Protecting His Mistress...Book 24 in the Kindred Tales Series Read online

  “But…he has fangs, Mother!” the girl protested faintly. “I don’t know what to think about that—what if he ties to bite me?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Lilli! He has a pain collar—see?” Lady Mirabella pointed at the fake black collar Karn wore around his neck. “He can’t bite you as long as you know how to handle him. Show her,” she demanded, looking at Mistress Tikka. “Give him a good zap.”

  “Of course.” Lady Tikka pointed the remote at Karn and made a big display of pressing the pain button.

  Right on cue, Karn gasped and fell to his knees, grasping at the collar. Then, because he enjoyed being dramatic, he toppled off the platform and lay gasping and writhing at the feet of the three women.

  “Oh, no! Stop—Stop!” Lady Mirabella’s daughter, Lilli, came rushing over to bend down by Karn’s side. “Stop it!” she cried again, looking up at Mistress Tikka. “Can’t you see you’re hurting him?”

  “As you wish.” Mistress Tikka pointed the remote again and pressed the button.

  Karn went limp at once and lay panting, like a male who had just run a desperate race. His long hair was in his face but he made no move to brush it away from his eyes. It was annoying, but much better to look like he was so exhausted from dealing with the terrible pain that he couldn’t even move, he thought.

  Then, to his surprise, he felt a soft hand lifting the long strands away from his face. Rolling his eyes upward, he saw Lilliana—Lilli—bending over him.

  “Are you all right?” she whispered, looking into his eyes as she cupped his cheek. “You poor thing! I’m so sorry they did that to you. It was dreadful—I would never treat you so. I promise.”

  Karn felt a sudden, unfamiliar pressure in his heart as those big, brown eyes looked down into his. It was like she had cupped the beating muscle in her soft little hand and given it a gentle squeeze. Gods, she was lovely!

  “Lilliana, you mustn’t treat a bodyslave too gently,” Lady Mirabella was scolding behind her. “You can’t let pity get in the way of discipline.”

  “Yes, Mother,” Lilli murmured, but her eyes were still locked with Karn’s.

  He got to his knees and took both her hands in his.

  “Little Mistress,” he murmured and bent to press a kiss to each of her soft, sweet little palms.

  “Oh…” Lilli’s brown eyes got even wider. “What…what is your name?” she asked.

  “I am Karn,” Karn told her. “And I will serve you, body and soul, if only you will make me yours.”

  “That’s enough of that!” Lady Mirabella snapped. “Get him back up onto the display pedestal, Tikka—I want to inspect him.”

  “Of course. Get up!” Mistress Tikka pointed the remote at him menacingly. “Don’t make me shock you again, Kindred.”

  Karn climbed back onto the display pedestal at once, though he would rather have stayed down on the ground and talked more to the lovely little Lilli. Still, he would have plenty of time to talk to her if he could pull off this sale. Which was the important thing, he reminded himself—not the fact that he felt strangely drawn to the curvy female.

  “Now look, Lilli,” her mother instructed when Karn was back in position. “You must examine a male from every angle when choosing a bodyslave. Remember, this choice will reflect on you and me and our entire house!”

  “Yes, Mother,” Lilli murmured, looking up at Karn.

  He caught her eyes again and winked gravely, making her giggle. When Mistress Mirabella turned to give her a reproving look, she hid her smile with her hand and turned it into a cough.

  “Yes, yes…very nice. Excellent lines. Very good form.” Lady Mirabella circled the pedestal, nodding as she took in Karn from all angles. He thought that he had never felt so much like a piece of meat in his life, but the fact that Lilli was looking up at him with wide-eyed wonder instead of the jaded eyes of a long-time bodyslave owner made a difference.

  He had been prepared to endure being “owned” as part of this assignment. Now he thought he might actually enjoy it—or at least, enjoy being close to Lilli. If, that was, he could get her mother to buy him.

  “I like what I see,” Mistress Mirabella announced at last, after she had circled him three times. “But I want to know about his temperament. How long has he been a bodyslave? It’s well known that Kindred make excellent bodyslaves if they’re captured young enough.”

  “Oh, he was captured as a child and raised to it,” Mistress Tikka said quickly. “So he’s very docile—unless, of course, your daughter was threatened in which case he can be very protective,” she added.

  “I see. That’s good—very good.” Mistress Mirabella nodded, as though this ticked another box on her invisible bodyslave checklist. “He’s a fine specimen,” she added. “There’s just one more thing—I need to see his shaft erect. For display purposes only, of course.”

  This was something Karn had been dreading. He didn’t mind being put on display—even naked. But he disliked the idea of a female he didn’t know or care for handling his shaft. Still, there was nothing to do but grit his teeth and bear it.

  Clenching his fists behind his back, he widened his stance and waited as Mistress Mirabella took a firm grasp of his shaft. Her hand was cold as ice and bony as a skeleton’s claw.

  His shaft absolutely refused to respond to it.

  Doggedly, Mistress Mirabella kept trying. But no matter how much she rubbed and tugged, Karn’s shaft stayed stubbornly limp.

  Damn it! Karn clenched his teeth and willed himself to get hard. He had never had this problem before. But then again, he’d never been handled by a female he didn’t want. This was definitely a complication he hadn’t expected.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Mistress Mirabella demanded at last, dropping his shaft and wiping her hands on a lace handkerchief fastidiously. “Are you trying to sell me a defective bodyslave, Tikka? I won’t have a male in my household that can’t get hard—what would my friends say if they saw such a thing?”

  “Mother, can…could I try?” Lilli asked while Mistress Tikka sputtered out an explanation about how this usually wasn’t a problem. “I think maybe…maybe he might react for me?”

  “An inexperienced girl like yourself? Why, you’ve never touched a shaft in your life!” Mistress Mirabella gave a snort, as though this was a stupid idea.

  “Please?” Lilli begged. “I think I can do it.”

  Mistress Mirabella shrugged.

  “Well, he is supposed to be your bodyslave—if we buy him,” she remarked. “So I suppose you ought to learn how to care for him. Go on, Lilli—give him a try. But mind you, if he won’t rise for your touch, we’ll have to find another. We can’t have a male we can’t display when we go out.”

  “Yes, Mother,” Lilli murmured, but her eyes were on Karn’s again. “Can I?” she asked him, reaching one small hand towards his shaft.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t ask a bodyslave if you can touch him, Lilliana—you just touch him!” Mistress Mirabella exclaimed.

  But Lilli’s small hand hovered in place and didn’t move until Karn gave her a slight nod.

  Slowly, tentatively, she stroked her fingers lightly down his length. It was a soft, ticklish touch, but Karn felt it like flames licking over his skin.

  At once, blood began to rush to his shaft and he felt himself begin to harden. He had a moment of relief—when Mistress Mirabella had been yanking on him, he’d wondered for a moment if his equipment was broken. The relief was followed by a burst of pure lust as Lilli’s soft little hand came back to stroke him again, more fully this time.

  “Oh,” she whispered. “He’s so big.”

  “A very good length and girth.” Mistress Mirabella admitted grudgingly. “Another Kindred trait, of course.”

  “What’s that, though?” Lilli asked.

  Looking down, Karn saw she was pointing at his mating fist—the thick swelling that went all around the base of his shaft. It was from his Beast Kindred side, as the fangs were from the Blood
Kindred part of his family.

  “My mating fist, Little Mistress,” he said, answering her question since Mistress Tikka clearly had no idea. “It proclaims the Beast Kindred part of my heritage as my fangs proclaim the Blood Kindred part.”

  Lady Mirabella frowned.

  “It’s most unsightly! And you never told me he was a half-breed, Tikka.”

  “No, it’s not!” Lilli objected, frowning at her mother. “It’s part of him, Mother. And I don’t care if he’s a half-breed—I want him!”

  “Those eyes, though…” Mistress Mirabella shook her head. “One blue and one gold? So strange…”

  “I like his eyes,” Lilli insisted. “I think they’re beautiful.”

  “Well…he’s going to be your responsibility,” her mother warned. “You’ll have to bathe him and train him and see that he’s fed. And if your friends laugh at his unusual physique, it will be too late to take him back.”

  “I don’t care what any of them think.” Lilli frowned. “They’re not really my friends—they’re just the daughters of your friends, Mother. I never met any of them before last week when you brought me home from the convent.”

  “Well…” Mistress Mirabella sighed. “Just as you please, I suppose,” she said. She looked at Mistress Tikka. “How much? We’ll take him.”

  Three

  Lilli wished she could ride in the back of the ship with her new bodyslave but her mother had said that was “inappropriate” so she had to be content to sit in the front and just catch glimpses of him in the rear-viewer.

  Every time the big Kindred caught her watching him, he looked right back at her with an unwavering gaze. Lilli tried to hold his eyes with her own, but she found she couldn’t meet the intensity of his gaze for long and had to look away.

  Deep down, she knew this wasn’t proper. A bodyslave wasn’t supposed to look a Mistress in the face. A well-trained one would look down at the ground when addressing a superior female and never, ever look her in the eyes. But Lilli found she liked the boldness of his stare and the way he dared to look at her right in the face. It was like a secret between them—a naughty little mystery that only she could solve.

  When her Mother—who normally only visited her at the convent where she had been raised once a month—had come and told Lilli it was time for her to come home to Yonnie Six, she had been worried. And when Lady Mirabella further informed her daughter that she would also be getting her first bodyslave, she was terrified.

  But she didn’t feel terrified now, she thought, catching the big Kindred’s mismatched eyes in the rear-viewer once more and then looking quickly away. She felt…intrigued. Interested…curious. Excited, even. Though why she should feel all these positive emotions when she had just purchased the most enormous male she’d ever seen, Lilli didn’t know.

  Shouldn’t she be frightened of him? Oh, certainly he had a pain collar on. She stroked the small, finger-sized remote carefully, being very certain not to press the big red pain button at its center. The pain collar should keep her safe. Only somehow, she had the strong feeling she didn’t need to be kept safe from the big Kindred. As huge and as scary-looking as he could be when he was snarling or posing, as he had on the platform, he didn’t seem like he would hurt her.

  You think that now, Lilli, whispered a little voice in her head. But what will you think when you have him alone and it’s just the two of you. You know what Mother said—you’re to be responsible for him. And you know she expects you to jump right in and not be shy or “shilly-shally” as she calls it when you drag your feet. You’ll have to at least pretend you know what you’re doing—especially when Mother’s friends and their daughters come over.

  Which unfortunately, was going to be tonight—which was one reason Mother had been in such a hurry to buy her a bodyslave.

  “We’ll be hosting some of the most important women in all of Opulex,” she’d lectured when Lilli had protested that she didn’t need a bodyslave just yet and would rather not have one. “You must be on your best behavior and you must have a bodyslave. What will our guests think if you don’t?”

  Mother herself had five bodyslaves—she’d had six but then she had sent poor Ragnor to work the mines, just because he’d been unable to make his shaft hard before a dinner party one night. Lilli had cried when she’d heard that. Ragnor had always been sweet to her when her mother made her monthly visits to the convent. He used to play dolls with her, even though he was a huge, hulking male, almost—but not quite—as big as her new Kindred.

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as big as him—as big as Karn, Lilli thought, glancing at him in the rear-viewer again. This time he winked at her and she found herself blushing as she hastily looked away. Then she berated herself—this would never do—she must not be seen blushing around her own bodyslave. Her mother would be scandalized, especially if it happened out in public or when they had company.

  “…are you going to wear tonight?” Lady Mirabella’s strident voice disrupted Lilli’s thoughts.

  “What?” She looked up at her mother quickly, putting her hands to her cheeks instinctively to hide the blush. Her face felt hot under her hands and she hoped her mother wouldn’t notice.

  “Honestly, Lilliana—where are you tonight? I’ve already asked you twice—what are you going to wear at our little reception tonight?” Lady Mirabella repeated impatiently. “I think your new gauzy green outfit would look lovely.”

  Lilli bit her lip. The “green outfit” was sheer up top and showed her nipples. Of course, dressing to accentuate your sexual assets was a Yonnite tradition and she knew she ought to get used to it. But back at the convent, she’d never worn anything see-through or low-cut or remotely suggestive. She wondered if she would ever get used to dressing as she had to for life in Yonnite society.

  She had little choice, of course. Now that Mother was a member of the Sacred Seven, there were an endless number of balls and soirees and receptions where she had to be dressed up. So as uncomfortable as it made her feel, she still had to wear the outfits she was given.

  “I guess…guess the green will be all right,” she said tentatively.

  Mistress Mirabella snorted impatiently.

  “All right? All right? Lilli, you’ve got to look better than all right! This dinner is to honor you—your coming of age and formally becoming my heir. Several other members of the Sacred Seven will be there—as will your friends—their daughters.”

  Lilli thought again about pointing out how those girls were not her friends. All of them had been raised in Opulex, instead of being sent off to a convent to be raised. They were used to the opulent Yonnite lifestyle which included a devotion to fashion and a constant desire to one-up all your friends and enemies.

  The meaning in such a life eluded Lilli, who had been raised to view simplicity, frugality, and modesty as the greatest good by the Sisters of Chastity and Honor.

  She honestly didn’t understand wanting to always be better than everyone else—to have the biggest buildings, the most credit, the most expensive clothes, the most ostentatious jewels, and the most impressive bodyslave. What was the point of all that, anyway? Material things didn’t make you happy—having inner peace did.

  But of course, she couldn’t say such things to her mother. Lady Mirabella would be shocked and horrified to hear such thoughts. She had been born into opulent wealth and had amassed still more of it as she grew older. Influence and power ran in her blood and she would be very upset if she thought they didn’t run in Lilli’s blood as well.

  In fact, she might well disown me, Lilli thought grimly. After all, she didn’t care enough to raise me herself. She always said she was too busy to have a child underfoot and that’s why she paid the Sisters to raise me instead.

  She would have to do a credible job of acting like her mother’s daughter tonight at the banquet, she told herself. Her mother wasn’t one to suffer fools gladly and she would be unmerciful if Lilli embarrassed her.

  I’ll do my be
st, Lilli thought. Having such a big, impressive bodyslave should help.

  She caught the Kindred’s eyes once more and held them for as long as she could before dropping her own. How could he stare at her so steadily like that? And why did it make her heart pound when he did?

  Lilli didn’t have any answers. She only knew that her new bodyslave was something different—something special. She hoped he would help her make a good showing tonight.

  But first, of course, she would have to get him ready.

  Four

  “Give him a good washing,” Lady Mirabella directed sternly when she and Lilli and the big Kindred slave were all standing in the entryway to Lilli’s rooms. “Scrub him from top to bottom, Lilliana. You must get the stink of that market off him before our little soiree tonight.”

  Actually, Lilli didn’t think the big Kindred stunk at all. To her, he smelled good—a warm, spicy, masculine scent that seemed to awaken her senses and make her want to get closer to him. But she couldn’t say that to her Mother—Lady Mirabella expected her to wash her new bodyslave and so wash him she must. But there was one question on her mind.

  “Must…must I wash him everywhere, Mother?” she asked, her eyes flicking down to his massive shaft. It was no longer hard, as it had been after she touched it at the slave market. But it was still immensely long and thick and rather intimidating, Lilli thought.

  “You mean his shaft?” Lady Mirabella snorted. “Why should that bother you? You seemed eager enough to handle it back at the market.”

  Lilli felt her cheeks get hot.

  “I…I was just curious, that’s all,” she said in a low voice. “But I never thought…I mean…couldn’t he wash that part himself?”

  “Look, Lilliana…” Her mother gave Lilli a stern frown. “Until you have a new bodyslave trained to your liking, you must handle him often. He has to get used to your hands on his body—he must submit to your touch without any kind of hesitation or flinching. Did you see the way he twitched away from me when I touched his shaft?”