“Like me?”
“You will see tomorrow that all of Clan Shadow have black hair and all of my people have skin roughened by the elements.”
Darin reached up and stroked his bright, blond hair while Axoev stroked Darin’s leg.
Almost as soon as he’d made the contact, Axoev wished he hadn’t. Darin was indeed soft, and touching him reminded Axoev of the room of need. If he were a brutal man, he could just rise to his feet, yank Darin up, and pull him in there. And then…then…but no. That wasn’t the way Axoev was, and no matter how he tried to be indifferent, he would never reach that cold state.
“What happened when the faunsha got old?”
“When he was bored with him, the leader would toss his used-up faunsha out the entrance to his home.”
Darin looked toward that direction, no doubt thinking of how far a drop that was. “Did he die?”
“Hopefully.”
“What do you mean?” Darin was eating almost automatically rather than by conscious effort, which was good. Axoev did not want him to fall ill from a lack of nourishment.
“Because if he didn’t die from the fall, he would become mockaling.”
“A what?”
“He who is mocked.” Axoev grasped one of the balls and gently rubbed the outside until the rind fell away. When it did, he sucked hungrily at the interior. Fermented juice relaxed him and counteracted the feeding smell. “The mockaling could be used by any male of the clan for sex, but few wanted a rejected slave, so they would use him in other ways.”
Darin didn’t ask what those other ways might be, but Axoev told him anyway.
“Bets would be made about how many sticks could be inserted in his—”
“Please don’t tell me any more.” Darin lurched to his feet. “Just throw me out the window right now and get it over with.”
Axoev realized Darin had taken his tale the wrong way. Rather than show him how good he had it by having a kind and progressive leader, all he’d done was make Darin think if he did not behave, Axoev would revert to the old ways. As he peered into Darin’s clearly worried eyes, he thought that perhaps there was some wisdom in putting on a more aggressive air than he actually possessed.
“Go and put my generous gift on.”
Darin looked toward the sleeping area, then the entrance, then his gaze landed on Axoev. “No.”
Slowly, Axoev rose to his feet.
Breathing faster with each movement Axoev made, Darin backed away without taking his attention off Axoev.
“You dare defy me?”
“I’m not a girl!”
“And I have already addressed that concern of yours. The clothing is made for a faunsha, not a girl. If you will not wear it, I will not be able to say that you are my faunsha.”
“So?”
“So then the deal we made in the forest is over.”
That caused Darin to bite at his lower lip.
“You will choose, He who Dares. Will you put on the clothing, or will I have to make you?” Axoev would never have believed how excited being challenged made him. Not that he hadn’t had to fight for his position, because he had, and almost every day of his life. But this was different. The only one who gave him grief recently was Nemro, and he was sneakier in that he preferred sabotage to outright rebellion. Darin truly did dare to stand up to him. Right to Axoev’s face, actually. It was shocking but also distinctly arousing. The thought of forcing Darin into the clothes wasn’t nearly as powerful as the notion of using him once he put them on him. The tight fabric slung low on his hips made Axoev hunger to lift it up, find his snug hole, and fill him to bursting with his cock.
“I won’t put it on.”
“Then I will have to make you.”
Chapter 5
Darin had never been so scared in his life. What made matters even more bizarre was that he was also utterly famished. The meat and bread had tasted better than he’d thought they would, but he couldn’t understand why after eating quite a bit his hunger simply couldn’t go away. He felt like he could eat all night and still not get enough. There was only one thing that actually got him to stop stuffing food into his mouth, and that was Axoev’s challenge.
Even though Darin was standing as tall as he could, there was no way, no matter what planet he was on, that he would ever be a match for Axoev. But still, he had to do something. He wasn’t about to walk around dressed like a prehistoric hoochie girl.
“Do not make me hurt you, little one. I have been kind so far. But like any man, I have needs.” Axoev grasped his crotch, drawing Darin’s attention to the rapidly swelling bulge there. “I hunger to use all of you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you do as I say or I will use you fully for your intended purpose.”
Darin took a step backward without taking his gaze off Axoev.
Axoev grinned and took a step forward. “As I already demonstrated today, I like to hunt. If you run, you will only arouse me again.”
Another step back compelled Axoev to follow.
Darin’s mind raced. What could he do? Axoev was bigger, stronger, and certainly he knew his way around the tree, not to mention the forest, far better than Darin. He hadn’t even known the cave he’d been in today was filled with some kind of dangerous stinging creatures until Axoev told him. The only thing that Darin had going for him was that he might be faster, but there simply wasn’t anywhere to go. Math, his long-standing friend, was absolutely no use to him here.
Or maybe he just wasn’t thinking clearly.
To gain a moment, Darin lifted his hand, as if to hold Axoev back. Clearly, he understood the signal as he relaxed his posture. Each room they’d been in took a place in Darin’s mind. He calculated the distance and realized there was another room. There had to be. The ring he envisioned was missing a good-sized chunk. Between the back end of the gathering room and the other end of the sleeping area there was another room. But that room didn’t appear to have an opening. Could the door be on the outside of the tree? Why have a room that someone could only get to from another entrance?
Still, it was all he had.
“Go and fetch that clothing. You will bring it back here and dress for my pleasure.”
“Fuck you.”
The vile expletive hit Axoev like a blow, startling him back. Knowing it was the best chance he had, that was when Darin made his move. He charged at Axoev but rather than hitting him, he ducked around him, running hell-bent for the outside.
“No!” Axoev spun, but he was too slow to grab onto Darin.
Bursting through the opening, Darin almost toppled over the railing that encased the walkway. He was saved by whoever built the sturdy thing. Moreover, the only reason he didn’t hurl as he looked down was that the night made the forest floor too dark to see. Darin thought it was kind of funny that he didn’t fear what he couldn’t see. As a boy he’d been terrified of the dark for the opposite reason.
Pushing back from the edge, he moved along the walkway with his right hand out.
Come on, come on, come on! There had to be a secret room here. He was certain. If there was one thing Darin excelled at, it was spatial relationships. This helped him with taking a two-dimensional figure and visualizing it in three dimensions. It also made him one hell of a Tetris player.
When his hand sank in, he grinned, and then almost gasped because he fell into a room. For a split second he feared the tree had tricked him by having what appeared to be a room but was actually empty space. Darin hit the floor hard enough to bruise his knees, but he didn’t care. He literally leaned over and kissed the floor.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a solid door, only a canvaslike sheet of fabric covering the opening.
Terrified, Darin curled up into a ball in the corner, hoping that Axoev wouldn’t look for him in here. Wherever here was. It was so dark inside that Darin couldn’t see anything once he put the fabric door into place.
“Darin?” Axoev’s voice seemed to be calli
ng out toward the forest. Much softer he asked, “What have I done?”
After a moment, Darin realized that Axoev thought he’d gone over the railing! It was better than he could have hoped for. Curling into a tight ball by lifting his legs, Darin was prepared to wait until Axoev went to sleep. When he did, Darin would pilfer enough food for a few days, something to carry it in, something to wear, and then he’d be gone.
Mentally, he flipped through all the items in the house. Clan Shadow didn’t believe in a lot of home furnishings. What little there was, like the rag rugs, wouldn’t work at all for his purposes. However, all the windows and doors did have the canvas sheets. Darin could make them work for clothing. To his horror, he realized just about the only thing he’d be able to make was a dress-like garment. Dropping his head, he cradled it against his uplifted knees. Somehow it seemed that on this planet—one he didn’t even know the name of—he was destined to wear a dress.
Why in the world was he being punished? As he sat there, shivering, he tried to remember doing anything of great harm to another and came up empty. He’d never done a bunch of nice things, but he certainly hadn’t hurt anyone. Not intentionally. His family liked him. He got teased constantly by his older brothers that he was the runt of the litter. Darin didn’t mind, though. He was the littlest of his family. All five of his siblings were tall, dark, and handsome. Then along comes Darin who’s short, blond, and cute. His mother was often teased that she’d taken up with the mailman despite the fact their mail carrier was a woman and she was black.
Tears tumbled out his eyes against his will. Darin knew that crying wasn’t going to help the situation, but it certainly helped him feel better. He just wanted to go home. Graduation was so close he could feel it. Since he was a math whiz, as his dad liked to say, he was going to have his doctorate in mathematics before most guys his age had even gotten halfway to getting their bachelors. He would go from living in his parents’ basement to living at a company-provided condo in California where he’d be able to put his skills to use building what he loved—computer games.
But all that was over now.
Darin had gone from the cusp of making it to the very bottom of a metaphorically long and slippery bowl-shaped world where he wasn’t even considered a man. Climbing up to the higher ranks of society seemed impossible. But what really ate at him was being forced to dress like a woman. Having his sexuality questioned was something he was used to. He didn’t like it but at least the catcalls of “faggot” were familiar. Here, he wasn’t even teased, just tossed a dress and expected to assuage the leader’s lust.
Axoev had transformed from a pretty nice guy into a complete jerk. All over that stupid outfit. As Darin listened for sounds that Axoev was coming for him, he considered the canvas on the door. Maybe it didn’t have to be a dress. The Romans had worn togas. Darin could do that. And didn’t they use parts of their togas in a sling-like way to carry things? As he sat there, feeling the shape in his mind, he realized it would work. All he had to do was wait.
And then climb down the tree.
Darin shivered so hard he almost knocked himself over, and he was sitting down. Could he climb down the tree? He’d hate to get halfway and find out he couldn’t. Whether or not Axoev’s story was true, Darin didn’t think he could survive falling even halfway down from Axoev’s home. Hell, he’d broken his arm when he was eight because he fell off his bike. At best, that was only three feet. From where he was at right now, the ground had to be at least two hundred feet down. Possibly more because he’d had to close his eyes on the way up to avoid vomiting, so he hadn’t really been able to judge the distance.
When he remembered the box, he thought of another way to get down. He could use two ropes in a kind of modified pulley system to slowly lower himself. That would work. But it would take time. He would need to wait until Axoev was asleep and then hope he was a very deep sleeper.
One more problem. He needed light. His night vision was terrible. No way would he be able to work everything out in the dark. But he would find a way. He had to.
As he sat there, thinking of ways to get down without killing himself, he realized he could see better. Lifting his head, he discovered the tree was lighting up, just as Axoev had said it would. Awestruck, Darin stayed tucked into the corner as the interior of the tree started to glow. Walls, floor, and ceiling all grew in brightness. It wasn’t a harsh light, but warm and golden. For some reason, Darin found it comforting. He’d never much cared for the dark.
As he considered the room, he frowned. There seemed to be some kind of furniture in here. Maybe it was a storage room. But why would they store furniture when they didn’t use it in their homes? Darin puzzled over the items, trying to understand how anyone could sit on them. He shook his head. Okay, maybe it wasn’t furniture but something else like tools.
“Darin.”
He looked up. Before he could jump to his feet, Axoev was by his side.
“You scared me. I thought you had fallen.” Axoev reached out, stroking Darin’s hair back with a gesture that was possessive yet tender. “I actually climbed down to see—” He bit his lip, cutting himself off from saying any more.
Darin was surprised that Axoev seemed to genuinely care about him. Or maybe he just didn’t want to lose his pretty little fuck toy.
“I’m not wearing that dress, so you can just forget it.” Darin pushed Axoev’s hand away.
Rather than anger, Axoev just looked at him. “We had an agreement.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t know I was going to be dressed like a girl.”
Axoev sighed like he was annoyed but then calmly offered, “Put it on and tell me what you don’t like about it.”
“No.”
“You can’t just say no and expect me to agree with you. I am the ruler of Clan Shadow. That you have defied me and I have not killed you speaks highly of me, but I am not going to be mocked before my people.”
Darin considered. “I’m not mocking you.”
“Yet you refuse to hold to your word.”
“You said I was supposed to pretend to be your faunsha. I didn’t think I actually had to pretend to be a girl.”
Axoev rose, and it was clear he was done trying to sweet talk Darin. Instead, he grasped his arm and pulled him to his feet. Scared shitless, Darin managed to hold Axoev’s gaze, but that was about all he was capable of at the moment.
“Do you know what this room is?”
“Tool storage?”
After a moment for the translation, Axoev laughed. It was a rough and dirty laugh that somehow reminded Darin of Sieg.
“It is the needaling room.”
Darin’s brain heard needle room, and he panicked anew. He thought of several things simultaneously. One was tattoos, which he certainly wasn’t interested in. Two was piercings, which he had even less interest in. Three was acupuncture, which he thought was totally doubtful, and four was he was going to be put to death by a thousand pinpricks.
“The room of need is for releasing needs.” Axoev picked Darin up and placed him on his back on one of the weird devices. As Axoev parted his legs, fitting them into cuplike divots that held him spread, his brain suddenly realized all the furniture was crafted for sex. “I am glad our deal is done because I am in dire need.”
Axoev stepped between Darin’s parted legs, rubbing himself up and down along his cock. It didn’t take long for Darin’s body to respond. His mind was whirling in panic, but his body was ready to go again.
“You must decide, He who Dares.” Axoev reached down, placing his massive hand against the fastener of his pants. “Do you do my bidding and wear the faunsha clothing, or do I use you to assuage my needs and then force you to wear it afterward?”
Either way, Darin was going to end up wearing that horrible outfit. The question was, did he want to do it while he could still comfortably sit down or while he could only stand?
Chapter 6
There was a part of Axoev that hoped Darin would continue to d
efy him. He wanted to open his pants, grease up his cock, and spend the rest of the night working his prick into Darin. Then he would pull him under the furs for sleep. Come morning, he would dress him up then proceed to bend him over all the assistors in the room of need until his balls were so utterly empty he couldn’t possibly climax again. But he knew he would never be able to carry out those ideas. If he was a different kind of leader, he could, but he wasn’t. Still, he had to put an end to this situation without losing face.
“Choose.”
“No.”
“Then you leave the choice up to me.” Axoev easily held Darin down with one hand, hoping he would see that he was indeed stronger. There had to be a way to make Darin stick to their original agreement without going too far with this brutal charade.
“Please don’t.”
“I gave you a choice.”
“But I’ve never done this!” Darin’s voice was high and tight. His eyes were wide, beseeching, while his red lips quivered. In many ways, he was beyond beautiful, but it was the fear in his gaze that held Axoev’s lust in check. He didn’t want to force Darin to attend to his needs. Axoev knew if he did, He who Dares would die. In the place of that cunning young man, another lesser being would enter. All Darin’s defiance would dissolve. His body would remain, but his soul, that indefinable spark that made him Darin would disappear. Axoev supposed he could still use his body for his lusts, but it would never satisfy.
“I’ve never done this, either.”
“Really?” Darin looked as stunned as he sounded. “But you’re the leader. Don’t women throw themselves at you?”
The metaphor was a curious one that ironically made sense. “They fight over me. That is why I wanted you.” Axoev helped Darin off the assistor. “With a faunsha on my blanket at the next fire, they will have no choice but to look at the other men.”
Enslaved by a Barbarian [Sold! 6] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 5
