Page 10 of A Savage Bargain

As the anxiety grew to crushing levels, my vision swam. Vertigo threatened to overwhelm me. A snake of fear coiled itself around my spine.

I held my breath for a four-count. Released it. Repeated that.

“Why are you breathing so?” Krake asked.

I side-eyed him before answering. “I’m calming myself down. Before I pass out,” I told him.

“That is good.”

“That is good,” I echoed him, attempting to wrap my mind around his meaning.

“You must focus so that you can train.”

“Ah.” Of course, he wasn’t worried about my well-being. He wanted to protect his finder’s fee. Understood.

Krake stopped before a gray door, which slid open for us to enter. The room was of a decent size, enough to fit a couch, low table, and cabinets, like a living room. Oh, this must be his quarters.

“Sit on the couch,” he directed me, and I darted forward to perch on the edge of the gray couch.

“Thank you for not letting me be disposed of,” I said, thrilled to not be dead, though not as thrilled to see what happened next.

Krake remained standing just inside the room, staring at me dispassionately. “It was a business decision. The finder’s fee will be useful.”

“Because you can’t find your Runner?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “That Zovan has been a tricky one.”

“What’s a Zovan?” I risked asking.

Krake didn’t answer, instead crossing the room to join me on the couch. He sat beside me, not quite touching, but my body perked up at his nearness. Fuck me and my traitorous body.

“I assume another type of alien,” I continued, trying to prompt him.

“Yes.”

“What are Zovan like?”

Krake stared down at me.

“Why are you looking for him? Or her? Or them?” Who knew what gender a Zovan was? At this point, though, even I knew part of me was attempting to stall the inevitable. My training to become an Obedient, whatever that was. Although I had my suspicions, figuring the name gave it away.

“Nothing you need to know about.”

I squirmed under the attention, unable to read his alien body language.

“Maybe not just a business decision,” he said.

His statement caught me off guard, and I swallowed audibly.

“Teaching you may be enjoyable for me.”

Understanding dawned. I would be his fuck toy.

“Show me what you can do.”

Chapter Five

I held my breath a moment,considering how to respond. It wasn’t like playing a role was foreign to me. There had been many occasions in the past months where I pretended to be what my asshole ex-boyfriend wanted to see. But it was never quite like this.

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