“Would there be anything else, Sire?”
“No, I think he’s got enough for now.”
“Have a good day, Sire.” She left them again, and Daniel put the sweats into the bag along with the new shirt.
“Do you have an account here, Master?”
“No, why?”
“You…I didn’t see you pay.”
“We don’t have money the way human’s do. My payment is my job. And we don’t hoard what we don’t need so there’s enough for everybody. Each House runs on its own. The lords and ladies are the only ones who trade valuables. Like gold, silver, precious stones, stuff like that. Turn in here.”
Daniel stopped to look at where they were. Time to give the kid a tour of the grocery store and Seldon had a plan for something to make with him for dinner. He grabbed a basket and trailed Daniel into the chilly place.
Chapter Fourteen
The cleaning lady had arrived and was going about her business when Daniel and Seldon returned to the apartment. This was the first time Daniel had noticed a human with clothes on, and a human not absolutely beautiful or highly attractive. This human was older, too. Looked like his grandmother. He guessed he got his answer about what the Cubi did with the humans when the pretty wore off as Seldon called it.
“Teach Daniel the ropes and help him wash the new clothes,” Seldon said.
The woman glanced at Daniel. “Yes, Sire.”
“I’ll be in my office down the hall. If you need something, holler, okay?”
“Yes, Master.”
Seldon collected his computer before going to his office. Daniel followed the woman to the bedroom where he shifted out of the confining leather pants, thinking they weren’t the right clothes for learning to clean a house. He put on the pair of Seldon’s he had worn earlier. He then stripped Seldon’s bed and brought the dirty bedding to the washroom, adamant about being able to do this on his own now. He even remembered how to program the dryer.
“You should probably wait with the sheets and wash your clothes instead,” the woman said, pointing to the washer. “The machine is big enough for two days worth of bedding.”
“Okay. How do you…sort clothes?”
The woman did not look cooperative as she pulled out the clothes and showed him the wash label on the back of a shirt. She explained them and that he had to turn the clothes inside out to preserve color and print. Daniel brought the clean, dry bedding back to the bedroom and put it on before turning down the bed. He then fished his own cover and pillow out from the cage and made his bed. He felt proud when he looked at the neatness. It was actually very satisfying, and he hoped Seldon thought he’d done a good job, too. The fact that he had just felt a need to please the big man registered and Daniel wasn’t exactly happy about the discovery.
“How long have you belonged to him?” the woman asked, closing the closet doors to hide the cage.
“A few days. Three or four. I don’t really remember.”
The woman snorted while wiping the lamp screen and bedside table. “Some of these bastards are unnecessarily cruel and vile. The rest are just assholes.”
Daniel thought about the blue-eye Elias that Alex had looked so miserable about going to. Caledon and Maldon were kind. He had to admit Seldon had been nice that day. He had listened that morning in the kitchen and even though they obviously didn’t agree on some things, the old Incubus had at least contemplated Daniel’s stance. This change made Daniel wonder whether his animosity and fear came from the fact that Seldon was the one who owned him. The one with the right to hit him as he saw fit during training. Yeah, Seldon had smacked him plenty the first couple of days but this morning he had listened.
And the night before, Daniel had found some sense of place in this new life as he had enjoyed them watching him. It still made him blush to think he could even do that. This place was so fucked up and had messed with his ideas of personal limits to a point where he didn’t know where he stood. But he also didn’t mind. The look in the three Incubi’s eyes when they had watched him had caused such a powerful orgasm, and he had found some sense of power in a situation he had thought completely out of his control.
It wasn’t. Now he just had to figure out the boundaries and learn when he overstepped. He really hoped Seldon would revise his methods and at least try the explaining things instead of punishing him.
The cruelty he had witnessed his second day was not the same. That breeder had hit Seldon with a chair. The thought that he was now finding ways to justify that the guy had been punished made him question his own sanity and stance on the subject. He might find it fair that the breeder was punished—he’d want someone punished for hitting him with a chair, too—but having all his fingernails removed? Did he really find that fair?
“How many has he passed you around to so far?”
The woman’s question dragged Daniel out of his thoughts.
“None. I’ve only met a few, actually,” Daniel said, looking around the bedroom to see whether there was something he could do.
“That’ll change, trust me. He’s the most sadistic trainer there is, I’ve heard. He’s probably just trying to make you trust him so he can play around with your head.”
Not what Daniel needed to hear. He definitely didn’t need that sort of poison in his mind when he was finally beginning to believe that Seldon wasn’t as cruel and sadistic as the first days had indicated. Not when he was finally beginning to find hope that the man would change his methods of training him. He didn’t like the woman—she was so negative.
He went into the bathroom to escape her and looked around for cleaning supplies to try his hands at cleaning that room. Next to the sink he noticed that on every shelf there was a box with a name on it. Eight boxes in all and one had the name Alex on it. He peeked inside, finding a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and a few other hygiene products. The same with one of the others. Daniel’s toothbrush was in a glass next to Seldon’s, but he figured these boxes were his regular breeder’s stuff.
The woman came into the bathroom and handed him a spray bottle and a rag. “You can clean the mirror and vanity.”
“Okay.” Daniel removed his and Seldon’s things before spraying the content of the bottle around on the mirror and surfaces.
“I know someone from Labor who has cleaned the cells Seldon trains breeders in, and I’m telling you, the one you’ve landed with is a real—”
“Please, stop talking,” Daniel insisted, turning to face her. She stopped cleaning the toilet and sent him a tired look. “I don’t want to hear this. I’m scared enough as it is, and I don’t want to listen to you badmouth my master.” Did he just phrase it like that? Did he just defend Seldon? The woman shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Good boy,” Daniel heard Seldon’s deep voice rumble, and he spun to look at him, but he wasn’t there. Was he hearing things? He looked at the woman, but she looked equally shocked. Daniel dropped the bottle and rag, and ran into the bedroom, but Seldon wasn’t there, either, so he ran for the hallway, yelling, “Master?”
A few seconds went by, and Seldon appeared in the door to his office at the end of the hallway. He came toward Daniel.
“What’s up?” He had a smug grin on his face.
“I…might need a cat scan.” Daniel finally murmured and looked down the hall to the bedroom where the woman stood.
“Okay. Why?”
“I could swear you just spoke to me in the bathroom,” Daniel whispered, thinking he had to sound insane saying that.
“Ah. Well…don’t tell the bitch that, and if she keeps talking trash, let me know, and I’ll find someone else to teach you.”
“How…?” Daniel’s palms began to sweat. How did Seldon know if he hadn’t been in the bathroom? He already said he couldn’t read minds. Did the office have two doors, one of which led to the bathroom? Or a ventilation?
“Daniel. Incubi and Succubi can stalk humans undetected. It’s how we survived before these social structures. When we
had to hunt for food even after our eyes became freaky.”
“So you were there?”
“Yes. I was so proud of your comment that I blew my cover. Hadn’t planned on saying that out loud or mentioning anything about it before she left. You already know I train the troublesome ones, but don’t believe everything she says. She’s bitter. Many become bitter when moved to labor. They don’t like losing everything that made them valuable. Youth and beauty.”
“How do you dare leave her alone?”
“Because she knows what’ll happen if she puts a foot out of line.” Seldon got that scary expression, and Daniel decided he didn’t need to hear the rest.
“Okay. I’ll…go clean the mirror.”
Seldon smiled. “Okay, boy.”
Daniel returned to the bathroom feeling oddly at ease yet upset about knowing Seldon could stalk him undetected. The woman had already finished his task and was wiping down the faucets.
“Did you go rat on me?”
“No.”
“Think you’re safe? Think you’re a big shot here?”
“I’m a slave, why would I?” Why would she turn all this on Daniel just because she had a problem with Seldon? “Could we not do this?”
She closed in on him, pointing a finger at his face, her eyes thin slits oozing pure hatred. “Don’t you think for one second—”
“Enough!” Seldon stepped forward next to them, and his silhouette shimmered a few seconds before evaporating, leaving him physically there. Daniel jumped back, hitting the wall to the shower. Seldon grabbed the woman by the hair and hauled her screaming through the house. Daniel clutched at his chest where his heart threatened to break his sternum from the inside. Seldon could become invisible?
He heard something break and ran for the den, but Seldon was at the end of the hallway by the front door, standing over the woman curled up on the floor. It was a frame on the wall that had fallen, and without thinking, Daniel stepped into the hallway to pick it up. A jolt and then a searing pain shot through his neck, and he screamed, falling backward into the den.
Oh, hell, Seldon really wasn’t kidding when he said his collar was electric.
“For fuck’s sake,” Seldon groused and stomped Daniel’s way. “Stay there.”
Daniel didn’t know whether it was him he talked to, so he froze, breathing through the pain in his neck. A headache began at the base of his skull.
Seldon knelt next to him. “Did you learn?”
“Yes, I’m sorry, Master.”
“Okay. Stay here.” Seldon returned to the woman and picked her up by the hair, taking her to his office. Daniel stayed put, wondering what he was going to do to her. He then stopped himself. He wasn’t going to let his thoughts take him there. The sounds didn’t let him, though, as slaps and cries could be heard through the door and the deep angry rumble of Seldon’s voice.
The doorbell rang, and Seldon came out to open the front door. A green-eyed Incubus stood out there with a tired expression. Seldon had him follow into the office. Moments later, the green-eye steered the woman out by the arm, and Seldon closed the door behind them.
“We’ll be getting a new cleaning lady,” Seldon announced as he walked to Daniel. “One I hope will treat you better.”
“Me?” Daniel croaked.
“Yes, you. How can you learn if all you get is this kind of shit?” Seldon held out his hand to help Daniel up. “How’s your neck?”
“Sore, Master, and I’m getting a headache.”
Seldon chuckled. “Told you it would make a lasting impression.”
“Yes, Master.”
Seldon growled and turned toward the kitchen. “Come on.” Daniel followed him, and Seldon found a painkiller and a glass of water. “Drink this. I have another half an hour of paperwork. If your discomfort is gone before then, sweep the halls, but not that one.” Seldon pointed toward the one that had just electrocuted Daniel. “The living room and kitchen, too. We can vegetate with coffee and some TV after that if you want.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Why did you go into the hall?”
“The frame fell.” He felt ridiculous for saying it, but he felt dizzy and wasn’t able to think things through right now.
Seldon stepped closer to put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey.”
Daniel looked up.
“She’s still got all her nails.”
Daniel nodded and looked into his glass. His neck muscles felt stiff, and the throb at the base of his skull intensified.
“Come on.” Seldon guided Daniel to the sofa and motioned for him to sit. “Relax a bit. You’ll see. It’ll go away, soon.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good boy.” Seldon left him alone. Daniel leaned back and closed his eyes, hoping the painkiller would work before the headache had a chance to grow further.
* * * *
Seldon returned to his office, picking up the frame on his way. The glass had broken so he brought it to the office. It was a family photo taken outside the compound on a camping trip six years ago. Good thing Daniel hadn’t seen it or he would have recognized Rosadin. Seldon still wondered what his reaction would be, but the boy had to learn at some point and get used to her presence in the apartment.
Turning his attention to the last stock registers and training reports, he left the future predicament alone. Another needed his attention because he’d have to take on a few of the slaves himself since the novice trainers had problems with them. Having snooped around to see how Daniel did had brought the unpleasant realization that the woman, who had cleaned for him the past eight months, still hadn’t learned her place. One thing was her trying to steal from him, another was her attempt to sabotage things. She’d been thoroughly reprimanded for that, which was a few weeks after she had started here.
But the way she spoke to Daniel had to be stopped. The boy was frightened enough as it was, which was why he had brought her to the office. Did Daniel really just step into the hallway for the frame or to try to stop him from hitting a woman? He doubted it was the latter as Daniel was too afraid of him, still. And with the zap he had just experienced he had probably told the truth.
About half an hour later, Seldon had finished and ordered in a breeder. He left the office to find Daniel asleep on the couch. He looked at the time and decided it was time for the kid to get some food, too, but before the boy woke Seldon swept the floor of the hallway to remove the glass from the broken picture.
“Daniel?” Seldon gently roused the boy. Daniel opened his eyes and focused on Seldon before jumping upright. “How’s your head?”
“Better, Master.”
Master. I never thought I’d actually tire of hearing that word.
“Let’s find you some food then. You’re bound to be hungry about now.”
“Yeah, Master, I am.”
“And I’m going to cook with you. Teach you some basic skills in a kitchen.”
“You don’t have to, I can do it,” Daniel said.
Seldon glanced at him on their way to the kitchen. “You asked me to explain things to you, right? Therefore, I absolutely need to teach you how to cook by cooking with you. I’m actually half decent in a kitchen.”
“Do you like cooking?”
“Yeah. Find it relaxing, but I haven’t done it in a long time because…well, no one to cook for except when my kids come by.”
“Do they do that often?”
“I see them about once a month. My daughter comes by when she’s back from the human world.” Seldon found what he needed from the fridge and stacked it in Daniel’s arms. “First up. We wash our hands. With soap.” Daniel snorted, making Seldon smile. “You get to chop these, and I’ll find the other things.”
“Yes, Master. Is there a recipe?”
“No, this one is an empty the fridge kind of impromptu recipe.”
They worked in silence for a while, and Seldon watched as Daniel chopped both onions and bell peppers. He didn’t want to correct him today—just w
anted to observe how he did with the different tasks. But he obviously hadn’t done this a lot.
“Can I ask something? About the doses?”
“Sure. What about them?”
“How does it work, exactly?”
“The dose causes lust to rise in a human, or dosed Cubus, but because it’s a hormone production we induce in them, the human can’t slake the lust without us. It’s not getting off that slakes your lust, but us sucking the lust or rather the hormone out of you. The lust is what feeds us. Biologically it’s hormones and hormones to counter.”
“But why was the first breeder so angry afterward? He certainly sounded like he enjoyed you.”
Seldon chuckled, liking that the boy talked again. “You can’t figure that one out, huh? You told me that you’re straight. How would you feel, coming to after a dose, knowing full well you eagerly offered up your ass when your society has belittled and berated homosexual behavior for millennia? Would you love the fact that you had just begged for a juicy cock to fill you up?”
“Guess not,” Daniel muttered and poured the chopped peppers into a bowl.
“The only thing keeping him from enjoying his time here is his mind telling him it’s wrong even if his body has wanted it. That’s the point of the O.D. disciplining. He’ll know something way worse than rolling with it. And it works on ninety-nine percent.”
“Jeff…he said he had an adjustment period. A month, and that he needed to have an O.D. too to make him fall in line.”
“Yeah, about seventy-five percent of the ones classified to feed the opposite sex of their own attraction needs it.”
“But he’s a top. Why would he need it?”
Seldon snorted. “Let me guess. You imagine it to be more degrading to be fucked than fucking someone?”
Daniel looked confused before nodding. Seldon put the pan on the stove and turned it on, adding oil.
“Once a top is dosed they lose all ability to keep their dick to themselves. In other words, they feel all power is taken away from them just like the ones pointing their ass in the air to get it filled by whatever dick is in the vicinity. They lose control, and that’s the degrading part, afterward. But that isn’t the root of the problem. Your society is. The bottom, even within the gay community, is sometimes shamed for taking it. It stems from a society still looking down on women who are kinda made by nature to only be able to bottom. Power bottom, sure, but bottom nonetheless. This subconscious and utterly ridiculous idea of a woman being less than a man is then transferred to gay bottom men or have you never heard the so, who’s the man and who’s the woman question to a gay couple?”
Untouchable Beauty Page 16
