Naked (3 page)

He closed his eyes, opened them slowly and scanned his gaze down the lines. Her path became visible to him, and it brightened as he focused on it.

He didn’t say anything and raised his hand to stop the sergeant from following or speaking.

As quietly as he could, he followed her path until he was one capsule away from her. He came around the corner and her trail was still bright, but she was gone.

He heard her breathing nearby and sighed. “I will not harm you.”

She held her breath. He heard the intake and then nothing.

Ahket leaned against the capsule behind him, and he cleared his throat. “We have run your scans. It is certain that you are not Xerat.”

He heard her snort.

“If you want to know the fate of these women, they are being ransomed back to their families and governments. It is our way.”

She shifted slightly, and he saw the dark blue of her head emerge over the arch of the capsule.

“That is asinine.”

He blinked at the acid in her tone. A slow grin crossed his features. “It is our way. Our world does not give us anything, so we fight, trade and ransom women.”

She cocked her head, and her crystal eyes looked him over as he enjoyed the lush curve of her breasts, the slope of her shoulders and the graceful curve of her neck. She still glowed, but now, it was not the glow of an essential object. She was taking on a completely different shade.

* * * *

Cierra took in the bright glow of his red and purple eyes in the multi-coloured planes and angles of his face. Every time he shifted slightly, a new, deep jewel tone was exposed as if there was a wide rainbow cast over onyx. In other respects, he bore a stark resemblance to the images of the Admaryn that she had seen. The pointed ears jutting out of bronze hair was a dead give-away. She was dealing with a spin-off race of the Admaryn.

He was glowing, and it was similar to the glow that she saw when she needed to bring an object with her. She had no idea how she could pick him up and take him home, but part of her wanted to try.

“Why just the women?”

He smiled. “We will not take children and males are too difficult to carry.”

“Why are they asleep?”

“It is easier for us to keep them under; they will not remember being taken. The charges that we use to knock them out are species specific. You woke up because you are not Xerat.”

She made a face. “What was that shot I got?”

“It was supposed to keep you out, but you woke. I am sorry about that. It must have been unpleasant.”

“It was not my favourite moment.” She realized he was staring at her breasts, and she hauled hanks of her hair down in front to hide her puckered nipples.

He seemed uncertain but finally nodded. “Come with me.”

“Why?”

“Because you need food, shelter and possibly clothing if I can find some.”

“What about the clothing that I was in when I got here?” She scowled. She had loved that bodysuit.

“Into the recycler to provide us with additional materials.”

She fought the urge to cry, but she jerked her head up instead. “Fine.”

“I will find you something, but we have to leave here first.”

She blinked and frowned. “I am not very keen on running around like this.”

“I can understand that. I can carry you if you wish.”

She could feel the press of the metal deck in her feet. “I do not want to impose.”

He grinned. “It is the least I can do for the callous manner with which I hauled you in here.”

Cierra nodded. “Please then. These decks are not very comfortable.”

He came around the capsule between them, and he carefully lifted her up in his arms. He pulled her up against his chest and walked out of the storage area with her.

A younger male in a tight grey uniform, with fewer markings on it than her current transporter, shifted nervously from foot to foot as they approached. His gaze was running over her with strange intensity.

“Captain, you can’t take her out of the sanctuary.”

“Duty Sergeant, stand down. She is not a Xerat and will suffer physically before the transaction is concluded. We do not harm those we take.”

Cierra crossed her legs slightly and turned her head away from the young man who was ogling her. This was more of a disadvantage than she was used to and definitely more attention.

“I will have to tell the duty commander.”

“Go ahead. He can come to me if he has any questions.”

The captain carried her out of the storage area and down the halls, startling several soldiers within the ship and ignoring their questions.

They were in a lift, and it was rising when she asked, “What is your name?”

He looked down at her with his hypnotizing eyes, “Captain Urion Ahket. What is your name?”

“Cierra McAffee.”

“What may I call you?”

“A shuttle back to Xerat?”

He grinned and the lift stopped, the door sliding silently aside. He carried her past a sentry who blinked rapidly at their passage.

“I am guessing that there aren’t any other women loose on this ship.”

“You are correct. The short hair that we wear indicates we are soldiers and that we have not mated. There are a few men with mates back home, but they are few and far between and only here because their work is essential.”

She nodded, and now, the stares made sense. They were starving men and she was a chicken wing. She might not be what they wanted, but she was better than nothing.

He shifted her in his arms and opened a door in what appeared to be the officers’ wing.

The sparse interior included a tiny com station, a bed suited to his height and a wardrobe pressed tight to the wall. It wasn’t huge but there was a lav en suite.

He set her down at the edge of the bed and walked to the wardrobe. “We only keep uniforms here most of the time, but I think…ah, yes. I have something you can wear.”

He took out what appeared to be a vivid blue wrap shirt. She wasn’t fussy at this point, and she thanked him before slipping the shirt on and pulling her hair out from under it.

The crossover portion would have exposed a small bit of his chest, but on her, it parted beneath her breasts, exposing the inner curve and pulling tight against her. The shirt did fall to just above her knees, and it was an extreme relief to be covered again.

Cierra finger combed her hair while Ahket stared at her. His gaze was considering, not creepy, and the difference was important.

When she had her locks mostly separated, she made a braid and knotted the end.

Settled, covered and much calmer than she had been earlier, she faced him and stared into his strange eyes. “Why am I here?”

“I told you, we take women from a planet and ransom them back to their families.”

“Will I be sent back?”

He smiled, and it was a slow quirk of his lips. “You have no family there.”

“No, but I have friends, I work for the Xerat government. They would ransom me, I think.” She wasn’t sure, but she thought they might.

“The Xerat have laws against dealing with us. They will not offer funds for anyone who does not have family.”

Cierra blinked. “You have done this before?”

“Every twenty years we take women from Xerat and ransom them back. The funds gained buy enough supplies to support our people for two years, and then, we go out again to another world and do the same. Not all of them pay as well as the Xerat, but it beats injuring folk. Ransom is far easier.”

She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “I am going to beg to differ on that subject.”

He shrugged and moved to the com unit, speaking quietly to someone on the other end. They had their discussion while she looked at her slightly more spacious prison. There had to be something she could do to get back to Xerat.

When Captain Ahket finished his call, she cleared her throat.

“Send a ransom demand to the Nyal Imperium, and they will send one to the Alliance. I am sure you can get something for me.”

He cocked his head and smiled. “You are seriously telling me to contact the law in order to get a ransom? This is between us and Xerat. You have no place in it.”

She blinked, and the flickering hope she had been nurturing died. “I am sure that I could arrange something. Hell, can I pay my own ransom?”

“You have three hundred thousand credits?”

She blinked. That was more than she would make in five years. “Um, no. I have twenty thousand credits.”

He raised his brows. “That much?”

She shrugged. “I know it isn’t enough, but could it at least buy me a call?”

He quirked his lips. “No.”

“Why not?”

“You are not authorized to communicate with the government of Xerat.”

She was getting the feeling that he was stonewalling, but she had no options.

He gave her a focused look through his dark lashes. “I will get you some food and water. Remain here for your own safety.”

Cierra nodded quietly, and the moment he left her, she skidded over to the com unit and followed the brightly lit up pathways on the keyboard until she unlocked the com, and she was surprised to see a very shocked face looking at her. It was an older man of the same species as Ahket.

“Oops.”

She raised her hand to kill the call, but the man laughed. “You are the one that Captain Ahket brought onboard.”

She nodded.

“I am General Sapya. What can I do for you?”

“I want to go back to Xerat.”

“We don’t give up women that are not ransomed back. We keep them and they join our colony.” He was frank.

“Well, contact the government of Xerat and ask if they will ransom back Contract Proofer Cierra McAffee of Terra. I am on permanent contract to them. They are as close to family as I can get out here.”

His ears registered what she said; she could see a change in his expression. “I will look into it. You are in no danger. Captain Ahket will keep you well.”

She had one chance, so she asked the question that had been zipping through her thoughts. “It is obvious I am not Xerat. Why did he take me?”

The general smiled. “He said you glowed with a colour of something he had to take with him. Good afternoon. I will look into your queries.”

The screen went dark and when she tried an alternate code, the screen was locked.

She sighed and went to the lav, staring at herself in the mirror by rising on her toes. This entire ship was meant for tall men, not tall women. Standing barefoot, she could only see her forehead.

Grimacing, she used the facilities, took a solar shower and bemoaned the loss of her luxurious bathing room on Xerat.

She looked through the wardrobe and found that he hadn’t been lying. This was definitely a journey with a purpose to leave and return home as quickly as possible.

There was a set of loose trousers that matched the shirt, and she couldn’t figure out if they were exercise wear, a religious garb or pyjamas.

Sighing, she closed the wardrobe and did her least favourite thing. Exercise. If she was going to be stuck in this small space, she was going to exercise.

Cierra was into her thirteenth push-up when Ahket returned. He cleared his throat, and she got to her feet, dusting her hands off. He was carrying a tray, a wide pouch and two one-gallon bottles of water.

She took the tray and set it on the bed. “Thank you. Let me just go and wash my hands.”

A quick trip to the lav and her hands were clean and the scent of the food drew her to it.

“I brought you ration packs, because I won’t be able to bring you food while I am on duty.”

Cierra nodded and reached for a chunk of bread, nibbling quickly while consuming every crumb.

The com unit chimed and he turned. “Remain quiet, please.”

She sat on the bed and worked her way through the food, drinking from a bottle of water.

Ahket answered the com and then turned to her. “You tried to use this?”

She shrugged, swallowed and said, “I did use it. I just don’t know the codes to get through to the surface.”

He sighed and turned back to the screen. “What do you mean they want her back? The Xerat don’t pay ransom for those who are not citizens.”

The low voice on the other end of the call said, “She is not a citizen, but they are eager to have her back for twice the standard fee. She is a Terran, and they want her to find a mate amongst their people.”

“No. She has to stay with me.”

“You are sure of this? The tribunal will not be happy.”

“I do not care. She is coming to Sebach. There is an urgency about it now.”

The man on the other side of the conversation sighed. “You cannot keep her in your quarters once we are in motion. I will arrange something for her.”

“Thank you, General.”

“You are going to have to answer for this, Ahket.”

“I am aware of it.”

The general disconnected the communication, and Ahket ran a hand over his head.

Cierra swallowed. “He said you said I was the right colour?”

Ahket turned to her in surprise. “Yes. It is a side effect of my heritage. I am the twelfth generation born on Sebach, but my family line still retains some of the talents that our ancestors fled Admar with.”

“I have heard of Admar.”

He chuckled. “Of course. If you are Terran, you must have heard horror stories about what my ancestors did to yours.”

She tilted her head. “No. We only learn of it when we leave. We are given an education on the races that have coveted us or made war on our soil, so that we can understand where our myths and legends come from.”

“Oh. Well, we have heard of your kind from the time we enter school. I expected you to be smaller, paler and weaker.”

She snorted. “That was then, this is now. Our average population increased in height by twenty-five percent in the last century alone. It is amazing what decent nutrition for growing children will do.”

Cierra looked down and the tray was empty. She picked it up and carried it over to the small desk he was sitting at.

She slid the tray onto the flat surface and smiled brightly. “Now, why aren’t you letting the Xerat have me back?”