Page 7 of Surrender

“Not a bad whore. Just an untrained one. Wild. Spirited. Like one of your Jamronian tessa cats.” He lowered his voice and bent down, put himself at eye level with the creature. “This one is human, with many orifices to explore.”

The Jamronian cocked its head, considering. Balam made his closing argument.

“I’m bringing in trainers from Axion Five. You know their reputation. She’ll have daily sessions with them before the auction, learn to be properly submissive. By the time you have to lay out money, you’ll be happy to pay any price for her.”

Chapter Five

Talia sank to her knees as the door slammed shut behind her. She was so thankful to be alone, she didn’t mind the darkness, the ominous rustling noises in the straw.

Shaking, scared, she gave way to the tears she’d held in for so long. Talia had never cried before. She’d never had any reason to. But now the racking sobs flowed unbidden from somewhere deep inside. She cried until her head was pounding and her throat was raw. Cried from the shame. The fear of what else awaited her in this harsh alien world.

She longed to be back in her spotlessly clean, sterile apartment on the 213thfloor overlooking New Delphi. Far from the sounds of so many people, the constraints of body against body, thesmells.She’d never known living creatures could smell so bad.

Nothing in her years of training, in her preparations for this posting, had prepared her for the vicious onslaught she’d been subjected to. Physical arousal, assault, actual combat, touching the dead body of a friend and comrade…Sensory overload! Sensory overload!her brain shrieked.

Gradually, her sobs turned to whimpers. Talia collapsed in a huddle and let the blessed relief of sleep overtake her.

Hunger woke her. A gnawing in her belly she’d never felt before. Back home, eating had never been important. She consumed adequate amounts of nutritional supplements along with prepackaged meals at regular intervals. But she hadn’t eaten in two days, and food was all she could think about.

Her captors had given her a flask of water when they put her in the cell. Talia groped blindly for it then put the flask to her lips. She nearly gagged at the smell. The container seemed to be fashioned from the hide of an animal.

When they’d handed it to her, the unpleasant odor had made drinking impossible. But now, overcome by thirst as powerful as her hunger, Talia forced herself to take a sip. She didn’t detect the taste of any chemical additives. She wondered how they sanitized the water on this world then decided she’d rather not think about that.

Talia drank sparingly. It was impossible to know how long she’d be held, how long the water had to last. She heard voices in the hall coming nearer and shrank back against the wall, shivering when her skin touched the cold stones. The door opened with the rough scraping sound of wood dragging across stone.

Talia never thought she’d be grateful to see the powerful squat silhouette of one of Balam’s men. Unlike the slimy Jamrons, at least this being looked like a human. The man carried a wooden bowl, along with a rounded utensil with small prongs carved out of the end. Apparently, it was meant to serve as both spoon and fork. The bowl gave off a strange but not unpleasant odor.

The man thrust them at her. “Eat.”

She took them then backed away and crouched in a corner before dipping the utensil in. The bowl was filled with chunks in a thick brown liquid. Some sort of stew? She recognized a piece of carrot but the rest of the ingredients were a mystery. During her training for the mission, she’d learned the primary sources of food on Gadolinium were animal flesh and root vegetables. Talia had never eaten food so near to its original form. She touched the tip of the utensil to her tongue.

A riot of sensations exploded in her mouth. Salty, tangy, even a spicy heat. Gnawing hunger overcame her revulsion at eating an animal. She took a bite. Amazing textures – the vegetables soft and smooth, the animal flesh surprisingly tender. She’d never tasted anything so good.

Talia forced herself to eat slowly. She needed to be in top shape to attempt an escape and she didn’t know how her body would react to the strange form of nutrition.

Her eyes had adjusted to the light, and she caught the man staring at her body with the same hunger she’d probably had on her face when she spied the bowl in his hand. Though she feared another assault, she glared at him defiantly.

“Balam says we cannot fuck you. He says you’re worth too much to him to be wasted on us.” His eyes narrowed. “But I can make your time here more pleasant – for both of us.” He reached under his loincloth, brought out his stubby little male organ, and pumped it with his fist. “Eat this,” he growled, “and I’ll bring you more of that.”

He stepped closer and grabbed a handful of her hair. Before he could do anything more, a shrill voice from the doorway had him backing off.

“Balam would not be pleased to hear you’re handling the merchandise.”

The voice came from a rail-thin female, easily seven feet tall, dressed in a skintight black garment that covered her from head to toe. Her elongated bald head, pointed chin, and slanted yellow eyes told Talia she was from yet another world. Creatures from different planets aged differently, so it was impossible to tell how old she might be. Only that she was no longer young.

“I did nothing, mistress,” the man said, backing away. “It was only talk. Please, do not tell him.”

The female let out a high-pitched cackle. “You know he’d cut off that puny little prick and make you wear it around your neck, just to remind the others that he’s not to be disobeyed.”

The attendant scurried out of the room without another word, staying far away from her. The alien stepped into the cell. “Come here so I can take a look at you.”

The woman spoke fluent Gadolinian. Talia put the empty bowl down and slowly rose to her full height.

The female’s eyes widened. “Big breasts. Wide mouth.” She cocked a finger. “Turn around, so I can see your ass.”

Talia didn’t move. The female took two steps forward and raised her other hand. In a move so swift it was a blur, she lashed out with something thick and hard, striking Talia squarely on her bottom cheeks. Talia let out a shocked cry.

The female smiled and held up an implement roughly two feet long and eight inches wide. “My special friend. Made from the penis of a mastodon on Nazeri. Thick and hard, yet supple enough to wrap around your ass with every stroke. It has a nice rough texture that will leave nasty welts if I use it long enough.” As she spoke, she slapped it against the palm of her other hand then held the hand up so Talia could see the red marks it left.

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