Alien Skin Market by Lizzy Bequin

CHAPTER 13: MAUREEN

Until this moment, Maureen had never had a problem with stage fright. In high school, she had been an introverted kid with few friends, but she had still excelled in speech class, passing with flying colors. Then in college she had been a star member of the debate team, and later as an FBI agent she was sometimes called upon to speak at press conferences or in the courtroom. She never once broke a sweat on stage.

Until now.

She was naked and leashed, held captive on stage by a giant spider while a teeming sea of alien faces looked up at her. The glare of the spotlight blinded her eyes, which was a small mercy as it meant she couldn’t see those hideous, leering faces too clearly. For a moment, the entire room was silent, and Maureen swore she could actually hear the fat drops of sweat squeezing out of her pores.

She was more frightened than she’d ever been in her entire life. And considering everything she’d been through in the past day, that was saying a lot.

What the hell was this place?

As the crowd continued staring at her in stunned silence, Maureen started to wonder what the aliens expected of her. Was she supposed to put on a show for them? Dance or something?

As her vision adjusted to the light, she noticed a figure standing near the back of the room. A muscular silhouette limned around the edges with deep purple highlights, a pair of pointed ears, a pair of smoldering orange eyes.

At first, Maureen thought it was her tormentor from earlier, and her heart squeezed. But as she looked closer, she realized it must be a different alien. The hair was more closely cropped, the stature just a tad shorter, and when his face caught the light just right, there was a glint that let her know the alien was wearing eyeglasses. Well that was unexpected.

A roaring voice broke the silence so abruptly, Maureen nearly jumped out of her skin.

The audience erupted into hoots and cheers.

Maureen directed her gaze downward to the front of the audience, searching for the source of that first noise, and then she saw him. The alien who had touched her so intimately before. He was reclining in his seat in the front row, his perfectly etched abdominal muscles on full display, his eyes stabbing at her with fiery intensity. A small metal orb was hovering near his shoulder. She had noticed that orb earlier outside.

Maureen hated her own body for the way it reacted to the sight of him, hated the way her blood flowed into her sensitive places, stiffening her nipples and warming her loins.

A second later, another voice called out over the din. The crowd turned toward the back corner of the room, the direction from which the second cry had come. It was the other purple alien Maureen had seen a moment ago. The one with the glasses. He was standing back there with his muscled arm raised high.

What the hell was going on here?

Maureen wished she could understand what the aliens were saying. Then again, maybe it was better if she didn’t know. She shivered.

Barely a heartbeat passed before the alien lounging in the front row called out again, followed shortly by the one standing in the rear. Each time one of the purple aliens spoke, the audience gasped and cheered and ooh‘d and aah‘d. The purple aliens went back and forth like this several times before it finally dawned on Maureen what was happening.

This was an auction. The aliens were bidding.

Bidding on her.

A cold chill gripped Maureen’s stomach. Why were these aliens bidding on her? What did they intend to do with her once the auction was over?

Her first thought was that she would be used as a sex slave. That seemed like the most likely possibility, considering how interested the aliens seemed to be in her skin. But that idea made less sense when Maureen considered the other alien animals locked in the holding cell in the back.

Maybe these alien bidders were just big-time perverts?

Or maybe something else was going on…

Whatever this was about, it clearly wasn’t anything good. Maureen had to find a way out of this situation while she still had a chance. A few moments ago, she had been praying for a savior, but it was obvious that none was forthcoming. She was on her own here.

Maureen’s mind raced. She struggled to think clearly through the fog of her panic and the noise of the clamoring crowd.

It was hopeless. In a matter of moments, she would be sold to one of the two aliens and dragged away by her leash and collar.

Maureen’s pulse jumped.

Her collar!

The device the shadowmen had placed around her throat was the same as the device used to contain Rawn in a bubble-like forcefield. Maureen had figured out how to operate Rawn’s device by tapping the buttons located on the rim of the collar. One of those buttons had turned off the leash. The collars had been designed for animals such as cows, but they were relatively easy for a human to get out of.

Maureen silently cursed herself for not thinking of it before. If she could just find the right button on her own collar, she could escape from the spider alien who was keeping her on the stage.

But she needed to act soon.

The two purple aliens were still shouting their bids, volleying their words back and forth like a heated verbal tennis match. Every eye in the crowd swiveled from one bidder to the other. So far, the other rowdy aliens had been cheering them on, but now a stunned silence had settled over the audience, and Maureen could guess what that meant.

The bids were getting high.

Very high.

Jesus, why did these stupid aliens want her so badly? Maureen had always felt confident about her looks. She knew she was an attractive woman, but not the kind that men would fight over. Certainly not the kind that men would bid on. Right?

Maybe some women would enjoy being valued so highly, but Maureen wasn’t the kind of woman who liked to be objectified. Especially not by terrifying aliens.

The fact that the bids were getting high meant the bidding must be getting close to an end. The long-haired alien in the front row had even risen from his seat and stood glaring angrily at his competitor in the back. The tension hung in the air like a cocked gun. Sooner or later, one of the aliens would give up, and Maureen would be sold.

It was decision time.

Should she try to deactivate her leash now? Or should she wait for a better moment?

Maureen squinted her eyes against the glaring spotlight and stared out over the dark audience. If she deactivated her leash now, where would she go? The only exit was situated at the other side of the theater, meaning Maureen would have to fight her way through the crowd first. She didn’t like her odds for success with that plan.

Then there was the matter of Rawn.

Whatever happened, she refused to leave her furry companion behind. Even though they had only met today, they had been through a lot together in that time, and Rawn had proven himself to be a loyal and protective friend. If Maureen abandoned him, she would never be able to live with herself.

She decided to wait.

After she had been sold to one alien or the other, she would no longer be the center of attention on stage. As soon as she was alone with her new owner, she would take him off guard when her chances of escaping would be better. Then she would return and rescue Rawn.

Maureen had no clue how she would manage all that, but she would have to try.

From the back of the room, the purple alien with the closely cropped hair and glasses bellowed a final bid. The sound of his voice fell like the blow of a hammer, and a collective gasp rippled through the audience.

Oh shit. That one must have been a huge bid.

Every eye in the theater turned toward the scary, long-haired alien standing in the front row. He was as still and silent as a statue, but Maureen could feel the waves of animosity radiating from his powerful frame. The little metal orb was hovering by his ear, hissing viciously. Was that little orb his boss or something? Whatever it was, it was obviously pissed.

After another long moment of tense silence, the spider alien holding Maureen’s leash said something to the long-haired alien in the front row. He growled and shook his head.

The spider chittered and pointed one long, spindly limb toward the purple alien at the back of the theater. The audience erupted once more into cheers and applause, and the aliens standing in the central aisle moved back, making way for the purple alien who now strode confidently toward the stage, his orange eyes locked intently on Maureen.

Her pulse spiked, and she struggled to swallow past her dry throat.

She had just been sold.

To an alien.

And she was about to meet her new owner.