Caught by Menace (12 page)

She fingered the white colar encircling her neck. The

thin strip of plain white leather looked so stark against

her honey-brown skin. It had seemed such a savage and

cruel thing when he had first put it around her neck. Now

she had a better understanding of what this colar meant

to Menace. He saw it as a symbol of the commitment

he’d made to her in much the same way her people

viewed matching wedding bands. She wasn’t his slave or

his sex toy. She was his wife.

Even though he’d been exceedingly good to her, Naya

couldn’t shake the idea that he was putting on an act.

The contract she’d been forced to sign upon boarding

the transport ship had so many clauses in such tiny print

on the tablet screen. She hadn’t been able to make any

of them out but she was certain there had to be an

escape clause of some kind. Al contracts had them,

right? The idea that Menace was simply going to keep

her happy until some type of time limit passed wasn’t one

she could discount.

She’d gotten a good look at the spaceship during her

processing. The sheer size of the
Valiant
stunned her.

She couldn’t even comprehend how so massive a ship

could remain in orbit. The mechanics and engineering

could remain in orbit. The mechanics and engineering

required were so far beyond anything she could

understand. Even if she could escape Menace’s quarters,

she wouldn’t get far. The chip in her wrist and the heavily

armed guards al over the ship had dashed those hopes.

If by some miraculous chance she managed to evade al

of that she wouldn’t have the first idea how to get from

the ship to the colonies.

The realization that maybe she didn’t want to flee—at

least not yet—hit her hard. Menace’s skilful seduction

had done more than just show her that she was capable

of enjoying sex in ways she’d never thought possible.

No, he’d also shown her that the two of them shared an

undeniable connection. Try as she might, Naya couldn’t

deny that she and Menace clicked on a level she’d never

been able to reach with any other man.

Finaly she admitted to herself that she wanted to stay

and try. Maybe it wouldn’t work. Maybe in a week or

two the lust between them would fade and they’d both

be looking for ways to get away from each other. More

frightening for Naya was the prospect that things would

be better between them. She wouldn’t know the first

thing about making a long-term relationship work. Every

man she had ever known had fucked her over in one way

man she had ever known had fucked her over in one way

or another. Even Dankirk, the man she had been friends

with longest, had gotten her into scrapes that she had

only just barely survived. Experience told her it was only

a matter of time until Menace did the same.

“Naya?” Menace knocked twice on the bathroom

door. “I left one of my undershirts on the bed for you.

Come find me when you’re dressed.”

“Okay.” She stared at the door. A quiver of

embarrassment shook her bely. She had never actualy

done this part. Typicaly she would bounce from her

partner’s house or send him packing from hers as quickly

as possible after sex. The second Menace had unlocked

the door of the playroom and offered her the use of the

bathroom, she had fled. She had milked this tidying-up

business about as long as she could without rousing

suspicion. Now what?

Gathering her courage, she opened the bathroom door

and entered the spacious bedroom. Her entire apartment

back in Connor’s Run would have fit in Menace’s master

suite. He had dimmed the lights to a comfortable setting.

She spotted the folded gray shirt sitting on the end of the

bed. The fabric was a darker gray than the bedclothes.

Apparently shades of gray and black were favored here.

Apparently shades of gray and black were favored here.

Naya slipped into the too-big shirt. It skimmed her

knees but she was glad for the extra length. It looked like

an il-fitting dress but gave her a sense of modesty.

Running around without underpants wasn’t something she

did very often, but something told her Menace would

probably prefer it.

Like the bathroom door, the bedroom door slid into

the wal when she touched the frame. It was basicaly a

high-tech version of the pocket doors used in her tiny

apartment to save space. Unlike her apartment, these

quarters were uncommonly roomy. Having been

blindfolded earlier, she had missed the grand tour. She

took a moment to scan her new, possibly temporary,

home. The open living area was connected to a dining

space and kitchen. On the far wal were more doors. She

assumed they led to bedrooms.

The furniture was quite different from what she was

used to back home. There were no woods or natural

fibers. Everything was shiny and sleek and made of metal

or the strange plastic she had spied in the bathroom and

playroom. As she crossed the living area, she noticed the

flooring beneath her feet felt soft and warm. It looked

like slate but was actualy a weird composite material.

like slate but was actualy a weird composite material.

She swept her fingertips across the upholstery on the

furniture. It had a slick, durable feel.

“That shirt looks better on you that it ever did on me.”

Menace stood next to the dining table and grinned at her.

He held two plates in his big hands. “I hope you like

scrambled eggs.”

“I do.” She couldn’t quite believe Menace had made

her something to eat. “No man has ever cooked for me.”

“Wel, I should warn you that I’m not much of a

cook.” He placed the plates on the table. “You might

take one bite and wish I’d stayed in that category of men

who never fed you.”

“I doubt it.” She moved closer to the table and eyed

the food he had prepared. The bowl of fruit in the center

of the table held her attention. It had been so long since

she’d had an orange. They were some of the only native

Earth fruits that had survived the long journey in the

generation ships to be transplanted on Calyx. As such,

they were precious and ridiculously expensive.

He must have noticed her lingering gaze. “Food

supplies are stable here and my salary has a generous

grocery alotment.”

grocery alotment.”

She decided not to point out that food supplies

onboard the
Valiant
were so stable because they

required such high quotas of food from Calyx as part of

the treaty. Fruit and meat were so outrageously

expensive in places like Connor’s Run because the sky

warriors here loved them so much.

Instead of arguing about political arrangements, she

remarked, “You eat the same things we do.”

He nodded and returned to the kitchen for a carton

and two glasses. “You’d be surprised how similar

foodstuffs are from planet to planet. At least in this end of

the galaxy,” he amended. “Your people prepare some

foods differently than we do and we tend to prefer

heavier use of spices, but overal our diets are similar.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

He shot her a strange look. “Why? What did you think

we eat?”

“Food in boxes, mostly.”

“Boxes?” His expression turned to one of amusement.

“You mean war rations?”

She shrugged and puled out her chair. “I guess.”

“When did you taste war rations?” He gestured for her

to sit.

to sit.

“There was a transport ship crash when I was a little

girl. Your people came to our aid during the Merkorian

invasion. One of your ships blew up over our heads.

There were miles of debris. My father took me with him

to scavenge.”

“And you found rations,” he guessed.

“They were terrible.” She made a face as the memory

of the salty, dry food resurfaced. “They kept me alive

though. There had been a bad drought that summer and

no harvest. The winter was especialy harsh that year.

When Daddy was kiled, I hoarded them so I wouldn’t

starve.”

“Your father died during the invasion?” He pushed a

glass in front of her.

She sat down and reached for a fork. “He’d taken us

—my brother Nattie and me,” she clarified, “into the

sewer systems under the town. For some reason those

things
couldn’t hunt down there.”

“It’s their eyes,” Menace said and gestured to his with

a fork. “They need a certain amount of light to process

shapes and colors and shades. It’s why we developed

weapons that target their faces. The skin is the secondary

weapons that target their faces. The skin is the secondary

target on a Merkorian amphibicore. They require a

certain amount of moisture to keep their scaly, slimy

skins alive.” He opened the carton and poured blue liquid

into his glass. “How long were you down there?”

“Three weeks,” she said and purposely pushed the

gross memories into the farthest recesses of her mind.

“We were in the storm drain sections mostly, so it wasn’t

too horrifying. I was only nine at the time. Daddy was

able to make it into a big adventure at first so I wasn’t

too afraid, but then a week became two and I started to

wonder if I would ever see sunlight again.” She laughed

as the good memories shone through for once. “Daddy

came up with al these games and wild stories to keep me

occupied.”

“You loved your father.”

“Very much,” she said and poked at her mound of

fluffy scrambled eggs. “He always did his very best to

protect us, but it wasn’t enough that day.”

“What happened?”

“Nattie got into an argument with our father. He took

off out of the sewers and Daddy went after him and,

wel, you know.” She touched her neck. “I found him

later that night, just after sunset.”

later that night, just after sunset.”

Menace’s eyes widened. “You went out alone? After

dark?”

“Nattie and Daddy didn’t come back. I had to do

something. I couldn’t just sit there alone and wait

forever.” Her eyelids drifted together as the tormenting

memory of her father’s gashed throat and bloodless body

flashed before her.

“What happened after you found him?” Menace

asked, his voice soft and gentle.

“I started digging.”

“What? By yourself?”

She stared at him. “Wel, who the hel else was going

to bury him?”

“But your brother—”

“Is the fucking laziest, most irresponsible dickhead

you’l ever meet.”

Menace frowned. “Language, Naya.”

She roled her eyes. “He’s a jerk, okay? Even back

then he was a huge jerk.”

“But you didn’t see it?”

“No, I saw it al right. I was just dumb enough and

“No, I saw it al right. I was just dumb enough and

naive enough to think that people change. They don’t.”

“No,” he agreed.

Not wanting to talk about her brother or her father any

longer, Naya changed the subject. “Your home is very

nice.”

“Thank you.” Menace splashed the blue liquid into her

glass. “I think you’l like this. It’s juice from a fruit that

grows on Harcos Prime. It’s a little sweet and just the

slightest bit tart.”

She warily eyed the glass. “Is it mixed with water?”

“Yes.”

“From your planet or mine?”

“Mine. Why?”

“Because I haven’t been able to drink water in

Connor’s Run without boiling it since I was ten,” she said

and picked up the glass. After a curious sniff, she sipped

the brightly colored juice. To her surprise, it was quite

delicious. “Oh! This is nice.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He bit a piece of crispy bacon.

“Why are water supplies compromised in your town?”

“The Merkorians destroyed most of the town’s

infrastructure. What they didn’t screw up, you guys blew

up during your aerial attacks on their ships. There hasn’t

been any money to fix it, so we boil water or we don’t

drink.”

“You don’t have to worry about that here. Water

supplies are adequate and clean. The plumbing systems

alocate a rationed amount per apartment per day but it’s

more than enough for the two of us to drink, bathe and

do household chores.”

She glanced around the space. “Your home is very

clean. Do you clean it yourself?”

He nodded. “I’m eligible for a cleaning service, but I