“I told you that I can control myself, Amara,” he said sternly. “You can trust me to keep my word.”
“Okay.”
He tightened the laces and tied them. “There. It fits you well.”
“Yes, you have a good eye for sizes,” I murmured.
Braxis shrugged. “I remember every inch of your body. I simply held out my hands to show the seamstress.” He moved his hands in front of him, mimicking my curves.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, well. You got them pretty close.”
Braxis chuckled. “If you're ready, we can break our fast.”
“Of course.” I took the arm he offered me and he led me through the ship, back to the rec room.
The other warriors were lined up at the galley counter to the right of the room. Instead of taking me to a table, Braxis escorted me there, to the front of the line. It's good to be chief. His men nodded to him respectfully but shot me venomous looks. I looked away and did a double-take. Behind the counter, a couple of Meren from the planet Vimm were cooking and serving breakfast to the Bleiten. The Meren are a humanoid race with one distinct difference from humans—they have three eyes. This, of course, made them instantly recognizable.
“You have Meren chefs?” I asked Braxis.
“We did some work on Vimm and hired them there,” Braxis explained. Then, in Vimmari—the language of Vimm—he informed the chefs that I was his woman and I'd be fetching his meals from now on.
“Oh, I will, will I?” I asked him in Vimmari.
Braxis looked at me in surprise. “You know Vimmari?”
“I know many languages. It's one of my talents.”
“You do?” His eyes widened but amid the amazement was also a bit of calculation. “We could use a translator.”
“So, now I'm to be your serving girl and your translator?” I countered.
The warriors in line shifted aggressively. Braxis glanced at them and then at me.
“You will be whatever I tell you to be,” he snapped.
I glanced at the men, then back at him. Now was not the time to make a stand. Embarrassing him in front of his warriors wouldn't win me any points. It may even force him to do something that I would regret. So, instead, I bowed my head to him and bit my tongue. Braxis grinned in satisfaction and the warriors simmered down.
“At mealtimes, you will come here and fetch our food,” Braxis instructed me. “Prix and Bentin know what I like and they'll have it ready for you.” He stopped to tell the chefs in Vimmari to make a tray for the two of us, then he said to me, “I'll be waiting at my table.”
He waved at the table we'd sat at the night before—it stood at the far edge of the dining area, with the best view of the room.
“Yes, Chief,” I said with a little snark. It wouldn't have been believable if I'd submitted completely.
Braxis chuckled as he left.
The other warriors waited as the cooks added more food to Braxis' tray. I tried not to look at them, but the one closest to me was hard to ignore. He wasn't as big as Braxis but he loomed as if he were and his stare, when I finally met it, flashed red—a sign of either great anger or arousal in a Bleiten. I was betting on the former.
“You're lucky I'm not in charge,” the brutal blond declared. “I would have you naked and in chains—a whore to service the entire ship.”
“Not beaten and whipped?” I shot back.
“A real man doesn't beat women,” he scoffed. “We don't have to prove our dominance over you, we simply are dominant.”
“And what do you think rape is if not a beating?” I lifted a brow.
“A proper punishment for a Triari whore,” he growled.
“If I were a whore, you treating me as such wouldn't bother me.”
