15. Hugo

The stars looked like they were barely a hundred feet away, floating in the sky like fairy lights as Ushuu and Mala led me from the ship and through the rows of spaceships that lined the dock. I’d been silent, taking everything in, wishing like hell I had a new journal to take notes.

In the back of my mind, I logged the details for later.

Sha’hPihn, as Ushuu had called it was a consumer hub for this side of the galaxy. Larger than F’ukYuu, and full of high-end buildings that resembled the larger cities of Earth. It was one of the more developed planets when it came to technology—as evidenced by the floating neon signs that pointed down the walkway, and the shuttles that flew overhead.

I’d never seen anything like this.

It was…god. So fucking cool !

I’d often wondered what Roark’s planet was like—where we were headed. And when I’d asked Ushuu the other day he’d told me it was similar in infrastructure to Sha’hPihn, but friendlier. I wasn’t sure what he meant by “friendlier” but I couldn’t wait to find out.

There were so many different species of aliens here. They went about their days, barely sparing us a single glance as they anchored their ships and hauled cargo down ramps to the pier below. The variety of species present were more varied than what I’d seen on F’ukYuu. Which was quite an amazing feat. I could’ve sworn in my three years enslaved, I’d seen every alien on this side of the galaxy.

I’d been wrong.

I had to move fast to match Mala’s pace and he slowed when he noticed, smiling in a way I guessed was apologetic. His spots were blue—calm and confident—and when I glanced at Ushuu, he was grinning down at me like he knew something that I didn’t.

He was a crafty bastard.

I’d become quite fond of him over the last few weeks, especially when he’d regale me with tales of Roark’s youth, and what a stalwart little soldier he’d been. I’d thought I was a goody two-shoes till I learned about what Roark had been like as a kid.

When I saw a tall man with three heads I stumbled to a stop to get a better look. Hands, hands—let me see his?—

“Four thumbs!” I cheered under my breath, stoked to see another of the strange aliens I’d encountered previously. I wondered if this guy was an accountant too, like the one I’d serviced before.

Seeing a familiar organism was soothing in a way.

All the new species and the foreign-looking sky had put me on edge—even if I didn’t like to admit it. I was a scientist at heart, but I was also only twenty-one. And some of these creatures reminded me a little too much of how ignorant I actually was when it came to what was out here in the galaxy. Plus, Roark wasn’t here to protect me from getting snatched up again, which I thought made it fair for me to be a little on edge—even considering how badass this planet was.

Stop being a little bitch, Hugo. You have Mala and Ushuu with you. You’re fine. If Roark didn’t think you were safe, he wouldn’t have let you leave.

Sure there’re tons of aliens, but who gives a fuck?

You don’t have to dance for any of them.

No one is going to take you away.

Your only job is to take it all in.

I wished Roark was here, but Ushuu had explained he would be busy for the next few days with preparations for the last leg of the journey home. I knew that meant a lot more alone time with him later, so I was happy he’d planned this outing for me.

I’d started to feel like I was going crazy we’d been stuck on board so long.

Exploring his cocks and their very different personalities had helped. In my head I liked to call the first one “PushyPush” and the second “PoliteyPants,” though I’d never admit that to Roark’s face. He was a fascinating creature for certain, and I knew I could spend the rest of my life observing him and never grow bored.

Even after he’d shown me the sparring room and the pool—and all the other cool little nooks and crannies on board The Dreamer—bless you Ushuu for telling me the ship’s name—it was still only a matter of time before I needed solid ground to reset.

Not that I was sure the moving sidewalk beneath our feet counted as solid ground. Below us, I could see another docking bay through the glass. And below that there was another. An almost infinite number of them going low, low, low.

Stop looking down.

Or you’ll throw up.

“Four thumbs,” I repeated again, amazed as the alien I was staring at passed by our little group, his three heads swiveling. He barked out what I could only assume was a reprimand to one of his crewmates, and I flinched.

“What?” Ushuu blinked down at me, looking amused. I just shook my head, because I didn’t know how to explain. It was weird acknowledging where I’d been before Roark had given me a home—and I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk to anyone but Roark about it.

“Where are we heading?” I asked instead.

“You’ll see,” Ushuu replied. Both he and Mala had been acting secretive. I wasn’t worried. How could I be when Roark had very carefully reiterated this morning that he had a surprise for me?

He’d promised that they’d keep me safe, the best that he could in stilted English.

“Huu-goh safe with Mala, Ushuu. Soo-Prise.” Surprise was a new word for him, and the fact he’d disappeared the night before for several hours told me he’d made Ushuu teach it to him just so he could use it this morning.

The sentence had been a bit garbled, but I’d understood what he was trying to say. We’d been talking enough lately that I’d grown better and better at filling in the blanks for him. His pronunciation was getting better too—as was his vocabulary. Ushuu was teaching me to write—because I wasn’t capable of saying more than a handful of words in sharkish, but even then, it was frustrating sometimes not to be able to say what I wanted to Roark.

I shook away the morose thoughts and instead took in my surroundings.

The massive buildings that dotted the skyline ahead were even taller the closer we got to them. Small aircrafts that basically looked like floating silver golfballs sped through the air so quickly all you could hear was the quiet swoosh of them. I hadn’t noticed them at first, as they zoomed high above the usual space shuttles.

I made a mental note about them, too, watching them dance above with fascination.

There was a giant winding staircase ahead—though as we got closer, I realized that “staircase” wasn’t the most accurate descriptor to give it. Escalator on crack would be more truthful, because it moved with a blur of bodies, sending them up, up, up what looked like over a thousand feet to a platform so high I couldn’t see what was on it.

A bulbous alien with a single eye the size of a dinner plate waited at the exit to the port. He spoke to Mala with a series of clicks and whirrs, swiped something on what looked like a giant tablet with a hologram floating above it, then gestured for us to move past him toward the moving stairs.

As we took our place on the steps, I felt a little giddy.

I still had no idea where we were going—or why we were going there—but at this point, that hardly mattered. We were going out ! And that was a bigger gift than I’d dared hope for since the day I was abducted. The only thing that would’ve made this better was if Roark was here.

Did he find the city as fascinating as I did?

Or not? Because his planet was similar?

As I gawked at the rising metropolis above, it struck me for the first time how absolutely shitty F’ukYuu had been.

Since it had been the only planet I’d visited, besides my own, it hadn’t occurred to me how seedy and dirty it truly was. Sure, the pleasure house I’d come from was clean and well-kept, but the streets of the planet had been crawling with discarded trash.

It wasn’t fair that the wealth there remained in the pockets of the owners of the houses, and that the rest of us were forced to suffer. I was glad I was out now, but that didn’t mean my heart didn’t hurt for the people I’d left behind.

Sure, I’d never really made any friends—despite trying—but still.

I felt bad.

None of them had been adopted by a giant pink shark daddy.

None of them would ever see a planet like the one I currently occupied.

I truly was the lucky one.

I missed Roark then, fiercely, as our little group reached the top of the winding staircase to discover it led to what I could only describe as a…mall? An alien mall.

The structure was made of glass, just like the dock had been, shops stacked on top of one another as high as the eye could see. There was no end to them from left to right—vendors that carried every kind of ware, out haggling on the street or standing in their almost box-like store fronts, waiting for customers to ride the elevators beside each section to meet them.

A mall in space.

Huh.

Why did Roark send me here?

Mala stepped off the stairs to lead the way, and as I followed, I couldn’t hide my astonishment. Ushuu stayed close behind me, protective of my back, as we shuffled off to join Mala. When we were on solid ground, off to the side and out of the line of traffic, both Sahrks paused to let me take it all in.

The big buildings I’d seen from the pier climbed the sky like giants. But they barely held my attention. No, that was reserved for the stores that lined both sides of the walkway. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe. All brightly lit and beautiful, looking inviting, clean, and fancier than anything I’d ever seen in all my life. I could see what they sold more clearly up close, and my eyes danced over the glittering gems, lacy corsets, and dresses that were for sale at the shop nearest where we stood.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I let myself imagine what the fabric must feel like.

Silky probably.

Soft?

It looked comfortable.

My hands clenched into fists and I tore my gaze away—trying not to be floored by how goddamn pretty that dress was. And how much I wanted it.

I came from an average-sized city. It wasn’t big enough for true crime, but wasn’t small enough to avoid it. Our home had sat between the train tracks and a drug store that got robbed at least four times a year. There were cops that patrolled the block. And the gate that guarded our community—that my father claimed was a symbol of wealth—had only been in place because they wanted to avoid break-ins.

We’d had a nice house, but that had hardly mattered.

For fuck’s sake, my high school had only had one working water fountain. They’d claimed they would fix the others—but they’d sat with “out of order” signs the entire time I’d been in school.

Harvard was supposed to be my way out of that life.

And yet here I was…somewhere far more extraordinary.

Somewhere that shouldn’t be real , but somehow was.

As I stood there, staring at the wonders around me, I felt something inside me settle.

Was it awful of me to be grateful I’d been taken? I know, I know. I shouldn’t thank A&R for their abduction. Shouldn’t thank them for dropping me off on F’ukYuu when they decided I wasn’t smart enough for my original purpose.

But I kinda wanted to anyway.

I’d never seen anything more spectacular in all of my life.

And without their interference I never would’ve been here. Never would’ve met Roark—or Ushuu, or Mala, or seen the things I was about to see.

There were so many options, I couldn’t possibly guess what Roark had had in mind for this little outing, so I didn’t stress myself out trying. Instead, I people-watched for a few minutes longer. Alien-watched?

If I’d thought the population down at the docks was eclectic, this was a goddamn zoo.

So many shops. So many creatures. All going about their day with their arms laden with shopping bags and the titter of a multitude of languages clogging the air like tinkling bells.

“Do you like it?” Ushuu asked. To his credit, he and Mala had been more than patient as I processed our surroundings.

There was a white flash and I blinked away spots as I turned to look at the older shark-man only to discover his communicator was pointed straight at me. Like he had just taken a picture . The device was round rather than rectangular, but it didn’t take a genius to recognize it for what it was. It was funny, back on Earth we’d called them cellphones but here they functioned on an intergalactic level, so I guess it made sense they had a different name.

The Manager had one of those too, not that I’d ever gotten close enough to admire it.

For a second, I had the oddest intrusive thought—of me with a rock, smashing The Manager’s communicator like a monkey shelling a nut so that I could get at the tech inside.

I bit back a smile, watching Ushuu curiously to figure out why he’d just photographed me.

Ushuu tapped something on his screen, and I practically salivated as I observed the device up close. I hadn’t seen Roark use one the entire time we’d been together, though I figured he had to have one for work somewhere, didn’t he? He had a tablet. That was similar—though it didn’t do phone calls.

I wanted both.

Badly.

So I could pick them apart and see how they worked.

Also, maybe then I could send Roark pictures myself. It took me a second, but I figured out what Ushuu must be doing. He was nosy and sweet, and I had a feeling my own big pink monster would get a kick out of the stunned expression I’d been making since he couldn’t be here to see it himself.

Roark was sweet like that.

And for some reason, he seemed to like me. A lot.

Liked to see me giggle and smile.

Liked me enough he’d made it clear he was keeping me.

Ushuu pocketed his phone when Mala made an impatient but indulgent grunt to his left. He didn’t speak much when Roark wasn’t around, and for some reason that made me like him even more. They’d been regular ole chatty-Kathys whenever I saw them together on the ship, and it was funny—now that I realized both men were the silent stoic type when they weren’t ribbing each other.

Mala was more cheerful than Roark was, though. He had this air about him like he wanted to laugh at everything he saw. Whereas Roark viewed the world like it could burst into flames at any moment, so he needed to be prepared with a fire extinguisher.

“Why are we here?” I asked Ushuu, grateful to be spending time with someone I could have a full conversation with. Not that I didn’t appreciate Roark and all his grunts, growls, and garbled English. Because I did. And I was so grateful for the effort he’d put into communicating with me that it made me breathless sometimes.

But…it had been lonely not having anyone to talk to.

Things were better now that I was apprenticing under Ushuu—and I could only thank Roark for that too.

“I bet you can guess,” Ushuu’s eyes gleamed, and I giggled, glancing around and squinting in an attempt to read his mind.

“Shopping?” I offered, arching a brow.

“Very good.” Ushuu sounded way too amused about all of this. The more he worked with Roark and I, the better his English became. Which was something I found incredibly impressive.

“But for what?” I blinked. “Does Roark need something?” That would make sense. I was delighted he’d trust me to run his errands for him. “Oh! Toothpaste. He was saying something about toothpaste I think…yesterday?”

The dispenser had broken and I’d been fiddling with it only to discover it’d gotten jammed with the last dregs of what was left. We needed more to fix it.

“Oh. Or his glasses!” I added. He’d stepped on them when he’d returned to our rooms after his most recent late-night session with Ushuu. The distressed sound he’d made when he realized he’d snapped them in half with his big elephant feet had made me scurry to fix them for him.

I’d used one of the soldering irons in Ushuu’s lab to mend them, and when I’d returned them to him later that night, Roark had placed them on his nose and rubbed his snout against my cheek with a huff of hot breath in thanks.

I bet he was still wearing them right now—even though they looked janky as hell.

Why did that make me happy?

“Wrong,” Ushuu’s grin gentled as he observed me. There was a weird look in his eyes, like he was seeing me for the first time. “We’re not here for the captain.”

“Then what are we here for?”

“You, Huu-goh.” He grinned. When I stared at him in disbelief he pulled his communicator out and snapped another picture of me. I waved him off, blinking away the spots.

“Why?” I was dumbfounded. “I have everything I need.”

Roark took care of all my stuff. I had my own toothbrush. My own clothes—even if they were all the same outfit.

I mean…shoes would be nice. Real shoes. Not the weird bootie things that I’d been given on F’ukYuu, but still.

“Little one, you’re wearing baby clothes.” Ushuu kept his voice gentle. But the shame that coursed through my body must’ve been apparent, because he swore softly in his native tongue and reached out with one massive hand to settle me. “It is not a bad thing. You are small, and it was the only thing we had on board that would fit.”

I shrank in on myself and Mala made an alarmed sound, glancing between the two of us. They had a whispered conversation—one that sounded reprimanding on Mala’s end as Ushuu’s spots turned a dark indigo blue.

“Huu-goh,” he said gently, hands still hovering like he wasn’t sure it was okay to touch. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your heart.” It was a weird translation, but I made sense of it.

“I’m not hurt,” I said, “just surprised.”

“There is no shame in your clothing, Huu-goh,” Ushuu made an alarmed sound, ignoring Mala’s answering growl. “That isn’t why Roark wanted us to take you here.” He closed the last few inches between us and rubbed his palm up and down my back. It was nice. Soothing. It wasn’t as nice as when Roark did it, but I appreciated the touch all the same.

I hadn’t had much of that, even when I was living on Earth.

“The captain…” Ushuu kept rubbing as he frowned, spots still indigo with what I assumed was remorse. He was quiet for a moment as he came up with what I assumed were the right words in a tongue that wasn’t his. “The captain wants to…” Ushuu frowned, struggling. “Give you many gifts,” he finally settled on.

Give me gifts?

Why?

“He does?” My cheeks flushed for an entirely different reason.

“Yes!” Ushuu perked up, and Mala stopped growling the second he pulled his hand from my back. “Yes. He does.”

“So we’re here, not because he’s embarrassed I’m walking around in baby clothes—” I reiterated as Ushuu shook his head, “but because he wants to buy me gifts ?”

The older shark nodded. “Exactly.”

“What kind of gifts?” I peered out at the stores with new eyes, my heart pounding a little. I’d always loved presents. Roark knew that. After seeing my reaction to the box he’d put together for me he’d started bringing me something new at least a few times a week just to make me smile.

Before that though…

Man.

It had been three, four, maybe even five years since the last time my parents had done anything for Christmas. We usually didn’t do gifts for birthdays—their presence was the gift, or so my mother teased. That had become all too true over the years, even if it had first been said as a joke.

How pitiful was that?

But…

I bit my lip, eyes catching on that same shop I’d been admiring before. This time, I glanced toward the back, struck with fascination when I spotted a row of mannequins of all shapes and sizes wearing fancy, glittery, lacy underthings.

I swallowed thickly, unable to stop ogling when I noticed a mannequin my size dressed in a lacy pink garter belt, panties, and thigh highs.

Pretty.

Everything was so pretty.

Fuck.

I wanted to touch all of it.

“Anything you want,” Ushuu answered, more careful with what he said now. I didn’t fault him. As jarring as his words had been, at least I knew the truth. And now that I knew I was wearing baby shark clothes I was itching to get the hell out of them and into something a little more age appropriate.

“Within reason,” I added to myself.

“No.” Ushuu laughed at me, but it wasn’t mean. “Roark specifically told me to tell you that there is no limit.”

“No…limit?” I squinted at him.

“No.”

I frowned, trying to figure out where the trick was.

I knew Roark was wealthy.

It was obvious.

His ship was a luxury cargo carrier—far nicer and larger than any of the others on the dock. The Manager had made sure I was aware that his pockets were lined in gold before I’d even met him—but it had never occurred to me that he would offer for me to spend any of his wealth.

My head was swimming.

“I need a limit,” I told Ushuu, because I did.

I didn’t want to mess up today.

I didn’t want to cross the line when I was being given the greatest gift that anyone had ever given me. No one, in all my life, had offered me something like this. Ever. It was hard to wrap my mind around it.

Ushuu’s spots were yellow.

Confused then.

I’d figured that color out too.

He turned to Mala and they spoke in soft tones again for a few minutes before they came to a decision and Ushuu tapped several buttons on his communicator. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but my eyes were full of diamonds and panties—and my ears were ringing.

It chimed twice before the dial cut off and Roark’s deep rumble filled the air. I’d gotten so used to listening to his scattered English it was odd hearing him talk so fluently in his native tongue with someone else.

He sounded like a captain.

Which I knew he was—but still.

In control. Smart. Serious.

My belly flipped as Ushuu responded to him, before handing the device to me.

I blinked down in surprise when I realized he’d tapped the hologram option and the tiny see-through shape of Roark’s head popped up. Holograms. Holy shit. So fucking cool. I’d never get over the fact that they were real.

Or maybe that was because Roark was purring at me in that same soothing way he always did when I was upset. Like magic, I relaxed, curling my palms around the communicator, and pulling it closer like if I did so I could feel his heat against my body or taste his scent in the air.

“Huu-goh,” Roark murmured as I cradled him. I wasn’t sure what view of me he had right now—only that it was far from flattering. He didn’t seem to mind though. He made another rumbly soft sound that I whined in response to. “Little one.” It was the same name Ushuu had called me, but when he’d said it, tingles hadn’t danced across my entire body. Not like they did when Roark did.

I bit my lip and nodded to show I was listening.

“It is okay,” he urged. I could hear the murmur of voices on the other end of the line—like he wasn’t alone. Immediately, I felt ashamed. I’d probably interrupted him while he was doing something important.

Shit.

“He’s busy,” I tried to hand the communicator back to Ushuu, but my hands refused to let go. “I don’t want to bother him—” Roark continued to purr at me, and Ushuu turned to his little holo-head and translated for me. He leaned in close, allowing me to continue to hold it as they talked for a few minutes. A couple words of English were tossed back and forth before Roark turned his attention to me and Ushuu stepped back.

“Listen,” he said. There was so much command in that one single word I couldn’t stop myself from melting. Because Roark was here, and he was giving me orders, and if I followed them I knew everything would be alright. Whatever he was about to say had to be important.

I nodded and he emitted a pleased noise that made my icy limbs go gooey warm.

“I never too busy for my Huu-goh.”

No one had ever said that to me before.

Tears stung my eyes and I inhaled sharply, pulling the communicator close enough it almost felt like a hug. When I smiled, Roark did too. His eyes turned into the happy-crescent shapes again and he purred as I dashed away my tears.

“Money is not problem,” Roark told me when I was settled.

“It is,” I argued, and he made a frustrated noise. I held him out to Ushuu before he had to ask and they spoke back and forth for a few more minutes in the same garbled English-Sharkish. When he stepped back again, Roark didn’t look annoyed.

He was as patient as ever as he waited for me to settle before speaking again.

“You need limit?” he asked.

I nodded.

“ Need ?” he reiterated, asking very seriously. I understood what he meant. Was this a thing I couldn’t move forward without? I hesitated to say yes, because I knew it was the wrong answer. The weird answer. I should just take the gift and shut the fuck up.

But…

I knew Roark didn’t want that, and I’d be ruining his present if I kept my mouth shut. So I nodded.

“Good boy,” Roark rumbled. “Proud.”

I preened, despite my wet lashes and the way my cheeks were flooded red with humiliation. Mala and Ushuu were politely pretending like they weren’t listening, but I knew they were. Not that Mala understood much of what was going on, but Ushuu sure did.

“Thank you,” I croaked, wanting nothing more than to climb into the hologram to be with him. I had only been apart from him for a few hours and already I missed him like crazy. Roark held up a single thick finger and I waited patiently as he thought.

Always helpful, Ushuu leaned over to help him translate. Their back and forth this time was obvious, and I knew what Roark was about to say before he spoke. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t completely floored by his next words.

“Huu-goh limit one million credits.” Roark annunciated thoughtfully, staring at me the entire time. I nearly choked on my own tongue. That was huge . So fucking huge. The equivalent of buying nights with me at the pleasure house for six months straight.

My head spun.

I couldn’t even comprehend that amount of money, and yet here he was—dropping it on me like it was nothing. Again . Just like when he’d bought me.

“ Are you sure? ” I blurted out, all messy with tears again.

“Yesh,” Roark watched me with affection evident on his handsome face. His teeth flashed as the soothing rumbling started again. “Huu-goh?”

“Yes?”

“Promise?”

“Anything.”

“Huu-goh has fun,” Roark requested. “ Please .”

“Okay.” The word was choked but I managed. I fluttered a few dozen kisses against the cheek of his hologram as he brayed out a laugh before shaking his head, spots fuschia. “Ushuu,” he instructed me.

I handed the communicator back over and Roark spoke with his mentor for what felt like another million years. I didn’t mind. I needed the time to wrap my head around what had just happened—and what was about to happen. When he forced Ushuu to return the communicator to me so that he could say goodbye, my belly filled with butterflies.

I hadn’t noticed before, but Roark’s tone wasn’t nearly as soft when he talked to Ushuu, as it was when he talked to me.

My belly squirmed.

“Bye bye, Huu-goh,” Roark purred, as serious as ever.

“Bye,” I said to Roark’s floating head. He barked in amusement again.

“Huu-goh fun,” he reminded me sternly.

“I’ll have fun,” I agreed, my heart pounding.

“Good.” He looked proud of himself, and I couldn’t help but try to kiss him through the hologram again. Roark ended the call as he was laughing, the sound and his spots full of affection. I missed him the moment he was gone, stroking the now silent device forlornly.

When I glanced up, Ushuu and Mala were staring at me like I was a goddamn unicorn. Mala said something to Ushuu, nudged him, and the elder shark held out a hand for the communicator with a gentle smile.

“Mala would like me to inform you that you are a ‘miracle worker.’” I snorted, but I didn’t get what he meant. “He would also like me to tell you that he has never seen Roark laugh as much as he just did, in all the time he’s known him.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, suddenly heartsick.

“I echo that sentiment,” Ushuu added. “For a long time I worried that he would never be able to let go of what has happened to him. That it would trap him. That he would never know happiness. I am not worried anymore.”

I didn’t know what any of that meant, and before I could ask, Ushuu interrupted me again.

“You are a tiny little miracle, aren’t you?” Ushuu grinned at me, jerked his head toward the shops in front of us. “Lead the way, little one.”

And so I did.