When Neh’sa woke, it was with a sweet, lazy feeling of well-being she hadn’t experienced in years. She felt warm too, which was unusual for her. Generally, no matter how many covers she piled on at night, she woke freezing cold. But this morning she was toasty warm. Why?
Her mind went over the hazy events of the day before. The auction…the Devotion Ceremony which had been nearly ruined by that horrid Lady Wraith’neck…the urgent call to the clinic where she’d expended nearly all of her inner reserves…and then coming home to find Thorn in an awful state…
Thorn!
The memory brought her wide awake and as she thought his name, her huge new Kindred body-slave murmured in his sleep and pulled her closer. The reason she was so warm was because her back was pressed to his front and he had one long, muscular arm draped over her possessively.
Oh Goddess, what have I done?
She’d completely abandoned protocol. Not only had she allowed her new submissive to touch her and penetrate her with his fingers, she’d then curled up in his arms and slept with him as though he was a lover instead of a slave. Those Alpha tendencies of his which she’d been trying to curb would be completely out of control now—she’d very possibly ruined his training forever.
What’s wrong with me? Why am I acting like this with him? No one watching my actions last night would have any idea I’m a seasoned Domme who has trained dozens of submissives. I’m acting like an inexperienced first-time Mistress who’s never owned a slave before.
She was, in fact, acting like she had with Heloth, who had been the first body-slave she’d ever owned—the only one she’d allowed to pledge his devotion to her.
But Neh’sa didn’t want to admit, even to herself, that she was acting as she had when she’d allowed herself to fall in love.
“Mmm…good morning, Mistress. You awake?” Thorn’s deep voice seemed to vibrate her entire body as he spoke.
Neh’sa stiffened and answered carefully.
“I am but I thought you were still asleep.”
“Felt you tense up—I think that’s what woke me,” he rumbled. “I seem to be…very attuned to you.” He frowned. “Don’t know why that is…”
Neh’sa sat up and pulled the sheet up to cover herself before turning to face him. Normally she wasn’t shy about showing off her body—putting on a sexual display was part of Yonnite culture—it was equated with wealth and power. But somehow she felt vulnerable being naked with her big slave just at the moment—maybe because of all the things she’d allowed him to do that she shouldn’t have.
“I’m fine, Thorn,” she said, struggling to regain her composure. “But I need you to understand something—what happened between us last night can not and will not happen again. I only allowed you to sleep with me because you had a severe case of sub-drop last night and I was truly worried about you.”
He propped himself up on one elbow and frowned.
“Okay, putting aside the fact that I’m not allowed in your bed…Sub-drop? What in the Seven Hells is that?”
“A psychological condition which can have physical effects,” Neh’sa told him. “It’s the temporary depression and chemical imbalance that can happen to a submissive after a particularly intense interaction with his Domme.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“An intense submission, such as the one you experienced yesterday, can release all kinds of pleasure chemicals into the brain,” she explained. “When it’s over and your body is no longer producing those chemicals, you can experience a steep drop in your mood—a low to match the high, so to speak.”
“So…it’s almost like my body went into withdrawal?” Thorn rumbled, looking at her. “And…you’re the drug I was craving?”
“In a way, although I didn’t expect it to be such a problem for you.” She frowned. “I should have though. You’re extremely Alpha and you have dominant tendencies of your own. Giving up enough of your control to let me penetrate you—even just a little—must have been extraordinarily difficult.”
“It wasn’t easy,” he admitted gruffly. “Afterwards I felt so fucking strange—almost in a daze. And all I could think about…” He cleared his throat. “All I could think of was you, Mistress. And what you must think of me after I let you…”
“Take you?” Neh’sa asked softly. “Yes, that’s a symptom of sub-drop too. No matter how much a submissive enjoys what was done to him, he can still feel horrified later when he considers it without the pleasure chemicals flooding his brain.”
“I’m not horrified,” he denied, frowning. “Maybe more just…surprised.”
“That it wasn’t torture? That you didn’t hate it?” Neh’sa asked when he fell silent.
“I don’t know.” He frowned, looking away from her and she saw that muscle jumping in his jaw again. Clearly he was still conflicted about their encounter the day before.
“You did well, Thorn,” she said, putting a note of authority into her voice. It was time to get back to protocol and train him right. “And you’re going to do well today too, I’m certain.”
“Why?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you have planned? More training?”
“Yes, but not exactly like yesterday,” Neh’sa told him. “I just want to put you through your paces and see what we need to work on. If you do well, you’ll earn your collar and I’ll take you with me to the banquet at Club Carnivorous at the end of the week.”
“Club Carnivorous? What the hell is that?” Thorn growled.
“And exclusive, members only club in downtown Opulex for the wealthy elite of Yonnie Six.”
“Of which you’re one?” He smirked. “But you don’t even own your own building—doesn’t that make you barely middle-income by Yonnie Six standards?”
Neh’sa saw that he was being sarcastic and she started to reply in kind before she realized what she was doing. She was falling into easy banter with him—treating him again like a lover instead of a sub.
“My financial matters are not your concern, Thorn,” she said sternly. “What is your concern is earning your collar so you can accompany me at the end of the week to the club. Do you think you’ll be able to do that?”
He lifted his chin and the motes in his blue and green eyes began to dance more quickly.
“Beyond a doubt, Mistress,” he growled.
“You must submit to me in all things. Remember—you’re a representative of me when we go out in public. If you misbehave, you’ll damage my reputation.” Neh’sa spoke sternly.
“Yes, Mistress—I understand.” He nodded firmly.
“Good—then let’s get started.”
* * * * *
Neh’sa seemed to regret what had happened between them the night before because the moment they got up, she was all business. Apparently she had ordered clothing in Thorn’s size the night before at some point because that morning the closet in the room she had designated as his was stocked.
Thorn pulled on a fresh pair of tight black leather trousers—crotchless again, he noticed with a grimace as he fastened them.
“Do you dislike your new trousers?” Neh’sa asked sharply, probably seeing the face he was making.
Thorn cleared his throat. “I was just hoping for more, uh, coverage after the auction, Mistress.”
“Here—you may wear this, at least while we’re at home alone together.” She gave him a small black loincloth that matched the trousers. It hung over his shaft and balls, hiding them from view—barely. “I have to have complete access to the more sensitive parts of your anatomy during your training.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, Mistress,” Thorn said as he fixed the cloth in place. “So I suppose I’ll have to take this off when we’re in public?”
“I’ll need you on display when we go to the banquet,” Neh’sa told him. “The size and erectness of a body-slave’s shaft can either shame his Mistress or bring her honor.” She eyed the bulge under the black loincloth. “I believe you’ll do the latter with no problem.”
“Why thank you, Mistress.” Thorn smiled at her sardonically. “I’ll do my best to please.”
“Make no mistake, Thorn, the only way you will ‘please’ me with your shaft is by displaying it when we go out in public,” she said sharply. “It’s time you started behaving like a proper body-slave. Eyes down and follow me.”
Thorn felt a soft growl rising in his throat and he tamped it back down with difficulty. It wasn’t so much that he minded taking orders from her—it was that he didn’t mind enough. That was what put his back up. Not that he actually wanted to be submissive—he didn’t, it was just part of this mission he couldn’t avoid. Still, a little voice in the back of his mind wondered if he would have avoided obeying even if he could. Neh’sa was so fucking sexy and confident when she was giving orders…
The idea filled him with a maelstrom of confusing emotions and he remembered of what she’d told him about “sub-drop.” Had that really been what was wrong with him the night before? Had he somehow enjoyed allowing her to penetrate him—to dominate him—so much that the sudden withdrawal of his Mistress had caused the state of depression and mental fogginess, not to mention incapacitating him physically?
Surely not, he told himself. I must have had some kind of short-acting virus, maybe a reaction to the Yonnie Six air or atmosphere…
But there didn’t seem to be a reason why the only thing that had made him feel better was the touch of his Mistress’s body against his own. Gods, he knew he wouldn’t be allowed to do it again but the feel of her soft curves pressed against him had been amazing. And the way she had spread her legs and let him touch her—let him make her come as he sucked her nipples—had blown his mind. Thorn couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such an intense sexual encounter and he couldn’t help longing for her again…longing for more…
Stop it, he told himself fiercely. You’re here undercover—you have a job to do. And even if you weren’t, you know you can’t ever allow yourself to become too deeply involved with a female. It’s not safe. You might hurt her!
“…have another piece of equipment to fit you with.” Neh’sa’s voice broke into his illicit thoughts as she brought him to the training room. She opened a tall cabinet which held an array of long black leather harnesses and straps and deliberated before choosing one. “This should fit you—it’s the largest one I have.”
She put the criss-crossing leather harness on him and adjusted it until it was tight. It made a black leather X across his chest and back while leaving most of his muscular form bare.
“There—that’s good.” She nodded in approval.
“What about shoes…Mistress?” Thorn asked, looking down at his bare feet.
“You’ll remain barefoot while in my domicile. When we go out, you’ll be given appropriate footwear,” Neh’sa told him. Opening another cabinet, she picked out a long, black flexible crop. “Now turn to face the viewer and look at yourself. We need to work on your posture.”
Thorn hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with his posture but he turned to face the 3-D viewer anyway and stared at himself. A tall, muscular male with mismatched eyes and tight leather trousers stared back at him.
Thorn’s heart clenched at the sight of himself dressed in the leather fetish wear. Did he look more like a body-slave than he had at the auction yesterday? And was it really just yesterday that Neh’sa had bought him? It seemed so much longer…
He let his eyes slip from his own large reflection to his Mistress’s much smaller one. Today Neh’sa had dressed herself in a short black leather dress cinched tight at the waist and open in the front to show a pair of red lace panties. Thorn could see the outline of her plump pussy lips under the thin material and his mouth watered when he remembered how soft and wet she was…how good she tasted…
“Chin up!” Neh’sa barked, using the flat end of the crop to tap sharply at his chin. “Shoulders back. Hands behind your back and legs spread for inspection.”
Inspection? Thorn wondered what she was inspecting as she stalked around him, her thigh-high black boots tapping lightly with each step. Every once in a while she would touch him—either stroking him with the flat end of her crop or running one small, soft hand over his body in a way that made him shiver.
Gods, she was gorgeous—so tiny and yet so fierce! He wanted to scoop her up into his arms and take her mouth as he had the night before—wanted to kiss her breathless and then take her to bed where he would cover her petite body with his own larger one and fill her completely…
“What are you thinking, slave?” Neh’sa demanded, meeting his eyes in the viewer.
Thorn cleared his throat. “You, uh, probably don’t want to know, Mistress,” he said dryly.
“Of course I want to know. I can tell it’s something interesting because those bright sparks in your eyes are dancing all over the place,” she purred. “Now tell me—what exactly were you thinking just now that put that smirk on your face when you were supposed to be standing still for inspection?”
“I was fantasizing about penetrating you, Mistress,” he growled, letting his eyes go half-lidded with lust. “About how good it would feel to have you under me while I filled your sweet pussy with my cock.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Is that right? Well Thorn, I think such naughty fantasies must be punished. Assume the position!”
“What?” Thorn looked at her, frowning. “What position?”
Neh’sa put a hand between his shoulder blades and pushed him closer to the viewer until he was only a few feet from it.
“Bend forward, hands flat on the viewer,” she told him harshly. “Then spread your legs.”
Wondering what was coming next, Thorn did as she said. If she thought she was going to spank him with that little crop of hers—well, she was welcome to do it. But such a small pain wouldn’t faze him in the least. In fact, nothing short of another fire whip to his scarred back could do that. He wondered if he ought to at least pretend to be in pain when she struck him—to keep up the illusion that he was an obedient slave. Of course—
“You think I’m going to spank you or paddle you, don’t you?” Neh’sa demanded in a soft, silky tone that made Thorn instantly wary.
“Well, it had occurred to me, Mistress,” he said cautiously.
“But you’ve told me time and again that pain doesn’t bother you,” Neh’sa reminded him. “Except between your shoulder blades but we’ve established that as a hard limit, so I can’t go there. I can, however,” she continued before he could replay. “Go here.”
Without warning her small hand shot between his legs from behind and suddenly she was holding his balls in her hand in a very firm grip.
“Mistress!” Thorn’s voice came out sounding hoarse.
“Hmm—I dare say this is a pain that will bother you. At least a little,” she murmured sarcastically and for just a moment Thorn actually thought she meant to squeeze and bring him to his knees. Because she was right—there were some kinds of pain a male simply couldn’t ignore.
Instead, though, Neh’sa released her grip on his sac and began to tickle the sensitive area, using just the tips of her soft little fingers. Then she reached further between his legs and stroked his now-hard shaft several times, drawing a low groan from Thorn’s throat.
“Now you see the reason for the special trousers,” Neh’sa murmured, still stroking him.
“So you can jerk me off any hour of the day or night?” Thorn demanded through gritted teeth. Though he didn’t like to admit it, this situation was turning him on—he’d never had a female push him up against a wall and stroke him this way before. It was fucking sexy, especially since, if he’d wanted to, he could have thrown her over one shoulder and carried her straight to bed to have his way with her. But he couldn’t do that—he would never take a female against her will.
Also he didn’t want her to stop what she was doing.
“I’m not jerking you off, Thorn,” she whispered, still stroking. “In fact, you had the last orgasm you’re going to for quite a while yesterday during your first training session.”
“What?” Thorn demanded. Her soft little hand was enflaming him—his shaft was so hard it felt like he could fuck through a plasti-steel wall—he was dying to come. And now she was telling him he couldn’t?
“You heard me—I control your orgasms now. You’re going to have to earn them, Thorn.” She smiled at him. “Which means you need to be very good and very obedient if you want one.”
“I…” He licked his lips. “I don’t—
“And if you’re thinking you’ll help yourself—well, just try.” Using the long crop, she twitched the loincloth to one side and nodded at his throbbing cock. “Go on—try to touch yourself.”
Thorn reached for himself, almost reflexively. But the moment his hand touched his erect shaft, he felt a sharp, electrical shock in his fingertips.
“Ow!” Grimacing, he pulled his hand away. He had forgotten the non-contact bracelets.
“I think you can see the hope of touching yourself again is useless,” Neh’sa told him sternly. “I want you, as much as possible, to be in a constant state of arousal. Which is why I’ll do this…” She grasped his thick shaft again and stroked several times—long, slow strokes that went from the root of his cock all the way to the flaring crown. “Anytime I want,” she concluded.
“Mistress—” Thorn began hoarsely.
“I might even do this.” Leaning over him, Neh’sa put out her small, pink tongue and swiped delicately over the broad head of his cock. The soft, hot heat of her mouth made Thorn’s hips jerk with need.
“Gods, Mistress—you’re a fucking sadist!” he growled.
“No—I just have to find a way to control you besides pain,” Neh’sa told him, looking up into his eyes. “And pleasure is the next logical option.” She straightened up. “Welcome to the world of tease and denial, Thorn. Follow me.”
Cock throbbing, Thorn took his hands off the viewer and straightened up stiffly, well aware of the awkward tent he was making in the black loin-cloth. Gods, did she really want him at this level of arousal all the time? It would fucking kill him! And it made the fire inside him so much harder to control when he was aroused.
Where was the sweet Neh’sa who had let him hold her and pleasure her the night before—who had knelt before him and treated his wounds? Somehow she had disappeared to be replaced by Mistress Neh’sanna who was every bit as ruthless as Thorn had imagined she would be when he had first agreed to take this mission.
And yet…despite his irritation and sexual frustration, he couldn’t help admiring her. She was tougher than he’d thought. Despite her petite size, she wasn’t afraid to take him on, even though he was so much bigger than her. And the touch of her small, soft hands still affected him in a way no other female’s touch ever had.
It doesn’t matter, he told himself sternly. Doesn’t matter how she affects you—it’s better to ignore it. Ignore the feelings she raises inside you. Don’t let her get to you—you’re only here to get the information from the Library of All Knowledge and as soon as you do, you’re leaving.
He’d allowed his new Mistress to get under his skin, Thorn admitted to himself. For a little while during that first night, he’d been acting like a true body-slave and had almost forgotten his real purpose here. Well, he wouldn’t let it happen again. He made up his mind to consider everything she did to him as just another form of torture, the same as the blood snails or the fire whip which had been used on him in his former missions.
He wouldn’t let his heart be touched again.
Neh’sa seemed to have made the same promise to herself because she kept up the persona of the strong, remote Mistress perfectly and he didn’t see the soft, vulnerable female who had allowed him to take her to bed and pleasure and cuddle her again.
At least, not for almost a week…