Page 15 of Bought and Shared

A urora

My heart flutters as the sleek ship touches down a few dozen yards from where I’m standing. The moment the vessel is on flat ground, its hatchway opens and Oren strides out looking purposeful and pissed.

When his eyes fall on me, they harden to pure ice.

Shivering at his frosty stare, I begin to worry my hands together and bite my lower lip.

He can’t be angry with me, can he? No, that would be absurd.

I had nothing to do with this accident. But the way he is looking at me now, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s furious!

Oren is by my side in seconds. Reaching out, he drags me into his arms and nestles his head on top of mine. After a moment of silence and holding me so tight I think I might break a rib, he steps back and studies my face intently.

His finger grazes just above my eyebrow where my cut is throbbing. “Aurora! You’re bleeding!”

Overwhelmed and emotional over his gentle tone, my pesky bottom lip begins to quiver and hot tears threaten to spill over the rim of my dewy eyes. “I was cut when the bus tipped over and the window shattered.”

“Why hasn’t a medic seen to this wound immediately?” He demands, spinning about to look for someone to yell at.

Pulling his focus back to me, I say, “Since there were no life-threatening injuries, they’re transporting everyone back to Fort Kent to be medically cleared.

The soldiers said all injuries would be dealt with at the base’s infirmary because it’s better equipped to handle a multitude of people at once. ”

“You’re not going to the Fort’s infirmary. I’m having my private doctor look you over as soon as we get back on base,” Oren tells me, brooking no argument.

Without further discussion, he spins and propels me forward. We head directly for the spaceship he showed up on. It’s smaller than all the rest I’ve seen today, and I wonder how many people are traveling with us back to the base in it.

When we get closer, I look back at Oren and work up the courage to speak. “Is anyone else flying with us?”

Pausing, he looks me dead in the eye and shakes his head in the negative. “No. It’s just you and me, Kitten.”

My world seems to close in on me as quickly as that hatchway does. Inside the vessel, the space is minimal but well laid out. There are so many colorful switches and blinking lights that it almost makes me dizzy as I take them all in.

Pointing to comfortable-looking captain’s chairs at the front of the craft, Oren tells me to take a seat in the one to the right.

I’ve never been in a spaceship before, let alone an alien one.

Heck, I’ve never even been on a plane. Life for me, up until this point, had been overly sheltered and remote.

Given all this, my eyes ping pong from one side of the craft to the other, drinking in all the impressive technology as Oren straps me firmly into my seat.

“You ready for the ride of your life, Kitten?” He asks with a heart-stopping smile.

I’m not sure what my answer is, but I don’t think it matters. Whatever is about to happen doesn’t require my approval. This all-powerful male is quite literally in the driver’s seat. I’m only along for the ride.

Strapping himself in next, Oren adjusts a few levers and dials and presses a few buttons and we smoothly rise into the air. My stomach does a little flip—like the one time I’d ridden a roller coaster when I was ten—but quickly levels out as we advance forward.

Oren glances at me and holds my gaze. “First time flying?”

“Yeah,” I confess, my fingers gripping the arms of my seat like my life depends on it. “Is it that obvious?” I think I’m wheezing.

“Based on where you’re from, and how pale your face got upon liftoff, it wasn’t a hard fact to deduce,” he says with another handsome grin, his blue eyes sparkling.

Oren fiddles with the controls for a short time before unbuckling his seatbelt and telling me I can do the same.

When I’m free of the safety device, he leans back in his chair and gives me a stern look.

“I want to hear what happened on the bus today. Spare no detail, no matter how insignificant you may think it is.”

I will my hands not to shake as I tell Oren all about the SUVs that ran us off the road, as well as everything they said to us when attempting to break into the bus. He never interrupted, only listened intently as I relayed as many details as I could recall.

“And the rest of the trip was uneventful?” He presses when I’m finally done.

I was about to nod in agreement when I remember what happened at the fast-food restaurant earlier in the day.

My thoughts must have openly played across my face because Oren accurately reads my expression. “What is it?”

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but something happened at lunch,” I reluctantly begin.

Shifting forward in his seat, Oren’s head tilts to the side with interest. “Tell me about it.”

I do. All the embarrassing things the rude boy said clumsily trip out of my mouth. When I’m done, I’m beet red and angry all over again at the injustice of his cruel words.

“You say his father was a senator?” Oren queries, his voice so chilly it could have frosted the air surrounding us.

“Yes,” I squeak out. “But I don’t know what his name is.”

Quinn, if I recall his name correctly, had interrupted him before he could throw the name in our faces.

Oren’s full lips thin to an angry line. “I’ll find out. After what the boy revealed, it won’t take much investigation to figure out which family he’s from.”

“Please don’t do that,” I blurt out, hating the idea of dragging out this ugly encounter any further than it’s already gone. “It doesn’t matter. The two situations don’t have anything to do with each other. To be honest, I’d rather forget everything that took place today.”

“Not a chance, Kitten,” he says as he gently strokes my cheek. “Anybody who thinks to touch what is mine will pay for it in blood. This disgusting show of cowardice and cruelty from a human male is no exception.”

In blood ? That was crazy! Oren couldn’t mean that he’d physically harm the boy at the fast-food restaurant over what he’d said to Cadence and me. As terrible as it was, his behavior didn’t require anything as harsh as that.

“What do you mean, ‘in blood’?” I inquire, needing some clarification on the matter.

“Don’t worry about it,” Oren says dismissively, his finger trailing between the hollow of my breasts.

His touch immediately hijacks my senses and turns my thoughts to other things. More intimate things. Inappropriate, naughty, dirty things my parents and my church have been warning me about since early childhood.

In order to distract him, and maybe myself, I begin to pepper Oren with questions. “How do you speak English so well?”

Smirking, as though he knows exactly what I’m doing and finds it adorable, he answers the query I’ve been pondering for quite some time.

“The Voltan can learn languages rather quickly. We have software that can break down any language and translate it into our native tongue within seconds. The whole process, from start to finish, takes about a week of intense study to memorize.”

“That’s impressive,” I admit, intrigued by such a feat.

Oren bobs his chin in appreciation of my saying so.

“All Voltan warriors who wish to live on Earth are required to learn the native tongue of the region they’re serving in before being stationed there.

After all, an uneducated military that doesn’t understand the people they are living amongst is an ineffective and disadvantaged one. ”

I couldn’t disagree with his logic. Culture counts. Part of why my community remained so closed off was because they didn’t want the influence of the secular world to creep in.

The problem was that since the Voltan had taken over Earth, humanity’s place in the world had become considerably diminished. Our alien colonizers had complete control now, and that reality did not sit well with many humans. Myself included, honestly.

Oren’s adroit fingers begin to venture lower then, skimming over the silken bodice of my gown. In response to his touch, my nipples pebble and instantly become visible through the sheer fabric of my dress.

As though my body has a mind of its own, my head tilts back and my chest juts forward, practically begging for more contact. “Can I learn your language as easily as you have learned ours?” I force out, trying to ignore the riot of sensations hotly swirling around in my belly.

Oren looks momentarily surprised. “It will take longer for a human to master the variety of sounds one must make to be fluent in Voltanese, but it can be done. Would you like that, Aurora? Do you want to learn your Master’s language?”

Surprising myself, I nod. “Yes, I really would.”

His hands splay wide and heft my breasts, juggling them between his open palms. “Then a tutor will be acquired once we get back to the base so that your lessons can begin immediately. Now, take down your top,” he orders, his voice raspy with desire.

“I need to see these beautiful tits of yours. It’s been far too long and I ache to touch them. ”

Shocked by how quickly the male transitions from idle chit-chat to carnal intent, I sit there, unmoving and flushed.

Oren’s voice takes on an edge when he prompts, “Do as I say, Aurora, or there will be consequences.”

Jumping into action, I slide the thin straps of my dress down my arms and shrug out of the flimsy slip. It pools around my waist as the air kisses my naked flesh. Though it’s quite warm in the ship, goosebumps erupts across my skin from the sudden exposure.

“So perfect,” Oren praises, skimming his calloused hands over my shoulders before descending to my breasts. “You’re even smoother than the silk of your gown. Your skin is the softest thing I’ve ever felt.” His deep voice is soothing as he handles me.