They were silent for a while as Mingor’s fingers washed and rubbed along Noah’s back. No matter how far in the past Noah went in his memory, he couldn’t remember anyone ever showing him such kindness.
“Stand.”
Noah was up on his feet before he realized what his change in position would mean. It wasn’t until he felt Mingor’s hands cupping his buttocks that he realized his mistake. There was no way he was going to be able to disguise the fact his master’s touch was arousing him. But as Mingor continued to clean him, he didn’t seemed put off by his ever-increasing erection. Mingor cleaned his legs and his feet then worked his way up to his cock. Since the soap was still tumbling down from his head, Noah didn’t dare open his eyes to see Mingor’s reaction. To his shock, Mingor’s hand washed along his cock with the same consideration he’d used on every other part of him.
Daring to open one eye to a slit, Noah was disappointed to discover that Mingor wasn’t hard. Rather than allow his disappointment to ruin what was one of the most caring acts ever bestowed on him, Noah closed his eyes and simply enjoyed Mingor’s touch.
“You are very hard.”
“Trust me, I know.” Noah chuckled a little. “Hindur wouldn’t let me—” He cut himself off when he realized he’d been about to confess he hadn’t even been allowed to masturbate. Hindur liked him to get hard and stay that way so his slave-trading pals could comment on his erection.
“Do you suffer when you aren’t allowed sex?”
“Yeah.” Noah was suffering plenty right now. “It doesn’t kill us—mankind—but it can make us plenty miserable.”
“I would ease your pain.”
To Noah’s shock and delight, Mingor began to slide his soapy-slick fist up and down his shaft with surprising expertise. Just as he was getting into the rhythmic pleasure, he felt guilt crushing in. “You don’t have to do this.”
“But I wish to.”
Noah wanted to understand what Mingor was getting out of this when a quick peek revealed he was still utterly flaccid, but the urge to gain a release held Noah’s lips together. Mingor stroked him, and Noah stood there letting him, his arousal pulsing through him until he was unable to keep his mouth closed. Tilting his head back, he let out a series of groans and whimpers that paralleled his master’s strokes. Another wave of shame made him try to stop what was happening, but his body was far too close to oblivion. Besides, for all he knew, this was how Thandlings encouraged devotion in their servants. Mingor certainly didn’t seem to mind. He wasn’t turned on, but he didn’t seem upset about what he was doing. And again, it was his idea.
Vacillating between enjoying the moment to the hilt and a worrisome shame that this was somehow wrong, Noah delayed his orgasm far longer than he normally would have.
“Relax, my sephir. You will not peak when you are this tangled up. Clear your mind and feel only my hand upon you.” Mingor’s voice had the cadence of a chant that instantly eased the tension out of Noah’s shoulders.
Faster Mingor went. His hand tightened. Noah was breathing in such short bursts he was amazed he didn’t pass out. When he finally reached the point of no return, he thrust his hips forward, but didn’t dislodge Mingor from his task. He kept right on stroking until Noah came so hard he swore he almost died from the pleasure of a profoundly powerful release.
As he continued to shiver and shake, he slowly sank down to his knees, stunned when Mingor stayed with him. His hand was still wrapped around Noah’s shaft, but he was no longer stroking. Now he seemed to be holding him while intermittently tightening his fist. It was, without a doubt, the best orgasm Noah had ever known.
Sadly, when he finally opened his eyes and looked over, Mingor was still soft.
Chapter 4
Mingor felt Noah suddenly tense. “Do I do it wrong?” He certainly hoped not. Touching Noah was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. His skin was soft while his muscles were hard. When he’d wrapped his fist around Noah’s cock, he’d done so only to clean, but when it became clear how much Noah enjoyed the attention, Mingor had been driven to ease his suffering. Telling himself he only had his sephir’s best interests in mind didn’t stop him from enjoying himself. Noah’s soft sounds of pleasure sparked awareness across Mingor’s form. He only managed to hide his arousal by decades of dedicated practice to controlling his body’s functions.
“Believe me, you didn’t do it wrong.” Noah’s voice was a little lower than usual, but that wasn’t much wonder when he was clearly drained. “Shouldn’t I be doing this for you?”
“If you wish to clean me, you may. But only after I finish with you.” Mingor released Noah. He scooped fresh water from the dispenser then poured it over Noah’s head, watching as the soap moved down his form.
“Do you always wash your slaves?”
“As I said before, you are not my slave.” Mingor wasn’t ready to have that discussion just yet. Soon enough he would have to explain to Noah what he was and what his function on Thand would be. Even though, at the time of their bargain, Mingor had thought they’d had a meeting of the minds, he now realized that they had not. Noah thought he was to be some kind of soldier or protector when that wasn’t what he would be at all, not exactly. Still, Mingor believed that even if Noah had known in detail what Mingor wanted from him, he still would have taken the arrangement. Noah was an honorable soul who would have probably given up his life altogether to free the slaves in Hindur’s home. Noah’s sacrifice was but a lone drop of water against the veritable ocean of despair, but that didn’t seem to matter to him. Noah was a rare being who would make a personal sacrifice for the greater good.
To prevent the conversation from starting here and now, Mingor continued to pour water over Noah’s head as he eased it over his body. Noah joined him in washing the suds off. When he was rinsed, Mingor showed him how to activate the drain in the tub with his toe.
“I will now finish with my bath.” Mingor handed Noah a towel then turned away.
“Aren’t I supposed to help you?”
“If you wish, you may, but it is by no means necessary.” Mingor returned to the main room where he’d had a temporary bathing unit setup.
“Was it necessary for you to wash me?” Noah followed him, drying his hair with the towel and making a line of wet footprints in the carpet. Once he had his head fairly dry, he wrapped the towel around his hips, cutting off Mingor’s view of his extraordinary body.
“No.”
“Then why did you?”
“Perhaps for the same reason you sacrificed yourself for the freedom of others.”
“I don’t see how the two things are remotely comparable.”
Mingor sat down in the larger tub. When he reached into the smaller bucket to scoop out water, he found it had grown cold. Holding his hand steady in the water, he felt out with his mind for the structure of the molecules. Once he had them visualized, he pushed, exciting them and thereby warming the water. As soon as he had it to the proper temperature, he ladled water over his head, continuing with his bath while he spoke with Noah.
“Do you have an extra toothbrush?”
It took a moment for Mingor to understand what Noah was talking about. “In the hygiene room there is a bottle of white tablets. Simply take one and put it in your mouth.”
“And that will clean my teeth?”
“Yes. Once it stops fizzing, spit it out.” His kind actually swallowed the substance, but he wasn’t certain it would sit well with a human. Mingor sudsed up his hair and let the bubbles wash down along his body. He was exhausted, but sleep would probably still be a long way off. His interlude with Noah had revived him to a degree, but a solid night of sleep would serve him best.
Noah went off to do as he suggested. He returned after a few moments. “Okay, that was just weird. And there’s no sink, so I had to spit it into the trash. Or at least what I hope was the trash.”
“The square receptacle?”
“Yeah.”
“That is the trash bin.�
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“Why don’t you have a sink?” When Mingor didn’t understand what that was, Noah explained.
“We do not use water that way.”
“Why not?”
“Because water is precious.” Mingor was going to leave it at that, but this was a perfect opportunity to further delay the discussion he needed to have with Noah. “On Thand, almost all the water is salty.”
“It’s one big ocean?”
“We use a different word, but I believe the concept is the same.” Mingor rose up to wash the rest of his body. “Fresh water is extremely valuable.” So valuable, in fact, it was the reason he needed a sephir of another race. “To waste such a life-giving element is egregious.”
“You’d really freak out on Earth.”
“That is your home world?” While finding compatible food, he’d learned what little there was to know about the planet, which wasn’t much.
“Yeah. We use water like it’s nothing. Most of the Earth is water, ocean water, but there’s lots of fresh water, too.” Noah frowned. “I don’t actually know why that is. Science was never my best subject.”
Mingor tried to imagine a world of such plenty but failed miserably.
“Do you want me to, uh, help you?”
There was a deeper meaning to Noah’s offer that Mingor refused to acknowledge. “I am almost done.”
“And then we’ll talk.”
“Yes.” The issue of water on Thand hadn’t delayed him for long. As interesting and postponing as it would be to have Noah give him a release, Mingor refrained. He needed to clear the waters between them first. In all honesty, he should have done so before he fondled Noah, but the time for that had passed. Regret was something Mingor strove not to indulge in. Mingor dried himself then pulled on a clean robe of blue. “I had one brought for you.”
Noah took the robe and examined it before pulling it over his head. It was a little tight and a bit short, but it would do for now.
“I will have a properly fitted one made.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it. This is way better than running around with my dick dangling all damn day.” Noah rubbed his face and sighed.
“What?”
“Just, I won’t ever have a beard again.”
“Facial hair?”
Noah nodded. “Hindur didn’t want me to have anything that was remotely like a Vaugar, so he did something that removed all my body hair.”
“You are normally hairy?”
“I was.”
“Does this matter a great deal to you?”
“No. It’s just weird. I mean on me. It looks really good on you. Being hairless. Not like I was looking, just that I couldn’t help but notice. Christ.” Noah shook his head and then turned slightly away. “I am going to win the moron of the universe award.”
“We don’t have that contest.”
“No?”
“Not anymore. There was far too much competition.”
After a startled laugh, Noah turned back around. “I’m not normally this—well, yeah, this is pretty much me. No sense in putting on airs when you’re going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life.”
“I do not think of myself as stuck with you.” Mingor motioned toward the sitting area then moved that direction. In one smooth motion, he sank down, crossing his legs as he settled on one of the firm cushions. To his left was a low table of food items. “I hope you will find this pleasing. If not, I will have something else brought in for you.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.” Noah considered the sparsely furnished room. “Your planet is really minimal.” Noah followed Mingor’s example, or at least tried to. But his legs weren’t as flexible and it was clear he wasn’t used to sitting so close to the floor. After awkwardly kneeling down, he settled his buttocks on the cushion, crossed his legs, and put his hands in his lap. He managed to look quite out of place.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“A bit, but I’ll get over it. So now tell me what being your sephir really means.”
“My kind is minimal, as you have noticed. I did not realize how different some other cultures are until I traveled from Thand.” Frankly, Mingor had been stunned by the excesses he’d seen. “Take Hindur.”
“No thanks.” Noah’s smile was quickly followed by a waving hand gesture. “Sorry, I’m kind of a smarty pants.”
“You use humor to mask your pain. It is very wise.”
“It is?” Noah straightened a little. “I don’t think anyone has called me wise before.”
“I am glad to be the first.” Mingor found Noah a curious creature who was not technically brilliant, not in the classical sense, but he was far wiser than most beings. Noah was also vastly more compassionate. Mingor believed he had found the very best sephir that his planet had ever known. “But to continue. Hindur lives in a home that is far too large for one man. To run it, he must employ dozens of souls. They spend their time cleaning his possessions, which are generally things he doesn’t need. Worse, he has decorated his ostentatious house with living beings. To me, that is simply unconscionable.”
“Thand isn’t like that?”
Rather than answer for the entire planet, which he could not do, he answered for himself. “There are some who aspire to live that way.”
“But not you?”
“No. The things that surround me are the same as what you would find in all living spaces on Thand.”
“So everyone wears these very fine robes?” Noah stroked his hand over his chest, reminding Mingor of how good bathing him had felt.
“They do. There is a difference in fabric, but—”
“I thought so.”
“It is not by my decision.” Mingor left out how valiantly he’d been trying to change things on his world. Telling Noah wouldn’t be as powerful as showing him, though, so he didn’t.
“So you’re the king but you’re not elevated?” Noah’s tone was clearly disbelieving.
“King?” After a moment, Mingor grasped the meaning of the word. “I am not their ruler in that way.”
“Okay, then what are you?”
“I am worshiped.”
“But not a leader?”
“No.” If he was, things would be very different. “There is a body of souls who regulate the policies of the land. They are my advisors.”
“Then what do you do?”
“I serve the Thandlings.”
“How?”
“It is complicated.” Mingor hesitated only for a moment. But Noah had said Earth had plenty of fresh water. He wouldn’t be unduly impressed by Mingor’s ability. “I can turn salt water to fresh.”
“You mean with a machine?”
“No. With my body.”
To Mingor’s utter surprise, Noah did the last thing he expected. He laughed.
“I do not understand what is funny.” Mingor pulled the small table between them so they could eat.
“I can turn lots of things into water with my body.” Noah examined, sniffed, and then tasted almost everything before settling on a bowl of simple fruits. “This right here, or a part of it, anyway, will become water.”
It became apparent what he was talking about. “Yes, but I do not think anyone would want to bathe in what you personally produce.”
“Probably not. Well, unless they’re into water sports, which I’m not.” Noah struggled to find a comfortable position on the cushion. “Are you telling me that you’re magic?”
“Magic?” The word did not translate well. “I am a scientist.”
“Wait, what?” Noah considered as he finished his mouthful of fruit. “No, that’s not right. If you were, you’d use a machine.”
“I am the machine.” Mingor tried to explain how he was able to communicate with the smallest forms of matter to effect changes.
“Yeah, that’s magic.” Noah tilted his head. “Or physics. From what one of my teachers said, a long time ago, people used to think fire was magic until they learned that it’s not.”
&nb
sp; “That is a very good explanation. Everything can seem magical until its properties are known.”
“Kinda sucks all the fun out of life.”
“How so?”
“When I was a kid, a rainbow was something pretty in the sky that had a pot of gold at the end. Now I know it’s just a trick of the light that has nothing to do with a leprechaun’s treasure.”
Despite some of the mythology not translating perfectly, Mingor still understood exactly what Noah meant. “Knowing the truth behind things can take away their mystery, but it doesn’t have to steal their beauty.”
“Good point.” Noah grinned. “I still get excited when I see a rainbow. Or I did. When I was on Earth.”
“You miss it?”
“Yeah. But I can’t say that I dislike everywhere else out here. All I’ve seen so far has been an auction block, a space ship, and Hindur’s house. None of it was very nice. Well, until you came.”
“You are happy in my presence?”
“So far.” Noah frowned. “But every time you shy away from telling me what I’m supposed to do for you, I get more uncomfortable.”
Their gazes met and held. Mingor knew that if he delayed again, he would hurt the fragile trust between them.
“You called me king, which isn’t quite right, but very close to what I am to my people. On your world, does your king have a companion?”
“Sure. A king always has a queen.” Noah popped another grasleberry in his mouth, smiled, and chewed vigorously. Slowly, a look of horror twisted Noah’s face. “Wait. I’m going to be your queen?”
Chapter 5
Noah sat in uncomfortable silence. His position was doubly unpleasant in that he couldn’t find a good way to sit on the hard cushion and he’d just found out he was to be Mingor’s queen. A dozen jokes about the word swam in his mind, but he didn’t find the situation remotely funny.
“I’m not going to cut off my dick and wear dresses.”
“I have not asked you to perform such a strange sacrifice.” Mingor blinked rapidly, something he seemed to do when he was trying to understand something Noah had said. “Why would I wish for you to emasculate yourself?”
Enslaved by a King [Sold! 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 4