“Who was that?” she asked, before he could open his mouth.
“Another one of my slaves.”
“Another? Slave?” Too stunned by what his words implied to continue, she simply stared at him.
He nodded and moved to manipulate a panel on the wall. “Breakfast for two,” he ordered before turning back to her. “I told you, you belong to me. I am Kievan Rus and you are now my slave.”
“Oh, hell no, I’m not.” Forgetting her own nudity, she jumped out of bed and stalked over to him, poking her finger in his chest with each word. “I do not belong to you; I am not your slave.”
“Really?” Kievan looked amused and the cool mockery was back. “Then what are you?”
“I’m a free woman. I have a job; I have a house…” Her voice trailed off as she remembered how empty that life had become. “I have a job,” she repeated, but her words stuttered to a stop again as she realized that what little she did have had been on Earth—and she was no longer on Earth. “Where am I?” She could hear her voice trembling.
A fleeting expression of sympathy seemed to cross his face but it was gone so quickly she wasn’t sure if she had imagined it. “You are on Sigrast, the space station that belongs to me. If you do not want to belong to me, I will offer you the opportunity to leave right now.” She knew the relief must have shown in her face because his voice hardened. “You will leave exactly as you are—naked and without resources. I can assure you that anybody you encounter will be much less…pleasant to deal with than I am.”
Suddenly conscious of her nudity and fighting back tears, she retreated to the bed and pulled a sheet around her. The hours on the ship after she was taken flashed through her mind and she shuddered violently. They had tormented her repeatedly and only the fact that they were bringing her to this man had stopped them from actually raping her. Another shudder shook her body and then Kievan’s arms were around her, his spicy scent surprisingly comforting. Despite his words, his arms felt warm and protective and she had to fight the instinct to relax into them.
“You are much safer here, my pet. No one would dare to touch anything that belongs to me.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him. “But who will keep me safe from you?”
A muscle flexed in his jaw but he released her without answering. “Come. You will bathe me.”
“I will what?”
“And yourself as well, my pet. I could only do so much with cleansing cloths.” His calm response stopped her outrage as she realized how much she longed to get clean. Meekly, she followed him across the room and into the largest bathroom she had ever seen. Every surface was covered in gleaming white marble but the floor was gently warm beneath her bare feet. Two bowls, which looked like they were carved out of raw stone, stood along a long counter on one wall. The entire wall was mirrored and she flinched at her reflection. She had never been entirely comfortable with her naked body and the sight of it now did not reassure her. Dark circles surrounded her eyes and she looked pale and tired. Her hair was a tangled mess. Even worse were the marks that still covered her skin. Although the pain was gone and she realized that most of them were smaller and less inflamed, enough remained to remind her of the horror she had endured.
Hastily averting her gaze from her bedraggled condition, she returned to her survey of the room. A door next to the sink counter led into a private toilet compartment. Across the room, a raised dais held a large lounge chair upholstered in white beneath a glowing ceiling light. An enormous tub filled with steaming water was sunk into another raised dais and she cast it a longing look as Kievan led her firmly into a glass enclosed shower room. A multitude of nozzles in different shapes and sizes filled the walls, the ceiling, even the floor, and she watched bemusedly as his fingers played across a control panel until gentle rain showers were falling from overhead while more demanding sprays jetted from one wall.
Kievan dropped his robe and moved further into the shower until he was standing in front of the wall with the jets. He pulled her after him and handed her a white cloth which foamed gently in her hand. “Begin,” he ordered.
She scowled at him, but the warm water pouring over her felt so good that she had a hard time sustaining her irritation at the order. Her eyes went to the naked man next to her and she fought back another wave of admiration. Every inch of his amazing body was covered with lean, defined muscles. Her eyes went to his face but it was hard and determined. Accepting the inevitable, she moved closer, trying not to be intimidated by his size. He was at least a foot taller than she was and much broader. She had too many curves to usually consider herself petite but she felt small and feminine next to his massive body.
Keeping a cautious distance, she ran the cloth slowly up his arm. More scars marred the muscular perfection and she wondered what kind of life he had led to receive so much damage. His skin felt...different beneath her hands, with a slightly pebbled feel that was oddly stimulating. She finished with his arm and started on his broad chest. The warm water falling around them soothed her tense nerves. Kievan hadn’t done anything to alarm her and she started to enjoy herself, rubbing the cloth in gentle circles across his taut abs and around the dark gold disks of his nipples. They hardened under her strokes and she jumped as she felt the firm thrust of his erection pressing against her stomach. Startled, she looked up at him. His face was expressionless but she could see the bronze melting in his eyes and felt an answering tremor in her belly. Her nipples tightened.
His gaze flicked over them but his face didn’t change.
“Continue,” he ordered, his voice perfectly calm. His apparent ability to ignore his body’s reactions should have reassured her. Instead she found it annoying, especially considering that she was all too aware of her own reactions. Her eyes narrowed. She never backed down from a challenge. Moving lower, she washed his legs with long strokes of the cloth, starting with his firmly muscled calves and moving up to his strong thighs. She circled his inner thighs, scratching lightly with her fingernails, but careful to avoid touching his cock. She couldn’t help noticing that it was as beautiful as the rest of him—slightly darker gold than the rest of his skin and longer and thicker than she had ever seen before. Not that she had that much experience, but she was willing to bet that it was impressive by any standards.
He parted his legs slightly and she reached between them to cup his heavy balls with the cloth. They were as hair free as the rest of his body and slipped smoothly across the slick material. As she washed them gently, his cock twitched and she bit her lip to hide a smile. He certainly couldn’t hide the fact that his body was interested. Interested? Her actions suddenly seemed ridiculous as she realized the direction of her thoughts. What the hell was she doing? This man had told her that he owned her, that she was his slave. No matter how enticing his body, why was she trying to get him to acknowledge his reaction to her touch? Stepping back, she ran the cloth quickly over his (still tempting) erection and held it out to him.
“I’m done.” She refused to look at him.
He didn’t respond, and after a second, she dared a glance at his face. Her heart sank as she realized that he was looking amused.
“Very well. Your turn.”
Before she could protest, he had taken the cloth and started running it across her body. Unlike her slow strokes, his were quick and efficient but she couldn’t help shivering as he ran the cloth across her breasts and again when he moved between her legs. His hand slowed just a fraction as he gently but firmly parted the soft folds. Before she could react, he had moved on. When he finished, he reached for a small bottle and poured the liquid into his hand. His hands moved to her hair and she sighed with pleasure as she realized that the liquid was shampoo. His strong fingers massaged her scalp and she relaxed into the hands that no longer moved quite so quickly. Despite his words, the way he was washing her felt as if he was caring for her.
He paused and she was suddenly conscious of an odd tension in his hands but before she could an
alyze it, it was gone and he was moving her under an overhead stream to wash the shampoo away. After she rinsed, he turned off the water and opened a concealed compartment to reveal enormous fluffy white towels warmed to the perfect temperature.
“There are toiletries in the counter drawers. We will have breakfast and…talk when you are ready.” Once again, he was cool and remote. Before she could respond, he left the room.
Chapter Three
Cam delayed as long as she could. She used the toilet room, which turned out to have not only a toilet but a bidet and another sink. The controls were different but familiar enough for her to figure them out—and such a relief after the humiliating pot on board the alien ship that she almost cried. She dipped her fingers longingly into the warm water swirling in the enormous tub and briefly considered a bath. Somehow, she didn’t think Kievan’s patience would extend to that extent.
In one of the counter drawers, she found a comb, along with something that resembled a toothbrush, although toothpaste was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, she tried it and was delighted to find that a herbal tasting foam formed as she brushed.
Another drawer had something that looked and felt like lotion so she smoothed it into her skin, avoiding the worst of the remaining bruises. Finally, she made a face at herself in the mirror, fastened a dry towel around her body, and left the bathroom.
At the door of the bedroom, she paused uncertainly. For the first time she took in the vast room. On closer look, there were actually two rooms but they were only separated by a wide opening. Everything was white, beautiful, obviously expensive—and completely impersonal. As in the bathroom, the walls were made of gleaming stone but here the floor was covered with deep-pile white carpet.
The inner room was obviously the bedroom. The enormous bed was headed by an intricate gold headboard and cornered by tall gold posts. She noticed that it had already been made and the silk covers restored to pristine order. Most of the wall next to the bed was covered by an intricate sculpture composed of gold panels and chains that stretched from floor to ceiling.
Across from the bed a curtained window-wall curved outward in a long, gentle arc and continued into the next room. In the outer room, two curved couches—upholstered in white—framed a sunken seating area in front of the window. A massive marble desk backed by sleek cabinetry dominated the rest of the room.
Returning her attention to the bedroom, she saw another large white lounge chair, this one surrounded by silk floor pillows and angled across the far end of the window. At the closest end, Kievan sat at a marble table, relaxed and watching her with his typical faintly amused look. He was wearing bronze leather pants but the massive golden expanse of his bare chest gleamed against the surrounding white.
Gritting her teeth, she walked toward him, stopping as she realized that he was sitting in the only chair. With a casual gesture he pointed to his feet and the white silk pillow next to them.
Surely he didn’t expect her to sit at his feet? “You have got to be kidding me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Kneel, my pet, and I will feed you.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then you will go hungry.” His voice turned hard and the amusement left his face. Scowling, she started to turn away but as she moved, the scent of the food reached her. Her stomach growled and she remembered just how long it had been since she had eaten. Her kidnappers had barely fed her and what they had fed her was so unpalatable that she could only manage a few bites. She stared at the tray of colorful, beautifully arranged food in front of him and then at his face. His expression was calm but completely ruthless. She had no doubt that he would carry through his threat.
With a disgruntled sigh, she dropped to the cushion. Bending down, he rearranged her body until she was posed to his satisfaction—knees slightly parted, hands palm up on her thighs, back straight. Now that she had been reminded of food, hunger pangs tore at her stomach, so she reluctantly accommodated his manipulations although she glared at him the entire time. His hand hesitated at the top of her towel and she had a sudden fear that he was going to remove it. Instead he traced a gentle finger along the edge, just skimming the upper swell of her breasts and leaving a flare of warmth in his path. Her breath caught at the sensuous touch but she ignored it and increased the intensity of her glare. His fingers moved up to her face and he grasped her chin, raising her head so that she was looking directly into his eyes.
“I can see that we are going to have to talk about punishment in the very near future.” His fingers tightened on her chin and his voice went cold. She opened her mouth to respond but he kept talking. “Remove that expression from your face, let me feed you, and then we will talk.”
With a concentrated effort, she managed to force a more neutral expression on to her face. From the quick quirk of his lip, he was aware of the effort it took but he merely released her chin as soon as she complied. Selecting a berry-like object from one of the plates in front of him, he brought it to her mouth. She tried to raise her hand to take it from him but he shook his head. Face flaming, she opened her mouth and let him place it on her tongue, resisting the urge to bite his fingers.
The fruit exploded in her mouth in a burst of flavor and it was all she could do to keep from moaning with pleasure. Impatient for more, she opened her mouth like a baby bird but he shook his head. “I set the pace. You haven’t eaten for some time. We will take this slowly.”
She barely kept the glare back.
Despite her impatience, he fed her slowly. A selection of strange fruits was followed by small, savory bites and interspersed with a sparkling fluid like very mild champagne. As her hunger slowed, she began to give in to the sensual experience. Almost everything was delicious and the few things she didn’t like were never presented again. Sometimes he would hold the bite close enough for her to smell before tasting it, or run it slowly along her lips to tease her with the flavor. The room was quiet and she relaxed into the slow rhythm of the feeding. When he finally finished, she felt lazy and satisfied. A genuine smile curved her lips as she looked up at him.
Kievan returned her gaze for a moment, an answering half-smile curving his lips, before reaching for something else on the tray.
“A first lesson,” he said, and brought a small red globe to her lips. “Hold this on your tongue.”
Opening her mouth obediently, she sucked in the object and sighed in pleasure as an incredible sweetness filled her mouth. The globe began to dissolve and the sweetness transitioned into a fiery heat like the hottest cinnamon candy. Gasping, she opened her mouth but before she could spit it out, he grasped her chin once more.
“Hold it on your tongue.”
As he spoke, the heat faded and the delicious sweetness was back with even greater strength. The globe continued to melt in her mouth, each wave of sweetness followed by a wave of heat, each time stronger than the previous. As the heat intensified, her body flushed and a fine sweat began to cover her skin. Her mouth was incredibly, painfully hot, and her body interpreted the waves of heat suffusing her system as arousal. Her nipples tightened and swelled against the towel. By the time the final drop of sweetness melted on to her tongue, she was leaning into Kievan’s legs, flushed and trembling. She could feel the dampness between her thighs and her eyes drifted closed as she tried to bring her body back under her control.
Kievan eyed the woman quivering against him with intense satisfaction. Her reaction was as promising as he had hoped. Training her was going to be remarkably rewarding. The thought disturbed him and, once again, he reminded himself that it would be for a short while. She finally recovered enough to look up at him with wide blue eyes.
“What was that?” she whispered.
“It’s called eldflaur. Do you understand the lesson?”
Her brow furrowed and it was obvious she was still dazed as she shook her head.
“Did you find the experience pleasant or painful?” he asked.
“Both, I suppose,” she finally admitted.<
br />
“Exactly. And the combination made the experience even more intense.” He watched as she thought about it and then leaned closer. “And that’s not the only place they can be inserted.”
Her body shuddered in immediate reaction to his words and he bit back a smile as he pulled her gently to her feet. She was still a little unsteady and she clung to his arm as he moved across to the lounge chair. He enjoyed the feel of her soft body pressing against him, so instead of sending her back to her knees, he drew her down on the chaise with him. He nestled her against the back and pulled her legs between his. In this position, she was completely open to him and her eyes widened as she realized. Instantly she tried to sit up, but he pressed her back down and kept his hand firmly across her chest, just above the towel. Once again he considered removing it but, although he would enjoy the sight of her naked body, he would wait until he needed to further emphasize her vulnerability. She stilled beneath his hand and watched him with narrowed eyes.
“Now we talk.” Despite his intentions, he found himself hesitating. His free hand stroked her head soothingly and he was momentarily distracted by the soft curls clinging to his fingers. He forced his attention back to the task at hand. “What is your name, my pet?”
“Cam. Cam Williams.”
“Cam?”
“It’s short for Camellia.” At his blank look, she blushed and continued. “A camellia is a flower on Earth.”
How appropriate. Her delicate fragrance reminded him of the wildflowers that grew in the mountains outside the village of his birth. “Very well, little flower. Do you know why you’re here?”
“Because you had me kidnapped from my home so that you could make me a slave,” she said defiantly, and pushed against his hand again. He held her in place easily while he fought back an unexpected feeling of guilt.
Cam and the Conqueror: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 3) Page 2