The Breaker's Concubine (18 page)

Damn, it was a lot harder to separate himself from her than he’d thought it would be.

She looked up at him, and love surged through their bond. He knew he was grinning like a

fool, but he couldn’t help it. Her love was his joy. The great dome echoed with thousands of

conversations, and he had to duck to hear her low voice. “You’re doing very well, Prince.”

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Her praise warmed him, and he stepped closer, pressing his body next to hers. She started

to move away, then sighed and relaxed into him. That little bit of surrender to his will made his

cock jerk. “Thank you, Mistress.”

She glanced down at his erection, and a slight smile curved her lush lips. With her nutmeg

brown hair pulled back into an elaborate braid, the strong beauty of her face left him breathless.

If being the perfect slave was going to keep her at his side, he would do that. She would have no

reason to complain, and it would give him time to escape with her.

“What can I do to please you, Mistress?”

Her eyebrows rose, and he noticed for the first time that she used some kind of cosmetic to

darken her eyelashes. She glanced down at his cock again, and her lust washed over him. “You

may not be so eager to please once you see what is in store for you.”

He waited until her gaze returned to his face. Their eyes met, and he tried to put his whole

heart into his words. “As long as you’re by my side, I can survive anything.”

Pleasure and guilt flowed through their bond, along with a hint of determination. She

looked away and tugged on his leash. “Come.”

Obediently he followed behind her as they wove through the crowd. There were a few

other slaves in the mass of people, but most of the patrons were fully dressed and obviously

wealthy. Jewels sparkled in the dim sunlight, and everywhere he looked, there were inhumanly

beautiful people. Surrounded by all their physical perfection, he couldn’t help but feel a small

worm of self-doubt twist in his stomach. Could Melania ever really be happy on his planet?

Jensia was technologically advanced, but his people preferred wild nature to groomed perfection.

Would she be accepting of living in a palace among the trees or fearful of all that open space?

Merchants lined the entrance to the arena, and he was interested to see that while they were

all beautiful, they weren’t quite as perfect. Here a nose a little too big for a man’s face, there a

woman with a gap in the front of her teeth. The young, plump merchant selling some type of

delicious-smelling bowls of soup had deep acne scars.

A richly dressed man with short blond hair and a dark-skinned woman moved through the

crowd. In front of them, a pair of guards in dark jade green leathers cleared a path for them. A

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small hush of conversation followed in their wake, and he lifted his head to see what the

commotion was.

Between them, a beautiful little girl with her mother’s dark hair and her father’s gray eyes

giggled and held her parents’ hands. Pride and joy radiated from the pair, and everyone who saw

them smiled. It was obvious the little girl was adored, but he didn’t miss the look of envy on

many of the faces in the crowd.

Melania hid her face from him and quickly led him through the crowd. An intense longing

and sadness flowed from her, and he wanted to take her in his arms and let her know he would

take care of her. When he reached for her, she hissed, “Stop. Remember who you are while we

are in public, Novice.” Her words stung, and she glanced back over her shoulder with a small

smile. “I’m doing my best not to drag you off into some dark corner and let you have your

wicked way with me. Try to be a little less appealing.” She licked her lips and lowered her voice

further. “Those men and women in the sparkling white leathers? They are regulators. You must

not do anything to draw their attention.” She adjusted his collar with trembling hands. “I can do

nothing to protect you from them if you so much as give them a dirty look. Please behave for

both our sakes.”

Though his pride rebelled at the thought of being submissive to anyone, his need to protect

his mate overrode his natural arrogance. “I’ll be your perfect concubine.”

Her lips twitched as she fought a smile. “Just keep your eyes on the ground and your

mouth shut, please.”

He bowed. “I live to serve.”

She rolled her eyes, and he was glad to note that some of the tension left her shoulders as

she led them into the long line winding into the arena. From a series of elevated tables, a line of

men and women in glittering white leathers controlled the crowd entering the arena. Without

being obvious, Devnar studied them as Melania fell into line behind an older pair of women

gossiping with each other. After he realized they weren’t talking of anything useful, he tuned

them out and focused on the rest of the crowd. Mostly unarmed, with a few personal guards in

their jade green leathers here and there.

What interested him was how everyone grew tense as they approached the regulators. He

tried to see what was so intimidating, but they looked like the normal Kyrimian perfection to

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him. All tall, plump women and muscular men of different ages and coloring. The weapons at

their sides raised his eyebrows, but not as much as the metal whips draped over the backs of their

chairs. With razor tips, the whips would rend the flesh off the bone if used with force.

“Do they really whip people?” he asked in a low breath as their line inched forward.

Melania barely nodded and pulled him down to fiddle with his collar, tugging out strands

of hair that had got trapped beneath it. “Depends on the severity of the crime. For small

infractions like straying by accident into a royal section of town, I would get a few strokes with

just the whip.” Her fingers pressed to the back of his neck. “For something like trying to

impersonate royalty, I’d pick a limb and they would whip it with the razors until that limb fell

off. Then I’d be reduced to worker rank.”

The line shuffled forward, and she stepped away from him with a serious expression

darkening her beautiful face. “Don’t speak unless spoken to. Don’t stare at them, and for the love

of the Gods, please don’t do anything to attract attention to yourself.”

The chatter of the elderly women ahead of them silenced, and Devnar watched the purple

sheen of Melania’s black boots as she shuffled forward. He had never paid so much attention to

feet before and found that her small feet stood out among her taller and heavier-boned people.

He thanked the Goddess that her delicate frame was what had saved her for him.

“Greetings, Breaker,” a woman said in an ice-cold voice.

“Greetings, Regulator.” Melania tugged at his leash, and he took a small step forward.

“I’ve brought this novice to be displayed at Lady Grenba’s command.”

Murmured words in a language he couldn’t understand came from the regulator. That

puzzled him. The translator implanted in his ear should be able to translate any of the nine

thousand known languages of this galaxy. The regulator must be using a secret language known

only to other regulators. That knowledge combined with the other bits and pieces he had learned

of them led him to believe the regulators held a lot more power on this planet than he’d first

thought. Maybe as much as their royalty.

Musing this, he missed the fact that they were being let through, and stumbled after

Melania. The regulator made a small sound of disgust, and Melania’s shoulders grew tight, but

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she hurried them through the crowd in an almost run. She only slowed after they were well

across the square and deep into the crowd.

They stopped before an elaborate black stone fountain. Melania sat down on the edge and

pretended to check the fastening of her boot. “That was close. The regulator was suspicious

about you, but Lady Grenba must have smoothed your entrance.”

“What do you mean?” he murmured and fought the urge to scan the crowd at his back. No

need to draw any more attention to him than being a naked man on a leash already did. Still,

knowing a potential enemy was near made the skin between his shoulder blades crawl. He found

himself staring at a handsome older man with silver hair who watched them. A quick glance

down at Melania showed she was still fiddling with her boot, and when he looked back, the man

was gone.

“You have no file, no history. If the regulator had run you, it would have been apparent

that you’re an off-worlder. While you’re here on official decree, they could

have…questioned”—a wave of fear rushed through their bond and made the hair on his arms

stand up—“us about who you are and why you’re here. People have been known to not survive

the gentle persuasions of the regulators. Royalty and servant alike.”

“I see,” he said. He burned to ask her more, but this was not the place for it. No, the longer

they were here, the more he wished to be back at the relative safety of her home. It grated on his

nerves and pride that he had to allow his mate to be in such danger, and that he was part of the

problem. “So the bitch pulled some strings and got us in.”

“Yes.” Melania stood and stroked his arm in a featherlight touch. He felt her relax as she

took a deep breath. “Now let’s go display you before the bitch gets impatient and comes looking

for us.”

He clenched his hands into fists in an effort to keep from reaching out and touching her. If

they had been on Jensia, they would still be in his bed, glorying in the satisfaction of their bond.

That knowledge did nothing to ease his temper or Melania’s worry. He obviously wasn’t going

to escape from this place, so he had to bide his time and stay with Melania until they returned to

her home, where they stood a better chance. Maybe he could get her to give him access to the

maps and information they would need for a getaway. If she resisted, he’d just have to tie her up

and withhold her orgasm until she relented. Ahead of him, she stumbled as his lust that

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accompanied his thought hit her. She turned to glare at him, but he gave her his best innocent

look. It didn’t work on her any better than it had worked on his mother, and he grinned as she

rolled her eyes at him.

The crowd around them became denser as they walked through a set of gigantic metal

arches. Inscribed on the dark metal were scenes of men and women fighting strange creatures he

didn’t recognize. Melania coughed, and he lowered his eyes to the ground again.

The smooth tiles beneath their feet changed to white marble, and he glanced up to get his

bearings. They entered a white marble square with several raised platforms that flanked the

entrance to the arena. Tall trees in gigantic metallic pots lined the square, throwing shadows on

the crowd that ebbed and flowed. More guards in subdued jade green leathers constantly scanned

the packed square. Their presence made his shoulders go tight.

Small alcoves with pillow-strewn benches lined the square. Many of them were occupied

by groups of men and women covered in glittering jewels and shimmering silk robes. Here and

there, naked men and women dallied on the ends of leashes, each very attractive in their own

perfect way. At the far end of the open space, a long corridor led into a massive arena.

One space was already occupied by a plump blonde woman locked in a stockade. With her

legs spread open, her wet pussy was exposed for all to see. A group of well-dressed men and

women stood in front of her, laughing as she squirmed when her male trainer gave her round

bottom a slap. Her answering moan of pleasure made her trainer smile with pride, and he stroked

her wet slit until she bucked against his hand.

Is that what he was here for? To be put on exhibit like some animal? The thought churned

his stomach, and he tried to fight his rising panic.

Devnar froze, pulling against the leash in Melania’s hand. She turned to see what had made

him stop, and a look of sympathy briefly crossed her face, but she said in a cold voice, “Attend.”

He tried to fight his panic and sank to his knees. “Please, Mistress, I—”

Cupping his cheek, she stroked her fingers over his lips, and he licked her passing flesh. A

flash of desire washed through him, and she sighed softly. “I am going to display you, Devnar.

I’m going to let everyone see that magnificent body, dream about touching your thick cock.” She

pressed her thumb into his mouth, letting him suck on it as her voice grew husky. “They are

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going to talk about you, wonder who you are, and how they can acquire you.” She closed her

eyes and whispered, “And I’ll be watching you, pretending you are mine.”