Cosmic Bliss (10 page)

He took his mouth away and she was able to breathe again.
Her body quivered uncontrollably. She couldn’t control the involuntary spasms
that jerked her body erratically. The bed shook and she enjoyed the heat from
his body as he settled between her legs.

“See how good you taste,” he whispered against her mouth. He
simultaneously invaded her mouth and slid into her pussy. “Damn, you’re still
so tight.”

She rolled her hips with him, undulating against him. She
didn’t have the use of her hands, but the rest of her firmly understood what it
wanted was to be close to Shunyuan. She savored every thrust. His hands settled
against her upper back, pulling her up slightly. She kissed him, infusing her
desire in her lips. She treasured the feel of him cradling her against his
chest.

She was still deep in her bond with him and she was swept
away by the pleasure swimming back and forth across the link. She could never
doubt the man was delighted to make love to her. She sent her need to him. She
twisted against her binding, wanting to encircle him in her arms.

She tightened the muscles of her pussy around him and smiled
as he hissed against her mouth. His pace quickened and every plunge of his cock
pushed her closer to bliss. Tears gathered in her eyes and were absorbed into
her blindfold. She’d waited so long to touch him. She’d despaired of ever
taking him into her body again. Now he was wild above her, within her.

He rode her hard, showing her absolutely no mercy, and she
asked for none. With each thrust light exploded behind her eyes. Tension
radiated throughout her body. Her core throbbed unmercifully. Pressure built
inside her. She shared her feelings with her mate. She pressed her joy into him
as she absorbed his. They exploded together, mouths linked, bodies pressed
together as tightly as possible.

She was lightheaded. She felt Shunyuan reach up and fumble
with the binding holding her in place. The scarf slid free and he rubbed her
wrists and kissed each one, then he slid the blindfold from her eyes. She
blinked rapidly, trying to turn her face away from the artificial light. He
grabbed her chin and kissed her again.

“You did real good, starlight. Are you okay?”

“Yes, Shunyuan.” She smiled. He had a pet name for her.
Surely the endearment showed he cared about her.

He rolled over, taking her with him so she was draped across
his front. Then he pulled half of the covering over them. A buzzing began in
her head and she grinned against his chest. He was staying with her. He held
her. She forced her tired arms to press into him. She forced her hands to
stroke his sides.

“Let’s take a nap.” He kissed her hair.

She thought it was a fine idea and snuggled closer. She
clutched at him until she heard his breath even out. Then she drifted into
sleep.

The files of human purchases from Earth were vast and
heartrending. Even after narrowing the search results to only include full-grown
women, Acia was still struck by the sheer numbers of people on one tiny planet.

Other than holding his mouth really tightly, Shunyuan did
not show how the files affected him. Yet, through their link, Acia understood
this could possibly be one of the most helpless and pain-filled experiences of
his life. She wanted to stop him and simply go through the files on her own,
but she didn’t and she wouldn’t.

Shunyuan knew what he needed to do. This was a strong man
honoring his species and serving his planet. She let him be strong now and she
coddled him in bed. He had remained with her each of the three nights since
Captain Vender had hailed them. He didn’t explain himself and Acia didn’t
complain. Why would she? He was exactly where she wanted him to be.

“This damn list updates constantly.” His comment drew her
attention back. “Have you figured out how they are grouping the women yet? This
language is simply gibberish to me.”

“You’re learning fast, Shunyuan.” She attempted to soothe
him with softly spoken words. She pointed to a symbol. “This means exotic.
These words in yellow denote coloring. Black describes hair, orange is scent
and the red symbol here tells whether they can hyper-jump. It goes on from
there. Lady Huntu believes her female kin is genetically similar so will be
rated under the same classification she was.”

Acia pulled up the file on Lady Huntu they had found. “She
was an exotic, level one with hyper-jump capability. See here, she was also
rated level one for uniqueness of skin, hair, humanoid form and face allure.
Her scent, sight, touch and voice tone hyper senses were rated a level one.
That’s what we should focus on, I think.”

Shunyuan frowned. “What does hyper senses level one mean?”

“Well, the Ordanians have hyper senses, which include super
hearing, sight, taste, touch, smell and sometimes extra senses, for example,
telepathy. They’re also faster and stronger than most species. Most warrior
species have hyper senses.”

“It probably was natural selection’s way of making them
better hunters.”

“Maybe. For them, Lady Huntu would be pleasing to listen to,
look upon, touch, taste and smell since she is rated a level one. She would be
extremely valuable and she can hyper-jump, making travel between galaxies
easier. If her kin is as similar as she says then we can assume she may also
have these ratings.”

Shunyuan grunted. Acia began to narrow their search based on
the parameters. One thousand near matches appeared and they scrolled through.

“None of these women look similar to Lady Huntu.”

“I guess she hasn’t been picked up yet. She said they were
so similar they could be twins.”

“We will reach R.E. One soon. Maybe the
Victorious
will have more information.”

“I wish I could free them all,” he whispered.

He stared at the screen of rapidly flickering faces. Acia
leaned forward swiftly and hugged him. He jerked slightly and brought his hand
up as if to catch her to him.

“What’s that for?” he asked. He kissed her forehead.

Acia shrugged and pulled back. “I was once one of these
women.”

“You were a child, which made your situation a horror
steeped in an abomination.” His tone was hard.

Firm, strong hands grabbed her upper arms. Probing eyes
searched her face. Unfortunately, what he wanted wasn’t there. Acia never
harbored any emotion in her soul for her former condition. A neutral numbness
was her only response to the memory. She could feel for others, just not
herself.

She felt him probe their link. She tried to shut him out,
but he powered through, invading her, searching for something she didn’t have
to give. She found herself pulled against his chest. His sturdy hands still
clutched her arms. His cheek rubbed against hers. A racing heart beat against
her chest. Treasured breath caressed the shell of her ear.

“Acia, this isn’t healthy. This emptiness when you think of
what happened to you,” he whispered.

She didn’t give a damn. Shunyuan was holding her as if she
mattered.

Figia’s quiet voice intruded. “R.E. One.”

Acia sighed as Shunyuan pulled back. Apparently he recalled
they were on the bridge, in front of the entire crew. Suddenly weary, she
slowly stood and made her way to the captain’s chair.

“I hope Vender had a chance to bribe the air patrol,” Acia
murmured.

R.E. One was crooked all the way around and they charged for
entering and leaving air space. If Acia didn’t want to participate in an air
fight with her ship confiscated by “officials” the bribe had to be paid.

“Beastly, dirty planet,” Berisa muttered.

“Get into your helmets and gloves quickly. Remember, we
don’t take them off until absolutely necessary.”

Their physical attributes marked them as potential parts of
the slave trade. She wanted their weapons to mark them as best left alone.

They already wore all-black leather battlesuits that covered
them from neck to ankle. They were harder to grip and more difficult to cut
through than most suits. She’d watched Shunyuan get dressed and the man had
more hidden weapons in the suit than even Berisa, who happened to love her
toys. When Acia had asked him why he had a blaster on each hip, he’d said it was
because he could shoot with either hand. It was a nice skill to have when they
were walking into hell.

The
Dovian Heart
crew had specially made full-head
helmets for just such an occasion. They were sleek, black and as they moved,
the shiny pulled-down visor shimmered in and out with a hologram of a skull. No
cute girl helmets here. These were strict warnings that death was the response
for any altercations.

Once again the Gastronian loot was responsible for
Shunyuan’s helmet. Thankfully, it was plain black. Their mission was to get in,
meet the crews of the
Victorious
and the
Stealth
. Then get out
alive.

“We have clearance from air patrol,” Figia said.

Her voice was distorted through the sound scrambler in her
helmet. The device gave their voices a mechanical quality. It was another way
they shielded their identities.

“I’m taking us into the coordinates supplied by Vender,”
Cheris said.

The descent was smooth. It didn’t stop Acia’s heart from
beating faster. This was dangerous. They had all decided to go in. There was
safety in numbers. If they had to blast their way out then numbers would
matter. She also felt a little guilty. She was scared for her family, but
danger excited her. It was her ill-kept secret. She pretended she didn’t feel
the illicit thrill and they pretended they didn’t know.

Ever since they’d escaped and she’d killed Tag’u she needed
a little more danger from every experience. She shook out her hands and legs.
Adrenaline jumped and skidded through her veins.
Heady stuff.
Shunyuan
turned her way and cocked his head. She didn’t volunteer any information and he
didn’t ask for any. She didn’t bother to shut the link. She wouldn’t hide her
real self from him, but this wasn’t the time to bare her soul.

“Docked,” Cheris called.

Berisa’s hands flew over the controls at her station. “I’m
setting the security scanner to stun anyone who attempts to approach the ship
without our vitals. Damn criminals will steal the siding off for a ten-credit
fix.”

They scanned the area before opening the door. Acia was the
first at the ship’s doors. Shunyuan squeezed around her and cautiously went out
first. He liked to take a bodyguard stance around her. She didn’t care for his
attitude. She could take care of herself.

They moved silently as a unit, staying shadowed as Figia
guided them with hand movements. The streets were unsavory. A druggie was
sprawled outside a casino under a glowing sign, which flashed a gigantic
grinning canine. A prostitute was giving a not-so-convincing orgasmic
performance as they passed an alley. She sounded bored. A group of young thugs
lounged against the bar across from their destination. Their eyes held a sunken
greedy look that said nothing would ever be enough for them.

The Dancer’s Delight’s sign was a Sustfo woman flashing her
infamous three breasts. The inside was dim and crowded with mismatched wooden
and metal tables and chairs. A strobe light flashed periodically, illuminating
the bar’s denizens. Most of the women on the stage were nude. The waitresses
were topless.

“A damn titty bar,” Shunyuan whispered.

“A whorehouse and a topless bar,” she muttered.

“I don’t like this at all,” he said.

She didn’t either. They were already surrounded by danger
simply being on the planet. If the place was raided they could all end up on a
slave barge, sold or absorbed in some bureaucrat’s slave collection. Vender had
so much explaining to do. The pirate suddenly appeared in front of them.

“If anything happens to them I will kill you and wear your
skin as a sign of honor,” Shunyuan said to him.

Vender blinked at him. Acia held her tongue. Shunyuan had
been growing progressively more agitated as the mission wore on. She tried to
send calm his way, but it had no noticeable effect.

Vender smiled with one side of his mouth and bowed. “I
secured the room myself and my crew will personally see the ladies back to
their ship. Don’t worry, I know the owner.”

A little brunette sauntered between the two men. Her hair
curled around her head and she displayed her very voluptuous body in sinewy
movements that caused her pale flesh to bounce and jiggle. Her eyes were
heavily lined and her lips were blood red.

She smiled up at Vender and Shunyuan. “I’m Nula. To have
both of you I’ll give you two for one.” She reached a hand out toward each
man’s chest.

Acia reached out and caught the woman’s hand before it
touched her mate. The woman looked up. Acia saw the exact moment when Nula
witnessed the skull fade on and off her visor. The other woman’s eyes and mouth
widened in shock and fear.

“Don’t touch.” She was thankful for the voice scrambler,
which hid her soft tinkling voice behind mechanical tones. She let go.

The woman swallowed visibly. “I do girls, but it’s extra.”

Acia rolled her eyes behind her visor.

“Maybe later, darling, we have business.” Vender pulled Nula
against him, clutching her hand to his chest. With his other hand he palmed her
breast and then let go to slide his hand down her belly to reach under her
skirt and fondle her cunt for a moment.

“We don’t have time for this.” Shunyuan scanned his
surroundings.

With a look of utter reluctance, Vender removed his fingers
from the gasping woman’s writhing body. He whispered something to her, popped
her behind and pushed her toward the center of the room. She sighed but headed
away as Vender sucked on the fingers that had just been exploring the inside of
Nula’s pussy.

He turned and led them to the back of the room and up a
surprisingly clean stairwell. All of the doors along the hallway were blue. At
the farthest door he stopped and knocked four times rhythmically then opened
the door.

Inside, crowded along the walls, despite the table and
chairs, were eight men. She could see they had separated themselves. Vender
went to the left with the remainder of men who were dressed as he was in black
battlesuits.

Acia knew the humanoid men of the
Stealth
. They had
worked together before. The room was twice as full of testosterone today. The
representatives from the
Victorious
crew were a mish-mash of aliens.
There was a furry, lupine-like creature, very likely from Al’Te, a hulking,
bald stone man from Cor and the other two were humanoids with dusky skin.

“Captain of the
Dovian Heart
, meet Captain Anit of
the
Victorious
.” One of the dusky men nodded.

He stepped forward and smirked. “We are all here in good
faith with our faces uncovered, friend.”

“No,” Shunyuan said. “From the beginning this meeting has
been more dangerous for them than for you.” He turned to Vender. “I don’t make
idle threats.”

Acia sighed. “The rest of you stay covered. That’s an
order.” She reached up swiftly and removed her helmet and shook her hair loose.

Shunyuan’s growl transcended voice scramblers. He jerked off
his helmet as well.

“You invited them to a lawless pleasure planet and a
whorehouse and then ask them for a show of good faith. If she gets as much as a
splinter, I’m going to kill everyone.” The link was electric with his
displeasure. The veins in his face and neck stood out clearly. The look in his
eyes promised not only possibly dismemberment but death as well.

The crew of the
Victorious
looked at her in shock.
She tried not to let her excitement show. Diplomacy won out over a need to
start a brawl, but just barely.

“I’m sorry. We had heard of the
Dovian Heart
, but
assumed it was a tale men told similar to the
oblia
. Everyone knows
Dovian women are quiet things who grow flowers and weave baskets. Your man is
right. I did select this place as a test. My apologies, Captain.” Anit bowed in
a surprisingly graceful move. He cut his eyes at Shunyuan. “Our people kiss the
hands of esteemed women.”

Shunyuan’s hand reached for a pocket where she knew he had
hidden a blade. He muttered something unpleasant. She swiftly laid a hand
against his arm.

“I don’t think your man can take much more right now so I
invite you to have a seat instead.”

“Be glad he just offered to kill you. He was going to make a
skin suit out of me,” Vender said. He seemed pleased by the notion.

Her crew had moved so they were at once guarding the door
and each other’s backs in the windowless room.