The big blue alien looks even more amused. "What would you prefer to be called?"
"You can call me Not Interested," I say stubbornly.
"If you've had nothing but bad matings with my kind, I feel it's my duty to correct those misconceptions." The smile he gives me is cocky and full of confidence. "A mesakkah male prides himself on pleasuring his partner."
Not every mesakkah. My encounters with them involved lots of groping and spurs invasively stabbing into places they didn't belong. I hated being touched by the other pirates, and I was thrilled when they left us behind. They gave me the creeps. Oddly enough, Kaspar doesn't do the same to me. Maybe because the only time he's touched me so far is when I flung myself at him and he stroked my hair? Of all the ways he could have mauled me, all he did was comfort me like a scared animal.
Maybe that's why I'm indignant but not terrified of his suggestion. He's had plenty of opportunity to overpower me and have his way repeatedly. The fact that he hasn't tells me that if I say no it won't go further than that. I won't wake up with his hands groping me under the blankets. I won't have to worry about my safety. He'll just smirk like I don't know what I'm missing and let it go.
Which is a little irksome, but I absolutely DO realize what I'm missing, and I don't want what he's offering. "First of all, I think you're giving your kind far too much credit if you think they're all out to please their partners, or else human slaves wouldn't be such a booming business."
His lips twitch with amusement, but he doesn't disagree with me.
"Second of all, I'm trapped in this stupid bubble with you." I gesture at our escape pod, which is more of a floating closet-sized ship in space than a bubble, but whatever. I like the metaphor. "That's what we call a power imbalance and it's not sexy. It doesn't make me hot to think that you might overpower me at any time. And third of all, we hardly know each other."
Kaspar's eyes flash and he straightens. He gets to his feet, his big body looming over mine. I frown up at him, because it's either that or I start panicking. I press myself back against the wall, but I'm acutely aware that there's nowhere to hide. He gazes down at me and his expression is even more disgruntled than ever. "Do you fear for yourself around me?"
"No." At least, I didn't until just now.
"I would never touch you without you wanting it," Kaspar states in a calm, flat voice. "I might be a corsair, but that does not make me a rapist."
"Hot tip," I say shakily. "All this looming isn't helping, either."
He gazes down at me and then turns, pulling his blaster out of his belt. He then offers it to me, grip first. "If you are frightened, take this. Use it against me if I ever touch you inappropriately."
I take it from him, feeling the weight of it. I don't know how to use it, but having it makes me feel a little bit better.
Kaspar braces his hands overhead, leaning against the control panels and doing that looming thing I just warned him about. "As for mating…I'm not proposing that we declare undying affection to one another, purchase a ship and then breed young. I'm suggesting we pass the time in mutual pleasure." He pushes off the wall in a rapid move that practically makes the pod shake. "That's all."
"You're a man," I point out. "I'm not surprised your thoughts went to sex. I'm only surprised it took this long."
He turns around and walks the two steps toward the tiny lavatory-slash-cleanser, his tail thrashing with an irritation his face doesn't show. "You wanted a distraction. You're distracted now, aren't you?"
Well, he's not wrong there.
4
ALICE
I think about Kaspar's offer for the rest of the day. I mean, if his goal was to blurt out things to distract me, mission accomplished. I'm hella distracted. I mean, he does have a point. I'm not a virgin. It wouldn't be the first time I had sex, much less sex with an alien. It would pass the time.
I just don't believe him with the whole “sex with me will be great” thing. And I don't know him well enough to want to jump into the sack with him.
I'm bored, but I'm not so bored that I feel the need to slob on his knob. Because that's how sex always goes. You start with kissing, and then the next thing you know, there's a hand pushing down on your head, all but shoving you toward a dick that you're supposed to suck on like it's the fountain of youth. Sex is always fun for men. It's women that pretend to have orgasms, after all. Men don't fake it. They just take what they want and we pat them on the arm and tell them it was fine and we really just like cuddling.