Abducted Read online

  It was really pretty in an Instagram over-filtered kind of way.

  There were moving sidewalks on either side of the road and Majoran women and their husbands, or mates to use Sarden’s word, were riding them and speaking in low, intimate voices. The women were dressed like I was, just as he had promised, so at least I didn’t feel out of place. But even though I blended in with the crowd—at least fashion-wise—I still felt pretty naked, though I tried not to think about it.

  I think what surprised me the most was the sky overhead—it was pink. But also, it was a sky with puffy white clouds and everything.

  “Hey,” I said to Sarden, pointing up. “I thought we were in some kind of enclosed building or area like the International Space Station. So how is there a sky? Come to think of it—how is there even gravity?”

  “The spin and rotation of the spaceport provides artificial gravity, of course,” he said as though it was obvious. “They have no need for gravity generators like I have aboard my ship.”

  “Yeah, but what about the sky? The clouds and everything?”

  “A projection,” he told me. “The actual ceiling is bare metal and only fifteen flarns above our heads. But the sky is more aesthetically pleasing and since Majorans are all about aesthetics, they went to the trouble of making the illusion.”

  I had no idea what a flarn was but the idea that the very real-looking sky above us was completely fake kind of caught me off guard.

  “Wow,” I said. “Okay. So what now?”

  “Let’s see…” Sarden consulted his ring, which made a green, holographic map appear in front of us. “Looks like we have a ways to go. We’d better ride,” he remarked. Putting his hand to the small of my back, he guided me to the entryway of one of the moving sidewalks.

  There was a Majoran couple ahead of us and I watched them carefully to see how they acted. Just like the couple at the perfume seller, these two were obviously deeply in love. The male held his mate’s hand and helped her carefully onto the sidewalk, then jumped on behind her, making certain to stand so that his chest was directly against her back. She leaned trustingly against him and he stroked her hair gently as they glided off on the moving walkway.

  The little scene of silent gallantry and love was sweet, if a bit mushy—and it wasn’t unique, either. All around us I saw Majoran males treating their females with gentleness and deference, as though they were precious treasures to be guarded and cared for. Clearly they really did worship them as goddesses.

  It was nice and certainly not what I was used to. I thought back on my time with my ex, Scott. He’d never held open doors or pulled out chairs for me, which I didn’t really mind, because it was kind of old fashioned. But he’d also never gone out of his way to hold my hand if we were walking together. Mostly he was too busy looking at his phone to bother. I didn’t see any constant use of hand-held devices here in Gallana—just lovers looking at each other longingly and whispering intimately as though they couldn’t wait to get home and get busy.

  The Majorans were tall people—with most of the males being almost as tall as Sarden—and good looking too. Except for the way they changed colors all the time, it was kind of like being in the middle of a romance novel come to life. I glanced at Sarden to see if he was going to treat me the same way, or just wait until we got to the mechanic to put on a show.

  He gave me a slight, sardonic smile, almost as though he knew what I was thinking. As we got to the walkway, he held out his hand.

  “Allow me to help you aboard, my goddess,” he murmured.

  “Why, thank you.” I took his hand and he helped me onto the walkway. Then he stepped up beside me and pulled me back against him. “Hey!” I protested a bit breathlessly.

  “It’s all right,” he murmured into my ear. “Just making sure you feel safe and protected, my goddess.”

  He braced his feet on either side of the walkway to keep us steady—which was good because it was moving way faster than would have been considered safe on Earth—and we watched together as the tall, skinny, jewel-toned houses and buildings rushed past.

  We went through a business district, a colorful marketplace, and an expensive looking residential area before Sarden consulted his ring again and decided it was time to exit.

  “Time to go—come on,” he said, pointing to a curving exit ramp.

  “All right.” I got ready to jump although the stilt-like stripper shoes I was wearing were going to make it a risky proposition at best. Still, never let it be said that Zoe McKinley isn’t up for a challenge.

  Sarden, however, didn’t seem to think I was. He took a look at my shoes and the awkward way I was standing in them and then scooped me up in his arms with no warning.

  “Hey!” I exclaimed.

  “Can’t let you exit the walkway like that—you’ll break your neck,” he said gruffly.

  “I’ll be fine,” I protested. “I’m short so I’m used to wearing high heels. I mean, not stripper heels like these, but the concept is the same.”

  But Sarden was already hopping off the speeding walkway as casually as though he was simply stepping off a street corner. Even holding me, he managed it with grace and ease and we found ourselves in an area that looked kind of like a warehouse district. The buildings here were wide and squat and painted a dull, brownish-gray that contrasted sharply with the colorful houses and shops we’d passed in the other districts.

  “Okay,” I said once we were clear of the walkway. “You can, uh, put me down now.”

  He looked around, frowned, and shook his head.

  “I don’t think so. I don’t like the look of this area.”

  “Well this is where Count Doloroso sent us. I thought it was supposed to be safe.”

  “I did too. He said they were reputable.” He sighed. “We’re not far from the mechanic he recommended so we’ll at least have a look. But I want you close to me. Very close.”

  “But…but I can be close and still walk,” I protested. “You don’t have to carry me around like a baby or a damsel in distress.” Which made me remember how he’d carried me into the purple bathtub and held me so tenderly while he got the slime of the awful tentacle tank out of my hair. But I pushed the thought away hurriedly—there was no need to bring it up now, especially when we were so embarrassingly close and I was next to naked in the Majoran dress.

  “Look at the road.” He nodded to the pitted, rutted pavement beneath his feet. It was a lot rougher here and there were plenty of potholes that looked like a twisted ankle waiting to happen. “A Majoran male would carry his female in this area, I’m sure of it.”

  “It’s not as nice as the road by the docking area,” I acknowledged. “But I could still manage.”

  “Why should you when I prefer to carry you?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  “You’ll throw your back out,” I warned him, trying again. “I’m not exactly a hundred pound Hollywood starlet you can tote around all day like it’s no big deal.”

  “Are you saying I’m not strong enough to carry you? I did before, you know.” He frowned and began walking as we talked, which kind of made the conversation moot, but I’m no quitter.

  “No, you’re obviously plenty strong. And I know you carried me, uh, before.” I blushed, remembering the slime tank incident again. “But that was just the length of your ship. I’m just saying I’m not exactly skinny enough to—”

  “Oh, this is about your planet’s strange ideas about stick-thin females being more attractive, isn’t it?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Well, I guess sort of…in a way,” I admitted.

  “Such a strange concept.” He shook his head. “I picked you from the Alien Mate Index because of your curves—not despite them. Remember that, sweetheart.”

  “All right,” I said, feeling like the conversation had somehow gotten off topic but unsure how to get it back.

  Sarden must have seen my uncertainty because he gave me one of his rare smile