Rescuing Reya (The Beast Masters Series) Read online

  “But you said we couldn’t join,” she said.

  “The Voxenites of old could. We cannot. We can gain pleasure from one another but we cannot reproduce. Our systems are not compatible in such a way.” He finished removing the hair on her pussy and then set the device aside. “Your maidenhood is in place. We scanned for virgins when we took all the women onboard. Virgins fetch a higher price.”

  “I’ve done things with men. Things that cast shame on me with my people.”

  “But your virgin barrier was not breeched,” he stated clearly.

  “No.”

  He ran his hand over the pad of her newly smoothed pussy. Pleasure raced up her inner thighs. “Yet you are not totally naïve to the ways of men and women of your kind?”

  “No,” she said, gasping softly as he stroked her clit.

  “You please my eyes and my senses,” he said, rubbing her more. “I wish to touch you and bring you pleasure. If you tell me no, I will return you to your cell at once.” He glanced at the door once more as if worried they’d be caught.

  She didn’t find the Voxenites species attractive, but there was a certain need there in his gaze. “But I won’t bring as good a price if I’m not a virgin anymore.”

  “I will not break your barrier.” He tweaked her clit just right, causing cream to flood her cunt. “I will lay my palusions upon you and they will give you pleasure without taking your virginity.”

  Reya lay there a moment and considered telling him no. The hunger and need in his gaze stopped her. She nodded. He opened his jumpsuit front and his palusions spilled out and over her exposed body. She had to stifle a scream of surprise. His palusions were tentacles. A mass of them going everywhere on her body. Touching all her intimate parts at once. The sensations they caused were overwhelming.

  “Five,” she panted.

  He jerked back from her fast and drew his palusions back into himself. He closed his jumpsuit at once and stood perfectly still as the door to the room opened. Two more guards entered. They cast a speculative look in her direction, seeming unmoved by her state of undress and then focused on him.

  When they spoke it was in another language.

  Five nodded and they left. He moved to her and helped her sit up. “Dress quickly. We are nearing Ralen’s atmosphere.” He paused. “Thank you for allowing me to touch you.”

  “You didn’t get to finish anything you started.” She was almost upset by that fact. Her body was now in a state of need.

  Five touched her cheek again. “If I were a human male, I would select you. I would bond with you and I would sire my offspring upon you.”

  She didn’t say anything to that as she dressed in the sheer material. It didn’t cover much. She coughed again, her chest beginning to burn once more.

  Five sighed. “I tried to steal more of the serum for you. I am sorry.”

  “Thank you for all you did for me.” She touched the electric binds she wore. All prisoners had them on.

  Five watched her and then lowered his lids. He touched the binds on her wrists first, then the rest. “They are not active anymore. When we get to the planet, if you are not sold, run, Reya. Run hard and fast. Do not look back.”

  She coughed again. “W-why?”

  “Though I wish to believe otherwise, I do not think the males there will purchase you because of your weak lungs,” he said, sounding upset. “And if they do not take you, my people will kill you. They see you and the rest of the women as disposable. So run when you get the chance.”

  He helped to finish wrapping her in the sheer garment and then surveyed her. “You are so pleasing to the eye. Be safe and be well, Reya. If I could rescue you from this fate, I would.”

  She nodded her thanks just as the ship pitched from left to right. Five caught her and held her to him in a protective manner. The ship jerked several more times before coming to a final stop.

  Five released his tight hold on her. “Try to be bought, but if it does not work, run.”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  “I cannot protect you from my people. Be bought or run and never look back.”

  “Yes.”

  He led her from the chamber and down a long corridor. Other women were being led by guards as well. Their guards pushed and prodded them. Her guard caressed her inner arm in a tender manner. Exit-bay doors opened at the end of the corridor.

  Smoke puffed up around them, causing Reya to launch into a coughing fit. Five rubbed her upper back gently but nothing helped. She coughed and coughed until blood came up and then she coughed some more. He eased her down the ramp and into the bright light of Ralen’s sun. She squinted and shielded her eyes a moment.

  Five leaned in and whispered to her, “Your restraints are inactive. They cannot harm you. Remember what I said? If it looks as though you will not be purchased, run.”

  “Yes.”

  He pulled away from her and she mourned the loss of him. It was absurd to miss a man who had a hand in holding her captive, but strangely he’d been the nicer to her than anyone had in nearly a year. Reya continued to cough as she found herself being herded into a large group with the other women.

  Looking around, she found they were surrounded by warrior males. Each looked fierce and virile. She’d never seen so much raw flesh in one location and her pussy, already stimulated from Five’s touch, responded. It clenched, wanting to sample from the buffet of males.

  They’re savages, she reminded herself.

  Some wore loincloths; others wore pants that were leather-like. Some of them blatantly adjusted themselves at the sight of the females. Reya’s eyes widened. They were more man than she could handle. Much more.

  Some of the males had symbols adorning their bodies, while others lacked anything in the way of marks. It was an on odd combination and she wondered about the hows and whys of it.

  Another coughing fit seized her and a warrior broke ranks and neared her. He lowered his head and dark brown hair spilled over his shoulder. He was strikingly handsome. His silver gaze watched her closely. Various braids adorned his hair and beads closed the ends of them. The loincloth he wore left little to the imagination. His cock was as large as he was and he was huge.

  She gulped as he continued to rake his gaze over her. Her body heated, wanting sexual stimulation. Five had left her in a heightened state and she wanted something to ease the ache between her thighs. The man before her was powerful and sexy. He’d do nicely if he wasn’t a damned Ralenium male, a beast.

  Still, he was extremely handsome despite the large scar on his upper right torso. He was battle worn, tried and true. The thought turned her on even more. Men from Old World Section Seven weren’t exactly known for their ability to hunt and gather. They were more trained in talk and lying. She’d learned that firsthand.

  The man jutted out his chin, chasing away another male who had taken interest in her. She knew she had to be bought or she had to bolt. Her choices were limited. Reya batted her lashes at the silver-eyed male. He stiffened and then touched his clothed cock. He inhaled.

  “I am Altan and I can smell your cunt,” he said loudly and in a deep voice. “You desire me.”

  Heat stole over her cheeks and she wanted to tuck away from the sight of the others. How could he possibly know her desires? Did she have ‘harlot’ written clearly across her brow? And why did she crave sex so much? She was as depraved as Jonathon had labeled her back home. She shuddered at the thought of him.

  He’d been right. She was a sexual deviant. A woman with desires that rivaled one who turned sex into profit. No wonder he’d run out on her at the church, refusing to commit himself to her for a lifetime, forever shaming her and marking her as an impure woman when he’d never actually put his cock within her sex. His lies, his claims that he had been intimate with her, had ruined her and her father had cast her out to the streets. A place that left her at the hands of slave traders.

  Altan eased even closer to the point she could touch him if she wanted. Here,
on this undignified planet, she could be someone else. She could be as sexually free as she desired, couldn’t she? She’d read somewhere they liked their females for nothing more than sexual release. She could do that for him. She could learn to please him, and in doing so save herself from the certain death Five had assured her would come.

  Five.

  She glanced around for him but found he wasn’t with the traders who were huddled in a group as a Ralen male shouted at them. Five hadn’t come to see her off.

  “You are small,” Altan said. “You come only yea high.”

  He motioned to his chest and she could have sworn he grinned.

  “I’m stronger than I look,” she said in a mousey voice that lacked any true conviction on the matter. Each word she said held the urge to cough. The urge to show how truly weak and broken she was.

  Again, Jonathon had been right about her. He’d said her lung ailment was unbecoming to a proper lady.

  Damn him to hell.

  Reya gathered her nerve and touched the male on his chest. It was like touching a hot rock. It did not budge. He was solid. Her pussy moistened even more at the idea of the brute of a man ramming himself into her. He’d be a beast in bed, she just sensed it. He’d claim her hard and fast and he’d fuck as wild as he appeared. Her body burned for that type of claiming. She wanted a real man. One who wouldn’t hint at his needs only to laugh and mock her later. But rather one who would state clearly all his depraved desires and expect her to carry each one out. She wanted that more than anything.

  Altan touched her shoulder lightly, moving her long hair back and from it. “Yes, you appear quite strong. Battle ready, even,” he said with a glint of humor in his silver gaze.

  She found herself smiling back at him. “I’m a master with a sword.”

  His gaze raked over her slowly, and then the muscles in his neck worked as he swallowed. “Of that I am quite sure.”

  She realized then he’d taken her comment as a sexual innuendo. It somehow made her feel powerful. As if she really did have a chance of being purchased by him. “Sir, I have certain skills but not all. I’m a fast learner. If you teach me what you want from me, I’ll pick it up fast. I promise. And in case you’re wondering about my virtue…”

  He bent and inhaled deeply near her hair. A deep, purr-like sound emanated from him as his hands moved to her shoulders once more. He yanked her against him. “I could smell of you all day. What scent do you wear?”

  “Nothing,” she managed with a squeak. “The traders provided no scents for us.”

  “Altan, are you well?” another male asked, concern in his voice. “Your Heat is near.”

  Heat?

  She didn’t dare question.

  Altan kept hold of her and nodded. “She quells it.”

  The other male’s eyes widened. “No?”

  “It is true,” Altan said.

  The male nodded and walked away, seeming happy with their exchange. Reya was merely confused. She wasn’t sure what the Heat was, but it seemed like something that would be a cause for worry.

  Altan stepped back from her. “You are agreeable to being mine?”

  Before she could respond, her chest began to burn with the need to cough, and she tried everything in her power to resist. She failed, coughing hard into her hands. Coppery fluid filled her mouth and she knew she’d coughed up more blood.

  She tried to hide her hand, but Altan caught her wrist and gasped when he spotted the droplets of blood there. Fear raced through her and Five’s words echoed in her mind. He wouldn’t want someone defective. She was defective. Death was certain on the ship. The only thing left to do was run.

  Reya bolted away from Altan and darted directly into a wooded area. She wasn’t sure how she managed to run so fast and she didn’t care. Adrenaline had kicked in as had the will to live. She ran and ran until she could run no more and then she slowed. As she did her lungs burned more. Heaving huge gasps, she staggered out of the edge of the woods and spotted a large building of sorts. Disoriented from lack of oxygen, she twisted and then collapsed.

  Chapter Four

  Altan of Ralen kept the scent of the tiny human female and raced through the woods behind her. She was fast. Faster than many Ralenium males he knew, despite her ailment. His body tensed at the thought of her bleeding. She was sick and required healers at once. For a sick woman, albeit a beautiful one, she was speedy and elusive. Altan had just finished an off-world rotation during which he and the men assigned to it with him had aided a sister planet in a mining disaster recovery mission. Gases had built up in the mine, temporarily sending the beast side of him—the one able to smell everything perfectly from a distance—out of whack somewhat.

  This wasn’t the first time Ralenium males had been exposed to the gases of the mines on Tagun, so he knew his senses would be back to normal within a week to two weeks. Until then, he wasn’t as sharp as he should be.

  Case in point, a human female had given him the slip.

  Altan ran in the direction of his brother’s House of Pleasure. Utan had not arrived when the call went out for guards to gather at the landing pads. Utan rarely did anymore. His focus was on his House of Pleasure. It was large, a favorite among many warriors.

  Ironically, Utan did not enjoy the company of the women who worked for him. He chose not to partake in their favors, which baffled Altan and the others. If Altan had a whorehouse, he’d fuck every one of them until he could fuck no more. The Heat demanded he take the edge off sexually, so he frequented houses of pleasure often. As did most men on the planet.

  The absence of females left them little choice. It was find a whore to soothe their needs or stand around praying a slave trading ship would arrive stocked with women. Since ships were rare this far out, most just settled for what they could—the whores.

  Altan went directly to the back entrance of his brother’s House of Pleasure. He didn’t bother knocking. He knew the door opened to Utan’s personal study. He also knew the chances of him walking in on his brother bedding a woman were slim.

  Utan was there at his desk, his ledgers before him. He lifted his head slightly. “Good manners, brother. Mother taught us to knock.”

  “Mother also taught us to seek out a woman and give her grandchildren. Where are you on that lecture?”

  Utan dipped his pen into the inkwell and returned to his work. “What is it you want? A woman for the night? Or two women for the night? I can only spare two. I have only three rooms open.”

  “Busy night.”

  Utan nodded.

  “Then they have not heard that females have arrived,” Altan said, entering more and shutting the door behind him.

  Utan set his pen down. “No. When?”

  “Only moments ago. Garon and the others negotiate as we speak.”

  “Then why are you here?” Utan asked. “I know how close to the Heat you are, brother. You should be there, bartering for a woman to collar.”

  His brother was right. He should be back at the landing pads, trying to find a woman to collar and stave off his Heat. “A female ran away.”

  Utan’s lips twitched. “And you believe she ran straight for a whorehouse?”

  “I believe she knew not what she was running towards, only that she was running,” he supplied. “And she is sick, brother. Gravely.”

  Utan stood quickly. “How so?”

  “I know only that she coughed up blood.”

  “The vessel, was it Voxenites?” asked Utan.

  Altan nodded. “There is more, brother. The female, she quells my Heat with a simple touch but in the same respect, the beast has never wanted out more. Utan, she does something to me.”

  Utan gasped. “You believe her to be the one for you?”

  “I do.”

  “Cursed stars, the Voxenites’ air is poison to certain people,” Utan said. “It sounds as if this female is one of them. We must make haste.”

  “Poison?” Altan asked, his mind on the woman and her long blonde
hair and wide blue eyes. She was so tiny. So weak. “Is it fatal?”

  “Without treatment, yes.” Utan pressed a button on his desk and a woman dressed in red sheer material entered.

  Her gaze moved to Altan. He knew her well. He’d fucked her on many occasions for coin, of course. He always paid her above her going rate for her services. She began to remove the strip of material covering her breasts.

  Utan rolled his eyes. “No. He seeks not services of the flesh. Seek out Manuk. Tell him we have a Voxenites’ poisoning.”

  She gasped. “Yes, Master.”

  She rushed away.

  Utan looked to Altan. “Where is the female?”

  “I lost her scent near here.”

  “The mines of Tagun still toying with you?” his brother asked as he moved to Altan’s side.

  “Yes.”

  “Come, we shall search for her.” Utan moved outside and began stripping from his clothing quickly. He tossed his pants at his brother and stood unabashed in his nakedness. “Can you shift?”

  “Not with ease,” Altan confessed. “The mines…”

  Utan nodded and shifted forms quickly. His massive black beast form was a panu or, as those with ties to Earth called it, a panther. Altan liked Earthly customs and ways. More than he should as a Ralen male. He followed behind his brother as Utan raced in the other direction. Altan was prepared to run far and work hard to keep up with Utan’s beast form. When his brother came to a grinding halt, he nearly tripped over him.

  Altan gasped when he spotted the young female sprawled out on the ground. She wasn’t moving. Emotions poured over him, causing his beast to push toward the surface. Fur sprouted on his knuckles first, then the backs of his hands and his lower arms. His shift wasn’t full and he knew why. The mines of Tagun. He’d have to force a full change or be trapped as such.

  Altan moved to her side just as Utan was shifting back to his human form. Utan touched his shoulder.

  “She yet breathes, brother. Bring her within the House of Pleasure. The healer has been summoned.”