Commander's Slave Page 5

  At some point, she had to go upstairs and face Edek. Or did she? She lazily swept the broom across the stones and contemplated her options. She could be stubborn and retire in her closet. She wondered if Edek would actually come tromping downstairs to find her, venturing past the servants’ quarters to seek her out. Unless…

  A thought struck her, and her grip on the broom tightened. The house contained many closets. Upstairs and downstairs. There were even some in the basement where the hot springs ran through the house. Mischief filled her, and for a few seconds she felt like a child preparing to play hide and seek. Except this was no merry game. She was determined to make Edek understand she had boundaries. Sleeping in his bed crossed the line. It made her a temptation, and she refused to live in fear of Edek’s impulses.

  He’d proven partially trustworthy when he’d promised to keep her true identity a secret from his people. She still believed he meant to keep that promise. However he’d made no such promises concerning their master-slave relationship. He’d promised not to hurt her, but his definition of hurt and her definition of hurt were not the same.

  Brimming with resolve, she entered the house quietly after deciding a closet in an unused wing downstairs would be best. She gathered several blankets and crept through the hallways, sinking back into a dark doorway each time a servant approached.

  Blood pounded in her ears and her insides shook. She hoped her intentional disobedience served to prove a point to Edek rather than incite his anger. With her hand on the closet door, she hesitated and looked up and down the hallway, listening for footsteps.

  Silence. Gathering her courage, she entered the closet and touched the walls until her hand reached an orb. It flickered to life and she shut the door, wishing it had a lock.

  Aside from a few empty planters on a small, built-in shelf, the room was empty. Betsy knelt on the floor and shivered at the chill in the air. As long as she’d been on the planet, the days had been pleasantly warm while the nights usually dipped below freezing. Unfortunately it appeared this part of the house wasn’t well heated. Ribbons of white unfurled from her mouth with each breath, and her bare feet felt numb from standing on the cold stone floor.

  She frowned and began arranging the blankets to create a bed. Her hands trembled and her teeth chattered. Doubt crept into her mind. Perhaps her plan was foolish. Not because she’d anger Edek, but because she might freeze. Was it worth losing a toe over her pride?

  “Fuck,” she muttered, curling up underneath the piled blankets.

  She glanced at the single orb lighting the closet and decided to leave it shining. Light provided the illusion of warmth. Sort of. No amount of warm thoughts and no position underneath the blankets could stop her shaking though. The freezing air pierced through the blankets and her thin dress. She might as well be naked and sleeping outside for all the warmth she felt in the closet.

  Sleep didn’t come easy. She tossed and turned in her cold, lonely bed, until strong arms lifted her and provided much-needed warmth.

  *

  Foolish little human. Edek swallowed and tried to contain the anger swelling in his chest. He climbed the steps to his room, two at a time, and held Betsy close to his heart. What had she been thinking? Didn’t she realize the closet she’d been sleeping in wasn’t heated? Energy wasn’t wasted on unused rooms, but he made a mental note to raise the temperature in the entire house tomorrow. If Betsy pulled another stunt like this, he didn’t want her to freeze to death.

  A soft sigh drifted up from her, and her breath tickled his chest. He entered his room and closed the door, immediately carrying her to the bed. She stirred in his arms and her eyes fluttered open.

  “I’m sleeping, Edek. Leave me…” Her whispered words trailed off and she stiffened. “Master!” she cried. “I meant Master.”

  Hearing his name on her lips provoked his desire, though her slip of tongue would cost her later. He sank down on the bed and kept her cradled in his embrace, brushing her hair from her face as he enjoyed the effect her wiggling had on his hardening cock. Each little movement sent waves of heated longing through his loins.

  Betsy paled as she stared up at him, terror filling her eyes. “What are you doing, Master?”

  “Saving you from your foolishness, it seems.” His jaw tightened. “Why did you not come to my room, Betsy? Didn’t you understand this is where you sleep from now on? I thought I’d made myself clear last night.”

  Her lips parted in surprise and she looked pained. “I don’t wish to sleep here, Master.”

  “Then why were you not in the closet you’d been sleeping in before my arrival, little human? Were you hiding from your master?”

  She stilled and blinked a few times, then took a deep breath as if summoning courage. “Yes, Master. I was hiding from you. I will not sleep here. Now let me go.”

  Edek lifted her to sit on his knee, gripping her upper arms to keep her in place. She was already in enough trouble, and he didn’t want to have to punish her for running, in addition to hiding and calling him by his name. He shook his head slowly in a show of displeasure. “Did I not promise to keep you safe?”

  “Yes, Master, you did, but—”

  “How can I keep you safe when you’re hiding from me? I almost had to call the town authorities and ask them to track you for me, to be sure you hadn’t left the house. If you made me do that, Betsy, the authorities would urge me to punish you publicity in the square as an example to other slaves.”

  Horror filled her wide blue eyes. Tremors besieged her body as her shaking resumed. “Forgive me, Master,” she whispered. “I promise I’ll never leave this house. But I’m not a whore. I will not allow you to take my body.”

  She’d been naughty. Disobedient. He had to punish her. But he didn’t want to. He wanted to gather her closer and ease her fears. He wanted to trail gentle kisses all over her body and make her squirm beneath him. Most of all, he wanted to see desire lighting her eyes instead of fear.

  “Allowing me to take your body won’t make you a whore, Betsy.” He trailed a finger up and down her neck, brushing the soft spot behind her ear. “You belong to me and no one else. All others are forbidden to touch you. I promised not to sell you, and I promised to protect you.”

  Betsy’s brows pinched together, her eyes flashing with anger. “So you think I owe you?” She pushed at his chest, but he kept one strong arm around her, holding her in place on his lap and enjoying the feel of her bottom pressing down on his cock as she struggled. “You think I owe you sex for being a good master?” The last two words dripped from her lips like a curse, her face wrinkling in disgust as she spoke them.

  Tension filled the air as their gazes collided. He held her out by the shoulders and swallowed hard, trying to rein in his anger lest he react in too harsh a manner.

  “You owe me nothing, Betsy. But you’re still a slave and need to learn to conduct yourself as one. That means you must obey your good master. You disobeyed me tonight, and for that you will be punished.”

  A thousand different emotions flickered across her face. Sadness. Anger. Fear. Frustration. Loneliness. Edek steeled himself to be firm with her, even though everything inside him screamed to hold her tight while uttering promises to take care of her forever. The tender feelings she elicited in him knew no bounds, and he stared down at her, wishing she wasn’t his slave, but a woman he’d met under different circumstances. The threads of hatred he’d been clinging to weakened as he stared into her bottomless blue depths, noting the glimmer of moisture she kept blinking back.

  “You can have a good life with me, Betsy, if you let go of your foolish human pride.” He nearly laughed at his own words. The Kall were a more prideful people than humans. “Your reluctance to accept your place as my slave speaks volumes about your character, but I know you’re lonely and want to give in. There’s no harm in it. Let go. Get to know me, Heslla.” The endearment rolled off his tongue before he could stop it, and a fresh sheen of tears shone in her eyes as hopefulnes
s danced across her features. She wanted to give in. To believe him. To trust him. Edek read her emotions and desires with so much ease that he felt he’d known her his whole life.

  “I miss Earth,” she said, breaking his gaze and opting to stare at his chest. She toyed with the Sumlin District insignia sewn onto his uniform shirt.

  “Tell me what you miss most about Earth.”

  She peered up at him, appearing lost in thought as her eyebrows pinched together. “Freedom,” she whispered. A lone tear rolled down her cheek, and Edek caught it with his thumb, wiping it away.

  “If you were still on Earth, what would you be doing right now, Betsy?”

  She shrugged. “Probably working. I mean, if it wasn’t for the war, that’s what I’d be doing.” She went on to describe her job writing for a magazine, her interactions with celebrities, and her often busy travel schedule, interspersed with her duties as First Daughter. Edek listened to her every word as she spoke of a city called Los Angeles, the parties she was expected to attend but confessed not missing, and her best friend Layla.

  “Did you leave any family behind besides your father? Any children? A significant other?” It had never occurred to him that she might have had a family on Earth, even though she hadn’t been married. His jaw tensed and his teeth ground together as he raged inside at the Kall justice system. Jealousy also occupied his senses at the thought of another man holding her heart.

  She shook her head, dispelling his fears. “No, Master. I’ve never been married, and I don’t have any children. To be honest, I don’t miss my father that much. Maybe that makes me a bad daughter, but it’s the truth. Layla told me he didn’t argue against the arranged marriages, even when he discovered my name on the list. I-I never understood why he didn’t at least try to save me from the betrothal to Merokk. I’ve been angry with him for a long time, and he didn’t even come to visit me in the detention camp while I awaited trial.”

  “It’s my understanding the treaty was non-negotiable, Betsy,” Edek said, tipping her face up. “But I’m not defending what your father did. If I had a daughter in your situation, I’d have broken laws and slit throats to save her.” His words weren’t eloquent, but she smiled nonetheless.

  “Slavery isn’t what I expected. I thought I’d be working my fingers to the bone and falling into bed exhausted every night. I thought I’d be beaten to the brink of death on a daily basis. I thought I’d be starved and praying for death.” She shifted on his lap, and his cock swelled in response to the nearness of her body. At the same time, his soul warmed in response to her words. She hadn’t professed happiness, but she hadn’t claimed misery either. Perhaps in time she’d find happiness. Here. With him.

  “My father owned slaves and he treated them very well.” Edek grinned at the memory. “At one point we had slaves from twelve different planets living under the roof. Lanzo and I were expected to speak with them every day and learn their tongues.”

  “Is that how you learned English? From a slave?”

  Shaking his head, he glanced at the ceiling. Memories washed over him. “No. I had to pick ten additional languages to learn in school. I picked as many Earth languages as the teachers would allow because they were easiest.” He chuckled. “Lanzo did the same.”

  “I had to learn many languages too. My father insisted and got me tutors at an early age. He wanted me to grow up and go into interplanetary politics.” She sighed and resumed tracing the insignia on his shirt, her gaze drifting from his. “Are you still going to punish me, Master?”

  “Yes, Betsy,” he said gently. “You must learn to obey me, and I expect after I warm your little bottom you’ll think twice before you hide from me again.” He decided not to include the name slipup, because he’d rather liked hearing his name on her lips. She’d corrected her error quickly by calling him Master anyway. As long as she never made the slipup in public, he wouldn’t mention it.

  To his surprise, she didn’t argue over her impending spanking, nor did she attempt to escape his lap. He suspected their little talk had lessened her fears. She nodded and twisted her hands together, biting her lip. Pink stained her cheeks, and he found her nervousness adorable. Though he still hated to cause her pain, he knew it was for the best. If word got out that the commander of Sumlin District’s warriors had a disobedient slave, his reputation would be tarnished and town authorities would call for Betsy to be punished publicly. A commander’s slave was expected to be a model slave, and even though the house was secluded and far from the prying eyes of the town, Edek refused to risk her safety.

  It was his duty to punish her. To mold her into a good little slave. He only hoped she didn’t grow to hate him for it.

  “Stand up, Betsy. Let’s get this over with.” He helped her to her feet, guiding her to stand between his spread thighs. She bowed her head in a show of submission so lovely he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Sweetness radiated from her, and as clearly as he’d sensed her emotions earlier, he sensed her willingness to please. “Tell me why you’re to be punished, Betsy. I want to hear you say it.”

  She gasped at his command and her chest rose and fell heavily under her uneven breaths. Strands of auburn fell forward and she stared down at him, her lips parted in surprise.

  “Betsy,” he said in a warning tone. Color rose to her cheeks, and his groin tightened as desire spiraled through him at the sight of her nervousness.

  “I-I am to be punished because I didn’t come up to your bedroom like I was supposed to.” Her words came out soft but strained.

  “And?”

  “And I was trying to hide from you, Master.” She gulped and licked her lips as she stiffened. With her head still bowed, she glanced away and her gaze wandered around the room. “If you’re waiting for me to apologize, that’s not going to happen. I’m afraid I’m not very sorry.”

  Edek laughed and grasped her hand, squeezing it as his fingertips stroked the softness of her palm. “By the time I’m done reddening your bottom, you will be sorry, Betsy. I can promise you that.”

  He guided her over his lap, biting the inside of his mouth to restrain a groan as her center pressed down on his swollen cock. Taking her hands, he held them at the small of her back, ignoring her noise of protest. She wiggled into place, as if trying to get comfortable, and Edek once again had to bite the inside of his mouth lest he moan at the exquisite feel of her body against his.

  “You were naughty, Betsy,” he said, reaching for the hem of her dress. “Naughty slaves get spanked on their bare bottoms.” The desire to see her bared to him had become too great. He couldn’t wait a moment longer. All the muscles in his body tensed as he lifted her dress, smoothing it above her waistline and holding her down as she struggled. He placed two light swats to her panty-covered backside. “Keep still, little human.”

  Indecipherable mumbles drifted up from her, and Edek swatted the backs of her thighs until she quieted.

  “What was that you said?” Jaw tight, he awaited her answer, though he doubted she’d actually repeat the words that obviously hadn’t been meant for his ears. He marveled at her stubbornness and her bravery in the face of punishment. Most slaves would be down on their hands and knees, begging for leniency. As she’d stood between his thighs, he’d felt her true submission showing through, even as she battled with her emotions and didn’t want to surrender to him fully. Her back and forth between submission and rebellion was a sight to behold, and he suspected he’d never truly tame her. Nor did he wish to. Her sassiness and boldness made her attractive and reminded him of his outspoken wife, Renna. Instead of making him sad, the comparison made him smile.

  “What did you say?” he asked again.

  “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” Alarm filled her tone.

  “I thought not.” He shifted, covering her legs with one of his to prevent her kicking. Her bottom moved from side to side as she resumed squirming, and his breath caught at the view. Thin white panties covered her firm backside, and anticipation swelled as he f
ingered the hemline, preparing to draw them down to her knees.

  “I can’t keep you safe if you don’t obey me, Betsy. The Kall homeworld is nothing like Earth. You need to remember that. I’m going to punish you now to help you remember that.” He waited for her apology, but none came. Sighing, he pulled her panties down until they bunched above her knees.

  He tightened his hold on her and delivered a series of firm slaps to her bottom. The spanks echoed throughout the vast room. As he continued to rain swats down, Betsy remained silent. Not a whimper or a gasp escaped her. She’d tensed over his lap, and he suspected her pride had taken over once again. She didn’t want to cry or emit any noise of pain. His palm stung from the rapid impacts with her backside, and he knew she was in pain, whether she cried out or maintained her stubborn silence.

  Pausing, he stroked her red cheeks. He cupped her mounds and rubbed her inflamed flesh, moving to the tops of her thighs and upward again. Her body relaxed under his caresses, but her breathing became more agitated, and soon each breath sounded like a gasp. The friction of her center grinding against his cock as she squirmed invited his baser desires, clouding his ability to think rationally. He needed to end her punishment soon, lest he lose control and delve his fingers between her legs. She belonged to him and it was his right to do so, but such a bold action would surely shatter what little trust she had in him.

  “You don’t need to be strong in front of me, Betsy,” he said, still rubbing her punished areas. “You can cry. You can be yourself. What happens in this room is between us and no one else. I enjoyed our conversation and I hope we have many more. Let go. Don’t hold back.” His words stunned him, but they flowed directly from his heart. He had thought his heart had hardened to rock, but her mere presence had softened him. She breathed life into him.