Reverse Abduction Read online

  It is a long voyage, though. At least two Earth weeks even with the super engine. A lot could happen in two weeks. Perhaps he’d find her more agreeable, and she would—

  He shook his head. That direction of thought wouldn’t do him any good. She was on his ship as a crewmember. Nothing more. Getting involved would be a bad idea because, what if she really was more annoying than expected or, worse, clingy after sex? Where would he hide?

  He’d keep his hands and fantasies to himself—unless he was in the cleansing unit. Then he’d give himself a hand and fantasize as much as he liked with the evidence being evaporated away.

  Whistling, more for distraction than anything else, Jedrek was checking on the cables docking the merchandise when princess arrived, sans cloak, still wearing her ridiculous leather gear and armed to the teeth.

  “You don’t need all those weapons when on board,” he said, indicating the various loaded sheaths. If she got too close to a few of the machines exuding magnetism, she might stick.

  “Father says a warrior never goes about unprepared.”

  “We are on a contained ship in the middle of space, about to jump to another galaxy.”

  “It matters not. Danger lurks everywhere.”

  “I’m sure even your father strips down to the bare minimum when at home.”

  “Not entirely.”

  “But he does. And so should you.”

  “This isn’t my home.”

  “Oh, yeah, it is, princess, because of your blackmail with the commander.” He gave her a pointed look.

  “I did not blackmail,” she said with a toss of her head. “Merely showed the commander the less attractive alternatives if he chose to not keep me on board.”

  Jedrek snorted. “Which is a fancy way of saying bent him over a barrel without any lube.”

  “What does that mean?” Her nose wrinkled adorably. He didn’t mention that though, given he doubted she’d see it as a compliment. She still wore one too many knives on her person.

  “It means you gave him no choice.”

  “He had choices. He just chose the one that rewarded us both. At least he didn’t keep me on out of pity. Where did the commander find you? Pet auction?” She arched a brow and smirked.

  “Close.” He saw no need to hide his origins. “I was part of a slave shipment abducted from Earth.”

  “The enslavement of your kind is forbidden.”

  “Which means it’s extremely lucrative. There’s a thriving trade for human children.”

  “I can’t see why. Given your attitude and lack of enlightenment, I would have thought you’d make horrible servants.”

  “Even though we’re dumb animals”—and, yes, he said it with a sarcastic tone and a roll of his eyes—“there are many who like to impress their friends by having a human to serve them. There are also some that enjoy our kind as a rare delicacy.” Children were especially prized, kind of like veal back on Earth.

  He’d managed to surprise her, or so he surmised since her mouth rounded. “They eat you?”

  “Eat. Hunt. Fuck.” He shrugged. “As you keep reminding me, the universe and its denizens see Earthlings as nothing more than barbarians. As such we have little say in our treatment.” At least most humans didn’t. Jedrek was one of the lucky ones.

  “That is the fate of the less evolved.” What she said and yet a crease of her brow showed it did bother her a tiny bit.

  Really tiny.

  “Less evolved?” He snorted. “That’s rich coming from a Kulin. Let me guess, your fighting and pompous attitude are so much better.”

  “They are because I come from a civilized culture.”

  “I bow to your greatness, princess.” Said with mockery and yet she waved her hand in acceptance.

  “About time you recognize it, human.”

  “My name is Jedrek.”

  “How cute of your master to name you.”

  Was this chick for real? “My mother gave me that name when I was born.” Jedrek Tom Garcia, as a matter of fact.

  “Were you part of a large litter?”

  His lips pursed. “We are not animals. We are born the same way you are.” He knew enough of the Kulin culture to state that. He’d studied up on them before arriving at their home world for their scheduled cargo pickup.

  “I guess that would make sense given some of my people have mated with your kind.” Her lip curled. “I cannot believe they chose to taint their line that way.”

  On Earth he’d dealt with racism for being born of an immigrant family. It turned out space wasn’t any better, except it wasn’t the color of his skin or poor roots that were his biggest fault but the planet he was born on.

  Not everyone is like that. Just because pampered princess lived in a glass house where her shit didn’t stink didn’t mean everyone thought like she did. There were some who treated him like an equal.

  Remembering that, he chose to ignore her attitude and words. He pointed to the cargo. “Check the mooring clamps. We don’t want this stuff banging around when we slide between galaxies.”

  “The task seems rather menial.” Her nose scrunched. “Shouldn’t I be training instead?”

  “For what?” When it came to being annoying, she was already a pro.

  “Training for when we encounter pirates that dare attack.”

  “First they’d have to find us. When not in transit between wormhole slips, we’re cloaked.”

  “Even if you rarely encounter space battles, what of when we land on a planet and pillage the villages?”

  “We don’t pillage.”

  “But you do land on planets, correct?”

  “Yes, but those places are expecting us.”

  “They are expecting you to attack?” she asked, looking quite puzzled.

  “We. Don’t. Attack.” He spoke slowly in the hopes she’d grasp the words.

  “Then why land at all?”

  “Because that’s our mission. We buy goods and then deliver them.”

  “This is a merchant ship!” Exclaimed rather than questioned.

  “Yes.”

  “You lie.”

  He frowned. “Why would I lie about that?”

  “Because it makes no sense. The Attlus is heavily armored. This vessel design has not only extensive defensive mechanisms but also assault ones too.”

  “And?”

  She flung her hands. “And this ship was built to attack things, not deliver items. Where is the adventure in that?”

  “There is no adventure, princess. This is how normal beings make a living. They work.”

  “Fighting is work.”

  “If you’re a mercenary. Which you’re not. What you’re suggesting is attacking people for the hell of it and stealing from them.”

  “It’s not stealing.”

  “Is the stuff you’re taking yours?” he asked, one eyebrow cocked.

  “No. But if the owner is dead, then it belongs to no one.” Spoken with a smug smile.

  “What of the heirs?”

  “What if they’re dead too?” She grinned, and he noted the flat edge of her teeth, not sharpened like the males of her world.

  “What is wrong with you, woman? You can’t just go around killing people and taking their stuff.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s not nice. Do you go around murdering your neighbors and stealing from them?”

  “Of course not. We don’t pillage other Kulin. Unless they’ve wronged us. Then we apply for a feuding license from the government and the best warrior family prevails.”

  “And you call my race barbaric,” he muttered.

  “It’s a civilized manner for dealing with disputes.”

  “It’s insane, and I’m pretty sure this discussion with you has killed some of my own intelligence. So I’m done. We’ve got work to do. The jump is happening in less than an hour.” He turned from her—before he gave in to the urge to shake her and then kiss her dark lips until she stopped spouting nonsense—and w
alked away.

  “While you deal with the menial ship tasks, I shall hone my skills for when we encounter some foes.”

  “There’s no foes, princess,” he yelled. Avoiding pirates caused less damage.

  “We’ll see about that,” she shouted back. “I shall discuss the merits of a mercenary lifestyle with your commander.”

  “He won’t listen.” Jedrek did his best to ignore the woman after that. She was obviously deranged. Still, he couldn’t deny she was also fascinating, in a dangerous, she’d probably chop his hand off if he touched her kind of way.

  As he checked the moorings, he could hear her, thumping about, uttering short exclamations, the whistles of something being moved rapidly through the air.

  Despite his determination to ignore, he couldn’t help peeking from time to time—and to his disgust, he stared as well.

  Azteriya had chosen to work on her battle stances in a clear area between the crates, moving her body through a fluid set of routines. Lunging, parrying, roundhouse kicks, back flips. The woman was agile, appeared ready to fight, but would she freeze when faced with a real combat situation?

  Because while he’d spoken the truth, altercations were mostly avoided, sometimes fighting did happen. And when it did, being prepared would make a difference.

  Once Jedrek checked all the moorings, he headed back to the front of the storage hold, which meant passing by her. She’d paused and leaned against a crate, head tilted back, a flask to her lips.

  A light sheen of sweat made her skin glisten. A pulse beat at the front of her throat, not the side like a human. She finished drinking, her lips moist and inviting.

  He looked away.

  “Do you know how to fight?” she asked suddenly.

  “Some,” he admitted with wariness.

  “I’m surprised. I didn’t think slaves were allowed to learn.”

  “I’m not a slave.”

  “Obviously, or you wouldn’t be so impertinent.”

  He shot her a glare. “It’s not impertinent to stand up for myself. Or do you think I should just let you insult me?”

  “It’s not an insult if it’s true.”

  “What’s true is you’re a rude and pampered brat who ran away from home.”

  The flask was stoppered and tucked away, the motions slow and deliberate. “You don’t have the right to judge me, human.”

  “I can do whatever I like, princess,” spoken in the same sneering tone.

  “You know nothing of why I left.”

  “Don’t I? You want to escape a society that values women as little more than brood mares. You wanted to see worlds beyond yours. Experience different cultures. Prove to yourself that your worth is more than the child you can carry in your womb.”

  With each word, she almost flinched, proving he hit the nail on the head.

  “I am more than just a carrier of a male’s seed!” she exclaimed. “I won’t have my life bound by ancient values.”

  “So, in other words, you want to be judged for who you are? How ironic that you won’t do the same for me.”

  For a moment, he thought he’d gotten through, that she finally noted her hypocrisy.

  But apparently she’d been dropped on her head one too many times. “I see what you’re trying to do. Goad me into fighting. If you wish to test my skills, you just had to ask.”

  Those words were the only warning he got before she came at him, no blades in hand, but she moved quick. The first fist she launched took him in the jaw, snapping his head sideways. She knew how to hit, but he didn’t let her land a second blow. He moved, ducking and weaving, blocking the rapid shots she fired at him.

  He brought up his arm, and her fist smacked it. An upraised knee protected his balls.

  He went into defense mode, keeping his body parts safe, but he didn’t hit back.

  She eventually noticed. “Are you incapable of attack?”

  “I can attack,” he muttered, ducking under a roundhouse kick.

  “Then hit me,” she demanded.

  “I can’t.”

  “Did your master program you with a detonator that will cause your body to explode into meat chunks if you attack a sentient being?”

  “What? No.” He stopped for a minute, and she clocked him. Hard.

  For a moment, he forgot she was a woman. Rage enveloped him, adrenalizing his body, causing his body to move in automatic. The next thing he knew, he’d managed to topple Azteriya and pinned her to the floor.

  He couldn’t have said who appeared more surprised.

  “You didn’t blow up,” she exclaimed.

  “Of course I didn’t. I never said I couldn’t fight.”

  ‘Then why didn’t you hit me?”

  Despite knowing it would get him in trouble, he said it. “Because you’re a girl.”

  Five

  The insult hit her like a slap.

  He didn’t hit me because I’m female?

  “Apologize!” she growled.

  “Nope. Because it’s true. I might not have seen my mother in twenty years, but that doesn’t mean I forgot what she taught me. Boys don’t hit girls.”

  “I’m not a girl. I’m a warrior.” Heaving her body under him, Azteriya tried to dislodge him. However, the human had her truly pinned, the entire weight of his body holding her down. His strength greater than she would have expected.

  As for her arms and hands? He held her wrists manacled in his fists. Leaving her…vulnerable.

  Fight him. She knew how to hurt a male in this position. Father had taught her, and yet, she didn’t maim him.

  Didn’t slam her head into his face and shatter his nose.

  Didn’t ram her knee into his soft parts, inhibiting his ability to procreate.

  Didn’t do anything at all to hurt him because of her surprise.

  A surprise at the fact his soft parts weren’t that soft.

  Something hard pressed against her lower belly. While innocent in the ways of the flesh, she knew what it meant.

  The human was attracted to her! More appalling, her body felt an answering warmth, a warmth that coerced her into lying under him, enjoying this rare moment of feminine vulnerability.

  “Resistance is futile.” His lips quirked as if he laughed at some inner jest.

  “You will have to release me eventually, and when you do, I shall destroy you.”

  “Do that and the commander is liable to eject you out of the nearest airlock. You heard what he said. Play nice with me.”

  “He said no such thing.”

  “You’re right, he said we had to work together, and I am working really hard on not throttling you. Good thing you’re not a man.”

  “Stop insulting me.”

  He leaned close, his gaze intent. “It’s not an insult for a man to notice the fact you’re a woman. Which is why I won’t hit you, even if provoked.”

  “You say you don’t advocate violence against my sex, and yet, here we are, with you atop me.” She arched a brow.

  “Lying atop you doesn’t hurt anyone.”

  No, on the contrary, it felt rather nice, which irritated her. “I don’t like it.”

  “Well, I don’t like being attacked just because you’ve got some deep-seated issues to work out.”

  “Don’t mock me.”

  “I won’t so long as you don’t play victim. You started this.”

  “I was testing your capabilities.”

  “Then I’d say you got exactly what you were looking for.”

  But she hadn’t been looking for the languorous heat spreading through her limbs. Never expected the desire that would throb between her legs, giving her the urge to wiggle her lower body.

  She needed distraction. “Why aren’t males supposed to hit your females?” On her world, it was considered dishonorable to beat females. A warrior should only ever fight a worthy opponent. It made her father teaching her all that more rare and special.

  “The same reason your planet doesn’t let girls go off and
fight.”

  The reminder made her grimace. “Because we have other duties.”

  “Like making babies and cleaning the house and being a good wife.” He smirked. “Sounds like our kind might not be so different after all.”

  He dared compare them? She thrust at him, heaving her body hard enough that she managed to roll them. He didn’t resist, and she found herself straddling him.

  This put pressure on a part of her that usually only throbbed when she self pleasured.

  And I like it. By all the moons in the galaxy, she enjoyed it, the breathless sensation, the tingling between her legs.

  His expression went taut as she shifted, subtly she thought, to test this interesting friction.

  “What are you doing?” he said, his tone low and rumbling.

  She leaned forward and smiled. “Showing you we are nothing alike. Nothing at all.”

  “You’re right, we’re not.” It was he who rotated his groin under her, causing a jolt of pleasure.

  She bit back a gasp. “What are you doing?”

  “The same thing you are. Being a tease.”

  “I am not a tease.” Said with indignation.

  “Says the woman riding me. If you want to fuck, just say so. I’m more than happy to accommodate.”

  She slapped him. A satisfying smack that turned his face only a moment before he returned that intense stare to her. “You really have a problem with the truth, princess.”

  “I do not wish to fornicate with you.”

  “You want me.” Spoken so smugly.

  “What I want is to kill you.” Mostly because he was right. She did want to see what would happen if she kept rubbing.

  “Then do it.” He angled his head back. “Go ahead. Slash my throat. Or crush it. You keep telling me how tough you are. Let’s see it.”

  The dare left her no room to wiggle. Yet she did wiggle—atop his erection.

  Why did it feel so good?

  He chuckled. “Like I said. You want my body. Why not admit it, princess?”

  “Because it’s a lie.”

  “If you say so, princess.” The mockery heavy in his words.

  Ding. Ding. A bell chimed.

  “What is that for?” she asked.