Slave (13 page)

I figured it was some kind of homing device to attach to Cat, which sounded like a damned good idea, but was surprised when Delamar approached me, instead. “May I play with your toy?” he asked Cat.

I shuddered with revulsion at the thought of this creature touching me. The guys in the restaurant had at least
appeared to be almost human, but this thing gave me the creeps. Cat, however, was unperturbed. “As you wish,”

he replied.

I know I shot him a look that would have sliced a lesser man in two, but Cat ignored it completely. Obviously he was willing to accept the gift from this thing, no matter what it might do to me. Perhaps it was a Zetithian custom not to refuse a gift or something, who knew? But this creepy little alien was quite obviously intending to touch me in some way, and I didn’t exactly relish the notion.

“You must be close to her, and you may wish to stand behind her for support,” the alien suggested to Cat. “She may become…unsteady.”

I started to open my mouth in protest, but those red eyes seemed to capture my gaze and hold it tightly. Standing transfixed, I found that I could not speak or move, and it terrified me as nothing had in a very long time.

“Do not be afraid, little toy,” Delamar said in that breathy voice of his. “You will not be harmed. Though you may feel some…odd sensations.”

The red-eyed alien reached out with his slender little fingers and took my face in his hands. I suppose if I’d thought about it at all—which I hadn’t—I would have expected them to feel cold, but they were surprisingly warm. I was dimly aware that Cat had moved around behind me and was letting me lean against him, but all I could see were those big, red eyes gleaming out of the darkness. My body responded to the alien’s touch as though a relay had been flipped and I felt a fiery sensation snake its way from each of his hands on my face down to the pit of my stomach. There, the two lines
seemed to converge before welling up inside me and then wrapping themselves around my heart.

“Earth women are so delightfully responsive,”

Delamar wheezed. “I have only treated one such before, but this one is even better.” He made that odd, laughing, wheezing sound once more and continued holding me until I felt almost faint, leaning back against Cat for support. “Hold her beneath her arms,” he instructed Cat, “or she may fall. Some of them do.”

I was dimly aware that Cat did as he said, but my focus was still on those fiery red eyes and the havoc being created within my body. I wanted to run, but I had no control over my limbs whatsoever. If I had feared the loss of control that came with sex or alcohol, I feared this even more, for it went well beyond that kind of surrender; it was a total annihilation of the senses and was a far more intense sensation than any mere touch of a hand on my cheeks could normally induce.

It went on for several minutes and as I stared into that pale, luminous face, Delamar’s eyes began to change, first slowly going from red to purple and then on to blue.

When they turned a deep aquamarine, his mouth opened and a long, forked and whip-like tongue protruded and steadily grew in length until I felt it reach out to touch my lips, teasing them apart. I wanted to scream but was still unable to make even the slightest sound as his tongue delved into me, sliding down my throat.

The alien’s tongue moved inside me and I felt sure I would gag on it, but didn’t, for some inexplicable reason—and I’d been known to gag on much less. I watched, helpless and transfixed, as a round ball seemed
to form in his mouth only to be squeezed down within the long tube of his tongue in a pulsatile, propulsive movement until it reached the tip and suddenly filled me with a warm gush of fluid.

The little shit is poisoning me! I thought angrily. I’m being poisoned and my stupid Cat is standing there like a gullible idiot and not only letting it happen, but is actually holding me for the little bastard!

And then his tongue pulsed inside me once more and a sensation the likes of which I had never felt before—

or since, I might add—took me in its grip and sent my whole body reeling. It was so strong I thought I would pass out from it as it welled up inside me like a ball of fire before finally erupting to inflame every fiber of my being. I watched helplessly as the little alien’s eyes gradually returned to their customary red color and his tongue slid out of me, whipping back into his mouth like a sucked up piece of spaghetti.

“Wonderfully responsive!” he wheezed. “Such a delight to treat!”

The little asshole was making himself sound like a doctor treating someone with an upset stomach! I was probably about to die, and the rotten scumbag was patting himself on the back! I was as angry as I’d ever been in my life, but I still couldn’t move a muscle. And Cat! I had trusted him, and he’d let me down, big-time!

“Just hold her there for a short time,” he instructed Cat. “She will recover quickly and will feel no effects by morning, but will sleep very soundly tonight. To imprint her with your scent, she must now taste you.”

Cat looked at him questioningly.
“Kissing her is the most effective means,” Delamar said. “Then she will be imprinted with your scent and will be able to locate and track you over great distances.

You may find this useful in your quest.” He smiled again.

“I wish you luck and joy in all of your endeavors, my friend. May the pathway to your destiny be a smooth one.” And with that, he bowed once more and disappeared into the night.

So, the little shit had poisoned me with his creepy snake tongue just to turn me into a raging, Cat-seeking bloodhound! I was gonna kill my damned Cat, I thought grimly.

The alien had asked if I was well-bonded to Cat, too. What the devil did that mean? Had the poison bonded me to Cat in some way? And if so, was it permanent? Were Cat and I stuck together forever? The guy hadn’t said that it would do anything but enable me to track him, but, as a trader, I knew that a lot of things about a deal weren’t always immediately obvious. After all, he’d been sort of sketchy about the details, and we had absolutely no proof that it would actually work. Hell, it might even end up killing me!

I was of the opinion that Cat should have asked for a lot more information before agreeing to this “gift,” and I was mentally kicking myself for not speaking up while I still could. As it was, I wasn’t a bit happy and I fully intended to wring my damned Cat’s neck, and I would do it, too, just as soon as I could move my arms again.

Then he kissed me.

He made damned sure I knew what he tasted like, too, sliding his warm, sensuous tongue inside my mouth, kissing me quite soundly until I probably could have followed his scent even without alien intervention. Oh,
yes, and he’d had the same effect on me as he had when he’d kissed me before, too. Intoxicating, overwhelming, mind-numbing….

In a daze from Cat’s kiss, as well as the alien poison, I was unable to do anything to prevent Cat from picking me up and carrying me back to the ship. I couldn’t recall ever having been quite so helpless in my life, and we were almost there when I finally began to be able to move a little on my own. “Gonna kill you, Cat!” I muttered as I punched at his chest with a hand that could barely make a fist, “gonna fuckin’ kill ya!”

“No, you will not,” he said, completely unperturbed by my threats. “You are just angry right now. You will…get over it.”

“Way to go, Cat, that’s a fuckin’ idiom!” I mumbled.

“You’re learning! Now if you’d just use one fuckin’ little contraction there might be some hope for you.”

“Open the hatch,” he said, completely ignoring my babbling tongue as we approached the ship.

Obligingly I put a hand out and fumbled with the thumb-lock. Needless to say, my arm felt like a wet noodle and it took me a couple of tries to get the lock mechanism to disengage. “See whatcha let him do ta me?” I grumbled. “Can’t even unlock the goddamn door.” Despite my current level of ineptitude, I finally got it right and the hatch slid open with a hiss, and Cat carried me inside. Having deposited me on the bed, he just stood there for a moment, looking at me. Peering back at him through eyelids that had suddenly grown quite heavy, I noticed something odd about him.

“Whazat?” I asked, pointing at his sleeve.
Cat raised his arm, inspecting his sleeve, which now appeared to be stained with a slimy, aquamarine-colored fluid. It reminded me of the color of that smarmy little alien’s eyes when he— “E-e-w-w!” I exclaimed, feeling suddenly nauseated.

“It’s that alien’s goddamn poison spit! Oh, God, that is so gross! I need to get in the shower, Cat! It’s probably all down my—” I sat up, reeling like a drunkard and looked down at my dress. Aquamarine slime had spilled all down the front of the peach-colored fabric and had run down my right leg and a drop or two of it was clinging to my pretty little satin slipper. My stomach heaved at the sight of it, and I knew if I didn’t get it off of me quick, there was going to be an even bigger mess before long. “Oh, yuck!” I groaned, clapping a hand over my mouth as I heaved again. Cat picked me up once more and carried me into the bathroom. “The sonic shower first, then the water,” I croaked. “I may stay in the bathtub for the rest of the night! I probably need my stomach pumped, too. My God, this is making me sick!”

Cat didn’t say a word, but, instead, grabbed the nearest towel and thrust it under my chin, neatly catching the rather colorful vomit which I would undoubtedly have spewed all over the room otherwise.

(I had a little cleaner-droid, but it was somewhat temperamental and tended to baulk at having to clean up messes like that!) Then he pulled me into the sonic chamber along with him and hit the activation switch.

Within moments, all traces of the alien poison had been vibrated from my body and my clothing, as well as Cat’s, but the conviction that I’d been poisoned
remained. I was seriously freaked out by the whole episode and I still couldn’t even stand up straight without Cat’s assistance; my legs were as weak and trembling as the tentacles on a Derillian jellyfish.

“Forget the shower,” I gasped as I felt myself falling under a blanket of overwhelming lassitude. I didn’t think I could keep my eyes open for another second. “Just put me to bed, Cat.”

He pulled off what little clothing I had on and tucked me under the blankets, before disrobing and climbing into bed with me. The last thing I remember was him purring against my ear as his arms went round me and his cock brushed against my thigh. I didn’t think the stupid sonofabitch would have been purring like that if he’d known just how lucky he’d be if I didn’t whack his damned balls off in the morning. I mean, for all practical purposes, we’d paid fifty credits for a stomach full of aquamarine slime that I couldn’t even keep down, and aside from that, the best I could tell, my sense of smell was no better than it had ever been! To be quite honest, I didn’t feel so much poisoned anymore as I felt ripped off!

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I DIDN’T, OF COURSE—RIP HIS BALLS OFF, I MEAN—AND

was quite astonished at how truly marvelous I felt when I awoke. I didn’t think I’d even feel much like castrating a Nedwut—if one had been handy, that is. Too bad there hadn’t been one around the night before, although I doubted that I’d have had the strength to do it then, even though I was pretty well pissed! The most surprising thing, however, was that all the rage I’d felt was gone. I felt downright perky and I discovered that I held no grudge against little red-eyed Delamar whatsoever, and if I’d met him on the street, I probably would have hugged him. It was very odd, indeed!

Cat was still spooned up against my back and purring in my ear. “Mm-m-m,” he purred. “I do not believe I have ever slept so well.” He sighed contentedly before adding, “and that is not just because I am unfettered by chains. I like sleeping with you, Jacinth. You make me feel laetralant.”

“I make you feel what?” I demanded. He’d never used anything but straight Stantongue in speaking to me. This was a word I’d never heard before.

“It is a word in my own language which has no translation,” he replied. “Other words may be used to describe the feeling of laetralance, but they do not have the exact meaning.”
“I’ll bet there’s an Earth word for it!” I declared.

“We’ve got ten different words for nearly everything—

sometimes twenty! Give me some hints.”

“It means to feel satisfied and content, but also that the body is relaxed and the mind feels a strong attachment to the one you are with. It is not a feeling one may experience alone; it must be shared.”

“How about afterglow?” I suggested. “You know, the warm, fuzzy feeling you get after making love.”

He paused to consider this. “No, one does not have to mate in order to feel laetralance. It happens after that, at times, but it is not necessary, and will not always occur even after mating.”

“Okay then, how about
being
in love?” I ventured. “Is that what it means?”

“Yes and no,” he replied cautiously. “It is being in love and feeling at peace and being contented all at the same time, in body, mind, and spirit.”

“Well, you’re right then,” I admitted. “There
is
no translation. Not into my native tongue, anyway.” Which was surprising given the number of words in the English language. “But it sounds like a pretty nice feeling.”

Cat purred again. “It is,” he said softly. “And I feel it when I am with you.”

“Well, that’s nice,” I said briskly, patting him on the head. “So are you ready to go on a run through the jungle to find my sister today?”

“Mm-m-m,” he purred. “Perhaps we could wait a day or two. Just stay here and lie together and mate.” He ran his hand down my side to my hip and traced patterns on my skin with his fingertips. I felt his damp penis tickle the
back of my thigh and his lips pressed against my shoulder.

I shook my head. “Nope, don’t feel like it!” I said cheerfully. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be able to follow Cat’s scent now. I took an experimental sniff in his direction. Nothing. Not a damn thing! “You know, I think that creepy little alien lied to us! My sense of smell isn’t one bit better than it ever was. Of course,”