"You son of a bitch," I cry, outraged. I jerk frantically at my hand, desperate to free it. I can't believe he just cuffed me to his fucking bed. My hot anger edges in with fear. Am I…am I back to the same situation I was before? The one I vowed I'd never let happen again? I'm naked and oiled up and…in the enemy's bed.
Terror claws at me and I jerk twice as hard at the cuff.
Straik grabs a handful of my wet hair and hauls my head back. He doesn't pull, which surprises me a little, and leans in, meeting my gaze. "Stop it. If you hurt yourself, I'm going to have to sedate you."
"Fuck you," I snarl again.
He rolls his eyes at my reaction and lets me go. I tug on my wrist again, but calmer this time, because I don't want to be sedated. I think about being unconscious and in his bed and that's more terrifying than being awake. At least I know what he's doing to me if I'm awake. The thought of being unconscious for it makes me think of the stasis pods and I fight back a shudder.
Straik studies me for a moment, then deliberately leans in. I instinctively pull back, but he only raises a hand in the air. "None of you look at her. And someone get me an extra blanket." A moment later, one is handed to him and he carefully drapes it around me and then sits back.
I clutch it to my chest, scowling, but inside I'm a little confused. This isn't how a sex slave is treated. He should be showing me off to his friends. Instead, he sits on the edge of the bed, a few feet away from me, and studies me as if I'm a problem that he needs to solve. Without breaking my gaze, he speaks again. "Which one of you knew she was here?"
The men are silent. I don't dare look in Dopekh's direction.
"No one wishes to speak up?" Straik asks when they remain silent. "Someone gave her access to my quarters. Someone knew she was here. Someone brought a human slave on board, knowing how I feel about such things." He finally glances back at them, and his expression is all disapproving parent. "No one will admit to it? Very well, then."
With my free hand, I hold the blanket against me. He looks in my direction, and for a moment, Straik's expression is sad. Disappointed. "Will you tell me who helped you, then? I'll treat you fairly. You just need to give me a name."
I soften my face. Crook a finger, indicating he should lean in so I can confess.
He does so, almost eagerly. His gaze is intense as he watches me and moves closer, waiting for me to whisper the truth.
I headbutt him instead, cracking my forehead against his chin.
9
STRAIK
That keffing hellion.
I snarl at her, rubbing my chin as she gives me a wild-eyed glare. It doesn't matter that her forehead is now pouring blood or that she's still naked. She keffing headbutted me. Even now, she refuses to accept defeat. I have no doubt if I moved in closer, she'd headbutt me again. It irritates me, even if I admire her spirit. If my crew were half so brave…well, we'd be spending a lot more on the med-bay supplies.
"Where's the medic?" I snap.
One of the men rushes forward. Sakkar, the medic. "Here, Lord Straik," he says, breathless. His gaze slides to the female with the blood streaming down her face and then back to me. "Where are you hurt?"
Right. I am hurt. But I can handle it. "Take care of her first. Fix that split on her forehead, and wrap her wrist, too. She's gouging it."
He pauses, taking this in. "So…back to med-bay…?"
I turn to glare at him, and it sends a bolt of pain through my wounded shoulder. "What's wrong with right here?"
"Of course, my lord," Sakkar says, and moves forward. "It's just that the med-bay—"
"I am not letting this female out of my sight." I glare at him and then glare at her, too, for good measure. "Either you mend her right here or I get a new medic. Understand?"
He nods and moves forward, pulling out his kit as he sits on the edge of the bed. I get up and pace, since I'm too restless to simply sit and watch. Sakkar looks tense, as if he's ready to spring up and leave if I so much as twitch. Does he not trust me? Then again, I now have a chained human slave naked in my bed after swearing I am against slavery. After abandoning the crew I was working with on the Star.
Kef, I wouldn't trust me, either. The thought just pisses me off even more.
I pace back and forth, watching the female. She's docile as Sakkar cleans her wound and uses a bit of quick-healing unguent on it, then glues the edges of the wound shut. He tends to her wrist, also, wrapping it carefully with a cooling plas-bandage without removing the cuff. The others in the crew stand at attention, waiting for my orders. I'm reminded that someone on the crew has disobeyed me. They've let her in to my quarters without my consent, and they've hidden her on board for days now. I change my path, pacing in front of my men and eyeing them, waiting to see which one squirms. Which one gives away the fact that he's a traitor who's let a stranger in our midst. Which one of my men is secretly sabotaging me.