Amy

AMY

Well, this wasn't going well.

I had started my day about to be auctioned off as a sex slave, and now I was going to end it by being…pretty much the same thing.

Razov's casual declaration that he was going to use me to sate his passions had me feeling anxious, and for all the wrong reasons.

Damn it, Amy, you should be scared right now. Not sneaking looks at his package. He's probably only interested in Mera anyway.

The poor, terrified Melody's outfit reflected the colors of the opulently painted curved hallway as she led us to the guest wing.

The Nazok's manor stretched out long, high and wide rather than deep. It was maybe ten feet wide, but the length and height of the ceilings, combined with a lot of windows that looked over the Metro below, made the place feel open and breezy even though outside was just more stale space station air.

"This one will do," Razov said, yanking on my chain. I was ready for it this time, keeping myself from being choked. The second we entered the room and the door closed, I frantically tried to unfasten it from the damned collar, but somehow it just got tangled up in my hair.

"You are going to pull your hair out," Razov said. "Allow me to assist you."

"Don't you fucking touch me," I snapped, growing more frantic. I was starting to not care if I pulled my hair out, as long as I got the stupid choking leash off.

"Stop it, Amelia."

I froze, a chill shivering its way down my spine. Razov had not yelled. He had not even raised his voice. He had spoken in a clear, authoritative tone that didn't demand to be obeyed so much as it…expected to be obeyed. Yes, that was it.

"I've got it," I said, but it was the whine of a petulant child claiming they aren't tired at naptime.

"You are making it worse," he said, taking my wrists in his hands. "Stop."

I didn't struggle as he pulled my hands down and put them behind my back, crossing my wrists.

"Keep them there. Don't move," he said, moving his gaze and his nimble fingers up to my hair. I shivered, but I didn't move as he worked to loosen the chain from the tangle.

"Ow," I said as he pulled a little bit. I may have been a tad more theatrical about it than I needed to.

"It's all right." His velvety soft voice soothed me, in spite of myself. I got a couple more painful tugs, but I didn't react to them. Then, the chain came free, and a moment later, the collar was off as well.

"There we are," he said. "You are free, and with a minimum of damage to your gorgeous mane."

"Thanks," I said, sounding more ungrateful than I intended. I wanted to resent him a lot. And I figured I had a good reason. "What was with the spanking?"

"You told me to do it, to maintain our cover."

I was flabbergasted, so much that I couldn't respond.

"That's," I sputtered, my cheeks burning hot, "That's not what I meant. You didn't have to be so rough."

"I had to make it seem authentic. Besides, you seemed to enjoy it."

"What makes you think I enjoyed it?"

He tapped the side of his nose.

"Vinduthi senses are far more keen than humans possess. Our sense of smell, for example. I tasted your pheromones like an aerial tea..."

He inhaled deeply and sighed.

"Exquisite. I only imagine that you taste as good as your scent."

I felt my knees turn to water as I sank down onto the edge of the bed. I'd barely even noticed the bedroom until that point, but now I glanced around, desperate for a distraction. It had Spartan décor, but made up for what it lacked in ambiance with furnishings. There was a bed, two comfortable looking chairs, and a computer terminal ready desk with a hovering stool, not to mention our own window looking out on the Metro.

I noticed a lot of red lights out there. I guessed that the station security really did have their hands full with whatever distraction the Nazok crime lord had come up with.

"Well," I said dryly, "thanks to your big talk, the Nazok put us in a room with only one bed."

Patting the mattress, I found it luxuriously soft, just as I would have expected.

"Obviously," I said, gesturing toward the floor, "you'll be sleeping down there. I'll split the pillows and blankets with you, though."

Razov looked at me, then at the floor, and snorted with derisive laughter. He plopped heavily onto the bed, making me nearly bounce right off, and gave me a look that said he was not going anywhere.

Anger boiled up inside of me. I grabbed a pillow in a tightly clenched fist, and a blanket in the opposite.

"Fine," I hissed through clenched teeth. "I'll sleep on the floor. Glad to see chivalry is alive and well."

His hand darted out and closed on my wrist, not painfully but firm enough I had no hope of breaking free. Our eyes met, and I found the light in his teal eyes utterly inscrutable.

With a casual flick of his arm, he sent me flying back. Razov was suddenly there, pinning me down to the bed.

"You are not going to sleep on the floor," he said firmly.

I struggled, but soon gave up when I realized I would not be getting out of the bed until he decided I could.

"I didn't realize I was that persuasive," I said, surprised. "Good to know."

"You are not as persuasive as you think," he replied.

"Then why?"

His eyes narrowed to slits.

"Because you have already suffered enough. You do not deserve to sleep on the floor."

I stared up at him for a long moment. His body pressed into me, taut and rippling with catlike muscles. I could never hope to free myself from his grasp, and the knowledge he could do whatever he wanted with me never strayed far from the forefront of my mind.

But he insisted I take the bed so I wouldn't have to suffer more than I already had.

What did he mean by that?

His teal eyes challenged me, asking more questions than I could answer.

So what did I know?

He could do whatever he wanted to me, right here, right now. And he knew it.

I hadn't worked as a dancer for all those years not to see how much he wanted to take me, bend my body to his.

And from that little show we'd given the cops, I might not hate it.

Yet, he held himself back. So far, at least.

That was interesting.

I relaxed, seeing no point in being all tensed up. Anything could have happened but it was out of my hands, completely.

He felt the change, and a puzzled look came to his face. Suddenly, I was keenly aware of how little clothing there was between us.

"Razov." He didn't so much as flinch when I spoke his name.

"Razov," my voice was firmer the second time, and he blinked as if coming out of a dream.

"If you're not going to have your way with me, can you please let me up? And if you are going to do it, then please get on with it. I'd like to get some sleep tonight."

His eyes widened as he realized I wasn't kidding about any of it. Razov let go of my wrists and smoothly glided back to his feet.

"I'm not going to force myself on you." He tilted his head to the side. "Not my style. Besides, you're Mera's friend. And Mera was apparently Tessi's friend, and Tessi is one of us now."

"Who is Tessi?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Tessi is the reason that I am here," he answered. "She was like you. A tiny human woman lost and forsaken on this station."

"What happened to her?"

"She was claimed by Alkard, and became one of us."

"Does that make me one of you, too?"

"No," he said flatly. "But there are ways."

Then he plopped into one of the chairs, the shadows of his horns falling over his eyes.

"I'll stay here. You go to sleep."

I sat there, stunned, watching him breathe. Before I could make a move, he opened his eyes and sat up in his chair. He drew the thin-bladed stiletto from the sheath on his boot and flipped it end over end into the air. The gleaming metal splashed light onto the wall as it spun through the air.

I laid down and tried to close my eyes and go to sleep. The bed was super comfortable, probably the softest thing I'd ever laid on. And yet, a restless energy seized hold of me. Between that and Razov flipping his dagger over and over, I found sleep impossible.

I rolled over and faced him.

"Razov, what's our next move?"

His eyes darted over to me, but he never stopped flipping the dagger.

"I'm not sure if that Nazok knows anything about the missing weapons or not. I'm going to try and figure that out for sure."

"What weapons?"

He startled back. "Nothing, you don't need to know."

I started to throw a pillow at him but barely caught myself.

"Don't you think I'm in this too deep to keep me in the dark? Do you want a slave or a partner?"

His heated gazed racked over me, then he took a deep breath.

"You may as well know the basics, just in case you hear anything useful from the other humans. I'm a member of a…" His lips pressed together as muscle in his jaw jumped. "Family. Some of our trade shipments have gone missing, and it's causing us problems with another family."

A family. With shipments of weapons. Which meant he must be…

"You're one of the Fangs, right?" Which meant the other family would be the only other species on the station that was just as powerful.

The strange, insectoid Zeqnids. I shivered. Not because of the whole giant insect thing. Because of the menacing aura that moved in their wake.

Razov's chin raised. "Is that a problem?"

I thought about it. Vinduthi, even civilians, were pretty terrifying. The Fangs were on a whole other level.

But this man had been nothing but kind to me. I thought about his hands on my hips, the way they'd held me firmly.

Maybe kind wasn't the right word, but he certainly hadn't hurt me. Not really.

"Not a problem," I decided. "Just trying to figure out how I can help. If Kalak doesn't know anything about the missing shipments, then what?"

"We leave him alone."

"And if he does?"

In reply, he caught the dagger by its hilt and put it through a series of fluid, precise, and deadly movements.

"I don't think he knows where the guns are, for what it's worth," I said. "Even if he's sure that your current appearance is a disguise, I'd guess the appearance of a Vinduthi on his doorstep would make him far more nervous than he is."

Razov said nothing for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I agree, but I have to be sure. I can't report back to my family and tell them that I went off on a hunch. Besides, it seems likely that all transmissions from this place would be monitored. Even an encoded message would risk our cover."

"But aren't you worried the Zeqnids will start a war over their missing merchandise?"

He grinned. "Smart, and beautiful. But I can only follow leads if I stumble across them. I am poorly equipped for espionage."

"I think you're doing just fine," I said. "And I think that if you need help finding the guns, I can help you."

He frowned, clearly not understanding my line of reasoning.

"Why? I would have thought you'd want me to help you find your friend and then leave you be. Then you could be safe."

"No one is safe if a gang war breaks out, most of all Mera. I'm doing it for her as much as myself."

He grunted, his teal eyes showing a measure of respect.

"You are a brave woman, Amelia."

"Just practical," I said, smiling. "But thanks for the appreciation."

An idea suddenly occurred to me.

"You know, the Nazok host seems to kind of like me. Maybe you could offer to sell me to him, and I could gather intelligence?—"

"No!"

Razov came out of that chair in an instant, his hand closing over my wrist.

"You are mine . He's not going to lay a finger on you, ever!"

I was stunned, literally speechless. I had no idea how to respond to that at all.

"What did you say?" I managed to stammer out at length.

He seemed to recover himself somewhat, and withdrew, letting go of my wrist.

"It does not matter. We will find another way."

I rubbed my wrist and glared at his broad back.

"We both know that I heard what you said just fine." My voice sounded measured and even, but still held a tremble to it. "I don't believe you. At all."

He turned around, his mouth open in shock.

"Quite frankly," I continued, "you don't act like you want me at all. It's clear that you think I'm just a nuisance?—"

Razov moved like the wind, ripping the blankets off of me and dragging me out of bed by my biceps. He crushed me against him in a powerful embrace before I could even blink.

Oh shit. He called my bluff.

But was I bluffing at all?

And what's he going to do next?