Abducted Read online

  Now, looking at Zoe, I saw why she had been taking such pains with her own clothing—it was eye-catching to say the least.

  The top was two intricately curved bronze cups which held her full breasts in place while showing a generous amount of her pale, creamy cleavage. Her midsection was bare, showing the soft curves of her sides. A metal belt was cinched low on her lush hips and from it hung two long, shimmering strips of fabric which barely covered her sex and her luscious ass and left her legs bare. A pair of small sandals which showed off her tiny feet completed the outfit but I confess my eyes didn’t linger there for long—I was too busy looking at the rest of her.

  “So do you like it or what?” Zoe asked again, twirling so that her long, red curls glittered in the overhead glows. “I figured if you could dress like Crocket and Tubbs I could be ‘Slave Leia.’ It’s perfect, right?”

  “It’s…you’re…” I found I couldn’t finish my thought. Though I had seen her naked on several occasions—and almost naked in the Majoran clothing—this particular outfit seemed made to emphasize her curvy beauty. She was absolutely breathtaking and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. It made me glad I had closed the slit in the ridiculous white trousers which were part of my own disguise—if I hadn’t, my feelings about her outfit would have suddenly become a lot more obvious.

  “Fuckin’ gorgeous,” Grav said. “Hell of a lot better than that damn Grubbian disguise you were wearing at the port lounge.”

  I tore my eyes away from Zoe long enough to see that my friend was looking at her admiringly. I felt a possessive growl rise in my throat—Vorns don’t share their females like Denarins do—but he held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

  “I’m just stating the obvious, old friend. You’re a lucky son of a bitch to have found such a beautiful, smart female to call your own.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to say that Zoe wasn’t mine—that she was a free female—but somehow I couldn’t make myself say it. That was because part of me rose up inside and growled that she was fucking mine and I would kill any male who tried to take her away from me. That I would kill or die for her as surely as Grav would kill or die for his female ward to whom he had sworn his oath.

  “Thank you.” Zoe was blushing prettily, her pale, freckled cheeks flushed with pleasure at the compliment. I noticed she hadn’t denied being mine any more than I had, and wondered about it. She’d been quick to point out I didn’t own her before I had given her her freedom, but now she wasn’t so quick to mention it. Did it mean anything?

  “Any more like you back home?” Grav asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a female quite like you before—where are you from, anyway?”

  “A closed planet called Earth,” I said, speaking up at last. “It was locked by the Ancient Ones after they seeded it so the inhabitants have never mingled with races outside their own planet.”

  Grav’s white-on-black eyes grew wide. “A Pure One? She’s a Pure One?”

  “And a La-ti-da,” Zoe added. “A Lat-ti-zal, I mean. Whatever that means—I’m still not completely sure.”

  “Really?” Grav’s eyes grew even wider and he looked at me. “I can see why you wanted to protect her, Sarden. She’s fuckin’ priceless.”

  “She is,” I murmured, looking down at my little Pure One. “In fact, this is beginning to seem like a really bad idea, flaunting her in front of Tazaxx.”

  “No, if anything it’ll add verisimilitude to our story,” Grav protested. “Van’Dleek would definitely have a female like Zoe on his arm. And Tazaxx won’t be able to resist taking a closer look at her.”

  I tore my eyes away from Zoe to look at him.

  “Excuse me? Verisimilitude?”

  He shrugged and gave me a sardonic grin.

  “Hey, I read a lot in Triple Max. Helped pass the time.”

  “I bet,” I said dryly. “But the very fact that Tazaxx won’t be able to resist Zoe is what makes me so reluctant to take her.”

  “He wouldn’t dare steal another male’s property—especially not a rich and influential one like Van’Dleek’s,” Grav pointed out. “But you having Zoe—it’ll impress the hell out of him and make him more willing to deal.”

  I knew he was right but I couldn’t suppress the feeling of worry that rose in me when I thought of taking Zoe into danger—even a controlled kind of danger. She was mine, Godsdamnit and I needed to protect her. I wanted nothing more than to lock her away and keep her safe forever.

  But I couldn’t do that—because no matter how loudly my possessive instincts growled, she wasn’t mine. Not really.

  “All right,” I said at last and pointed a finger at Zoe. “But stay close. I’m serious, Zoe, don’t leave my side. I don’t want a repeat of Gallana.”

  “Speaking of Gallana, look who’s all recovered.” Zoe parted the hair at the side of her neck carefully and I saw a tiny, purple-green face peering out at me.

  “What in the Frozen Hells, Zoe?” I growled, frowning. “You can’t take those damn things with you.”

  “Why not? They’re really tame—look.” She put up a hand and the three little creatures came crawling out to sit obediently on her hand.

  “Nib-nibs!” In two strides, Grav was across the room and reaching for one of the tiny creatures.

  “No!” Zoe snatched her hand away and held the chittering nib-nibs protectively to her chest. “They’re pets,” she explained to the startled Grav. “They’re not for snacking.”

  “Hey—okay.” He held up his hands. “I wasn’t going to eat ‘em. I’ve read about them—just never seen any up close.”

  “Sorry—it’s just that some people think they’re only good for a between-meal snack.” She shot me a look.

  “What?” I said, defensively. “I told you—I tried one once and spit it out before I even bit down.”

  “You say you’ve got them tamed?” Grav asked, apparently still interested.

  “Look, I’ve been working with them while Al synthesized my costume. It’s amazing how quickly they learn. Okay guys,” she said, addressing the nib-nibs, “Roll over.” Immediately all three of them lay on their backs and rolled over in her hand. “Speak,” Zoe told them and they all sat up and chattered. “Play dead,” she said and they immediately flopped down and lay motionless across her palm.

  “Nice,” Grav said, nodding.

  “It’s more than nice—it’s amazing.” Zoe’s big blue eyes shone, making her even more gorgeous, if that was possible. “I taught them all that in less than an hour. It’s almost like they know what I want them to do even before I tell them.”

  “That’s because they’re mildly telepathic,” Grav said. “It’s how they keep track of each other—if you take one away from its colony, it can still get back, no matter how far away it is, just by zeroing in on the mental energy of the others.”

  “Wow.” Zoe looked at her tiny pets with newfound respect and I knew I’d never be able to convince her to leave them behind now. Well, maybe having a Pure One that had tame nib-nibs as pets would also add to the verisimilitude of our disguise. It certainly seemed like the eccentric kind of thing a rich douche-nozzle, to use Zoe’s term, would do.

  “What did you name them?” I asked, resignedly. “You did name them, right?”

  “Of course. This one is Rhaegar, this one is Viserys, and this one—the one I rescued from Count Creepy—is Drogon. He’s my main guy, aren’t you, fella?” she asked, stroking the little creature gently with one finger. He hummed contentedly and rubbed against her hand in apparent ecstasy.

  I felt a tightening in my gut and realized I was actually getting jealous of the damn nib-nib! At least it got to feel the touch of her soft little hands. I wanted those hands all over me—and I wanted mine all over Zoe. Seeing her in that damn disguise which showed off all her creamy curves didn’t help my desire to possess her either.

  “Rhaegar …Viserys…Drogon. Are those Earth names?” Grav asked, still watching as she