Kidnapped: An Erotic Novelette [Dangerous Pleasures #1] Read online

  "Yes, I know, it's just sometimes I get a little fed up of it all. Maybe I'm homesick. We've been out here a long time.” Strong men, confident men, one that would be capable of standing at her side instead of licking her feet and begging to please her, that sounded more like a wonderful dream than something she needed to be wary of. Just the thought of having to mate with one of the men she had seen over the years left her sick to her stomach.

  "How can you be fed up of all the attention they pay us? Are you insane? Just look at the way they look to us for guidance and the fact that this is the best time ever to be a woman! Are you nuts? Did that blow to the head you took in the last mission leave you scatter brained? Maybe you need to be checked out again?” Claire peered more closely at her. “Did you want me to take you down to the medical bay? You might have been infected with a fever on our last planet fall?"

  "No, I'm fine, seriously."

  "Then why are you babbling on about things like men being something other than the soft, submissive creatures they are supposed to be?"

  A loosing battle, Shannon had seen enough of them to know that continuing the conversation would be a waste of time, but it didn't stop the situation from being annoying. “Never mind, you're right. I've been spending too much time in the holo suites. I should try and focus myself again. Maybe I've been working too hard of late. I'll see if I can put in for some leave time."

  "Then come with me when we hit planet fall. I'll show you around, my family live out on the colony you'd be very welcome and my father makes one of the best chocolate cakes you've ever tasted.” Claire smoothed down the soft grey material of her uniform. “He always says he was lucky Mom decided to marry him instead of just using him to get me and my sisters but I think his ability to cook had a lot to do with it. You know what they say. The way to a woman's heart is through her stomach."

  "Sure, it sounds good to me.” A few hours with Claire's family then maybe she'd be able to escape and find something more interesting to do. Didn't the colony have a few holo suites? Or a library that hadn't been censored as yet? There were a few of them still around. “I've been wanting to do a little exploring, stretch my legs out, get a little fresh air."

  "The recycled air does tend to taste a little stale after a while.” Claire leaned back in the chair, the tension slipping from her shoulders. “I might just take that walk around the colony myself. Did you know that it's one of the oldest human colonies? They say it was originally set up before the final stages of the retraining of the male's took place. Apparently they needed some of the extra strength that the pre-adapted men were able to call upon. During the early days at least. They were all trained afterwards though. The entire settlement went through the adaptation process and genetic alterations that the council required."

  Not a single real male still left in the universe, just the way the council wanted. Did they have any idea just what they were doing to the human race? All those drives, the will to explore, to conquer, to take on the depths of space had been wiped out from the male half of the population.

  "A proper little set up.” Shannon murmured and tried not to shake her head. The last thing she needed was another lecture from Claire.

  "The way it's supposed to be.” Claire smiled and shook her head. “Maybe one day you'll be willing to accept that instead of fighting it every step of the way."

  Was that true? Was this the way it was meant to be now? No strength in the men, no desire to be real, to push the boundaries of life. All that power, that belief in exploring the universe, conquering the problems around them, had it really vanished, been bred out of them? Manipulated from their very genes until there was nothing left but the pale, obedient creatures that pretended to be men?

  No, there had to be something, a shred of the men of the past left behind somewhere. Or at least a better holo programmer who had read through more than one or two of the old romance novels Claire spoke so scathingly about. Theses were the type of men that left her shivering and craving a touch she knew would never come. They had the strength needed to hold her, they could wrap their arms about her in a protective shell and the power to take what he wanted yet still leave her whimpering, sated and satisfied in his arms.

  Thanks to people like Claire those men were long gone. Nothing more than dreams, old novels and hopeless wishes left in their wake.

  "Ma'am.” A soft male voice broke through her thoughts. “Is there anything I can do to help you relax? You look a little tense."

  She glanced up. He was slender, with mousy brown hair and pale skin. The sort of male that never bothered to step foot off the ship. Shit, he was just like so many of the males who entered service.

  "I don't need your help, Adrian."

  "Come off it Shannon. You could do with the attention. Besides, you're in need of a little relief from what I saw. That entertainment program of yours left you in—well in a very heated state."

  "Aroused. I believe the word you are looking for is aroused."

  "So why not do something about it?"

  Claire frowned and looked down at the kneeling man again. Sure he wanted it. He needed the attention. Shit he'd have no doubt done just about anything to get between her thighs. But what good would it have done her?

  At least I'd be able to focus on something else other than sex for a time.

  All right, there was that to consider.

  "Fine, Adrian go to my room I'll be there soon."

  "Now that's better. You need a good servicing. So take him back there and ride him. Goddess knows that male does his job well."

  Her cheeks stained crimson. “Claire!"

  "You can be such an odd ball at times, go on. Go have some fun.” Claire all but pushed her out of the chair. “Most women wouldn't have thought twice about taking the male right here. They don't care, you know that."

  "I enjoy my privacy."

  "Then go and enjoy it, or him. Whatever it is the two of you are going to do, but standing around here isn't going to get anything done is it?"

  Adrian hadn't needed that level of persuasion. He'd vanished from sight the minute Shannon had told him to go to her room.

  Fine, well she might as well get it over and done with.

  With one last look back at her long time friend, Shannon shook her head and slipped out of the recreation room.

  He was already waiting for her in her quarters.

  "Do I not please you, ma'am?” Adrian knelt in the center of her room, naked as the day he had been born. His thighs spread wide as he rested back on his heels with his hands crossed in the small of his back. “I've been well trained for my position, I can assure you of that."

  "It's not that I'm worried about.” Shannon keyed the door closed and sat down on the edge of her bed, her gaze fixed on the young man. So maybe he didn't look that bad, just a little pasty. Goddess who was she trying to fool? She'd be lucky if she managed to enjoy even his basic touch. He wasn't the sort of male that attracted her attention and she'd have to order him around.

  Not her idea of a good time. Still. At least she'd be able to relax and all it would take would be her ordering him to use his tongue.

  She could manage that much.

  "Please me then."

  "How do you wish me to serve you?"

  Did she have to give him step by step instructions?

  Her jaw clenched. The kneeling man wasn't that bad, but the idea that she would need to tell him what to do and how to do it, that just went too far even for her. At least the males in her mother's compound knew how to please a woman without being told the required steps.

  And if she sent him out of her quarters it would be all around the ship before the change of shift.

  Fine, she could play that game.

  "You're skilled with your tongue?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I have had no complaints, in fact several of the esteemed women on the ship have been most satisfied."

  Oh, she had no doubt about that.

  "I see, then attend me. You will not be
permitted to gain any release for yourself. I am in no mood to pleasure you in return. But you will put that tongue of yours to good use.” Shannon touched the closure on her uniform opening it quickly. So it wouldn't be the best of situations but she could make do and maybe it would stop any rumors from being spread around.

  Oh she'd heard them.

  That she wasn't a real woman because she didn't use the males on the ship.

  Or that maybe she was a lesbian?

  Not there would be anything wrong with that. No one cared if a woman preferred her own gender these days but it had meant that she dealt with more than a few propositions over the past couple of months. If they hadn't been on board ship then maybe she would have felt free to explore those options, with the right woman. One strong enough to make her feel the same fire that burst into life whenever she thought about men like her pirate, if such a woman existed?

  "Yes, ma'am. I will do my best."

  Shannon lay down on the bed and skimmed down her panties.

  Maybe if she focused enough she'd be able to pretend he was one of the crew. At least then she might be able to enjoy his touch.

  Chapter Three

  Pristine buildings filled her line of sight. The formed corridors through humanity with their pale colored walls and clean streets and allowed the small skimmers that made little or no noise to move easily through the quarter close to the dock. A dozen men and women parted to allow Shannon and her friend through, more than one male pointing out the two women in uniform to the child at his side. Plastic trims on the edges of the shop doors merged seamlessly with the stone walls, shop signs spoke of offers for the locals and discounts for the military and there wasn't a single bar in sight. The day had yet to draw in but the artificial lights had already switched themselves on, providing pools of white light throughout the area.

  For all that Claire had proclaimed the age of the colony it looked like any one of a hundred Shannon had stepped foot on in the past few years. Nothing there to mark the passage of time, or the culture her people might have brought with them all that time ago.

  Wiped out, no doubt, along with anything else that might remind the men of their past. Or the women of theirs.

  She glanced over at her friend for a moment. There it was, that content smile, the confidence in her walk as they eased through the edge of the quarter. Nothing about Claire spoke of a woman who might be a little wary of others around her. No sign of fear or of a hesitation when she met with anyone in the street. Just the way it should have been.

  Dull, safe and very boring.

  Where had the excitement in life gone?

  With the wars between the various states of humanity long since ended when women had taken over matters, there seemed to be little point in having a military force. Those rare alien encounters had been peaceful and seemingly impressed by the lack of violence that the human race now tolerated amongst their own kind, but the force hadn't been disbanded.

  Some threat still lingered out there?

  Or did a few of those in charge fear the day that men threw off their shackles and ... gods she was beginning to sound just like the damn government information broadcasts when they described the history of the rise of woman kind.

  "I need a drink,” she muttered. “No, several drinks."

  "The bars are on the other side of the town. You know how they lay these places out. Bars and prostitutes away from the space port so we don't get mauled by needy whores looking for a fast credit the minute we step foot onto land. You know what they are like?"

  "North side of the settlement?” A bar, not a quick time in the sack with some paid companion. “And you know me, I'm not about to use some two bit whore off the street."

  "Well, that's where they normally are. Shannon, you can't be thinking of heading off right now? My family is waiting for us. I told them you'd be joining us for a meal. How would I explain where you'd gone?"

  "Yes I know, just I need a little down time first. Besides I know how to get there, and if I somehow manage the impossible and find myself lost I can always either grab a skimmer or give you a call.” Lost, right! The last time she'd lost her way she'd been little more than a toddler on a set of training leads with their damn male nannies.

  "Shannon Davies you have to be one of the most inconsiderate women I have ever met, I didn't have to invite you to dinner and now you want to blow me and my family off.” Claire's jaw clenched, her hands settling on her hips, clenched tight into fists. “Down time? What did you think you just had with Adrian?"

  "That's not the sort of down time I mean and I am not blowing you off. I just want to stretch my legs and have a drink. They aren't expecting us for what, three hours yet?” Slow deep breathes, calming thoughts, if she lost her temper now then she'd be hearing about it for the next month. “And I want to pick up a gift for your Mom. The shopping plaza is in that direction as well. I don't want to turn up empty handed."

  Claire blinked, a sheepish look finally settling into place, heat touching her cheeks in twin points. “Oh, I'm—well I'm sorry. I just thought you wanted to go grab a guy for a quick tumble, or drown yourself in a bottle for a bit before the dinner. You should have said something."

  "You didn't exactly give me a chance to explain the matter to you, had you?” Okay, the gift was an after thought, but Claire didn't need to know that.

  "No, I guess not.” Her friend stammered. “Okay, are you sure you can find your way there?"

  "Claire, how many unknown planets and asteroids have I managed to navigate my way through?” Shannon tapped the navigator emblem on her upper left arm. “I'm the last member of the crew that could get lost on a back water colony like this."

  "Point taken.” Claire ducked her head before offering a smile. “Alright, I'll see you at dinner time then. And please, don't be late. They've all heard about you and want to meet you. I really don't want to keep them waiting."

  "Trust me, I won't be late.” Before Claire had a chance to offer another set of excuses to keep Shannon close by, or discovered a fresh reason to doubt her friend's words, Shannon walked away.

  Freedom.

  After all that time on the ship she finally had a chance to be on her own. Well sort of. Sure there were dozens of people still around, walking through the streets, shopping with their families, going to work, all the normal things she had expected to see in the settlement, at least she no longer had to taste the re-cycled air, or deal with her ship mates breathing down her neck.

  Just the knowledge that she didn't have to report for work for another three cycles added a spring to her step.

  No boring trained ship assigned males either, hoping to entice her into the pleasure deck. Bright Lady those creatures became stale after the first few months in space. Not that she blamed them, step a foot out of line with the wrong woman and not only would they be kicked out of the service but they'd loose their right to be chosen as a mate.

  There were worse things that could happen to a male who stepped beyond the boundaries of his gender. In the past more than a few men had been castrated, chemically of course as the government did not believe in using surgical methods of control on them. Not according to the official records at least.

  Still, there were stories, rumors that didn't quite match the official histories. Nothing she'd been able to track down though. It didn't stop the rumors from spreading like wild fire if they were given half the chance. Of course the political officer made sure anyone repeating them was put on report and dealt with.

  "Ma'am, need a little company?” Sultry, sweet, and far too soft the voice still managed to attract her attention if only for a moment. Her gaze swept over the slender form that lingered in the doorway of a cheap hotel. Washed out blond hair, hollowed out eyes, small pink lines decorated his cheeks.

  Tanith user.

  She shuddered, barely able to keep her disgust hidden as she looked at the male. “No thanks, I don't go in for your sort.” Shannon hurried away, denying the hopeful being a chance t
o speak again. Tanith. That drug had driven more men into the arms of prostitution than anything else and the price paid outweighed any pleasure they gained from the hit.

  The loss of control, memory, time, the ability to care about themselves yet they retained the ability to be pleasing in some respects. Ultra submissive, or so her ship mates has said.

  Not that the drug was permitted on the ship.

  What would it be like to be subjected to that drug, to have some male use it on her and turn her into a willing sex slave?

  Now that would be an interesting scene to piece together. If she could gain access to the computers long enough to write the program? Maybe if she wrote it and then used it at one of those private holo suites. The type where if you paid enough money no one cared what you got up to?

  Even that might be too much of a risk to take.

  Sporting with Adrian might have improved her ranking amongst the women of the ship, but it hadn't undone all of the rumors. It would take far more than one hour with a male pleasure companion before things truly improved.

  Oh she'd been able to just about enjoy his touch, but it had taken her sinking fully into the world of imagination. The poor creature had almost been ready to give up and call it quits before she'd found her release. Shit, how could they really expect her to want a man who had to be told where, how and who? It just wasn't the sort of thing that appealed to her and yet that's what she was forced to endure or be sent away for retraining.

  They'd all heard the rumors. The camps where women were re-taught how to be true to the gender. And those unfit to return to service where retired. No one knew where or how, they were just retired never to be seen again.

  Dead said some.

  Sent into the vast reaches of space to be whores, or so another rumor suggested. But no one knew the truth of the situation.

  Yellow and pink lights of the bar area called to her, the signs blinking slowly from behind a small warehouse. Just the sort of area they preferred to stick these places. Of course women didn't have the same desire to drink themselves silly as men of old had.