Watching the Caterri pack up the camp, I sat with crossed legs and stared at them, having nothing to do but wander down memory lane. N’Ashtar, of course, was the first thing to pop up. His arrogant high-handedness, his bossy controlling, and his snarky attitude should have made me hate him. But for all of his faults, he didn’t force me, either. When I gave him as good as I got, he treated me like an equal, not like I was inferior. I should have torn him down every notch possible and left him shattered and ruined. Instead, I was wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Especially with that forked tongue.
I wasn’t a virgin, nowhere near, but it wasn’t like I had a long list of bed partners, either. None of them had stayed, because who wanted to sign up to a life of constant travel and parties and dealing with shit no one wanted to deal with? Especially when it became clear we could leave Earth and that opened traveling even further. Earth boys just didn’t do that, they told me. But N’Ashtar was different in so many ways.
There was his physical appearance. Huge and built like a mountain, his scaled skin that managed to feel smooth and heated, like a snake basking in the sun. The forked tongue, the way it still looked strong despite being slender, how he used it to taste the air. The way his eyes glowed gold when he experienced high emotions and red when he was angry, but he never really turned red-eyed at me. No, my rebellions seemed to amuse him more than anything, which should have gotten on my nerves but didn’t.
Maybe it was because I was trapped where I was. Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome, although the more I thought about it, the less it made sense. I was looking for a reason for these feelings and starting to realize that maybe there wasn’t one. Maybe I was just wildly attracted to him for absolutely no discernible reason and I just needed to wait for it to run its course and never come back again.
N’Ashtar had brought back feelings in me that had long gone dormant, stirring a desire to need, to want, that was fanned like a flame when he was around. Even when he’d approached my handcuffed ass, I’d still wanted. He was an alien, yes, but he was still hot in his own way.
A shout went out as the Caterri started walking, eyeing each other with distaste. For a squad, they didn’t seem to get together well, instead apparently choosing to scowl at each other from a distance. It worked for me. It also meant Squire was often the one walking beside the hovercraft, although it was C who operated it. Not that it needed much. Each morning, C came by and pushed buttons, made sure I was handcuffed in, and patted the machine. No walking for the pathetic little human in case she tried to run or injured herself.
I missed walking. Watching them walk reminded me of when I was a teen, when I’d signed up for this four-week-long intensive outdoor program, forced to carry a forty-pound pack for miles each day, sleeping under tarps. My parents had thought I was crazy, but I had wanted to know what it was like. As a result, I could handle myself almost anywhere, and hadn’t freaked out when we had landed on Thoheria. I’d survived worse conditions than that, you know?
Still, I missed the comforts of home. I missed a hot bath, a comfortable bed, proper shoes. Since I was wearing the same clothes day in and day out, they were starting to get ruined, starting to thin and probably smelled in places, but I didn’t have a choice. It was also getting cold. The cold was less of a problem, really, because it helped dull the pain of the marks on my wrists from the handcuffs and the hovercraft shielded me from the worst of the wind. I hated thinking I was lucky, but when it came to it, I really was.
“Go,” A snapped at Squire, drawing my attention.
“But I was assigned—”
“Do you think I am not the one who does the assignments?” A snarled. “Are you challenging me?”
Squire immediately dropped his gaze. “No, sir.”
“Then be gone. I wish to supervise the human.” A waved a hand dismissively at him. At least N’Ashtar had never done that, because if he had, I would’ve punched him. As it was, it was only the handcuffs keeping me from taking A out. Lucky for him.
I did feel bad for Squire, though. It was clear he was trying to look out for me, but I didn’t want him to get in trouble for my sake, really. I was just one person and he had to live with these assholes for the rest of his life. “What do you want with the human?” I asked A, leaning forward. I could just see him over the edges of the craft, handcuffed to the bottom like I was.
“I wish you to take off your shirt.” A’s eyes gleamed, and his tone was not that of asking. He was telling me, no matter how he phrased it. “I wish to see your teats.”
For a long moment I pondered if I was more disgusted by the request or him calling them teats, and eventually decided they were equally gross. “No thanks.”
“It was not a request.” A kept a steady pace next to me, the impatience starting to show in his almost human expression. “If you do not bare them, I will bare them for you.”
I stared at him, trying to not let my jaw hang open in surprise no matter
