A Short Leash (13 page)

“You mean he gave Roman a thousand gold pieces to take you away? Makes sense.”

“I mean Roman paid that much for me,” Seraphine replied without any indication she had grasped Sierra’s humor. “I sold for more than any other pet Kade has ever trained. I’m the reason this compound exists.”

“Roman might want his money back,” Sierra smirked. “He has to keep bringing you back here and watching you fawn over Kade like a lovesick piglet. Obviously Kade didn’t train you very well, did he?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying you’re disloyal and a bad pet,” Sierra said. “I’m saying you make your master look like a fool. I’m saying Kade is ashamed of you.”

Seraphine did not take that sitting down. She took it standing up with a feral feminine yowl and slapping Sierra hard enough to make her head swim. Not content to be on the losing end of another altercation with Seraphine, this time Sierra acted in kind, taking hold of Seraphine’s braid and dragging her down to the floor. Both women unleashed the fury of their mouths and hands upon the other, biting and slapping and cursing as they rolled about in a mass of tangled limbs.

The fight did not go on more than a few seconds before Kade and Roman broke them apart almost as roughly as they were fighting. Sierra felt Kade’s large hands descend on the fabric both at the scruff of her neck and just above her ass and haul her up into the air. For a second she was airborne, then she landed over his thighs.

All she could see was Seraphine being hauled into similar position. For once, Roman didn’t look uncertain. He looked determined as he threw Seraphine’s elegant tunic dress up over her back revealing her already pink-stained cheeks. Sierra didn’t see why Seraphine had been making such a fuss earlier; her bottom hardly had any color to it.

It was greatly satisfying to see Roman’s palm start falling on her cheeks with a sound like clapping thunder. Even more rewarding was the sound Seraphine made, her mouth parting to release an indescribably delicious screech.

“I told you I wasn’t going to tolerate a single scrap of misbehavior from you,” he lectured. “Do you think I like having to spank you? Do you think I enjoy being lectured like a schoolboy by Master Kade? We just discussed this, Seraphine, not half an hour ago!”

Sierra cringed over Kade’s thighs, once again feeling embarrassed on Roman’s behalf. He was a genuinely good man and he had more than a handful to deal with when it came to Seraphine.

Seraphine did not like being spanked. That much was obvious. Her slim hips and round cheeks were doing a dance of dismay over Roman’s thighs as the citizen brought her to justice one hard slap at a time. If he had been holding back before, he was doing so no longer.

A sudden slap caught Sierra’s attention as Kade caught up with Roman and started spanking her in turn.

Sierra bucked and twisted, looking up at him with surprised outrage. “What are you doing? I didn’t start it! She attacked me!”

“From what I heard you provoked her.”

“What do you mean, from what you heard?”

“Your voices carry,” Kade informed her. “High-pitched female squabbling can be heard at quite a distance.”

“Then you heard what she said to me.”

“I did,” he replied, smacking her bottom again. “Roman is dealing with her. I am dealing with you.”

He proceeded to deal with Sierra very thoroughly, his palm searing her cheeks with customary efficiency. For her part, Sierra did her best to make his job difficult, wriggling and kicking with every smack. She did not think she deserved a spanking.

“Hold still, you infernal brat,” Kade growled down at her, putting one hand on her inner thigh, the one closest to his body to anchor her in place. His strong fingers so close to her pussy distracted her from how unfair it all was for a moment. “Look at Seraphine, she knows how to take her discipline.”

Seraphine was holding position over Roman’s lap, mostly because she was being spanked so hard and so fast she could hardly have moved if she’d wanted to. He had his arm locked hard around her waist and her legs were caught between his thighs. The position left her draped over his left thigh, her face hidden in her arms on the floor as he continued to spank her, clearly immensely displeased with her behavior.

For the first time, Seraphine actually looked chastised. She was clearly upset and in pain and although Sierra wanted to hate her, she was all too aware of how Seraphine must be feeling. If she put herself in Seraphine’s shoes and imagined seeing Kade training another pet, she was certain she would be just as vicious, if not more so.

Roman glanced up at Kade, as if looking for approval. Kade nodded and Roman stilled his hand.

“Apologize,” Roman ordered.

“I’m sorry,” Seraphine sobbed.

She could not see Roman’s face, but Sierra could and she could see how his heart was breaking to hear her so upset. But there was something else in his expression, a determination that had not been there before. Seraphine’s perfectly pert cheeks were a blazing red hue that put apples and roses to shame.

Sierra was very well aware that she was not nearly as graceful as Seraphine. Seraphine was managing to make being spanked to the point of tears look beautiful.

Roman gathered her up against his chest and held her close, stroking her hair and murmuring soft words in her ear meant only for her. It was a sweet, touching scene that made Sierra almost forget that she was still in trouble herself.

“You can apologize too,” Kade said. “You said some very cruel things to Seraphine, and you spoke for me.”

“I’m sorry,” Sierra mumbled, meaning it, but finding it hard to find her voice.

“You two are not in competition,” Kade said, addressing them both. “And you’re both better than this. Seraphine, you should be a good example to Sierra. Sierra, you should learn to avoid the tigress’ claws.”

Roman stood with Seraphine in his arms, carrying her as if she weighed no more than a feather. She had her head buried in his neck as he took her back to the dinner table and they resumed their meal in a much subdued fashion.

Still stuck over Kade’s lap, Sierra was not so lucky.

“I don’t ever want to hear you speaking to another pet like that,” Kade said. “It was mean-spirited, and not at all like you.”

“I don’t care,” Sierra shot back. Somehow Seraphine was coming out of this looking as if she were the innocent one. But she had started matters, and she had made first contact. All Sierra had done was defend herself.

Kade’s palm began to fall again, branding her bottom with painful discipline that did nothing to affect her resolve. She stared at the floor defiantly, each jolt of his palm making her more and more certain that she did not deserve what was happening to her. Maybe he really did like Seraphine better. What had he called her, a tigress? He’d certainly never given Sierra such a moniker.

“I can see this isn’t getting through to you,” he said, stopping. “You can go to your room without the rest of dinner.”

Sierra wanted to tell him what he could do with his dinner, but she had borne about all the pain she could bear in her derriere. Seraphine was faster, meaner, more dangerous, almost certainly more beautiful, and now she was better at being disciplined as well.

Tears were threatening to overflow as Sierra left the dining room, but only when she was certain she was alone did she let them fall, which they did in abundance. She went to her room and threw herself down on the bed where she stayed sobbing until Kade came a couple of hours later with news.

“Sierra, someone is here to see you.”

Sniffling, Sierra ignored Kade. There wasn’t anybody she cared to see. Not Seraphine or Kara certainly, nor their owners. She didn’t know anyone else.

“Stop sulking and come here,” Kade said, his tone more insistent. “You’re keeping your guest waiting.”

“I don’t want a guest!”

“I think you will.”

“Leave me alone!”

“Sierra?”

She lifted her head, her eyes drying instantly as the familiar voice spoke. Who was that? It sounded like… Dr. Charles!

He stepped into her room, more handsome than she remembered. Sierra did not find citizens attractive as a rule, but Charles was different. His skin had a tone that indicated he spent time outside the protective dome of the city, and his eyes held both intelligence and sensitivity beyond the norm for a citizen.

Wiping her eyes, Sierra tried to compose herself. It was a little late to welcome him with any kind of composure thanks to Kade.

Dr. Charles sat down on her bed and leaned down to look at her. “What’s the matter?” He seemed to be making a genuine inquiry and to be actually concerned.

Sierra shot Kade a little smug look as she replied with a sniff. “Kade beat me.”

“Why did I beat you?” Kade growled the question from the doorway where he was leaning, arms folded over his chest as Sierra made a play for Charles’ sympathy.

“I don’t kn…”

“Sierra…” Kade’s warning tone prevented her from finishing her denial of knowledge. “You know very well why you were punished. Tell Charles.”

“For having feelings,” Sierra said, sinking back behind Charles’ legs as Kade glowered at her.

“Don’t think having Charles here will stop you from getting into trouble,” he said. “I will thrash your bottom just the same.”

“Seraphine hit me and it was my fault because sometimes when you say things it’s alright for someone to hit you for them,” Sierra explained. “Kade does it all the time; no wonder Seraphine is violent and unhinged.”

Something between a guffaw and a growl emerged from Kade. “Oh, you are in a fine mood this evening,” he said. “I’m sorry, Charles, I don’t think this is a good time for our discussion.”

“What discussion?” Sierra looked from Charles to Kade. Something was happening, she could almost scent it.

“Another time, when you are less ill-tempered,” Kade said firmly. “Would you like to join Charles and me for a nightcap?”

“Will I be beaten if Seraphine decides to eat me?”

“Seraphine has gone to bed with Roman,” Kade said. “So there is no fear of that.”

Sierra was not certain she wanted to sit and make nice when her bottom was burning and her feelings were hurt, but the prospect of spending a little more time with Dr. Charles intrigued her. He made her tummy flutter whenever he looked at her, and though she was undeniably attached to Kade, she could not help the way she felt when his dark eyes settled on her in gentlemanly fashion.

Charles stood, straightening his vest. He was dressed in charmingly archaic fashion, wearing a gray vest and a white shirt that served to highlight the taut narrow line of his hips and waist and the relative breadth of his shoulders. Every move he made was pure refinement, but there was something else to him too, something a little more primal. It seemed he tried to hide that side of himself, but she could sense it.

Out in the living room, Sierra curled up on a single seat by herself and sipped at the drink Kade gave her, a fermented grape juice with faint intoxicating effects. She liked the way it tasted, but more than the drink she enjoyed the way Kade and Charles looked sitting on the couch. Watching them, one on each side, she once again saw the easy camaraderie they shared in their posture. Kade sat with legs parted, feet shoulder width apart, one arm stretched out along the back of the couch. Charles had his legs crossed one over the other, body turned so he could address Sierra and Kade in equal measure.

“Seems every time I see you, you have been in a scuffle of some kind.” Charles winked at Sierra.

She smiled into her glass. If Kade had said the same thing she would have gotten upset, but Charles didn’t say it with any accusatory or judgmental tone. Instead he sounded almost fond, strange given they barely knew one another.

“Sierra is a handful,” Kade agreed.

“But a beautiful one,” Charles replied. “Such gorgeous hues.”

Sierra blushed at the unexpected compliment. She was a little surprised that Charles was being so bold in front of Kade, but Kade did not show any obvious signs of jealousy. Instead, he agreed.

“She is a prize,” he said, his blue-green gaze locked on her with an intensity she did not entirely fathom. Something was definitely going on, but she didn’t know what.

“Are you enjoying your life here?”

Charles’ question was more awkward than he knew. Truth be told, she was enjoying her life for the first time in a very long time. The months following her capture had been so dark she had wished on many occasions to be relieved of the burden of existence. Such thoughts had not passed through her mind even once since being in Kade’s possession.

“Kade has shown me that there is a life to have,” she said, deciding to speak honestly. “I don’t always care for being a pet though.”

“No? Why not?”

Why not. Another deceptively simple question. Sierra sipped her wine and tried to think of an answer he might understand.

“I am always in trouble,” she finally said. “Always.”

“Always, hmm?”

Kade chuckled. “It’s true, she does have a talent for finding herself on the wrong side of the rules.”

“Am I on display or something?” Sierra blurted the question. Kade kept talking to Charles about her as if she weren’t actually there. “Who is she when I am in the room?”

“Feisty,” Charles noted.

“Very,” Kade agreed.

Sierra scowled at both of them. “What is going on?”

“Nothing at the moment,” Kade said. “Just relax and enjoy the conversation. A good pet can engage her master in stimulating discussion if he so desires.”

“A good pet is something between a cat and a concubine then,” Sierra replied, making Kade and Charles both smile. “I don’t care about being a good pet,” she added, becoming bold.

“No? What do you care about?”

Yet again, Charles’ gentle line of questioning made Sierra think.

“I care about having a good life,” she said. “I was a prisoner too long to care what citizens want or what they think.”

“Even if the citizen in question is taking care of you, providing for your needs? Feeding you? Clothing you?”

“I can do those things for myself.”

“What about loving you?” Kade asked the question. “What if the citizen in question loves you and wants the best for you?”