Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 55551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
She looks instantly more alert. “What is happening?”
“Nothing. And I intend to keep it that way. You are prone to mischief, and I know you will not be able to resist another escape attempt, simply out of habit. So. I have had an addition made to my chambers. I’ve made a room for you.”
Her eyes narrow at me, but before she can indulge any moodiness, I sweep her naked body up and off the bed. She cannot help her little shout of glee as she feels me take physical control of her. She has never been able to resist my power. She always melts against me, and she does so again now.
I carry her into an adjoining room. I said I had made a room for her, which is somewhat true. But in truth, I’ve had something made that will hold her much better than any room ever could.
She lets out a scandalized gasp. “A cage?!”
I feel her start to struggle and squirm, but I have no intention of letting her go. She is going to go into the cage. She is going to feel her captivity in this naked state, and she is going to submit to confinement.
“What is the matter? You told me once you were not afraid of being put away in a cell. You told me so boldly.” I chuckle as I put her inside and close the door.
“You…” Suli stands naked inside the cage, which is more than big enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lie down. I have been kind enough to provide a soft matted area and some pillows for a bed. She also has water. “What if I have to pee?”
“You will have to be allowed out to do that.”
“Thorn!” She stamps her foot, her face coloring with temper. “This isn’t fair!”
“Oh, it is eminently fair, Suli. After how many times I have had to chase you down, how many times I have almost lost you? I have no intention of allowing you any semblance of the freedom that would be required for you to try to run again. And I hope you know the entire household is united in that aim. I have you, Suli. You are mine. And I intend to keep you.”
Her expression softens as I speak, just a fraction, but enough to show that she understands what I am trying to tell her. I do this because I know her nature, and I do it because her nature cannot be allowed to express itself and rob us both of the mate bond between us.
A knocking at the door of my bedroom interrupts the moment. There is an urgency I must respond to.
“Thorn!” I hear her call out behind me.
“Be good,” I reply.
“THORN!” She shouts my name louder, outraged and spoiled, and as usual trying to have her own way.
Avel is at the door when I open it. He speaks with a low, intense urgency that immediately arrests my attention.
“A human ship is landing near the remains of the Ground Bar.”
True to the surveillance information, there is a ship parked near the remains of the Ground Bar. It is a big purple shining thing with blinking pale lights around the edge. There is something very performative about it, something crass and glitzy. I have the feeling this is somehow related to Suli. I don’t know how or why, but I can detect her handiwork.
I left her safely at home, cursing me from her cage. She will be safe there. For the first time, I am not worried about not having eyes directly on her. Caging the human was probably the best idea I’ve had in years.
The ship is sitting with all the entries closed, no indication that anybody has gone in or out. I don’t see footsteps. I don’t smell anything foreign. I do smell a rather warm, rubbery scent, but that is all.
“This is suspicious,” Avel says.
“Yes,” I agree. “It is. Where are the occupants?”
“Inside, perhaps,” he says.
“Why would they land and simply sit around?”
“They might be waiting for something.”
“This feels like a trap,” he says. “We should attack.”
“I think we should just have a look,” I say. “Attacking a ship for no reason whatsoever seems imprudent. It could be related to Suli.”
Avel sighs under his breath. I know he does not approve of my relationship with Suli. He does not understand the attraction to a human. He is a traditionalist, still seeking a suitable saurian female mate, for all the trouble that is worth. But he is also a good soldier, and he falls in line as I head toward it.
The ship seems to shimmer and almost sway as we approach. It may have some kind of cloaking technology. It certainly does not seem to be behaving as I would expect something of its size, weight, and capacity to behave.