Chapter 13

MANDY

When I awake in the huge bed, I’m alone. I sit up against the pillows and wince at the lingering soreness. I’m not only sore between my thighs, but my bottom still hurts as well. My face heats as I recall the spankings Kameer gave me. All because I didn’t obey his orders quickly enough.

Holding my breath, I listen for any signs of the domineering Darrvason, but only silence greets me. He’s not here, though to be fair, I have no idea what time it is. He kept me up late and exhausted me thoroughly. It’s possible it’s late morning or even midday.

I slip out of bed and rush to retrieve my pajamas from the floor. After quickly dressing, I spy the remnants of my panties, and I flush anew as memories assail me.

I’m mated. To a Darrvason.

I venture out of the bedroom, thankful the door is no longer locked. But when I try to depart Kameer’s quarters, I’m unable to reach the corridor. I curse and try to physically push the door open, but it doesn’t budge.

When I mess with the control panel next to the door, nothing happens either. Somehow, likely with the use of Darrvason technology, he’s locked me inside his quarters.

Defeat and worry weigh me down. I need to speak with my family. They’re probably worried sick. Have they learned about my fate? My heart breaks as I imagine my mother sobbing, thinking she’s lost me forever.

As I pace Kameer’s quarters, my agitation growing, I notice a spread of food on the kitchen counter. The items vary, everything from fruits and vegetables to rice dishes and pastries. As I walk closer, I also spy a contraption that I suspect is a food replicator, a feat of technology I’ve heard Darrvasons possess.

Did Kameer replicate these items and leave them out for me, knowing I would awake hungry?

Despite my desire to not find anything likeable about him, I’m touched by his thoughtfulness, and I reach for a pastry. As I nibble on the sweet treat, I approach the largest viewscreen in Kameer’s quarters, or rather, his temporary Founders’ quarters. Shuttles occasionally move between the larger Darrvason ships, most of the traffic coming and going from the Haxxal , the lead vessel in the alien fleet.

One month. My stomach performs a little flip. In one month, we’ll arrive on 58-Zallnanis. If a heartbond doesn’t form between us before that time, will I have a chance of escaping him?

Technically, even without the heartbond, we’re mated. Darrvasons mate for life and never separate. But I’m not a Darrvason. I’m human and I wonder if perhaps this might change things. I wrack my brain for a plan but come up empty.

I shove the rest of the pastry in my mouth and head back to the kitchen for another one. What does Kameer expect me to do with my day? Sit around in my pajamas and eat pastries?

My distress grows until I finally realize why I’m so pissed. I’m annoyed that after the intimacies we shared last night, I awoke alone. I awoke alone and I have no idea where he is or when he’ll return. Did he leave for a full day of work on the Jansonna ?

I’m not surprised that he locked me inside his quarters, but I’m still mad about it. A glance at a nearby clock shows it’s almost midday. I was supposed to be at the salon hours ago. My mother and I both had a full schedule today, and she’s going to struggle without me as she attempts to meet the demands of wealthy Founders. Most of our clientele is polite and I consider many of them friends, but there are a few rotten ones who habitually test our patience.

Of course, even if Kameer hadn’t claimed me, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have gone to work at the salon today anyway. Because of Ned. I’m still not sure if I would’ve obeyed his wishes and stopped working as a beautician serving Founders. I’d planned to discuss the matter with my parents, only for Ned to die before I got the chance.

I huff and run a hand through my hair. In the last twenty-four hours, my life has changed drastically, and I’m not certain what the future holds. It’s scary, but if I’m being honest, it’s also a little exciting.

I hate that it’s exciting. I hate that I’m drawn to Kameer and that he made me climax again and again last night. I hate that I can’t stop thinking about his masterful touch and how delicious it felt as he pounded his shafts into me. My pussy spasms as I recall the most salacious details of our night spent together.

I become flushed as I recall the shower, during which he’d spanked my wet bottom and shoved a finger in my back hole. My sweet Mandy. One day soon, I will breach this shy hole of yours with my upper appendage. As his words come back to me, I shiver with longing. I also picture the illicit act of being bent over the bed while he spreads me wide and impales me with his shafts in tandem.

I rush to the kitchen for a cold drink, and as I gulp down icy water, I try to think of anything but Kameer. I set the empty cup aside and head for the entryway, intending to try the door again. But just as I pass the info screen in the hallway, it beeps and flashes blue. I pause and stare at the screen, expecting an update from Captain Warren concerning the journey to 58-Z, or some other announcement that’s relevant to all citizens of the worldship. Or even a live broadcast of a public execution. Instead, a single sentence appears on the screen, and it seems to be intended solely for me.

You will soon be free of Chief Kameer.

Soon be free? How?

Who the hell sent this message? A human or a Darrvason?

Is someone fucking with me, perhaps playing a cruel prank, or do I have a real chance of escaping the possessive Darrvason male?

The screen flashes blue again and goes blank as the message abruptly disappears.

Heart racing, I rush to the entryway and pound on the door a few times, suddenly desperate to escape. To my shock, this time the door slides open.

I gasp and take a step back.

Kameer .

My stomach flips.

The huge Darrvason who’s occupied my thoughts all morning stands in the doorway. He’s holding a small black box, and there’s a toolbelt secured around his waist. His visage brims with humor, as though he thinks my desire to escape is funny.

Well, fuck him. I draw in a huge breath, but before I can speak, or shout, he tosses the box inside and clamps a hand over my mouth. His expression darkens, all traces of humor gone. The box lands with a resounding crash.

“No screaming.” He moves us further into the entryway, and the door finally slides shut behind him. “You will not attempt to cause a disturbance or call for help. It’s an offense that would warrant a strapping. A particularly severe one.”

I glare at him and try to speak, but my voice comes out muffled against his huge hand. Perhaps that’s for the best. Because I just cussed him out in French, an old Earth tongue. I’m not fluent in French, but thanks to my father who is, I know all the best curse words. I suppose even though Kameer might not understand my words, he’s probably smart enough to know when someone’s cursing at him in another language, and I instantly regret my outburst.

He uncovers my mouth and gives me a dark look. “If I asked you to repeat that in Galactic Common, would it burn my ears?”

I step back and instinctively lower my head as a wave of submission courses through me. My breath catches in my throat. It’s not the first time I’ve experienced the urge to submit to him, but it feels stronger now than the previous times. I try not to think about what it might mean, especially when my upper arms start tingling.

“I…” I attempt to answer him, but fear clutches my tongue, and my mouth goes dry. I’m not certain whether to be honest and beg his forgiveness, or to lie and hope he believes the untruth.

It’s then that my gaze lands on the box he’d tossed into the entryway. Or rather, the items that spilled out when it landed. There’s a long, thick strap, followed by a small, clear container that holds five replicas of Darrvason appendages in incremental sizes. There are also several clothing items, dresses constructed of fine silken fabric, sleek but comfortable looking slip-on shoes, and even undergarments.

“Please,” I whisper. “I-I wasn’t going to scream or make a scene. I just don’t like being trapped in your quarters. My family… I must speak with them soon. Please. I don’t want them to worry about me.”

Some of the sternness leaves Kameer’s face, though he still doesn’t look happy. I pray he doesn’t take the strap to me.

“Your family knows about your current status as a mated female, or at least your father knows,” Kameer says. “I just spoke with Captain Warren, and he personally delivered the news to your father early this morning.”

“Does my family know you bought me ?” I can’t keep the fury from my tone. “Do they know you paid Captain Warren a bribe so he might deliver me to you as a gift?”

Kameer retrieves the strap from the floor, and my stomach drops, but he simply places it back in the box. He does the same with the clear container that holds the fake appendages, as well as the clothing and shoes, then he stands and sets the box on a nearby table. I wait with bated breath, expecting him to scold me or shout at me, but he does neither.

Instead, he gives me a look filled with longing. His nostrils flare and his red eyes glow brighter. His pants also appear suddenly tight in the crotch area.

“Remove your nightclothes, Mandy.”

“No. I won’t allow you to beat me just for speaking the truth.” Oh, dear God, I really need to shut up. Why can’t I remain calm while quietly plotting my escape?

You will soon be free of Chief Kameer.

I wish the mystery messenger had provided some actual details.

The waves of submission war with my simmering desire to rebel, a clash of emotions that gives me pause.

He comes closer. Trembles besiege me as he caresses a hand through my hair. “I’m not going to beat you, pretty human.” He places his lips at my ear. “I’m going to fuck you. Relentlessly.”

Before I can respond, he swoops me into his arms and carries me to the bedroom.

I should scream. I should fight him. But I don’t.

I despise myself a little for the heated pangs that affect my core. I wish I could stop the sensations from coming, but I can’t. Despite my dislike for the situation, and despite my wish to escape Kameer, he’s awakened a yearning within me that I can’t seem to suppress.

Besides, if I protest his amorous attentions, he won’t be pleased. He might even decide to fetch the strap. Yesterday when I’d defied him, he’d punished me and then proceeded to claim me anyway. Two vigorous mating sessions that had left me sore.

He sets me beside the bed and proceeds to remove my pajamas. Still unnerved by the strap, I cooperate fully. Then I watch as he backs away and strips off his own clothing, his unblinking gaze fixed on me the entire time. I shiver with need even as I tremble with nerves.

He steps forward to cup my face, and his massive appendages press into my stomach. “Poor little human. I’m about to be quite rough with you.”

I expect him to spin me around and force me to bend over the bed, but instead he leans down and presses his lips to mine.

A kiss. My heart races.

He’s kissing me .

A snarl leaves him, and he buries his fingers in my hair, holding my head in place as he glides his tongue into my mouth, exploring tentatively at first before deepening the kiss.

Heated quivers steal through me, and my knees go weak. I find myself clutching his waist because I need something to hold for support, lest I collapse on the floor.

He coaxes me to kiss him back, or at least that’s what I tell myself when I willingly allow my tongue to tangle with his. I’ve never kissed anyone before, though I’ve always been curious to discover what it’s like. Never mind that I lectured Tasha for that little deal she’d struck with Frederick.

I can’t deny it’s a pleasurable experience, and the longer Kameer kisses me, the more fervent the aching between my thighs becomes.

Tingles sweep through my body, and my core keeps clenching.

By the time Kameer pulls away, I’m breathless and beside myself with need, though I try my best to hide it by donning a blank expression. But when his nostrils flare as he takes a deep inhale, and a knowing look enters his eyes, I realize there’s no hiding my arousal.

“You smell delicious, little female.” A growl resounds from his throat. “Now turn around, bend over, and brace yourself for a long, hard claiming.”