Pirate's Price

by Aubrey Ross

  “I’ve recently discovered a certain attraction to the passive role. My experience is extremely limited. Some areas intrigued me, while I have no interest in repeating others.”

  “Is Kashi aware of your recent discovery? Did she, perhaps, participate in the exploration?”

  “Kashi had nothing to do with the incident.”

  “But she is aware of what transpired?”

  Details about that night would only douse the heat smoldering within her. “Who are you? Why does Kashi trust you? Were you one of Torral’s followers?”

  “You avoid your past by attacking mine. Not a bad strategy.” He lifted her foot and pressed a kiss against the sensitive arch. “For the next six days there is no past and no future. I am a pirate and you are a princess. No questions. No names. Are we agreed?”

  “It’s not fair. You know who I am. At least tell me your name.”

  “Knowing my name will not intensify the experience. It will only distract you from the pleasure. I am your master, mentor, teacher, and guide. All you need to do is decide whether or not you’re going to embark on this adventure.”

  She stared into his eyes as hunger built within her. “I… For the next six days, I’ll be your apprentice.” An echo of uncertainty pealed within her mind. Kashi might trust this man, but she reserved the right to be suspicious. “I refuse to be demeaned and pain added little to my pleasure.”

  He arched over her and pressed a kiss to the corners of her mouth. “I’m sorry he hurt you. You will never have to worry about that with me. Shall I repay him in kind? Pirates are good at that sort of thing.”

  She shuddered and shifted her gaze away from his handsome face. “That’s part of the past. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

  “No, I appreciate your honesty. Our relationship requires trust and trust is impossible without communication. In regards to your pleasure, I expect honesty and full disclosure.” He guided her gaze back to his. “I meant what I said, Rana.” Her eyes widened as he used her name. “You have nothing to fear from me. It’s important that you believe that.”

  “I believe you, but you shouldn’t be able to use my name unless you tell me yours.”

  He chuckled at her persistence. “My name is Vik, but you will address me as Sir. Any disobedience will be punished. I will use a variety of techniques to build the intensity of your pleasure. I will introduce each stimulus gradually. Still, it is possible for a skilled master to push too hard. If at any time you’re unwilling to take the next step, call me a pirate and I will back off. Do you understand?” She nodded and he lifted his hands, depriving her of his touch. “The proper response is ‘yes, Sir’.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Immediately, his hands returned to her knees, rewarding her with a firm squeeze. This was so wonderfully different from anything she’d experienced before. He was directing and controlling her, yet she had never felt so secure, so safe.

  “If you’ve been spanked, tell me what you enjoyed or disliked about it.”

  “I have and I was frightened by the sensations, even though I found them pleasurable. I disliked the fact that I wasn’t allowed to come.”

  He smiled. “That’s a common complaint, but withholding one orgasm can make the next more powerful.”

  “As long as the next orgasm eventually arrives.”

  “Your pleasure was withheld entirely?”

  Despite his coaching, she couldn’t manage a verbal response. She nodded, then averted her gaze.

  He moved to her side and pressed his palm to the side of her face. “Forcing another person to accept sexual demands while intentionally depriving them of any form of gratification is not mastery, sweetheart, it’s rape.”

  The fury in his gaze contradicted the gentleness of his touch. Tears blurred her vision and her lips trembled. Effortlessly sensing her need, he stretched out beside her and rolled her to her side. Without releasing her bonds, he pressed her against him from neck to knee.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this? Maybe it would be better to allow the memory to fade before --”

  “I want my mind filled with new memories, better memories. I can think of no other way. We only have six days.”

  He slipped his arm beneath her neck and she relaxed into the loose embrace. “Have all your lovers been men?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Are you attracted to females?”

  “I won’t say I’ve never been curious, but I’d much rather have you instruct me personally.”

  “My instruction will be intensely personal.” He smiled and fit his body more snugly against hers. “I’ll say one last thing before we begin, then I promise not to break my own rules again. Vega is part of your past now, but he is going to face your pirate before this thing is through.”

  * * *

  Umar waited for the guards to open the massive doors to Vega’s presence chamber. He hated being summoned like a common servant. His faithful service to Vega should have ensured him better treatment. The other servants feared him, which was as he preferred. But far too often the king seemed indifferent to Umar’s happiness.

  A muffled call signaled the guards to open the door. Umar straightened his tunic and squared his shoulders. Vega sat on his throne, his wedding robes open down the front, displaying his pale body. A slender, dark-haired man knelt between the king’s thighs.

  Tarun again! Umar balled his hands into fists, stubbornly suppressing his displeasure. Jealousy would reveal a level of interest Umar wasn’t willing to admit. Vega might summon others, but he always came back to Umar.

  Vega stroked the younger man’s curly hair as Tarun eagerly sucked his cock.

  “Shall I return, sire? You are obviously busy.” It broke Peronite protocol for him to speak before the king invited his opinion. He didn’t care. This was the third time Vega had summoned him while he was fucking this skinny, sloe-eyed creature.

  “No.” He pulled out of Tarun’s mouth and turned him toward Umar. “Let him pleasure you. His mouth is incredibly hot.”

  Umar glared at his rival. He was young and lean, his features almost delicate. “I’m humbled by your generosity, but I’d rather wait.” Tarun’s lips parted in a smug smile and Umar clenched his fists so tightly his fingers ached.

  “It wasn’t a suggestion.” Vega sneered. “I want to watch him suck you while I fuck him. No more arguments. I’ve had all the disobedience I can take for one night.”

  Tarun knelt before Umar, his posture anything but subservient. Umar freed his cock and presented it to his rival. “I’m used to highly trained mouths. I better not feel a hint of teeth.”

  “You might enjoy a hint of teeth,” the little bastard dared to say.

  Umar grabbed the back of Tarun’s hair and shoved his full length into the younger man’s mouth. “Suck hard and use a gentle touch on my balls. His highness isn’t the only one who is frustrated tonight.”

  Vega smiled, obviously overhearing the exchange. “We should be breaking in my new queen right now. Tarun will have to do.” He spread Tarun’s ass cheeks and inserted a lubricant pellet. Vega stood back and stroked himself as Tarun’s body heat melted the outer shell, releasing the gel.

  Staring into Tarun’s dark eyes, Umar rocked in and out of his mouth. Tarun kept his lips snug and expertly rolled Umar’s balls. Umar accepted the stimulation, while keeping his emotions carefully distanced. He would not be jealous of this skinny slut. Tarun was a receptacle, nothing more.

  Vega loved to take his time. The pressure of entry was often enough to trigger the king’s orgasm, so he made a great show of penetration.

  “Hold still,” Vega ordered. “Watch me honor Tarun with my thickness.”

  Umar came to rest at the back of Tarun’s throat and tightened his fingers in the younger man’s hair. Vega used the tip of his cock to stimulate Tarun’s anus. It was a predictable move, one the king had used on him countless times. Tarun moaned and arched his back, pushing up as if he was desperate for Vega’s cock. Umar gritted his teeth. It
was the same response he generally offered.

  “Oh yes.” Vega pushed, his eyes squeezed shut. His cockhead breached Tarun’s body and Vega shivered. “So tight.” He drove deeper. Tarun wiggled and made mewling sounds in the back of his throat. “I remember when you were this tight.”

  The muttered comment slapped Umar in the face. He pulled back and stabbed into Tarun. So, his ass was tighter, was it? Not for long. He’d find guards with massive pricks and command them to ride Tarun until Vega could hardly feel him around that scrawny shaft.

  “Oh, darling boy,” the king simpered as he finally started moving.

  Umar thrust fast and deep, tilting Tarun’s head back as Vega moaned. The king never lasted long and anyone who couldn’t come with the king wasn’t allowed to come.

  Two more slow rotations and Vega shuddered with release. Umar glared at Tarun as he pumped his come down his rival’s throat. The younger man swallowed, determined to take it all, but a creamy rivulet escaped each corner of his mouth and Umar smiled. Amateur!

  Vega watched Tarun wipe his face, while Umar righted his clothing. “It would appear you could use some more practice. A royal pleasure giver never wastes even a drop of the king’s offering. It’s a good thing I didn’t come in your mouth.”

  “I was overwhelmed by the pleasure you gave me, sire,” Tarun said, his head bowed.

  “Even so. Umar will instruct you when I have finished with him.”

  “Whatever pleases you, your Highness.”

  Umar shot Tarun a triumphant smile as the younger man retrieved his discarded robe and hurried from the room. It was turning out to be a very interesting night.

  “I saw the look in your eyes, Umar. Making use of Tarun without my permission would have forced me to punish you. Do you want to be punished? It’s been a long time since I watched you writhe in pain.”

  Tension gripped Umar’s gut and bile burned the back of his throat. He enjoyed inflicting pain, not receiving it, and Vega knew it. “You have been exceedingly generous, my love. I saw your cock sinking into his ass and went a little crazy.”

  “It pleases me that you still crave my touch after all these cycles. Watching jealousy flash in your eyes made me harder than I’ve been since we played with Rana.”

  Vega fastened his robes as he returned to his throne. The vast majority of their encounters took place in Umar’s bedchamber. Umar’s absolute favorite, however, took place in this room. He had aroused the king to quivering desperation and Vega bent over the seat of his throne and allowed Umar to fuck his ass for the first time. Umar had never felt more powerful than he had that night.

  “Speaking of my wayward wife…” Vega’s impatient tone drew Umar away from the pleasant memory. “Certain facts have come to light that I found quite interesting.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Princess Rana is designated as her mother’s heir.”

  “The empress has no male relatives?”

  “She doesn’t, but here’s the interesting part. If the empress dies before Rana produces an heir, Rana’s husband is automatically named regent.”

  “If Bakula dies before Rana produces an heir, you would have been named regent?”

  “Exactly. And if by some cruel twist of fate Rana should die as well, the regent becomes emperor.”

  “What a ridiculous policy.” Umar crossed his arms over his chest, wondering why these facts were relevant now. “This encourages violence against female rulers.”

  “Which might be why the policy exists. Bakula has been Devaunt’s only empress in eight centuries. She is not well respected.”

  “Empress Bakula has ruled Devaunt for many solar cycles. Why hasn’t she changed the policy?”

  “She tried. Such fundamental changes must be approved by her cabinet and they wouldn’t agree.”

  Umar chose his words carefully, not wanting to anger Vega. “Only the most superficial effort was made to prevent Rana’s abduction. Once the event had begun, you seemed indifferent to the outcome.”

  “I had every intention of washing my hands of her entirely, until these statutes were pointed out to me. I don’t need a reluctant wife badly enough to chase her across the galaxy. A mismanaged empire, with significant untapped potential, on the other hand…”

  He didn’t need to finish the thought. “What do you need from me?”

  “According to Peronite law, Rana and I became husband and wife the night our sexual compatibility was established.”

  “That’s why you insisted on witnesses.”

  Vega smiled, ruthless intelligence gleaming in his dark eyes. “The covenant was sealed with the spilling of my seed. The wedding was just a formality.”

  “What’s the next step?”

  “Empress Bakula will depart with the dawn and her cruiser is rigged to explode. I’ve been assured there will be no survivors.”

  “Congratulations, Regent Vega. Are steps being taken to rescue your new queen?”

  “My interrogators were amazed at her stubbornness, but Kashi finally confessed. Rana is on her way to Spaceport Makar.”

  Umar’s pulse leapt and he suppressed a predatory grin. He’d been one of Vega’s most successful operatives before the queen caught his eye. It had been far too many solar cycles since he’d enjoyed a good hunt.

  “I’ve never heard of it.” He kept his tone even, concealing his interest.

  “It has a certain reputation for indulging its criminal element. Rana must be found and silenced. I’m entrusting this task to you. I don’t care how you do it. But when you return to Peronite, I expect you to be escorting the body of my dead queen.”

  Chapter Four

  Rana rubbed her breasts against her captor’s chest and returned his kiss with all the abandon she could muster. Vik? The diminutive wasn’t familiar, yet she was certain he was from, or at least had visited, her home world. His hands moved up and down her back, occasionally straying onto the curve of her behind. Her hands were still bound, but slack in the silk tether, allowing him to position her as he liked.

  Her teacher, her mentor, her master -- for the next six days. No past and no future, a departure from a life filled with frustration and duty.

  She made a soft, needful sound as he separated their mouths. Their kiss was filled with passion and promise. She didn’t want to lose the intoxicating connection, even to move on to other intimacies.

  A louder protest followed when he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He stared into her eyes as he unfastened his pants and pushed them down along his sturdy thighs. After removing the remainder of his clothing, he paused for a moment and allowed her to absorb the masculine splendor of his body. Tight, highly defined muscles revealed both strength and agility. Her fingers tingled and for the first time since he brought her here, she regretted the restraints.

  Windblown and wavy, his hair did little to soften the rugged arrangement of his features. His lower body was several shades lighter than his upper. How had his skin tanned if he lived primarily in space?

  Her curious gaze descended to his feet before returning to the juncture of his thighs. None of his body hair had been removed. She should find him repulsive and crude, yet the hair only added to his virility. His cock rose hard and high, arching away from his belly. She wanted to stroke him with her hands and caress him with her mouth. Licking her lips, she hoped he would understand the invitation.

  He returned to the bed, a distant smile playing about his lips. She was unnerved by his silence, yet energized by the hunger so apparent in his gaze. Her nipples warmed and awareness cascaded through her body. How would he take her? Was he as skilled as she thought?

  With one knee on the bed and the other foot on the floor, he began his assault on her senses. He started with her upraised arms and methodically discovered which spots made her sigh and which made her squirm. His fingers brushed and tickled, rubbed and outlined. His touch both assessed and aroused.

  He traced her features, then followed her pulse along the
arch of her neck. Her nipples were tight long before he cupped her breasts, but he worked the tender nubs into pebble hard peaks before continuing his downward trek. After a tantalizing squeeze he abandoned her mound and caressed her inner thighs. Her body ripened and melted, eager for his return.

  By the time he reached her feet, she was weightless and tingling. He moved between her legs, kneeling on the bed. His gaze locked with hers as he positioned her body. He bent her knees and parted her thighs, opening her completely.

  “Do all the women on your home world keep themselves bare?” He slid his hand down her smooth leg and stroked her nude mound with his thumb.

  “My answer relates to events in my past. Doesn’t that break the rules?”

  His second thumb joined the first, caressing and parting. “Your body was prepared in anticipation of a husband you chose not to marry?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, Sir,” he reminded her.

  “Yes, Sir.” Why had he waited until he was touching her most intimate flesh before he continued their conversation? He eased one of his hands beneath her and traced the crease of her ass. His finger hesitated over her anus and she turned her face away. “Both men and women remove their body hair on my home world. It’s considered barbaric not to do so.”

  He grinned and teased her tightly puckered opening. “We both know I’m barbaric.”

  As if to demonstrate his claim, he lowered his face between her thighs and traced her slit with his tongue. His finger pressed against her anus without pushing inside. She held perfectly still, afraid resistance would incite a show of dominance.

  He held her open with one hand and teased her with the other. All the while his tongue flicked and stroked the very heart of her. “Put your feet on my shoulders.” His lips moved against her folds as he issued the directive. She shifted one of her legs over his shoulder and he raised his head. “Not over, against. Put the soles of your feet on my shoulders and lift your hips.”

  She moved one foot into place and then the other. Her legs spread wide and her pelvis rolled toward his mouth. His gaze returned to her pussy, his expression intent. The hand that had been teasing her bottom curved around her hip and held her open from above. She blew out a premature sigh, thinking he had lost interest in anal stimulation.