Strength in Numbers (3 page)

She took a tiny
step back, bumping the mirror. “I should go. My master awaits me.”

“Your master?”
he mocked, moving toward her. His hand went to his side, just under his toga. A
glint of sliver flashed and she knew he was armed. “Because he fucked you, that
makes him your master?”

She pressed
herself to the mirror. “Because he owns my note, sir.”

He snickered,
still coming toward her, crowding her space. She thought of calling out for
help, but fear that something would happen to
Eterin
as a result of her foolishness kept her lips sealed tight. She would take
whatever punishment was laid out before her if it kept
Eterin
safe.

The man lifted
the dagger, putting it close to her face. “You were to be mine. I’d been
planning for months to purchase you. What will he say to his
goods
being
damaged, huh? What will he think of his pretty little whore bearing scars upon
her face?” He pressed the tip of the dagger to her cheek, his eyes holding
madness. “Will he still want you then?”

“Yes,”
Eterin
said, his voice booming through the room. “I will.”

“I’d step away
from her if I were you,”
Pataryio
added, sounding
almost amused with the ordeal, as if it happened on a regular basis. Perhaps it
did. “I’ve watched the man kill for less reason than you’re giving him now.
Harm that beauty before you and your end will come in the form of long,
drawn-out torture at the hands of a skilled warrior and assassin. Oh, and I’ll
lend a hand too, because where is the fun in not?”

The man stayed
close to her, still pressing the dagger to her face. “She was to be mine. You
had no right to her.”

“I am the
only
man who has rights to her,”
Eterin
said, sounding
calm yet fierce.

“She is a
trained whore,” the man snapped harshly, spittle flying about.

“She is my
whore now,”
Eterin
stated. The pain of his words was
greater than any the man before her could inflict. Tears welled but she held
tight to them, refusing to show weakness.

Sempia
,
Eterin
said, his voice pushing through her mind.
On my mark, drop down and tuck
into a tiny ball.

“I will not,”
she stated firmly, still hurt by his proclamation.

The man before
her tipped his head curiously. “You will not what, whore?”

Rage and a good
deal of hurt consumed her as she stomped on the man’s foot before driving her
knee up and into his groin. Her years in training had taught her much more than
just how to please a man. They had taught her how to cause him the greatest
pain as well. He doubled over and she reached for the mirror and tugged hard
upon it until it gave way and fell upon the man. He crashed with it to the
floor and she stood above him, glaring down, a hand going to her hip. “Have you
anything to say now, sir? Wish to call me a whore again?”

“I think I like
her,”
Pataryio
said with a snort. “A lot.”

“Silence,”
Eterin
bellowed. “
Sempia
, come
quickly. His guards will notice his absence and seek him out.”

She crossed her
arms under her breasts, holding her ground. If she were going to throw caution
to the wind and run off with a man from her past rather than the one who had
intended to purchase her, she was going to make sure he heard her speak her
mind at least once. “I will do no such thing. You are not the boy I once knew.”

“You’re right,”
he acknowledged. “I am a man.”

“One I find
myself not liking very much at the moment,” she returned with a look of
indignation.

“
Sempia
?”
Eterin
asked, appearing
taken aback by her
behavior
. He moved forward,
assuring the man on the floor and his knife were truly separated. He hoisted
the man up and tossed him toward the wall as if he were no more than a sack of
dry goods. He then shoved him into a cubby hole of sorts, making it impossible
to see his body lying there unless one specifically entered the tiny offshoot of
a room. When
Eterin
turned his gaze upon her, it was
heated. “Did I not tell you to wait in the hallway? Were my instructions not
clear enough for you? Should I have used smaller words for your feeble mind to
wrap around?”

Pataryio
lifted a hand in an attempt to stop
what was going on. “Boss, I think she wanted to get dressed.”

“Where she is
going she needs no garments,”
Eterin
said sharply.
“She only needs to understand how to please me. For that, she does not require
clothing.”

“You don’t mean
that,”
Pataryio
protested, casting a sympathetic look
in her direction. “You’re upset with her and you were afraid
for
her
when you saw him with a knife to her. Don’t lash out at her because of that.”

“Mind your
tongue and your own affairs,”
Eterin
replied. His
expression was hard. Unreadable. “This is between me and my purchased
companion.”

Sempia
lowered her head, the fight leaving
her body.
Eterin
had promised long ago to come for
her, to take her from a life of servitude, only to be the very man who in the
end enslaved her. She began to loosen the cords holding the cloth to her body.
If he wished her to be attired in nothing so be it.

Strong hands
clamped over hers. “Leave it.”

“As you wish,
master,” she said, refusing to look upon him.

Eterin
lifted a hand and grazed a knuckle
over her cheek. The act was tender, unlike his words had been. “
Sempia
.”

She continued
to stare at her feet, unwilling to face him. “Yes, master?”

“Well, you went
and did it now,”
Pataryio
offered from the
sidelines
. “You bitched and moaned nonstop about what she
was going through, about what she’d be forced to do for her master once
purchased, and then you become the very thing you hated. Glad we spent all this
time and money for you to be a complete and utter space cack.”

“
Pataryio
,”
Eterin
stated coldly.
“Wait for us in the vessel.”

“Or what?
You’ll treat me like a slave too?”
Pataryio
stormed
past his friend and offered a hand to
Sempia
. “Come
on, beauty. I promise to be civil to you, and you have my word being with us is
better than being with the other guy.”

She couldn’t
help but glance at
Eterin
. “Is it?”

He tensed, his
lips drawn tight.

She placed her
hand in
Pataryio’s
, allowing him to lead her from the
room. He moved quickly, just shy of jogging down the long hall and past the
guards stationed at the event. He thumbed backward toward
Eterin
when the guards raised brows at their sudden appearance. “He carries her note.”

Sempia
stayed close to him, fearful the
guards would somehow refuse her exit. They stepped aside, permitting passage.
Pataryio
kept hold of her hand as he weaved through the
crowds of people on the moon’s surface. The
Mantovian
they’d been intimate with was there, putting his mark upon people’s personal
handhelds. He was famous in their eyes—the star of the show. One of the people
near him spotted
Sempia
and came toward her, halting
Pataryio’s
progress.

“May I have
your marks?” the man asked.

“We fucked
her,”
Eterin
said, his voice thundering around them.
“It was not mark-worthy.”

Sempia
gasped and
Pataryio
pulled her into his embrace before moving her past the man requesting her
autograph. He kept her tucked in near him until they were at the docking
stations. He made his way to a vessel that was medium-sized and appeared to be
in good condition. “This way, beauty.”

She boarded the
vessel and turned to find
Eterin
stepping onto the
ramp.

Pataryio
leaned in close to her. “We could
leave him. Would serve him right and teach him one hell of a lesson.”

She giggled
softly and then hid it quickly before
Eterin
stepped
into the vessel. He closed the doors behind him and stood facing her. He held
his head high. “I spoke without thinking. Forgive me.”

“For which
time, master?” she asked, her voice like syrup. “For the bit about me being
your whore, your paid companion, or for the remark on how utterly unworthy
fucking me was?”

He winced.

Pataryio
chuckled. “I’ll get us out of here.
You can stay with her and try to make this right. Good luck.”

Eterin
grunted, and the next thing
Sempia
knew, his mouth was over hers. His kiss was rough,
demanding. She whimpered and pushed at his chest even though she didn’t really
want him to stop. He seemed to read her actions as such because he tugged at
her hair, forcing her head back more as his tongue commanded hers. When he was
done, she was limp in his arms. He held her tight, caressing her back gently.

“I was…” he
paused a moment, “…concerned for your safety when you were not where I last
left you, and when I found the other attempting to harm you, I lost myself. My
temper loosened my tongue and lies fell forth from it. I crossed a universe for
you,
Sempia
, and I would gladly do so again.”

She whimpered
against him and their gazes collided. “
Eterin
?”

He put his
forehead to hers. “Forgive me for my foolishness.”

“You came for
me,” she whispered, kissing his lips tenderly.

He kneaded her
hips with his hands. “
Sempia
, nothing could keep me
from you.”

“Because I am
your whore?” she asked with a teasing note in her voice.

He actually
blushed slightly.

She gave him a
quick peck on the lips. “
Eterin
, I am
honored
to be yours.”

Eterin
leaned against the wall of his
chamber aboard his personal vessel, watching as
Sempia
slept. So beautiful, her long hair spread out around her and her breasts rising
and falling with each breath she took. He and his cock, which seemed very much
to have a mind of its own at the moment, vividly recalled the feel of her cunt
and hardened. He slipped a hand beneath his loincloth and stroked his shaft.
When she was fully rested, he would enter her again and claim each hole as his
own. No man but he would ever lie with his woman again.

Pride welled.

He had done as
he set out to. Months ago, when word had reached him of the plans set forth for
Sempia
upon completion of her training, he’d embarked
on a mission to find her. The desire to do so had been present for years prior,
but it had taken him longer to establish a name for himself than planned. A
skilled warrior, trained by the best, he’d used what he’d been taught to start
his own intergalactic bodyguard agency. They protected those others wouldn’t.
The high-risk clients. The crew he’d put together consisted of wanted felons
and ex-warriors such as himself.

Pataryio
had been part of the business from
the start. In all their years together, the man had had to listen to
Eterin
go on and on about the woman who’d stolen his heart
long ago when he was but a child. There wasn’t a detail that
Eterin
could recall of
Sempia
that he’d not shared with his best friend and trusted comrade. He’d painted a
vivid picture of her with words, and when the time had come for him to act,
Pataryio
hadn’t batted an eye. He agreed to help.

Sempia
turned on her side and her shift
lifted high, revealing her thigh to him. He continued to stroke his cock
lazily, his gaze trapped on the sight of her upper leg. Everything about the
woman drove him mad with lust and need. She had the body of a goddess sent down
to tempt mortal men. He fisted his cock, working it, up and down, slow then
fast. He wanted more. Needed more.

He needed her.

He moved
closer. “
Sempia
, wake. I wish to enter you.”

She opened her
eyelids slowly. “
Eterin
?”

“Yes.” He
climbed onto the bed. “Are you too sore to receive me?”

Her eyes
widened and she touched her backside, swallowing hard.

He grinned. “As
much as I wish to know the feel of your ass, I understand you will require more
time. I would very much like to enter you here,” he said, his hand going to her
pussy. He dipped a finger into her wet, tight core.