Page 35 of Bought and Shared
They catcall us, slowing their pace as the closer they get. “How about a kiss, Red,” The man in the front shouts, and I quickly avert my gaze to the ground to avoid his sneering face.
“Screw a kiss. How about a blowjob!” Another man yells, causing raucous laughter among the group of leering soldiers.
A whistle screams behind them then, and the men come to a grinding halt. Lieutenant Crom comes into view, his face a mask of pure outrage.
“What was that, draftee?” He demands, getting into the face of the man who made the disgusting comment about getting a blowjob.
The draftee decides to double down on dumb and lie. “I didn’t say anything, Sir.”
Crom gets intensely close to the man’s face. He’s a good half-foot taller than the human, and twice as wide. “The only thing I hate more than men who disrespect women, draftee, are men thatlieabout disrespecting women.”
“Yes, Sir,” the draftee says, his face and body as stiff as a board.
“You still want to stick with that story, Collins?” Crom challenges, his tone conveying how foolish that choice would be.
Collins pauses, miscalculates, and says, “Yes, Sir.”
Crom shakes his head in disgust. “Do you know who that woman belongs to, Collins?”
“No, Sir,” the human returns, a trace of fear creeping into his brown eyes.
“That’s Colonel Rayaz’s companion, Collins. And do you want to know who else she belongs to?” His devious smile lets thedraftee know, before he even speaks, exactly how much he’s fucked up.
“No, Sir,” he states, a note of panic beginning to set in with each passing second.
“Captain Knox Forsythe,” the Lieutenant reveals. “You know him, don’t you, draftee? The Voltan warrior known as the Executioner by his enemies. He just got back from his special assignment in the jungles of what once was known as Brazil. How do you think both of those officers will like you asking their companion if she wants to blow you, draftee?”
Frantically, the human licks his suddenly dry lips. “I don’t think they’ll like it all, Sir.”
“I think that’s the understatement of the year, Collins,” Crom slyly returns.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the human blurts out, his nervous gaze darting in my direction. “I didn’t mean what I said. I just thought you and your friend were pretty and…” his voice trails off with his pathetic apology.
Crom snorts. “You thought they were pretty so you decided to act ugly? How does that fucked up logic compute in your tiny brain, draftee?”
“It doesn’t, Sir,” Collins obediently replies, his cheeks so red they look like they’ve been set aflame.
“Correct. It doesn’t,” his superior says, hands on his trim hips. “Now, to remind you of what an absolute embarrassment of a man you are, you’re going to do some physical exercise, during which I want you to think about what you’ve done. Fiftylaps around this field should help with your earlier lapse in judgment.”
The man breaks his stiff posture and gapes at his Lieutenant. “Fifty, Sir?”
“Yes. Do you have a problem with that, Collins?” Crom challenges, his blue eyes burrowing into the smaller man’s very soul.
Collins manages to regroup a little as he accepts his unfortunate fate. “No, sir. Fifty laps sounds fair.”
“Good, because when you’re done with that, I have some toilets for you to scrub. Allen!” Crom calls over his shoulder.
Allen, a short dark haired human with a sturdy build, jogs up to his commanding officer and snaps to attention. “Present, Sir.”
Turning to the draftee, Crom says, “I want you to keep track of Collins’s laps. Based on his character thus far, I don’t trust him to tell the truth about how many he’s done.”
The pointed comment is not lost on anyone.
“Yes, Sir,” Allen replies, before jogging after Collins who begins his laps with his shoulders slumped in defeat and humiliation.
“Everyone else, get moving,” Crom shouts, and the remaining men hustle past us. When we’re alone, the Lieutenant turns to Cadence and me with a more relaxed expression. “I’m sorry about that, ladies. It seems some men were never taught manners by their parents.”
“Unfortunately, we’re well aware of that fact, Lieutenant,” Cadence dryly returns. “It’s not even the first time this week that men have talked to us like that.”
