“Don’t mind her,” said a soft voice from the pool. The woman sitting on the side of the pool smiled shyly. At least she was wearing a short gown, even if it was basically transparent. “She’s annoyed because she was scheduled for tonight and our master sent word that you were to entertain him instead.”
“It’s fine with me if she takes my place,” Cam muttered.
Both of the other women’s mouths dropped open before the same woman replied. “We must all accommodate the master’s wishes.”
Despite the temptation to debate that fact, Cam let it drop. “I’m Cam.”
“I’m Sonda. And this is my cousin Leeda.”
The woman in the pool smiled shyly and dropped her head. Cam hesitated, then said, “I’m sorry about this morning.”
Leeda’s eyes flew to hers before she smiled again. “The master makes the decisions.” She hesitated. “Did he keep you all night?”
Cam shrugged. “I suppose so. I woke up there this morning.”
Leeda looked at her cousin but didn’t ask any additional questions.
Joining Sonda on the pool edge, Cam trailed her hand through the warm water and decided to ignore the fact that Leeda was naked. Apparently nudity wasn’t much of a taboo, or at least not among the women. She wasn’t sure if she should pursue the subject, but she was genuinely curious. “Did you, uhh, want to be there?”
“I was scheduled to be there,” Leeda responded.
“I know you said that. I meant do you...enjoy being with him?”
Leeda lowered her head and her cheeks flushed a deeper lavender. “He is a very skillful lover.”
Sonda giggled and nodded in agreement.
A completely unexpected pang of jealousy shot through Cam. What was that about? Sure, he was tall, sexy, and kissed her so hard her bones melted. He was also arrogant, demanding, unfeeling, and he had her kidnapped as a slave. If she didn’t want to have sex with him—although she wasn’t as convinced of that as she would have liked—why did it matter who else he was having sex with? Pushing the thought aside, she probed further.
“But do you want to be slaves?”
An identical expression of sorrow crossed each woman’s delicate face, their hair drooping in unison, and Cam felt like she had kicked a pair of puppies.
Sonda sighed. “Of course not. We were traveling with a relative. He sold us to pay off his gambling debts.”
“He could do that?” Cam was shocked and horrified.
The cousins exchanged a look before Sonda continued. “It’s against Imperial law but we are not a powerful House. The holder of the debt was satisfied and our relative left Sigrast.”
Cam couldn’t let it drop. “And Kievan accepted you as payment for the debt?”
“No. He purchased us from the gambling house.” Leeda shuddered and her hair swirled around her face. “We were about to be sold to a brothel. This is a much better alternative.”
Cam sighed. It looked like Kievan hadn’t been exaggerating about the potential dangers of the station.
“He could have set you free,” she couldn’t help pointing out.
Another look was exchanged. “But we owe him. We must pay our debt.”
“And how long will that take?”
“It is for him to decide,” Sonda returned softly. She shrugged. “There are worse ways to spend our time. As Leeda said, he is a skillful lover. And we are well-treated and well-fed.”
Cam’s stomach immediately rumbled at the reminder of food. Both women giggled and Sonda pulled over a small table topped with a tray of fruit and small cubes. Delighted to discover that the cubes tasted like a kind of salty cheese, Cam nibbled thoughtfully as she considered the situation. Both women seemed to have adapted to their enslavement with a fair amount of grace—a grace she was pretty sure she did not have. She wanted to continue the conversation but she didn’t want to disturb them again. Instead she sighed and changed the subject. “Where are you from?”
“We’re from the Gliese system but we have spent much of our time traveling on trading missions. What about you?”
“I’m from a planet called Earth. I don’t suppose you’ve heard of it?”
They shook their heads in an eerily identical movement and she sighed.
“Perhaps you only trade with your local systems?” Sonda suggested.
“Trade? You mean with other worlds?” She frowned at them. “Oh, we don’t trade at all. We’ve only made it as far as our moon. I always thought that aliens were a myth.”
Now they both looked shocked.
“You’re from a pre-spaceflight world?” Leeda asked. “Those are off limits by Imperial edict.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s forbidden to travel to them.”
Her stomach dropped as the words penetrated. “Does that mean I can’t get home?”
“No reputable pilot would take you there. And a disreputable one…” Sonda shuddered. “You would not be likely to actually end up there.”
Cam closed her eyes in silent despair, but felt more sorrow than surprise. Since the moment she had woken up on the spaceship, part of her had known she was never going home again. Even if by some miracle she could escape, the thought of ending up with someone like her original captors made her understand why the other two women didn’t seem as unhappy as she would have expected about their fate. With a sigh, she changed the subject again. “Who else lives here?”
“The one who just left is Xanthe. She thinks she’s better than the rest of us because Kievan takes her with him most frequently when he has events to attend,” Leeda said.
“Probably because she matches his décor,” Cam muttered, and both women giggled again, their hair dancing.
“Then there’s Talasi. She mainly keeps to herself.” Sonda’s face grew troubled. “She likes pain—a lot.”
“Which is good because our master can satisfy those urges with her,” Leeda added.
Cam felt sick. “He likes to inflict pain?”
The women glanced at each other. “He likes to play hard,” Sonda finally responded. “But he’s never hurt us.” Another glance. “That is, not unless he was punishing us.”
“He had to punish you?” Cam couldn’t imagine these two gentle women ever requiring punishment.
“We had to learn his ways. And we learned very quickly.” Leeda actually sounded like she was defending him and Cam stared at her in disbelief. A flush covered the other woman’s cheeks and then her head dropped. “It is not the Gliesh way but some of it was…exciting,” she whispered.
This was definitely too much information. Cam couldn’t fathom pain being in any way exciting and she hastily returned to the original question. “And there is one more woman?”
Sonda popped a berry into her mouth and handed another one to Leeda. “Jalen was here but she left just before you came out of your room.”
“Left? You mean to go to Kievan?” The flare of jealousy returned and Cam pushed it to the back of her mind.
“No.” Sonda reached for another berry. “She was removed.”
“Removed? To go where?” Cam frowned at the two women.
“We don’t know.” Leeda didn’t seem concerned. “She was beautiful but even more spiteful than Xanthe. Perhaps our master was tired of her.”
A chill crept up Cam’s spine. Still coming to terms with the idea of being a slave, she hadn’t even considered the fact that since Kievan had arranged for her to be brought here, he could just as easily arrange for her to be removed. He seemed determined to keep her now, but how long would that last? And when it was over, she already knew that she would not be returning to Earth. Tears started to gather in her eyes but before they could fall, both women reached forward and took a hand.
“Everything will be all right,” Sonda whispered.
Leeda nodded. “It has to be.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well as Cam so Cam nodded and squeezed their hands.
“It will be all right,” she echoed
.
Chapter Five
J’Ssett stared at her and shook his head. “That is not the outfit the master ordered you to wear.”
Cam raised her chin. “That was not an outfit and I am not wearing it.”
The day had passed quietly enough. She had spent more time talking to Sonda and Leeda. Eventually they drifted away and she returned to her room and resumed her reading lessons. Once again, she fell asleep in her chair. After she woke, she took a long soak in the bathing pool. When she emerged from the bathroom, the lights in the atrium had gone out and the great space was dark once more. The so-called outfit had been lying on her bed. Sonda had poked her head in to let her know that she was to get dressed and be ready when J’Ssett returned for her in an hour.
When she picked up the clothing, she discovered that it consisted merely of a series of fine gold chains and some thin wisps of silk. She wasn’t even sure how to put it on and she wasn’t about to try. Instead, she had chosen another halter and sarong, this time in soft gold silk. She chose not to think too much about why she had chosen clothing in what appeared to be Kievan’s favorite color—or why she had taken advantage of the cosmetics in the bathroom to darken her eyelashes and add color to her lips.
J’Ssett appeared on schedule and he was obviously concerned about her failure to obey, but damned if she was going anywhere in gold chains. Surely she could explain that to Kievan; she could appeal to that softer side he occasionally revealed. The small alien read the decision on her face, shook his head again, and headed for the door. The outer lounge was empty and Cam followed quietly in J’Ssett’s tracks, attempting to project a meekness she did not feel. At Kievan’s door, he knocked once, opened the door for her to step inside, and then closed it quietly behind her.
Her heart beating unexpectedly hard in her chest, Cam’s eyes went straight to Kievan. He was seated at the desk, bent over a screen, and he didn’t look up immediately so she was able to study him. Her eyes traveled appreciatively over his handsome alien features and the muscled perfection of his chest visible through the open vest. But she could also see the tension in those broad shoulders and she had a sudden desire to walk up behind him, wrap her arms around him, and nibble kisses into the strong column of his neck. Her nipples tightened at the image. Damn, what was wrong with her?
As though aware of her appraisal, Kievan looked up, a half-smile curving his lips until he took in her appearance. The smile remained but his eyes hardened.
“Take them off.”
Cam stared at him. “What?”
“Take off those clothes.” She hesitated and the smile disappeared. “You have already earned one punishment for disobedience. Do not make me add to it.”
The door was temptingly close and the urge to run was almost irresistible. She still had no idea exactly what he meant by punishment but, especially after her earlier conversation with Sonda and Leeda, she was terrified of the prospect. However, if she believed the rest of the conversation, even if she did manage to escape, her situation would not improve. Biting her lip, she reached behind her neck and unfastened the halter. Trembling fingers untied the sarong. Kievan had returned to his screen but he was obviously aware of her actions because as soon as the silk whispered down her legs, he pointed to the floor at his feet. “Kneel.”
Anger and fear fought for dominance but fear won—barely. She crossed the floor and knelt at his feet, trying to remember the correct posture from the morning. He glanced at her briefly but didn’t make any adjustments to her position before returning to his screen. He then proceeded to ignore her.
Cam tried to be patient, but without the pillow her legs were getting sore and her back was starting to hurt. She tried to move subtly to ease the discomfort but as soon as she did, his hand came down on her shoulder.
“Keep still. Each time you move, I will add a stroke.”
A stroke? Oh god, a stroke of what? Panic momentarily filled her head and it took several deep breaths before she calmed enough to realize that his hand was still on her shoulder. What’s more, it felt good there—warm and comforting. Her body relaxed the tiniest fraction. They remained in that position as he continued to work. After a long, silent interval, his fingers started to stroke her shoulder, before moving up to curve around her neck and then higher to cup her cheek. With a sigh she nuzzled into the warmth of his hand and then froze as she realized that she had moved. She looked up and he was watching her. His eyes were warm again.
“Responding to my touch is never a problem, little flower,” he whispered, and unexpected tears filled her eyes at the warmth in his voice. When he spoke to her like that, he actually seemed to care. “I think that’s enough for now.”
He stood up and pulled her carefully to her feet, holding her steady as the circulation returned to her legs. Unfortunately, as her steadiness increased, so did her embarrassment. She was standing there naked while he was still fully clothed. Her cheeks flamed and she studied the floor.
Kievan grasped her chin and raised her face so that he could see her eyes. “Never be ashamed of your beauty, my pet. It gives me great pleasure to see you—all of you.” He was still using his warm voice and her cheeks flushed for an entirely different reason as his hand dropped and his fingers skated lightly across her erect nipples. Her breath caught and she swayed slightly toward him. He smiled but put his hands on her arms and held her at arm's length. “We’ll get to that. But first, you are still going to be punished.”
“That wasn’t being punished?” She stared at him in shock and his lip twitched but his voice was firm.
“No, that was training you to behave. You are being punished for disobeying my order regarding your clothing.”
“But I couldn’t wear that. It was just chains. Even if I could have figured out how to put it on, it didn’t cover anything,” she protested.
“As opposed to what you’re wearing now?” he asked dryly. She had to admit he had a point, but he continued without requiring her to concede it. “What did I tell you this morning were your duties?”
She really didn’t want to answer that but she forced out the words. “To obey you and to pleasure you.”
“Exactly. I chose that outfit for my pleasure. You chose not to pleasure me by wearing it and you disobeyed me. Therefore, you will be punished.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper. “How?”
Instead of responding, he reached back to the desk and retrieved two gold chain bracelets, each link consisting of a smaller wires forming a small rosette. Once he fastened them around her wrists, the catch disappeared. They were beautiful and she admired the gleam of the gold against her skin. She opened her mouth to thank him but he was already reaching for two more. These matched the first set but were slightly longer and she eyed them with uneasy suspicion as he bent to fasten them around her ankles. Her thoughts flashed back to the metal cuffs the slavers had used, but those heavy metal bands were a far cry from these delicate golden links.
“What are those?” she demanded.
He laughed softly and the low rumble sent a shiver of pleasure up her spine in spite of her trepidation. “Let’s just say that they will help you learn to please me.”
She eyed him warily and he laughed again before leading her over to the golden wall sculpture. Keeping one hand on her wrist, he manipulated another control panel until the wall began to rearrange itself. A broad, padded shelf slid out of one section and two narrower padded shelves followed, one on each side of the wider shelf.
“Oh god. What’s that?” She tried to back away but his grip was too strong.
“It’s called a spanking bench. I can’t say that you’ll enjoy it, but I know I will.”
Once again she tried to back away but he lifted her with humiliating ease and placed her face down on the wide shelf. Two openings in the surface left her breasts exposed. Keeping her in place by the simple expedient of leaning his weight across her back, he pulled her arms down on each side. There was an audible click and her bracelets locke
d in place, keeping her hands extended out and down. Her legs were bent and placed on the narrow shelves, the ankle bracelets also locking into place. Her ass extended over the end of the bench and she flinched in horror as the narrow shelves moved apart until she was spread open before him.
“Very nice.” One large, warm hand stroked her bottom while the other hand reached forward to caress a hardened nipple. A flare of arousal rushed through her so quickly that her head spun. She tried to pull against her bonds but couldn’t move a muscle. To her shame, that only added to the arousal. The hand stroking her bottom dipped lower and her cheeks flamed again as she felt how easily it slipped between her damp folds.
“Hmm, perhaps you will enjoy this after all.” Kievan’s voice was husky. One thick finger circled her suddenly throbbing clit and her hips instinctively tried to arch into his touch. Her inability to move sent another rush of heat between her legs. Kievan leaned over her pinned body as he stroked her and the heat of his large body was both arousing and oddly comforting. His spicy scent surrounded her and filled her senses. He added another finger, pressing against her entrance and awakening all of the nerves in the tight passage but never plunging inside. She started to pant. He kept circling and pressing, teasing her until her body was quivering for release. His other hand continued to work her nipple, rolling it between his fingers and increasing the pressure until it throbbed in time with the ache between her legs.
“Please.” Her voice was so hoarse she could barely recognize it.
Instead of answering her plea, he removed both hands. A sob escaped her lips before she could muffle it.
Cam and the Conqueror: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 3) Page 4
