“Yes, you are right.” Genet was the one to respond.
After a moment, Raimi agreed.
Genet leaned back in his chair, and the Tukka leather creaked from his massive weight. “The healing gel needs to be applied to her wounds every hour. It will increase the recovery process. I can set up the scanner to do it automatically, but I would prefer if we were to tend to her.”
“I don’t know about you two, but I need a drink.” Raimi read both of their minds, and Erak and Genet nodded.
They had a lot to drink at Tao, but this situation had all of their nerves strung tight, and if they didn’t drink something to help calm them, one of them was liable to tear the ship apart.
ChapterTwelve
LUNA
The first thing Luna realized was that wonderful warmth surrounded her. How long had it been since she had felt such heat? Far, far too long. The second thing was that her whole body ached. Even breathing caused unused muscles to protest.
Peeling open her eyelids, which was harder than it should be, she waited a moment for her vision to clear.
After minutes passed and the blurriness didn’t abate, Luna panicked. Reaching up to rub her eyes, she winced in pain at their tenderness. Some type of wet, gelatinous substance coated not only her eyes but one side of her face, as well.
Slowly pulling herself up and into a sitting position, the blanket that had warmed her slipped down her nude body. Fear of how she came to be sans clothing worried her, and her pulse raced.
Gripping the blanket tightly, she covered her breasts and forced herself to calm enough so she could think rationally and not let her panic take control.
How long have I been out? Where am I?
Taking the corner of the blanket, she brought it to her face and gently wiped the gel away. She blinked in rapid succession and looked around her surroundings.
Her mind cleared, and recollection came slamming back with enough force it left her breathless.
Maximo’s anger. The pain when his hand connected with her face. The gash on her arm. The agony of her scrapes and cuts as she ran through trees and shrubs. The joy of seeing the ship about to take off and then hiding within it.
Each memory was stronger than the next until the last thing she remembered was passing out from pain and exhaustion behind two large barrels.
The room she was in was unfamiliar, but then again, why wouldn’t it be? Clearly, she had been discovered, but why wasn’t she dead or, at the very least, bound and gagged? Why were there bandages covering her body as if someone was trying to heal her wounds, like they wanted her to be well?
Stowing away wasn’t something that was taken lightly.
Tightening her hold on the blanket, she continued examining the room.
There was a closed door to her left, a small chest, a basin with a mirror above it, and a small bathing chamber to her right. Aside from those things and the bed she sat on, the room was barren.
Twisting slightly on the bed had pain lancing up one whole side of her body. Looking down, she saw a small, square patch in the crook of her arm with a thin tube attached to it. Following the tube, she saw it attached to a small bag filled with some type of clear substance.
That was going into her body? A wave of dizziness assaulted her. After a moment, the feeling passed, and she sighed.
Why would the owner of the ship be mending a stowaway? At least, she thought she was still on the ship. She certainly wasn’t at one of the rundown shacks back on the red dust planet, and she knew enough about technology that even if she was on a spacecraft she wouldn’t have been able to tell.
The ride would have been as smooth and flawless as if she were standing on solid ground back home. No, she shouldn’t even think of that planet. Her heart beating double time, the image of her on the slave auction block rose violently.
What if that was where they were taking her to? It would certainly explain why they were nursing her back to health so they could sell her to a wealthy buyer, but then logic crept in. She wasn’t restrained, as she would assume a piece of property would have been.
There were just too many things rushing through her mind for her to make any kind of sense. She was a viable female, and inhabitants on many planets used slaves for other things than manual labor.
Oh God.
Sickness washed over her. She had to free herself. No way did she escape being Maximo’s sexual plaything just to be captured and sold as another perverted male’s toy. She braced herself and set her legs over the side of the bed. Letting the dizziness pass, Luna stood.
Her vision was still blurry, so she took the edge of the blanket and tried to clean off as much of the gel as she could. She wrapped the blanket around her, the bulkiness making her movements slow.