The first taste...

Cassie had tried the door seventeen times. Ashley knew, because she'd started counting after the sixth.

“It's still locked,” she said from the edge of the enormous bed.

“I know,” replied Cassie.

“Then why do you keep checking it?”

Several hours had passed since the alien prince had left them alone. In that time, they'd searched the absurdly luxurious chamber and discovered precisely nothing that would help two Power Rangers without their morphers escape.

Cassie gave the door another hard shove. “Because I can't just sit here and do nothing.”

Then the door opened, sending Cassie stumbling backward. Both Rangers immediately straightened as Zaren appeared in the doorway.

Cassie had spent the last several hours deciding exactly what she thought of him. Arrogant. Creepy. Dangerous. And whatever strange flutter she'd felt around him earlier had been adrenaline, obviously. Being kidnapped tended to screw with a person's nerves. She was profoundly annoyed when the sight of him made her stomach flip again.

“Good,” he said, smiling. “You're both still here.”

Cassie's eyes narrowed.

“Where exactly did you think we'd go?”

Zaren stepped inside, the door swinging shut behind him. The soft click of the lock made Ashley wince.

“Hope springs eternal,” he said lightly. “I admire it.”

His eyes flicked toward the door. “Seventeen times, was it?”

Cassie froze. From the bed, Ashley looked up sharply.

“Very persistent. But the energy shielding on that door could hold a small warship. And there are, shall we say, additional defenses outside this room that you won’t be bypassing with mere persistence.”

His gaze traveled over them, unhurried, appreciative. “You look…well.”

Cassie's jaw tightened. She became abruptly conscious of what she was wearing again, and she hated that. The pink panties Zaren had dressed her in clung to the curves of her hips. The tiny bra barely contained her breasts, the fabric so thin that her nipples showed through whenever the light hit her. Thin straps crossed her shoulders and dipped low over her collarbone. She'd spent an hour trying to adjust the damn thing into something resembling modesty and failed completely. Suddenly, every inch of exposed skin seemed to announce itself all over again.

“When the others find out what happened to us, they'll tear this planet apart,” Cassie hissed.

Zaren seemed unconcerned. “The others…yes.” He let one finger trail across the back of a velvet chaise. “They will search, certainly. But space is…very large. By the time anyone finds a trace of you, they will not find the same women they lost.”

Ashley shifted on the bed, pressing her thighs together. She couldn't help it. Zaren's presence had a weight to it, a warmth that made the yellow fabric of her own bra and panties feel twice as thin. Every time she took a breath, she caught another wave of his scent, something like spice and clean ozone and sunlight on skin, and her body responded in ways her mind kept trying to reject.

“Let’s not speak of escape,” Zaren said, stopping in front of Cassie. He studied her face like he was reading something written there.

“Fine,” Cassie shot back. “Let’s talk about you giving us our morphers and getting out of our way.”

He laughed. Not a sinister laugh; not even a mocking one. He simply looked genuinely entertained.

“You really don't know when to stop fighting, do you?” he said.

“You kidnapped the wrong Rangers if that bothers you,” she spat.

“Oh, quite the opposite,” he replied.

Something about the way he said it made Cassie's stomach tighten. She wished it hadn't. Zaren stepped closer.

“You say that now. But I’m a patient man,” he said, lifting a hand to her face. Cassie forced herself not to flinch as he tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear.

“And you’re already finding me…rather difficult to ignore.” His fingers brushed her skin, sending an unwanted shiver down her spine. His hand moved toward another wayward strand, but Cassie caught his wrist before it got there.

“Keep telling yourself that,” she said. For a moment, neither moved.

His gaze shifted to her fingers around his wrist, then returned to her face. He smiled.

“I don't think I'm the one who needs convincing.”

Cassie became aware that she was still holding him. She released him immediately. Zaren said nothing. Somehow that was worse.

Ashley stood. “What do you actually want from us?”

Zaren turned toward her. His expression softened.

“At the moment? For you to stop looking at me like I'm about to hurt you.”

“You kidnapped us,” Ashley scoffed.

“I did.”

“And took our morphers.”

“Yes.”

Ashley frowned, wrong-footed by the easy admission.

Zaren offered her his hand. Ashley stared at it. Cassie did, too.

“Don't,” Cassie said softly.

Ashley looked at her. “I wasn't going to.” But she hadn't moved away, either.

Seemingly satisfied, Zaren lowered his hand and turned back to the Pink Ranger.

“Interesting,” he murmured, moving toward Cassie yet again. “Your friend worries about you,” he said to Ashley over his shoulder. Soon, he was close enough to Cassie that she could feel the heat of his body against her exposed skin. Cassie meant to step back.

She didn’t.

Zaren's hand came up to cup her jaw, tilting her face toward him.

“Look at you,” he murmured. “So fierce. So certain. The Pink Ranger.” His thumb traced her lower lip. Despite herself, Cassie felt her mouth soften. “And yet here you are, dressed the way I chose for you, wearing nothing underneath, standing in my chambers with your heart racing.”

“It's not,” Cassie said, but her voice came out breathless and wrong. She wanted to knock Zaren’s hand away from her face. Any second now.

She fought against the strange pull of him, the way her skin seemed to prickle with awareness, but her muscles felt like lead. A languid heat spread from her chest down through her belly, settling low and heavy between her thighs. Her nipples tightened against the bra, suddenly sensitive, and an ache began to build in the soft flesh of her breasts.

Cassie heard herself make a small sound, something between a gasp and a whimper, and hated herself for it.

“There it is,” Zaren said softly in reply. His hand slid from her jaw down her throat, then lower, tracing the curve of her breast. “You can fight it all you like, little Ranger. Your body already knows what it craves.”

Cassie blinked at him, his words not quite tracking through the honey-thick haze settling over her mind.

“But I am not a brute,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I will not take what you are not willing to give.”

“I will make you willing,” Zaren said. “And when you come to me, when you kneel and open your mouth and beg, it will be because you truly want nothing more.” He glanced at Ashley. “Both of you.”

Ashley stifled a whimper of her own, and Cassie turned her head, desperate for anything to ground her. She saw Ashley with her thighs pressed together, her hands gripping her own elbows, her face flushed a deep pink. Ashley was fighting too, and the sight of it made Cassie's heart clench.

Cassie opened her mouth to tell Zaren exactly where he could put his plans, but what came out instead was a shuddering exhale. She couldn’t deny that she felt her own slickness building. Her nipples strained against the fabric of her bra with every breath. Zaren noticed, his eyes dropping to her chest, then lower, tracing the curves of her body.

“Barely ten minutes,” he said smugly. “Without even a proper touch, and your body is begging.” Cassie's glare sharpened. Zaren simply grinned, leaning toward her ear.

“Imagine an hour,” he whispered. “A day.”

He reached down and hooked a finger through the thin strap on Cassie's shoulder, drawing it down her arm. Cassie's breath hitched. She should stop him. She should slap his hand away. She should scream.

Instead she heard herself whimper as he drew the strap down her other shoulder, baring the tops of both breasts above the slumping bra. Her nipples were visible now, dark and hard against the pale skin of her chest, and Zaren made a low sound of appreciation.

“Beautiful,” he murmured.

His thumb brushed across her nipple, and Cassie's knees buckled. Zaren caught her, drawing her against him before she could fall. She looked up. His face was inches from hers. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and Cassie's breath caught again.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.

Cassie’s lips parted. Nothing came out. Zaren kissed her, and Cassie's eyes slipped shut.

For one startled heartbeat, Cassie went perfectly still.

Just for a moment, she forgot to fight him. The tension seemed to drain out of her body, leaving her pliant and responsive. When Zaren deepened the kiss, she answered him with a soft moan before she could think better of it. The strange warmth inside her surged, the dampness between her thighs spreading through her pink panties. Cassie found herself leaning into him, her fingers curling into the fabric at his chest. Zaren broke the kiss just long enough to look at her, his eyes dark with satisfaction, then claimed her mouth again. Cassie whimpered against his lips, her bare nipples aching and hard.

Ashley gasped, but Cassie didn't hear it. For several dizzying seconds, there was no argument in her head at all. No escape plan. No furious reminder of who he was or what he'd done. There was only the intoxicating closeness of him, the taste of his tongue against hers, and the frightening ease with which she started kissing him back.

The realization hit her like cold water. She tore herself away.

“Get away from me!” she cried, almost desperate. Zaren released her without protest, and she fell against the soft bedsheets, breathing hard.

He simply gave a polite bow. “As you wish,” he replied. “For now. Sleep well, Rangers.” Then he pushed the door open and was gone.

Ashley was beside her a moment later, taking her arm. “Cassie,” she said softly, but there was no answer.

Cassie sat up silently, staring at the closed door. After a moment, her fingers rose to her lips.

She snatched her hand away.

She had kissed him back.