Entranced Read online

  Lora Gainer has spent her time in space researching the physical aspects of Alliance races. Her life takes a sudden switch with her abduction and sale to a lion shifter who isn't even sentient by Alliance standards.

  Tiern has a plan. He and his cloned brothers have gotten an agreement from the Alliance that if they breed true, the Seth-Ari clones will be granted citizenship to the Alliance of Federated and Sentient Planets. Their children will prove what the Seth-Ari already know, they are living, thinking and reproduction capable creatures.

  Now, the all-male race just needs to find women who don't spur their hunting instincts. Since Lora will tolerate Tiern's touch, she is looking to be the first subject in their grand plan. She can hardly contain her excitement.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Entranced

  Copyright © 2010 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-55487-458-3

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books

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  Entranced

  A Terran Times Novella

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Someone was watching her.

  Lora Gainer, Bio Tactics Specialist to the Alliance, opened her eyes and glared at the face on the other side of the glass that protected the shoppers at the slave market on Geehee Nine. She was in the middle of her morning meditation and it was irritating to have to spend her time scowling at a prospective buyer.

  The light inside her cage told her that the hooded figure wanted her to rise so that they could assess her physical form. If she didn’t comply, the floor would be electrified so she stood. The gauzy folds of her covering fell delicately around her from her shoulders to her feet. When they tried to get her to pose naked, she had simply turned her back on the buyers. Nothing they could do would make her parade naked in front of strange creatures.

  Her gaze met that of the creature in the cloak, she got an impression of liquid silver eyes while a surprised flicker touched her mind. She slammed her mind shut on him, it was definitely a him, and waited for the signal to resume her day.

  The light flicked off and she sat back down to resume her meditation.

  The creature in the cloak nodded to the dealer and they continued down the rows of women in cages.

  Lora sighed in relief. No sale meant she had one more day to try to find a way to contact the Alliance for a rescue.

  Her first two attempts at escape had been stymied by the dealer who had bought her from the pirates she had run into in the first place. He was wise to the ways of the Alliance and had no interest in bringing them down on his own head or that of his world. Her messages had been wiped from the minds of outgoing slaves and she had been put in a solitary display.

  Crap.

  Days blended together. She kept up her regimen of exercise and meditation to keep her calm. She had gotten quite the beating from the pirates who had taken her shuttle and had no urge to have the same experience again. Being outnumbered in hand-to-hand combat was not the way to win the day. Persistence and dedication were the only way she was going to get back into Alliance space.

  She was just becoming focused in her morning meditation when the door at the back of her cell swung open.

  “Come with me. You have been sold.”

  Her pause took just a little too long and a jolt went through her muscles. Four other females were leaving their private cells with attendants and she was shepherded to join the herd.

  Conversation was not allowed as they went through decontamination showers and pulled on gauzy togas that ended just above their knees and were cross-tied to make their breasts a little more obvious. The attendants swiftly braided the hair of all the females in the group and handed them over to their buyers.

  Buyers it was, for there were five figures wearing cloaks and each took possession of one of the slaves.

  When a strong, warm hand wrapped around her upper arm, Lora looked up and into the molten silver eyes. They promised her safety and she could almost hear the whisper that she just needed to keep calm and everything would be all right. It would all be fine, as long as she trusted those swirling silver eyes.

  A drifting sense of well-being took her over and she followed her owner to the large shuttlecraft that he and the others of his kind had brought to the station. She calmly buckled her harness when she was led to a seat and her mind drifted in a light fog as they left the station and progressed through the deep blackness of space. Lora didn’t know where they were headed, but it was okay. Everything was okay. Those silver eyes were in her mind now, telling her that everything would be all right.

  * * * *

  “He’s sleeping on the pod again.” Daka shook his head at his brother’s behaviour.

  Eto was confused and wasn’t shy about it. “Why does he do that? She doesn’t know he’s there and it won’t help the bonding.”

  Siro brought his beverage to the table and sat with his siblings. “He says that she knows he’s there.”

  Ahkon was insistent. “Nonsense. The pods are keeping them completely under. There is no way that she could be aware.”

  Daka looked at the table of faces identical to his own, Ahkon was the eldest, but Tiern had the most instinct for their undertaking. “It is what he says. You go drag him off the pod.”

  “I have better things to do. Where is my lunch?” Ahkon drummed his fingers and waited for his brothers to bring him food.

  It was a long journey home and spending it with one’s siblings was a trial. Knowing that the women they were bringing with them would likely not survive the first weeks was also a concern that hovered in the backs of their minds.

  The last batch certainly had not lasted long. When instinct overrode thought, everyone suffered and the women died. Daka was hoping that this batch would last long enough to start relationships or at least the children that they needed.

  The Seth-Ari would be born and would take their place in the Alliance.

  Chapter Two

  Waking from cold sleep was always a frightening experience. Lora’s lungs sucked in air violently and she sat up to ease her breathing.

  “Easy, Mistress. You are the last to wake. For some reason, your body took to it well, so we decided to start the others first.”

  A figure stepped into her field of vision and Lora blinked in surprise. She was sitting on a medical couch in a very well-appointed lab. The speaker was a female of a species that didn’t register in Lora’s mind. Elegant, bluish skin covered a lithe and feminine body enrobed in a deep blue gown. Deep pewter eyes looked kindly at her and a smile curved full lips.

  “Are you awake? Thinking?”

  “I believe I am. Where am I?”

  The woman came forward and started to run a scanner over Lora. “You have been purchased as a breeder for the Seth-Ari prime
family.”

  She couldn’t conceal her shock. “What?”

  “Have you been damaged? You are here to breed the next generation of Seth-Ari.”

  Concern flickered over the features, her mouth turned down at the edges. “I have a breeding contract with the Alliance. I have to create an heir for my own talents. That contract supersedes anything else.”

  The woman chuckled. “It did. Until you were taken out of Alliance space and sold. Now you are property of the Seth-Ari and your purpose is fixed.”

  Lora was not horrified, at least she wasn’t dead, but breeding with a species she hadn’t even heard of was not on her list of things to do this week. She had been hoping that she would be able to weasel out of her breeding contract, but it was looking like fate had conspired against her.

  “Come this way, please. We still need to run a few tests on you to determine your sensitivities.”

  The woman gestured for her to rise. Lora did it with some reluctance. It sounded like they were going to conduct an SRT on her and she wasn’t really in the mood. The Sexual Reflex Test was an excellent way of finding a possible mate’s sensitive spots, but this was done by a computer using probes and sensors to drive the subject to orgasm. It recorded every nuance and created a report that was given to the respective recipient. Usually the one ordering the test.

  “I am Dell, by the way. Chief medical officer to what remains of the Seth-Ari. Please lie here. I am sure you are familiar with this test.”

  It was an SRT rig. Lora sighed, “Yes, though I do wish it wasn’t necessary.”

  “We have not had one of your kind through here until now. Blood tests have exhibited that you are a Class Zero, so that is excellent. This is the last test that we will put you through until you have coupled with him.”

  She settled uncomfortably on the table, completely naked under the lights of the lab. Her wrists were cuffed automatically and her ankles were separated by soft cuffs that looped out of the table. As they drew tight, her thighs parted to allow the array from the ceiling to descend between her legs. Now came the embarrassing part.

  With her thighs wide, she felt the first delicate touch on the outer lips of her sex and closed her eyes. Her body was cold when the machine started, but minutes later, she was squirming under its ministration and trying not to gasp and pant aloud. Her skin was flushed and her wrists and ankles fought the restraints as she rocketed into a keening orgasm.

  The machine held her there for a moment and to her astonishment, it started again.

  “What the hell? What is it doing?”

  “We need to know your physical threshold. The machine will continue until you cannot.” There was pity in Dell’s voice, but she did not stop the machine.

  Hours passed with her limbs locked in position and her body mindless with pleasure. The penetration of the machine was so light that it merely inserted one spiralling probe and extended one on her clit. The machine had also picked up on her love of penetration, that instant when the tissues at the base of her channel were stretched and forced wide, she experienced her largest flood of pleasure. It did it often.

  Lora mercifully blacked out. For all she knew, the machine kept going, but her mind could take no more.

  Waking this time was painful. Every muscle was sore and she was groaning as she tried to move.

  “Mistress, I am Hami. I have drawn a hot bath for you if you would care to enjoy it.” A young blue woman bowed deeply and helped Lora to sit up. “I understand you are sore. The machine kept going after you fainted and it was determined that you will not tire under heavy use by the primes.”

  “Fabulous. Help me to the bath, please.” Lora needed the help—her thighs did not want to hold her weight as she tottered along with the surprisingly strong woman helping her.

  The bath in question was a sunken tub with stairs on either side and benches on the opposing edges. It was scented with a wild flower that Lora didn’t recognize, but it did relax her. “Thank you for your help, Hami, but why are you here?”

  “I am to be your servant, Mistress. I will fetch what you need, take messages, run baths, help you dress, anything you need.”

  “How are you at massages?”

  “Excellent, Mistress. I have prepared the oil in case you were interested. As soon as you have had a good soak, I will help you out.” Hami left the bath.

  It was only then that Lora noticed the other woman had simply helped her all the way into the bath without thought for the dress she was wearing. It was simpler than Dell’s, but the same striking shade of blue. “How many women were brought here with me?”

  “Five in total. It is better I think. The last time, they brought ten and none of the women were suitable.” Hami had wrung out her skirt and was now filling a plate with tidbits that she presented to Lora.

  “What happened to the first ten?”

  “They were unsuitable, so they were discarded.”

  “What does that entail?”

  “They were destroyed. By the time the primes were done with them, they were no longer capable of functioning.”

  Didn’t that just sound fabulous? Lora was going to have to get a message out or find a way to escape. She liked all of her functions and wanted to keep them running. Settling on the bench, she leaned back and looked up. What she saw made her blink repeatedly.

  The sky above her was unrelieved black with occasional sparks of stars. She was on a world with no atmosphere and the dome curving above her clued her in to the biosphere that she was in. “We are in a dome.”

  “We are. Each of the primes has his own and you are housed in the women’s quarters of Tiern’s dome.”

  “Tiern. Is that the name of the prime I am to service?”

  “Not service. Breed with. They have other outlets for mere service.”

  As she finished fiddling with the towels and oil at the massage table, Hami made her way back to Lora’s side.

  “You won’t regain your strength if you don’t eat, Mistress. These are slices of fruit that have been rolled in powdered sugar and nuts. There is wine or juice as well.” She took a piece of fruit and before Lora knew it, she was being fed like a small child.

  The servant didn’t give her a chance to put up much of a fuss, simply presented a new tidbit to eat every few seconds and waited until Lora had swallowed the previous bite. Hami continued to stuff her until the plate was empty. The servant smiled at her and moved to fetch her some wine.

  “You are very determined, aren’t you, Hami?”

  “Yes, Mistress. Your health is my main concern.”

  She took a hefty swallow of the sweet and rich wine that was handed to her. “That is good to know. So, why wine? Am I allowed to get plastered before Tiern arrives to breed with me?”

  “Oh, there isn’t enough wine to get you drunk, only to relax you. It will only be served to you before your massage to help loosen your muscles.”

  The warmth of the wine splashed through her system, acting exactly as Hami had said. Disgruntled, she placed her goblet on the side of the pool and dunked her head under the water. She was under for just over a minute by her count when a hand reached in and pulled her up.

  “Mistress, it is unwise for you to stay under that long.” Hami didn’t just stop at pulling her above the water. She pulled her right out of the pool. She was stronger than she looked. Lora was plopped into a nearby chair and then pulled up as Hami towelled her dry.

  “I needed to think. Without an audience.”

  “I will never intrude on your thoughts, Mistress.” She bowed low and her black hair swung around her. “Would you care for that massage now?”

  She wanted to say no, but her muscles were tense from the SRT and she needed to relax them in the worst way. “Fine. But no funny stuff.”

  Hami held her hand and supported her to the massage bench. “I will not be entertaining you, Mistress.”

  That final comment had Lora smiling at the same time it sucked a little hope away from her. Hami was a
robot. She had suspected it the first time that the woman had helped her sit in the pool. The skin did not change colour from exposure to the warmth. Dead giveaway. Her literal translation of the Alliance Common words was the other clue.

  Hami helped her lie down and then moved her swath of chestnut hair to one side. The warm touch of hands coated with oil caused her to tense at first, but she relaxed gradually as they merely sought out the tight muscles and worked them loose.

  Lora groaned, moaned and grunted as Hami worked, then rolled reluctantly to her back to let the massage continue on her shoulders, belly and thighs.

  * * * *

  Tiern groaned when she flipped over, his shifted form translating it to a deep growl. He had watched her from the moment that she woke in his bed until now. Her naked, gleaming body on the massage bench was driving him out of his mind.

  She had fallen asleep. Hami wrapped her lightly in a towel and carried her back to the bed. The servant nestled her in the cushions and silks, then left to clean the bath area. She was also programmed to put herself to sleep unless called for after her duties were carried out.

  The instant that she turned away from her burden, he began to move. He came out of the shadows slowly, dragging the scent of his female into his lungs. It would help to keep him in check if he recognized her while they fucked. If his instincts took over and she fought him, her death would not be quick.

  The last two women had taken days to die, the clawing and bites he inflicted infected immediately and the fever had taken them. He regretted their loss, but he learned from their deaths. Becoming familiar with her before he bred her would help him keep control.

  When he climbed onto the bed, she stirred but did not wake. He touched her mind with his and pushed her deeper into sleep. He held her there while he explored.

  Her dark brows furrowed when he came closer to her, but her expression smoothed in a moment. His feline eye caught every move she made, every trembling breath she took. She was lovelier now than she had been in the slave market. Even there, he had scented her, wild and sweet in the dark miasma of the pens.