She was one of the Star Brides. 1,000 women kidnapped and transported across the universe as brides for a dying race. But life goes on - even in this perilous reality.
Excerpt:
She ripped open
another package of oksara. Might as
well be comfortable.
The panel door
pinged and then slid open. Ashyr stood in the entryway with a plate of steaming
food. His face darkened as he took note of the opened bins.
“I brought food, but
it appears you’ve made yourself to home.”
She burped and
then swiped a hand across her mouth. “Yeah! Pretty high-class eats in here and
the wine is to die for!” Her lips pursed in a moue. “And Dicky-boy said this
wasn’t a pleasure cruise!”
“Those eats as you call them are worth a lot of
credits on the black market,” he growled. “The wine alone is worth more than
you could afford in a lifetime.”
“I could argue
that! You have no idea what I make as a lowly recruit. Wages have risen in the employment
marketplace these days! I’m pretty sure I almost make minimum wage by now!”
With one hand, he
reached for her arm and yanked her upright. “Come with me.”
“I’m fine right
where I am,” she retorted as she struggled against the hard clasp of his grip.
“I’m really beginning to like it in here. Sort of like a home away from home!”
“And this was a
mistake,” he snapped as he dragged her behind, still balancing the plate of
food. “Maybe I should rethink my opposition to trading in flesh.”
“Maybe you
should,” she shouted as she attempted to rip her arm free. “Better than being stuck
here!”
He stopped
abruptly and turned to face her, giving her arm a rough shake. “Really? The
only buyers on the flesh market right now are Deg’Nara slavers and the
Mogishada flesh eaters, but if you prefer that route, I can certainly make it
happen! You’ve already cost me more credits than you’re worth!”
Another frickin’ bad idea!
“Uh…no…no,” she
stammered as she grew still. He looked mad enough to make good on his threat! “Happy
to be here, wherever this is.”
His silvery eyes
were now the color of a stormy sky. “Best you remember you’re here only because
I allow you to be. If you persist in your…antics, I’ll hand you over to Falis
and I can assure you, you won’t like his methods.”
He whirled and
dragged her another few steps along the passageway, stopping in front of the quarters
she knew to be his. Dropping her arm, he punched in a code on the control panel
and stepped through the entryway. Somewhat hesitant, she followed him in.
He slammed the
plate down on the desk. “You’ll stay in here until we reach the fleet.”
“Maybe it would be
better…”
“And you’ll sleep
there,” he pointed to the only bed in the room, “with me where I can keep an
eye on you. I can’t trust you to behave yourself, but you’ll soon learn if you
plan to survive in my world.”
“I’m fine sleeping
on the floor,” she retorted too quickly. Share
a bed with this guy! Was he insane? “No reason to give up your bed and I’m a
terrible bed partner anyway. Ask anyone. I toss and turn all night. Snore. Kick
too. Can’t help it!”
She was
chattering. Blathering as she did when she was caught in situations that made
her nervous—and the idea of sleeping with this guy certainly caused shivers of
anxiety to race up her spine!
He shoved the
plate in her direction and then sat down. Once again, his feet were plunked
down on the desktop. For a guy whose posture bespoke one of ease, he certainly
looked formidable.
“Shut up and eat!”
His gaze dropped as he punched several codes into the control panel on the
desk. “I’ve better things to do besides supervise you but it seems I have
little choice in the matter.”
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09176ZDC8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3
New Concepts:
https://www.newconceptspublishing.com/product-page/copy-of-deg-nara-four-requiem
No comments:
Post a Comment