Read Online Alien Caged by Tracy St. John - Free Book Online Page B

skull.
    “Surrender,” Oret’s harsh voice rumbled in her ear.  “We will accept nothing less from you, little Earther girl.”
    Of course she would surrender.  What choice did she have?  Elisa didn’t want to escape anyway.  Now that they had turned the tables and made her their captive, Elisa could at last submit to what she’d wanted almost from the moment she’d first seen them.
    Zemos looked up to catch her gaze as he mouthed her breasts.  He released one nipple with a loud, suckling sound while she watched.  Then, with a dangerous grin, he opened his mouth wide.  His fangs descended, ready to strike.
    “You are ours.”
    She trembled, dreading and wanting that bite.  Yes.  She was theirs, forever if they would have her.
    “I knew it.  I knew you were a threat to our mission,” a cold voice announced behind her. 
    Elisa knew that voice.  It belonged to the battlecruiser’s first officer, Commander Chase.  The singing stopped.
    Elisa didn’t question why a ship’s officer was at music camp.  The slippery logic of dreams never occurred to her in her abrupt panic.  All that mattered was that she’d been caught again. 
    This time, the penalty would not stop at shaming.  This time, the sentence would be death.
    Elisa didn’t dare to look behind her to see Chase watching with the hectic glare of religious fanaticism.  He’d made it plain he didn’t trust her from the very beginning.  She was a woman on a ship full of men, and therefore someone whose motives were doubtful.  Right now, his expression would be furious, but inside he’d be feeling glee.  He’d be happy his suspicions about her had been proven.
    “Run,” she tried to tell Zemos, Oret, and Miragin.  She couldn’t bear to see them executed too.  No sound escaped her straining throat, however.  Zemos only continued to smile up at her, still poised to sink his fangs into her breast.
    A shadow fell over them.  Elisa gathered her breath, mustering all the strength she could find to scream.  “Run!  By the prophets...”
    “...run!” she shrieked, her arms and legs flailing, getting tangled in the sheets that covered her sweating body.  “Get out, go, run before—”
    The yells died as Elisa realized she was in her bed.  She gasped to see the dim environs of her quarters instead of the long-ago gymnasium on Earth.  Her heart pounded fit to escape her chest.
    “Holy shit,” she whispered. 
    She did not go back to sleep.
    * * * *
    Elisa hummed to herself as she primped in front of the big mirror in her quarters.  It wasn’t easy to apply makeup in the dim lighting, but she had it as bright as the latest power restrictions allowed.
    Last night’s dream had left her with a feeling of foreboding.  She was doing everything in her power to shake it off, at least the way it had ended.  After all, the part where Zemos’ clan had ravished her had been wonderful.  If she could just grasp that delightful fantasy and hold onto it, everything would be hunky-dory.
    A little lipstick gave her lips color, though Elisa blotted most of the dark wine shade back off.  It wouldn’t do to look like a painted whore ... especially if she should be so unlucky as to run into Commander Chase.  In the aftermath of the dream, it seemed dangerous to put any makeup on at all.
    She didn’t try to fool herself about what she was doing.  She worked to make herself as attractive as possible for Clan Zemos.  Every smile, every kind word, every hint of approval she received from them was saved in her heart.  Even the Dramok’s clumsy compliments the day before were gold, as little as she believed them.
    “Your pretty face could brighten the darkest night,” she gruffly informed her reflection in a terrible imitation of the handsome alien.  Elisa laughed and did her best coquette in response.  “Why, you smooth devil, Captain Zemos.  You still don’t get seconds on your meals.”
    Elisa shook her head, noting the crow’s feet