“Enough—enough!” Mistress Sinda’s normally quiet voice crackled with authority. “No one is doing anything until I and the rest of the Sacred Seven get to the bottom of this!” she announced, glaring around at everyone. “Until then, I think it’s best that you all go back to your domiciles.”
“But…but…” Tandy wanted to say more—wanted to tell her side of the story and clear Vrox’s name. But the big Kindred was already gathering her close to his chest and rising wearily to his feet.
“Come on, little girl,” he murmured. “Nothing more we can do right now. Let’s go home.”
FOURTEEN
Vrox didn’t ask if he could join her in the shower once they were back in her private bathing chamber. He just shucked out of the slave trousers and boots he’d been wearing and followed her in under the warm spray.
The shower was a big one—a luxurious model where instead of a single showerhead, the entire ceiling rained warm water down on you. Tandy turned her face up to it gratefully, glad to have the remains of the plant liquid and the slave’s blood washed off her skin—though it was going to take some doing to get it out of her hair. She reached for a bottle of hair cleaner only to have it plucked from her fingers.
“Here, little girl,” Vrox murmured, squirting a generous dollop of the sweet-smelling stuff into the palm of his hand. “Turn around—I’ll wash your hair for you.”
Again, Tandy didn’t protest, just as she hadn’t protested when he came into the shower with her in the first place. She just leaned back against him and let those long, strong fingers massage her scalp and work their way carefully through her hair. Somehow, the big Kindred managed not to pull it at all and the feeling was pure bliss.
Tandy sighed gratefully as he rinsed her long locks.
“You’re really good at that.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m a slave with many talents,” he rumbled and sighed. “Just wish one of them was getting out of this damn collar so I could have gotten to you in time.”
“Vrox, don’t…” She turned in his arms, putting her hands on his broad, bare chest. “Don’t say that,” she told him. “You did get to me in time. It didn’t…” She swallowed hard. “Didn’t get all the way into me. It could have been so much worse. And I still can’t believe you were able to save me with your pain collar set to maximum!”
“I thought it was set only to your touch,” he said, frowning. “How could Mistress Tillabong operate it anyway?”
“Some kind of override is my guess.” Tandy frowned. “She said something about my aunt Deelee several times and I know they’re friends. Maybe Deelee put her up to it.”
“Pretty sure she did.” Vrox frowned, a low growl rising in his deep chest. “That relative of yours is out to fuck you over, little girl. You’d better be careful.”
“I will be,” Tandy said seriously. “But I don’t want to think about it right now—there’s nothing we can do until Mistress Sinda investigates.”
“Do you think she’s on your side?” Vrox asked. “She seems to like you. Hell, she seems to like me—or she did before I ripped that fucking slave’s head off.”
Tandy shivered, remembering the gory scene. It might have made her feel frightened of the big Kindred if she didn’t remind herself that he had done it for her. That he had fought through the agony of a pain collar set to maximum to save her from being raped—first by that shaft plant and then by the awful slave.
How had he managed, she wondered. It was amazing that he had been able to move at all, let alone fight when such fiery pain was coursing through every nerve in his big body.
“I don’t know if she’s on my side,” she said, trying to answer his question. “I think she’ll be as fair and impartial as she can. But the fact that you killed another slave, well…it doesn’t look good.”
“No, I guess it fucking doesn’t,” he admitted heavily. His mismatched eyes, framed by wet black lashes, blazed. “But I’d do it again, little girl. In a heartbeat. It was the only way to keep him from hurting you.”
“I know. You saved me—protected me. You’re amazing.” Tandy put her arms around him and they held each other, naked in the shower. “Thank you,” she whispered into his broad chest. “Thank you, Vrox.”
“You’re welcome, little girl.” He held her tight and then bent down to kiss her slowly. Despite the pain and trauma she’d been through, Tandy felt a little spark strike in her belly. She’d never been so intimately close to a naked male before she’d met Vrox. And though it had been a bit awkward at first, now it felt right—felt natural—to press her bare breasts against his broad chest and feel his hard shaft branding her belly.
It wouldn’t take much for him to be inside me, whispered a little voice in her head but the thought made her wince. She couldn’t forget the terrible, stretching pain of the engorged purple shaft-plant as it tried to force its way inside her. And the plant and Vrox were about the same size. There was no way he would ever fit inside her—despite all her fantasies, she knew that now. Not even with enough lubricant to fill a bathing tub and the patience of a saint would his huge shaft be able to find its way inside her pussy.
The thought made her sad and she leaned her head against his chest, hearing the thick, steady drumming of his heart in her ear, over the constant rushing of the water.
“Hey, little girl—it’s all right. Let’s get you all cleaned up.”
Vrox got another handful of soap—this time a special moisturizing wash she liked—and rubbed his big hands together. Then he was caressing all over her body, soaping her shoulders and back in long strokes and then turning her and taking his time to cup her bare breasts and wash them thoroughly.
He was careful with her nipples, not pinching or twisting them until Tandy moaned and pressed forward into his hands. Then he took them lightly between his thumbs and fingers and tugged gently—just enough to send showers of hot sparks through her body—until she was panting. Goddess, how could he make her want him again after everything that had happened to her? Tandy didn’t know—she only knew that her body seemed to crave his and that even in the shower with the flowery scent of the body wash rising around them, she could still smell his dark spicy musk—the scent of his skin and his desire for her.
She loved the way he washed her but when his big hands moved down to her thighs, she pressed them tightly together.
“It’s all right, little girl—just want to help get you clean. I’ll be gentle,” he promised.
But Tandy shook her head.
“No, Vrox, please. I…I can do it myself.”
He stopped washing and moved his hands up to her waist instead.
“Okay, little girl. I’ll leave it to you—for now.”
Tandy wasn’t sure what he meant by that but she was relieved he was willing to let her be for the moment. The place between her legs still throbbed and stung and she didn’t want him to see how she’d been hurt—he would only blame himself again for not getting to her sooner.
Vrox soaped himself up and rinsed off, then left her to herself for a while.
Tandy felt a little better after she’d washed the slippery seed juice of the first shaft-plant out of herself, though she was still sore and shaken by her encounter with the second one. Gods, if the big Kindred hadn’t been there to save her…
But she didn’t even want to think about it. Shaking her head, she finished rinsing herself and stepped out of the shower.
FIFTEEN
“Well, it’s not as bad as it could have been.” Tandy winced as she sat on the edge of her bed and Vrox could tell she was still sore. He wanted with all his heart to heal her with the essence from his fangs but she had to let him get to her first and she certainly hadn’t been ready in the shower. She looked beautiful, he thought—innocent and sweet in her short pink bathrobe with her long curly hair twisted up in a matching pink towel.
Right after she’d stepped out of the shower, there had been a call for her from Mistress Sinda over the vid-screen and she
’d been talking to the other woman for almost an hour. Now, apparently, she was ready to tell him their fate.
“How do you mean?” Vrox was only wearing a towel himself. It was wrapped around his lean hips and aside from it and his ever-present pain collar and cuffs, he was naked. He supposed he could have changed back into his slave clothes but he was Goddess-damned tired of that fucking loincloth and the trousers with no crotch that left his shaft and balls hanging free made him feel more naked than just wearing a towel. So he had stayed as he was, slouched in one of her comfortable lounging chairs, while he waited for Tandy to finish her call.
“Mistress Sinda believes us,” Tandy said. “But she can’t prove that Mistress Tillabong is lying because Mistress Lackwitt and Mistress Poodlefart are backing her up.”
“What do the rest of the Sacred Seven say?” Vrox asked, frowning.
“They’re split on the subject. Some side with Mistress Tillabong and some with me. Unfortunately, none of them will believe that my Aunt Deelee had anything to do with what happened today at all.”
“What?” Vrox growled. “That’s fucking insane! Just because she wasn’t personally there doesn’t mean she didn’t orchestrate the whole fucking thing. She has a vested interest in getting rid of you so she can get her hands on your inheritance.”
Tandy sighed. “I know that and you know that and I think that deep down Mistress Sinda knows it too, but the fact is that Deelee is a vested Mistress and I’m not—so my word counts for less. Which means that unfortunately, she’s allowed to be present tomorrow at my final Test of Mastery, when I show them I’ve broken you completely to my will.” She gave Vrox a little half-smile. “As if that would ever be possible.”
“Actually, you’ve come a lot closer than you know, little girl.” Getting up from the chair he’d been lounging in, Vrox came to sit beside her on the bed. “Never thought I could go into Rage for a female I’d only met a few days before—and one who bought me at that—but you proved me wrong.”
“Go into Rage? What do you mean by that?” she asked, frowning.
“It’s the way I was able to fight through the pain of the collar and come get you,” Vrox explained. “It only happens when a Kindred warrior feels like his mate—or the female he wants for a mate—is threatened.”
She bit her lip, a look of vulnerable uncertainty coming into her big, brown eyes.
“You…are you saying you want me for a mate?”
Vrox cursed himself inwardly. There was no point in going down this road again—he’d been there in the past and it only led to pain.
“I wish I could, little girl,” he said gently. “But you know I can’t form a bond with anyone. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want to leave your opulent Mistress lifestyle and travel rough around the galaxy with me and my partner.” He gestured at the lavishly decorated bed chamber. “I mean—this is a lot to give up.”
“I suppose so.” Tandy shrugged, as though the luxury that surrounded her no longer impressed her. “I used to think so, anyway. But…it gets lonely here with nobody to share all this with. Maybe…maybe you could keep me company?” She shook her head before Vrox could answer. “No, forget I said that. I know you wouldn’t want to stay here and pretend to be my slave all your life.”
“I’m not normally the submissive type,” Vrox agreed, grinning a little. “This is kind of an exception for me—I’m more used to being on top, if you know what I mean.”
A little shiver went through her. “I do. And you know, I don’t mind being dominant but sometimes…sometimes I’d like to go the other way. Just…give up control to someone else and let them do…whatever they want to do.”
Vrox felt a low growl rising in his throat.
“Sounds to me like you don’t always want to be the hard-ass Mistress all the time.”
Tandy shook her head. “No—no, I don’t.” She looked up at him from under her long, dark eyelashes. “Does that sound crazy? I know just about any other Mistress on Yonnie Six would think it is. We’re supposed to be the superior sex—born to rule over the weaker males. But I guess it’s the way I was raised…I just don’t see it that way.”
“We Kindred believe that males and females ought to be equal,” Vrox pointed out. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, as far as I’m concerned.” She sighed. “I know I sound like a poor little rich girl but I wish I could have been born and raised on a different planet—one where everyone was equal.”
“There are precious few places like that in the universe, I’m afraid, little girl,” Vrox said. “Seems like somebody is always trying to suppress or rule over somebody else. You have to take your happiness where you can find it, no matter what your circumstances are.”
“You’ve certainly brought happiness into my life,” Tandy murmured, laying a soft little hand on his knee. “It seems strange that you’ll be going after I pass the final test tomorrow. I feel like I’ve known you for years, not just a few days.”
“I feel the same way,” Vrox confessed. “It’s like we just…fit.”
“Well, emotionally maybe.” She laughed dryly. “I think it was pretty clear after what happened with the shaft-plants today that we could never fit physically.”
It was on the tip of Vrox’s tongue to tell her about the stretching compounds in his precum, but something stopped him.
It wasn’t just the worry that if she no longer feared penetration from him she would feel free to penetrate him herself during her final test. It was more the fact that it would do him no good, even if he did penetrate her. After all, he couldn’t form a bond with her—he’d tried and failed before with his ex-lover. And without a bond, he could never give her children.
Tandy would make an excellent mother and she was young enough to want them. So there was no way a permanent relationship with her could work in the long run—even if she did agree to leave Yonnie Six and travel the universe with him in The Lady Fair.
Vrox sighed to himself. No—better to just keep his mouth shut about the possibility of the two of them making love. Besides, if he made love to her, he would never want to leave her, bond or no bond. Why make his imminent departure harder than it already was?
There was one thing he wanted to do for her before he went, though—he still wanted to heal her of the wounds the damn purple shaft plant had given her. But in order to do that, he had to get her to open up.
“Speaking of size differences,” he said, looking her in the eyes. “I know that damn plant was too big for you and that you’re hurting right now from the way it tried to get into you, Tandy.”
She shifted uncomfortably on the bed and winced.
“It’s nothing. I’ll heal.”
“I want to see,” he told her.
“Why? Are you some kind of a healer?” she demanded.
“No, I’m a hybrid Kindred smuggler. But I have something better than any healer you’ll ever meet.” Opening his mouth, Vrox pointed to his fangs. “These. The essence they produce can heal a female my body wants to mate with. That’s you, little girl.”
“You want to bite me? Where I’m injured?” She crossed her legs involuntarily and went pale. “I don’t think so—I’m already in enough pain without taking what amounts to two shots in an extremely sensitive area.”
“I know your sweet little pussy is sensitive,” Vrox said patiently. “That’s why I didn’t offer to lick you there—even my tongue might be too much after what you went through. I can bite your inner thigh, though, close to the site of injury. It should help you heal right away.”
“I don’t know…that’s a pretty sensitive area too…” She nibbled her lower lip thoughtfully.
“It only hurts for a second,” Vrox promised her. “Then the pleasure and healing compounds go to work on you and you’ll feel really good. My ex used to ask me to bite her all the time,” he added, thinking of how she had begged for his fangs in her neck—and every other part of her body for that matter. Near the end, the instant orgasms he gave h
er every time he bit her were pretty much the only thing holding them together.
“Well…” Tandy seemed to be wondering if she ought to trust him or not. Then she shifted on the bed and winced again. “All right,” she said, sighing. “I’m in a lot of pain right now and I’d rather not wait for days to get better. So if you really think you can heal me…”
“I know I can,” Vrox said firmly. “Just lay back on the bed, little girl, and let me take care of you.”
“Um…all right.” Her eyes were suddenly half-lidded and her heart beat started getting quicker. Between them, the scent of her feminine arousal began to grow. Vrox thought of how she’d admitted she didn’t always want to be in charge—how she wished she could just let someone else take control once in a while. She might not be one hundred percent submissive, but she wasn’t all Domme either. She liked it when he took over.
Acting on the unspoken signals she was sending him, he scooped her up and laid her down in the middle of her big bed. Taking her arms, he raised them over her head and planted them firmly on the headboard behind her.
“I want you to stay like this while I heal you,” he told her sternly. “Understand, little girl?”
“Yes, Vrox.” Her breathing was definitely quicker now and she stayed where he put her without protest.
Vrox parted her legs and got between her thighs. Then he untied her fuzzy pink robe and peeled it open, revealing all her lovely full curves and smooth brown skin. Gods, she was lovely! And her soft little pussy was definitely in need of healing—he could tell just by looking that she was swollen and irritated.
“Vrox?” She shifted and he realized he’d just been sitting back on his knees, drinking her in—trying to memorize her beauty for after they parted.
But he didn’t want to think about parting now. He wanted to heal her—to pleasure her… To love her, whispered a little voice in his head, but Vrox pushed it away. He couldn’t love the curvy little Mistress. There was no point in it—no way they could be together. They came from two different worlds and he wasn’t able to bond her to him. It was better just to concentrate on what was happening now and stay in the moment.
Handling the Hybrid: A Kindred Tales Novel Page 14