Cosmic Bounty (16 page)

A weapon.
All she had were her words, and if they freed her for a second, she’d use the knife as well.

The door slid open. Kat’s stomach pitched, knowing her time was fast running out.

Fir strode into the bedchamber, flanked by his two brothers. Their hungry, lust-filled gazes made her shudder with disgust.

“Nice of you to have waited.”
Fir laughed at his own joke.

She glared at him. “Last warning, my men will skin you alive, if you lay one finger on me.”

“Oh, we have no intention of laying just one finger on you, little one. We shall lay many fingers on you.”

She wanted to slap the smirk from his arrogant face.
Keep him talking. Stall for time; it’s all you have.

“I thought Demos men came in sets of four; yet, there are only three of you.”

Fir and his brothers’ faces darkened. “We don’t speak of our lost one.”

“Let me guess, you were rejected by the band of brothers project. There was no one low enough to want to be a part of your brotherhood,” she sneered.

Rage filtered over the expressions of the brothers.

“Enough talk, prepare her for me. I will mount her first. Then we shall see how fast and sharp her tongue is.”

Kat backed up as far as the chain would allow and the two brothers moved in. She kicked out at them. One brother caught her leg, before she could deliver a blow to his groin. The other clamped his cold, clammy hands around her wrists. They undid the chain, while the collar remained on her neck.

She screamed and struggled, while they lifted her and placed her onto the bed. Fir went to a chest and removed small, plastic-looking bracelets. Each had several little, glowing lights.

“Ever seen these before, my little pale one? They are
grav
cuffs, most useful when we have ones like you who like to struggle.
Demos
men are so used to fighting to obtain their pleasure from females. It is a rare treat to have them unable to do so.”

He snapped two cuffs around her ankles, before placing the remaining two on her wrists. The moment they were in place, Fir’s brothers stepped back. A small smile played upon their normally expressionless faces.

The moment she was free, Kat scrambled to roll over on the bed and race to the end of it, towards the knife. A little beep and she came to a sudden halt, pulled back by her wrists.

She screamed in frustration, as she was slowly dragged back by the force around her arms and ankles.

They were drawn together, her body lifting off the floor. What the hell?

“Fun, are they not?”

She twisted her head to see Fir with a little control device in the palm of his hand.

He laughed, watching as she was deposited back onto the bed, unable to move, her limbs stretched wide, until she lay spread-eagled on the bed, her chest heaving with the effort to breathe. Struggling was utterly useless.

“Scream all you wish, our chamber is soundproof,” Fir said, lowering
himself
onto the bed. He placed his hand on her leg and slid it up, catching the hem of her dress and taking it with him.

He opened his hand and one of the brothers placed a shiny, sharp blade into his palm.

Kat’s breathing hitched in fear, and her muscles tensed, as she stared at the curled blade pulling up close to her heaving breasts.

He laughed at her fear. “I will not outwardly mark your body; it will devalue your price.” He put the blade under the fabric of her dress and slid it down. Easily, the material fell from the blade into pieces, leaving her in her panties and bra.

“Oh, these are most tantalizing.” Fir pushed aside the remnants of her summer dress to cup one of her large breasts through the material of her bra. “What do you call them on your world? Are your males fond of them?”

Kat shuddered in disgust at his touch and turned her head, refusing to answer him.

“It matters not. I know every Demos buyer will be as fascinated as I am.” He dropped the blade by her side along with the controls, taking the time to squeeze and play with her breasts.

She gritted her teeth against his touch, but gasped when her panties were suddenly torn from her. Kat twisted her head back to see one of the brothers now gazing down at her exposed sex.

Fir picked up the knife and cut her bra in half, freeing her breasts. He tossed aside the knife and dipped his head forward, nuzzling his face between her breasts, while his hands roamed over her body.

Kat whimpered in humiliation, while another set of hands skimmed up her legs.

“Please stop, you can’t do this,” she begged. “I’m human and more fragile than your Demos females.”

“Then we will take care. It is a good note to pass on at the buyers' market.” Fir stood up and started stripping off his robe. His brothers followed suit. All three men stood naked around the bed.

Her heart pounded in her chest, in both fear and panic. Oh, god, this was it. They were going to rape her, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

 
Everyone jumped when a loud boom sounded and the doors to the bedchamber suddenly blew apart. Metal shards flew in every direction, snagging the brother to the left in the shoulder. Red blood oozed from his gaping wound.

Fir snatched up the blade and controls, while his brothers charged at the first two men barreling into the room.

“You’re in trouble now.” Kat grinned, seeing the fierce expressions of
Gol
and
Hul
, when they ducked the first swing of fists. The blades in their hands easily sliced through the brothers.

Fir, obviously knowing he was in trouble, punched a lever on the
grav
cuffs, and she was suddenly free from the force, only to be snatched up. Fir dragged her up against his body. She felt the cool sharpness of the blade pressed against her throat.

Hul
and
Gol
paused when Div and
Ric
entered, their weapons raised and aimed at Fir’s head. Their steady gaze flying to her and to the blade Fir held at her throat.

“So, she did speak the truth. The High Lords of
Galafrax
; take one more step and your lovely, little prize will be no longer.”

Kat tried not to panic. Surely, her men had been in hostage situations before, and they would know how to get her out.

“Let her go now. You’ve nowhere to run; your brothers are dead.”
Gol’s
voice seemed calm, almost too calm.

Kat dropped her chin, placing her mouth under the flesh of the arm holding the knife. She glanced up at her men, winking at
Gol
, hoping what she was about to do would work.

A frown creased his forehead for a split second, but that was all she had. Kat moved fast. She gripped at the fist holding the knife and at the same time opened her mouth and bit down hard on the arm.

Fir cursed. She dropped her weight, sinking under his arm, away from the knife and onto the floor.

A sharp trill sound pierced her ears. In the next moment, Fir dropped to the floor beside her, his eyes wide, and a large hole clean through his skull.

Her scream caught in her throat.
Ric
and Div were suddenly by her side. Div lifted her into his arms, swiftly carrying her from the chamber. Her body trembled in shock. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his chest.

“We’ve got you now, my sweet. No one will ever harm you again. We swear it.” He kissed the top of her head, taking her from the room. “Here, we must cover you.”

Div put her on her feet, while
Ric
put a blanket around her body, before Div again picked her up, carrying her out of the horrid place, where she was almost raped.

Outside, she heard the deep rumbles of their voices, as her men commanded a fleet of soldiers. Kat sighed and took comfort in listening to the steady rhythm of
Div’s
heartbeat.

“Kat, my love, are you hurt? Did they?”

She lifted her head to look into
Hul’s
worried gaze.

She swallowed. “I’m a little bruised and sore, but no, they didn’t get that far. You came for me just in time,” she whispered. “They were going to sell me. There are other women in the place, somewhere.”

“I know, love, we have found them. See?”
Hul
pointed to a group of quad soldiers, carefully carrying several Demos women in their arms.

“We’ve found eight females. They will be identified, their statements taken, and they will be returned to their families.”
Gol
joined them. “Fir’s operation, no doubt, has been going on for some time. We’ve shut this one down, but how many more are still out there?”
Gol
shook his head, his gaze lifted to meet Kat’s.

“You won’t stop searching, will you?” Kat asked “For the other female slave markets?”

“No, we will not. It is a high crime to sell a Demos female. But while there is such a shortage of women to men, it makes the men desperate. I am sorry, my precious one, we have brought you to a desperate and dying planet.”

“Don’t give up hope,
Gol
, there is always a way forward.”

Gol
leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly. “Let us take our
sheraz
home.”

“As much as I like the
P’Tala
brothers, I don’t want to go back. Please, I want to stay with you.”

“We have no intention of taking you back to the
P’Tala
family. You belong to us; never will we part from your side again.”

Kat smiled her relief, nestling back into
Div’s
arms. “Then please, take me home.”

Chapter
Fifteen

They took turns staying with her and drove her mad with their overprotective smothering.
Ric
, as the family doctor, carefully looked her over and tended to all her bruises and scratches. They bathed and dressed her, fluffed pillows behind her back in a large opulent bedchamber, fed her one mouthful at a
time,
until they were satisfied she ate enough. By the second day of this treatment, she was about ready to scream. Not one of them touched her sexually, since they’d brought her to their quarters in the
Grand
Palace
,
Qyi
.

“We must talk about the challenge.”
Gol
broached the subject first, when they were all sitting around her.

Kat shook her head. “No.”

All four of them looked at her curiously.

“It must be done so we can claim you,”
Hul
added.

“No.” Kat pushed to her feet and put some distance between them.

“Don’t you want us to claim you?”

“I do, but not like that. I have not made any demands of you, and I have accepted I will never see my home planet again and my life is here with you.”

“We want you to feel at ease,” Div said.

“Yes, we only want you to be happy with us.”

“I love you all, but you have to understand, although my heart is yours, my mind and
body are
still human and always will be.”