Chapter Ten

BinjaOB

He moved Tanny onto his lap, tucking her head under his chin. Binja held on tight and murmured soft words. Listening to the sound of the waterfall, he let his body relax and willed hers to do the same. He couldn't imagine how hard it would be for her to understand everything he just told her. She demanded the truth, but now he worried that the truth was too much. It had shaken his woman to her very core. The shock and panic on her face told him everything.

Whispering, he let her know he understood her confusion. "I am here for you, Tanny, always here. Don't be overwhelmed. My brothers said it was hard for their Earth women in the beginning, mostly because everything shocked them. There is not supposed to be any outside contact with Earth. Your planet isn't aware there are other populated planets. Your people don't recognize sentient species that aren't in a humanoid form. This has been too much for you. I know you don't have clones on Earth."

She giggled. "Sheep. We have cloned sheep, I think. Maybe cows. No brothers." Tanny lifted her head and shifted so she could see his eyes. "So, I must be healthy."

Binja frowned. He didn't understand. She was healthy? Ah. His brother's mates had all required healing by the mating bands.

"You said the other women had a lot of pain as they healed. That their mates had to absorb their pain. I didn't have any."

He smiled. "No, you didn't. And there has been enough time for the bands to bring you to optimum health. That is reassuring. I know you are upset, but I'm not sorry, Tanny. I am very glad you are my mate."

Tanner rolled her pretty green eyes at him. One of his mated brothers had shared that when an Earth person did that, they were mocking you. Thinking you said something obvious or were being ridiculous.

"I'll be honest, Binja. I never planned to get married… mated. That's been more of a shock than the aliens exist , issue. I dealt with that months ago. So, I'm going to need to think about this. I'm sure I'll have questions, but I want to let it go for now. I'd like to soak in the lake. No sex," she warned him. "Just get in the lake for a while. It's warm and will help me relax and feel better. I'll tell you my story while we're soaking. Then we can get out and take a nap before we leave. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night and I'm already tired."

Binja agreed, then watched his woman strip down to her bra and panties, grab a bar of the fragrant Viant soap, and dive into the lake. He kept his loincloth on. It wouldn't take long to dry, anyway, and covering that part of himself would make her more comfortable. He walked onto a little beach, over some rocks, and into water deep enough to cover his head. The water was warm. He floated for a moment, letting his mind drift.

Maybe he'd start a fire when they got out. Catch a few fish. He'd like to feed Tanny. Take care of her a little. She was right—it was going to be a long, hard night. Especially if she didn't want sex. When he felt like he could control his body, he looked around for his mate. She was sitting by one of the lower falls—her back getting pummeled by the water.

She'd left room for him. Binja figured it was a good place for her to tell her story.

He swam over and got situated. The water massage was amazing. Binja reached over and took Tanny's hand, squeezing it to let her know he was ready.

She looked over and smiled. "I'm going to start by telling you a little about me. We'll have time for questions later. Just let me finish this." She sighed. "I'm going to give you the condensed version. I'm thirty-three years old, was in the military for six years, and trained as a sharpshooter. Which means I shot and killed my country's enemies from a distance. See, Binja, we are a lot alike. I was a trained assassin."

He nodded, keeping his lips pressed together. She was right. They would have the rest of their lives to talk about the details. She just needed to get this out.

"When I got out of the army, I became a cop. For most of the last four years, I worked vice and undercover. Vice is a police department that handles morally corrupt crimes, like selling drugs or sex trafficking. I was great at disguise. It was easy for me to look younger, more innocent, when I was deadly."

Binja didn't need to ask any questions. His translator helped him understand her Earther terms. Their lives truly were similar.

"I loved my job. They trained me in several types of hand-to-hand combat and made me a weapons expert. Because of my training, I believed I could take care of myself in just about any situation. Yet, almost a year ago, three red, four-armed, hairy, and extremely foul-smelling aliens broke into my house and kidnapped me and my younger sister, Candace."

He interrupted her then. "That species is known as Siloth. They deal in the slave trade, and we've noticed they are drawn to Earth women especially. The three women my brothers mated were all from Earth, all brought to Viant by the Siloth."

She blinked her eyes and frowned. "Were any of the women named Candy?"

Binja shook his head. "No. Casey and her sister Cameron were the first two. Then Catalina."

Tanner blew out a breath. "That would have been too easy. As soon as the Siloth landed on this planet, they took me and my sister to the Andaran. That creep had one of his men strip our clothes off. We watched as they were shredded. I understood why he did it, to take away everything familiar to us. A type of psychological torture. Another alien, supposedly a medical doctor, inspected us in front of the Andaran, the Siloth, and several others. Then we were given very plain brown robes and thrown into a cold room." Rubbing her head as if it ached, she stopped talking.

"Let me get you the water jug," Binja said. He didn't wait for her answer, just quickly swam across the small lake. He could have told his mate the significance of the brown robes. Maybe one day he would. They were used on Viant to denote the lowest level of pleasure workers. With the Andaran in charge, it probably was used to indicate a new pleasure slave.

He returned with the water and she drank before she continued.

"Candy and I fell asleep, holding on to each other. At some point during the night, I was roughly dragged out of the room. I was kicking and screaming at the men who grabbed me, and my sister didn't move. I was pretty sure they drugged her. The Andaran sold me to a pleasure house. I didn't have to be told what that meant and I also knew the longer they held me captive, the harder it would be to get away. Even worse, I knew the longer I was gone, the harder it would be to find my sister. So, I escaped."

Binja rearranged his body so he could pull Tanny closer and wrap her in his warmth. Even in this heated water, she was shaking. As much as he wanted details, needing to know descriptions of the men and where she'd been held so he could avenge her, he kept his silence.

"They blindfolded me anytime they took me out on the streets. When I was taken from the ship to meet the Andaran and then to the pleasure house, I had no sense of direction. I couldn't find where they had Candy. After I escaped, it took me a few weeks to get a little food, different clothing, and some weapons. Then it took longer to find the Andaran's walled fortress. I created my base camp in the forest and followed him every day. At night, I'd retrace his steps and break into the buildings he entered, searching for my sister."

She shuddered and looked at him, fear evident on her face. "Candy isn't like me. She's only twenty-two and is a student nurse. Candy has always been sheltered and soft. She screamed and cried when we were kidnapped and didn't stop until we were thrown in front of the Andaran. He slapped her so hard, demanding Candy shut up and stop crying or he'd strip the flesh from her skinny frame. I've searched for her every day, yet part of me worries he killed her to keep my sister from crying."

Unfortunately, that was exactly like something Jacanas would do. Binja hoped not. He wanted to find Candy and bring her to Tanner. He envisioned reuniting the sisters. Having Tanny smile at him, hug him. He imagined how that would play out, and how happy she would be.

"Several days ago, I followed the Andaran to the house where I tried to kill him. Later that night, I went back and broke in. I found Candy and two other women being held captive. Four guards stayed at the back of the house, not paying much attention to their three charges. Because they kept the women unconscious, I couldn't wake any of them up and believe me, I tried. I was afraid to remove their IVs. Afraid the drugs running through their veins were the only thing keeping them alive. It was obvious that Candy and the other two women were pregnant. While I tried to think of a plan to get them out of the house, I kept watch there every chance I had." Tears fell down Tanny's face, snagging his attention.

Binja's vision of the perfect rescue disintegrated, and he straightened his spine. Wait . What did she just say?

Tanner turned in his arms, and her gaze searched his face. "Can you tell me why you were in front of the house that night? I know you said you were going to kill Jacanas, but why there? Do you know what happened to the women who were kept in the house?"

Immediately Binja remembered something Tanner said when she ran from him, afraid he would hurt her for trying to kill the Andaran. I need to concentrate on finding my sister again. Since she disappeared and I missed killing the damn Andaran—I have to start all over. He hadn't paid attention to it then. Oh, Siluthien Hell. Her sister…

Binja's hands shook as he tightened his grip on her. "Tanny, I didn't realize. I know you said you were looking for your sister and she disappeared. But I didn't understand you meant that house. There was a fourth woman being held prisoner there. Catalina. She wasn't unconscious. The Andaran wanted her aware of her fate, and he tortured her. My brother, BaOBy, is mated to Catalina. She refused to be saved unless we helped the other women. One of my brothers has the ability to create illusions. JayBOrB created an illusion that hid a hover right beside the house's front door. We removed all the seats inside, creating enough room for three medical cots. It took six of the brothers only fifteen minutes to carefully transfer the three women onto their cots, load them into the hover, and leave. All three are safe. I promise you. Which one was your sister, Tanny? There was one woman with brown, wavy hair. Another had tight, black curls, and the third had straight, blonde hair."

Tanny was crying so hard she couldn't answer.

Binja pulled her to his chest, holding her tight, letting her cry. "Your sister Candy is the blonde, isn't she? She was the youngest of the three."

He felt Tanner nod her head, but the tears didn't stop. Binja finally picked her up, stepping away from the small waterfall, setting her down in the warm lake. The tears had stopped, but she was shaking, cold. He held her close to his side.

Once she warmed up, Tanner ducked under the water to wash the tears from her face. She came up smiling. Standing right in front of him, her green eyes steady on his. "Candy was the blonde. You swear to me you took her out of that house, Binja?"

"Yes, Tanner. As luck would have it, I was the one who lifted the little blonde onto her cot and guided her out the door. I swear on my life that your sister is safe." Reaching out, he brushed his hand over her head, pushing her hair out of her eyes. She'd loosened her French braid when she got into the water.

"I want to leave now. Go see her. Where is she now, Binja?" Tanny turned toward shore.

Binja knew she was ready to dash down the tunnel and run all the way to town. He put out a hand to stop her. "Wait. Tanny. It is not that easy. She isn't on Viant anymore. We put her on the DoMicile, one of our ships. Several of my brothers are taking the three women to a planet called Megoth. There is a human doctor there. Once the rest of us take care of the Andaran, we'll follow in our new ship. It's faster, and we plan to arrive at the same time as the DoMicile."

Tanner's brows scrunched together. She stared at him like Binja had two heads.

He knew this wouldn't make her happy. But… "I promise you, Tanny. She is safe. Still sleeping. Like you, we weren't sure what would happen if we removed the IVs. We talked to Grace, the Earth doctor. Our best option was to put the three women in cryo tubes and get them to Grace as fast as possible. We had the tubes on the DoMicile. So, as soon as we got them out of that house, we put them to sleep and sent them to Grace."

Slowly, she released her breath. "You aren't telling me everything."

Nodding, he agreed. "You are right, but Tanny, I can't. It isn't my story to tell, and I only know enough to make you crazy. When really, everything is wonderful. As soon as we leave here, I'll take you to my brothers. To Catalina. She can tell you everything. She lived in that house with your sister for several months. I know Cat used to read to the women, even though they were unconscious. Cat demanded we save them. We would have done it anyway, but she insisted. Let me take you to her. But we have to be smart and stick to the plan. We need to take a nap, then go once it is dark. We can't just run off crazy." Anxiously, he watched her face. Not sure what he'd do if she ran.

Closing her eyes, Tanny sighed and took several deep breaths.

When she raised her lids, he could see she was calm.

"Candy is safe?" She waited for him to nod his assurance. "Okay. Stick to the plan. Except..." She wiggled out of her bra and panties, throwing them to the shore. Then put her hands on his shoulders and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his hips. It only took her seconds to lower herself onto his cock.

She easily moved his loincloth out of the way.

"Tanny…" he gasped at her tight heat. At her slow slide down his length. "You said no sex!"

Letting her head drop back, she gasped and laughed. "I changed my mind. Want me to stop?"

"No!" he snarled, his body shaking with need. Setting his hands on her hips, he lifted her. Then pushed her body down. It wasn't enough. He couldn't move fast enough. Hard enough to please either of them.

Seeking more leverage, he headed for shore.