Authors: Evangeline Anderson
“Oh, well…” Zoe gave him her hand—the one with the inhibitor on it—and I saw Doloroso look at it sharply though he made no remark about it. Instead, he bent over the back of her hand and kissed it wetly, as though he was a Gods-damned courier from the Court of the Divine Empress on Femme 1.
“Charmed, I’m sure,” he murmured, looking up to smile at her as he licked his lips, almost as though he was tasting her skin.
“Uh, thank you.” Zoe smiled uncertainly and took her hand back as soon as she could. I saw her surreptitiously wiping it on the side of my shirt when she was certain he wasn’t looking.
“And you are from
which
world in our fair galaxy?” Doloroso asked.
“From—”
“Salex Prime,” I said quickly, before she could finish. “Not many people know it—it’s on a far arm on the other side of Femme 1.”
“Ah—close to the court of the Empress. That would explain why you look so radiantly divine,” Count Doloroso said smoothly. “And tell me, how do you like life on Salex Prime?”
“It’s, uh, nice,” Zoe said, frowning at me.
“Very nice,” I said. “And now, if you’d like to see the tank, Count Doloroso…”
“What?” Zoe interjected. “You’re going to let him get
close
to that thing? I nearly drowned in there!”
“You were in the sensitivity tank today?” Doloroso gave her a sharp look. “Were you being tested?”
“An incomplete test only,” I assured him. “And an accidental one at that. Zoe wandered out here to the hold—where she
doesn’t belong
…” I glared at her and she glared back. “And the sensu-pods apparently grabbed her and dragged her into the tank.”
“Where they nearly drowned me,” she repeated stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest again. “So be really careful around it. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn’t even go near it.”
“Oh, don’t worry my dear—it won’t hurt
me.”
Doloroso gave an irritating, tittering laugh. “But I would be most eager to hear what happened during your little, ah, attack.”
I felt a jolt of possessive rage surge through me and had to fight to keep my features calm.
“You know damn well what happens during sensitivity testing,” I growled. “There’s no need to ask her to rehash it for you.”
“Ah—forgive me. I misspoke.” The Count made an elaborate bow of apology in Zoe’s direction. “What I meant to say was, I’d like to know the events that
preceded
the attack. The sensu-pods, you see, don’t normally reach out of the tank and take a subject of their own volition.”
“Well, this time they did,” Zoe said, frowning. “One of them kissed me on the cheek—well, that was what it felt like anyway—my cut cheek, here…” She pointed to her wounded cheek again. “And then the next thing I knew, they were dragging me into their tank. Ugh!” She shivered.
“So first the chip-drill stabbed out at you and cut your cheek and then the sensu-pods tasted you and liked you so much they pulled you in?”
Doloroso’s eyes were bright for some reason and I
really
didn’t like the way he was looking at Zoe. There was a hungry, avid light in his shiny eyes that made my protective instincts kick into high gear.
Mine,
an angry voice whispered inside my head.
He can’t look at her like that—she’s fucking
mine.
“Yes, I guess so. That’s pretty much what happened.” Zoe nodded.
“But my dear, do you have any idea how extraordinary that is? What a unique specimen you must be for both the drill and the sensu-pods to react as they did to you?”
He took a step towards her but I put myself between them. I was damned if I’d let him touch her again.
“Hey, Sarden! We were
talking
,” she protested, trying to get around me. I blocked her with one arm.
“Zoe, go to the food-prep area and make me that cakecheese concoction you made last night,” I ordered her. “I’m hungry and I’ll want to eat as soon as Count Doloroso and I conclude our business here.”
“What?” She poked her head around my arm and glared up at me. “Did you just do the alien equivalent of telling me to get to the kitchen and make you a sandwich?”
“Whatever you call it, go make it,” I growled. “
Please
.”
“Fine.” Zoe stormed off—I could hear her little bare feet slapping against the metal floor as she went and knew she as angry. But I couldn’t stand to have Doloroso lusting over her. I didn’t like the way he looked at her—not one fucking bit.
“But Master, I thought once this deal was concluded we were going to try and find a mechanic?”
It was Al again, this time in his shipboard form. I had to have a talk with him about interrupting. Lately he was showing up at the most inopportune time possible, damn it.
“Al—” I began but Doloroso interrupted.
“If you’re looking for a mechanic who deals with unattached males, I’m afraid I have bad news for you—you won’t find one on Gallana. Such services are strictly monitored by the Ma
jor
ans and they refuse to deal with any male without a female. Luckily…” He smiled at Zoe’s retreating back. “You have a
lovely
female to accompany you and make the deal for whatever repairs you need.
And
I happen to know of a fine and reputable shop who will give you an excellent discount if you mention my name.”
I ground my teeth at the idea of taking Zoe into Gallana. In the spaceport proper and wearing traditional Ma
jor
an garb, she would stand out with her pale skin and vivid hair. Her beauty would shine like a star and I was afraid it would attract all the wrong kinds of attention.
Then again, I didn’t know if I had a choice.
I sighed. She’d probably be thrilled to see the port and as long as I kept a good eye on her, no harm would come to her.
I’d see to that myself.
Zoe
Of course there was no way in hell I was staying put in my room. Especially after I heard strange voices down the long hallway. I’d meant to just creep quietly over and peep into the doorway to see who it was. But when I saw the tall man with blue hair bending over to pick up the stabby-stabby corkscrew, I had to say
something.
Strangely though, it didn’t try anything with him. Maybe it was all stabbed out and I had been its last victim.
I hadn’t loved the weird way the new guy—who I guessed was there to buy all the strange medical equipment, which looked more like torture devices—had looked at me. The way he kissed my hand and then licked his lips was kind of creepy too. But at least he was polite, damn it! Which was a hell of a lot more than I could say for Sarden, the big red jerk!
And here for a little while I’d actually begun to think he had some kind of feelings for me. I mean, after the way he was so patient and kind—the way he held me in the purple bathtub tank and soothed me when I started to panic because of my bad memories.
And don’t forget the way he healed you,
whispered a little voice in the back of my head. My brain tried to show me an image of the big alien kneeling before me, licking my nipples and then moving lower…what if Al hadn’t come in at just that minute? I would have come for sure. Come all over his face, just like he wanted me to…
Stop it!
I ordered myself sternly, pushing the naughty images out of my head.
He was probably just healing me because Tazaxx doesn’t take damaged goods.
Sarden wasn’t a nice guy at all, I told myself. He was a big, sexist alien jerk who’d ordered me to go to the kitchen and make him a damn sandwich!
“Asshole,” I muttered to myself as I stomped back to the food-prep area and slapped one of the sticky pads from the food-sim against my temple. “He wants a sandwich, let’s make him one.”
I tried to think of the worst combinations I could and since the food-sim was still messed up, it didn’t take much work on my part. I had managed to make a crème brulee with the flavor of pepperoni pizza, a plate of spaghetti and meatballs that tasted like pistachio ice cream, and a ham sandwich which tasted like a nasty-ass batch of oatmeal raisin cookies—(I
hate
raisins)—when Sarden finally came sauntering in.
“Zoe?” he said cautiously, approaching me as though I might bite. Well I
felt
like biting, damn it! But I plastered a smile on my face and turned to face him instead.
“Hello dear, you’re just in time for supper. Here’s that sandwich you ordered,” I said sweetly, handing him the plate with the ham sandwich on it.
“Hmmm.” He took it, sniffed it, and took a wary bite.
To my disappointment, he didn’t immediately spit it on the floor and wash his mouth out. Instead, he chewed meditatively before taking another bite.
“It’s good,” he said, nodding. “Thank you. I was afraid you’d try to make something disgusting because you were mad at me.”
“It
is
disgusting,” I said, completely exasperated. Honestly, couldn’t the man tell when he’d been fed a sandwich that was all kinds of nasty? “And I
am
mad at you! There was no need for you to be so rude to me in front of your friend.”
“Count Doloroso is
not
my friend,” he growled, putting the sandwich down. “He was a business deal and that’s all.”
“Well why did you send me to the kitchen then?” I flared. “Were you afraid I was going to mess up your deal by warning him that the stuff he was buying could put his eye out or drown him or both? I mean,
caveat emptor
and all that but you have to at least
warn
someone when you’re selling them something that could kill or maim them.”
“Doloroso knows exactly how dangerous the Assimilation equipment is—he collects it,” he said, frowning. “So your oh-so-generous warning was of no consequence to him.”
“Then why did you kick me out if you weren’t afraid I’d mess up the deal?” I demanded.
Sarden’s face grew dark. “Because I didn’t like the way he was looking at you, all right? You look too damn tempting running around like that.” He made a gesture which took in my appearance.
“What? But I’m just wearing your shirt,” I protested. “What’s so special about that?”
“It’s not the shirt that’s special,” he said, sounding exasperated. “It’s
you
Zoe. You’re fucking gorgeous—didn’t you see the way he was looking at you?”
It’s hard to stay mad at someone who thinks you’re so fabulously beautiful they picked you over a Victoria’s Secret model to kidnap. But then I reminded myself
why
Sarden had picked me—to trade me to some scummy alien on the other side of the galaxy—and I managed to stay mad anyway.
“The way he was
looking
at me? Are you hearing yourself?” I asked. “You sound just like my friend Leah’s jealous, controlling fiancée. He doesn’t even want her going to the grocery store to buy milk alone because he’s afraid other men will look at her.”
“Well if she’s as beautiful as you, I don’t blame him for being wary of other males,” Sarden said, frowning.
“You’re missing the point,” I glared at him.
“And the point is?” He raised an eyebrow.
“The point is, I’m a person, not a possession,” I said, thoroughly exasperated now. “You don’t
own
me, you know.”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” he pointed out, taking another bite of the nasty oatmeal raisin-tasting ham sandwich. “I bought you, remember?”
“Alien asshole,” I muttered. “Fine. You own me. But that doesn’t mean I’ll do everything you say like a good little puppet. I’m still a person with feelings and thoughts of my own.”
I turned back to the food-sim, preparing to make something even worse for him to eat. I wondered if I could get it to make me a chocolate pudding that tasted like dog crap or something horrible like that. Maybe a cupcake that tasted like earthworms? Or apple strudel that tasted like mashed up spiders. Then again, he’d probably eat it all and ask for more. He
had
liked the pie that tasted like sauerkraut…
“Since you have all these feelings, how would you
feel
about going out to see the spaceport this afternoon?” Sarden asked quietly.
His words caught me completely by surprise. I turned back to him slowly, peeling the sticky thought pad from my temple.
“Are you serious?”
“Completely.” He took another bite of sandwich, finishing it off. “You get to come with me and see the spaceport. He frowned and pointed a finger at me. “But
only
if you promise to stay at my side at
all times.”
“What? You afraid I’m going to try and escape so I can hitch a ride home?” I said carelessly. It was, of course, exactly what I planned to do.
“Zoe, listen to me.” He took me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. “I’m telling you to stay by me because it isn’t safe for you to wander off alone. And because anyone you asked to take you back to Earth would probably be happy to agree and take you aboard their ship.”
“Then why shouldn’t I ask?” I demanded.
“Because.” His voice dropped and his eyes narrowed. “Once they had you aboard, they could do anything to you—anything at all. And I wouldn’t be there to stop them.” He shook his head, his eyes serious. “I…I couldn’t stand that.”
“Right,” I said. “I’m supposed to believe you care about me? When you’ve told me over and over you’re determined to trade me away?”
“That’s different,” he growled. “I
do
care about you, Gods damn it, although I don’t know why, exactly. And the male I’m trading you to won’t molest or harm you. He won’t chop you up into bite sized pieces for cloning, either.”
“What?” My stomach did a weird little flip and I was glad I hadn’t eaten too much of the mixed up food. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re beautiful and unique and Gallana has a black market for clones second only to Tiberium 3,” he said. “When I told you they could do anything they wanted, did you think I only meant whoever took you could rape you? Believe me, it can be much,
much
worse.”
His words made my stomach do that weird flip again and I took a step back.
“If it’s that dangerous, why are you letting me go at all?”
“Because, well…” He ground his teeth, looking irritated. “Because I need you to get the hydrogen scoop’s panel fixed,” he admitted at last.