Abducted Read online

I looked down at Sarden and lifted an eyebrow at him.

  “Goddess,” he said in a low voice, really laying it on thick now. “I worship you—you know that.”

  He pulled me closer, pressing his face right between my breasts as though he didn’t want even a millimeter of distance between us.

  My stomach did a little flip at the feeling of his long, muscular arms wrapped around me so securely. I couldn’t help myself—even though it was an act, I still liked it. Taking pity on him, I decided to play along.

  “Sarden,” I murmured, running my hands through his thick, black hair, just as the female Majoran had been doing with her mate back at the perfume seller. “Sarden, my darling, you know I adore you.”

  Since they were right there, I started playing with his horns too. I’d always kind of wanted to touch them, almost from the moment I found out he wasn’t really the Devil dragging me down to Hell. They were fascinating, growing out from the sides of his temples in thick, short, sharp curves. They weren’t nearly as long as a bull’s horns, though that was what they mostly reminded me of. I ran my hands up and down them, swirling my fingers around their bases and sliding up to the sharp tips curiously.

  Sarden trembled against me as I touched him and his grip around my waist tightened as he pressed his face fiercely between my breasts. “Goddess…Zoe, you shouldn’t,” he groaned in a deep, hoarse voice. Wow, he really was laying it on thick.

  “Shouldn’t what, my darling? Shouldn’t forgive you?” I asked sweetly, laying it on a bit myself. Hey, I took drama in high school—I know how it’s done.

  “Uh, goddess? Goddess?”

  It took me a minute to realize that the big biker-looking Majoran was talking to me. He and his Oompa-Loompa were watching Sarden and me with wide eyes.

  “Yes?” I asked, still caressing Sarden’s horns as I spoke to them.

  “Normally I encourage all kinds of worship between a male and his goddess,” the boss said. “But…your male is a Vorn, isn’t he?”

  “He’s part Vorn, why? Is that a problem?” I demanded, all ready to do battle if this guy started bringing racial bias into it. From what little he’d told me, Sarden had had enough of that to last him a lifetime.

  The Majoran mechanic frowned.

  “It wouldn’t be if you weren’t, ahem, playing with his horns,” he said, frowning.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. “He’s just, uh, worshipping me like he’s supposed to—that’s all.”

  “Yes, but some kinds of worship are best left in the bedroom,” he growled. “I can’t have the two of you pleasuring each other right here in my shop—how would it look if another customer comes in?”

  “Pleasuring each other? What are you talking about?” I demanded. “I’m just, you know, stroking his horns.”

  “And look how they’ve grown!” All, the Oompa-Loompa, squeaked.

  “Grown?” I looked down and frowned. Sure enough, Sarden’s horns did seem longer now. But how was that possible?

  “A Vorn’s horns are erogenous zones,” the boss said bluntly. “Some say they’re best used to guide him when he’s…ahem…worshipping his goddess with his tongue.”

  “What?” I took a quick step back.

  Sarden released me—reluctantly, I thought—and looked up.

  “Goddess,” he growled softly and I could see that lazy, half-lidded look of lust in his glowing golden eyes again.

  “You could have told me,” I whispered fiercely.

  “Why would I do that when you were playing your part so well?” he murmured back.

  “You…I…” I couldn’t believe I’d been giving him the equivalent of a hand-job right out in public. And he’d been getting off on it!

  This gave a whole new meaning to the word “horny.”

  “Well, erotic interludes aside, it appears that you worship your female with proper respect,” the mechanic said, this time addressing Sarden. “So what can I do for you this fine evening?”

  Sarden got to his feet smoothly—really, he was surprisingly quick and graceful for such a big guy.

  “I was sent by Count Doloroso,” he said, abruptly all business.

  “Count who?” The mechanic frowned. “Sorry, I don’t know that name.”

  “Well he apparently knows you,” Sarden said, sounding exasperated. “He said you were a reputable mechanic and would give me a fair price on getting one of the panels for my Hydrogen Scoop replaced.”

  The Majoran puffed out his chest with pride.

  “Well, now, we are the finest mech shop in all of Gallana, that much is true,” he said. “What kind of ship do you have? And what kind of panel do you want as a replacement? I’ve got corrugated sythosium, lacquered geodesium or just plain sonium.”

  “Geodesium?” Sarden frowned. “I’ve never heard of panels made of geodesium.”

  “Oh, sure! It’s new tech—the best! In fact, if you have the credit, you can get them all replaced.”

  “I don’t know about that—I’m in a hurry at the moment,” Sarden said.

  “Well, if it’s just a matter of replacement—you can do all six panels in just a little longer than it takes to do one. And if it’s speed you’re after, well, lacquered geodesium panels’ll make your Scoop up to fifty percent more efficient and your ship fifty percent faster.”

  “Is that right?” Sarden looked interested. “Do you have the stats to back that up?”

  “Sure do—in the back. All,” he said to his assistant. “Go in the back and pull up the geo stats in full holo. Then pull out a pair of the geo panels for our customer to admire.”

  “At once, boss-of-All!” the Oompa-Loompa squeaked and scurried to obey.

  “He’s a good lad as Goolies go.” The mechanic smiled at Sarden. “Now about these panels—you’ve got to see them to believe them. Come on.” He made a motion, inviting Sarden around the counter to the back of the shop, which was located behind a large swinging door.

  “All right.” Sarden started to go…then turned back to me. “But what about my…my goddess?”

  “Well, she’s welcome to come too, of course,” the mechanic said, nodding. “Although it’s a mite dirty back there.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be fine here. I’ll just have a seat and wait.”

  There was a lone stool, shaped kind of like a dirty gray mushroom, located (or possibly growing, I couldn’t be sure) in the corner of the shop. I walked over and plopped down on it, glad to take a load off. Those damn stripper heels really hurt after a while.

  “Well, if you’re absolutely sure…” He was still hesitating, a little frown on his face.

  “I’ll be fine, honestly.” As much as I was interested in alien culture and technology, I had no interest in going in the back of a dirty alien mechanic’s shop to look at engine equipment any more than I would have back on Earth. I made a ‘go on’ gesture at Sarden and he finally nodded.

  “I’ll be back in a moment.”

  “Take your time,” I remarked. “I’ll just be sitting here twiddling my thumbs.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” he said. “But I’ll try to be fast—we don’t have much time left in the light cycle.”

  “Sure. Fine.” I shrugged. I didn’t particularly like the idea of being out in the bad part of Gallana at night—or during their dark cycle or whatever they called it when they turned off the lights—but I was pretty sure I’d be safe if I was with Sarden.

  “All right.” He turned and went through the swinging door with the mechanic, leaving me to sit on the gray mushroom and wait.

  I hadn’t been sitting for five minutes, thinking how bored I was—seriously, couldn’t they at least have a magazine to look at? I mean, not that I’d understand what it said but at least I could look at the pictures—when the front door of the shop opened and the last person I’d expected to see walked in.

  “Why hello, Zoe,” Count Doloroso said, smiling charmingly. �€