The Starlight Rite

by Cherise Sinclair

“I’ll rot in hell first,” she hissed.

  Shaking his head, he stepped back, and she almost cried at the removal of his touch. Her hips tilted forward involuntarily, and when he saw the movement, he only smiled. “I’ll stay for a few minutes of the auction, in case you change your mind,” he said gently. “If not, then I wish you well and that your service not prove too arduous.”

  Leaning on his cane, he limped off the stage, and a feeling of loss filled her, as if she’d driven away the only friend she had here. Only, he was no friend. But he’d said he didn’t whip his slaves. Maybe she should have gone with—

  Then the next man stepped up to her. He stood so close that the auctioneer didn’t notice when he pinched Mella’s nipple hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. The lust filling his eyes as he relished her pain made her feel sick to her stomach. And scared.

  He gave a cruel laugh. “You will do nicely for what I have in mind. I’d have liked to hear you scream before buying you…but that can wait.”

  “Take your seats, please,” the auctioneer yelled. “The bidding begins now.”

  Rubbing his knee, Dain shifted in his chair in front of the stage.

  Thanks to a hefty bribe, the auctioneer started with Mella. “Here we have an Earther female, an exotic treat with lush breasts and fair coloring. She’s indentured for thirty-nine days, beginning today. Certified by our physician as healthy, no pregnancies. A spirited female, she should give a man a nice ride. Starting bid is three hundred eighty-five royals.”

  A young man held up his hand, followed by a portly older man. Dain recognized the next bidder, a brothel owner near the port. The amount continued to grow. Not surprising. With her flame-colored hair and clear green eyes, she compelled a man’s attention. And her shape… Well. He smothered a grin as he saw her glare at each man who bid on her.

  Poor little thief. An article in the Port City News had contained information on recent Earth history and how the rise of the Divine Prophet had spawned an incredibly rigid moralistic society. If the reporter hadn’t exaggerated, this Earther must be appalled at the indenture process.

  “Five hundred,” came from the back.

  Dain turned and winced. Galtdon. The man took sadism to new levels. Several of the up-class brothels now refused him admittance after he’d brutally scarred their girls. By the four gods, could he live with himself if he let Galtdon buy the Earther?

  The auctioneer called, “Any further bids?”

  The little thief’s face paled as she stared at Galtdon. Then she looked at Dain. Her lips moved. Please.

  Well then. That settled the question. “Five twenty-five,” Dain called.

  The auctioneer grinned. “I have an offer of five hundred twenty-five royals from Kinae Dain. Will anyone give me more?”

  “Five fifty,” Galtdon growled.

  “Five seventy-five,” Dain said.

  A chair screeched near the rear. Dain turned to keep Galtdon in his peripheral vision. Never good to have an enemy at your back. But Galtdon had given up, and he rudely pushed his way out of the crowd.

  “The Earther’s contract goes to Kinae Dain of the Zarain clan. Enjoy your thirty-nine days, sir,” the auctioneer said. His assistants unchained the thief and led her to the accounting desk, where Dain scrawled his signature on a debit form.

  “Very good, Kinae.” The sharp-faced accountant pulled the paper back. “Here are her papers and doctor’s report.” He leaned forward to address Mella. “Unshuline, you have been sentenced to thirty-nine days of service starting today. You must obey your owner in all ways. Do you understand?”

  Mella nodded, her hands in fists at her sides.

  “Kinae,” the accountant continued. “You must provide adequate food and fluids and may not inflict permanent damage on your indentured slave. Do you understand?”

  Dain nodded.

  “Finally, to discourage escape attempts, the Indenture Hall requires that an indentured slave who flees be punished with ten strikes of the cane with enough force to create welts. At least one other person must witness the discipline. Do I have your word on this, Kinae?”

  “You do.” Dain’s voice came out clipped as he tried to suppress the loathing he felt at the idea of caning someone. He drew a slow breath in before looking down at the trembling little thief. She might have a temper, but she wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t give him cause to cane her.

  He tossed the accountant fifty bits to buy a long robe. No need to humiliate her further. When he put the dark green robe around her, she clenched it tightly and whispered, “Thank you, Kinae Dain.”

  “Call me Dain, and it was my pleasure,” he said, running a finger down a pale cheek. Softer than Nexan women, but a thief nonetheless. He must be out of his mind.

  He gave her an even look. “We have a deal. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Three

  Her body throbbing with need, Mella tried to relax in the ground solacar. As he drove, Dain remained silent, his face expressionless. She couldn’t take her gaze away from him. His tunic and trousers were an ominous black. The glittering embroidery over the cuffs, sleeves, and shoulders matched the silver that streaked his black hair. This was a man fully in his prime, not one she might manipulate.

  His masculine scent filled the car and somehow increased her arousal. She gritted her teeth against the waves of lust. No one was touching her now, so why wouldn’t her body quiet down?

  What was going to happen now? Would he insist on coupling right away? She clasped the robe tighter around her, the movement netting her an amused look. The solacar hummed as Dain drove out of the city proper and followed a river road. The rolling countryside was dotted with what the Nexans called enclaves—several acres of land enclosed within eight-feet-tall adobe walls. Eventually, the car slowed and stopped at an iron post, where Dain punched in numbers. The heavy wood and metal gate rolled open.

  Mella frowned at another sign of the primitive technology on this planet. Ground cars, mechanical gates. “You have vids in the hotels. Why not remote controls?”

  “Solar storms fry fancy electronics and prevent remote communications. We use underground wiring. Even the vid system is connected that way.” He drove into the enclave, down a fine gravel road, and past large, single-story adobe houses and well-tended gardens. The vibrant colors of the flowers and lush greenery eased her heart after the miles of dry scrubland outside the enclave.

  Dain parked the solacar in a sunny spot behind the largest of the houses. As he helped her out, the dry heat enveloped her like a blanket, but the tiny grasses along the path felt cool under her bare feet. She bit her lip. Hopefully no one would notice her walking around in a dressing robe. Surely they didn’t have shepherds wielding their whips here on decadent Nexus, did they?

  “Let me show you to your room, and then you can relax,” Dain said, urging her forward. The feel of his hand low on her back made her shiver with surging need.

  The heat didn’t penetrate the thick walls of the quiet house. A long, wide hallway ran down the length of the outer wall with the rooms to the inside. After turning a corner in the hall, Dain opened a wooden door with inlaid green tiles. “You’ll stay here.”

  Fancy quarters for a slave, Mella thought as she stepped inside. After a glance at Dain, she explored the rooms. Decorated in rich blues and greens, the sitting area had glass doors that opened to a courtyard of flowers and fountains. There was a bath in deep blues with painted tiles. The bedroom had hardwood flooring with an obviously hand-loomed rug, a painted armoire, and a tall king-size bed, not quite waist-high.

  A bed. “The rooms are lovely,” she murmured, backing up, trying to keep her mind on the decor. But her body still burned with need, enough that just his hand on her back raised her temperature.

  He grasped her chin, tilted her face up. “Then I’ll leave you for—”

  When she trembled at the feeling of his firm fingers, his eyes narrowed. Slowly, ever so
slowly, he stroked his hand down her neck.

  Pressing her lips together, she tried not to moan.

  “I’d forgotten. You received the Indenture Hall’s aphrodisiac, didn’t you?” When his lips quirked, she wanted to hit him. She nodded instead.

  “Well then. You have two choices. You can satisfy yourself, or I can.”

  His blunt statement made her blush. “No. That is…wrong.” Self-satisfaction was a moral crime.

  “Mella, your arousal will continue until the drug is deactivated by the chemicals of release.”

  Her eyes widened. Feel like this forever? She almost groaned.

  “There’s a slight problem with doing it yourself,” he continued. His voice was deep and strong, like the low French horns in the vids when a medieval king led his forces into war. She could listen to him for—

  “The drug creates a need for something inside you to achieve true satisfaction. You can use your fingers, but to remove the drug that way takes longer and many more times.”

  Just his minimally descriptive words made her moisten and increased the burning in her body. She couldn’t stand this. And she didn’t even know how to go about achieving her own release. She’d never tried. Surely she could fumble through, but what if she didn’t… And she wanted his hands on her. Heavens. His gaze was level, and she could see he hadn’t lied to her. Dammit, she didn’t want to couple with a stranger. But she did. How could this be happening to her?

  He waited, his warm fingers curled around the nape of her neck. His thumb stroked the hollow under her ear, and a rushing wave of desire made her arguments crumble. “You,” she whispered.

  He nodded, his face not changing, although something flared deep in his eyes, something that made her legs go weak. When he leaned his cane against the wall, fear crawled up into her chest, and she moved back. Surely he wasn’t planning to… During the daytime?

  But he followed, his demeanor so intent that she kept retreating step-by-step until the backs of her thighs hit the edge of the bed. She stopped, torn between running and pulling him to her.

  His lips curved. He grasped her robe, tugging it open. She pushed at his hands and then, with a sense of futility, let him slide the garment off her shoulders to pool on the floor.

  Naked again. She lifted her hands to cover herself, and he shook his head, freezing her in place. Her heart rate increased, and her mind quailed. She needed to be touched so badly, yet she couldn’t allow a stranger—or anyone—to couple with her.

  “You have a beautiful body, little Earther.” His hands skimmed her curves, wakening her to more sensation at each touch. She grabbed his wrists, but he didn’t even notice her feeble efforts to make him stop. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched.

  He pulled her closer. His erection lay long and hard against her bare stomach, and his hands on her bottom pressed her against it. He was going to…to put that…

  With an exasperated sound, he kissed her, drawing it out, demanding a response from her. His lips felt firm, knowing, taking. No one had ever kissed her like this. His tongue took possession of her mouth and retreated, luring hers back. He sucked on her tongue lightly, and her legs shook as an uncontrollable trembling started inside her.

  When he lifted his head, heat burned in his eyes. Smiling slightly, he pushed her back until she sat on the edge of the bed. Efficiently, he stripped his clothing off. The loose tunic had hidden his strength. Broad shoulders. Scars, white against the bronzed skin of his arm. Curly black hair across a muscle-packed chest. Thick ridges of abdominal muscle. His shaft…

  Her mouth dropped open. His shaft was horribly long and thick. Surely much too big. Not that she’d ever coupled with Nathan with the lights on, but she knew he hadn’t been that size. She blinked, glancing at the window. Heavens, the sun hadn’t set. “We can’t,” she protested. “It’s daytime. And that’s not—”

  With a snort of laughter, Dain grasped her around the waist and tossed her onto the center of the bed like she weighed no more than a doll. She bounced twice, and then he was on her, pressing her into the mattress with his weight. His hot skin against hers roused a new wave of sensation, heightening every nerve. The crisp hair on his chest rubbed her sensitive breasts.

  She closed her hands on his biceps and shied away at the feel of his rock-hard muscles, the feel of his unclothed skin.

  “You know, you have my permission to touch me, laria,” he murmured, propping himself up on his forearms. He studied her with dark eyes, and his hard lips curved. “You’re not just being a cautious slave, are you? You’re shy. Even with the drug in you. Well, let’s see if I can erase some of that shyness.” He lowered his head and kissed the side of her neck. The feel of his lips and his teeth nibbling on her skin sent heat ribboning through her, making her very center ache.

  Instinctively, her legs spread apart, and her hips pushed upward, grinding against his erection. She gasped, freezing completely. And a second later, her body took over and did it again, and the pressure of his shaft against the top of her private area made her head spin. Her center demanded more. She needed him to enter her so badly, she moaned.

  He merely kissed her, his tongue tracing her lips.

  Nathan would have pushed inside her long ago. That was what she needed now. Turning away, she reached down and grasped him. She’d show him and—

  Chuckling, he removed her hand and flattened his hips onto hers so she couldn’t reach him. “Not yet, little thief. This isn’t something you’ll steal from me.”

  What did he mean? She reached down again, trying to worm her fingers under his body. Why wasn’t he putting it inside her?

  With a grunt of exasperation, he pinned her face between his hands. She felt caught, vulnerable as he looked into her eyes as if searching for her soul. She tried to turn her head, but his strength easily kept her in place. “I’m going to take you—eventually.” His deep voice sounded husky, almost a growl. “But I will enjoy myself first. And I prefer not to have to fight you off every moment, delightful as I find it.”

  Releasing her head, he reached down and caught her wrist. Weight fully on her, he grabbed her other wrist and pinned both over her head. A tiny snick sounded as he snapped her bracelets together, and a click as he fastened them to something—a chain—on the headboard.

  “No!” Panic flared in her. She yanked at the restraints, struggling until her lungs heaved for air. “Why? I was cooperating.”

  “You were pushing.” His grin flashed white in his tanned face. “The drug makes you demanding. Now you will stay in place until I’ve satisfied myself. Until I’ve tasted every inch of your skin.” He slid down her body to nuzzle the side of her breast and run his chin across the top. When he licked between her breasts, she gasped at the hot feel and arched upward. Her breasts ached as if they wanted to be…touched.

  Touch her breasts? Taste her? Nathan had never… This was all forbidden. She tried to move away, but the restraints and his weight held her pinned to the bed. “I changed my mind. Let me go,” she demanded.

  His eyes darkened as he watched her struggle. “There’s something about the sight of a woman struggling and wanting at the same time… You will stay in place for the pleasure I will give you, laria.” He toyed with her breast, circling, stroking gently—too gently—around the edge of the nipple. Every circle seemed to make her skin more sensitive.

  She moved against him uncontrollably. “Please.”

  With a smile, he lowered his head. His hot, wet mouth closed on the peak, and pleasure rippled through her.

  “Oh Prophet.” Her breath turned ragged as he licked her breasts, then sucked. His tongue rubbed her nipple against his teeth, and pleasure-pain arced straight to her core. She tried to touch him, needing to hold him in place or even pull him closer, but her hands were restrained. He had all the control. Somehow knowing she couldn’t stop him made her need all the greater.

  When he raised his head, her swollen nipples stood out in a way she’d never seen. “Such abundance,” he
murmured, flicking one distended tip with his tongue, sending a sizzle through the pathways to her core that he’d created.

  He moved lower, nibbling on her stomach, licking the crease between her hip and thigh. As his mouth got closer to her private area, everything in her tightened, as if her body knew what to expect.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  His body stilled. Resting a forearm on her thigh, he studied her with narrowed eyes. Confused, she looked back. After a minute, he shook his head. “Little Earther, how many men have you been with?”

  “One. Only one,” she whispered. “You must know how wrong this is. Let me go.”

  “Laria, if I let you go, you’ll go back on the auction stand. And by the time that happens, you’ll beg any man who walks by to take you.”

  The appalling description sent a chill through her.

  “You’d better stay here. Don’t you think?” He waited.

  Her body burned. When she nodded, he curled his hand around her upper thigh, pushing outward. Surely he wouldn’t… And yet her hips pushed up, needy. “What are you going to do?” she repeated.

  His chuckle was low and wicked. “Apparently I’m going to demonstrate a few things your lover neglected.”

  “But…”

  He ignored her. With firm hands, he pushed her thighs apart, spreading her so she was completely open to him. As he lowered himself, his wide shoulders kept her legs parted. He didn’t move for a moment, and she could almost feel his gaze heating her. In the light of day. Her private area. A hot flush of embarrassment seared her skin.

  And then, with one finger, he touched her. The surprise made her jerk, and she inhaled sharply, her legs trying to close and ineffectually bumping against his shoulders. His finger slid through her wetness, the feeling indescribable, so satisfying, and yet it only increased the burning. He brushed something, a spot she knew was dreadfully forbidden, and her body strained upward for more.

  “Your somaline. I believe you unpoetic Earthers call it a clit,” he murmured and slid his finger over it again, and she whined at the intense sensation.