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“The warrior joins with his female to prepare him for his journey into the jungle to bring back food,” he said.
“You’re talking about sex, aren’t you?” I said.
“A crude translation, but yes. To stand the best chance of making a good recovery, I should perform this joining ceremony.”
“With me. That’s what you’re building up to, isn’t it? You’re saying we should have sex so you’ll fight better at the Challenge.”
He smiled. “That’s right.”
“This is amazing,” I said, shaking my head. “I travel halfway around the galaxy and end up with a guy obsessed with sex. What is it with men? Can’t you guys think of anything else?”
He looked confused. “It’s a spiritual ceremony—”
“As well as a physical one,” I completed. “I know. You already said. So let me get this straight… You abducted me, were going to sell me, and now you want to have sex with me… And you don’t see any problem with this?”
“I’m a male and you’re a female—”
“Hold it right there, buster.” I gritted my teeth and formed fists at my sides. “I’m not your property. I’m nobody’s property. I decide what I want to do and when I decide to do it. I won’t sleep with you just to make you ‘stronger.’ Even if my life is on the line! Do you understand?”
“I understand.” He took no insult from my outburst. “It’s an option is all I’m saying.”
I seethed.
He has a streak of honor in him, Maisie had said.
If he did, where was it? I guessed it must be buried deep.
Very deep.
“Why do you abduct innocent people?” I said.
“Nobody’s innocent,” Nighteko said.
“I was.”
Three days, I told myself. Just three days. Then I would be back with my friends, on home soil. I could put up with anything for that long. Nighteko had made me a promise.
He would keep it. Wouldn’t he?
The truth was, I had no way of knowing if he would keep his word or not. I didn’t know him. I didn’t even know anything about his species.
I shook my head. I might not trust Nighteko yet but I did trust Maisie. She knew these smugglers better than I ever would.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Nighteko said. “Why didn’t you leave when you had the chance? You were in the shuttle. You had a translator strip. I checked the records. You told Computer where to take you, but instead of leaving, you chose to stay. Why?”
“Because my friends are still out there. You kidnapped and sold them to strangers. If I can help them, I will.”
“If it were me, I would have jumped in the shuttlecraft and taken off. Nothing could stop me from returning home.”
I shrugged. “Then I feel sorry for you.”
Now it was his turn to blink. “Sorry? For me? I’m the captain of one of the best smuggling ships in the galaxy. What do you have to feel sorry about?”
“You might be the captain of this ship but there’s nobody among your crew you can trust,” I said. And yes, I did enjoy twisting the knife. “Any second they see you’re weak enough, they’ll Challenge you for leadership. The only people you can trust are a pair of human females. And you don’t even know one of them at all! I’m a stranger here and yet you still trust me more than your entire crew.”
His eyes burned with fire. He ground his teeth, preparing to spit a retort but I grabbed his blanket first and yanked it off him.
“What are you doing?” he spat.
