“I can’t do this,” she said helplessly. “I don’t know why I thought I could.”
Allik swiveled around in his seat and gave her a stern look. “You cannot give up so easily,” he said firmly.
“I can’t do it,” Victoria wailed, the tears breaking through now. “It’s too difficult.”
“Did you think you could suture a man’s wounds or restart a child’s heart?” he asked.
Victoria shook her head.
“Yet you did those things and you can do this,” he encouraged her. “Now, when you are ready, try again.”
“Okay.” Victoria was still unsure but she didn’t want to let Allik down. Not when he clearly had some faith in her. She put her hand back over the control panel and moved off, more smoothly this time. Within a few minutes, she started to relax, to enjoy herself even. Allik was right. She could do this.
* * *
By the time they got back to the city, Victoria was operating the cruiser with a lot more skill. With Allik by her side, she’d felt confident and his encouragement had made her feel as though she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. He’d been stern with her, issuing commands as though giving orders to one of his men at times, but there had also been words of reassurance and praise. She’d never known a man like Allik before. He could be such a strict disciplinarian but there was also a softer, more compassionate side. She was starting to think that life with him, here on Taar-Breck, would not be so bad.
Bringing the vehicle to a smooth stop outside the apartment building, she turned and looked at Allik, a massive grin on her face.
“So, how do I take us up to the docking bay?”
“You don’t,” he replied and Victoria could not prevent the disappointment from showing on her face. “Not yet, anyway. Flying is much trickier than driving. We will get out here and go in through the front door for a change.”
Victoria nodded. Without waiting for instruction, she switched the engine off and the vehicle lowered gently to its resting position. She tossed a cheeky smirk at Allik and got out of the cruiser. She stood on the sidewalk, waiting for him. When they were in a public space, she knew that she should allow him to take the lead.
“I have a surprise for you,” Allik said as they walked into the building.
“Oh?” Victoria looked at him expectantly. He had already surprised her once today with the driving lesson.
“I need to speak with Taryn later and he has requested that you accompany me.”
“To see Lucy?”
Allik nodded his confirmation. Victoria practically bounced as they walked across the vast atrium toward the elevators. This would be the first time that she had seen Lucy in almost a month and she was desperate to speak to her. She needed to know that this Lieutenant Taryn was treating her well. Lucy had always been incredibly soft-hearted. She was such a gentle soul and Victoria could hardly imagine her as the mate of a Taar-Breckian male. Of course, Allik was proof that not all alien men were insufferable in their demands for control. Perhaps Lucy had been taken by a warrior who was capable of yielding when necessary. The match had been arranged by their friend Caroline, after all, and she would not have set Lucy up with a man who would break her fragile spirit.
“Is there time for me to get changed first?” Victoria asked Allik as they stepped into the elevator. “I want to put on the new blue dress you bought me and do something with my hair.”
“You look acceptable as you are.”
Victoria fingered the linen fabric of her white dress and looked up at Allik with wide, beseeching eyes.
“Please, Allik,” she said as the elevator stopped and two Taar-Breckian women got in beside them. “It’s important to me.”
Allik looked as though he might refuse but then he shrugged his shoulders. “Very well, but you will need to be quick.”
Victoria stood on her tiptoes and kissed the side of his face. She knew that he was self-conscious about any public show of affection and that he didn’t like attention being drawn to his scars, but Victoria didn’t care. She shot a quick glance at the two women who were also traveling in the elevator. Neither of them was actually paying any notice to what she and Allik were doing. Perhaps his concern that everyone looked at him with either pity or revulsion was all in his head.
“Thank you,” she said.
It was silly, she knew but Lucy had known her all her life and would expect a certain standard. Victoria wasn’t as worried about wearing fine clothes as she’d been in New Cambridge but she didn’t want Lucy to think she’d changed. She knew that many things about her were different since she’d met Allik but she didn’t want her friend to feel she was not the same person. She just hoped that Lucy would not be disappointed in her.
* * *
Allik stood by the door and watched as Victoria stripped off her dress and tossed it onto the bed. As she walked to the closet, he wondered if he would ever tire of that saucy little wiggle in her hips. It was so enticing that it was all he could do not to bend her over the bed and fuck her senseless. There was no time right now but a part of him did wonder if sinking his cock into her welcoming body might take the edge off his niggling concerns. Bringing Victoria to Taryn’s apartment was meant to be a special treat for her. She hadn’t seen her friend for several weeks and he knew that she missed her. What worried him was that Victoria didn’t yet know about Lucy’s new life as Taryn’s treasured pet. Allik was not sure how she was going to react but he suspected it would not be good.
As Victoria slipped the blue dress on over her head and let the slinky fabric slither down her body, he thought about how well the last week had gone. Since they’d arrived on Taar-Breck, the atmosphere between them was largely harmonious. Victoria had behaved impeccably but she had not had to face any real challenges. There was nothing to act out over and consequently, he hadn’t needed to put his foot down or administer any discipline. Although it was good that she had toed the line, there was also the worry that it meant she would forget that her actions could have consequences for her backside.
“Come here,” he ordered her. The look she gave him was one of surprise at the tone of command in his voice. She approached him slowly, a wary expression on her face. Her eyes grew impossibly wide as he opened the black case and laid it on the bed, revealing a row of pretty pink silicone butt plugs. “Bend over and place your hands on the bed.”
“Why?” she questioned him indignantly.
“Because you need to be reminded who’s in charge,” Allik said.
“I…”
“Victoria,” he cut her off, “do I need to spank you to persuade you to obey?”
Mouth turned down in a sign of her misery, Victoria shook her head.
“Then get into position,” Allik said. Her reluctance confirmed his thoughts that he had been going too easy on her these past few weeks. She might not like his commands, but he expected her to obey nonetheless and to trust that he was acting in her best interests.
Looking a little hurt, she turned and bent over the bed. When Allik flipped her skirt up around her waist, she huffed out a breath that told him she was unhappy with what was happening to her. Allik sighed. His intention was to reinforce her submissive state, not to make her feel as though she had done something wrong.
“This is not a punishment,” he explained as he took one of the larger plugs from the leather case. “It is to remind you of your place. Do you understand?”
“No.” Victoria turned and looked at him, an accusatory expression on her face. “I don’t know why you think I’m going to behave badly.”
“It’s not about that,” Allik said. “I want you to remember who you belong to, who sets the rules.”
Her eyes narrowed and she still didn’t look happy, but Victoria complied with his request.
Allik took a tube of gel from the case and spread a generous amount over the silicone plug. He put one hand on her lower back to hold her in place and pushed the tip of the well-lubricated plug against the rosy pucker of
her anus. Her tight little hole still fought the penetration but, with a firmer push, the narrow tip slid inside her. The flared section met with greater resistance from the tight muscles of her anus.
“Ow, it hurts,” Victoria complained. “It’s too big.”
“You’ve taken more than this before now,” Allik told her. “Relax and it will just slip into your bottom.”
“Easy for you to say,” Victoria snapped. “Nobody’s ever tried to stick a log up your ass.”
Allik couldn’t help but laugh. He loved that her spirit could not be quelled. At times when she should be at her most defiant, she was often at her most fierce. As he pushed the plug forward until it was fully seated inside her, she let out a curse.
“You are begging for a spanking, young lady,” he warned her.
“I’m sorry.” She managed to sound contrite, although he suspected she was anything but. “Please don’t spank me, sir.”
Now, he knew her apology was not genuine. Whenever she called him sir, there was always an edge to her tone. Deciding to nip her attitude in the bud, he delivered a rapid succession of swats to her backside. After three hard smacks with his palm, her peachy flesh began to turn red. Victoria moaned and squirmed but as he continued to spank her, she began to make a more sincere apology.
“I’m sorry, Allik.” Her voice was wobbly, as though tears were threatening to fall.
“What are you sorry for?” Allik waited for her response, his hand poised to strike again if necessary.
“For being a bitch.”
Allik helped her to straighten up and gave her a moment to adjust to the sensation of having her bottom filled.
“You were being a little bratty, but you most certainly were not a bitch,” he admonished her. “I don’t want to hear you referring to yourself in those terms again.”
When she didn’t answer, he tilted her chin up so her eyes were forced to meet with his. There was a stray tear running down her cheek, which he gently wiped away. Victoria nodded.
“All better?” he asked as she sniffed away her tears and gave him a weak smile.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go and see your friend.” Allik led her from the apartment, assured by the grimace on her face as she walked that she would be constantly aware of the plug’s humbling presence. “But remember, if you misbehave, you will be punished, and not with a gentle spanking.”
Satisfied that she had taken his warning on board, he directed her toward the elevator. This was going to be an interesting visit.
Chapter Fifteen
As she perched on the rather uncomfortable, hard-backed chair that Allik had directed her to sit on, Victoria cast an appraising look over Lieutenant Taryn. He had the bearing of a military man, dominance screaming from every pore. He was a little shorter than Allik, but broader in the shoulders. His eyes were that same incredible indigo color and his brilliant blond hair was cropped short, the way all Taar-Breckian warriors seemed to wear it. Well, except for Allik, who had grown his unusually dark hair a little longer.
She was aware that as she was weighing Taryn up, he was doing exactly the same to her. Feeling the pressure of his scrutiny, she shifted on her chair and winced as the plug pressed deeper inside her. To her horror, Taryn gave a chuckle that suggested he knew exactly what was bothering her.
“Is Lucy here?” Victoria asked, wondering why she had not seen her friend yet.
“Where else would she be?” Taryn responded. “She could hardly have gone anywhere by herself.”
Although she hadn’t used the privilege yet, Allik had told Victoria that she was free to leave the apartment on her own if she wanted to. Taryn’s words seemed to suggest that he was not affording Lucy the same freedom to come and go. That worried Victoria. Her gentle and caring friend would not stand up well to being at the mercy of an oppressive brute.
“May I see her?” Victoria tried not to let her frustration at having to wait to find out if Lucy was okay show on her face. She suspected that Taryn would drag things out longer to punish her if she appeared insolent. The lieutenant looked at her as though waiting for something and it took her a minute to work out what he wanted. “Please.”
“Of course. I will go and fetch her.”
As Taryn walked off, heading along a corridor at the far end of the room, Victoria looked up at Allik. She wasn’t sure why, but she was beginning to feel extremely nervous. It was silly, really. Lucy was her closest friend. They’d known each other since they were children. Her fears that they could have drifted apart in just a few short weeks were ridiculous. Weren’t they?
When Taryn returned to the room, Victoria could not believe what she was seeing. Suddenly Allik’s behavior toward her made sense. He had taken great pains to ensure that she would behave herself and the reason for his concern was now obvious.
She smothered a gasp of shock as she saw her friend crawling across the room, trailing a foot or so behind Taryn. Her head was lowered, presumably to hide her embarrassment because, as she drew closer, it became clear that she was wearing some sort of costume. Around Lucy’s throat, there was a black leather collar with a little metal tag dangling from it. Her curves were squeezed into a tight black all-in-one suit that looked as though it was made from velvet or some other tactile material. With little pointed ears on the top of her head and a long, fluffy tail protruding from her bottom, she closely resembled a cat. Victoria had seen a picture of one in a book. People had once kept them in their homes.
As indignation prickled down her spine, she sat up a little straighter. Every part of her stiffened in outrage. She felt Allik’s hands on her shoulders. He gave them a squeeze that she took to be a warning. Turning slightly, she looked up at him. The smile he gave her was benign but the dark glint in his eyes reinforced the message that she was to behave.
She watched as Taryn took a seat opposite her and Lucy came to kneel dutifully at his feet. Victoria glowered as he rested his hand on Lucy’s head, his manner proprietorial. It felt as though he and Allik were trying to outdo each other in demonstrating their mastery over their mates. The atmosphere seemed very tense all of a sudden.
It irritated Victoria that Allik would posture in this way but what really made her blood boil was seeing her friend being treated like an animal. She was angered even more by the look of serenity on Lucy’s face. It was as though her friend actually relished the subservient position she was in. Clearly, she had been brainwashed.
“Perhaps you would like to show Victoria your special room, kitten,” Taryn suggested. He seemed to be staring directly at Victoria as he spoke, challenging her to say something. “You should spend a little time together before we leave in a few days.”
“Leave?” Victoria felt her heart sink. She had not been able to see her friend for all these weeks and now Lucy was going to be taken away from her so soon. “Where are you going?”
“I am being sent on a diplomatic mission and my pet will be accompanying me.”
“Your pet?” Victoria spat out. “Lucy is not a pet.”
“Victoria,” Allik cautioned.
Victoria knew that she was at risk of earning herself a spanking but in that moment she didn’t care. She could no longer sit back and keep quiet. All her life, she had held her tongue when she wanted to speak out. She’d been so prim and proper and she’d had enough.
“No, Allik.” She turned to look at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “This isn’t right. Can’t you see that? She’s a human being, not some animal.”
“There’s a difference?” Taryn asked in an infuriatingly pleasant tone.
“Yes, there is.” Victoria tried to get to her feet but Allik firmly pushed her back onto the seat. Despite the discomfort of the butt plug pressing against her insides as a reminder to behave, Victoria would not be silenced. “She is not your fucking pet!”
Across the room, Lucy let out a pathetic little whimper.
“You are distressing your friend,” Allik scolded her. “Now, stop
this. Go and spend some time with your friend. You and I will discuss your behavior later.”
“Yes, sir,” Victoria said venomously.
As she got to her feet, Allik grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him. She could see barely leashed anger there. His palm was practically twitching and she knew he was restraining himself from throwing her over his knee. As they stared at one another in a fraught silence, something passed between them. It was just a fleeting thing that she couldn’t define but somehow she realized that he was holding back to save her the embarrassment of being spanked in front of her friend.
Reaching up, she touched the side of his face, her gentle caress making him flinch. He was going to have to get used to her touching his scars. She got up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss against the angry red slash across his left cheek.
“I love you,” she whispered, the words coming out of nowhere. To her surprise, she meant them.
The ghost of a smile played on Allik’s lips and he gestured for her to go to her friend. Victoria turned around and saw Lucy quietly speaking to Taryn. He inclined his head as though granting a request and her friend rose to her feet. Lucy held out her hand and Victoria rushed to take it.
As they passed Taryn, Victoria shot him a dark glare. She was going to find out what was happening with Lucy and if she was being mistreated, there would be hell to pay. It didn’t matter how big and scary the lieutenant was. If he’d hurt Lucy, she was going to make him suffer.
* * *
Allik took a seat and stretched his long legs out in front of him. He was aware of Taryn staring at him and he braced himself for the criticism he fully expected to receive. Victoria had acted like a brat and it reflected poorly on him that he had not immediately chastised her for it. The truth was he hadn’t wanted to punish her there and then.
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