Page 64 of Tempting Jupiter
He grunted an angry sound in the back of his throat. “They betrayed you.”
It wasn’t an accusation. There was no disbelief. He sounded certain. Feeona hated feeling pitiful.
She stood up and walked over to the counter, leaving her back to Sen. She wasn’t a victim anymore. “You’re pitying me. Is that why you’ve suddenly decided to protect me? Or did you lie to Toby about that?” She blurted it out with more fight in her voice than she’d intended.
Seneca stood quickly, making his chair legs scrape against the floor. “I am not the liar here.”
Feeona spun around to face him. “No. I’ve got that covered. And I don’t need your pity.”
He scoffed. “You think I pity you? I need you alive until I have Jupiter back. For the moment my needs are aligned with the boy. There is nothing more to it than that.” He bit off the last word and scowled.
Feeona nodded. “Fair enough.”
Seneca studied her, ears alert and tipping his head to the side. Abruptly, he stalked toward her and gripped her arms. She couldn’t stop the wince when he squeezed against her bruises.
“What aren’t you telling me?” He punctuated his questions with a shake.
Feeona’s eyes widened. “That’s a broad question. Liar, remember? Want to narrow it down?”
Seneca growled. “Your story doesn’t make sense. Why would I pity you for doing your duty or for escaping enslavement?”
Feeona tried to tug her way free, but Sen’s grip didn’t give. “It’s nothing. Nothing you need to worry about.”
He growled quietly. “Tell me.”
She bit her lip. Damn him. It really was none of his business, but if he didn’t settle down, he was going to wake the kids. So much for that agreement with Toby. She blew out a frustrated breath. “After I did the job for Roland, he offered to take me wherever I wanted to go. I asked him to take me back to Petro-5.” Her words spilled out in a rush. “I’d seen how my parents were with the other kids. How they loved them and played with them and kept them safe. I snuck back to my parents’ home in the middle of the night. I thought they would finally treat me like my siblings. They seemed glad to see me at first, but after they bundled me up on a pallet to sleep, I heard them whispering. I snuck down the hall until I could hear them clearly.”
Sen’s grip loosened, but he didn’t release her.
He might have let her off the hook at that point, but she couldn’t stop. “They were going to take me back to the factory the next morning. The factory thought I was dead. They weren’t looking for me.” She swallowed to clear the lump that formed in her throat every time she thought about it. She’d wanted to make excuses for them—maybe they were scared the factory would find out and punish them. It was Roland who’d eventually taught her that true parents fought for their children like Toby’s mom had fought for him. “I crawled out a window and went back to Roland’s ship. This ship. He was waiting for me. He’d known what would happen, but he knew I had to learn it for myself.”
Seneca’s hands fell away, and his big lavender eyes closed and opened in a slow blink before his gaze drifted down to her neck. “Your voice is roughened by the bruising in your throat. Have you done anything to heal yourself?”
“Yes, for that and for the other bruises.” He’d shown no signs of remorse, so his questions surprised her.
“Good,” he said. “It scares the children.”
She tried to take his words in stride. It wasn’t as if she’d been expecting any tenderness. She watched him walk away with that sexy grace of his and stood there a moment after he was out of sight. She stood there and listened to the quiet familiarity of the ship and the small movements of children moving, settling, breathing. She stood there in her now crowded ship, utterly alone.
Chapter Twenty-Five
TheAbundance
EarthAllianceBetaSector
2210.163
The shackles that weighed down Jupiter’s wrists and ankles slowed his steps and tugged at his joints. He’d never worn anything so heavy, but it was the feather-light band circling his throat that worried him. Head held high, he moved steadily toward the slaver, walking along a silver path on the floor. The man sat in an ornate chair on top of a raised stage at the opposite end of the room. Every man present had to look up to meet the slaver’s gaze. The women at his feet stared at the floor, heads bowed.
“That’s far enough.” The guard at the end of the silver path brought Jupiter to a stop with a cudgel poked in his ribs.
The guard beside him struck the backs of his legs. “Down, dog.”
Jupiter made no move to obey. Another blow buckled his legs but he remained standing.
The slaver grinned, showing perfectly white, even teeth. “Now, Thompson. I know I told you this one is special. We must treat him gently.” There was little censure in his tone.
“It was just a nudge, Morgan. Not a scratch on him.” Thompson smirked. “We won’t screw up your chances with that hot little snatch.”
