I step forward and look around the cell. While the men of my crew were locked in a general brig – similar to what Law Enforcement might call the bullpen - Sawoot has been relegated to a smaller and infinitely more comfortable dormitory-style cell. The room I’ve found myself in is bare, but clean, with more amenities than the cell that Chris and the others had access to.
I’m not sure if this cell is more luxurious because it’s designed to house female prisoners, or it’s reserved for higher-ranking captives, but I’ll take it. There are two sets of bunk beds, plus a doorway that must lead into a private bathroom instead of the steel toilet that the men are all forced to use, on full display in front of the rest of the prisoners.
Sawoot jumps up from the bunk she’d been lying on and we embrace each other with a big hug. I know it’s only been a few hours, but I’m so grateful to see her again. My first officer is like the sister I never had.
For a second we embrace, relishing in each other’s company. When we finally break off our hug, Sawoot sits back down on a bottom bunk and looks up at me.
“So, what’s he like?”
Typical. Anybody else might ask what the plan was, or how I intended to escape. Sawoot, instead, is more interested in my impression of the man who’s imprisoned us.
“The Captain? He’s a cocky bastard.”
Sawoot grins. “I saw the way he was looking at you – he couldn’t get enough. That might be our ticket out of here.”
I scoff: “I don’t think that’s very likely.”
Sawoot’s eyes flash. “Don’t be so sure. I mean, we’re not getting turned in to the authorities, are we?”
I look away, my cheeks burning.
She has a point. There’s no reason for Captain Aelon not to hand us over to the Aurelian Authorities – not unless there’s a reason he’d like us, or rather me, to stick around.
But I don’t want Sawoot to read too much into this.
“He told me he doesn’t know yet.”
Sawoot laughs. I don’t know how she can be so calm at a time like this.
Well, I guess she’s not the one who’s bottom is going to be turned red during a humiliating, public spanking later – although I don’t believe Sawoot is aware of that, and I’m not in any hurry to tell her about that humiliating development.
“Don’t look so offended,” Sawoot is oblivious to my thoughts – she thinks I’m sour-faced because she’d suggested that Captain Aelon desires me. “This could work to our advantage. The Captain’s an Aurelian, after all. They all think with their cocks.” Her eyebrows twitch. “If that’s the case, work it. You’ve heard how big Aurelians are – you could probably lead him around by that thing!”
My cheeks burn red.
“Sawoot!” I feel a hot flush shudder over me. “This is a life or death situation – not a time for jokes. We need to be rational.”
“Oh, I’m not joking,” Sawoot warns. “I’m being extremely rational. We’re prisoners on an Aurelian ship, and we’re facing forty years behind bars – if we live long enough to get thrown behind them. We’ve got to use every advantage we have – and if Captain Aelon’s into you, that’s potentially useful.”
She sits up on the bunk bed. As our resident expert on the subject of Aurelians, it’s worth listening to her ideas – no matter how much they make me bristle.
“Think about it, Tasha,” Sawoot continues. “Aurelians are all prideful bastards, and they’re all protective of human females – verging on possessive. If Aelon fancies you, he’s not going to let you just slip through his fingers. He won’t just hand you over to the authorities…”
“No – but if you’re right, he’s not going to just let us go, either.”
Sawoot nods in agreement.
“Listen,” she continues. “I had a friend who was in a harem for a few years. Those Aurelians didn’t want her to leave when she asked to. Shit – she said they’d probably have kept her against her will if it wasn’t for Queen Jasmine’s laws.”
Queen Jasmine had been the one to dictate that any human woman who’d served in an Aurelian harem for three or more years was entitled to a full education at an Aurelian institute of higher learning; and that the Aurelians who owned the harem had to let her leave to pursue that education if she requested it.
“They’re crazy possessive,” Sawoot continued. “My friend said that if any other man had even looked at her the wrong way – well, let’s just say that they’d lose more than just the eyes that had offended her. The Aurelians would kill to protect her – or even just to protect her honor.”
I shudder. I’m not sure if that sounds like chivalry or psychosis.
“You can use that to your advantage,” Sawoot insists. She leans forward, as if her mind is already formulating a plan. “What else did you learn about the Captain? His name’s Aelon, right?”
“Yes, Captain Aelon,” I nod. “I don’t think he’s aligned to the Aurelian Empire, but he doesn’t seem to be Rogue – or he’d have…” My cheeks burn. “Well, if he was into me, he wouldn’t have gone through this rigmarole. He’d have just taken me, if you know what I mean.”
Sawoot eyes flash.
“Oh, I know exactly what you mean.”
She does, does she? I think about it myself. Captain Aelon is arrogant, infuriating… and relentlessly sexy. The thought of him forcing himself on me – taking me whether I wanted him to or not…
…it’s disgusting. Repellent…
…but it also makes my breath quicken and my nipples harden. I imagine that towering commander tearing my clothes off… Throwing me onto the bed… Bending me beneath him as he claims me with his huge cock.
Fuck, what is wrong with me?
Flustered, I shake my head and look back at Sawoot. She’s sitting
