Page 35 of Warped

I’m still fuming over the way he just tortured me with his cock, bringing me right up to the point of climax, then denying me at the last moment. It isn’t just the maliciousness of it that pisses me off, it’s the ease with which he controlled my pleasure, like he already knows my body better than I do.

It almost worked, too. In a matter of minutes, Traven almost got me to spill my guts about everything. The only thing that saved me was Rek. If he hadn’t come barging in when he did…

God.

What would Traven have done if I’d revealed my plan to him? He probably would have kicked me off at the way station. Left me behind to find my own way to Caldera.

Well, he didn’t find out. My secret’s still safe, but you can bet he won’t give up trying to wrangle it out of me, and next time his tactics might not be as humane. I seem to recall him saying something about spanking me, and I can only imagine what sort of tools he and Rek have stashed away in that closet of depravities.

An idea suddenly pops into my head.

Earlier, Traven was watching me in the shower. As a matter of fact, the image of the empty shower stall is still displaying on the wall beside the kitchen. I walk over to it and take a closer look, and my face heats up as I realize just how much of a show I must have given him.

The bastard.

But if there are cameras in the bathroom, it stands to reason there are other cameras located all throughout the ship. I decide to do a little snooping of my own.

“Nomad,” I whisper. “Show me all the cameras, please.”

The single image of the bathroom is replaced by a dozen smaller images, each one neatly labeled. There’s one for the kitchen, one for the cockpit, multiple views of the bedroom, the cargo hold, and several other rooms. And sure enough, right there in the bottom corner is the closet where my trench coat is hanging.

That means Traven might have seen me hiding the datastick yesterday. Probably not, since he hasn’t found it yet.

Then again, I don’t actually know that.

I’m hit with a sudden frantic urge to check on the datastick, to make sure it’s still where I put it. I rinse off my empty plate in the sink and tuck it inside the dishwasher. Then I head upstairs. I’m halfway there when I feel the ship rock ever so slightly, probably as it disengages from the waystation where we’ve been docked.

That’s good. As long as Rek and Traven are focused on piloting the ship, they won’t be keeping tabs on what I’m up to. It givesme an opportunity to check on the datastick, and maybe find a more secure hiding place for it.

As soon as I reach the bedroom, however, something else catches my attention.

I stop.

The room is pretty much how I left it when I went downstairs to confront Traven. The wall imagers are still displaying a three-sixty interior of a medieval castle, and the air is filled with the sound of crackling firewood. The big round bed is still a mess, the satin sheets rumpled and stained from last night’s depravity. The lights are still low.

The only difference now is the briefcase. The one Rek was carrying when he walked in on Traven “interrogating” me in the kitchen. It’s lying on the edge of the mattress. I guess Rek must have tossed it there on his way up to the cockpit.

What the heck’s inside that thing anyway?

Doesn’t matter.

Focus.

I’m supposed to be checking on the datastick and finding a better hiding place for it than the pocket of my trench coat. And I’m supposed to be doing thatright now, while the two warpers are preoccupied with steering the ship.

I set off for the closet on the other side of the room, but I only make it a few steps before my feet come to a halt.

There’s something strange about that briefcase. Something that beckons my attention and lifts the tiny hairs on the back of my neck at the same time.

The fact that Rek left it sitting on the bed makes me think it might have something to do with me.

Okay… just a peek.

A quick one.

I move toward the bed and kneel beside the mattress to inspect the mystery box. It looks like a fairly standard black briefcase, though to be honest, briefcases aren’t really a common sight anymore. The days of carrying around a bunch of papers are long gone.

I don’t think this case is for papers though.

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