How could that be possible? Her image had shown black hair. It had to have been a trick of the light. Or perhaps a deliberate interference by the prophets to test him and his brothers. But it didn’t matter—black hair, red hair—they had already fallen.
There were presently no women on his world with red hair, and only the old tales spoke of females with such locks adorning their heads. He felt a moment of regret that he ordered her delicate cunt stripped of the rarity before the realization hit home that Adara Waycross was their true star-promised mate. The old tales foretold the Freestar legacy at the hands of a redheaded wench. It also portrayed a will of iron and issues with obedience and surrender. His cock surged full, and a shudder overtook him. They would need the full month after all, but what a battle it would be to enslave this woman’s heart. It would also be necessary to guard the information of the prophecy until Adara had surrendered to them. No outside influence was allowed—the writings were quite specific. Or she would be forfeit.
Their intended’s glorious mane shimmered as her head turned while she surveyed the port, even restrained as it was. Thorn waited until her gaze landed on him and was rewarded with a falter in her step. Strong willed she might be, but already she saw him as one who might master her. One of her Masters. Kellis and Orion would be over the second moon when they met her, and he debated keeping her hair color a secret until they fetched up at the farm. But best they were prepared. He lifted his profiler and captured her portrait then sent it to them, noting how Adara’s full mouth set at his action. Still, he waited until she walked the last units to him, noting the splendid voluptuousness of her figure. The attendant peeled off to afford them privacy as he’d instructed.
“Adara.”
“Yes.” Her eyes were truly the grass green the picture had captured—but without that vulnerability the image had captured. She looked him in the eye regardless of the need to tilt her head up in order to do so. He admired her banked feistiness, although there would be a time and a place for such attitude. As if she read his mind she cast her glance at the ground and remained silent. He decided to move forward as he meant to finish and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, pressing her downward.
After a very apparent inner struggle, albeit brief, she knelt at his feet, and he moved his hand to her head in a gentle caress to convey his pleasure at her gesture of submission, reveling in the silky feel. He pulled the pins and tie loose to free the thick strands and curls, watching as they fell free to tumble around her shoulders and down her back. She would feel his fingers wound through that glorious mane as she serviced his cock, the slight bite of pain at her scalp adding to her own sensations.
“You will greet us in this manner each and every time, Adara, and when we demand it.” Silence greeted his pronouncement, but he felt her protest. She had much to learn about how they expected her to communicate.
Her little nose was lightly freckled, the rest of her skin a creamy white, and her mouth full and now trembling. He didn’t want her to fear him but would demand her respect—when she wasn’t seeking his discipline—for he recognized the submissive in her if she hadn’t yet herself. Breaking through that proud veneer, for it was a veneer, brittle and unnatural, to help her become the woman she was intended to be, would be his honor. His profiler vibrated, and he checked the screen. We are blessed. Bring her home, brother, once you have communicated how important she is to us all.
Thorn smiled and petted their woman’s head, sifting through the strands of her hair. His brothers were softer indeed and knew the first day with Adara would require a very firm hand. He would apply that hand with pleasure, and they would succor her when he took her home. Taming her would take much longer, but it was an excellent plan to start now. He lifted his palm and stepped back a pace, leaning to offer said hand to Adara. She looked at it for such a long moment he wondered if he would need to force his will on her for such a simple act, but she tentatively set her much smaller one in his and rose to her feet in one graceful move. She gave him a questioning glance.
“I am Thorn Freestar. One of your Masters. You may speak, Adara. Someone has spoken to you of protocol, but unless I say otherwise, I expect you to talk to us. This situation is new to you, and perhaps overwhelming.” He thought he heard her murmur repellent but was well versed in choosing his battles and this was neither the time nor place to debate comments made under one’s breath. All the same he filed the comment away on her punishment list. Given the portent of her hair, he had no doubt it would be a long list, perhaps one requiring a board displayed in the pleasure room. It would be her responsibility to update it and check off the punishments once they were administered.
His thoughts turned to the Dom who had used the brief time they’d allowed to give her some insight into the lifestyle he and his brothers lived. There was something about that Dom—Adara’s low, musical voice sounded, distracting him from his contemplation of Master Samuel. “I thought there were three of you.”
“Indeed. Orion and Kellis are at the farm. There has been increasing outlaw activity of late, and we are nearing harvest. As the eldest I came to welcome you.”
“Are we leaving soon?” The anxiety in her tone pitched it higher and dampened the musical quality.
“There are some items to be unloaded and placed in our transport. We will wait in a room I have reserved, out of the heat. I wish to answer your questions, but more importantly explain your role here and outline the rules should you question them.” In truth he hadn’t thought to need the room, had only prepared it in the event the transport had been delayed. One didn’t travel at full dark on Virile. But given the prophecy of her iron will, he needed to take some time before they left.
Her full mouth set again in a rebellious line, and her grimalkin eyes narrowed. Thorn wondered if she would like one of the feline creatures as a pet, just as he surmised that this lovely example of female had never truly been bound by rules. Well, she would follow theirs, not only for her pleasure, but also to keep her safe, and he would display the consequences of any breach of those rules as a precursor.
“Come.”
Green eyes flickered, but she didn’t resist the light pull on her hand and followed him into the shadowy recesses of the building. It might have been a relief to step from the heat, although she’d shown no antipathy towards the climate. However, it was late in the day with the suns setting, and perhaps she found the modified warmth comforting—her small hand felt cool and clammy, no doubt a result of nerves.
It was a short walk to the room. Thorn pushed the door open and gestured for Adara to precede him. She stopped just inside as the lights came up to a gentle glow, and he knew she’d seen the huge bed set against the wall opposite the door. Well, she had to know this was expected of her. Surely any woman whose males were allowed to use them as betting currency anticipated this very situation. All the same, it infuriated him on some level. What if it hadn’t been him who had won Adara? She could have been lost to men who wouldn’t appreciate her or to those who would abuse her.
Instantly he focused his thoughts. The game with her brother had happened for a reason, and she was never meant for another. She was theirs, and her red hair completed the prophecy. She need never fear that a male would barter her body again.
“Do you require sustenance, Adara? The use of the facilities?”
Her glance skittered over his face before she dropped her eyes for a second time. Excellent. It wasn’t a studied move but one that acknowledged his status. And hers. “No. I’m fine.”
“Remove your clothing, little one.”
The partial silence and total lack of movement greeting his pronouncement became oppressive. He could hear his own heart beat in his temples and feel the rush of blood through his veins. The faint pulse of the air exchanger didn’t offset the short pants of breath Adara took.
“I am not in the habit of repeating myself, Adara.” He kept his tone neutral, yet firm.
Trembling fingers plucked at the hem of her co
lorful top and hitched the fabric up in tiny increments, her smooth, rounded belly uncovered by her effort. Thorn didn’t think he’d seen anything so erotic, and both he and his brothers watched the females in the center’s clubs strip whenever they came to the city, before Ronnie. It gave them fodder for self pleasure. The porn on the profilers was repetitive and the action often jerky and shadowed with the interference from the sun spots. Adara clearly had no skill in seductively removing her clothing, but he was seduced nonetheless.
She succeeded in pulling the shirt over her head, revealing a bit of lace that veiled her round breasts, the creamy tops rising in a gentle slope above the pale blue bra. Thorn rethought his edict about no underwear. She really wouldn’t require any, but she looked incredibly sexy with her nipples covered so fetchingly.
“Place it on the table there.” He pointed to where he wanted her to put her shirt, hearing the rasp of lust in his voice. Adara heard it too, and she flinched. Shit. He didn’t want her afraid of him, but the recognized need to begin her training immediately pushed him hard. They had but a small window of time before leaving here. And a little fear might be a good thing, what with her temperament.
Once she had laid the article of clothing where he commanded, she slipped out of her shoes and then pushed her trousers down, revealing beautifully formed legs. She wasn’t tall by Virile standards at all, perhaps a voluptuous five foot five in her bare feet, but he was over a foot taller and more than a hundred pounds heavier. His brothers were nearly as big. They would surround her and fill her completely. She awkwardly folded the trousers on top of the shirt, nerves evident in every movement.
A matching piece of lace covered her sex, and he made no attempt to cover his arousal, noting how Adara’s eyes drifted to the front of his pants. “The rest. Now.”
Reaching behind to unfasten the bra served to push her breasts out, and he noted how her nipples had tightened. He hoped it was at least partly the result of arousal and not because of the coolness in the room. The luscious mounds fell free of the gentle restraint, and he ached to touch them, weigh their tender weight in his hands and tweak the coral buds decorating them. Pale blue veins were visible beneath the soft skin, and he longed to trace those with his tongue before setting his teeth in her.
It took a visible effort of will for the panties to come off—Adara’s teeth gritted and her jaw clenched—but then she stood in front of him with defiance written all over her.
“Present.”
His heart soared in conjunction with his cock when she fell to her knees, thighs spread wide to display her bare pussy, breasts outthrust and hands placed submissively on her thighs. Her gaze shifted from his legs to trace over the floor. He paced to her and made a close circle around her kneeling form, correcting her stance in minute ways to imprint his mastery. Her skin was silken soft beneath his callused fingertips, and she was a vision of lush curves and hollows of all that was feminine. Her narrow waist swelled into full hips and a sweet, heart-shaped ass. Her belly was rounded as a woman’s should be and her thighs pillowy and welcoming. He couldn’t wait to bury his face between them. And stripe them with his flogger.
After looking his fill, he left her in place to go and pull the chair away from the wall and set it in the middle of the open space in the room. He longed to explore her fully but would wait for his brothers to be there when all that she was would be revealed to them.
“Rise.”
She curled up from her position with innate grace, something that could be learned but was usually inherent. He knew she was no trained submissive, so she came by it naturally. Thorn had yet to decide about the issue of a safe word and in that moment thought he would wait to see if she requested one. In his heart he knew she wouldn’t need one because neither he nor his brothers would do anything she couldn’t handle or ultimately didn’t want. In truth he feared she would conspire to use it to retreat from them before they convinced her she was to be a part of their lives forever. And no safe word was going to prevent or change the lesson he must now deliver.
“Come to me.”
Her little feet pattered closer, those full breasts bouncing enticingly on her torso, until she stood directly in front of him. She was clearly not comfortable in her nakedness, but that would soon change because she wouldn’t be allowed clothing while on the farm. Unless she was wearing certain items Kellis had purchased for her. And maybe that underwear. He reached to put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face to lock eyes with hers.
“You have read the contract so you know our rules and expectations. Do you have any questions to clarify those?”
“Not right now.”
Absurdly pleased, he nodded. She had reserved the right to question them later and thus ensured burgeoning communication. They might not answer her or give her the answers she sought, but they would talk. A relationship between four people, no matter how close three of those people were, required open and honest communication. If Adara was so inclined, she could attempt to wreak havoc on the bond between the brothers. He could hope she was honorable, but only time would tell.
“Fine. Now there is one thing left.”
Once again, Adara visibly prepared herself.
“Tell me what you are thinking.”
“You’re going to fuck me.” She sounded both resigned and faintly disgusted, and it stung him. She found him attractive—he knew humanoid women—and Adara would have likely expressed her interest in some form of congress if it weren’t for the current situation. He supposed she should be allowed some resentment. But it still stung.
“No. At least not now.” That got her attention. Green eyes went wide, and the mouth he intended to fill with his cock formed a succulent circle.
He saw the thoughts whirl through her head. Adara would be a terrible gamer because she was so easy to read. Perhaps that failing ran in the family although it was excellent in that they would more easily read her cues. But he detected shame and humiliation. She thought he didn’t want her, and that wouldn’t do. Grasping her hand, he pressed it against his erection, biting the inside of his cheek as he did so to quell a ridiculous urge to hump her hand and…come. Gods preserve him. She was definitely preordained for them.
“This is for you, little one.” He pushed her palm hard to his quivering shaft. After an initial attempt to pull back, she curled her fingers against the fabric between them, and he felt her relax a little, although he had to hold himself hard against her touch without embarrassing himself.
Setting her away from him and again staring into her eyes, he continued, “But we have something to deal with first and then I must get you to your new home before total nightfall. I will not risk you in the dark. Now, hear me clearly.
“This is a dangerous planet. The only safety is on the farm within designated zones. Or with one or all of us and only with one or all of us. Do you understand?”
“I think so.” Her voice was halting. “Designated zones or with one or all of you.”
“Correct. Now, I will reinforce the lesson.” He sat on the chair and motioned to his lap. “Climb over.”
“What? I mean…why? I haven’t done anything.” She put her hands behind her in a childish gesture and inched away.
“And you won’t, not with a sore bottom to remind you. The count is ten, and if you don’t obey immediately it will be fifteen and then twenty.”
Still she hesitated, her lips working against words she choked silent. Her glorious breasts lifted with each agitated breath, and the smooth skin over her abdomen rippled. He exerted all of his control to avoid taking her down on the bed and fucking her until they both passed out.
“Fifteen now, and you’ll count them.”
Her eyes filled with moisture. Thorn liked women’s tears when he caused them through pleasure or erotic discipline but found himself quite unmanned in the face of Adara’s despair. Pushing away the foreign emotion he sucked it up and narrowed his eyes at her, then used his Dom voice.
“Get over my la
p. Twenty.”
Her feet, toenails painted a sprightly shade of turquoise, dragged across the wooden planks as they carried her toward him, although her body obviously leaned in the opposite direction. “Do I get a safe word?”
Godsdamnit. He kept his face impassive. “That is something we will discuss when with my brothers, Adara, but there is no safe word for a lesson, this reinforcement.”
Shoulders slumping, she made her final approach with the terror of a small vermin facing a grimalkin that hissed with bared claws and switching tail. Hitching her belly over his thigh, she squirmed across his lap and it took a grind of his teeth against his tongue to calm his cock.
“I’ll pin your legs between mine this time, Adara, until you are able to keep them in place of your own accord. You may grip my leg or the leg of the chair, but your hands will remain away from your delectable backside to avoid injury to those little, fragile bones. If you place your hands there I will bind you to the bed and use my belt. Are we clear?”
A muffled agreement reached his ears, and her shoulders lifted against a sob. The long voyage and new environment no doubt contributed to her emotional turmoil, but he had to apply this reinforcement. There was no way they could risk their intended, and she had to be amenable in this regard. Arranging her to his satisfaction and managing not to slip his fingers between her thighs to elicit pleasure, he began.
His hand dealt the first swat across the fullness of her buttocks, and she gave a little shriek before making the count. He wished he could sensitize her first and perhaps mix pleasure with the pain, but this wasn’t a prelude to sex.
Each smack elicited a shriek or a sob. She writhed over him and once a hand crept up to protect her tender globes, only to retreat and clasp his calf fiercely, matching turquoise nails digging in to give him a hint of pain. Her flesh reddened pleasingly, and he took care to cover the entire surface of those rounded curves, punishing the sweet area where buttocks met thighs and smacking the back of those thighs for good measure. He could have urged her to give into it and take the beating, fall into the space so many subs found when they simply accepted the feeling of a hard hand against vulnerable skin, but needed to make this a lesson only. Pleasure would detract from it.
Virile Page 3
