Angel 6.0: Escape (Space Opera Romance) (Angel 6.0, Book 2) Page 7
After what seemed like hours of stroking and massage, he finally removed his boxers to let me have a look at his wondrous cock. But he wouldn’t let me taste it. Before I could fill my hands with him, he settled on his elbows between my thighs and began loving torture with his tongue and lips and teeth. Soon his fingers joined in, stroking my insides, massaging my clit, tasting and touching. The slow, sensual pleasure had me soaking wet and biting my arm to keep from making noise.
I came so many times … I had no idea it was possible to come over and over, for so long. Cesar taught me the true meaning of making love. He taught me what a considerate, careful, patient lover could do. When he finally spread my legs wide to slide his massive erection inside me, I knew that I would never be satisfied by another lover.
He was slow, so slow that I cried tears waiting for him to thrust inside me. Sex that would have normally lasted for minutes stretched into hours of joy and sensual caresses. Cesar gifted me with the best sex I’d ever experienced. No liquor, no aphrodisiacs, no need to kick my pain switch. He made slow, languorous love to me like I was the one person who mattered most to him.
* * * *
I lost count of the number of hours spent making love to Cesar as we shadowed the Gran across thousands of light years distance. By the time we reached our own solar system, I was hopelessly in love with this man who’d turned three weeks of torture into the most bliss-filled experience of my life.
I don’t know where he found the stamina, but I appreciated every bit of it. We never separated other than a few hours at each jump point, so he could ensure we entered the Gran’s jump wake properly. We ate together, slept together, showered together and wore each other like a glove for endless hours of hot, naked, silent sexual abandon.
Azad was forced to slip a piece of paper underneath my bedroom door with a scribbled note: We’re home now. Can you please stop fucking and meet me in the control bay?
Cesar cupped his hand over my mouth to keep me from laughing aloud as I read Azad’s note. We dressed quick and silent, exchanged one last delicious kiss, and made our way to Azad and the others standing around the view port of the control bay. There in front of us was Jupiter, scenery I had witnessed every day of my life, until the Gran stole me away for this strange galactic adventure.
The Gran ship cruised in slowly towards the gas giant heading for their visit to Nugene. We had stopped following them and were setting course to rendezvous with some of Cesar’s ships in the asteroid belt. The men in the control room watched me as I grinned like a love-struck idiot, my fingers entwined with Cesar’s. I had no illusions about my life. Nugene was not my home. Earthside and the Colonies would never accept me. My place was with these pirates, living in the shadow of the DC, skirting law and jurisdiction, existing at the edge of human society. I had no home but here, on this ship, with these people.
The only thing that stood between me and a life of happiness with Cesar was the truth. The ugly, brutal truth that I needed to find the courage to admit to him … and maybe, eventually, to everyone else. If I expected them to accept me in their world, I owed them at least that much.
A series of flashing warning lights popped up with a holovid display showing two more Gran cruisers directly behind our position. They had jumped in right after us. We must have missed them by mere minutes while following the first ship’s wake across the galaxy. The Gran had brought a small fleet this time, and we were trapped dead center between them.
A strange humming noise kicked off and everyone in the control room looked in my direction. Cesar’s eyes morphed to shock as he reached up and touched my metallic collar. That’s when I felt the vibration of the sound around my neck. My collar had betrayed our presence to the Gran.
My existence had betrayed the man I loved.
God how I wished there’d been a way to remove this cursed collar from my neck. My first week on the ship, Azad and Cesar had scanned the collar for any clue to its design. My collar lacked an obvious locking mechanism, but they found its composition included several kinds of highly reactive metals.
When I suggested they cut it off, both men laughed in my face. Cesar’s words rang through my mind once more. “We’d probably blow your head off, girl. It’s almost weapons grade material. Beyond getting it off your body without exploding, I would love to duplicate it.”
As I stood in the control room, all eyes on me, full of the knowledge that I could be the death of them, I wished Chancy had been man enough to throw me out of the airlock.
Azad pointed at one of his displays showing heavy scanner beams coming from the Gran cruisers. Three beams flowed over our ship from top to bottom. He scribbled something on a sheet of paper and held it up for Cesar.
They know we are here
Cesar broke the silence with cursing. “Azad, get me jump coordinates now!” He rattled off orders to everyone around us, arm the plasma cannons, fire full thrusters, get to the asteroid field before they close off our escape!
Men yelled in fear as sweaty hands flew across the controls activating everything that had been shut down for running silent in stealth mode. Men raced to their stations to kick on the defense systems. Nothing was prepped, nothing was ready. By the time the plasma generators had warmed up enough to be of any use, the Gran cruisers had deployed some kind of electrostatic energy net all the way around our ship.
Chancy fought the controls to get some mobility. “The bloody shite is attaching to our hull. We’re wrapped up more times than a bad Christmas present!”
As layer after layer of electrostatic netting entrapped our ship in an inescapable cocoon, a familiar voice rang through the com. I recognized Captain Cronin’s growlspeak. “Your ship is under the control of the Traders Guild and the Royal Empire of the Gran. Prepare to be boarded. Resistance is punishable by summary execution. I repeat: do not resist or you will be executed.”
All eyes turned to me in fear and accusation. The rumor had spread weeks ago that I spoke Gran. Though they surely blamed and hated me for their predicament, the entire control bay awaited my translation. I pleaded with Cesar. “Disarm the ship now. If you don’t they’ll blast us right out of space. Shut down the weapons!”
The men turned to Cesar waiting for his orders. He gripped my shoulders in his powerful hands. “Are you certain? We can fight, Angel. It’s what we do. We always fight.”
“This isn’t the DC, Cesar. They have us outgunned from all directions. We’re immobilized, and they’re boarding the ship. They’ll be docking with us in a few minutes. I have survived among the Gran, I know they’re more than animals, more than predators. They are warriors, and they mean what they say. Please shut down the weapons, I’m begging you.”
More went unspoken. With me aboard, they could never truly escape the Gran. I was a living tracking system for the Cats. My collar put everyone at risk.
Cesar finally accepted my counsel and passed on the orders to deactivate the plasma cannons and the engines. We waited and watched as a Gran shuttle drifted towards us from the first Gran ship, the ship we’d followed – the ship I had spent weeks living on. I already knew who was aboard that shuttle, and I knew what he wanted.
Me.
The End
Please leave a review for Angel 6.0! Reviews help Indie authors compete against major publishing house novels and big publishing budgets. Your reviews are always appreciated!
This is the end of episode two, but there’s more to come in Angel’s dramatic space adventure saga. Enjoy the next episode ANGEL 6.0 ENSLAVED! *Free on Kindle Unlimited*
(Custom artwork inspired by Angel 6.0)
Subscribe to Travis Luedke’s Nightlife Series mailing list for free ebooks and other promotional offers:
Continue reading for an exclusive excerpt of Angel 6.0: ENSLAVED (Episode III)
Angel 6.0
Episode III
ENSLAVED
Chapter 1
Tears blurred my vision as I stood alone at the airlock awaiting Captain Cronin, comm
ander of the small fleet of Gran warships that had us surrounded and immobilized. My hands shook with adrenaline and my stomach turned queasy. I balanced on the edge of fight or flight and forced myself to stand still. Fighting the Gran would be a fatal mistake. They could pick us off any time they wanted. We were damn lucky Captain Cronin intended to board and meet in person – we were at his mercy.
It was my fault.
I fingered the metallic collar wrapped around my neck, the tracking device ensuring the Gran would always find me – and anyone who harbored me. The lives of the men aboard this Shadow cruiser depended on me to get them out of this mess. Though most of them didn’t even like me, wished I’d never been rescued from the Gran in the first place, they were stuck with me as translator for negotiations. No one else spoke the growl-click-snarl language of the Gran.
I had begged Cesar to order his men not to fight, to stand back and let me speak on their behalf. When he’d insisted on staying at my side, I begged him to leave me to it.
More useless tears streaked my face as I yearned to relive the past three weeks spent in Cesar’s arms, making love endlessly. I could still feel the warmth of his arms around me as I showered with him, ate with him, slept tangled with his hard body and woke in his strong embrace. I’d found all I ever wanted from life on this ship, with Cesar.
It seemed the universe conspired against my wishes.
Even if the Gran listened to me, even if my insane plan worked, there was little chance of ever seeing my lover again. I wished I did have Cesar at my side – now – holding my hand, telling me everything would be alright. But I couldn’t risk his life. The sick twisty feeling in my gut was the knowledge that the Gran would never let me stay aboard the Shadow cruiser with my lover. The thought of never seeing Cesar again terrified me. He’d mended the shattered pieces of my soul and given me new reason to live.
Now I faced losing him.
The Gran shuttle slipped into view and slowly glided in to latch on with its docking clamps. I was so tense and wired. Good thing I didn’t have my gauntlet blade. I’d be tempted to hack through every one of these Cats as they crossed the threshold.
Click, snap, thud, pop – the airlock opened and the strange spiced tang of Gran air wafted past. My senses flooded with intense memories of my time aboard the Gran ship. I tried to focus on the good memories – like Jason, Cesar’s brother. Enslaved for a time on the Gran jumpship, Captain Cronin had poured liquor aphrodisiac down my throat daily, keeping my senses drowned in erotic abandon. If only Jason had survived our escape from the Gran…
The sounds of growl-snap-clicking chatter snapped my attention back to the moment. Captain Cronin stepped through into our small airlock chamber, at the front of his Warriors. He was an impressive male, over two meters tall, slim and muscular, with broad shoulders, and tan-orange, striped fur. Stretching to full height above me, the Captain’s ears brushed the ceiling and lay back as he looked up to avoid hitting his head. To most people, the Gran looked like lanky, angular cats standing upright, with somewhat humanoid features and build. To me, he was the Captain, a male I knew too intimately. Though I wanted to hate him for all he’d done to me, all he may yet do, my emotions towards the Captain were a turmoil of conflict.
We had shared things that made us more than friends – yet still enemies. Aboard his ship, he’d adopted me as his concubine. Though he never actually fucked me, the Captain and I had done everything else possible. I still wore his metallic collar marking me as property of the Gran, the Captain’s concubine. Cesar and his engineer, Azad, had considered removing my collar, but when they analyzed the material, they found an alloy blended with highly reactive metals.
The thing wrapped tightly around my neck would probably blow my head off if they tried to cut through it.
I thought I was free of the Gran and their control over my life. Turned out this ride aboard the Shadow cruiser with Cesar was only a vacation – a delay of the inevitable. The prospect of returning to service as the Captain’s concubine stretched before me, a dark joyless future without Cesar in my life.
After a few seconds of assessing me and the hallway leading out of the airlock, the Captain moved towards me. He stepped in so close I was staring at his belt buckle. He looked down on me with his domination stare and I fought every instinct in my body not to kick him in his big furry balls. Apart from battle armor on his chest and shoulders, he wore only a belt with a skirt-like fabric that hung front and back. From where he stood, I could easily nail him in the jewels and send him to the floor puking. I’d tested the sensitivity of Gran testicles several times.
The Gran were larger than humans, towering over us, but had all the same basic equipment, and used it pretty much the same way we did. I was well-acquainted with the Captain’s equipment. The size of his cock made intercourse physically impossible, but that never stopped him from playing pretend as he sprayed female Gran mating pheromones all over me. The Captain was very creative in his games.
Cronin’s yellow, vertical-slit Cat eyes looked me up and down. I faced him with the knowledge that this large male controlled my future. The only advantage I held was his desire to use me as his personal plaything, and the lie that I could be bred to create more special humans like me. The Captain knew the secret of my birth, my unique qualities, and he wanted to breed me. In the eyes of the Gran, I was an upgrade – a new model of human slave to be exploited.
“Where are your men to defend you?” The Captain’s growling assumptions revealed his culture. He had considered me a female of value because two of the men in my life had fought and died to protect me. That’s why I insisted no one stand at my side to meet the Captain. Another male presence presented a direct challenge to him.
“I speak for Captain Cesar of the Shadow cruiser. I translate for Captain. He want negotiate trade with honored Captain Cronin of the Gran Traders Guild.” My Gran-speak wasn’t eloquent, but I made do. The Captain and I never had problems communicating. He’d proven an exceptionally observant and perceptive male.
Three more Warriors stepped up behind Captain Cronin and ducked their heads to avoid rubbing on the low ceiling of the airlock. The Captain looked back at his Warriors, then gave me another domination stare. I sensed he was unsure how to proceed.
“I have grievance with your Captain. Grievances are settled before negotiations.”
I feared as much. “Captain Cesar also have grievance with Captain Cronin.”
I’d never tried to verbally dance with the Gran in such a sensitive negotiation, but I had learned to read the Captain’s facial expressions and body language. Captain Cronin hissed and bared his teeth. The Gran do not smile out of pleasure. Seeing his teeth was a sign of aggression. This conversation would determine the lives of the men aboard this ship, the life of my lover, and the pressure had me shaking and ready to puke.
The Captain’s claws wrapped around my shoulders and he bent down to look me in the eyes, nose to nose. “What grievance?”
I suspected that if his Warriors weren’t standing behind him, watching us, this conversation might be less confrontational. The Captain and I had always been … close. I stared him directly in the eyes, facing him down with the same domination game – a mistake. I quickly dropped my eyes in submission and tried not to rub against his delicate sense of honor. “Your prisoner, the Criminal, he was brother to Captain Cesar.”
Dark memories of Jason’s death scraped at my soul yet again – my grief was still too raw. I clamped the strong emotion down and shoved it away to deal with later.
“The Criminal left my ship, taken by Captain Cesar. No grievance exists.”
Keeping my eyes down, I struggled to find the right words to manage the situation. “The Criminal died on Gran ship. Captain Cesar need recompense. Captain request talk … private.” I glanced quickly to the tall, powerful Warriors flanking Captain Cronin, and his vertical slit yellow eyes caught my meaning.
He looked to his Warriors, looked back at me, and inclined his head in
the Gran indication of yes. “Bring me Captain Cesar – unarmed.”
I looked pointedly at Cronin’s battle gauntlet on his right hand. He didn’t attempt to remove it. He was willing to talk privately with an unarmed man, but not without his blade. The Captain’s sense of fair play left something to be desired.
The Gran battle gauntlet, when activated, lit up a ten inch arc of white-hot energy around the outside of the knuckles. Those wicked blades cut through anything. I’d learned to use one trying to save Jason’s life. I wished I had my stolen gauntlet now. I enjoyed the sense of power and security the weapon gave me.
When the Warriors departed to their ship through the airlock, I nodded to Captain Cronin and retreated to the hallway to get Cesar. Technically, Cesar wasn’t a Captain, but he was the leader of the pirates aboard this stolen Shadow cruiser. I tacked on a fancy title to give Cesar parity with Cronin.
Standing around impatient in the galley, Cesar and his pirate crew watched me suspiciously as I walked in the doorway and tried to still my shaking hands. “Captain Cronin of the Gran Traders Guild is willing to speak with Cesar alone. Captain Cesar.”
Cesar’s right hand Irishman, Chancy, chuckled along with some of the other men. Chancy and I didn’t exactly get along – could have something to do with that time I’d broken his nose. He didn’t trust me, but he wasn’t man enough to toss me out the airlock – even when I begged him to do it.
Chancy settled a hand on Cesar’s shoulder. “Don’t let it go to your head, man. You’re still Cesar to me.” No one held an official title among these pirates, but Cesar was definitely their leader. When push came to shove, Cesar called the shots.
Cesar nodded at his friend and then his piercing, dark eyes caught me with that severe, probing look. “Where do you think we stand?”