Stolen Desire (Outlawed Realm) (11 page)

Paige recalled what Eeete had said about slaves risking punishment if they spoke to each other or looked at anyone for too long. Although it was clear to her that no one faced a beating or starvation in this place, the slaves didn’t seem to trust their new freedom. Everyone behaved…like robots.

Sighing deeply, Paige removed her bra and then her panties, flinging both into the hall. Moving farther inside the room, she lifted her face to the misting nozzles. Eeete followed. She cradled Paige’s breasts, dragging her thumbs over the nipples.

Paige stiffened. She choked out her words, “What are you doing?”

“Bathing you.” Eeete continued stroking, touching.

Tingles shot up Paige’s back and down her thighs. Eeete’s touch was amazing, better than anything Paige might have imagined. The foggy air pressed close, creating a cocoon of comfort. Splashing sounds lulled. Surrendered to pleasure, Paige pushed her fingers through her damp hair, pulling it off her forehead and cheeks. She mimicked the other women in here…who also had a female slave bathing them…and folded her arms over her head to give Eeete full access to her body.

Something she would have never allowed in Seattle, but then, she wasn’t there anymore, was she? Disquiet returned, which Paige pushed away quite easily. She didn’t want to dwell on the bad, not when Eeete’s stroking relaxed so well, providing a moment of relief from all the crap that had happened.

The young woman washed Paige delicately, thoroughly, tending to the puffy folds between her legs, her clit. When Eeete stroked the small nub, Paige pushed to her toes. The young woman didn’t comment, nor did she linger in that location. Gulping the humid air, Paige sank to her heels. Eeete pressed her palms against the insides of Paige’s thighs, directing her to part them farther. She did. Eeete responded by cleansing the furrow between Paige’s cheeks, stroking her anus.

Holy mother.
That part of Paige was so sensitive, she shot back to her toes.

Eeete moved to Paige’s thighs and calves, then to her shoulders and hair.

Paige’s arms fell down, too heavy to keep up any longer. She sighed in pleasure at Eeete massaging her scalp. It was so deliciously satisfying, Paige didn’t want her to stop. As Eeete tended to the hair at her nape—an ultrasensitive spot for Paige—she had to strain to open her eyes.

And saw Zekin.

He stood near the entrance of the spacious room, fully clothed in his camouflage gear, taking in her nudity. Color tinted his cheeks a darker olive. His eyes sparkled with what appeared to be lust and need.

Paige stared at his hands, fisted at his sides as though he were trying to control himself. From what? Striding in here? Taking her in front of the others?

None of the male or female slaves paused in what they were doing. None glanced his way. Paige knew they wouldn’t stop whatever Zekin wanted. She felt his desire for her.

Her body, mind, will yielded to the moment. Whatever happened.

He didn’t move.

Paige struggled to breathe. She grew dizzy with desire and expectation.

Eeete’s hands fell away from her. The young woman stepped back.

Because she was finished with the bath…or because she knew not to get in Zekin’s way when he demanded something?

Paige regarded him as he did her. Shamelessly. Without guile.

A muscle in his jaw ticked. His body seemed to stiffen with his fight for control.

A part of Paige wanted him to lose that battle. A part of her wondered what would happen to them if he did, where their intimacy might lead. Where could it?

As though he thought the same, Zekin left.

After wandering aimlessly around the colony, trying not to think or feel, Zekin finally went to the dining hall. Bruda and Qatar soon joined him, enjoying their meal before conducting today’s business. There was much to discuss…to reveal…once Paige joined them.

“Aren’t you going to finish that?” Bruda asked, gesturing to Zekin’s plate.

Having no appetite, he pushed his dish to the man. Food wasn’t what Zekin required. Tension knotted his neck and back muscles, causing them to ache. He rolled his shoulders, then stopped when he noticed Qatar watching.

Not wanting to answer any questions Qatar might pose, Zekin sipped his drink. Around them, the pleasure slaves ate, their sole focus on the food they and Zekin’s men provided in abundant supply. Harvesting it within the water’s depths or on their occasional trips to the surface. No one here stopped a slave from getting seconds, thirds or more. They ate until filled. Many of them had been too lean when they’d first arrived, their bodies showing the effects of prolonged starvation. The men’s arms and shoulders had filled out, the same as the woman’s breasts and hips. All of them restored, robust with youth and good health. All of them stunning.

None of them Paige.

Zekin slumped in his chair as his mind returned to the scene in the place of bathing. Paige’s skin flushed with heat, slick with moisture. Her nipples were slightly darker than her mouth, her vaginal lips an even deeper rose, her curves lavish.

Heat settled in his groin, thickening his cock, tightening his balls.

How he’d ached to pierce her sweet flesh with his shaft, burying himself within her. Paige had wanted that too. He’d seen her desire when she finally noticed him watching, witnessed her body softening, surrendering. It had taken all of Zekin’s will not to give in to his brutal lust and mount her in front of everyone.

If he had, the slaves wouldn’t have dared glance their way or tried to interfere. Not even Eeete would have done so. The moment she spotted him watching, she’d stopped washing Paige and had stepped back, obedient to whatever he wanted, even if it wasn’t her.

Forcing himself to leave, Zekin had finally come here, not knowing what else to do. He had no future. Paige did—in her own realm. Away from here. Him. With another man.

“If you grip your cup any tighter,” Qatar observed, “you’re going to break it.”

Hardly. The thing was made of an alloy that never bent or broke. Still, Zekin loosened his grip.

Bruda lifted his brows in an unusual display of emotion. “Worried about what you have to tell the woman?”

“Paige,” Qatar corrected, then asked Zekin, “Where is she?”

“To the left,” Bruda said.

Zekin turned. Dressed in one of his clean shirts, Paige followed Eeete into the pod and to Zekin’s table. He stood, ignoring how Qatar and Bruda regarded him.

“Bring Paige a plate of food,” Zekin directed Eeete. “Everything we have to offer. And a drink.”

“No.” Paige caught Eeete’s wrist to stop her. “She doesn’t have to wait on me.” She spoke to Eeete. “You’re not a slave any longer.”

“No one here is,” Zekin assured. “However, she does know where to get the food. You don’t. Nor do you speak our language to indicate what you want.”

When Paige didn’t argue with his reasoning, Zekin eased her hand from Eeete’s and spoke to the young woman. “It’s all right. Do as I ask.”

She headed for the serving area.

“Please sit,” Zekin said to Paige.

She regarded her hand still in his. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding it.

Once he released her, Paige held her shirt collar to her throat and sank to the edge of the plank seat. Zekin took the space next to her, their thighs close. She didn’t move away. Nor did he. A blush stained her smooth cheeks. He sensed she was recalling how he’d watched her earlier while bathing. Her hair was still damp, her skin moist. Zekin imagined its warmth, its silkiness beneath his lips and hands.

“Are you too warm?” Qatar suddenly asked her. “Your face is red.”

His stupid comment only served to deepen her blush. Zekin glared at the man as he never had on E2. Qatar pretended not to notice.

Paige cleared her throat. “I’m fine.”

Her death grip on the fabric said otherwise. She stared past him at a bluish-white monster whipping through the water, its eight tentacles spinning as the spokes of a wheel would. The creatures in its way dashed in all directions to get to safety. A few weren’t lucky. The monster’s tentacles hit their bodies, sending them crashing into the pod. Numerous pinging sounds reverberated through the structure as they connected with the transparent wall. Before the noise had faded, the monster scooped the stunned creatures into its mouth, then left the area in its search for other prey.

Paige said something beneath her breath. She turned away from the carnage, her attention on the table. Qatar’s mostly eaten meal. Bruda’s empty plate. And finally, the device next to it.

She reached for the small rectangular box, then pulled back her hand before touching it. “What is that?”

“The means to get to the other dimensions,” Qatar said.

Bruda added, “Our original home on E2. Your home on E1.”

Paige stared at them, then turned to Zekin as though she expected him to provide an explanation.

Prior to falling asleep last night, he’d pondered what to say. Hours later, when he’d awakened, he was still searching for the right words.

They continued to escape him. On a sigh, he spoke the truth. “We don’t know how to use it.”

Chapter Eight

Paige heard what he’d said. However, she couldn’t figure out why he’d tell her that or bring the device to the table if it wasn’t going to do her any good. She knew she should have asked him to explain but was afraid to. As odd as everything had been yesterday, it had only grown stranger this morning. If it was morning.

There was no way to tell. None of the pleasure slaves looked sleepy, with the customary dark shadows or bags under their eyes. Their complexions and bodies were as flawless as mannequins. No blemishes. No cellulite. No lingering marks from repeated whippings. Not even a mole out of place. Just those awful markings on the insides of their wrists that revealed their genetic identity.

They sat in clusters at various tables, as though they were colleagues or part of a clique. Yet none of them spoke. A female slave, apparently finished with her meal, stood without saying a word to the others. She turned too quickly, her hand brushing her metal cup. Paige started at its clang on the floor, that clatter ringing through the space.

Those at her table and the ones beyond it didn’t miss a beat as they continued to chew or lift their cups. Not a one of them looked in her direction or offered to help retrieve the container that had rolled away, stopping finally at a male slave’s foot. He was beyond hot, golden skin, black hair, violet eyes, a shadow of beard on his firm jaw—and toes that hadn’t budged in the least at the cup hitting them or the female now trying to retrieve it. Like all the others, he concentrated on his meal as though it was his only allowable behavior…or he might not get another anytime soon.

A trio of men entered the dining area. They were nearly identical in appearance to Zekin and the two men across the table from him and Paige. This new group also wore camouflage gear and unreadable expressions, the same as the slaves.

Where in the hell was this place? How had everyone come to be so different from the people Paige had known in Seat—
What in the hell is that?

The wall above them vibrated, making a low groaning sound. The twirling monster had returned, bashing a slightly smaller creature into the pod. Milky liquid spilled from its wounds.

Blood?

Whatever it might be, it soon dissolved in the water. The creature’s fin protruded from the monster’s mouth as the thing spun away.

Afraid to see more, Paige focused on the device. About the size of an iPhone, it was thicker, resembling a TV remote, its screen dark. Its usefulness apparently in doubt. So many awful questions flooded Paige’s mind, her throat tightened, not letting any of them out.

Eeete returned with two trays of food, placing one in front of Paige. What looked like hard-boiled eggs—except they were smaller and perfectly round—wobbled in the bowl that held them. On a plate next to it was a hunk of what might have been bread in a strange purple shade. Thankfully, the drink looked similar to the one Eeete had given Paige last night.

Thirsty, Paige drank it down, relieved it had the same sweet apple flavor. She wiped her mouth off with her fingers. “Thanks.”

Eeete took the empty cup and gave Paige another from the second tray. Without comment, she went to one of the tables where the other slaves sat. They didn’t acknowledge her presence as she joined them and dined on her breakfast.

“Go on,” Zekin encouraged, easing the tray a bit closer to Paige. “You need to eat.”

She needed answers to everything that worried her but wasn’t yet ready to face the truth his response might bring. Lifting one of the egg-like things, she asked, “Where’d this come from?”

“The creatures in the water,” the man directly across from Zekin said.

The other added, “We take it from inside them.”

Paige dropped it back into the bowl. It bounced slightly.

“It won’t hurt you,” Zekin assured.

She nodded agreeably and tore off a hunk of the bread, resisting the urge to sniff it as an animal would with unfamiliar food. After a moment’s hesitation, she screwed up enough courage to bite into it.