Chapter Nine

 

Mira carried the little amplifier out of the shed into the sunlight to see what she was doing. She’d been pilfering parts here and there, assembling everything she needed to make a speaker for Jakk’s little music device. When the girls had seen her taking apart the oven, they’d grown excited, thinking she could fix anything. They’d produced a box of broken electronics their mother had stored in a cupboard. Mira had been pulling parts from the devices, and when she’d placed the order for the damaged thermocouple in the oven, she’d also ordered a few items for the amp without the men being any the wiser.

She’d told only Jan about her secret project, not trusting Pritzi not to let it slip, or Darley not to ruin it out of spite. She couldn’t wait to install it in the house as a surprise. But it wasn’t working yet. She tucked her hair behind her ear, wishing she had a voltmeter to test the output on the power boards she’d removed from all the broken devices. Between the mess of them, she should be able to cobble together something that worked.

A rustle from the nearby bushes caused her to look up, and she dropped the screwdriver in her hand. A wizened Pra’kirian face peered through the hedge at her. The nosy neighbor. Her heart rate increased, and she opened her mouth to speak, but her communication pad buzzed with a call. For the first time, it didn’t show the photo of Jakk or Gav’n. Instead, it said Endermere Academy. She connected and looked back toward the bushes. The woman had disappeared.

“Hello?”

Apparently that wasn’t the correct way to answer a call on Pra’kir, because the woman on the other end leaned her face into the screen, peering at her. “I’m trying to reach Mira Loquist, nanny to Darley Dacker.”

“That’s me, yes.”

The woman scrunched up her nose. “We need you down at the school. Darley’s been suspended for the day for fighting. We couldn’t reach either of her uncles.”

Mira set the powerboard down. “I’ll be right there.”

Damn. Her heart ached for Darley. The poor kid was so unhappy, acting out in every way she knew how. Yeah, she was a royal pain in the ass, but she was just a kid. A heartbroken kid.

She tossed the equipment back into boxes and stored them in the shed. Her little project would have to wait until later. She climbed into the shuttle and set the destination for the school.

When she arrived, thankfully, the students were in their classes, so the gawking was limited to the few people in the halls and at the front desk. The receptionist sent her into the director’s office, where Darley slumped in a chair with red eyes and nose, arms across her chest, sniffling.

The director was an elderly female with curly white hair and long nails, painted black to match her suit. “Have a seat.” She pointed at the chair across from her. “Darley was caught fighting with a boy in the play yard at noon. We do not tolerate fighting in any form. Because there was also the issue of her deliberate attempts to miss school by producing a false rash, I am considering permanently expelling her.”

Mira chewed the inside of her lip. Without knowing anything about Pra’kirian schools, she wasn’t sure of the best way to handle this.

She drew a breath. “Director, what counseling or help has the school provided to aid Darley and her sisters in dealing more effectively with the grief over their mother’s death?”

The director blinked.

“You do remember their mother was killed mere weeks ago?”

“Well, of course I do,” she snapped.

“Have you lost a parent, Director?”

The woman flushed. “I’ve lost both my parents. Of course, it was not as a child, but—”

“And how long did you grieve for them?”

The director paled, eyes misting. She swallowed. “For years.”

Mira nodded soberly. “Can you imagine how hard it would be as a child? To lose both parents and suddenly have new caregivers, including one of the aliens indirectly responsible for your mother’s death?”

Darley snuffled, obviously trying to hold back a sob, but Mira didn’t turn.

The director, however, gave Darley a long, searching look. The severe lines of her face softened. She touched the tips of her fingers together. “The academy does not provide psychological assistance, but I can connect you with an agency that might be able to help.”

She picked up her communication pad and wrote something. A moment later, Mira’s pad beeped.

“You are right, I had not fully considered Darley’s situation when I suggested expulsion. The academy will issue a warning. Any further disturbances will result in expulsion.” She gave Darley a sharp look. “Understood?”

Darley bobbed her head up and down.

“Thank you, Director.” Mira stood and walked to the door, waiting for Darley to exit first. “I’ll bring her back tomorrow?”

The director nodded.

Darley wiped her cheeks as they walked to the shuttle, snuffling intermittently. An awkward silence hung between them.

Fuck it. Before Darley got into the shuttle, Mira pulled her into a rough embrace.

Darley froze, not moving, possibly not even breathing.

Mira released her as suddenly as she’d hugged her and walked around to her side of the shuttle. They rode home with Darley leaning her head against the window, staring out, tears dripping down her cheeks.

Poor baby. Mira wished there was something she could do or say to ease her pain. She let her stay in her room all afternoon, and even left her alone while she went back to pick up the younger two. Jakk and Gav’n arrived late that evening, and she and the girls were already sitting at the table eating dinner.

Jakk joined them first, the lines of his face tight and stern. “What happened at the academy today? My secretary said they called, and she gave them your contact code.”

Gav’n pulled up a chair and sat as well.

“Darley had a little problem today, but everything is fine. We worked it out.”

Darley lifted her cheek where it had been resting in her palm as she stirred her food listlessly.

“What trouble, exactly?” Gav’n asked. Jakk and Gav’n’s gazes were sharp and they both appeared ready to bring the hammer down, hard.

She didn’t want that. She shrugged, keeping her demeanor completely casual. “Don’t worry about it. I handled it. Isn’t that my job?” She smiled sweetly and tacked on the forgotten, “Master?”

Darley’s mouth opened in shock, and Mira shot her a warning glance.

Suspicion glinted in Jakk’s gaze as he considered both of them. He glanced at Gav’n, who shrugged.

“Are you certain this isn’t something we need to know?” The clear warning in his tone that had her swallowing, but she held her ground.

“I’m sure. Everything has been handled.”

Jakk nodded slowly. “Okay. Thank you for taking care of whatever...issue arose.”

Darley took a sudden interest in her food, shoveling it in her mouth.

Gav’n watched them both thoughtfully but didn’t speak.

Maybe, though she knew she’d done little to earn their trust, they’d actually let this go.

 

~.~

 

“Mira, we need to talk.” Gav’n tugged Mira’s jumper over her head and groaned. The no underclothing rule made stripping her a quick and delicious activity. One that nearly made him forget what he wanted to say to her.

He would never grow tired of studying her responsive, willing little body. If only they could bring her mind around to the same place.

Mira must have caught the flare of lust in his expression, because the corners of her mouth turned up and she sank to her knees to work the fastener on his pants.

He caught her arms and pulled her back up. “No, you can’t talk with my dick stuffed in your mouth, as enticing as that scenario may be.”

Jakk produced several silk ties from the closet, and Gav’n backed her up to the bed and tossed her into the center of it. The two brothers worked quickly to secure her wrists and ankles to the bedposts, spread wide.

He pulled out an implement he’d made for her. It was more for pleasure than pain, although it would produce a light surface burn. It consisted of a dozen lengths of soft rope, bundled at one end with a loop for a handle.

She writhed against the bonds, her green-blue eyes wary as he approached.

He climbed up on the bed and stood over her to trail the ends of the rope between her legs. She jerked and shivered. The scent of her arousal hit him like a powerful aphrodisiac. With a flick of his wrist, he brought the flogger sharply against her pussy.

She shrieked, eyes flying wide, the trembling extending down her legs now. Fortunately, the room was fairly soundproof.

“What have you been researching on Jakk’s computer, love?” Another smack.

Jakk sat near her head and wound a length of thread around one of her nipples.

She struggled against her bonds, but he knew it was more out of fear than real pain. The vulnerability of her position and the part of her anatomy he’d chosen to punish, along with the mystery of Jakk’s attentions, gave her no choice but to recognize their dominance over her.

“Did you think we wouldn’t notice?” Jakk asked, tugging on the end of the thread and drawing her pinched nipple up toward the ceiling.

She cried out, panic flickering over her face.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” He delivered a harder smack to her pussy.

She shook her head rapidly. “No. No, Master.”

He softened immediately, dropping to his knees between her thighs, soothing the burn away with his thumb over her slit. “If you want to know something, why don’t you ask us?”

Her expression shuttered, and it hit him harder than he would’ve thought possible. She didn’t trust them. She may trust them with her body, but she kept secrets, maybe still had plans to escape.

Jakk moved to her other side and wound a thread around the free nipple, imprisoning it, too, in his simple torture device. “Do you want to see your file?” he asked gently.

She stilled, a latent tension running through her body. Moistening her lips, she nodded. “Does it have...information on my shipmates?”

“Ah,” he said, rewarding her communication with a generous thrust of his thumb inside her channel, working her clit with his palm at the same time. “You’re trying to find them. Is that it?”

She lifted her head as far as she could with her arms tied back. Her eyes were wide and desperate, and she hadn’t breathed.

“Pashika,” he said with soft regret. “We’ve talked about this already. You’re not allowed to see them.”

“Please.” Her head fell back on the bed, eyes tear bright. “They’re my friends. I need to know they’re okay.”

Jakk shook his head. “Their placements weren’t made public.”

“You would know, though. Or could find out. You’re a judge.”

Jakk hesitated. “You’re right. I probably could find out.” He sighed. “Binnix, my Chief of Civil Police, took one of them, but I don’t know which. And the general magistrate, himself, took the one who was badly injured.”

“Brinley?”

“I don’t know.” Jakk tugged the thread of the second nipple, and she winced. He cupped and kneaded both breasts. “I am willing to make inquiries in the future. I’m willing to try to arrange a meeting, or get-together. But not yet. If I tried now, the request would be denied, perhaps forever. Give it a year or two, until each of you is settled in and your masters can vouch for your assimilation to Pra’kir.”

She rolled her eyes and blinked back tears. “A year or two? How would you feel if I separated you from Gav’n for a year or two?”

He pursed his lips. “I would hate it, but if you did it to save my life, I would understand.”

“Save my life?”

“The Council wanted you dead. This solution of fostering you out was presented by the general magistrate as a means of saving your lives. So we must stay within the guidelines they gave us—guidelines assuring the public is also safe from any perceived danger from you. Mira, we’re asking you to trust us. Just like we gave you our trust to handle the problem with Darley on your own.” Jakk stroked her cheek.

She sank into the bed a bit at that.

“We want your happiness. Can you believe that?” Gav’n slowly moved his thumb in and out of her again. Jakk leaned over and claimed her mouth, brushing his lips lightly across hers then licking into them.

She let out a soft moan and submitted, letting them pleasure her with their mouths, tongues, and hands until she came with a hoarse scream.