Enslaved (Brides of the Kindred Book 14) (19 page)

The panties consisted of a tiny lace triangle which
barely covered her pussy slit and a few lacy straps which went over her hips to
hold it in place. They did their job poorly and the triangle kept twisting to
one side or the other, exposing her in a most embarrassing way.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered, releasing the
draw string so that the dress closed and she was covered. “It’s excessive even
for Yonnie Six. I’m
not
walking around exposed all night. There—that’s
better,” she added, looking at herself in the 3-D viewer. The top of her dress
was still obscene but at least her ass and crotch were modestly covered now.

“Almost done? Reception in five,” Thrace called through the door.

“I know. I’m coming.” Taking a deep breath, she
stepped out of the fresher. “How do I look?”

Thrace
frowned.

“Too covered up. You’re wearing the dress
wrong—it’s supposed to be open. How can I get to your panties to kiss you
otherwise?”

“I’m
not
wearing it open,” Trin said firmly.
“It’s ridiculous to expect—”

Suddenly a sharp tapping sounded on the door. Trin
exchanged glances with Thrace
but before either of them could answer it, it burst open to reveal Lady
Tam-tam, looking resplendent in an orange and purple mu-mu which swept to the
floor and covered
everything,
which hardly seemed fair to Trin.

“My darlings,” she exclaimed, coming over to them.
“Forgive the intrusion but I just remembered that I forgot to give you a new
collar for your love-slave. And I promised you one so
faithfully
—I
couldn’t go back on my word.”

“Of course, Lady Tam-tam, please come in,” Trin
said, trying to smile. “I’m very grateful—I can’t wait to take the pain collar
off Thrace
and give him a new one.”

“Good. Here it is.” She withdrew a long, thin
rectangular box from the folds of her voluminous gown and opened it, showing
the contents to Trin. Inside was a black leather collar studded with pale
silvery-blue gems.

“Oh—it’s
lovely
,” Trin exclaimed, honestly
impressed. “But it looks so expensive! What are those gems?”

“Lathian sapphires.” Lady Tam-tam beamed. “They
look more expensive than they are though—don’t worry about it. Consider them my
gift to you.”

“Thank you.” Trin turned to Thrace. “Let’s get rid of that pain
collar, shall we?”

“With greatest pleasure, Mistress,” he rumbled,
sinking to his knees before her so that Trin could reach the fastening to the
black and silver pain collar.

She took it off, reflecting that just a few days
ago it was the only thing that had persuaded her to trust Thrace and his intentions towards
her and her crew. But things had changed now. Maybe it was the way they had
grown to know and respect each other or maybe it was…something else. But she no
longer needed the pain collar to feel safe around him. She felt only relief as
she discarded it.

The new gem-studded collar fit Thrace perfectly, emphasizing his
strong throat and broad, bare shoulders. Trin took a little longer than she
needed to putting it on, enjoying the touch of his warm skin and the way he looked
kneeling in front of her. Goddess, she’d never thought much of the male form
before but Thrace
really
was
a work of art. Every muscle was sculpted, standing out in
bold relief.

Impulsively, she carded her fingers through his
hair, caressing him gently in the way she imagined a real mistress would do
with a slave she cared for.
Or maybe it’s just because you want to touch
him,
whispered a little voice in her head. But Trin pushed it away—she was
just playing a part for Lady Tam-tam, the same way Thrace was.

Thrace
looked up at her gentle touch, his eyes blazing.

“Mistress…” he whispered hoarsely.

“Lovely,” Lady Tam-tam said, smiling. “I just
knew
those Lathian sapphires would bring out his eyes!”

“They really do,” Trin murmured as Thrace
held her gaze with his. “They’re…beautiful.” But she wasn’t looking at the
stones.

“Not as beautiful as you, Mistress,” Thrace
rumbled. Taking both her hands in his, he brought them to his lips and kissed
the insides of her wrists, just over the pulse points. “Thank you for trusting
me,” he murmured. “Thank you for understanding that you don’t need pain to
command me. You own me, body and soul. No pain any collar could inflict on me
would be as deep as losing you.”

“Of…of course,” Trin whispered, rather
breathlessly. It was hard not to be affected by his words, even though she knew
they were only part of his act.

“That’s wonderful.” Lady Tam-tam’s eyes were
brimming. “Oh my dear, how lucky you are to hold the heart of such a male.
Truly, I envy you. It makes me miss my poor Nales so much! Well…” She took a
deep breath. “It’s time we got to the reception.” She looked at Trin more
closely and frowned. “Only you can’t go like
that.
You must open the
skirt of your gown—otherwise how can your love-slave make a proper obeisance and
show his affection for you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Lady Tam-tam,” Trin said. Then,
having an inspiration she said, “I guess I just thought since your dress is so
lovely and modest I could emulate you.”

“That’s very sweet of you, my dear, but I’m only
dressed like this because I don’t have the figure to wear the latest fashions
anymore.” Lady Tam-tam smiled. “You on the other hand are just perfect! You
need to show off your figure. Now go on—open your gown and we’ll go.”

“Nice try,” Thrace muttered, for her ears
alone. Then in a louder voice he said, “I’ll do it, Mistress.” He was still
kneeling before her and it only took him a minute to pull the silken draw
string, parting the gown both in front and in back and fix it in place. When
the small turquoise triangle of her panties was revealed, he drew in a deep
breath. “Gods…”

“That’s enough, Thrace,” Trin murmured nervously.
“You may rise.”

“Don’t discourage him, my dear,” Lady Tam-tam
remarked as the huge Havoc got gracefully to his feet. “He’s simply admiring your
beauty. It’s a heady thing to be so desired by a male—don’t you agree?”

“I…suppose so,” Trin said uncertainly. “Honestly,
I’m not much used to it. Thrace
is the first body-slave I’ve ever owned and before him I didn’t deal with
males.” She felt it was wise to stick as close to the truth as possible—at
least with her personal history.

“Interesting,” Lady Tam-tam nodded thoughtfully as
she preceded them from the room. “Most mistresses are given their first slave
by the age of seventeen or eighteen cycles but I suppose that your mother decided
to wait and let you choose your own?”

“Something like that,” Trin murmured uneasily,
wondering what her mother and everyone else she’d ever known on Zetta Prime
would think if they could see her now. They’d probably be horrified to see how
close she and Thrace
had been getting.

Well,
they’re not here and besides, I’m my own woman. I’ve been on my own long enough
not to care what they think,
she told
herself firmly. Still, she couldn’t quite push the thought completely to the
back of her mind.

As Trin tried to ignore her guilty thoughts, Lady
Tam-tam led them down long, winding corridors richly decorated with gold-framed
holo-pics and moving statues. At last they came to a tall set of double doors,
covered in vines and flowers which seemed to be real.

“Well, here we are—the Grand Reception Hall,” she
said. “Everyone will already be waiting for us. I’ll go first, of course and
then you’ll be announced and you can follow. Just come right up to the head
table—I have the seat beside me reserved just for the two of you.”

“Thank you, Lady Tam-tam,” Trin said respectfully.
“That’s very kind of you.”

“Oh, and one more thing my dear—there is a male
here tonight from the Degas system who’s not a slave. I know—I know—it’s
shocking.”
Lady Tam-tam’s eyes danced. “But I don’t believe they
all
have to be
slaves—actually, he’s royalty, if you can believe that. And I
like
being
a little shocking and naughty sometimes—I’m an old lady. It’s one of the few
pleasures I have left.”

Trin smiled. “Of course I’ll treat him with respect
as he is your guest.”

“I knew I could depend on you, Lady Trin. Just lead
the way and all the rest of the mistresses will follow. Well…” Lady Tam-tam
straightened her flowing mu-mu and rapped sharply on the vine and flower-covered
doors. “It’s time to put on a show.”

Chapter
Seventeen

The doors swung open, revealing a vast room filled
with well dressed mistresses and their body-slaves. Flanking the doorway were
two muscular male guards in brilliant purple and orange uniforms that matched
Lady Tam-tam’s mu-mu.

“The Lady Tam-tam, mistress of Dreaming Hills and
of all our hearts. And your hostess here tonight,” one of the guards
proclaimed. The entire room erupted in applause—apparently Lady Tam-tam was
well liked. Or at least her guests knew they’d better
pretend
they liked
her.

Trin wondered which it was—not that she really
cared. All she wanted to do was get through this reception and make the deal
with Lady Malroth. After that, she was leaving Dreaming Hills, hopefully
forever.

Lady Tam-tam stood framed in the doorway with her
chin lifted and surveyed the crowd as the applause swelled dramatically. Then
she inclined her head majestically and swept into the room like a queen
approaching her throne.

After such an entrance, all eyes were on Lady
Tam-tam. Seeing an opportunity, Trin slipped quietly past the door guards and
along the perimeter of the room rather that waiting to be announced.

“What are you doing?” Thrace growled softly from behind
her as he followed. “You’re supposed to wait to be announced—you just broke a
major rule of etiquette.”

“It’ll be fine.” Trin tried to make her voice
light. “No one even noticed.”

“You’d better hope not,” he remarked grimly. “Or
you’re going to be in a galaxy of trouble.”

Trin felt a stab of apprehension but she refused to
show it.

“Stop worrying so much—we’re fine.”

“As long as nobody calls you on it.” He touched her
arm lightly, turning her to face him. “Were you that afraid to let me kiss your
panties,
Mistress?”

Trin bristled. “Of course not—don’t be silly.”
Although she had to admit that the idea of letting the big Havoc press his face
to the place between her thighs
did
make her stomach feel tight and her
palms damp. “I just…wanted to avoid a scene,” she said.

Thrace
snorted. “Right.”

“Don’t make me wish you still had the pain collar
on,” Trin snapped. “Now come on—let’s mingle. Look, I think I see Lady Malroth
over there.”

The brightly dressed mistresses—all wearing the
same revealing fashions that Trin herself had on, were mingling and talking,
their high, light voices filling the air. The lower tones of their body-slaves
were less frequent but they
were
joining in the conversation at times,
Trin saw.

It seemed evident that some of the mistresses and
body-slaves truly cared for each other. There were hands being held and shy but
loving glances being exchanged by many couples. Possibly this was the first
public gathering they’d ever attended where they felt free to show their true
feelings.

It was sweet, Trin thought. Even though she’d been
raised to think of males as savages and animals, she knew differently now. She
risked a glance at Thrace
who was still frowning. If she’d been born someplace where males were
considered equals would she have formed a relationship with one of them? A
romantic relationship? Even…a
sexual
one?

Don’t
be crude,
whispered a little voice in her head
which sounded disturbingly like her mother.
You know that having sexual
relations with a male is no better than having sexual relations with an animal.
Only a female with no self respect or dignity would even consider such a thing.
You were raised better than that!

Trin sighed. She wished she didn’t have to keep
having this conversation with herself. Honestly, she’d never given any male a
second thought before she met Thrace.
Now, everything seemed so upside down and backwards somehow.

It’s
just until after you do the deal,
she told
herself comfortingly.
Then you’ll go your separate ways and you won’t have
to think of it ever again. For now, just find Lady Malroth and get it done.

Almost as soon as she thought it, she saw the very
woman she was looking for. Lady Malroth appeared to belong to a second set of
mistresses—the ones who were standing a little apart from their body-slaves
with bored or irritated looks on their faces. Clearly they were here for
business or social networking reasons—
not
because they had secretly
fallen in love with their slaves.

Lady Malroth was standing at the far edge of the
crowd, sipping a glass of deep blue wine and looking with complete disinterest
at her own body-slave. He was standing beside her but it was clear he had no
interest in her either, other than guarding her as part of his job. In fact,
the look on his face was so expressionless Trin had no idea what he was
thinking—or if he was thinking at all.

“Oh, Lady Trin,” she said icily when Trin and Thrace
walked up. “How good of you to finally join the rest of us commoners. But I can
see why you were late—you
were
in exalted company.”

“I was late because I woke up with a horrible headache
and Thrace
had to fetch me some mint oil,” Trin said. “We just happened to meet Lady
Tam-tam on the way.”

“Of
course
you did.” It was clear Lady
Malroth didn’t believe a word of her story.

Trin decided to try a different approach.

“I’m really sorry we…intruded earlier when we first
met Lady Tam-tam,” she said. “I never meant for that to happen or for her to
give us your room.”

“Are you joking? Not sleeping in the dreaming suite
is a
relief.”
Lady Malroth laughed nastily. “Let someone
else
perform for her for a change.”

“Perform for her?” Trin exchanged glances with Thrace.
“What do you mean?”

“What do you
think
I mean?” Lady Malroth
snapped. “The viewscreen across from the bed—it records images.”

“It does?” Trin exclaimed. So Thrace had been right about Lady
Tam-tam wanting to watch, even if he’d been wrong about where the images were
being captured. What were the black dots on the bedposts then?

Lady Malroth took another big sip of wine and
nodded.

“The 3-D viewer in the fresher does as well. So be sure
you put on a good show tonight—I guarantee Lady Tam-tam will be watching.” She
sneered. “That shouldn’t be too hard—seeing as how you and your pet male are so
in love.”

Trin ignored the jab.

“What? What if I don’t
want
to put on a
show?”

Lady Malroth shrugged.

“Then we have no deal, my dear Lady Trin.
I
am
your sponsor here so what you do reflects on me. Please lady Tam-tam and it
looks good for me, as I brought you here.
Dis
please her and it will
tarnish my reputation—not good at all either for my social life or my business
as most of the mistresses gathered here tonight are my trade partners.”

“So you’re saying we need to do what Lady Tam-tam
wants in order to make you look good. Otherwise, no deal,” Thrace growled.

Lady Malroth glowered at him and then turned to
Trin.

“Kindly tell your slave not to speak to me as if he
were my equal. I know we’re here at Dreaming Hills where free love between
mistresses and slaves is the order of the day but I will
not
tolerate
insolence.”

“He wasn’t being insolent,” Trin protested, feeling
a surge of protective anger. “He was simply restating your point.”

“He was speaking directly to me as if he had every
right.” Lady Malroth looked at the big Havoc coolly. “If we were back in Opulex
instead of stuck out here in this Goddess-forsaken wilderness, I’d have his
tongue cut out for even daring to address me unless I spoke to him first.”

“He—” Trin began, her fists clenched at her sides.
But Thrace
cut her off.

“Forgive me, Mistress,” he said smoothly, making a
deep and respectful bow to Lady Malroth. “I did not mean to offend.”

Trin looked at him, amazed that he could remain so
unaffected by Lady Malroth’s highhandedness. Far back in the depths of those
silver-blue eyes she thought she detected a hot spark burning. But his strong
features were set in lines of honest repentance, as though he was really sorry
for making the other mistress so upset.

“Well…” Lady Malroth looked somewhat mollified.
“That’s better. At least he knows how to behave when prompted.” She looked at
Trin, who was still angry and irritated, though she was trying not to let it
show on her face. “So—even though it was badly put, your body-slave is correct.
Please Lady Tam-tam and I will still deal with you. Incur her wrath or
displeasure and you incur mine as well. In that case the deal is off and you
can flush the crystals into deep space for all I care.”

“But…how do I please her? What does she want?” Trin
asked in exasperation.

“What do you
think
she wants?” Lady Malroth
snapped. “She’s a dirty old woman! As for what she’s in the mood to see
tonight, don’t worry—she’ll drop some hints at dinner. I noticed you’re sitting
in the place of honor at her right hand—the very place
I
was supposed to
sit.”

“Again, I’m sorry,” Trin said. “I never meant for
that to happen either.”

“No matter.” Lady Malroth dismissed the matter with
an airy wave of her hand. “Yet another embarrassment you’ve saved me. Those
swaying love chairs they have at the head table are not at
all
comfortable.
As I’m sure you’ll find out.” She grinned nastily.

“Love chairs?” Trin was beginning to feel more and
more worried. “What—”

But just at that moment three high, sweet chiming
notes sounded loudly throughout the vast room and a male voice proclaimed,
“Dinner is served my ladies!”

“Better hurry or you’ll be late,” Lady Malroth
remarked coolly. “Good evening, Lady Trin. I’ll see you tomorrow
if
all
goes well tonight.”

Then she swept away with her body-slave in tow,
leaving Trin to look after her in disbelief.

*
* * * *

“Looks like we’re stuck here—at least for the
night,” Thrace
remarked under his breath. Trin was looking pale and upset and he wanted to get
her talking and make sure she was all right.

“Did you hear what she said?” Trin turned to him,
ignoring the crowd of mistresses and slaves that were making their way to
another large room through a vast golden archway.

“Yeah, I heard. Sounds like you have a choice to
make,” Thrace
said. “Either forget about the deal or put on a show for Lady Tam-tam tonight.”

“Why only me? Why am
I
the only one making
the choice?” Trin demanded, her eyes flashing. “This involves you too. Don’t
you
care
that Lady Malroth is basically telling us we have to
prostitute
ourselves to earn her business?”

Thrace
shrugged. “Honestly? No.” He let his eyes travel
over her body from the rectangle of see-though lace pulled tight over her full
breasts to the tiny scrap of turquoise fabric which barely covered her pussy
mound. “You’re gorgeous and soft and curved in all the right places,” he said,
letting his eyes return to hers. “And you smell so damn good it makes me ache.
I have no problem in ‘putting on a show’ for Lady Tam-tam if it means I get to
stroke your soft skin and bring you pleasure.”

“Thrace!”
Trin bit her lip and crossed her arms protectively
over her breasts. “You’re not supposed to talk like that. It’s not…”

“Proper?
Here
it is,” he pointed out. “But
I’m not trying to embarrass you. You asked me a question and I gave you an
honest answer. If you want to go through with the deal, we’ll have to do
whatever Lady Tam-tam wants. It’s up to you.”

“Maybe…” Trin bit her lip. “Maybe she doesn’t want
much—just something romantic. Like you holding me, the way you did last night.”

“Maybe,” Thrace acknowledged although he
couldn’t help hoping for a little more. Not that he wanted to make Trin
uncomfortable or take what she didn’t want to give, but even now her scent was
hot. She might not know what she wanted, but her body clearly did.

“Or maybe we can pretend—act like we’re
doing…whatever it is without actually doing it.” Trin was beginning to sound
more hopeful.

Thrace
shrugged again. “It’s worth a try.”

“All right, we’ll do it.” Trin lifted her chin. “I
need this deal to go through. Normally I would never consider anything like
this but since you don’t mind…”

“Not a bit,” Thrace growled. He took her hand in
his. “Didn’t you hear me tell Lady Tam-tam there was nothing I wouldn’t do for
you?”

“But…” Her cheeks got flushed. “You were just
trying to charm her when you said that.”

“I was telling the truth,” Thrace said quietly. “I owe you a
great debt, Trin. One I can never truly repay. I’ll do whatever it
takes…whatever you want to get this done. And I’ll do it with pleasure.” He
raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm gently. Gods, he loved kissing
her soft little hands. He just wished he could kiss the rest of her as well!