Chapter Fifteen
As she perched on the rather uncomfortable, hard-backed chair that Allik had directed her to sit on, Victoria cast an appraising look over Lieutenant Taryn. He had the bearing of a military man, dominance screaming from every pore. He was a little shorter than Allik, but broader in the shoulders. His eyes were that same incredible indigo color and his brilliant blond hair was cropped short, the way all Taar-Breckian warriors seemed to wear it. Well, except for Allik, who had grown his unusually dark hair a little longer.
She was aware that as she was weighing Taryn up, he was doing exactly the same to her. Feeling the pressure of his scrutiny, she shifted on her chair and winced as the plug pressed deeper inside her. To her horror, Taryn gave a chuckle that suggested he knew exactly what was bothering her.
“Is Lucy here?” Victoria asked, wondering why she had not seen her friend yet.
“Where else would she be?” Taryn responded. “She could hardly have gone anywhere by herself.”
Although she hadn’t used the privilege yet, Allik had told Victoria that she was free to leave the apartment on her own if she wanted to. Taryn’s words seemed to suggest that he was not affording Lucy the same freedom to come and go. That worried Victoria. Her gentle and caring friend would not stand up well to being at the mercy of an oppressive brute.
“May I see her?” Victoria tried not to let her frustration at having to wait to find out if Lucy was okay show on her face. She suspected that Taryn would drag things out longer to punish her if she appeared insolent. The lieutenant looked at her as though waiting for something and it took her a minute to work out what he wanted. “Please.”
“Of course. I will go and fetch her.”
As Taryn walked off, heading along a corridor at the far end of the room, Victoria looked up at Allik. She wasn’t sure why, but she was beginning to feel extremely nervous. It was silly, really. Lucy was her closest friend. They’d known each other since they were children. Her fears that they could have drifted apart in just a few short weeks were ridiculous. Weren’t they?
When Taryn returned to the room, Victoria could not believe what she was seeing. Suddenly Allik’s behavior toward her made sense. He had taken great pains to ensure that she would behave herself and the reason for his concern was now obvious.
She smothered a gasp of shock as she saw her friend crawling across the room, trailing a foot or so behind Taryn. Her head was lowered, presumably to hide her embarrassment because, as she drew closer, it became clear that she was wearing some sort of costume. Around Lucy’s throat, there was a black leather collar with a little metal tag dangling from it. Her curves were squeezed into a tight black all-in-one suit that looked as though it was made from velvet or some other tactile material. With little pointed ears on the top of her head and a long, fluffy tail protruding from her bottom, she closely resembled a cat. Victoria had seen a picture of one in a book. People had once kept them in their homes.
As indignation prickled down her spine, she sat up a little straighter. Every part of her stiffened in outrage. She felt Allik’s hands on her shoulders. He gave them a squeeze that she took to be a warning. Turning slightly, she looked up at him. The smile he gave her was benign but the dark glint in his eyes reinforced the message that she was to behave.
She watched as Taryn took a seat opposite her and Lucy came to kneel dutifully at his feet. Victoria glowered as he rested his hand on Lucy’s head, his manner proprietorial. It felt as though he and Allik were trying to outdo each other in demonstrating their mastery over their mates. The atmosphere seemed very tense all of a sudden.
It irritated Victoria that Allik would posture in this way but what really made her blood boil was seeing her friend being treated like an animal. She was angered even more by the look of serenity on Lucy’s face. It was as though her friend actually relished the subservient position she was in. Clearly, she had been brainwashed.
“Perhaps you would like to show Victoria your special room, kitten,” Taryn suggested. He seemed to be staring directly at Victoria as he spoke, challenging her to say something. “You should spend a little time together before we leave in a few days.”
“Leave?” Victoria felt her heart sink. She had not been able to see her friend for all these weeks and now Lucy was going to be taken away from her so soon. “Where are you going?”
“I am being sent on a diplomatic mission and my pet will be accompanying me.”
“Your pet?” Victoria spat out. “Lucy is not a pet.”
“Victoria,” Allik cautioned.
Victoria knew that she was at risk of earning herself a spanking but in that moment she didn’t care. She could no longer sit back and keep quiet. All her life, she had held her tongue when she wanted to speak out. She’d been so prim and proper and she’d had enough.
“No, Allik.” She turned to look at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “This isn’t right. Can’t you see that? She’s a human being, not some animal.”
“There’s a difference?” Taryn asked in an infuriatingly pleasant tone.
“Yes, there is.” Victoria tried to get to her feet but Allik firmly pushed her back onto the seat. Despite the discomfort of the butt plug pressing against her insides as a reminder to behave, Victoria would not be silenced. “She is not your fucking pet!”
Across the room, Lucy let out a pathetic little whimper.
“You are distressing your friend,” Allik scolded her. “Now, stop this. Go and spend some time with your friend. You and I will discuss your behavior later.”
“Yes, sir,” Victoria said venomously.
As she got to her feet, Allik grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him. She could see barely leashed anger there. His palm was practically twitching and she knew he was restraining himself from throwing her over his knee. As they stared at one another in a fraught silence, something passed between them. It was just a fleeting thing that she couldn’t define but somehow she realized that he was holding back to save her the embarrassment of being spanked in front of her friend.
Reaching up, she touched the side of his face, her gentle caress making him flinch. He was going to have to get used to her touching his scars. She got up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss against the angry red slash across his left cheek.
“I love you,” she whispered, the words coming out of nowhere. To her surprise, she meant them.
The ghost of a smile played on Allik’s lips and he gestured for her to go to her friend. Victoria turned around and saw Lucy quietly speaking to Taryn. He inclined his head as though granting a request and her friend rose to her feet. Lucy held out her hand and Victoria rushed to take it.
As they passed Taryn, Victoria shot him a dark glare. She was going to find out what was happening with Lucy and if she was being mistreated, there would be hell to pay. It didn’t matter how big and scary the lieutenant was. If he’d hurt Lucy, she was going to make him suffer.
* * *
Allik took a seat and stretched his long legs out in front of him. He was aware of Taryn staring at him and he braced himself for the criticism he fully expected to receive. Victoria had acted like a brat and it reflected poorly on him that he had not immediately chastised her for it. The truth was he hadn’t wanted to punish her there and then.
Although he was disappointed by the way she had behaved and would make sure she understood that later, he hadn’t wanted to humiliate her. Being spanked in front of her friend was not something she would have got over in a hurry. Besides, he knew that he was partly to blame for the way she had spoken. Warning her to behave herself had not been enough. It was clear that she’d been shocked to see her friend as Taryn’s pet and he should have told her what to expect. The fact of it was he hadn’t wanted to be on the receiving end of her ire when she found out. Things had been going well between them and he’d wanted that harmony to continue.
Wearily, he scrubbed a hand over his face. Where Victoria was concerned, he hardly ever seemed to make the right move.
“Your mate has changed you,” Taryn said, breaking the silence. There was no condemnation in his voice, just curiosity.
“Perhaps,” Allik conceded.
“It is a good thing,” Taryn said approvingly. “I like her. She is spirited. You have less darkness around you since you took her.”
That was not what Allik had expected his friend to say but he was grateful for his positive words. Victoria might have her moments of rebellion, but most of the time she had a calming effect on him and he was glad that others could see how perfect she was for him.
“It is a good match,” Taryn added.
“It is,” Allik agreed but he didn’t want to discuss his relationship with Victoria. “Now, you said you are going on a diplomatic mission.”
Discussing political matters was much safer territory.
“Yes, that is why I wanted to speak to you. I wanted to let you know that I am opening a dialogue with a group of Bylanthian exiles.”
Allik couldn’t say he liked that idea very much. He had no great love for the Bylanthians and put even less trust in them but he was sure Taryn knew the risks.
“And you intend to take your pet?”
“You think it a bad idea?”
Allik shrugged his shoulders. Having Lucy alongside him might be a distraction, but who was he to say? It wasn’t really his place to comment. After all, he would tolerate no man telling him how to behave toward Victoria.
“There are risks, certainly,” Taryn continued. “But I am taking an elite squadron with me. All will be well.”
Allik nodded. “Our men will allow no harm to come to you or your mate.”
Taryn sat back in his chair, seeming to relax once he heard Allik’s words of reassurance. “There is another matter I wish to discuss with you. A personal one.”
Allik was intrigued by the awkward grimace that flashed across the other man’s face. He couldn’t recall ever seeing his friend look so uncomfortable.
“Go ahead.”
“I am going to marry Lucy.”
“Marry?” Allik frowned and tried to think what he meant. “As they do on Earth?”
Taryn nodded. “Humans believe it is important. I am doing it to show my commitment to her.”
Allik found it hard to get his head around that statement. As far as he was concerned, claiming a woman as his mate was enough to demonstrate his intentions for a permanent relationship.
“Andrew Rossingham knows how to perform the traditional ceremony,” Taryn continued. “His wife will help to arrange the feasting.”
“Feasting?” Allik asked.
“Yes, there is a great feast held after the ritual is performed.”
The whole thing sounded like an absolute nightmare to Allik. Humans had some ridiculous traditions. He frowned as it suddenly crossed his mind that perhaps Victoria would also want to undergo this ceremony. He hoped not. The prospect of being the center of attention was horrifying.
“Lucy wishes your mate to give her away,” Taryn added.
“Give her away?”
“It is a sort of handing over of the bride that must be done by an important person. Bryn and I performed the task for Andrew’s bride.”
“I see.” Allik tried hard not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. They had similar ceremonies on Taar-Breck—welcoming rituals, the giving of honors after battle, that sort of thing—and he had always found them absurd.
“And I wish for you to stand by my side,” Taryn said.
Allik didn’t know exactly what he was being asked to do, but he could tell from the way Taryn asked that it was important.
“You will be my best man.”
“Best man,” Allik scoffed. “You couldn’t find better?”
“Not while Bryn is still on Earth chasing after Elizabeth Chatterton,” Taryn said wryly. “Will you do it?”
“Very well,” Allik agreed. “I will stand with you.”
“Excellent,” Taryn said. “And I shall do the same for you one day.”
* * *
Lucy’s room was prettily decorated with pale pink walls, a thick carpet in a matching hue, and floral cushions on an overstuffed sofa. Victoria had to admit that it suited her well but she couldn’t imagine a massive brute like Taryn in this space. Although there was a large bed at the center of the room, she got the feeling that this was not where they slept. There were posts on the bed that a person might be tied to. At its foot was a large trunk, the contents of which she could only guess at. Then there was the most glaring clue of all that this was not an ordinary bedroom. In the corner sat a small cage, just big enough for a person of Lucy’s diminutive stature to fit inside, if she was down on all fours. She was curious about its purpose but didn’t want to quiz Lucy because she knew she wouldn’t like the answers.
She took a seat on the sofa and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I left you the way I did. I should have left a note.”
“It’s alright.” Lucy shrugged it off easily. “Zinnie passed on your message.”
Victoria nodded. She had known that she would be able to rely on Zinnie.
“How did Jonathan react?” Victoria asked as though there was any doubt. Her stepbrother would have been totally furious when he discovered that she had gone.
“I don’t know,” Lucy said as she opened the door of a large wardrobe and beckoned for Victoria to come and look at the contents. “Zinnie and I got out of there before he knew you’d left.”
“Where did Zinnie go?” Victoria got up from the sofa and joined Lucy beside the closet.
“She went to look for Lizzie Chatterton. She said she knew a few places she might have gone,” Lucy told her.
“Really?” Victoria couldn’t imagine how Zinnie would know where to look for Elizabeth. She just hoped they would both be able to evade the High Council and find their way to safety. “And what about you? How did you come to be with Taryn?”
“Well, I knew that some of Commander Rossingham’s men had stayed behind at Caroline’s house so I went there,” Lucy said. “As it turns out, Caroline had asked Taryn to protect me.”
Victoria rolled her eyes. Caroline Chatterton’s matchmaking was nothing but a menace. She wondered if their friend had any idea what she had done, fixing Lucy up with a man who treated her like an animal. She gave a weak smile as Lucy held up a slinky white bodysuit for her to admire. It looked as though she had a cat costume for every occasion in her closet. Thankfully there were also some dresses in there, so it seemed Lucy wasn’t required to parade around like an animal all of the time. Well, that was something, she supposed.
“Is he looking after you?” Victoria asked doubtfully.
“Oh, yes,” Lucy said enthusiastically. “I know you don’t approve, but I am really happy. I promise you I am.”
“If you say so.” Victoria was unconvinced.
“I do,” Lucy said firmly. She reached out and laid a hand on Victoria’s arm as she fixed her with a sympathetic look. “But what about you? It can’t be easy being stuck with that beast.”
“Allik is not a beast.” Victoria could feel her hackles rising. “He has a few scars but that hardly reflects the man he is. At least he treats me well.”
“Taryn treats me like a princess,” Lucy retorted. “He’s been very good to me.”
Victoria scowled. She hated fighting with Lucy but she had to make her see that the way she was being treated just wasn’t right. She waved her hand at the cage in the corner of the room.
“Does he put you in there?”
“Sometimes.” A dreamy look passed across Lucy’s face as though recalling some pleasant memory. “But only when I’ve been very naughty.”
“You sound as though you like it.”
“I do,” Lucy said. “I enjoy being his pet.”
Victoria shook her head. Clearly, Lucy had gone mad. She couldn’t believe that her friend was really comfortable with living this way. It was so unlike anything she’d ever have expected from Lucy. She had never once talked about sex in an open way, let alone mentioned a fantasy about being someone’s pet.
“And I’ll like being his wife even better,” Lucy added.
“Wife?” Victoria repeated. “You’re going to get married?”
Lucy nodded, a smile lighting up her whole face. For Victoria, it was the last straw. Although she didn’t hold any great romantic ideas about marriage, she had always thought that Lucy did. She couldn’t believe she would want to undertake such a serious commitment with a man who treated her so badly.
“Married?” Victoria spat viciously. “I didn’t realize a fucking cat could get married.”
She shoved Lucy out of the way and stormed from the room. As she walked down the corridor, she was aware that Lucy was following behind. “Vicky?” she called out. “Please wait.”
“No!” Victoria shouted, bringing both Taryn and Allik to their feet as she crossed the living area. “I don’t want to hear any more of this shit. I can’t believe you’re being so fucking stupid.”
She could hear Lucy starting to sob behind her but nothing could penetrate the swirling mist of rage in her mind.
“What’s going on?” Allik asked.
“What’s going on,” she stopped in front of him and placed her hands on her hips, “is that your disgusting friend has turned Lucy into a mindless slave and she actually wants to marry him.”
“Victoria.” There was a note of caution in his voice. “Stop and think about what you’re doing here.”
Victoria stared at him for a moment. He was actually going to reprimand her for sticking up for her friend.
“I suppose you approve of what that bastard’s done to her?” Victoria screeched.
“Victoria.” Allik’s voice was sterner now.
“Oh, fuck off, Allik. I hate the lot of you.”
She tried to pass him but found herself being grabbed by strong arms and swung off her feet. She was thrown over Allik’s shoulder. Knowing where his weakness lay, she punched furiously at his upper left arm. He grunted in pain but didn’t ease his grip on her. As she struggled to break free, he gave her a warning smack across the back of her leg, hard enough to make her stop wriggling.
“You have earned yourself a thrashing, young lady,” he scolded her. “Perhaps by the time it’s over, you’ll have learned to listen when I tell you to behave.”
He carried her out of Taryn’s apartment, leaving the other man to comfort a sobbing Lucy, and headed for the elevator. When they didn’t stop at their floor, but carried on down toward the basement, Victoria knew she was in trouble. This time, she’d pushed him too far. He was taking her to the training room.