Page 22 of Wrapped in Their Arms

“My lady, are you sure?”Brightasked, clearly distressed.

Noelle looked the alien dead in his neon-green eyes.

“Is anything you’re going to do to me going to hurt me?”

“Not a bit, my dear.Infact, you’re going to feelfabulouswhenI’mfinished with you!”

Fabulous,she thought dully.Whata strange word to use in a place like this.

She lifted her chin.

“ThenI’llgo with you, as long as you take off their manacles.”

She nodded towardBrightandBurn.

“We’ll have them removed as soon asIbring you back,” the little man promised.“Youhave my word on it.”

“All right.”Noellenodded.“ThenI’llgo.”

“Noelle, you don’t have to do this,”Brightsaid quickly.

“Just say the word and we’ll fuck this guy up,”Burngrowled.

“No, it’s all right.”

She took a deep breath as she lectured herself.Justkeep your cool.You’vehandled worse.You’vesurvived worse.ThinkaboutBranson.

If she could survive years of being married to her abusive ex, she could certainly make it through an alien makeover.

“It’s going to be fine.I’llbe back in a little while,” she assuredBurnandBright.Neitherof them looked happy about it, but they didn’t try to contradict her or stop her.

“Be safe, sweetheart,”Brightmurmured.

Burn just glared.

Noelle nodded at both of them and followed the little man out of the cell.

Her footsteps echoed like drumbeats down the corridor, and the cell door closed behind her with a final hiss.

For some reason, the sounds madeNoelleuneasy.

BlessedVirginhelp me,she thought.Pleasedon’t let this be a mistake.

12

NOELLE

The little orange alien moved surprisingly fast for someone so round.

“I’mLupin, by the way,” he said over his shoulder asNoellehurried to keep up with him.“Personalimage consultant to theSkowlians—on loan from theFleshBazaarfor this season’s auctions.You’revery lucky, my dear—Iusually work only with elite stock.”

“I’mNoelle,” she said quietly, not sure why she told him her name.Maybebecause he sounded so chipper—so normal.

“Well,Noelle,”Lupinsaid cheerfully, “you’re about to undergo a total transformation.Ispecialize in makeovers—rejuvenation, rebranding, and reconditioning both inside and out.Bythe timeI’mfinished with you, you’ll be a whole new woman.Andbelieve me, you’re going to need my skills if you want to fetch a decent price.”

Noelle opened her mouth to say she didn’t want to fetch a decent price—she just wanted to be free…and then she shut it again.Lupindidn’t strike her as the kind of person who cared very much what anyone else wanted—especially not a lowly slave, which was basically what she was now, though she was still trying to wrap her head around it.

His quick, squishy-sounding footsteps echoed down the twisting maze of metal corridors, andNoellehad to halfjog just to stay close.Theprison ship was a labyrinth—every junction looked the same.Everyturn was identical and every bulkhead appeared to be smeared with the same grimy fingerprints and streaks of rust.