Kieran

by Allyson James

  Kieran roared. “Gods damn you, Felice. Why aren’t you safe where I left you?”

  “Because you need me.” Felice fixed a stern gaze on Rees. “He’s right—why have you waited so long? If you need to get off planet, let me look at your list of prospective ships. I can pinpoint which ones will be most likely to ask no questions. But you’re going to have to pay. Can you pay?”

  “Yes.” Rees said tersely. Kieran knew that was true—the highborn women in the group and Dr. Laas, plus Rio and his lady off-world were funding the escape.

  “Good. Where’s the list? I’ll look through it while you do something with the patroller. Dr. Laas gave me this.” Felice handed a syringe, not to Rees but to Kieran. “She says this will give her a hangover that will help her forget what’s happened for about twenty-four hours. No guarantee she’ll never remember, but by that time, we should be long gone. Baine erased the visuals of you shoving her inside here, but that only works if no one was checking them at that moment.”

  Rees gave Felice a look of new respect before he turned back to Kieran. “All right, so you did a good thing bringing her in on this. But you still fucked up, and we might all end up paying for that, so don’t look so smug.”

  “Not smug,” Kieran said. “Just wanting you out.”

  “You can’t stay here,” Rees warned.

  “No shit. We’ll hole up at your place.”

  Rees let out a growl. “You walk the edge, Kieran.”

  “You stay with Talan, like you usually do,” Kieran said. “Felice can look at your database at your apartment, can’t she?”

  “Yes.” Rees’s jaw worked, but Kieran didn’t care. They could all yell at each other once they got off-world and went their separate ways.

  Not that Kieran planned to come up from having sex with Felice once they were free. Carrying on arguments with other Shareem wouldn’t be worth leaving her side for. Not by a long way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rees’s apartment was smaller than Kieran’s. Felice wasn’t sure what she’d expected—that the lead Shareem would have some hidden luxurious abode maybe, like Dr. Laas’s compound?

  But no, Rees lived on the basement level of a nondescript lodging house, one floor down from the front door. No name or number appeared on the building or in the upstairs hall to indicate there was a basement apartment, but it existed, innocuous and small.

  Felice saw Talan’s touch as she looked around, in the tasteful bed coverings, pictures on the walls, cushions on the chairs. The young woman had taken a barren place and made it homey.

  “Rees is good at covering his tracks,” Kieran said when they’d locked themselves inside, alone. “Patrollers don’t even know he’s still on the planet. They’ve heard rumors, but everyone official figures Rees left Bor Narga a long time ago.”

  “How can he?” Felice asked as she sat down at a top-of-the-line console. “Erase all trace of himself? Wish I could do that.”

  Kieran shook his head. “Rees is a pain in the ass but one smart bastard. The rest of us have records in the Ministry of Non-Human Life Form’s database, always have. Rees does too, but it’s restricted as hell, and doesn’t have the name he’s using now on it.” Kieran seized a light chair and moved it close to Felice, sitting down an inch from her. “You know how to work that?”

  “Rees gave me some codes.” Felice touched keys and pads, liking Kieran’s body heat touching her. “I’m willing to bet he didn’t give me access to anything that will come back to him or put him in danger.” She had to smile. “He only trusts me so much.”

  “But he’ll use you to help him,” Kieran said. “Remember that.”

  “He can’t be that bad.” Felice continued tapping keys and light screens. “I see the way he looks at Talan, and how she looks at him.”

  “Women always fall for Rees. It’s a chemical reaction. Don’t be fooled.”

  “Is that what it is with you?” Felice slanted him a look. “A chemical reaction?”

  Kieran stopped, his brows drawing down. “Is what what it is with me?”

  Felice dropped her hand to his thigh, so close to hers. “What I feel about you.”

  Kieran’s eyes stilled. “You don’t feel anything about me. I’m made to pleasure you, and nothing after that.”

  Felice moved her hand back to the keys. “Is that how you feel about it?”

  “I don’t feel anything.”

  The words were brittle. Felice knew she should be hurt by them. But she wouldn’t let herself feel hurt, because she knew he lied. What his mouth spoke was different from what she saw in his eyes—fear, loneliness, years of suffering.

  “Well, guess what,” Felice said softly. “I do.” She turned back to the computer screen, which had begun to flow with information. “Here we go.”

  Kieran sat unmoving, like a statue of an old Norse god someone had positioned on a modern chair. He said nothing at all, didn’t even lean to study the monitor with Felice as she went through the names of the cargo ships Rees had collected.

  She recognized a few ships that had been in port a few days ago, gone now, including the one whose crew she and Kieran had fought. The TGH ship she’d worked on was still in port. It was on Rees’s list, but he’d made a note: Not a good prospect.

  No kidding. TGH Corp would be thrilled to find themselves with a hold full of new men and women they could work to death or sell. Of course, Rees might find a way to take over the ship—but then they’d be fugitives from the long arm of TGH Corp.

  Felice saw many familiar ships and company names as she scrolled. Some Rees had already dismissed, and she agreed. A few Rees had on the “possible” list, but Felice crossed them off. They flew too near pro-indenture territories, and their captains were always looking for a way to make a quick buck. Human trafficking was all too easy, unfortunately.

  She narrowed it down to four. One had been scheduled to take off last night, but had listed a request to stay in its slip another day, due to unforeseen delays. That might mean repairs to the ship or the crew too drunk to lift off tonight, but it was too good a possibility to pass up.

  That ship, along with the other three she’d pinpointed, were from antislavery worlds, never traded with slave worlds, and were all leaving late tonight. Felice had met the captain of one, in fact, about a year ago—he’d offered her a job, not realizing she was indentured. If she’d been able to get away at that port, she’d have taken him up on it, but the crew master had hauled her back inside and locked down the ship.

  “This one, definitely.” Felice tapped the screen, touching the name of that captain’s ship. “Would be nice to check it out in person, find out if they have room, but we can’t risk it. That’s why Rees was sending you into the dockyards, wasn’t it? To get a feel for the best ships, to try to make a deal?”

  When Kieran didn’t answer, Felice turned from the screen. He hadn’t moved from the position he’d held when she’d started her search, as though someone had jabbed him with a paralyzing drug.

  “Kieran?” she asked in alarm. “You all right?”

  Kieran’s eyes flickered. “What did you mean—I do?”

  “Sorry?” Felice blinked, her mind full of cargo manifests, crew rosters, and departure times.

  “I said I didn’t feel anything. And you said, Well, guess what? I do.”

  “Yeah,” Felice said softly, smiling. “I did say that.”

  “What did you mean?”

  “What do you think I meant?”

  His frown deepened. “I don’t know.”

  Looking into his eyes, Felice realized Kieran truly didn’t know. She saw confusion in the blue depths, and hope from someone who’d given up on hope a long time ago.

  Felice rose from her seat and moved the very short distance to Kieran’s lap. “It means that I like you,” she said, snuggling into the circle of his arms. “A lot. That I want to spend more time with you, see where this goes.” All the way to the rest of my life if I have to. I’m fine with that.
r />   “You like . . . me.” Kieran said the words slowly, as though they were unfamiliar to him.

  “Yep. Is that so hard to believe?”

  “Yes.” His eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t made to be liked. Women are supposed to be afraid of me. And then sated, and then done.”

  “I don’t care what the genetic programmers and DNAmo made you to be. That’s not what you are.”

  “I’m Shareem.”

  Felice kissed the bridge of his nose. “You’re Kieran. You’re funny, kind, strong, protective . . .” She smiled. “Sexy.”

  He stared at her as though she were speaking an unknown language. But no, her translator chip was still working.

  “Funny,” he repeated. “Kind.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “I’m level three, woman,” he growled.

  Felice shrugged. “If that means good at bondage, yeah, you are. But you’re also all those other things. See what I mean? You’re everything rolled into one man called Kieran. I want to be with Kieran.”

  “Kind,” Kieran said again, his rumbling voice getting louder. “Funny.”

  “You’re having trouble with that . . .”

  “You will.” Kieran rose to his feet, lifting Felice with him, the giant coming alive. “You know what you are right now?”

  Felice’s heart beat faster even as she clung to him. “What?”

  “Mine.” The word was hard, final. “And so screwed.”

  The bed was close to the terminal. It was an alcove bed, but wide enough and strong enough to take both of them falling down on it. Felice heard the rip of her coveralls, and then she was laughing, surrendering to Kieran’s strength.

  *** *** ***

  Rees, it turned out, had plenty of lube and other toys. Kieran went through them while Felice lay on the bed, naked and sweet, one arm behind her head. She smiled as she watched him.

  He was making her too happy, or at least, too sated. He still needed to punish her for what she’d said, leading a poor Shareem on, telling him he was kind and funny, that she liked him. Heartbreak lay that way.

  “What are you doing?”

  Her dusky voice made Kieran want to throw the vials of lube aside and land on her once again. He held himself back with effort and made himself sort through Rees’s supplies.

  “Looking for the perfect scent.”

  The lubes Rees obviously favored were fruity-smelling—those bottles had been used the most. Mango seemed to be a favorite.

  Kieran wanted something different for Felice. Something spicy, dark, tangy.

  He found a mixture of patchouli and something else he didn’t recognize. Kieran wasn’t an expert in what scents went together—Aiden was the master of that—but he knew what he liked. The scent reminded him of Felice—mysterious but a little bit cocky.

  He brought the bottle to the bed, along with a few devices from Rees’s small sterilizer. Felice watched him, her body tensing. She was a fighter, she could spring up any minute, shove him aside, run.

  He loved that she didn’t.

  Kieran put one knee on the bed. “Spread.”

  Felice blinked at him. “What, no sweet talking?”

  Kieran frowned. “I don’t know any poetry. I only know you’re beautiful, and I want to smooth lube on your pussy and ass.”

  “Oh.” Felice’s eyes widened a bit. “Why?”

  The level three clenched him, and he set down the vial. “Turn over.”

  “Why . . .” Felice began again, then squeaked as Kieran caught her hips and flipped her face-down on the mattress.

  Again, she could have fought, could have run. Kieran’s heart warmed as she stayed put, though she looked apprehensively over her shoulder.

  Rees had every kind of whip Kieran had seen, and some he hadn’t. He had them custom made, as Kieran did, though Kieran wasn’t too finicky to use ordinary crops. Kieran lifted a thin strap attached to a handle that was comfortable in his grip.

  Felice’s eyes went even wider. She clutched at the bedding as Kieran brought the whip down.

  The leather was short enough that Kieran could rest himself on the bed and spank her as much as he liked. Felice flinched and cried out, as she had in the holo-room, but even though he hadn’t tied her this time, Felice stayed put. Taking her punishment, like a good sub.

  Strong women liked that, Calder had told him. The stronger the woman in her daily life, the more willing a sub she was. It was a relief for them to surrender their authority, to have someone else make all the decisions and tell them what to do. Rio, another level three, had told him about one woman who’d wanted only to be whipped, no sex, no touching, just to be flogged. That was all.

  Felice wriggled her ass as the strap came down, rubbing herself on the bed. Kieran knew exactly how to time the lashes so they didn’t damage her, but stung just enough. Not for pain, but surrender.

  Felice was strong, but she’d carried such burdens—worry for her friend, betrayal by her trainer who should have taken care of her, being used like a mindless machine by TGH. She’d carried it all on her beautiful but strong shoulders, and finally, with Kieran, she could let go.

  Kieran kept his rhythm even, though he was ready to speed it up, fling the whip aside, grab her hips, and plunge himself into her from behind. But she needed this.

  Felice moaned. Kieran put his hand on her back, steadying her, as her body moved. Little whimpers came out of her throat, and her hips went up and down, as though she sought release against the bed.

  Kieran knew the time was soon. Felice’s skin bore a sheen of sweat, her whimpers grew louder and more insistent, and her hips worked.

  Kieran popped the top from the vial he’d chosen and coated his fingers with the oily lube, never stopping the even swish, slap, swish, slap of the strap.

  Felice’s thrashing grew stronger as her climax began, her whimpers turning to moans. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking from the corners of them, and turned her face to the pillow.

  But Kieran wasn’t finished. As Felice’s voice grew shrill, her climax crashing upon her, Kieran slid his hand under her hips and thrust two fingers into her pussy.

  Felice’s eyes flew open, and she screamed. She flailed and bumped against the bed, her hips moving in a wild ride, her pussy squeezing the hell out of Kieran’s fingers.

  “That’s the way, love,” Kieran said softly. “You feel that.”

  “Yes,” Felice moaned. She cried out his name, her voice broken from her screams.

  Kieran gave her ass one last slap, then fucked her with his fingers. He dribbled lube on her ass, making it slick, so he could slide his thumb into her back opening.

  Felice was screaming again, gyrating against the bed. She came for a long time, until at last her body went limp, her muscles relaxing, and she landed against the mattress, breathing hard.

  Kieran withdrew and wiped his fingers. Felice squirmed around. “No,” she moaned. She reached out and grabbed his very hard cock, which was jutting toward her. “Fuck me, Kieran. Please.”

  Kieran almost came as her fingers squeezed down, and her soft voice begged.

  Dear gods, he wanted to. But he was master now, not her. Damn it . . .

  He peeled her hand from his cock, though something inside him snarled at him for doing it. But he’d have his relief soon enough.

  Kieran ran his hands through the sterilizer then picked up the lube once more. He pushed Felice face-down again. One reason to use tethers was to keep her from turning around and grabbing him as she had. But Kieran was too impatient to go through the process. He was cutting corners, but he needed to be inside her, and who knew how long they’d have before Rees sent for them again?

  Kieran dribbled lube from the bottle directly onto her ass and then on his fingers. Putting down the vial, he smoothed the spicy scented oil all over her pussy then dipped a slick finger into her ass.

  Felice’s groan sounded as though she’d dragged it from the depths of her. Now, she’d understand. Kieran wasn’t j
ust for sex, he was for releasing her wildest dreams and fantasies, letting herself go, learning to throw away inhibitions. With Kieran, she was safe to explore, no matter what happened in the real world outside this room. He had her, he’d watch over her, and he’d show her the greatest pleasure she could experience.

  He continued to play with her, relaxing her, opening her, while his cock grew so stiff it was painful. Not long now, he told himself.

  “Have you ever been fucked in the ass, Felice?” Kieran asked in a voice just above a whisper.

  Felice shivered, her hips again moving a little with what he did. “No.” The word was muffled into the pillows.

  “Well, you’re going to be now.”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Kieran went silent again as he readied her. He worked up to three fingers inside her, caressing her opening so it would be soft and accepting. No hurting.

  Kieran got up on the bed behind her and positioned himself. Felice tensed, her fists balling, and Kieran held himself back a little longer, touching, petting, soothing her.

  Finally, he spread her cheeks with his thumbs, and pushed inside.

  Very little resistance. He’d prepared her well. Kieran’s thoughts began to lose shape, floating away as raw feeling took him over. She was fucking tight, and at the same time, so open and lubed for him that his cock slid right in.

  The sound that came from Felice’s throat was one of pure ecstasy. Kieran smiled as he carefully slid partway out and thrust in again, his smile widening as Felice groaned loudly. She wriggled her hips, wanting it, her body begging for it.

  Kieran’s excitement built, and he let it. When a woman had her first time in the ass, she either loved it, or never wanted it again.

  Felice’s body rocked, her breasts swaying, and she turned to look over her shoulder. Her eyes were half closed, her mouth slack, her cheeks flushed. “I love it,” she said. “I love it, love it, love it . . .”

  “Good, sweetheart,” Kieran said, or thought he said.