“I’m amenable to that,” he murmured, his eyes closed and his body relaxed. “But make sure you use good ropes. I don’t want to accidentally get free.”
She had a feeling he wasn’t only talking about sexy play time.
Chapter 16
Amina
Waking up alone in bed didn’t make Amina happy, but finding an information square blinking for attention staved off her annoyance. Picking up the square she found a note from Myrum.
My most darling human,
I’ve gone to talk to the station leadership about releasing our ship immediately instead of continuing the charade of an inspection for the rest of the rotation. I’ll bring food from the pleasure ship back with me. Don’t worry about Ruby, she’s with me.
Your devoted Talin,
Myrum
Her heart did something fluttery at the words on the square. Dropping the device onto the messy bed, she got up to take a leisurely shower in the cleansing unit. Her body felt deliciously sore from their activities last night—both the fight and the athletic sex afterward.
There were even a few bruises she knew Myrum gave her. Memories flooded her, tempting her to reach her fingers between her legs and get herself off while thinking of all the things she wanted him to do to her again.
And some new things.
She wished she’d brought a few of the toys into the cleansing room with her. She was debating about grabbing some and restarting her shower when she heard a commotion.
This couldn’t be good.
She rushed to finish, dry off, and throw on some fresh clothes. The voices got much louder when the door to the bedroom slid open to reveal the crew facing off with several unfamiliar Ossisos. Everyone was talking at once, and there was no Myrum or food.
“Hey!” she shouted. No one heard her, so she resorted to the whistle her father taught her. Putting her fingers in her mouth, she let out a sound so shrill both the Ugarians and Ossisos in the room flinched and covered their ears.
“Amina, how many times do I have to tell you never to do that!” Helmen said.
Amina ignored her captain and addressed the room in general. “What’s going on here?”
“They’re trying to give us a slave,” Teshor said.
“Not a slave,” Nirot said. “We wish to gift you with his labor. He will be free to come back here once you're done with him. That’s not even the main reason for my visit. I’m here to tell you the inspection is done and you’re free to leave.”
Desur ignored that information, still focused on the gift of labor. “What if we’re never done with this guy? What if we want to keep him forever? What if we want to beat him? What if we don’t feed him? Do you even care what happens to this individual?”
“Desur, I need you to calm yourself,” Helmen said, then let out a long breath and faced Nicot. “We appreciate your offer, but we aren’t able to accommodate any more personnel on our ship.”
“Nonsense,” Nicot said. “We know your ship’s environmental systems could handle up to ten more individuals, so that’s not the issue. He can sleep on the floor anywhere you assign him, and we will send boxes of nutrient pellets for him.”
The other Ossiso with Nirot spoke up, directing his comments to Desur. “If you decide to keep him, we only ask that his body be returned for the proper ceremonies when his life expires. We hope you decide not to abuse him, but we believe that anything that befalls us was decided before we were ever born. Every pain he experiences was meant to happen.”
Desur made an angry sound, but a look from Helmen kept him quiet. Amina took hold of Desur’s arm and pulled the Ugarian back. She took his place next to Helmen.
“Have you asked this Ossiso if he wants to go with us?” she asked.
“It was his suggestion,” Nicot said. “He pointed out that if we really wanted to please Lorse, we wouldn’t let you leave without an Ossiso guide.”
She felt the tension from the Ugarians around her lesson.
“Oh, well if he wants to join us, then that’s fine,” Helmen said. “But make sure you allow him to pack his personal belongings.”
Desur spoke up behind Amina. “He’ll need appropriate reconsitutor packs, not nutrient pellets.”
