Empty Toward The Moon

Chapter Five

A hard, no-nonsense voice called out, a hand raised in a 'come hither' wave, and everyone in the room froze, the slaves especially. A mountain of weight accompanied the demand making knees weak and sweat appear on brows. I felt it too, but having spend years around my father and grandfather, it didn't affect me at all. Only the heart raced and blood pumped and when the atmosphere grew heavier, I looked up to find out what was going on, only to find the god-handsome man staring hard at me. I turned my head to check that he wasn't meaning someone else behind me but seeing an empty room but there was no one behind me.

"Go, quickly." Mocha whispered under his breath, only loud enough for me and his sister to hear. I wave a few fingers at them in farewell, and wished in my heart that we'd meet again.

It took forever to take those twenty or thirty steps to the entrance where the man stood. Since I'd already been singled out by him, I decided it was no longer worth hiding my presence in the room, so I stood up straight and flicked my hair over my shoulders and stepped forward, like I was meeting a new business acquaintance.

"Miss Briller, my apologies for the lack of facilities. You were destined for earlier processing, but something came up. Please make your way with me and I'll take you somewhere more comfortable until your family arrive to collect you." His voice was alluring, and it took a moment for me to register what he's just said.

"My family?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, your Uncle is arriving in the next few hours," he replied then walked away.

My Uncle? Was he the orchestrator of this whole thing? I wondered quietly.

I frowned at the man's back as he strode away, and a guard cleared his voice behind me, knocking me back into the present. I quickly trotted behind the handsome man, watching the way the muscles on his legs and thighs bunched and un-bunched as he moved. I mean, his butt was to die for, the way his broad back narrowed into slim hips, and that tight.... Aiyo! So incredible.

Then I remembered where I was again, shook the distractions out of my mind and grabs a hold of that niggling fear like a shield and followed the unnamed man into an adjoining corridor. We passed a few doors then entered into an open room that held a lounge suite behind shelves of boxes and crates.

"Please make yourself comfortable, Miss Briller." He stopped inside the door and waved me through like a considerate host. I looked into the new space, not much bigger than the holding cell he'd just taken me from. There was a refresher through the door on the left and a beat up old settee to the back of the room. I stepped past the man without looking at him.

"Any chance you have a change of clothes in here?" I asked quietly, turning back towards my captor.

"I'm afraid there is none. I'm sure your uncle has made arrangements for you." His magnetic voice seemed to vibrate through my whole being. It took me a moment to understand what he'd said.

"My Unnn-cle." I frowned, drawing out the word. I looked up into the guy's eyes and found him suddenly quite close to me. I took a step back but he followed, cornering me all the way back onto the settee without even touching me. What the heck?

"I'm sure you'll make yourself at home in here in no time." He smirked at my response to him.

"Thank you!" I squeaked out as my knees gave out. I managed to make my fall look like I'd planned to sit down on the couch, and would have got away with it too if I hadn't nearly missed the seat. I scrambled to catch myself as he chuckled at my faux-pas and stepped back away from me. I could finally breathe again.

"I will be in to see you once this cargo load has been sent off. Please make yourself comfortable." He turned to leave without another word, and I thought that would be that, but just by the door he paused and turned around again, and I saw something flicker through his eyes. A symbol briefly flashed on his right iris, there and gone in a moment. He watched me a moment longer then left.