“May I present Lady Trin—my protégé,” Lady Malroth said formally. “I sponsored her because I thought she could benefit from the wonderful effects of staying at Dreaming Hills.” She nodded at the rambling brown and white mansion. “This is her first time celebrating Landra-Rey.”
“Ah, lovely—it’s wonderful to see young people interested in the celebration.” Lady Tam-tam smiled encouragingly at Trin. “It’s considered outmoded in Opulex now but we do love our traditions here at Dreaming Hills.”
“I’m very gratified to be here, my lady.” Trin inclined her head.
“And who, may I ask is this?” Lady Tam-tam nodded at Thrace who had been standing silently behind Trin with his head bowed.
Suddenly Trin remembered that she was supposed to be playing the harsh mistress and treating him horribly.
“This worthless male is my body slave,” she said, making her voice icy with distain. “On your knees, Thrace! Make your obeisance before the Lady Tam-tam.”
At once Thrace fell to his knees before the old lady.
“My lady,” he murmured, his head bowed low.
“Lower!” Trin demanded, nudging him with her foot. “The Lady Tam-tam demands your greatest respect!”
“Oh, no, no, no!” Lady Tam-tam looked positively aghast as Thrace crouched even lower. “What are you doing to this poor male?”
“I’m…treating him like the slave he is,” Trin said uncertainly. Behind Lady Tam-tam’s back she could see Lady Malroth making wide gestures with her hands and shaking her head but she had no idea what the other woman wanted her to do.
“And what’s this—a pain collar around his throat?” Lady Tam-tam glared at the black leather and silver spiked collar. She looked up at Trin, her mild blue eyes flashing. “How can you use such an inhuman device? Do you not know what the Landra-Rey Celebration is all about?”
“Well, I…” Trin faltered.
“It’s about the love bond between a slave and a mistress. He ought to serve you out of adoration and devotion—not because you’ll shock him silly if he doesn’t make the proper obeisance!” She looked angrily at Lady Malroth. “How could you bring such a cold hearted girl to my house? Clearly she understands nothing about Landra-Rey! Here at Dreaming Hills, we have only loving couples in attendance—it’s not like the rest of that horrid Yonnie Six high society and I won’t have anyone here that doesn’t understand that.”
Lady Malroth looked mortified.
“Lady Tam-tam, I assure you—” she began.
“No!” the older mistress exclaimed. “I want none of your assurances! You and this awful girl can leave—at once!”
Trin’s heart sank. How could things have gone bad so quickly? They’d barely gotten here and already they were being thrown out—along with the outraged Lady Malroth! She would never agree to buy the crystals now and what’s more, she was influential enough that she could probably ensure no other mistress of Yonnie Six would ever deal with Trin again either. Slowly, she began to back away from the angry older woman.
“I…I’m sorry,” she said as Lady Malroth glared daggers at her. “I never meant to offend.”
“Well, you did. So just go,” Lady Tam-tam snapped.
She was in the act of turning to storm off in a huff when Thrace rose from his crouch at Trin’s feet and turned to her.
“Mistress,” he rumbled, pulling Trin into his arms. “At last a place where we need not hide our love.”
Then he kissed her. A long, slow, passionate kiss that took Trin’s breath away. She opened her mouth to gasp and Thrace was there, his tongue teasing its way inside as he licked her gently…as though he was desperate to taste her.
At first Trin tried to push him away instinctively but he held her close against his broad chest. After a moment, to her intense surprise, she found she was kissing him back.
She’d never kissed a male before and this was very different from the few kisses she’d traded with females. There was no sticky gloss or lipstick to contend with for one thing. Thrace’s mouth was firm and demanding but gentle at the same time. And the way he was running his big, warm hands over her back made her shiver and want to press closer for some reason.
Somehow Trin’s arms drifted up to rest around his neck as she leaned into his big body. Once again she felt surrounded by him—overpowered and out of control in a way that made her heart pound and her breath come short.
Goddess, what was happening to her? How was he doing this to her and why couldn’t she make it stop? Why didn’t she want it to stop?
Then, from behind her, she heard Lady Malroth clearing her throat pointedly. Trin’s eyes, which had drifted shut, flew open.
Lady Malroth! Oh my Goddess! Can’t believe we’re doing this in public! Forget that—Trin couldn’t believe they were doing this at all.
“Thrace!” she gasped, managing to break the kiss and push back from him at last. “No, we can’t—”
“Oh, yes you can, my dear.” Lady Tam-tam’s faded blue eyes were shining as she held out a hand to Trin. “You absolutely can here at Dreaming Hills—that’s what this place is all about. It’s one reason I built it so far from that horrid capital city, Opulex.”
Trin took her hand uncertainly.
“You…built your house so that males and females could have…relationships here?”
“I did.” Lady Tam-tam squeezed her hand tightly. “My body-slave, Nales and I were deeply in love but no one would accept us in Yonnie high society.” She lifted her chin. “So I moved out here and since I am richer than the Goddess herself, I made my own society. Which only mistresses and slaves who truly love each other are welcome to join.”
“Well, that’s…beautiful,” Trin said uncertainly.
“It certainly is,” Lady Malroth said, sounding rather sour. She and her own body-slave were holding hands now, probably in deference to the passionate display Trin and Thrace had just put on. But neither of them looked very comfortable doing it. In fact, Lady Malroth appeared to be standing as far from her body-slave as she could while still touching him.
Lady Tam-tam didn’t appear to notice that, however. Her eyes were glued on Trin and Thrace, who still had one long arm possessively around her waist.
“Tell me, my dear,” she said to Thrace. “How long have you loved your mistress?”
“From the moment she bought me, my lady,” Thrace rumbled, bowing his head respectfully. “My Lady Trin saved my life—the slaver who had me was going to kill me with the pain collar. Lady Trin didn’t allow it—she punched the bastard and forced him to stop shocking me. Then she bought me for an exorbitant amount to keep me from falling into the wrong hands.” He looked Trin in the eyes and his voice got softer. “I owe her everything and I am completely devoted to her. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her.” He lifted Trin’s hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss to the back of her knuckles. “Nothing.”
“Oh…” His gentle kiss seemed to burn her but somehow Trin found she couldn’t pull her hand from his and couldn’t look away from him either. She knew the big Havoc was just putting on a show for their hostess but those silvery-blue eyes ringed with black seemed to be staring into her very soul. Goddess, he was a really good actor! She could almost believe he meant what he was saying. Almost.
“Thrace,” she whispered uncertainly, her mouth dry. “I…I…”
“Oh my.” Lady Tam-tam put a hand between her breasts and sighed deeply. “My dears, that is just the most romantic story I have ever heard! Truly, the two of you belong here. In fact, I want you to sit with me at the grand reception tonight.”
“Of course, Lady Tam-tam. It would be our honor,” Trin said. Somehow she pulled her gaze away from Thrace’s at last but he continued holding her hand in his much larger one. “And…will we get to meet your body-slave, Nales?” she asked the older woman.
“Alas, no.” Lady Tam-tam dabbed at her eyes with a scrap of lace she produced from her sleeve. “Poor Nales has been gone these last seven cycles and I d
o miss him so.” She sniffed. “But it does cheer me up a bit to watch sweet young people like you and your own body-slave so devoted to you. Just like Nales was devoted to me.” She smiled at Trin. “I’m so glad you could come!”
“It’s kind of you to have us. And kind of Lady Malroth to sponsor me in the first place,” Trin said, nodding diplomatically to the forgotten Lady Malroth who smiled back sourly.
“Yes, yes, of course.” Lady Tam-tam waved one hand dismissively. “Now why don’t the two of you come with me? I have a special room for the both of you—a dreaming room and you know there are only five in the entire house so they’re very in demand. In fact, this one was going to go to Lady Malroth but I’m sure she won’t mind—will you my dear?”
Lady Malroth’s face had been twisted into a disagreeable mask of irritation but she did her best to smooth it out and put on a fake smile.
“No, of course not, Lady Tam-tam. Nothing’s too good for my little protégé.”
“Excellent! Well, come on then!” She took Trin affectionately by the arm. “And we’ll find a different collar for your love-slave as well—that’s what I like to call a slave who loves his mistress and is truly devoted to her,” she explained. “We’ll get him one with no pain nodes in it. He is still your slave and it is well to symbolize that—but we must never forget that he serves you from adoration, not fear of pain. Yes?”
“Yes, of course,” Trin murmured. “I never wanted to put the collar back on him to start with,” she said, truthfully. “But I thought I had no choice. I…we had no idea…”
“No idea what a sanctuary you have here for slaves who love their mistresses,” Thrace supplied smoothly.
“What a lovely way to put it,” Lady Tam-tam said, smiling. “A sanctuary. I like that. Yes, I like that very much.”
She pulled Trin and Thrace, who was still holding her hand, towards the house. But as they went, Trin looked back at Lady Malroth. The other mistress scarcely looked happier than when Lady Tam-tam had been about to kick them off her estate. And to top it off, they had taken her room and it appeared that they were stuck at Dreaming Hills at least for tonight.
Goddess, what had they gotten themselves into and how long would it take to get out of it?
* * * * *
“Well, here we are—dreaming suite three—just perfect for the two of you.” Lady Tam-tam smiled broadly as she ushered Trin and Thrace across the threshold of an opulently decorated room. It was a vast space with a sitting-room area at one end and a huge sleeping platform on a raised dais at the other. There was a viewscreen on the wall across from the bed, Thrace noted. It seemed like an odd place to put an expensive communication device but it might come in handy for searches or talking to The Alacrity if they had to.
The sleeping platform had four towering carved golden posts at each corner which supported a massive blue and gold canopy overhead. It was high and wide with a thick mattress—plenty big enough for two which was good considering Lady Tam-tam’s next statement.
“I don’t believe in making a loving and devoted slave sleep on the floor or in a hideaway slave bed. Here at Dreaming Hills, your love-slave is welcome to share your bed…in any way you choose.” She gave Trin a meaningful look.
Trin’s dark eyes grew wide.
“Lady Tam-tam, surely…you don’t mean…”
“Oh, my dear—I didn’t mean you should let him penetrate you or anything like that,” Lady Tam-tam said, obviously seeing her embarrassment. “I mean, there are limits—he is still a slave and a male. Of course…” Her eyes gleamed. “If you want to penetrate him, well, that’s different. In fact, later on in the celebration we’ll have a night devoted specifically to the beauty of male submission.”
“You will?” Trin swallowed hard and Thrace tried to keep from wincing. He hoped like hell they were long gone before that particular night came around. He didn’t mind being Trin’s slave and serving her in any capacity but there were limits to what he was able to endure.
“We will,” Lady Tam-tam said. “But I just want you to feel free to explore each other here in a loving way and know that no one will judge you for it.” She winked at both of them broadly and smiled.
“Of…of course.” Trin appeared to have trouble getting the words out but Thrace was very interested indeed. It seemed that body-slaves had a proscribed role here at Dreaming Hills but it was considerably looser than elsewhere on Yonnie Six. He would have to learn the exact parameters of his new boundaries in order to get this right.
Finally, after many hints and nods, Lady Tam-tam left them alone. Trin sank down on the edge of the vast sleeping platform and gave a deep, relieved sigh.
“Whew! That was crazy.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Thrace came to stand before her. “Lady Tam-tam seems damn taken with you though, Mistress.”
“That’s thanks to you,” Trin remarked. “You really saved us back there! That kiss was…quick thinking.” She looked down at her hands. “Not that I think you ought to repeat it.”
“Why not, Mistress?” Thrace said softly. “Was it too intense for you?”
“Of course not.” Trin lifted her chin though he could see that her cheeks were flushed. “It’s just…not—”
“Not right? Not proper?” Thrace finished for her. “I have news for you, Trin, we’re probably going to have to do some other ‘improper’ things while we’re here. You know what Yonnite society is like—I’ve only researched it but you’ve lived it—at least to an extent. You know what they expect.”
“I think we’ve already seen that the expectations are different here,” Trin argued. “Look at what just happened—on most of Yonnie Six the idea of a male slave kissing his mistress on the mouth would have been a flogging or pain collar offense. It was damn risky of you to even try it.”
Thrace shrugged.
“No guts, no glory. I thought it was worth the risk since we were getting kicked out anyway.”
Also, he’d wanted to do it—wanted to taste her sweet lips. The kiss they’d shared down on the gemstone path was burned into his mind and he couldn’t help wanting more. And he had a feeling that Trin might too—even if she wouldn’t admit it. The way she’d melted in his arms hadn’t been just an act—he could damn well tell by how hot her scent got. But this wasn’t the time to bring any of that up so he simply shrugged again. “Anyway—it worked and we’re in.”
“We’re in,” Trin echoed. “But now what?” She kicked the high-heeled shoes he’d simmed for her. “Whew! It feels so good to get those off!”
“Now we find out exactly what our roles are here and how different it really is from the rest of Yonnie Six,” Thrace murmured. Sinking to his knees before her, he took one of her dainty feet in his hands and began to rub.
“Oh!” Trin tried to pull away. “You don’t have to do that!”
Thrace almost said he wanted to do it—that he wanted to touch her any way he could, which was true. But then he thought better of it.
“Yes, I do,” he said, continuing the foot rub despite her protest. “I have to be the perfect devoted slave, hopelessly enamored of his mistress here. This is part of it.”
“But you don’t have to keep it up while we’re in our private rooms,” Trin protested. She still seemed uneasy about letting him touch her this way, even though he’d held her in his arms most of last night. It occurred to Thrace that she was a very self sufficient female and one who had never really had much intimate physical contact with another person—especially not a male. So getting her used to his touch would take some work on his part.
That was all right—he was willing to put in the effort.
“And how private do you think this room is?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Well the doors are closed and there are shades over all the windows,” she said, indicating the tall, floor to ceiling drapes which were outlined by weak grayish light around the edges.
“But how do you know there aren’t cameras or vid equipment trained on us
right now?” Thrace asked. “Think about it, Trin, Lady Malroth told us that lady Tam-tam is a voyeur. And what about the way she was urging us to explore each other in bed?”
Trin’s cheeks flushed. “That was kind of weird,” she admitted. “You think she might be…watching us?”
“Maybe. What do you think these are?” Thrace indicated four tiny black dots, one at the middle of each bedpost. They were positioned to give a perfect view of whoever was lying there—if they were what he suspected.
“Oh!” Trin looked at them. “Hidden vidcams? Do you think they’re wired for sound?”
Thrace frowned. “I doubt it. The acoustics in this room would be terrible for it. High ceilings, too many echoes. If they wanted sound, they would have put us in a much smaller, more insulated room. No, if I had to bet I’d guess that Lady Tam-tam just likes to watch.”
“You really think so?” Trin asked, wide-eyed.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ll try to find out tonight.” Thrace finished her right foot and reached for the left. He was pleased when she didn’t try to pull away this time. “I’m going to go out while you’re getting dressed and talk to some of the other slaves. Need to get some insight on how we’re supposed to behave here.”
“You’re right—we need to know the exact rules of etiquette for the grand reception tonight,” Trin said thoughtfully. “We don’t want to offend anyone and I have to admit…” She sighed. “I have no idea how to behave toward you. Am I still supposed to treat you as a slave, or are you my equal?”
“Since they’re doing a whole night devoted to the ‘beauty of male submission’ I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to act as your equal,” Thrace said dryly. “But I don’t think you’re supposed to abuse me publicly either.”