Stolen by the Zandian (Zandian Brides 7)

“All right? Do you trust me now?”

I squeeze the case so hard my fingers hurt. I don’t trust him, but he just gave me the one gift I require for survival. The thing that my Kraa masters used to control me. He gave it freely. So I nod. ”Yes.” My breath comes fast and tight.

“Good. Listen, Kailani. The doctor on Zandia, Dr. Daneth, he’s skilled. It’s possible he can reverse the damage your owners did.” He adds hastily, looking at my expression, “If you want him to try.”

“I don’t,” I snap.

No more labs. Never again. I hate doctors.

He raises a hand. “On Zandia, we’ll make you enough medicine to last your entire life.”

“And all I have to do in return is…?” I raise my eyebrows.

Is it me or does he look slightly uncomfortable?

He clears his throat. “Become a contributing member of Zandian society.”

“How? By mating a Zandian?”

His horns thicken and tilt in my direction, making my pulse pick up speed. Do they show his interest? His attraction to me? I know he wants me—I saw that thick erection tenting his leggings and tunic before.

He just shrugs and walks to the deck, staring out at the blackness. “In whatever way you choose.”

It wouldn’t matter if he were lying; I still have no other options, unless I plan to attack him once we’re on Dentron and escape alone with the ship.

I weigh the idea for a few seconds—it would surely be difficult to learn to captain this craft, but I think I could do it. Should I try once again to escape? I’d be my own master, in charge of my own destiny.

But for now, all I say is, “All right.” I look down out the ports, at the receding lights, and the advancing ones. “Deal. Let’s do this.” First, I need the pollen. I’ll figure out the rest later—once it’s in my possession.

He jogs to his console to respond to a beeping signal and a red flashing light. Once it’s resolved, he turns to me. “You need to sleep. Your body surely needs the rest.”

We both look at the silver magna cuffs lying on the floor. He picks them up and tosses them into a cabinet. “Trust, right?” He looks at me for a long second then smiles. “Now that we have a deal, we don’t need these.”

My stomach flutters with arousal: Thinking about what he did when those cuffs were on is enough to make my body fill with that tingly, amazing feeling. I want to tell him, “What if we want them?”

But exhaustion takes over, and I yawn so widely that my face hurts.

“Trust.” I yawn again. “Yes.”

He grins. I swear he’s thinking the same things I am—

“Maybe I will sleep.” I barely get the words out before every muscle goes leaden with exhaustion. I slump back onto the bench, still clutching the case to my stomach. “Wake me when…” and I’m out.

Khrys

She falls asleep mid-sentence as the collective events of the past hours hit her.

I carry her to a sleep bay and lie her on one of the bunks. I cover her with a blanket and adjust the medicine case, so it’s not digging into her ribs. She’s still holding it like it’s the only vecking thing in the world that matters—and I suppose it is. A strand of hair falls into her face, and I push it back with my index finger.

“So soft,” I whisper.

Her lashes brush her cheeks, and I resist the urge to kiss her lips while she slumbers.

Don’t get too attached, I remind myself.

Now that she’s asleep, I take the opportunity to slide a healing pack onto her arm. It will help balance her nutrition and give her healing medications, including a sleep aid that helps human bodies recover from trauma. Too bad it can’t fix her headaches.

Too bad it can’t fix my issues.