Ensnared Bride (5 page)

The feeling of Javintore
’s body, the steady rhythm of his breathing, kept her mind from drifting back to the slave bunker.
 
Monica was enshrouded in his warmth.
 

She felt safe.
  

The lights slowly brightened in the morning, emulating a sunrise.
 
Monica
’s eyes fluttered open.
 
She’d had no more nightmares.
 
She stretched and gave a contented sigh.
 
Her leg nudged his erection.

Monica froze with her eyes open wide.
 
She peeked at his face to see if he was awake.
 
Yellow eyes gazed back at her.
 
Her lips were parted.
 
She noticed his eyes lower to look at them.
 
Then he drew closer to her.

His mouth pressed against hers softly, as if testing to see if she would recoil.
 
Monica accepted the kiss.
 
His lips were warm, gentle, and his massive arms still held her against him.

When he parted from her mouth he fixed on her eyes.
 
She didn
’t shy from the gaze.
 
So far, she’d enjoyed a sweet morning kiss.
 
No alarms were going off in her mind.
 

Monica heard his deep breathing.
 
Her eyelashes lowered.
 
Was he going to have sex with her now?
 
The thought caused a twinge of dread, but his kiss had been so gentle.
 
If he continued that way then it wouldn
’t be so bad, would it?

Javintore
’s large body turned and lifted, shifting her off him and then beneath him.
 
Her eyes became wide again.
 
His body radiated both warmth and power.
 
His body blocked her entire frame of vision.
 
She realized she was tiny beneath him.
 
Her dread amplified.
 
Javintore could do anything he wished to her.

He lowered to unite their lips again.
 
The movement was measured, just as before.
 
She closed her eyes and accepted the gentle mouth closing over her own.
 
His hand moved up to feel her hair and then glide over her nape.
 
Monica
’s chest quivered.
 
The touch had lit goosebumps all over her flesh.
 

Javintore tilted his head to deepen the kiss.
 
His tongue came into her mouth, found her own, and slid against it.
 
Monica clenched the bed linens with both her fists.
 
His sensual tongue started to light up flutters in her middle.
 
She felt weaker, and yet tense.
 
Her nipples hardened under his firm chest, growing more agitated with even the slightest movement.

He broke once more.
 
His eyes gleamed now, and the breaths she heard were hitting against her chin.
 
She felt his hand run down the side of her breast, over her ribs, and then to her hip.
 
He began to hitch up her dress.

Monica winced.
 
She turned her face to the side.

He stopped.
 
“What’s wrong?”

She looked at him again.
 
Guilt knocked all the melty feelings out of her middle.
 

“Nothing.”
 
She felt as though she had to whisper.
 
“Do whatever you want to me.”
 
She swallowed.
 
“I owe you.”

His eyes flared.
 
He rolled off her to the side of the bed.
 
Monica sat up.
 
Her heart beat fast now.
 
She was horrified that she
’d screwed up with him.

“You don’t owe me anything,” he said, with his brow pulled downward.
 

Monica bit her bottom lip.
 
Why had she been so childish?
 
She should have been compliant.

“Monica.”
 

She looked at him with distress still etched on her face.

He dug her hand out from under the blanket.
 
His expression softened.

“I’m not going to add to your trauma.
 
I can wait until you’re ready.”

She cleared a lump from her throat.
 
“It’s fine though.
 
I think I can do it.”

“I don’t want to force you.
 
You shouldn’t be trying to force yourself.”

Her face remained marked with grief.
 
“I didn’t mean to turn you on though.”

Javintore scoffed.
 
“I handled things just fine before you came along.”
 
He crept back toward her while still clutching her hand.
 
His face was reassuring now.
 
“We’ll try again when you’re ready.
 
Agreed?”

She nodded.
 
“Thank you.”

He gave her hand a puckered kiss, and then exited the bed.

Monica inhaled deeply and then let the breath come out as a blissful shudder.
 

You
’re a wonderful man, Javintore.

She assumed he took care of his needs in the shower.
 
When he emerged in tight dark pants there was no sign of his former arousal.
 
Monica was seated at the table where food had already been served.
 
She was waiting for him to join her before eating.

“There should be more clothes for you ready.
 
I’ll make sure Zinotem brings them so you can shower.”
 
He coated his green bread with syrup.

“Thank you.
 
I really appreciate everything.
 
I…I wish I could let you know how much.”

He half-smiled at her.
 
“You don’t have to sleep with me to show your thanks.”

“I just thought that was the deal.”

He tipped his head up to consider this as she dug into her food.
 
“If you were frisky and happy, then we could have had some fun.
 
But you’re a victim.
 
You’re recovering.
 
And since I’d like to keep you permanently, I’m not going to do anything that will damage you even more than you already are.”

Monica avoided his eyes.
 
“I’m sorry to be a pain in your ass.”

“Shut up.”
 

She pursed her lips.

His yellow-eyed gaze penetrated her.
 
“I like you.”

Monica began to fidget.
 
Her middle was growing jellified.

He cut into his food purposefully.
 
“I’m going to make you like me in return.”

She had to laugh.
 
His eyes recaptured hers.

“What makes you think I don’t like you already?”

Javintore smiled.
 
It gave her a shiver while also making her blush.
 
She felt so giddy she almost couldn
’t chew.
 
For a while the ate in silence, then Javintore looked back at her.

“We’re going to be meeting with a Hax-Rah battleship in three days.”

Monica tipped up her head.

“I think I’d like you to be with me while I see the Gen-lord.”

She grew anxious.
 
“Okay.”

“This is a mission I’m interjecting myself into.
 
I’m not welcome.
 
The Gen-lord has been threatening me through messages.”

Monica stopped eating as she listened.

“It’s an important mission.
 
I need to be involved.
 
I think the Gen-lord will be less hostile if I have a pretty Earth woman with me.”

“Oh.”
 
She fought to restrain a smile.
 
“No problem.”
 
She paused and then said, “What do I do?”

“Pretend you’re my wife, and that you love me.”

Again, she fought to hold back a burgeoning smile.
 
“That won’t be too hard.”

He bowed his head to her.

Javintore continued to hold her chastely in his arms when they went to bed over the next few days.
 
She felt no apprehension when she was with him.
 
His caresses were always a flutter-inducing pleasure.
 
They kissed now and again, with the same degree of passion as before.
 
Javintore never took things further.

Part of her started to wish he would.
 
She caught her eyes dancing over his gorgeously chiseled body more than once.

She saw her face begin to grow rounder.
 
Her sheepishness began to lessen also.
 
One evening Javintore sat working at his console.
 
Monica found herself slinking up behind his chair, and then curling her arms around his thick shoulders.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked.
 

The alien snatched her and pulled her onto his ample lap.
 
Monica couldn
’t hold back a joyful giggle.

Later on Javintore took her out of their quarters to see the bridge and the dutiful robots piloting the ship.
 
After that he opened his most present robot
’s head and let her see the sophisticated circuitry.
 

“You can keep adding to the different neural pathways by putting amplifier chips in this subsection.
 
I’m going to make him more polite.”

“You don’t think he’s polite enough?” she asked.

“He can do better.
 
He’s the robot I have seeing to you.”

Knowing the upgrade was for her made her gush with warmth inside.
 
She also adored seeing Javintore
’s eyes light up with such excitement.
 
He had skills that most Hax-Rah lacked.
 
Monica sneaked glances at him as he worked.
 

The most brilliant Hax-Rah in the Empire—and I
’m with him.
 
She sighed.

On the day when they were to meet the battleship, a robot brought her another fresh set of clothes.
 
This time they seemed to be an alien design rather than the last few Earth-style outfits:
 
a long heavy black skirt with large pleats that alternated from soft fabric to a kind of leather, a close-fitting black leather bodice, and a short black jacket.
 

She gaped at herself in the mirror once she had it on.
 
She looked like an alien princess.
 

The robot who Javintore referred to as Zinotem came in and brought her clips for her hair.
 
Javintore entered after him when he saw she was dressed.
 
His eyes drank in every vampish feature.

“You look stunning.”

Monica demurred with her head turned downward.
 
“Thank you.”

He told her how he wanted her hair to be pulled up.
 
It was given body on top, while tendrils flowed loose in back.
 
Javintore put in a few clips himself.
 
His nearness, and the feeling of him toying with her hair, made her grow flushed.
 
She had to steady herself on the sink when her legs weakened.
 

Yes, she was still a swooning sixteen-year-old underneath all her trauma.
 
Monica didn
’t chide herself.
 
She had to be with him no matter what, right?
 
Why not have a crush on him.
 

He presented her some plum colored lipstick.
 
Once on, she truly felt vampish.
 
Her dark lips were striking on the pale skin of her face.

Javintore kissed the side of her neck.
 
“Luscious.”

Ungh!
 
Oh my God, Monica, get a hold of yourself.

“We’re near the battleship.
 
We’ll take a shuttle now.”

Monica
’s heart thrummed.
 
She realized she was a tight bundle of nerves.

Javintore glanced at her during their shuttle ride.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just…I don’t know how I’m supposed to act.”

A deep furrow formed between his brows.
 
“It’s too much for you.”

She blinked.
 
“What?
 
No, Javintore.
 
I’ll be fine as long as you’re there.”

“You force yourself to do things you’re not ready for just to please me.”

Monica frowned.
 
Hearing this truth frustrated her.
 

“You know, I’m allowed to want to please you.
 
It’s okay for me to stretch myself sometimes.
 
I’m a big girl and I know what I can handle.
 
You’ve been great to me—better than I ever thought I had the right to expect.
 
If I want to give a little back then that’s my choice.
 
Don’t deprive me of the chance to please you.”

He smiled while glancing at her.
 
His large hand took her smaller one into his lap.
 

“Well said.”

She felt proud of herself.
 
These were the words of someone who no longer felt like a victim.

“You don’t have to be worried.
 
The Gen-lord won’t have the chip for your language.”
 
(She’d learned that they put language chips in an implant at the base of their skulls.)
 
“You won’t have to talk to him.
 
Just be present.”

She should have assumed this, but now she realized she
’d have no idea what was going on.
 
Javintore had never explained his mission to her.
 
She felt scared to ask.
 
What if it was the normal Hax-Rah horribleness?
 
She preferred to keep her idealized impression of Javintore.

The ship docked with a clang.
 
Monica exited behind Javintore into a bay far darker than the one on Javintore
’s ship.
 
Each tile of the wall looked like it was covered in black grease.
 
There were massive ships in the bay, all heavy with blasters and bombs.
 
The sleek four-winged vehicles were large enough for pilots—unlike Javintore’s drones.

Four Hax-Rah men came to meet them.
 
One of them was wearing what looked like a sparkling blue king
’s robe over his hulking muscles.
 
He had a white mane of hair and a face covered in deep wrinkles.
 
The rest of the men stood behind the first alien with their arms crossed over their exposed chests.
 
Their uniform was the black shoulder mantle and low-slung black pants she’d first seen Javintore wear.

Her master approached the
‘king’, whom Monica assumed was the Gen-lord.
 
He moved aside to reveal Monica behind him.
 
She heard him say her name after a line of the alien language.
 

The elder Gen-lord gaped at her with what she thought was an expression of anger.
 
Then he turned away and muttered something.
 
His spoke to Javintore with an even tone with his eyes looking everywhere except at Javintore
’s face.
 
He swept his robe and led them through the bay, gesturing with his large arm to different ships they passed.
 
Monica followed dutifully at her master’s side.
 
He placed his arm around her when they paused on a mezzanine.
 
The Gen-lord noticed this and halted his tour for several awkward moments of staring.
 
Monica felt his eyes peeling off the layers of her clothes.
 
She drew her body against Javintore’s side.

They continued to an elevator that careened her from side to side and made her stomach lurch.
 
It opened to a conference room.
 
An oval black metal table took most of the space with some bulky machinery at its center.
 
The Gen-lord sat at the head of the table where there was an embedded console.
 
His men sat on one side of him; Monica and Javintore sat across from them.

After a great deal of talking that made her eyes glaze over, the king started tapping buttons in his console.
 
A hologram appeared above the equipment in the middle of the table.
 
The Gen-lord continued speaking throughout the demonstration.

Monica saw what looked like a fat striped slug swimming with undulations of its body.
 
The view panned out to reveal hundreds of slugs.
 
They were swimming through space, not water.
 
A planet that looked like Earth, except with green oceans, took over the view.
 
A group of emaciated slaves seated on the ground were shown.
 
Monica
’s lips parted.
 
Most of the slaves were pink creatures with elongated necks, but several humans were in the mix.
 

The slugs rained on them.
 
They dove for their heads, and then burned their way into their skulls as though their bodies emitted acid.
 
Monica cringed.
 
Each shrieking slave had a slug lodged into their heads with their fat striped tails squirming just outside.
 

An electrified net came over the entire group.
 
It closed around them, drawing the now stupefied slaves closer together until their bodies crushed into each other.
 

The next scene was of a small ship towing the bundle of worms and bodies in the net through space.
 
It headed toward the swirling corona of a black hole.
 
Then it was stretched and sucked into the abyss, net bundle and all.

The Gen-lord shut off the demonstration.
 
He stopped speaking to look at Javintore.

Her master said a few calm, level words.
 
The Gen-lord spat something belligerent back to him.
 
Javintore continued his argument without raising his voice.
 
The Gen-lord stood and slammed his fist on the table, denting it.
 
He now shouted.
 
Javintore continued, speaking over the Gen-lord since he could barely get a word in.
 

The Gen-lord finally dropped back into his chair.
 
He was panting with his clenched teeth bared.
 
Then, suddenly, he started laughing.
 
His yellow eyes grew wild.
 
He bellowed with the ferocious laugh several moments while Javintore waited.
 
Then he darted narrow eyes at him.

This time when he spoke he gestured towards Monica.

Javintore shouted for the first time.
 
It was three angry words projected with the power of a battering ram.
 

The Gen-lord
’s smile erased.
 
He gave a low growl before answering.
 
Monica ached to no what he was saying.
 
Each sentenced seemed to amplify the anger in Javintore’s face.

He stood up with a jolt that startled Monica.
 
His hand nudged her arm to make her stand also.
 
Javintore replied to the Gen-lord with threatening alien words.
 
He led her to the elevator.

One of the Gen-lord
’s men ran after them.
 
He zipped into the elevator just before the door closed.
 
Monica’s heart raced.
 
She thought it was an attack.
 
Javintore’s cool angry demeanor reassured her.

The man spoke to Javintore with plaintive words.
 
His hands turned up and his shoulders shrugged.
 
The Mek-lord responded with level anger, but the man continued.
 
He tapped the keypad on the elevator.
 
Monica saw Javintore bow his head.

They exited into an expansive open area where there was an iron bench.
 
The Gen-lord
’s man stayed behind in the elevator.
 

Hax-Rah soldiers were entering and exiting different elevators or doors in the black tiled walls around them.
 
Three open levels were visible.
 
Monica was reminded of a hotel lobby with balconies.

Javintore sat on the nearest bench.
 
She quickly moved to sit beside him.

His anger was still palpable, infecting the handsome features of his face.
 
Monica kept her lips sealed.

“The pig wants me to give you to him in order to get my way.”