Branded (5 page)

Chapter
Six

If
she wanted blunt and right to the point,
Tolcan
would
give her
that,
would be himself. He wasn’t afraid to
tell her what he wanted. He wasn’t afraid of anything. He killed with his bare
hands, took what he wanted, and females threw themselves at him, wanted to be
in his bed for the night. This woman, this female was afraid of him, was not
willing, and although he should feel some kind of emotion for her situation,
empathy was not a trait the Rogues possessed.

He
looked down at her shirt again, and for the second time in his life, and both
happening because of one small human, he smiled. “You’ve put the shirt on
backward, female.” He watched the play of emotions on her face, saw her cheeks
turn red, and couldn’t help
himself
. He lifted his
hand and touched her cheek, marveling at the feel of her warm flesh. His kind
had lower body temperatures, and flushing was not something they experienced.
To feel her warm skin because of the blood rushing to the surface, and to
wonder if the same thing would happen when she was under him, when he was
taking her, making her feel pleasure, had his cock growing hard.

He
removed his hand, wanting her fucking badly, like a beast was going to take
control if he didn’t calm himself, and forcibly took a step back. She lowered
her gaze to his cock, her eyes widening and the scent of her fear intensifying.
“I won’t take you against your will, female.”

“You
already have,” she said, took a step back, and clasped her hands in front of
her. “I want to know where my family is, where the other members of my camp
have been taken to.”

He
didn’t respond right away, just moved toward the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of
June Juice, a potent alcoholic drink. He’d offer her some to relax, but he knew
humans’ fragile bodies couldn’t metabolize his species’ liquor.

Opening
the bottle he chugged some of it, wanting to be with her, knowing it was his
right as she was considered his property, but not able to do that. Yes, she was
right about him taking her against her will, but she also needed to realize
that if he were any other male he would have already fucked her.

“Why
haven’t you?” she asked softly.

He
snapped his head away from the bottle and stared at her.

“You
spoke out loud. I don’t have any weird mind reading abilities,” she said
without emotion, clearly seeing his surprise on his face.

He
took another drink, set the bottle down, and looked back at her. “I won’t fuck
you when you fear me.” He stared at her, and let that sink in before he
continued. “When I have my cock in you it’s because you’ll want it, Greta.”

She
didn’t respond for a long while. The sight of her pulse beating at the base of
her throat was in time to his dick throbbing behind his pants. Compatibility
wise they were perfect, but it wasn’t about his sexual appetite for her, but
this connection, this electricity running through his body every time he stared
at her.

“Are
you hungry again?” he asked.

“I
just want to be with my family.” She sounded timid, and he hated the fact he
was the cause of her fear, but it was natural, reasonable. And
Tolcan
would just have to prove he wouldn’t harm her,
because that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I
can’t help you with your family.”

“You
and your kind had no right taking us, keeping us prisoner like this. I am here
against my will. This is wrong, don’t you see that?” Her voice shook, and she
started to cry.
Tolcan
walked up to her again, not
able to help himself. He lifted his hand and wiped a tear away, but she smacked
his hand away from her face. He felt his anger rise, but then couldn’t help the
shock that this small human had struck him. No one, male or female, human or
Rogue, had ever dared touch him in a way.

“You
have no right to touch me,” she said with a strong voice.

He
moved on her so fast she gasped. He pressed her up against the wall, inhaled
deeply, and looked at her face. “You fear me, and rightly so, but I have no
intentions of hurting you.” He inhaled again, loved she smelled like citrus
fruit. “Your human emotions are what make you a weaker species, a target.”

“No,
emotions are what make me
human
. You
act like a robot, like you have no desires, hopes, needs.”

“I
have needs, female.” He looked down at her body, loved that she wasn’t pushing
him away, even if she was trying to mask her fear with strength. He liked that
she was strong, wasn’t going to just bow because he desired it. Although truth
was he wanted her surrender, a part of him also liked she wasn’t this weakling.
A mate needed to be able to hold her own, but also be smart enough to know when
to back down. Only then would survival be guaranteed.

He’d
never hurt her, never even dream of it. This part of him he hadn’t even known
existed rose up for this human. He wanted her to be happy, desperately, and
he’d make sure he did that, made sure she grew to care for him, trust him.

He
could worry about everything else later.

****

Greta
was on her back in the bed, her gaze on the ceiling, and the sound of silence
all around her. Since leaving the dining area where
Tolcan
had held her up against the wall, she’d not been able to think about anything
else. She wanted to leave, or at least she should want to leave more than she
felt right now.

She’d
been here for such a short time, and she missed her people and Jayce, and
didn’t know what was in store for her. The only thing she did know was
Tolcan
, the Rogue male that terrified her on so many
levels, could have taken her against her will sexually more than once. But he
hadn’t.

Yes,
he’d taken her from her home, from her people, kept her captive here, but he
hadn’t hurt her. He wasn’t even in the same room as she was, but she also knew
a Rogue didn’t sleep more than a few hours a night. Greta didn’t know if he’d
keep his word about not raping her, but for some strange reason she believed
him. He didn’t have to tell her, promise her anything. But he had, and for some
reason she was grateful to him for that. She shouldn’t feel anything but hatred
for the Rogue, but God, he seemed so different from the Rogue males she’d
witnessed in her life.

She
stared at the door, knew he was out there, maybe contemplating what he’d do
with her, and she wished she were stronger,
could
defend herself more. He fed her, clothed her, even let her bathe in privacy. He
gave her this room, and so far didn’t force her to do anything. A part of her
wondered if this was a trick, of course, but she had this feeling it wasn’t.
What point would he have to try to convince her of anything?
Tolcan
could easily overpower her, didn’t need to lie to
placate her, and that was why everything was so confusing.

What am I going to do?

She
breathed out and closed her eyes, rubbing her hands along her face. Greta would
just have to play everything by ear, and take one day at a time. Who knew,
Tolcan
might actually be different from all the other
Rogues she’d heard about and experienced, and if he was maybe he could help her
find her family, even help her get Jayce back?

****

Two days later

Two
days had passed since Greta was taken back to
Tolcan’s
home, and although it was strange even knowing how much time had gone by
because there were devices on his wall telling her the day of the week, the
hour, minute, even second, she felt this sense of great loss. Technology had
never been part of her life. There were humans in her underground world that
worked on things, items that were, to them, technologically advanced. They were
gadgets that could sometimes pick up on a Rogue’s transmission, and electrical
charge that was sent off from the wrist devices they used. But in her camp they
didn’t have such thing, or someone clever enough to create one. It didn’t
matter anyway, because it wouldn’t have stopped the chain of events.

Greta
thought about Jayce, about where he was, and told herself she’d ask
Tolcan
, see if maybe things could be different. She loved
everyone in her camp, but Jayce had always been there for her, been like a big
brother. If she could save just one person from a horrible fate she’d want to
at least try.

She
stared at
Tolcan
from across the table, feeling
uncomfortable at the fact she saw him as more of a man and not so much as this
awful beast intent on corrupting her. Since her time here he’d never once tried
to touch her inappropriately, never demanded she degrade herself, and a guilty
part of her hated the fact she felt comfortable at times around him.

He
was still this brooding, menacing alien male that watched her like he was about
to lose it, just pounce right on her. But he controlled himself, was almost
sweet to her, in a rough, hard kind of way. Greta also hated herself for not
trying to leave, but searching the house, having freedom to check out what she
liked, proved she really was stuck here.

The
doors, windows, even the drawers in the kitchen were also touch sensitive.
They’d only open when
Tolcan
placed his hand on this
metal pad, and then it lit up and unlocked the device.

But
looking out the window proved she was in some kind of community, walled in,
with other metal-like pods scattered a good distance away. Even if she managed
to get out of the house she’d have difficulty not being noticed, and then have
to figure out how to get over the wall. Again, it was an impossible feat
because that wall was high enough she couldn’t even see over it.

So,
Greta was stuck here, hating that she found
Tolcan
attractive in any sense, even though he gave her things, gave her comfort that
reminded her of home. She knew that asking for help with Jayce would either
anger him or have him feeling some kind of empathy toward her.

But
did Rogues even have that kind of emotion? Did a warrior like
Tolcan
even allow himself to feel anything but lust and a
sense of commitment?

Chapter
Seven

“You
think of me as a piece of property?” Greta said softly, her hands in front of
her, her fingers moving back and forth over the plate. She had yet to touch her
food, and he sensed she had something on her mind, something she was trying to
ask him, but was wary of. It might have only been a few days since she’d been
here, and he’d practiced self-control in refraining from taking her, but she
was still smart to be afraid of him.

He’d
never hurt her, and might be able to reach the level of emotions a human did,
but he cared for her in a capacity in which he’d never experienced. She might
be legally his property, but that didn’t mean he saw her as a piece of meat for
his sole enjoyment.

“By
Rogue law you are mine, my property to do with as I please,” he said, but
didn’t admit she was more than that to him. He couldn’t explain it to her in
words, didn’t want to because it would prove he was softer, not this strong,
emotionless Rogue Enforcer.

She
nodded, looked down at her plate, and breathed out. “So that means I am just
something for your pleasure? It means you’d never look at me as an equal?”

He
treated her like she was his equal, even if it didn’t seem like it at times. He
was just a gruff, hardened male, and having her here, feeling this attraction,
this connection with her, made him want her to see him as her equal as well,
not this male that could dominate her, control her life.

“I
am not like my brethren, not with you, Greta.”

She
looked up at him, her eyes wide,
the
dual colors
contrasting, startling, gorgeous. “But why?” she asked softly.

He
didn’t know how to answer, because he didn’t know how to respond. It didn’t
make sense to him either, but he embraced it, because he believed in himself
and knew what he wanted. He never questioned his actions. “I can’t answer
that.”

She
nodded and looked down.

“But
not because I don’t want to, Greta. It’s because I don’t know how to.”

She
looked at him again, licked her lips, and he watched her little pink tongue
come out and run along her bottom, full lip. He grew hard, an undeniable
reaction to her being in his presence.

“Eat,
Greta,” he said in a gruff voice, and looked down at his food. The minutes
ticked by as she ate, and when he heard her heart rate increase he looked up,
knowing she was about to say something.

“Can
you help Jayce?”

He
clenched his hands into fists on top of the table, stared at her, and
remembered the male that had been trying to leave with her. “What is he to you,
Greta?” He didn’t want to frighten her further with his voice dropping low, but
he also couldn’t stop the anger encompassing him at the thought another male
touched her. He couldn’t control himself if she had deep feelings for this
Jayce male.

“What
do you mean?” she asked in a timid voice.

“You
know what I mean.” He couldn’t help himself, couldn’t help the arousal pounding
through him, the rage, jealousy, need to make her know she was his, consuming
him. “What is he to you, Greta?”

She
stood, swallowed, and he watched her throat work as she did the act. “He’s a
friend. Just a friend, but I love him like a brother. He’s been there for me,
protected me. He’s my family.”

He
growled low in his throat, an automatic response to the fact the very male part
of him was demanding he show her there would be no other male for her.
Tolcan
wanted to treat Greta,
wanted to show her, she was more than just a warm hole to stick his dick in.
But right now he was acting like some kind of possessive male about
to drive her away.

“You love him, Greta?” he asked
and slowly stood.

She
shook her head, but there was a spark of fire in her eyes. “Not like that, but
you can’t stop how I feel about anyone else. You can’t make me care about you,
give myself to you willingly.”

He
moved around the table and inhaled deeply, scenting the aroma of her timid
desire, her fearful arousal. “You can say you don’t want this, but you do. Some
part of you wants me.”

“Maybe,
but it’s a part I can control.”

She
was being strong in the face of her fear.
 
He admired that, got turned on by it, too.

“My
hatred for you and my disgust far outweigh any other emotion.”

He
smirked. “Maybe, but right now your nipples are hard, your breathing is
shallow, your heart is racing, and your pupils are dilated.” He leaned down a
little further toward her. “All because you are aroused, and you hate that.” He
closed his eyes and let out a growl. “I am a warrior of the highest class, and
no one has ever denied me.”

“I
don’t care who you are. All I know is you’re holding me against my will.”

He
smirked at her little outburst. “I suppose, but your life here will be very
comfortable, and far safer than living in a cave or being a breeder. You will
never want for anything.” She watched him, and although she tried to keep her
face blank, he saw the way she clamped her jaw down, her anger coming out.

“Nothing
will ever make me want to stay here with you, will ever make me give myself to
you willingly.”

Tolcan
was trying to stay in control,
to be calm, but no one spoke to him this way, least of all a human. She must
have seen the dark look move over his face because her lips parted and she
breathed out forcefully. Greta didn’t say anything else.

“Ask
me, female.”

She
glanced down.

Before
he could order her to keep her eyes on him, she was looking at him once more.
“Ask about the male, the Rogue, that owns every part of you now.” She was so
very young compared to his kind, his age even, but she had a strength that
rivaled his own. It
wasn’t just desiring
her body
beneath his. He
did
want her willing
submission, but he wanted so much more as well. He also wanted her fighting
him, showing him that sprit. A weak mate was not what he wanted.

He
wanted a female that would fight him, would give as good as she could take, and
he knew Greta was that female.

“I
won’t ask you anything.”

He
clenched his jaw.

“How
old are you? How long do you plan on keeping me here, keeping me a prisoner?”
She rambled off the questions, but it wasn’t because she sounded interested or
curious. She said them with a hard tone in her voice, as if she was asking,
forcing herself to say the words because he’d told her to. He heard her
willpower to stay strong, but he also sensed her need to stay alive. It was a
very human instinct.

But
she would realize that he was the only dominant one in this coupling, the
powerful one right now. She started breathing harder this time, and he took
note of the rise and fall of her breasts, at the way the pheromones of her
arousal slammed into him.

Placing
his hands on the wall beside her head he let out a primal growl. He wanted her
happy, he did, and he knew making her happy her would please him. He thought
about her need to make sure her friend was okay, to have him safe. “This Jayce
male means a lot to you, as a friend?” he said in a low, dangerous voice. He
opened his eyes and looked at her again.

She
nodded, licked her lips, and he smelled the pleasure move through her that he
brought this up.

He
leaned in another inch. “Then I’ll see what I can do to find him, see what his
duties are.”
Tolcan
stared at her lips for a second,
then
looked at her face again. She was so delicate, not like
the females of his kind. Rogue females were bigger, stronger. They had to be to
be able to fight beside the males if the time came and protect the young. But
they lived in a different world now, a different time.

The
human females also tended to the interspecies young, cared for them, nursed
them. They were good with comfort to the young, whereas the Rogue females
tended to be harder in bringing up the children. It was a clear difference
between species, but one he liked, especially when it concerned Greta.

“You’ll
check on Jayce, see if you can help him?”

She
sounded so hopeful, something he’d never really heard from a human, let alone a
Rogue before. Was it his feelings for this female that had
him
seeing things differently, or were all humans like this? In the face of fear
and danger did they have this hope inside of
them,
some of them not willing to show it like Greta was right now?

“But
on one condition.”

Her
eyes widened an inch, and he marveled at her beauty.

“W-what?”
she stuttered out, her breathing still fast, her fear right on the surface, but
her arousal heavier.

“If
you want my help, want me to try to find your friend, help him even, I want you
to try and relax, to understand I won’t hurt you, won’t force myself on you.”
He stared in her dual-colored eyes. “I want you to understand that this is not
something I do for anyone, but with you I find I want to give you anything you
want.” He heard her breath stall and heard her heart race a little bit. “Just
learn to trust me. Don’t fear me, don’t try to run. Just try to accept this,
Greta.”
Tolcan
had never tried to reason with anyone,
never tried to talk them into understanding something. But with her he wanted
her to be here, wanted her to
want
to
be here.

She
swallowed, her eyes still so wide, her heart still racing, but he did feel her
relax against him. “Okay,” she said softly, licked her lips, and he actually
heard her heart slowing, scented her fear lessening.

He
moved away from her, pleased they’d come to this understanding that she was
willing to trust him after everything he’d done and what his people had done.
She had every right to be afraid, to hate him, and she probably still did, but
this was a first step, a starting point to making her want him willingly,
submit to him because she wanted that, too.