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A deal’s a deal, right? And if I did try to escape, where would I even go? They haven’t taken Tessa or I off this Toad mothership yet – and assuming I even managed to escape these dry, clean quarters, it would leave me back out there – stumbling through ankle-deep filth, helpless and naked, and trapped on a ship full of far more terrifying, disgusting monsters than Marcel and his warrior triad.

I have no other options. I promised them anything they wanted – and now I have to deliver. When I emerge from this bathroom, any of those three Aurelians could snap their fingers and order me to my knees – to pleasure each of them, or all of them. If I so much as hesitate, the consequences could be unthinkable. I’m not eager to experience the famous Aurelian discipline.

Or, am I?

I shudder, feeling those dark desires bubbling up inside me again – the ones I never even knew I had.

I’ve heard tales from Aurelian harems – whispered rumors discussed in drinking dens and behind closed doors. It’s no secret that Aurelians get off on dominance and obedience – and that they love to spank and whip their women even if their transgressions are minor.

For their species, discipline is part of the sex act – conducted for their own dominant enjoyment.

It sounds unthinkable – depraved and sadistic – but a strange shiver ripples through my body as I imagine how powerless and small I would feel if these three Aurelians decided to discipline me. I’d feel like a child’s doll, tossed over the lap of one of the three enormous creatures. I know the species enjoys taming their women, and I know I still give off the air of a feral wildcat in comparison to the women who volunteer for service in Aurelian harems.

I’m not sure if I feel so feral anymore – but I do still remember back when I couldn’t have been tamed. The old me would have remained defiant to the last second.

Now, though, I just want to feel safe again. That’s all I wanted after Ling was stolen from me. It’s what led me to board the Elnor, and flee for a distant world – and yet, ironically enough, it delivered me right into the very situation I was so eager to escape from.

I take a deep breath. Old habits die hard. Today, I’ve already demonstrated how the old me is coming back, little by little. If the old me hadn’t urged me to risk punishment, and plead for the help of the Aurelians, Tessa would still be with that grotesque, sadistic Bullfrog right now.

Yes, the old me is coming back – and while I’m trembling with trepidation, I realize I don’t feelscaredof the Aurelians – not like I did when that scarred Bullfrog threatened to buy me.

If Marcel and his battle-brothers had evil intentions, surely they wouldn’t have even let me take a shower unsupervised. They have no need to – in their minds, I am their property, after all, and property has no expectation of privacy.

They haven’t touched me, either – not yet. That tells me something.

Ifeeltheir need for me – that much is as real as the deck beneath my bare feet. I felt how close the three Aurelians came to snapping, and how the sight of my naked body was almost too much for them to resist…

...but onlyalmost. Something inside themwantsto resist my allure – orneedsto.

And in that case? I shouldn’t tempt them…

In different circumstances, that wouldn’t even have been a consideration. Yet now, some dark and traitorous part of mewantsthem to lose control.

Iwantthem to take me.

In fact I’m shocked – perhaps even disappointed – that I’m not already on the floor back there. My pulse races at the thought of being pinned down by one of those enormous alien warriors – on my knees, back arched as they pound me from behind, or perhaps thrown across the couch as each of them take their turn with me.

Heat instantly rises between my thighs as I explore these visions, and my clit tingles inexorably. My breath hitches as I realize Iwantto be filled by them. My body is in rebellion against my rational mind. Logically, I know these creatures are evil. Logically, Iknowthey’re slavers – profiting from their business relationship with the Toads; choosing wealth and women over loyalty to the noble principles of the Aurelian Empire.

But my traitorous body doesn’t care about logic – not when I’m in the presence of those three, towering warriors.

With a snarl of frustration, I pad to the sink – commanding the AI to turn the water to the coldest setting and then splashing my face with the icy stream. Even moments after showering, sweat is once again glistening on my naked body – coaxed from my pores by the dry heat of these living quarters.

I let the cold water drip from my face, and take a moment to stare at myself in the mirror opposite me. I spot an ugly, purple bruise blossoming on my forehead – wrought from all the damage I’d done to it. That, along with my still-wet hair and makeup-free face, can’t make me appear very attractive; but the Aurelians act as if I’m a goddess that they’re barely able to resist the lure of.

My mouth is dry, and I bend my head to drink greedily from the tap. I’m so used to having the bare minimum of creature comforts – either on a mission with Ling, or hiding out afterward. Throughout the universe, clean water is not something everybody has access to – and to me, this humble sink is nothing short of an oasis.

In fact, the whole bathroom is fancy – but in a strange, disquieting way. It’s as if the Toads who’d customized these quarters for their Aurelian guests had based the design on something they’d once seen – but had failed to fully comprehend. They tried, but failed to recreate the opulent luxury Aurelians are famous for, because their concept of such things is as alien to their species as the Aurelians themselves.

The end result looks like a cheap imitation of richness and wealth. For example, there’s a cupboard built into the far end of the bathroom – one I hope to find towels or a bathrobe inside to cover myself with – but when I pull the handles, they don’t budge.

It’s an imitation – not even real storage. Some Toad interior designer – if there could even be such a contradiction – must have seen the ornate handles mounted to the walls of a luxury bathroom, but failed to understand that humans and Aurelians use such things for access to storage space, and not merely as decoration.

Finally accepting defeat, I turn and open the door to the bathroom – thinking I might find something to wear in the bedroom beyond. In the worst case scenario, I wouldn’t be above wrapping a sheet around myself and calling it a day.

I pause in the doorway and take inventory. My eyes are drawn to the bed – where a beautiful, golden dress has been laid out across the sheets. One of the Aurelians must have placed it there for me while I was in the shower.

I tremble, thinking of how close one of those enormous creatures was to me without me even realizing it. I was deafened by the sound of the water, and they could have stepped into the bathroom without me knowing – not until the moment their big hands curled around my body and threw me against the wall…