“I assure you, the reality is even worse,” Malik said grimly. “To have everyone and everything you love obliterated in the blink of an eye by an uncaring, unfeeling machine, well…” He shook his head and looked away. “My entire family…all of my friends and loved ones… Everyone, gone.”
“Hey…” Impulsively, Nikki leaned towards him and put a hand on his leg. The muscles felt as hard as iron. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly. “That must have been awful for you. I can’t even imagine losing everyone you love like that.”
“Of course you can—it’s why you are so eager to get back to your children.” Malik looked at her earnestly. “And I swear that you will. But I must ask your help. The invitation is due to arrive at any day and I have a narrow window of time in which to work.”
“Of course I’ll try to help you,” Nikki said. “As long as you promise to help me get back home afterwards.”
“Agreed. I give you my word as a Volt Kindred.” Malik frowned. “But my word might mean nothing to you—you must have something else to let you know that I am sincere and that you are safe with me.”
Nikki shook her head.
“You already saved me twice—once in the bathing chamber and once from being poisoned. Oh, and when that awful Ugger attacked me.” She shivered. “So three times—you saved me three times. I’m pretty sure I can trust you after all that.”
“I thought I was saving my Mistress,” Malik said shortly. “It is becoming more and more apparent that though you look like her, you are nothing like her on the inside. I need to give you surety that I will keep my word and protect you with my life until you are safely home again.”
“It’s really not necessary,” Nikki protested again but he was already kneeling beside the bed and reaching to take her hand. Bemused, she scooted forward until she was sitting on the edge of the mattress and gave it to him, trying to ignore the shiver she felt as his big, warm fingers enclosed her much smaller ones.
“My Lady…” he paused, frowning. “I do not know your true name.”
“Nikki,” Nikki said quickly. “Um, Nicole Davis, if you want to be formal.”
“My Lady Nicole,” Malik continued. “I pledge to you now my undying service and devotion. For as long as our fates are entwined, I will protect you tirelessly, come what may. My body will be your shield and my heart shall guard your secrets. Every drop of my own blood shall be spilled before even a drop of yours is shed. May the Goddess witness the binding of our pact today.”
“Oh…” Nikki whispered. He looked so solemn, kneeling to her like a knight might kneel to his queen. And as he spoke the final words of his promise in that deep voice of his, she felt a tingle run through her entire body, starting from the point where their hands were joined. It made the short hairs at the back of her neck prickle as though a powerful electrical current had just passed through his body into hers.
“Do you feel the truth of my oath to you?” Malik asked, looking up at her earnestly.
“I…I do.” Nikki nodded. “I mean I really, literally do.”
“Good.” He nodded. “And to give you surety of my word, I will give you power over me as well. The word that activates my collar is ‘trab’.”
As he spoke the word, Nikki saw the black leather collar around his neck constrict and he stiffened in pain, his big hand going rigid in hers.
“Oh, no!” she exclaimed. “Oh, why did you tell it to me if it was going to hurt you? Please, tell me how to make it stop!”
“The counter word is ‘bard’ but only you may say it—no other voice will stop the flow of the pain chemicals from my collar.” Malik’s own voice was low and hoarse with agony.
“Brad—I mean bard!” Nikki said quickly. “Bard, bard, bard!”
She was relieved to see his broad shoulders—which had been tensed with pain—slowly relax as a look of relief came over his face.
“Thank you. But you need only speak the word once to deactivate my collar—that’s all that is necessary,” he murmured.
“How does that thing work anyway?” Nikki demanded. “You said it shoots pain chemicals into you?”
He nodded. “There are tiny needles imbedded in the leather of the collar. Speaking the pain word causes them to pierce my flesh and inject pain stimulators which make my nerves feel like they are on fire. Until the counter word is said, which causes them to retract and stop the injection.”
“That’s awful!” Nikki exclaimed. “What kind of a person would use something like that on someone else? What kind of a monster is Mistress Hellenix anyway?” Then she bit her lip. “Oh, um…maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”
Despite the awful things Mistress Hellenix apparently did to Malik, the big Kindred seemed totally devoted to her—he might not appreciate her speaking badly of his absent Mistress.
But Malik didn’t get angry with her.
“Mistress Hellenix is… a product of her society,” he said grimly. “She was born into extreme wealth and power and into a world where males are discounted completely—considered fit only to serve as slaves and manual laborers. Given all that, it’s no wonder that she treats me as she does.”
“Well, I don’t like it,” Nikki said decisively. “You shouldn’t be treated that way!” Leaning forward, she carefully began feeling her way around the collar that encircled his thick neck.
Malik frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Getting this awful thing off of you,” Nikki exclaimed. “You’re not wearing it anymore—not while I’m around, anyway.”
A look of wonder came over his face.
“But…don’t you want a way to even the field between us? To make sure you’re safe around me? I could snap your luscious little body like a twig—not that I would but my Mistress was always mindful of my superior strength. She had this collar made especially for me.”
Nikki stopped feeling around his collar for a moment and looked him in his strange, silver eyes.
“Are you planning to hurt me?”
“Of course not.” He frowned. “I have sworn my oath to you and I am a Kindred—we protect females.” He sighed. “Even those like my old Mistress.”
“I didn’t think so. Look, Malik—I trust you—especially after that amazing oath you gave me.” Nikki couldn’t help shivering when she remembered the intense look in his eyes as he’d sworn to protect her. “And I don’t want you to be hurt any more by this awful collar—I want to take it off you now.”
He nodded. “Very well. There is a release catch at the very back of my neck that should respond to your right index fingerprint. But we’ll have to put a show collar on in its place or the other slaves will become suspicious.”
“I’m afraid they already are suspicious—otherwise, why would they have tried to poison me?” Nikki said ruefully, as she found the flat, smooth spot on the back of his collar and pressed her right index finger too it. Sure enough, the collar popped open and dropped to the floor. Apparently even her fingerprints matched with Mistress Hellenix’s. Amazing that they could be so similar physically and so different every other way, she thought.
“You have a point.” Malik sighed. “I’m afraid you’ll have to put on a much more convincing show of dominance than you’ve managed so far to keep them from outright rebellion.”
“I’ll try.” Nikki bit her lip. “But…I’m afraid I’m not a very dominant person.” If I was, I don’t suppose Gary would feel free to leave me like he is, she added to herself.
Malik frowned. “Who is this ‘Gary’ person who is leaving you?”
Feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment, Nikki realized she must have said what she was thinking aloud.
“My husband,” she said miserably. “He just informed me yesterday that he’s moving out and selling our house. He’s giving me custody of our three sons, but it’s going to be tough, you know? I don’t make enough to get us a very nice place but even with all the money in the world, they still need a positive male role model. One is fifteen and my two twi
ns—the younger ones—are twelve. They need a father at this stage and Gary is just…deserting us.” She shook her head. “Do you know where I was when I switched places with Mistress Hellenix? I was standing on the beach, looking out at the ocean and trying to think of a good reason not to drown myself.”
She didn’t know why she was telling him all this—they barely knew each other. And yet the words just poured out anyway. But the big Kindred didn’t look bored or indifferent to her pain. Instead, he came and sat on the bed beside her.
“Nicole…” Taking her hands in his, he looked at her earnestly. “I’m so sorry—that’s terrible. I can’t comprehend how any male could leave a female as kind and beautiful as you. Your mate must truly be a fool.”
“Thank you.” Nikki felt her heart pounding and slipped her hands out of his. Nervously, she crossed her arms over her chest and cupped her elbows. “It was silly of course—the idea of killing myself. I would never leave my boys alone. But I just felt so…hopeless.” She looked up at him. “That’s why I cried after you, uh, massaged me,” she admitted, her cheeks getting hot again when she thought of how intimate the massage had gotten. “Because it was so intense and it just brought up all these…these feelings and thoughts I’d been trying to suppress.”
Malik nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense. I’m glad I didn’t hurt you, as I feared at first.”
“Hurt me? No, of course not. I just had so much on my mind—so many emotions bottled up and…” Nikki shook her head, realizing she was going on and on. “Of course, going through a divorce is nothing compared to losing your whole planet and everybody you love. I don’t know why I’m even telling you this.”
“Because I asked,” he said simply. “But I’m sorry that my touch made you weep.”
“No, no—it was good,” Nikki assured him quickly. “Really good. I mean, Gary never—” She broke off and cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks get hot. “What I’m trying to say is that I, uh, needed to face what I was feeling and you helped—even though you didn’t know it at the time. So, um, thanks.”
Saying “thanks” for the most intense sexual experience of her life seemed completely inadequate but Nikki was too embarrassed to explore the subject further.
“You’re welcome,” Malik said gravely. “But I’m afraid I must apologize for touching you intimately without your permission.”
“Oh, it’s all right. You, uh, thought I was Mistress Hellenix, right?” Nikki asked.
Malik shifted uncomfortably beside her.
“Yes and no,” he admitted. “I knew almost at once that something was wrong so I was trying to ascertain if you were really her. That’s why…I pushed the limits with you, knowing if you were really Mistress Hellenix, you would never allow me to do some of what I did.”
“Really?” Nikki cleared her throat. “What, um…what did you do to me that she wouldn’t, uh allow?”
“I’m afraid I was guilty of breaking some sexual boundaries. For instance, when I penetrated you with my fingers—the real Mistress Hellenix has never allowed me to do that before and I was fairly certain she never would,” Malik rumbled, looking at her directly.
“Oh, um…” Nikki bit her lip, feeling a rush of shame wash over her. She couldn’t help remembering the way she’d arched her back for him and begged him to finger her—couldn’t help wondering what he must think of her now. She’d acted so wanton, so completely out of control and sexually needy.
“Nicole—” he began.
“I’m really sorry,” she said in a rush. “It’s just been a really long time since Gary and I, you know. And he’s never touched me like that—like you did. I mean, you’re so good at it which is kind of why I, uh, went a little wild. I didn’t mean to—I just kind of lost control.”
“You don’t have to apologize for your pleasure,” Malik protested. “I’m the one who should beg your pardon for taking liberties with your beautiful body without your permission.”
Nikki shook her head and looked down at her hands. “You know I’m not really your Mistress now, Malik. You don’t have to keep up the line about my ‘beautiful body’ anymore. I mean, I’m thirty-seven and I look it. Or I did before those beauty treatments this morning.” She frowned. “But still…”
“Nicole, look at me.”
To her surprise, Malik raised her chin so that she was looking into his silver eyes, which were completely serious.
“What?” She could hardly meet his gaze but she found that once they were eye-to-eye, she somehow couldn’t look away.
“I’m not joking or just trying to flatter you when I say you’re beautiful,” Malik told her. “You look exactly like my old Mistress and though I despised her soul, I have always desired her body.”
“That must be because she wouldn’t let you see any other women, though,” Nikki protested. “Isn’t that the reason she’s got every slave in this whole palace hate-lusting after her? Because she’d never let them see anyone else? I mean, I’m not exactly skinny, you know?”
Malik shook his head.
“You’re an Elite—like she was—one whom the Goddess has blessed with extra-full curves. That is the epitome of beauty in my culture,” he rumbled. “So please don’t insult my taste by saying you’re not the kind of female I desire—you very much are.”
Nikki wasn’t sure what to say to that. They seemed to have gotten far off the subject somehow. But what was the subject exactly? Looking into Malik’s deep silver eyes and listening to his rumbling voice, she had forgotten it entirely.
“Um…I…I’m not sure what to say,” she said at last, wishing her voice didn’t sound so breathy.
“Just know that I find you devastatingly attractive,” Malik murmured. “And that if we were in different circumstances, I would be more than pleased to show you more fully exactly what I mean.” He sighed and dropped her chin. “But we are not in different circumstances. The fact is, I need to teach you to do a much more credible imitation of my Mistress so that you can fool the slaves, the other Mistresses at the Banquet of Pain, and most importantly, the Knower on Uriel Two.”
“All right.” Nikki squared her shoulders. “I guess you have to teach me to act cruel and heartless then?”
“Not exactly.” He frowned. “I have to teach you to be dominant. And the first lesson begins now.”
Chapter Twelve
“No, no!” Malik frowned and shook his head again. “You must not say ‘please’ when you give me an order or thank me when I have obeyed you. You are the Mistress—you owe me no such courtesy.”
“I don’t believe that’s true,” Nikki protested. “Everyone deserves courtesy. Good manners are important—I drill it into my boys every day.”
Malik raked a hand through his hair in obvious frustration.
“That might be what you believe, but it is the antithesis of my old Mistress’s beliefs. Mistress Hellenix would never address me as you do. Now, try again.” He made a ‘go on’ motion with one hand. “Tell me to pay obeisance to you by kissing your feet.”
“But I don’t want you to kiss my feet.” Nikki bit her lip and tucked her feet under the bed, as much as possible. She was sitting on the edge of the thick mattress with its blood-red covering in the BDSM bedroom while Malik knelt before her. “It’s been ages since I had my toenails done—I really need a pedicure,” she confessed.
“Then order me to give you one,” Malik said, sounding impatient. “I am your bodyslave, remember? I must do anything you order—my whole life is devoted to serving you and obeying your every command.”
Nikki shook her head. “I’m sorry. I just…can’t get used to that idea. Where I come from, on my home world, I do everything for myself and everyone else too. The idea of having someone following me around all day jumping every time I say ‘frog’ is just really weird.”
“But you must get used to it! You have to get used to dominating me and every other male you see if you’re going to pass yourself off as Mistress Hellenix,” he pointed out. �
�Order me to kiss something else if you don’t want me touching your feet.” His eyes were suddenly hot. “Tell me to pull down your panties and kiss your pussy.”
“What? No!” Nikki felt her cheeks getting hot with a blush.
Of course he had already kissed this particular part of her anatomy—once when he was removing her curls and once when he was kissing her panties in front of the other slaves. But now that he knew the truth and she didn’t have to pretend that she was the real Hellenix with him, the idea of letting him put his mouth down there was much more embarrassing. Not that she didn’t crave that kind of attention, but she barely knew him and besides, she couldn’t help feeling self-conscious…
“I’m going to have to eventually,” Malik pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her. “A slave always kisses his Mistress’s panties when she is introduced at formal functions, such as the Banquet of Pain.” His silver eyes went half-lidded. “Did you not enjoy it when I kissed you there earlier, Nicole?”
“I…um…”
“Don’t bother to lie,” Malik murmured, giving her a stern look. “I scented your desire when I kissed you—just as I can scent it now.”
“You…you can?” Nikki crossed her legs even more tightly. “But I don’t…don’t see how you could possibly…”
“Kindred have extremely acute senses,” he told her. “Also, your need for oral pleasure is clear. Tell me, did this worthless male who is leaving you not give you enough oral attention when you were together?”
“Who, Gary? No—he never, uh, never much cared for it,” Nikki admitted. Which was an understatement since Gary had pretty much zero interest in “going downtown” as her girlfriends in college used to say.
“What a fool.” Malik shook his head in apparent disbelief. “How could he not wish to taste such a soft, sweet little pussy? How could he not wish to feel your hands in his hair, urging him on, begging him to make you come?”
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