by Raven Dark
Obliging him, I wiggled myself into a comfortable position and used his stomach to prop myself up as I read. “‘Heart on fire, my love burns like the sun. I pray for rain to save me. But you steal every drop—”
“Wait. You read my name,” he said, putting his finger on the page I’d just read.
It took me a minute to understand what he meant. My brows scrunched as the realization dawned on me. “Master, you can’t read, can you?” I turned my head to look at him, the book still open in my hands.
He looked away. “Of course I can. I told you, I just like hearing you do it.”
An ache tugged at my heart; knowing Steel and his stubborn pride, he would see not knowing how to read as a sign of weakness.
I turned his face to me, cradling it in my hands. “Steel, look at me.”
He tensed, and I knew somehow it had nothing to do with my addressing him by name. “It doesn’t change anything. Do you hear me? You don’t have to hide from me.”
He drew a deep breath, then let it out slowly. His fingers played with mine. He cleared his throat softly.
“I never learned as a kid, growing up with my club brothers in our village. Didn’t see the need, being the dumbass that I was. Later, when I ended up in the gladiator ring, we weren’t allowed to read. They didn’t teach us stuff. Except how to beat the shit out of people.”
I cocked my head, listening to him, silently encouraging him to go on. I’d have to ask him how he ended up becoming a fighter, but later.
“I guess they didn’t want us getting ideas, didn’t want us to be smarter than them,” he said.
I squeezed his hand, my chest tightening. More than words could say, I loved that he’d shared this part of himself with me, something so personal and difficult for him. I knew too much about what it was like to be denied the most basic things.
“They wanted you to feel broken, to keep you dependent on them. Steel, I’m so sorry.”
“Nah.” He pushed my hair back. “It is what it is.”
“Do you want me to teach you?”
He pulled back. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
His grin was huge and silly and boyish. Then he tackled me again. “And what is my first lesson, teacher?”
“Teacher?” I giggled. The concept of a female teacher wasn’t unheard of, especially mothers with their children, but as a profession it was rare. The sound of a female teaching someone the way a man did intrigued me.
I cleared my throat now, going for what I hoped was a scholarly tone.
“First lesson. We’ll start with homonyms.”
“Start with what-a-hims?”
I picked up the book, he let me sit up, and I showed him the page. Then I moved his finger under the word steal. “‘…you steal every drop,’ it says. Your name sounds like that word, but your name is the word for a metal, as in, ‘strong as steel.’” I smiled as I took his finger and kissed it. “It’s a homonym, meaning a word that sounds like another word but is spelled differently. See the word again? It’s spelled differently than your name.”
Maker, I wished I had a pen and paper to show him. Instead, I spelled it out loud for him, then compared it to the spelling from the page.
A loud sound, like something falling, startled me. I whipped my head around toward the entrances to the kitchens across the green. The cavern’s entry behind us was empty, but a pile of boxes by the mouth of the cave lay toppled, produce scattered across the grass like someone had knocked it over. On top of one of the boxes was a huge crow. I let out a relieved laugh.
“Remind me to tell Crash about that damn crow. One day we’ll catch the bastard before it gets into his corn.” Steel maneuvered his hand into the wide, thin pants of my cadris, working his way to my inner thigh. Instantly, heat pooled in my center. I let out a gasp.
“I better get back to work soon, teacher. But first, dessert.” With his hand on my chest, he pushed me down on the blanket and hovered over me. Off went the ties to my top, and the cool breeze caressed my breasts.
Maker’s Light, this man made me come undone in more ways than one.
“You teaching me turns me on, Petal.” He cupped each breast in his warm, big hands, then rolled my nipples with his fingers. “Do I deserve a reward, teacher?”
Funny how he could ask that, yet make the words sound threatening, like I’d better give him his master’s due. My eyes closed, and I released a small moan.
“Well, that depends on how well you do tomorrow,” I told him, my voice wispy.
“Tomorrow? Oh, I see how it is. You think that’s how it will work, do you?” His voice was gruff, making me instantly wet. He lapped at my left nipple. “We can go through that whole damn book,” he added in a gentler voice. He licked the right nipple. “And then you can recite some of that freaky moon and sun shit.” He pushed both breasts together and sucked my nipples as one into his hot mouth. Pleasure speared me and I cried out, my blood rising, my core aching.
“Now, let’s practice. What was that moon one again?” He sucked again, nipping and pulling at each of my nipples.
“I thought I was the teacher, Master.” I barely got the words out.
“Not right now. Recite, Petal.” He continued lapping at my breasts as he released his hold on them. Then he took his other hand and cupped my mound.
I concentrated, reciting the part I read earlier. “My love, my stars, my moon and sun. I have loved…oh, Master.” When his fingers dipped inside my wetness, I lost all thought. I never knew that I’d be such a glutton for physical pleasure. These men, my masters, what had they turned me into?
“Fuck, Petal. You’re so damn wet.” His fingers slid in and out, deeper, faster. “Keep going. Don’t get distracted, now.” He grinned but I could tell from his eyes that he was a hair’s breadth away from taking me. When he pulled my cadris bottoms down and took my sex into his mouth, I knew that this assignment would be too easy too fail.
“‘I have loved you for eternity. On this…day, your...oh, Light.” The wave of mounting pleasure made my back bow as his fingers and tongue did their magic, making words almost impossible. “…for eternity. On this day, your nectar is its sweetest, your love is my greatest treasure. Your…ah…heart is a sanctum to my body’s pleasure… Oh Master, yes.” Release swept over me in hot bliss until my whole body shook and I cried out.
“Mmm…well done, Petal. Well done.”
By the time Steel kissed me goodbye back at the slave quarters, it was early afternoon. He’d worn me out, pleasuring me, and coupled with the hot sunshine from earlier, I was sleepy and would have begged the Maker for a nap. But looking at all the women working now woke me up. None of their masters came to take them on picnics for lunch. The thought was almost funny but did make me wonder if what they thought of me was true—maybe I was a treasured pet, and that didn’t sit well with me at all.
With a sigh, I went inside the main hall and grabbed a basket of fresh clothing. Cherry met me at the entrance.
“There you are. Have fun with Steel, Violet?” she asked, a teasing smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
“I did, thank you, Cherry.” I blushed.
“I thought for sure Sheriff was going to take you to his office again, and I for one am getting tired of giving you clothes.” She sniffed and grabbed her own basket, trading the empty one in her arms for a full one.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean? I haven’t seen Sheriff since yesterday.” We walked over to a laundry table that sat near the washing hole. A glance at the water filled me with longing. It was a while yet before the workday was done, so a bath would have to wait.
“Shit,” Cherry paused mid-step, and I almost bumped into her. “I was…uh…visiting Crash for lunch, and we stepped out to get some air.” She coughed awkwardly. “I saw Sheriff standing by the kitchen cavern watching something. I didn’t think anything of it until he passed us by. By then, I could see your purple hair shining as bright as the moon. That hair of yours gives you away every time,
you know.” She sniffed but then her expression softened when she looked at me.
Terror and dread filled me. Sheriff was watching us? Watching me read a book? Maker, I didn’t want to be punished again.
“Was he angry, or did he look—” I began.
“No, he seemed…determined? Maybe? I don’t know, I never pay much attention to that man. He’s always been too hard to figure out for me.” She shrugged. “Why do you look white as a sheet? What were you doing?”
“I was…” I looked around to see if anyone could hear us. “I was reading a book that Steel bought me. He, uh, wanted me to read to him.” Shame rose up in me. These men were making me drop my guard too much, and I needed to remind myself that I was a slave, not a princess in a children’s tale.
“And that is bad, why? Your master bought it for you. Nothing wrong with obeying your master’s orders. Hell, maybe Sheriff was jealous. Serve his ass right for treating you like a bug under his boot.”
I touched her arm, alarmed at her words. “No, no. Sheriff doesn’t think of me in that way. At all. If anything, I probably will end up called into his office later. Slaves are not allowed to read.”
I made a fist and ground my jaw, angry with myself. No matter what I did, Sheriff was always there to remind me of my place, always there to enforce his law. Maybe I should have just been grateful for those reminders.
“Oh, please, Violet. I wasn’t born yesterday. The man is obsessed with you. He won’t admit it—because he’s an ultimate ass—but he is. Trust me on this.”
“Well, I agree with the…ultimate part, he’s brusque but—”
“Just say it, Violet.” She rolled her eyes and groaned. “Come on, say ass.”
I shook my head, grinning at her. “I will not.”
She nudged me with her elbow. “Come on. Do it. You’re in the Grotto now, you need to start talking like us. In fact, that’s one of your chores from now on. Say it. Ass.”
“Fine. Ass. He’s a mixture of confounding and irritating—”
“An ass. A shit head. A great leader, but he’s an ass. Right?”
I sighed. “Yes, he’s an ass.” I whispered the last part which made Cherry hoot with laughter, the sound causing the women working nearby to pause. She waved her hand at them in a “ignore me” motion.
“Well, that’s a start.”
She kept laughing as we placed our baskets on the laundering table and began rummaging through the clothes, sorting them for washing. I dropped a sock, and when I bent to pick it up, a box of silks and satins caught my eye. I peered in, noting the higher quality fabrics in a colorful array. I smiled.
“What are these, Cherry?” With a look of innocent confusion, I pulled a soft blue cadris top out and handed it to her.
“Huh. I haven’t a clue. But they came from the latest load of import deliveries. See the label on the box they’re in?”
I looked down and pretended to just notice the zone tag number and date. Earlier that morning, I’d asked Pretty Boy for more clothes like the ones he and Steel had bought for me. He must have sent someone out to purchase and deliver them, but I hadn’t expected them to show up so soon.
“And they look an awful like your new getups, Violet.” Cherry looked at me suspiciously, and I gave her another innocent look.
“I have never seen these before, promise.” I pulled out a soft rose colored cadris that was more casual than what I wore, pretending to have no idea what Cherry was hinting at.
“Uh huh. You suck at hiding stuff. I’ll figure it out sometime.” She smiled, though. “I’ll leave them out, and let the women know.” Her voice lowered and became thoughtful. “They’ll like this, I think. Fucking frocks are getting old.”
I laughed at the similarity between her and my two masters.
I had a feeling that the all frocks in the Grotto would be conveniently missing for the foreseeable future.
By the time we were done with the day’s chores, the work whistle went off, and before I knew it, I was washing up for dinner in Pretty Boy’s rooms. Tomorrow was a down-day, where most of the general workers in the Grotto had a day to themselves. That meant that there would be late night drinking and revelry till the wee hours.
How would Sheriff react when I saw him tonight? I felt a trickle of panic. How much did he see when he spied on me and Steel? I tried to replay the whole picnic in my head, remembering what I had been doing before that noise had startled me. I almost rather he’d seen Steel and me being intimate in full daylight than catching me with a book in my hand. It wasn’t like he’d never seen me in the act before.
Maker, I would run myself in circles if I kept worrying over all the things I needed to keep on my guard about. My days and nights sure weren’t boring.
“Steel, Princess, let’s go.” Pretty Boy found me tidying up the rooms while I waited for him to come back from his bath. His wet hair touched my hot cheek as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my shoulder. He smelled like almond oil and cinnamon. My core tightened in response, and I wriggled into him.
“No time, my pet,” he said with a groan, pulling away. He spun me around and assessed my evening attire, a silk cadris in deep scarlet slashed with gold. “You look sexy as fuck, Princess. Too damn tempting.” Taking my hand, he walked backwards, headed toward the entrance to the cave. “Steel, let’s go, Brother!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.” Steel came out of Pretty Boy’s bedroom holding a palm-sized velvet sack. I gave him a curious look.
“What’s in there, Master?”
“I finally found them, PB.” He held up the sack without answering me. “I think we need to get some new ones.” He threw the small blue bag to Pretty Boy who caught it deftly in his hand. Then he looked over at me.
“Petal, thank fuck this work week is over. I want you, beer, and a night of partying.” He pulled me to him. “Let’s go.”
The early evening sun painted the sky in crimsons, golds, and powder blues. I took a moment to collect myself as we made our way to the clubhouse, shutting out the thoughts of Sheriff. The pants of my cadris billowed out in the soft breeze, my bare feet touching the last of the warmth from the wood-planked walkway. If anything else, living in the Grotto was a gift that I hoped would never lose it’s novelty. As much as I missed my beloved horse, Maja, I didn’t miss the desert heat and sand of my old home. And I definitely didn’t miss Damien, even if a small part of me felt the ache of my former master’s betrayal.
I wasn’t fool enough to think that my story had come to an end, that I’d now live a pampered, danger-free life here in the Grotto. My life had never been one of assured stability. Knowing Damien was still out there looking for me, that at any time Sheriff could sell me or take me back to the Compound, kept me from becoming too complacent. But as always, I would enjoy as much of the present as I could.
Which was why I held my head high and mentally swept away any trace of worry as I stepped into the clubhouse.
Laughter and the usual revelry of Dark Legion partiers filled my ears. Tables had been set up for cards, the billiard table rolled into its usual nighttime position in the middle of the room. Of course, Sheriff’s chair was prominently set up like a dark court near the back of the room.
However, the king was missing.
Scanning the room, I found him at one of the card tables, a mug of beer with one hand, the other hand digging into a big bowl of chips. As if I had called him to me, his gaze met mine, his eyes deep and sharp and instantly hungry.
“Where do you want to sit, PB?” Steel asked beside me.
Maker, I hoped it wouldn’t be at Sheriff’s table.
“Let’s go sit with the General tonight. He looks like he’s in a good mood. That should make things interesting.” Pretty Boy had that grin on his face, and noticing that I was watching him, he gave me a wink.
He was up to something.
I sighed and let them lead. Light of the Maker, may this night go quickly.
“So now I lay down a card?” I
asked for what seemed like the tenth time tonight. Kranip was not an easy card game. Not that I had anything to compare it to—cards weren’t part of growing up in Damien’s world.
“Princess, here,” Pretty Boy said patiently, taking my hand and looking at my cards. “You either make plays with what you have, take a card from the pile, or borrow from the deck.”
“Pretty Boy, I think she’s smart enough to play Bluff. Let’s see what our little spy is made of,” Sheriff said, but either the alcohol had softened his tone, or he himself was bluffing. After an hour of sitting across from him during our meal, I still couldn’t get an accurate read on him. The way he said the word spy sounded different, playful.
“Sure, why not. Steel, your turn to deal.” Pretty boy handed him the cards I’d been holding. Then he pulled me from my chair and onto his lap after giving Sheriff a look I couldn’t decipher.
I looked at the others seated around the table—Bear, Crank, T-Man, Pup, and another man whose name I couldn’t recall. Everyone was in high spirits. I tried to join in the fun, but it seemed that Kranip just wasn’t my game. Maybe Bluff would be better.
“Five cards, four rounds, the one who is last holding, wins,” Sheriff drawled.
I watched Steel shuffle the cards with surprising efficiency, considering that his hands were so large. Pretty Boy reached into his cut pocket, took out that little velvet bag from earlier, and dumped the contents onto the felt table top. Little, glittering cubes in various colors with symbols on them winked at me from the torches’ light.
“And these are dice. We use these to make our bets,” Pretty Boy answered my unspoken question.
I looked closely at the ‘dice.’ I thought I remembered seeing something like these before, but they’d been square in shape and had numbers on each of the many sides. These looked like glittering red and green gems of varying shapes, and they had no numbers, just symbols.
“Are those what Dice is named after?” I asked him.
The table erupted with roars and hoots of laughter at my question, Sheriff the loudest out of them all.
