by L P Peace
‘You may open your eyes now, Zoe,’ she heard him say.
She looked at him. He was staring down at her, an intense look on his face. ‘I will vrokking kill everyone on this ship before I ever let him touch you,’ he promised.
‘I know,’ Zoe said.
He stared at her, his body shaking.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I am falling into a mating fever,’ he admitted. The intensity of his stare increased until it felt like Daris’s shaking was transferring to her. ‘But you have no need to worry. I will not force you.’
Ah, it seems the elephant in the room is trumpeting.
‘Get up, Zoe. Shower. Breakfast will be here soon.’
Zoe ran into the bathroom, still shaking.
‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Zoe stared in horror at the outfit Tolomus had delivered. ‘I’m not wearing this out of this bathroom, let alone across the ship.’
The outfit, if it could be called that, was a bra and panties. But what they actually were was little more than three triangles of grey-blue material, held together with ribbons across her hips and waist.
The top was two simple cups and an array of ribbons crossing over her chest.
She had to admit Tolomus had chosen the colour well. Not only did it go with her eyes, it contrasted against her skin, standing out and making her natural honey tones seem a stronger gold.
‘How does it look?’
‘I can’t wear it.’
‘What’s wrong with it?
‘It’s just ribbons, Daris!’ she yelled back. She was irritated, hungry, and this outfit—this outfit.
‘She is fragile. Mentally, as well as physically.’
She wanted to prove him wrong. She wanted to walk out onto the ship and strut like she didn’t care. But she did. The thought of walking through the ship and wearing this for everyone to see was horrific to her.
‘I can’t wear this, Daris,’ she said, hating the way her voice trembled.
The door opened. Zoe saw Daris look in, a concerned look on his face, then he saw her and the look changed to raw lust.
Zoe covered herself with her hands. ‘Oh, god, Daris, what are you doing?’
‘I—’ He turned. He stood in the doorway with his back to her, breathing heavy and letting out a small series of groans. Finally, he cleared his voice. ‘I was concerned for you.’ His voice was deep like he was going to a lot of effort to control the tone. ‘I—What’s wrong with it?’
‘It’s ribbons!’ Zoe shouted. ‘I was told there was an outfit. This isn’t a fucking outfit. It’s fucking ribbons.’
Daris laughed.
Zoe’s mouth dropped open. ‘This isn’t funny,’ Zoe said, ‘Why are you laughing?’
Daris turned slightly and looked at her. ‘My apologies. The words had humour in the context.’ He looked up and down her body and his face sobered. ‘But you’re right, this is not funny. The thought—’ He stopped as though speaking were too much. ‘The thought of the males out there seeing you like this…’ A murderous look fell over his face. ‘If I could think of another way, if I could fight them, I would. If I could go room to room cutting their throats while they slept to stop them looking at you, I would.’ His voice was getting darker, he paused, seemingly considering it. For a moment, Zoe thought he was doing it for effect, then a cold look fell over his face. His eyes moved about, not seeing anything, as though he were actually planning it out step-by-step. Suddenly, Zoe was afraid of him.
‘Daris?’
He must have seen the fear on her face. ‘Zoe.’ The look evaporated and became pained. He walked over to her slowly, like the first time she saw him. Only this time, instead of gathering her in his arms, he fell to his knees.
‘You know.’
It was all he said, but it was all he needed to say. His voice was thick and full of the need for her to acknowledge, perhaps even accept their bond. She considered denying she understood what he meant, but that would diminish the both of them. Instead, she swallowed and nodded.
‘Everyone on this ship should be afraid of me,’ he growled. ‘I’ve found my mate, and the need to protect her makes me dangerous.’ He reached out slowly, gently touching her hip. ‘But you,’ he whispered, staring at her where his hand made contact with her skin. ‘Must never be afraid of me.’
He leaned forward, closing his eyes, smelling her. Soft lips barely brushed over her abdomen. Zoe’s eyes closed involuntarily, her mouth opening in a quiet gasp. ‘If I must, I will destroy everything on this ship to protect you,’ he whispered, punctuating his sentence with another soft brush of his lips. ‘But I would take every wound I could inflict to protect you from fear, especially of me.’
His lips pressed into her again, firmer this time. She felt her hands slip into his long violet-black hair. His hands encircled her hips, fingers grazing against her rear in light strokes. ‘If you will permit me,’ he whispered, his lips brushed against her, his tongue slicked up her abdomen, ‘I will spend the rest of my life dedicated to you.’
Teeth grazed her skin, claws pricked at her rear, sending shocks of sensation to her pussy. Zoe gasped, feeling her core clench and release wetness. Daris growled, and it caused a shock of excitement through her. ‘I will spend the rest of my life making you happy, loving you, pleasing you, pleasuring you,’ he snarled. Lips pressed against her mound through the material, a wet tongue pressed against her cleft.
‘Daris,’ she gasped.
There was a deep growl. The bass, reverberating growl that sent another shock of excitement through her; it was vibrating against her sex. Zoe cried out.
‘Zoe, look at me,’ Daris growled.
Somehow, she managed to both hear and comprehend him in the haze he had pulled over her senses. She looked down into his grey eyes. There was a raw need there that seemed to reflect how she felt.
‘If I continue, I will take you to the bed and claim you,’ he said. ‘Do you want me to continue?’
‘Oh, god,’ Zoe whispered. Her mind revolted against making any decision, against sense, against thinking.
‘I know,’ he reassured her. ‘But I know it’s quick. I want you to be sure, not overtaken in the moment.’
Overtaken in the moment?
The descending fog began to lift. As Zoe looked into Daris’s eyes, her mind cleared. He leaned forward, his hands still on her hips, and gently brushed his lips over her abdomen. She felt the sharp pricks of his claws disappear, and he let her go, standing up and towering over her.
At once, she became intensely aware of the masculinity of him. His body, while lean, rippled with muscles under his dusky purple skin. She had seen it the previous day, but it felt different. Realising her mouth was still open, Zoe closed it, on her next inhale, she smelled his scent, like intense dark chocolate with spicy citrus tone. It reminded her a little of Christmas, but there was something much more magnetic about it. He was around 6’10”, she estimated; Zoe was 5’5” and inches shorter than even his shoulder. He made her feel small, but instead of threatened, she felt safe.
She realised she’d been standing openly in front of him in the ribbons for a few minutes. That knowledge, the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, the things he had promised, gave her a thrill, and for a moment, she felt powerful.
Daris smiled and touched her face. ‘There you are,’ he murmured. Zoe bit her lip to stop herself from grinning. Daris’s eyes travelled down and he pulled her lip out from her teeth.
‘You earned the right to feel proud,’ he said. ‘Don’t hide it. Don’t be ashamed of it.’
Zoe nodded, but the urge to smile was gone.
‘Now.’ He took a step back and looked down the length of her body, after a moment he closed his eyes. ‘Vrok, Zoe, you are the most spectacular creature that ever lived,’ he whispered. ‘A shirt.’
‘A shirt?’
Daris had already turned, and Zoe watched his tail disappear from the room. A few moments later, he returned and handed her a sienna
brown shirt. She smiled.
‘What is it, my Zoe?’ There was a small smirk on Daris’s face.
‘My friend, Farah, she’s the same colour as this shirt.’ Zoe reached out and tentatively touched Daris’s skin. He sucked in a hissed breath. ‘She likes to wear this colour.’
‘Hmm? I wonder what other human skin tones look good against mine?’ Zoe was pulled into Daris’s arms. He looked down at where her breasts were crushed against his chest. ‘Hmm, this is a rather attractive colour combination,’ he murmured.
Zoe pushed him away with a sigh. ‘Would you be serious for a minute?’
She took the proffered shirt. ‘Thank you.’ She slipped it on. ‘Now what?’
‘You are very distracting in that outfit.’
‘Daris,’ she hissed. She was trying to figure out how to do the shirt up, but there was no obvious way to keep the two sides together.
‘I’m serious. We need the crew to be distracted. I say we acclimatise them to you, walking around the ship in this outfit, with the shirt.’ He held up his hand when she opened her mouth to protest. ‘Then, the rote we make our escape, you wear just the outfit.’
‘I can’t do that,’ Zoe said, shaking her head.
‘Yes, you can.’ He pulled her into his arms and tilted her face up with a finger. ‘You can,’ he said more firmly when she grimaced at him. His eyes were flint grey. She hadn’t noticed that before. Her breath caught when she realised he was watching her as closely as she was watching him. They stared into each other’s eyes, and she felt shivers go up and down her back, spreading until they’d encompassed her entire body.
All the things he said, did he mean them? Whittaker had said pretty words. She’d believed him. She’d wanted to believe him, and now she wanted to believe Daris.
His lower lip was fuller than the top. It barely avoided being pouty and gave more of an impression of a sneer; they parted.
‘Zoe,’ he whispered. He leaned down, his lips barely brushing against hers when there was a knock on the door. ‘Vrok,’ he groaned, then stood. ‘That’ll be breakfast.’
He did something, and the shirt sealed itself.
‘I’ll get it.’ He looked in her eyes. ‘I’ll let you know when they’re gone.’
She watched him close the door behind him, his tail picking up to avoid being caught in the jamb. It occurred to her that at some point he’d been a child that had to learn to do that and she huffed an amazed, breathy laugh.
Why couldn’t she be around this man—male, alien—without losing her frickin’ mind? The longer she was with him, the more she turned into a needy, horny mess. He called her his mate and had, minutes ago, dedicated his life to taking care of her. He was risking that life to free her, though there was still a part of her that was sceptical. A little part of her was afraid this was all a ruse to make her more compliant for the slaver.
Tolomus. The thought terrified her. He may say he didn’t want to hurt her, but she had seen the look in his eye when she was sitting on the floor of her cell. There was something cruel about him; there had to be. How else could a person take other sapient beings and sell them into a life that guaranteed misery, pain, and worse?
But… but… there was something earnest about Daris. She believed him. She was beginning to trust him. She was beginning to… She refused to finish the thought. She squeezed her thighs together to try and rid herself of the urgency she felt. By the time the door opened, she was shaking with need.
For a moment, she hoped Daris saw it. That he would sense her need and take care of her. When she saw that his back was already turned to the door, she almost called out for him.
God, Zoe, what are you thinking?
Forcing herself to act relieved, Zoe followed Daris out into his room for breakfast.
Zoe grimaced when she saw the ‘breakfast’ that had been delivered. It was exactly the same as yesterday’s, a tasteless fare of greyish-brown mush.
‘The food I have on my ship is much better,’ Daris said. ‘But we’ll put up with this for now.’
Zoe took the one chair in the room, Daris perching on the bed. He looked across at her and grinned before tucking in.
Zoe scooped up a forkful and looked at Daris. He was shovelling a second, then a third forkful into his mouth. She watched, her food hovering near her mouth as he quickly polished off his plate. When he was done, he looked at her.
‘What?’
‘You eat like a pig.’
Daris frowned. ‘What’s a pig?’
Zoe struggled for words. ‘It’s… it’s… it’s you.’ She gestured to him with her fork.
‘I don’t understand?’ he was beginning to look hurt.
‘You didn’t eat that food, Daris. You inhaled it.’
An awkward grin appeared on his mouth, though it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Oh. Habit, I’m afraid. I grew up in an orphanage for the first several years of my life. If you didn’t eat quickly, the older children would steal your food.’
Fuck, I’m such a dick.
‘I’m sorry,’ Zoe said. She wasn’t sure what else she could say.
‘You have no reason to be sorry, you didn’t steal my food.’
‘And I won’t,’ she said pointedly.
‘I know.’ He shrugged. ‘I live alone. I don’t really eat around anyone. It’s a hard habit to break.’
‘Believe it or not, I understand.’ She sighed, putting her fork on the plate, still loaded with food. ‘When I was a kid, my parents sent me to military school. There wasn’t supposed to be anything like that going on, but it happened anyway. The older kids would swap out the plates while no one was looking. We had to sit with our units, but my unit didn’t like me, or my friend Ivy.’ She shivered at the memory of her pale, green-eyed friend. ‘They’d steal our food all the time.’ She smiled at a memory.
Daris smiled. ‘I was a small child, not particularly good at handling myself, compared to the other children. I often went hungry.’ His smile faded.
‘Same here,’ Zoe said. ‘It shapes you.’ Daris looked into her eyes and nodded in agreement.
‘What happened to Ivy?’ Daris moved closer, his oval pupils expanding as he took her in.
‘How do you know something happened to her?’
‘The way you reacted when you said her name.’ He reached for her hand across the table.
Zoe clenched her teeth. ‘Ivy…’ Her voice trembled a little. All these years later, it was still hard to talk about it. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at her stupid reaction.
‘We were bullied from the first day,’ she said, her voice a little stronger this time. She let out a plosive breath. ‘We were fourteen and had been telling our parents for the last three years about the bullying, but they were both military families. They believed it would make us stronger.’ Zoe felt an old, impotent anger welling up inside her. ‘Ivy couldn’t take it anymore.’ It came out as barely a whisper. The investigation found the instructor had been distracted by his wife going into labour as the weapons were being put away after live target practice. Ivy had taken the opportunity. Zoe found her. ‘My parents wouldn’t let me go to the funeral because they said she was weak.’
Daris rounded the table and pulled her into his arms. ‘That was unnecessarily cruel.’
Zoe took a slow breath and forced it back. ‘I’m not weak,’ she hissed. ‘I just didn’t want to be in the military.’
Daris froze. ‘Then why are you in the military?’
Zoe withdrew and gave him a sheepish look. ‘After Ivy, the school found our bullies to be responsible. It was easier for them then blaming the instructor who allowed her to slip a weapon past him. They were expelled from the school, and after that, things got better. Turned out I loved the military. I just hated the bullies.’ She shrugged.
A huge grin appeared on Daris’s face. He pulled her back into his arms. She stayed there for a minute, enjoying the heat and closeness of him. ‘Eat your breakfast,’ he said, pulling away.
Zoe managed a few bites before pushing the plate to him. ‘I’m not really hungry.’
A stern look fell over Daris’s face, then softened. He sighed. He pushed the plate back to her. ‘Have a few more bites. For me, please.’
Scowling, Zoe took a few more bites. When she was done, Daris finished off the plate, eating a little slower this time.
He dropped the fork on the plate and looked at her, an earnest expression on his face. He pressed his lips together. ‘How do you feel about going out for our walk then?’
He said this as though he were taking her out to the park. She took a deep, shaky breath.
‘Terrified,’ she admitted. ‘But this is what’s going to get us off the ship so we can let the Tessans know it was this Tolomus guy?’
‘Yes, Zoe.’
Zoe stood. ‘Let’s get it over with.’ Daris followed suit, a hesitant look on his face. ‘What? What is it?’ The look set her on edge.
‘There is another part of this outfit I haven’t shown you yet.’
Zoe’s stomach dropped. ‘What is it?’
He walked over to the bed and pulled something out from under it. He must have hidden it there when he approached her earlier. He turned and held it out to her.
Zoe gasped in horror. ‘I’m not wearing that.’ She stepped back. ‘You won’t make me wear that will you?’ Zoe looked down at the collar and leash, and her stomach lurched. ‘I can’t wear that.’
Daris dropped them on the bed and turned away from them. ‘It was a condition of you being allowed to leave the room.’ His voice was rough. ‘I believe he means to show you your place and humiliate you.’
Zoe felt herself go cold. She closed her eyes and, for a moment, pretended she was back on Endurance, in astronav, running numbers and making course corrections. The Halidan had never abandoned them; they met the Luadaal on schedule. While the Halidan had refused to board Endurance when invited, the Luadaal were enthusiastic in their acceptance.
Endurance, Endurance.
‘This ship is a message to all of the aliens out there, that no matter what they throw at us, we will endure.’ Zoe hadn’t understood what Captain Durrani meant when she said that. She did now.