“I know exactly what you mean, Brother.” Thorn clinked glasses with him, toasting the sentiment, and took a sip of his own ale. “But why would she think you’d be mad at her?”
“I don’t know.” Vrox frowned into his glass. “Maybe…” He hesitated, not sure how to say what was on his mind. “Look, Brother,” he said, looking up at the other Kindred. “Your mate—your lady—is a Mistress of Yonnie Six too. So can I ask you…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
“Ask me what?” Thorn prodded.
Vrox shook his head again. “Nah—it’s a fucking personal question. I was just going to ask if she ever…if she…” But he couldn’t get it out.
Thorn saved him the trouble. “If she ever ‘gives me the rod’? If she ever fucks me?” he asked matter-of-factly.
“Well…yes.” Vrox cleared his throat. “Sorry, like I said, I know it’s a personal question.”
“It is, but that’s all right. Yeah, my Mistress fucks me—about as often as I fuck her,” Thorn said casually, taking another sip of his own drink. “We like to trade off on who’s in charge in the bedchamber, if you know what I mean.”
Vrox nearly choked on his Fireflower ale.
“How can you be so fucking casual about it?” he demanded. “I mean, she actually bends you over and…”
“Yeah, she does,” Thorn said. “Don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t always such a ‘casual’ thing between us. When she first bought me as a slave, I thought it was going to be torture—something I’d have to endure for the sake of my mission. I was undercover at the time,” he added, as an explanation. “But Neh’sa…” He shook his head, his blue and green eyes going soft as he spoke of his mate. “She made me want it—made me want to let her take me, if that makes any sense. She conquered my heart long before she conquered my body and now I’m just as happy to have her fill me as I am to fill her,” he finished and drained his glass. “Care for another?”
“No, thanks.” Vrox shook his head. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea that his new friend was so comfortable letting his female fuck him.
“So is that the problem?” Thorn asked, as he poured a little more Fireflower ale into his own glass. “Your little Mistress fucked you and it messed things up between you?”
“Yeah, she…she had to. I was supposed to be her slave and it was part of her Test of Mastery—to become a full-fledged Mistress,” Vrox said haltingly. “I didn’t think I could stand it at first but then…I don’t know…it turned into this incredible experience that I’m still trying to place in my mind. I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest.”
“Well, are you sure how you feel about Tandy?” Thorn wanted to know.
“Of course—I fucking love her. And I’d tell her so if she wasn’t acting like I might bite every time we get too close,” Vrox growled.
“How did she feel about it—about taking you?” Thorn asked reasonably. “Did she want to?”
“Well, no—but only because she knew I didn’t want her to,” Vrox explained. “I made it pretty clear from the get-go that I had no fucking interest in being penetrated. I heard so many horror stories about what goes on down on Yonnie Six—just wasn’t interested in going there, you know?”
“So she had to penetrate you against your will—or so she believed,” Thorn said slowly, laying it out. “And the two of you haven’t had a chance to talk about it since?”
“Well…no. Pretty much right after it happened we were separated and then I had to go save Dannen from getting his nuts chopped off. Talking about horror stories! He lived through one,” he said, shaking his head. “He still hasn’t told me everything that happened to him but I’m guessing it was pretty fucked-up. That’s one reason he won’t even talk to Tandy, though I’ve been asking him to give her a chance.”
“You need to give him time,” Thorn advised. “It may be that he and your lady just can’t get along. In that case, you’re going to have to make a choice between them.”
“Hell, I don’t want to do that—I don’t even know who I’d choose.” Vrox raked a hand through his hair. “Dannen and I have been partners nearly six years. I hate like the Seven Hells to leave him just because he can’t come to terms with the fact that Tandy was a Mistress.”
“It sounds to me like you’ve already made your choice, Brother,” Thorn said dryly. “Look who you’re talking about leaving.”
“Yeah…guess you’re right.” Vrox sighed. “You know, I’ll take another splash of that ale after all.”
“Drink up.” Thorn poured more of the Fireflower ale into his glass. “But if you’ve chosen Tandy, then you need to make things right with her. You two need to talk about what happened between you—how you felt when she took you—and if you ever want to do it again.”
“Do it again?” Vrox nearly spit out the mouthful of ale he’d just taken. He forced himself to swallow and nearly choked. “Why would I want her to do it again?”
“The same reason you want to fuck her—the same reason anyone makes love,” Thorn said. “To be close to her—to show her you love her and trust her. Think about it Brother, there’s not a one of us Kindred under six foot six standard feet tall and most of us are bigger than that. Almost all of our females are smaller than us—way smaller. Think of the trust it takes for them to open themselves—to let themselves be vulnerable with us. We could break them in half with one hand.”
“But I’d never hurt Tandy!” Vrox protested.
“Of course you wouldn’t—anymore than I would hurt Neh’sa,” Thorn said. “I’m just saying, it takes a lot of courage for them to let us in. Can we really be any less brave than they are? Is it really so hard to let the female you love give you a little bit of what you give her all the time?”
“I…guess I didn’t think of it like that.” Vrox shook his head. “It’s just…letting her do that to me, well, it messed with my mind. I felt all, I don’t know—fuzzy—after she did it. Like I was in some kind of trance and couldn’t wake up.”
“You went into sub-space,” Thorn said. “It’s an altered state of consciousness you enter when you let yourself really submit. When you stop fighting the pain and the pleasure and you finally just let yourself give in completely and be owned and opened by your Mistress. I know—I’ve been there too.”
Vrox shook his head. “Didn’t know there was a name for it. I’m glad to hear I wasn’t just going crazy.”
“Nothing crazy about it.” Thorn shrugged. “It’s part of submission.”
“Well, Tandy doesn’t only want to be the dominant one,” Vrox confided. “We, uh, talked about it the last night we were together. She’s pretty happy being submissive herself, come to that.”
“Neh’sa likes to switch it up too,” Thorn said, nodding. “We both do. You might be like us—or you might decide to each stick to a role. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re together.”
“That’s what’s so fucking frustrating—we’re not together and I don’t know why,” Vrox growled. “I love her so fucking much but I just…don’t know what to say to her.”
“I think you need to try and talk about how she took you,” Thorn said thoughtfully. “You said she acts like you’re mad at her—maybe she thinks you are. After all, she did the one thing you told her you didn’t want. She doesn’t know that you didn’t hate it like you expected to. She can’t read your mind, Brother.”
“I can’t read hers either. Like I said—females are fucking confusing. They’re like a big tangle of thoughts and feelings and I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start by telling her you want to talk,” Thorn advised. “Then actually do talk about what happened. Let her know how you feel—that you’re not mad at her. Things will work themselves out if you can just communicate.”
“Yeah.” Vrox nodded. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“I know I’m right.” Thorn slapped him on the back. “So what are you waiting for? Go talk to her.”
“What—now?” Vrox fr
owned uncertainly. “I mean, it’s late. Maybe I should wait until tomorrow when we’re both well-rested…”
“No. Not going to let you wait, Brother.” Thorn plucked the half-empty glass from his hand and gave him a none-too-gentle push. “Go to it. She’s probably waiting for you to make the first move—maybe even thinking you hate her for what she had to do.”
The thought that Tandy might think he hated her got Vrox going at once. He didn’t want his sweet little girl to have such fears when he only wanted to tell her and show her how much he loved her.
Goddess, help me, he thought. Even though I can’t bond with her, help me show her how much I love her.
He felt a shot of courage go through him and he went to the door of her room and knocked, hoping she wasn’t already asleep.
There was a moment of shuffling and then Tandy’s soft voice called, “Come in.”
Taking a deep breath, Vrox opened the door. It was time to straighten things out.
TWENTY-SIX
Tandy bit her lip as the big Kindred entered the small but well-appointed room she had been assigned by Neh’sa. She’d been wondering when and if Vrox would come and talk to her. She’d wanted to approach him herself, wanted to beg his forgiveness once more for what she’d done to him during the Test of Mastery. But every time she was near him, the words seemed to stick in her throat and she didn’t know what to say.
For a moment he just stood there, looming in her doorway like a mountain of muscle with his mismatched eyes scanning her.
Tandy settled back at the head of the bed and pulled her knees up to her chin as she smoothed the short red nightdress down around her thighs. It was one of Neh’sa’s—as were most of the clothes she’d been wearing. She was penniless now as well as homeless, completely dependent on the kindness of her new friends.
That was another thing that had kept her from talking to Vrox. Before, when he had been her slave, she had been an heiress to a vast fortune. Now it was all gone—given or signed away.
Of course her Mother and Father would have been happy to send some of the wealth she’d signed over to them back, but if they did that and the transfer was traced, the whole fortune might be forfeit to the Yonnie Six government. That was because Tandy had been branded an enemy of the Yonnite people and anyone aiding or abetting her could be fined or subject to punishment.
So though her mother had offered—through tears of joy when she found out Tandy was all right—to send her money, Tandy had refused. Her parents eventually wanted to relocate to a planet were males and females were equal but they couldn’t leave while Tandy’s little brother was still undergoing so many dangerous and delicate operations. He was doing well but he had a long way to go and couldn’t be moved. Which meant that until they were able to go off planet, her parents couldn’t give her a thing.
So now she was no longer a rich heiress but a penniless beggar who had been stripped of her title. She was no longer Vrox’s Mistress and he was no longer her bodyslave. Their roles had been changed—destroyed—and she didn’t know how to treat him anymore. Also, it was hard to know who she was or feel like she could talk to him about the future when even her present was so uncertain.
“Little girl,” he said in that deep, growling voice of his. “We need to talk.”
Tandy swallowed nervously, hearing the dry click in her throat as she did. Oh Goddess, here we go, she thought, her stomach clenching like a slick fist.
“Talk?” She tried to keep her voice light. “Talk about what, Vrox?”
“You know Goddess-damned good and well what we need to talk about, Tandy,” he said, frowning. “We need to talk about what happened during the Test of Mastery.”
This was what Tandy had been dreading. Oh God, he really did hate her now—for tearing him down—for destroying his masculine pride! She was sure of it!
“Please, Vrox,” she said quickly. Coming to the edge of the bed, she sat up on her knees and reached for him. Taking one of his big hands, she placed it between her breasts and looked into his eyes. “Please, don’t hate me for what I did,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry—I didn’t want to but that awful Deelee pushed me into it. I know that’s no excuse, though. I should have refused. Should have said no. I—”
She was getting more and more upset and Vrox seemed to sense it.
“Hey, now, little girl,” he rumbled, freeing the hand she’d put between her breasts in order to stroke her hair. “I don’t hate you—I could never hate you, no matter what you did.”
“But you didn’t want to be penetrated.” Tandy’s eyes felt hot and she realized she was crying. “It was the one thing you didn’t want and I did it to you! I wouldn’t blame you for hating me—I…I hate myself.”
“Don’t say that, little girl. Don’t hate yourself because I sure as hell don’t hate you.” He stepped closer and gathered her into his arms, stroking her trembling back and shoulders and murmuring soothing nothings until Tandy’s sobs turned into sniffles and she was able to get hold of herself.
“I just feel so bad,” she whispered, looking up at him with wet eyes. “Like I took something from you that you weren’t ready or willing to give. Maybe…” She bit her lip. “Maybe you should punish me. Like you did that first night when you, uh, spanked me for using the pain cuffs on you.”
Vrox looked thoughtful as he stroked her wet cheek in his big, warm hand.
“I don’t think so, little girl—don’t think there needs to be any spanking. But we do have an agreement to fulfill.”
“We do?” Tandy shook her head. “What do you mean?”
“Have you forgotten? Quid pro quo? Tit for tat?” He gave her a meaningful look, his mismatched eyes half-lidded with lust. “Whatever you do to me, I get to do right back to you—remember?”
“Oh…” Suddenly Tandy’s breath was coming short and her heart was racing. “You mean…you want to…”
“To penetrate you. And not just the way I did that night before the test,” Vrox growled hungrily. “I want to take you all the way, little girl. Want to put all of myself inside you—that includes my mating fist too.”
“Goddess,” Tandy breathed. Suddenly she was so hot she felt like her skin was on fire everywhere.
“If I can do that,” Vrox told her, “If I can fill you with my shaft and come deep inside your sweet pussy, I’ll consider us even. What do you say?”
“Well…” Tandy put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart pound. “I mean, I guess it’s only fair.”
“Only fair,” he echoed and leaned down to take her mouth in a kiss so sweet and hot it took her breath away. Suddenly Tandy was flooded with longing—filled with a need to have him in her so deep she wouldn’t know where she ended and he began. But it was important to do things right, she told herself. Important to let him do to her what she had done to him.
Turning away from him, she positioned herself on all fours on the bed and then spread her thighs for him.
“Go ahead, Vrox,” she murmured, looking back at him. “I…I’m ready.”
“You want to do it that way, hmm? Would that be so you can watch in the viewer while I take you, little girl? While I fuck your sweet little pussy and fill it with my cum?”
He nodded at the silvery reflective surface across from the bed. Actually, Tandy had forgotten it was there but now she found she was face to face with her own reflection.
“Oh,” she began. “I didn’t think—”
“Because I like it. No, I fucking love it—love the idea of watching ourselves while I make you mine,” Vrox growled. “But I want to see all of you. Like this.”
He stepped to the side of the bed and brought Tandy back up to her knees. The girl in the mirror in the viewer with long black hair and creamy brown skin mirrored her actions.
Tandy thought she had never seen herself looking so aroused. Her brown eyes were dilated and her breath was coming in short little pants. The short lacy red nightdress that Neh’sa had loaned her was riding up to her thighs, showing t
he lacy little panties that went with it and the front of it was pulled down, showing most of her full breasts. Behind her, his big hands caressing her waist restlessly, was Vrox. With his wild black hair and blazing gold and blue eyes, he looked extremely aroused himself.
“Gods, little girl,” he rumbled in her ear. “Love your full, lush curves—love how your breasts fill my hands.”
His big hands slid up to cup the curves of her breasts, which were spilling out of the skimpy red nightdress. Tandy moaned breathlessly as he rolled her tight nipples between his fingers and then tugged on them gently, to watch her squirm against him.
“Vrox,” she panted. “You know…know how sensitive I am there.”
“Yes, I fucking do, little girl,” he growled. “I know your little pussy is probably getting all wet and creamy for me right now while I tug your hot nipples. Is it?”
Tandy bit her lip. “I…I don’t know,” she whispered. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”
“Oh, you want to be a bad little girl, is that it? You want to tease me until I pet your soft little pussy?” Vrox leaned down and nipped gently at her neck, letting her feel his fangs but not piercing her with them.
“Maybe…” Tandy shivered helplessly as a bolt of pure lust went through her. Goddess, they looked hot together in the viewer—his tan skin against her creamy brown and the feeling of him looming over her, preparing to take her was almost more than she could stand.
Daring greatly, she took one of his hands from her breasts and pushed it downward, watching as he cupped it around her red-lace covered pussy mound.
“Mmm, little girl—love how hot and wet you get,” Vrox groaned. “I can feel it even through these naughty little panties.”
“You could feel it better without them,” Tandy pointed out. She was nearly panting with need by now. She’d been missing the big Kindred so much the past few nights—wishing he would come to her and take her as he was now. She missed his big body in her bed and his long shaft in her pussy—she couldn’t get enough of his hands on her and right now all she wanted was more.
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