Deceived Read online

  It was a damn good thing he was only in this kitchen for one night, he thought to himself. He’d made an enemy for life, but what else could he do? He’d had to establish dominance and thugs like Targo didn’t understand anything but violence.

  The rest of the kitchen staff were still just standing there, staring at him so he took the opportunity to address them.

  “Listen up, people—I sent over the menu last night and you should have gotten your ingredients delivered this morning. Hopefully you’ve been working on them since then but I need to know—how much prep work do we have left to do?”

  At first there was silence, then one of the crew spoke up.

  “We have all the hezbah intestines cleaned and rinsed but they still need to be stuffed with the bile rice, uh…” he hesitated and added, “Chef.”

  “Good.” Dark nodded. “You’re on that. What about the Blood root? Has it been peeled and de-veined yet?”

  “Yes, Chef,” someone else said. “But we still need to parboil the gresh toes.”

  “You and you—” Dark pointed at the male who had spoken and the one beside him. “Get on it.”

  “Yes, Chef.” They both nodded and got to work.

  Soon he had everyone in the room assigned to a task. He was a good judge of ability from being in commercial kitchens all his life and he soon sussed out the males who knew what they were doing and put them in charge of the more complicated recipes. After that, he was able to breathe a small sigh of relief. Things were running smoothly now and the dinner would come out on time.

  Dark walked from crew to crew, supervising, giving instruction, doling out a very few compliments and some words of reprimand when they were warranted. Now that they had been given direction, the kitchen staff worked with a will.

  Targo was working at a corner sink, peeling tubers, which was a task Dark normally would have assigned to the pot boy. But since the ex-head chef wasn’t making any trouble, Dark left him to it. They had enough hands in the kitchen to get the meal done on time and in good order—that was all he cared about.

  Well, no—there was one more thing he was worried about—Anna. He wondered uneasily how she was doing, out among Gorn’s drewgs. He knew she’d been dreading this evening and she’d refused to show him the dress Gorn was making her wear, saying she was too ashamed to let him see. That didn’t bode well, Dark thought. If any of those fucking Trollox laid a single hand on her…

  But he didn’t think it likely that they would. All the Trollox seemed extremely possessive of their property and touching another male’s things was a big no-no in their crude, greed-based culture. Anna might be looked over like a prize mare at a herd-beast show—something he hated to even contemplate—but she probably wouldn’t be touched at all.

  She had promised to come back to the kitchen with him as soon as she could slip away. So while the stoves ran full blast and many hands sliced and diced and prepped and cooked and the kitchen filled with the unmistakable odors of Trollox cuisine, Dark kept a constant eye on the double metal doors, waiting for the moment when she would walk through them.

  Goddess, he prayed, You know I don’t like leaving her alone out there. Be with her—protect her and keep her safe while I cannot.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “It’s my Replicant, pretty boy, as is cooking the dinner tonight. And this is my breeder.” There was unmistakable pride in Gorn’s voice as he pointed at Anna. “Come on, girlie—step up on the table and let them see you!” the left head demanded, motioning to her.

  Biting her lip, Anna stepped first up on the high, heavy chair and then onto the picnic style dining table which had been covered in pure gold carvings. It was probably ridiculously expensive and would no doubt be smeared by filthy Trollox food before the night was out but for now, it was clean.

  “Take off the cloak, stupid girl,” hissed Gorn’s right head, gesturing at her. “How can they see you if you don’t take it off?”

  This was the moment Anna had been dreading. She hated being put on display like this! But there was nothing else she could do—Gorn owned her and he could make her life unbearable if she didn’t do as he said.

  Taking a deep breath, she dropped the feathery white cloak which had covered her completely from head to heels. Under it she was wearing a sheer white dress which clearly showed her body beneath. Her breasts pressed against the thin, sheer fabric and the leather halter she wore to keep the latest spreader Gorn had filled her with was clearly visible.

  “Well, well, Gorn—looks like you found yourself a prime breeder,” one of the Trollox grunted in apparent admiration.

  “Yes, indeed! She looks big enough to carry an heir to full term!” another exclaimed.

  “A good choice.” Even Yark was nodding in approval. He turned to Gorn. “Tell me, how often do you breed her? Has your seed taken root inside her yet?”

  “Well…” Gorn frowned and shuffled his feet a bit. “Her body’s big enough but her entrance is kinda small-like. So I’m stretching her a bit first—otherwise the seed won’t root.”

  “Stretching her?” Yark frowned. “A pity you couldn’t find one big enough to accept your shaft to begin with. Now with my breeder, I started seeding her on the first day I bought her and didn’t stop until her belly started to swell.”

  “Oh? And how long did that take?” another Trollox with a single head demanded.

  Both Yark’s primary heads frowned thoughtfully.

  “I’d say about two solar months of steady breeding—maybe a bit more,” he said.

  Two solar months or more of breeding?

  Anna felt like she might be sick. Somehow she’d gotten the idea in her head that Gorn would only have to do that to her—would only have to take her once—and after that the deed would be done and she would be pregnant. In her mind, it had become a one-time ordeal—something she would just have to deal with and then try to forget about. But if he did that to her every night for two solar months…

  I’ll lose my mind, she thought wildly. I’ll go insane if I have to have him on top of me—inside me—over and over and over again! I can’t do that—I’d rather die!

  “Yes, I was lucky,” Yark said, bringing her back to the present. “I’ve known some Trollox to have to seed their breeder every night for nigh on a solar year! But mine caught right away and she delivered a healthy heir right to term.”

  “Let’s see the heir, Yark!” one of the Trollox exclaimed. The others soon chimed in.

  “Yes, let’s see the reason for our feasting tonight!”

  “Let’s have a look at the little prince!”

  “Very well—I’ll have the wet nurse bring him down.” Yark clapped his hands and a female Trollox—distinguishable from the males only because she had long, tangled hair and drooping breasts—came running in. These were easy to see because she was wearing a long skirt but no top at all so that her long, dangling dugs were clearly visible. They hung nearly down to her wrinkled gray belly button.

  “Yes, Master Yark?” she asked eagerly.

  “Bring my heir,” Yark said grandly. “I’ve a mind to show him off on his banquet day.”

  “At once, my Master.” She bobbed a kind of curtsey and ran from the room.

  All this time, Anna had been standing on the table numbly, trying to digest what she was hearing. She wondered why the wet nurse was taking care of the new baby instead of the woman who had carried him. Where was his birth mother now? Had Yark sent her back to her home, as Gorn had promised to send Anna?

  Gorn appeared to notice that she was still standing there and no longer the center of attention. He motioned at her and the right head hissed irritably,

  “Get down, you stupid girl!”

  Anna was more than happy to do as she was told. Stooping, she picked up the feathery white cape and draped herself in it again, feeling relief at being covered from the eyes of Gorn’s drewgs. Then she stepped down off the table and edged towards the back of the room. She wanted to go join Dark in the kitchen