“It was necessary,” he responded shortly.
“So, now what?” she asked. “I don’t suppose there is any cotton to pick. Do I scrub floors, wash dishes, pick up your dirty socks? What are my duties?”
He stared at her in stunned amazement and started to laugh. She scowled at him and he was too amused to correct her. Controlling his laughter, he bent down and whispered in her ear. She shivered as his breath skated across her skin.
“Your ‘duties’ do not include manual labor, my pet. In fact, you have only two duties—to obey me and to please me.”
He heard her breath catch and her voice was shaky as she responded. “Please you, how?”
“However I choose.” He kept the threat muted but still obvious enough that her eyes were wide when he lifted his head. Defiance started to creep back into them almost immediately so he decided to illustrate his point. “And now it would please me for you to remove that towel.”
“No!” She shook her head frantically and her hands clutched the edge of the towel.
“I have already seen you naked,” he pointed out.
“It’s not the same,” she said, and shook her head again. He almost smiled because she was quite correct but that was not the point. It was time for her to learn to obey his commands.
“If you do not obey me, you will be punished. Is that what you want?”
“How would you punish me?” she asked, and her voice trembled.
His voice went cold. “It would not be pleasant. Do you really want me to demonstrate?”
Definite fear in her face now and a glimmering of tears in those big blue eyes. A spike of arousal shot through his body but he waited patiently while she considered her choices. Her trembling hand finally loosened on the towel. He had her trapped too tightly for her to do more than pull the top loose and part the cloth, but it was enough to reveal the plump swell of her breasts, the rosy peaks tightening beneath his gaze.
“And when you please me, you will be rewarded,” he whispered, and rolled one taut nipple between his finger and thumb, tightening his grip until her breath caught and her eyes went heavy. Her delectable scent increased with her arousal and he was tempted to take the lesson further. Unfortunately, he had work to do. The discipline that ruled his existence couldn’t be set aside even for such a delightful distraction.
He drew back and she opened her eyes and looked at him. A small pink tongue flicked out and licked her plump lower lip nervously and he succumbed to temptation. He dropped his mouth over hers, intending only a quick touch, but she responded immediately, her mouth opening beneath his. The fiery sweetness of the eldflaur only added to her unique taste. She was delicious and his kiss hardened, his tongue diving deeper into her mouth to explore every crevice. As the kiss intensified, she arched beneath him, the hard points of her breasts rubbing against his bare chest, and moaned into his mouth.
His shaft stiffened painfully against the leather of his pants. He knew she could feel it pressing against her thigh because she writhed toward him, trying to get closer. Even through the leather, the feel of her soft curves was incredibly pleasurable but he wanted—no, he needed—more. He slid his hand into the half-open towel, running his fingers down the soft skin of her side to curve around her hip and haul her closer. She gasped as he ground his aching erection into her swollen cleft, but she didn’t resist. His blood surged hot and heavy in his veins; he was consumed with the need to claim her.
Claim her? The unwelcome thought brought a measure of sanity and made him pull back. Her eyes, still heavy with passion, opened as he retreated and her mouth was red and swollen. His cock throbbed again at the sight, but this time he ignored it. Swinging her legs to the side of the lounge, he brought them both to standing, and then wrapped her towel firmly back into place.
“You may wear this for now. There are clothes waiting in your room.”
Her big blue eyes were still dazed, although he wasn’t sure if it was from the flare of passion between them or the abrupt ending. She swayed a little and his hand tightened on her arm, fighting the urge to drag her back down and finish what he had started. Her intoxicating fragrance, deepened by her arousal, and the soft skin beneath his fingers tugged at his self-control.
“My room? I thought…” She gestured a little vaguely around his bedroom. His groin tightened again as the image of her waiting in his bed for him flashed through his mind. He felt an unexpected desire to have her remain; however, it was time to establish discipline—for her and for him—and his pleasure slaves had their own apartments. They only came to him at his request. She needed to learn her place.
“I have work to do. You will be housed with the others.” He kept his voice deliberately cold.
“Others?” Her face paled and she slipped from his hand. “Is that why the other woman was here earlier? They take turns?”
He fought back another surge of guilt. “Of course. I am a demanding master and I do not burden my slaves unnecessarily.” He chose not to mention that he was also easily bored and had always preferred a variety of bed partners.
She was backing away. “Oh, hell no. It’s bad enough that you are making me into a slave. I’m not about to become part of a rotating line-up of women. If that’s what you have in mind, I would prefer to take my chances out there.”
Anger rushed through him and his voice turned deadly. “You would rather take the chance of being raped and tortured? Or sold into a brothel where you would service one man after another?”
Her chin lifted and she stared at him defiantly for a long minute. Would she really be foolish enough to try and leave? Not that he had any intention of actually letting her go, but he wanted her to realize exactly how limited her options were. He watched her face as his words finally penetrated and her gaze fell. “Fine,” she bit out. “At least that means I won’t have to see you too often.”
His vision paled to white and he snatched her against his body hard enough that she expelled a soft breath. “You will see me as often as I wish it, my pet. And since I am taking you on as a special…project, that will be frequently. Until you are trained, you will meet all of my demands.”
He curved one hand around her neck, the other around her hips, and hauled her up his body so he could take her lips in a hard, punishing kiss. Despite the anger he could still feel tightening her frame, as soon as he forced his tongue into her mouth, she softened. He plunged harder, deeper, and she opened to him, sucking his tongue further into her mouth and melting against him. By the time he lifted his head, she was trembling again.
He fought down his own reaction and kept his voice hard. “We will continue the lesson tonight.”
Pausing only to don his knives, he left the room without a backward glance.
Chapter Four
Cam stared after Kievan’s departing figure as the door closed behind him. Her legs suddenly gave out and she collapsed down on the lounge chair. From one nightmare straight into another. Admittedly the surroundings and the food were significantly better here than on the ship, but at least on the ship she knew what her position was. Here her chains were not visible but they were just as strong. Even worse, her body responded to Kievan with an intensity she had never felt before, betraying her every attempt to remain angry or even aloof. And he had seemed to respond just as strongly.
Despite the circumstances, she had almost believed that there might be a connection between them. When his eyes warmed, when he teased instead of mocked, when he kissed her with such passionate intensity, she thought he was responding to her as a unique individual. Instead, she was just one of a string of women, a string of slaves. Slow tears trickled down her face and she buried her head in her hands and gave way to sorrow.
The sound of a door opening eventually penetrated and she raised her head to see a small alien in a hooded cloak standing patiently in front of her. His skin was green and scaled, and his features were reptilian but not unpleasant. When she looked up, he bowed his head respectfully.
“I am
J’Ssett. Lord Kievan has requested that I sshow you to your room while he is working.” Even with the slight hiss in his speech, she had no difficulty understanding him.
“Very well,” she agreed listlessly, but made no effort to rise. She wondered exactly what type of work Kievan was doing. Based on the luxurious surroundings, it obviously paid well. “Where does he work?”
J’Ssett tilted his head. “Here on the sstation of course. Because it belongs to him, there are many demands on his time.”
“Really?” She vaguely remembered him saying that he owned Sigrast but she couldn’t imagine that a space station required that much effort to run although it was obviously a reasonable size. “Who makes all those demands?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Merchants, obviously—they are constantly applying for permits or arguing about how much they owe—but he also deals with ssuppliers, monitors visitors, and handles perssonnel issues. He has a competent staff but he oversees everything perssonally.”
“There are that many people here?” She stared at him in surprise.
Without responding, J’Ssett moved to the wall panel Kievan had used earlier to order breakfast. He pressed a button and the long sweep of white curtains parted to reveal a wall of glass. She cast a curious glance toward the glass and then clutched the back of the chaise in shock. Beyond the curved window was an enormous open space, ringed with similar windows. Unable to resist, she stood up and moved to the windows. Her stomach dropped as she looked down—way down—into the vast atrium. The space must have been twenty stories high and at each level, windows and glass-fronted balconies circled the central space. A curved glass dome arced across the entire bottom. If she tilted her head back, she could see a glass roof and beyond that, an infinity of stars. Her conception of a space station needed some serious adjusting.
“It’s so big,” she whispered. “And this all belongs to him?”
“Yess. Through sstrength and cunning, he has conquered it all.” J’Ssett returned to her side, gazing silently out into the space. As they watched, the stars beyond the glass roof began to fade from view as lights in the roof came on. Gradually the atrium filled with light until she could almost believe that a sun shone down into the huge space. There was something magical and curiously comforting about the light and she felt herself relax a fraction.
“Why do people come here?” The idea that such a huge operation was just floating around in space stunned her.
He shrugged again. “Variouss reasons. The repair shops and refueling sstations drive a certain amount of traffic. And, of course, the fight pit, the brothels, and the gambling dens draw others. Then there are the merchants, the restaurants, the lodgings. At any given time, there are thousands of people here—ssome permanent, ssome transient—but all expecting a certain amount of…order. Order that Lord Kievan Rus provides.” A small smile curved his mouth and it was unexpectedly appealing. “Of coursse, order is relative.”
Cam stared out into the atrium, still trying to process the immense space as his words registered. “What do you mean fight pit? Brothels? Gambling dens?”
J’Ssett looked at her a little uneasily. “They are ssome of our most profitable businesses.” He hesitated. “If you have any additional questions, you should ask our master.”
“Our master?” He was already turning away but he stopped at her words. “Are you a slave, also?”
“Not exactly. But I am bound to his house and I am his to command.”
That sounded like slavery to Cam but he obviously did not want to discuss it further. Accepting his reticence, she followed him meekly to the door.
The small alien led the way silently along an open corridor flanked with a number of rooms. Given the size of the station, she was not surprised at the size of the rooms. As with the bedroom, white was the predominant color, frequently accented with gold, and the same sense of beautiful, impersonal luxury filled the space.
Stopping in front of two elaborately carved double doors, J’Ssett opened them to reveal a large room with another curved window wall. Predictably, the space was mainly white but a large pool occupied the center of the room and the rest was filled with low divans and floor cushions. Several flowering plants in decorative urns broke up the expanse of white and filled with the air with a soft perfume. A number of closed doors led off each side of the room.
“This is beautiful,” she exclaimed, and J’Ssett nodded approvingly.
“Lord Kievan spares no expense for his…favorites.”
Well, she supposed that was one way of putting it. “How many ‘favorites’ does he have?”
“Five before you arrived.”
“Great. One for every night of the week,” she muttered.
“Actually, he tends to prefer a female in the morning.”
Apparently oblivious to her outraged gasp, he led the way through the room. Cam clenched her fists and followed him. He opened the last door closest to the window and gestured her inside. “This is your room.”
The bedroom was nowhere near as huge as Kievan’s but it was still big, with enough space for a large bed and a comfortable seating area by a window which looked out into the central atrium. Open doors on the far wall led into a bathroom and a walk-in closet filled with clothes.
“Does this room belong to someone else?”
“No.” J’Ssett looked puzzled.
“But the clothes…”
His brow cleared. “Those are for you. You may order others if you wish.”
Cam shook her head, reeling from the concept that a complete wardrobe had been provided for her in less than a day.
J’Ssett showed her the panel that controlled the lights, curtains, temperature, and an intercom type function where she could request food or other services. He instructed her on the use of the entertainment unit and then turned to leave.
“Wait,” she called a little desperately. “What do I do now?”
“Whatever you want.” He was looking puzzled again. “You can ssummon technicians for your hair or your body, if you wish. You can meet with the clothier and order clothes. The entertainment unit is well ssupplied with vids, although the cultural references may be obscure.”
“That’s it? Watch television or pamper myself?”
“Of course. I told you that Lord Kievan was very generous,” he said proudly.
Cam stared at him, trying to figure out how to explain to the small man that his suggestions horrified her rather than pleased her. There had never been a time in her life when she wasn’t constantly busy. She was the only child of a single mother who hadn’t managed to graduate from high school before Cam was born. Her mother had had a series of low-paying jobs and Cam had started helping out at home when she was a child. As soon as she reached her teens she got a part-time job. She had worked her way through college. After she graduated, she split her time between her job, caring for her mother, and working on the tiny house they had finally been able to afford.
Perhaps she should have been relieved that she didn’t have to work, but the last thing she wanted to do now was to spend the day with nothing to occupy her or take her mind off her situation. She tried desperately to think of alternatives.
“What about books? Reading material?”
“There is a reader,” he agreed. “However, the translator bug doesn’t cover written language.”
“Is there a learning program? Some way to teach myself?”
“You wish to spend your time sstudying?” J’Ssett looked surprised but approving.
Cam nodded eagerly. If she had access to books, maybe she could also find out more about this society—and possibly even a way to escape that didn’t involve being thrown out naked and defenseless.
“Very well.” He removed a tablet sized screen from the entertainment unit and showed her how to access the menu and start the lessons. In addition to the screen, a device fastened around her forehead and curved into one ear. Before he handed the screen to her, he paused and added an additional choice.
“The red menu is for the language used by the Imperial House—it is probably the most universal.” He gazed at her thoughtfully for a moment. “The blue menu is for Sardoran. Sardoran is Lord Kievan’s native language. It might be helpful.”
Helpful? The expression Know your enemy popped into Cam’s mind but given his loyalty to Kievan, it seemed unlikely that that was what he meant. Before she could ask for clarification, he bowed politely and left the room.
Once he left, Cam explored the room. She was delighted to find a small bathing pool of her own in the bathroom. The closet was filled with beautiful clothes. Unfortunately, most of them were too short, too sheer, or too ornate. They were an unpleasant reminder of what she had become. Since underwear wasn’t among the offerings, she finally settled on a green silk halter and a matching sarong that reached the floor—although it had a tendency to fall open along one leg. At least she was basically covered.
Moving back into the bedroom, she curled up in the chair closest to the window and started the language program. The head device facilitated the lessons in some fashion and she spent several hours making rapid process before her brain started to shut down. Still tired from her experiences, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The faint sound of splashing eventually disturbed her slumber and she awoke to the realization that the sounds were coming from the large central room. By the stiffness in her limbs, she had slept for several hours. Her stomach growled and she realized that she was hungry. She might as well meet her fellow slaves and see if there was any food available.
Somewhat cautiously, she opened her door and paused in the doorway. There were three women in the room. The purple female she had seen earlier was in the pool with another purple female leaning against the edge next to her. Their exquisite features were very similar and Cam wondered if they were related. Reclining on a chaise next to the window was a third female. Even lying down she was obviously tall, and even more obviously beautiful. Her skin was a true white, gleaming like the marble walls, and instead of hair, she had a crest of golden feathers that flowed over her scalp and trailed down her back. Her body was slim and perfectly shaped—which was very apparent since she was also perfectly naked. As Cam moved further into the room, the woman curled her lip disdainfully, rose with remarkable grace, and disappeared through one of the side doors.
Cam and the Conqueror: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 3) Page 3
