Pale Stars in Her Eyes
The Starlight Chronicles 1

He felt her before he saw her.

Ran Kartel glanced up sharply, waiting for the door to open. The girl was apprehensive, and waves of uncertainty and dismay rolled like a lapping ocean surf through his mind. He wasn’t sure he blamed her, for like all the human women on the ship, she had been plucked from her placid earthly existence and brought as a captive to please the men on board. All would later be bred to keep the bloodlines free of mutations and weaknesses in immune systems. To him, the practice was not entirely fair, for his government preached impartial rule, but he had not crafted the legislation that put it in place. Nor was he involved in any way in the harvesting program, except one.

He would reap the benefit of not having to go three months without sex. That length of time would be nearly impossible, for along with elevated intelligence and superior physical size was an increased sex drive among his kind.

“She’s being brought in,” he murmured to the other two men sitting at the table in the common area of their berth. The room was round, and each of them had a sleeping cubicle. On the other side was a different room, this one with a large window through which a bed was visible from the community area where they ate their meals.

The window into the room served two purposes. The first was so they could enjoy watching the girl at all times, even when they weren’t using her. After all, she was there for their pleasure. The second was to show when she was with one of them, and already occupied.

It was quite a practical arrangement, for there was simply no way to bring a woman on board for every man. The soldiers had to share ten to one and schedule their time, but since he, Armada, and the colonel were the highest raking men on the ship next to the admiral, they were given not only the privilege of sharing between fewer men, but the most beautiful of the captives.

Armada, the engineer who designed the new super engine that now powered them with silent force across the depths of space, lifted his fine brows. He was like most S-species and remarkably good-looking. Thick fair hair waved around features that were both sculpted and classically handsome. He was tall, leanly built, and keen intelligence showed in his remarkably blue eyes, their color pure cobalt. He said, “I’m told she has blond hair and the color is actually real for a change with human women.” He grinned, making his face look boyish. “Her snatch is just a slightly darker shade.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Ian Helm gave him a glimmering look, his long fingers wrapped around the stem of his glass. He was a contrast to the young engineer with sleek dark hair, high cheekbones, and eyes dark as the endless universe without stars. He was known as a remarkably brave soldier, his build massive and heavily muscled, and he was a good six inches taller than either one of them even though they were considered tall males. Ran had always thought privately he wouldn’t want to ever really see him angry, but normally, the colonel was a very controlled man and had an agile mind under pressure.

“Dr. Yent did the examination. He mentioned to me she was a gorgeous specimen of a human female and her hymen unbroken until he did it surgically. The blood tests confirmed she’s entirely clean of any of their typical diseases.”

“You would ask for such details.” Helm looked amused. “Blood tests, purity issues, and the color of her pubic hair. Tell me, did you inquire on the state of her teeth?”

“I’m an engineer. We like to know just what we’re dealing with. Details are important to us.” Armada laughed.

“Soldiers are less complicated, I guess. I just don’t want my dick to be best friends with my hand for the entire way to Septinium and back. A warm female, S-species or human, beats the hell out of masturbation any day. I’m already tense and we’ve been out only a few days.”

“She’s frightened and not particularly willing,” Ran interjected. “I feel it.”

Both of them looked at him, their expressions hard to read, but he felt their first reaction was one of surprise he even brought up the girl’s feelings. After all, she was just a human and a captive at that. Larik said, “Surely she’s been instructed our captives are never ill-used. Besides, at her intelligence level, she must realize she has no choice.”

It was true, she didn’t have a choice but to submit and service them whenever they wished. Still, Ran wasn’t interested in a woman who didn’t want sex as much as he did. “I just think we should approach this the right way. The four of us are stuck with each other this journey in close quarters, and as you pointed out, Colonel, it’s a long one. If we take care to make sure she’s sexually initiated with as much sensitivity as possible, she’ll be much more likely to participate with enthusiasm.”

“That’s logical.” Armada nodded thoughtfully, taking a sip of wine in his cup. “I want to be fucked back. I’ve never taken an unwilling woman, human or not.”

Helm blew out his breath in a small sigh. “I guess I hadn’t even thought about how the woman might feel. We’re told it doesn’t matter because the humans have no rights. I just knew she was going to be here with us for that purpose and my cock took over. I’ve never forced myself on any female who wasn’t ready to spread her legs with enthusiasm.”

Ran looked around the table. “Which one of us then, goes first? She’s a virgin, though thank the stars and moons it won’t hurt her because the medical procedure took care of the physical part of it. If properly aroused, she’ll enjoy it even her first time.”

Helm shook his dark head, his raven hair shifting across the material of his uniform. “I’m very big,” he said with obvious reluctance. “Probably too big for an uninitiated woman. One of you two should probably break in our beautiful guest.”

That revelation was not a surprise, considering how large the colonel was in every other way, his cock probably was huge. And ‘guest’, Ran thought,is the wrong word. ‘Slave’ was more appropriate, but he refrained from mentioning it. He looked at Armada. “We can toss for the privilege.”

The young engineer thought for a moment, and then said, “No, you do it, sir. You’ll know just what she’s feeling every moment and surely that’ll help you guide her in the right direction. I can wait for her to adjust to the arrangement.”

Maybe it was just as well they both agreed before the door slowly slid open. Lieutenant Herad stepped in first, saluted the colonel, and then turned and made an imperious motion with his hand. The creature who answered the unspoken order made the room fall to a sudden hushed silence as she entered.

The first thing that sprang to Ran’s mind was that the rumors of her beauty were not exaggerated. Instead, they didn’t do her justice. Shining golden hair tumbled over slim, tense shoulders, framing a perfect oval face. Her features were delicate and fine-boned with arched dark blond brows, a straight small nose, and a soft pink mouth. A flush stained her smooth cheeks as the silence lengthened and they stared at her. Long lashes dropped slightly over a pair of azure eyes, the color not the almost startling sapphire color of Armada’s, but instead like the pale stones mined on his native planet, Minoa. Her body also rivaled any fantasy, male or female. The girl was slender and lissome, her arms and legs bare, and from what he could see of her breasts and the depth of the inviting cleft between them, her tits were spectacularly large and lush. She wore the standard issue for a female sexual slave—a scanty gown made of an almost sheer material that was a token covering but little more.

She didn’t move or speak, not even when Herad nodded his head at their unspoken approval of his choice and silently left the room.

The door swished shut.

Armada finally tore his gaze away and muttered, “You lucky bastard, Kartel.”

The girl heard the words and her gaze shifted to him. There was a hint of defiance there and Ran sensed it too, the willful urge to resist even though he knew she had been warned punishment would be involved if she didn’t submit. It almost overrode her fear, but not quite, and the warring emotions crowded his mind.

He met those lovely blue eyes, holding her gaze deliberately. “I agree,” he told his comrades, without looking away. “Very damned lucky. We all are. Now…if you will excuse me, I think I’ll introduce myself.”