Free Hostage To The Stars: A Sectors SF Romance by Veronica Scott Page A

warlord set to preserve her value.”
    Sara launched herself at him, trying to claw his remaining eye out, but the ankle chains restrained her movements and Scarface dragged her closer, guffawing at her struggles. As the two men forced her onto the bed, pawing at her shirt, she fought and screamed, striking out wildly with her fists.
    “Sara, Sara, hush, honey, you’re here with me, it’s ok, they’re gone. Those bastards can’t hurt you ever again.”
    She became aware of the deep, calming voice coming from outside the nightmare, not any part of the terrors she’d been made to endure, realizing she wasn’t trapped in Scarface’s scrawny arms after all, but cradled in a strong embrace, protected, guarded by someone who’d never hurt her. She heard the steady, reassuring heartbeat under her ear, where she was pressed to Johnny’s muscular chest, while his big hand stoked her hair. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
    “Breathe in and out and let yourself relax. I’m here and nothing’s going to get past me to hurt you, I promise.”  
    “Bad dream. Nightmare,” she said, hardly able to form words yet.
    He chuckled, a deep rumble in his chest. “I could tell.”
    She pulled back to see his face. He was pale, shadows under his eyes, but he assessed her condition intently. “I’m sorry I woke you,” she said.
    “I’m glad I was here.” He let her scoot away from him without comment. He seemed to understand why she could only take so much carefully restrained, reassuring touch, even from him.
    She wrapped her arms around her knees and sucked in deep breaths. “I dreamt I was in the cell, at the palace. There were these two men of Umarri’s, he gave me to them for a while—”
    Johnny was silent. Waiting to see where she was going with the story, she guessed. Letting her talk. “I fought them but my resistance got them more excited. Beating me made them…aroused.”
    Moving slowly, he gathered her in to sit next to him, which she allowed because she wanted the comfort. “You’re a fighter, I knew that about you. But the important thing is you did what it took to survive.” He stared into her eyes. “Whatever it took. No one, least of all me, has the standing to judge anything you did or didn’t do to survive. I admire your guts, lady, plain and simple.”
    She curled against him, needing the warmth and reassurance more than she needed distance at the moment. “Will the nightmares ever fade, do you think?”
    “I imagine so, especially if you get professional help, talk to someone once we’re home in the Sectors.”
    “I don’t want to talk to anyone about it ever again,” she said, yanking herself out of his hold and rising to pace the floor. Unaccountably angry, her heart pounded so hard she shook and she bet her blood pressure was sky rocketing. “I just want to forget. I want my life to go back to normal. Like it was before.”
    He shook his head. “May never happen, I can’t lie. But you go on.”
    Struck by his tone, she stared at him. “You sound as if you’ve had personal experience with bad memories.”
    He took a swig from the canteen. “Soldier. Goes with the territory.” Rising, keeping one hand on the wall, Johnny staggered a bit.
    Guilt flooded over her and she rushed to brace his unsteady balance with her body. “You’ve got to lie down. We’re not going anywhere tonight. Probably not tomorrow either.”
    “We’ll see how I’m doing in the morning,” he said. “My old anti venom injects kicked in, better late than not at all. The longer we stay on Farduccir, the more chance of being noticed.” He lay on the mat and closed his eyes. “How did you know to wash the venom residue off me?”
    From the heat in her cheeks, Sara knew she was blushing fiery red. Glad he wasn’t looking at her, she said, “I got an instant angry rash on my fingers when I touched your sweaty skin, checking your fever. I figured it out. Seemed inadvisable to let the venom