Page 20 of Stolen Slave

His hand covered mine, and he said something while redirecting my hand back to my lap. He patted my arm and ran his fingers over my hair before tucking me closer. I breathed in the scent of his shirt…accidentally at first, then on purpose. It smelled good and, for some reason, reminded me of home.

Snuggling in, I let myself imagine I was in my own bed and safe.

CHAPTER TEN

KHORAHN

The female in my lap was perfect. Soft. Responsive. I’d hated the fear I’d caused in the cleansing unit, but the scent-marking seemed to be working already. Her scent only held moderate amounts of fear now.

My gaze drifted over her sleep-relaxed face and the hand that curled against my shirt. Her slender fingers twitched against me, making any effort to work pointless. My ambal ached against the press of her rounded flank.

I remembered the way she’d stretched across the table to feel the messau dish, a meal I had thought she would love, and how her bottom had rubbed against me in her hurry to withdraw from it. Her dislike had surprised me. As had her preference for the food processor's unappealing nutritional creation. However, there was no denying how very much she’d enjoyed the meal based on the sounds she’d made while eating the paste.

And her prettily worded request for more when she’d finished the first bowl.

She’d made a mess of the second, but that hadn’t bothered me. I’d planned on taking her to the cleansing unit afterward anyway.

Marking her backside first had been a wise decision. She’d handled it fairly well until I invaded her flank cleft. She hadn’t liked that but hadn’t fought me when I’d held her still to coat her, even there. Hopefully, she would be more tolerant of it the next time.

My gaze dropped to the curve pressed against me. There absolutely would be a next time. I wanted to explore every inch of this female and learn what she liked and didn’t like. Presently, her scent carried too much fear for either of us to know.

It hadn’t surprised me when she’d started rubbing my ambal secretions into her front before I finished marking that side. Amused by her intelligence, I let her have her way until she worked her way down to that little tuft of fur between her legs. Exploring the skin surrounding her breeding sheath had been enlightening.

She had feared many things so far, but that she’d feared the most. Which was problematic since I very much wanted to mate with her. The scent-markings would help with some of that. Between the calming effect of my secretions and all the touching I did to ensure she was well-coated on the outside, I believed she would eventually accept it internally as well.

After that, no one would have the right to force her from me, and she would be free to choose. Hopefully, by then, we would be communicating, and she would understand that I was her safest option.

I sighed and wondered if not checking the void station for a quality translation chip had been a mistake. In places like that, though, the chances of receiving something subpar or, worse yet, a painful installation were high. I hated her fear and suffering now. I wouldn’t do anything to needlessly add to it.

She murmured in her sleep and nuzzled my chest.

Flek, I loved that.

The nuzzling and the way her chest mounds jiggled when she did it.

I reached out and gently caressed one, keeping my touch light so I wouldn’t wake her. Breasts. What fascinating things to have. They provided nourishment for her young and were a source of pleasure if handled correctly.

She made a small, content sound in her sleep.

“That’s right, my small female. You are safe with me.”

I’d spent the previous arcs well while she rested and had started reading the information in the data pic the Helix station had sent me. There’d been so much of it. An outline of human anatomy. Their fertility statistics showed they were indeed the most fertile race in the systems. Their compatibility percentages had a concerningly long list of species, which thankfully included my own. Human habitat requirements were fairly minimal.

I hadn’t even gotten to specific information regarding grooming, care, or breeding. Not that I thought for a moment the fey would include that.

It would easily take a lunar to sort through the information, and I was certain I still wouldn’t know everything. And that only tempted me to spend the next few arcs poring over what information I could. It would be far more interesting than reviewing the ship’s system logs. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn’t afford that type of endless distraction yet.

While I’d hidden my identity when asking for clearance on Narlin Four, that wouldn’t prevent the Wsoau from tracking me down once they figured out the bounty I’d left behind wasn’t responsible for their missing human female. Likely, they would put a bounty out on me. Any hunter worth his chit would be able to figure out who the Wsoau wanted. I only hoped the Wsoau were smart enough to keep quiet about the female I stole.

If word got out that I had one on board, everyone in the systems would be after us. Which only made this side trip more necessary. Not only would it be financially lucrative, but it would keep us away from the common trade routes and give me the time I needed to sufficiently scent-mark her while she continued to heal.

The sys-unit had said her vision would return in a few more arcs, thanks to the second regeneration stim. But I wasn’t yet sure if that would help ease her fears or if it would make marking her more difficult.

Humans were still so new to the systems. As with any newly discovered species, they were being slowly introduced to those already committed to space travel and trade. It was often difficult for a new species to accept the varying characteristics that defined other species. Fear, a primary and natural instinct, often resulted during introductions. Due to that potential fear, the fey were limiting which species could enter the Lottery Treaty, thereby causing contention through the systems. Which likely spurred on the abductions that removed my female from her home world.

I could only hope that she would be calm enough after a second marking to accept my differences.

Regardless, I didn’t have much time to prepare for our arrival, and sitting here, although very pleasant, wasn’t accomplishing anything more than swelling my ambal with the need to mark her again.

---