Suddenly, Sasha felt something hard poking her buttocks. ‘Damn man, she was arousing him.’ Feeling as the heat colored her cheeks, she stopped moving immediately.
“Please, allow me to get up,” she asked, in a cold tone.
“Why should I? I feel quite comfortable the way I am,” he teased her.
“Let me go. This is indecent,” she asked once more, her tone getting stern.
With a broad smile, he sat up, with her still on his lap, his arms still keeping her close to him. “Is this better?” he asked.
“No! Let me go, damn it,” she grumbled, trying one more time to release herself from his embrace, but it was impossible.
He chuckled but finally released her, watching her every move, as she got up. He got up as well, crossing his arms over his chest, ready to jump into action if she tried to escape again. And she did.
Though her common sense urged her to stay still and not provoke him any longer, her reckless mind disregarded any advice, and she tried to escape him again.
This time, he captured her even before she was able to take more than a couple of steps away from him. Picking her in his arms, he carried her to his room, locking the door behind him and throwing her on his bed, pinning her down with his own body.
“This is far more comfortable, don’t you think?” he asked, in a mischievous tone.
She struggled to pull him out of her, but despite her size, he was far too strong for her. “What are you doing?” she protested, ceasing to struggle.
“Making sure you are alright,” he teased her.
“I assure you I would feel a lot better without you on top of me,” she grumbled.
He chuckled and buried his face for a few moments at the base of her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent. He could spend the rest of his life right there, in her arms.
“What were you doing out of your room?” he asked, trying to keep his emotions under control.
“I couldn’t sleep, and when I realized the door was opened, I decided to go for a walk. It’s not like I can escape. We’re in the middle of nowhere.” She explained, sulky, struggling not to moan, feeling him rub his nose against her neck almost destroyed the little control she still had over herself.
“Actually, you could, if you were able to access the ships’ docks,” he stated.
She snorted. “You have to be kidding. Back on Earth, we’ve only made it to our satellite, and only a small bunch of people are able to handle the spaceships that take them there. I wouldn’t know what to do,” she informed him. “God, I was one of the people that didn’t even believe aliens actually visited us in secret.”
He smiled. “You have a very basic technology.”
“Yes, so you can get off of me. I’m not going anywhere,” she agreed, struggling a bit harder to push him away.
“Why should I trust you? You could be lying,” he suggested, with a wicked smile, pinning her harder against the mattress.
“Oh, come on…” she grumbled, and before she could utter another word, he claimed her mouth with a demanding kiss. His rough tongue assailed and conquered her mouth, delving every single inch of it, spiking her arousal up to the roof, making her lose consciousness of where she was.
All that matter was him and his powerful body pressed against her, fueling a fire she didn’t know burned inside her.
When he finally released her lips, they were both breathless and heaving heavily. She allowed herself to submerge into the depths of his gray eyes, finding there a passion and a craving need as powerful as hers.
He leaned over to kiss her again, this time, not so hungry, not so demanding, but still full of passion and sheer desire.
Her fingers entangled with his, eager to capture even if just a tiny piece of him.
An insisting buzz interrupted them. When the annoying sound penetrated the haze of passion they were in, Asgar jumped out of bed and grabbed buzzing device from a bedside table.
“Yes, Egil?” he asked, in a cold tone, as he tried to control his breathing.
“Just checking everything is alright.” His friend replied on the other side of the line.
“What could possibly be wrong?” he asked, though he knew exactly what Egil meant with his words.
Though he was sure she was his soulmate, he shouldn’t be with her, not before she had been taken to the palace and his claim on her was official.
“You tell me.”
Still, on the bed, Sasha covered her face with her hands, scolding herself for being so weak and having surrendered to the enemy so easily and with practically no fight. What kind of dark magic had he conjured over her to make her act that way?
She finally jumped out of bed and stayed there, waiting for him to finish his conversation.
“Can you take me back to my room?” she asked, the minute he ended the call.
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” he said with a self-deprecating scowl in his face.
He guided her to her room, but this time, he didn’t touch her. It was as if he feared a single touch would trigger another explosion of passion between them and he was probably right.
Asgar waited until she got in before he closed the door, making sure he locked it this time. Sasha leaned against it for a few moments recalling all of the passion they had shared just a few minutes ago.
She had lost her mind. That was the only possible explanation, right? Who, in sound judgment, would lose herself in the arms of a man that was clearly her enemy?
With a deep sigh, she returned to the bed and closed her eyes, determined to forget the whole incident, dismissing it as an act of temporary insanity.
The following morning, right after breakfast, she was informed that Eleanor was awake. Once more, Asgar guided her to the infirmary, but when they got there, she had fallen back asleep.
“How was she this morning?” Sasha asked Colborn.
“She was feeling much better and completely conscious of herself and her surroundings. Judging by what she told me, Eskol inflicted a great deal pain in her. She’s still sore and tired, so I wasn’t surprised when she fell back asleep,” the doctor explained.
“May I stay here, just in case she wakes up?” Sasha asked, trying to avoid going back to her room.
“She’s sound asleep. My guess is she’ll be conscious again after the next meal. You can come back then,” the doctor rejected her suggestion.
“I would thank you very much if you would let me know the minute she wakes up,” she asked him, wriggling her hands, nervously.
“Certainly.”
“Thank you.”
They left the infirmary, and Sasha was expecting to be taken back to her room. Instead, he guided her to another room, but before he allowed her in, he took her by her arm.
“I’m allowing you to spend some time with the rest of the women,” she opened her mouth to thank him, but he raised his hand, preventing her from doing so. “It would be better if you don’t mention we brought Eleanor with us,” he asked, in a stern tone.
“Why not? They would be happy to know it.”
“I’m sure of it. But we still have to figure out how we’re going to explain her condition to our people.”
“What? You’ve never seen a crippled person before?” she asked, oozing scorn.
“Actually, no. We are self-healing creatures, and if one of our limbs gets severed, we grow a new one,” he replied, ignoring her tone.
She was astounded. She had never heard of a species like his, not even in the mythology. “That’s no reason…” she started, when she was finally able to utter some words.
“Yes, there is, and if you don’t agree to stay quiet about her presence in this vessel, I’m afraid I won’t allow you in there,” he cut her, in a cold tone.
“Oh, fine. I won’t mention her,” she agreed, exasperated.
“Very well. I will be watching you, so don’t try anything funny.”
She scowled at him. “Why the hell did you buy us, anyway?” she asked, more confused than ever.
“That’s for our king to explain. It’s not my place to talk to you about it,” he replied in the same obnoxious cold tone.
She snorted and entered the room.
The rest of the women were already gathered there, and she was able to spend a few hours with them, talking about all they had experienced ever since they had been bought by the Zuvrakians. They even had lunch together, what was quite a change from the lonely meals she had had ever since Asgar had brought them to the ship.
But, after lunch, they were kindly invited to return to their own rooms, escorted by one of the ship’s guards.
Sasha was about to follow the one assigned to her when Asgar showed up. “I’ll take you,” he said, grabbing her by her elbow and guiding her in an entirely different direction.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, with a frown.
“I thought you wanted to see your friend,” he replied in a cold tone.
“Is she awake?”
“Not yet, but Colborn thinks she will be, very soon.”
Once in the infirmary, the doctor took them to Eleanor’s room.
She was opening her eyes the moment they entered the room.
“Hey, sleepy head, how are you feeling?” Sasha asked her, caressing her auburn hair.
“Hey…” her friend fluttered her eyes open, with a faint smile on her lips.
Sasha hugged her tight, hiding her face in the crack of her neck. “I thought I was never going to see you again,” she murmured.
“I know… I thought the same,” Eleanor admitted as tears ran down her cheeks, while she wrapped her arms around Sasha as well.
They spent a few minutes talking, answering Eleanor’s questions about her situation on the ship and when they finally left her to get back to sleep, Sasha wasn’t pleased.
“You’re not killing her, are you?” she spurted out the minute the left the infirmary.
“Of course not. If I were, I wouldn’t have wasted so much money on her. I’ll find a way to keep her safe. You just have to give me some time,” he said in a stern tone. He wasn’t about to reveal the only reason he had bought Eleanor was that she had asked him.
He would do pretty much anything to make her happy, but she wasn’t ready for that kind of truth.
“Thank you. I know what I think has no importance for you, but I really appreciate all you’re doing for her,” she said, in a very serious tone.
“Don’t thank me. We still don’t know it that was a good decision.”
“No matter what happens in the future, I still feel grateful.”
He nodded but didn’t comment. He guided her back to the room, staying at the door. “We’ll reach Zuvrak during the night, but we won’t leave the ship until the sun is up. So try to get some rest,” he explained, and with another nod, he disappeared down the hall, after he locked her door.
Sleeping was out of the question. Sasha had way too many things running wild through her mind, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to arrive at his home planet. On board the ship, she felt relatively safe, but she had no way of knowing what was expected of her and her friends when they landed on the planet.
By the time Asgar and Egil came back to pick her and the rest of the girls up, she was ready and waiting.
She managed to call Asgar’s attention without the other girls noticing. “What about Eleanor?” she whispered.
“Colborn will take care of her and move her to my own house. She couldn’t be in better hands.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go. The king and the other councils are waiting for us,” he explained.
They were transported in a vehicle that was similar to a van, but like the other vehicles circulating through the place, this one didn’t have wheels. It hovered.
The trip to the huge palace on the hill wasn’t very long, and it gave them an opportunity to see the city that was supposed to become their new home.
The first thing you would notice was the tall buildings around the place. They all looked alike, apparently made of the same material, some sort of gray metal. Though it seemed like a nice town, it was very dull. Nothing appeared to break the monotony of the gray buildings.