“It’s wonderful,” Sophie said, smiling. “We actually have a whole group of women who are friends up here. We’d love to introduce you…if you stay.”
“Well, I guess that will depend.” Neh’sa bit her lip. “How long…how long does it take for a Kindred pregnancy to show?” she asked.
“You mean if a Kindred is the father?” Liv asked. “Not too long after you, uh, have the encounter, actually. Maybe a day or two.”
“Then…I may be contacting you soon and asking to take a test. You do have such things here on board?” Neh’sa asked.
“What, a pregnancy test? Oh yes.” Liv nodded. “The Kindred pregnancy test is actually really adorable because you put in your blood sample and then you get a flower that tells you what’s going on.”
“A white flower means not pregnant,” Lauren said. “A pink flower means a girl and a blue flower means a boy.”
“But watch out if you get a blue and a pink flower,” Sophie added, laughing. “Because that means twins and let me tell you, mine keep me hopping!”
“So…have you all had children with Kindred males?” Neh’sa said.
“Well, Kindred and Scourge,” Lauren amended. “But my guy has some Kindred DNA too. So, yeah, we have.”
“What…what are they like?” Neh’sa asked.
“Excellent fathers,” Liv said decisively and the other two women nodded.
“The best,” Sophie said. “Very patient with the kids—sometimes I think Sylvan is a better mom than I am!”
“It sounds…nice. I was raised by my mother but I do remember my father a bit,” Neh’sa murmured. “He died when I was very young, before we moved to Yonnie Six.” It had been one reason her mother had decided to move them when she inherited a place as a Mistress in Opulex.
“You could do a lot worse than to have kids with a Kindred,” Liv told her, pressing her hand. “They’re certainly better than human men.”
The other two girls nodded in agreement.
“When I think of some of the jerks I dated back on Earth…” Lauren shook her head.
“I’m sure…” Neh’sa began but her words ended in a yawn. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said to her new friends. “I’m just…suddenly exhausted.”
“After the day you’ve had, no wonder.” Sophie smiled at her understandingly. “Is there anything else we can do for you before we go?”
“No…no thank you.” Neh’sa yawned again. “Oh, excuse me.”
“No excuse necessary, hon,” Liv told her. “Come on, girls—let’s let her get some rest.”
“We’ll send everything we promised over to you,” Sophie told her. “But don’t feel like you have to wait up for it. There’s a one-way delivery slot at the foot of the door. People can leave packages for you that way and you can get them whenever you want.”
“Thank you—all of you—for everything.” Neh’sa looked at them gratefully. “I can’t tell you how much better it made me feel to…unburden myself to you.”
“Girl talk always helps,” Sophie said, smiling.
“And we’re available for more of it anytime you want,” Liv promised. She leaned over and gave Neh’sa a spontaneous hug. “You know, I think you’ll like it here if you give it a chance. I hope you decide to stay.”
“Well…thank you.” Neh’sa, who was unused to such displays of friendly affection, found she liked the gesture. Tentatively, she hugged Liv back.
“I hope so too,” Sophie reached around to hug her and then Lauren did as well.
“I’ll send you more cupcakes along with the other food,” she murmured in Neh’sa’s ear. “I notice you seem to like them.”
“They’re pretty much the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” Neh’sa admitted with a laugh which surprised even her. “We have nothing like them on Yonnie Six.”
“You have to tell us more about your home planet when you get a chance,” Liv said as they all got up to go. “I mean, we’ve heard stories but never from an actual Mistress who lives there. You must lead a fascinating life.”
Neh’sa thought of her life—which mostly consisted of training slaves, attending social functions where most of the other Mistresses might be out to discredit or hurt her, and working long hours in her Mercy clinic out of guilt for the lifestyle she led and sorrow for her loss of Heroth.
“I don’t know about fascinating,” she said at last. “But it was…satisfying. In some ways, at least. Though often frustrating and saddening as well.” She put a hand to her mouth just in time to catch another yawn.
“We’d better let you go. We can talk about it another time,” Liv said. “Come on girls—Baird is going to be wondering where I got to.”
“I have to go pick up the twins and meet Sylvan for supper,” Sophie said. “What about you, Lauren?”
“I’ve already got something going in the taste-cooker,” Lauren replied. “But Xairn usually waits for me to get home before he’ll eat.”
Neh’sa thought their domestic situations sounded perfect if somewhat strange. She was used to having droids and servants do much of her domestic duties although she had learned by her mother’s side to do them herself when she was a girl. She tried to imagine herself working and cooking and raising children on the Mothership with Thorn at her side, not as a body-slave but as an equal, a partner…
The idea was surprisingly easy to imagine but Neh’sa doubted that it could ever become a reality. There were still lingering doubts in her mind…worries and sorrows that could not be easily overcome.
I need to rest—need some time to myself, she thought as she waved to her three new friends and watched them leave.
But would time to herself help her decide if she could believe Thorn’s claim that he cared for her?
After his betrayal and everything she had been through, Neh’sa just didn’t know.
* * * * *
Though he tried not to eavesdrop, Thorn could feel her wondering, through their new bond, whether she could ever trust him again. Whether she could forgive him and believe that he cared for her.
Can you blame her for being doubtful? whispered a little voice in his head. You misrepresented yourself to her—lied to her for so long. And what was the one thing she said she couldn’t tolerate when she first bought you at that auction?
“Dishonesty,” he said aloud, staring into the empty darkness of his private quarters. He’d hoped to bring Neh’sa here—instead she was installed in one of the single guest suites across the ship. Not that he blamed her for wanting time away from him. After the way he’d treated her during their bonding…
He closed his eyes, hating himself, wishing he could have done things differently—that he could have told her the truth.
The secret wasn’t mine to tell, he argued with himself. I couldn’t jeopardize my mission and the possible fate of my entire race for love.
It was true but all the same he felt uncomfortable. He could hear Neh’sa wondering if anything he’d told her was the truth—if he hated her for what she’d done to him…
Wait a minute.
Thorn had been lying on the sleeping platform but now he sat up, frowning. Did Neh’sa really think he hated her for the way she’d dominated him? Did she think he’d faked all his emotions, that he didn’t want that kind of relationship—the kind she craved?
Well, how did he feel about it? Thorn asked himself honestly. He’d gone into his mission on Yonnie Six expecting it to be torture to give himself sexually over to a dominant woman. Instead he’d found…love. He didn’t want to be dominated all the time but then, he didn’t think that Neh’sa wanted to dominate all the time. What if they just…took turns?
And what if she turns you down flat and doesn’t want anything to do with you ever again? whispered a pessimistic little voice in his head. You couldn’t blame her if she did.
No, but he was hoping she wouldn’t. He had to give her a reason to see that he loved her—a reason to trust him again, Thorn thought.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
Would he be able to find the equipment he needed on board the Mothership? And more importantly, would the idea work if he did find the necessary gear to accomplish it?
Thorn didn’t know. He only knew he had to try—it might be his last chance to win Neh’sa’s heart. And he was willing to do anything to make that happen.
Anything at all.
Chapter Thirty-one
“Mistress, I beg you to take me.”
Neh’sa looked down in surprise as Thorn knelt suddenly at her feet.
She’d slept late and spent the day in quiet reflection, mostly soaking in the bathing pool. It was beautifully warm and the water seemed to have some kind of conditioner in it that made her skin and hair extra soft. When she finally stepped out of it and went to look at the clothing Sophie had sent her, she’d felt entirely relaxed.
Maybe that was why she’d chosen to wear the soft red gown with thin straps that clung to her breasts and flared out around her full hips instead of any of the other, more modest clothing. There were red silk panties to match and even a pair of black high-heeled slippers to go with it.
When she’d put the outfit on, Neh’sa had been thinking it was the closest thing in the pile of clothing to what she usually wore on Yonnie Six. Now she wasn’t certain it was such a good idea.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, looking down at the big Kindred still kneeling at her feet.
“You told me once you wouldn’t take me—wouldn’t fuck me—unless I begged you to.” He looked up at her. “I’m begging you now, Mistress. I want to serve you in every way. Look.” He held out a red bag with a pink and purple logo on the side that looked like a pair of pursed lips. “I went today to get the necessary equipment.”
“What?” Uncertainly, Neh’sa took the bag from him and looked into it. Inside was a thick black leather phallus and a harness to strap it on with. The equipment reminded her of her own gear back home—although it wasn’t of the same quality since hers had been handmade specifically for her by a master craftswoman.
“Put it on. Wear it.” Thorn’s mismatched eyes were blazing with intensity. “Use it on me. Take me—fuck me. Dominate me the way I dominated you in the dungeon of the Krine.”
“Why? So we can be even? No!” Neh’sa threw the bag onto the couch where the contents flew out and lay on the cushions looking obscene. “I won’t take you that way, Thorn—not ever,” she said, frowning. “Not now that I know you don’t want that kind of treatment—that you never wanted it.”
“You’re wrong.” He rose to his feet, frowning. “I didn’t think I wanted that—didn’t think I wanted to be dominated. But you…you taught me differently, Mistress.”
“Stop calling me that,” Neh’sa said angrily. “I’m not your Mistress!”
“But you can be, if only you’re willing. Neh’sa, please…” Thorn captured her hands in his and looked at her earnestly. “Please, I don’t want you to go. I…I love you.”
Neh’sa sucked in a breath. He’d said he cared for her before—cared deeply. But this was the first time the big Kindred had said he loved her.
“Do you?” she asked, searching his eyes with hers. “Do you truly love me, Thorn?”
“More than my own life.” His deep voice was hoarse with emotion. “I’ll swear it by the Goddess if an oath is necessary to satisfy you of my sincerity.”
“I love you, too,” Neh’sa admitted, unable to hold back the words. “But I thought…thought what you felt for me might all be an act.”
“Because I had to lie to you on Yonnie Six.” He sighed in apparent frustration and ran a hand through his hair. “I hated like hell to do that, Neh’sa, but the secret wasn’t mine to tell. And I had to get that information. Even now my people are preparing for an attack from the Hive.”
“I understand your people are in danger,” Neh’sa told him. “But I promise you, if you’d told me everything on Yonnie Six I would have helped.” She frowned. “You wouldn’t have had to force me to cooperate the way you did with Lady Wraith’neck.”
“I should have trusted you,” Thorn admitted. “But Neh’sa, I’ve been in the Espionage Corps for a long time—most of my adult life—and I’ve never compromised a mission.”
“Not even under torture, right?” she asked dryly.
“Not even under torture,” he agreed. His voice softened. “What I told you that night you used the wand on me was true. I’d never been broken, no matter what the bastards who caught me did to me. But you…you broke me with love.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and Neh’sa felt her heart flutter. “You made me want what you did to me, Mistress. I still want it—still want you.”
“I want you too, but…” Neh’sa looked at him uncertainly. “But I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.” She walked across to the couch and picked up the thick, black leather phallus and harness he’d brought for her to wear. “This tells me you don’t know.”
“What?” Thorn frowned. “Why not?”
“It’s huge for one thing,” Neh’sa said, frowning. “Much bigger than the silver wand I used on you last time. I would never force you to take something so large unless you’d trained for it and I thought you were ready for it.”
“Well…” He shifted uncomfortably. “It was the biggest one they had. I thought…”
“You thought you would like having this thing shoved inside you?” Neh’sa demanded, shaking it at him before she tossed it away.
He scowled. “Well, no. But I thought you might enjoy putting it there.”
“How could I enjoy hurting you like that—forcing you to take something you’re not ready for?” Neh’sa raised an eyebrow at him. “Admit it, Thorn—you picked this out as a kind of self-punishment. You thought I’d feel better if I fucked you the way you fucked me in the Krine’s dungeon.”
“I’m trying to make up for what I did to you—the way I bit you and penetrated you so roughly,” he growled. “Not to mention bonding you to me against your will.” He shook his head, eyeing her shoulder where the bandage covering the bite mark was clearly visible under the thin straps of the red dress. “You have the healing power, Neh’sa—I don’t understand why you didn’t just heal yourself of the bite.”
“Maybe I didn’t want to,” Neh’sa said softly. “Maybe I wanted to wear your mark.”
“The way I wanted to wear your brand,” he said roughly. Then he shook his head in frustration.
“Look, this is all beside the point. I’m offering to let you penetrate me—offering to submit to you completely. Isn’t that what you want?”
Neh’sa shook her head.
“No,” she said quietly. “At least…not all the time.”
“Then make me understand.” Thorn took her hand and drew her over to the couch. “Tell me what you want and I swear by all the Gods I’ll do my damndest to give it to you, Mistress.”
Neh’sa bit her lip.
“To start with, I don’t always want to be the Mistress,” she murmured. “There was… a game that Heroth, my first body-slave and I, used to play.”
“The one you loved so much.” Thorn nodded. “What kind of a game?”
“We called it…’switch’,” Neh’sa said. She took a deep breath—she’d never admitted this to anyone before. But she had to clear the air with Thorn before they could move forward. “It was when…he played the Master and I was the submissive for a while. We didn’t always play it—probably only half the time we made love. But…I enjoyed it.” She shrugged. “It’s shameful to admit, but I did.”
“What’s wrong with switching it up sometimes?” Thorn asked reasonably. “That’s exactly what I was thinking last night when I was wondering how to bring you back to me. Why can’t we take turns being in charge?”
“So…you like that too?” Neh’sa asked uncertainly. “Because sometimes people from different cultures think that what we Yonnites do is…disgusting or wrong.”
“You mean dominance games?” Thorn grinned at her wolfishly. “I love it, swee
theart. Never thought I would, but you seem to have woken up a part of me I didn’t know I had. I love submitting to you…” He stroked her cheek. “And I love dominating you too.”
“You…you do?” Neh’sa could hardly believe it but she could feel the sincerity coming from him through their bond.
“Hell yes, sweetheart. Just wish I hadn’t been so rough last time.” He frowned and stroked a finger over the white bandage that still covered the bite mark on her shoulder. “I’m sorry about this—more sorry than I can say.”
“I forgive you for marking me, so you should also forgive yourself,” Neh’sa murmured. “Sometimes pleasure comes mixed with pain—that’s one of the principles of the way we Yonnites make love.”
“It won’t happen again,” Thorn swore. “I mean…” He frowned. “Unless you… want it to?”
“I might,” Neh’sa said lightly. “There are many things I might want…slave.”
The golden sparks began to dance in his mismatched eyes and his voice dropped to a low, lustful growl.
“Tell me what you want, Mistress. I am yours to command.”
“You can start by kissing my panties.” Neh’sa settled herself more comfortably on the couch and pushed the phallus and its harness to one side. They would definitely not be using it tonight. But there were other ways to have fun. And now that she knew Thorn felt the same way she did and was willing to switch roles back and forth, she was in the mood to play a bit.
“I’m glad because I’m in the mood too, Mistress,” Thorn growled through their link. “Always in the mood for you.”
He was already on the floor between her spread legs and now he lifted the hem of the red silky gown to reveal the little scarlet triangle of her panties.
“Mmm…then what are you waiting for?” Neh’sa purred. “Kiss me, Thorn.”
“With pleasure, Mistress.”
He leaned forward, his broad shoulders splitting her thighs wide. But instead of kissing her panties, he rubbed his rough cheek against them, growling with desire, and then inhaled deeply.
“Gods your scent drives me fucking crazy.” He looked up at her, his eyes filled with heat. “The way you teased me when you were training me…are you going to keep doing that?”
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