Talon's Trophy

by Dawn Ryder

  “What did your mother name you?”

  Chanah looked away from her new home to stare at the hunter. He was removing his hand armor and setting the black guards on a smooth shelf. His helmet was already resting there along with several weapons. Everything was laid out perfectly in order, not a speck of dust in sight.

  “I can name you, if you prefer.” His eyebrow rose. “You will be staying here and a name is much easier for communication between us.”

  His explanation soothed her pride a tiny bit. Somehow, she got the idea that he really didn’t have to bother with telling her why he wanted anything. Maybe she was just desperate but Chanah sighed. “Chanah.”

  She sounded dejected and it bothered Talon. He had spent years looking forward to her arrival in his life but he had never considered it from her point of view. A great many of his fellow hunters might dismiss her feelings as irrelevant but they rubbed his conscience. Chanah was looking around his living space as she tried to move as little as possible. Her training harness was performing perfectly, keeping her pussy hot and needy. As long as her hands were chained she could not interfere in the harness’s contact with her clit. The training harness was designed to draw a trophy’s mind away from her old life and help her focus on her new position as mate. The look of astonishment on her face as she’d climaxed in the hallway suddenly made Talon curious to understand how the males in her sphere enticed females to join them in bed. But the idea of any male impressing her enough to gain penetration of her pussy infuriated him. Still, he was curious to understand how any male prepared a female for full penetration without putting a harness on her. Multiple climaxes would begin to loosen her pussy and make that first possession less painful.

  A low rumbling from her belly suddenly broke the silence as Talon grinned. Chanah enjoyed having him prove his worth to her, so he would show her that she would not want for food in his care.

  “You are hungry.”

  Chanah raised fearful eyes as she heard that. She wasn’t sure if getting food was going to require walking somewhere and she was not hungry enough to tolerate another public exhibition. “Is there food here?”

  “Yes.” He sounded rather offended as his eyes studied her face. Chanah stared right back at him because she wasn’t going to begin lowering her eyes meekly anytime he sounded grumpy over something she asked about and she wasn’t going to stop asking questions either.

  “We will not be going to the public food areas until we have bonded more.”

  She sighed and Talon felt his forehead crease in confusion. “You desire to stay here with me?” That would be far too simple if it were true.

  Chanah laughed, she just could not stop the sound from escaping her chest. Desire? At that moment she was trying to convince herself to be content with small mercies! There was nothing here that she wanted. The hunter frowned at her and Chanah felt her temper rise as she recognized he had not even told her his name in return for hers.

  “Why does that amuse you?” Now his voice was more than grumpy, it was edged with displeasure. Chanah really should have been more concerned about his rising unhappiness but she wasn’t. If she began kneeling to his whims now, there was no hope for the future and she could not let herself go so simply.

  “Because there is nothing here of my choosing, I laugh because it is better than crying with self-pity.”

  Her dark eyes flashed with her temper as she gave a slight toss of her head. The long strands of her hair fell back over one of her shoulders. Talon stared at the pride in her and felt his approval swell. While her face was smooth and what some hunters might label pretty, he was more interested in the strength he was witnessing in her eyes. That was the truest form of beauty, if you asked him.

  He grinned at her. Chanah stared at the little curve of his mouth as he moved towards her. It reminded her of a reptile’s ability to mesmerize its prey while it moved into striking range. There was a part of her that was fascinated with the way his body moved. He was so much larger than her and excitement actually flickered in her belly as he stroked the side of her face with his bare fingers. It was such a light touch but she knew his strength far surpassed her own, and the fact that he tempered it with iron control made her body shiver with more need to allow him closer.

  “Many trophies cry, yet I confess your resistance to that weak behavior impresses me. Strength begets strength and I am going to enjoy watching your belly swell with my child.”

  Chanah gasped and tried to spring away from him but he caught the little metal loop on the front of her collar that the leash had been snapped onto, holding her in place. His eyes burned into hers while he waited for her to acknowledge the fact that she was helpless in his grasp. Chanah pressed her lips into a tight line and raised her chin in the face of his hold on her. He leaned even further towards her and inhaled deeply. Her cheeks burned scarlet as she recognized that he was smelling her scent. No male had ever sniffed her and it unleashed another wave of heat that speared through her pussy. She lifted one foot to try and move away from the intimate invasion but that motion caused the leather strips running through her slit to rub her clit, and a spike of need cut into her in response.

  “I hate this leather contraption.”

  Something flashed across his eyes but it wasn’t anger. It was excitement and her belly quivered in response to it. Something deep inside her brain jumped to life at the sight of that flame in his multicolored eyes. The pure determination to mate with her answered some primitive need that Chanah had never even noticed was burning in her.

  “While pain can be an effective teacher, hunters do not enjoy hurting their mates. Has your pussy ever been penetrated?” His opposite hand found a hole in her robe and landed on the curve of one hip. He smoothed his warm hand over the curve in small motions that felt delightful. Her body was in full rebellion against her will, her flesh craving his touch while her logic screamed out the injustice of her capture. Frustration boiled through her because it was the only emotion that her flesh and her will shared.

  “Answer me, Chanah. I can take you to the medical section and have your pussy measured but you will wear the training harness every step of the journey.” His fingers tugged on one of the leather straps and it rubbed her clit, making her gasp. She was burning with need again, climax taunting her as more fluid eased down the walls of her passage. She shook her head.

  “Answer with your voice, Chanah.” He tugged the strap another time and her eyes widened as she bit back a little moan of pleasure. The hunter watched her the whole time, staring into her eyes as he tugged the strip of leather once more.

  “No.”

  “No penetration of any kind? My finger was the first to part your pussy?”

  The frank topic made her face burn hotter and his eyes flickered to the telltale sign of her distress as he released the leather strip in his grasp and spread his hand out over her lower belly. Her womb actually contracted inside her abdomen in response to the touch and a little moan did break free as her clit demanded more friction.

  “Chanah?” His hand moved over her recently bared mons and one fingertip began to slip into her slit.

  “Yes, you were the first to…um…touch me.”

  “Was that so difficult?”

  Chanah glared back at him. “Yes. My body is not a toy for your amusement.”

  His lips lifted but his eyes darkened dangerously. His thumb found her clit and she jerked as he rubbed the burning bundle of nerve endings. “Yes, it is. I captured you and I will be the Master you cling to when pleasure rips you apart. Your thighs will clasp my hips and it will be my cock that your pussy milks for the seeds of life.”

  His thumb rubbed her clit and her hips jerked against her straining hold to refuse him. Once more, her body was ignoring her will, overrunning her protests and demanding she just surrender to the need pulsing in her clit. The hunter watched her with intense eyes as he increased his speed. Chanah jerked against the hold on her collar but he only rubbed her clit harder. The nee
d was too great and her hips jerked towards his hand. Her body shivered as she moved her hips up in little motions to rub her clit against his thumb. Pleasure twisted into a knot that bit into her body, wringing a cry from her lips as the hunter watched her. She shuddered as release took the burn from her clit and his fingers withdrew from her slit. He still held onto her collar as he lifted his fingers to his face. He sniffed at the glistening fluid coating his finger before he licked his finger and sucked on it a moment. His eyes closed as he tasted her juices, and then opened to display a firestorm of hunger.

  “Your body is more than a toy, Chanah. It is my haven for escape from duty, and pleasure will be the reward you receive for obedience.”

  Chanah jerked against her chains and her wrists ached as the skin began to bruise. The hunter released her collar and she jumped away from him and groaned as the little training harness glided along her clit with the motion. Frustration made her eyes widen with the need to scream.

  “Stop pulling on your chains. You will hurt your hands, Chanah.” The hunter turned and moved across the room. A door slid open and he turned to look at her. “Come and eat.”

  Chanah looked at the distance and hissed. The hunter raised an eyebrow at her disgruntlement. “You clit is very sensitive. Why does that make you angry?”

  “Because you use it to control me.” Chanah growled as the words just rushed past her lips, carried along by her temper. He already knew the little training harness was doing its horrible job, she really didn’t need to open her mouth and stroke his ego with words of confirmation. Chanah set her teeth into her lower lip and moved across the room, lifting her feet as little as possible. The leather slipped against her clit, rubbing the entire way.

  Talon turned his back on her. It was odd the way her words hit his conscience. He was using the training harness to impose his will on her body and had planned to do exactly that for months. She responded exactly as his fellow hunters had told him she would and yet he found himself wondering if he was wrong to treat her like other hunters cared for their trophies. There were differences, even among his friends. Some hunters enjoyed more obedience than others, maybe that accounted for his feelings on the matter. The scent of her aroused body was distracting him now. He found it hard to concentrate on the next stage of her training as the scent of her pussy kept his cock hard. The organ was driving him to the edge of his control with its insistence to plunge deep into her pussy. Standing there fingering her soft flesh had been a torment unmatched by any other, touching the satin skin his cock ached for. Forcing his body to only observe instead of sharing in release had taken huge amounts of resolve and now it was hard to think about anything except his cock.

  Chanah stared at the food the hunter placed on the table. Her stomach rumbled with hunger but her hands were still bound. She longed for a bath as well. The scent of her climaxes combining with the dried perspiration on her skin was beginning to bother her now that need wasn’t clawing at her frantically. Being prevented from seeing to such a personal need frustrated her even further.

  “We will eat before we discuss anything more.”

  It was an odd sort of reprieve and it almost sounded like the hunter was attempting to be reasonable. Chanah was torn between the need to find something in him that wasn’t her captor, and the warning going off in her brain to cling to her distrust of him. There were three plates of food on the table and it was better fare than her family could have provided, except for maybe a holiday celebration. There was even a large portion of meat and cheese. She and her sisters had not eaten meat in a week because the small amounts her brothers bought home were given to the youngest members of the family who were still growing and needed the rich source of protein for their expanding bones. She was at her full height and could make do with more simple fare. Looking at the hunter, Chanah held her manacled hands out as far as the chain would allow. She had to angle her hands through the front opening of the robe because the garment was still around her like a cape, with the sleeves hanging down the sides. She watched his face as he contemplated what she was asking of him by sticking her bound hands up, but his earlier words floated across her brain—his demand that she voice her words. Her silent plea would not be answered.

  “Will you unchain me?” Chanah didn’t like asking but the two alternatives she liked even less. She could go hungry or allow the hunter to feed her. He considered her face a moment before he gave a hard nod of his head. He reached for her wrists and pressed his thumbs over the bands of hard metal. There was a little chirp and the manacles sprang open.

  “I would have enjoyed feeding you.” The hunter sat down and looked at the chair next to her thigh. Chanah slid into it as she rubbed her wrists. The manacles were still dangling from her collar and they bounced against her breasts reminding her that it wouldn’t take very much effort for the hunter to lock her back into them. There wasn’t even a key for her to find, the things operated by his thumbprints. She grabbed one in each hand and dropped them over her shoulders. The hunter watched her with a crease on his forehead. Chanah reached for a piece of fruit and brought it to her lips, deciding that distraction might be the best defense against his need to control her freedom. His face lost its frown as she began to eat.

  “I would have enjoyed you feeding me even more.” His voice was almost playful now, tempting Chanah to grin at his remark.

  “Why?” Honestly, she had never considered an idea like that. Looking at his larger frame she shivered as she considered being the one to approach him, instead of him cornering her. A little flare of excitement flickered in her belly as she played with the idea of touching him first. Would it affect him as strongly as his touches did her? That was a powerful idea that lingered as Chanah reached for some bread.

  “You need to eat the meat first.”

  Chanah couldn’t help but look at the meat with a little longing. She wanted it but had never been allowed to take any of the rare food source without it being given to her. The hunter grunted and captured her hand with his larger one. He turned it over and placed a large piece of meat on her palm. He closed her hand around it with his.

  “If this meat is not to your liking, you may tell me your preference. But you will eat protein at each meal.”

  Her hand shook a little as she lifted the food towards her mouth. At least this order was one that she would have little trouble obeying. Chanah looked at the meat before she ate it, and savored the rich scent a moment before taking a small bite and chewing it slowly. She wanted to gobble it quickly, like a child with a treat but knew better than to waste her chance to enjoy it. A harsh sound jerked her attention back to her companion as he pushed the plate with the meat and cheese across the table and directly in front of her. He was chewing as he studied her. Chanah swallowed her food and blushed once again. Her family was poor but that did not mean she was ashamed of their meager means. They had more than some.

  “There is ample meat in this sphere.”

  Chanah took another piece from the plate as she looked at the hunter once again. His wide shoulders and thick muscles took on another meaning now. Apparently, protein was not shared equally between hunter spheres and civilian ones. His much greater size spoke of meals that included protein every day from the time he broke his first teeth. Unfair? Well, that might be a harsh judgment. Hunters protected families like hers. There was no crime and no violence in her sphere. Disputes were resolved by the elder council.

  But there were rumors of unrest, whisperings of horrible things that dark hunters rose up and tore away from the rest of the peace-loving population. Maybe it was a good thing there were men like these who could be stronger and more powerful in times of turmoil. It allowed her family to live in peace. The history records were full of terrifying accounts of times when the lawless lived among the peace-abiding. The innocent suffered and that had led to their current way of life. While it was not perfect, Chanah believed it was superior to the way life had been in times gone by.

  The chains hangin
g down her back suddenly felt very heavy in the face of her thoughts. If she found agreement with the hunter’s reasons, she might as well ask him to chain her once more.

  “This is better food than you eat at your own table?” The hunter was angry now, and Chanah jumped as his question cut into her musings. The meal was growing cold between them because she was lost in her thoughts and he was busy contemplating her.

  “Yes, it is.” Chanah looked at the food and felt two tears sting her eyes, At least Mia had taken the yemuta back to her father and her family would have full bellies too.

  “Then why are you so displeased to be here?” His eyes were dark as he pointed one finger at her. “Would you prefer incarceration for your disobedience instead? The penal work colonies are harsh, even more so for females. Here you will only deal with my demands.”

  Chanah sucked in a gasp of horror. She had not considered that there was a penalty for going after Mia. Yet, she had broken the law and there were no law violators living in her sphere. They were taken away—instantly and permanently.

  “I had to help Mia, you were going to capture her.” The food had lost all appeal as Chanah absorbed the finality of her captivity. It was more than just this single hunter, she was a law violator and unwelcome in her own home now, her actions having tainted her forever.

  “She crossed onto hunter territory, and we always defend our sphere against invasion of any sort. Besides, she was stealing. The law is clearly posted.”

  “Yes, that is true.” And it made her miserable. Chanah stood up and moved away from the table, her throat dry and tight now, the idea of food revolting. She pushed her hands into the sleeves of her robe as she walked to one of the windows and looked out. The street was full of black-clad hunters and only a few females. That damn yemuta. It had better gain her father a fortune because it had cost her dearly!

  Two hands landed on her shoulders and she jumped. The hunter moved so silently! Chanah frowned as she recognized she still knew him as only a hunter. The only thing he had granted her permission to call him was Master. The training harness slipping through her slit was a blunt reminder of exactly how low a ranking she held in this living sphere. The hunter slipped his hands down her arms and it would be simple to think of it as a caring touch but that would be a mistake. He was touching her because he considered it his right and she his personal plaything. What made it so unbearable was the heat flickering to life in her clit. Her nose caught the warm male scent of his skin and his body heat actually teased her back through her thin robe. Her body was acutely aware of his, her pussy once again beginning to send thick fluid down its walls to further attract his attention. It infuriated Chanah to feel her nipples tightening back into little hard nubs that begged for a touch from his hand. Deep inside her pussy her body was aching for more than release from her clit, she felt empty and knew that true relief wasn’t going to be hers until the hunter did exactly as he promised and mated with her.