Chapter Thirteen

An unexpected repercussion of the trip to the market occurred the next morning. Cam had been quiet since the previous evening, still trying to deal with her feelings. Kievan didn’t push. When they went to bed, he pulled her into his arms as usual but only held her as she fell asleep. She didn’t sleep well. In their morning shower, he simply washed her gently. Afterward they walked silently to his office. She was in the correct position, one step back and behind, as they approached the guards outside his office. Lost in thought, she didn’t look up until the last minute but as soon as she did she recognized Mikaroz. Automatically she smiled at him. “Good morning.”

He nodded but didn’t respond and the doors to the office had closed behind them before she realized that Kievan had tensed.

“Kneel,” he ordered.

Her attention snapped to his face—his hard, angry face. “What’s the matter?”

“I told you not to flirt with the guards. Now kneel.”

Instead she moved closer, trying to calm him. “Honey, you’re being ridiculous,” she said softly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew they were a mistake. His eyes started to pale.

“I will not repeat myself again. You disobeyed my orders and you are going to be punished.”

The injustice of his statement made Cam’s temper flare and she glared at him. “I didn’t disobey you because I didn’t flirt with him. You can’t punish me for something I didn’t do.”

“You are my slave. I can do anything I want to you,” he said coldly.

Anger and the lingering fear from the previous night made her reckless. “What do you want to do? Whip me until I bleed?”

A muscle clenched in his jaw but he leaned close, his voice low and deadly. “I could do exactly that. I own you. I can do anything I want with you. I could choose to have you walk naked through the entire station. I could choose to let a hundred men fuck you.”

Cam made another mistake. Too angry to consider her words, she said, “No, you couldn’t. You don’t even want another man to smile at me. I know you would never let another man fuck me.”

With one swift move he tore her dress from her shoulders and dragged her now naked body to the desk. She struggled wildly but he ignored her. His hands bit painfully into her arms as he threw her face down across the desk and fastened her cuffs to the desk legs so she was spread face down across the hard surface. He stalked to the door and ordered Mikaroz into the room.

Mikaroz’s eyes went immediately to her body, and he froze. Terrified and humiliated, she watched the two men face each other. They were of almost equal height, but where Kievan was all lean strong muscle, Mikaroz was built wide and thick. With his massive bulk, he should have been the threatening figure. He wasn’t. Despite Mikaroz’s size, Cam had no doubt that Kievan was ten times more dangerous.

“Do you want my woman?” Kievan asked in a cold voice.

Tears burned in Cam’s eyes and her cheeks flamed.

“She is very desirable, my lord,” Mikaroz answered, quietly but without hesitation. “She’s beautiful and she smells good. She has a nice smile.”

The muscle clenched in Kievan’s jaw again but he leaned in to the other man’s face and asked, his voice still hard and cold, “Should I let you take her?”

The tears slid down her cheeks and fell onto the cool surface of the desk. She couldn’t take her eyes off the two men. Mikaroz turned toward her, took one step in her direction, and the air in the room turned deadly. Kievan’s body poised for attack.

“No,” Mikaroz said, and his eyes were kind. He turned back to Kievan and a small smile crossed his face. “Do I look like I want to die?” he asked. He nodded in Cam’s direction but didn’t look at her. “I suspect that if I even laid a finger on her, the least I would lose would be my hand.”

The tension in the room shifted but Cam couldn’t read it. Kievan studied Mikaroz’s face and then the other man went to one knee.

“You have my oath of loyalty, my lord,” he said. “Your woman has it, too.”

Kievan jerked his chin. Mikaroz rose and left the room without another word.

Silently, Kievan approached the desk. He released the chains but didn’t touch her, moving to the far side of the room to look out at the stars. Cam sat up but didn’t reach for the torn remnants of her dress, her gaze fixed on Kievan’s rigid back. Her body was still shaking from adrenaline, but the fear had disappeared. She expected it to be replaced by anger, but instead all she felt was an odd peace.

After a long time, Kievan moved to the couch and sat down looking at her. The expressionless mask covered his face and his eyes were distant. She went to him and he silently watched her cross the room until she knelt at his feet and leaned against his legs. The muscles in his thigh were rigid beneath her cheek.

“Is it that obvious?” he asked after a long silence.

She looked up but his eyes were closed.

“You called me your woman,” she said softly.

His eyes snapped open and went to her face.

“You didn’t call me your slave, you called me your woman,” she repeated.

“But you are my slave.” He wasn’t arguing.

“Yes,” she agreed, still soft.

He studied her face. “I could do all of the things I threatened and no one would stop me.”

“But you won’t,” she said. A warm feeling settled into her stomach and the lingering disquiet finally faded. “You have never hurt me, Kievan. Even when you punish me, you let me find pleasure.”

She lifted up and climbed on to his lap facing him with a knee of either side of his hips. Her hands went to his chest, his gleaming skin like warm textured silk beneath her hands but his muscles still tense and hard. She dropped her head against his neck and breathed in his scent, surrounding herself with his presence. When she raised her head, he was still studying her, his eyes unreadable. Leaning forward, she brushed a gentle kiss across his mouth.

“Let me pleasure you, Master,” she whispered, and his eyes turned molten, no longer unreadable.

She leaned closer, rubbing her breasts against the warm skin of his chest as she pushed his open vest down his shoulders. His cock was a rigid bar between her legs and she wiggled until she could feel it pressing directly against her cleft. Moisture was already dripping from her pussy, making his leather pants slippery as she rocked gently back and forth on his stiff shaft while she dropped kisses on his neck and shoulders. Her mouth drifted down and she circled his nipple with her tongue. His body jerked so she licked directly across the tip and then drew the small nub into her mouth, sucking hard. She felt his cock jump and she smiled against his chest before she moved to the other nipple.

Impatient for more, she left his lap long enough to release his pants and pull them off. He helped by toeing off his boots and lifting up enough for her to remove his pants, but other than that he was curiously passive for once, letting her set the pace. She pushed him down flat on the couch and crawled up between his legs. His cock was thick and swollen, the head already shiny with pre-cum. She cradled the heavy warmth of his balls and then drew one gently into her mouth. His body jerked again as she swirled her tongue around it before moving to the other. She buried her nose between them, breathing in his scent again, then licked her way up his cock. He tasted delicious, a spicy, musky taste which made her even more excited. Her tongue probed into the tiny slit on the broad head, seeking more of his juices.

As she lingered over his cock, taking her time and enjoying every second, she noticed that his hands were clenched at his sides and realized how rigidly he was controlling himself. Her mouth closed around him one more time, taking him as deeply into her throat as she could, then lifting off in a long, slow, hard pull. Tremors skated across his skin. Unwilling to wait any longer, she crawled higher up his body, letting her nipples rub across every inch of skin along the way. She settled on top of him, raising herself on her arms so she could watch him. His eyes burned into her but he kept his arms taut at his sides. His massive cock spread her labia wide as she rocked back and forth, moaning with pleasure each time it slid across her engorged clit.

Supporting herself on one arm, she lifted up and used her other hand to position the broad head of his cock at the entrance to her pussy. She pushed down and he slid up inside her a fraction of an inch. It felt so good she groaned and she saw his eyes close briefly. She pushed harder, sliding down an inch at a time as she impaled herself on his hard flesh. By the time he was lodged completely inside her body, she was panting and Kievan’s body was impossibly rigid beneath her. She knew he was letting her have control but she didn’t want it any longer.

“Please, Master.” she whispered.

That was all it took. His hands took her hips in a punishing grip and then he was lifting her high only to slam her down again and again, fast and hard, his cock rubbing against her with every stroke. She came immediately and fell forward, her hands clutching his shoulders as he kept pounding up into her shuddering body. He thrust upward a final time as he yanked her down even harder. She felt him press against her cervix as he exploded and she came again.

His hands left her hips and his arms came up to hold her close. She nestled her head against his chest, warm and content, while he stroked her back in long soothing strokes. After a time, he rolled them to one side and her hands were free to return the favor, stroking his back and enjoying the feel of the strong muscles, still hard but no longer rigid to her touch. Each time she stroked across his tattoo, she felt his skin shiver slightly beneath her fingertips.

“Is it sensitive?” she finally asked.

“Yes,” he answered after a long pause. Curious, she wiggled free and pressed him down on his stomach she could take a closer look. The tattoo was beautiful, the intricate lines suggesting something but she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Does it mean something?”

“Not anymore,” he said, and started to roll over. She pushed him back down and to her surprise, he let her. Her fingers traced the pattern and this time, she saw his skin flutter.

“What did it mean?”

“It’s a clan mark. All Sardoran warriors have the mark of their clan tattooed on their back. But I am Outcast; I no longer have a clan.”

“Why didn’t you have it removed?”

He shrugged but she didn’t think it was a casual reaction. “It can’t be removed, but I would never have tried anyway. It is a reminder of who I used to be. It’s a part of who I am now.”

His body tensed for a long moment, then he rolled again. This time she couldn’t stop him and he kept going until he was covering her with his big body, his warm weight pressing against her. She smiled and slid her arms around his neck, her bracelets chiming softly. She loved the way this felt – safe, protected…together. He studied her, his face no longer expressionless but still unreadable.

“There is a custom on Sardor,” he said slowly. “When a woman…belongs to a warrior, she takes his mark.”

Cam stared at him, “You want to put your tattoo on me?”

“It would be a smaller version. There is a device that will do it so it will be quick.”

The warm feeling was back. “Yes, honey,” she whispered.

“It’s quick but it won’t be painless,” he warned.

“Then you will have to find a way to make me feel pleasure as well.” She smiled at him.

“You wish me to put my mark on you?” he asked.

The warm feeling grew. “Yes.”

His forehead dropped to hers. “Thank you, sweetness.”

Then he kissed her so long and so hard and so sweetly that she was crying by the time he finished.

Cam’s dress was ruined, so Kievan wrapped her in an oversized towel and sent her back to their rooms to get dressed again. After a brief fight with himself, he sent Mikaroz to accompany her. Once the pair left, he went to his desk but instead of bringing up his screen, he studied his hands, trying to sort out his conflicted feelings. Each time he thought he could prove to Cam that he was not a good man, it didn’t turn out the way he planned. He wasn’t a fool; he knew she cared for him. The damnable part was that he liked having her care about him. He skated uneasily past the thought that he cared for her, too. He had tried to warn her that this wouldn’t—couldn’t—end well, but he knew she didn’t understand. And if he explained it to her, he would ruin everything there was between them. He dropped his head in his hands and barely suppressed a groan. He didn’t have any options and he was running out of time.

He heard J’Ssett enter the office but he took a moment to compose his face before he lifted his head.

“Yes,” he said impatiently.

“There is a problem, my lord,” J’Ssett said. “I’m not sure how sserious it is but the man who approached Misss Cam yesterday is no longer in the holding cells.”

“What?” Kievan stared at the other man. He couldn’t recall a single prisoner escaping the cells before.

“Also, we have not been able to find any records of his arrival on the sstation.”

That was troubling but not as unusual. The station was too big and the flow of traffic too constant to catch every person arriving and departing, especially if they slipped in with another group.

“Make sure the guards have his description and increase the patrols. If he’s still here, I want him found. If he is found, bring him to me immediately,” he ordered.

“Yess, my lord.”

The small man turned to go but Kievan called him back.

“I need a marking device with my clan symbol,” he said.

J’Ssett’s face turned to stone. “My lord?”

“You heard me.”

“The prince might not approve,” J’Ssett said hesitantly.

“I’m very sure he won’t,” Kievan answered. “But nonetheless, she agreed and I am going to do it.”

J’Ssett’s eyes flashed directly to his. “She agreed?” he whispered.

Kievan nodded curtly.

“Very well, my lord. It will take a day or two.”

“I need it as soon as possible. We don’t have much time.” Kievan’s voice was quiet. J’Ssett nodded and left the office.