Chains of Desire (7 page)

Essentially, she’d been serving a king since she was a young
girl. Her years at the palace had usually been boring but also restrictive.
She’d had a few chores, then nothing to do but be ready when the princess
needed her. Nowhere to go but where the princess wanted to go. She’d never been
allowed to follow her own dreams, her own desires. She’d been told what to do
and when and where.

With a start, Hanna realized that although she’d never been
called one, she’d been a slave all along.

Hanna didn’t see Jarrod again before she left the slave
ship. She didn’t even catch a glimpse of the other Vanyan women as she was led
away by Crock, the guard who’d chained her up on her first day on the ship. He
seemed to take delight in wrapping one end of a heavy chain several times
around her neck. Then he wound the rest of the chain around his fist before
leading her out of the ship.

She squinted as they stepped out of the ship into the bright
sunlight. She paused to look around her, but Crock growled and tugged on the
chain. The hard surface of the landing area was hot on her bare feet.

Dozens of ships were spread out over a huge paved area.
Hundreds of people milled about going to and from the ships. Crock led her out
a guarded gate and toward a group of low buildings not far away. Her heart
thudded so loudly it almost drowned out the din of voices coming from
everywhere.

She felt so exposed, but no one looked twice at her, naked,
being led in chains through the crowded streets. In fact, every woman she saw
was naked, in collars and cuffs. Was every woman a sex slave here on Noria?

Hanna noticed in surprise that none of the women had any
hair covering the woman’s spot between their legs. They had to feel so much
more naked and exposed. Or was that normal on Noria? Some of the slaves walked
behind well-dressed men without a lead of any kind. Some followed on leads of
different lengths and types. None of them had heavy chains coiled around their
necks.

Some of the people they passed had skin as dark as Jarrod’s.
Some as light as hers and many with shades in between. Were they all Norians or
a blend of inhabitants from all the planets she was just now becoming aware of?
Having never seen any people other than Vanyans, she found the differences
fascinating. She had much to learn about the worlds beyond her home planet.

They turned through a gate and into a large courtyard
surrounded by whitewashed buildings. Hanna was led down a winding alley until
suddenly Crock tugged her inside a doorway. They came to a halt inside a cool,
dark room with no windows. The weight of the chains was lifted from around her
neck and Crock left her with a tall, slender woman. She was beautiful and
graceful, with long straight blonde hair, naked except for a smooth silver
collar and silver cuffs at her wrists and ankles. She introduced herself as
Fawn.

“This is the slave station,” Fawn told her, gesturing around
them. Her voice was smooth and rich, almost musical. “Here we will prepare you
for your duties before you meet your Master.”

The slave station! To hear the words out loud made it seem
all the more real. Hanna wished she felt as calm and serene as the lovely woman
sounded. She swallowed her nerves as best she could. “Do you know anything
about the other women who were taken with me?”

Fawn frowned and immediately Hanna felt chastised. “I can’t
answer any questions about them. You should be concerned about nothing else but
your life as a slave. You should only be concerned with how to please your
Master.”

Hadn’t Jarrod told her the same thing?

“King Barrus is anxious for you to begin your duties,” Fawn
told her. “We will prepare your body today as the king has directed.”

“Prepare my body?” That didn’t sound good.

Fawn’s brown eyes warmed. “Nothing to worry about. A bath
and some other rituals first. Then you’ll be fitted with your collar and cuffs.
And whatever other specific orders your Master has given us to make you ready
for him.”

Hanna followed Fawn into a large room in which a deep, round
tub was sunk into the middle of the tiled floor. Colored cushions were
scattered about the floor. While the sea blue tiles looked like they should be
cold, the floor was warm against her bare feet. Fawn motioned for Hanna to walk
down the steps into the water.

Her stomach fluttered with nerves, but she discovered the
warm water was relaxing. She sat on a narrow bench built into the side, the
water up to her shoulders. Hanna looked up to see two more naked women, also
collared and cuffed, had entered the room. The three women got into the tub
with Hanna.

“We are here to ready you for your Master,” a small woman
with dark curly hair said. “I am Starr.” She picked up a bottle from the edge
of the tub and poured some fragrant gel into her hand.

“First we will wash your beautiful hair,” the third woman
said. “I am Treena.” She was as tall as Fawn, with straight hair even darker
than Starr’s. Treena sat down beside Hanna and put her long arm around Hanna’s
shoulder. “Lean back into the water.”

Hanna was a bit uneasy as she leaned back into the warm
water, but lying back in Treena’s arms was very pleasant. Her breasts were
large and soft and Hanna’s cheek brushed against one as Treena supported her in
the water.

Starr sat at her head and lathered her hair. Hanna didn’t
remember anyone ever washing her hair before. It was a delicious sensation. She
closed her eyes and let the warm water envelop her.

Once her hair was rinsed clean, Fawn, who had been watching,
motioned to Hanna to stand up. “We will wash you now.” She picked up a sponge
and poured another sweet-smelling lotion onto it. Treena and Starr did as well.

The three women began together to soap Hanna’s body. The
sponges were soft, the lotion forming creamy suds that were smooth against her
skin. They lathered her entire body, an erotic massage that Hanna couldn’t help
but enjoy. After she’d sank back under the water to wash off the suds, they led
her from the tub and dried her off with soft, warm towels. They combed her hair
and dried it. When they were done, Fawn took her hand and led her to a long low
cushion spread out on the floor.

“Lie down here.”

Hanna did as she was told. “How long will I be here at the
station?” She could get used to this pampering.

“You will be tested as soon as we are finished here. If all
goes well, you will be serving the king tonight.” Fawn turned and walked across
the room.

“Tonight?” Hanna’s heart beat wildly. “I thought I had to go
through some kind of training.” And what was this about a test? She started to
sit up, but Treena gently, silently, pressed her shoulders back down onto the
cushion.

“King Barrus prefers to do his own slave training,” Fawn
said. She returned with a flat-bottomed basket and knelt down beside Hanna’s
thigh.

But Hanna couldn’t relax. “Should I be frightened of my
Master?”

Fawn stroked her thigh. “No. The king expects strict
obedience, but he is not a cruel Master.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I was once the king’s personal slave, so you can rest
assured,” Fawn replied.

“I was also,” Treena said, kneeling at her head. She began
to smooth a rich, fragrant oil on Hanna’s face.

“As was I,” Starr said, kneeling beside her on the opposite
side from Fawn. She placed one of Hanna’s arms on her lap and began to smooth
on the luxurious oil also. “You needn’t fear him.”

“All three of you? I don’t understand. Does he have a whole
group of sex slaves? Do you still belong to him?”

“The king gets bored easily,” Starr replied. “But he uses
his slaves one at a time.”

“He enjoys his personal slave’s body for a while, but then
wants someone new,” Treena added. She’d finished with Hanna’s face and began
smoothing oil on her neck and shoulders.

“For now you are that someone new.” Fawn pushed firmly at
Hanna’s inner thighs.

Hanna let Fawn part her thighs. She was suddenly too relaxed
to resist. “I feel so strange. What’s happening to me?”

“The oil has relaxing properties as it is absorbed into your
skin,” Fawn told her. “It will help you through the preparations.”

Starr rubbed her oil-covered hands together. “Mmm. It’s nice.”

Hanna tried to care about the fact that she was essentially
being drugged, but she couldn’t summon the energy. She did, however, have more
questions. “Do all the king’s former slaves end up working here at the
station?”

“No.” Fawn cupped her hand over Hanna’s sex. “The king wants
his slaves to be bare here. All Norian slaves are bare here. I will remove the
hair now.”

“No!” She tried to bring her legs back together, but Fawn
held her thighs apart.

“Don’t fight us now, slave,” Fawn said sharply. “You have no
say in the matter.”

Hadn’t Jarrod warned her of that too?

Resigned, Hanna let her legs fall open. There was nothing
else she could do. As Fawn trimmed her intimate hair close to her skin, Hanna
tried to relax again and enjoy the soft caresses as Treena and Starr smoothed
more oil over her body. Hanna felt a strange sensation as Fawn spread something
warm and wet between her legs. Then she pressed something down, covering her
entire woman’s area.

“This is a combination of Marvel Cream and a chemical that
destroys the hair down to the root. The cloth holds the mixture in place to do
its work. When we are finished, you will never have to worry about hair here
again.”

Hanna blinked back tears, grieving the permanent change to
her body. Somehow it symbolized the hopelessness of ever escaping her fate. But
there was nothing she could do about it. She must endure what could not be
changed.

When Treena began to smooth the slippery oil into her
breasts, it took her mind off what Fawn was doing. Hanna was reminded of
Jarrod’s hands on her breasts last night. She closed her eyes and imagined it
was Jarrod’s hands caressing her body.

If only it was Jarrod’s hands running along the firm flesh
of her breasts. Jarrod’s fingers rolling the nipples into tight little buds.
Tingles spread through her body. Longing burrowed deep into her heart.

Soon Fawn removed the cloth from between her legs.
“Beautiful,” she said. Treena brought over a bowl of water and Fawn cleaned the
area, then spread some more Marvel Cream there. Her fingers worked the cream
through Hanna’s feminine folds and warm quivers ran along her skin.

At the same time, Starr was rubbing oil over her legs and
feet, massaging the muscles as she did. “You have incredible hands,” Hanna told
her.

Starr blushed. “Thank you.” Hanna moaned with bliss as Starr
rubbed the bottoms of her feet. Her hands were obviously practiced at giving
pleasure. Did she still give pleasure to Masters? She didn’t feel right asking
that, but Hanna thought of another question.

“What happens to the other slaves the king tires of?” she
asked. “If they don’t come here, what happens to them?”
What will happen to
me?

“He usually gives his slaves away as gifts to visiting
dignitaries or powerful Norians,” Fawn said. “It is considered a great honor to
become a gift from the king.”

“Sometimes he sends them to one of the brothels,” Treena
said softly.

“But those are the slaves that don’t please him,” Starr
replied quickly.

Hanna tensed. What if she didn’t please the king?

“Don’t worry,” Fawn said, still smoothing Marvel Cream over
Hanna’s newly bared skin. “You have a responsive body. Your Master will surely
be pleased with you.”

“But you three are still sex slaves, right? Even if you work
here at the slave station? Do you still have Masters to please? Do you have any
choice?”

“None of us have any choice but to please our Masters.
Whoever they are at the time,” Fawn said.

“So no slave stays with the same Master forever?” Hanna
asked.

“Some do,” Starr said softly. “Rarely, but it happens.”

“But never fall in love with a Master. It’s not permitted,”
Fawn said sharply. Her fingers dug into Hanna’s skin. “And never make the
mistake of thinking a Master loves you. A Master can be attentive, even seem
fond of a slave. But Masters don’t fall in love with sex slaves.” She rose
abruptly and crossed the room.

“I think she must have fallen in love with one of her
Masters,” Treena whispered.

“Poor Fawn,” Starr whispered back.

That would explain her harshness. If a sex slave never
remained with the same Master, no wonder falling in love would be forbidden.

Fawn returned with more oil. “Turn over.” Her voice was soft
and musical again.

Hanna rolled over onto her stomach and three pairs of hands
smoothed oil onto her skin. Calmness flowed through her system and she relaxed
into the cushion. She closed her eyes and an image of Jarrod, his dark skin,
his sexy tattoo, appeared to her. His hands on her body hadn’t relaxed her, but
made her come alive. Would any other Master do the same? She suddenly felt
restless again, even with the treated oil covering her entire body. She shifted
beneath their hands.

Fawn must have sensed her unease. “We are almost done with
the oil,” she said softly. “The preparations are tedious, but necessary.” She
helped Hanna to her feet. For the first time she noticed the erotic brush of
air against her bare woman’s flesh. “Now for the collars and cuffs. And some
additional work ordered by the king.”

* * * * *

“Marcko says Gaylock left the planet three days ago,” Micah
said as he entered the cockpit of the
Galaxy
.

Jarrod looked up at Micah as he dropped into the pilot’s
seat. They’d just gotten the
Galaxy
out of the repair shop and Jarrod
had gone inside to program the coordinates to Ceylon 7. “Hope he goes back to
the mines and chokes to death on tranium dust.” He turned back to the nav
system. He was almost done. Micah was a gifted pilot, but a little sloppy when
it came to navigating. He’d be on his own for this trip, so Jarrod wanted to
get the trip mapped out right.

“So what’s the plan?” Micah asked.

Jarrod froze, his fingers on the keyboard. He took a deep
breath. “What plan?”

“To rescue the princess.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My friend, I know you too well. She got under your skin and
you and I both know it.”