Stolen: Brides of the Kindred 25 Page 20

  Also, he’s probably only interested in you because of that damn Spice in the air here, whispered a pessimistic little voice in her head. So cool your jets, Penny.

  The little voice was right, Penny decided. She needed to keep a close check on her emotions here and not let them run away from her.

  She stood up from his knee and this time V’rex let her.

  “I…um…I should try to find something to wear,” she said, nodding down at the skimpy white towel which barely covered her. “I can’t go around dressed in a towel all day and you kind of tore my Unification dress all to pieces.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” V’rex rumbled, standing himself to loom over her. “Was tryin’ to put on a good show—that’s all.”

  “Well, you certainly convinced me,” Penny told him. She blushed when she remembered exactly how convincing he’d been.

  “You’ll have to learn to be more convincing yourself,” he growled. “But we can work on that later.”

  And with those cryptic words, he left the bathroom at last, leaving Penny to wonder how in the world she had gotten into this strange new relationship and where it was going to lead.

  Thirty-Nine

  Damn it, the little female was really getting under his skin! V glanced down at her name on his chest again. True to his word, his body was already healing the branding wound, leaving nothing but a permanent scar in the place where the burns had been. Well, that was going to be hard to explain the next time he was with a willing female.

  Only, at the moment, he couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be with any other female than the curvy little human. She was the one for him—he’d been hit by a thunderbolt the minute he’d seen her in the Lucky Lounge and he just couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that she was his female to cherish and protect.

  Not that he wanted to shake it. What he wanted now, was to get closer to her—if she would let him.

  He hoped Penelope had enjoyed the healing he had given her. He’d tried to use his lust-honey sparingly and give her a much more gradual, building pleasure than the sudden, intense orgasm he’d forced from her earlier. The fact that she hadn’t liked the orgasm—that it had disturbed and upset her—was a revelation to V.

  Before Penelope had put the idea in his head, he had never considered that a female might not want to come.

  I mean, who doesn’t want to have an orgasm? he asked himself incredulously.

  But he supposed he could see her side of it. She had been scared to death—he’d felt her terror as he lay on top of her. And just because he overwhelmed her body with pleasure hadn’t meant she was any less terrified. In fact, she’d probably been even more scared of the strange, unaccountable things happening to her body without any warning or consent given on her side.

  V had never thought of it that way before. He’d told Penny that he hadn’t had any complaints from past lovers, but really, he hadn’t been with any one woman long enough to know what she thought of his technique. Most of his sex life had been a series of one-night stands, since he had always been damn determined not to get permanently involved with any one female. After the way he’d seen his father treat his mother, he didn’t want to risk getting too close and letting his Kru’ell One side out.

  But that side of him had been put to the test—he had been practically ordered to rape the little female he wanted so badly and he hadn’t done it. He had passed the test.

  I’m not my father, V’rex told himself, and it felt like a revelation. I don’t have to be him—don’t have to turn into him.

  But it wasn’t enough just to not be a cruel, abusive asshole. He also wanted to get Penelope to trust him—and he wanted to bring her pleasure in the way she wanted it.

  He had always considered himself an excellent lover because the females he bedded always came. But Penelope had seemed to think that the use of his stinger and his lust-honey was cheating in some way. Forcing an orgasm, as she put it.

  Now V wondered, somewhat uneasily, if he wasn’t as good between the sheets as he had imagined himself to be. Had he relied too much on his lust-honey to bring a female pleasure? Maybe he needed to work on his technique.

  Well, he would have to, he thought, since he had promised not to sting Penelope again until she asked him to. And since she still didn’t trust him as much as he wanted her to—(though allowing him to heal her brand was a good start)—he was going to get some practice honing his sexual skills as he brought her closer to him.

  Close enough to bond, whispered a little voice in his head.

  V frowned. Was that what he wanted? Did he want to tie the curvy little female to him for life? He had desired her before, when he had only seen her at the Lucky Lounge and then again in the lineup of breeder females when the GL had invited him to pick one. But now that he was actually getting to know her—to know her indomitable spirit and proud independence—well, now he was fucking hooked.

  “Hooked through the sac! She’s got you by the balls,” he and his mates used to say, back during his time in the Death Snakes. They had laughed at any male stupid enough to get hooked on a female—and V had laughed the loudest, certain he would never be in that position himself.

  But now it seemed that he was. Goddess-damnit, the little female had really gotten under his skin!

  Which meant he was back where he had started from.

  “Too much thinking,” V growled, squeezing his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t used to this much introspection. He was a male who was used to living life in the moment and acting without worrying about the consequences. Already Penelope was changing him.

  The question was, would he be able to change her too? Would he be able to bring her to him?

  V supposed only time would tell and in the meantime, he had other things than just wooing his female to think about. They had to get the hell out of this sick place and they needed to do it soon.

  Forty

  To her relief, Penny found a blue toga hanging in the closet which fit her. It tied over her right shoulder, showing the brand of V’rex’s initial at the top of her left breast clearly, so it was a good thing he’d left the scar, she decided.

  There were no panties to go with it, which was disconcerting, since the skirt of the toga ended at mid-thigh. It wasn’t really surprising, though, Penny thought. After all, the whole society here was built on easy-access sex and constant breeding. Why put panties in the way of penetration?

  That made her think of V’rex, for some reason. She quickly pushed the thought out of her head as she looked at her new outfit in the 3-D viewer in the bathroom.

  There was no bra to go with the blue toga, either, though Penny had almost gotten used to not wearing one. She wasn’t really comfortable without one, though, owing to the fact that her breasts had grown so much.

  There was also the problem of her leaking nipples. Penny looked around and finally put some tissues between her nipples and the thin fabric of the toga, but she could tell it wasn’t going to be a workable solution for long. Plus, her breasts really hurt—they were full of the sticky stuff and it had been over twenty-four hours since she’d had it sucked out.

  Back at the Breeding and Conception Center, she’d been drained at the suction center—a kind of room which had chairs with built in breast pumps—every evening before bed. That had been uncomfortable, but bearable.

  She just sat in the padded armchair-like seat and a pair of clear suction cups on long, flexible stalks had curved around to fit over her nipples. Then they sucked away the nectar, draining her breasts and leaving her much more comfortable until it built up again and she had to go back for another suction session the next day.

  The first time this had happened, Penny had been freaked out by the moving suction cups. But after she got over her shock, she was actually glad they seemed to have a mind of their own and were able to attach without involving anyone else. She didn’t like the idea of the NeverBreeder doctors and scientists handling her body any more than they
already did during the awful womb exams.

  But here in the village of “Love Huts” there was no suction center and no comfy chairs with self-directed suction cups to ease the pressure and—to be honest—the growing pain of her too-full breasts.

  And there was no way to drain her breasts. Well…no way that wasn’t extremely embarrassing.

  Because she most definitely was not going to ask the big Hybrid to help her with this particular problem, Penny promised herself. Just the thought of bringing it up made her want to cringe inside. It would be so horribly embarrassing—not to mention much more intimate than she wanted to get with V’rex. She was already in deeper with the dangerous space pirate than she wanted to be—she needed to be putting more distance between them, not less.

  Well, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so she decided to try and ignore the pain in her breasts and see what else there was to do in the Love Hut.

  Besides breeding, that is, whispered a little voice in her head.

  Penny pushed it away and went to explore. The Love Hut was set up like a small cottage, built just for two, which made sense because nobody had any babies here. Well, not ones they would want to claim, anyway, after they’d gone through the chemical baths and become the horrible Oompa-Loompa NeverBreeders.

  There was a living area decorated in blue and white with an overstuffed loveseat positioned in front of a wide TV-like screen. Penny wondered what kind of programs they played here—probably all Compound propaganda, she decided and moved on to the next room—which was pretty much the last room in the house.

  It was a neatly set up kitchen decorated in yellow and white with a small refrigerator just about Penny’s height which only held a few items—some of which were meat, she saw with a shudder. But there were some odd-looking alien fruits and vegetables too, so at least there was something she could eat.

  There were pots and pans and a stovetop filled with blue rocks which got hot when she flipped a switch. There were also several sets of very long tongs. Apparently she was supposed to grill everything on the rocks, Penny thought, frowning. Well, it was awkward but doable, she decided. Like having a barbeque every night.

  The last part of the house was a dining area which was attached to the kitchen. It was really more of a breakfast nook with a tiny table set for two with only two chairs.

  Playing the “little wife,” Penny made a dinner out of the ingredients stocked in the fridge—though she avoided the meat—and called the big Hybrid to the table. She was afraid he might remark on the absence of meat and object to having only grilled vegetables for dinner, but he only thanked her for cooking and then they ate in relative silence.

  It occurred to Penny that, after talking so much in the bathroom, they both had a lot to think about. She didn’t try to make conversation, just finished the rather bland meal—wishing she had more of the flavor sticks from the Breeding and Conception Center—and then it was time for bed.

  Sleeping arrangements, however, proved to be a problem.

  “No, you can’t fucking sleep on the couch,” V’rex growled at her, after dragging her into the bathroom so they could talk privately after Penny made the suggestion. “We’re supposed to be playing the happy couple, remember? It won’t look right if we don’t both sleep in the same bed.”

  “You really think they watch us while we’re sleeping, too?” Penny demanded.

  “Not all the time—but they look in often enough. Look.” V’rex opened the bathroom door a crack and pointed up at the smooth white ceiling. Up there, centered directly over the bed, was a small red light, glowing like a lonely coal in the center of an empty fireplace.

  “See how it’s lit?” V’rex leaned down to murmur in her ear. “I think that means they’re watching. Sometimes it flickers and goes out—that’s when we have privacy. But it’s not off very often.”

  “Oh…” Penny stared in discomfort at the glowing red light. “I didn’t notice it all the way up there.”

  “Well, you’re not as close to the ceiling as I am, little girl.” He flashed her a sarcastic grin. “And also, I’ve been in this domicile about a week already and it’s only your first day. But you should know that there are lights like that one in the dining area, the living area, and the food-prep area. Like I said, the only room in the house that doesn’t have one is here.” He nodded at the bathroom. “Presumably because while the ‘Glorious Leader’ gets off on watching people fucking, he’s thankfully not so turned on by seeing them shitting.”

  Penny made a face and he shrugged.

  “Sorry if that’s too crude for you, but those are the facts. This is the only room that’s not being watched. And since we know we’re being watched day and night, we need to do what’s expected of us.”

  Penny sighed reluctantly.

  “All right. It’s just…uncomfortable, that’s all.”

  “What—sleeping with someone you don’t know very well?” V’rex raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s not particularly comfortable for me either, sweetheart. Especially considering we’re both going to be naked and you’re so damn luscious and curvy.”

  “What?” Penny squeaked. “I am not sleeping naked with you! I have had enough nudity around strangers to last a lifetime and I’m not looking for any more!”

  “First of all, I’m not a stranger—not anymore,” V’rex growled, frowning. “And second, did you notice any nightclothes in the closet? No,” he continued, when Penny reluctantly shook her head. “Because they don’t provide them. Because they expect the couples around here—especially the newly mated ones—to be breeding constantly and clothes only get in the way when you’re sole fucking aim is giving your female a big belly.”

  Penny bit her lip uncertainly.

  “It’s just…the bed is big but so are you. I mean, I’m not skinny either, but you’re almost seven feet tall and built like a pro wrestler! How are we going to get into bed together naked and not touch?”

  “We won’t be able to,” V’rex said simply. “But that doesn’t mean we have to touch intimately. If it makes you so uncomfortable to be close to me, we can always lay back to back if you want.”

  “All right,” Penny said reluctantly. “I guess…guess it’ll be okay if we’re back to back.”

  “Fine.” V’rex yawned. “Now that we’ve got that settled, I need to get some sleep. It’s back to the fucking greenhouse and trimming the fruit trees for me tomorrow. And I guess you’re going to get your ‘work assignment’ too, right?”

  Penny nodded.

  “We’re supposed to meet in the park and they’ll tell us what we’re going to do for our job.”

  “Well then, we both need to get some sleep,” V’rex said practically. “Do you want to get into bed first, or should I?” he asked.

  Penny was touched that he would give her a choice. It would certainly be easier and less embarrassing for one of them to go out naked and get into bed and then for the other to follow, than for both of them to got out together.

  “I’ll go,” she decided. “And, uh, thanks for being understanding, V’rex.”

  “Just trying to make you comfortable, sweetheart,” he growled. “Go on—I’ll close the fresher door while you get into bed. When you’re ready for me to come out, just cough really loud.”

  “Okay.” Penny nodded gratefully.

  She slipped out the bathroom door and once she heard it click closed, she quickly slid out of her blue toga and slipped between the cool, surprisingly silky sheets

  When she had a choice, Penny always slept on the right side of the bed so that was the one she took now. She cuddled down into the puffy mattress, shivering a little at the chill of the sheets, and pulled the furry blue bedspread up to her chin.

  She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, eyeing the steady red light—it still amazed her how blatant the Compound was about spying on people—and then turned firmly on her right side and coughed.

  The bathroom door opened again and V’rex came out completely
nude, except for his tattoos and the broad pair of copper bracelets on his wrists, which all the males in the Compound wore.

  Apparently he had no problem with walking around naked—probably because he had the most amazing body Penny had ever seen. From his broad shoulders, to the flat planes of his chest, to his washboard abs and long muscular legs, every part of him looked like it had been sculpted out of marble by some master artisan.

  Inevitably, her eyes were drawn to the spot between his legs and Penny was discomforted to see that his long shaft was more than half-hard. What was that all about?

  V’rex saw where she was looking and raised his eyebrows at her.

  “You like what you see, sweetheart?” he rumbled, giving her a little grin.

  Penny felt her cheeks get hot and she looked away at once, clamping her lips closed. But V’rex didn’t seem to really expect her to answer. He simply climbed into the left side of the large, square bed beside her and got under the covers.

  This presented a whole new problem. Penny had gotten as close to the edge as she could, but the Hybrid was so big, he took up a lot of the covers and sheets—especially when he turned on his side. Penny suddenly found herself with much less to cover up with as the coverings slid up, exposing her.

  “Hey!” She tugged at the covers. “Don’t be a cover-hog!”

  “A what?” V’rex growled. “And stop yankin’ on the blankets.”

  “I’m yanking on the blankets?” Penny demanded incredulously. “They were just fine until you got into bed! Now, look—I don’t have hardly any at all!”

  She pointed to the way half of her was exposed.

  “I don’t have any either,” V’rex frowned, shaking his head. “I’m afraid this isn’t going to work, sweetheart.”

  “What isn’t going to work?” Penny demanded, her heart thumping. Was he going to insist they get closer? A lot closer?