Chapter Nineteen
“Up and on your feet, you pathetic maggots.”
The ringing voice in her ear made Kate jump up in a blind panic, pulling the sheet tight around her. She heard a shout and a thump from behind her and realized, too late, that Rone had fallen through the couch they had been sleeping on the minute she jumped up. Looking over, she saw him sitting in front of the couch and rubbing his head.
“Sorry,” she said apologetically. “I just—that voice—it startled me.”
“Yeah, I heard it too.” He craned his neck, peering around. “Where did it come from, anyway?”
“I am speaking to you from everywhere and nowhere,” the disembodied voice said, loudly enough to make Kate jump again.
“Madam Shadow?” she asked, frowning.
“Yes, you have the pleasure of addressing the Madam of Shadows,” the sneering, haughty voice replied. “Now listen—putting you together has not had the desired effect. You are still out of harmony with each other.”
“If you think that just forcing us to…to touch each other all the time will solve all our problems you’ve got a lot of wrong ideas in your head,” Kate snapped.
“On the contrary, my dear, that is exactly what will solve your problems and bring the two of you back into harmony,” the Madam of Shadows said. “But clearly you cannot be trusted to do what needs to be done yourselves.”
“All we want to do is get out of here,” Rone said, looking up at the domed ceiling. “You’ve rid Kate of the fear toxins and we’re very grateful for that but we can take it from here.”
“Rone is right—we think it’s time to leave,” Kate chimed in.
Soft, malevolent laughter filled the air around them.
“Do you think it is that easy, my darlings? Do you think that once you have committed yourselves to the Shadow you can simply leave at any time you wish to? I think not.”
“You can’t hold us here against our will,” Rone growled.
“Oh no?” She laughed again. “Read the contract the two of you signed in your own blood. I can hold the two of you here until I consider your relationship healed—and it most certainly is not healed yet.”
“We’re paying customers,” Kate insisted. “Or anyway, the Kindred High Council is paying and we want to go now.”
“Exactly—they are paying for Flame and Frost to restore the two of you to your previous harmonious relationship,” Madam Shadow snapped. “Which has not yet been done. I intend to see that you are restored no matter what it takes.”
“But—” Kate began.
“So after you have had your breakfast and put on the clothing provided for you, I will be coming to escort you to our exercise suite,” Madam Shadow went on, ignoring her.
“Exercise? What kind of exercise?” Rone asked suspiciously.
“Just some harmony building exercises, my dear Warrior, nothing to be concerned about,” the Madam said breezily. “Now hurry up! I will be coming to collect the two of you very soon.” There was a soft clicking noise and the voice fell silent.
Kate looked at Rone.
“What should we do? Should we go with her?” she asked in a low voice.
He frowned. “Come closer—I wish we still had our link so we could communicate without speaking out loud.”
“You think she’s listening?” Kate murmured, taking a step towards him.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Let’s just keep our voices down.”
“So what are we going to do?” Kate breathed. “I vote for trying to get out of here.”
“I suppose we could just run like the Seven Hells the minute she opens the door to this damned place,” Rone murmured.
“They’re probably prepared for that, though,” Kate pointed out. “I bet a lot of people want to get out of here once they find out what they’ve gotten themselves into.”
“True.” He nodded. “Okay, I say we go with her—for now. But if we see a chance to make a break for it, we take it. And once we’re out of this room, I don’t want to be forced back inside it.”
“I agree.” Kate shivered. “I don’t want to spend another night here. I want to go back to our ship.”
For some reason, Rone smiled at her.
“What?” she asked, putting a hand on her hip. “Did I say something funny?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I just like how you said ‘our’ ship. It’s nice to hear you talking about it like you belong there—because you do.”
Kate sighed and took a step back from him. “Honestly right now, I don’t know where I belong. I only know it isn’t here.”
“I’ll second that. Come on—let’s go get dressed.”
“You want some breakfast first?” Kate asked, speaking in a normal tone now. “Personally, I never want anything before eleven AM but—”
“Green tea. I know—I think I saw some in the cabinet,” Rone said.
“Oh—where?” Kate was already digging through the cabinets and soon enough she saw it—the Green Genmaicha tea that was her favorite breakfast. It had roasted rice kernels in it that made it taste nutty and rich—almost like the Cream of Wheat hot breakfast cereal her mom had made her growing up. That was probably why she liked it so much—but unfortunately, just now it was out of reach. The familiar round tin sat on the highest shelf, about a foot higher than her seeking fingertips.
“Here, let me.” Rone came and stood right behind her, reaching up to get the round tea tin with ease. “Here, you go,” he rumbled, holding it out to her.
“Oh…thank you.” Kate turned around to take it and found they were face to face or rather face to chest, since he was so much taller than her. But he was leaning down to look at her and his mouth was in easy reach—close enough to kiss.
“No problem, Lalli,” he murmured.
Despite all the intimate situations they’d been put in during their brief visit to Flame and Frost, Kate still felt her cheeks getting hot and her breath coming short. Damn it, why did the big Kindred have such an immediate and intense effect on her?
“Uh…” She tried to laugh in order to lighten the tension. “So is this our normal morning routine at home? I mean, literally falling out of bed and then me making tea?”
“No. Normally I wake you up with my tongue buried between your thighs,” he said softly, his eyes flashing. “After that, we get up and have breakfast and start our day.”
“Rone…” Her heart started slamming against her chest again. I don’t like that. I don’t want to do that, she told herself. Not after what happened in college… But if that was the truth why were her nipples so hard under the sheet she was still wearing wrapped around her? And why did her pussy suddenly feel so hot and sensitive?
“Sorry.” He shrugged and gave her a lazy grin. “You asked what our morning routine was. I always kissed you awake—the same way I kissed you to sleep at night.”
“I…I don’t see how I could possibly go to sleep if you were, uh, kissing me there.” Kate clutched the tea tin to her chest protectively, feeling her cheeks get even hotter.
“Well, you wouldn’t be sleepy at first,” he murmured. “But after I made you come two or three times with my mouth, you’d start to relax and your eyelids would get heavy.” He sighed. “Gods, I miss that—lying there between your legs, cleaning away all your honey with long, slow licks of my tongue as you drifted off to sleep.”
Kate tried to imagine feeling comfortable enough to just lie there in bed and let him lick her while she went to sleep and couldn’t. Just the thought of having him there, between her thighs, made her feel so tense she could barely breathe.
“I…I just d-don’t know,” she stuttered.
“Don’t believe me? Here.” Rone took her hand and brought it up to the side of his face. She could feel the rough scratch of his whiskers against her palm and the softness of his black hair. “Read me. Use your Knowing to see the truth of what I’m telling you,” he urged.
“I…I shouldn’t.” But Kate found she couldn’t move her hand.
Suddenly an image filled her mind…
She was back in the bedroom of the ship they shared, watching a vision of herself in the past. The past Kate was sitting at the head of the bed, wearing a short white lace nighty and reading a book. Just then, Rone came into the room wearing a pair of sleep trousers and nothing else. His broad, muscular chest looked smooth and hard and inviting. Kate immediately wanted to run her hands all over him—to touch him and feel connected to him.
No, she told herself uneasily. That may be how I felt then but I don’t feel that way now. Do I?
“Bedtime, Lalli,” Rone murmured, smiling down at the past Kate. “Are you ready for your goodnight kiss?”
“Of course.” To her surprise, Kate saw her past self raise the lace hem of the nighty to well above her belly button and spread her legs with absolutely no shame at all. She wasn’t wearing panties so her pussy was fully on display with its little mound of red curls. And when she spread her thighs wider, the pink outer lips opened, showing her slippery interior, already glistening with her juices.
“Mmm…just look at that soft little pussy, all ready for a goodnight kiss.” Rone’s deep voice was a low, lustful growl. “And already so hot and wet, baby.”
“Just for you,” Past Kate agreed with a naughty little smile. “Come and get it, sugar.”
She didn’t have to ask Rone twice. He lay full-length on the bed in front of her and buried his face between her legs. He was gentle at first, kissing her outer lips softly and lapping at her inner thighs. Then the Kate in the vision put a hand on his head and pushed him down, shamelessly demanding more.
The big Kindred wasn’t shy about giving her what she wanted. He redoubled his efforts, sucking her outer pussy lips into his mouth in a slow, teasing way first and then, when she moaned softly, spreading her with his thumbs to lap the sensitive inside of her pussy and bathe her clit with his tongue.
Kate watched, both horrified and intrigued as Past Kate moaned and bucked her hips up, her hands tightening in the big Kindred’s hair.
“Oh God, Rone, yes,” she gasped. “Right there—keep it right there. I’m so close!”
Kate shook her head. It was clear her past self wasn’t just tolerating this—she was eager for it and completely enjoying it. And Rone was loving it too. He went down on her, tasting her pussy as though he couldn’t get enough of her. His broad shoulders split her thighs wide and Past Kate writhed under him, pulling his hair and calling his name like she just couldn’t get enough.
Just look at him, Kate thought, watching the scene with awe and uncertainty as the Rone in the vision lapped and sucked her past self. He’s licking me like I’m his favorite flavor in the whole world! But how could that be? After what Greg Compton had said back in college…
“Your pussy is my favorite flavor.” Rone’s deep, rumbling voice pulled Kate out of the vision and she opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her, his eyes half lidded with lust.
“Oh!” She jerked her hand away from the side of his face. “How did you—did you read my thoughts?”
He shook his head. “I wish. That isn’t possible until our bond is restored. You said it out loud.”
“I did?” Kate felt incredibly vulnerable. “I, uh, didn’t mean to.”
“Do you believe me now?” he asked, looking at her earnestly. “You know the Knowing doesn’t lie to you. I’m telling the truth, baby.”
“I know.” She couldn’t look at him anymore. Her heart was pounding and she needed to get some space…some air so she could breathe properly. “Excuse me,” she said, pushing past him. “I…I really want some tea.”
“Sure, baby.” He sighed again. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just wanted you to know I wasn’t making all this up. I know it probably sounds kind of strange to you.”
“No, it’s fine,” Kate lied. “I asked about our routine. It’s just, uh, hard to imagine I was so comfortable letting you do that to me.” But she had been—in the vision she’d been positively eager to let him taste her. How had she gotten to that point?
“It took a long time to build up to it,” he admitted. “But it was worth waiting for—you’re worth waiting for, Kate.”
Kate forced a laugh. “That’s sweet but I have a feeling the Madam of Shadows won’t agree with you. We’d better get going—she’ll probably be here any minute and if we’re not dressed and ready to go she might make us wear our sheet and towel outfits to this weird exercise class she has planned for us.”
He sighed. “You’re probably right. Okay, let’s see what the magic closet has to offer us this morning. If it even is morning on this benighted planet.”
While Kate brewed her tea, he walked over to the closet by the bed and opened it.
“Looks like exercise clothes all right,” he murmured. “They’re tight and stretchy at least. Well—in some places more than others.”
“What do you mean?” Kate turned from the counter and saw that he was wearing some extremely form fitting clothes. At least, the shirt was form fitting—it was a sleeveless black t-shirt looking thing that left his muscular arms bare and clung lovingly to every hard line of his broad chest. The pants were somewhat looser—something like black sweats or maybe black karate pants. Except for the crotch which was made of some thin, shiny silver material that was stretched tight across the bulge of his shaft.
“See?” Rone looked down at himself. “Weird.”
“Uh…wow.” Kate managed an unsteady laugh. His thick shaft was clearly outlined in the thin silver material which left absolutely nothing to the imagination. “They’re not very subtle around here, are they?” she said, trying not to look and failing.
“Not a hell of a lot, no.” Rone shrugged. “I guess it beats a towel though.”
“What do they have in there for me?” A wave of unease flowed over her. If they expected Rone to wear the weird, show-everything pants, what in the world might the closet hold for her?
“Looks like exercise clothes for you too.” Rone pulled out a hanger with a t-shirt and a pair of tights and handed it to her.
“I’ll put them on in the bathroom,” Kate said.
“Or I can just turn around if you feel uncomfortable.”
Before she could answer, he turned, putting his broad back to her, considerately giving her privacy.
Quickly, Kate stripped off the sheet she’d been wearing since the night before and slipped into the outfit the closet had provided. At first she thought it wasn’t that bad. True, there were no panties or bra to go with it but at least there were no slits or holes anywhere in the fabric to show off her more sensitive areas.
But once she had the clothing on, she realized there was a problem. Her clothes were white instead of black but they had something in common with Rone’s outfit. On her chest, were two patches of thin, silver material that molded to her breasts so tightly it looked almost as if she had on silver body paint. Both nipples were clearly outlined and even the outer rings of her areolas were visible.
Even worse, she also had a silver patch in the crotch of her tights and the thin material seemed to cling to every curve of her pussy. Looking down, Kate could actually see the outline of her clit, peeping out from between her inner folds.
“Oh my God,” she muttered. “This is obscene.”
“What is?” Rone asked, his back still turned. “Can I see how you look?”
“Not yet.” Kate tried frantically to pull the clinging, silver material away from her private areas but the more she tried, the tighter it clung to her. At last she gave up. “Oh, hell,” she muttered furiously. “Freaking perverts!”
“Problems?” Rone asked.
“No—not if I want to be in some kind of exercise themed porno.” Kate said, frowning savagely down at her new clothes.
“Can I look?”
“I don’t know. It’s embarrassing.”
“I saw you naked last night,” he reminded her gently. “Saw you and touched you, baby. Come on—don’t be shy.” He turned around slowly.
“I can’t help it. This is worse than naked.” Kate crossed her arms over her chest protectively and pressed her thighs tightly together. “This is like…like I’m framing all my girly parts on purpose.”
“You’re not doing it on purpose.” Rone’s blue eyes flickered over her. “We have to wear what they give us.”
“No, we don’t. The sheet was better than this!” Kate reached for her discarded sheet—only to have it vanish out of her hands. “Hey!”
“I think that’s a not too subtle clue that you’re going to have to keep the outfit on,” Rone remarked. “Come on—your tea is probably getting cold and Madam Shadow might be here at any minute.”
“All right. You’re right I guess.” Still irritated and embarrassed, Kate walked back to the kitchen counter. She tried not to notice how the stretchy silver material seemed to grow warmer and even clingier as she moved. Snatching up the steaming tea cup, she breathed in the Sencha’s nutty aroma, trying to calm her nerves. All right. Everything was going to be all right. She hoped.
Rone gestured at her tea cup which she had unthinkingly lifted to her lips. “You want some help drinking that or would you rather just pour it all over yourself?”
“Oh!” Kate hastily pulled the cup away from her lips aware that he had probably just saved her some nasty burns. Knowing how the bubble apartment worked, she was certain she would have been pouring tea down the front of herself in the next minute when she tried to take a sip by herself. “Do you think I have to drink it out of your hand, though?” she asked as Rone took the cup from her. “Because it’s really hot.”
“Hopefully the apartment will take that into consideration. Here—let’s stand over the sink just in case.” They stood over the kitchen sink and Rone carefully put the steaming cup to her lips. “Go ahead, baby—have some,” he murmured.
Kate sipped obediently, and to her relief, she was able to drink the tea without the hot liquid scalding her front. She took another, deeper drink, feeling the warming liquid run down her throat. As it always did, the hot tea made her feel calm and centered.
“Mmm…thank you,” she murmured when Rone pulled the cup away. “Tea always makes me feel better.”
“I know.” He smiled at her. “It’s going to be okay, you know? As long as we stick together everything is going to be fine.”
“I hope you’re right.” Kate tried to smile at him and couldn’t quite manage it.
“I know I am,” he said firmly. “You want another sip?”
“Sure.”
Kate leaned over to take a sip from the proffered cup but just then Madam Shadow walked through the door.
“Hello my darlings.” She smirked at them. “Come. We have much to do.”
Kate exchanged a look with Rone.
“And what exactly are we going to be doing?” the big Kindred demanded.
“As I said—some exercises.” She glowered at him. Today instead of a cigarette, she held a long, flexible black cane in one hand. She swung it idly through the air, making a menacing swooshing noise. “Unless you’d rather stay in here?”
“No! No, we’re coming,” Kate said quickly. Who knew when their next chance to get out of here might come?
“Good. Then follow me.” The Madam of Shadows turned on the heel of her black leather boot and strolled out the door. Kate followed her and Rone put down the tea cup and went as well.
As they paced down the long, dark stone corridors, making several twists and turns, Kate wondered where they were in the complex. Would they be able to find their way out, even if they could make a break for it and escape?
They seemed to walk forever and Kate was wishing she had shoes on—the stone floor was hard and cold—when Madam Shadow came to an abrupt halt in front of a large black door. With a wave of her black-gloved hand, the door swung silently inward revealing a large room with stark white walls and a gray floor.
“What is this place?” Rone growled. Clearly, he was reluctant to enter and get trapped inside another area they couldn’t easily exit. Kate didn’t blame him. She hung back on the threshold too, not willing to go past the heavy black door.
“A gymnasium…of sorts.” Madam Shadow cocked one perfectly shaped black eyebrow at them. “You’ll enter, my darlings—if you want to win your freedom from the Shadow.”
“So you’ll let us go if we do a few exercises?” Rone was clearly skeptical.
“Exactly.” Madam Shadow smiled and tapped her long, black cane against the doorway. “And don’t think you’ll get free on your own. Even if you run from me now, you’ll never find your way out. Frost is configured to my commands. Observe.” She snapped her fingers and the corridor ahead of them, which had appeared long and straight just a moment before, shimmered. When it solidified again, there were three paths to pick from, not just one.
Kate gave a little gasp. “How…how did you do that?”
“As I said—this part of our little resort is configured to my mind and mine alone. It obeys my commands—and you should too, if you ever want to get out of here, my sweet little maggots.”
The Madam of Shadows gave them a cruel smile and Kate saw malice in her purple eyes.
She’s telling the truth, she realized. We’ll never get out of here on our own—not if she can snap her fingers and keep changing the configuration of the tunnels! We’re trapped—we have to do as she says.
Rone seemed to realize it as well because, with a final angry growl, he stepped into the gymnasium. Kate followed and watched, with a sinking heart, as the heavy black door swung shut behind them with a booming clang.
* * * * *
“All right—here we are. Now what are we supposed to do?” Rone demanded, turning to the Madam of Shadows. “Run laps? Do sit-ups?” There didn’t seem to be much else they could do in the large empty space. There was no equipment anywhere to be seen.
“Not exactly.” That cruel smile curved her perfect lips again. “The exercises I have in mind for the two of you are a bit more…intimate than that.”
That sounded bad. Rone hoped like hell whatever exercises she had planned for them weren’t too sexual in nature. He’d had a hard enough time calming his Beast the night before. He didn’t need anything to rile it up again.
“Let’s start with some stretching exercises,” Madam Shadow proclaimed. “Both of you on your hands and knees now.”
Very unwillingly, Rone got to his hands and knees on the soft, spongy gray floor. The gray color came from some short, silky fibers that seemed to be a cross between a carpet and a kind of grass. It was surprisingly comfortable to kneel on.
“Very good,” the Madam said when Kate was kneeling beside him. “Now, Kate, lower your head to the floor and raise your bottom high in the air.”
“Why?” Kate asked flatly, not moving.
“Because I said so,” the Madam of Shadows hissed. “But if you won’t comply on your own…” She made a gesture in the air and suddenly Kate gave a little cry and dropped her head to her folded arms. Her rounded ass rose high in the air and her legs spread wide, revealing the patch of clinging silver material between her thighs which had molded itself to her pussy in a very distracting way.
“What did you do?” Rone demanded, rounding on the Madam of Shadows because it was clear that Kate hadn’t acted on her own. “Let her go—now.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Warrior.” She smiled again with those black painted lips.
“You—” Rone started to surge towards her, only to find himself held in place by invisible bands. “What the—?” He struggled against them but it was no good. Though he couldn’t see them, it felt like iron manacles were locked around his wrists and chest, holding him in place. He couldn’t reach the Madam no matter what he did, even though she was less than two feet away from him.
“I trust you see why my orders must be obeyed? Now, then…” Her purple eyes gleamed. “Let’s have you right behind your mate there. Go on—get up close and press against her. Let her feel that thick cock of yours against her sweet little cunt.”
To his horror, Rone found that he was doing as she said, though he didn’t want to. Though he fought the invisible iron bands with all his might, he was forced to get into position behind Kate as though he was taking her from behind. Worse, he was forced to press the throbbing ridge of his cock against the vulnerable slit of her pussy. He felt her stiffen beneath him and she gave a little gasp of protest when the head of his cock rubbed over her folds.
“Sorry, baby,” he breathed in her ear. “I don’t want to—she’s making me somehow.”
“Me too,” Kate whispered back and he could feel her breathing, light and frightened, beneath him.
“Cup her breasts,” the Madam of Shadows commanded him. “Tug her nipples a little, Warrior. Let’s see if we can’t warm her up.”
Though he didn’t want to, Rone found he was forced to do as she commanded. Reaching around Kate, he let her full breasts fill his hands, the hard little points of her nipples rubbing against his palms. Doing as he had been commanded, he captured the tight little peaks between his thumbs and fingers and tugged gently, twisting in just the way he knew Kate loved. She let out a low moan and arched under him, pressing her ass against his cock.
Rone bit back a groan. Gods, it felt incredible even though he knew it shouldn’t. He couldn’t help remembering the many times he’d taken her this way, the way she used to moan and buck against him, begging her to fuck her harder, to get deeper into her sweet little cunt…
As though reading his mind, the Madam of Shadows gave another command.
“And now—let’s have a little friction,” she said, smirking at them. “Come on, Warrior, slide against her—let your mate feel how much you want her. How much you need her.”
Again, Rone was forced to act. Though he didn’t want to, he could feel his cock rubbing hard against Kate’s open, vulnerable pussy. The thin, silky fabric between them seemed almost to melt away. Even though it looked like it was still in place, he swore he could feel the hot, wet folds of her sweet little cunt enfolding him as he slid against her.
“Oh…oh!” Kate gasped and writhed helplessly beneath him.
Rone groaned as the unwanted contact had what was clearly the desired effect—his cock was now rock hard as he rubbed against Kate—even though he didn’t want it to be. Even worse, the Beast inside him was waking up and demanding to be set free—demanding to take its due and breed Kate, to bond her to him completely.
No, I can’t let that happen! Have to stay in control!
“Please,” he begged, though the words tasted like ashes in his mouth. “Please, Madam Shadow, don’t make me do this to Kate. She’s not ready for this yet. I don’t want to hurt or force her to do something she doesn’t want—please.”
“Oh, you’re afraid you’re forcing her, hmm? Well what if we turn the tables?” With a flick of her wrist, Rone felt himself released from the invisible bands her will had somehow trapped him in. He fell back with a cry, his cock aching with need. Right now, though, he just wanted to get away and give Kate some space. She would never trust him again if he hurt her this way—not even if he was forced into doing it.
But the Madam of Shadows wasn’t through with them yet.
“Right—on your back, Warrior,” she snapped and Rone found that he was flat on his back with no way to rise. Well, except for his cock. Despite their situation, it stayed stubbornly erect, begging for Kate’s touch.
And unfortunately, that was what it was about to get.
“Now you, my dear,” the Madam said, turning to Kate. “Straddle him.”
“I…I don’t want to.” Kate’s voice trembled but despite her words, she threw a leg over Rone’s supine form and did as the Madam commanded.
“No, but you need to. And your mate needs you to—if the two of you are ever to be in harmony again,” Madam Shadow snapped. “Now come, my dear, don’t be shy. Get a little closer. Rub that little pussy against your warrior’s cock.”
Kate bit her lip and Rone could see the indecision in her face. Yet she came forward and lowered herself down onto him anyway, pressing the sweet, warm folds of her pussy against the hard length of his rigid shaft.
He tried to bite back a groan and couldn’t. Gods, she felt so good against him—so right. And yet this whole situation was wrong. He didn’t want Kate doing something she wasn’t ready to do—something she didn’t want to do. He didn’t want her to fear him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered hoarsely but she shook her head.
“It’s not your fault. I’m sorry too. I don’t…don’t mean to be doing this.”
“You can’t help it,” he tried to reassure her. He was trying to hold completely still. But though the iron bands wrapped tightly around his chest and wrists, pinning his hands to his sides, his pelvis was free to move. He couldn’t help rocking his hips up in time to Kate’s strokes as she pressed against him and slid up and down the length of his shaft. Gods, he couldn’t feel the material between them at all. Having her ride him was an exquisite torture because he could feel exactly how silky and wet she was, how hot and swollen and ready.
But was she really? Or was that just the Beast inside him, insisting that Kate was ready to be taken, that she needed to be bred and claimed?
“Oh…oh,” Kate moaned softly as she continued to slide against him. Rone wondered if she was getting close—the Beast in him longed to feel her coming but he was afraid if she did, it would demand to taste her honey. His mouth watered for the taste of her, the warm, secret feminine flavor that was uniquely Kate. If she came against his cock as she had the night before, would he be able to hold back a second time? Rone wasn’t sure.
“That’s right…” The look in the Madam’s purple eyes as she watched his mate was one of greedy lust. “That’s right, my dear. You can cry and beg and say you don’t want to but I know the truth—I know how wet you are for him.” She smirked at Kate. “You are, aren’t you? Your little pussy is so wet and hot he could slip inside you right now and fill you up without a bit of trouble.”
“I…” Kate bit her lip, a blush of shame creeping into her pale cheeks. “Please,” she whispered. “Please, I…I’m not ready for this. I care for Rone but I don’t…I can’t…”
“Well, if you’re not ready to fuck yet, maybe we can try something else. Lean over your lover, my dear. Let him get you a little more ready.”
“What?” Kate looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. “I don’t…don’t understand.”
“You will.” The Madam looked at Rone. “Come now, Warrior, reach up to meet her. Why don’t you suck those sweet, ripe nipples for a little while and get your little mate ready to fuck?”
“I don’t think Kate wants me to,” Rone growled. But somehow he was leaning up and Kate was leaning over him, pressing her full, beautiful breasts to his face. He gave a low groan as he looked into Kate’s troubled green eyes. “I’m sorry, baby…so sorry,” he murmured.
“It’s…it’s all right.” Kate’s voice was breathless and her cheeks were still flushed. “I…I know you can’t help it.” She pressed one of her ripe nipples to his lips. “Go ahead…I won’t…won’t be upset with you.”
Taking her at her word, Rone drew the sweet, ripe peak between his lips and lapped at it tenderly. Gods, she tasted so good. He wanted to lick all of her—not just her breast. Wanted to give her entire, sweet body a long, leisurely tongue bath until she moaned and writhed and opened for him completely. Even though the silver material was still between his mouth and her breast, he couldn’t feel it at all. He could taste the salty-sweet flavor of her skin, could feel the tight pink peak between his lips getting even harder and more sensitive as he sucked and tongued it.
Of course, he couldn’t help remembering all the times he’d done this in the past. After he’d finally convinced her of how beautiful she was, Kate had taken great pleasure in teasing and taunting him by wearing low-cut blouses and sweaters that showed a lot of cleavage.
Sometimes they would make a game of it, with her teasing him until Rone chased her around the ship. When he caught her, he would pin her down and pull open her blouse to suck and lap her tight nipples until she moaned and writhed under him. That usually led to him tasting her elsewhere—most often with her riding his face as he lapped and sucked her sweet pussy until she came for him, long and hard…
God, he missed it! Missed it so much but he knew Kate couldn’t remember any of it, so what they were doing right now was probably making her incredibly uncomfortable.
He wished he could stop if only to make her feel better but he was powerless to do anything but lick and suck her nipples until the Madam of Shadows released him from this particular compulsion. It wasn’t just that the invisible iron bands were holding him down, it was as though she was actually controlling his body, making him do exactly what she wanted even though he didn’t want to do it.
At last, however, the Madam seemed to tire of this particular activity.
“Enough.” She gestured at Rone who was finally able to release Kate’s nipple from his mouth and lean his head back.
“Are…are you going to let us go now?” Kate was panting, her cheeks still flushed.
“Hardly.” The Madam laughed evilly. “We must restore your harmony. And we must satiate the Shadow before we let you leave Flame and Frost.”
“Satiate the Shadow? What in the Seven Hells does that mean?” Rone demanded.
“It means that no one who enters the Shadow as the two of you have done may leave without offering a sacrifice of either pleasure or pain.” Her lip twisted in a sneer. “Most choose pleasure but a few enjoy the finer aspects of physical pain.”
“We don’t,” Kate said quickly. “So what do we have to do to get out of here?”
“Fuck your mate,” Madam Shadow said bluntly. “That should cover the pleasure sacrifice nicely.”
“No,” Rone said harshly. “Kate will never forgive me if I force myself on her—even if you’re making me to do it. You think you’re pushing us together? If you make us do that—make us make love before my mate is ready—you’ll drive a wedge between us we’ll never be able to overcome.”
“Hmm…” The Madam of Shadows didn’t look pleased but Rone thought she was at least beginning to believe him. All it took was one look at Kate’s pale face to know he was telling the truth. “All right, then,” she said at last. “Something different. I know…” She snapped her fingers. “You, my dear,” she said to Kate. “Come further up your mate’s body until you’re straddling his face.”
“What? Why?” Kate asked in a shaking voice even as she was assuming the position the Madam had demanded. Rone knew she couldn’t do anything else—she was under the same compulsion he was—caught in the Madam’s power. Looking up, he could see that the silver material covering Kate’s tender pussy was just inches from his face. He could smell her sweet, feminine scent, could almost taste her rich honey…Gods, how he wanted to taste her! But he could tell Kate didn’t want him to. She was trembling visibly above him, almost as if she was straining to get away. But she was trapped.
“Very nice,” Madam Shadow purred. “Now, Kate, my dear—just lower yourself down until you feel your warrior’s mouth against your pussy.”
Kate’s face went red, then white and she began to shake in earnest. Obviously she was somehow resisting the compulsion to do as the Madam ordered though Rone had no idea how she was managing it. “Please,” she whispered. “Please, I…I can’t.”
“Of course you can. You’re joined to a Wulven Kindred, aren’t you?” the Madam demanded impatiently. “One cannot be bonded to that kind of male without learning to spread for his tongue on a regular basis.”
“I…I don’t want to.” Kate’s voice was a low cry of anguish that tore at Rone’s heart.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he growled at the Madam. “This is dangerous. If you know anything about my kind, you know what I carry inside me. Taunting it in this way is the quickest way to release it—especially when I am already having difficulty holding it back.”
“Yes…I imagine after months of unrequited hunger, your Beast must be close to the surface,” Madam Shadow mused.
“It fucking well is,” Rone snarled. “And you may be able to hold me down with the force of your will in this form but I doubt you’ll have a chance of controlling my Beast if it comes out.”
Kate was watching their exchange with wide eyes and he could see the fear on her face.
“Please—can’t you just let us go?” she asked the Madam in a low, trembling voice. Her thighs were shaking now, her small body vibrating with the effort to disobey the Madam’s direct order.
The Madam frowned. “I have told you, one cannot leave the Shadow without a sacrifice of either pain or pleasure.”
“Then I chose pain,” Kate said instantly. “Go ahead—punish me or do whatever it is you have to do. Just let us go afterwards.”
“Kate, no!” Rone protested, looking up at her. “Baby—”
“I can’t.” She looked down at him with tears in her eyes. “I can’t do this. Not like this. Not now. I’m sorry, Rone but…I’d rather have the pain.”
“Maybe you should ask what the ‘pain’ is before you so rashly consent to let me punish you,” Madam Shadow hissed. Then she shimmered and seemed to change form. To Rone’s surprise, it was suddenly Mistress Light standing before them.
“Mistress Light?” Kate asked in a shocked voice. “What…what are you doing here?”
“I am but the other aspect of Madam Shadow,” the Mistress replied. Her white hair and gown radiated purity and light and her purple eyes, so like the Madam of Shadow’s, glowed with sympathy and sincerity.
“So…you’re the same person?” he asked, frowning.
“I am.” The glowing being nodded. “For my people are able to divide themselves into their most basic parts. I am all that is good and sweet while my other half—my dark sister as I think of her—is all that is cruel and harsh.”
“Thank God you came then,” Kate whispered, her brimming eyes overflowing. “Please, let us go. We need to get back to our ship and get out of here.”
“Yes, those that choose the Shadow often feel the need to leave before their treatment is complete.” Mistress Light shook her head. “It is most distressing.”
“What’s distressing is the things your ‘other half’ has been forcing us to do against our will,” Rone growled. “Now let us out of here!”
“I am afraid I cannot—not until a sacrifice is made to the Shadow.” The Mistress sighed sorrowfully. “And consider, my dears—you are so close to reconciling. My dark sister may be cruel, but she is also quite adept at reading the needs of our clients. The two of you must come together—until you do, your harmony cannot be restored.”
“That may be true,” Kate said in a shaky voice. “But you can’t force us to have sex and expect it to fix everything. I know that Rone loves and remembers me but I still feel like I’m just getting to know him. I don’t…I’m not ready for this. Not now. I just…I just want to go home.” Her eyes brimmed again and she blinked away the tears.
Rone felt his heart swell. He wanted so badly to protect her, to cradle and shield her from anything that might hurt her, either emotionally or physically. And knowing that he might be the instrument of her harm—if the crazy Mistress of Light and Madam of Shadows had anything to say about it—nearly made him insane with anger and frustration.
“Let us go now,” he growled at Mistress Light. “We’ll find our own way to each other. One that doesn’t involve having me force myself on the only female I’ve ever loved.”
“Very well, then. But know this, Warrior…” The Mistress pointed her finger at him. “You are running out of time. I know our methods here have seemed heavy-handed but it is only because we sense the time-bomb that you carry within you.”
“Heavy-handed?” Kate gave an angry little laugh that was more than half sob. “Is that what you call it when you force us into highly sexual situations against our will? Or when you start speaking into my mind to try and make me to do things I’m not ready to do?”
Mistress Light frowned. “Well, I cannot deny your first accusation but as for the second, no one here has the power to speak directly into the mind of another. So I am afraid I don’t know what you are talking about, my dear.”
“Yeah, right.” Clearly Kate didn’t believe her. Honestly, neither did Rone—the proprietors of Flame and Frost had been manipulating them from the first. At this point, he didn’t know what to believe any more. He just wanted to get out of here and take some time to calm his Beast before it erupted from him and caused a scene of unspeakable carnage and lust.
Mistress Light shrugged, her white robes rippling with the movement.
“Believe what you will. But if you wish to leave, you still must pay the price.”
“Fine, I’ll pay it. Just let me go,” Kate said, glaring at her. “Let me go now.”
“As you wish.” Mistress Light shimmered and Madam Shadow took her place. “Well, I see that my simpering, do-gooder sister could make no headway with you,” she sneered. “Still determined to leave, are you?”
“Yes, we are.” Kate lifted her chin defiantly. “And I’m ready to pay the price—whatever it is.”
“Kate—” Rone didn’t like her making such rash promises. But it was too late—the Madam of Shadows was already crooking a finger at his mate.
“Very well, little female. Then come here and take your punishment.”
“Kate!” he said again, his concern growing but Kate was already rising and walking towards the evil Madam who was smiling cruelly. Rone tried to follow but he was still restrained by the invisible bands. No matter how he fought them, he couldn’t move from his supine position on the floor. All he could do was watch.
“What…what are you going to do to me?” Kate asked in a voice that trembled only a little.
“Why, cane you, of course. Why do you think I brought my best cane with me today?” The Madam tapped the long, narrow black cane into her palm, with an ominous slapping sound. “I had a feeling I might have a use for it.”
“What? No!” Rone struggled harder with the bands. He had an idea he might be able to snap them—but only if he allowed his Beast to come out and lend him its strength. He couldn’t risk that—it was the very thing he’d been trying to avoid all this time. “Leave Kate alone,” he growled at the Madam. “You want to cane somebody, you can cane me.”
“Ah, what a sweet and touching offer.” The Madam of Shadows mimed wiping a tear from her purple eyes, which were lined in thick black makeup. “But I am afraid that will not satisfy the Shadow. You see, it chose your sweet little Kate when she came to us—you, my dear warrior, were chosen by the Light. You may have come into the Shadow to be with your mate but she is the one it truly wants—and the only one whose pain can satisfy its hunger.”
“No!” Rone struggled harder. “No—don’t you fucking touch her!”
“Oh, I’ll do more than touch her, Warrior. I’ll cane her until she bleeds.” She gave him another evil smile. “And then, of course, the two of you will be free to go.”
“Do you swear that?” Kate asked, her voice shaking. “You swear that the minute you finish…finish caning me, Rone and I are free to go back to our ship and leave?”
“I swear. Also, it’s in your contract. You know—the one you signed without reading the fine print?” Madam Shadow smirked at her.
“All right then.” There was a grim determination in Kate’s green eyes. “Do it. Just get it over with quickly is all I ask.”
“Very well. Turn and placed your hands against the wall,” the Madam directed.
“Kate—Lalli—no! You can’t let her do this!” Rone thrashed against his invisible bonds but Kate was already turning around and bracing her hands against the wall. Before he could protest further, the Madam of Shadows grabbed the back of Kate’s shirt in one black-taloned claw and ripped it neatly down the middle.
Kate gasped and shivered as her bare back was revealed. Rone looked at the familiar white scars from her past surgeries with a sinking feeling in his chest. How often had he kissed Kate there? How often had he traced the lines of scar tissue to ease her pain with the healing warmth of his tongue? The twisted scars made the pale skin of her back seem even more delicate and frail. They made him long to caress her and take away her pain. And now this evil bitch was planning to make it worse.
“Don’t hit her there!” he snarled, still writhing against the invisible bonds. “Can’t you see she’s been wounded in the past? Her scars already give her pain—if you add to the trauma…”
“I’ll cane her where I see fit,” the Madam snapped back. To prove her point, she drew back her arm and let the cane fall against Kate’s bird-like shoulder blades.
Kate jumped and her breath hitched in her chest but she made no protest and didn’t take her hands away from the wall. Rone saw her fingers clench but she stayed steady even when the Madam drew back her arm and let another blow fall. And then another and another.
Rone shouted and threatened to no avail as the beating went on and on. The cane raised ugly red welts on Kate’s pale skin and then, as the blows continued to fall, some of the welts became wounds until trickles of crimson were sliding down Kate’s bare back.
“Stop it! Fucking stop it—she’s bleeding!” Rone roared. The sight of his mate being hurt and tortured when he could do nothing to help her was a special kind of Hell—one he thought he might never recover from. He wanted to die. Wanted to tear loose of the invisible bonds and rip the fucking sadistic Madam of Shadows limb from limb.
We could do it, whispered the Beast in his head. We could kill and rend and maim. We could bathe in her blood…
But where would it end if he let the Beast out with such murderous intent? Rone knew he had to keep hold of it but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could do that. Not if he had to keep watching Kate being beaten.
At last, with one final, flat crack, the cane fell for the last time. The Madam of Shadows withdrew the long, evil instrument and actually licked it—her long pink tongue coming out to caress the black surface.
“Mmm,” she murmured, as though savoring the taste of Kate’s blood and pain. “Well, there you are my dear. It appears that the Shadow is finally satiated. You and your mate are free to go.”
Kate tried to nod but she sank down the wall instead, her cheek pressed to its red-flecked surface. To Rone, she looked as though she’d lost a lot of blood—maybe too much for her to keep going.
“Gods, Kate! Let me free! Let me go to her!” he rasped, his throat raw from shouting.
“As you wish.” With a negligent wave of her hand, the Madam somehow freed him. The moment he felt the invisible shackles melt away, Rone jumped up and ran to Kate. She lay in a crumpled, bloody heap on the floor, the white wall in front of her flecked with crimson.
“Baby? Kate?” Rone lifted her carefully, trying not to touch her wounded back.
Kate moaned, her head rolling back on her neck. There was a smear of blood on her chin too. Rone’s heart clenched in his chest when he realized she’d bitten her lip until it bled to keep from crying out during the brutal beating.
“You bitch,” he said thickly, glaring with hatred at the Madam of Shadows who was lounging against the wall and examining her long black fingernails. “I’ll kill you for what you’ve done to my mate.”
“Hadn’t you best think of getting her back to your ship and treating her injuries before you start threatening me?” she purred, arching an eyebrow at him. “Those wounds need to be cleaned and tended unless you want them to leave permanent scars. And your mate already has enough of those, doesn’t she?”
Rone knew she was right but it nearly killed him to leave with Kate unavenged.
“There will be a reckoning for what you’ve done,” he swore, his voice dipping down to the Beast’s growl. “I swear it by the Goddess.”
“Before you go making any oaths or promises, you need to remember that your mate asked for this punishment,” the Madam pointed out. “She chose it over letting you taste her. You might want to ask yourself why before you come after me.”
Her words cut deep because Rone had to admit they were true. Kate had chosen being caned over him. Why? Did she find him that repulsive? But no…she’d responded to his touch several times when they were together in the apartment bubble. So then why was she so reluctant to let him taste her?
Another low moan from Kate made him remember that his first priority now had to be getting her back to the ship and tending to her wounds. After that, maybe they could talk.
With a final glare at the Madam of Shadows, he cradled his wounded mate to his chest and left the room.
Outside, to his surprise, there was now a short, steep tunnel that led to a lighted archway. Making his way up it, Rone found himself back at the landing area. Standing in front of him was their ship, The Finder, just waiting to be boarded.
He turned to glance back at the dark hallway behind him only to see the Madam of Shadows standing there with a smirk on her face.
“Farewell, Warrior,” she said. “I would wish you a safe journey. But as you well know, nothing and no one around you will be safe for long if you don’t take care of your hunger soon.”
“I had it well in control before you started pushing,” Rone snarled. “And I can still control it—so stay the fuck away from us!”
The Madam’s dark shape shimmered and Mistress Light appeared.
“Do not lie to yourself, Warrior,” she said gently. “You need to feed your hunger very soon or your mate will be in grave danger. You know this.”
“You—” Rone began but just then Kate stirred in his arms.
“Rone?” she whispered and then cried out weakly when her movements hurt the wounds on her back.
“It’s all right, baby,” he murmured reassuringly. “We’re going now. Going to get you all treated and healed up, I promise.”
“Farewell, Warrior,” Mistress Light said, just as her other half had.
Rone didn’t bother to answer. Someday he would come back and avenge the pain that had been inflicted on his mate. Right now, he had to tend to her.
He took Kate inside the ship and shut the door firmly behind him. They were getting the Seven Hells out of this damn place and then he was going to heal Kate…and get some answers from her.