Chapter 4
GISELLE WAS HUDDLED UNDER the covers of the bed when the door whooshed open again. She had tried to exit earlier, standing next to it like she was at a supermarket waiting for the automatic doors, but nothing had happened.
Her eyes shot to the opening now as one of the aliens walked in, a tray in his hands.
Vrix, she was pretty sure it was Vrix, the smile on his face different from the sneer Thase liked to give her.
“I have brought food and drink,” he said, placing the tray on the bed and taking a seat next to her.
She gave him an awkward smile.
Earlier, she’d relieved herself in the bathroom that looked exactly like one you’d see on Earth.
There was even a large tub that she’d considered using, but decided against it, wetting her hands in the sink before scrubbing thick seed from her body.
It was milky, though more golden than white, and had made her skin crawl to think about it happening again.
Yes, it had made her skin crawl, at the same time it made her cunt throb at the thought of being filled by Thase and Vrix once more. What happened before had been wrong, but the combination of Thase’s harsh threats and Vrix’s sweet praise sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Debauched fucking butterflies.
“Eat,” Vrix commanded, bringing her back to the room.
Giselle looked at the tray, a large glass filled with clear liquid and a small plate with some sort of gelatinous cube. She picked up the glass, her mouth as dry as the desert she’d been abducted from.
“Water?” she asked, quirking a brow.
“Yes,” he said with a laugh. “We have learned our lessons from the other humans.”
She took a tentative sip before greedily gulping it down, unable to stop herself. It seemed like water, tasteless and with a hint of minerals, but she was too thirsty to truly care.
She gasped in a breath, her stomach aching slightly, though at least her mouth was no longer dry.
“What exactly does that mean? Learned your lesson?”
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer, but the more information she could gather, the better.
“We did not realize that humans require physical sustenance, but we quickly rectified that.”
Vrix was so serious, like he wasn’t talking about individuals he’d abducted from Earth with the help of his charming friend.
“You don’t eat?”
Giselle picked up the clear cube, studying it. It was denser than she’d expected, a solid mass, squishy like a firm gelatin. She gave it a good squeeze, eyeing him.
“We do not. We gain energy from photosynthesis and cosmic radiation. That is what the solar-receptors are for,” he said, pointing to a slit of glowing golden light, one of many that covered his body.
Photosynthesis, like he was a fucking plant.
“So, what? Did you starve the other humans?” she asked casually, bringing the cube to her nose and trying to gain any idea of what it was from its scent, but there was none.
That overly large grin returned to Vrix’s face, and he leaned in close, his eyes glimmering.
“No, little human. That is not what happened to the others.”
Oh, God.
Curiosity burned through her, as much as it might be easier to be left in the dark. Would it be preferable to know her fate, or greet it unprepared and ignorant?
Unprepared and ignorant, she decided, at least for now.
Giselle cleared her throat, ready to change the subject.
“What is this?”
Vrix’s smile softened.
“Neogel. Other humans have consumed it without trouble. It is safe. Thase engineered it himself.”
Safe.
He kept using that word, but how could she be safe here? On a ship with two psychopathic aliens who’d killed multiple humans already. Who’d assaulted her, regardless of how her body responded to them.
Before she could second guess, she took a bite, the neogel firm enough to chew slightly before she swallowed it.
Nothing. It tasted like absolutely nothing.
“The neogel will provide you with all of your essential nutrients. Thase synthesized it from algae proteins that are edible to humans.”
Algae proteins… how appetizing.
At least it didn’t taste bad, literally like a block of plain gelatin, and she felt her energy returning with each bland bite.
Energy she’d need if she was going to survive this ordeal.
“How do you speak English?” she asked in between nibbles.
Vrix pointed at his throat, a diamond-shaped yellow gem slightly larger than the rest of the slits that covered his body.
“I configured our translators so we could communicate with you. And we have permanent ear implants for understanding different languages. I programmed them with the fifteen most common ones on Earth.”
“How did you do all that?”
Technology that could automatically translate speech was impressive, and somehow she was surprised that these brutes could be the ones to program anything.
“We have a small lab on board. Thase and I are… were scientists, back when we lived on our homeworld. My specialty was elective augmentations and Thase’s was hyperdrive mechanics, but we’ve dabbled in a bit of everything.”
Elective augmentations? Hyperdrive mechanics? The words were going right over her head, but it gave her some hope. These were clearly intelligent beings, with technology that went far beyond what humans were capable of. Maybe they could see reason. Maybe they just needed some convincing.
When she was done with the neogel, Vrix set the tray at the end of the bed, scooting closer so he could pull her into his arms. Giselle tensed for a few moments before letting her body relax when he just held her in a hug.
No tentacles, just gentle claws running up and down her bare back, sending shivers up her spine.
He pulled away, a smirk on his face.
“Would you like to see the cockpit?”
Vrix had led Giselle through glistening chrome halls lit by lights so bright they hurt her eyes.
He’d said nothing, walking so close to her that his muscled arm brushed against hers, pooling arousal in her core.
She hadn’t missed the way he sniffed the air, his lips curling into a smile as if he could scent her need.
Need.
Why the hell was she so needy for these two brutes?
Sure, her relationship with Anthony had been lacking passion—something she was still kicking herself for mentioning, knowing it was probably one of the reasons he broke up with her—but was this what she meant by passion?
Still, it was impossible to deny the way her brain had turned off, a blessed numbing that she rarely felt, all the questions and anxieties melting away to nothing as Vrix and Thase used her body for their pleasure.
But she needed to remember that she was in danger. This wasn’t just rebound sex, some sort of fun, erotic experiment to help her get over Anthony.
These aliens had abducted her. They’d killed the other humans, and would likely do the same to her, the thought turning her stomach and making her want to throw up the tasteless neogel that filled it.
She needed to get home.
How would that actually play out, though? Everyone would think she was crazy. Giselle knew how it went with the people on her podcasts. What did everyone say when someone claimed that they were abducted by aliens?
That those people were delusional, mentally ill in some way.
Oh, how she looked at those stories differently now.
None of that really mattered if what Vrix had said was true.
They were on a spaceship… in space. Though she really had no proof of that, did she?
For all she knew, these were two elaborately costumed psychopaths who wanted to torment people for their own sick gratification.
But then how could she explain the tentacles?
The weird holes their cocks slipped out of?
Vrix stopped at a chrome door, smiling at her as he pressed his palm to an interface, one that looked like a tablet you’d find on Earth.
Through the opening, she could see two seats clustered in the center of a circular room, control panels curving around them, glowing with holographic displays and blinking lights.
Above was a transparent dome, and Giselle gaped at the unobstructed panorama of stars.
They whizzed past, electric dashes of light, as if they were moving at a great speed.
But the stars weren’t moving, the ship was.
Moving at a speed she couldn’t even comprehend, and yet it felt like she was on solid ground, utterly still.
Okay, so, they weren’t lying about being on a spaceship.
Unless this was just another part of the elaborate prank?
Vrix pushed her forward, and she dragged her eyes away from the window, turning to the alien seated in one of the contoured chairs.
Thase smirked as she stepped up to him, riding his fingers up the backs of her thighs until he cupped her ass. She gulped in air, Vrix sliding into the other seat and spinning to face them.
“I missed you, little pet.”
Anticipation bubbled in her throat, her whole body suddenly electrified with frenetic energy.
“Giselle,” Vrix said, his eyes glued to Thase’s hands gripping her ass. “That is her name.”
“Giselle,” Thase repeated. “Come sit with me.”
Before she could protest, he pulled her into his lap, forcing her to straddle his hips as his hands roved over her bare form. He pinched one of her nipples, laughing when she jerked against him, his other hand gripping her waist.
She swallowed hard, not moving a muscle, arousal pooling in her core as need overwhelmed her.
Need that couldn’t possibly be natural, had to be something they fabricated when they touched her, when they penetrated her.
“Such a soft little plaything,” Thase murmured, brushing his claws up her sides and making her flinch.
Giselle bit her lip, forcing any protest away, wishing she could close her eyes but unable to take them off Thase. It was strange to see him up close, either one of them, and her eyes drew to the glimmering gold slits marking his skin.
“So pliable, so easy to bruise, to bleed.”
His growl sent heat between her thighs, and she instinctively tried to clench them together, doing nothing more than squeezing his legs where she straddled him.