Page 100 of Auctioned to the Convicts
“These men are not bad, but you ask a lot, sha’vi. I don’t want to share you. The first week here, I toyed with the idea of killing them in their sleep, to ensure they never touch you.”
The news didn’t shock her, not entirely. She’d envisioned the possibility many times, except Ky’Li wasn’t rash, and he didn’t kill, not unless he had to.
“That’s not who you are,” she said, taking his fist that hung at his side and kissing along the knuckles. “And this will become easier with time, I suspect. Look at the progress you’ve made. You haven’t threatened to kill Ren in almost two weeks.”
“He hasn’t annoyed me in almost two weeks.”
“And you never cross Vaughn.”
“He drugs me.”
She laughed. “Yes, I’ve learned that the hard way myself. But don’t you see, Ky’Li, they are no threat to you, to us. They will not come between us because we’re becoming a family.”
His lips thinned. “You love them, sha’vi? Vaughn and Sersie. This is more than a physical need for what they offer the unit?”
“Yes, I love them both, but it doesn’t mean I love you any less. In fact, I think I love you more because of their presence here. I appreciate you more, Ky, especially given how this goes against your customs and beliefs. I don’t mean to mock your ways, but I don’t wish to lie to you either.” She kissed him, and it didn’t take long for him to take control of the kiss.
“You can’t love us all equally.”
“I do, but I also love you all differently.”
He stared up toward the treetops.
She leaned her head against his arm. He didn’t move to embrace her. “You can accept me, as I am, who I am. But who I am, includes loving Sersie and Vaughn. Though I don’t think Vaughn feels quite the same about me. And Ren—”
“I don’t want to hear of Ren. Or Sersie and Vaughn for that matter. When we are together, it will only be you and me. You will not talk to me of other males, is that understood?”
His arms opened, and she sank into his warm embrace. “Only you, Ky’Li. When I’m with you, you are my world. And when I’m not with you. . . you will still be my world.”
Ky’Li grinned. “I like that.” And to prove how much he liked it, he kissed her a while longer.
Chapter Nineteen
REN
Ren couldn’t quite put his finger on it. For two weeks now, ever since Hannah returned to work at the port, Vaughn had not been himself. One minute he was quiet and sullen, and the next he was on edge, flitting around the house like a maaza in heat. He appeared more like Sersie in the throes of Flight. Aside from Vaughn’s off behavior, there were no signs he was on drugs.
“I had an idea for how to improve the masks in the mines,” Ren said, trying to draw Vaughn’s attention.
“You talking to me?” Vaughn said, lifting his head from the datapad he’d been reading. It had been twenty minutes and Vaughn hadn’t flipped the page on whatever he was reading.
“I thought I was.”
“Sorry,” Vaughn apologized. “I have other matters on my mind.”
“Hannah?”
“No.”
“I was about to say she’s changed you for the better, but now I’m not so sure. You seem more sullen than ever.” Ren said, trying to make sense of Vaughn’s behavior. Vaughn had been here eight years already. Only two years left for him. Ren still had four, maybe five or six years left. Dresden kept adding years. Ren no longer knew how long he had left, not that he planned to wait. Dresden would never upgrade him to a 3. Their esteemed and crooked manager would always find another reason to tack on more years as he tended to do to The Company’s more important assets, as he’d already done to Ren on four separate occasions.
“She doesn’t need me.”
“I don’t know. From the sound of her screams in there last night with Ky’Li, she might need a doctor.”
“Not funny. Why the fuck did you build this place with thin walls, anyway?”
“She’s definitely loud.” Ren grinned. On more than one occasion, he’d laid in bed in the storage room with his hands on his cock, stroking himself, picturing her beneath him as her moans traveled through the house.
