Page 23

M organ followed everyone to the training area. She wiped her palms on her leggings. I can’t believe this is happening. I don’t want Rain to get hurt, especially for me.

She didn’t understand why Niksen disliked her so much. I’ve been polite. I’ve tried to serve foods she’s familiar with. I’ve been courteous. Most people like me. Why the hell does she hate me?

Stalad’s quiet presence next to her as she walked calmed her slightly. She peeked up at him from the corner of her eye. He doesn’t look concerned. Does he know something I don’t?

They reached their destination. Crax stood in the center of a sparring area and gestured to Rain and Niksen.

“No weapons other than your bodies.”

Niksen huffed, removed several knives hidden on her body, and handed them to Lollek.

“I’ll referee. If you step outside the designated area, it’ll cost you a point. Three points will be considered first blood.”

“What nonsense is this?” Niksen’s eyes narrowed.

“This is to ensure the bout proceeds as it should. No going out of bounds to catch your breath or to avoid getting pummeled.” Crax crossed his beefy arms. “Is that a problem for you?”

Niksen’s long braid swung when she shook her head.

“No. So long as the rules are applied fairly to both of us.”

“They will be. If I say ‘stop,’ you both step away from each other. No exceptions.”

Rain nodded and rolled her shoulders.

“Anything else, Crax?”

“Yes. If Rain wins, Niksen ceases to insult all the human females, whether directly or indirectly. If Niksen wins, you all suck it up and smile when she exhibits her superior attitude.”

“Fuck her up, Rain,” Kara yelled from the sidelines. “You know I have no filter.”

Rain rolled her eyes and raised her middle finger at her friend.

Crax looked at Makai and Krinir.

“Do you have anything else for them?”

“I think you’ve covered it.” Makai leaned back against the nearest wall.

Krinir looked at Niksen.

“One more thing. If the Wing Raider wins, Niksen cooks an edible evening meal for everyone each night for a week as an apology to our hosts.”

Niksen glared at the older Orkite.

“What?”

“As a representative of our people, your behavior should be better. You’ll learn, or your father will hear of it.”

“It’s a good thing I have no intention of losing.”

“Are we agreed?”

Everyone nodded. Morgan shivered slightly as she moved between Abby and Kara.

“I don’t like this.”

Kara glanced at her and grinned.

“No worries. Rain knows what she’s doing.”

“But Niksen has at least a foot and a hundred pounds on her.”

“Doesn’t matter. Remind me to tell you sometime how we met the Wing Raiders.”

Morgan’s forehead crinkled. Her attention focused on the females as Crax signaled for them to begin.

Niksen immediately threw a punch at Rain who sidled sideways. When the Orkite overbalanced from missing her target, Rain elbowed her in the kidneys. Niksen let out a grunt and regained her balance. She turned to face the human who said, “Missed me.”

The green female growled in anger and rushed to tackle Rain.

The blonde dropped and dove to the right into a somersault landing on all fours.

She then kicked backwards like a mule and her foot impacted Niksen’s upper thigh.

Rain jumped up and spun with a roundhouse kick that knocked the Orkite female in the nose.

Red blood spurted from Niksen’s face. Rain stepped back.

“First blood. This puny human looks forward to your improved attitude.”

Wow. They barely got started and Rain owned her. Uh, oh.

Niksen growled fiercely as she rose to her feet.

“I’ll show you attitude.”

Crax stepped forward.

“The bout is over. Rain won. No more fighting.”

“She made me bleed.”

“It was a fair match. Accept the results and move on,” Krinir said as he approached. When the female Orkite continued to growl, he narrowed his eyes and firmed his lips. “I look forward to this evening’s meal.”

Back rigid, Niksen stomped from the room. Lollek followed. The silence broke when Kara jumped onto Rain wrapping her legs and arms around her.

“Yeah, baby. Good job.”

“Get off me, you insane woman.” Rain laughed and pushed Kara away.

“What I want to know is if Niksen can cook well or if we should fill our stomachs beforehand like we do when Yaz is in charge of meals.” Crax lowered an arm around Kara when she snuggled into his side.

“She doesn’t like to cook, but her meals are edible,” Fraddar said with a grin. He looked at Krinir. “You do realize we’ll be on Ladorta before she can finish the week of discipline.”

Krinir dipped his chin.

“Yes. It will make her feel as if she escaped the majority of the discipline, but the end result will be an improved outlook.”

Abby said, “Is she always like this?”

Shaking his head, Krinir said, “No. I’m not sure what is going on with her. She’s hotheaded, but she usually is much more personable.”

“It’s possible the assassination attempts upset her more than she is willing to admit,” Stalad said. He’s got a point. Knowing someone wants you dead and not knowing who or why has to be unsettling.

“Possibly. However, taking her moods out on those around her is unacceptable.”

“Have you known her long?”

“All her life. Fraddar and I have been her personal guards since birth.”

“You seem to have a more paternal role,” Makai said.

“Despite how ill-mannered she has been recently, I am proud of how accomplished Niksen has grown to be and hope my guidance has helped in some way. She hides it too well at times, but she has a giving heart.”

“You’ll have to forgive me for not seeing it,” Morgan said quietly. “She has been less than kind to us.”

“Unfortunately, you have seen her at her worst. Hopefully, that will change, now that Rain has illustrated not to underestimate humans. I apologize for her behavior.”

“It is not your place to apologize for her. It is hers.”

Everyone nodded at Makai’s words.

“Are we still working on the silks today?” Abby tilted her head.

“Why don’t we forego it today and just stay in here and concentrate on yoga and Stalad’s training forms?” Morgan looked at each of the women.

“Sounds good to me,” Rain said with a bright smile. “I’ve already had a short workout.”

Laughter filled the space as the women moved to a matted section and Abby led them through a series of yoga stretches.

Morgan’s mind drifted as she arranged her body in the different positions and held them.

If Krinir is correct about Niksen, why has she been such a bitch?

Should I offer to help her with evening meal or leave her alone?

Stalad joined them after speaking with the males for a while.

The Jalaxians and Orkites lifted weights and punched some heavy bags.

He had them perform the basic forms, correcting their stances when necessary.

It sorta reminds me of Tai Chi. He always makes it look so elegant and easy, but these moves can be tough.

Morgan attempted to keep her arousal under wraps, but occasionally Stalad’s nostrils flared.

Whenever she noticed, she tried to put physical distance between them in the hopes it would get easier for both of them to ignore their attraction.

Damn, that enhanced Svesti sense of smell is inconvenient.

I can’t help it if he’s so hot and just a nice guy.

My libido picked the worst time to make a reappearance.

After their training sessions, she headed back to her quarters to relieve the pressure between her legs.

After years of literally no desire for sex, she found herself spending far too much time in the shower pinching her nipples and rubbing her clit to fantasies of Stalad.

Is it the forbidden nature of it all making me even more horny or just him?

While they trained the next day, Niksen and the other Orkites returned to the cargo bay and observed. Finishing on the silks, Morgan and the other women began the Svesti training forms. Niksen sidled close to Stalad.

“I find myself attracted to you, Svesti. I invite you to my quarters so we can mate.”

Holy fuck. Talk about direct.

Stalad’s tail jerked before it settled around his ankle. Krinir’s eyes narrowed and Fraddar smirked. Lollek shook her head.

“I’m honored by your interest, Lady Niksen. However, I suffer from amnesia from an accident and do not know if I have a female waiting for me. Until I know for certain my status, I do not feel comfortable pursuing sexual relations with anyone.”

The Orkite placed a hand on his shoulder and kneaded his flesh before slowly caressing his arm. He stepped back and she followed.

“No one has to know. I’m not looking for commitment, just a hard fuck I think you can provide.”

Shaking his head, Stalad said, “I would know. It’s dishonorable.” He glanced down at her hand on his arm. “Please refrain from touching me.”

She drew a claw across his skin marking his flesh.

“Do you know who I am? How important I am on Arona? No one dares to tell me no.”

“I just did, and I will continue to do so.”

She placed her fists on her hips.

“You will regret your refusal.”

Morgan saw red. She dropped her pretense of not listening and stepped between the two. Her forefinger poked at Niksen’s chest. She tilted her head back to look the Orkite in the eye.

“Listen, bitch, he said no.”

“This is none of your concern.”

“It’s everyone’s business when someone forces another and tries to take away their agency as it pertains to their own body.

” Morgan’s breathing became shallow, and her vision turned black at the edges.

Her arms wrapped around her waist. “Male or female, no means no. It does not mean you should convince or coerce another to consent to something they don’t want to do. ”

“Perhaps our cultures are different in how we approach mating.”

“If a being says no and you force someone who is unwilling, it is rape.” Sweat beaded on Morgan’s face, but chills ran down her spine. She collapsed to the floor, rocking herself. “No means no,” she repeated over and over.

“Oh, shit. Someone get Lezon down here,” Kara said.

Abby glared at Niksen.

“Everyone step back and give her room.” She knelt in front of Morgan. “Morgan, honey, it’s Abby. Can you hear me?”

“No means no, otherwise it’s rape.” Tears ran down Morgan’s face.

“You’re right. Can you take a deep breath for me? In through your nose and out through your mouth.” Abby demonstrated, but Morgan’s eyes were blank, then her head fell forward, her auburn hair blocking her face.

“What’s wrong with her?” Niksen demanded.

Rain said, “You triggered her PTSD.”

“PTSD?”

“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” murmured Stalad.

All the human women except Morgan looked at him sharply.

“How do you know that term?” Kara asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You’ve obviously had experience with humans if you know that acronym. There’s more to you, Stalad, than we realized.” Rain gave him an assessing look.

“Why is she like this? Is she insane?” Niksen’s eyes clouded. Concerned looks filled the other Orkites eyes as they witnessed Morgan’s distress.

“No, you stupid bitch. She was forced to work as a sex slave on Delizas after being kidnapped from Earth. Then later she was captured by the Zuvgran and experimented on.” Kara’s hard expression softened as she looked at Morgan and her voice lowered.

“Honestly, she holds it together really well most of the time. We’ve never seen her like this. ”

“I thought pleasure workers wanted the jobs.”

Fraddar shook his head.

“There’s only one relatively small section on Delizas where the pleasure workers choose to be there. The rest of the planet uses slaves. Orkite males only frequent the establishments without slaves.”

Niksen whispered. “I didn’t know.”

“There is much you don’t know, Niksen,” Krinir said sadly. “I know you did not mean to harm the human, but your careless attitude towards pleasure mating obviously struck painful memories.”

Lezon ran into the cargo bay. He dropped to his knees next to Abby.

“What happened?” He ran a scanner over Morgan as the nurse quietly filled him in.

“Morgan, it’s Lezon.” When she didn’t reply, he said to Abby, “I can sedate her, but I don’t want to upset her further.”

Morgan heard it all through a distorted tunnel of sound that bounced around her but the words didn’t register.

The words “no means no, otherwise it’s rape” played over and over like bad soft muzak in her mind.

Despite her yearning and panic, she couldn’t find a way out of the horror funhouse of her brain.