Chapter Four
Pacing in an eight-foot-square box wasn’t easy, although in her agitated state, Maggie managed to do it, stopping every few minutes to press on the transparent walls, searching for weak areas that might prove an avenue for escape. Eyeing one of the corners, she stepped up to it, running her fingers along the seam, again finding nothing.
“Give it a rest, will you, Mags?” Rebecca pleaded with exasperation. “We’ve been over every inch of this damned jail cell at least ten times. Sit down, before you wear yourself out and drive me insane.” She patted the empty spot beside her on the thinly padded wall-mounted bed.
“I can’t sit, let alone rest.”
As she went back to pacing, she noticed two aliens had entered the cargo hold which served as their prison and were walking down the wide aisle between the rows of cells. Maggie froze as they approached, thinking they had come for her and Rebecca, but they stopped across the way and escorted six more of her crew out. It had been going on like this since she regained consciousness several hours earlier. Every fifteen minutes or so, a few of her people were taken and never returned. As she watched this next group depart, she did what she had done each time.
“I am the captain,” she shouted, smacking both palms on the walls as they moved past without stopping. “I demand to see whoever is in charge.”
Take me to your leader seemed a bit overdone or she would have said precisely that.
As usual, they did nothing more than glance her way, amused expressions on their handsome faces then moved on either ignoring or not understanding her request.
“You can stop that as well,” Rebecca commented tiredly. “Obviously, they don’t speak irate female or English.”
“How are you so calm?” she demanded as she whirled around. Unperturbed, her senior officer, closest advisor, and dear friend shrugged. Maggie peered at her more closely. “You do get we’ve been taken captive, and our ship has been stolen, right? Are you in shock, or is this denial?”
Rebecca’s brows slanted together before she answered. “I think it’s a little of both, but in either case, I don’t see what good pacing and wringing my hands will do any of us. Besides, I’ve seen these guys before and since they’re not throwing our women over their shoulders and acting like cavemen, and maybe because they put clothes on—although that’s hardly the best part of this scenario—they don’t seem nearly as menacing.” She paused, shrugging once more. “Maybe I’m desensitized.”
“Yes, about that. I thought you said these guys were barbarians.” She extended her arms to the sides. “Look around you. This isn’t exactly a cave or a grass hut. Their technology is far more advanced than ours, and despite the fact they seem to think they have the right to conquer and imprison whatever species they happen upon, not to mention stealing ships whenever they like, they aren’t dragging their knuckles on the ground and picking bugs off one another.”
Rebecca arched a brow sharply. “If you’d have been down there, in the jungle, being chased by one of those black-bearded giants with their ass-length hair unbound and wild, or saw them jumping out of the trees, buck naked except for a minuscule scrap of leather over their, uh…”—she gestured to the area below her waist—“junk, for lack of a less crude term, you’d think they were barbarians, too.”
Maggie opened her mouth, about to concede her point as well as apologize for being insensitive after what Rebecca had gone through when she saw her cell mate’s eyes widen as she stared at something over her shoulder. Twisting quickly, she jumped, finding two of the aliens standing inches away, the thin, transparent cell walls the only thing separating them.
Their size was imposing, with unbelievably broad shoulders and rippling muscles that tested the confines of their snug clothing, which appeared to be a uniform of some type. When the taller of the two crossed his arms over his massive chest and moved closer, Maggie half expected him to burst his seams and rip through his clothes like the Incredible Hulk from the ancient superhero comic books her brother used to gobble up as a kid. They didn’t, and he didn’t turn green.
Speechless, not only over their immense size but the fact these men didn’t look like the hulking, barefoot, grunting barbarians her crew had described. They wore quality, well-tailored clothing, each with a clean-shaven masculine jaw without the slightest hint of the reported grizzly black beard. They did all have long dark hair, although not wild as Rebecca had mentioned. Most wore it tied neatly in a ponytail, others in a thick black waist-length braid, and some, like the big one standing in front of her now, wore it loose around his shoulders like a sleek sable curtain.
That gave Maggie pause because it reminded her of…
No, it couldn’t be. That was crazy.
As she peered up into his face—being only five and a half feet tall, this was a long way up, because the guy was freaking huge—Maggie took a sudden step back. She immediately regretted it; showing weakness to an enemy was never a good strategy. Despite this, she was unable to stop herself. It wasn’t out of fear, or intimidation, or because, like all the others, he possessed a striking male beauty: it was his eyes. Light purple, like the lavender grown in abundance in her hometown of Sequim, Washington. The only other time she’d seen that exact hue had been in the intense gaze of her alien lover from her dream.
Her mind became congested with doubt. Had it been a dream, induced by her crew’s vivid descriptions? Or perhaps, a premonition? She struggled to hide how disturbed she was by the likeness. It was a lot to ask of anyone in her situation, and while she kept her face carefully composed, her hands still trembled. Maggie quickly clasped them behind her as she tipped up her chin and met his gaze, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
When the hard line of his mouth eased a fraction, she suspected her hope was in vain.
“What are they waiting for? Why don’t they say or do something?” Rebecca asked, now standing at her shoulder. Her voice pitched slightly higher than usual told Maggie she wasn’t quite as collected as she tried to let on.
“Intimidation is my guess. Besides, what good would it do, since we don’t speak giant alien and none of them knows a word of English? As for doing something, are you in such a rush to be hauled off to God knows where to have God knows what done to us?”
The purple-eyed alien said something to her in a deep, sensual voice, so familiar, it sent a ripple of awareness shooting through her. Maggie stiffened, alarmed once more at her body’s uncontrolled response to an alien who was also her captor. She shifted slightly, glancing at Rebecca, who was staring wide-eyed at the enormous aliens looming over them.
His low rumble of unintelligible speech brought her attention back to the big guy, and for some reason, her frustration bubbled up to the surface.
“Save your breath, Gigantor. We don’t understand you.”
His lips twitched, and although she couldn’t be sure, she thought she saw a flicker of amusement cross his face.
“Did you see that?” Rebecca exclaimed. “I think he understood you.”
Without taking his eyes from Maggie, the man lifted his chin. He spoke again, the words strange, though his baritone made the language intensely melodic.
“Their language,” she murmured, apparently being of the same thought. “It’s almost as if they’re singing.”
The man standing beside and slightly behind the taller one chuckled at Rebecca’s comment.
“You do understand what we say!” Maggie accused. Immediately, she started in with her harangue. “You can’t keep us here against our will. We’re free women,” she shouted in his face, or in that general direction because she only came up to his chest. It had been disconcerting to be towered over by Earth men all her life, but with these giants, it was downright irritating.
It was also alarming because, with her little spurt of temper, he was coming in.
He waved his hand over a sensor on the ceiling, and the door slid open. Both she and Rebecca hurried out of the way. It was either that or be squashed, as their combined bulk evaporated the little space left in the tiny cell. Lavender eyes came to stand in front of her. The other one, whose teal gaze had fixed on Rebecca, stepped her way, an engaging smile on his handsome face.
Maggie wouldn’t allow herself to be distracted or daunted, and stated in her sternest authoritative voice, “Since you can understand me. I demand to speak to whoever is in charge. Now!”
Teal eyes laughed outright at that, while at the same time guiding Rebecca out of the cell.
“Wait,” her first officer demanded, but he didn’t slow, not when she fought his hold or when she took a swing at him. It did spur a reaction. He bent, shoved a shoulder into her belly, and flipped her up and over, clamping a sinewy arm around her kicking legs as he carried her out.
Maggie tried to follow and help her friend, although she knew it was pointless, especially when fingers curled around her arm and held her still. “Where are you taking her?” she yelled at the departing man. When he ignored her question and kept striding to the door, she turned back to her jailor.
“I demand to see your captain,” she repeated boldly, or perhaps stupidly because she was alone in the cell with him now.
One long finger stretched out and glided along the insignia on her sleeve that denoted her rank. Next, he tapped the design adorning his uniform.
“It’s you?” she asked on a sharp intake of breath.
He inclined his head, as he gave her a smile that sent her pulse racing.
Then, like all the others, except the caveman who hauled Rebecca away over his shoulder, he took her arm and led her out. As she passed the other, now-empty cells, it dawned on her they’d left the highest-ranking officers for last. Why that would be, she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think it boded well for either of them, not that any of the recent events did.
Her situation went from bad to worse in the next few minutes.
Silently, because what was the point of talking, he took her to a large room filled with beeping, flashing monitors on the walls and uniformed staff moving in and out of partitioned areas with beds. Maggie had no doubt it was an infirmary. Stories of alien probes and tests from stories she’d read as a teen flooded her head, and she dug in her heels.
It didn’t slow Gigantor down at all, his arm coming around her waist and lifting her against his hip.
“What are you planning to do?” she demanded, as he moved farther into the room and to an empty cubicle. They passed several of her crew already strapped to the tables, which clued her in. “No,” she cried as she struggled within his hold. But the captain, or whoever he was, didn’t have the patience for her resistance. After barking something she didn’t understand, he lifted her in his arms and put her where he wanted her.
Uselessly fighting his unbending grip, Maggie cursed a blue streak as, like the others, she was strapped to the table. The technician who was at her feet wasn’t as efficient as her irritated captor and lost his hold. She took the opportunity given her and kicked him hard in the jaw. Slighter than the other man, he crumpled to the floor with a thud.
Immediately, her alien caught her foot in his giant hand and saw to the task himself. Once she was immobilized, he stalked to the end of her bed and with his hands on his hips, shouted some unintelligible orders. Fuming, Maggie watched with mixed emotions: a touch of satisfaction for having taken one of them down with a single kick, and dread, that her actions had made the bigger one lose his temper.
“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, Mags,” a voice called softly.
She rolled her head on the flat, useless pillow and saw Rebecca through an opening in the seam of the folding partition that separated the cubicles. Strapped down the same as she was, they shared a moment of commiseration, before a technician moved up beside her, blocking Maggie’s view. She strained to see around him to determine what they were doing, which would likely happen to her next.
A rumble by her ear refocused her attention. Looking up, she saw lavender eyes staring down at her. His anger seemed to have faded as he murmured something in a coaxing voice as if talking to a child. It still made no sense to her, and she shook her head. He tilted his head, features soft as he gazed down at her then he nodded.
She didn’t need words to understand what he meant. What he had planned was happening, whether she wanted it or not.
Unbidden, and hating herself for the weakness, tears stung her eyes. She blinked trying to hold them at bay.
He said something softly, and what sounded like a hushing noise, as his big hands came up and took hold of her head. With his palms over her ears and long fingers threaded into her hair, he said something, louder and harsher, as if losing patience.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another man in a black and white tunic with a dark, neatly trimmed beard enter the cubicle. He moved forward then suddenly lurched to a halt and stared at the floor where the man she had injured went down. With eyes wide, he glanced up at her and made a comment.
The man holding her chuckled, and motioned for the bearded man with his head. When he stepped up beside her bed with a device of some kind in his hands, Maggie knew that whatever it was, was intended for her.
Terrified, she lost control, and did what she had tried desperately not to, but wanted to since this whole awful nightmare had begun. Something she never did, or ever planned to, certainly not in front of others, and in particular, him.
To her horror, Maggie started to cry, and worse, she pleaded along with the tears. “Don’t do this, please.”
He said something softly and used his thumbs to wipe away the wet trail tracking down her cheeks, yet he didn’t put a stop to what he had planned.
“No,” she whispered as the other man put a dark shield over her eyes. Once they settled in place, she knew no more fear or the embarrassing arousal that rushed through her body at the big man’s touch. Instead, she knew nothing, as darkness blanked her mind.
***
“She’s a feisty one, Commander. And strong. I’ve never seen Aldo knocked out before, and he spars on a regular basis.”
Ignoring his comment as the time dragged slowly by, Roth glanced up at the monitor. The gauges were in the normal zone, which was encouraging, and the blip representing her beating heart was steady, except it was well past the average duration for a simple translator insertion.
“Shouldn’t she have come out of it by now?”
The med-tech stopped his droning about nothing important to check the little captain’s readings on the monitor. He laid his fingers along the side of her throat as he did so.
“Some of the females have been slow to rouse, we’ve found. In her case, everything appears normal. I imagine when this one wakes, she’ll be fuming mad like so many of the others. They are an interesting and diverse species. Some are meek and timid, but few are as feisty as poor Aldo found out personally. You’ll have your hands full, Commander.”
Roth smiled as he gazed down at the sleeping female. She was indeed spirited and had an impressive temper. He’d also glimpsed a wealth of other traits: courage, caring, protectiveness, and back in the cell, an air of authority as she demanded freedom on her people’s behalf, which he found admirable.
There had also been moments that surprised him. Her shocked reaction when she’d first seen him. She’d been on the ship for hours, seeing other warriors coming and going, but when she’d looked up at him, she was startled, and couldn’t hide how her hands shook no matter that she’d hidden them behind her back. But most surprising of all when tears filled her lovely blue eyes. Her vulnerability in those moments had affected him deeply. He’d wanted to take her into his arms, hold her tight to his chest, and whisper words of reassurance as he kissed her tempting lips.
“She’s a beauty,” the man observed aloud as he worked. “Are you hoping for a match?”
Roth tensed. “I have other obligations. Another male will have the privilege.”
His tone was sharper than he intended, but the thought of her belonging to another didn’t sit well with him. Neither did the surge of possessiveness—for the second time. Even so, a mate wasn’t in his plan, not now or ever. He’d have to get over his disturbing feelings for the pretty alien. Thank the Maker his duties which took him away from Primaria, leaving her safely behind, would help with that.
“Can you give her something to wake her? I have other business to see to.”
“It’s best if she rouses on her own,” the technician stated, giving him an odd look at his sudden impatience. A small sigh from the female on the bed drew their attention, and the next instant her lashes fluttered open.
Dazed, she blinked, plainly trying to get her bearings. He leaned over her, one hand flat on the bed near her hip as he watched her come out of her drowse. Once more, he was reminded of a purrada, warm and sweet, especially when gazing sleepily up at him and smiling softly. It was his turn to blink. Already lovely, the curve of her mouth and the softness that graced her face at that moment made her breathtakingly beautiful. He moved closer, asking in a low voice so as not to startle her.
“Can you understand me, little captain?”
As if doused in cold water, she stiffened, the smile and gentleness fading from her features then she frowned.
“Are you speaking English?”
“No.” He tapped her temple lightly. “You can understand my language thanks to the translator we inserted.”
“You mean like in brain surgery?” Plainly horrified, she struggled uselessly against her bonds.
“Hush, now. It was a minor procedure we perform on every child by the time they reach the age of five. No harm was done, I assure you.”
“No harm! You tied me down, touched me without permission, and rooted around in my head.” Suddenly, she went rigid, staring up at him in horrified accusation. “What other terrible things did you do while I was unconscious?”
“Only the translator, nothing more.”
“Like I believe you.” Her cheeks flushed with color, and the stunning blue of her eyes snapped with outrage. She was magnificent, and he couldn’t keep from smiling.
“You think this is funny? Let me loose.”
“Certainly.” Nodding to the technician, they both worked to release the restraints. Soon, she was free to sit up, which she did much too quickly.
“Carefully,” he warned. “There may be some mild residual effects.”
As if on cue, she swayed unsteadily, her hands flying to her temples.
“Dizziness, headache, mild nausea, to name a few,” the tech advised.
“I can’t believe you stuck something in my brain,” she whispered, her fingers running over her temples and through her hair, searching for a mark of some kind. He knew what she’d find—nothing. The procedure was practically undetectable. Her head whipped around and with a hostile glare at the med-tech, she demanded of him, “Take it out.”
“No,” Roth stated, striving for patience. “You need it.”
Hair in soft waves flew around her head as it snapped back, and the blue orbs that only moments ago had belonged to a sleepy purrada, now brimmed with fury as they locked on him. “Not if you let us go, we don’t. What else can you do with it? Read our thoughts? Control us?” Her accusations were offensive, though understandable.
“We wouldn’t do that.”
“You stole eight of my crew from the research planet, and then came back for seconds by stealing my whole damn ship. I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you.” Her gaze scanned up and down his large frame, adding as she held up her thumb and forefinger a hair’s width apart, “Which is about this far. Who are you? Why have you done this? What do you want?”
“Your many questions will be answered when we arrive on Primaria.”
“Prime what?”
“Primaria. It is our home planet. Once there, we will explain your new roles in our society.” He curled his long fingers around her upper arm to assist her from the exam table, but she wrenched it free. As she came to her feet under her own power, she lurched forward, her hands reaching out to grab hold of something, anything, to save herself from falling. It happened to be him. As her fists gripped his tunic, Roth slipped his hands around her slender waist and held her until she was steady on her feet.
“I’m fine now,” she muttered after a few moments, not looking at him. The proud female was apparently distressed by showing him weakness and needing his assistance.
In his care, although only for this short time, he still wouldn’t let her hide from him. He nudged up her chin with one hand. “Any more dizziness?” he asked, searching her face for tell-tale signs of further adverse effects. “Or perhaps queasiness?”
Twin crimson stains appeared high on her cheeks as she shook her head while averting her gaze. She would need to learn not to be embarrassed over her body’s natural responses. As her mate, he would work on that shyness.
He pulled his hands away as if he’d been scalded. What was he thinking?
“If you’re feeling better, you can follow me,” he pronounced curtly as he made his way toward the door.
“Where are we going?”
“I’ll take you to where you’ll be staying until we arrive at your new home.”
“That’s it?” she demanded shortly, a sharp edge to her voice.
Already at the door, he turned to see she had come to a halt in the middle of the floor and crossed her arms over her chest.
“You’ve claimed us like property, given us no say about altering our brains, and still you expect me to comply? You are nuts.”
He found himself mirroring her stance. “I don’t care for your tone.”
She huffed a humorless laugh. “And I’m supposed to care that you don’t? I’ve been kidnapped, held prisoner, strapped down, and operated on, and you expect civility?” She shook her head as though she thought he was slow witted then cocked out a hip, prepared for a standoff. She’d learn fast that his tolerance wasn’t endless.
Slowly, he stalked toward her, not stopping until he was in her space, his large body a tiny distance from hers, unabashedly using his size to intimidate. Before he said what he had to say, he waited until her head tipped back and she gazed up at him.
“I suggest you rethink your position, little one. This is not your ship, and you are not in charge here. I am. Disregard me at your peril.”
She didn’t flinch, he’d give her credit for that, but her eyes widened a fraction at his veiled threat, the color in her face muting slightly. After a few silent moments, she wisely adjusted her closed-off stance, letting her hands fall to her sides, becoming far less antagonistic.
Still, toe-to-toe with her, he pushed his advantage, laying everything out clearly for her. “I have been patient. I understand this is all new, and I’m sure very frightening, but let me make something well understood. I am the commander, in charge of the Primarian space fleet. I have authority of this ship and everyone on it, including you. While I don’t expect you to swear your undying loyalty to me, I do require that you respect the position, if not the man. That will come in time. I, in turn, will keep you safe, ensure that you are provided for while in my care and that you are treated with the same courtesy we treat all our females. However,” he added, leaning down for effect, bringing them nose to nose, “if I hear another insult, smart remark, or anything else in that cutting tone, I will put you over my knee and punish you in the time-honored fashion with which we deal with disrespect on Primaria. Have I made myself clear?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” she rejoined sharply.
He arched a brow in return. “Push me further, and you can test your theory.”
Her mouth opened. Then, as though she thought better of what she might say, it snapped shut.
“I require an answer, little earthling. Yes, Commander will suffice.”
She stared up at him a moment, swallowing audibly, before she uttered, “Yes, Commander.” As she replied, she made a face as though the words tasted bitter on her tongue. He let that slide.
“Very good, now come with me.”
“This is very unfair, you know. Every bit of it.”
“Such is the lot of your weaker gender and species, I’m afraid. And believe me, we Primarians know very well life often isn’t fair.”