Page 81 of Stolen Slave

Her sheath squeezed my tongue, and she wailed out her release. Her flavor washed my tongue. She collapsed forward and rolled on to her back. Unable to resist, I settled my weight between her legs and continued to consume every drop of her arousal as her pulse calmed and her breathing evened out. I knew I should stop, but I couldn’t bring myself to until she pushed my face away in her sleep.

Chuckling, I tucked her against my side and closed my eyes.

I didn’t know what else to do to convince her to stay with me and feared what would happen to her once we arrived at the Helix station. She’d reacted to the Oebri even over a comm. What would happen when she was in the same space as one of them?

Exhaling heavily, I focused on the taste of her on my lips and the feel of her in my arms until I slept.

When I woke several arcs later, the ship notified me of a waiting comm. Vya rolled toward my vacant spot as I stood. She reached for me even in her sleep.

“My sweet female,” I said softly. “If I stay, I will be tempted to taste you again, and you will not get the rest you need.”

Bending, I lightly kissed her brow then went to the cargo bay to divide the terra into smaller cubes. While there, I opened the comm. The image of the human female who’d conversed with Vya appeared, which I found odd since the message was addressed to me.

“Greetings, Khorhan,” she said. “I’ve sent a message to the Helix station as promised. Because Vya’s alone—sorry, I mean without another human to accompany her—I’ve asked that only one Oebri at a time have contact with her while she’s on the station. They can be a bit overwhelming otherwise. I have their word they will take care with their persuasion. However, if you feel anything is wrong, please contact me immediately. I think we can both agree that Vya’s been through enough and doesn’t need any more unwanted attention. She trusts you to keep her safe, so I will as well.

“Extra supplies that are safe for her consumption will be waiting for you. If there’s anything else you need, I’m only a comm away.”

The message ended with her waving her hand, a gesture I found odd.

Returning my attention to the terra, I calculated how much I would need to trade to charge the ship’s energy cells. Trading at the Helix station meant a fair price and less risk that my ship would be tracked. However, trading too much would draw attention and cause the Conservators to question where I’d acquired so much terra.

No, it was better to keep the terra for my grow bay and for trade at void stations for veg. Once I turned in the bounties, I would have plenty of spare chit for recharging the fuel cells and anything Vya might wish to purchase on the Helix station.

I loaded a narrow transfer cube full of terra and started floating it toward the grow bay.

An alert blared through the ship.

“Proximity alert. Impact in seven halo-flashes. Six… Five…”

I cursed and abandoned the cart to run for the control room.

“Command Khorahn, reduce gravity by fifty percent. Shield increased by twenty-five percent.”

The words had barely left my mouth when the whole ship shook violently.

“Damage report minimal,” the ship said. “Minor hull breach without environmental impact. Pressure stable. Oxygen levels stable. Confirm emergency protocol five-one-seven activation?"

I reached the control room and changed the viewer to show what had hit us.

A ship.

One I’d followed for flares that had landed on Narlin Four.

“Emergency protocol five-one-seven activation confirmed,” I said before racing from the control room.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

VYA

The ship shook so violently that I fell to the floor and bounced lightly. Confused, I sat up and looked around. Khorahn was gone. A bright light blinked in the center of the low ambient lit ceiling. It had never flashed before. The ship had never shaken me out of bed before either.

“Khorahn?” I called, standing. Walking felt weird. Like I was lighter.

The door slid open at my approach.

“Khorahn,” I called again as I ventured out.

He shouted something from the direction of the control room. I turned that way but heard a scrape of noise behind me a second later.

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