Mated Against Her Will (Captives of Pra'Kir Book 2) Page 5

  “One thing at a time, Sarai,” she murmured to herself, her voice barely a whisper. It was what her dad always used to say to her when she was trying to grapple with concepts that were new to her. Slow down, he’d tell her. Think it through. You know the big picture result you want, now take it step by step until you can get there. The first step was to stay hidden. If she could do that for a couple of days, they’d forget all about her and she could puzzle out the rest of the pieces.

  Just then, a little bell went off in the store. Sarai froze, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to hold as still as possible while still remembering to breathe.

  “Good day.”

  Oh, no. That was his voice. She just knew it. Every hair on her arm stood up as she waited to hear what the Mekron would say to him.

  Calm down, Sarai. He knows you’re hiding. He’s not going to give you away.

  “Good day, Sir! You were just the gentleman I was hoping to see!”

  Wait, what? Why would he say that? Maybe it was something completely unrelated to her.

  “Oh? And why would that be?”

  “I have a young lady here—”

  Oh, crap! What was he doing? Crap, crap, crap!

  “—who needs protection. Miss! You can come out now!”

  Shit. Well, what else could she do? Damn him to the fiery lakes of Mordor!

  Sarai, as slowly as was humanly possible, unfolded herself and stood up, glaring at her captor who looked back at her, unfazed by her obvious fury.

  “Is that so? Well, I’m happy to take her off your hands, Gielle. Thank you for alerting me to her need.”

  The Mekron was grimacing in a way that she supposed must be a smile as far as its species was concerned and bobbing his head up and down as though he’d saved her instead of putting her right back into the hands of the devil himself.

  ***

  Binnix knew that his expression was inscrutable—hiding outward emotion was something that his people were quite good at—but inwardly, he was very amused. How foolish this girl was! Had she honestly thought that she could hide from him? Had she truly believed that she would slip through his grasp so easily? She’d only gotten away because it had amused him to let her. He’d been interested to see where she would go, believing herself free to do so, what she would do. And all she’d done was go into the nearest building and hide! To tell the truth, he was a bit disappointed. He’d expected a bit more of a chase.

  “Come.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to the spot beside where he stood.

  “Perhaps it’s escaped your notice,” the female replied, her voice scathing, “but I don’t respond to commands like ‘come’.”

  “Is that what the problem is? Because I thought you just didn’t respond to commands. Very well.” He snapped his fingers once more. “You. Here. Now.” He watched in a sort of mild fascination as her face contorted. It would seem that these foreign creatures were as bad at containing their outward emotions as his kind excelled at it.

  And then she picked up the heavy metal paper weight on the desk. He began moving toward her with quick, long strides, but he didn’t reach her in time to stop her from hurling it at him. It hit him squarely in the chest. It didn’t hurt all that much—he registered the impact with a grunt—but that was far from the point. She’d been in trouble before, but now…

  Binnix took a deep breath to calm himself before he was the one with the contorting, angry face. “That was not very wise,” he told her at last, his voice low and gravelly. She didn’t respond, but the look on her face said that she’d come to the same conclusion.

  “Are you all right, Sir?” the Mekron asked from behind.

  “I am quite well, Gielle. If there is damage to the item she threw, I will gladly replace it.”

  “There is no need, Sir. Judge DuBai wouldn’t hear of it.”

  “I thank you, and him, for your kindness. Now, if you will excuse us, we’ll be taking our leave now.” And he reached for her. Though she winced, she didn’t try to move away from him. He took her by the arm and led her from the shop. He turned them around and retraced his steps that had led him to the flower shop.

  The girl was pliant for the first couple of feet. Then she began to struggle against him. At first, she merely tried to pull her arm out of his grasp. He did not tighten his hold on her, but simply let her yank and pull until she tired of it. Then she dug her heels in, using her shoes as stoppers. Binnix simply lifted her off the ground far enough that her feet did not touch and carried her the rest of the way. Though he wasn’t doing a thing to hurt her—yet—she apparently protested the treatment because she kicked her heels and snarled at him like an angry dog the entire way to the cab. He did not say a word or even acknowledge her. But once he’d gotten her inside and the door closed, he turned his most fierce gaze on her.

  To his amusement, she began to squirm before he’d uttered a single syllable. That was good—it meant that she was close to the frame of mind she needed to be for them to have this conversation.

  “I want you to listen to me, and listen clearly,” he began, his voice soft, but each word measured carefully. “Because I will not be happy to have to repeat myself.” When he was satisfied that she was paying appropriate attention, he continued. “You are under my charge now. This means that your well-being is my responsibility, and I take that job very seriously. It also means that to ensure your safety, I am going to have to teach you obedience. You are not to go running off whenever you wish. You will stay by my side, or where I tell you to be, at all times.”

  Sarai snorted and met Binnix’s raised eyebrow with a defiant look. “I am not a child, you know. I am a grown woman, I can take care of myself.”

  “Neither your age nor your capability is up for debate here. In fact, it’s not even up for discussion. I am telling you what is going to happen. You will stay with me at all times, or else on the grounds of my property. Failure to do so will result in immediate and thorough punishment.”

  Interesting to see that she had nothing to say to that. Of course, the venomous look she was giving him spoke volumes if he had any need to know her thoughts on the subject. No matter—she might claim not to be a child, but much like one, she needed guidance and instruction now that she inhabited their planet. She needed to know how to conduct herself here and it was his job to see that she learned. It was one that he accepted with great pleasure.

  In fact, ever since he’d mentioned the word punishment he’d felt his body react. It truly was a shame that she hadn’t gotten further away to merit more of his chastising attention. He would have enjoyed that. But he was sure given enough time, she would give him cause to go through each and every one of his teaching rituals.

  “Are you…smiling?” she piped up.

  He wiped the expression from his face at once. “Was I? I wasn’t aware. I’d like some silence for the rest of the journey, please. Once we arrive at my home we’ll talk some more.”

  ***

  Sarai expected that his definition of talking was much different than how she understood the word. However, he’d asked for silence, and she gave it to him. Begrudgingly, while glaring, her face mutinous, but silent, nonetheless. If he was bothered by her very apparent fury he didn’t show it. Perhaps, she mused, he couldn’t discern one emotion from the next. It would make sense, given that he himself seemed very limited where feelings were concerned.

  Once she got tired of trying to telepathically tell him what an ass she found him to be—a message that he apparently didn’t get as she had no doubt that he would respond to it—she looked out the window. She had been so busy with her escape attempt once she’d been released from the prison that she hadn’t made time for looking at the planet she now inhibited. She noted with a jolt of surprise that the sky was blue. Not azure blue, but regular old earthen blue. If she hadn’t known any better, she could almost pretend she was home.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off it. It was amazing. She kept looking for thi
ngs that might be different—purple patches in the sky, perhaps, pink clouds?—but every bit of the atmosphere that she could see with her naked eye looked familiar. The cloud were even white and wispy, and the sun looked like the same blinding ball of light she’d taken for granted every day of her existence.

  “You have one sun?” she queried, forgetting that he’d instructed her to be silent.

  “You’re talking again.”

  She took her gaze from the window long enough to roll her eyes at him. “It’s just a question.”

  “Is asking questions on your planet not considered talking?”

  “Of course it is,” Sarai sighed. “Could you just answer it, please?”

  “Your manners are not what I objected to, Alien. I asked for some peace and quiet. I’ve had a very wearisome morning.”

  “You’ve had a hard morning? Are you freaking kidding me?” she demanded, forgetting, at least for the moment, her questions about their astrology.

  “What does this mean? ‘Kidding’?”

  Sarai sighed, the air rushing out of her flared nostrils. Really! She couldn’t even get her frustration across to this creature properly! “It means that you cannot possibly be serious. You can’t think that your morning has been worse than what I’ve had to endure.”

  “Hmm.” Binnix considered her. “And ‘freaking’?”

  She just barely managed to suppress her frustration. There was a reason that she’d decided from an early age that she would never teach. Being able to have patience with someone as they grappled with concepts that she considered common knowledge was not her strong suit. “Never mind.”

  “No, I would like to know. If I am going to be housing you for the next fifteen years, I think it wise that we learn to communicate with one another.”

  That was more than she could take. Sarai’s breaths began coming in shallow and fast as she felt her chest tighten. “Fifteen…” she gasped. “Fifteen years?”

  Binnix regarded her with his head slightly tilted to the right. “Yes. What is happening to you?”

  “I…I can’t…I…” She couldn’t find the words to tell him that her head was spinning and the vehicle they were in felt like it was getting smaller by the second. She ducked her head between splayed legs, trying to center herself and focus her breathing.

  “Alien? What is the matter? Your color is looking different. Is this normal?”

  Sarai lifted her head to glare at him. “I am…not…an alien.” These were the last words she managed before the world went black.

  ***

  When her eyelids fluttered open, she had no idea where she was. When her foggy mind flashed back over the chaos of the last few days that came as no surprise. She was on a planet that was entirely foreign to her, so why would she?

  She’d barely stirred when she saw his Binnix’s face looming above her. She almost smiled just at the pleasure of seeing his gorgeous profile, but then she remembered that they weren’t exactly on good terms. He’d informed her that she would more or less be his prisoner. And, from the sound of it, it was a permanent assignment. She would love to make an appeal, but it was his so-called government that had arranged the entire thing! It had all been too much to take in.

  “You’re awake,” he stated. “Are you feeling all right? Can you sit up?”

  “I…I think so.”

  “Your color still looks strange,” he remarked as he helped her to a sitting position. “I think you fainted. Were you having trouble breathing? Is our air different from what you are used to?”

  “No, it wasn’t that.”

  “Hmm. I think I need to call the doctor. He should come look at you.”

  “That’s not necessary. I’m fine now.”

  “You just lost consciousness not an hour ago. How can you be fine?” he argued.

  “There’s nothing wrong with me,” Sarai said with a sigh. “Nothing, apart from the fact that I’m on a strange planet and being kept against my will.”

  “Perhaps he could prescribe you something until we can determine the cause for your fainting,” Binnix said, ignoring her comment entirely. “While I had no trouble carrying you into the house—you really are light as a child, you know—I would feel better leaving you alone if I knew you weren’t in danger of taking ill again while I wasn’t here to take care of you.”

  Sarai sat up straighter and looked at him with the frustration that was quickly becoming her trademark around him. “I was not taken ill. I fainted, yes, but because I have had a long, harrowing ordeal where I crashed into a planet I’m not welcome on, I’ve been kept in a prison cell, and now, am being kept prisoner in a strange man’s house. It’s all a bit to take in, so forgive me if I have moments where my body responds in a way you object to.”

  Binnix’s eyes turned shrewd as he regarded her. “Tell me, are you able to make yourself faint at will? Remember—I’ll be able to tell if you are lying.”

  “No, of course not,” she scoffed. “Why would you think that?”

  He shrugged, which made him look even more human. “It would be convenient, given that you knew you would be punished when we got here.”

  “Punished?” she repeated, her mouth suddenly feeling dry, which might or might not have had anything to do with the sudden, unexpected pronouncement. “You said we were going to talk.”

  “And we will. I expect we will talk a great deal—from what I gather, it seems like something your kind is rather fond of. But after that, there will be punishment. There is no point in telling you of the behavior I expect from you if I do not follow it up by giving you the consequences.”

  “I told you, I am not a child.”

  Binnix thought about this for a moment before responding. “You only punish children on your planet?”

  “Typically, yes. They get grounded from their Xbox, or whatever.”

  “I do not understand this. What is an X-box?”

  “Kids play video games on them.”

  He tilted his head to the left again, the way she’d come to discover he tended to do when he was puzzled. “What is a video game?”

  Sarai thought about how best to explain. “It’s something kids do for entertainment. It’s how they entertain themselves for long periods.”

  “What do you mean by ‘kid’?”

  “Children.”

  “I see. And what do adults do while the children are entertaining themselves with video games?”

  “I don’t have any kids, so I can’t say for sure. I guess they’re at work, or watching television. I don’t know.”

  “Is raising a child not considered a very important job on your planet?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Hmm. Tell me, you say that the adults of your planet are not punished, but what about those that steal, or destroy property? Are there not people from your world who do this?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “And what happens to them?”

  She sighed inwardly before she answered. She could see where this was going. “They go to jail.”

  “Ah. So they are punished for breaking the law.”

  “Well, yes, but I didn’t steal anything.”

  “No, you were not charged with that crime. You did, however, destroy property when your vessel landed on our planet, and you killed several of our citizens in the process. Not to mention assaulting an officer in a flower shop.”

  Sarai dropped her eyes and looked at her hands. “You have to believe that it was not our intention for that to happen. And as for assaulting you…” She trailed off. She didn’t have a rebuttal for that one. She could say “you deserved it” but it didn’t sound very mature, and given that they had just been discussing children she didn’t want to hear him make the comparison again since he already seemed to have trouble recognizing her as an adult.

  “I don’t have to believe anything,” Binnix replied levelly. “But I can see that there is no deceit in your feelings on the matter. No
netheless, whether it was your intention is irrelevant. What matters is what occurred, which was a deviation from several of our laws, all of which have been explained to you. For that reason, you will be staying with me so that you have someone to watch over you while you become a proper, productive citizen.”

  “I don’t want to become a citizen,” she asserted quietly.

  “It was my understanding that you cannot return to your own planet.”

  “Yes,” she admitted reluctantly. She kept the rest of her thoughts to herself. There was no way she was going to tell him that she wanted to find a way.

  “In that case, what else can you do? You will not be allowed to stay here if you will not conform to our society. Members that struggle with this are in the prison you just left. So, unless that is your desired home, you will learn the rules of our planet. And while you’re learning those, you’ll also be learning mine. Failure to follow either will result in punishment.”

  Sarai flinched and paled. He spoke of it so casually, yet there was something in his tone that assured her that it was no small thing to be punished by him.

  “Your color is changing again,” Binnix commented. “Your hair is as red as fire and your eyes, like two blue pieces of sky. Are all women on your planet so colorful?” he asked. “Please understand that no answer will save you from being whipped, but I am curious.”

  She did her best not to flinch again. Whipped? He couldn’t be serious! And yet, she had no doubt that he meant everything he said. As she tried to figure out how best to answer, his question gave her an idea. She cleared her throat importantly. “No, and as a matter of fact, if you don’t wish harm to come to your person, you’d better release me at once. I’m a very important person on my planet.”

  “Oh?” He regarded her without the slightest flicker of change in his expression. “And what is it that you do there?”

  “I’m the President.” The lie tasted strange in her mouth, but she got the words out anyway. It was a necessary evil, a chance that she just had to take.