Page 35 of Savage Union

The shower room was clearing out by then so I quickly shampooed my hair, reflecting as I did so that the only good thing about having to cut it was how much faster I could get it clean. When I’d had longer hair, shampooing and conditioning it and then giving it various oil and cream treatments could take over an hour. Now it was a five-minute job. I could just?—

“Hey there, Catamite. Now that the Captain’s gone, how ‘bout you and me have a little fun?”

The familiar voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was Jerx and he was right behind me.

16

JESSINA

Icovered my breasts instinctively as I felt his hot breath on my neck.

“Leave me alone,” I said in a shaky voice. “Just let me finish my shower and go back to my quarters.”

“Oh, I’ll let you go,Catamite,”he snarled in my ear. “But first we’re gonna have a little fun.”

A heavy hand was suddenly on my shoulder, holding me in place and then I felt him fumbling behind me, pressing something hard and blunt between the cheeks of my bottom.

I gasped and twisted away from him as I realized what he was trying to do. Luckily, my hair was still full of shampoo and the soap made my wet skin slick. I managed to evade his grip and run for the end of the room.

But in my haste and panic, I slipped. I fell heavily to my knees, barely managing to get my hands out to brace my fall. One of my palms landed on the metal grating of the drain in the center of the room and I felt the painful scrape as it erased the skin on the heel of my hand.

Jerx was on me at once. Grabbing me by the nape of the neck, he dragged me upwards, naked and wet.

“I don’tthinkso, Catamite!” he hissed. “You tryin’ to get away from me without giving me my due?”

“Your due?” I gasped. “What are you talking about? I don’t owe you anything!”

“After the way you heaved your dinner all over me last night? And then that insult right in front of the crew—think again!” he snarled. “You might not be able toseemy cock past my hair, but I guarantee you that you’re about tofeelit—right in your tight little ass!” He slapped my bare bottom hard enough to make me cry out in pain.

I looked around frantically for help, but no one was there. The shower had emptied completely, leaving just me and Jerx. How had that happened? And why hadn’t I noticed it?

“Come on now, Catty—let’s get you in a good position,” Jerx snarled.

He dragged me to the wall and pushed me against the cold, wet tiles. Still holding me by the back of the neck, he ground my face against the wall, shoving so hard I was sure my right cheekbone would crack.

“Can’t have you puking on me again, now can I?” he panted in my ear. His hot breath stank of stale tobacco sticks and the questionable meat product we’d had for dinner.

My heart was hammering in my chest and my breath was tearing in my throat. My stomach felt like someone had dumped a lead weight into it. I struggled but this time I couldn’t get free. The blunt thing which I knew must be the head of his shaft was probing between the cheeks of my bottom.

“Leave me alone! Get off me!” I shrieked, my voice going high and tight. This whole thing was bringing back the horrible party where the boy I’d been with had attacked me and Slade had killed him for it. But my big brother wasn’t here now to protect me. He was thousands of light years away back on Rigelis Nineand I was trapped in deep space with a man who was intent on raping me.

I screamed again and thrashed against the tile wall, trying desperately to get away. If he got it in me?—

Just then someone shouted,

“What thefuck?”and the blunt probe of Jerx’s shaft was abruptly withdrawn as the huge Brute was dragged off me.

I pushed off from the tile wall and saw that it was Turk. He had on his tight, black uniform trousers and shiny black boots but the shirt he wore was unbuttoned and flapping behind him. It was as though he’d gotten halfway dressed and then had decided to come back down to the crew deck for some reason.

Possibly he’d heard my screaming—though certainly none of the other crew had come to see what was happening. Maybe getting raped in the shower was a normal occurrence aboard The Illyrian and nobody wanted to interfere.

But Turk wasn’t acting like rape was the norm. His bronze eyes blazed as he glared at Jerx, who was still naked. Also, he was baring his fangs, which were long and curving and looked extremely dangerous.

This was only the second time in my life I’d ever seen Turk’s fangs. I had heard that the Brutes of Clan Savage who had fangs—(and it wasn’t all of them, just an elite few)—only bared them when they were ready to kill.

I’d seen him bite the asshole at the bar who had drugged me and seen the effects of his venom. But I’d been half out of it then. Now I was wide awake and saw how deadly he looked—if I was Jerx, I’d be afraid.

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