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"He found you again."
She nods. "Took him a bit longer, but he did. I kept going back to the police. I filed restraining orders. I put a dozen locks on my damn door. I kept my cellphone off and avoided my email, because I didn't want to see if he was leaving me messages. I felt…trapped. Like I wasn't safe anywhere. No one would help me."
I stroke her hair.
"Each time I ran into Brad, he got increasingly violent, too. He threw fits at my workplace. He smashed furniture and got escorted from the premises. If a friend drove me to work, he'd slash their tires and break their windows. It got to the point that people just avoided me because Brad would be there, fucking stuff up." She bites her lip. "I felt really, really alone. Like I couldn't count on anyone to help me. And I knew that if he caught me alone again, he was going to kill me. That if he couldn't have me, no one else could, either." She lets out a ragged breath. "On the night that I was stolen, I was hiding in my closet with a gun, because I was convinced that Brad was going to break in and murder me. Instead, I got abducted by aliens."
The hysterical laugh that bubbles up out of her makes me ache. To think that Sam went through all of that. "And now you are here."
"And now I am here," Sam echoes. She looks at me, and then gently pushes me away. "I'm here, and my khui has decided that you have a claim on me. And I feel trapped all over again."
My heart hurts. I hate that I understand her fear. Why she carries so many weapons on her. I fish one of them out of her nearby tunic and offer it to her, and I ache all over again at how quickly she snatches it up and clutches it close.
"I do not wish to trap you, Sam. I want a mate. A partner. I do not want to own someone."
"But you want me to be with you," she says, her fingers white-knuckled on the grip of her blade. "And I don't have a choice in the matter, once again."
"If I could give you a choice, I would."
Her expression softens. "I know, Sessah. That's why we're still friends despite all this. It makes it hard, because I like you as a person, but I hate being forced. I hate it so much." Tears spill down her cheeks. "I thought I was safe here and it feels unsafe all over again."
"You are safe here," I promise her. "This Brad is not on this planet. He cannot find you here."
She shakes her head. "You don't get it. I thought the same thing until Daisy arrived. When she showed up, I realized that anyone could be dropped here. Anyone. And what if those same aliens that stole me stole him, too? What if he was outside my door when they took me and so we were both abducted? How do I know Mardok's friend isn't going to drop another one of those containers, and instead of a Daisy, or food supplies, it'll have Brad in it? What then?"
"Then I will kill him," I tell her softly. "With my bare hands. And I will smile the entire time."
Sam gazes at me, full of longing. Then she bursts into fresh tears, even as she giggles wildly, and reaches for the sah-sah once more.
12
SAM
I wake up the next morning with a horrid taste in my mouth, a pounding head, and a pussy that aches for sex.
Ugh.
Completely hungover, I pull the fur hood off of my face and squint at the bright lights around me. Sessah is nowhere to be seen, and I'm still by the pool. I'm sweaty and the air down here is humid, and my mouth tastes like old vomit. Did I puke last night? I think I did. Somewhere. I glance over at the pool and several of the hollowed out sah-sah containers are floating atop the water.
The sight of them makes my stomach lurch. I press my hand to my mouth, stagger to my feet, and look for someplace to empty my guts.
Why did I think drinking away my problems was a great idea?
After I'm done heaving, I crawl away a few paces and then press my face to the damp stones, wishing they were cooler and the fruit cave not quite so warm. Sessah probably went outside to get fresh air, but just the thought of moving that much sounds utterly impossible. Thinking about Sessah makes my khui stir, and soon not only is my head throbbing, but my pussy is, too. Shit. I close my eyes, willing it to stop. Instead, I get a flicker of memory from last night, me touching myself as Sessah strokes his enormous cock inches away from my face.
