The slaver alien was yellow-skinned, like the color of neon piss. He had two heads, and with both of them, he had looked at her like a thing, not a person.

When the slime had come over and actually touched her, Vi had thought she would totally lose it. If that puddle of piss thought he could touch her, he had another thing coming, slave act or no.

She stared at the floor, seconds from blowing her cover and ripping her arm out of the guy’s grasp.

The sound of Haze’s voice sent a thrill through her. “Get your hands off my woman, slaver.” His voice was completely calm, and death was promised in only a few words.

The man took a couple steps away, and she relaxed slightly. He still kept leering over at her with one of his heads though.

She wanted to smack one head back into the other, so they’d bounce off each other like pin balls, maybe make his eyes roll around in their sockets. The image made her happy.

Damn, this outfit. She was practically naked, with the way this thing was cut.

While Haze finished up the arrangements, she kept her arms crossed in front of her. She couldn’t really listen; too busy worrying about the grimy man nearby.

Then her tall, muscular, green god with that damn, beautiful tail was walking toward her with this alert, alive look on his face. It was like he was going to plow through who knows how many people to get to her. Her stomach dropped.

How did a slave act in this situation? Who the hell cares? She could stare if she wanted.

She didn’t think of herself as that kind of girl, but sometimes it was damn nice, especially on this planet full of low lifes and criminals. Figures her first alien world would be at the butt hole end of the universe.

He touched her arm very gently but firmly. He turned to stare at the slaver until the man took another step back, then Haze cleared the room with Vi in tow.

As they went to the street, he dragged her along beside him. He seemed to be in some sort of fury now, walking fast so that she had to trip along to catch up.

After a minute of this, she thought it was time to protest. “Uh, Haze, I’m totally going to pull myself out of your grip if you don’t knock it off.”

“What?” He drew up short and released her. “Let’s get back,” he said and moved at a more casual but still hurried pace to their hotel.

As they entered the elevator back at the hotel, he stood silent beside her. The doors slid open, and he strode down the hall to their room.

After unlocking the door, he held it open so that she could walk in. He closed it behind them and tossed the key on the bed.

Haze froze and ran a hand through his hair. At that moment, their eyes met, and she felt their desire leap between them. He took a quick step over and pulled her into his arms. He moaned softly as his lips found hers in a hurried kiss. His tail wrapped around her waist holding her close.

As they broke apart, she was panting slightly from his feverish kiss. “How much trouble are we in?” she asked.

He sat down on the bed, looking dejected. “The whole thing is a mess. I didn’t know what else to do but get out of there. That guy makes my blood boil. I can’t believe, of all places, that guy would show up here.” His expression hardened. “I can’t believe that filth touched you. I wanted to rip off one of his heads and feed it to the other one.”

“Yes, the guy doesn’t deserve a head — either one — but probably better that you didn’t though…” She took a seat across from him at the couch. “So, who was that guy? Something was up between you two.”

“I sort of stole from him. It was awhile back. And nothing that actually belonged to him, if you know what I mean.”

“What? You did what now?”

“It was early days, after the academy, before I joined the Xeo Tarlith crew. I was on a planet pretty far from here and ran into him while trying to make a deal with some locals. Nethar and his crew had a couple slave girls with them.” Haze’s voice dripped scorn. “They were dirty, malnourished, pathetic creatures. I lifted them from his ship while he was attending to the sale of them. I took the women to a safe place. I didn’t think I’d ever see Nethar again.”

“Wait …How come he didn’t shoot you back there?”

“Like he could…” Haze sighed deep. “As far as I know, he thinks his crew stole the girls. At least, I made it look like it. Kind of had to hide a couple bodies in the course of things.” He glanced up. “Don’t feel bad for them. Nethar was the best of them, if you know what I mean. They deserved it.”

“Uh, yeah,” Vi nodded her head. “I don’t think I’ll be feeling bad for any of them. So what? You think he figured it out?”

Haze shrugged. “He knows I wasn’t hot on him being a slaver. He might be putting a few pieces together, especially seeing you. Maybe thinking I stole those girls to go into business for myself.”

“Then he doesn’t know anything for sure?”

“Not really, but it’s not the best timing to see him.” He leaned back on his arms, his tail flicking against the bottom of the bed as he thought, his lanky body stretched out.

Not discounting there was some serious shit going on, but fuck, he was hot. Vi shook her head.

Haze sat back up, seeming to come to a decision. “Well, this deal has gone from bad to worse. It’d have been much simpler if I’d kept you in our room today. For now, you’ll want to stay here until I come back for you. Don’t order room service. Don’t open the door. I’ll leave the pack in case you need anything, okay?”

She nodded her head. “Yup. I can do that.”

“I’m going to get the shuttle prepped and verify she’s charged, so we can leave as soon as the deal’s done.” He looked at her apologetically. “I’ll be better able to evade anyone following me on my own. I’ll be back this afternoon, hopefully with items from a successful sale.” He dug into his pack. “You can eat what Seban brought you if you get hungry.”

“I guess I should have brought you a gun.” He pulled a knife out. “Your father teach you to use a knife?”

Vi shook her head.

“When we get back to the Xeo, we’ll work on that.” He placed the knife on the bed for her anyway. “I’d leave Tiny, but I don’t think she’d really suit you. She’s got a bit of a kick.”

“Hah. I can imagine. I’ll be all right. Next time, just let the girl pack a little heat if she wants to.”

Haze stood up, holding Tiny beside him, glancing around the room another time. He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Stay out of sight, yeah?”

She nodded.

He strode out the door. As it swung shut and locked behind him, Vi felt the emptiness fill the room.

She was on a scary ass end of the galaxy, playing off as a slave amongst slavers, and she was now alone.

This was just perfect.