Slowly she opened her hands and let the robes fall to the floor. Ky warmed as he looked over her lush body, bared for his delight. This was going to be good.
The couturier returned with a leather dress that was bright red and thin and soft as silk. It fit Brianne perfectly. The décolletage skimmed just above her nipples, lifting her breasts for nice shadowy cleavage. The leather wrapped itself lovingly around her hips and emphasized the deep curve of her waist. The black high heels the couturier said would go excellently with it emphasized her long and sexy legs.
Ky rested his hand on her hip and drew her to his side. “Now, that’s perfection.”
Behind her mask her eyes held a mixture of shyness and wonder. He sensed that she’d never tried to be sexy before, never thought of making herself into an object of desire. He hoped she was learning it was fun to be desired.
“Now for the finishing touch.” Ky signaled the couturier who smiled and returned with cuffs made of the same soft red leather.
The cuffs sported thin rings through which Ky could lace leather bonds—not now, but later when things grew more interesting. He wrapped the cuffs around the startled Brianne’s wrists, sealing them seamlessly.
Last was a collar of black leather that snapped around her slim neck. Ky couldn’t afford elaborate jeweled affairs like Calder could, but it was well made and bore a ruby-colored stone that rested at her throat. The collar also had a thin ring in the back, to which Ky clipped a leather leash.
“You look pretty,” Ky rumbled.
Brianne studied herself in the five-tiered mirror, staring in wonder. “I’m not sure pretty is the right word. I look—strange.”
“You look drop-dead sexy. You’ll have every Shareem crawling to you with his tongue out, but you’re mine tonight.” He splayed his hand on her waist. “Remember that. If you go to any of them without my permission, it’s punishment time.”
“Go to them?” She looked up in surprise. “Why would I?”
“The pheromones fly around something fierce where we’re going. You’ll find yourself thinking things and doing things before you can stop yourself. But you will stop. Or find me, and I’ll stop you.”
“Find you? I have the feeling I won’t want to leave your side.”
Ky nodded. “You’re catching on.”
Before they left, Brianne tried to pay the bill.
“Not tonight, sweetheart,” Ky said, hand on her wrist. “Tonight, I take care of you.”
“But this must have been expensive.”
Ky gave her a cold stare until she stilled, flushing. “You’re on your way to punishment, love.”
Brianne opened her mouth as though she would argue and then closed it. “All right. I agreed to do it your way tonight.”
He saw in her eyes that she would try to settle up with the couturier later. Upper-class ladies always wanted to pay at first, wanting to treat Shareem as their boy toys. They learned quickly just who was in charge, and in the end stopped trying to be in control.
Later, when the lady recovered, she would send her Shareem lavish gifts—or hide from him entirely, depending on what the experience did to her.
“Put it on your account?” the couturier said to Ky with a knowing wink.
“Please.”
And that was that.
Ky blindfolded Brianne before they reached their destination. “This is a private place,” he explained as he gently tied the black silk over her eyes. “I don’t want you sending your bodyguards down later to clear it out. We like it here.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she said indignantly.
“You might. You think you’re open-minded and have a soft spot for Shareem, but we’ll see. Women react in all kinds of ways to what we’re going to do.” He paused. “You might even laugh. Some of the games get funny.”
“I feel ready for anything,” she said breathlessly.
“Sure, I believe you.”
“Just don’t let me trip. These heels are unbelievably high.”
“That’s because they’re not really for walking. Hang on to me and you’ll be fine.”
Brianne did hang on to him in a gratifying way. As they entered the underground play place for level three Shareem she wrapped both arms around his waist and didn’t let go.
They plummeted down ten stories in a grav tube to the forgotten warehouse level threes had turned into a space to call their own. Here they brought their subs—one-night stands or more permanent lovers—for games and other interaction.
The place had public rooms and private, food and drink, and bedrooms for resting as well as play. Some rooms were dungeon-like, with racks for tying partners to, a selection of floggers, manacles and chains, swings and many choices of sexual toys. Other rooms were simple bedrooms or sitting rooms—you didn’t always need accoutrements to make sex good.
Level twos sometimes brought women here as part of their fun and games, but level twos didn’t take it as seriously as did level threes. Level twos might indulge their ladies in a bit of spanking or tie-me-up, but level threes looked upon bondage as an art form. Level twos laughed—level threes were dead serious.
A dozen other Shareem had already arrived by the time Ky and Brianne stepped out of the grav tube, their subs in tow. Most of the ladies wore masks to protect their identities, though some of the lower-class women or those who said to hell with it went bare-faced.
Shareem pheromones already hung heavy in the air, and Ky could taste the growing excitement of the ladies. A Shareem in the street above could get a hard-on just walking by.
Ky felt Brianne sway against him as they moved through the rooms. The atmosphere would relax her inhibitions as they moved through the night. She had no need for fear here, because it was harmless.
Mostly.
Ky removed Brianne’s blindfold and tucked it into his pocket. With her face-covering mask and her dark hair cascading down her back, she looked very little like the cool, neatly coiffed woman who appeared on digitals. She looked like a woman ready for sexual play, willing to seek it with a Shareem.
Ky was used to the place, but Brianne gasped as they walked around. Many of the women wore a variation of Brianne’s dress, cut high in the hip and low in the breast. Most garments were leather of every color, from black to red to bright yellow to electric blue. Some ladies had chosen sheer fabrics instead, and one wore shimmering red silk that outlined every curve.
“She’s lucky she’s thin,” Brianne murmured.
All the women wore collars, from plain black leather strips to silver collars studded with jewels. Some women sported high stiletto heels like Brianne’s, some went barefoot. All had tethers attached to their collars, either hanging loose between their breasts or wrapped around the hand of a Shareem.
Ky knew all the Shareem here, some more than others, and a few had become good friends. It was nice to be able to talk freely about sex and bondage techniques without having to worry about patrollers listening.
The one thing they never discussed was DNAmo. Their experiences at the factory had ranged from minor indignities to horrific experiments, and no one wanted to compare notes. Lab rats, they’d called themselves, and they’d taken a tacit vow to not speak of it. The past stayed in the past.
Where it belongs, Ky told himself severely.
Braden arrived with not one but two young women in tow, their arms firmly around his waist. One wore leather and the other wore a body-hugging sarong of bright silk.
“Best friends,” Braden said as he and Ky met up in the middle of the common room. He didn’t bother to introduce them, and Ky didn’t introduce Brianne. Ladies here were anonymous unless they chose otherwise.
“Best friends who happen to have the same birthday,” Braden continued, grinning. “They’re giving each other a gift—me.”
Which wouldn’t dampen the man’s ego any. Ky refrained from making a smart-ass comment and ran his gaze over the two giggling women. They were cute, but he liked Brianne better.
Brad
en gave Brianne a penetrating glance. Ky figured he knew damn well who she was but was smart enough not to say anything.
“Care to join us?” Braden asked. The two women gave Ky a long once-over, as though concluding that two Shareem would be an even better gift than one.
Ky slid his hand to Brianne’s leather-covered backside. “She’s in training. Maybe next time.”
The two women looked disappointed, but Braden whispered something to them that made them brighten. With another grin, Braden sauntered away, a hand planted firmly on each woman’s ass.
“Does that happen often?” Brianne asked. “Being invited to join in?”
“All the time, sweetheart. Sometimes it’s one big orgy. Depends on how hot it gets in here. A sandstorm stuck us down here for two days once. That was interesting.”
She looked alarmed. “There isn’t likely to be a sandstorm tonight, is there?”
“I didn’t hear one forecast.” Ky leaned close to her. “Doesn’t mean we can’t have an orgy, and doesn’t mean I wouldn’t order you to join in.”
Her brown eyes widened, lashes brushing the mask. “You would do that?”
“If I was in the mood.”
She exhaled. “I don’t think I’m ready for an orgy.”
“Are you scared?” Ky let his fingers move to the crease in her backside. “Or are you going to trust me?”
“What if I said no, I don’t trust you?”
“Then I’d have failed as a master. As a level three I take care of you and make sure no one else hurts you. If I think your greatest pleasure will come from you taking another Shareem, I’ll order you to do it.”
“I see.”
“No, you don’t. But you will.”
“What happens now?” she asked. “Whips and chains?”
Ky dropped his Dom persona and laughed out loud. “No. What kind of shit have you been reading?”
Another woman walked by with a Shareem called Eland, a blond giant whose fist dwarfed the woman’s leather tether. They stopped as Ky laughed.
The pretty black-haired woman wore nothing but nipple rings with a silver chain hanging between them. She’d shaved her quim almost clean except for a line of black curls twisting down it. Ky noticed Brianne trying not to stare at her.
Her name was Jeanne and she’d been with Eland a long time. They weren’t in love, but they were good friends, and Ky didn’t think there was anything they wouldn’t do for the other. Jeanne and Eland lived together but each pursued sexual relations with whomever they wanted, and Jeanne didn’t confine herself to just men.
Ky and Aiden had shared Jeanne on occasion, with Eland either joining in enthusiastically or watching with equal enthusiasm. She was a rare Bor Nargan woman who, like Judith, refused to hide her interest in sex and Shareem.
But then, unlike Brianne, neither Jeanne nor Judith had a public position to maintain. They were working-class women who labored during the day and enjoyed Shareem at night. Working-class women in general had a more healthy interest in sex, while upper-class women had sexuality bred and brainwashed out of them.
“Ky.” Jeanne rose up on her tiptoes and gave Ky a quick kiss on the mouth. “She’s pretty.”
“Yeah, nice one,” Eland said, his irises widening as he looked Brianne up and down. “Where you been hiding her?”
“She’s incognito and in training,” Ky replied.
“Mmm, I like training.” Eland made a show of licking his lips. “Where’s Aiden tonight? You always do a twofer.”
“Aiden is elsewhere.”
Eland looked surprised then he shrugged, the typical I’m Shareem and I mind my own business gesture. “What are you going to teach her?”
“I’m still coming up with a plan.” Ky’s cock was plenty stiff with the ideas running through his head, but he needed something exact.
“Rees is here,” Jeanne said.
“Is he?” More ideas percolated through Ky’s brain. “Perfect. Talan with him?”
Eland snickered. “Of course. They’re joined at the hip.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Jeanne said. “Bound by love. I only stay with this lout because I’ve never found a better fuck.”
Eland grinned at her. “And you never will.”
“Now I know I’m in the level three hideaway,” Ky observed. “Big cocks and big egos.”
Eland just laughed and led Jeanne away.
Ky looked around but didn’t see Rees, the Shareem that even Shareem weren’t certain about. Most thought Rees was level three, but Ky, who knew him through their mutual friend Rio, knew that Rees had been a Shareem experiment, a DNAmo special, made to be above and beyond the average Shareem.
Rees had lived apart from the others at the lab as a priceless commodity—the Shareem that was going to take DNAmo into the next dimension in wealth. The researchers did all kinds of things to him both physically and mentally, according to Rio, and Ky was surprised the man had survived. Rees was also the only Shareem who had ever escaped from DNAmo, twisting the mind of a woman researcher until she helped him. And then she’d cried because he was gone.
Rees, like Calder, could turn a woman who had no intention of being a sub into a willing, drooling, half-crazed slave. But the woman who had finally broken through Rees’ shell, a lady called Talan d’Urvey, was anything but a drooling slave. A sweet, rather shy woman, she had wrapped big bad Rees around her finger.
Rees was the perfect man to help train a new sub, and Talan’s presence would keep Brianne from getting too frightened. If nothing else, Ky could point to Rees and say, See, I could be scary like him.
“Come on.” Ky tugged at Brianne’s leash. At first she stared in surprise, then she softened the look as though remembering she was supposed to be submissive.
Ky wanted to laugh. This was going to be fun.
Chapter Nine
Old Friends
Ky found Rees and Talan inside one of the private rooms. They weren’t doing much more than lounging on a sofa, Talan on the big Shareem’s lap, a sheer silk dress baring her limbs and showing plenty of cleavage. Her collar was covered with jewels, and she wore jeweled earrings to match.
A black-haired, heavily muscled level three Shareem sat with them, holding the leash of a red-haired woman who was laughing at something Rees had just said.
Ky shut the door behind him. “Rio,” he said in surprise. “What the hell are you doing here?”
The black-haired Shareem got up and clapped Ky on the back. “I just couldn’t stay away from Bor Narga, garden spot of the universe.”
“The last time I saw you, you were hightailing it off-planet. What, you got homesick?”
Rio laughed, the sound filling the room. “I came to see old friends. My lady here can’t get enough of Shareem and had the hankering to have some fun.”
The unmasked woman next to him, dressed in a shimmering body-hugging fabric, blushed but smiled. Ky knew she was a princess of the planet Ariel, who had finally succeeded in giving Rio his fondest wish, his freedom from Bor Narga. Rio had also found true love with her, according to Talan.
“I’m surprised they didn’t arrest you,” Ky said.
“Hey, I’m a real live citizen of Ariel and the husband of a princess. I have the ident card to prove it, which I wave under the nose of every patroller who used to piss me off. They can’t do a damn thing to me now.” He laughed again.
Must be nice, Ky thought.
Princess Nella said, “I’m trying to push through legislation that will give all Shareem a place on Ariel, but it’s slow. Ariel’s immigration laws are pretty strict and always have been.”
Talan slid from Rees’ lap. The plump morsel with dark red hair wore a mask, but it was a mere strip of black silk across her eyes, not meant to hide her identity. “You are Brianne d’Aroth, aren’t you?”
Brianne’s eyes widened. “Please keep that to yourself.”
“I would tell no one, and neither would Nella. I am glad to see you’ve learned that being with Shareem
is no bad thing.” She cocked her head. “You have learned that, haven’t you? No more arresting them? They can’t help what they are.”
Ky moved close to Brianne, wanting to protect her for some reason. “She’s catching on. That’s why we’re here. She wants to help Shareem, so I’m showing her what they’re really like.”
Rio laughed again, and Rees flashed a smile. “She’ll figure out what they’re like if she hangs around you,” Rees said.
“Where’s Aiden?” Rio asked, looking behind Ky as though the level one Shareem was hiding there.
Ky grew irritated. “You know, I am allowed to go outside without him.”
“Don’t get your cock in a twist,” Rio said. “I just wondered.”
The piercing look Rio gave Ky made Ky pause. Rio’s blue eyes held knowledge and questions he wanted to ask. Questions about Aiden and Ky.
He knew.
But how could he? Ky didn’t even know what he was feeling about Aiden. Besides, Ky and Aiden hadn’t broken the rules about Shareem interaction until recently, after Rio had been long-gone to Ariel. Aiden could have sent Rio a message about it, but Ky didn’t think so, and anyway, why the hell should he?
Rio caught Ky looking hard at him and contrived an innocent air.
Ky growled. “I didn’t come here for a family reunion. I came here for sex. Good old-fashioned, ass-spanking sex.”
Rio’s eyes grew bluer. “I’m all for that.”
“What did you have in mind?” Rees asked.
The atmosphere of the room rapidly changed. Instead of the women looking like they were ready to launch into an upper-class lady’s charity tea—granted, in odd attire for a tea party—they suddenly quieted in excited anticipation.
Talan and Nella knew what to expect. Brianne didn’t at all. Ky chuckled, pushing away his worry about Rio’s knowledge.
“Let the games begin.”
* * * * *
Brianne thought they’d remain in the sitting room, which was a bit shabby but normal-enough looking with a few sofas and tables. In response to Ky’s statement, however, Rees rose and led the way through another door.
The room beyond lay in complete darkness except for one light trained on a padded bench in the middle of the room.
Tales of the Shareem 04 - Aiden and Ty Page 10
