Page 12 of Tortured

“We’re still in space and not in control of our own lives,” Alex growls. “I’m not okay with that.”

“You can try. But I don’t think that you will find it as easy as you think,” the big blue guy says.

“I guess we’ll make do with the others, then,” the guy on the screen snarls.

“What others? Other human females?” All of the men on the deck tense and glare at the screen.

The hairy guy grins but it’s not a pretty look. “Good-bye.”

“Vreck!” The commander growls when the alien drops off the screen. “Change to the other screen.”

A dark void lit with stars appears and and then a large ship that immediately disappears in a blinding flash of light.

“Vreck!”

“Well, I guess that is that.” Ruby smiles at one of the other males on deck but my head is spinning.

“There are more of us out here. More poor women that are being used and traded by these guys.”

Ruby glares at me.

“Alright. Well, not these guys. But you know what I mean.”

“I do. But there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“We’ll see about that.”

7

KOEHN

“We need to find them. If there are more of us out here they deserve to be saved from whatever ill fate those guys had planned for them.”

“That is not my business and it’s up to the council what to do with all of you, including these missing females.”

“Where the hell is the council then? I want to talk to them.”

I glare at her, confused. I’ve never met a female like her. The females from my planet were very strong and participated in life and battles just like the males but they were not as volatile as this female. Every time she opens her mouth I feel the urge to throw her over my shoulder and race off to my quarters, slamming the door behind us to…

I don’t know what. I know what I can’t possibly do and that’s be alone with this little one. She does too much to me. She’s not just dangerous to me physically, she’s dangerous to all of me.

“We can call them and ask them what to do. I needed to do that anyway because of you females. And your desire to go home. I would warn you that the council will very likely vote against you.”

“What does that mean?”

“We will discuss that later.”

“Fine,” she growls, her whole face tightening with anger. It’s amazing to me how easy these females are to read. Our females were more of a mystery. I have to admit, that is something that I did not love about our females.

My brow scrunches. What the granth is love. From what I studied from the humans, it’s a feeling but I’m not sure what kind of feeling.

Granth, I’m not even entirely sure what a feeling is! It’s one thing to study the language but some of the words are still a mystery.

“Let’s do that then. Why are you still just standing there with that strange look on your face?”

“Female, you are as stubborn as your friend.”

She smiles and her brown eyes warm to gold. “Thank you,” she says and I swear my hand itches with the desire to turn her over my knee. I’ve never felt anything like this before and my arms are itching underneath my long-sleeved hassa. Burning with some…heat that flares to life around this tiny one.

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