“That feels so good,” Vuk whispered before kissing the nape of my neck. “Watching you kiss Raf while I hold your beautiful breasts.”
More heat raced into my core. His words were melting me into a puddle of desire.
Raf nipped my bottom lip as if to remind me that he was still there. His kiss turned even wilder, his tongue fighting with mine, a dance so passionate that I was left breathless. His hands cupped my face to hold me in place. I almost laughed at his possessiveness. He didn’t want Vuk to steal the show.
Vuk had put his other hand on my breasts as well, but he’d not pushed away the bra yet. I was aching for his touch. The fabric between us felt wrong. I wanted his skin on mine.
I leaned back, rubbing my arse against his erection, eliciting a wild groan from him.
“You want more?” he asked seductively. “Do you want me to remove your tit holder?”
This time I couldn’t help but laugh, despite kissing Raf. I stopped the kiss just long enough to say, “It’s called a bra,” before Raf’s tongue was back in my mouth, claiming me. He was insatiable and so was I.
I didn’t recognise myself, but I liked this new side of me. I was confident, not restrained by my past any longer. On Earth, I may have felt embarrassed about kissing two guys, but this wasn’t Earth. This was space and the rules here were different.
Finally, Vuk pushed my bra down, releasing my sore breasts. His hands cupped them and he started to knead, gently at first, then a little rougher. He rolled my nipples between his fingers, making me moan against Raf’s lips.
“I love that sound,” Vuk whispered before kissing my neck again. “I wonder what will happen if I do this…”
He pulled my nipples, mixing a wave of pleasure with a slight twinge of pain. Again, I couldn’t help but moan. I never knew my breasts were this sensitive. With every touch, more wetness pooled between my legs.
Raf moved back, ending the kiss. I moaned, needing his lips back on mine, but he shushed me with a low laugh. “I think it’s time for you to take your shirt off. I want to see what Vuk is doing underneath there.”
I shivered at the thought. They were both fully clothed. I had already lost my bra. Before I could finish deciding whether I was brave enough to do it, Raf took the hem of my shirt and pulled it up. Instinctively, I raised my arms to let him pull it over my head.
He let the shirt drop to the ground, his eyes roaming my body. Vuk hadn’t let go of my breasts, massaging them, varying between gentle and harder.
A cool draft from the air conditioning touched my naked skin. My back was warmed by Vuk, but my front was bare now, exposed.
Without warning, a wave of memories pushed me under. Reality disappeared and I was back on a cold metal floor, naked, in pain. I whimpered as their boots crashed into my ribs, their words like daggers, cursing me, degrading me. Pain was everywhere. And I was cold, so cold.
I whimpered and hugged myself, before realising that I hadn’t been able to do that in the memory. Back then, they’d bound my hands.
It wasn’t real.
I wasn’t in the past.
I fought against the memory, trying to resurface from the nightmare that had me in its grip. From far away, I felt warm fabric hugging my chest, but it wasn’t enough to dispel the shivers that were racking my body.
I was lost in memories and there was no anchor to pull me out.
Chapter 15
Kili
They carried her into their bedroom, wrapped in a blanket. Her eyes were squeezed shut; she could have been asleep if she weren't shaking all over. Kion and I followed closely behind, unsure of what had happened. We'd left the bridge as soon as it had become clear that they needed some time alone - and to be fair, I didn't want to watch her kiss the Trads - but we'd waited outside, just in case. Now I was glad that we had.
"What happened?" Kion whispered, breathing heavily.
He seemed just as worried as I was. I kept forgetting how fragile humans were.
Vuk turned to us, his expression grave. "Another panic attack. She seemed so well until..."
"It was too early," I snapped before I could stop myself. "Laird, what were you thinking?"
"Shhh. Let's take this outside."
Raf stayed with Wren, cradling her in his arms, rocking her from side to side. She wasn't shaking as much now that they were on the bed, but her eyes were still shut and she didn't seem to be quite in the present yet.
With one last pained look at her, I followed Vuk and Kion outside. As soon as the door was closed behind us, Kion turned on Vuk.
"Kili's right, how could you do that to her?! She was abused only days ago and now you're snogging her like nothing's happened? By the tits of Velos, we should have stopped you."
I nodded, annoyed at myself for walking out of the room earlier. I didn't think; I'd been too emotional. A strange jealousy had taken hold of me and I'd had to leave the bridge before it turned nasty. Seeing her sandwiched between the two Trads had been painful. Not because I thought of them as monsters; I no longer did. But I didn't want her to be with them. While standing outside the door, listening to her moans, I'd realised that I wanted her. My second realisation had been that it would never happen. I'd shot her. She wasn't going to accept me as a mate after that. Besides, she seemed more interested in the Trads than in Kion and me. It should have gone against all her natural instincts, but I guessed that after what her abductors had done to her, she no longer saw us Athions as the better species.
"She wanted it," Vuk growled. "You didn't see the desire in her eyes. The way she kissed me. Touched me. She wanted it just as much as we did, trust me."
Anger burned in my chest. How dare he. Yes, she may have wanted it, but she was still healing, mentally and physically. We were the ones who should be rational, who should protect her.
I couldn't hold back any longer. I punched him in the face. Or I would have, if he hadn't stepped aside faster than I could see. My fist hit the wall and pain raced up my arm.
"Seriously?" Vuk's arrogant smile made me want to punch him over and over again.
I rubbed my knuckles. They weren't bleeding but I'd get some bruises. I'd intended to hit him hard and now I was paying the price for it.
Kion put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me back. "Don't. It's not worth it," he muttered, surprisingly calm. He was supposed to be the hotshot, but here he was, preventing me from getting into a fight.
A faint sob came from the room and all three of us turned to the door.
Vuk's smile disappeared and his shoulders drooped. "You're right," he admitted, his arrogance wiped away. "We should have waited. But...it's so hard to resist. She's the most magnificent female I've ever come across. She seems vulnerable, but beneath that she is so strong, much stronger than I'll ever be. Most of us would never survive what she's been through, not without breaking completely."
"And she's beautiful," Kion said dreamily. "Inside and out."
I nodded. "That she is. She's precious and I for one will do everything I can to make sure that she's safe."
Vuk opened his mouth as if he was about to argue - probably pointing out that I'd shot Wren - but then pursed his lips and stayed quiet.
Another sob came from the bedroom. I shivered. It was agonising not being able to do anything. Physical ailments we could cure in the med bay, but it wasn't her body that was making her suffer. I'd seen panic attacks like her before. Warriors coming back from battle without visible injury, yet their minds were scarred and fractured. I supposed it was almost worse to have an invisible wound like that. If you had blood all over you, people would come and help you. If your mind was in turmoil...nobody would know unless you found the strength to tell them. And that had to be the hardest part. Exposing your weakness in order to get help. Us Athions weren't raised to do that. We always had to display strength and shut down our feelings, especially when joining the Custos. Showing vulnerability could be the death of us in battle.
I grit my teeth at the thought. Showing weakne
ss was something I just couldn't do. Trying to punch Vuk was as much emotion as I ever displayed. Yet I hoped Wren would be able to let us in. If not all of us, then at least one. Someone to ease her pain.
Vuk looked down at his Trad version of a data pad. "Raf will call me if she needs something," he whispered. "Until then, maybe we should leave them to it. If you want to hit me again, let's do it somewhere else where she can't hear us."
I held up my hands. My knuckles still hurt. "No punching planned. Let's get some food ready in case she gets hungry. And we should start packing everything we need for when they pick us up tomorrow." I sucked in a sharp breath. "No matter if the pirates or the Athions arrive here first, we need to be ready."
Wren
I slept fitfully, waking up again and again throughout the night. I was curled up in Raf's arms, kept warm and safe by him. Every time I woke up, he was awake, lulling me back to sleep. At some point, Vuk joined us. He asked if it was alright for me, clearly scared that I was going to have another break down from their closeness. But this was different. It was nothing sexual, nothing scary. Just the soothing comfort of two people who cared for me.
By the time morning arrived, I was almost more tired than I'd been when I'd first fallen asleep. At least I wasn't able to remember the dreams I'd had. I was sure they'd been nightmares, but I preferred not to know the specifics. It was better for my sanity that way.
"We need to get up," Vuk yawned. "Kion just messaged, the pirate ship has appeared on his sensors. They'll be here within the hour. Much sooner than expected, but I'm not complaining. I can't wait to finally get off this rock."
Raf groaned. "Just five more minutes. It's not like we have a lot to pack."
I couldn't help but laugh at his reluctance to even open his eyes. It was pretty much what I felt, except that excitement was now running through my veins, slowly dispelling the tiredness. We were going to be in the company of pirates soon. Technically, I already was, but I didn't quite see Vuk and Raf as pirates. They were missing the obligatory eye patch and hat. Beards too, maybe. I wondered if I could make them say aaarrrrrrrr in the right way. I bet they had no idea what that was all about. Space pirates didn't seem quite as fun as Earth pirates.
I crawled out of bed and took a quick shower, before joining the others in the dining area for breakfast. Kili and Kion were behaving strangely distant, as if they were afraid to get too close to me. After last night, I didn't blame them. I was a mess, a broken wreck of a person, and being around me was more trouble than it was worth. Raf and Vuk didn't seem to see that yet, but they would soon. Nobody would put up with my craziness for long, I was sure of that. I didn't even know how much longer I could do it myself. My sanity was a frayed strand of memories that could rip apart any second.
I nibbled on the piece of bread the guys had given me. Raf was eating some kind of meat that looked half raw, while Kili seemed to be happy with nothing but a glass of water. We ate in silence, all of us tense in anticipation of what was to come. Kion kept checking his data pad to track the signal of the pirate ship coming to pick us up. Only half an hour left until we'd be back in space, away from the threat of Athions imprisoning Raf and Vuk and doing goodness knew what to me.
Suddenly, Kion gasped, staring at the screen around his wrist.
"What is it?" Kili asked sharply, now looking at his own data pad.
"Athions. Their ship is getting closer."
"Zut," Vuk cursed. "How long do we have?"
Kion gulped, his eyes wide. "They might be here before the pirates. Their ship is faster, much faster."
A cold rope wrapped itself around my heart as fear entered my body. For a short while, I'd believed that we'd be safe. Finally. Now, it turned out to have been yet another illusion.
Vuk jumped up, his chair falling to the floor with a loud bang. "I'll fight rather than let them take me," he growled. "Do you have weapons on board?"
I got up as well, a strange calmness taking over my mind. "Me too. I don't know what they have planned for me and I'd rather not find out."
"We've got a situation," Raf said and it took me a second to realise he was talking into his communicator. Ki'to'lok's holographic face was hovering above his arm. "The Athion ship has just appeared on our sensors and it might be here before you do."
The green alien grinned. "Any chance of a good space fight? My boys are desperate for some action."
Once again, his words were automatically translated for me with nothing more than a tiny delay.
"And girls!" someone shouted in the background. A female voice, albeit deeper than most human women would sound. The guys looked just as surprised as me to hear the woman. She had to be of a different species, one that wasn't compatible with Athions or Trads. Otherwise, if other females in this universe could have children with the males who'd invaded our planet, we might not be in this mess.
"Don't risk yourselves for us," Raf replied gravely. "But rest assured, we won't be going with them without a fight."
"Bah, don't be an idiot. Of course we will join you. It's time we act like real pirates again, not like glorified traders. This could get messy though. Do you have suits?"
"We do," Kion replied in Raf's stead. "Enough for all five of us."
Suits? Were they talking about space suits? Despite my fear, I felt a certain excitement at the thought. Wearing a suit and helmet like a real astronaut. Until now, all I'd seen of space had been from within ships. It was time to get a more close-up look.
"Then get ready. We'll be there as fast as we can. Leave some of the Athions for us, don't kill them all."
Chapter 16
Kill. The word echoed through my mind as reality crashed into me. We might have to kill. I'd never even thought about taking another person's life. Sure, I wanted Arri and Laki dead, but actually standing there with a gun was a very different thing altogether. I didn't know if I had it in me to pull the trigger. The Athions weren't coming to kill us, right? They'd put Raf and Vuk into custody, but they weren't going to kill them...I hoped.
"We could hide," Vuk said. "The Athions will send a shuttle to this ship. If we'd manage to hide further away on the asteroid, it might give us a few minutes more. That could be all we need for the pirates to get here."
Kili shook his head. "At the moment, the only thing enabling us to go outside is the oxy-tent. With suits, we'd have a supply of oxygen, but this rock doesn't have enough gravity to enable us to walk."
"Can you move the tent?" Raf asked. "Take it with us?"
"No, it's linked to the ship. It doesn't have its own power source."
"So much for that idea," Vuk grumbled. "Don't your suits have magnetic boots?"
"They do," Kili pondered. "The asteroid doesn't have much of a magnetic field; it might be just strong enough to let us walk. Wren will have the least problems since she's the lightest."
"Could I be a distraction then? What if I leave the ship, wouldn't that make them have to go and search for me?"
"No way," Raf snapped. "You'd be in too much danger. Besides, we shouldn't split up. It would only make it easier for them to pick us off one by one."
A beep made us all look at Raf, who raised his communicator. Ki’to’lok’s face appeared once more.
"We've come up with a solution," the alien announced. "Escape pods."
He seemed to expect us to cheer at his brilliance, but none of us looked as if that meant anything to us.
"Ours are broken," Kili said after a moment's silence.
Ki’to’lok laughed loudly. "Not yours. Mine. We stole these newly developed pods during a recent raid. They're faster than our ship and we can program them to fly to any living being in the vicinity. I'm getting them ready just now. They'll pick you up and will bring you to my ship. Only problem is, they accommodate one person each and we only have four."
Dread pooled in my stomach. I cursed the green alien. He'd dangled a carrot of hope in front of our faces only to take it away again.
"I'm small, could I squeeze
in with one of the males?" I asked, almost glaring at the hologram.
He shook his head. "Even if you could, the pods only allow one person in. They measure your brainwaves to make sure you're alive. No use in carrying around dead people. So unless you-"
"Are they programmed to humans?" Kili interrupted.
"Not that I'm aware. Humans are still a new species to most of us."
"Their brainwaves are different from ours," Kili explained. "Faster but a lot weaker. If we could put Wren asleep, they'd weaken even more."
Ki’to’lok didn't seem convinced. "You can try it but if it doesn't work, one of you will have to stay behind. I'm sorry, but the only alternative is a full firefight. And as much as I wanted that a few minutes ago, I've since overheard one of the Athion ship's communications. They don't care any longer whether they take you alive or dead."
"No, that...no," Kion protested. "We're Custos. They're on our side. They wouldn't risk Kili and me."
"I'm afraid you're wrong about that," Ki’to’lok replied not unkindly. "All they're trying to do now is to preserve their reputation. If it became publicly known that Athions kidnapped a human female...it would be a disaster for their Earth mission."
None of us spoke after that revelation. Kion and Kili looked shell shocked, while Vuk and Raf seemed focused more on me.
"The pods will be with you in five minutes. I suggest you put on your suits and move away from the ship. Spread out a little, I don't want the pods to bump into each other. They weren't easy to come by."
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