Read Online Goddess's Saga 1: Touch of the Goddess by Maria Hammarblad - Free Book Online Page B

What’s your name?”
    The younger woman still didn ’t answer; she threw her arms around Maria and started to cry.
    “ Thank you.”
    Oh no, don ’t cry. What do I do?
    She patted the girl on the pack.
    “You’ll be okay. It’s over now.”
    It took a while, but Maria eventually learned between sobs and thank-yous that her new friend’s name was Chrys. She ran away from home just over a year earlier, seeking reprieve from poverty on a desert planet.
    “ I could have run forever to get out of there, and now I just want to be back.”
    O nly fifteen years old, she had been poorly prepared for life in space. The slave dealers caught her quickly. Bought and sold several times over, used and abused, she ended up on the station and finally gathered courage to make a run for it.
    Stephan returned before the story was over. He stood next to Maria with his arms crossed over his chest, towering over the sitting women.
    “It’s not an unusual story. That man won’t bother you again, but what are you going to do?”
    Chrys shook her head. She was crying again, and Maria produced some tissue out of nowhere. Stephan nodded to the side and she placed a hand on Chrys’s arm.
    “ I’ll be right over there, okay? Just a few meters away, and I’ll be right back.”
    Stephan said, “That guy won’t be back, but he was hardly alone.”
    “ Does this happen all the time?”
    He gave a slight shrug.
    “Slavery is illegal in this sector, but still rather common. They usually drug the girls to be docile. Some are sold over a hundred times each year.”
    She hugged her bear, burying her chin in its soft and furry head.
    “I hate slavery. We can’t just leave her here, poor thing.”
    “ Well, I could .”
    She narrowed her eyes a nd he made a soothing gesture.
    “ Why don’t you just teleport her home?”
    “ No... She has been through so much already. I think she needs some normalcy, and some time to calm down before she meets her family. We need someone who can be trusted, someone who’ll take her home safely...”
    Their eyes met, and Stephan filled in, “...and I know just the man for the job. It would keep Dean occupied, off my back, and far away from you.”
    Was that a slip? I don ’t know if I want to hit you or kiss you...
    “ You know you don’t have to worry, right?”
    He looked a little guilty.
    I should probably take the encouraging approach. I’d be much more upset if he didn’t care.
    “ Thank you for helping me with this.”
    “ I’ll go find Dean.”
    When he turned to leave, Maria watched his back for a second.
    “Stephan, wait.”
    He sent her a puzzled glance, and she wrapped her free arm around his neck, pressing her lips firmly against his and slipping him some tongue.
    Took you by surprise, didn’t I?
    His arms around filled her with heavenly warmth, and for a moment she forgot all about the abused girl waiting. Stephan pulled himself back to the present quicker than her, put his hands on her hips, and pushed her gently away. His eyes glittered.
    “I’ll be right back.”
    “ You’d better be.”
    This time, she let him go, and on the way back to Chrys, she took her bracelet off. To her it was a shiny trinket, but to a human the diamonds could buy a lifetime of luxury.
    “ You two look very happy.”
    Maria smiled and fastened the bracelet around the girl ’s slender arm before producing a wad of money.
    “ I think we are. Do you want to go home?”
    The tear-drenched face nodded.
    “Okay. We know someone who can take you and look after you, you’ll be safe with him. I’m going to pay you, so you don’t have to worry about that. Take this...”
    S he pushed the money into the girl’s pocket.
    “ It should get you by for some time. Now, if I was you, I wouldn’t show the money or this bracelet to your pilot. Keep it a secret for now, just to be on the safe side, okay? Everything’s going to be alright.”
    Chrys stared at her.
    “ Are you an angel?”
    Angel? I ’ve been