’t telling me.”
“T
here is?”
He thrust into me hard. “Don’t lie to me. I can sense a change in you.” His eyes narrowed and he withdrew from me. “You slept with Randar.” I stared at him in open-mouthed shock. How had he come to that conclusion?
“You don’t have to look so surprised. You’re reacting to me differently than you did before.”
Leaving the bed, he dressed quickly. “I won’t be back for a few weeks. We should know by then whether or not you’re pregnant.”
“What?” He was leaving me alone? It wasn’t possible for me to be pregnant by Randar since nothing had happened between us. “Did you forget you and I were together?”
“I can’t have children,” he stated calmly. “If you’re pregnant, it’s not by me.” I softened toward him a little. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know you shouldn’t sleep with my cousin, or you didn’t know I couldn’t have children?”
“I’m sorry you can’t have children.”
He shrugged. “It’s for the best. I would make a horrible father.”
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I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to my question, but I asked it anyway. “What happens if I’m not pregnant?”
“Then I’ll make sure you never see Randar again and we’ll carry on as before.” I nodded.
“You aren’t even going to ask about my supposed encounter with Randar?” I asked.
He folded his arms. “All right. Why did you do it?”
“First, nothing happened between us, but I don’t expect you to believe me.
Second, I enjoyed his company because he was nice to me. He was… gentle and kind.” Sylon mumbled something under his breath before turning and walking away.
I was a little disappointed and even more disappointed that I wouldn’t see Randar again, because there was absolutely no way I was pregnant. Although, that was probably for the best. Just as Sylon said he would have made a terrible father, I was certain I would make a horrible mother.
My mother had given me up when I was a young teen. She’d left one day and just hadn’t returned. I’d thought she was coming back, until I found the eviction notice on our apartment door. After that, I had to face the facts. Mom was gone and she wasn’t going to return. I’d had to grow up fast that day. I’d only been fifteen at the time, but I’d had to make adult decisions. Avoiding the system, I’d lived on the streets until I turned seventeen. That’s when men really started to notice me, and my luck changed.
At first I’d thought it had changed for the better, but after the first few boyfriends, I had changed my mind.
Chapter Five
Living alone without a TV or anything to do was driving me crazy. It had been four days since Sylon left, and I felt like I was going to lose my mind. I paced the small living quarters, feeling anxious and nervous. If there had been even the slightest chance I was pregnant, I would have known in a few days. My menstrual cycle was predictable, always showing up to the exact day, which meant I had three days left of wondering, assuming the stress I’d been under hadn’t affected it.
The front door opened and I froze, not knowing what to expect. When I saw it was Randar, I flew across the room and wrapped my arms around him.
“I’m so glad to see you!”
He hugged me before stepping back. “We need to talk.” Well, that didn’t bode well. Those words were always the kiss of death in a relationship, and while we didn’t exactly have one, I knew something bad was coming.
“What is it?”
He motioned toward a chair. “Why don’t you sit down?” I watched him warily as I sat.
He knelt beside me and sighed. “Did you tell Sylon we’d been together?”
“No. He assumed we had been.”
“How could he possibly have assumed that, Susan?” I bit my lip. “He said I was different from before. I didn’t mean to be, but it was hard to find pleasure in his arms.”
Randar groaned and rose to his feet. “We’re in a mess.”
“If it were possible for me to be pregnant, I would have known in a few days.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked quietly.
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“Sylon told me he can’t have children, and he’s the only once I’ve been intimate with since being here. The last man I was with on Earth was so long ago that there’s no way I’m pregnant from him either.”
He knelt beside me again and caressed my cheek. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, so much.”
“Sylon will be angry if he finds me here, but I don’t want to leave just yet.”
“Hold me?” I asked softly.
He kissed my cheek and lifted me into his arms. Carrying me to the bedroom, he laid me down on the bed and lay down beside me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
As I snuggled against him, I closed my eyes. I felt at peace in his arms, and in that moment. I wished that I could have moments like this with Sylon. No, I craved moments like this. I wanted him to want me as much as I wanted him, but I didn’t want our relationship to be purely based on sex. Granted, I was his slave so there was little hope of that changing. What I wanted was for him to care for me.
I wasn’t ready to say I was in love with the man, but I cared about him. He hadn’t given me a reason to, but I did. I knew he could be caring when he wanted to be.
I just hadn’t figured out how to draw out that part of him. It appeared here and there, but I wanted that kind and caring man to stay.
“Promise me you’ll be careful with Sylon.”
“Careful?” I asked.
“He could have beaten you.”
“I was actually surprised he didn’t,” I replied.
“He came to see me the day he left you here. He told me that he knew about us, and that he thought you might be pregnant.”
“There would be no way for him to know that,” I assured him. “And since he can’t have children, and nothing happened between you and me, it’s obvious I’m not.”
“It’s too bad you aren’t pregnant.”
“Why?” I asked.
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“I might have been able to claim you for myself if you had been.” He stroked my hair. “I’ve heard that the prime minister is kind toward slave women. If I pled my case before him, it’s possible he would have given you to me.”
“If things were different, I think I would like that,” I told him.
“He wouldn’t grant me permission without there being extenuating circumstances. If you aren’t pregnant, as you say, then I don’t have a prayer of getting you.”
I lay quietly, not knowing what to say. After a while, my eyes closed and I fell asleep.
* * *
A growl woke me the next morning. The first thing I noticed was that Randar still held me, and still slept. Looking over my shoulder, I saw an infuriated Sylon.
“Were you trying to make sure you were pregnant?”
“No, we just slept, I swear. We never undressed, or even kissed.” I could tell he didn’t believe me and I cringed when he reached for me. He tore me from Randar’s embrace and dragged me out of the bed. Gripping my arm tightly, he shook me.
“I leave for a few days and return early, hoping to give you a reprieve from your boredom, and find you in bed with my cousin. What am I supposed to think?”
“I’m telling you the truth. Please believe me.” He pulled me close and stared into my eyes. After a moment, his gaze shifted to Randar, who was now wide awake.
“Sylon, what are you doing here?” Randar asked.
“Last time I checked, Susan was my slave and I could come here whenever I wanted. Unlike some people I might mention.” Randar stood and faced his cousin. “Nothing happened between us. I knew she would be out of her mind from boredom. I merely came to visit with her.”
“It looked like more than visiting.”
“I didn’t touch her other than to hold her,” Randar said calm
ly.
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I felt some of the tension ease from Sylon. It hurt that he took his cousin’s word, but wouldn’t believe me when I told him the same thing.
“Why don’t you let her go?” Randar suggested in a quiet voice, trying to soothe his cousin’s anger.
Sylon’s grip tightened until a sharp pain pierced my arm and I cried out in pain.
He let go in surprise and I whimpered, holding my arm close to my body, knowing he’d fractured it.
“Susan,” Randar cried, trying to reach me, but Sylon stopped him.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“How can you be so cruel to her?” Randar demanded. “She’s done nothing to you!”
“She’s done nothing for me, either.” I whimpered and Sylon looked at me with a frown. When he saw me favoring my arm, he stepped closer to me. He reached for me. At first I flinched, but when I realized he wasn’t going to hurt me, I relaxed.
“Easy,” he soothed. “Let me look at it.”
His grip was gentle, but the pain was still too much to bear and I cried out, making him freeze. His gaze sought mine and I stared back, blinking tears out of my eyes. His hand shifted so as not to touch the wounded area and he pulled me closer.
Despite the fact he’d been the one to hurt me, I found myself leaning into him.
“I think it’s broken,” he muttered. “I’ll have to call the physician.”
“Again?” I asked. “Please don’t.”
“Your arm will need to be set, or something,” Sylon said.
I shook my head. “I know how to take care of it, if you’ll just get the supplies for me. Please, Sylon, I don’t like doctors.”
“How is it you know what to do? Were you a healer on your planet?” I laughed; I couldn’t help it. Anyone thinking of me as a nurse or doctor was hilarious. “No, I wasn’t. But I do have experience with breaks.” He tugged me closer. “From setting other people’s?”
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Vaaden Captives: Susan Page 3