by E J Darling
“Shame you must torture something as rare as a Turnish.” Nathenian said quietly from behind Vint. “They are... very rare these days.”
Vint’s eyes didn’t budge. “Yes, well he must learn his place here in my household.”
“Agreed. Now, get on with it so we can get back to business. All these hormones in the air are making the need to spill seed all too strong. I’d like my own slave right about now.”
Vint’s face turned disgusted. “Indeed. Maevelin?” He forced her to reveal herself. Teak allowed it since the threat to her body was now passed.
She ducked beneath his arm and stood before him, her head slunk low and her eyes to the floor. “Yes, sir?”
“Go.”
Long moments passed before Maeve spoke. Teak knew the anger in her was still present from before and something inside her was warring. She needed to swallow that down and fake her devotion to her master.
“Yes, sir.” She turned slowly and delicately ran her fingers over a part of his bare flesh. He nuzzled in but didn’t make contact before she was gone.
“Roth?” Vint called. “Bring it.”
“Yes, sir.”
A moment later, Roth appeared with a thin black rod. Vint shucked his robes, revealing a lean muscled body beneath it with similar clothing to what Teak wore, only white. Roth placed the rod in Vint’s hand and took the robes.
“On your knees. Take your shirt off.”
Teak did as he was asked and pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it to the ground. His muscles bunched in anticipation and Vint took a long look at the bruising and cuts that marred his body.
“Well,” Nathenian chuckled, appearing behind Vint, “looks like you’ve been teaching him his place, Zekekiel. Good work.” The male clapped Vint on the back. He didn’t even flinch, his body too rigid.
Teak turned slowly, giving the master his back, and dropped to his knees. “Twenty will do, slave.”
“Yes, sir.” Teak grit through clenched teeth, trying to keep his voice steady.
He heard the soft hum of the rod coming to life and his muscles tensed. The sound of the rod slicing through the air was heard a half second before it was felt on his flesh. It burned a searing sharp pain over his body, but Teak made no noise in protest. He wouldn’t give any of them the satisfaction of his pain.
One.
He’d fallen so far in his life. Once a distinguished member of the Turnish military, Teak was nothing more than the slave beneath a whip.
Four.
A whimper came from the end of the hall, and Teak glanced up, seeing the smallest bit of black fabric from the corner. Maeve was still there, listening to the brutality that befell him. He wished she’d gone upstairs away from sight and ear shot, but his female couldn’t do that. She didn’t leave him.
Ten.
The next handful of lashings felt numbed, his body’s reaction to the pain. It hurt like hell, but he was strong, and he’d done this for her. He could do the rest.
Sixteen.
Seventeen.
Another shocked gasp came from near the front door and Zeke heard the rod cut through the air, but it never landed. Teak looked up, seeing the horrified expression on Keeli’s face. He’d told her to stay outside, but he didn’t know how long that’d been. It felt like hours ago. Her hands clasped over her mouth and her eyes darted from his, to behind him, to the end of the hallway where he knew Maeve sat.
“Keeli.” A desperate plea from a desperate male. Never did he think Vint could speak with so much emotion in one word.
Whatever affection the timid and playful female had for the one holding the rod, had now been scrubbed clean. She didn’t understand what was happening, nor did she know the war Teak saw in Zekekiel’s eyes before this had happened.
There were no choices made in that moment. Not by anyone. Everyone at play was just as low as the one beside him.
“Keeli, go now,” Vint said in the same tone.
Her eyes were watery, Teak could see that from where he sat on his knees, and the female stared blankly over his shoulder. The moment felt like an hour, and Keeli stood there motionless.
“Go!” Vint roared in a way Teak didn’t know he could. It was a command, a dominant one, and Keeli was gone in an instant.
Vint inhaled deep, and the rod cut the air again.
Eighteen.
Nineteen.
Twenty.
It was over. His skin burned like hell from the electrifying energy of the rod, but it was over. He didn’t dare turn around, but Vint was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Get your clothing and go.”
Teak slowly grabbed his shirt and stood. He didn’t dare put it back on now. The door slammed behind him the moment he walked away.
Twenty-Six
Maeve never heard anything so violent in her entire life. The recent events slashed through her mind like the rod breaking flesh across Teak’s back. He’d begged her. He’d pleaded with her not to go in without thinking, and she’d done it anyway. Now, Maeve huddled in on herself against the corner and flinched each time she heard the rod hit Teak’s flesh.
My fault. My fault. My fault.
A gasp broke her torment and Maeve looked up to see Keeli stunned in place, watching what was happening. It must be as bad as Maeve imagined it to be. Tears streamed faster down her face. Keeli met her eyes, the shock evident, and Maeve shook her head, silently begging her not to say a word.
Her master’s voice spoke through the thick silence, telling her to leave, but Keeli didn’t move.
Run damn it. Run like hell, far from here.
Zekekiel’s voice boomed over everything and Keeli ran without looking at Maeve again. She watched the sweet female sprint up the stairs and out of sight. The last whips of the rod went faster after that.
The moment the door slammed, Maeve crawled out from behind the corner and she shuffled to her feet. Teak looked solemn and strong at best, but he met her eyes. She ran to him and he hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her in tight. She went to speak but he blocked her words when his lips crashed in on hers. They felt possessive and welcoming. She thought he’d hate her, not want anything to do with her, but it was the opposite. When he finally released her lips, he lowered his forehead to hers.
“I’m so sorry, Teak. I should have listened to you. I shouldn’t have gone in there.”
“No, Mahla. I vowed my body as your shield and today I was able to honor that. Don’t be sorry for this. I will always defend your flesh with my own.” Teak opened his eyes and searched for her with them. “I love you.”
Heart sputtering, arms and legs shaking, never did she think she’d hear those words uttered for her. Never. Maeve cried again, that time for a whole new reason. “I love you, too.”
The arm around her waist tightened and Teak lifted her up his body. Her legs wrapped around his waist and if she hurt him, he didn’t show it.
“I’m taking you upstairs now,” he murmured, as his lips lifted from kissing her again. “I need to hold you, touch you, taste you. Then, make sure you never do something so fucking stupid again.”
She didn’t have words right now, not trusting her voice. Instead, she nodded her agreement and clung to him tightly, nuzzling her head to his shoulder. Maeve closed her eyes and focused on the gentle movements Teak made as he gracefully carried her up the stairs.
When they reached her bed, he did as he promised. He held her tight, touched her in all her favorite places, taking his time to ensure her every need was met. Then, he’d tasted her over and over until her legs were shaking and she felt raw to the touch. Only then, after hours of his attention, did he lay them both down and allowed them to catch their breaths.
She was loved, felt loved, been loved by the only male she’d ever wanted to touch her in her life. He pulled her against his bare chest, and she used his outstretched arm as a pillow. His still rigid shaft rested between her parted thighs. He slid her hair to the side, nuzzling her neck as he placed soft kisses on her sk
in. The light filtered in through the curtains which billowed in the breeze.
Nothing, and yet everything, had changed. Trident felt so far away. Finding him on Slave row felt like a lifetime ago, and the nervousness of him being so near her cabin, yet too far to touch, had her clinging to him fiercely.
The beating was over, completely out of thought, and that was his intended purpose, she knew. Still, as tired as she was, she couldn’t close her eyes, too afraid to shut them in fear he wouldn’t be right there next to her when she woke. It was only the early evening, but she still had a terrible feeling Teak would leave her tonight.
“What’s wrong, my Mahla?” he whispered, tightening his hold, only ensuring she felt safer there beside him. His lips brushed against her ear. “I can hear your heartbeat rising.”
It was, and for many reasons that sent a chill down her spine, and she only needed one thing from him. “I want you to make me a promise.”
“Anything,” he responded without a drop of hesitation. He’d already done too much for her, and now she was going to ask for one more thing.
“Don’t leave tonight.”
Teak placed three more kisses up her neck to her jawline before his lips touched her lobe once again. “They’d have to drag me away.”
She heard honesty in his voice, and it washed away any fear she had on him leaving. At least tonight, she had him.
“I love you,” she whispered again as his breathing settled into something more rhythmic. Maeve pulled his large hand up to her lips and kissed his palm before threading her fingers with his. “Truly.”
“I love you, too.”
When his breathing relaxed along with his body, Maeve finally felt herself drifting off to sleep.
Twenty-Seven
The next morning, after waking up with Teak right where she left him, Maeve had showered, dressed, and ignored the messages that pinged on her pad. She was never one to ignore work, but after yesterday, she wasn’t about to run around at Zekekiel’s beck and call whenever he asked. She’d let him stew and then, only then, would she approach that subject.
Right now, though, she had something bigger to attend to. She needed to check on Keeli and make sure she was okay after yesterday, even though Maeve knew she most definitely wasn’t. But, something else happened between Teak and her master in that moment she couldn’t understand just yet. It was deeper than what she saw, that was obvious.
Teak had come in and kissed her goodbye while she showered, and when she’d come out, he was gone. Ignoring any thought of illegal activity on his part, Maeve let it go and hoped he came back soon. She wanted him near her, and if it wasn’t for a while, she always got an odd sensation in her body. It wasn’t painful, just annoying after a while. Like a piece of her was missing.
Opening the bedroom door, Maeve was met with two familiar faces. Yilo, Teak’s shadow who was stationed outside his door every morning, and Roth.
“May I come in?” Roth smiled. She used to like his smile, and he had lied for her yesterday. Maybe she could forgive him after all for what he’d said to her about Teak on Trident.
“I actually have business to tend to, Roth. I can’t talk now.”
“It’s about yesterday,” he continued on anyway. Maeve felt her body naturally backing away and he slowly followed her unintentional lead. She didn’t want to talk about those events. Not with him anyway. “I wanted to say how sorry I was about what happened. Though, I won’t say I’m sorry to see that male get what he deserved.”
Pure shock wracked through her and Roth’s admission and she knew it was plain as day on her face, because he smiled again. Only that time, it felt off, giving her an odd sensation. “How could you say that?”
“He’s been involved in illegal activities since he arrived here, Maevie. It was time he paid for that. What the hell do you think will happen to Zekekiel, to any of us, if someone finds out he’s allowing the male to continue his dealings?”
Zekekiel knew what Teak had been doing every night? Wait. “You were following him weren’t you?”
“Zekekiel’s orders. I was to ensure he wasn’t doing anything to you that your master didn’t allow.” He cocked his head to the side and stepped closer to her. “Did your slave not tell you?”
Maeve refused to play any mind games with Roth or anyone else. “I don’t care either way.”
Roth stepped forward, inching her back. She knew she was in a bad spot, but never would she think herself in any actual danger with him. Her mind logically knew that but still, there was an odd look in his eye. Roth Myler was like family to her. They were only at odds at the moment and Maeve needed to remember that.
He wouldn’t hurt her.
He loved her.
Roth inhaled deep, sniffing at her. He cocked his head to the side as if something caught in his senses. His eyes wandered the room and stopped when they landed at the messy bed. He stepped toward it before inhaling deep once more. “You fucked him?” The rage and deepening of his tone sent a shiver down her spine.
“That is none of anyone’s business,” she snapped back. “There is no law that states I cannot.”
Roth hissed low. “You let that fucking slave touch you? How low did you have to go, Maevelin? I thought you were better than that. He took the one thing you held most dear and you let him. Didn’t you?”
Maeve was stunned silent. She expected those words to come from her master, maybe, but never Roth. Never the only being in her life that always treated her as an equal. He stepped toward her again and once his uniformed chest touched her clothing he stopped, hovering over her.
Roth chuckled low. It sounded scary to Maeve’s already wracked nerves. “You were the chosen one in his eyes. You didn’t know that, but you were. Now, you’re just another dirty slave. Beautiful, tanned, soft,” Roth played with her hair as Maeve stood frozen, “intelligent to a fault. Yet, you never realized what was really going on. Did you?” She couldn’t speak. Her back now pushed against the wall and all her defensive training flew out the window. What was he doing? Why? “I loved you, Maevelin. As I loved-”
Suddenly, Roth was gone and something big crashed him into the wall with a roar. Teak stood over him, his fists clenched, and muscles bunched. “Don’t fucking touch her!”
“I have more right to her than you do.” Roth sputtered, standing to his feet. There was a cut over his left eye but nothing serious. “What do you have to offer her?”
Teak growled again. That seemed to be a running theme when he was experiencing a lot of emotion. “I offer her more than you ever could.”
Maeve wasn’t sure, but she suspected they weren’t talking about possessions. Were they having a pissing contest right now? Seriously? She stood there, plastered up against the wall, shocked silent at the two men in her life that meant something to her. Roth tried to circle Teak, but he kept himself between him and her, blocking his path every time.
“You have nothing but a slave debt, Kade.” The tone Roth spoke with was something she’d never heard out of his mouth before and it rocked her to her core. It was dark, and it meant to hurt and enrage Teak. “I knew you were a waste of space the moment I laid my eyes on you aboard Trident. You were trouble then and you’re trouble now. You hold secrets from her, and I won’t have it.”
Teak chuckled low. It sounded scary to Maeve’s already rattled senses. “I doubt you want to talk about each other’s dark secrets with her in the room, Myler. I will lay mine out on the table.” Teak raised his arms wide, baring himself. “Will you?”
“You don’t know the first thing about me and my duties. I do as I am commanded.”
“Commanded or not, you have sins beneath that pristine uniform. And soon, I will know them for truth.” Teak stood tall, his back straight and his body rigid. “Now leave. You are not welcome in my master’s chamber.”
Roth glanced his eyes between Teak and her, as if thinking of his next move. “I won’t let you get by with this, Kade. All will know the truth by the end of this. Ze
kekiel will know that you have defiled her, and he will kill you.”
“As I stated, I will bear my truth long before you bear yours.” Teak didn’t flinch, though Maeve's heart was racing.
Legally, she was free to do what she wanted with her own body. She wasn’t a sex slave, and she didn’t have any such limitation on her documents. That didn’t mean Zekekiel wouldn’t kill Teak for the sport, though.
Roth smiled, and sent another shiver down her spine. “Oh, I’ll make sure of that.”
“Leave. And the next time you touch her, I’ll kill you.”
Roth hesitated, but stepped around Teak who watched him like a lethal predator. Maeve didn’t dare look at Roth as he left, but he lingered in front of her for a half second before disappearing out of her room. Teak stomped over and quietly shut it before coming back to stand in front of her.
His hands grabbed both sides of her face and he examined her from head to toe. She couldn’t miss the total blackness of his eyes. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, of course not. What happened to him?” That wasn’t the Roth Myler she knew. That was the farthest thing from it.
Teak released her face and pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. “Some males cannot abide by someone taking their place, Maeve. If you had never found me, perhaps he believes it would be him standing here holding you. He resents that.”
“That’s ridiculous. I would never think that way of him.”
“Males rarely care if their affections are two sided. I was no different if you remember. I wanted you the moment I saw you, and I even took my first taste of those lips without asking for your permission first.” A flash of pain shone across his face. “That’s something all species have in common I guess. Males take, Maeve. Never forget that. He cares for you too deeply and I am now in the way in his eyes. I don’t like it, but that’s the fact.”
Maeve wrapped her arms around Teak’s waist and relaxed her body. She didn’t know if Teak was right or not but either way, Roth had come in here and made her feel terrified and confused. They’d said things to each other that made her want to ask a thousand questions. What sins were they wanting laid out? Why was everything suddenly feeling upside down and raw?