Captive (Human Ranch Book 1) Read online

  She dropped her gaze below the man’s waist, just to drive the point home. Still, the man said nothing. Instead, he simply continued to glare, unsatisfied erection twitching. Kitty stared back at him, not speaking, then finally turned, scooped up her clothes, and left.

  ***

  Kitty lay on her bed, one hand covering her mouth to stifle her moans while the other furiously mashed at her clit. The air felt cold against her skin, the covers long since kicked down to the foot of the bed. They’d need washing anyway.

  She came hard, nearly choking on a cry she couldn’t quite stop. Her fingers continued to move, growing still only when the shudder-inducing pleasure had faded to a memory.

  As her head fell back onto one of the many firm, oversized pillows, she let out a deep sigh of contentment. Stars above, teasing her new plaything had been one of the most satisfying encounters she’d had in months. The neediness in his eyes had almost persuaded her. But just thinking about the defiant way he’d looked at her, especially at the end… it was only a combination of willpower and exhaustion that kept Kitty from sliding a hand between her thighs for another round of self-satisfaction.

  But, tired though she was, there was work to be done.

  Continued in the Harem Ship Saga

  What’s better than a harem?

  A harem in space!

  Capt. Kitty Black lives a complicated life.

  As an interstellar smuggler, she specializes in buying (and freeing) slaves. But, despite her noble intentions, Kitty is still a woman. She has needs.

  Needs that only her sexy, alien passengers can satisfy.

  Freedom isn’t free, after all.

  This bundle contains the COMPLETE Harem Ship Saga, over 80,000 words of rough, raunchy, sci-fi erotica!

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  When Nadia awoke, the first thing she noticed was the cold. It went far beyond just nocturnal chilliness. Her skin burned with it and her breath fogged the air above her as she trembled and worked to recover her senses.

  The next thing she noticed was the fact that she was not dead. Or, if she was, her current surroundings didn’t appear to be much of an afterlife.

  The room contained barely enough light to see, and what there was appeared to be coming from the walls themselves. They were made of an unfamiliar black stone that glowed a dim, bioluminescent blue. In fact, apart from the rusted frame of the makeshift bed beneath her, the entire room seemed to be constructed from the stuff.

  It was only after a few seconds of examining her surroundings that Nadia realized she was naked.

  Letting out an uncharacteristically girlish yelp, she scrambled up into a sitting position. Her vision swam for a moment and her chest ached where she’d been struck by the Coleos spines, but the sensation passed quickly. Struggling not to hyperventilate, Nadia drew her legs up against her chest and hugged them tightly. The thin blankets were cold against her backside, but slowly warmed from her body heat.

  “What the hell,” she whispered to herself. “What the hell, what the hell, what the hell…”

  With the sound of scraping metal, a large section of the wall in front of her suddenly swung inward. Light, blinding in the dim room, fell across her face and made her screw her eyes shut. Several seconds passed before she was even able to squint. That was when she saw him.

  A young man stepped into the room, precise features obscured by the light streaming past him. It took a few seconds for Nadia’s eyes to focus, but when they finally did she realized he was wearing a tattered but recognizable lab coat. He approached slowly, hands held out to his sides in an unthreatening manner.

  “You’re okay,” he said, gently. “My name’s Dr. Card. Do you remember your name?”

  Nadia swallowed hard and was relieved to discover her throat was no longer painfully dry.

  “Nadia,” she said before she could help herself. “Oh, sorry. Sergeant Nadia Martinez, Texas National Guard.”

  The doctor smiled, nodding.

  “I know,” he said. “It was on your uniform. I just wanted to make sure you remembered. Sometimes the Coleos toxins do funny things with memory.”

  Clearing her throat, Nadia self-consciously adjusted her legs to better shield herself from view. It wasn’t that she doctor struck her as untrustworthy, she just wasn’t used to being the only one naked.

  “Where are my clothes?” she asked. “And where the hell are we?”

  For a second, a pained expression flashed across Card’s face. Then his smile returned.

  “Your clothes are in the other room,” he explained, nodding the direction he’d come. “Still in rough shape, though. I’ll see if I can find something clean for you to wear. As for where we are… it’s better if you see for yourself.”

  Nadia waited until he’d turned around to slide off the edge of the bed. The first touch of the icy floor against her toes made her gasp and she had to force herself not to hurry past him in her rush to get somewhere warmer. Gritting her teeth to keep them from chattering, she covered herself with her arms—not a terribly difficult feat—and tiptoed after him from the room.

  The next room, though marvelously warm by comparison, made her gasp for an entirely different reason. At least a dozen women sat, reclined, or slept throughout a large, circular room. Each was partially, or entirely, naked and most appeared at least six months pregnant. A few looked up as she entered, though no one greeted her and most did not even appear to register her presence.

  Adrenaline shot through her and Nadia lunged, seizing hold of Dr. Card and yanking him off balance in a headlock. A few more women looked over at the commotion.

  “What the hell is this place?” she snarled. “You bastard! What’s going on?”

  Card flailed a bit in her grasp but made no real effort to free himself.

  “You were captured!” he explained, choking slightly on the words. “I was, too. The Coleos brought us here.”

  Nadia’s chest tightened in panic and it took a bit for her to recover enough to loosen her grasp on Dr. Card’s neck. He coughed as she released him, massaging his throat as he straightened.

  “You’re lying,” she muttered. “It can’t be true. The Coleos don’t take prisoners.”

  Dr. Card shrugged.

  “And yet, here we are,” he said. “I don’t know how they choose their victims, but I’m sure there’s some sort of reasoning behind it. Psychological experimentation, perhaps? As far as I know, they only started taking prisoners a few weeks ago and every woman here was military, like you.”

  Nadia frowned in confusion.

  “But, why are they pregnant?” she asked, dreading the answer as soon as she’d spoken.

  Card looked at her, eyes full of pity. For a second, he appeared to be trying to choose the right words. Then, his shoulders slumped and he sighed.

  “The Coleos are capable of producing genetically hybridized offspring,” he said, sounding defeated. “And at an extremely fast rate. Their queens seem to produce mainly warrior drones. But a handful of variants seem to be able to breed with other species to produce Hivelords. I expect that’s why they brought you here.”

  Nadia’s arms fell to her sides as she stared around the room in growing horror. Suddenly, the prospect of being seen naked had become the least of her worries. The Coleos wanted to breed her—to use her like some kind of alien baby-factory?

  Not a fucking chance!

  “There has to be some way out of here!” she insisted, glancing around the room. It seemed to be made of the same impenetrable black stone as the bizarrely cold room where she’d woken up. The only difference seemed to be the pleasantly warm temperature and, perhaps relatedly, a manifold increase in the natural glow of the walls.

  Well, that and the dozen impregnated women lying about.

  “There’s no way out,” Card said, shaking his head. He leaned against the wall and studied his thoroughly scuffed shoes. “I’m sorry, Nadia. Believe me, I’ve looked.”

  �
��Well, they bring food right?” she pressed him. “What if we all rushed them at once?”

  A scoffing laugh from behind made Nadia turn.

  Hardin sat against the wall, naked and staring at the faint bulge of her stomach. Her face was dirty, except for a few trails where tears had washed away the grime.

  “Are you kidding me, Sarge?” Hardin muttered. “Twelve unarmed pregnant women and a pencil-pushing doctor against hundreds of Coleos? Face it, we’re fucked.”

  She began to laugh quietly at her own joke.

  Nadia swallowed hard and struggled not to hyperventilate. More than even hearing about what lay ahead, seeing her former squadmate in such a state drove home what a terrifying situation she was in. Hardin’s unshakable optimism had been an enormous part of what kept Fox Company together through defeat after defeat to the Coleos. If she had given up, what chance did Nadia have?

  Legs shaking, Nadia made her way to the soldier’s side.

  “What happened, Hardin?” Nadia asked. “I just saw you two days ago!”

  “Piss off, Nadia.”

  Recoiling in shock, Nadia nearly fell over. She straightened, anger flaring. She welcomed it, using it to drive the fear and anxiety from her mind.

  “What did you say to me, Private?”

  A hand caught Nadia’s wrist and tugged her quickly away. She whirled, livid at the interruption. The expression on the doctor’s face silenced her before she had a chance to speak, however.

  “It’s not her fault,” Card said in a hushed whisper. “The Coleos emit some sort of pheromone. It’s in the food, the water, even the air. It makes them more compliant to the Coleos and suppresses social instincts. That’s why nobody’s talking.”

  “Right.” Nadia scowled and folded her arms. “That sounds made-up.”

  Card sighed in exasperation and threw up his arms.

  “Of course it does! Every bit of this is uncharted territory! But it makes sense, especially when compared to native insects. Think about it. It explains how they coordinate without speaking. And it’s an ideal way to keep females compliant. Elegant and simple.”

  Nadia’s scowl deepened and Card made an apologetic gesture.

  “I’m sorry. Just the scientist in me. But it really does make sense. We never knew about Coleos pheromones before because nobody was ever exposed to them for this long. Even the researchers who examined the captured Hivelord near Seattle simply chalked it up to stress. And, what’s more—”

  Nadia interrupted him with a growl.

  “I don’t care, doctor!” she snapped. “Just tell me how to counter it. I’m not going to wind up like—”

  This time, Nadia was the one interrupted. Behind her, the same grinding sound as before filled the air as a ten-foot section of the wall swung open. She spun, chest tightening in fear.

  “I’m sorry,” Card said, backing away from her. “I really am.”

  Nadia had fought Coleos before, several times. But encountering one in an enclosed space, while unarmed and naked, was an entirely different experience. Without a rifle, her fear had no outlet. So she stood there, petrified with fear, trying to keep her trembling under control.

  The Coleos that entered looked remarkably similar to the other drones she’d seen, with two important differences. The first was the large, silver trough it carried in its atrophied front limbs. The alien deposited it on the floor near the entrance, spilling some of the watery gruel it contained. At once, every woman in the room rushed forward, forcing the creature to nimbly sidestep on its spindly, spiderlike claws.

  For the briefest instant, Nadia’s heart leapt. At least, until she realized the women were not charging their captor. They knelt around the trough, jostling one another for access and shoveling the liquid slop into their mouths. Even Hardin was there, though she maintained some semblance of decency as she stood to the side and occasionally scooped up small handfuls of it to be sipped.

  Slowly, the Coleos’ insectoid face turned to regard Nadia. It cocked its head, studying her with all six of its bulbous, black eyes. Nadia stared back, torn between whether to try and appear threatening or insignificant.

  That was when she noticed the second peculiarity about this particular drone. A long, ribbed tentacle dangled beneath its chitinous abdomen, twisting about like a prehensile tail. Slowly, the oddity’s movement stilled.

  Nadia felt like crying as the alien took a cautious step toward her. Her pride wouldn’t allow it, however. Instead, she backed away, glancing over her shoulder in search of the refrigerated side-room. The stony door was closed and she could see no indication of a latch or knob.

  “Dr. Card!” she yelped. “The door!”

  She spotted him in the corner, sitting alone. His eyes were closed, hands folded and pressed against his lips as if praying.

  The drone continued to advance.

  “Dr. Card!”

  “We can’t open it,” he said, softly. “The Coleos control it remotely.”

  Nadia’s backed against the door. She fumbled blindly for a latch, unable to tear her eyes off the approaching alien. It walked slowly, silent as always, like a stalking predator. Beneath it, the tentacle stretched and strained in her direction, nearly flat against the creature’s stomach. The tip was oddly triangular and, paired with the seemingly autonomous movement, resembled an eyeless pit viper.

  “No,” Nadia whispered as her trembling continued to worsen. “Please, no.”

  The Coleos paused. It loomed over her, a good two feet taller, and regarded her in silence. From the corner of her eye, Nadia could see Dr. Card look up.

  Seconds passed and the alien made no further moves. The tentacle, which could be nothing other than the creature’s cock, continued to reach and writhe in her direction. But apart from that, the drone gave no sign that it saw her at all.

  Slowly, as time dragged on, Nadia’s frantic heartbeat began to slow. The change was almost imperceptible at first but soon grew more pronounced. Her trembling lessened, and then disappeared altogether. Finally, her breathing began to steady.

  As her fear and adrenaline subsided, Nadia’s thoughts began to reassert themselves. The door to the circular room was still open. She could make a break for it. But there was no guarantee there weren’t a dozen more Coleos waiting for her just outside. Besides, the one before her could have killed her effortlessly—but hadn’t. She was safe for the moment.

  The pheromones, Nadia realized with a start. That was why the alien was waiting. Her sudden lack of fear wasn’t real. It was all a trick.

  But trying to convince herself of that fact was proving harder by the second. Nobody rationalized their emotions, they simply were. And Nadia quickly discovered that she could no more scare herself by wishing it than she could walk through walls. Or hold her breath indefinitely.

  She settled for small, shallow breaths that she hoped would keep the intrusive thoughts to a minimum. Or slow their progress at the very least.

  Maybe there was another way out of her present situation. The Coleos was alien but, if her suspicions were correct, it was still very much a male. There were other ways to satisfy one than just lying on her back. And, while it had been a while, Nadia was fairly confident in her skills. All she had to do was reach out a hand and—

  No! This wasn’t her! It wasn’t! The damn alien was inside her head!

  Did that really matter, though? Even if the pheromones were causing her to feel this way, it was still her brain experiencing the emotions.

  Before she even knew what she was doing, Nadia began to reach forward. Curiosity was getting the better of her. That was all this was. She’d give the Coleos’ tentacle-cock a quick tug and that’d be it.

  “No!” she growled, yanking her hand back so hard she bashed her elbow against the rocks behind her. The pain made her bite her tongue. Almost instantly, the taste of blood in her mouth and the pain in her arm drove the seemingly irresistible thoughts from her head.

  The door was open. Nadia took a step toward it.


  The Coleos roared, the sound practically deafening at such a close range. It skittered to the side, blocking her escape route, then forward. Its front limbs grabbed her by the wrists, lifting her into the air and pinning her to the wall. The sudden violence left Nadia disoriented and she gulped a breath.

  It was a mistake.

  Her fear began to subside again, as did her aching of her shoulders and back. But, welcome as the change might have been a few days ago, it now brought something new with it.

  A tingling dampness began to make its presence known between Nadia’s legs. She growled, aiming a weak, ineffective kick at the alien’s face. It barely connected. And, as she flopped back against the wall Nadia quickly discovered she lacked the energy for another.

  Not to mention the fact that there was something deeply erotic about being pinned and restrained by so powerful a creature.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nadia muttered, going limp.

  Was the Coleos planning to keep her suspended like this all day? A part of her hoped so. While she might not be able to feel him inside her at this angle, perhaps he could use his mouth? His fanged mandibles might not be ideal, but as long as he was gentle….

  The Coleos peeled her away from the wall. It kept her airborne, though, and it was hard not to marvel at the surprising strength of its undersized arms. So, rather than fight, Nadia remained limp and allowed the creature to maneuver her as it pleased.

  The result was far less alien than the drone itself.

  Nadia found herself dangling on all fours, the Coleos’ otherworldly hands grasping her sides, just above her hips. It rested her tailbone against the smooth belly of its exoskeleton, enabling her to just barely brush the ground with her toes and fingertips. The discovery left her terrified, relieved, and embarrassed all at the same time.

  And she couldn’t wait.

  Something large, warm, and silky glided across the backs of her thighs. Nadia squirmed, struggling for a glimpse of the alien cock as it prepared to penetrate her. Or at least, she hoped it was. The thing might have been as long and as thick as her arm, but the way it moved sent shivers down her spine.