Exiled Read online

  Lissa licked her lips nervously. “I’d…make him go back and fetch it?” she asked, obviously hazarding a guess.

  Lady Sha’rak threw her hands in the air. “And leave yourself unattended at a party? Unthinkable! You’d call another slave from your home to fetch it to you and in the meantime, you’d punish the one who forgot in the first place. Very publicly, I might add, to be certain he learned his lesson.” She sighed. “I’m sure I don’t know what they’re coming to on Zetta Prime when the young people don’t even know how to do such a simple thing as discipline a slave.”

  “Forgive me,” Lissa said humbly. “As I said before, Saber has just always been so well behaved.”

  “Not quite as well behaved as you think,” snapped their hostess. “He still doesn’t direct his eyes down where they belong. He still doesn’t greet you properly. And until you give him a little taste of pain, he’ll never learn. Now stand here, in the center of the room,” she directed Lissa. “And have your slave stand across from you.”

  They arranged themselves as she demanded, standing in front of the black padded bench where their hostess was lounging as Llewelyn stood behind her at attention. Saber’s heart twisted in his chest as he looked down into Lissa’s lovely green eyes. He could see the anxiety this “training” session was already costing her and he only hoped she wouldn’t be too upset by whatever it was Lady Sha’rak insisted she do to him.

  “There. Now look at the way you’re standing,” Lady Sha’rak said sharply. “Look at the way he’s looking at you—as though he’s your equal! He must keep his eyes down and never look you in the face unless you’re speaking to him. Slave—look down!” she snapped.

  At once, Saber dropped his eyes and studied Lissa’s small feet instead of her face. She was wearing simple silk slippers a shade darker than her light green dress and they fit her tiny feet very well. But he couldn’t help letting his eyes trail up. The green dress was split high, like most of the other Yonnie dresses Kat had packed her, and her long, slender legs were fully revealed.

  Likewise visible were the lace panties she had on, which went with the dress. They were trimmed in green but the tiny V of white lace in the center was what held his attention. It was so skimpy and translucent Saber swore he could almost see the outline of her plump little pussy lips through the thin material. In fact, the green lace border skimmed just along the middle of her mound and when she shifted uncomfortably, they pulled lower, revealing a neatly trimmed patch of blonde curls and the start of her slit. Goddess, what he wouldn’t give to kiss her there! To pull down her panties and plunge his tongue deep into her sweet, hot depths. To—

  “There he goes again!” Lady Sha’rak exclaimed, breaking into his forbidden thoughts.

  “What do you mean? He’s looking down, just as you said,” Lissa protested.

  “Looking at you, more likely. And like a lover—not a slave. Why, he's practically eating you up with his eyes! It’s most improper.” Lady Sha’rak sounded scandalized. “Slap him, my dear.”

  “What?” Lissa looked at their hostess, plainly startled.

  “You heard me. Do not tolerate such insolence—slap his face this instant!”

  “I…” Lissa looked absolutely miserable. “Must I?” She gave their hostess a pleading glance but Lady Sha’rak was glaring at her.

  “If you don’t, I shall. It’s clear your body-slave is well overdue for this. As he himself said last night, he needs to learn pain as well as pleasure from your hand.”

  Lissa looked up at him and Saber risked a quick look back. Then he leaned forward, lowering his head to make himself easier to reach. He didn’t fear a slap from his lady’s palm—he was a warrior and had suffered much harsher blows before. Indeed, the only thing that worried him was how bad Lissa was going to feel about hitting him. But there was no way around it—she was going to have to do it or risk offending their hostess and jeopardizing the mission.

  A quick flick of her eyes showed him that Lissa must be realizing the same thing. She gave him a look full of apology and then reached up and slapped him.

  Saber barely felt the blow—it was more like a pat than a slap and he was certain it wouldn’t leave a mark. Unfortunately, Lady Sha’rak seemed to come to the same conclusion.

  “No, no!” she stormed. “Not like that—you have to show him you’re not to be trifled with. You must dominate him completely. Slap him, hard, Lady R’awr!”

  Considering what Llewelyn had told him about secretly dominating his mistress, Saber considered her insistence that Lissa dominate him rather ridiculous. But he knew that if they didn’t do this correctly, things were only going to get worse.

  “Really, Mistress,” he said softly, daring to look into Lissa’s eyes again. “Is that the best you can do?”

  “He’s taunting you!” Lady Sha’rak was on the edge of her seat, her cheeks red with irritation. “This is too much, my dear—you must act!”

  Lissa looked as though she was being pushed to the limit. Saber could see the determination building in her eyes and the tense set of her shoulders.

  He leaned even closer and murmured, “Do it,” in a voice so low he was certain no one but she could hear.

  “Fine!” Setting her lush pink lips in a tight line, Lissa pulled back her arm, and slapped him as hard as she could.

  It was a respectable blow and Saber did everything he could to make it look even worse than it was. He let his head rock back as her hand connected and even put his fingertips to his cheek as though in surprise and pain. The tingling in his skin let him know that this slap would probably leave a mark—good, maybe it would satisfy their hostess’s lust for corporal discipline.

  “Saber…” he heard Lissa whisper brokenly. “Your cheek…”

  He didn’t reply. Instead, he took her hand—the one she had slapped him with—and pressed a soft kiss into her small palm.

  “Mistress,” he murmured and let her hand drop as he stared down at her slippers, trying to look like a penitent slave. He ached fiercely inside—not from her slap but from the broken sound of her voice. A swell of hatred rose inside him—a deep antipathy toward their hostess, for making the female he loved so upset.

  “Good, much more like it.” Lady Sha’rak sounded encouraging. “Look at him, my dear—you’ve almost put him in his place.”

  “Almost?” Lissa asked in a quivering voice and Saber risked another glance at her troubled eyes. He wished again that he could comfort her but there was no way to do it without blowing their cover—not now, anyway.

  “You cannot ignore the verbal taunts he made to you earlier,” Lady Sha’rak was saying firmly. “You must punish him severely this time.”

  “So…you want me to slap him again?” Lissa sounded so upset at the idea that Saber felt his insides twist.

  “Not necessarily.” Lady Sha’rak sounded thoughtful. “I would say you should give him the rod—nothing puts a slave in his place as quickly or as effectively. But the more I study him the more I see that your body-slave is much like my own.”

  “How is that?” Lissa sounded uncertain.

  “My Llewelyn isn’t much fazed by pain.” The ambassador cast a fond glance over her shoulder and she and her slave smiled at each other briefly. “I do punish him with it on occasion, of course, but I’ve found it much more effective to use pleasure to bring him into line.”

  “Pleasure?” Lissa sounded honestly confused. “But…how?”

  “You shall see. But first, I think we need some touch-me-not manacles. Llewelyn, be a love and get me some from the small cabinet in the corner, will you?”

  The body-slave moved swiftly to do her bidding and before Saber knew it, Lady Sha’rak was slipping inch wide copper bracelets around his wrists. She adjusted them until they were firm and snug, though not painfully so, and then pressed a small copper remote, which Llewelyn handed her. Saber heard a small but ominous clicking sound from both cuffs and then Lady Sha’rak nodded in apparent satisfaction.

  “There n