Pradorian Mate (5 page)

“
Ah, you mean a place to relieve your biological needs.” Archail moved toward a wall. Just touching it with his hand caused another door to open, revealing a rather large room that held every form of toiletry anyone could ask for. Only the theme of the floor tiles continued into that room. The rest of its furniture was sculpted from something resembling black granite, and it shone with an amazingly soft light. Portions of the walls seamlessly jutted out to form various shelves and counters. Everything was immaculate clean and exquisitely crafted.

Sara stepped hesitantly into the bathroom, intending to relieve herself, but she stopped when she noticed there was no toilet paper anywhere. “Do you have any toilet paper?”

“No.” He turned to leave.

“Wait!” she called out, annoyed with his dismissive answer. “How do I…cleanse myself once I’ve finished?”

“As strange as it may sound to you, the unit will automatically emit a sonic beam that will clean and sterilize you, so you have no need for something as archaic as paper.” He waved a hand and the door slid shut.

Alone and hopefully with some privacy, Sara wasted no time in making good use of the facilities.

Chapter 4

Sara pounded against the door, pain running down her arms, while knocking on what she hoped was the door.  “Get me out of here!”

The door slid open unexpectedly and she fell through the opening right into Archail’s torso. He gently closed his arms around her to steady her.

“
Where have you been?” She pulled back from his embrace. Her embarrassment had reached new levels after being so helpless to leave the washroom. Her recent panic then turned to anger. “I’ve been beating on what I hoped was the door for quite some time now!”

“
I picked some fruit for you.” A hint of amusement tinged his voice.

Sara considered retaliating with something like,
You could have told me how to open the door before you left
, or
I wasn’t going to take that long,
but she finally decided on a simple, “I see…” Looking somewhat dumbfounded by his interest in feeding her, she wondered if there was a hidden agenda behind this act of apparent kindness.

Archail moved toward the table where the fruits and vegetables lay. He picked up an orange-colored fruit and handed it to her. “Here, try some obicon. It’s good for you.”

Sara looked at the sleek, smooth fruit suspiciously before raising it slowly to her mouth. She paused before taking a bite. “Maybe I shouldn’t eat this. It could give me some kind of rash or worse.” She walked over to the table and placed the fruit back with the others.

“
Don’t worry, our species are compatible in this regard.” Archail moved closer to her and picked up the fruit again. He held it near her mouth. “Trust me, it will not harm you in any way. Eat.” He touched her lips with the fruit, expecting her to bite.

Sara sniffed the fruit suspiciously. It had a pleasant scent with no hint of anything rotten. Her stomach growled, and she saw no reason to starve herself. After all, if she wanted to stay strong and find another chance to escape, she would need to keep up her strength. With that thought, she took a small bite. To her surprise, it was very sweet and extremely juicy. When the sticky juice ran down her chin, she almost forgot her anger and hopelessness. She murmured a loud, “Mmm!” and moved to wipe her chin. Archail’s index finger rose to catch the drip. After brushing his finger over her chin to her bottom lip, he moved it to his mouth to lick the juice. Citrine eyes stared back at her as his dark blue tongue drew a long line across his finger.

Sara wondered if he was trying to seduce her, taking the fruit from him decisively  backing away a few steps.
Well, it’s not going to happen!
she retorted inwardly biting into the fruit again, enjoying its mild flavor. Glancing at the table, Sara regarded the various fruits and vegetables. One particular violet-colored item stood out to her. When she examined it closer, she noted its bumpy skin, which seemed hard when she pressed her thumb against it.

Noticing her interest, Archail grabbed a knife the size of Sara’s forearm. She flinched and backed away ready to fight. Once he started slicing the vegetable, she relaxed again. Sara was fairly sure he wouldn’t harm her, seeing as breeding partners generally work better if they’re alive, but she couldn’t get past events out of her head. She’d already been abused once, and she’d be damned if it was going to happen again in her new life.

My new life…that’s right.
Sara remembered her death and subsequent resurrection. Her mind still had trouble grasping it all. Maybe she was still dreaming and didn’t realize it? She shook her head and came back to reality when a male voice reached her ears. “What?”

Archail blinked and repeated, “I said I won’t harm you. You are my mate now. My warriors will also not touch you, just as I will not touch their mates.”

Sara shook her head as she finished swallowing her last bite of fruit. “I’m not your property or your mate.” To make her point, she ignored him and kept her eyes on the sliced violet vegetable on the table. Its flesh was brown and interspersed with millions of white beads, probably seeds.

His expression darkened. “Whether you like it or not, you are mine for as long as your body draws breath. You have no choice in this, and you will obey. Now, eat.” Despite his frown, he still held out half of the violet vegetable for her to take.

Sara’s head jerked back, at the sound of his words, while she remained silent, her nostrils flaring slightly. She didn’t stay that way for long. “You eat your stupid food. I don’t need it. And as for being yours, I believe I have a say in this! Why don’t you just go and find a more willing mate to have your babies?” She paused, her brows creasing, expecting him to reply in kind, preparing herself, physically and mentally.

Archail took a deep breath. Tilting his head sideways as though disappointed by her words, he replied calmly, “Fine, you will get your chance to choose. Now eat.”

This calm promise helped her to relax a bit, but she wasn’t ready to believe him just yet. She knew nothing of his people or their culture. Why did they specifically want human woman to breed with? Despite her suspicions, she decided to play the subdued female. In her mind, she was already planning her next escape attempt. She looked down at his extended hand still holding the vegetable. She stared at the offering for a long moment. “Has it gone bad?”

His frown deepened as he examined the vegetable before returning a confused gaze.

She pointed and stated with a small grimace. “The inside is very brown.”

“
That’s how it’s supposed to look. Just take a small bite to try it if you want, but try to remember that not all things are as you would want them, woman,” Archail warned.

Sara’s temper flared, and she ripped the piece away from him. “My name is Sara! Not woman!”

Archail remained frozen for a moment, gaping at her, his jaw slightly dropping. “Interesting. So Sara is not a female of the human species. I must punish the one who delivered you. He seems to have given me the wrong gender, unless your males can also bear offspring.” A slight grin showed on his lips as he turned to slice more fruits and vegetables. He placed the pieces in two bowls, one of a white stone that glittered when it caught the right light and one of black stone that soaked up any light that hit it.

Her eyes narrowed, unable to control the anger exploding through her. How dare he mock her! Who did he think he was, belittling her? When he turned to leave his home once again, though, the familiar fear of being locked in suddenly squeezed her stomach. “Where are you going?”

“Meat.” He didn’t turn or pause before passing through the opening in the wall. The opening closed, again leaving no indication of its presence, and Sara was alone once more. She was alone in a world she didn’t know anything about or even begin to understand. Sara stared down at the supposedly healthy vegetable and gingerly took a large bite from it. Yet again, she was surprised as the bread-like texture hit her tongue. A second later, though, she spat it out and quickly tried to find something to drink. Without any water or other liquids in sight, she quickly gobbled up the rest of the obicon in the hope that the sweet, sticky juice would wash away the overwhelming taste of the vegetable, which had been as hot as horseradish with a sour aftertaste.

Sara breathed a sigh of relief and leaned on the table, suddenly exhausted from all the constant surprises. Examining the room around her, her eyes met the fur-like rug in what she thought must be the living area. She pursed her lips thoughtfully and moved her gaze to the walls. She moved to one of them. “He said our species are compatible, so I should be able to do whatever he can do and open a door out of here.” She placed her arm against the wall, but nothing happened.

Sara moved her arm along the walls until one opened without warning. She let out a surprised cry as she fell through the opening. The multi-colored tiles continued into the new room as well, so Sara concluded the whole cave must be paved with them. This new room appeared to be a bedroom. A chair, upholstered with some sort of yellow animal skin, stood in a corner to the right, and a strange bed sat against the far wall. The bed seemed to entice her, calling her to lounge on it. Sara couldn’t explain why she felt so exhausted, but her legs had to struggle to hold her, and she swayed as if she was drunk. “What’s wrong with me?” She crossed the room toward the soft-looking bed. On reaching it, she slid on to test it out.

The cream-colored pad that covered the surface of the bed provided a soft texture for her body to lie on, yet the firm, smooth, metal-like support beneath it was curved. Just as she began to relax, something in the bed started to move. She quickly jumped off. As soon as she left the bed, it stopped moving and reverted to its original appearance. With more than a little suspicion, she gingerly laid on it once more and waited. Again it started to move, but this time she froze…and waited. She felt drowsy and disoriented as if she was drunk or drugged. The sensation of the bed’s movement matched the contours of her body perfectly. It was impossible to resist the urge to sleep, and her eyes closed involuntarily as the feather-soft mattress supported her where she needed, a little more in one area and a little less in another.

A wide grin spread across Sara’s face when she turned on her side to see if the bed would react, and it did. No matter how she tossed and turned, the bed would adapt to meet her body’s needs.
I wonder if this would help my arthritis.
Sara realized her error. “Oh right. I don’t have arthritis anymore. Hah! Well, this is very comfortable I must say.” She mumbled to herself, noting how comfortably warm the room was, not at all how she would have imagined a cave to be. She let out a comforted sigh, her every thought, both past and present, being mixed up in her mind. Her thoughts seemed to clear, and soon she felt as though she was in a safe womb-like haven. With the comfortable temperature, there was no need for any kind of blanket, not like the heavy coverings she’d needed during the cold winter nights in Scotland. Her clothes would be dry in no time she thought, glad that she wasn’t outside shivering to death.

Sara noticed the door had closed while she wasn’t looking, and a misguided feeling of safety enveloped her. She smiled, disorientation of place and time, clouding her thinking.
I suppose I could sleep here. When he comes back, he’ll wonder where I am. A little worrying will do him good. Maybe he’ll think I escaped.
A sense of lightheadedness took over every thought in her tired mind as she turned over. It didn’t take long for her to drift off to sleep as the fatigue finally set in.

* * *

Archail returned some time later. He entered the big cave carrying his prey, an adult lagoria with white fur, long pointy ears, and a long, curly, hairless tail. He entered the dining area, but wasn’t concerned to find it empty. She couldn’t get outside without a recognized voice imprint. He noticed the violet fruit he had cut for her earlier left on the table half bitten. He smiled with satisfaction when he theorized what must have happened to his young, ignorant captive. She had eaten from the Saphora fruit, which caused lightheadedness and sleepiness. He recalled telling her to take a small bite, but it seemed his little human didn’t do anything she was told. A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

In any case, her earthly scent was so strong in his cave he couldn’t ignore the drawing sensation it exerted on him. The realization troubled him, and he shook the sensation from his mind.

He opened the molecular stove and placed the dead animal inside. Archail then headed to his bedroom where he was sure the female earthling, Sara, would be sleeping. He was unprepared for what he saw when the door opened.

One of Sara’s tiny hands lay softly over one breast, gently rising and falling with every breath she took. The other breast was almost exposed beneath the short silky material. Her copper-red hair hugged the soft contours of her smooth face, now peaceful from her deep sleep. Her long, dark eyelashes threw small shadows on her eyelids, and her nostrils flared softly to match the steady rhythm of her breath. Her full red lips, were slightly parted, shone in contrast to her pale skin. She was a divine sight to behold. Sara reminded Archail of a painting his people possessed that showed a small alien goddess with exotic colors and a shapely form, tantalizingly long legs and smooth, glowing skin.