Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Krake nodded in approval. "This is a good start. We will make an Obedient of you yet."

I bristled at the term, despite its inevitability, but said nothing.

He leaned down to pull his underwear and pants back up. "Time to clean, and then we go to dinner." Without another word, he strode toward a door-sized indent in the wall. Not surprisingly, when he reached it, the indentation shimmered and slid open to reveal another room. "Follow."

At his command, I scrambled to do so, my brain trying to wrap around the idea that a shimmering wall could become a door. I stopped moving once inside the revealed room. It was like a bathroom on Earth, except in that fascinating metal that was everywhere on the ship. A rectangular mirror hung over a counter to my left. An enclosed space that I presumed was a shower was to my right. Directly ahead was… well, a box of sorts. The toilet, maybe. That's when I noticed more of the other differences. There was nothing in the bathroom. No towels, toiletries, or other indications that he used the bathroom. And, just like the rest of the ship, there was no odor. It smelled empty. Clean. Like nothing.

Krake had still been moving, oblivious to my stopping to marvel. He stopped at the enclosed space to my right and turned, making a chirping noise, probably of disapproval. "Disrobe and step inside the megran."

"The what?"

He closed his eyes. "Shower. Megran means shower."

I experienced wicked déjà vu, stripping for the alien yet again, but this time, it was almost no big deal. Almost. After all, he'd seen me naked, and I'd had his cock and clasper in my mouth. What was a little nudity between… friends? Hah, not hardly. After kicking off my shoes, I yanked my black tank top over my head and pulled my jeans down, taking my cotton underwear with them.

His eyes flicked over my naked body, slower and with more interest than before. A finder's-fee level of interest, or something else? My nipples didn't care, jumping to attention like before.

I wrapped my hands around my chest and waited for the next instructions. As difficult as this whole obedient thing was, my survival instinct was stronger, and I really could learn.

Krake pointed into the enclosure.

I moved to pass him.

He sniffed the air when I was close and his eyes dilated. Or at least I thought they did. The bright green truly made it hard to tell.

I passed him and stood in the enclosure, unsure what to do next. There were no handles, knobs, or anything else to show how to activate the megran.

Krake uttered a string of dolphin chirps of varying volume and length.

A low rumble started and then my skin began to tingle. "What's happening?" I asked, fear worming its way back in. Was the technology of the shower safe for humans?

"The megran is voice-activated," he explained. "We do not use water—" His derisive tone irked me. "—but ions, as they are less wasteful and require fewer additional implements."

Implements? Oh, like the toiletries that were missing from his bathroom, I realized. The tingling increased, providing a gentle massage across my entire body. "I could get used to this," I mumbled, stretching my arms out to either side.

"That is good," Krake responded, though I hadn't directed the comment to him.

I gazed in his direction, trying to read his comment, and then decided it didn't matter. No matter how much my body responded to him, I was simply a means to a finder's fee. So as not to allow the anxiety back in, I focused on the ionic shower. My head rolled back and forth on my neck, and for the first time since this nightmare began, some of the tension drained from me.

"Time to dress," Krake said, right before the tingles faded away.

I frowned at the removal of the awesome tingles and then turned to face the alien.

"Follow me," he said, and I wondered how many more times he'd say that to me.

I bit my lip not to make a sarcastic retort and did as he ordered. However, I kept my arms wrapped around me, failing in my attempt to cover my nakedness.

We re-entered the main living area but didn't stop there. Krake continued to another wall, one with an indented area I hadn't noticed before. As with the bathroom, the indentation shimmered and slid open to reveal the room beyond. My interest heightened at the thought of entering what must be Krake's bedroom.

"Huh." My exhalation of disappointment slipped out. A black box sat against the far wall. It was big enough for Krake to lie on it, but there didn't appear to be any bedding. It was just a box of an unknown material. The room was otherwise empty. Though, now that I knew what to look for, I saw one of the door indentations on the wall to my left.

Sure enough, that was where we headed.

"Stay," he commanded as he entered the closet.

I considered barking in response, but the desire evaporated when I saw inside the room. For one, it appeared much bigger than I would have guessed in comparison to the size of the bedroom. Did it somehow defy the laws of physics? I shrugged and accepted that. What stumped me even more were the rows and rows of bags. It reminded me of the working part of a laundry service, where they hung bags of laundered clothing on a conveyor belt for easy access as customers came for the clothing.

"This is the standard room for an etarat. That's someone who works for the Collector," he explained before I could ask. "An etarat will keep clothing options for the individuals brought to auction."

I swallowed hard at the word auction. "You're not an… etarat," I stumbled through the word, "so why do you have a closet full of one's clothing?"

Krake stared at me. Then, with a small noise that had to be an alien's equivalent of a sigh, he answered. "The Collector was gracious enough to allow me passage on his ship. I took the available room."

"That makes sense," I said, mainly to have something to say.

"You will need to look your best at dinner. Not all the bidders are on the ship, but many are, so you must show them your goods."

Now I snorted. "My goods? Jesus fucking Christ."

Krake faced me, holding out one garment bag. He ignored my question and curse. "Put this on."

I yanked the bag from him and considered where to set it down. The only option was the black box against the wall. Nowhere to easily set down the bag. I spun to head for the door. "Since there's no real furniture in here, I'll change in the living room."

If he objected, he gave no sign, only followed me out.

After placing the garment bag on the couch, I took a closer look at it. There was a seam down the middle of the bag. The seam was like a very advanced Velcro. A slight tug freed the bag's contents. My delight in the new technology was short-lived. "What is this?" I hissed.

"Your clothing for dinner. I thought that was clear."

I shot Krake a scathing glare and pulled the dress from the bag. Although dress was a generous term. Scraps of glittery cloth was more accurate. Absolutely nothing would be left to the imagination. I considered refusing for all of a second before crashing into the memory of my predicament. Refusal equaled airlock. Airlock equaled dying horribly in the vacuum of space. I'd wear whatever I needed to, to avoid that fate.

Without looking at Krake, I stepped into the hole of the dress and shimmied the scraps up my body. It took some doing, but I got all the straps and itty-bitty pieces where I thought they should be. I looked like a prostitute, no doubt, but I was one hella sexy prostitute.

The green glittery cloth that made up the dress felt like satin against my skin. Straps over my shoulder helped hold it in place, but it also seemed to have a sticky quality that adhered to my skin once adjusted. One thin strip ran along the top of my boobs, another below, with a third between them. The straps honestly showcased my perky tits well. Additional straps descended from the bra portion to the bottom of the dress. Two straps ran along either side of my belly button and two straps lined up with my shoulder blades in the back. Another strap encircled my upper hip, and two more straps circled down my thighs.

That was it. My hoo ha was gonna get every draft and wayward glance. I mean, I might as well be naked.

Krake seemed to appreciate the view, however. When I turned to face him, the slashes in his neck were fluttering, as if he was breathing hard. Interesting.

"What do you think?" I twirled before him. "Good enough for a sex slave? Apologies, I mean, Obedient." There was no way he missed the sarcasm in my words, but he remained silent.

"The test will be at dinner," he said, then shocked me by wrapping his hand gently around my upper arm.

He led me through the living quarters and into the sterile hallway. If I'd thought my anxiety was high before, now it ricocheted off the ceiling and throughout not just the ship, but the known galaxy. This time, we passed a few aliens, perhaps because our destination was a more popular part of the ship. But nobody seemed to care. At least, not that I could tell.

That didn't matter. My heartbeat thundered in my head. It took every ounce of self-control to maintain steady breathing. My walking became stiff and disjointed.

And that's when my focus wasn't on the feeling of Krake's hand around my upper arm. A uniquely pleasant mixture of cool and warmth reminding me of hot chocolate after a day of skiing. Such an odd thought to have while almost naked on a spaceship hurtling away from my home planet and toward a life as a sex slave.

Krake stopped before a metal door similar to the one that gave entrance to the Collector's quarters. "We are here." He stared at me, his bright green eyes giving nothing away. "Be ready."

"Uh, okay," I stammered out. The doors whooshed open.