“Sell one of my documents?” Lady Pope’nose sounded aghast.
“Why not?” Lissa asked. “I know it’s not usually done but Lady Hake’bean sold it to you.”
“Snyra Hake’bean is an ignorant child who is selling off her mother’s valuable collection as fast as she can to feed her ridiculously indulgent lifestyle. I am not Snyra Hake’bean!” Lady Pope’nose exclaimed.
“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Lissa took a deep breath. “Please try to understand—my people are under attack. We need this scroll—not for any kind of sensi-play or collectable value but because it may be the key to keeping us from being destroyed by the Hoard.”
“The Hoard?” Lady Sha’rak frowned. “I thought they were killed off a thousand years ago—by the Kindred.”
“They were driven underground but they’re back now and more of a threat than ever,” Saber growled.
“And why should I care what kind of threat your people are under?” Lady Pope’nose snapped.
“You ought to care because the Hoard won’t just stop with us.” Lissa leaned forward, as far as the brawny arms of the slave that was holding her would allow. “They could come for you next! Our Council has reason to believe that the Hoard has worm hole generating abilities now. They may be light years away but they can be on your doorstep tomorrow if my people can’t hold them back.”
“Lissa speaks the truth,” Saber said, adding his voice to hers. “If you’ve really read any of these old documents you’ve been collecting you’d know that once the Hoard lands they strip a planet bare—why do you think they’re called The Darkness which Eats the Stars?”
“Your scare tactics won’t work on me,” Lady Pope’nose sneered.
“Well then, let me offer you something besides fear,” Lissa said, sounding desperate. “Look at the mirror-mere dagger I carry on my belt. It’s solid and genuine and worth more than your entire collection put together. You can have it—just trade me the document I need, then Saber and I will be on our way.”
“Absolutely not! The dagger is mine!” Lady Sha’rak snapped, jumping into the conversation.
“What?” Lissa looked at her blankly. “It’s not yours—I brought it with me.”
“Under the hospitality laws of Opulex I have the right to ask for any one item from you as a hostess gift.” Lady Sha’rak eyed the dagger greedily. “And I’ve had my eye on that from the moment I first saw you, my dear.”
“No wonder you were so eager to have us stay with you,” Saber growled. “And you pretended you thought Lissa was a distant relation.”
“Well, the two of you pretended to be persons of quality from Zetta Prime,” Lady Sha’rak shot back. “After all the time and trouble I’ve spent on you, I deserve that dagger. I earned it.”
“Manda, do stop yammering—you can have the dagger,” Lady Pope’nose said, sounding irritated.
“What?” Lady Sha’rak looked at her uncertainly.
“I said, you can have the dagger,” Lady Pope’nose repeated. “I want something else.” Her pale eyes gleamed as she looked between the bars of the cage, eyeing Saber as though he was a prime cut of meat. “I want the slave.”
“No! Absolutely not!” Somehow Lissa tore free of the burly slave who was holding her and ran to stand in front of Saber. She put herself between him and Lady Pope’nose and glared fiercely at the other woman. “You can’t have him!”
Saber felt sick but he had sworn to see this mission through to the end.
“Lissa,” he said softly, reaching through the bars to stroke her hair.
“No!” She shook off his touch and turned to face him. “Forgive me, Saber, but I can’t—I just can’t let her have you. Not even to save everyone we know and love. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, true love…” Lady Pope’nose laughed nastily. “Very well, my dear—it’s too much trouble to break a free-born slave anyway. They’re always so exhausting.”
“Then…you’ll take the dagger after all?” Lissa asked uncertainly.
“No, of course not. The dagger goes to Manda.” Lady Pope’nose gave them an evil grin. “What I want is something completely different.”
“Well…what?” Lissa asked, looking worried.
Lady Pope’nose’s eyes gleamed. “Why, I simply want to see your male’s domination at your hands. I want to watch as you punish him properly for the first time.”
Lissa went positively pale and Saber felt his heart clench in his chest.
“You mean…?”
“Yes.” Lady Pope’nose nodded. “I want to watch you give him the rod.”
* * * * *
“I can’t do this. I can’t do this to him.” Lissa paced back and forth in the private punishment area, which was actually a small, plush bedroom stocked with every conceivable sexual torture and punishment device imaginable. Paddles hung from pegs on the walls, whips and riding crops decorated the dresser. Gags and restraints of every kind spilled out of drawers.
And then there were the rods. Lady Pope’nose had already spent a good half hour with her picking out just the right one and they were still looking.
“You must do it,” she said coldly, giving Lissa a disdainful look. “Those are the terms of our agreement. You will dominate your lover—that is, fuck him to completion while Lady Sha’rak and I watch from another room on the viewing device above the bed. Then and only then will I give you the scroll you so desperately need and let you be on your way. And remember,” She held up the rod she apparently wanted Lissa to use. “You must make him submit completely—and by that, I mean I want to see him come.”
“How can I possibly promise that?” Lissa looked at the selection of harnesses in dismay. “I can’t make him—”
“Oh, yes you can!” Lady Pope’nose gestured with the thick black rod with a bulbous end and flipped on a small switch at its base. “Prostate stimulation,” she explained while Lissa stared at the massive, vibrating monstrosity in horror. “This one has a vibe implanted that will hit him at just the right angle. He’ll come harder than he ever has in his life. And if that doesn’t do the trick, there’s always manual stimulation.”
“I don’t care what our agreement says, I’m not using that on him.” Lissa crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s too big! Saber’s never done anything like this before any more than I have—I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Very well.” Lady Pope’nose made an irritated gesture. “I do have a smaller one. And after all, pain isn’t the object of this little exercise—pleasure is.”
“I don’t understand.” Lissa shook her head. “I mean, I know why you want to make me dominate him. But why do you want me to make him…to make him come?”
Lady Pope’nose’s pale eyes gleamed. “Why because, my dear. In my experience—and believe me, I have had plenty in my day—nothing strips a male of his dignity like forcing his pleasure.” She leaned closer to Lissa. “You think he loves you with all his heart? Wait until you take his male pride and shred it to bits by forcing him to come for you. We’ll see how well your precious equality works when he’s the one being penetrated instead of the other way around.”
“Stop it!” Lissa almost shouted. She put a hand over her eyes and had to breathe deeply before she could go on. “Just don’t…don’t say things like that. Saber loves me and he always will, no matter what you make us do to each other.”
“Very well. Think whatever you like.” Lady Pope’nose smiled coolly. “Now then, I believe we were looking for a smaller rod? I do have one whose size you might prefer but it’s the same kind Lady Hake’bean was wearing the other night.”
“The same kind? You mean…”
“Yes.” Lady Pope’nose pulled out a much smaller rod—a slender silver, double ended one. She raised an eyebrow at Lissa. “I hope you’re a fan of deep penetration, my dear.”
“Oh my,” Lissa whispered faintly.
“This end fits inside you.” Lady Pope’nose gestured to one end of the rod. “Every time you t
hrust into your slave—excuse me, your lover—you’ll receive an answering thrust as well—most pleasurable. And it has a vibe for both of you—why, you might even come at the same time.”
“I don’t want to…to come while I do this to him!” Lissa exclaimed. “That would be sick! Like I was enjoying his humiliation.”
“So you prefer the other rod?” Lady Pope’nose held up the massive black shaft again and wiggled it tauntingly. “It won’t give you nearly as much stimulation—although I’m afraid it might give your poor Saber rather a lot.”
“No.” Lissa swallowed hard. She couldn’t use that huge thing on Saber. It would have to be the silver rod. “No, I guess…guess I’ll take the other one,” she said at last.
“A wise choice.” Lady Pope’nose looked at the slender silver rod thoughtfully. “You know, I actually bought this one for when I was rewarding my slaves instead of punishing them. But as none of them ever seems to deserve a reward, I’ve never had a chance to use it.” She smiled cruelly at Lissa. “I hope you enjoy taking it on its maiden voyage.”
“You know I won’t.” Lissa felt like her heart was made of lead. “Why are you doing this?” she asked. “We’ve never done anything to you. Saber probably saved your life last night when he killed the Beast before he could go after anyone else. Please…” She put all the pleading she could into her voice. “Please, just let us read through the scroll. You don’t even have to give it to us—just let us make a copy and take it home.”
“I think not, my dear.” Lady Pope’nose looked down her boney nose at Lissa. “I might have considered such a scenario had you not been so high and mighty at dinner. But after hearing you rant and rave about how you would never ‘rape’ the man you love, I can hardly give up the chance of seeing you do exactly that, now can I?”
“I was wrong,” Lissa said humbly. “Wrong to speak to you in such a disrespectful manner. If you would only—”
“Yes, you were. Very wrong indeed,” Lady Pope’nose said briskly. “And now you’re going to pay the price. Later on, when this is all over and your precious lover can’t even look you in the eye because his pride is broken at your feet, just remember, my dear, you brought this pain and humiliation down on yourself.”
Lissa’s throat was tight with tears. “Please,” she choked out. “Please, don’t make me do this.”
“Oh, I’m not making you do anything. If you like, you and that Saber creature of yours can leave right now.” Lady Pope’nose gave her an evil smile. “Of course you’ll be going without the document you so desperately need but that’s neither here nor there to me.” She held out the silver rod to Lissa. “Now do you want to take this and should I have your lover shown into the room? Or do you wish to leave?”
With a shaking hand, Lissa took the rod. “Send him in,” she whispered and then sank down on the bed, her legs too weak to stand.
“Very well,” Lady Pope’nose sneered. “And a final word of advice, my dear—don’t forget to use plenty of lubricant. You’ll find it on the bedside table. Males almost always need it—especially when they’re virgins. Which your dear Saber won’t be for long.”
And with a very unpleasant laugh, she left, closing the door behind her.
Oh Goddess, please…what am I going to do? I can’t do this to Saber—I can’t! Lissa thought helplessly. But if she didn’t, the entire Kindred race might die. They might be dying even now as she sat here on the bed, racked with indecision and guilt. She could either debase the man she loved, probably ruining their relationship forever…or stand idly by doing nothing during the genocide of her people. It was a horrible choice…
“It’s no choice at all.” Saber’s deep voice in her ear made Lissa jerk her head up.
“I…” She licked her lips, which were suddenly much too dry. “Did I say that aloud?”
“Enough for me to understand what you’re thinking.” Saber sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Lissa, we’re going to have to do this. You know it’s true.”
“I don’t know any such thing.” Lissa pushed his arm away and stood up on shaky legs. “I can’t do this to you, Saber. I can’t.”
“Listen to me.” He rose and put his hands on her shoulders. “It’s going to be all right.”
“No, it won’t!” she said wildly. “I can’t treat you like Lady Hake’bean treated the Beast.”
“That was different,” Saber objected. “She was humiliating him in front of an audience.”
“We have an audience.” Lissa pointed to the small black dot above their heads—the viewing device. “Lady Pope’nose and Lady Sha’rak are going to be watching our every move.”
“Then we’ll put on a show,” Saber said calmly. “We’ll do anything necessary to appease them and get the scroll.”
“You don’t understand,” Lissa whispered. “She said…she wants me to make…to make you come. With…with the rod. Just the way Lady Hake’bean forced the Beast to come.” She shivered, remembering the disgust and pity in Saber’s eyes as they had watched the awful show the night before. He had spoken of how the Beast’s pride would never recover—how would his own pride handle the same treatment? Lissa didn’t want to find out.
Saber took a deep breath. “Well…then I guess I’ll come. Come on, amalla…” He stroked her cheek, which was wet with tears. “Why are we making such a big deal out of this?”
“How can you ask me that?” Lissa whispered, looking up at him. “You know why.”
“Think of it this way—what if the situation was reversed? What if Lady Pope’nose demanded that I penetrate you? What if she wanted to watch while I gave you the Deep Touch—what would you do then?”
“I’d open myself to you, of course,” Lissa said, swiping at her eyes. “I wouldn’t like it that we had an audience but as long as it was you who was giving me the Deep Touch, I’d be all right.”
Saber smiled gently. “That’s exactly how I feel right now. As long as you’re going to be the one doing it to me, I’m all right with being…” He cleared his throat. “With being penetrated.”
“I don’t see how you can be,” Lissa whispered in a trembling voice. “No matter what you say, I don’t see how you can really be all right with me…with me raping you.” The word wanted to stick in her throat but she forced it out anyway.
“Lissa, no.” Saber shook his head and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “It’s not going to be rape,” he told her firmly. “Because we won’t let it be.”
“But then what—?”
“It’s going to be about submission.” Saber took a deep breath. “My submission to you, amalla.”
“But this is different from kissing my foot or helping me dress or feeding me during mealtimes,” Lissa protested. “I’ll be invading you…forcing you…”
“You can’t force the willing.” He drew her close and kissed her gently on the forehead. “It’s all right, Lissa. Everything is going to be all right.”
“Yes, yes, everything is going to be just wonderful,” Lady Pope’nose’s nasal voice came from a speaker high in the corner of the ceiling. “If the two of you will ever just get on with it. You’d better get started directly or I’m going to withdraw my offer and kick you out of my home with nothing!”
The speaker crackled and then everything was silent again. Lissa looked at Saber. Though her heart was aching, she knew that she really had no choice.
“All right,” she whispered. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Saber felt strangely calm about what was about to happen, maybe because it didn’t seem real. Was he really going to open himself this way, to allow his body to be penetrated, to be fucked in a way he had never even considered before?
It seemed he was.
It’ll be all right, he told himself over and over even as he told Lissa the same thing. We love each other. We can get through this—we have to if we’re ever going to get that damn scroll. And Saber was determined they would get it—no mat
ter what it took.
Lissa was obliviously having a much harder time with what they were about to do than he was. Though he tried to reassure her, she still obviously felt awful about it. Not to mention the fact that she was scared to death. And when she showed him the rod she was supposed to use on him, Saber understood why.
“Damn it, what in the seven hells is this?” he demanded, looking at the slender silver rod. He could feel some of his passiveness melting as he considered its shape.
“I’m sorry,” Lissa whispered. “I…I picked the smallest one she had. I thought…”
“But this goes inside you,” Saber protested, gesturing with the rod. “Inside both of us, I mean.”
Lissa bit her lip. “I know. I didn’t want to use one like that. I’ve never…you know I’ve never had anything inside me. Except for when you massaged me and…and tasted me.” She blushed bright pink when she said it and Saber felt his heart clench.
“I know, amalla,” he murmured, brushing her hot cheek with his knuckles. “That’s what upsets me. I know you’re a virgin and, well, I wanted to be the first one inside you. I wanted to break you in gently. Now…”
Lissa made a sound that was half laugh, half sob. “I guess we’ll both be losing our virginity tonight.”
“It’s not the way I thought it would happen,” Saber admitted. “But it does seem that way.” He sighed. “You’re sure this is the best, uh, tool for the job?”
“The other ones she showed me were so much bigger.” Lissa’s eyes widened. “Almost as big as…as you are.”
Saber frowned and shifted uncomfortably. He was all right with this, he told himself—honestly, he was—but he damn sure didn’t want anything near as big as his own shaft penetrating him. “Well…” He sighed. “I guess we’ll have to stick to this one then.”
“I guess so.” Lissa took the silver rod from him and looked at it doubtfully. “I guess…I guess I’d better put it on. Or, uh, in…”