Sex Slaves 1: Sex Traders Read online

  “If you have any regrets about last night, Trev of Kopah, I swear I will have you quartered.” Her threat made him turn around.

  He reached for her cape, holding it so she could slide her arms through after dressing. “You and what army, my dear.”

  His sad but true comment made her want to sit down and cry, have a really good tantrum. She had no army, no slaves, no one at all in the world. Her father was dead. All of Torl was gone. Her thoughts welled up inside her, rising like bitter bile into her throat.

  “If you do regret it,” she said, turning after her cape was secure over her clothes. She looked him square in the eye, not willing to show her pain. “That is fine. We can work together to find a safe haven and then go our separate ways.”

  Trev studied her for a moment, his mouth forming a thin line. “You try and get away from me and I promise you, I will chase you to the end of the universe.”

  She couldn’t help but smile, tears welling in her eyes in spite of her efforts to be strong. “That might be fun.”

  His expression relaxed immediately and he grabbed her arms, guiding her toward the exit of the small cave. When they reached his glider he turned her, pulling her into his arms.

  “Don’t be scared,” he whispered into her hair.

  Marla relaxed against his chest, needing his strength. His arms tightened around her, his scent, a mixture of the cave and remnants of something sweet lingering in his clothing, wrapped around her. More than anything she wanted him to just hold her. She wanted to escape inside the security and comfort of his body, feel him inside her again. But now wasn’t the time, and she wasn’t sure when their next time alone would be.

  Sighing, she pulled away, looking up into his brooding expression. “I’m not scared. Nothing worse can happen.”

  Trev didn’t answer, but helped her onto the glider. Within minutes they hovered over Grok, or what was left of it. Smoke still filtered into the air from more than one location, and very few people were noticeable.

  “Do you think most are dead?” she asked, searching the streets for survivors.

  “For their sake, I hope so. There is nothing left here.”

  She shivered, remorse for her home world once again filling her with an emptiness she could hardly endure.

  More people stood anxiously around several shuttles than Marla had seen since the attacks. People from all walks of life had gathered, talking in hushed whispers. She ignored them, knowing they were all here for the same reason, and walked alongside Trev to the man who appeared to be in charge.

  “We need passage to the Molten satellite.” Trev spoke with the calm authority of one who wasn’t used to his word being questioned.

  “Don’t we all.” Someone next to them spoke up, a dark-haired man with his woman clinging to him, a toddler in her arms.

  “The shuttles will only seat twenty.” The man who appeared to be in charge held a stack of money in his hands, glancing around at the group gathering. “We’ll take who we can today, and come back tomorrow to see who else wants to leave.”

  “Everyone wants to leave,” a woman shouted from behind Marla. “You’ll take those with money and leave the rest of us behind.”

  The man in charge shrugged, turning away from all of them to say something to another man, who appeared to be piloting one of the shuttles.

  Marla looked around at the group. Very few here looked like they had much money. They were the lucky ones, if that was what they wanted to call it, who had managed to escape the wrath of the Bortan. She saw merchants, slaves, townspeople, all of them dirty, all of them huddled with their loved ones.

  There were three shuttles, and easily more than sixty people present. And the woman behind her had been right, the shuttle pilots would allow the highest bidders transport and leave the rest behind without a thought.

  “Marla of Torl.” A man next to her touched her arm, saying her name quietly.

  Trev pulled her to him, his manner quickly showing the man that she had protection. The man smiled, nodding to Trev, understanding the silent statement of ownership.

  “I knew your father. Torl is not with you?” The man glanced around them, his fine clothing torn and dirty.

  “Torl is dead.” She managed the words without choking, although they left a nasty taste in her mouth. The sinking feeling in her stomach weighed too heavy. How many times would she have to say those words?

  The man lowered his head, silently mourning his friend. “Where are you headed?”

  “To the Molten satellite. Where else is there?” she asked.

  “Go to Benox.” The man looked from her to Trev. “Land there should be cheap and it would be your best bet for starting over. There is nothing on the satellite but tourist attractions and high prices. But for the two of you, your life is ahead of you, strike out and make something of yourselves. Benox has little government. The King there rules only a small portion of the planet. You could do well there.”

  Someone said something to the man and he turned away, looking over his shoulder as he left. “Good luck to you, Marla of Torl. May the gods be with you.”

  People started shoving their way into the closest shuttle, and Trev pulled Marla to the side.

  “Come with me.” He led her around the first shuttle, and walked past the second until they reached the third, parked on the far side of the field.

  The morning suns’ heat already made the air ahead of them drift heavily, the brightness making Marla squint when she looked at the bright shuttle.

  “Who owns this shuttle?” Trev grabbed the attention of the only man in sight, who appeared to be making some adjustments to the engine.

  “We’re private carriers, all of us.” The man stood, standing taller than Trev with a piercing gaze that focused first on Trev, and then her.

  “So you are the owner?” Trev looked past the man, taking in the shuttle as if it were merchandise on the market square.

  “It ain’t for sale.” The man squared his long, thin arms across his wiry build, spreading his stance to shoulder width.

  “Everything is for sale, my man.” Trev waved his hand in the air dismissively at the man’s comment and walked past him toward the entrance of the carrier. “How many will it sit?”

  “It sits twenty, just like the rest of them. What are you about?” Now the man sounded irritated.

  Marla grabbed his attention. “Do you have any idea who we are?” she asked the man. “I am Marla of Torl, daughter of the largest sex breeder plantation on Poltar.”

  She knew Trev might dispute which plantation was actually larger, but he wouldn’t challenge her at the moment.

  “We need transport, but we don’t want to go to the satellite.” Her words had the man’s attention.

  “And where is it that you want to go?” he asked.

  Trev came up alongside them, placing his hand on her shoulder. “We want to go to Benox. We need a shuttle, with a skilled driver.” He nodded toward the growing crowd barely visible beyond the other two shuttles. “Word is that you are the best here.”

  His little white lie sold the man. The driver puffed out his thin chest, smiling a toothless smile. “Been flying since I was a boy. But Benox will cost you.”

  “I realize that.” Again Trev dismissed the man’s words as trivial with a wave of his hand. “But my price will include your services for a time. This job will require more than you just dropping us off there. If we are to build anew we will need transport.”

  “I don’t come cheap.” The man now sized up Trev, more than likely determining how much money he might be able to take him for.

  Marla glanced back at the crowd. She and Trev could make this work, if Benox was all that the man who had known her father claimed it was. Both of them knew how to run a plantation, but they would need help.

  “We need to have workers.” She continued to study the crowd.

  Trev seemed to read her thoughts. “Go among them. Choose carefully. Find those with skills to do a variety of tasks
.”

  Marla nodded, comfortable with her assignment. Hiring workers, delegating jobs was something she had done all of her life.

  By the time the suns burned halfway up the sky, a small group stood around the shuttle, now owned by Trev of Kopah, and spoke with more enthusiasm than any of them had when they arrived. Hope filled the air for the first time, the possibility of something better existing for most of them.

  Marla had found a few of her slaves, and had assured them that they would have their freedom and work for their keep. She knew those she had chosen knew nothing about how to work, their sole means for existence merely to please others with their bodies, but they wouldn’t survive on their own. And they showed willingness to work.

  She had done her own share of working too by the time the shuttle was loaded with supplies and the small group strapped down inside for their journey. Turning into the brightness of the sun, she wiped her brow and stared across the field, realizing quite possibly she was looking at Poltar for the last time.

  Trev’s hard body pressed against her backside, his firm grip sliding up her arms until he squeezed her shoulders.

  “You asked me if I had any regrets, but you never said if you did.” His words brushed across her cheek on his warm breath.

  She squinted against the suns, leaning back against him. “And you never answered me, not really.”

  “I have no regrets. I told you that you are who I’ve wanted since I was a boy.” He crossed his arms over her chest, solid muscle pressing against her breasts.

  For the first time in the past couple of hours, her body stirred to life, an ache quickly growing inside her for this man whom she loved.

  “It’s all too much, Trev.” She let her gaze travel over the hills. Somewhere up there was the cave where they had spent the night. “I regret my father’s death. I regret the loss of Torl. But I wouldn’t be with you now if they still existed.”

  “True.” He turned her around then, brushing his rough hand over her cheek while he penetrated her with soft gray-lavender eyes. “But who is to say if we wouldn’t have found each other without the loss of Poltar.”

  “It didn’t happen that way though.” She leaned into his hand, feeling his power, and knowing his physical strength was only part of what she loved about him. “The gods have given us each other so that we may start anew together.”

  “Then you will stay by my side? Mate with me?”

  Something inside her broke, the sadness seeming to wash away like a smooth river, taking her misery downstream.

  “You are asking me to bond with you? Be your mate for life?” Her heart picked up a beat, her insides filling with a rush of happiness she hadn’t experienced other than being in his arms the night before.

  “Yes, I am.” He cupped her cheeks, making it so all she could focus on was his face. “We have a challenge ahead of us. Our future is unknown. But together, you and I will make a success out of whatever we do. And Marla, I knew the moment I lost Kopah that you were it for me. There were no second thoughts when I left my home in search of you. You are my life mate. Say that I am yours.”

  “Yes.” And she knew in her heart that he had been for many years. “You are my life mate.”

  She reached for him, running her fingers through his hair, pulling him to her. And he willingly obliged, kissing her with so much passion that he washed all of her fears, all of her worries away. Whatever their future held, it would be a success, because she would walk through it with Trev of Kopah by her side.

  About the author:

  All my life, I’ve wondered at how people fall into the routines of life. The paths we travel seemed to be well-trodden by society. We go to school, fall in love, find a line of work (and hope and pray it is one we like), have children and do our best to mold them into good people who will travel the same path. This is the path so commonly referred to as the “real world”.

  The characters in my books are destined to stray down a different path other than the one society suggests. Each story leads the reader into a world altered slightly from the one they know. For me, this is what good fiction is about, an opportunity to escape from the daily grind and wander down someone else’s path.

  Lorie O’Clare lives in Kansas with her three sons.

  Lorie welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at P.O. Box 787, Hudson, Ohio 44236-0787.

  Also available Lorie O’Clare:

  Full Moon Rising

  Lunewulf 1: Pack Law

  Lunewulf 2: In Her Blood

  Lunewulf 3: In Her Dreams

  Lunewulf 4: In Her Nature

  Lunewulf 5: In Her Soul

  Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

  www.ellorascave.com