It wasn’t honorable or right to keep a female against her will—he might be a black hearted bastard who was half Kru’ell One, but he knew that, well enough.
If he couldn’t sting her, he couldn’t bond her to him. And without a soul-bond, there could be no long-term relationship. And so he had Foresworn her—it was the right thing to do and V’rex knew it.
He just wished it didn’t hurt so Goddess-damned much.
Ninety
The rest of V’rex’s ship was as luxurious as the front cabin. In fact, it was a lot like one of those opulent super yachts you see on shows about how the One Percent live. There was plush leather and gleaming fixtures everywhere, but Penny barely saw any of it as she rushed towards the back, hoping to find the bathroom before she broke down.
Thankfully, the door wasn’t hard to find. Penny threw herself inside and turned on the water full-force in the deep oval tub she found there. Only then, with the sound of rushing water to cover her sobs, did she feel free to let loose and cry as hard as she wanted to.
Gut-wrenching sobs shook her as she crouched on the floor, huddled in a ball with her knees drawn up to her chin. The emotional pain she felt now, after the big Hybrid had cut her loose, echoed the physical pain of his sting and caused an ache so deep it felt like a black hole had opened inside her chest.
“It’s over, it’s over,” she whispered to herself between sobs. “It’s over, it’s over.”
She didn’t come back to herself until she realized that the oval bathtub was dangerously close to overflowing. Hastily, she wiped her eyes and ran to turn off the water. It was steaming hot and it made Penny realize that she really did need a bath.
She used the restroom quickly—she also still had to pee and thank goodness the toilet was more normal in here—and then stripped off her stained and tattered toga.
As she sank into the steaming water, she tried to reason with herself—tried to reason with the deep unhappiness which had settled inside her, like a dark bird that had come to perch in her soul.
“It shouldn’t hurt this badly,” she told herself as she sank down, letting the hot water lap around her chin. It stung the place where the NeverBreeder’s knife had cut her, but Penny didn’t care about that.
“It shouldn’t hurt so much,” she told herself again. “We were only together a little under a month and we weren’t even really together. We were pretending so we didn’t get into trouble and get recycled. I was with Garret for almost a year and I got over that breakup just fine. So a month should be nothing!”
But it didn’t feel like nothing. It felt terrible—like V’rex had torn her heart out when he’d said, “I foreswear you.”
Even her breasts had dried up—they were no longer producing the nectar the big Hybrid had sucked out of them so often in the past weeks. Come to think of it, they hadn’t produced anything since she’d first entered the Deadly Jungle, Penny thought dully. Her pussy was fine too—no swelling or tenderness. It was as though her body had decided to follow her heart and end her need for V’rex entirely.
Except I still feel like I need him, she thought as the tears started again. Need him so much…
As she washed her hair, Penny tried to understand the source of her emotional agony. Maybe having V’rex break up with her was so much more painful because of everything they’d been through together. After all, they’d been fighting for their lives.
All she and Garret had ever done together was order take-out and watch shows on the various streaming services. They’d barely even ever gone out for dinner and a movie, let alone anything exciting or death-defying like what she’d been doing with V’rex.
The fact that there had been so much more on the line during her relationship with the big Hybrid had made it seem more intense, that was all. Or so Penny told herself. But it still hurt.
Oh God, how it hurt.
Ninety-One
Penny stayed in the tub until she was able to get her emotions under control—which meant she was in the bathroom for several hours. She hoped it wasn’t the only restroom and that V’rex wasn’t waiting to use it because she didn’t want to face him until she could look him in the eye without crying.
At last, after hours of self-analysis and talking sternly to herself about how she needed to act like a grown woman and not a teenager who had just been jilted right before the prom, she finally felt ready to get out. She splashed some cold water on her face and eyes to ease the swelling and redness from her prolonged bout of tears, and took some deep breaths.
Then she let the water out of the tub and looked for a towel. Rather than the fuzzy terrycloth rectangle she was used to, she found a long black piece of fabric hanging on the rack beside the deep oval tub.
Penny wrapped herself in it and found that it draped around her curves like silk but was twice as absorbent as any cotton towel she’d ever used. It fell to her ankles too and looked almost as elegant as an evening dress.
A glance in the 3-D viewer told her that she looked fine—if a little pale. Lifting her chin and telling herself everything was going to be all right, she left the bathroom.
There was a door right beside the one that led to the bathroom and she remembered vaguely that V’rex said it would be her bedroom and he had laid out some clothes for her. She was about to let herself in when she heard him calling her name from the front of the ship.
“Penelope? Can I talk to you?” his deep voice asked.
Penny felt her heart skip a beat. She told herself sternly that it was probably nothing but she couldn’t help the flutter in her stomach as she walked quickly towards the front of the ship.
“Yes?” she asked, coming to stand beside the captain’s chair.
V’rex had been staring down at the gleaming instrument panel but when he looked up, he sucked in his breath and she saw his pale gold eyes rake over her body, taking in the way the black towel-dress draped around her curves.
“Gods, you look…rested,” he said hesitantly, at last but Penny had an idea that “rested” wasn’t the word he’d been about to speak. Had he been going to tell her she was beautiful? Could it be that he still wanted her?
No, don’t be silly! she told herself, but she couldn’t help the little candle flame of hope that flickered to life in her heart.
“Thank you,” she said, giving him a small smile. “I’ve been, uh, enjoying your bathroom.” (Which was true, if by “enjoying” she meant “crying her eyes out.”) “Your ship is so luxurious,” she added.
“Won it from a minor lordling on Telex Five in a hand of Double-Blind Jowzer,” he said briefly. “He was a fucking lousy card player but he had good taste.”
“He, uh, certainly did.” Penny looked appreciatively around the plush cabin and nodded politely. “Um…was there a reason you wanted to see me?” she asked at last.
“Oh, right.” V’rex cleared his throat. “Actually, there was. I, uh…” He cleared his throat again. “I was thinking that it’s been a long time since…since your breasts were drained of nectar. And I thought…you might be in pain.”
“Oh…” Penny’s heart sank. She wished desperately that she did need his help. It would have given them an excuse to be together. But she didn’t have a single drop of nectar left in her breasts, so there was no excuse to ask him to suck them.
“Well?” V’rex raised his eyebrows inquiringly.
“I…I don’t know why, but the, uh, nectar dried up,” Penny said in a low voice. “I don’t have the, uh, other problem either. I haven’t had either one since we first went into the jungle, I don’t think. Maybe…” she cleared her throat. “Maybe being away from the air inside the atmosphere bubble has negated the effects of the Mother’s Milk.”
“Really? Not a drop of nectar left?” V’rex gave her a skeptical frown. “You wouldn’t just be saying that because you’re embarrassed, would you? I don’t want you to be in pain, just because we’re Foresworn, Penelope.”
“No, honestly—look.” Penny opened the front o
f her towel, baring her breasts for him as she had so often in the past few weeks. But this time she felt her heart thumping against her ribs as never before.
Maybe looking at her bare breasts would stir the big Hybrid. Maybe he would decide that he did want her after all and that they ought to be together. Maybe—
“Gods.” V’rex’s deep voice was hoarse and he looked away from her breasts quickly. “I see you’re telling the truth,” he said shortly. “Thank you for telling me so I don’t…don’t have to worry.” He cleared his throat again, still looking fixedly at the control panel instead of Penelope’s exposed chest. “As I told you before, I replicated you some clothes. Please let me know if they fit. If not, I can always make you something else.”
“Oh…” Penny felt crushed but she tried not to let it show in her voice. “Okay, thank you,” she said and tried to smile—not that he was looking at her. Quickly she wrapped the towel around herself again. “Thank you for…for offering to help,” she said in a low voice, and then ran back to her bedroom as quickly as she could.
Ninety-Two
Gods! Both of V’s hands had tightened into fists as he fought with himself—fought to keep from cupping her full, naked breasts in his hands and sucking her ripe pink nipples as he so often had in the past solar month.
She’s not yours anymore—she doesn’t need you to do that anymore, whispered a stern voice in his head. And if you start, do you think you’ll be able to stop with just sucking her breasts?
V knew he wouldn’t. He wanted her too badly—wanted to bond her to him too desperately. But he had to remember that he had Foresworn her—had to remember that any attempt to bond her to him would only result in agonizing pain for the woman he still desperately loved.
And so he turned away, forcing himself not to look at her luscious curves, put on display just for him. Forcing himself to forget the many times he had sucked her ripe nipples and drained the sweet nectar—the many times he had spread her full thighs and lapped up her pussy honey as well…
He felt her confusion and hurt as she stood there but he couldn’t make himself look, couldn’t make himself explain. After a moment, Penelope covered herself once more and left.
It was then that V really began to wonder what he could do with the curvy little female. He couldn’t bond her to him and he wanted her so badly that being near her like this—breathing in her fresh, feminine fragrance and seeing her lush curves—was pure torture.
If he was going to keep his vow to Foreswear her, it was time they parted ways.
Ninety-Three
Penny got dressed quickly, cursing herself for a desperate fool the entire time.
He doesn’t want you anymore. That’s why he broke up with you, she scolded herself. Don’t forget there’s no Spice in the air here to make him think you’re some gorgeous supermodel instead of a plus-sized girl who could stand to lose some weight!
But if he didn’t want her, why had he asked about her breasts in the first place? Why would he bring up the need to drain them of nectar if he didn’t want to suck them?
He was just being nice, that’s all, Penny told herself savagely. He didn’t want you to be in pain so he was offering to help until you could find some other solution. And when he realized he didn’t need to help you anymore, he was probably relieved…He—wait…what am I wearing?
Penny looked down at herself and frowned. She’d grabbed the first garment on the bed and put it on blindly, just wanting to cover herself and forget the embarrassing incident she’d just caused. But now, as she took time to examine it, she realized it looked exactly like the warm-skin suit that Kat had made her to wear on Yown Beta. It was tight and black and it hugged her curves every bit as provocatively as the suit she had lost to the NeverBreeders.
Crap! The last thing she wanted to do was put her body on display, especially when V’rex was so clearly no longer interested. But the other items of clothing he had made for her were all the same kind of body suit—just in different colors.
Giving up on finding something different, Penny simply went back to the bathroom and got another long, silky towel to wrap around herself as a kind of sweater. She would ask V’rex to make her something else to wear soon…
If she could ever bear to face him again, that was.
Ninety-Four
“You need to tell me where to take you,” V made himself say when they finally sat down to Last Meal together.
“Take me?” Penelope looked up from her steaming bowl of licklack stew which she had barely been picking at and frowned. “Why would you take me somewhere?”
“Because we are Foresworn,” V said patiently. “Which means we have to part ways. As much as I wish you could, you can’t stay here aboard my ship forever.”
“Who says I want to?” Penelope shot back, lifting her chin. “I mean, while I appreciate your hospitality, it’s really not necessary. We’re docked at Hell’s Gate, right? So I’ll just leave the ship and go back to the Lucky Lounge where…where I first saw you.” She cleared her throat. “And that’s that—we never have to see each other again.”
“You want me to just leave you here? In the most corrupt and dangerous station in the whole sector?” V growled. “I don’t think so. And why would you want to go back to the Lucky Lounge?”
“To make a long-distance call, of course,” Penelope said, frowning. “To let the Kindred of the Mother Ship know I’m stranded because my ship-mates got stuck and frozen in a slow time-suck.”
“You can’t fold space in the Yown System,” V pointed out. “It’ll take them at least a solar week if not more to come to you once they get the call.”
“I know that.” Her chin went even higher and he felt the stubbornness coming from her. “It doesn’t matter—I’ll just wait for them in Hell’s Gate. I’ll be fine.”
“The hell you will,” V growled. “If you really think I’ll let you walk out of here and hang around unprotected while you wait for help that might or might not come—”
“They’ll come!” Penelope flashed and he felt her anger. “Captain Sylvan is an honorable male. He won’t just leave me here.”
“Well, I won’t either,” V snapped. “Even if I’m not as honorable as your precious Commander Sylvan.”
He knew the leader of the Kindred Mother Ship by reputation, though he didn’t know any personal details about him. Was he bonded to someone? Did he want to bond with Penelope?
The thought made his jaw clench and his teeth grind. Mine, whispered a little voice in the back of his head.
Not anymore, V reminded himself grimly. You’re Foresworn, remember?
But still, even if he couldn’t Claim Penelope for his own, he wasn’t going to leave her here to fend for herself!
“Look,” he said, taking a deep breath to calm the possessive wave that tried to rise inside him. “Let’s not part on a bad note. You can make the call from my ship and avoid the Lucky Lounge altogether. Only lowlifes go there, anyway.”
“You were there,” she pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.
“My point exactly,” V said dryly. “Make the call from here and then wait here, where it’s safe, until they come pick you up.”
She frowned. “I thought you wanted to get rid of me? Thought you wanted me off your ship?”
“I never said that,” V protested. “I said that since we can’t be together, we have to part eventually. But I never said anything about kicking you off to wander around a dangerous hole like Hell’s Gate. What kind of male do you think I am?”
Penelope opened her mouth, clearly to voice a sharp retort, but then her anger died abruptly and she shook her head.
“I…I don’t know, anymore,” she said softly. “I thought I knew you—thought I was beginning to know you, anyway, back in the Compound. But now…I just don’t know.”
Her words felt like a dagger in V’s heart but he kept his face expressionless.
“You’ll make the call from here and wait until they come to pick you up,
” he said again.
“But…do you want to be here when the Kindred come?” Penny protested. “You’re like Public Enemy Number One to them. You’re not afraid they’ll try to arrest you or take you in or something?”
V shook his head.
“Not if you ask them not to. They’re Kindred, after all, which means they’ll keep their word.”
“All right.” She nodded reluctantly. “Since I don’t really have anywhere to stay in Hell’s Gate, I’ll take you up on your offer. And…” She looked away from him. “I’ll try to stay out of your way.”
V wanted to tell her she didn’t have to do that—that she could never be in his way when he only wanted to hold her and touch her and love her. But he swallowed the words and kept his face blank.
“We’ll place the call right after Last Meal,” he said.
“Why wait?” Penelope put down her spoon. “I’m not hungry anymore. Let’s make the call now.”
“Fine.” V put down his own spoon as well and rose from the table. He made a sweeping gesture towards the front of the ship, where the communications array and viewscreen were located. “After you.”
“Thank you.” And she swept past him, leaving a feeling as cold as ice in her wake.
Ninety-Five
“Oh, Penny! We’re so glad to hear from you!” Kat exclaimed, the minute she appeared on the viewscreen. “Where are you? We were expecting some kind of communication from you and Commander Rive and Y’lla ages ago but there’s been nothing. Have you been trying and you just couldn’t get through because of all the subspace distortions and temporal anomalies?”
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