by Ivy Barrett
He makes sex toys, you ass. What did you expect?
She’d expected exactly what she got—an indifferent man with one thing on his mind. But for a few moments, she’d let herself hope for a spark of compassion, a hint that this job would be different from the rest of her life. Well, she understood the situation now. This was familiar territory.
After donning her clothes, she returned to his office. He waited behind his desk, a faint flush still visible across his broad cheekbones. He’d obviously enjoyed the show.
“I’ll briefly outline the terms of the contract.” Emotion thickened his voice, but she could sense nothing from him. “If you return tomorrow morning, we’ll begin. If you don’t, I’ll take that to mean you aren’t willing to abide by the conditions.”
“Does this mean the position is mine if I choose to accept it?” She was almost afraid to ask. So much relied on his answer.
“Yes.”
Tension melted from her muscles and she released a long, slow sigh. She’d done it! Freedom was within her grasp.
“The salary range was included in the original post. I won’t be able to detail the specifics of the project until you sign the contract. By accepting this position you are agreeing to remain here for ninety days. Provisions for an additional ninety days are—”
“What do you mean by ‘remain here’?”
“To ensure that information regarding the IR-M project isn’t inadvertently leaked, you will be expected to stay here for the duration of the contract.”
Hope deflated as quickly as it had expanded. “I have to stay in the Dark Star for three months?”
“You have to stay on this level for a minimum of three months. We will do everything we can to complete the testing within ninety days, but it may take longer. You will be allowed supervised communication, but you will not be able to leave the level.”
No, he couldn’t understand how impossible that was. She had to find a compromise, some way of salvaging the situation. “Why?”
“The precaution protects you as much as the project.” Warmth returned to his gaze. He started to reach across his desk then drew his hand back. “There are those who would stop at nothing to get their hands on… The precaution is necessary. You’ll understand once you hear the details. Unfortunately, I can’t share those details with you until you’ve agreed to abide by the terms.” He activated his terminal. “Where shall I send the contract?”
“I’m staying at Prime Landing, room eleven-zero-six.”
He transmitted the contract and pushed back his chair. “I’ll walk you out.”
She nodded and followed him from the room. It had all been for nothing. Akim would never allow her to stay here for three months. “Is there no compromise on the confinement stipulation?”
“No.” His hand came to rest against the small of her back, his gentleness inadvertently mocking her defeat. “As I said, you’ll understand the precaution when the project is explained to you.”
“I’d be a veritable prisoner for three months. What’s to keep you from torturing me or conducting experiments?” He chuckled, and a faint ripple of amusement reached her empathic receptors. So, he was human after all.
“You’ve got quite an imagination. You’ll be allowed to communicate with whomever you choose, so long as I’m in the room.” He stepped in front of the scanner and summoned the lift.
“Is there some reason you don’t trust me?”
“What’s to keep our competitors from kidnapping and torturing you?” He raised his brow, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “This isn’t about trust. It’s about security.”
They rode the lift in silence, her desolation mounting with each centimeter they ascended. She had to think of something. It couldn’t end like this. Reaching for his mind, she tried one last time to understand the enigma standing beside her.
His gaze shot to hers, and a sharp pang, like the snap of a rubber band, erupted within her mind.
“Don’t,” he said as the lift doors opened. He motioned to his right. “This corridor leads to the employee shuttle lot. If you want to enjoy the Dark Star before you return to your hotel, go through that door.” He pointed in the opposite direction.
Bryce nodded and stepped out into the corridor. His gaze met hers, sending tingles down her spine. Should she tell him about Akim? Would he help her escape? Her heart sank, and the band around her neck seemed to tighten. Why would Matthias care? She was a test subject, one of many. She couldn’t blame him for the ordeal awaiting her. He knew nothing of her true situation.
Extending his arm, he kept the lift doors open. “I know you’re uncomfortable with the stipulation. If it weren’t absolutely necessary, we wouldn’t insist.” His tone was warm, compelling. “We’re offering you the opportunity to be a part of something significant. We need you more than you realize.” He paused while his gaze caressed her face. “Don’t let the contract intimidate you. I hope to see you tomorrow.”
He lowered his arm, allowing the doors to shut.
Damn him. His belated show of courtesy made her defeat that much harder to swallow. She meandered down the corridor, dread building with each step. This had been her one chance at freedom, her only hope of—
The door from the entertainment floor opened, and Thorne lumbered into view. She dashed in the opposite direction. Whatever he wanted was irrelevant. She’d concluded her business at the Dark Star.
He called out, but Bryce ignored the summons and rushed toward the employees’ entrance. Sunlight spilled into the corridor as her movement triggered the doors. She stumbled along, waiting for her eyes to adjust and her pulse to stabilize.
She glanced behind her, relieved to find that Thorne hadn’t followed her from the building. Prime Landing was only a few blocks away, so she didn’t wait for the tram. She’d registered with the hotel, even taken a small bag to the room, but Akim insisted she sleep at the foot of his bed, as an obedient concubine should.
Located on the roof of the hotel, the VIP lot was cluttered with schooners, shuttles and hovercraft. Akim oct Renarr usually traveled in his palatial interstellar yacht. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he’d chosen a modest cruiser that blended well with the other vessels.
She paused at the edge of the lot, glaring at the cruiser. Her fingers rubbed the solid metal band circling her neck. For just a moment she imagined running until she hit the perimeter limit. The explosive concealed in the band would detonate and she would be free. She’d be dead, but she’d be free.
No, death was the coward’s way out, and she wasn’t a coward. Akim needed her. She must use that to her advantage, barter for her freedom.
A hatch opened as she approached, a set of stairs unfolding. She hesitated on the first step, concealing her hatred, suppressing her rage.
“I was about to dispatch guards to retrieve you,” Akim’s familiar voice grumbled. “What took you so long?”
She climbed into the cruiser, and the hatch closed behind her. Akim rose from the berth on which he’d been reclining as she entered the main cabin. Lithe and graceful, Akim met her in the middle of the room. Her eyes were on a level with his chin. She knew better than to look into his dark eyes. Golden-brown hair flowed to his shoulders. His neatly trimmed beard and mustache were several shades darker.
“Why so glum, kausha?”
Literally translated, the Renarrian word meant “pet”. It had always made her feel special when Fahbit used the endearment. On his son’s lips, the word grated, made her want to claw out his eyes. How she missed Fahbit.
“I asked you a question.”
Keeping her gaze fixed on Akim’s throat, she straightened her spine and steadied her voice. “The interview was more involved than I anticipated.”
“In what way? The posting specifically asked for someone outside the pleasure circuit.” He grabbed the back of her hair, tilting her face until their eyes met. Possessiveness burned in his dark gaze. “Did he touch you?”
“No, sir.”
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“Did you want him to?”
Unexpected heat curled though her body. Had she wanted Matthias to touch her? The possibility took her by surprise. She suppressed any outward sign. “He was cold and clinical.” Shrewd and mysterious. “I was no more interesting to him than a bio scanner.”
Akim drew her skirt up along her thigh, his gaze intense and penetrating. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ve had more offers for you than all my other concubines combined. What aren’t you telling me?”
His hand slipped between her thighs. She imagined shoving him back and spitting in his face. The repulsive weasel had no right to touch her. She should have been freed when his father passed beyond. But Akim was now the potentate of Renarr. There was no higher power to which she could appeal. Nonetheless, she would find a way to escape him!
Her resistance heightened his pleasure, so she stood perfectly still. He leaned in, his mouth hovering over her ear. “You’re soaking wet, little liar.”
She averted her face, knowing he’d see the fury blazing in her eyes. “He didn’t touch me. He—”
Tangling his fingers in the thin fabric, Akim ripped her panties off and slid his middle finger between her folds. Despite her determination to remain passive, she grabbed his wrist. His eyes narrowed. A silent warning.
“Did you pleasure yourself while he watched? I know how well you perform.”
She said nothing. It was obvious he intended to punish her. Nothing she said or did would stop him now.
“How many times did you come?” He continued to stroke her, to pet her. She remained silent and still, obedient. “Did you get the job?”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Bryce focused on her options. She had to convince him to let her take the job. She didn’t know if she could enlist the Toymaker’s help, but she knew for certain she couldn’t escape Akim without it.
“The position is mine if I’m willing to abide by the conditions of the contract.”
“What conditions?” He cupped her mound, his middle finger rubbing her clit.
Revulsion gripped her abdomen. She despised her helplessness, despised what her life had become. It grew harder and harder to disguise how much she hated him. Defiance fueled his viciousness, so Bryce distanced her mind from her body and waited for him to lose interest in his twisted game.
“He transmitted the contract to my hotel room.” Like his beard, his eyebrows were darker than his hair. One arched at her ambiguity. “The main obstacle is his insistence that I remain with him for the duration of the testing. For a minimum of ninety days I won’t be allowed to leave the Dark Star, and all my communication will be supervised.”
“Unacceptable.” His voice snapped with finality. “Why would he need an assistant to remain… Will you also be his fuck toy?”
He shoved her onto the bed, and Bryce went wild. He wouldn’t kill her. He needed her too badly. But he frequently made her long for death. She swung at him and kicked, screaming in frustration. Releasing restraints from the bulkhead, he clasped them around her wrists. She bucked and twisted. He straddled her legs.
“Will you assist him in the lab by day and suck his cock at night?”
She turned her face away as he shredded her dress. Crouching between her legs, he pushed her thighs apart. Bryce tugged against the restraints, knowing it was useless. Akim loved to look at her, to touch and taste her. He’d fuck her with toys and pleasure ’bots, but he never completed the act himself. She wasn’t sure if he was incapable or if he was denying his sexual orientation. The Renarrian Empire wasn’t intolerant of homosexuality, but the potentate must produce heirs.
Predictably, he flipped her over and shoved a rounded cushion under her hips. His obsession with anal stimulation reinforced her suspicions that he was only attracted to other men. He shoved her legs apart and slapped her ass with his open palm. Crack! The sharp sound echoed in the room as pain radiated through her bottom. His palm smacked the other side then paused, letting the sensations build before he continued.
She’d never admit it to her tormentor, but she enjoyed this part, had learned to savor the heat and intensity of a firm spanking at his father’s hand. But Fahbit always ended his punishments with tenderness and affection. With Akim, there was only pain.
He spanked her again and again, driving the sensations higher and making her skin burn brighter. His hand stopped suddenly and she sucked in a sobbing breath. He wasn’t finished. These sessions never ended so quickly. He crawled off the bed and opened a nearby compartment. She couldn’t see what he took out, but it didn’t really matter. She knew where it was going.
Crawling back onto the bed, he parted her stinging ass cheeks and placed something blunt and slick against her tight, rippled entrance. “Beg me. Beg me, now!”
If she refused, he’d get a paddle or his wicked flexible cane, and the pain would go on for hours. Her emotions were too raw after her trip to the Dark Star. It was easier just to beg. “Please, Master. Fill me up. I need you deep inside me.”
“Such an eager whore.” Keeping the toy snug against her asshole, he slapped her cheeks, one side and then the other. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.”
He thrust into her with the toy and Bryce cried out. It was thick and long, stretching her painfully. Pain rolled into pleasure, then back to pain. She forced her muscles to relax, accepting the brutal invasion. “You’re so big, Master. I can’t take anymore.” His animalistic grunt was her reward as he fucked her with the imitation cock. It was a pathetic game, one of his favorites. And right now she was willing to play along. “Oh, Master, please. It’s so good. Fuck me harder.” Each word sickened her a little more. Would this torment never end?
His spanking moved to the backs of her thighs as he continued to ram the dildo into her ass. “Take it, bitch. Take all of me. You’ll never forget who you belong to again!”
She whimpered, tightly clenching her hands, while keeping her body relaxed. She hadn’t forgotten, could never forget. The punishment wouldn’t have been so exasperating if she’d actually done something wrong. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m so sorry.”
He drew the dildo nearly out then left it barely inside her where the stretch was most intense. “Tell me about this contract.”
Shocked by the sudden calm in his tone, she risked a glance at his flushed face. You’ll never convince him to allow you to return if you indulge your temper. Matthias is your only hope. Akim can’t do anything to you that he hasn’t done before.
He pinched her clit hard. “Answer me!”
She screamed as searing pain lanced through her abdomen. “I can’t think with that thing inside me. Please, sir, let me think.”
With a muttered curse, he withdrew the toy and tossed it aside. Then he pulled out the cushion and flipped her onto her back.
She automatically opened her legs and bent her knees, displaying her sex for him. Her ass still burned from the dildo and the spanking. If she hoped to escape this without serious damage, she needed to cooperate. “Matthias insisted the stipulation is a security matter.” His image flashed through her memory. Before the lift door had slid closed, warmth had erupted in his gaze. Not the impersonal heat of lust but compassion. It had been ages since anyone looked at her that way. “He won’t reveal the details of the project until I agree to the stipulations.” Akim stroked her inner thighs, his gaze focused on her pussy. She concentrated on her explanation, tuning out Akim’s unwanted touch. “If I return tomorrow, we’ll execute the contract and he’ll detail what the project entails, but I won’t be allowed out until the testing is complete.”
“Impossible.” He crawled off the bed, and Bryce exhaled a long, low sigh. “I can’t be without you for three months. I wouldn’t survive.”
The finality in his voice sent chills down her spine. He’d promised to remove the thrall collar once she delivered the Toymaker to him. Akim had just confirmed her suspicion. He had no intention of setting her free.
“What did you think of him?”
Akim’s voice was hushed with awe. “Was he as stunning as his inventions?” He stood beside the bed, staring down at her naked body.
She didn’t understand his obsession with the Toymaker, but concubines weren’t allowed to question their Masters. His rage appeared to have subsided for the moment, so she answered honestly. “I was rather disappointed to begin with, but the longer I spent in his presence, the more intriguing he became.”
A visiting dignitary had presented Akim with a pleasure ’bot four months before. One side of the device perfectly replicated the female body while the other sported an incredibly lifelike cock. Akim had been fascinated by the ’bot. He spent several days exploring every feature, experimenting with each function. He found out who made the ’bot and ordered several other designs.
None of it made sense to Bryce. To her knowledge, Akim was incapable of functioning even with the most sophisticated pleasure ’bot. She was one of the few who knew of his disorder, and it would mean her death if anyone found out.
“What is the extent of his security?” He paced beside the bed, all but ignoring her now. “If I allow you to return, how difficult will it be to bring him to me?”
Was he actually considering sending her back to the Dark Star? Once she was inside, she’d be beyond his control. She swallowed, and the thrall collar reminded her that his control extended beyond the ship.
“I… Getting in is much more complicated than getting out.” She wasn’t sure that was true, but Akim didn’t need to know. Her first priority was getting rid of the thrall collar. Until it was off, nothing else mattered. “If I had a weapon and a drug that would make him docile, I could lead him out to the employees’ shuttle lot and walk him right onto the ship.”
“Ninety days is out of the question.”
“I wouldn’t need nearly that long.” She reined in her excitement, not wanting to appear too eager. “In a week or so I could acclimate myself with the layout and plan an escape route.”
He nodded. His gaze speculative.
