Chapter 3 three

"That was a horrible noise, Ciara," the bearded man commented.

"I apologize, Master," I sobbed, grateful the long haired man had suddenly freed my arm.

The bearded man spoke to the long haired man sharply then, "Use less force, Evan. You act as though we have not been trained."

The man named Master Evan pulled me to stand as he grunted an apology to the bearded man.

"It ran at me," he said, "I was surprised."

I stood and trembled between the two men. Powerful did not begin to describe them. Despite my objections the long haired man, Master Evan, had quite simply moved me to the floor like I wasn't fighting him. My arm throbbed as a vivid reminder of how not to act.

The men were looking at me and I realized I had been staring at them.

I wasn't sure how I had ever confused them for human. For one, they were too tall. Secondly, their eyes were different, larger and more feline. Their skin also should have told me, it was very faintly striped gold and golden brown. There were subtle and distinct differences between us.

I dropped my eyes, but not before taking in Master Evan's complete form. He was tall and his muscles were well defined in his arms and chest. Like the bearded man he also had a good number of scars that cut across his body. Unlike the bearded man he had less chest hair.

"Your eyes are green, Ciara. None of us have green eyes," Master Evan said conversationally.

I had no response to that but looked up at his face again. Master Evan had a lopsided smile on. He was just intently watching me. For a man that had nearly ripped my arm off, he seemed almost good humored.

The bearded man was standing watching me also, but seemed to have deferred the conversation to Master Evan.

"What is Ciara? Why are you calling me that? My name is Rachel," I said to him in a pleading voice.

"That's twice you didn't follow instructions, Ciara. I would be happy to answer your question if you apologize for not addressing us properly. Be forewarned, the punishment will only get worse the longer you defy us," he said in that pleasant tone.

The lanky guy on the bed spoke before I had the chance to. "Liam told me the first they did with their slave was take it down and show it the whipping post. He told me they strapped it to the post and left it there half the day, after that they had no problems."

I'd been beaten by my mother and her brothers on more than one occasion. These guys were much tougher than my family. I had no urge to repeat an experience like that ever again.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you Master, Master. Please, tell me where I am. Why are you calling me Ciara? Why am I here? I'm sorry, Master." I stumbled all over my words and looked at the floor.

Tears started to fill my eyes, again. I was too weak; I should fight them. The entire experience was humiliating.

"We have named you Ciara that is why I am calling you that. You are on the planet Pateria. You are our sex slave."

I gasp looking up but he continued to speak.

"You were brought from your home planet through a dimensional portal. They don't open often on your world, so you can't go back. If you are agreeable your life here will be pleasant. If you can't be agreeable, well, we'll be very sorry for that."

Master Evan finished his speech by quickly wiping a tear off my cheek. I watched as he brought it to his lips.

"Well?" the dark haired man on the bed asked looking at Master Evan.

"Salt and something else," he said.

The lanky man spoke then, "Ciara, what do you keep making with your eyes?" he asked curiously.

I didn't have a word for it in the language I was thinking in. "I'm sorry, Master," I said getting flustered, "there is no word ... Master."

"Was there a word in your first language?" the lanky man asked.

I thought hard for a minute and tried to remember, it finally came to me. "Tear, Master," I said triumphantly.

My face fell the minute I realized what an idiot I was being. In my confusion, Master Evan had wrapped his hand around my arm and was pulling me back to the bed.

The dark haired man looked at the lanky guy sharply as he spoke. "It is not to speak of it's home planet again, Christof. Do not encourage that behavior," he said.

Master Evan continued to tug me toward the bed and I resisted.

"Please," I cried with a wavering voice pulling against him, "don't do this. Please don't hurt me. I want to go home."

The words sex slave kept rolling around in my head. I was not cut out to be anyone's sex slave.

Master Evan pulled harder and I stumbled forward. The arm still ached from his prior abuse, so I didn't fight too hard against him. Instead, I looked around the room for some other way out.

My frantic eyes locked on the bed and the two figures still lounging there. The dark haired man I had originally thought bought me was watching my display intently.

"We have no wish to harm you," he said. "We have paid a great deal for you and only wish to explore what we have bought."

'They paid a lot? For me?' I was so surprised that I stopped pulling against Master Evan for a moment.

I saw a fifth figure moving into the room. He held a large brown jug in his hands.

"We should give it water," he said to the group. "It lost fluid at the auction has not taken any since."

His hair was reddish brown and cut in short waves about his head. He was leaner than the others with a more finely muscled appearance. His waist had the same linen shift, though.

At the sound of something to drink I was suddenly parched. I licked my dry lips and watched him. He came to rest in front of me and dropped something on the ground.

"Kneel Ciara and Kein will give you something to drink," Master Evan commanded.

I was so thirsty. Master Evan put his hands on my shoulders and encouraged me to comply. Slowly, I kneeled down and realized a thick, soft cushion was under my knees. I reached for the jug and was tutted.

Master Kein brought the jug to my lips and I took a tentative sip. It tasted like cool water with a hint of something sweet. I gulped as fast as he would allow me to drink. I didn't finish until the jug was empty.

When I was done drinking, Master Evan pulled me to stand again. He grabbed the arm he had twisted so viciously before and I didn't fight as he pulled me to the bed. Pushing gently he forced me away from the edge, so I sat fully on the firm mattress.

Master Kein had set the jug down and moved beside the dark haired man. Master Evan slowly crawled until he was right beside me, facing me. I sat stiffly and upright watching the men surround me.

Master Evan sat very close next to me and looked into my eyes deeply. I flinched, but otherwise stayed still, when his hand came up to trace my the line of my nose.

"Open your mouth, Ciara," he commanded and I did.

The Dark haired man leaned forward until he and Master Evan were directly in my face.

Dark hair used his fingers to pull my lips back and he seemed to be examining my teeth. Using the flat of his finger he examined my entire mouth. Master Evan assisted him. It felt like he was pinching and playing with my tongue. They seemed satisfied with whatever they found.

When the men removed their fingers I hesitantly closed my mouth. Master Evan touched my lips and I automatically opened them for him. He was no longer interested in the inside, though. The strange man sat and rubbed his fingers across my full lips.

"So soft," he said looking back at the dark haired man.

Just like the rest of me my lips were curvy and thick. The color and texture seemed to mesmerize Master Evan. The attention was beginning to unnerve me again.

The dark haired man sat back and considered me. Master Evan stayed in my face and placed his fingers over the staccato pulse under my jaw.

"Do not fear us, Ciara. We will not cause you harm. We will protect you," he said.

I wished I could believe that. Contrary to their words my arm still throbbed. It was a constant reminder what they could do if they cared to.

Dark hair laid a hand on my shoulder and I watched him warily. I jumped when Master Evan laid a hand on the opposite shoulder. They slowly started to stroke my arms on either side.

The men trailed their fingers down my arms toward my hands. Their touch was tentative and explorative. It was in sharp contrast to being wrestled to the floor or dragged to the bed.

The Dark haired man made a disgruntled sound as he examined my right hand. I wanted to pull away, but his grip on my arm was firm. God, they were strong.

"The skin is rough, cracked, and broken," he said touching the lines on my palm.

"As is this one," Master Evan said from my other side.

"It has not been well cared for, but that is of no concern now. We will use the cream on it," Master Kein stated and the other men murmured approval.

The texture of me seemed to fascinate them. They ran their fingers along my arms and legs like they had never seen skin before. I could not stop the involuntary flinching.

The more they touched me, the more freaked out I got. They were overwhelming. I pulled at my limbs trying to curl myself into a ball.

"Please let me go, please stop, please don't rape me," I begged tugging hard at the extremities they were still holding tight.

"We can hold you down if you are not agreeable," the dark haired man said, "and I will tell you only once. Do not use words from your first language or speak of your first home. I do not know the word 'rape' and I do not care to know it."

He didn't look angry, just stern.

I was panting in fear watching his eyes. Being tied down would make this worse, I had to calm down. It took a supreme effort, but I managed to slow my breathing to a more reasonable pace.

Tears started to form in my eyes again. I cast my eyes down to hide them and really saw myself for the first time.

I looked different. In my rapid survey of myself all I had noted was the lack of clothing. With the initial panic gone I could do a more thorough evaluation.

There was so much different about me now. My tan lines were gone. The skin of my body was all creamy white like I'd never spent a day in the sun. In addition, all of my body hair seemed to have been removed, including the fine hairs on my arms.

Without thinking I wrenched my arms from their grasp and grabbed my head in sheer terror. My long brown hair was still attached. Running my fingers through it, I made sure it was all there.

"We did not remove any hair from your head or face. Our cousins told us a human would want to keep that. We wish you to be a happy slave," the dark haired man told me. "We will keep it for ornamentation."

"Yes, thank you," I answered feeling dazed.

"You must call me Master every time you speak to me, Ciara," he said watching me.

I had to remember the rules. It was the only way I would survive, that much I was sure of.

"Yes, thank you, Master," I whispered and he looked very pleased.