Ethan: Cyborg of Honor

by T. J. Quinn

  Her words sent chills of dread down Neela’s spine. She knew too well what the woman’s words meant. A woman’s failure assured everyone’s punishment. Typsea assured it was the best way to ensure obedience and she had to admit it worked.

  The last thing you wanted in a place like that was to be responsible for your friends’ pain.

  “Don’t come back before you’ve given our guests their best night,” she warned them, as she walked towards the women lining up in front of her. She stopped in front of Neela and picked her chin in a tight grip. “Dear Neela, this is your first time, isn’t it? I’m sure you’ll work hard to obtain the results I want from you, won’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she replied, through gritted teeth.

  “Don’t fail me again or I’ll make sure you pay dearly for it, do you understand me?” Typsea asked, pressing her chin even harder.

  Neela knew she was leaving a nasty bruise on her fair skin. It was a good thing she healed pretty fast. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I’m sending you to the leader. He looks different from his human friends, so I’m sure he will be a perfect match for you,” she said scornfully as she made reference to Neela’s different appearance.

  Unlike all Atheans, Neela’s hair wasn’t almost white. It was of a beautiful shade of pure gold, and her eyes weren’t blue, like the ones of the rest of her people, but deep green.

  Some people said she wasn’t a pure Athean, but no one had tried to prove that theory, and when she had been abducted, it had stopped mattering. That is, until moments like this one, when Typsea emphasized it and made sure everybody else noticed it as well.

  “Yes, ma’am,” she muttered, making a huge effort not to push the other woman away.

  Typsea squeezed her chin one last time before letting her go. “You better not disappoint me.” She turned to look at the other women. “Get ready, and the guards will escort you to the wing where our guests wait for you,” she instructed and left the room.

  The other seven women surrounded Neela, with grim expressions on their faces. “You won’t misbehave this time, do you hear me?” Caisys, one of the eldest women still active in the harem, threatened her.

  “I assure you I have no interest in being punished,” she told the woman, in a stern tone.

  “I know you, you think you’re better than the rest of us, you’ll do all in your power to escape your duties, like you have been doing ever since you were brought here,” Sheedra, one of the other women blurted out.

  Starting to feel harassed, Neela looked around looking for support, but none of her friends were around. She would have to face the situation on her own. “Listen, I assure you I’ll do my best. I don’t want to be punished as much as all of you don’t want to be punished,” she insisted.

  They closed the circle around her. “You better be telling the truth, or you’ll regret it,” Caisys promised her, pushing Neela out of her way.

  The rest of the group scattered away, towards their own rooms. They all had to get changed.

  With a heavy sigh, Neela turned to do the same, finding Olannie right behind her.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured, a bit ashamed for not stepping out to help her.

  She hugged the old woman. “Don’t be. There was nothing you could have done.”

  The active women in the harem had a superior rank, and some liked to use that to make the older women’s lives a bit more hellish. Olannie wouldn’t stand a chance against Caisys and her friends.

  “Please, be careful. Caisys can be dangerous,” her friend warned her.

  “She’s just scared, Olannie. She’s losing power and getting old. Typsea doesn’t call her as much as she did and soon she will be degraded to the service group, and she knows that” she pointed out.

  “Even so, don’t underestimate her. She will do all in her power to stay in Typsea’s good graces, even if it means delivering you to her on a silver tray,” Olannie warned her.

  “I know,” Neela sighed. “I better get ready. The guards will be here in no time.”

  Olannie followed her to the bedroom and helped her put on the special tunic the women from the harem used whenever visiting a guest. It was of a rich blue, embroidered with thousands of small crystals all over the thin fabric. It was an incredibly beautiful tunic, Neela just wished she was wearing it for something else.

  Olannie helped her comb her long hair, braiding two locks of it, to frame her heart-shaped face.

  “Be brave, my darling. It’s not as bad as you think,” Olannie whispered, slightly squeezing her shoulders, her eyes locked on Neela’s, in the mirror in front of them.

  She let out a bitter laugh. “Let’s hope so.”

  The guards called out, and the women hurried to leave their rooms and meet them in the main room.

  The main guard gave them all the information they had on the men they would be visiting and soon they were on their way to the guest wing.

  Once in front of the man’s room, Neela took a deep breath before she knocked at the door and entered the room.

  The man was impressive. His huge frame took her breath away for a second and her first instinct was to run away. But she couldn’t. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in.

  The man was still wearing the tunic he had worn for the night meal.

  “Greetings, Citizen Ethan, my name is Neela. King Sefeth sent me to make sure all your needs are… satisfied,” she said, doing her best to hide the trembling from her tone.

  Ethan looked at the woman in front of him and frowned. She was exquisite. If Olannie looked like an elf, this woman was the perfect description of one, including the mesmerizing beauty and the delicate frame. She looked as if a gust of wind could knock her down.

  Her words, though, made him gag with his stomach’s bile. Her presence in his room at that hour of the night and wearing such an outfit only meant one thing.

  It reminded him of the times he had been forced to accept the women sent to the military camps to entertain the men fighting. It had felt wrong and obnoxious back then, and this time, it wasn’t much different. But this time, he could say no.

  “Greetings, Neela. It’s a pleasure knowing you, but all my needs have been satisfied today,” he assured her coolly, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Despite the situation, saying no to her was probably the hardest thing Ethan had done in a long time. There was something in her that attracted him in ways no other woman had ever.

  Neela fought between relief and dread when she heard his words. He didn’t want her. They couldn’t blame her for that, right? Just to be sure, she decided to insist. The last thing she wanted was for Typsea blaming this on her.

  “Are you sure, citizen?” she asked, putting on her best smile, and taking a couple of steps closer to him, with shaky legs. She was no good for this. Seduction wasn’t natural for her, and even during her training weeks, she had had a lot of problems with it. “I’m sure there must be a way I could be of use to you,” she insisted, a bit worried with his refusal. She was sure Typsea wasn’t going to like this, but she had no idea what to do.

  The expression on his face hardened. “Yes, I’m sure, and I won’t change my mind,” he assured her, eager to have her out of the room before he fell into the temptation of accepting her offer.

  An offer he could tell she wasn’t making of her own free will. He saw the way her hands trembled and the fear shining in the back of her eyes. His cyborg sensors were also able to hear the deafening drumming of her heart. She didn’t want to be there.

  “Perhaps, I could get you a warm drink, or a cold one,” she insisted, feeling his rejection in a more personal way than she should.

  She should be happy he didn’t want anything to do with her, but she wasn’t, and not only because she suspected Typsea would be mad.

  “Thank you, but I’m fine. I just wish to get some rest,” he said, walking to the door and inviting her to leave.

  Still not sure of what else she could do, she left the room and head
ed back to the harem. She was halfway there when one of the guards saw her.

  “What are you doing here, slave?” he yelled at her.

  “The guest sent me away,” she replied, nervous. She had hoped to get to her room before anyone noticed it.

  Chapter Six

  The man grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to Typsea’s quarters. As suspected, the woman was furious to see Neela there.

  “Why are you here?” she asked, barely containing her rage.

  “The guest rejected my services, ma’am,” she explained, knowing she had failed miserably. She should have found a way to persuade the man, but she had no idea how.

  Apparently, Typsea thought the same. She slapped Neela’s face, almost sending her to the floor.

  “You’re useless. I knew it from the moment you were brought here,” she ranted, stripping her down.

  A second later, an energy frame formed itself around Neela, and the metal bands around her wrists and ankles were attached to the frame by energy ropes. She shuddered and braced herself for what was to come.

  “I told you to do all in your power to please the guest,” Typsea ranted as the first lash of the whip fell on her back.

  The lacerating pain ripped a loud cry from Neela’s lips. “He rejected my presence, ma’am,” she tried to explain through ragged gasps.

  “Your duty was to convince him he couldn’t spend another second without you,” she replied, while the whip crossed Neela’s back, again and again, slashing her skin with every lash.

  The pain was so bad she thought she was going to lose consciousness. But Typsea clearly knew to what point she could take her victim. She dropped the whip and walking around her she grasped Neela’s chin.

  “You’ll wash the blood off your back, you’ll put on your clothes, and you’ll go back to the guest’s room, and this time you’ll do a proper job, or I’ll unleash my wrath on all your friends and on you again, do you hear me?” she blurted out, forcing Neela’s head to nod.

  Barely able to breathe, due to the pain rushing through her body, Neela uttered the words she wanted to hear. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The energy ropes and frame disappeared, and Neela fell to the floor.

  “Clean yourself up in the bathing room over there, now, before I lose my patience,” Typsea shouted the order and walked out of the room.

  Knowing she only had a few minutes, Neela dragged herself to the bathroom and cleaned herself up. Like every Athean, her wounds healed fast, but the pain and soreness lingered for days or weeks, depending on how bad the wound was.

  By the time she left the shower, she was no longer bleeding, and the welts were almost gone. She put back on her tunic and a few minutes later, she was knocking at the guest’s door, determined to seduce him no matter what. She knew Typsea would be watching.

  “I’m sorry to bother you again,” she said, as she walked in. “But I can’t stop thinking there must be a way I can help you,” she pasted what she hoped was a seductive smile on her face.

  He looked as if he had just come out of the shower, and his body was only covered with a small towel. With barely any clothes on, he looked even more impressive than he did the first time she saw him.

  Ethan was surprised to see Neela coming into his room again. After his rude rejection, he didn’t expect to see her again. And yet, there she was apparently, even more, determined to seduce him.

  He had been out in the balcony, enjoying the cold air of the night for a few minutes and after a quick shower, he was ready to get some rest.

  “I really can’t see how,” he insisted, determined to resist the temptation.

  “Am I unattractive to you? Perhaps you would prefer someone else?” she asked, taking a step towards him, wriggling her hands, nervously, praying he wouldn’t say yes. She had no idea what she would do if he did.

  Ethan shook his head, with disbelief. Why the hell was she there again? His denial should have solved their problem.

  “It’s not about that. I assure you there’s nothing wrong with you. I simply rather not get engaged in this kind of situation while I’m traveling,” he explained, trying to keep his attraction to himself. Especially when he knew she was being forced to be there.

  “Do you have a woman back home? Is that it?” she asked, cursing her luck, desperately trying to find a way to convince him. After her mistake, she was sure Typsea would be looking at the cameras, to make sure she did as ordered.

  Typsea wasn’t going to believe the man wanted to remain faithful. She had heard her several times saying no man was faithful when presented with temptation. As much as she hated being that temptation, she had to try. Not only for herself, but for the rest of the girls. If she failed, they would hate her even more than they already did.

  “No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean,” he replied, and she almost passed out due to the wave of relief that washed over her.

  There was no other woman. She still had a chance. “Then, nothing is stopping us from having a bit of fun,” she interrupted him, closing the distance between them and allowing her tunic to fall to her feet.

  Hearing him gasp was a balm to her battered soul. He wasn’t immune to her, after all.

  Ethan looked at her, mesmerized as his whole body reacted to her naked figure. She was amazing, so beautiful he couldn’t believe she was real. But it wasn’t just her physical beauty. Yes, she was breathtakingly beautiful, but there was something else, something that hit him right in the heart and her vulnerability, standing there, in front of him, completely naked, awoke every protective instinct he had in his being.

  Those instincts rose, even more, when he caught a glimpse of her back and noticed the fresh red welts in it. Pursing his lips, he held his tongue back not to ask her. He was sure there were cameras all over the place, and he didn’t want to cause her any more trouble than he apparently already had.

  Rejecting her had clearly been a mistake. One she had paid for. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and took a step towards her frowning when she shuddered visibly. She was scared to death of him.

  Trying to find a way to solve the impasse the right way, he took her hand and pulled her to the bed, looking for a way to communicate with her discreetly. He did his best to ignore the way she was trembling, while he guided her there.

  “Can you turn off the lights?” he asked, looking for more privacy for them both.

  She gulped visibly but nodded. “Lights off,” she whispered, and all the lights in the room were turned off, except for a couple of dim lights on the bed headboard.

  Pleased, he took her to bed, pulled the covers and had her slide in. With his night vision, he could tell she was getting more and more nervous, but he had no other way of doing this. Not if he didn’t want whoever was watching the cameras to realize what he was doing.

  He let the towel fall to the floor and jumped in bed, right next to her.

  Neela couldn’t believe he had changed his mind so fast, with barely any seduction on her part. Apparently, his people had no idea what foreplay was since he was jumping to it immediately.

  Breathing deep, she tried to control her nerves and ignore the pain on her back, as it touched the mattress, but his presence in bed, so close to her wasn’t helping her.

  Doing his best to control himself, Ethan rolled over her and pulled the covers over them so no one could see what was going on underneath them.

  “I know you don’t want this,” he whispered in her ear. “And I don’t take women without their full consent,” he explained, in the gentlest tone, he could manage, trying to calm her down. “I’m sure we can stay here for a few minutes and pretend we had some fun,” he suggested, his tone not as firm as it had been before.

  Having her naked body underneath, him was doing a hell of a job at annihilating his self-control. He had never felt so aroused in his life and the desire rushing through his veins was definitely mind-blowing.

  His cock was so hard, he was sure she could feel it in its full extension pressed
against her silky belly.

  “There’s no way to pretend it,” she replied, with a low sob. “I’ll be examined looking for the evidence,” she explained, still shuddering.

  That outraged him. “What? Why?” he ranted in a low tone.

  “I’m a slave here, Citizen Ethan, and my job is to follow orders. I was ordered to please you.”

  “What if I don’t want you to please me?” he grumbled.

  “Then, it’s my job to convince you, to make you change your mind,” she explained. “And I failed, the first time I was sent here,” she confessed, lowering her eyes.

  The warmth of his body over hers was making her feel strange things. Small blasts of energy rushed through her body, her heart was thundering in her chest, and her breathing was fast and labored, but incredibly, she was no longer scared. He didn’t want to hurt her.

  “And if you don’t succeed?” he asked, with a deep frown.

  “That means I’m not doing my job well,” she replied.

  “And you get punished for it, don’t you?” he asked, though he already knew the answer. The welts he had seen on her back looked quite recent.

  She ignored his question. “Please, allow me to please you,” she asked instead, raising her hand and caressing his strong jaw.

  “You don’t really want to do that,” he insisted, still not feeling alright with the idea of using her.

  She moved underneath him, and his cock seemed to get even bigger and thicker against her naked skin. Breathing harder, she remembered all the training she had received ever since she had arrived at the harem and picked the hard shaft in her hand.

  “Then, make me want it,” she whispered, challenging him, while she stroked him a few times.

  With a guttural grunt, Ethan lowered his head and brushed his lips on hers. She gasped but didn’t pull away. Encouraged by that tiny victory, he kissed her again, this time making sure he left no inch untouched as he slid his tongue between her luscious lips, eager for more.