Still the crawling sensation was almost more than she could bear.
Shouldn’t have thought about the palmetto bug—shouldn’t have thought about roaches, she thought miserably. The awful memory made everything worse and the feeling of being climbed all over by many, tiny, chitinous claws was maddening. I’ll go crazy if I don’t get them off soon, Sarah thought wildly. Completely crazy!
Suddenly Toodles was back, shoving his way through the gathering crowd. He was pushing a rolling silver cart and on top of it was a cage like the one he’d originally used to bring out the catchems for their table—only this one was much bigger. It looked big enough to hold dozens if not hundreds of the little cat-crab creatures.
Sarah eyed it skeptically.
Great. So there’s the cage—now how is he going to get them back in it?
Her question was answered when the waiter put a silver whistle to his lips and blew three, short, sharp blasts on it. He was quite close to Sarah when he did it and the noise was deafening—but at least it had the desired effect.
The catchems began climbing off her as fast as they had climbed on. Dozens of them jumped off her breasts and onto the table—using her almost like a human trampoline. At least that was the half-hysterical image that filled Sarah’s mind. But at this point she didn’t care how they were leaving as long as they just left.
Soon all but a few of the cat-crab creatures had skittered across the table and jumped into the large wire cage. The ones that were left were mewing hysterically and tangled in Sarah’s long brown hair, which had long ago come down from its bun.
“Hold still, sweetheart,” Sazar murmured as he picked the distressed creatures carefully off her, untangling their flailing legs from the strands of her hair. “All right now—I think that’s all of them.”
“Are you sure? I swear I can still feel them on me…all over me!” Sarah rubbed her arms, trying to get rid of the awful crawling sensation which still lingered even though the catchems seemed to be gone. She wanted to get up and leave the restaurant but there was too much of a crowd around them. It seemed that the Alquons were almost as nosey as the giant tizen which had been staring in the bathroom at her. They wouldn’t move an inch, even when Toodles begged them to.
“Please, would all guests return to their seats?” he asked, trying again to make his thin, reedy voice heard above the babble. “Please, there is nothing to see here. Please go back and leave these fine people alone.”
Nobody budged and Sarah saw lots of them had little flat black squares they were pointing at her. Was that the Alquon version of a cell phone or a camera? Was she going to be plastered all over their social media as the girl who was attacked by cat-crabs?
“Please,” she whispered desperately. “Please, I just want to go home.”
“Enough of this,” Sazar growled. He moved from his side of the booth, pushing the shorter Alquons physically out of the way when they wouldn’t step aside, and reached for Sarah.
Before she could say a thing, he had swept her up and was holding her to his chest, above the babbling crowd.
“Out of the way,” he roared, making her wince and put her hands to her ears. “Fucking move!”
But his deep, base voice had the effect that their waiter’s exhortations to the crowd hadn’t. The Alquons looked at the big Kindred uncertainly and began to clear a path.
“That’s more like it,” Sazar growled. Holding Sarah close, he left the milling crowd behind and at last, to Sarah’s intense relief, got them out of the restaurant.
She took a deep breath and it came out in a shuttering, shaking sound that was too much like a moan. Sarah clamped her lips shut before more moans followed. Her nerves felt as though they had been strung as tight as harp strings and some cruel musician had been plucking them for hours.
The catchems crawling all over her, the pressing, babbling crowd, the feeling of being vulnerable and exposed…it was too much. Just too, too much. She put her head against Sazar’s broad chest and shook silently, feeling like her whole body was going into overload.
Feeling like she would never feel normal again.
Chapter Fourteen
Sarah seemed shaken and silent after their escape from the ill-fated dinner and Sazar didn’t blame her a bit. The poor little human had had one traumatic experience after another from the moment they’d gotten here.
First she’d been forced to show much more of her body than she was comfortable with, then she’d been ogled by every male that came near them and she’d been nearly assaulted by that bastard Rando, not to mention mentally molested by the perverted Lord Magnate. After arriving at their nighttime accommodations she had been confronted by both snakes—or something that looked very like snakes—in the fresher facilities, and a giant creature with an eye bigger than her own head staring in at her.
All that was a heavy load even before the incident with the catchems. Sazar was inclined to think his little human had probably had much more than she could bear.
And it was all his fault for dragging her here in the first place.
He carried her silently through the streets back to their room at the Courtly Row. When he got her inside he said, in the softest voice he could manage, “Sarah…sweetheart—”
“Don’t…” She was shivering and her teeth were chattering. “Don’t talk about it. I just…just want to take a shower. They were all over me. Please—I need a shower!”
“As you wish,” Sazar said quickly. He put her in a chair and gave her a drying blanket, then went into the fresher to try and figure out the strange shower device. Luckily Kindred were almost as good with machinery as they were with languages. He was able to get the complicated array of buttons to give him a hot flow of steaming, sweet-scented water in a short time.
He came back to find that Sarah had stripped and was holding the drying blanket wrapped around herself.
“It’s ready,” Sazar told her.
“I…is it? Good.” She tried to stand and nearly fell over.
She’s in some kind of overload. In shock, he thought as he caught her.
“Sarah, maybe you should just lie down a moment—” he began.
“No!” She began to struggle in his arms. “No, I need a shower now.”
“All right,” Sazar said grimly. “You’ll have your shower but not alone.”
He carried her into the bathing area and leaned her against him while he stripped off the long robe he was wearing and toed off his boots. He left his trousers on for propriety’s sake. Then he unwound the drying blanket from around her shoulders and lifted her again.
“W-wait,” Sarah tried to protest, her teeth still chattering. “Wh-what are you d-doing? I…I’m n-naked! I can take a shower b-by myself.”
“Not in this state you can’t,” Sazar growled. “I won’t have you slipping and falling in the tub. Besides, you’re not naked—you still have on your underthings and your, er, jewelry.”
He nodded at the tiny, skimpy panties she was wearing which honestly were just strings and the double strand of pearls. She was still wearing the nipple rings and breast chain too but he would worry about that later.
“But—” she began again.
Sazar ignored her. Carefully, still holding her close to him, he climbed over the high side of the tub. When he got her into the shower, which was the kind that rained straight down from above, he leaned her against him again and reached for a puffy white thing he was fairly certain was a bath sponge.
The sponge had one soft side and one abrasive side and emitted a flood of floral-scented bubbles when he held it under the water and squeezed. Sazar used the abrasive side to scrub Sarah’s skin, making sure to clean everywhere he thought the catchems might have crawled.
At first she just stood there shivering, allowing him to scrub her. Then, after a moment, she leaned her head against his chest and her shoulders began to shake with low, almost inaudible sobs.
Sazar felt as though she’d reached into his chest and squeezed his
heart in her soft little hand.
“Sarah…oh, sweetheart,” he murmured, putting his arms around her and holding her close. “I’m sorry…so sorry…”
Slowly her arms came up and wrapped around his waist. She pressed her face to his chest and held on while she continued to cry. Sazar stroked her shoulders and murmured softly into her ear. He wasn’t even sure what he was saying or if she could hear it over the sound of the shower but he didn’t care—it was instinct to comfort his female, instinct to hold her close and let her cry if she needed to. And she felt so right in his arms—so soft and small and perfectly curved.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, stroking her trembling shoulders. “Ladara.” It was a term of endearment in his own dialect—the language of the Pitch-Bloods. A name used for a lover, but that didn’t even occur to Sazar. He just knew it felt right to call Sarah that—as right as it was to stroke and comfort and hold her.
At last Sarah stopped crying and gave a long, trembling sigh. When she looked up at him, her eyes were wet but her face was calm.
“I…I think I’m okay now,” she said. “Can we get out?”
“Of course.” Sazar lifted her out and wrapped a drying blanket around her. He made certain she was steady on her feet before turning his back and shucking down the sodden trousers. He toweled off quickly and wrapped a similar blue blanket around his waist before turning back to her.
“Feeling better?”
“Yes, thank you.” Sarah nodded.
“Good. Then let’s get dressed. I’m taking you home.”
* * * * *
“What?” Sarah’s heart seemed to drop down to her toes. “No—you can’t,” she exclaimed. “I know I got all emotional and I freaked out at the restaurant but I swear I’ll do better, Sazar. Please don’t fire me!”
“Fire you?” He stared at her blankly. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I just thought…I know I probably ruined the mission or at least gave the Alquons a bad view of us. But I just…I couldn’t help it. When those things started crawling all over me…” Sarah shivered. “Look, can’t we just not go back to that restaurant and try to go on with the mission?”
His pale eyes got wide. “You want to keep going? You want to stay here? After the day you’ve had?”
Sarah nodded. “I swear I’ll do better.”
“Sweetheart…” Sazar cupped her cheek in a gesture of tenderness that nearly undid her. “I was going to cancel the mission and take you home because all of this is just too much—too hard on you. But I certainly wouldn’t fire you over it. If anything you’ve withstood much more than any other assistant I’ve ever had and you’ve kept your composure beautifully.”
“I haven’t, though,” Sarah whispered. “I…I just had a mini-nervous breakdown in the shower.”
“And you had every right to,” he said firmly. “After everything you’ve been through today I would be surprised if you weren’t upset.”
Sarah’s heart, which had been skittering around her chest in fear, began to beat a regular rhythm again.
“So you’re not mad at me? You’re not going to let me go?”
Sazar stroked her cheek again.
“I never want to let you go, Sarah,” he rumbled softly. And somehow, she got the feeling that he wasn’t talking about her employment with him. But that was crazy, wasn’t it? She wondered again if he was having feelings for her…because she couldn’t help herself, she was certainly having all kinds of feeling for him.
“Th-thank you,” she stuttered and dropped her eyes. His pale gaze was simply too intense.
“You’re welcome. Now that we’ve established I’m not going to fire you, let’s get dressed—in our proper clothing—and get out of here.”
“What?” Sarah looked up quickly. “You still want to go? Why?”
“Because of what you’ve gone though. We can’t stay in a place where you’re constantly exposed to degradation and danger.”
“I’m fine,” Sarah insisted. “I don’t want you to scrap the mission because of me.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re certain about that? You want to stay?”
“Positive.” Sarah lifted her chin. “You said yourself you might be able to make some valuable exchanges with the Alquons. I don’t want the Kindred to lose their chance to trade with these people all because I was too squeamish to do what was expected of me.”
“Sarah… Ladara,” he murmured. “No one expects you to put up with the things you’ve been dealing with today—least of all me. I promise I won’t be upset with you and I absolutely won’t fire you if you want to go.”
“But I don’t want to,” Sarah insisted. She wasn’t sure why she was so determined to stay. Sazar was right, she’d really been through some rough experiences today.
But as unpleasant as some of it was, it was also new and exciting and real. She’d spent years reading about foreign, far off places and researching them on the computer, when she could use it for something other than work, although any “questionable” websites had been blocked, of course. But she’d never in her wildest dreams expected to get outside the Compound and actually experience other cultures herself.
And there was another reason she wanted to stay, if she was being honest with herself. Being here with Sazar, when they had no one but each other to look to for support, was definitely drawing them together. She couldn’t imagine any scenario on Earth or even on the Mother Ship that would have ended with the big Kindred bathing her so gently and holding her while she cried. She would probably just be filing paperwork and making appointments for him if they went back now.
Sarah didn’t want that. As uncomfortable and downright scary as some of the experiences she’d had today had been, she didn’t want to stop…didn’t want to leave as long as it meant she’d get to be closer to Sazar.
I’d rather stay in a place where I have to show my breasts and they have snakes in the toilet than leave, just because I want to be with my new boss, she thought. That’s crazy, right?
But it didn’t feel crazy—it felt right.
“I want to stay, Sazar,” she repeated. “Please.”
He sighed deeply. “All right. But if we do, you have to promise to be near me at all times. Your beauty attracts much too much attention here.” His voice dropped to a growl. “I don’t like the way the Alquon males look at you.”
“The way they look at my boobs, you mean,” Sarah muttered and then blushed. Why had she said such a thing?
“Your boobs?” He raised his eyebrows quizzically. “You mean your breasts?”
“Well, yes,” Sarah admitted.
“They are…quite large. Especially compared to those of the Alquon females,” Sazar remarked in a low voice.
“They’ve always been too big. I hate how big they are,” Sarah said passionately.
Speaking of her breasts, they were feeling extremely uncomfortable now that the thin towel-like blanket he’d wrapped her in was rubbing against them. It occurred to Sarah that she’d had the damn golden bands on for hours and her nipples were throbbing. She wondered uneasily if she was losing blood flow. Was it bad to wear the jewelry and breast chain too long? What if it was doing permanent damage?
This is bad, she thought, nibbling her lower lip. But what can I do about it? I know the only way to get the chain and bands off is to have Sazar help me but I can’t just ask him to suck my nipples, can I?
She had the sudden feeling she was being watched and looked up to see Sazar staring at her, a frown on his chiseled features.
“Sarah,” he murmured. “I can tell that something’s bothering you.”
“You can?” Surprise and a feeling of guilt came over her, as though she’d been hiding things from him she shouldn’t have been hiding. “How?” she managed to ask.
“The way you’re shifting from foot to foot for one thing…and I’ve also noticed when you bite your lower lip you’re feeling anxious or uncertain about something. Why don’t you tell me what it is??
??
“I…I don’t know.” Sarah shifted again. They were still in the bathroom with the open ocean clearly visible through the glass wall. “I can’t talk in here,” she said. “What if another giant nosey kraken comes along? Can we please go in the bedroom? I…I can walk,” she added when he started to pick her up again. “I feel fine now.”
“Of course. Come.” Sazar led the way into the bedchamber and Sarah couldn’t help admiring him as she trailed behind him. He was so big and his ass was extremely firm and muscular under the blue bath-sheet he had wrapped around his trim waist. Hi broad, bare shoulders were beaded with water from their shower. She found herself wishing she could lick it off and scolded herself for the naughty thought.
He’s your boss, Sarah! Stop acting like he’s your boyfriend and behave yourself.
But no matter how she berated herself, she couldn’t disguise or ignore the fact that she needed help—intimate help—and Sazar was the only one who could give it to her.
The big Kindred went and sat on the edge of a tall, armless chair with cushions patterned in the same aquamarine blue as the bedspread. He motioned for Sarah and she came to stand before him, still nibbling her lower lip.
“Now,” he said. “What is it?”
“I…my…my breasts are starting to hurt,” she blurted out. “I just…I need to get these bands off. I’m starting to get worried about the long-term effects of the, uh, jewelry.”
“Of course. Why didn’t you say so before?” Sazar asked calmly.
“Because it’s really freaking embarrassing.” Sarah hunched her shoulders. “I mean, you’re my boss. How can I ask you to…”
“To help you? To suck your nipples?” he suggested in that deep voice of his that sent shivers through her.
“Yes,” Sarah whispered. “It just…seems wrong.”
“I sucked them to help you put the rings on,” he reminded her.
“I know but…but we didn’t have a choice. I didn’t know how…how you actually felt about it.” Her voice came out in a whisper and she couldn’t meet his eyes.