Jarok was surprised that Sierra sent word asking for him so soon. It had only been a few hours since his confession and their kiss. Jarok sighed. She had tasted and felt just as he had imagined - sweet, soft and firm in all the right places.
If he was honest with himself, he had wanted her in his arms the moment he saw her still face beneath the cryopod glass. How could he have ever . . . Jarok shook the thought away. He was a smuggler, he reminded himself grimly; he'd done many things he wasn't proud of and always sold to the highest bidder.
But when the door opened into Sierra's room and she turned distressed stormy eyes to him, all internal debate ceased, "What happened?" Jarok asked intently, stepping towards her with quick strides.
Sierra shook her head sadly, then lifted her gaze back to his, "He has Gerra," she said her voice tight.
Jarok knit his brows, "What?" but his query only floated above his racing thoughts of how Gerra was alone on his ship creating fake records should they need a quick escape. Gerra was a fierce, scrappy fighter, but if Lord V wanted revenge, he could've sent in multiple, trained agents. Shevu-damn fucking damn it!
"Lord V, he . . ." Sierra began, but Jarok cut her off asking, "How did he contact you? Have you told the human authorities?"
Sierra shook her head, she told him of Lord V's communication in her room and Lord V threatening to kill Gerra. Jarok scowled.
"You can't go back to him. You couldn't even be sure he'd let Gerra go if you did," Jarok hissed. "Fuck!" he growled his jaw tight and his eyes blazing. He began pacing the room. Sierra knew his anger wasn't directed at her, but she remained patiently silent. She had had time to react and think about her options.
Jarok stopped across the room and came back over to Sierra running a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, Sierra. I'm just . . ." he said quietly. Sierra nodded, "I understand," she said softly.
"The humans might stop you from surrendering anyways. I didn't get it at first, but I can see how it looks bad to have a human enslaved to the Ingentians," Jarok concluded nodding to himself.
"Aren't you human?" Sierra asked. Jarok gave a grim half-smile, "I'm part human, but governments and boundaries don't mean shit to me. If only we'd made a clean get away, we'd have been better off."
Sierra nodded to herself and then looked up into Jarok's worried face, "I needed you to know about Gerra. Just in case." Sierra said quietly.
Jarok raised his eyebrows in alarm and gripped Sierra's shoulders, "didn't you hear what I just said? You can't surrender youself!"
The door to Sierra's room slid open and two consortium soldiers flanked the doorway as General Conroy entered the room. "Are you ready for your treatments?" General Conroy asked, her gaze registering Jarok's presence with a micro-expression of surprise before resting her piercing blue eyes on Sierra's face.
"Yes, mam. I am." Sierra responded.
~
Lord V left the Keplarian's aftercare to his subordinates. He'd considered letting Elanna handle his sexy, speckled guest, but he didn't want to risk getting Elanna killed or permanently maimed by the feisty Keplarian. He would visit the little wildcat pirate soon. He had to admit, he was impressed by Caspian's stamina.
Lord V had been able to respond to the many questions surrounding his absence at the Versipedes conference. Most swallowed his terse, vague apologies. Only his enemies tittered and plotted. The stunt the slavers had pulled with the cryotube hadn't gotten out, thank Shevu. Lord V tightened his jaw at the thought. Was it worth all this trouble? He wondered. The point of buying the human female in the first place was as a show of his domination and strength. Now, the Ingentos council was involved, his prize was becoming more of a liability.
Lord V pictured his slave's alluring green eyes through the viewscreen, her hair pulled back in a long, silky tail, the soft slope of cloth over her generous breasts, her pouty, deep pink lips. No, he thought to himself. He was not finished with those lips.
~
When Sierra returned to her quarters late in the evening, Jarok was waiting for her in a state of agitation, but he took in the dark circles under her eyes and the pallor of her normally glowing skin and his brown eyes flooded with concern.
"Thank you," Sierra murmured to the guards that in turn saluted her and left, the door sliding shut after them.
Jarok stepped towards her and placed a hand gently on her arm, "What did they do to you?" he asked, his voice heavy with worry.
"I'm . . . I'm becoming like other humans," Sierra said and smiled weakly. "My poison won't ever be as strong, and it will take some practice learning how to release it, but I . . ." Sierra was shaking and Jarok lifted her in his arms and carried her over to the bed, setting her down gently. He lay her down and swept the hair off her forehead.
"What can I do? You look terrible. Do you need water?" Jarok asked.
Sierra reached up and placed her hand on his arm. "Stay with me tonight," Sierra pleaded.
~
Gerra had simply been too exhausted to fight when the white robed servants had lowered her and released her bonds. They had rolled her gently onto some kind of padded cart and Gerra had groaned and shivered as she curled her aching limbs into herself.
A soft blanket had been thrown over her and a small pillow slid under her head. Tartian mineral water had been placed by her mouth and Gerra had sucked some down gratefully. She didn't recall anything after that until she awoke clean and rested on a bed in a small, white cell.
Gerra surveyed the room for exits and weapons within seconds of waking. Her head didn't throb like from the vantom before, they must've used something less harsh. She noted her nudity and the camera disk in the corner of the room. She flipped off the camera before using the bed as a step ladder and a piece of headboard to smash the lens to smithereens. Gerra stretched and peered up at the vent on the adjoining wall.
~
Sierra had ignored Jarok's protests and questions when she had left with the General and her guards. Jarok had waited an hour before returning to the stargalley to survey what turned out to be very little evidence of a scuffle. Only a few crates and panels were damaged. They must have cleaned up any blood or anything that could be used as hard evidence.
Gerra wouldn't have gone easily, he thought and smiled grimly to himself. Jarok then tried tapping into every coded frequency he could think of, but he was not surprised that she wasn't answering and there was no word of her. He'd even tried to contact Lord V through his cruiser over the comm, but his hails were being ignored. If all else failed, the Ingentian bastard would be at the parley council in the morning and Jarok intended to be 'very persuasive' about Gerra's release.
The thought of his friend in Lord V's clutches overnight enraged him, and he wanted to open fire on the Ingentian vessel until his weapons were spent. It would be a worthless gesture, however, as his stargalley would be depleted long before he broached the cruiser's shields. He settled on re-configuring the thruster ratios to prepare for a quick, burst of speed that might be needed and then he returned to the station to check on Sierra.
Sierra didn't reappear for over another hour. He was puzzled that the humans let him wait in her quarters as security around her was so strict, but he wasn't going to question something in his favor.
When she returned and he saw how weak she was, his agitation had melted into concern. She had begged him to stay. He had nodded to her beautiful, wan face and pulled up a chair from the small table and sat beside the bed.
"No," Sierra murmured, "with me." At this she shifted, weakly pulling the tunic she wore, fighting a bit to drag it over her head and shoulders, revealing a pretty pink bra. Jarok froze in his seat. Sierra then slipped her hands under the blanket and was obviously shimmying out her leggings.
"Sierra, I . . . don't think this is wise," Jarok told her, his voice soft, but firm.
"Afraid I'll poison you?" she cocked an eyebrow and made an adorable, if tired, face and reached up to pull out her ponytail releasing streams of long, honey brown hair. Her cheeks looked a little too flushed in her paled face.
"I'm afraid more for you. You need rest. Besides, I'm half human, even if you did make me sick, it'd be worth it," at this he winked at her, but drew the covers back over her up to her neck.
Sierra looked up at him her face serious. "Jarok, I need this. I want to be with you before . . . I want to be with you tonight. Please," Sierra's mysterious, placating eyes drew him in until he thought he would drown.