Did Qen really hope I wouldn’t notice him touching me? Or that I might let him fondle me between my legs while he rubbed himself inside the cluster of his tentacles?
A shudder of disgust ran through me at the memory of the slide of the tentacle, and I swiped at my thigh, trying to erase the phantom sensation.
“Obviously, he wasn’t very bright,” Vrateus agreed. “Most of them are all about the immediate gratification, not thinking past it.”
“Could...um,” I started, choosing my words carefully. “Do you think shooting him on the spot might have been a little too harsh?”
I sensed it hurt him to shoot his people and wondered if the murders could have been avoided. At the same time, I didn’t want to sound as if I was criticizing his actions.
“Would a warning, or something else do in such cases?”
“No.” He heaved a sigh. “I could give warnings until I lost my voice. They don’t listen. The only things these males understand are actions. Qen knew no one was supposed to touch you but me. He broke the order. He has been shot. Now, the rest of them got a visual demonstration of what will happen if they break this order, too.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, thank you for protecting me,” I said, meaning every word.
He nodded silently in response.
I was expecting him to leave now, but he took a couple of steps farther into the room.
“I shouldn’t have taken you to the kitchen.” His shoulders dropped as he rubbed his face. Again, the thought that he must be exhausted crossed my mind.
Most of the time, Vrateus was enclosed in a hard shell of intense focus and composure, projecting power and strength. Only here in my room with the doors closed had I seen him come out of that shell a little. Then, he always seemed fatigued.
It must be exhausting to run life on the Dark Anomaly. Especially, since he had to do it all on his own, with no help from anyone. Did he ever get enough sleep?
“I’m glad you showed the kitchen to me,” I said. “It was good for me to see all of that. Even the disturbing parts.”
I had been gaining a better understanding of my new reality. Vrateus’s reasons for forbidding me to leave the room on my own also made more sense, now.
“If you think so,” he conceded with a tilt of his head, then turned to the door. “I’ll bring you dinner when it’s ready.”
“Thank you,” I said, though the thought of the bubbling substance in the pot made my stomach roil.
I continued to stand in the middle of the room long after the doors had closed behind him.
The more I learned about the occupants of the Dark Anomaly, the more I appreciated that Vrateus was among them. He seemed to be the only one who could be reasoned with in this place. I was even beginning to feel respect for him for everything he had done around here and for what he did to protect me.
Except that I shouldn’t allow myself to feel anything at all toward this man. I wasn’t staying here. There was no way I could live here the way he did.
I would do whatever it took to leave the Dark Anomaly as soon as possible.
Chapter 11
“GET READY,” VRATEUS told me when he came to pick up my empty dishes after dinner.
As soon as the doors closed after him, I looked at the clothing rack. A week had passed since my last appearance in the mess hall. Tonight, I had to do it again.
A sinking feeling had been in my stomach since the moment I got up that day. The last thing I wanted was to face his wild crew again. Naked.
But that was the condition of my survival. And to escape, I needed to stay alive.
Soon, there would be an end to this.
I now knew where the entrance to the surface was located. By carefully asking just the right questions from Vrateus last night, I had also learned that the storage room next to the vasai farm contained my spacesuit. The spare batteries from my ship were stored in the same room, too.
Maybe, he was too tired and preoccupied with other things to question my interest in the spacesuit’s location. Or maybe, he trusted me not to betray him.
In any case, I didn’t see my escape as a betrayal. When I was finally back in the civilized world, I would send help for the Dark Anomaly’s crew and their captain. Eventually, I would get them all out of here.
I’d gone through the calculations many times. My knowledge, logic, and common sense told me that escape was possible.
All I needed now was to figure out how to get to the storage room with my suit without someone stopping me.
For that, I had to keep on surviving until the right moment came. I couldn’t let any suspicions rise. I needed to make Vrateus believe that I’d accepted my fate and was willingly cooperating.
The thought of my future escape helped me approach the clothing rack now.
With a sigh, I slid aside some of the hangers with dresses.
The sooner it started, the sooner it ended.
Only now had I really noticed how exquisite the clothes on the rack were. The jewel-colored fabrics felt soft and luxurious under my fingers. Each dress was elaborately embroidered and encrusted with shimmering crystals. These couldn’t have been made to be worn every day. They must be meant for special occasions.
The thought that the collection had been also assembled with care entered my mind. Having gotten to know more about the Dark Anomaly’s crew, I knew that only their captain was capable of putting this wardrobe together.
I remembered him insisting on my changing out of my boots. He wanted me to look pretty. As if what I was about to do was indeed some special occasion.
Revulsion prickled my skin. That orgy last week was the biggest humiliation of my life. Even if I escaped the Dark Anomaly, I already knew I’d never escape reliving it in my nightmares.
How did Vrateus not see that him touching me brought nothing but shame to me?
How was he not ashamed of himself for what he’d done to me?
What was he thinking when his hands were on me?
What could it possibly bring to him?
Vrateus didn’t pleasure himself in the mess hall as the rest of them did. That didn’t mean he didn’t do it later in his own bed, reliving every moment in his mind.
I knew he had an erection when he touched me. But did he do anything about it afterwards when he was alone?
Suddenly, I was trying to imagine him touching himself in the darkness of his room, wherever it was.
He’d always been exceptionally collected and in control. It didn’t prove easy for me to visualize him completely relaxed, stroking himself, and coming undone. I wondered what noises he’d make when he came, would his chiselled jaw ever relax, would he melt into me afterwards if I were with him...
Had we met under different circumstances, what kind of lover would he be? Gentle, like his touch on my body? Or wild and unhinged, like the passion of rage I had glimpsed in his orange eyes?
Absentmindedly, I touched the turquoise-blue chiffon of one of dresses, my fingers sinking into the soft cloud of the many layers of its voluminous skirt.
Wrap style, the dress closed in the front with two bejewelled clasps at the waist, draping softly around the chest area. Two long slits on the back, embroidered with gold and pink, might be for the wings or fins the previous owner of the dress had.
What had happened to the woman whose dress it used to be?
Did she die in the crash when the Anomaly had claimed the ship she was traveling on? Or was she among those who were killed after?
Suddenly, I desperately hoped she hadn’t been on any ship at all. That she had ordered the dress to be delivered from another planet, but it never made it to her. She had remained safely on her home world and had a long, happy life.
With a sigh, I took the dress off the hanger.
Slipping out of my bodysuit, I got out of my bra and panties, too. There was no need for them, anyway. The less I was wearing the faster it all went. That was one of the reasons I had chosen the turquoise dress. Fastened with only
two clasps, it was quick and easy to remove.
The doors swished open a moment after I had closed the two clasps at the waist, and Vrateus came in.
I glanced up, catching him staring at me.
He paused, slowly rolling his gaze over me from head to toe.
“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said softly.
It wasn’t clear whether he meant the dress or me wearing it. My cheeks heated, nevertheless, as warmth of odd pleasure spread through my chest.
I hid my face from him by bending over to rummage through the shoe chest on the bottom of the rack. I caught myself searching for some that would go well with the dress.
Why?
I shook my head.
It almost appeared as if I was trying to please Vrateus by making myself pretty for him.
Ridiculous.
Annoyed, I grabbed the same pair of golden strappy sandals I’d had on the last week and shoved my feet into them.
“I’m ready,” I said, straightening my back after fastening the straps.
He continued to stare at me for another moment. His lips parted as though he was going to say something. Then he nodded, taking my arm in his hand and opening the doors.
The errocks shuffled out of the way as we exited. Crux and Nocc bounced foot to foot, their eyes greedily undressing me already.
Bringing my shoulders back, I lifted my chin up and kept my gaze straight ahead, trying to ignore their ogling.
The mess hall was packed—filled with undulating, half-naked bodies. The air buzzed with pent-up energy, lust, and excitement. I quickly focused my gaze at the floor right in front of my feet, letting Vrateus maneuver me to the spot of his choosing.
He positioned us by the wall again, taking his place at my back. I tried to block the noise, ignore the lewd greetings and vulgar comments shouted at me from every direction. I needed to find something else—anything—to focus on for the next little while.
“Ready?” Vrateus whispered, sending a flash of irritation through me.
What a stupid question. How could I ever be ready for this? How could anyone?
“Are you?” I bit back.
“Yes,” he replied earnestly, my sarcasm lost on him completely.
Letting go of my arm, he moved his hand to my throat again. The soft fur on the back of his hand and forearm tickled my underjaw.
I stifled an uninvited giggle.
“Why are you holding my neck?” I brought my head down, getting rid of the tickle by rubbing my chin against his hand.
He shifted behind me, placing his other hand on my waist. “I have sensors in my palm, they enable me to monitor your vitals.”
“To make sure I don’t pass out before the end?” I made a grim attempt at a joke.
“To help me learn how you like to be touched.”
He slipped his other hand into the deep neckline of my dress, pausing for a moment when he found my naked breast underneath. My not wearing a bra must have surprised him. Surely not as much as his words had surprised me.
Why did he care about my likes and dislikes?
“I promised them your moans,” he had said a week ago.
Back then he had also told me to pretend, and I had. Why did he bother to learn how I enjoyed being touched? This was all for show, anyway. What did it matter if my moans were real or fake? His crew didn’t seem that picky.
I ventured a quick glance around the room. Some males looked like they had already come once without me being even undressed yet. The yellow eyes on me, a sneer on his face, Crux sat on a chair nearby, holding his two humongous dicks, one in each hand.
I promptly closed my eyes, forcing my thoughts back to the only thing in this room that actually felt...nice—Vrateus’s hand gently kneading my breast inside my dress.
I fell silent, not wanting him to speak either. This way, I could forget about everything, thinking only about his hands touching me, as if they didn’t belong to him or to anyone else at all.
The hands and...that tail. I had almost forgotten about the tail. He snuck it under my skirt, sliding it up my leg, stroking the sensitive skin inside my thigh. The soft brush of his fur between my legs made anticipation tickle deep inside me.
Vrateus didn’t open my dress, hadn’t exposed me to the room yet, as if he first wanted to steal a moment with me for himself.
His hands moved with more confidence this time, igniting my body with excitement. Somehow, he must have figured out that plucking at my nipple the way he just had would send sparks of pleasure through my body. He must have known that dragging the tip if his tail between my legs would make my inner muscles spasm and my lower belly swell with liquid heat.
How did he learn so much about me so quickly?
He’d spent over twenty years on the Anomaly. Which must be his entire adult life.
Could I be the first woman Vrateus had ever touched, then?
What did all of this mean to him?
Suddenly, understanding filled me. For Vrateus, this was special.
As much as I detested the idea of what was happening in this room I believed I understood the tenderness—the reverence—of his touch.
For Vrateus, this was not a perversion as I had first thought. This might be the only intimacy with a woman he had ever experienced. This could even be the only physical contact with another person he’d had as an adult. Knowing his crew, he probably had been living without a hug or even a handshake from anyone during all these years.
Surrendering to his touch, I leaned back, relaxing against his strong body.
His hand slipping from my neck, he unclipped the clasps of my dress, finally baring me to everyone’s eyes.
The cool air against my flushed skin was sobering, bringing the awareness of all those who must be ogling me.
Squeezing my eyes shut tighter, I forced my thoughts back to Vrateus. His arm under my chest, he slid his other hand between my legs where his tail had already spread the slick heat seeping out of me.
A genuine moan escaped my throat when he slipped his fingers between my heated folds.
I exhaled sharply, leaning my head back against his hard shoulder.
His chest moved with shallow, erratic breaths. It seemed Vrateus’s usual granite composure was finally cracking.
Suddenly, I wished it would crumble completely. I wanted him to unleash the fire I’d sensed inside him. I needed to see the passion burn in those vivid orange eyes of his.
He had been keeping not only his crew but also himself under a very strict control. And I wondered if Vrateus knew his own body as well as he had gotten to know mine.
A part of me wished I had a chance to explore it with him.
Reaching back, I searched for him with my hand. My fingers slid past the point of his ear and dipped into the hair on his nape. It felt soft and luxurious, exactly like the fur of an arctic fox. A swirl of his fingers around the tight nub between my folds made me gasp from pleasure, and I fisted my hand in his fur.
A low rumble in his chest vibrated against my back.
He dipped his head. A puff of hot breath hit the side of my neck. Warm ripples ran down my skin as his sharp canines grazed my skin.
His arms flexed tighter around me. He rubbed harder between my legs, building up the tingling pressure that threatened to explode any minute, now.
The growls of approval and lustful groans reached me through the haze of blinding desire, but they only spurred my arousal.
I got caught up in the lustful frenzy of the room.
Arching my back, I thrust my hips forward, riding his hand. So close now...
A loud grunt came, just to the side of me.
Crux...
The noise yanked me out of the bliss of passion. I wanted to come, so badly. But I didn’t want to share this moment with Crux.
This was not about my sexual pleasure, anyway.
Grabbing Vrateus’s wrist, I discreetly jerked his hand off me.
This needed to end as soon as possib
le.
I moaned loudly, in a most believable manner I could muster. Digging my fingers into the fur on Vrateus’s forearm, I kept his hand away, and he didn’t fight me. Then, I ended it all in a few short fake groans and tremors.
Survival.
That was the point of this.
Survival was all that mattered on the Dark Anomaly. So, I did what I had to do to survive. I pretended to come. I faked the orgasm in a most dramatic fashion to satisfy a bunch of dirty aliens.
Vrateus held me from behind. My head down, I opened my eyes, staring at the huge ruby-red stone in one of the golden rings on his fingers.
His chest rose and fell against my back, his rugged breaths fanning across the skin above my ear and moving the fine hair on my temple.
Our performance was not meant for either of us. Yet his reaction to it seemed to echo mine in its intensity. Uniting us somehow.
“Get me out of here,” I whispered. “Please.”
My words brought him into action. Shielding me with his shoulder, he quickly retrieved my dress from the floor then wrapped me in its skirts. He swaddled me in it just the way I was, my hands pressed to my chest.
“Come,” he ordered, his voice clipped.
His hard armour of control slid firmly back into place.
With my arms now buried under the many layers of chiffon, he led me with his hand on my waist—our only escort, Wyck and his pet.
Back in my room, I stopped near the entrance when the doors closed behind us. Vrateus moved to take his arm off me, but I grabbed it, pressing it to my waist.
More than anything in the world, I just wanted to be held at that moment. I sensed some slight fragile connection between Vrateus and me. It might have been forming for some time now, but I’d felt it most acutely in the mess hall tonight. I wanted to hold on to that while he held me in his arms for just a few seconds longer, without anyone else here.
He gazed at me with curiosity and some confusion.
“What?” I asked, not letting him go. “You don’t hug?”
“Um...no.” Tentatively, he wrapped his other arm around me. “I’ve had no chance for that.”
With a long sigh, I relaxed against his chest, resting my head on his shoulder.
Gravity (Dark Anomaly Book 1) Page 9