Chains of Desire (16 page)

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. His breath was hot on her
face. “Hands behind your back.”

Her sex clenched and she felt more moisture trickle from her
core. “How will I eat?”

“I’ll feed you.”

She moaned and slid her hands at the small of her back.
Jarrod hooked her cuffs together behind her.

“Good slave.” His lips brushed her earlobe. “You look
beautiful.”

He ate first, obviously enjoying himself while she just sat
there, unable to do anything. He cast glances at her from time to time and grinned.
Her cheeks hurt from forcing herself to smile. When his plate was finally
empty, he turned to her.

“Hungry?” He speared a piece of meat, as he’d done for her
the first night they met. He offered it to her and she opened her mouth. At the
same time that he shoved the meat into her mouth, he plunged two fingers back
into her core.

He fed her slowly, thrusting into her just as slowly,
building the need growing within her. Hanna noticed several Vanyans pointing
and smiling.
Young love. Isn’t that sweet? What a handsome couple.

None of them seemed to notice that she no longer had the use
of her hands. That one of his hands was under the table, still working in and
out of her soaking wet sex, teasing her unmercifully. They saw what they wanted
to see. Hanna wasn’t sure how she felt about all this. She was so aroused she
could hardly think at all. She wished they were alone so he could put his hands
all over her, shove his cock into her, satisfy this aching need that was eating
at her from the inside out.

Then, as he fed her another piece of fruit and told her once
more what a good slave she was, she realized she had it wrong again. She should
be only thinking about pleasing him. Her Master knew what she needed. She had
to trust him. She only had to do what he wanted her to do and everything would
be all right.

“I’m going to make you come,” he whispered, as he leaned
forward to give her a sip of wine.

“No,” she moaned. How could that be all right? How could he
expect her to give herself over to him in front of all these people? She had no
control of her body when she came.

With two of his fingers still inside her, he grabbed tightly
onto her sex. The pressure pushed the heel of his hand down on her sensitive
nub, a reminder that she had no control of her body anyway. “You
will
come.”
He tipped the wineglass to her lips again. “Drink up.”

She swallowed the rest of the wine. She hadn’t had much to
eat and she was lightheaded. But was it from the wine? Or was it the arousal
that had her on edge? Or the fact that she was bound in front of hundreds of
people and her Master was going to make her come?

She whimpered softly. She couldn’t close her eyes, couldn’t
drop her head back as his fingers drove her arousal even higher. She had to sit
still, hold her position. She could do nothing but look out at the people still
eating in front of her and hope her body didn’t jerk like a puppet’s when he
took her over the edge.

A puppet. That’s what she felt like right now. She had no
control over her body. Her Master pulled the strings. He made her dance or cry
or come alive under his hand. She moved at his desire.

She came at his desire.

He rubbed his thumb against her nub and that was all that
was needed to make her dance. Her body rocked with the orgasm. He leaned over
her and covered her mouth with his in an erotic kiss, swallowing her cries,
blocking her jerking movements from view. He slid his fingers from her body and
slipped them into her mouth.

She whimpered and sucked them clean.

“Is everything all right?”

The king picked this time to pay attention to what was going
on around him. Jarrod calmly turned to look at him with a smile.

“Everything’s fine, Your Majesty. My mate is simply anxious
to begin our new life together.”

The king laughed. “I understand. You are welcome to any
bedroom in the palace.”

“Thank you, but we’ll sleep in my cabin tonight.” As he
faced the king and talked about his plans, he furtively pulled her full skirt
down over her knees. “I want to leave very early in the morning, so we’ll stay
on board the ship tonight.”

“Leaving so soon?” the king asked.

Hanna wondered the same thing. Jarrod hadn’t said anything
about leaving in the morning.

“I hoped you could fill me in on some of the technologies
we’re unaware of,” the king went on.

“Micah will be happy to explain. He’s much better at that
than I am.” Jarrod downed the rest of his wine. “A shipment of supplies should
have been delivered at the trading post already. I need to check on them and on
our property.” He shook the king’s hand. “Thank you for your hospitality, Your
Majesty. We will return for a visit as soon as possible.”

He stood while Hanna sat there, feeling like a fool, unable
to move. “Let me help you with your long dress.” He knelt behind her and
unhooked her ankles in a flash. He leaned across her back and whispered loudly
enough for the king to hear, “Did I tell you how lovely you look in this
dress?” He unhooked her wrists, then whispered more softly, “I can’t wait to
get you out of it.” He slid her chair back for her so she could rise.

While his words sent new tingles flowing through her, Hanna
didn’t let him rush her. She hugged Serena and Micah, promising to be back for
a visit soon. She thanked the king and was touched to receive a hug from him as
well. Then to her surprise, Jarrod swept her up into his arms and carried her
through the maze of tables. Hanna was shocked at the applause and laughter that
rang out around them.

The sky had grown dark by the time they left the dining
hall. Bright stars dotted the vast expanse. Jarrod strode toward the field
where the
Galaxy
sat. It was merely a shadow in the distance. How much
her life had changed since she’d been snatched from that same field not that
long ago.

She wriggled in his arms. “You can put me down now.”

He gathered her closer to his chest. She felt safe and loved
in his embrace. “I’ll carry you.”

She knew there was no sense arguing with him and as she
snuggled against him she wondered why she’d wanted to try. She closed her eyes
and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

Once they were inside the ship and the door closed behind
them, Jarrod grabbed her dress and yanked it off her shoulders. Hanna cried out
when she heard the seam rip. “Careful!”

He frowned and let her help him get it off her body as
quickly as possible. He tossed the lacy dress away. “That’s the way I like to
see you.”

She knelt down and gathered the dress up in her arms. “This
was a gift from Serena.” And at the moment, the only piece of clothing she
owned.

“I’m sorry. But it’s not like you’re going to be wearing it
again.”

Hanna clutched it a little tighter. “Why not?”

“There’s not going to be a lot of call for fancy dresses
where we’re going.”

She’d mend it and wear it sometime for him as a surprise. “I
wish you’d tell me more about where we’re going. I know so little about our new
home.”

“We’ll have plenty of time for that during our voyage.” He
pulled her to him and pushed his rigid shaft against her stomach. “I have more
pressing needs now.”

She couldn’t let him distract her. “I need to get some of my
clothes together before we leave tomorrow.”

“You don’t need any clothes.” He pinched her nipple and
tugged on the silver ring. “I prefer you naked.”

A jolt of pure desire shot to her sex, but she had to keep
her thoughts straight. “I can’t always be naked.”

His gaze burned into her as he looked her up and down. “As
far as I’m concerned, you can.”

She stepped away from him and he let her go. “Be reasonable.
You said there are a lot of rough, lonely men where we’re going. Do you want
them to see me naked? Marked as a sex slave?”

His expression darkened and he grabbed her arm again,
tighter this time. “No one else will see your body.” The possessive look on his
face sent a thrill racing along her skin. “I’ll get you some clothes after we
arrive. You can wear one of my T-shirts when we leave the ship.”

“What about until then?”

He stared at her as if it was obvious. “I want you naked.”

* * * * *

When they entered his cabin, Hanna saw that Jarrod had
managed to obtain hooks and find places to install them all over the room. Big,
heavy ones in the ceiling. Small ones on the legs and back of his chair. More
heavy ones on the walls of the alcove in which the bunk sat.

They had more incredible sex that night where he enjoyed her
body thoroughly and then held her gently in his arms after she’d climaxed more
times than she could count. She was drowsy and well satisfied when he got up
off the bed and without a word, hooked her right wrist cuff to the wall. She
watched while he did the same to her other wrist and both ankles, until she was
stretched spread-eagle on the mattress. Then he turned around and walked to the
door.

She missed the touch of his skin on hers, the heat of his
body against hers. She shivered from the chill. “Where are you going?”

He turned around and frowned at her. “Go to sleep.” Then he
turned off the overheads, closed the door behind him and left her there in the
silent darkness.

Hanna knew she should just relax and trust him, but it was
difficult when she had no idea what was on his mind. Was this the way it was
always going to be? She closed her eyes and tried to relax but her frustration
began to build. Along with a burning resentment.

She didn’t know how long she lay there before she heard the
ship power up. The familiar whine was followed by the soft vibration she’d
gotten used to over the last few days. Hanna blinked away tears. For some
reason, her Master didn’t want her to be in the seat beside him when they took
off for their new home, as she’d been looking forward to doing.

He said he wanted her with him. He’d just pledged his life
to her. Didn’t he want to share all parts of it with her?

Or had Serena been right all along?

Hanna fell asleep at some point, her cheeks wet with tears
she wasn’t able to wipe away. She awoke to Jarrod brushing his lips along the curve
of her breasts.

“Good morning, beautiful slave. We are now on our way to our
new home. We should be there in a few days.”

Hanna just stared up at him. She didn’t care if the hurt she
felt was reflected in her face. She hoped it was. He leaned over to kiss her
lips but she looked away from him, toward the blank wall.

“Why do you turn away from me?”

“Can you release me, please?” she asked, her voice flat. She
wasn’t going to answer his questions until he answered some of hers.

“Of course.” He quickly unhooked her cuffs, running his
hands along her arms and legs as he did so. Her traitorous body responded to
his touch, as it would probably always do, but Hanna didn’t let it distract her
this time. She sat up beside him. He was so handsome, he made her heart hurt.

“Why did you tie me up and leave me last night?”

He frowned, as if he didn’t understand why she would ask. “I
had work to do to ready the ship for the voyage and I wanted you to be secure
before we lifted off.”

“I wanted to be at the controls beside you when we left
Vanya.” She winced inwardly at the whine in her voice.

“You would have been no use there.” He said it gently, as if
trying to calm a small child. “You don’t know how to work the controls.”

Were all men this thick-headed or was it only Jarrod? “We
were taking off for our new life together. I wanted to share that moment with
you.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“I didn’t know that. You should have told me.”

He was right. Just because she thought he should have known
didn’t make it his fault when he didn’t. She realized they were both assuming a
lot where the other was concerned.

“Tell me about our new home. Tell me what our life will be
like there.”

He stroked her hair, which probably looked a mess. “We have
lots of time for that. Let’s get some food—”

“I want to know now.” She hopped off the bunk and began to
pace, as she’d been unable to do in the past when the questions had overwhelmed
her. “I have taken a leap of faith to follow you to a distant planet and share
my life with you. I deserve to know what to expect.”

“Of course.” He patted the mattress beside him. “Sit.”

She shook her head and crossed her arms, rubbing her hands
over the chilled skin. “Tell me.”

He nodded. She could tell he’d finally figured out something
was seriously wrong. “Micah and I are opening a trading post in the settlement
of Daybreak on the planet Ceylon 7. People will be able to buy supplies with
coin or trade for goods they may have. We’ve had a building built and should
have merchandise waiting to stock the shelves when we get there. There is a
landing pad for ships within walking distance and word has already spread that
we will be in business soon. That’s why I’m anxious to get there.”

He caught her gaze and she nodded as if to say, “Keep
going.”

“There is one living unit on the second floor. Micah will
live there for the time being. I’ve had a small house built out back and he
will be doing the same soon.”

“And what do you see as my place in all this?”

“I’m afraid at this point our house is crude, I haven’t had
the time to spend on it. I know you will make it a fine home for us.” He stood
up and crossed to her. He gently stroked her hair, then hooked his finger
through one of her nipple rings and twisted. A rush of pleasure flooded her
sex. “And of course, I’ll expect you to be available any time I want to enjoy
your body.”

“So I am your slave.”

He circled her throat with his fingers, just above her
collar. “Of course, you are my slave. When was that ever in question?” She
swallowed and felt the pressure, the familiar reminder against her throat. “I
am your Master. That doesn’t change when we open the bedroom door. And it
doesn’t change when we step off this ship.”