Slave (28 page)

“She already told me she won’t leave you.”

No, she wouldn’t be leaving him, I thought rather sadly. Although why she’d want to stay with a flat-nosed and rather insipid-looking blue-eyed blond guy with six fingers on each hand was beyond me to explain. Well, okay, so he wasn’t bad-looking, really. It was just that I happened to like Cat better. I mean, Dantonio might have been sort of handsome, but that big tomcat took my breath away!

I left Ranata to talk Dantonio into a better mood—or do whatever it took to make him happy. Of course, it wouldn’t take much imagination to come up with the
most effective means. Honestly, these guys had such one-track minds, it was downright irritating! I mean, sure, Cat wanted to mate all the time, but he didn’t get mad just so I’d do it! He could get to me just by being his own irresistible little self. No, the more I observed and thought about it, the more I was convinced that Cat had been right about them.

I had also arrived at a few conclusions of my own by that time, and it seemed to me that the women could, at least in part, share some of the blame for their men’s bad behavior. It was my considered opinion that they were nothing more than a bunch of spoiled little boys, and I thought that the women should just let them stew in their own anger now and then, rather than to be constantly rewarding them for it. As I saw it, these men were very much like the star athletes in colleges who, having been idolized by every female on campus, have come to the erroneous conclusion that they could get away with just about anything. The fact that not every other woman in the world would also welcome their attentions was so far beyond their comprehension that the occasional hotshot sometimes winds up being charged with a rape that he fully believes he did not commit.

It would, therefore, seem to be important that men have someone around to knock them off their high horse now and then, if only to ensure that their arrogant behavior doesn’t become intolerable. Cater to their whims too much and they will come to expect such treatment all the time. As I viewed the matter, it was the fault of the females, for a man has only to be handsome or powerful to have women crawling all over him, whether
he treats them with respect or not. It can only feed a man’s arrogance when the women he’s treated like shit keep right on crawling back for more. I didn’t get it myself—never had, and perhaps that was why I’d never fallen for anyone before I met Cat.

Poking around the house, I found Cat dozing in a chair in the dining room with an empty plate and glass there on the table in front of him. I stood in the doorway for a few moments, gazing at him fondly and thinking that we could go home now. Ranata was safe and happy and I was free to spend the rest of my life with Cat, doing pretty much whatever we wished. Everything seemed to be turning out so wonderfully, but I’ll admit I was still having some difficulty coming to grips with all that had happened, and even more so because my years of searching had now come to an end.

Looking for Ranata had been my whole life for so long now that it seemed impossible that I could simply go back to trading the way I had done before. I would also have Cat with me, which would probably change things considerably. Then it crossed my mind that, as in my sister’s case, I might actually have children someday.

Of course, the fact that Cat and I belonged to different species might eliminate that possibility, but such things weren’t unheard of, and it was just as likely that we would. After all, if humans could cross with Statzeelians—who, as far as I could see, were more alien than Cat was—there might be a chance. For example, Cat didn’t have an extra finger; the eyes and teeth seeming to be the chief differences between his people and the people of Earth, as well as his rather unique body fluids.
Having met Cat and loved him, I was of the opinion that a race such as his should not be allowed to become extinct. I would do my part to see that it didn’t by having my conception prevention procedure reversed at the earliest opportunity, and then we would see what happened. It was a testament to the way I felt about Cat that I would even begin to consider doing that, especially since I had never been even remotely tempted to do so in the past. Being with him had changed me even more than my search for Ranata had done, for, as suspicious, cynical, and hard as I had become, Cat had single-handedly given me back my heart.

He must have become aware of my eyes upon him, for he began to stir just then, uncurling from his chair to smile sleepily at me. “The cake was very good,” he said.

“But it has made me wish to sleep.”

“I’ve got no problem with that, Kittycat,” I said warmly. “Right now, all I want to do is curl up with you and sleep for at least a month! Now that it’s finally over, I’m only just beginning to realize how tired I am! Tired of the chase, tired of the fight, tired of the worry…. Now there’s nothing left to do but go home, if that’s what we decide to do. Is there any place you want to go, or anything you’d like to do?”

Cat shook his head. “I have been many places, seen many worlds and their people. It would be better to see them again as a free man, perhaps, but I find that I do not wish to return to them. I have never been to your homeworld, however, and I believe I would like to see it.”

“Okay, we’ll head back home then. But not right away. If Ranata’s husband doesn’t end up throwing a
big hissy fit over nothing—like most of these guys seem to do!—I think I’d like to stay here for a while and take some time to just
be
.” Gazing at him fondly, I remarked, “You know, I probably wouldn’t have any idea what to do, or where to go, if it weren’t for you, Cat. I imagine I’d be feeling pretty lost and useless right now if I hadn’t found you.”

“And I would be the property of someone else and still be in chains,” he said. His lips curled into another smile as he added, “and
not
eating cake.”

“Well, you’re probably right about that,” I agreed.

“But I’ll tell you one thing, though: I’m not the least bit sorry we don’t have to sneak out of here in the middle of the night for another run through the jungle! Those damned swergs are probably just waiting for us to come back through there again so they can get their revenge.”

Cat smiled. “But I have a real sword now,” he said, patting the hilt. “They would be foolish to attack us again.”

“They were a bunch of bloomin’ idiots for having done it the last time!” I declared. “You know, Cat, I still think that was one of the most amazing feats I’ve ever seen! They’d have killed me for sure if you hadn’t been there. I certainly owe you one for that!”

“No, you do not,” he said with a slow shake of his head, “for I could save your life every day for the next hundred years and still I would remain in your debt.

You have given me life, and freedom, as well as your love. Killing wild beasts is nothing when compared with that.”

“Yeah, well, maybe,” I said, feeling slightly embarrassed for some reason. “Listen, all I did was pay five
credits for you, Cat! And it wasn’t even as much as you were worth!”

“And what am I worth?” he asked, beginning to purr softly.

“You, my dear Cat, are beyond price.”

Cat seemed rather pleased to hear that, and, okay, so what if I spoiled him a little bit? Hell, the way I saw it, I could spoil him rotten for the next twenty years or so, and he’d still never get as cocky as a Statzeelian, nor would it make up for all of the horrors he’d been forced to endure. I just hoped Dantonio would see Ranata in the same light and treat her like the precious thing she was, as well. Oh, yes, I would spoil him a bit, but not right now, for just looking at my sleepy Cat was making me want to lie down for a while. “Hey, Kittycat,” I said with a yawn, “what do you say we stick those two horses in the barn and see if we can find somewhere to take a little catnap until dinnertime?”

“It is done,” Cat said with a purr. “The lady Alanna has seen to it.”

“Knew we’d end up staying for a few days, did she?”

Cat nodded. “It is a fine room,” he said. His purr grew deeper in tone and his eyes began to glow softly. “The bed is large and very soft.”

By this time, I knew that particular expression quite well, and therefore knew that sleep was most definitely
not
what he had in mind! “Well, I hope they don’t have dinner very early around here, then,” I said, “’cause this is bound to take a while.”

After he showed me to the guest room, I decided that he was right about the bed, because it felt for all the
world like swimming in an ocean of sheets and pillows, and we sank deeply into its soft, enveloping warmth.

“Oh, Cat,” I murmured. “This is the best ever! Here we are, in my sister’s house, with no worries, no plans—”

“—no insects.”

“Yeah, them, too!” I agreed. “Nasty bugs, making me fall asleep on my amorous Kittycat! You know, that was a nice place, too. We might have to stop there on the way back—if we could find some better insect repellent, that is. I’ll have to ask around and see what I can find. If it’s good enough to keep
those
bugs away, it ought to work against the bugs on any planet in the galaxy, and we’ll get rich selling it!”

“Sh-h,” he whispered. “We have one another, so we are already rich.”

“Sweet talker!” I chided him.

“Mm-m-m,” he purred. “Kiss me, Jacinth, and we will enjoy our wealth.”

As I melted into his arms, his soft, sensuous lips nipped at mine, tasting of cake—though unfortunately not chocolate, which, along with horses, was another thing that was unique to Earth. Of course, now that I knew that there were horses on Statzeel, that left chocolate as the best thing Earth had to offer to the rest of the galaxy—which was saying quite a lot. It was popular everywhere, and I’d sold all the chocolate I had in the hold before I’d even left the Terran Quadrant. After that, I still had my own private stash of Maximo Dark to fall back on, and I probably wouldn’t have sold it either, but a Dorellian noblewoman offered me ten thousand credits for all ten kilos—which I accepted, of course.
Cat was nibbling at me as though I tasted every bit as good myself. I couldn’t recall him ever having done that before; I was usually the one tasting him, which had always been quite enough to send me spinning off into space. This time, however, he seemed to be bent on keeping his coronal fluid just out of tongue range while he devoured me instead. Suckling at my nipples, he drove me into a frenzy of desire before working his way down lower on my body to spiral in for the kill. He took a long time to get there, sweeping his hot tongue across my skin while he continued to tease my nipples with his fingertips. Needless to say, when his tongue finally reached my clitoris, I was about to explode.

But he didn’t let it happen right away, and lay with his head pillowed on my thigh, lazily licking me as though he had the next ten thousand years to bring me to climax.

I think it took about half that long, actually, and by the time I was getting close, I was pleading with him to put me out of my misery and just give me one little taste of him to send me over the edge into oblivion.

“No,” he replied. “You do this alone.”

My body was drenched in sweat, the muscles in my legs cramping from the effort it was taking. “Please, Cat!” I begged him. “I can’t do it!”

“Yes, you can,” he said. “Try.” His tongue giving way to his lips, he sucked me, deeply and sensuously as his tongue stroked the underside of my clit with its rough, wet surface. Then suddenly, without any warning, I felt a piercing note drive itself through my body, singing louder and higher until finally shattering me into a million pieces. Not stopping even after I’d reached the
highest level of ecstasy, he continued to tease me with the tip of his tongue, keeping my orgasm going for what was surely the rest of that ten thousand years.

I was dimly aware that he moved from where he lay, but didn’t know where he went until he buried his thick, hard cock inside me. Groaning aloud with the sheer mindless pleasure of him filling me up and rocking into me, it took a few moments to realize that his wonderful cock syrup didn’t seem to be affecting me anymore. What he was doing felt better than anything I’d experienced with him up to that point, but I just wasn’t having the repeated orgasms that I’d had before. It crossed my mind to feel somewhat disappointed by this—I mean, it might have been different from the way it usually was, but I was still feeling really, really good!—however, it wasn’t until later that I realized I’d never come down from the original climax. Cat was simply maintaining the one he’d given me to begin with—first with his tongue and then with the rest of him. I recalled wondering once before whether or not one of the orgasms he gave me wouldn’t just up and kill me someday, and decided that, if so, then this could very well be the one to do it.

Cat had been holding himself up with his palms flat on the bed and his elbows locked, but now he slid his arms beneath my back and stretched his legs out behind him, lying flat on top of me. Curling my hips up to give him the deepest penetration possible, I wrapped my arms around him as he leaned in for more deep, languorous kisses. No longer moving back and forth, Cat now began rotating that fabulous cock inside me while he was lying still.
Yep, I’m just gonna die right here, right now
…. My brain was nearly there, it seemed; my body just hadn’t caught up with it yet. I could feel Cat purring, could feel his tongue and his penis both penetrating deeply inside me, could feel the weight of his body, but the rest was just one big blur of pure bliss. Drowning in his love and with no control left over body or mind whatsoever, I drifted there in a state of total surrender. I was a part of him now, just as he was a part of me—two separate beings merged into one. When Cat reached his own orgasmic pinnacle and his breath went out with a rough purr before softening to a sigh, I felt as if that breath could just as easily have originated from within my own lungs. It was impossible to believe that we could be any closer—not in body, not in mind, and possibly even not in spirit. If I hadn’t been in love with him before, I certainly would be now, and I wanted nothing more than to remain that close to him forever.