Bonded Read online

  It was hard to concentrate on later. Jaren thrust his hips forward, fucking her hand, the pleasure obliterating his every last objection.

  She paused, her hand locked around the base, then leaned forward and touched her lips to the swollen head. His breath hissed out in a rush, and he nearly shouted.

  Heat and wetness scalded him. Taimi used her hands in concert with the motions of her lips to keep every inch of his cock a part of this party. She drew back and ran her tongue around the head. Repeated the process with a moan vibrating against his flesh.

  Hot lust threatened to shut down his brain, making him ignore everything but the slick, hot feel of her mouth. He threaded his fingers through her silky hair and thrust harder, gritting his teeth.

  He thought he’d known something about control, but this was different. Maybe it was because he hadn’t lain with a woman since Ethlinda’s betrayal. Maybe it was the sweet willingness of the sexy woman kneeling between his legs, showing him everything she would do to cater to his lust.

  He’d never expected a virgin could make him feel like this. Those must have been some lessons…

  He was way too close to coming, and without resolving their situation.

  She must have known somehow just how close he was. Taimi drew back one last time and stood, a small smile playing on her slightly swollen lips. She took him by the hand and led him toward the bed. With his pants pooled around his ankles, his steps were embarrassingly awkward, but he couldn’t remove them without stopping to take off his boots.

  And he didn’t want to stop.

  Not yet.

  She lay back on the surprisingly lush bed. The sheets were pure white beneath her golden skin—all the better to capture the evidence of her virginity. She spread her slender legs wide and held up her arms in open invitation.

  Jaren hesitated. Guilt warred with lust, the sense of taking advantage of her undiminished.

  He looked at her face, flushed a deep red beneath her tanned skin. Her eyes remained dark, with the pupils dilated, minus the unnatural appearance from before. Perhaps the belladonna was wearing off.

  The temptation to simply mount her and plunge deep into her slender body was strong, and he forced himself to continue standing. Settling for simply looking his fill while marshalling his self-control. He couldn’t change the mandate given by the laws, but she deserved more than a hard and hasty coupling.

  Her expression wavered, and for a moment she looked uncertain. And very, very young. Much more innocent than her years, and not just in sex. “Captain? Is something wrong?”

  Jaren sat on the edge of the bed. It was more than large enough for him to continue keeping his distance, and he kicked off his boots before stripping off his pants. “You don’t have to call me that.”

  Uncertainty turned into full-blown confusion. “What should I call you?”

  “My first name is Jaren.”

  “I can’t—”

  He tried to smile. “It seems more appropriate under the circumstances.” He reached out and rested his hand on one delicate ankle. Heard her sharp intake of breath. “Captain sounds too formal. There’s nothing formal about this night, is there?”

  “No.” She breathed harder, her small breasts rising and falling with every harsh pant. Her skin was incredibly sensitive to his touch and as soft as silk. He vaguely remembered whispers about an aphrodisiac native to the Lorus system; he’d always dismissed the rumors as idle gossip.

  Now he wasn’t so sure.

  Had the slave masters given her something to heighten her desire? They’d clearly wanted her to look aroused. What was to stop them from further enhancing this with their potions and herbal wizardry?

  Jaren found the notion distasteful.

  He wanted her natural reactions. Wanted to know her desire was real and not manipulated by the auction house.

  He looked into her eyes.

  Despite the drugs, her expression was clear. Shyness, as expected from a virgin, but also need. She stared at his cock, as if fascinated, and gave a little shimmy of her hips, spreading her legs wider.

  It was enough. For now.

  He yielded to her silent plea, and their legs entwined as he settled against her, but he kept his cock pressed into the mattress between her legs, instead of up against her sweet cleft.

  He knew he didn’t have the control for that. Not if he wanted to take this slow. To give her pleasure.

  He lowered his head. Closed his lips around her tight little nipple and began to suckle on her.

  Taimi gave another small cry, plunging her fingers into his hair. Oh yes, she was sensitive. Exquisitely responsive. She writhed beneath him and arched up into his mouth. “Jaren!”

  “I like the way my name sounds on your lips.” He blew lightly on her moist skin. Felt her shiver. “Do you like that? Be honest with me, Taimi.”

  “I’ve never been anything else.”

  True. He lapped at her breast, teasing her nipple with the tip of his tongue. “Tell me.” He switched to her other breast.

  “Yes!” She arched and squirmed again.

  He rose up and caught her mouth with his. Her taste was sweet, and the movements of her lips against his were tentative. Jaren drew back slightly. “Let me guess. They didn’t teach you about kissing.”

  She shook her head. “They said it wasn’t important.”

  “Fools.” He wasn’t really upset. He liked the idea of teaching her how to kiss. “I’ll show you.”

  “But…”

  “Shhhh. Just follow my lead.” Jaren slipped his fingers under her chin, lifting her mouth to his once more. He started with a simple brush of his lips against hers, back and forth, until hers slowly relaxed and parted and heated.

  Desire was still there, need still rushed through his veins, but it was easier to control now. The simple pleasure of kissing her, just kissing her, was amazing. It banked the heat in his body and let him relish the feel and touch and taste of her. He swept his tongue along her bottom lip before dipping into her mouth.

  So hot.

  She tasted amazing. His cock gave another hard jerk against the mattress, and his balls ached with the need for release. She let her tongue meet his, her motions hesitant.

  Jaren couldn’t help it. He smiled against her lips.

  She drew back. “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Not at all. Why would I?”

  “I thought… I don’t think I’m very good at this.” The color in her tanned cheeks intensified, and she refused to meet his gaze.

  “I’m not judging you, Taimi. But if you’d like to keep practicing…”

  She laughed softly and looked up at him through the fan of her thick black lashes. “I think I’d like that. If…if that’s what you want.”

  Jaren shook his head. “No matter what the law says, you have a choice. You’ll always have a choice with me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I told you I came here to free you.” He caressed her flushed cheek. “Even if the law makes the final outcome mandatory, I want you to start having choices in everything else we do tonight.”

  “You’re very different, Captain. I’ve never met anyone quite like you before.”

  “Captain?”

  “Jaren,” she corrected with another soft laugh. She curled her soft fingers around the back of his neck, drawing him to her. “I’d like to kiss you again.”

  It was a small step. A small assertion. He wondered what she would be like when she stopped restraining herself, when she gave full freedom to all her thoughts and desires.

  She kissed him. Opened her mouth to his, exploring his mouth with her lips and tongue.

  Her eagerness renewed the intensity of his arousal.

  Jaren’s cock throbbed, aching for him to finally put an end to this amorous play, but he wasn’t ready for that step, the last momentous step of claiming her innocence. Not quite yet.

  He moved his mouth away, trailing his lips down her slender throat. Returning to lavis
h attention to her breasts. She arched into his mouth, silently urging him on. He continued lower, pausing to swirl his tongue around the delicate dip of her navel, and a soft giggle quivered through her.

  He slid his hand up between her legs. She was slick and hot, and he let his fingers glide along the inside lips of her pussy before finding and toying with her clit. Taimi gasped, rocking her hips hard. He feathered light touches on the sensitive nub of flesh and moved his mouth down her flat belly, past the curling black hair, and meeting his fingers at her clit.

  She tugged at his hair. “What are you…?”

  He didn’t answer. He had a better use for his mouth right now.

  Jaren teased her clit with the tip of his tongue. Taimi jumped. He repeated the motion and slowly slid one finger inside her. She was dripping wet but so very tight.

  Taimi made a sound of both pleasure and fear. Her muscles clenched around the invading digit. She tried to thrust her hips, but he flattened his other hand against her stomach to keep her still. “Jaren, please.”

  “Not yet. I want you to come for me first.” He withdrew his finger. Replaced his hands with his mouth, taking a long, slow lick of her folds, savoring his first intimate taste of her. “You taste so good.”

  He lifted her legs over his shoulders, opening her wider to reveal every secret and untouched inch of her.

  Her thighs trembled, and her pussy clenched in rhythmic pulses. So responsive. So sweet. Temptation incarnate.

  Her soft cries intensified, as did the tremors. She suddenly arched hard into his mouth, screaming his name as she climaxed.

  Jaren lowered her legs, moved up between her thighs. Poised the head of his cock at her dripping entrance and slowly began to push against her.

  Taimi tensed.

  He trembled nearly as hard as she as every instinct screamed at him to take her. “Too soon?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s all right. Please.”

  He braced his hands on either side of her hips. “Open your eyes, Taimi. Look at me.”

  She gazed at him and flicked her small pink tongue out to wet her lips. “Claim me, Jaren. Please.”

  The simple words were incredibly erotic. “If you’re sure…”

  She moved her hands to his butt, her fingers tightening into his flesh with surprising force. “Make me yours. Now.”

  He wanted to object—to tell her he didn’t really own her—but his lust didn’t make allowances for such civilities. He could not deny her. Nor could he wait any longer. Jaren leaned forward to claim her mouth with a hot, hard kiss.

  He drew back and thrust deep. The membrane stretched and broke around his cock as he swallowed her cries and answered them with his own. Her nails sank deep into his flesh, scoring her marks into his skin. Jaren pushed on, until her slick wetness engulfed his cock to the hilt.

  She was so damned tight. The walls of her pussy stretched to accommodate him, yet clung to his flesh like a glove. He’d never felt anything so hot, so erotic, in his life.

  Jaren stopped again, letting her get used to the feel of him fully inside her. “Are you all right?”

  Fresh tears marked her face, and he tasted their salt in his mouth. But she was also smiling. “Yes.” She touched his cheek. “You’re very kind.”

  “Not at all.” He was being damned selfish, actually.

  “You are.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I can feel you… it’s like I can feel your heartbeat inside me.”

  Jaren grinned. “That’s one way of describing it.”

  “You’re laughing at me again.”

  “Never.” Her body made a gentle contraction, and his cock throbbed and swelled within the tight confines in response. Her sharp intake of breath told him she’d felt it.

  He began to move.

  She gasped again, but there was no pain in the sound, only pleasure. She jerked her hips upward awkwardly. He used his hands to guide her, leading her into the movements that would give both of them pleasure.

  Lust continued to build.

  It was another kind of struggle now. The struggle to hold back his climax. To make this last.

  He reached between them. Stroked her clit in time with each thrust. Tremors began to shake her body, and she clung to him as their bodies found the timeless rhythm together.

  Taimi cried out. She arched her back with a hard shudder, the muscles inside her pussy clenching and releasing his cock repeatedly as her orgasm swept through her slender body. Jaren buried his face into her soft neck. Rammed home hard and fast, one final time, and followed her into climax.

  As his breathing returned to normal, he raised his head to look into her face, not certain what he expected to see.

  She opened her eyes. The natural deep brown of her irises was visible again, a sure sign the belladonna drops were no longer in effect. A faint sheen of moisture remained, but no new tears flowed.

  He touched her cheek, wanting to say something, but a lump in his throat kept him silent. Some emotion welled up inside, one he didn’t dare name. Similar to what he’d felt with Ethlinda in the beginning. That made him uneasy, though he knew Taimi wasn’t anything like her. He wasn’t ready to feel anything for any woman again. Not yet. Not now.

  Jaren levered off her soft body and reached for his clothing. His gaze was drawn to her slender thighs marked with the blood of her virginity.

  The same blood staining the formerly pristine white sheets beneath her. The auction house had all the proof it needed, he was sure. “I think we’ve made my crew wait long enough.” The harshness in his voice made him wince, but there was no way to take the words back. “Let’s see about getting you out of here, once and for all.”

  * * * *

  As the captain exited, a door hidden behind the lush drapery opened. Three women entered, dressed in the dull drab of lower house servants, their slave collars made of aged copper rather than gold. One bore a steaming basin and towels; another held a folded pile of glistening fabric. The third carried a box no bigger than her palm, made of plain, dull gray metal.

  The first two helped Taimi bathe and dress in the gleaming cloth: a tunic so sheer, every detail of her naked body could be seen beneath it. While they worked, the third woman placed the box on the bed and pulled out a knife. She cut away the bloodied portion of the sheet and tucked it into the box. An electric lock whirred quietly, sealing the contents.

  Taimi had seen electric locks like those before. Tricky, temperamental things at times, they could be programmed to accept either a password or a scan of the fingerprint of its owner.

  The women left as silently as they’d arrived, leaving her alone with her thoughts and her nerves. In a way, it still felt like a dream, but the tenderness between her legs told her it was real. That Jaren had been in the room. And inside her.

  She tried to pace but found she could not, though the pain was nothing compared to injuries inflicted during her former life. Lady Ethlinda had never been one to spare the rod when displeased. Tremors ran up and down her legs, making her unsteady. Was it from nerves, a release of tension, or some odd aftershocks of the sex? She didn’t know.

  Jaren returned. Though he smiled when he saw her, the look in his eyes was troubled, as was the tone of his deep voice. “I suppose it was too much to hope they would give you some regular clothing.”

  She twirled slowly. Shakily. “This is traditional, Captain. Do you not like what you see?”

  His eyes darkened. Heated. “I do. But I’m not comfortable with my crew seeing you like this.”

  “Why?”

  “Never mind.” He held out his hand. “I’ve arranged for a transport to take us to the docking station. Are you ready?”

  “Yes, Captain.” She took a wobbly step forward.

  Jaren flushed. “You must be sore.”

  “A little, but it is of no consequence.”

  He crossed the space between them in two long, swift strides. Before she realized what he planned, he tucked one arm behind her legs, the other a
gainst her back, and swept her up against his solid, muscular chest. It was hot and hard—just like the rest of him.

  Taimi gasped. A fresh surge of need rushed through her veins and caused the tender parts of her to clench. “What are you doing?”

  “Carrying you. What does it feel like?”

  It felt… There were no words to describe this. She was flushed inside and out, while he seemed completely unaffected. Unfair. Perhaps he’d only forced himself to want her, to fulfill the terms of the slave contract. “I-I can walk. Captain.”

  “It’s my fault you’re hurting.”

  Fault? Odd choice of word. “This isn’t necessary.”

  “I want to.”

  She liked the sound of that. Taimi settled against his body, resisting the urge to nuzzle into him. Such a gesture would be too intimate and, she sensed, not at all appropriate in this moment.

  He bore her weight easily, as if she weighed nothing. His long strides carried them swiftly out of room and into the night.

  The transport waiting for them was a simple hover-hack with an enclosed cab, barely large enough for more than one person, but with the ample privacy often wanted by those who did business in this area. Deeply tinted shields kept curious gazes out. He set Taimi on the cushioned seat. “We need to make a side trip. Take us to the merchants’ district. A clothing dealer.”

  “Most of them will be closed now, sir.” The driver sat atop the vehicle. His tone was a mix of servility tempered with the superiority many on Lorus felt when dealing with “ignorant” off-worlders. “For festival.”

  “Then find us one that’s open. I’ll make it worth your effort.” Jaren stepped into the transport and closed the hatch, sealing them away from the world.

  “You should have set a price,” Taimi said hesitantly, not certain her input would be welcome, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit protective of him. He lacked experience in the ways of this system, and she’d hate to see him cheated. Especially since he’d already spent an obscenely large amount to buy her. “Now he could charge you anything he wishes, and you can’t object unless you wish to go to jail.”

  He shrugged, looking distinctly uncomfortable. His broad shoulders took up much of the space, and he had to fold his long legs tight against his body. “It won’t be a problem. Don’t worry about it.”