Thorn wished he could believe it would be so simple, but somehow he doubted it. And Kellis didn’t have to say that the fine line could be crossed in the opposite direction as well.
He scented her just before she came into the room, lavender and Adara. She was nude, and not as awkward about it, so he’d been correct to include Orion. His brother had his arm around her shoulders as he drew her towards the stools set at the high counter, his head lowered to speak softly in her ear. Thorn noted he was speaking in her right ear, the better to appeal to the side of the brain more amenable to sincere flattery and sweet talk, bypassing her intellectual side.
Orion chivalrously helped her get comfortable on the soft leather seat. Envy lanced into Thorn’s gut before lust replaced it. Adara’s skin glowed in the muted illumination, the treated skylight cutting the glare of three suns, yet giving them plenty of light to work. Her hair shone from a recent brushing, and he could imagine Orion’s hands wielding the brush, stroking it through those curling strands—gods, he was losing his mind.
“Good morning, Adara.” He infused his comment with both warmth and a little bite of domination.
Her eyes finally darted in his direction, and he locked his gaze with hers. Awareness flickered there, perhaps a bit of chemistry, but as expected she was still wary of him, and angry too. Well, they had a month ahead of them to replace those negative emotions with positive ones. Gods be pleased a month would be enough.
“Morning.” Saccharine sweet, poorly veiling defiance. His palm itched and it took an effort to set the spatula down and not take it to her gorgeous ass. His prediction of spankings had become a certainty.
“Adara.” To Thorn’s surprise it was Kellis who spoke her name in warning.
She flushed, the entrancing color rising from the tops of her firm breasts to inch up the column of her throat and paint her cheeks. “Good morning, Thorn,” she said politely.
Inclining his head he hid surprise and rising amusement. This was indeed progress. He placed the final piece of food on her plate and set it in front of Orion. A bit of irritation niggled when he remembered the herbs Ronnie had gone to pull for garnish. Where was she?
As Orion forked up some of the tender hare to offer Adara, their housekeeper stalked into the kitchen, holding the knife she’d used on the herbs like a pointer in front of her skinny chest. The greenery dangled from her other hand and was torn and wilted. Then Thorn’s attention was pulled to their beloved. She gasped loudly and folded against the counter, dipping her head, her beautiful hair streaming to cover her face and breasts. The fork clattered to the plate as Orion dropped it.
“Excuse me.” Ronnie’s insincere apology reverberated in the room, and she tossed both the knife and herbs beside the stove as Kellis advanced. Thorn fixed her with a stare, and she wobbled before sinking to her knees, dark hair awry and her pallor very evident. But her black eyes snapped with rage and something worse. Kellis reached down and pulled her to her feet, then nearly dragged her from the room. Her sandals scuffed on the tile, and her colorful shift flowed in waves around her thin body like a sail. He speculated that forcing her to wear clothing had conjured up that garment—the better to underline the difference between her and their Adara.
“Shhh, my sweet. It was only Ronnie. She appears to be having an issue, but we won’t let any harm come to you.” Orion was wrapped around Adara, soothing her, his hands working through her hair and over her back.
Once again, they were treated to the spitfire side of their submissive, and Thorn winced as Adara screamed at them, shoving at Orion.
“I’m fucking naked! Naked and in your kitchen with your housekeeper! Do you have no sense of propriety? None? Oh my gods. I’m light years from home with three pervs who make me be naked in front of another woman who clearly wants me dead, the bitch.”
The defiance abruptly drained away, and Adara sagged against Orion who was now standing rigid beside her, his face stunned. Even as Thorn watched, his brother automatically wrapped his arms around their woman and lifted her against his chest. He walked out with her, leaving Thorn to glumly peruse their rapidly cooling breakfasts. He began to assemble their plates and place them in the oven to keep warm when Kellis returned.
“Gods save us all. Who knew? Ronnie’s delusional.” Kellis shook his head, one hand tugging at his hair. “She feels usurped. You should have heard the things she hissed at me. And I found some items hidden beneath that repulsive shift. Another knife, your favorite crop and a wad of ducats.”
“I thought we’d moved past that,” Thorn replied. “She seemed to have accepted her role here now would be housekeeper and occasional chef as we explained when we found Adara. She didn’t want to go back to the center.”
“Well, this life was probably easier than the center, but not by much.”
“She was difficult last night, resistant and seemingly untrustworthy,” Thorn mused. “And now, knowing what she hid on her person…”
“That’s why you put Orion on the door.”
“Partly. And now we have to find another housekeeper.”
“Partly?”
“If Ronnie resists having Adara here—”
“Thorn, it’s jealousy. Nothing else.” Kellis was agitated, yanking at his hair, clearly not wanting to consider the worst.
“There will be many who don’t want to see us prosper any further, Kell. We didn’t have very long to plan. We needed to move quickly to get Adara here before her brother or Redcliff could find a way to circumvent the contract, but we neglected to consider the other variables.” Because they hadn’t known she was a redhead. Were the prophets setting another test?
“Our men are reliable and loyal,” Kellis protested.
“They are, and most won’t know of the prophecy. In fact very few people do. So we won’t worry so much about that,” Thorn decided. “But Ronnie has to go.”
“Already on it. She’s in a storage shed, and Jurvis is packing up her room while Frenz is readying a craft.” Kellis referenced two of their most able men. “She’ll be gone within the half hour. Does Adara understand we wouldn’t let Ronnie stab her? Is Orion comforting her?”
A rueful chuckle escaped Thorn’s mouth, and it was his turn to shake his head. “I don’t believe that bothered our intended at all.”
“She has an ancient warrior’s heart.” Kellis sounded as proud as Thorn had felt regarding the way Adara responded to the outlaw threat. Before she nearly gave her presence away.
“She lost all decorum, Kellis. She screamed at Orion and me.”
“But I thought you said she wasn’t frightened?”
“She was furious that we let Ronnie see her naked. And she called us pervs—I believe that’s a pejorative where she comes from—and she’s clearly despairing because we took her from her home.”
“What is Orion doing with her then?”
“If you had asked me that three days ago I would have known the answer. But when it comes to Adara, I really have no clue.” Thorn sat and ignored his growling stomach while Kellis watched him curiously.
“She is dismantling the plan,” his brother suggested.
“You think?”
They stared at one another before heading off to see what Orion was doing with Adara.
****
After another storm of tears, Adara allowed Orion to wipe her face with a wet cloth before he patted it dry with a fresh one. And the morning had been going so well too. A least an hour had passed without her getting into trouble—until that crazy woman entered the room. It was a surprise Ronnie wasn’t naked too because she was obviously their whore. The humiliation of being seen in all her fat glory by the tall, thin, beautiful bitch with the straight black hair that wouldn’t frizz or become difficult to manage stung like a wasp. Or like the burn of jealousy. That couldn’t be it. She wouldn’t let it be.
There was no reason to entertain jealousy—she was just here for four weeks and had to get them done and over with. It wasn’t as if it was a probationar
y period with the best whore getting the permanent job. Like these men had to settle permanently—regardless of the dearth of women on this planet, the ones available would be lining up for the task.
“Ronnie will be returned to the center, Adara. You need not be concerned.”
So there was no job competition. Communicate. Okay. “She hates me.”
“It would appear she isn’t happy with your presence here. She was offered the position of housekeeper or be returned. She chose to stay, and we thought to have a woman keep your home rather than have you extend yourself.”
So their hearts were in the right place if their cocks weren’t. “And what was her position before?”
Orion actually squirmed. It appeared he’d understood Kellis’s points made earlier in the morning. He spoke quietly. “She served us sexually as well.”
“And you didn’t think she’d resent me?” Adara fought the burn. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to serve three men. She hated the idea of being submissive, but it really bothered her that skinny bitch had been fucking these men. Her men. Gods! It was time to be admitted to the psych unit and have her mind healed.
Shrugging, Orion answered. “She was our submissive, trained at one of the clubs in the center. Women are scarce, Adara, and when she agreed to come here to serve we thought—”
“You thought it was a handy arrangement.” Oops, that probably bordered on insubordination—and how many words had sub in them anyhow?
“It was a handy arrangement, Adara.” Thorn glowered at her from the doorway. Kellis had already entered and was leaning against the wall, watching her and Orion with amusement. She frowned at him, and his lips immediately straightened.
“That is in the past,” Orion soothed, practical as ever.
Kellis sauntered over and climbed onto the bed, rubbing a hand down the length of her spine. His rough skin made her shiver, and he rubbed harder in a curiously soothing way. “Ignore Thorn, my love. We were unaware of how you would react to Ronnie.”
“Am I going to be displayed in front of the rest of the people who work for you? The men?” She couldn’t hide her dismay.
“No.” Thorn growled his response, the single word more reassuring than anything else he might say.
“We will hire another housekeeper,” Kellis hedged. “She might see you—”
“I’ll keep your house.” Had she really said that? Adara couldn’t imagine flouncing around au naturel in front of another woman, who would likely be slim and perfect, so she supposed she had. And if she was busy cooking and cleaning she could avoid them. How contrary was she?
“You will not be a drudge.” Thorn sounded implacable. “We will hire our old caregiver back. You will be comfortable.”
“I—”
“It is decided, Adara.”
Fuck you, buddy. She managed not to say it but knew he read it on her face. It was tough to hide it when she felt at such a disadvantage.
“We will discuss your outburst in the kitchen later, little one. Now come for breakfast.”
He just couldn’t let one little godsdamned thing go. It was like being at the mercy of a really strict headmaster. She set her teeth and scrambled off the bed. Their affect changed in a heartbeat. Desire etched their faces and darkened their eyes as they surveyed her body. Big chests swelled and pants strained across enormous erections. Adara understood in that moment about feminine power and ducked her head before they read that epiphany on her features.
Hard on the heels of such a revelation followed the despair of sadness. Ronnie attained that response too, or she wouldn’t have been brought here, and compared to Ronnie, Adara was a cow. So it had to be about the lack of available pussy as she feared, and winning her in a game was the novelty—and free too. She held the tears back fiercely as she ignored everything these men had done to challenge her assumption and plodded back to the kitchen. Breakfast was there, and she’d get on with her sexual duties. Her body might like some of it.
Chapter Six
“If you have had enough, little one, go with Kellis.” Thorn hadn’t taken his eyes off of her the entire meal. She knew he was trying to read her but discovered that feeling shitty kept him at bay. And it was easy to feel like crap because she’d compared herself to Ronnie and knew where that put her in the scheme of things.
They fed her from their plates, selecting only the nicest bits. The eggs were a strange shade of peach but tasted much like the eggs she ate at home, if richer, and the bread was heavy with grains and their substitute for butter. There were no cows on Virile, except for her, and whatever creature produced the milk for the cheese and butter was apparently more goatlike. The crisp meat tasted like bacon but wasn’t—some kind of wild critter she didn’t think she could pronounce, and the little brown pieces were bunny. She refused to open her mouth for that. Thorn could beat her again before she’d even consider it.
The goblets with the refreshing liquid she couldn’t identify were only partially filled and she could have used more, but Thorn gave her a drink then swallowed the rest. He again drank from the same spot she did, and her spine tingled with warning.
Given her misery, Adara’s appetite was dampened and she managed only a few bites of everything. After the juice, the fruit tasted the best and the coffee at least gave her some reason to live, sweetened with cream from the goat creature. The brothers were patient with her—she sat on Thorn’s lap, aware of his arousal—but her response was overlaid with sadness.
She nodded in response to his question and quickly answered before he could chastise her. “I’m full.”
She didn’t let herself think about going with Kellis who drew her to the floor and tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. The back of her felt chilled once away from Thorn’s heat. A clatter of plates behind them signified a clean up in progress, and she thought to ask Kellis what they’d done before having a housekeeper. Anything to avoid thinking about where he was taking her and what he was going to do with her.
“We shifted for ourselves. We’ve been alone a long time, my love.”
“How long?”
He hesitated. “A long time, decades.”
“Kellis?”
“Yes, Adara?”
“How old are you and Orion? And Thorn?”
“Time is computed differently on our world.”
Anxiety swamped her. “Differently? You mean I’m here for the month, but it’s a different count here?”
“No,” he soothed. “Thirty days in your planet’s manner of time.”
He looked disappointed somehow, and she couldn’t figure it out. And he wasn’t telling her his age either. She knew better than to ask, for she sensed a will as implacable as Thorn’s behind his charming exterior. Then they entered another room, just down the hall from the bedroom. Oh. My. Gods.
Kellis urged her forward when her feet would have stumbled. The air felt cool and clean, and her nipples hardened as she felt the chill. It was a really big room. It had to be to hold all the furniture, items she’d seen before—in Sammy’s dungeon—and a couple that were totally unfamiliar.
There was the ubiquitous cross and a spanking bench. A whipping chair sat front and center in one corner, and another chair that looked somewhat like the one in her dentist’s office sprawled to its right. A big bed covered in scarlet sheets took up a lot of space, as did some kind of swing apparatus hanging from the ceiling. Shackles too hung from the ceiling and were attached to most of the walls. How many subs did they have in this room at one time? One each? Two? More? Implements of discipline were placed with military precision in open fronted cabinets, and she saw a variety of so called sex toys displayed as well. Something crouched against the far wall, loosely covered by a spill of crimson fabric, and she decided she didn’t want to know what was under it.
That watching a horror movie feeling came back and competed with her quashed self esteem. Sick, thrilling—if twisted—anticipation. Adara wanted to turn tail and run yet also thought whatever happen
ed next might make her forget how crappy she felt. They kinda owed it to her. As long as it didn’t hurt—too much.
Kellis led her to a door tucked discreetly behind the bed. It held a commode, a bidet and a sink. He urged her to the commode and ran water in the sink. She hurriedly relieved herself and wiped before stretching to push the button that flushed the contraption. She needed to ask about water conservation pretty soon, considering the amount that tub held and—jeez, she was losing it, trying to convince her brain to take a holiday.
He rinsed any number of soft white squares of fabric in hot water, setting them in a large silver dish. They steamed as he lowered a lid to seal them inside. Adara decided not to inquire and washed her hands instead, wishing she had something to clean her teeth. Kellis passed her a little bottle without comment, and she squinted to read the letters. Was that Greek? Latin? The words weren’t decipherable yet the lettering seemed familiar, mostly because of the labels on the plants she purchased for her nice little garden.
“It is mouth cleanser, Adara. Like your own.”
She hurriedly squirted some between her lips and felt the granules and shreds take on a life of their own, scrubbing her teeth, working at her gums. It felt weird to spit it out with Kellis standing so near, but they were going to get a whole lot more intimate than this, so she cleared her mouth of the detritus and rinsed the sink. He hefted the silver container and gently directed her back into the dungeon. If that’s what they called it.
The walls were scarlet with black accents, and the same sconces that lit their halls were in evidence. Spotlights could be seen in the ceiling, placed strategically over the furniture. There was no stone on the walls and no glowing fake torches, unlike Sammy’s room. The floor was the ever present tile, installed, she thought, for coolness and because it would withstand the constant scouring of sand. Because Kellis wore his boots even in here. As did his brothers. The soles of her feet were exfoliated.
Thorn and Orion stood by the chair she hadn’t identified. She’d be lying if their cut chests and rippling biceps didn’t make her a little hot. Similar pants lovingly clung to their strong thighs and stretched over bulging crotches. That area just beneath their hip bones exposed by the low cut material just cried out to be nibbled. Kellis too sported a massive erection as he joined his brothers, having placed the silver container on a small table.
Virile Page 8
