by Sadie Marks
"Yeah, I noticed that," Kenzi said. She had to laugh because her new owner seemed to live in the moment. He answered most questions she asked and listened to her when she felt like talking about her life before, but he never really asked about her past.
"So, tell us your story, pain-virgin," Silla said suddenly, and Kenzi realized she'd been listening all along.
Kenzi shrugged, letting her head tip back so she was staring up at the green canopy; distantly, she could make out the grey hull of the ship, but it seemed very far away. "Not much to tell, really. I'm been fantasizing about spanking and being dominated my whole life, so when they put out the call, I signed up," she said simply.
Silla snorted, "Yeah, right. Because people always dump their whole lives for something they've never even tried before. What's wrong, too scared?" she asked. That confrontational tone was back in her voice, and Kenzi's head snapped down to glare at her.
It probably wouldn't have stung so much if it wasn't true, but she'd had several reasons for never giving in to the urge to submit. "You don't know me, Silla. I'm a second dan black belt in Judo, and I've done training in a couple other branches of martial arts, too. I was always afraid if it hurt too much, my training instincts might kick in. And the idea of trusting someone to restrain me so I was helpless went against everything my father taught me about protecting myself." The words were sharp, each one bitten off with obvious anger, though she wasn't sure if it was really Silla she was angry at.
She felt like she'd wasted so much time trying to be this strong warrior for her father and in his memory. From the time she was little, he'd drilled into her how important it was to be independent and strong, and she knew that he'd done it out of love, but every time she'd considered submitting or making herself helpless under someone else's power, she'd think about how much he'd disapprove.
She didn't really know why it had felt different with the Sadecs. Maybe it was because it was a situation he couldn't possibly have even considered. None of the dangers he'd warned her about had ever involved selling herself to an alien. Or hell, maybe she'd just been so tired of pretending to be something she wasn't. All she knew was that once the opportunity had come up, she'd jumped at the chance, but she wasn't going to tell a bitter rival slave all of that.
"So, I don't know, I guess, yeah, there was some fear, but I don't think I'll be able to hurt one of them if I freak out, do you?" she asked sweetly.
Silla looked surprised, and then there was a hint of respect on her face that vanished in an instant. "Probably not. I guess not, if you did, they'd probably respect you, though. They think humans are fragile," she said.
After that, things were quiet. Cyp made a few attempts to get the conversation started again, but it was as if they were all locked in their own heads, thinking about the pasts that had brought them to the ship and the choices that had made them slaves. It wasn't a terrible place to sit lost in your own thoughts, but eventually, he got up.
"I have to get back," he said. "My owner will be off-duty soon, and she always likes to take out her work frustrations on me." He paused and looked at the two women with a frown, as if he was wondering if it was safe to leave them together without a chaperone, or maybe referee was the better word. "Kenzi, why don't I walk you back to your quarters, so you don't get lost?" he suggested finally.
He needn't have worried; any interest Silla had in starting a fight had ended when she realized that Kenzi could kick her ass easily. The blonde got to her feet, too, and began brushing off her clothes, "We should all go," she said. And then, because she apparently couldn't help needling Kenzi just a little, she added, "If I tell my Master that the general's new toy is out, he might let me see her punishment."
Kenzi's stomach sank as she was reminded again that there was a punishment on the horizon. She didn't know what it was, but the fact that they were both being very mysterious and close-mouthed about it didn't fill her with hope for an easy resolution. "Just, um, how bad is this going to be?" she asked nervously.
They exchanged looks. Cyp shrugged. "Look, we can't tell you much about it, but it's not bad for some people. I didn't mind it much, but then, ever since I got my new body, I've been perfectly fine with a little exhibitionism. Others do have a hard time with it, but you'll get through it. We all did," he pointed out.
She chewed her bottom lip nervously, afraid to ask any more questions, and she didn't think she'd get answers if she did, anyway. The exhibition part was enough for her to worry about, and her mind was already putting descriptions to that; she didn't really like where her thoughts were going, either. There were flashes to old vids she'd seen on the Sphere with stocks and public whippings, and that kept her in a worried state of quiet all the way back to the general's quarters.
Silla had walked with them part way, but at some point, she'd drifted off without bothering to say goodbye. Cyp made sure Kenzi got back safely and left her at the door, saying a hasty goodbye and jogging off before she shook herself out of her daze long enough to say anything in return. She hesitated, watching him vanish around a corner, and then turned and let herself back into the room.
She'd been half afraid he would be there, but she'd left not long after he had, and there was no reason to expect him back for a few more hours. Unless, of course, someone told him she'd gone out and he decided to come back earlier to deal with her disobedience, she reminded herself, but no, the rooms were empty. She was relieved at first, but then she realized how awful the wait was going to be.
This was the first time she'd broken a rule on purpose when he wasn't already there to deal with it. The first time, she'd had to wait and wonder what would happen, and none of the few distractions she had were enough to keep her mind off of the trouble. She found that she was too nervous to concentrate on a game or a vid. During her internment, she'd already explored every inch of his apartment, but she wandered around poking at his things, anyway, just to keep busy.
After weeks of spending all her time there, she still had trouble with thinking of the place as hers. In her mind, it was always his quarters, his rooms, and his bed. As a slave, that seemed appropriate, though when she mentioned that to him, he'd look surprised. "You're mine, too, girl, and this is your home, for now," he'd said.
She'd felt a flash of…something, fear maybe, at the 'for now' and that had surprised her. She realized she cared for him more deeply than she'd realized, and she wanted him to keep her. That she might not have the same owner for the whole five years was something she'd known was a possibility, but she hadn't really considered it much or thought she'd care. Now she did, and she wasn't sure what to think about that. She'd snuggled up in his arms quietly, and if he noticed anything odd about her being clingier than she tended to be, he didn't comment.
She'd pushed it out of her head because there was nothing she could do about it, anyway, but now that she was in trouble, it crept back. She knew it was ridiculous; she'd been told by the other slaves that this rule was meant to be broken, that they'd all done it, so he wasn't likely to be so mad he would sell her off. But they'd also told her that this would be the end of her private time with Tal—and she wondered what that would mean.
She pictured herself between a pair of strong, dominant Sadecs, and her body tightened in all the right places, making her catch her breath. It was exciting, thinking about being shared. Group relationships weren't uncommon on Earth, but she'd never been in one. She'd heard too many stories about jealousy and drama and had chosen to be serious about only one person at a time, but there had been fantasies—many fantasies. So, maybe the sharing part wouldn't be terrible. Her body seemed to think it wouldn't be a complete nightmare.
Thinking about what that would be like and worrying about the punishment that was coming kept her mind occupied, and she was curled up, wide awake and waiting, on the lounging couch when General Tal'aav returned. He stopped in front of her, looking down without comment as she squirmed and tried to avoid his eyes.
"You left the rooms," he said.
It wasn't a question. Very little happened on the ship that he didn't know about.
"Yes, Sir," she admitted. Her fingers twined nervously in her lap, folding and unfolding while she waited for her sentence.
He watched her for another minute, silent; that made her even more nervous. Finally, he said, "Come to bed," and went to the sleeping room.
She sat there, confused and uncertain. Part of her wondered if it was a trick of some kind, but when she got up and followed him, she found him stripping for bed. "Aren't you—" She stopped and swallowed. It seemed off to ask why he wasn't punishing her, when, really, she should just be hoping he wouldn't, but she needed to know.
"Tomorrow," he said, replying to the unspoken words.
She watched as he finished undressing and tossed his clothes to the side. One part of her was admiring his lean muscled form as she always did, the other was trying to analyze his tone. He was saying very little to her, and so she couldn't tell by his tone if he was pissed or not. She couldn't tell from his expression, either. She'd gotten used to interpreting the alien features well enough after weeks, but he was good at keeping his feelings off of his face.
It took her a little time to work up the courage to ask, and while she was still trying, he gave her an impatient look and a gesture to strip. She obeyed, of course, but moved slowly as she questioned him, "Are you…mad, Sir?"
He waited impassively until the last of her clothes fell to the floor, and then he pulled her into his arms and captured her mouth in a passionate kiss that took her breath away. She was still swaying dizzily when he scooped her up and dropped her in the bed, saying, "No," in a low rumble.
Since she'd become his slave, she'd gotten used to the inevitable pain that came her way daily. He enjoyed hurting her, especially in ways that would excite her, pinching her nipples, flicking her clit, biting, spanking; it was all foreplay for him. She felt like he was training her body to take more each time without losing the arousal, and slowly, her tolerance was building.
He often pushed her right to the edge of what she could take and then would switch to touching her in sexual ways until she backed away from it. Already, she'd learned that he could make her climax while still crying from the pain, but it had taken hours of back and forth to get there—and he'd wielded a strap so cruelly that afterward, he'd relented and rubbed in a healing cream, something he normally wouldn't do.
He liked it when she felt the effects for hours after, and so did she. The hot, throbbing skin kept her company while he was gone, and sometimes it would inspire solitary play, on those days when he didn't block her from orgasm, which he did when it pleased him. She felt owned when he did those arbitrary things, so she protested and whined a lot but didn't actually mind.
This time, it was different. He didn't push her boundaries, and it almost seemed like he was rewarding her with her favorite things. She found herself over his lap, receiving a slow spanking with her legs spread so he could tease her between slaps. He didn't keep her on the edge but let her have several orgasms in a row that way before he eventually repositioned her to straddle his hips.
His hands settled at her waist, guiding her as she rode him until they were both satisfied, and then afterward, he pulled her up tight against his chest and held her cradled in his arms. The whole thing was so much gentler than she was used to, like they'd made love instead of had sex, and she was confused about what she'd done to earn that.
She decided to ask him as she lay drowsing, completely sated and relaxed. "Tal? Is there a reason why you were so gentle?"
He was quiet, and for a second, she thought maybe he'd fallen asleep or was going to ignore the question, but when he finally did answer, she wished she hadn't asked him. "Tomorrow will be hard for you; I wanted you to enjoy tonight," he said in a low voice next to her ear.
"Th-the punishment?" she asked tentatively. She'd almost forgotten about that.
"It's only partly punishment. I was told you spent the afternoon with a couple of the others; did they tell you about it?" he asked.
She was grateful that they hadn't said much so she didn't have to lie. She knew they'd get in trouble, and she didn't want that. Well, maybe she wouldn't mind about Silla, but she'd actually liked Cyp a lot. "Almost nothing," she replied honestly.
"It's partly punishment but also an initiation. You'll be a fully functioning member of the crew, once it's over," he explained. His words, spoken across her ear, tickled and she shivered—or maybe that was from the fear making her tense.
She chose to focus on the second part of what he'd said. "A member of the crew? Me? But I'm just… I'm a slave," she said after a slight pause. She shifted to look over her shoulder at him with a perplexed look on her face.
"Yes, a slave and also a human. That doesn't mean you won't be part of this crew. Your position as a Pain Receiver is important," he said.
"Why? We're basically just sex toys, aren't we? It excites you to hurt us so—"
He interrupted her, "No. You're more than that. Do you really think we'd go to so much trouble for sex?" he snorted. "You're smarter than that, Kenzi," he said.
She flushed and rolled over to look at him, a frown on her face. "But it's all about pain and sex. That's all you use us for," she pointed out. She sounded confused, and her expression echoed it.
"Yes, of course, pain and sex are what we get from you!" he snapped, and then he sighed, closing his eyes for a second as he looked for patience before continuing. "There's more to it than that; something that comes along with it. Peace, calmness, serenity—whatever you want to call it. That's what we get when we give you pain. Without it, we turn on each other, on others. We're warriors, girl, but with you, we can be something more than that," he said with a note of resolute determination.
She stared at him. Not sure what to say at first, she thought about it in silence and remembered wondering why they were giving so much to her planet in exchange for a few toys to play with. She'd thought, at the time, maybe they'd made a fetish of her people. Or perhaps it was just the novelty of being able to make a few masochists beg for pain, but now she realized there was something deeper there. Something no one had bothered to ask when they were setting up the deal.
"So, you're saying that we're useful for more than just spanking and fucking?" she asked carefully.
He looked at her, and for a second, she wondered if she was annoying him, but then he smiled, one of those wide smiles that showed off his sharper canines. "I'm saying that spanking and fucking you is how our race is going to get past this need to attack and fight all the time, so we can take our place among the leaders," he said calmly.
Her eyes widened. "But how?" she demanded.
"When we have people like you, Pain Receivers, it soothes our natural inclinations to destroy. You've seen our science and how advanced it is—but almost everything we can do came from a need to be the best at fighting. All of our technology and research is aimed at battle. Imagine, Kenzi, what we could do if all of the generals could be convinced to look in other directions!" The words were intense and so was his expression, as though he needed her to believe in what he was saying, and she did.
"W-we really help that much?" she asked. It was hard for her to believe that a few humans could be so important, especially since, in her mind, she was volunteering to be a doormat for five years.
"You help a lot, but we need more of you. Your government and the council have been so determined to slow the process down, but we're finally starting to get a trickle of volunteers coming in. The change on the ship wasn't noticeable when there were only a few, but then we took more, and I could see the transformation," he said, not even looking slightly guilty about admitting to kidnapping.
"But, no, the council said we had to negotiate and make a deal, and we did that! But everything is moving so slowly," he snarled. The words seemed to burst out of him in a torrent. It was like he'd been holding them back all this time, and suddenly, he just needed to get them out.
She wasn't sure
if there was a reason he was telling her all of this or if she'd just happened to trigger it with her questions, but the passion in his voice was obvious. He had plans, bigger plans than anyone knew, and she was going to be part of them—somehow. It made her feel better about volunteering. Maybe she wasn't just throwing her life away on some smutty whim to be submissive.
"Is that why you annoyed the center by coming down in person?" she asked suddenly.
"Yes, of course. In retrospect, I suppose it was a mistake," he said. He frowned and then gave a small shrug, "I was impatient, and I needed to see for myself, feel the changes a Pain Receiver could bring. You were the next one on the list, and I was concerned they'd find a reason to reject you. Everything in your file said you would thrive here, but your lack of experience made them hesitate. I wanted to make sure you passed and there weren't any delays. Kenzi, your kind are the gift my people have needed to progress, and we've been waiting impatiently for your people to make their way off the surface, so the quarantine would be lifted." He paused, scowling.
She was sure that hundred-year delay had annoyed them all. "You were taking us before then," she said. It wasn't an accusation, really, though it might have sounded like it.
"Yes, but so few. Finding people like you was hard, and then the science teams were constantly watching. The whole solar system was rigged with alarms. Yes, we've visited there before, before you even considered launching yourself off the planet, but we had to be careful, and there was never enough time," he said, sighing.
"How long have you been taking humans?" she asked. She didn't really expect him to answer the question, but he did, in a way.
He laughed. "Since long before either of us was born, Kenzi. I don't know exactly how long, but some few of your kind of have lived long and happy lives on my home world. They were cherished for their gift, and I assure you, they were never treated like common slaves. For centuries, the law allowed rulers the privilege to claim humans from any warrior, because they were better leaders when they could take out their passions on a Pain Receiver. Cooler heads made for better decisions, and I intend for every general to have one of their own. Soon," he said.
