He stared at her, incredulous. “So all you Earthers remain virgins until you die?”
“No. Well, technically perhaps, by your standards. On Earth we’ve learned to regulate and control our base, animalistic urges. We satisfy the body’s physical desires through regularly scheduled sessions of virtual intercourse with a holographic partner, one we design to fit our personal preferences. He or she is programmed to provide complete fulfillment each time, without the messy emotional entanglements that arise from intimate human encounters. I’ve had virtual intercourse since I came of age and started receiving hormone injections.”
For the first time he perked up. “Virtual fucking? Exactly how is that done?”
Selena struggled to overcome her embarrassment. She’d never had to speak in graphic terms before. She tried to recall the dry language she’d read in the manual that accompanied her personal device.
“I have a holographic partner,” she explained. “One I designed to fit my personal preferences. He comes with a cylindrical-shaped probe.”
“So you have to fuck yourself with it when you get randy? How sad.”
“Not at all,” she bristled. “Here on Earth, we don’t get ‘randy,’ as you put it. We find that dealing with our physical needs in that area on a regular basis, before they become bothersome, keeps those urges in check. I have a session with my holographic partner once every three weeks, as required by law. I find him very attractive, by the way. His probe brings me to gratification swiftly and efficiently. I’ve learned about your archaic practice of sex between humans. Frankly, it sounds like a messy and uncomfortable way to handle procreation.”
Haldor laughed. “It can be at times. I’ll grant you that. But tell me more about this ‘partner.’ What does he do to bring you to—gratification, is it?”
She sighed. This primitive creature had no boundaries. And he was obsessed with the subject of sex.
“I think that discussion can wait. You need to rest.”
“I’ve had all the rest I can handle for now,” he grumbled. “What I need is a good run in the fresh, crisp air.” He swung his feet onto the floor.
“Please! Believe me. You’re in no shape to handle something so strenuous.”
He ignored her, pushing himself off the bed. Fear for the well-being of her patient made Selena forget her earlier panic attack. She hurried to his side, wrapping an arm around his waist to support him. When he stood upright Selena stifled a gasp. She hadn’t seen him on his feet before and his sheer size was intimidating. She was only a little shorter than the average Earth female, five foot nine in her stocking feet, but he stood a full head above her. And those bulging muscles made him look even bigger.
He glanced down at her body pressed against his, this time by her own choice, and gave her a mischievous grin. “You may be right. I do feel a little weak. Perhaps you’d better stay by my side and help me along.”
Selena knew she’d never win this battle. He was determined to be up and moving. She tamped down the anxiety she felt at being so close to him while he was awake. At least in this position she didn’t feel suffocated, the way she had when he’d grabbed her earlier. She reminded herself she could step away whenever she wanted to.
“All right. We’ll take a walk, but only around the room. First, let me get you a robe,” she offered, trying desperately to ignore his nakedness.
“I’m fine. Besides,” he added with a wicked glint in his eyes, “I have nothing you aren’t already well acquainted with.” He threw back his shoulders and spread his arms wide.
She couldn’t stop herself. Her eyes immediately went to his exposed penis. She blushed again. He laughed, a deep low laugh that sent a shocking little shiver though her belly and down between her legs.
He took a few deliberate steps, heading for the window, with his arm draped around her shoulder. “You have the advantage of me. You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
Had he suffered a head injury she’d missed? Were the circumstances in which he found himself so overwhelming that he didn’t remember her telling him her name awhile back? Or did men’s brains lose the ability to function when they were sexually aroused?
She had no experience in that area, so she decided to start over with a formal introduction. After all, she’d been finding it difficult to concentrate herself, now that she was face to face with his very virile, very naked body. Maybe inattention to details was just another byproduct of intense sexual stimulation.
“I’m Selena. Selena Reston.” The heat from his naked body radiated through her uniform, sending her mind into dangerous territory. “Doctor Selena Reston,” she added, needing to establish the professional boundary.
He turned toward her, with a slight bow that he managed to make dignified despite his lack of clothing. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Doctor Selena Reston. I am Haldor of Trondheim, chief counsel to King Sigrun of Gadolinium.”
They stopped at the window and he surveyed the city below. She felt his body tense. “It’s so—hard everywhere. All metal and stone. And so white. Whiter than Gadolinium after a winter storm. There we have deep green pines towering over the layers of soft snow. Red roof tiles peeking out from under the blanket of white and blue shutters decorating the windows of our homes. Children playing in the streets wearing gaily colored sweaters and caps knitted by their nanas. Here all I see are cold white buildings reaching to the heavens. People in the street dressed in dull gray and white garments.”
She looked down at East Metropolis spread out before them, seeing it through his eyes. “Yes, I guess it is rather colorless,” she admitted. “But it’s perfect. We don’t have snowstorms or smoke from wood fires polluting the air or messy trees shedding leaves everywhere. Children here don’t need sweaters and caps. The temperature never varies more than ten degrees. The dome is programmed to provide optimum temperature variation—cooler at night and warmth during the daylight hours.”
“As for our clothing,” she went on, “only high-ranking officials are allowed to wear colorful garb. As a director, I’m entitled to a blue uniform, but I prefer white when I’m working in the lab. It’s less intimidating to my staff. Makes them feel like we’re a team.”
He met her eyes. “You would look beautiful in a gown the color of the summer sky, setting off the golden highlights in your hair.”
Selena swallowed and reached up automatically to pat the tight bun at the back of her head, checking for stray wisps of hair. “I’ve never worn a… gown as you call it, but I’ve seen pictures of them.” She gestured to the one-piece jumpsuit she wore. “My formal attire is the same as this, only blue.”
He looked shocked. “Never worn a silken gown with a full skirt you could twirl around your ankles as you danced the night away after a feast?”
She shook her head. “No to all of that. No gown. No dancing. No feast.”
“I thank the gods my people left this place.” He swayed and shot out a hand against the glass, then swore. “I’ve yanked an arrow out of my side and fought on for hours, but two moons of your deep sleep has left me weak as a babe in arms.”
She bit back an I-told-you-so. “Come on. It’s time you were in bed. You need to rest—and I need to get home.”
They walked back across the room, more slowly his time.
“Don’t go. Stay here, Doctor Selena Reston, and tell me more about this world.” He dropped heavily onto the bed and she immediately covered him with the sheet again. He looked amused. “I imagine if sex is against the law, nakedness is frowned upon as well?”
“It’s considered extremely rude to uncover anything more than one’s hands and face in public.”
“Then I apologize for my rudeness. We’re not savages on Gadolinium. We don’t go about completely unclothed either outside our homes.” he replied. “Except at the summer solstice. Then the younger ones among us often shed their gowns or trousers and tunics to dance naked around the bonfire. And many of the older ones too—after they’ve had more than
their fill of honey mead.” He looked wistful. “I do love the summer solstice.”
“Now I may be a bit unsteady on my feet but I’m not sleepy,” he declared. “So if you’re ordering me to lie here, at least you can entertain me with a tale or two. Tell me more of this custom you have. ‘Virtual intercourse,’ you called it. With a probe shaped like a cock, that provides complete fulfillment. Exactly how does this occur? Do you wave a hand, like you did with the lights, and it begins fucking you all on its own?”
He raised his eyebrows and gave her an innocent look.
She glared at him. “This discussion is highly improper. I refuse to participate.”
“Do you? I didn’t refuse to participate when you ran your soft hand up and down my shaft and made it throb with need.” His voice took on a stern note. “But then, I couldn’t, could I? I was asleep. Helpless. Under your care. You’ve confessed that you broke an Earthly law, Doctor Reston. You invaded my private space. On my planet, when we commit a crime, we are punished. And then we must make amends to the person we wronged. Is Earth no less civilized?”
A wave of shame poured over her. She had no business taking the high ground now. She’d been wrong to do what she did. Embarrassed, feeling guilty, ever since he woke up she’d been trying to pretend it never happened. This man might not be an Earther, but while he was on the planet, the laws applied to him as much as they did to any other inhabitant of the dome. He had the right, the duty, to report her to the authorities. Selena shuddered as the magnitude of what she’d done suddenly hit her. She’d stand trial, then be stripped of her rank and sent to a penal colony for the rest of her days. All because she’d fallen prey to a moment of weakness caused by hormones raging out of control.
She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. “Haldor, I apologize. You are right. I have wronged you. Honor requires that I live by my code of conduct. As a citizen of Earth, I’ve sworn to uphold its laws or pay the consequences. I am in your debt. What can I do to make amends to you—before I surrender myself to the authorities, confess my crime, and am sentenced to exile?”
* * *
Haldor tried to hide his shock. He’d been half-kidding, teasing the doctor to pay her back for the way she’d teased him while he slept. But her face had gone as white as her clothing. She’d obviously done something she considered inexcusable. Back home, it would have been looked upon as nothing more than a little harmless play between warrior and wench. But here?
He understood one thing. Whether the sex was wrong or not, she’d violated the code by which she lived. Honor. Drengr as his people called it. Without drengr, a Viking could no longer hold up his head. Better to die a violent, painful death at the hands of an enemy than to lose one’s honor. Selena Reston’s drengr was as strong as that of any warrior.
She stood in front of his bed. Silent, head bowed, awaiting his response. This female had saved his life. She was no criminal. He saw only a beautiful woman, forced to deny her feminine nature all her life behind the formless garb of an Earthly drone. But he’d gotten a hint of the soft side of Selena Reston, the side he guessed she never dared show. He had formless memories of her hands touching him gently as he slept, stroking his brow, her sweet voice calling him back from the horrors that lurked where he drifted in darkness.
He needed to find a way to restore her drengr. Dole out a punishment stern enough to cleanse her soul. Then come up with a way for her to make amends—or he suspected she’d turn herself in rather than live with the guilt and the shame.
In his eyes, what she’d done didn’t deserve banishment. Doctor or not, she’d simply been a lusty wench, wanting a little frolic she’d denied herself far too long. True, she’d teased his manhood, made promises with her hands that she didn’t fulfill. That deserved a firm spanking—and then a good fuck, to relieve the hunger she’d awakened in both of them. He might even find a way to convince her that in his world what she’d done was no crime at all.
“I understand your code of honor,” he began. “On my planet, we have a similar code. We call it drengr. As a member of Sigrun’s council I am often called to rule upon matters of drengr. You have apologized to me and put yourself in my debt. But since you wronged a citizen of Gadolinium rather than an Earther, I feel it is only right and proper that you are punished in a manner that honors our ways, not your own. Do you agree?”
He saw her take a moment to process that. His respect for her went up a notch when she nodded her head without questioning the consequences she was agreeing to. He’d sized her up well enough in the short time they’d been together to believe she wouldn’t go back on her word, no matter what type of punishment he came up with. For her, it was a matter of reclaiming her honor now.
“On my planet, Viking men love and cherish our females. We make rules for their protection and our women follow them. If a wench is disobedient or lies, does something mean to another or simply ignores a rule she doesn’t like, her father or her brother or her mate has the right to discipline her as he sees fit—and she must submit, as a sign of her respect and an acknowledgement of their authority over her.”
He saw her spine stiffen at the idea of females blindly following rules set out by males, but she didn’t protest.
He let his words sink in for a moment, then went on. “On Gadolinium, your behavior would first warrant a punishment session, doled out by the man you belong to. If you’ve wronged someone else, that person has the right to witness your punishment. Afterwards, you would be required to perform whatever action the injured party demands, no matter how shameful or demeaning you deem it to be. You do so without question or protest, to show that you surrender your own drengr and bow to the person you wronged, restoring his or her honor in the process—and thereby your own.”
His voice grew solemn.
“Selena Reston, you have agreed to abide by Gadolinean customs in order to make amends. In my world, for the punishment portion of her consequences a woman is required to present herself with her bottom cheeks bared, and bend over her man’s lap for a spanking, either with his hand or with any implement he chooses. Since it is your first transgression, I will deliver your spanking with the flat of my palm.”
She looked up at him then, her eyes wide with horror.
He sat up straighter in bed, tossed the sheet aside, then patted his naked thighs. “Present yourself as required, and we will begin.”
Chapter Four
Selena opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again. No matter how humiliating and painful it might be to remove her clothing in front of this stranger and then allow him to strike her naked bottom with his bare hand, it was infinitely preferable to the idea of being exiled to a penal colony.
She respected the logic of his decision. If she was to suffer punishment for what she had done, it should be in a way that held significance for him, since he was the wronged party. Being banished was Earth’s civilized way of dealing with criminals. His society was more primitive. It made sense that he would only be satisfied by meting out a physical punishment.
He was waiting. She had to go through with this. He’d made it a matter of honor for both of them. Selena swallowed nervously and began unfastening the front of her uniform. One solid piece of fabric, she had to take it off from the top to bare her bottom for him.
She kept her eyes downcast as she stripped it off her shoulders. The uniforms were designed to hang shapelessly, so as not to draw undue attention to one’s physical attributes. But underneath it was molded to fit her body, so she wore nothing else except her shoes.
Selena heard him take in a sharp breath as she drew it down to her waist, baring her full breasts to his view. She could feel his eyes on her. She shivered involuntarily and her nipples hardened. No one had ever seen her naked breasts before. She wondered how they compared to the breasts of the women on Gadolinium. Did he find them… pleasing? Resisting the urge to cross her arms over them, she kept on going.
Hands shaking, she pulled her uniform down to her
thighs with one quick yank. Then she climbed awkwardly onto the bed. Supporting most of her weight on her elbows and knees, she hovered over his lap, trying not to let her pubic area come in contact with his naked penis.
For a moment, neither of them moved a muscle. Selena’s stomach was in knots. Her heart raced so hard she was afraid she’d faint. When his hand touched her back, she flinched as though he’d struck her violently.
“I know you’re frightened. As well you should be. A woman’s first punishment session is a serious matter. It is customary to begin slowly, pausing between strokes to allow the one administering discipline to deliver a stern speech reminding her of why she is being spanked and give her time to adjust to her submissive state.”
He brought his hand down on her backside without warning. She heard the loud smack, then milliseconds later felt a fierce burning sensation on her tender bottom. Selena let out a startled cry. This was far worse than the smacks he’d delivered over her uniform. She’d never been struck anywhere on her bare flesh before. It was horrible. Barbaric. She almost shot to her feet and told him she’d rather be banished.
But then he began speaking again while his hand traced slow circles around the spot he’d just struck. The burning eased and she found herself falling under the hypnotic spell of his deep voice.
“Now you know what to expect, how it feels. The next one won’t be so frightening.” When he brought the flat of his palm down hard, she felt a flash of pure rage as hot as the lick of fire on her backside. He’d tricked her, waiting until she relaxed to deliver the smack.
“You’re angry with me now. I can feel it. But trust me. Taking a spanking hurts less if you don’t resist. When your muscles are clenched, the pain lasts longer.”
He began running his big hand over her stinging bottom again. She tensed but his hand continued its slow path.
His to Tame (Alien Masters Book 4) Page 4