Chains of Desire

by Natasha Moore

  What was he doing to her? Bondage was one thing, it was clear they both enjoyed that. But to use her in this way…was it the right thing to do? He pulled out of her mouth and looked down at her. She smiled up at him.

  That smile was all the answer he needed. He shouldn’t try to second-guess himself. He was a Master, she was a slave. They used each other for pleasure, each in their own way. That’s the way it should be.

  He helped raise her back onto the mattress and then released the cords and cuffs. She moaned softly as she stretched her limbs. But the smile never left her face.

  Then he climbed onto the bunk with her, covering her soft body with his. He’d never before stopped to notice the sensual slide of skin against skin. Hadn’t taken the time to bury his face in long golden hair and inhale the soft scent. He nibbled tenderly on her earlobe and she wriggled beneath him.

  He slipped easily into her, burying his throbbing cock in her slick heat. He moaned with pleasure and sank deeper into her.

  She sighed and lifted her arms, then frowned and brought them back down to her side. “Master, may I speak?”

  He brushed his lips against hers and slid his cock along the ridges of her inner passage. “Yes, slave.”

  “May I hold you?”

  He gazed down at her beautiful face and forgot to breathe. He didn’t deserve her. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her deeply. “Yes, slave.”

  When she wrapped her arms around him, Jarrod sank into her warm embrace. Her breasts pillowed his chest, her fingers danced over his back. He began to move in and out of her, gently, almost leisurely. Slower than he’d ever enjoyed a woman’s body before.

  She buried her face in his neck, her warm breath soft against his skin.

  He was mid-stroke when she pressed her lips to his ear and whispered, “I will come with you and be your slave.”

  He stilled, her heat surrounding him. He rose up on his hands and looked down at her, his heart full. “You’re certain?”

  She nodded. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you before you silenced me.”

  “It was worth the wait.” He picked up his speed, thrusting deep into her welcoming heat. She wrapped her legs around his hips, changing the angle of his thrusts. Her breathing quickened, little cries escaped the back of her throat. He slid one hand between their bodies and teased her clit.

  “Oh no, Master, I don’t think I can come again.”

  “You will come again, slave.” Pressure built within him and he knew he couldn’t last too much longer. He pinched her clit between his thumb and finger. She screamed and bucked beneath him. Her inner muscles pulsed around him and that was enough to trigger his orgasm. A groan he barely recognized as his burst from his throat as his seed burst from his cock. When his cock finally stopped spasming, he collapsed on top of her soft body.

  She kissed his neck. “Thank you, Master.”

  He slipped out of her, slid off her and propped up on his elbow beside her. “Thank you, slave.” She smiled up at him. She looked well used. And happy about it. He started to get up and she placed her hand on his chest to stop him.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get the Marvel Cream to heal your skin.” He loved the way the cord marks snaked up her arms and legs, but it was too early in this new relationship to ask her to wear his mark.

  She didn’t drop her hand. “I don’t need the Marvel Cream.”

  He caught the cuff on her wrist and lifted her hand to his lips. He softly kissed each fingertip because he didn’t know how to express the strong emotions that were overwhelming him at this moment. Emotions he couldn’t even name. “But aren’t you sore?”

  “A little bit, but I don’t mind.” She stretched her body, arms and legs and shoulders and neck. The graceful way she moved made his cock twitch again. “When I move and I feel that delicious little ache, it reminds me of what we just did together.” She held out her arm, with the red cord marks clear on her skin. “When I see these marks, I remember. I remember you’re my Master and I remember the pleasure we shared.”

  Jarrod knew she meant it now, in the afterglow of intense sensations, but would she feel this way later, when she was with her own people? “Aren’t you concerned what the other women might think when they see the marks?”

  Her eyes flashed. “I’m not ashamed.” She pulled his head down and kissed him softly, a mere brush of her lips against his. “You’re my Master, I’m your slave.”

  “I am very pleased you want to keep my marks.”

  She reached out and began to trace the edges of his tattoo. He stiffened. He hated the memories from these marks. But he didn’t stop her. Her touch was almost healing as he concentrated on the pleasures of the moment and not on the horrors of the mines.

  “I love your tattoo,” she said, smoothing her finger over the dark lines that covered his nipple. “Does the design have some significance?”

  He could have lied to her. He could have said no. He could have made up a story and she would have believed him. But instead he found himself spilling a story no one knew, except Micah.

  “I was sold to work in the mines on Trania when I was sixteen.” She gasped and began to sit up, but Jarrod shushed her and stroked her soft hair. She looked up at him from the pillow, her eyes wary. “My parents couldn’t afford to feed all of us. I was the oldest and the money they were paid for me would feed the rest of them for years.” He didn’t really blame his parents. “It happens all the time.”

  “Not on Vanya.” She sat up then, despite his hand on her shoulder. “How could a parent sell their child?”

  “It was only supposed to be for six years.” Acid burned in his stomach as he remembered. “In six years my labor would have paid off the debt and I would be free.”

  “What happened?”

  He didn’t answer her right away. “You asked about the tattoo.” He pulled away from her and sat back, resting his back on the wall. “This is the mark of the mine.” He rubbed his hand over the tattoo, he could remember the pain as if it was yesterday. In fact, he swore it was aching now. “I was strapped down to a table, terrified. I didn’t know what they were going to do. Then, as they brutally pounded ink into my skin for hours, they explained.”

  Hanna scooted across the mattress to sit beside him and took his hand as he talked.

  “They started with the thick outer circle that surrounded the entire left side of my chest. To cover my heart because I now belonged to the mine with my heart and soul. In the center they put the sunburst, to stand for the sun I would never see again.” He squeezed her hand, only stopping when she winced from the pain. “Sorry.” He kissed her knuckles.

  “The tranium mines are underground. So are the living quarters. Once you’ve descended into the mine, you never get out.” He shuddered as he remembered the damp stench in the air. Breathing in the thick dust. The cries of the hungry, exhausted workers. The agony of the tattooing process. “Then they added these six thick lines to represent my six years of labor.”

  Hanna rubbed her hand over the tattoo. “But there is so much else here.”

  He nodded. “I’d just started my sixth year when Gaylock called me into the office. Gaylock is the mine supervisor. A crude, cruel man who lived off the backs of the men and women who worked there.” Jarrod cleared his throat. “He and I had never gotten along because I spoke out against the way he treated the laborers.”

  She nodded. “You were very brave.”

  He shrugged. “Anyway, as soon as I walked in the door of the office, he shot me with a dart gun. Drugged me. When I woke up I was strapped to the tattoo table. It was the first jab of the thick needles that brought me back. They added two more lines in between each of the six already there.” He took Hanna’s hand in his and rubbed her fingers over the slightly thinner lines. Her touch relieved some of the ache the memories brought back. “Gaylock said I didn’t work hard enough and I hadn’t earned back the money he gave my parents.”

  “All those lines,”
Hanna whispered. “All those extra years?”

  He nodded, his body rocking with the movement. “I didn’t have the best attitude before, but I admit it got a lot worse after that. See all these designs in between the year-lines?” He traced her fingers over the thin diagonal lines drawn between some of the thicker ones. Others were linked by zigzagged lines or other designs. “Gaylock knew how much I hated to be tattooed, so every time I stood up to him, every time I intervened when he was hurting another worker, I got dragged to the table for some more ink.”

  “Oh Jarrod.” Hanna leaned over to kiss his ink-covered nipple. “You didn’t let that stop you though, did you? You still fought for what was right. You have a lot of ink between these lines.”

  “That’s how I met Micah. You know how big he is. There were six guards beating him for some small infraction, with Gaylock cheering them on. I couldn’t stand back like everyone else and watch him get beat to death.”

  “Did that happen a lot?” she asked breathlessly. “Did workers get beat to death?”

  “Yeah.”

  She took a deep breath. “What happened?”

  “I just jumped into the middle of it. I knew Gaylock would be so angry at me that he’d forget about Micah.”

  “It must have worked.”

  “See this section here?” He traced her finger down the section of intricate crosses that ran from the bottom of the sunburst through his nipple until it reached under the curve of his chest muscle. He’d suffered through a full day of inking for that one.

  Hanna ran her lips along the route her finger had traced, laving his nipple tenderly with her tongue. “I love it. It’s beautiful.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t you understand? It’s a reminder of how good you are. How strong you are. What you’ve survived. What you’ve overcome.”

  “You know, anyone who recognizes this tattoo will know I was a slave in the mines.” Would that affect her decision to remain with him?

  She rubbed his fingers over her collar. “Just as I am forever marked as a Norian sex slave.”

  “We make a good pair, don’t we?”

  “I’d say we do.” She smiled and kissed him. “Now tell me. How did you get away?”

  “The only route to the outside was through Gaylock’s office, which was usually heavily guarded. Micah and I had become friends. We worked together side by side and talked about what we’d do if we ever got out. We decided we’d try to break out together and to keep looking for an opportunity. After a couple years, there was a huge fire in one of the pits at the far end of the mine. All the guards went to fight the fire, leaving Gaylock alone. Micah and I seized the chance. We stormed his office, catching him off-guard. He couldn’t get to his weapon in time and we overpowered him easily. Of course, the dozens of other mine workers who followed us in were happy to finally get their licks in.”

  “So you escaped.”

  “Yeah.” No need to go into all the details, the months of hiding out, half-starved, until they made friends with an old cargo ship captain who took them on, worked them hard and taught them both how to fly the Galaxy. Then sold them the ship when he retired. “We’re finally reaching our dream of that trading post on Ceylon 7.”

  “I want to hear all about it.” She yawned and then apologized.

  He could talk with Hanna for hours about his plans. Shocked, Jarrod realized he had been talking for what seemed like hours. In bed. With a woman. Something he’d never done before.

  “We’ll talk about it later. You’re tired.” He stretched out on the bunk and curled her into his embrace. There was nothing like the sweetness of her head on his shoulder, her soft legs wrapped around his. She was soon sleeping in his arms. That’s something else that had never happened before.

  How quickly she’d changed his life.

  * * * * *

  The next morning Hanna chatted with the princess and the other women in the lounge, sharing stories of their ordeal. When Jarrod strode into the room carrying his weapon, her heart beat faster. She smiled brightly as she admired his commanding presence. But she noticed the women froze and went silent.

  Hanna nodded to Jarrod. “Good morning.”

  He smiled at her warmly and propped the weapon up against the wall. “Good morning.” He glanced around the room. “Micah and I have been discussing the situation and we’re not convinced there won’t be any more trouble from Noria.” He paused when a few gasps ran through the room. “We thought it would be a good idea to teach all of you some basic self-defense.”

  “Excellent idea,” Princess Serena said. Hanna agreed. The other women didn’t look so sure. Serena rose and approached Jarrod. “Where do we start?”

  Hanna watched as Jarrod demonstrated how to use hands and knees and elbows as weapons. Serena took to the lessons with great relish, even surprising Jarrod once, knocking his feet out from under him. His rich laughter as he was sprawled on the floor washed over Hanna like warm rain.

  It was fascinating to watch her gruff Master coax some of the more timid women into participating. Hanna smiled as she saw this patient side of him. And she was glad to see her friends warming up to her Master.

  Hanna was the last to go through the lesson. Even knowing Jarrod, his sheer size and strength was intimidating when she tried to chop him in the windpipe or kick out his knees. She couldn’t imagine trying these moves on someone attacking her. Her small size was a definite disadvantage.

  She’d rather use her wits. Or a TX-95.

  Jarrod picked up the weapon and showed it to the women. “There are only two of these weapons on the ship, but if attackers get onboard, I don’t want any of you afraid to use them.” The women gasped when he handed the weapon to Hanna. “Hanna, show them how to use the TX-95.”

  Hanna glowed with pride that Jarrod allowed her to demonstrate what she’d learned about the weapon. She showed them the safety button and how it changed from red to green when it was ready to fire. “Don’t pick up the weapon unless you intend to use it,” she told them, repeating the words Jarrod had told her before.

  “The weapon shoots a concentrated energy beam,” Jarrod said. “It is safe to use on the ship as long as you hit your target. The energy ball will engulf the attacker and vaporize him.” He took the weapon from Hanna, his warm touch lingering for a moment on her hand. “But you better make sure you hit your target. If you miss and the energy beam hits the outer wall of the ship, the wall will disintegrate and we’ll all be killed.”

  “I don’t think I could do it,” Hanna said, horrified at the thought of accidentally blowing a hole in the side of the spaceship.

  “You could do it.” He handed the weapon to the princess. She took it hesitantly, looked at it suspiciously. “I want each of you to hold the weapon so you know what it feels like, how heavy it is. Princess, would you make sure the safety is on, then pass it on to someone else?”

  She nodded and, after examining the weapon, handed it off to the next woman in line.

  Hanna stood beside Jarrod as each woman took their turn, taking comfort in his quiet strength.

  When they were done checking out the weapon, Princess Serena handed it back to Jarrod. “Thank you for showing us how to defend ourselves. I hope the Gods will give us an uneventful journey home.” She gestured to the other women. “Minna and Dove have spent a lot of time in the kitchen at the palace. We’re going to see what we can do to stretch our meager provisions. Thank you again for taking us with you and sharing what you have with us.”

  “Of course, Princess. You are very welcome.”

  Hanna watched them walk out, leaving her with Jarrod. “I’m going to miss them.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yes. I’ve known them since I was small.”

  Jarrod took her hand, led her over to the short sofa and sat down beside her. “Were you born in the palace?”

  “No. I was brought to the king when I was four years old.” She could barely remember her parents, her older brothers and sisters
. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think I owe you an apology.”

  He wove their fingers together and lay their hands atop his thigh. “For what?”

  “When I said that Vanyan parents would never sell their children as your parents did.” She sighed. “I think that must be what my parents did. I was about the same age, size, coloring as the princess. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mother and father were well compensated for providing the kingdom with a royal decoy.”

  He lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed her fingers lightly. “Were you treated well?”

  “Oh yes. And I was happy. Really. I grew up with the princess and all her other ladies. They are like my sisters.”

  “I had a sister,” Jarrod said softly.

  “You did?”

  “One sister. Four brothers. Layna was the baby in the family. We teased her like all big brothers, but we would do anything for her.”

  Hanna smiled. “You spoiled her?”

  He nodded slowly, then was quiet for a moment. “She’s all grown up now. She could have a child of her own.”

  Hanna reached up and stroked his cheek. He looked so sad suddenly. “You’ve never seen your family since you escaped from the mines?”

  He shook his head.

  “I haven’t either.” She should probably miss them, but it was hard to miss what you didn’t remember. “The people in the palace are more like family to me now.”

  “And I’m taking you away from them. Are you sure you don’t want to stay on Vanya?”

  “Are you trying to talk me out of coming with you?” She asked the question lightly but held her breath as she waited for the answer.

  He gathered her to him and crushed his lips to hers. “I’m trying to be a gentleman and give you an out. But I’m afraid I might keep you tied in my room if you wanted to change your mind now.”

  A thrill ran through her at the thought that he wanted her that much. “No, I’m not going to change my mind. Please believe me, Jarrod. Sooner or later, we all need to leave home.” She’d been languishing there. Her life with Jarrod would be fun and exciting. She couldn’t wait to be on the way to her new life.