Indentured Bride Read Online Free Page A

touch, thought fleeting and light, caused tingles in her flesh.
    “Deka,” he said, and then exited.
    “He says to eat.”
    Tabitha drew a deep breath and obeyed.
    She cried on his couch that night.  It was dark outside the windows and Jaxil had closed the door of his bedroom to sleep.  She didn’t know why sleeping alone on his ample couch made her cry.  Would she be happier if he dragged her into bed with him?
    Yes.  If it meant he would keep her.
    Damn.   What a pathetic thing ten years at the horrible slave compound had turned her into.  She was so desperate not to go back she was willing to do almost anything.  It helped, of course, that he seemed kind.  When was the last time someone had shown her kindness?
    She felt knotted with conflicting emotion.  None of it she could trust.  It had been a long day, a long space flight, and a confusing arrival. 
    He’ll change his mind in the morning.
    *
    *  *
    *  *  *
    *  *  *
    *  *
    *
    And yet, when she woke in the early dawn, it was because he was stomping through the living room with his chest armor and cap.  The slam of the front door followed moments after.  Tabitha sat up, listening to the silence. 
    Her master had left her.
    Of course he left you.  He has monsters to kill.
    She tried to reason herself out of a new bout of sadness.
    Rather than sulking she got up and looked for some work.  If this master was going to dump her then he should at least give her a good reference to get another master.  Yeah, right.   Well…she’d make him miss her at least.
    She started in the far corner of the kitchen and cleaned her way from one side of the house to the other.  Diplomo insisted she stop for breakfast.  The meat from the chest gave her indigestion so she ventured out for some berries.  A lick from one didn’t kill her, and they were sweet.  She ate a small bush’s worth then filled a large bowl and set the in the middle of the table. 
    It was like a fancy decoration now.  Nice.
    Next she put away the dishes in the only empty cupboard.  Then she found floor cleanser and a broom/mop thing clogged with cobwebs.  She cleaned it first, then the floor. 
    As she continued along, cleaning and organizing, she found hidden treasures in storage chests and cubbies.  She wasn’t in his bedroom (where she was too timid to intrude) so she explored as she wished.  There was a large container of seeds, sorted and labeled in the alien script.  A big metal box housed an elaborate first aid kit.  There were syringes pre-loaded with amber or clear fluids, labeled in the alien language.  A forbidding staple gun, sealed in a sterile casing, was in a molded section of the box.  Then she found white balls made of pressed wax with a few handfuls of wax missing.  There was a kit in a shiny box that had to be for trimming hair and nails.  Another kit held tools to mend fabric. 
    By evening she was starving and wanted to try to cook.  The oven was easy to figure out, but then, she had no idea what to make.  Diplomo suggested a soup and helped her select ingredients from the nearest garden.  The crops surrounding them seemed to be fields of staples, with gardens of more unique vegetables closer to the house.  She’d found spices during her cleaning spree, but only recognized salt.  Diplomo had her put some of a red spice in the soup also.  This caused a delicious aroma to cascade from the brew. 
    Tabitha’s mouth watered as she stirred.  She hoped Jaxil would arrive in time to be welcomed by the scent.  She was feeling like a happy little bride.
    Well, it was a nice daydream, anyway.
    The ground shook and she heard a distant engine kick off.  She brimmed with a fragile joy.  It could have been her master or a shuttle to take her away.  She presumed the former and served a bowl of the soup with a loaf of green bread.
    Jaxil entered, walking hunched over and grunting.  He braced himself on the table as he passed, not even looking at her