“Refrain from sex?” she asked.
He nodded. “Any male would understand and wouldn’t push you. At least, any cyborg male would be understanding.”
Well, that put a kink in her plans. She’d have to find out exactly how long she needed to avoid sex, because as soon as she was able, she was getting the sexy cyborg lying beside her naked. And then she would show him exactly what he’d been missing all this time. On Earth, she’d never found someone she trusted to take her virginity, had never truly desired anyone, and since… She’d never looked forward to sex, had dreaded it, but with Tark… she was going to enjoy every minute of it.
“The ship, Suki. Where was the ship?” Tark asked.
“I can’t read alien languages so I have no idea what the docking area said. It wasn’t near here though. Close to the trading post, I think. I remember passing a lot of ships, and there were still about a half dozen more on the other side of it.”
He nodded and closed his eyes. She wondered what he was doing, but he seemed to be concentrating and she didn’t want to bother him. When he opened his eyes again, there was determination in their depths.
“What were you doing?” she asked.
“There are a few cyborgs close enough I could communicate with them. I told them about your sister and you, and that there were two other human females. They’re going to search for them and take them by force if necessary.”
“Are you going with them?” she asked.
“No. My duty is to protect you. I won’t leave you alone on the ship with no way to keep yourself safe. What if the slaver came here? You’d be vulnerable.”
“Is there any way to free all of them?” Suki asked.
“Two females won’t be a problem for the crew, but all of them? That would be a bit more difficult. I know that slavery is horrible, but even if we freed those females the slaver would just get more. It’s a never-ending cycle that won’t stop until slavery is outlawed in the galaxies. Even then, the slavers would just operate off the grid, and then the slaves would be treated even worse.”
Suki shivered. She couldn’t imagine being treated worse than she’d been treated already. Or poor Yoko. Her eyes clouded with tears as she thought of her sister and all she’d suffered. The aliens had literally killed her with sex. Her sister had been so brave and fearless. Yoko had done anything asked of her, in order to make things better for Suki. And while Suki hated what she’d been through, it was nothing compared to Yoko. The slaves being whored out to anyone were treated far worse, and the slaver didn’t seem to care if they contracted any diseases or died.
If Suki hadn’t been a virgin when she’d been captured, she likely wouldn’t have been singled out. Other than that, she couldn’t imagine what was special about her. Yoko had that second sense, but Suki was ordinary. She was smaller than Yoko, and younger by five years, but there wasn’t anything remarkable about her. It had never made any sense that she’d been chosen to service such important alien males, and she’d been too afraid to ask.
Tark gently cupped her cheek. “No one will ever hurt you again.”
“If the other cyborgs can get the two slaves, what will happen next?” Suki asked.
“The females will be taken to the med clinic and then brought here. We’ll likely leave immediately. It won’t be safe to remain here, and the sooner we reach Xpashta, the safer the three of you will be.”
“You should warn the others. The women they’re going after will be filthy, scared, and might fight unless they’re still drugged,” Suki said.
Tark closed his eyes again. While he communicated with the other cyborgs, which she thought was incredibly cool, Suki laid back down and snuggled against him once more. Now that she was safe and fed, she was getting extremely tired. She hadn’t slept well since she’d been captured. Every day, she’d been filled with fear, not knowing what would happen next. It was possible that Tark was lying, that he wasn’t what he seemed, but deep inside she believed that he was a good male. When males had acted decent before, the kindness hadn’t shone in their eyes the way it did with Tark. The evil inside of them had peeked out, regardless of how charming they tried to appear.
“They’ve been warned,” Tark said. “They will treat the females with care and do their best not to scare them. Many fear us though, simply because we’re cyborgs. While our enemies have every right to be afraid, we would never harm a female.”
“They may be damaged. If not physically, then emotionally and mentally,” Suki said. “I hope your friends won’t take it personally if the women are afraid of them. I don’t know what they’ve been through, but I can imagine. In some ways, I’ve been lucky. The women back in the tent, the master doesn’t care what happens to them. Some have been severely abused, and not just sexually. The females your friends are going after are part of that group. Their minds may have fractured from all they’ve endured.”
“Suki, you act like you haven’t been through anything horrible, but I know better. I saw the bruises on your skin, before the med bay healed you. And being with those males…” He visibly swallowed. “Just because someone is in a position of power doesn’t mean they aren’t evil. I have no doubt that you’ve suffered greatly. But those days are over.”
“You saved me,” she said softly. “I’d thought I would die in that place, that I would never know freedom again. No one has touched me with kindness since I was captured on Earth. Yoko and I were kept separate from the time of our abduction, even though we were sold together. They kept us chained or caged where we couldn’t reach one another.”
“I’m only sorry I didn’t get there in time to save Yoko. I would give her back to you if I could.”
“You’re a good male, Tark. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently. The females you’ve known, the ones who were scared of you, don’t have any idea what they’ve passed up. And it may sound horrible, but I’m glad. If you’d been mated, you likely wouldn’t have been anywhere near the brothel, and I’d still be there, waiting to face another day of spreading my legs for whoever paid enough.”
His arms tightened around her. “I’m glad I was there too. Try to get some sleep, Suki. We’ll begin traveling to Xpashta tomorrow. If the others are able to free those two females, you may be needed. Perhaps if they see you, if you can talk to them, they won’t be as afraid.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Suki said.
“Sleep. I’ll wake you if you’re needed.”
She curled tighter against him and closed her eyes. And for the first time since she’d been snatched from Earth, Suki fell into a deep sleep, feeling completely safe.
