Stopping in the middle of the dark, quiet road, Devix turned to face her.Still, he could not see her face.Perhaps it was for the best.
Heavy chains dipped from her wrists.With one quick tug, Devix broke them and they dropped from her, hitting the filth-covered ground with a thud.His voice was guttural when he answered her first question, “I am taking you to a night room.Once the sun rises, we will leave.”
Devix knew he’d never return to Petrika again.The sooner he left, the better.
“A night room,” the female repeated.Her body went still under his grasp.“You…you plan to rape me?Is that why you bought me?”
Devix hissed, almost dropping her arm when her words penetrated like a blade.
“Never,” he growled roughly.
Old memories surfaced.The brightness of the Luxirian tribunal room, the betrayal he felt on trial, the face of his blood brother, already in mourning…
Devix shook his head, attempting to regain control, pushing away the rage that he’d long battled.Deliberately, he avoided those memories.They only led to darker and darker places.
Even attempting to soften his tone, his voice was still gruff as he said, “We will rest.My vessel is being refueled.I will not touch you.”
Casting a quick look over his shoulder, Devix tugged her gently back into step.He’d rather not linger in the streets.Though most feared him, Petrika was home to desperate criminals, who could go nowhere else, who were wanted nowhere else.
Before Sarkon took him from that colony, he’d been no better.He remembered that desperation well.
Devix made quick work of the remaining distance to the night rooms he knew from experience were the cleanest and the safest.That wasn’t saying much on Petrika, but it was their best option.
As he walked, he assessed the situation.Despite what suspicions he may have about the female at his side, about what she was to him, he decided it didn’t matter.She belonged to Sarkon.He would deliver her to his employer and then he’d live out the rest of his spans on Rozun, on his land, in the home he’d crafted little by little over the past six rotations.He would finally know the peace he’d so desperately searched for.And Sarkon wouldn’t bother him again.
Steeling his resolve, he decided speaking with her would only make his task harder.Perhaps he should’ve listened to Sarkon.Perhaps he shouldn’t have received the language implant.
So why did his whole body ache at the thought?Why did his Instinct roil in his chest like it was trying to break free?
Devix didn’t speak to the Kirverib male manning the night room entrance.He pulled two flat coins from his belt as payment.The Kirverib peered too closely at the female, his three eyes running down her cloaked body.Despite not meeting Devix’s eyes, the Kirverib leered.He thought she was a whore.Devix said nothing for him to think otherwise, though what he truly desired was to swipe that smirk off his face with his claws.
Finally, the male grunted, “Top level, last door.”He procured a tarnished key off the loop on his belt, tossing it at Devix.The Kirverib didn’t spare them another glance as they passed into the establishment.
Once he located the room, ignoring the moans and heavy snores and raucous laughter that seeped through the thin walls, Devix pulled the female inside and bolted the door closed.
She stood in the center of the small, dirty room, her cloaked back to him.She was so still, as if afraid that one small movement would mean her end.
The space was cramped, but smelled relatively clean.A small sleeping platform that would barely fit his own body was wedged against the side of the peeling wall.An even smaller bathing tub with tepid water lay just underneath a square window looking out to the deserted street below.A round table and chair took up the remaining space.A flickering light barely illuminated the room.
Shame crept over him, old feelings emerging, knowing that the female deserved better.With a frustrated growl, he ignored it.
“What happens after tonight?” she murmured into the humid room.“Where are you taking me in the morning?”
Devix said nothing, crossing to the small table before unstrapping his belt.He thought better of unsheathing the blade at his hip.He knew that she would have to be relatively skilled with a weapon to draw his blood, but he didn’t want to tempt her.Never had he been careless with his weapons.He wouldn’t start then.
“Back to ignoring me again?” she questioned, whipping around to face him.“I thought we were past that.”
Brushing against her, he pulled the bathing tub away from the window.It screeched on the creaking floor.
“Bathe if you wish,” he grunted, gesturing to the bath.
The female was quiet.Even though he couldn’t see her face, he knew she was looking at the tub.Judging by her smell, she hadn’t bathed in some time and females tended to be more particular about hygiene, at least Luxirian females were.She would want to bathe, wouldn’t she?Wouldn’t that please her?
“Nice try,” she breathed, her arms looping together across her chest.“I’m not taking a bath when you’re in here.”
Devix frowned, desire mingling with irritation, a baffling combination.It had been too long, he decided.It had been too long since Devix had mated a female.Thatwas why his Instinct was awakening, why his cock was hard and pulsing in his leg coverings, when he had not known lust in eight rotations.
Finally, his body was rebelling after all that time.Luxirians were a carnal race, after all.Fucking and fighting, that was the warrior way.
