Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was a funny sensation, hanging immobile in some sort of personal-sized tractor beam trap. Not ha-ha funny, though. Disconcerting was more like it. Fortunately, the few small animals that wandered by, lulled into a sense of complacency by Olivia’s absolute stillness, seemed to realize there was danger here and left her untouched.

She couldn’t help but wonder what might happen if something tried to attack her in her vulnerable state. Was this thing set up to hold more than one captive? If so, she’d be stuck face to face with lord knows what sort of beast. If not, well, she’d be unable to move, but she’d feel every second of her demise. Fortunately, that was not the case today, and as an additional bonus she was afforded a good look at several types of local fauna before they saw her eyes move and darted away in fright.

Time passed slowly. At least it felt like it did. She couldn’t really be sure how long she’d been hanging there, but judging by the shifting shadows cast by the nearby trees and plants in her line of sight, it had been a while. Whoever had set this trap was apparently not in any sort of hurry.

Maybe a few hours had passed. Perhaps more, possibly less. Olivia had no idea, but when a large shadow flashed by from something passing overhead, she snapped from her daze, albeit in a completely immobile manner.

What was that? she wondered.

Several minutes of silence followed. Apparently, it had been nothing. Or so she thought until the sounds of crunching twigs and another unintelligible language being spoken drifted to her ears from somewhere out of sight behind her. Someone was talking. Someones, plural, to be more accurate, but unlike the Raxxians, this language, though utterly alien, had a pleasant lilt to it. The speakers were clearly male by the sound of it, their tone deep and robust. A marked change from the guttural speech of her former captors.

But how did they get here without her hearing them arrive? Being still for so long Olivia’s ears had become hypersensitive to the slightest new sound, but there hadn’t been a single one. Then it dawned on her.

Duh, of course. Why would aliens with the tech to make a trap like this have ships that made any noise? Seeing how the wreck we came down in used rockets, I guess that makes these guys more advanced than the Raxxians. I just hope to hell they’re friendlier and don’t want to eat me.

The tone of the conversation behind her shifted from casual discussion to one of surprise and great interest as the men drew near. And when they stepped around in front of Olivia to get a better look at them, she had second thoughts about the eating bit. Oh yes, these sexy men could eat her any day of the week.

There were seven of them, well over six feet tall, and ranging in age from what seemed to be teens to adults, all of them male, and all of them sporting reddish skin and dark hair. They looked almost human aside from that. Almost . Their eyes were a dazzling mix of green and gold, and the way the largest two of the group sized her up as they came into her field of vision made Olivia’s bits tingle in spite of her situation.

Holy shit. These guys are built , she marveled, noting their incredible physiques, the lines of their athletic musculature clearly visible thanks to the way the almost opalescent material they were wearing draped over their bodies. Not tight, but not loose, it seemed to be some sort of tech material, like a flexible metal fabric that flowed across their broad chests, giving more than a hint at what lay beneath. The short sleeves they wore gave her a nice look at their muscular forearms and biceps, as well as the almost matching tattoos each of them possessed.

Her eyes shifted lower, her nipples growing hard in spite of herself. They were either wearing boxers or going commando, clearly. Whatever the case, the substantial length and girth hanging free between their legs was enough to make her blush at the sight. And as they sized her up, she noted the subtle but noticeable growth in the two men’s bulges. She shifted her gaze to meet theirs, looking from one to the other, noting the rest of the group had stepped back. These two were the leaders, clearly, and what a pair they were.

The men stood calmly, curious looks on their faces as they studied the unexpected woman they’d captured. A discussion between the pair quickly shifted from what sounded like a clinical talk into a more confrontational one. She didn’t know what they were saying, but with the way they were looking at her hungrily and the body language and gesticulations they were presenting, it would be a fair assumption that they were talking about her. About who would get to claim her.

Under just about any other circumstances Olivia would have wanted no such thing, but it had been a hard captivity and a difficult escape. And, frankly, these guys were ridiculously hot, even for aliens. Maybe that was because her only other experience with male aliens had been the Raxxians, or maybe it was just a bit of shock and exhaustion. Whatever the case, she couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of having the two massive men challenging one another over her.

The slightly taller of the pair grumbled something and moved close, grabbing her by the arm as he deactivated the trap device. Olivia nearly fell, but his strong grip held her up. And this close, his smell was suddenly apparent, though faint and teasing. It was like the slightest whiff of her favorite cologne and mood-enhancing candle all rolled into one. But it didn’t smell chemical. Crazy as it sounded, it seemed to be emanating from him naturally.

The other man, a little shorter but more robustly built, immediately grabbed her other arm, arguing with his associate. Olivia got a whiff of him as well. Different, a little spicier, but equally intoxicating, and quite distracting, making her clit start to throb pleasantly.

She’d always been particularly affected by smells, but that had been a good cologne or nice smelling shampoo. This? This was a whole other thing altogether. One she could get very used to.

The tug-of-war between the arguing men holding each of her arms snapped her out of her momentary revelry. They weren’t pulling hard enough to break her. Not yet, anyway. But looking at the impressive muscles the two possessed, Olivia worried they might hurt her, even if by accident.

“Hey, I’m not a damn wishbone! Are you two trying to break me in half?”

The men stopped their arguing, all of them, even the teens, staring at her with curious looks on their faces. The tall one said something to his adversary with an amused laugh and the two nodded, releasing her arms.

A stream of gibberish bombarded her from both sides as the men fired off a series of what sounded like questions by the tone. Olivia had no idea what they were saying.

“Hey, I’m not from here, all right? Whatever you’re saying? It makes no sense.” She began pantomiming, pointing to them, then her ears, and giving an exaggerated shrug. “Do you get it? I do not understand you.”

The shorter one reached up and grasped her chin gently, the heat of his touch and that damn smell making her stomach flutter. He turned her head slightly and looked at the scab behind her ear. He let go of her face and relayed the findings to the others. Or, at least, that’s what she assumed he said.

The other stepped closer, his long finger poking at the blood crusted area.

“Ow! Stop it! What’s wrong with you two? Can’t you see I’m hurt there?”

The men each stepped back and gave her a respectful little nod. They then spoke to their colleagues and turned, walking back the way they came. The others fell in close, but they seemed to lack the smell the two leaders possessed, though Olivia had no idea why. One of the younger ones nudged her, pointing to the backs of the two men.

“You want me to follow?”

He nodded.

She thought about protesting, but judging by the looks on the faces of the men flanking her, it was a request for the moment, but it could become a demand in short order if she pressed the issue. She also decided that until she knew their intentions it would be best not to mention Harper. There was no telling what might befall her if she did.

“Okay, okay,” she grumbled, falling in behind the imposing men leading the way.

One thing was for sure. The fabric they wore was spectacular, and she was getting one hell of a view of their perfect asses. It was like someone had cut a pair of bowling balls in half and stuck them in each of their trousers, and the material accentuated every curve perfectly.

“I don’t suppose anyone’s going to tell me where we’re going.”

The teen nearest spoke in a calm and earnest tone, quite possibly telling her exactly what she wanted to know. If only she spoke their language. She looked at the men and realized they all had the same translation rune that she’d possessed before it was damaged. Apparently, it really was something everyone across the systems utilized. At least, that was what the women she’d been confined with had told her. She didn’t exactly believe them at the time, and when they started talking about some mystical tattoo pigments, she had just zoned out, treating it as mystical bullshit. But now, completely independent of their story, she’d found validation of what they’d said. Too bad she couldn’t apologize to them for her incredulity.

They walked several minutes before a crisp, seamless vessel that seemed to blend with the scenery until they got close, came into view. It was almost as if it was taking on the colors and patterns of the landscape, but it didn’t seem like an attempt at camouflage. This looked more like an aesthetic choice, and, despite the situation, she couldn’t help but admire a race that took care for how things looked as well as how they functioned.

And about that functioning part. It seemed she was about to get her second-ever trip aboard an alien ship. And this time she’d be entering on her own two feet and very much conscious. What came after that was anyone’s guess. The teen gestured for her to step inside.

“Well, I suppose I’ll find out soon enough,” she said with a little chuckle to herself, then boarded the ship, destination quite unknown.

Oh, Liv. What have you gotten yourself into?