She had no option but to use the facilities and shower. He had removed all of his effects and there was only a drying towel for her to use.

She grimaced, fortunately with her current hairstyle- none-it was under a minute when she left the chamber and confronted her captor as he prepared to leave. She left the towel tucked around her, as it was all she had to wear, and he had seen quite enough of her already.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get dressed." He laced up 60 eXtasy's Collective Mind boots that were vastly more elaborate and form fitting than those of the arena. His leather trousers were not standard issue, nor was the snow-white shirt that he wore.

"Dressed? In what?" She was perturbed-he hadn't even looked up when she came out. "You wrecked my clothes last night."

"On the bed."

A female version of his clothing lay there, with the accompaniment of human underwear.

As she dressed, she kept the thousand questions that she had in her head silent, amazed that the bra and panty combination fit.

The shirt was a little loose, but the trousers were nice and snug across the hips.

The lacings on the boots puzzled her and she sat to fumble her way through them. His hands brushed hers aside and she sat bemused as he laced her boots on for her. When he was done, he stood, brushed his hands along his thighs, and tugged her to her feet. "Come along. We take off within the hour."

With her hand firmly ensnared by his he left his chamber and escorted her down the hall. Not to the fighters' prep area, but out into the sun and across the surface of this unnamed world. She blinked frantically at the feel of sun and wind on her skin after months indoors. Her free hand wiped at tears that formed as she stumbled after what she now knew was her new owner, Galeno Morathi of Naif.

They walked to the s.p.a.ceport and through six customs checks. The arena organizers were extremely protective of their property, and only guest fighters could leave with impunity. Tara had to guess that Galeno made arrangements with management for her possession as well. If not, they would both have been returned to the arena.

"This is my shuttle, strap in-we are cleared for immediate 61 Violet Visions departure." He gestured to a small sleek shuttle and the door opened for him as they approached. He moved into the c.o.c.kpit and the main hatch sealed itself as soon as they entered.

She followed his direction and locked the harness onto her shoulders and around her waist in the co-pilot's chair. The controls were bright and new, definitely an improvement over the old shuttle the Alliance had a.s.signed her.

The takeoff was smooth and she noted with receding surprise that he seemed to have little to no difficulty in maneuvering the shuttle in higher gravitational forces. She watched his hands carefully and that was when it hit her.

"Naif! You are from a high gravity world! No wonder they couldn't match your speed or dexterity." She had heard of high-g species, but never met one before. No wonder he was so solid.

"So, you have finally put it together." He laughed at her again.

It seemed to happen a lot. "Yes, I am of a high gravity species.

Two to three times the gravitational force on your home world."

"How do you know so much about Terrans?"

"I wasn't about to launch a rescue mission for the Alliance without knowing about who I was going after." He absently steered the shuttle out of the atmosphere and once they had cleared the orbital satellites, he set the automatic pilot and turned to her while releasing his harness.

She unbuckled as well and tried to stand. The gravity plates were set higher than she was used to and it took all her concentration to keep her shoulders square.

"So, the Alliance sent you after me?"

He stood to match her posture with considerably more grace than she had shown. "They waved your file in front of me and I couldn't resist." His fingers trailed across her skull and down her cheek. "I have been waiting for you for some time."

Her knees buckled and she sat heavily back in her chair.

62.

eXtasy's Collective Mind "Waiting for me?"

"Five years ago, you entered the Alliance in the volunteer program. With your champions declared, your species now just needs to complete integration." He scooped her out of the chair and walked down the main hall to his quarters. She struggled briefly, but her limbs felt heavy. Of course, higher gravity.

"Don't worry about it Tara, we are going to meet with an Alliance medical vessel. They will prepare you for life on Naif."

"Life...?" She was more than stunned now-she was terribly confused.

He sat down on his bunk and cradled her against him. Well, tried to. She squirmed out of his arms and huddled in the corner. This was too much.

"Can I explain from the beginning?" His hand gripped her calf, and she trembled at the warmth that flooded her. She nodded.

"Naif has zero population growth. It is a high gravity planet and we simply slowed our reproduction levels. For generations there were more females born than males, and as our males left the planet, the population dwindled.

"Ours was not an Alliance world, it never had been. We needed the influx of species that could be adapted to our gravity and climates. Few were available, and fewer were willing to part with citizens.

"We began a campaign to recruit other species-including a mate compatibility test that worked very well for certain races.

But many were left alone and waiting for a mate to appear. Then a lone planet was entered into the Alliance protectorate program and its volunteers were catalogued and a.s.sessed for compatibility.

"All of the members of this volunteer wave were asked to sign a release offering their reproductive capabilities to the Alliance if 63 Violet Visions an appropriate match was found. Six months ago, I received notification that they had found a match for me. I set out immediately to meet with an Alliance rep to finalize all of the arrangements for transfer of citizenship of the woman and to make sure that the medical clearances were in place."

Tara relaxed slightly as his hand ma.s.saged her calf, and she acknowledged that she had indeed signed such a release. "At that time I was on my last a.s.signment. Three months later I was sold and in the arena."

His fingers had teased the intricate lacings of her boots loose and he continued his ma.s.sage on her leather clad calves.

"I was told of your disappearance while on a.s.signment and with the help of some Alliance Readers, we found the remains of your shuttle and the likely location where you had been sold."

He met her lavender eyes, "I made the arrangements with the Alliance and contacted the management of the arena for a fixed fight."

"Fixed?" It made sense to her now and a startled giggle began to bubble out of her.

"Of course, they bet against the favorite and cleaned up handsomely. Their champion was a little battered, but nothing that couldn't be repaired."

"And you won...me?" The giggles were a thing of the past as the heat in his eyes made her tremble. She began to shift and crawled toward him, kneeling across his lap, and meeting his gaze at close range.

He cleared his throat. "Umm, yes. It was my agreement with management that I would have one of the prize females of my choice, to keep."

"So, you could have taken me out of there last night?"

Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she nibbled at his neck as he had hers the night before.

64.

eXtasy's Collective Mind "Yes. But I needed to make it look as if I was going to take you for a pleasure slave. If I had left with you, it would have been suspicious."

"But you had already fulfilled your agreement-they wouldn't have gone back on it." Her tongue flicked across his flesh and he shuddered. "Did you just want to f.u.c.k me?"

A hot bronze flush colored his face, and she rocked her body against his. "It was in my mind. I wanted to see if all I had read about your species' responses was accurate."

"Oh, that we are as sensitive, if not more sensitive, than the Selna?" She murmured the words against his jaw. The hard bulge behind the leather of his trousers distracted her in her questioning.

"And that you were sensitive to the scents produced by my species." His hands cupped her b.u.t.tocks and he worked her back and forth over his erection. The musk in question was filling the room and working its magic on her.

"I am indeed. Can we try this again without my hands shackled to the bed?" Her hands worked at the fastenings of his shirt, then her own, and peeled them off in jerky motions. The trousers went next, and then he was splendidly nude with an erection that still made her mouth water.

She skinned out of her panties and flipped off her bra with a sharp motion, then fell to her knees and took him into her mouth. She hummed in satisfaction at the salty-sweet taste of him in her mouth then kept humming as she began to suck him as she rocked her head forward and back. He grunted and fell back onto the bed, tugging at her ears to bring her head away from his member and to his mouth. "This would be much easier if you had hair you know."

She grimaced and he smiled and drew her thighs apart nudging the entrance to her body with the blunt wet head of his 65 Violet Visions c.o.c.k. As he slowly drew her down onto him, she gasped, arched her back, and braced her hands on his abdomen. His hands controlled the pace, lifting, and dropping her on him with increasing speed. Desperate for contact she rubbed her c.l.i.t with one hand while keeping her balance with the other.

Her fingers slid furiously and she howled as she came. In the next instant, she was on her stomach and he was sliding into her from behind, her thighs still spread wide and the sharp noise of impact with every thrust.

He pounded into her with mounting frenzy reaching around her to stroke the nub of sensation that had sent her off before. As he began to shudder with his imminent o.r.g.a.s.m, his fingers flicked and pinched at her c.l.i.t, sending a wave of spasms through her. She groaned her second release into the sheets as she pushed up against him with her hips, and an instant later, his powerful jerking thrusts spilled his c.u.m into her as he shouted his own release. He fell to the side and withdrew before she could play with him again.

"I can hardly wait until you get the adjustments. Then I won't have to hold back." He kissed the back of her neck and didn't see her eyes widen. Of course he had held back. With three times her density, he could literally tear her apart.

She turned and faced him, giving him a sweet kiss on the nose. "Thanks for holding back. I think I look better in one piece."

One hand gripped her b.u.t.tock and pulled her to him. "And it is a lovely piece indeed."

As they snuggled together, an odd thought occurred to her.

"You said that Tara meant something in Naif. What was it?"

His warm golden hand cupped her bald skull and he kissed her forehead. "White grape."

66.

eXtasy's Collective Mind THE PURPLE HEART.

By Madelaine Grant beam of sunlight from the suddenly opened heavy door Arevealed the chaos of the crowded holding room. Vanessa shrank against the stone wall as she watched for a glimpse of King Horace's Chief Procurer. Her fate, as well as the fate of all the other women here, was in his hands. She'd heard of the King's voracious s.e.xual appet.i.te-the rumors were legendary. It was said he'd taken a dozen women to his bed at once and rammed his c.o.c.k into every one of them. His harem was reputed to be the largest and most fiercely protected in the Western Kingdom. No chance for escape once she was in the King's clutches, especially if her ident.i.ty became known. The King would certainly relish ravishing his mortal enemy's only daughter.

She saw Derek Hanford at the entrance, legs apart, and stiffened at the sight of the huge man dressed entirely in black, save for the purple royal crest affixed to his tunic. She knew the emblem signified the Chief Procurer was a n.o.bleman of royal 67 Violet Visions blood. Her own family's golden crest was only given to those in battle who achieved greatness or was a member of her clan.

The Chief Procurer's black eyes were piercing as they searched the dungeon. He was looking for her. She knew it. For sure, the guards would have informed him immediately of her attempt at escape.

He motioned to the guards. "Bring me one woman at a time.

Unshackle their legs only. We don't want a free-for-all here."

Then he ordered Seth, his first in command. "See they get to the baths safely. Until the King makes his choices, the men will have to wait."

She thought of her family with its many recent deaths and her heart grew tight with pain. Her three brothers were killed in the battle and her father was severely wounded. Where her mother and her faithful maid were, she could only hazard a guess. The old and infirm women were herded into one area while the younger ones were bundled into wagons for the two-day journey to Waterford, King Horace's stronghold.

Vanessa could see the Chief Procurer study the women as they were marched in front of him. Was he examining them so closely in order to discover her? Perhaps he'd heard of the numerous suitors she'd turned down only to give in to her father's demands that she become betrothed to the old Prince Wilhelm, a wealthy lord whose lands adjoined the Trevor castle.

She loved her father, King Trevor, and would do almost anything to keep that love.

Vanessa saw the hordes of women leaving the room under guard. Where were they going? The silence and the fear were palpable. She straightened her spine and willed herself to be courageous. No man had ever ordered her around, except for her father and older brothers. She would show this despot what he had to deal with.

68.

eXtasy's Collective Mind They had tied her wrists and ankles with purple cords. As one of the soldiers came near with his dagger unsheathed, she mustered every ounce of her strength and held her head high. He slashed the ankle cords and hauled her up. Hitching his head in the Chief Procurer's direction, he shoved her forward.

Enraged at the soldier's high-handed manner, she gave him a withering stare. "Keep your hands off me," she hissed.

From the corner of her eye she saw Derek watching the exchange. He was half-smiling, almost as if he knew a secret. As she approached him, his eyes openly raked her body. He looked right through her long silk dress and velvet cape. She was smudged and dirty after the long trip, she knew. Yet his gaze was admiring, almost l.u.s.tful. When she stood directly in front of him, she saw the bulge in his tight pants and could tell his c.o.c.k must be huge.

Could this work in her favor? Would this man help her? Or would he just ravish her first and throw her to the others to finish off? She shuddered at the thought. Beneath downcast eyes, she studied his stern face. She saw him waver as if he were coming to a decision. Then he turned to his second in command. "Take the others to the baths. I'll handle her." With those curt words, he picked her up in his arms and issued a quiet command. "Do not speak one word. Hide your face against my shoulder."

Vanessa's first instinct was to defy him. One look at his piercing eyes and hard expression gave her pause. This was not a man to thwart, at least not at the moment. Gritting her teeth, she did as he ordered.

His booted steps rang on the stone floors as he strode rapidly down long corridors and up stairs. Where was he taking her?

Derek opened the door of his s.p.a.cious bedchamber and slammed it shut with one foot and then bolted it. Purple velvet covered the enormous bed. What was he planning to do to her?

69.

Violet Visions Of course, he had evil intentions-she was his captive and he could do as he wished with her. But would she just quietly submit to his will? She had one of her own-and a temper, too.