Reader Abduction (Alien Abduction Book 7) (8 page)

P
hyr chuckled
as he exited his chamber, still fastening his trousers while his shirt hung open and loose. He’d predicted how she would react to the outfit he tossed her. He had, after all, acquired it in a bordello, yet he didn’t leave because he feared retaliation, but more because, if he didn’t, he knew he would shirk his duty as commander.

Even now, as he strode to his command center, he fought to not pivot and return to her that he might stroke the swollen flesh of her mons. He wanted to bury himself between her thighs and pump her. Pump until she screamed and clawed at him.

Madness. Since when did he care about a female’s pleasure? If it pleased him, he did it. If it made him feel good, he did it. The fact it pleasured his partners, too? Just a side effect.

Yet…after she made him climax, he’d wanted to do the same for her. Why? He was satisfied. It made no sense. Hence why he’d left—and stomped to the elevator, a fierce scowl on his face.

As soon as he entered the bridge, Zor noted his mien. “What has you looking so fierce?”

“This is my natural demeanor.”

“No, that is your ‘I need to kill something’ face. Is it the female? Does she continue to reject you?”

It was with great satisfaction he announced, “No, she pleasured me. And pleasured me well.”

“Then I am surprised you are in such a foul mood.”

“It is Zus’ fault,” Phyr stated. “Him and his blasted assertion that I should take her coital needs into account.”

“You are displeased because you had to please her in order for her to succumb to your advances?”

“No, I am displeased because I did not pleasure her, and because of Zus’ words, this isn’t sitting well.”

“You feel guilty?” Zor laughed. “You should if you left her craving her own relief.”

“I never promised her satisfaction in return.” But how he craved to give it to her. Emasculating.

“You know…” Zor stroked his short beard, an anomaly among usually clean-shaven warriors. “The female you took is attractive and you say amenable to pleasuring our kind. It occurs to me that perhaps I should speak to my mother about perhaps dowering the girl. I could use a mate to bear my heirs.”

Phyr had tackled Zor before he even knew he’d jumped over the console separating them. He also had his hand wrapped around the other’s throat and his pointed teeth bared. A low growl rumbled from him.

“Is there a problem, commander?”

Grrr. Argh. Grrr. Phyr couldn’t seem to speak past the sudden rage engulfing him.

“Is this about the female?”

“No.” Phyr managed to spit the word out before leaping off the body of his shipmate. “Why would I care what happens to one irritating Earth barbarian? Bid on her. I don’t care. But don’t expect to receive a discount.” Phyr would soak Zor for every credit his mother wanted to offer plus some if he dared bid on his woman.

His woman?

Grrrr.

“Are you incapacitated? Did you perhaps need to visit the infirmary and have yourself checked for signs of alien contamination?”

“I am not sick.”

“Says the male who is behaving most erratically.”

Time to change the subject before he lost his composure again and killed Zor.

Although, if he dies, I’ll get a bigger share of the cut—and he won’t get Brigitte.

No killing of allies. Yet. But if Zor continued to test him, he’d find himself an enemy very quickly and, thus, fair game.

Drawing his attention away from Zor—who really would look better without his head—he glanced at the view screen and the various scrolling information. “How goes our path through the Badspace?”

“Well, so far. The various asteroids haven’t proven a problem to move around, and we’ve managed to remain far away from the black holes. But…” Zor trailed off.

“But what? Speak.”

“So far our journey seems too easy.”

“We are several galactic cycles from the edge of this area. Plenty can still happen.”

“I know, yet I have the sense of something amiss. Something watches us.”

“Have the sensors revealed anything? Energy traces? Trail fume?” With cloaking technology, spotting the enemy could require skill. Knowing how to read the various data his ship inhaled as it travelled was the best way for a commander and his crew to spot trouble before it happened.

“Nothing concrete. You know as well as I that the readings in this section of the galaxy are unreliable. Too much of everything clouding the results.”

“Perhaps fatigue plagues you and you are imagining things.”

“As my human female likes to express.” Zor flashed a finger at him, the one in the middle of his hand.

More disrespect. Phyr growled. “Those barbarians are corrupting my crew, I see.”

“Lighten up, Phyr. Perhaps it is time we found a little more enjoyment in our work. I, for one, intend to go enjoy the pleasures of one. She has a piercing in her tongue that can—” Whatever Zor meant to say was lost as the door to the command area opened and in stalked trouble. Sexy trouble.

“There you are.” Brigitte planted her hands on her hips. It served only to draw attention to her shapely body, currently clad in a sheer outfit. The top, a simple band of fabric that knotted in the front, hugged her generous breasts while the sheer material clearly outlined her nipples. The skirt hung off her hips, down to about mid-thigh, and the fabric let him see the dark triangle at the vee of her thighs.

She looked ravishable.

And Zor noticed.

For the second time that day, his shipmate found himself on the floor with Phyr’s hand wrapped around his throat. Grrr.

“What are you doing?” she exclaimed.

“My commander is expressing his admiration of your assets,” Zor managed to wheeze.

“By killing you?”

“I wasn’t killing him,” Phyr grumbled as he stood. “Merely testing his reflexes. Which are apparently quite poor given how easily I took him to ground.”

“Thanks to my commander for showcasing my failings. I shall go and hone my skills immediately.” Zor rose and, with a leer at Brigitte that almost saw him throttled again, strode from the bridge—leaving him alone with
her
.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he flopped into his chair. More like a throne, given it sat on a dais, could accommodate a much bigger girth than his own, and had hidden controls in the armrest, including a pair of trigger handles for when he wanted a hands-on flying experience.

“You said I had free rein of your ship. That was the deal. Although, if you ask me, calling this clothing is pushing it.” Her remark about her garments drew his attention to them.

“There is nothing wrong with your garb.”

“I look like a cheap whore.”

“Untrue. The outfit was costly.”

“It’s see-through, and I’m cold.”

“Let me warm you.”

Surely someone else said it? Nope. It was him, and he punctuated his offer with a grab for her that dragged her onto his lap.

She didn’t pose much of a struggle. Rather, she gazed at him quizzically. “You’re very hard to figure out.”

“Hard, yes, but simple to understand. I am a warrior. I follow warrior rules.”

“You’re also a pirate.”

“There is nothing wrong with being a trader of goods.”

“You stole me and the others.”

“Abduction is not a crime on my world. Unless the abduction is of someone belonging to you.” A warrior who could not protect his family had no honor. The guy who stole it achieved both honor and dishonor in equal measure. Theirs was a complex society.

“You plan to sell us.”

“For a sizable profit.” His mother would beam in pride.

“Slavery is wrong.”

“Except you won’t be slaves. We are going to auction you as mates. Which means you will be paired with a warrior and provided for.”

“You mean cared for so long as I sleep with him and give him babies. What if he’s ugly?”

What if anyone who bought her died?

The startling concept that he might want to keep the female plagued him, but not as much as his view screen suddenly lighting.

A light mauve visage peered at him, and she couldn’t hide her surprise. “What’s this?”

“Hello, Mother.”

“Mother!” Brigitte scrambled to remove herself from his lap, but he kept her anchored.

“Son.” Coolly spoken. The same blue eyes he’d inherited perused the situation. “I see your mission to acquire barbarian females succeeded.”

“Indeed it did. Our arrangement with the one called Eve Langlais proved fruitful. As you predicted, the females, already well acquainted with our kind because of the fables penned by Eve, made them malleable to their change in circumstance.”

“Malleable?” Brigitte huffed the word. “I am not malleable or even amenable to it. You didn’t give me a choice, even though I said I didn’t want to come. Your son is a bully, ma’am.”

“He is?” Dark lips spread over a wide smile. “Why, thank you. I did my best to raise him right, even though he didn’t have a father. May my late husband’s spirit roast over the coal of the Hayde’s planet for eternity for being such a poor warrior.”

“Don’t worry, Mother. I won’t shame you like he did.”

“You’d better not, or I’ll do like Heska did with her son and drown you myself.”

The female leaned closer to him, a fact he did not mind, to whisper. “Your mom scares me.”

“She scares everyone. I was the envy of many a warrior growing up.”

His mother’s mien drew closer to the screen. “A proper Kulin mother takes her duties seriously.”

“She also apparently likes to spy on her son.” Phyr arched a brow. “You couldn’t wait for my return?”

“I wish to hear the details of your mission.”

“Details? Or a chance to criticize?”

“One cannot improve unless the flaws are pointed out. So send your little barbarian bedmate along, Phyr, that we might discuss intelligent matters.”

“Did you just call me stupid?” Brigitte left his lap to stand before him, indignation clear in her tense pose. “And I’m not his bedmate.”

“Says the female sporting bordello garb.”

The quick whirl meant he didn’t hide his grin fast enough. She jabbed a finger in his direction. “I knew this wasn’t normal clothing. You dressed me like a slut.”

“No, you dressed yourself. I merely provided it.”

“Semantics. I demand you provide me with proper clothing.”

“Or what?” he said, leaning forward, clear challenge in his tone and gaze.

“Or I’ll go find your friend and see if he wants a roommate for this trip. Hey, maybe he’ll like me enough to make an offer.”

“Never!” Too late did he recall that his mother watched what happened. “I mean, Zor is not interested in a female of your attributes. You would simply irritate him by offering.”

“If she finds Zor attractive, then I think the female should try. I know his mother is most anxious for him to start producing heirs since her other son proved to be so unfortunately clumsy on the battlefield and turned into a slobbering idiot.”

“Zor can’t afford her.” The pit he dug with his words seemed bottomless and the calculation in his mother’s eyes troubling. He needed to end this now. “I’ve decided she is to be sold on the Obsidian market. A female with her attributes will fetch a high price there.”

“What attributes? She is possessed of plain hair, unremarkable features, and is a touch older than is usually sought after.”

Before Phyr could, once again, say something stupid such as, “the female is possessed of wondrous silky hair, fascinating eyes framed in thick lashes and…” Yeah, his mother was right. Old. Plain. Nothing he wanted or needed.

“Bitch.” Brigitte slapped at his armrest. The screen winked out suddenly.

He blinked at Brigitte. “You hung up on my mother.”

“And I called her a nasty name. Which, I might add, she totally deserved. I am beginning to see why you have issues.”

“But how did you know how to disconnect the communication channel?”

She rolled her eyes. “I might be human, but hello, flashing red button that says ‘incoming communication’ kind of gave it away. Which reminds me, you didn’t tell me the chip to understand languages covered writing, too.”

“My mother will be most displeased with your temerity.”

“Your mother can kiss my ass.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. That was really rude.”

“And hanging up on her wasn’t?”

“I thought that was rather restrained of me, given she called me old, dumb, and boring.”

What possessed him to say, “Not even close.” Probably the same thing that possessed him to kiss her. Cupping her face, he captured her mouth, giving in to his fierce desire to lay claim.

She appeared determined to claim him right back given she sucked on his lower lip and made sweet sounds of encouragement. She also clasped his shoulders and turned on his lap to better allow him access to her mouth.

With a bit of maneuvering in his large seat, he managed to have her straddle him, the short skirt of her outfit riding high, the moistness of her core pressing against him. The evidence of her excitement only served to make him harder. Her pleasure excited him. It made him want to experiment.

He ordered her to, “Lean back.” By placing one hand on her waist, he could keep her from falling.

With her hands braced on the armrests, she did as he asked, the new angle allowing him to peek at her mound.

The scent of her arousal perfumed the air, and his mouth watered. Strange. He wasn’t one to feast on his coital partners. His free hand chose to explore her mons, the tip of his finger brushing the damp nether lips that guarded the entrance to her sex.

A shudder went through her, and she moaned. “If you stop, I will kill you.”

Her threat made him chuckle. As if she could harm him. Yet, he couldn’t help a thrill that he could excite her so. Still, that didn’t mean he would let her get away with her bold words. “I am the one in control here, female. Not you.”

Lucky for her, he didn’t intend to stop. He pressed his finger into her welcoming sex, feeling the hot flesh gripping his digit. Deeper, he pushed, the tightness of her channel making him hard.

He inserted a second finger, heard her breath catch and felt the quiver of her sex as it tightened around him.