Mary and the Minotaur by Honey Phillips

Chapter Four

Sendat immediately regretted his words. They rang all too true, especially with Miri’s warm little body still pressed against his side.

“My name is Mary,” she said softly.

“I know. But I prefer Miri.”

Miri were tiny forest sprites who appeared in the legends of his people—graceful, beautiful little creatures. Not that he intended to explain that to her. To his shock, her eyes filled with tears.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“My mother named me Miri. But my aunt said Mary was more practical and had it changed.”

He didn’t like the sound of this aunt and wished he had more time to ask questions. But time was of the essence if he was to get her safely away from this place. He briefly considered explaining his position to her, but that too would take time he didn’t have. For right now, she was probably safer thinking he was exactly who he was pretending to be. Once they reached his rooms and he called his Fleet contact, he would explain.

“Come,” he ordered, shocked once again when she gave him a shaky smile and tightened her grip on his arm. The sight of those small, pale fingers clinging to him sent a bolt of excitement straight to his cock, but he sternly ignored it.

“Where are we going?” she asked, trotting obediently along next to him.

“My rooms.” He half-expected her to balk, but she merely gave him a thoughtful glance from under her lashes. “Leave the blanket. It will be warmer outside. Keep the cloak.”

She sighed, but obediently dropped the blanket. “This cloak is disgusting.”

“I’ll get you—”

Fuck.What was he thinking? They weren’t going to be together long enough for him to provide her with anything.

Then again, she would still need help once she was off planet. Perhaps he could arrange to meet up with her after his work here was completed, just to make sure she was all right. He could also arrange for some of his own funds to be transferred to her once he had access to them again. Unfortunately, in the meantime, all he had was his undercover account—and that had been essentially depleted by purchasing her. Still, the little that remained should be sufficient for the brief period of time he would have her in his care.

As they left the warehouse, Miri stayed close to his side. She showed no signs of wishing to escape from him, and he wondered why. Had the Ceekat treated her so badly that she was afraid to be on her own? The thought made him snort in anger, and to his shock, she patted his arm reassuringly.

“Don’t worry,” she said softly. “I’m sure everything is going to be fine.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? I just bought you.”

“I know.” She gave him a sunny smile. “I’m so glad you did. That Chinit did not seem like a very nice person at all.”

He snorted again, this time to cover his laugh. He suspected she was quite right. Who would have thought that one of the wealthy members of the Yangu’s elite class would stoop to actually running an illegal slave ring? Using slaves, including illegal slaves, was not entirely unexpected, but being involved in the actual dealing was a surprise. His contact at the fleet would be most interested.

He checked the time on his communicator. With any luck, they would be able to raid the new auction site and pick up not only the slaves, but any buyers who were there as well. Along with the information about Chinit’s involvement, it would be a satisfactory conclusion to what he had just decided would be his final job. And once he was free from the dangers of his undercover work, perhaps he would be able to determine a new path…

His gaze drifted down to the small female hurrying along next to him, her sweet scent tantalizing him. If he had been a different male, one not so stained by his actions of the past few years, perhaps he would have asked her to find it with him. But he was no longer the honorable warrior he had once been, and she was better off without him.

The Warrens were always dark, little light reaching into them from the city above. They were built from the remnants of the original city, now many levels above them, and the only people who chose to live here were the ones who were too poor—or too involved in illicit activities—to live above. Now that true night had fallen, more of the residents began to appear in the narrow alleys. People were coming out to play, and he saw more than one speculative glance in his direction—or more accurately, in Miri’s direction. He started to walk faster, but although she tried to keep up, it was obvious that she couldn’t manage his pace.

As he slowed down to accommodate her, she gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I can’t really walk any faster with my feet like this.”

“Your feet?”

She shrugged. “They kept us barefoot on the ship, and the rags I used to cover them aren’t very thick.”

For a moment, he didn’t understand the problem, but then he remembered that humans had bare, defenseless feet. He immediately dropped down on one knee next to her.

“Show me,” he demanded.

She put her hand on his shoulder and leaned against him as she obediently raised a foot. The lush curves pressing against his side distracted him for a moment, but then he saw the state of her foot. The dirty rags wrapped around her small feet were torn, and he could see traces of blood.

He wanted to roar with anger, but he didn’t want to attract any additional attention.

“You should’ve told me.” His voice came out harsher than he had intended, but she didn’t flinch away from him.

“I didn’t know that you would care,” she said quietly.

“Of course I care.” He took a deep breath and forced himself to add, “You are slowing me down and damaging my property.”

He hated hearing himself speak so harshly, but she didn’t seem bothered. Instead, she gave him a soft smile. “Well, now I know. I did try and watch where I was going, but it’s so dark down here.”

“It’s always dark in the Warrens,” he said automatically, looking down at the tiny cold foot resting in his big palm. What was he going to do now? His instincts demanded that he pick her up and carry her the rest of the way, but that would be sure to attract attention. They were already the subject of too many speculative looks, although so far his size and the Bukharan reputation had prevented anyone from approaching them.

As he considered his options, he noticed a small shopping street not far away. He suspected that most of the goods sold there would be cheap and of poor quality, but cheap was desirable under the present circumstances, and even poor-quality footwear would be better than none. With a decided nod, he rose to his feet, already missing the feel of her soft body pressed against his side.

“Can you make it to that street?”

“Yes, of course. I can walk—I just can’t walk very fast.”

Brave little female.Her courage only made him feel worse that he had not noticed sooner that she was suffering. Scowling to hide his regret, he led her slowly and carefully in the direction of the shopping street, scanning the ground for any impediments.

The first shop sold various forms of smoking paraphernalia, and the second shop specialized in erotic recordings. Miri stared at them with wide eyes while he hustled her past them as quickly as possible. The third shop sold female attire, although it was obviously designed for a different class of female. Anxious to get her feet covered and get back to his place, he led the way inside.

A Tajiri female with a hard face and far too much makeup gave him an admiring look.

“My, my. You’re a big one, aren’t you?”

He ignored her words. “I need footwear for my female, and a new cloak.”

“I’ll say you do,” the female drawled, but her gaze softened as she took in Mary’s bedraggled state. “Do you want anything in particular?”

His instinct was to demand the finest for her, but he didn’t have the credits and they didn’t have the time. “Something warm and practical. Perhaps in blue,” he couldn’t help adding.

“Let me see what I can find.” The female thumbed rapidly through a rack of outerwear. Most of the garments were flimsy and obviously intended more for decoration than practical use, but she returned with two cloaks—one woven from a heavy black fabric and the other in a soft blue material.

With a shy smile, Mary dropped the cloak she had been wearing and reached for the blue garment, then gave him an uncertain look. “The black is probably more practical.”

“Try the blue,” he said gruffly.

As she pulled it around her shoulders, he looked over to see the shopkeeper glaring at him. What had he done to offend her? Then he realized that she had seen Miri’s slave gown when she discarded her cloak. Part of him wanted to protest his innocence, but he had encountered far worse looks from far worse people over the past year. Why should he let this one bother him now? He deliberately turned his back on the female as Miri fastened the clasp around her neck and gave a little twirl.

“Isn’t it pretty? What do you think?”

“It’ll do.” He turned back to the shopkeeper. “She needs shoes as well.”

“I’ll say she does,” the female muttered as she looked at the dirty rags tied around Miri’s feet. “I’ll see if I have anything that will fit her.”

The female disappeared towards the back of the shop, and he frowned after her. Then a small hand touched his arm.

“You don’t have to do this,” Miri said softly.

Yes, I do.It was the very least he could do to try and make up for what had happened to her. He opened his mouth to tell her that, then closed it again. This was too public a place and time was still pressing on him.

“This is the only thing I can find.” The shopkeeper returned carrying a pair of blue slippers embroidered with small flowers.

Miri’s eyes lit up at the sight of them, but then she shook her head.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“I can’t try them on. My feet are so dirty.”

He turned to the female. “Do you have a washroom?”

She started to shake her head, but then she looked at Mary again and sighed. “In the back.”

He led Miri back through the shop, past racks of frivolous, silky, even transparent garments and did his best not to picture her wearing any of the provocative creations. From the way she was looking at clothing, he suspected she had no such hesitation.

The washroom was small, but clean, and he lifted her up on the counter as he wet a cleansing cloth. As he started to unwind the dirty cloth, she winced and clutched his shoulder.

“They have to come off.”

“I know.” She didn’t protest as he finished removing the wraps and carefully washed her feet. To his relief, although she had some painful-looking bruises, the skin had been broken in only a few small places. He washed the scratches as thoroughly as possible, and patted them dry.

“Better,” he said, then lifted her into his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t want you getting dirty again before you put your shoes on.” And having her in his arms felt right.

She studied him out of those enormous blue eyes, then to his complete astonishment, she leaned forward and pressed her soft little lips against his mouth. It was no more than the briefest touch, but his cock was as painfully erect as if she had kissed him there instead—which immediately conjured up a series of even more erotic images.

He forced them aside, ignored his rampant erection, and carried her back to the front of the store. The shopkeeper eyed him suspiciously, but she didn’t comment as he placed Miri on a small bench. The female silently handed him the slippers, and he tried them on Miri’s feet. They fit as if they were made for her, and she gave him a delighted smile.

He nodded and turned to the shopkeeper. “We’ll take them. How much?”

He did his best not to react at the figure she named, but Miri must have seen his reaction because she tugged anxiously on his arm. “I don’t really need the cloak if it’s too much.”

“Nonsense,” he growled as he handed over his credit chit.

Fortunately, the transaction went through, although he suspected his balance must have been almost empty.

The shopkeeper suddenly stepped out from behind the counter and picked up a sheer, flowery scarf in shades of blue. She handed it to Miri.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t think we can afford it,” Miri said, giving him an uncertain look.

He reluctantly shook his head. The delicate prettiness would have suited her, but there was no way he could afford it. The shopkeeper smiled at Miri.

“I’m not trying to sell it to you. It’s a gift.”

“Are you sure?”

The female’s hard face softened. “I’m sure. It’s from last season anyway.”

“Thank you so much.”

Mary gave the shopkeeper a beaming smile as she wrapped the scarf around her neck. He had seen enough fashion in his days in the Imperial Palace to recognize how well it complemented her new items, as well as setting off her delicate beauty.

“Thank you,” he said gruffly.

The shopkeeper gave him a piercing glare. “Look after her.”

He found himself nodding automatically, and hastily rearranged his face into a scowl.

“Come, Miri,” he ordered, and she gave him a sunny smile and obeyed.