What drains out of me, however, it’s not at all a normal amount. The pleasure continues to roll through me, as if I’m orgasming over and over again without the ability to stop it. Copious amounts of cum travel through the tubes as I’m left a groaning, writhing mess.
Eventually, the pleasure fades, and all I can do is lie on the bed and gasp, dragging in lungfuls of oxygen as I try to make sense of everything. As if the machine can sense that there’s nothing left in me, the suction releases, giving me a respite from the sensations lingering down below.
I need to move, to walk, to clear my head somehow. Rising, I grip the tube and pull it off of me before tossing it onto the bed. Every muscle burns as I try to use them, but it feels good. It feels alive.
As I stand up and look outside the enormous window, it finally seems to fully sink in. None of it is a dream. I’m truly stuck on an alien planet. Holy shit.
Part of me should be frightened, but the wonder of such an experience overrides it. Maybe it’s my brain trying to protect itself, but I refuse to look that deeply. For once, I’m not afraid. Intrigued, but not afraid.
Glancing down into the fields, I study the light blue grasses waving in the breeze. Growing up in Kentucky, I’m no stranger to the idea of blue grasses. Though it might be unpatriotic to compare the two, these grasses are a shade I’ve never seen before.
It certainly explains the hay I was resting on at the auction. Wonder and curiosity fill me, allowing me to ignore the discomfort burning through my body with each excited twitch. The need to go out there and touch it, smell it, and experience it thrums within my veins like another heartbeat.
If only my dad could see this. Even if I made it home, I’m not sure I can convey just how beautiful this is. It’s not a trick of the sun that I can tell. It’s not a shifting of the shadows. From here, it looks honest-to-God blue.
My gaze darts back and forth in the room as I try to find something to cover up in. Blankets, sheets, and towels, but no clothes. It makes sense, seeing as we were auctioned off completely naked. Ripping the soft bit of fabric off of the bed, I fashion it into a makeshift toga and head to the door.
Would it be locked? I wouldn’t put it past them to keep me chained in this room. As I try it, I hold my breath, sending up every positive thought I can that it might open. Besides, where exactly can I go? It’s not as if Earth is just a few blocks down the road.
As it opens, my breath comes out in a short, punctuated gasp as elation fills me up. The burn in my unused muscles slowly fades as I make my way down a sprawling staircase and into a massive foyer. So far, there’s no sign of life in the house.
Granted, if it’s a farm, like I think it is, they’re all probably out working. A giddy smile crosses my face as I wrench the glass door open and step outside. The scent of earth and farmland hit me almost instantly, nearly hobbling me to my knees.
Once I left home, I didn’t think I’d smell anything as lovely and pure as this. Tears burn in my eyes as I step out fully, drinking in the warm sun. The heat nearly robs me of my breath and threatens to scorch me, but it’s easily tempered by a lovely breeze.
Glancing up in the sky, everything stops as my brain tries to process what I’m seeing. Two suns. They hang there almost in opposition to each other. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a mirage. Just like with everything else on this planet, it seems all too real.
I hoist up the trailing bedsheet and walk over to the grassy area. The plant is far softer than I could ever have imagined. Almost like wheat, but with a delicacy I’ve never seen in a plant. Unable to help myself, I pinch off a stalk and taste the buds.
An almost nutty flavor explodes on my tongue, signaling to my stomach just how hungry I am. As much as I want to devour this strange plant, however, my self-preservation is enough to remind me I have no idea what the hell this is and what it will do to my body.
As I look out over the fields, I try to find the Mistress Rancher, but still see no one. Dread drips down my spine as I walk about, keeping my gaze peeled for anyone. Why am I here alone?
Heat continues to beat down on me as I trudge forward, making my way to a row of trees. Though similar enough to Earth’s flora, it’s still odd enough for me to not have a name for what I’m looking at. Based on the neat, tidy rows they’re in, it’s not a stretch to think it’s an orchard of some sort.
It’s a massively overgrown orchard, but an orchard none-the-less. Who knows the last time these trees were pruned properly. Reaching up to grab a low-hanging branch, I dig my nail into the fleshy part and smile as a pale color appears under my nail.
Whatever it is, it’s still alive. That’s something, at least. Unfortunately, vines grow all around the thick roots and up into the trees, no doubt choking out the nutrients. Again, I look around, but find no one.
Well, she bought me for a purpose, so I might as well make myself useful while I’m waiting for food. Sweat beads on myforehead as I tug and pull, yanking the vines away and tossing them into the dirt.
It’s good, hard, honest work. The type I’m used to. The type I thrived under. Though my muscles protest, I find myself exhilarated at such a simple action.
No one is here telling me to stand a certain way or forcing me to rely on my looks instead of my brain. I’m not having to sell my soul for what money I can get. Here, I’m free. Here, I can finally breathe.
What is even more shocking is that not once have I craved any of Jeffery’s pills. Despite all the upheaval I’m facing, despite being who knows how many light years from home I am, I don’t need it. I don’t need any of it.
All I need is this—air, freedom, and hard work—to keep my mind from spiraling.
“Stop!” A soft, feminine voice cries out. “On your hands and knees now!”
CHAPTER TEN
ZILARA
My heart pounds in my chest as I watch my bull messing about with the precious trees. What in all of Icora can he be thinking? Striding over to him, I watch as he lowers himself to the ground and gets on his hands and knees as ordered.
Tremors race down my hands and set my fingertips to shaking as I get even closer. I can smell the scent of his sweat as it beads off his body and perfumes the air. It’s different from when he was lying in bed so close to death.
