Enslaved by a Warrior [Sold! 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (14 page)

“Please, don’t sell me back.”

His pleas fell on deaf ears. Blessed was so focused on his journey he didn’t even bother to look back. Tyler thought of stopping, standing his ground, and demanding a discussion, but he realized all that would get him was a ride on Blessed’s shoulder. Rather than let his slave detain him, Blessed would just toss Tyler onto his shoulder and make him go where he wanted him to go. Tyler could either go under his own steam or he could be treated like the object Blessed saw him as.

And that was what straightened Tyler’s spine, his shoulders, and shut his mouth. If Blessed didn’t want him, he wasn’t going to whine his way into the man’s heart. Not that he was a man. Tyler reminded himself for the umpteenth time that Blessed wasn’t human. He was an alien who had bought him for the purposes of pleasure. When Tyler had failed him in that respect, Blessed had decided to get rid of him. It wasn’t personal. It was business. The fact that this man—creature—dealt in flesh should have made it clear to Tyler he had no heart.

Eventually they were back inside the foyer of the auction house. There was only a handful of aliens in the lobby, most of them milling about as if they were waiting for something. Tyler’s heart sank. Perhaps they were waiting for him. For all he knew, he’d already been sold to his next owner.

Tyler examined the creatures as he continued to follow Blessed. He didn’t see any that he would willingly go with. Unlike Blessed, these creatures weren’t bipeds. Most had three eyes and they weren’t built anything like a humanoid. In their hands—tentacles—Tyler had no idea what they would do to him. The mere thought terrified him.

“Please.”

Blessed hesitated a fraction of a second. Not long enough to stumble in his stride but long enough for Tyler to know that he’d heard him.

“I will do anything you wish. Please don’t sell me to one of those—”

“I’m not selling you. I’m setting you free.”

It was Tyler’s turn to almost miss a step as he processed what Blessed had said. Freedom? “You’re sending me back to Earth?”

“Yes,” Blessed hissed over his shoulder without looking back. “So shut up and keep up or I might change my mind.”

Tyler kept pace only because he was so focused on Blessed’s back that he just followed while his mind was spinning. He was going home. Home! His family, his friends, his job, his crappy little apartment with the faucet that dripped no matter how many times the landlord fixed it. He could come and go as he pleased. He could buy a six-pack, plop down in his recliner, and watch sports all day while wearing nothing but his boxers. He could grab a few essentials, toss them in a backpack, then go hiking and sleep under the stars.

The thought of all that was balanced by the notion that he would never again get to see Blessed looming over him. He’d never get to see that stunned little smile Blessed made when Tyler said something that he’d never thought of, or did something to him he hadn’t expected. Last night when they’d been together, when Blessed had literally and figuratively rocked Tyler’s world with his powerful finger and fist…none of that would ever be repeated again. Tyler would have the memories, but those would fade. Things like that always did. Eventually, Tyler would get over his fascination. Maybe he’d finally ask out that hot dog vendor. Who knew what fun, kinky things they could do together? And if nothing else, at least they would be physically compatible. No matter how massive hot dog guy’s dick was, it wasn’t ever going to get close to what Blessed was packing.

All that was true. All that was something to look forward to. But all that did was make Tyler think of what he was leaving behind. That thought brought Tyler’s attention right back to Blessed. As he strode through the lobby, his low, tight buns clenched and relaxed against the powerful thrust of his thighs. The black fabric of his trousers enhanced the display. Tyler had only gotten a brief glance of the front, but from the way those creatures around them parted before Blessed, he had one hell of a presence. Tyler knew he was devastating naked, but apparently, he was even more so dressed.

Eventually, they came to the business area of the auction house. The man who had sold Tyler to Blessed was behind the counter. When he saw Blessed, he blanched, turning his blue skin ashen gray. He tried to make a swift getaway, but Blessed tracked him with his gaze. It was clear to the merchant and everyone else that if the man dared to run, Blessed was going to hunt him down.

“You will speak with me.” It wasn’t a question but more of an order, one that the slave auctioneer readily followed.

“Your graciousness. How honored am I to see you again so soon. Are you in need of another slave?” He bowed twice, but he didn’t come around the counter that separated him from Blessed.

“You know why I am here.”

“I do not know what you mean. There is nothing between us in writing.” The merchant lifted his entire body so that he stood tall, but all three of his eyes were a bit too wide for him to project the demeanor of an honest businessman.

Tyler watched the exchange not quite understanding what was happening.

“I do not want money. I wish to free him.”

At this, the auctioneer’s three eyes narrowed, as did the eyes of many of his workers. “Free him?”

“He has proven himself worthy of freedom. Tyler Stewart is a proud warrior of his people. Enslaving him is wrong. I do not wish to be paid back. I only wish to restore him to his rightful place on his world.”

The merchant darted his gaze from Blessed to Tyler, and then he seemed to take surreptitious glances around at those who were near enough to hear their conversation. He was afraid of something, but Tyler couldn’t figure out what.

“How gracious of you, your graciousness.” The merchant made all kinds of chatty, happy comments that were fairly meaningless. All the while he was edging away from his coworkers. “I shall have you come into my office so we can discuss this magnanimous gift you wish to give to one so clearly deserving.”

Tyler frowned. That man didn’t know him from Adam. He would have no idea whether Tyler was deserving or not. The only thing he seemed to be concerned with was making sure they had privacy for whatever it was he was going to tell Blessed. Tyler wasn’t certain why, but something in his gut told him he wasn’t going to want to hear what the slave auctioneer had to say.

“We shall have to go up.” He pointed toward the rows of elevators.

Blessed moved that way with his retinue while the merchant tried to slip away into the crowds getting off. Blessed grasped his collar and yanked him into one of the lifts.

Hand shaking, the merchant selected a floor.

They rode in silence.

Tyler was standing behind Blessed while devotee was to his side and the merchant was in the front. Since none of the other people waiting had wanted to get on an elevator with a fully outfitted Krase warrior who looked pissed off, they had the lift to themselves. As the lowest ranking among them, Tyler was standing at the rear of the tiny space. Since no one could see him, Tyler reached out and placed his hand low on Blessed’s back. It would probably be the very last time he would ever touch him. The fabric below his palm was warm from the heat of Blessed’s flesh. He felt so strong, so powerful, and then suddenly, Tyler’s hand was brushed aside as Blessed turned.

His eyes were fully black and the look on his face was unreadable. Into his massive hands he took Tyler’s hands, pushed him against the wall, and then proceeded to step into him and kiss him until he couldn’t breathe. Against his belly, Tyler felt his
strosan
uncoil so his hardening prick could be free. It was possessive, passionate, and over so quickly Tyler was shaken when they eventually stepped off the lift. Had Blessed really just done that, or had Tyler only imagined it? When Tyler got a look at Blessed’s trousers, he knew it really had happened because he was busily setting himself to rights.

After more ego-stroking chatter, the merchant took Blessed into a room with a curious assortment of chairs. Tyler figured there was probably something for most life forms to sit on. Since Blessed chose to stand, Tyler did, too. Devotee stayed right by Blessed’s side throughout everything. According to Blessed, devotee had been with him from the moment he had started training with weapons. As he grew into his role of warrior, devotee grew into his role as the servant of that warrior. To Tyler, he thought devotee was kind of like a medieval squire. Wherever Blessed went, so did devotee. Poor guy. He was so low on the citizen scale he didn’t even get to have his own name.

“Why do you bring me here?” Blessed looked around the office.

“Because what I have to tell you is not something I wish to be known by all.” The merchant looked at devotee and Tyler. “Perhaps it would be best if your servant took your slave outside for a moment.”

“They can hear what you say to me.”

The merchant looked to argue the point, but then abruptly changed his mind. “As you wish, your graciousness. Refreshments?” His finger hovered over a button on his desk, and Tyler figured if he pressed it servants would attend to the merchant’s needs.

“I do not require anything but an answer for why you are behaving so strangely. Surely I am not the first citizen who wishes to give a slave his freedom.”

“Not the first, no. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s not completely rare.” He smiled, but it looked forced and his hand trembled as he straightened his glimmering robe. “May I ask why you wish to free him?”

“I already said why.”

Blessed was not a man who liked to repeat himself. Frankly, the merchant was lucky Blessed had said anything about his reasons in the first place.

“Oh, yes. A warrior, did you say?” He considered Tyler with his darting gaze and then drummed his fingers on the desktop.

Blessed leaned over the furniture between him and the merchant. “You will stop delaying me and simply tell me why I cannot free my slave.”

“If you wish to free him and have him live here on Krase, I would be delighted to assist you in filing the paperwork.”

“I wish to free him and send him back to his home planet.”

“Earth?”

“Yes.” Blessed’s irritation was starting to show. Tyler got the sudden distinct impression that Blessed wasn’t getting rid of him because he didn’t like him. Blessed was getting rid of him because he liked him way too much. That hungry kiss in the lift spoke volumes. Rather than let himself sink any deeper emotionally, Blessed must have decided the best thing to do was to free Tyler and thus spare himself from falling in love with a slave. The very idea made Tyler even more ambivalent about choosing between his freedom and a man he now knew he truly loved.

“You’re setting me free because you love me.”

Blessed didn’t turn, but his body tensed as evidenced by the way his buns rose up toward his waistline.

“Is this true?” The look on the auctioneer’s face was so hopeful it was almost like he was personally invested in Blessed and Tyler’s relationship.

“My feelings are my business.”

Blessed still didn’t turn around, but Tyler now knew why his eyes had gone black and stayed that way. Lust had turned to love, and the truth of that literally showed in Blessed’s eyes. No wonder he was trying to get rid of him. The big bad warrior couldn’t risk something like love making him appear weak. Tyler considered. Would that somehow bring shame on him?

“I love you, too.”

There was a long note of silence.

“It doesn’t matter what I feel or what he does. I want him to go home to his planet. That is where his family is. He deserves to be returned. I don’t know how you got him, but you have to give him back.”

Tyler wasn’t surprised by Blessed’s cold refusal to talk about his feelings. And he didn’t think it had anything to do with witnesses. Even if they were alone, Blessed would be uncomfortable. It was why he’d left Tyler immediately after intense encounters. Blessed simply didn’t know how to handle being vulnerable in any way.

But now Tyler had to decide if he loved Blessed enough to give up everything he knew and fight to stay with him.

Reaching out, Tyler put his hand on Blessed’s back. “I want to stay with you.”

“Well then!” The auctioneer clapped his hands together gleefully. “It seems all our problems are solved.”

Blessed shrugged. It was just enough to dislodge Tyler’s hand. “He is going back today, and if you try to delay me again, I will kill you.”

Eyeing the weapons Blessed carried, the merchant took a huge step backward. “I can’t send him home.”

“Why?”

After a long sigh and another step backward, the auctioneer said, “There is nowhere to send him back to.”

The news hit Blessed like a blow. He had taunted Tyler with the notion that he would call for an invasion of Earth, but it seemed his jest had been turned into reality. But he hesitated to reveal his ignorance. Surely if there had been a major invasion and a full conquest, Blessed would have heard something about it. He’d been distracted by Tyler, but he hadn’t been completely oblivious to everything going on in the universe.

“What do you mean there is nowhere to send him back to?” As much as Blessed wanted to turn and hold Tyler while he uncovered the truth behind the auctioneer’s words, he didn’t because he was too afraid to validate what Tyler had figured out on his own. Somehow, if Blessed never confirmed he loved Tyler, it couldn’t be used against him.