Enslaved Read online

  She just wished that the strange feelings she had when Thrace touched her intimately would stop. All of her calm and self-possession seemed to leave her when she felt his big, warm body next to hers. It made her doubtful and unsure of herself in a way she hadn’t been since adolescence. Why did she feel this way when he touched her?

  Of course, she had no answers. All she could do was cover her lap and the embarrassing sight of his shaft pressed against her with a napkin and try to sit rigidly still, not moving an inch.

  “There—now that you’re settled comfortably we can enjoy the first course,” Lady Tam-tam remarked. “We’re starting with nectar pods from Rigex—have you ever had them, my dear?”

  “No.” Trin cleared her throat. “No, I haven’t. But they sound tasty.”

  “They’re actually quite bland,” Lady Needra said from her left. “But they’re worth trying anyway.”

  “I see,” Trin said, not seeing at all. A server reached over her shoulder and placed a heaping spoonful of waxy white pods about as long as her little finger in front of her.

  “There now—eat them up,” Lady Tam-tam directed. “And remember to feed every second one to your love-slave. That’s how we do things here,” she explained, smiling. “On the rest of Yonnie Six, the slave has to feed the mistress. Here we turn things on their head and the mistress feeds the slave.”

  “So delightfully subversive,” Lady Needra remarked, popping a pod into her mouth and reaching back to feed one to Yorth as well.

  “It certainly is,” Trin said, and she wasn’t just talking about the dinner. She picked up a pod with her fingers, since that was how everyone else was eating them, and put it cautiously into her mouth. It tasted vaguely sweet and when she bit into it, a gush of bland, waxy liquid squirted across her tongue. Ugh! It wasn’t very pleasant but Trin had eaten worse when stores got low and they were stuck in deep space without a port nearby. She chewed and swallowed dutifully and then picked up a pod to feed to Thrace.

  “How is it?” he asked as she twisted carefully around to place it between his lips.

  “Not the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Trin said under her breath. “But it’s edible. Open up.”

  He parted his lips obediently and accepted the waxy pod. He made a slight face when he bit into the pod but he chewed and swallowed without complaint. Trin took another pod for herself and gave another to him. Soon the little pile was gone and the second course, which consisted of a pile of steaming purple mush, was being served.

  Trin picked up a long handled instrument which looked like a tiny silver shovel and got a bite of the mush. But before she could taste it, a shadow fell across the table.

  “Forgive me, Lady Tam-tam, for my tardiness,” a deep voice said.

  Trin looked up startled and saw a male almost as tall as Thrace standing across from her. He had broad, muscular shoulders and black hair with a reddish tint. His eyes were the same strange color—caught somewhere between midnight black and scarlet and a small, cruel smile hovering around his lips.

  Unlike the other males in the room, who were all slaves, he was fully dressed in black trousers and a scarlet tunic that looked excellent against his dark tan skin. A black cape that swirled around his broad shoulders and tall black boots that ended above his knees completed the outfit.

  “Oh, Lord X—how nice of you to join us,” Lady Tam-tam fluttered. She turned to Trin. “This is the male I told you about—he’s the ruler of a small planet in the Degas system. Isn’t that unique?”

  “Very,” Trin agreed, though she could scarcely imagine a whole planet ruled by a male.

  “Introduce me to your ravishing friend, I beg you, Lady Tam-tam,” Lord X said, smiling at Trin. “I’ve never seen such lovely skin tones—truly her beauty is unmatched.”

  “Well, this is my special guest, Lady Trin,” Lady Tam-tam said. “This is her first time to Dreaming Hills but not her last, I hope.”

  Lord X held out his hand and Trin reached out dutifully to take it. There was something about this male she didn’t like, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. His touch was cold and when he kissed the back of her hand, his lips were like ice. The chill of his skin belied the heat in his eyes when he looked her over, his gaze lingering overlong on her barely covered breasts.

  Trin shifted uncomfortably. Why did it make her feel so strange to have him look at her? His eyes were hungry as he raked his gaze over her body. No other male had ever looked at her like that but Thrace. But she didn’t mind when he did it. Or rather, it made her pulse race and her breath come short but it didn’t repulse her. It was different with Lord X. It felt strange…wrong.

  Apparently Thrace didn’t like the way the new male was looking at her either. With a low, possessive growl, he sat up straighter in the love seat and cupped her breasts with his big hands, effectively hiding them from sight.

  “Thrace!” she exclaimed. The sudden movement had caused his shaft to shift against her and the heat of his hands against her nipples sent a bolt of sensation through her.

  “It’s all right, little mistress, your slave is simply protecting you from prying eyes.” Lord X nodded and gave her that cold smile again. “I don’t mind—I’ve already admired your beauty.”

  “My lady’s beauty is not for you,” Thrace rumbled, frowning at him.

  “Thrace, you can’t talk to Lady Tam-tam’s guest that way,” Trin admonished him, though she privately agreed with the big Havoc and was relieved to have her breasts hidden from the strange male’s sight. “What brings you to Yonnie Six, Lord X?” she asked diplomatically, looking up at him.

  “Why, dream gas, of course. Yonnie Six has the only deposits of it in the known universe, making it incredibly rare and valuable. Most places, like the area around Opulex, they have to mine it. But here on the lovely Lady Tam-tam’s estate, it comes right out of the ground on its own.”

  “It does? I didn’t know that.” Trin looked at their hostess.

  Lady Tam-tam nodded. “Oh yes, my dear. In fact, Dreaming Hills is built right over the largest natural deposit of dream gas ever discovered. Lord X here is interested in exporting it to other planets. Of course, no one in Opulex will deal with him.”

  “Because of my misfortune to be born male instead of female.” Lord X made a sorrowful face. “But if I wasn’t male, how could I appreciate all the lovely females in the room?”

  “You don’t have to be male to appreciate the female form. Females can love other females,” Trin said flatly. “It’s done quite often in places such as Zetta Prime.”

  “I know I certainly appreciate your form, my lovely.” Lord X gave her that slow, cold smile. “Even if Lady Tam-tam decides not to deal with me, I’ll consider this trip to be worth it, just to see such your exotic beauty.”

  Trin could feel the rumbling beginnings of a growl building in Thrace’s broad chest again.

  “That’s a lovely compliment,” she said neutrally. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lord X. I wish you success in all your endeavors.”

  “In other words, I am dismissed. Very well…” He bowed elaborately. “I am too late for dinner, anyway. Perhaps I’ll see you later at the dream-sphere fountain.”

  “The what?” Trin asked but Lord X was already withdrawing, his black boots ringing on the smooth stone floor.

  “The dream-sphere fountain,” Lady Tam-tam said. “It’s on the back grounds—near the place where the dream gas emerges from its vent. We’re going to adjourn there after dinner. I do hope you and your love-slave can be there? I’m only inviting a select group, of course.”

  “We’d love to,” Trin said, though she privately doubted she spoke for both herself and Thrace. The big Havoc hadn’t seemed to like Lord X at all—not that she blamed him. There was something strange about that male, something somehow familiar in the way he made her feel. But that was crazy, wasn’t it? Until she’d bought Thrace, Trin hadn’t had more than fleeting contact with any male. So how could she find one familiar?