Hawk's Slave
Authors: Jordan Summers
| Hawk's Slave |
| Number VIII of Phantom Warriors' |
| Jordan Summers |
| Smallbites Online Learning, Inc. (2014) |
New Phantom Warriors Novella
Captain Hawk has searched solar systems for a female shape-shifter. As a Slaver, he knows they fetch the highest price, but Hawk isn’t looking for a shifter to sell. He wants one for himself, wants one for the beast lurking inside of him. The last thing he expects is to have a female given to him.
Phantom Warrior Opal never thought she’d find herself enslaved by a ruthlessly handsome shifter. As the Dark King’s right hand, she’d sworn to protect the Phantom people—even if that meant protecting the king from himself. Her misguided actions caused her to lose everything. Now Opal has to contend with a sexy Slaver who’s determined to tame her, but this feline isn’t going down without a fight.
Jordan Summers has thirty-one published books to her credit and has sold over 145,000 ebooks. She’s a member of The Horror Writer’s Association, International Thriller Writers, the Author’s Guild, and Novelist Inc. You can find more information about Jordan’s upcoming books here: http://www.jordansummers.com/contact/
Hawk’s Slave
by
Jordan Summers
Hawk’s Slave
Copyright © 2014 by Jordan Summers
Published by Jordan Summers
Formatted by
IRONHORSE Formatting
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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ISBN: 978-0-9904454-5-6
Table of Contents
Some days, being the captain of a slaver ship wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Sure, flying through space and kidnapping unsuspecting women was thrilling, but most days were spent trying to find ways to kill time between planet jumps.
That’s what Hawk was doing today, as he found himself strolling across the cavernous cargo bay to the row of doors along the ship’s hull.
He went straight to the containment unit on the end and peered into the holding tank where his favorite slave resided. She was seated on the floor with one long leg bent and her arms resting on her knee. Her head hung forward like she was asleep, causing her dark, shoulder-length hair to obscure her face. But Hawk knew she wasn’t. She always knew the precise moment he arrived.
Unlike the other slaves he had, this one hadn’t been captured. The Dark King had given her to him. Which was probably why she hadn’t bargained for her life or offered her body in exchange for her freedom.
Not that Hawk had expected the woman who’d betrayed her king to roll over so easily, but he was
surprised
. And perhaps, a
tiny
bit disappointed.
Opal...her name hinted at her rarity and conjured all kinds of fantasies.
Fantasies he intended to live out—once he tamed her.
Thus far, getting Opal to bend to his will hadn’t been as easy as he’d anticipated, but Hawk had a new plan. One that would push her control to the very limits. He glanced at the room on the other side of the cargo bay.
It was a special room. A room he’d personally designed for this exact situation. The space held unique equipment. Equipment geared to handle the most stubborn of slaves...and the wildest females.
No one had ever left that room without begging him to ease their
suffering
. No one. Eventually, everyone surrendered.
Hawk had no plans to injure this woman or any of the others occupying the nearby cells. No, he intended to use the tools in the room to explore Opal’s limits. He planned to take her through galactic levels of pleasure, and if need be, staggering realms of frustration. Hawk was prepared to do whatever it took to tame her because he had no intention of releasing her.
“Why don’t you just go in there and command her to obey?” his First said as he came up beside him in the cargo hold. “You’re the captain. She has to listen.”
For all his experience, Fallon knew
nothing
about women. He was from a planet where all the females were subservient. The males took their behavior for granted and believed women of every species should follow suit.
If the men on his planet wanted a female, they simply went to her family and demanded that she be given to them. With the men’s war-like natures, that wasn’t always the best course of action to take, but they accepted that it was the way things were done.
Hawk glanced at the green-skinned man beside him. “Your horns are sticking up.”
Fallon’s yellow gaze shot up to see, even though it was physically impossible to do so. “I just sharpened them. Thought I might pick out a female to test them on later.”
Hawk’s dark brow rose, along with the beast lurking inside of him. Fallon’s horns could be used for pleasure or savagery, depending on where he stuck them in a woman.
“And you thought this one would do?” Hawk asked. It was a simple question that was loaded with Zaronian explosives.
Fallon’s yellow eyes narrowed and his green skin darkened. “I’m not that foolish,” he said. “Everyone knows this slave is yours, Captain.”
She was...and his First had better not forget it. If he stuck Opal with those horns, Hawk would rip them off his head and shove them where they were bound to hurt.
Hawk’s lips twitched. “You know I don’t play favorites with my chattel,” he said, which had been true until Hades, The Dark King had given him Opal. Ever since she’d landed on his ship, she’d occupied much of his free time, but she’d yet to grace his rest pad.
“True.” Fallon stroked his horns, testing the tips’ sharpness. “But she isn’t exactly our usual cargo.”
He was right. As a shifter, Opal was unique and extremely valuable. Sure, she had done her best to set up the woman who’d captured the Dark King’s heart. She would have succeeded too, if she hadn’t underestimated the King’s feelings for the golden-haired Earthling.
Hawk had taken one look at the Dark King’s face when they were fighting and had known he’d go to war for that woman without batting a whisker.
As a Slaver, Hawk had no interest in war, but he did care about the credits his cargo would bring, which was why they’d had to raid two more planets after leaving Zaron.
The Phantoms hadn’t allowed them to leave with any female but this one. Hawk had seen what giving her to him had cost the Dark King, but the Phantom ruler had no choice. It was either act decisively or be seen as weak in front of his people.
Hawk knew something about that and had the scars to prove it. He tapped his finger on the front of Opal’s container. Her dark head never moved, but she did shift her lithe body giving him another tantalizing glimpse of her long legs. She never acknowledged his presence. It was a game they played. A game he was determined to win.
He closed the window to her door. “Have you set a course for the next solar system?”
“Yes, Captain,” Fallon said. “We’re just awaiting you on the flight deck.”
“Well, let us wait no longer.” Hawk glanced once more at the closed door before striding toward the transport cylinder.
“She’d fetch a fair price on Farn. They’re always looking for pets,” Fallon said. “Her cat form would make a good one.”
“That it would,” Hawk replied. “If she were for sale.”
Fallon smartly kept his silence.
“Have her transferred to the pleasure room,” Hawk said.
Fallon blinked in surprise, then his face carefully blanked. “Yes, Captain.”
* * * * *
Opal knew he was there. Felt him lurking outside her cell like a big cat stalking its cornered prey. Hawk came to her every day. Had been ever since he’d taken her captive. He never said anything to her directly. He simply stared at her like the predator he was and waited.
For what? She had no idea.
She could still recall the moment she’d laid eyes on the Slaver. Opal had been crouched in a tree, when Hawk stepped out the door of his ship. His long black hair had been braided at the sides of his head and tight leather pants hung low on his trim hips, exposing a sliver of his light blue skin.
He’d looked right at her cat form with those golden eyes of his and seen straight through her. Opal could still feel the heat of that stare on her skin. The distance didn’t diminish Hawk’s presence then, and it sure as heck wasn’t now, even though he was on the other side of the metal door.
One glance had told her that Hawk was going to be trouble. Her first instinct was to run for her life, but Opal rarely listened to her gut when it came to men. She’d always been drawn to dark ones. The more dangerous they were, the more alluring she found them.
It was why she’d worked so hard to become part of the Phantom Warrior royal guard. She’d found Hades, the Dark King attractive and was determined to get close to him. Opal had succeeded in more ways than one. She’d become Hades’ right hand, a position normally reserved for men, and over time, ended up sharing his rest pad. Too bad the latter position turned out to be temporary.
Her obsession with the Dark King had cost Opal her position, her home, and her freedom, which was why she found herself here on this ship, under the watchful eye of a handsome Slaver.
The constant observation was beginning to get to her. Opal wasn’t sure what she was going to do about it, since she wasn’t exactly in a position to stop him, but it couldn’t go on.
What did he want?
Stupid question
, she thought.
Opal knew exactly what Captain Hawk wanted from her. He wanted the coordinates to Earth. If that were all he wanted, they might be able to strike a mutually beneficial agreement, but he wanted so much more.
The only true mystery was why he hadn’t taken her yet. He was a Slaver after all. They weren’t known for their restraint or for their compassion. If he’d wanted her bound and on her knees, then that’s where she’d be—willing or not. Yet it had been a month and he had not made a move. All he did was
watch
.
Why?
Opal’s body tightened and her skin stretched as her cat side threatened to surface. The sensation was occurring more and more frequently—thanks to the sexy, dark-haired bastard continually prowling outside her door.
To get Hawk off her mind, Opal thought about Zaron and Hades. When she did, a fresh wave of anger struck. The Dark King had betrayed her.
Hades had left her to the Slavers with no thought of whether she’d live or die. It mattered not that she’d betrayed him
first
.
That was different. His motives were selfish. Hers were not.
Opal had done what she’d done for the Phantom people, even if the Dark King didn’t see it that way. Given the chance, she’d do so again. Which Opal supposed was why he’d abandoned her in the first place. And to think, she used to
love
him.
She snorted at her own foolishness. Time and distance had allowed her to re-evaluate her feelings and they’d come up severely lacking. If her experience with the Dark King had taught Opal anything it was that she couldn’t trust any man with her two hearts, whether she loved him or not. Captain Hawk may be darkly appealing, but trusting a Slaver was out of the question.
Opal glared at the door as the voices rose. Who was he talking to this time? She strained to listen, but their footsteps were already fading.
