Page 4 of Indentured Companion
“Do not be afraid Human.” His voice was alotdeeper than I’d been expecting. His evergreen and silver robe was so delicate, and his body language so regal, that I’d been expecting a voice to match. Something soft and elegant maybe? His voice was gravelly and dark, but he was speaking quietly. It gave me goosebumps. “What is your name?”
“Valerie Stone.” I regretted how meekly I answered him. My pulse was racing and the lizard part of my brain recognised this beautiful creature as a deadly predator. I wanted to run away screaming. Through iron will alone I gripped my knees through my trousers and forced myself to stay put. I had to keep reminding myself of my situation and how the alternatives were not options. I was not going to end up casteless on the streets of the underslums. I was not going to end up as a legal sex slave. “I-I’d ask for your name, but I’ll have to wait until we sign the contract.”
“You meanifwe sign the contract?” He countered, and suddenly my future wasn’t so secure. The Korvis folded his arms and inclined his head curiously. “I must first be sure that you are a suitable candidate. All the others this centre has brought forth have been unsatisfactory.” I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“May I ask what you are looking for in a…feeding companion?” My voice lifted at the end, showing I was uncertain about the title. He nodded gracefully and gestured with his green gloved hands.
“You may. As I assume you are aware by this point, I am a member of the Korvis species. We are symbiotic by nature, and require a feeding companion to sustain us. My people cannot leave the safety of the Hive unless we are registered as having one. Myworkrequires that I live in Theskian space, and therefore I have reached out throughvariouschannels to secure a feeding companion. Thus far, I have been unsuccessful.” Don’t be picky then, I thought. I nervously tucked my long brown hair behind my ears and his lilac eyes followed the movement of my hands. They also looked at my neck now more of it was exposed… “The one who becomes my feeding partner will need to be with me at all times.” He placed one hand on top of the other on his lap. “They will live with me and feed me three times a day. I will be responsible for their wellbeing and spend more time with them than I do with anyone else. Therefore, the character of a feeding companion is just as important as their willingness to share their blood with me.”
I understood what he was saying. I did. But my brain was still struggling to wrap itself around the fact he was a glorified vampire from across the galaxy, and I wasputting myselfon his menu. And he was being picky! “What I need to know, Miss Stone, is your character. Tell me about yourself.” Just like that, the spotlight was back on me.
Chapter 5
Relax
Valerie
“…” I couldn’t find my voice. Those lilac eyes pierced me and I fidgeted in my chair under his stare. I nodded to him and cleared my throat, stalling for time, but then I couldn’t put it off any longer. I took a deep breath and went for it. “I am the eldest child of a trading caste family. Miners, specifically.” I decided to go at this like I was presenting my resume to a potential trading partner. I’d had to do so before, when father had been ill, and I’d had to take his place in negotiations. “I am academically accomplished and have good business sense. I graduated with a degree in business and economics with a minor in event planning.” The Korvis sat back and folded his arms to listen for the long haul. “Iwasgoing to take over my father’s mining business, but that is no longer an option. To be frank,thisis my only option.” I waved my hand between my chest and the green-clad alien. My confidence grew with each second he didn’t behave like the bloodsucking monster his people were portrayed as in the movies. “I have a younger sister who has also had to take on an indentured contract. The only thing I want is to have earned enough money at the end of my contract term to re-join her and to start our lives over.” I looked off to one side with a sad smile. “Our future has been taken from us, but I’m sure if we can just hold on for now, get some Xan in our accounts, and we can get the real chance we deserve. We’ll have to start small of course.” I held my chin out of habit when musing aloud. “We’ll probably have to join someone else’s operation for a while first, but then we can get promoted up the ranks until one day we have enough capital to branch out on our own. Make a newer, bigger and better Stone Inc.” My smile grew warmer as I imagined it. My own fleet of ships, mining sites, and the high octane back and forth with trading partners to get the best harvesting and selling prices. Fine clothes, fancy wine, and a home on a planet with breathable air. That was the dream.
Maybe, just maybe, there was a secret desire to settle down one day too. To find a man who didn’t piss me off or slow me down. One who was prepared to love me and take on the role of child carer. Cassie would have a husband and children that she would dote on, and they would live on the same planet. Maybe even next door? With fire in my eyes and a strong reminder of what I was still fighting for, I fixed my brown gaze on the Korvis once more. “Who I am, is a woman who isn’t going to accept defeat. I am not someone who got herself into this position, but I’ll sure as hell get myself out of it. I have a dream and a goal, and that’s all that’s important to me.” I raised a brow at him, far more confident than I had any right to be now that I was in the swing of things. “So I’ll let you drink my blood.” His eyes widened. “I’ll take the tested treatment to keep my blood levels up.” I leaned forward. “And I’ll keep my mouthshut.Whoever you are, you want me to sign a confidentiality agreement? That means you’re someone important, but quite frankly? I don’t care.” I flung my right hand up and started counting off my fingers. “I’m not interested in politics. I don’t care about fame. Sure, I’m driven and ambitious, but I’m not a fool. My father was a gambler, and look where that got him? And me? I won’t be takinganyrisks. Sir? I just want to complete my contract with you, earn my completion pay-out, and get on with my life with my sister.” I waved the same hand to display my case. “You want me to be quiet, I’ll be quiet. The only thing I need to know is that I’ll come out the other end of this healthy and financially stable.”
There. I made my case. I waved my hand and nodded to indicated that the ball was back in his court. He stared at me for a moment, his lilac eyes narrowed as he calculated his next move. I hid it well, but my nerves returned in the silence. I never did do well with quiet. I naturally wanted to fill it by speaking, but had nothing else to say. This guy seemed comfortable with the silence and held me on the edge of anxiety for way too long, before he chuckled once and nodded.
“Very well.” My tense shoulders relaxed. “Then there is only one more thing I need to know.” I leaned forward and nodded for him to continue. He looked over his shoulder at Yalla, who was watching us on tender hooks. “It’s all well and good making these assurances that she will be a suitable feeding companion, but I’m not signing a contract unless I’m sure she’s capable of doing her part.” Yalla’s eyes widened and she stood quickly with an orange blush on her cheeks.
“I’m very sorry sir, but this is not a licenced feeding site. You can’t do that on these premises.”
“Unless I am confident that feeding from Miss Stone is something sheiscapable of allowing, I am not becoming legally responsible for her for a whole year. That is non-negotiable.” He shook his head, and the long hood and face covering of his green robe tousled with the movement. As they continued to argueaboutme, I gripped my knees tightly and looked down at my white knuckles. He wanted to feed on me. Right now. He wanted to bite me and drink my blood. The thought terrified mealmostas much as walking out of here without a contract. If he didn’t take me on, Yalla made it clear that the other contracts available to me in a hurry would be to become theotherkind of companion.
I lifted my brown eyes and slowly stood. I amnotgoing to be someone’s concubine. I’m proud, I have far too much self worth. My rekindled dream of reuniting with Cassie in a year to pick up where we left off was at the forefront of my mind.
“Yalla, get out.” I finally spoke, and the lovely Sacron gaped her mouth and frills at her neck. “You have stated your company’s policy. Now leave the room. I would like todiscussmore details of the contract with…this gentleman.” I didn’t know his name so I hoped that was polite enough. I marched over to her and to everyone’s surprise, I started to shoo her out of the room.
“You mustn’t, Miss Stone!”
“Mustn’t what? You heard me. We’re going to talk.” We all knew damn well we weren’t going to talk, but I wasn’t letting something like whether the site allowed Korvis feeding to happen on the premises or not hold me back. He made it clear that this was the last hurdle. It’s got to happen, no matter how much the thought of him biting me sent goosebumps across my skin. “In private. With you on the other side of this door.”
“BUT!” I shoved her and her four arms through the door, shut it, and was grateful to find a lock on the door. I turned it and it clicked into place. Just like that…we were alone. I turned slowly to find the predator hadn’t moved an inch. He hadn’t pounced the moment the door was shut. Instead, he waited and watched as I composed myself.
“Let’s do this before Yalla and her guards come in here and stop us.”
“Agreed.” He elegantly waved his right gloved and to the desk to his right. “I suggest to get the best angle and to be comfortable with the time frame we have, you sit in an elevated position.” His hand lowered to pat the desk twice. I nodded and forced my feet to move one after the other to the desk. Those lilac eyes with diamond-shaped pupils never stopped watching me as I pushed my hands down onto the cold polished surface and dropped my backside onto the desk. “Now, the more you relax, the less this will sting.” I nervously ran my hands over one another as I told myself to chill out and let the space vampire bite me. I didn’t notice one of his hands move toward mine, and I lifted both hands up to shove my long brown hair behind my ears and behind me. Dutifully I shifted on the spot and offered the left side of my neck to him.Don’t tense. Relax.
Chapter 6
The first feed
Valerie
When he didn’t move I raised a brow and looked down at him. What was he waiting for? My gaze must have conveyed this question, as he decisively cleared his throat and placed his hands on either side of my thighs on the desk. He braced his weight on his gloved palms and rose to his feet. “I will not carry out a full feed Miss Stone. Normally, such a thing is done in the comfort of one’s home, or in a licenced feeding site.” I nodded, listening of course, but also wary of when Yalla and the other Sacrons working here would bust in the door. “If you are capable of allowing the feed, and your blood is palatable, we will both immediately sign those contracts. Yours also contains the confidentiality agreement.” He nodded to the tablets splayed on the desk behind me. “I have Regen-pills on me, which youmusttake. You will feel weak immediately after a feed, and the medication will allow you to recover, and do so quickly.” He tentatively brought his right hand to my neck and felt at my quickening pulse. His diamond-shaped pupils dilated and I could almost feel his hunger as he looked at my neck. “I will then take you into my custody, and your welfare will be my responsibility. We will immediately leave for the departure port and use a shuttle to get to my cruiser. Any questions?”
“No.” I took a deep breath and opened and closed my hands on my lap. The sound of someone trying to open the door against the lock made us both look over to it with alarm.
“It must be now.” His gravelly voice was even gruffer when in a rush. He cupped my neck with his left hand and the right gently coaxed my head to lean over towards that side. With my throbbing jugular exposed I strained my eyes to watch him. “You have not yet signed the confidentiality agreement, so you can’t watch. Close your eyes Miss Stone.” He urged me, and reluctantly I did so. Somehow, not being able to see him bite me made the experience more nerve-wracking. He must have lowered or removed his face covering, as I felt the sharp press offourfangs. Two sets of two on his upper row of teeth. I swallowed thickly as his bottom lip and tongue pressed to my throat, before he brought his jaws together and pierced my flesh.
“Ah!” I yelped and instinctively flung my fists up to take handfuls of the green and silver fabric. I wanted to tear him off me and flee for safety. It hurt! I wouldn’t describe this as stinging at all! It was like four molten tiny knives had pierced my neck. I shook and gripped him for fear of flailing with his fangs still in my neck, as it could cause him to rip my throat open. I could feel his flat tongue and his bottom lip massage and coax my blood to flow quickly into his mouth. I could hear him swallowing it down.
I felt cold, and my fingers and toes started to tingle. He’s taking too much! “I-I a.” I wanted to beg him to stop, but I was afraid. Even the tiniest movement required for for me to speak whilst he fed from me, caused an inferno of agony. I just couldn’t do it.
