Free Tee-ani's Pirates by Rachel Clark

her, there was a very good chance they were going to lose her.
    He turned to Tee-ani. The slave outfit barely covered her beautiful body. She’d colored her eyes with lenses and died her silky blonde hair a deep purple in an effort to hide her identity. They didn’t want to risk anyone recognizing the human doctor who’d managed to escape slavery with many others several months ago.
    Ben could sense the turmoil of emotions going through her. Even though she’d volunteered for this mission, he could feel the energy it took to control the fear and rising anxiety. There was no doubt that she understood the danger they were walking into, but her determination kept her reactions tightly under control, and he loved her even more for it.

    62
    Rachel Clark
    Perhaps this was the real reason he and Trey had left their home planet when they did. Not because they were spoiled princes who wanted more, but because they’d sensed something wrong with the attitudes and accepted customs of their people and needed to experience a wider understanding of the universe around them. If they’d known the price G’baena would pay, they wouldn’t have left without her.
    “We’ve got permission to land.” Trey glanced over at him again.
    “Everybody ready?”
    They both turned to Tee-ani, unable to stifle their protective instincts. She stepped forward, a reassuring grin on her face and reached up to hug them both. She held them for a moment and then gracefully lowered herself to her knees with her head down.
    “I am ready, master.”
    The title made Ben nauseous. It was so difficult to hide his reaction, despite the fact that he’d been raised believing women should be subservient, that they should obey their husbands’ wishes.
    His time with Tee-ani had changed something very fundamental in his beliefs and instead of seeing a woman who honored her husband, he saw a person stripped of their basic rights, unable to make their own choices, and he hated it. Hated everything about his upbringing and his people’s beliefs. Were the women on G’trobia any better off than those forced into slavery?
    It took a moment to realize that Trey was feeling the same way.
    Tee-ani raised her head and spoke very quietly.
    “Ben, Trey, you have to do this. It’s the only way to get G’baena to safety.” Still, they hesitated. Tee-ani lifted her hands and pressed a wide leather collar into Ben’s unresisting grasp. “If it makes you feel better,” she said with a cheeky smile, “I’ll kick your ass for it later.”
    Ben smiled, despite his discomfort. Tee-ani might not be empathic, but she could read him and his brother like unlocked data pads. He took the collar from her and touched her cheek softly so that she looked at him again. “I love you.”

    Tee-ani’s Pirates
    63
    “I know.” She lifted her hair away from her neck so that he could fasten the collar around her delicate throat. He wanted to haul her into his arms and kiss her until neither of them could breathe, but the ship’s sensors squawked annoyingly, reminding him that they were about to land.
    Ben turned back to the controls as his brother lifted Tee-ani to her feet and kissed her tenderly. “We get in, we locate G’baena, and we get the hell out. Okay? No delays, no change in plan, no walking into danger.”
    “Yes, Master.” The words were right, but the tone was very, very wrong. Ben fought the smile that threatened his stern façade as he turned to Tee-ani.
    “Showtime. We will protect you, Tee, but you need to act the part.”
    She lowered her face, her body seeming to shrink before his eyes.
    One moment she was a confident, well-spoken doctor—his Tee-ani—
    and the next she was a subservient, submissive slave, and the change absolutely terrified him. What horrors had this woman seen, lived through, when she’d been held on a slave ship?

    64
    Rachel Clark

Chapter Eight
    “Ahh. Welcome to my humble abode.” Keytark was the strangest, ugliest humanoid she’d