Between Rebels

Chapter 4

4

It took about two hours for Arri to return. That’s what it felt like, anyway. He’d put on a shirt, thank goodness, and was smiling at me in an almost non-creepy way. My stomach lurched nonetheless.

“Come. We’re having our meal in the galley. I had to make Laki’s favourite stew to keep him happy. He thinks a wedding is a waste of time, so you better behave.”

I nodded, cringing at the thought of Laki punishing me for making him wait. Five days.

“Will you come with me without problems or do I need to tie you up?”

“I’ll follow you,” I muttered demurely.

“Promise you won’t run.”

“I promise.”

Not that I intended to keep to that. Promises made under duress didn’t count in my book. My life was in danger, which gave me the excuse to lie as much as I needed to survive.

“If you run, I’ll catch you and the deal is off,” he warned. “My brother is only waiting for an excuse to break you. It will hurt, so be good now and you might avoid that fate.”

I nodded again, not having to pretend to be intimidated.

He opened the door and motioned for me to walk in front of him. Every fibre in my body was screaming at me to run, to make a dash for freedom, but there was no point to it just now. I needed to gather more information first and figure out a way to get help. I wasn’t going to get off the ship without assistance from others. Unless I discovered something like an escape pod. Did Athion spaceships actually have them or was that something solely found in sci-fi films? I needed to explore the ship.

Arri led me along polished corridors, their walls curved slightly, giving it a claustrophobic feel, as if the ceiling was going to come crashing down on me any second. The ship was bigger than I’d thought. Definitely not made for just two Athions and their captive.

“It’s that way to the bridge,” he said and pointed to my right when we reached a crossing. “But you don’t need to know that. Unless we want some entertainment while flying.”

Without warning, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I shrieked and tried to jump away from him, but his grip was tight. Something hard pressed against my back. Oh god. He was aroused by this.

“You’ll be on your knees,” he whispered in my ear, his hot breath making me shiver in disgust. “And I’ll thrust into your pretty little mouth while you gag and squirm.”

One of his hands moved up until he squeezed my breast. I clawed at his arm with my fingernails, but all he did was laugh.

“I’m looking forward to that. Maybe you’d like to give me a little taster now, to keep me satisfied until the wedding?”

“No s*x before the wedding,” I hissed.

“There are many things you could do to make me happy that don’t qualify as s*x,” he said with a smirk, but he released me.

I stumbled forward, putting as much distance between him and me without it looking as if I was about to run.

“Where’s the galley?” I asked angrily, turning to glare at him. He needed to know that I wasn’t going to give in to his advances.

He chuckled. “My brother was right; you are a little poomii. I wonder if you’ll purr when I’m thrusting inside you?”

“Five days,” I snarled. “Now where’s the galley? I’m hungry.”

He pointed to the left. “That way. Around the corner, then right, then the big silver door to your left.”

I followed his directions without looking back. Seeing Laki lounging on a chair behind a table laden with food was almost a relief. With Laki, I knew where I stood. He wanted to break me and he’d take pleasure in it. Arri was much harder to read. One moment, he said he wanted an obedient wife, the next he enjoyed me fighting back. I was starting to think that he’d be the more dangerous of the two.

“You took your time,” Laki drawled. “I’m hungry.”

I shot him a glare. “Me too.”

I sat down on a chair opposite his and took in the buffet in front of me. I didn’t recognise any of the dishes, although some were vaguely similar to things I may have eaten on Earth. Something that looked like pieces of fried chicken caught my eyes.

Arri put a plate in front of me, pressing against my side as if by accident. A shudder ran down my back. This wasn’t going to be easy. I should have been more explicit about no touching until the five days were up, but I’d thought saying no s*x would give them that message. I’d been wrong. Those aliens were horny and I was their biggest temptation.

I ignored Arri and put some pieces of maybe-chicken on my plate. There was no cutlery besides some spoons intended for the massive pot of stew to my left. I shuddered in revulsion when I saw something that looked like an eyeball float at the top. I was probably mistaken but I wasn’t going to look a second time to make sure.

Arri took a seat next to his brother, so that they were both able to watch me. I could have jumped up and run out of the room before they could grab me from their side of the table, but that was a terrible idea. For now, I’d enjoy the illusion of freedom.

I nibbled on my piece of fried meat. Not chicken. It was strangely sour and very dry, but edible. I took several more pieces and wolfed them down, calming my stomach’s rumbling.

Laki pointed at a bowl that contained something that looked like blue salad. “Try that. It’s said to act as an aphrodisiac.” He wiggled his eyebrows at him.

“Do you ever think with anything but your d**k?” I shot back and pointedly ignored the salad, helping myself to some bright yellow breadsticks instead.

He smiled at me, but there was no warmth in it. “I’ve not had a woman in over a decade. Men’s arses just don’t feel the same as a woman’s wet p***y. If it weren’t for my brother’s soft heart, I’d take you right here, right now, until you were screaming for mercy.”

Thank goodness for Arri. Even though he was a creep and a murderer. For now, he was protecting me from Laki, in a sick way that had nothing to do with empathy or pity. He was simply too lazy to go through the effort to turn me into the submissive wife he desired.

“What do we do after eating?” Arri asked, chewing on a very red piece of meat.

I thought back to what I’d told him earlier, not wanting to make a mistake. “We talk. Get to know each other.”

“All I want to get to know is your pretty cunt,” Laki quipped. “I’m not interested in talking.”

“Then you can go and piss off,” his brother snapped. “We agreed to do this, so take part or shut up. A few more days won’t make any difference. Soon, she’ll be in our bed, ready to please us all day long. That’s worth the wait, right?”

Laki turned to me. “What do we talk about?”

“Our lives, our families. Our plans for the future.”

“My plan is to have you tied up on my bed with a collar snug around your neck,” Laki smirked.

Arri groaned. “Brother, please. Behave like an adult for once.”

“Like an adult? You’re the one to blame for our situation.” Suddenly, Laki was no longer smiling. Fury was burning in his eyes as he glared at Arri. “If you hadn’t killed those Custo, we’d still be on the list to be assigned some Earth woman. We’d not be rogues running from the authorities. We’d be able to go back home and have a quiet life.”

Arri didn’t seem flustered in the slightest. “Then maybe you should remember why I had to kill those men. Why I had to silence them.”

He stared at his brother, something passing between them that I didn’t really want to know about. What had Laki done that was so terrible that his brother had killed for him?

I was on a ship with murderous, horny psychopaths who could turn on me any moment. I needed to get away.

“Maybe you could show me your ship instead?” I asked innocently. “If you don’t want to talk. If I’m going to be your wife, I need to know our home, especially if we’re going to be here for months.”

“Our home,” Arri repeated. “I like the sound of that.”

“She just wants to know where the escape pods are,” Laki interrupted. He turned to me. “They’re biometrically tuned to Athions. Nobody but an Athion will be able to start them.”

“I wasn’t going to use an escape pod,” I lied. “I just want to know where I’m going to live with my husbands. What’s the harm?”

Using the words husbands almost made me throw up the food I’d just eaten. But they seemed to swallow it. Arri almost looked happy.

“Alright, I shall give you the tour,” he offered. “Unless Laki wants to do it?”

His brother shook his head. “I’ve still got some stew to eat. Who knows when I’ll next get some of that, and I need energy to survive the next five days.” He glowered at me before refilling his bowl.

“What do you want to see first?” Arri asked. “Our bedroom? That will be where you’ll spend most of your time.”

I couldn’t suppress a shudder. “Is there a living room? Somewhere to spend time during the day?”

“There’s an observation deck where we have a couple of games and comfy chairs. But we spend the most time on the bridge, since we don’t have a crew to operate the ship. Laki also works in the engine room sometimes. This ship is fairly new, but there’s always something to fix.”

“Then let’s start with the bridge,” I suggested.

Arri shrugged. “If this brings us closer to the fifth day, then why not. And after, you’re going to do the dishes. Eating this much was your idea, after all.”