His eyes hardened and the intensity scared her but Darcy nodded. “Got it. Sex slave mode engaged.”
He pursed his lips and spun her to face him completely. He cupped her chin and forced her to meet the fire blasting like an inferno in his gaze. “This is not a joke or game. Any Marenian deeming your behavior disrespectful, can demand you be punished.”
“Punished?” Darcy trembled and was vividly reminded of how this world treated women.
“Punished,” he emphasized and squeezed her jaw.
Darcy spoke past the growing tightness in her throat. “Got it.”
***
Nikol hated frightening Darcy. Her smile this morning when he entered her alcove had done something to him. Created warm feelings he didn’t know how to process. However, it was not possible to be gentle in his warning. Lothar’s household ran on cruelty. He wanted to believe Darcy’s desire to be shown around his home was sincere but she had proven already to be defiant when it came to their rules. Getting her acquiescence was for her safety. Even if he had to threaten her to ensure it.
At the door, he left his customary instruction for Garmon and Tseju. Neither spared a glance for Darcy though he caught Tseju’s surprise in the widening of his gaze before he could cover his expression.
It was well known that Nikol didn’t take any of the tutanis out of the kitse save for routine medical care or emergencies. They preferred it that way as well. Walking side by side with Darcy, he sent a comm to Dain to check in.
Thinking of a way to show Darcy around without running into Lothar had taken up a small part of his morning. There were a few places he knew of where she should be safe and they could avoid running into anyone who would read more into him escorting her outside the kitse.
If any dared question the marks on her body, he’d correct them.
“Would you like to see the gardens?” he asked
“No!”
Nikol stared and Darcy burst into laughter. He had to concentrate on not getting hard from the sound as they made their way down the long polished hall.
“I’ve seen enough flowers in your garden. Is there anything else of interest? What makes Marenia beautiful to you?”
The mountains. The answer came to Nikol in an instant. If he showed her the mountains of his world she’d understand. But that was too far a trip and undertaking for now. One day if the gods willed, he would show her. “This is for you. What holds interest to you?”
“Reading. Computers,” she responded promptly and he was ensnared by the blue of her eyes. He came from a race of dark-haired, dark-eyed people and had to reluctantly admit to a fascination for the novel appearance of Earth women. He’d met and crossed paths with many races and none matched the variety found on that backward dying planet.
“Do you have something like that here?” Darcy nudged him with an elbow when he didn’t answer.
Nikol glanced around and realized they’d left his part of the house behind and were in Lothar’s domain. At any given time, Lothar had a handful of guards in and out of the property and a few business associates were freely welcomed to arrive at their leisure. Servants for every need and household task went about their business with heads lowered at his approach.
Some feared he was as dangerous and quick to punish as Lothar while others, those loyal to him, knew differently. The number of his people Nikol had managed to infiltrate into the home through the years was in the dozens. Marenians who wanted what he wanted—a life free of the constant threat of death.
Nikol slowed near a door where beeping and clicks could be heard on the other side. He opened it and gestured for Darcy to go forward. She gasped and looked around in wonder. His chest felt tight from doing something right.
“The archive room.”
She went to one comp station and tapped the screen. It came alive with a password request. Nikol joined her and overrode the code. The display turned blue, then line after line of documents filled the screen.
“What is this?”
“This is the history of the Majad for Marenia. The room is our archive center. Any data can be accessed from here.” And closely monitored by Lothar but Nikol didn’t add that. Avarice flickered in her gaze and Nikol was amused.
“Show me,” she demanded.
He punched in the necessary keys and pulled up the first thing available. It happened to be a more recent text focusing on the life of Lothar’s bruher, Majad Renik. He tapped another specialized code to convert the script from Marenian to Standard so she could read it.
Darcy leaned over, gaze going from side to side. “What is Majad?”
“Marenia is comprised of a group of nations who are aligned for the betterment of our world. The nations are governed by a sovereign ruler known as the Majad.”
She was enraptured if the fine line between her brows was anything to go by. She tapped the screen, paging through to the next and the next. “What else is on here?”
“That particular one is only on Renik. Each of the stations in here will give the user access to various history points, or whatever topic you like.”
“Is there one on Earth?” she asked, turning to face him.
Nikol shook his head. “Earth is not a part of the Alliance. They have a treaty with them for the benefit of the Singles Program to pair females with males but not much information on your world is tracked or documented.”
She nibbled her bottom lip and Nikol was caught by the urge to kiss her. He leaned in her direction to taste the nectar of her sweet mouth when she rattled off another question. “Who is allowed in here? Would I be able to come back if I wanted to read?”
He jerked back. Her fascination was starting to take on another look. He was suspicious by nature and growing more so by this particular line of questioning. Nikol crossed his arms over his chest. “Why?”
Red circles bloomed on her cheeks and she folded her arms over her breasts in a similar motion, hiding her pouty nipples. “Because I’m not eager to lounge around in that perfumed room of yours eating bonbons and waiting for you to want sex.”
He didn’t know what bonbons were but the idea of her being a compliant tutanis in his kitse was an image he couldn’t shake. Sex sharing with her had already proved more than he expected. Nikol didn’t know what he’d do if she spread herself before him in bed and willingly submitted to him.
“Nikol, please,” she reached out and touched the sleeve of his shirt.
Though Nikol would have liked to keep her looking at him with such entreaty, he declined. “No. This room is available to those with permission. You do not have permission to be in here.”
She snatched her hand away and rolled her eyes. “Of course not. God forbid I might do something meaningful with my time.”
Her words stung but Nikol blocked the feeling. “Come. There is more I want to show you.”
Darcy huffed but followed along with lagging steps. He led her to a room of historic artifacts—statues and priceless paintings by their greatest artists.
“A museum. Nice,” she drawled in a tone that implied otherwise.
Nikol bit his inner cheek wanting to laugh at her pique. He took her to several areas and all met the same reception. For him, it was the most lighthearted time ever. She was cute in her snit.
They came to the end of the hall in the upper level of the estate. He pointed toward a single door at the end. “You will not go anywhere near there or this part of the house. Ever.”
She lost her bland expression. “Why?”
“Lothar’s office, his suite and kitse are all located on this level.”
“Right.” She cupped her elbows and edged closer to him.
Nikol was glad of her fear in this. If she wasn’t working with Lothar, he didn’t want her to draw his notice more than she already had by being here.
Over the next few days, Nikol escorted her throughout the premises as he’d promised and enjoyed Darcy’s inquisitive nature. When anyone stared too long, he sent them a sharp look that hurried th
em on their way. At night, he took the delectable Earth woman in his arms and she responded with a passion that continually surprised him.
She was carving a place in his heart and forcing feelings on him he’d never experienced. Nikol wasn’t used to her genuine signs of pleasure, appreciation and humor. She poked fun at his rigid nature, prodded him to discuss things he never shared.
“Tell me your secrets. I’ve told you mine,” she begged with her pretty eyes.
He didn’t. But he enjoyed her attempts to get him to do otherwise. She was creative and adventurous in bed, holding him enthralled without realizing her unique appeal. The more he was around her, the more he was growing to care for her.
Nikol didn’t want to define the emotion. Not yet. If he did, he’d have to also acknowledge his growing fear. A timer was slowly winding down and Nikol worried Darcy would get caught in the fall out.
Chapter 18
Nikol was getting to her and Darcy found herself softening toward him against her will. She was supposed to be lulling him into a false sense of security so he’d become lax in his vigilance of her. To do that, she’d had to expose more of herself, share a level of honesty she hadn’t given another, not even Kevin.
Doing so meant Darcy was vulnerable in a way she wasn’t used to. Nikol, for his part, lavished attention on her in the bedroom while maintaining his silence on any topic Darcy broached outside a frivolous nature. He distracted and redirected with skillful hands and lips whenever she tried to pin him down.
Sex should have been a means of controlling him but it was easy to discern they were both beholden to their body’s need for one another. It was maddening how much she enjoyed his touch and Darcy had to work hard to remember her goal. She was not going to become a docile harem slave.
She upped her game and challenged him at every turn. Her resistance over basic things amused him. Trying to take the top and ride his cock, received a look of derision. Often, Darcy found herself laughing as she gave in during their tussles for dominance.
Then there were the gifts. The jewelry he left on her pillow in the mornings was extravagant beyond belief. Finely designed necklaces, thick bracelets covered in amber and blue stones, as well as a variety of rings in every style.
At first, Darcy thought they were attempts to pay her for sex and her anger had soared white hot. The morning after she received the third piece, she’d gathered them in her hands with the intent to throw them in his face when he returned to the kitse. Amia had stopped her as she stormed from her alcove, heading toward his.
Cecilee came out when she heard them arguing. Once she realized what Darcy planned, her eyes flashed with humor.
“These are holkom,” she explained.
Hosting? Darcy frowned, not understanding what hosting had to do with anything. “Listen, Cecilee, I can’t be bought and I’m going to make sure your master knows it.”
If that meant she ended the subtle truce between them by ramming these down his throat, then so be it.
Amia shook her head and blew out a breath. “They are holkom, gifts of thanks.”
It made no sense to Darcy. Her fingers clenched on the expensive jewelry. “Sorry, ladies. I don’t get it.”
At Amia’s gasp, Cecilee held up a hand. “Allow me. A tutanis is given holkom to thank her for accepting a man in her punan and doing it with beauty and grace.”
Darcy played with the meaning the translator provided until her mouth fell open. “Wait, Nikol’s thanking me for letting him put his dick in my...in me?!”
Amia smothered a grin behind her hand. “You must make him very happy to receive such costly gifts this soon.”
Darcy closed her eyes and groaned. She and Nikol had been having sex for over a week. He’d started leaving the jewels after their second night together. Damn him. She hated to admit knowing the meaning changed her feelings on the pieces. When Darcy opened her eyes, she ignored the women’s amusement and headed back to her alcove to place the jewelry carefully on the small table beside her bed.
The reason behind his actions worried at her mind during their walk today and she couldn’t stop her thoughts from wandering while he showed her around.
“You are distracted,” Nikol said, interrupting her mental emo party.
Darcy tipped her head up to find him watching her with the icy expression he always wore outside the kitse. Of course, he’d notice. His sharp gaze constantly watched every nuance that crossed her face. However, she hesitated to mention what bothered her.
He came to a stop in the hall and lightly touched her forearm. Darcy flinched, causing him to frown and focus on her. “What is it? Tell me”
Darcy knew by the way he bit the question out that they wouldn’t move further until she answered. She matched his glare and crossed her arms over her chest. “Holkom.”
Surprise flashed across his face as if he hadn’t expected her to say that then humor glinted briefly in his brown gaze before he masked it. “What about it?”
He was taking pleasure in being deliberately obtuse. Darcy rolled her eyes. “It’s not necessary.”
“On the contrary,” Nikol drawled. His brown eyes heated with a familiar smolder. “I am very grateful for the welcome I receive from your punan.”
Face on fire, Darcy had to squeeze her thighs together to put a halt to the way her inner muscles spasmed. There was no way he missed her response to him. The corner of his mouth quirked up. He calmly started walking again and Darcy gaped at his broad back. She hurried to catch up and grabbed him. “I don’t want gifts for...that. It feels weird.”
Not payment as she’d initially thought but not necessarily something she was comfortable with either. Nikol paused and pointedly looked down at her hand on his arm. She dropped it with a huff and he resumed his pace.
“I take it on Earth there is nothing similar,” he finally said as they’d traveled some distance and down two flights of stairs.
Darcy made a rude sound as she blindly followed him. “Hardly.”
She was about to add more on the cultural differences between their worlds when Nikol stopped at a large guarded set of double doors. She finally took note of where they were on the main floor and peered around in confusion. They didn’t usually venture down here. There were only so many places to see inside a house this big and the ones Darcy was truly interested in, she was sure Nikol wouldn’t show her.
The guard leered at her naked breasts, reminding Darcy for the first time in forever that she was essentially walking around topless. He licked his lips and cupped his crotch. Her hands crept up to cover herself but before she could hide her breasts, Nikol shook his head.
The stark warning in his eyes stopped her. Darcy dropped her arms, guts churning in a mix of shame and anger.
“We are going outside,” Nikol said.
The guard chuckled, eyeing her nipples and then the length of her legs revealed by the slit in her shellam. “She appears to be trained well.”
Excited about the prospect of going out, Darcy refused to let his ignorance ruin this for her. She clasped her hands together and almost danced in place. Giddiness replaced the momentary anger and without thought, she moved toward the door. “Nikol, this is won—”
The guard swung out with the palm of his hand. The crack of skin on skin was shocking. Her hand flew to her burning face and Darcy jerked in shock. He’d smacked her.
“Son of a bitch!” she yelled.
Emotions took over and she launched at the guard. Her fist glanced off his jaw, enraging him. He growled and pushed her back, the muscles in his arms bulging. “You dare!”
“Damn right!” Darcy kicked out and her sandaled foot thudded into a thick thigh.
She lifted her leg to try again and an arm caught her about the waist. Darcy was left swinging and kicking at empty air. Gloating, the guard stepped closer into her personal space and cocked his arm far back to strike again.
She was set on her feet so fast she stumbled back into the solid wall of the chest behind her
. The guard’s thick wrist was caught in a brutal hold by the hand stretching over her shoulder. “No.”
Nikol used his free arm to shove Darcy back, moving her out of reach as he closed in on the guard who’d almost struck her a second time.
“You dare, Ryz,” Nikol snarled in a voice Darcy had never heard him use.
“S-s-she was trying to leave. I merely stopped her,” Ryz babbled as sweat popped on his face. He leaned forward, attempting to ease the strain on his arm.
Nikol’s fingers clenched tighter. He twisted to the side, drawing forth a pained whimper and sending Ryz to his knees with a crash. “Do you think she’d leave with me standing right here?”
“No! I’m sorry, Nikol. My apologies for the misunderstanding. I’ve heard Earth women are known to cause trouble. I was disciplining her for you.”
Darcy bit down hard on her inner cheek. No one disciplined her. She was a grown woman.
“I do not need your help disciplining what is mine.” With a violent thrust, Nikol let the guard’s wrist go.
The force sent him sprawling on the floor. He was slow getting to his feet, his manner demanding retribution when he shot a glare at Darcy. “There is still the other matter.”
The air thickened with tension. Darcy’s breath came in light pants, not liking the turn the conversation had taken. Nikol’s eyes narrowed. “Are you implying I don’t know how to handle my tutanis?”
Ryz cradled his injured hand to his chest. “No, Nikol.”
“Punishment or correction?” Nikol snarled at him.
“Correction.”
Nikol nodded. “Do you trust my judgment?”
He looked like he wanted to protest. Instead, he inclined his head. “I withdraw my right to see to it personally. I only request she be corrected publicly as her actions toward me were public.”
“I agree to the request.” Nikol jerked his head toward the door. “Open it. Now!”
They scrambled to open the door. He bowed low as Nikol grabbed Darcy’s arm and pulled her through. Once the door closed behind them, Darcy breathed out a sigh of relief.
Releasing her arm, Nikol was quiet as they walked along a gray stoned path. The angry jut of his jaw had Darcy erring on the side of caution by remaining silent. Patrolling men in uniform nodded at Nikol as they passed and were ignored. They watched Darcy following in his wake with a curious glint. Face stinging, she kept her head down and avoided eye contact with them.
Nikol's Surrender (A World Beyond, #10) Page 15