Free Havoc by Linda Gayle Page A

material."
    His use of the word prime struck her like a blow, but just as quickly she realized what he meant, and that was almost worse. She was material—raw material, flesh to be marketed and displayed. Well, wasn't that what she wanted? Why did his personal approval suddenly matter so?
    Determined to hide her absurd hurt, Sayal sat up, turning her face away. “Perhaps in the time we have before the jarouk game we should visit the gamesmaster and get ourselves cleared. Then we can start rehearsing as soon as possible."
    He didn't touch her as he stood from the bed. “I need a cleansing, and I need to change or process my clothes."
    "There's a processor in the corner.” She waved him toward a thin door. Having escaped in one set of clothes and acquired only two others since, she'd used it often. “I'll use the cleanser first. You can go in after me.” She suddenly needed to wash his touch from her, wash away the false feelings of security and comfort lying in his arms had evoked. Her mind tossed with new, uncertain emotion.
    As she bent to take off her boots, Kels stood and began stripping. She watched covertly from beneath the curtain of her hair as he peeled out of his shirt, revealing a muscular back and biceps, then tugged off his boots and his pants. Kels had not the physical perfection of her Prime creator. Yet something about Kels's hairy legs and big feet and the silver scars that lined his flesh enamored him to her.
    He turned and caught her watching. “Still dressed? Need help?” he teased.
    She shook her head, smiling. “No, I can manage. Why don't you use the cleanser first, since you undress so much faster than I do?"
    "Lots more practice, I'd bet.” He winked and strode past her toward the cleansing chamber. As he passed, she appreciated his abs and tight ass. The mist hissed on, and the lightly perfumed odor of the soap rolled out to her like luring fingers.
    She considered joining him, perhaps taking his cock in her mouth and wrestling back some control. He was far too dominant, mastering her body until she was mindless for more. Sadly, this small cube came with an even-smaller cleanser, and it would simply be impractical. Perhaps on the Nova there would be better accommodations.
    Yes, the Nova ... That reminded her; she needed the patch for the game tonight. She rose from the bed and crossed to the dining area, then waved her hand over a flat panel in the wall. The panel slid open, revealing standard first-aid equipment. She selected a gauze patch and scissors and cut a piece down to a smaller size, something that would look convincing. For creativity's sake, she trimmed it into a diamond shape. Now, what to use for the “antivenin"? Sayal settled on a paste used for burn treatments and wiped it over the patch. She shut the drawer, and it whispered back into invisibility in the wall. She wrapped the sticky gauze in a plastiseal baggie and tucked it in her pocket.
    The patch was nothing. Her bond with Kels was everything. The truth was she knew little to nothing about jarouk, except that it involved the players risking a sting from a poisonous insect in order to win. It sounded rather stupid to her, but it was apparently a popular game in back alleys and unsavory establishments across the SenVerse. Sayal heard the cleanser shut off and Kels humming as the drying lights snapped on.
    She pressed her hands against her face, allowed one sinking moment of doubt, then pushed it aside. He must not see her uncertainty, her fear, or else the slim thread of trust between them would snap. That she could not allow.
    If she couldn't protect him through their bond, everything was forfeit.
    Elion leaned against the side of a storage unit and watched Kels and the girl coming toward him down the corridor. Surrounded by short, stocky Quitzae, they stood out like tall trees among shrubs. They weren't quite at the stage of holding hands, but their fingers brushed as they walked, and now Kels leaned toward Sayal and