Enslaved Read online

  Not that she cared for the male form, she told herself. But when he’d come out of the shower and she saw him standing there so tall and massive with the wide planes of his bare chest and broad shoulders beaded with water, her stomach had done a funny little flip. Only because he’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye, she told herself uneasily, remembering it now. With those sculpted abs and his long, muscular legs he’s a damn near perfect specimen. Lady Malroth is certain to be impressed.

  But no matter how much she tried to tell herself she was only admiring him in a purely artistic sense, it couldn’t be denied that her stomach had never done that funny little flip when she saw a naked female. Her lack of reaction to others of her sex had led her to believe that she might be mostly asexual. Indeed, though she enjoyed playing with her clitoral stimulator, she never fantasized about other women or anyone else as she did so. She simply enjoyed the pleasurable sensations of the buzzing little vibrator until she reached a gentle orgasm and drifted off to sleep.

  So why did she feel so strange when she watched Thrace move around in that tiny, thin towel? Trin had no answer. But the memory of his big, muscular body, nearly naked and beaded with water certainly did something for her. Maybe it was because he was so big or so different from her. He was hard where she was soft and his voice was so deep…it was strange but just the thought of him lying there at the foot of her bed was almost enough to warm her up. Almost.

  Trin shivered again.

  “Goddess, I’m so cold. What’s wrong with me?” she muttered, burrowing deeper into the covers.

  “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with you,” a deep, familiar voice murmured from the darkness.

  “What?” Trin sat up, shivering. “Thrace? I thought you were asleep.”

  “Nah. I’m just lying here listening to you thrash around trying to get warm. But you’re never going to manage it.”

  “What? Why not?” Trin demanded. “And how do you know, anyway?”

  “I know because I know about passion berries—they’re native to my home world. You’ve still got some of the residue from that sip of wine you took in your system. The cold you’re feeling is an aftereffect and it’ll probably last for a few hours, if not the rest of the night.”

  “The rest of the night?” Trin felt a surge of despair. She needed to sleep so she could wake up fresh and start preparing for the ordeal ahead of her on Yonnie Six. She had no time for lying in bed sleepless and besides, she felt like a block of ice. The cold wasn’t just uncomfortable—it was downright painful. “What can I do about it?” she demanded, pulling the thermal blanket closer—not that it did any good. “Since you know so much about passion berries.”

  “Nothing,” he said flatly. “There’s nothing you can do.”

  “Well, then what—?”

  “But there’s something you can let me do.”

  “What do you mean?” Trin felt uneasy.

  “You can let me hold you. The passion berry compound demands physical contact to counteract its symptoms. That’s how I was able to warm you up before—by holding you.”

  Trin vaguely remembered waking up and finding herself held in the big Havoc’s lap. He’d put her down pretty quickly, however—before she could start feeling too awkward. But now he was asking to get into bed with her and hold her in his arms. It seemed dangerous somehow, and not just because she was worried about having to use the pain collar to keep him in line.

  He was silent for a long moment as she thought about it. Did she want to do this? Did she dare? Did she dare to let him climb in her bed and press his big, muscular body against hers? His big, muscular, warm body, whispered a practical little voice in her head. That’s the operative word, Trin. It may be awkward but at least it’s warm.

  But what if he tries something? Like the things he was talking about while you had him chained to the cot? a voice in her brain demanded. What are you supposed to do then?

  The thought gave her pause. As intriguing as she was beginning to find Thrace and the male form in general, she still had absolutely no wish to be penetrated by a male. Ever.

  “If you’re worried, I’ll try something, don’t.” His voice was calm and matter-of-fact in the darkness. “I told you I don’t take females against their will and besides, you’ve got the remote.”

  Trin cleared her throat.

  “Of course I’m not worried about that,” she lied. “It’s just…I only have on one of my night dresses—the kind you said bothered you so much. I just thought—”

  “That I wouldn’t be able to control myself if I felt your body pressed to mine with only a thin little scrap of fabric between us?” He gave a rumbling laugh. “Don’t worry, Mistress, I know my place. And we males aren’t nearly as animalistic as you’ve been led to believe. I can reign myself in.”

  “Well…” Trin still hesitated but the cold was spreading and now her teeth were starting to chatter. “A-all r-right,” she said at last. “Come here. But if I ask you to l-leave and go b-back to the floor, I expect instant obedience.”

  “Yes, Mistress,” he murmured. And then he was sliding into bed, under the covers beside her and gathering her into his arms.

  At first Trin stayed curled in a protective ball with the pain collar remote clutched tightly in one hand and held to her chest. It seemed the most prudent thing to do and besides she felt awkward and uncertain, allowing a male into her bed no matter how valid the reason.

  Thrace didn’t seem to care about her awkward pose. He simply gathered her close, wrapping his long arms around her and holding her to his chest. His body heat went to work on her at once and little by little, Trin felt her frozen extremities starting to thaw.

  At last he spoke softly in the darkness.

  “It would be better if you’d relax a little. If you’d come a little closer I could warm you to the core—that’s what you need.”

  Trin did long to feel the delicious heat she felt coursing through her arms and legs warming the rest of her.

  “Well…all right,” she said at last. Slowly and carefully, she allowed her body to unknot.

  “That’s good,” Thrace murmured. “Now, here…” He drew her close to him, her back to his chest, and wrapped his arms around her in a firm but loose hold that clearly let her know she was free to go at any time. He pressed his legs to the back of her thighs and knees and settled her securely against him, so that her head was resting on his muscular bicep. “How’s that?” he murmured.

  Trin hardly knew how to answer. The sensation of being held by the huge Havoc was both odd and comforting at the same time. She felt completely surrounded by him—cradled and protected by his big body. It reminded her of being a very young child because that was the last time in her life she’d been small enough for another person to so completely surround and cradle her.

  It was a little scary to feel so tiny and vulnerable in the arms of a male she knew could break her in half with one hand. And yet…she didn’t feel threatened by Thrace. Not at all. She somehow knew he would use his strength to protect her, not to hurt her.

  Of course, all that was much too complicated to say in answer to his question.

  “This is nice,” she said at last. “Warm…or warmer, I suppose. My face is still cold though. Those damn passion berries are awful—the tip of my nose is like ice.”

  “That’s easy to fix.” Before she could protest, he flipped her over so they were face to face—or face to chest, in this case since he was so big—and pulled her close again.

  Trin started to protest but the heat radiating from his big body was immediately addictive. It felt like she’d been standing in the doorway with her face in a cold wind and someone had suddenly turned her towards a roaring fire. Now her frozen skin was beginning to thaw and she found she lacked the will power to tell him to stop and let her go at once.

  Just a minute or two, she told herself. I’ll just lay like this a minute or two and then once I’m completely warm I’ll send him back to his place on the floor.