LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) (32 page)

Nadia's heart pounded with fear. It was quite clear that this man was capable of hurting her very badly, but she had no idea why he would or what he wanted from her. She had no experience with physical force, other than the few times she had caused Fulton minor pain to keep him obedient. This man made her remember all the frightening things she'd heard about men while she was growing up. Not knowing what else to do, her gaze darted from side to side in search of someone to come to her rescue. However the elderly men working in the kitchen seemed completely oblivious to her plight.

"Don't bother lookin' to them for help. These old geezers can't move fast enough to get out of their own way, and everyone else is out doin' their chores already. But don't get the idea that the others would help even if they were still around. Let me tell you the score, plain and simple. There's a whole bunch of men on this farm who are both angry about bein' left behind and bored with havin' only five-fingered Mary for company. It don't matter how important you were where you come from. Here, you're just a horny broad who's already spread her legs for one of our kind, so you oughta be just as obligin' for everybody else."

She inhaled sharply. Though some of his expressions were unknown to her, his hand gestures had been adequately explicit. "I was conducting an experiment."

Wilkes smirked. "Yeah, right, babe. You just stick to that story if it makes you feel better. As a matter of fact, I have a little experiment you can help me with right now."

"I have no intention of helping you with anything!" She tried to pull out of this grasp, but he only held on tighter.

"Listen up, bitch. Every man here heard how you ordered that pint-sized Higgs to give it to you, and I'm not the only one who thinks you should try a real man on for size. Now, before this situation gets really messy, I figger somebody oughta take control of it."

She angled her head at him. The word control caught her attention. "And I suppose that
somebody
is you?"

"None other," he answered with a cocky grin. "I have a business proposition for you, but I don't want anyone to overhear it. Let's go to my tent."

A business proposition, like control, was something she could understand, even if his methods and other terminology were unfamiliar. Thinking she had a chance of coming out ahead in this encounter after all, her self-confidence returned. Straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin, she demanded, "Remove your hand from my person, then I will allow you to accompany me to your tent for a discussion." He released her hair but she could see he didn't like giving her even that slight advantage.

Wilkes had been right about everyone being gone. There wasn't a man in sight between the big house and his tent. At the last moment something warned Nadia not to go inside with him. "No one can hear you now," she said, stopping in front of the tent. "What is your proposition?"

He motioned for her to enter. "Inside first. I don't want to take the chance of anyone seein' us talkin' either. Your people could be watchin'."

That seemed unlikely since everyone was supposed to be at their work stations, but Nadia decided she was better off doing as he suggested rather than risk angering him again. Since the tent wasn't high enough for her to stand erect, she sat on one of the costs while he closed the tent flap and lit a lamp. Her patience and confidence were both fading quickly, but her curiosity kept her from walking out on him.

Without warning Wilkes turned and backhanded her cheek. She cried out more from shock than pain. When she tried to get up and away, he hit her again, this time so hard she fell back onto the cot. A scream welled up in her throat but before it erupted, his hand closed over her mouth.

"Not a sound," he growled and viciously squeezed her cheeks while he straddled her body to hold her in place. "Rule number one, you keep your goddamned mouth shut 'cept when I tell you otherwise. I'm the boss here and the sooner you understand that, the faster we can get down to business. What you just felt were nothin' but love pats compared to what you'll feel if you don't behave. Got it?"

With her cheeks throbbing and his greater weight holding her down, she did the only logical thing she could—she nodded in understanding.

"Good bitch. Rule number two, you don't go nowhere or do nothin' without me. From now on we're Siamese twins. Got it?"

She nodded again. With a sinking sensation she now realized the reality of the brutal male was even worse than the stories she'd been taught.

But Ray Higgs hadn't been cruel, or even aggressive. And the pretty man had seemed quite rational. Perhaps one of the other men left behind would be willing to protect her—She tossed that thought out. None of the others she'd seen looked nearly as strong or mean as Guy Wilkes. She had to accept the fact that she was completely at his mercy—for the moment.

Wilkes released her cheeks and stared down at her, as if daring her to speak without his permission. After a few seconds he seemed satisfied with her obedience and said, "Here's the deal. You gotta work to eat around here. Now I figger, you bein' the only pussy around here oughta be worth a hell of a lot. 'Specially one who likes gettin' fucked as much as you do. If you keep givin' it away though, it ain't gonna be worth nothin'."

She thought she comprehended what he was saying, but his speech was so peculiar, she couldn't be certain. Rather than question him, however, she held her tongue and hoped she'd catch on as he continued.

"Instead of you doin' chores like the men, you'll provide them with your personal, one-of-a-kind service and they'll make sure you get all your needs taken care of. 'Course, you gotta have somebody plenty smart and strong to manage your business for you and make sure you're protected against anybody tryin' to steal the goods without payin', and I just happen to be sick of wastin' my talents pickin' fruit and milkin' cows. You got the picture now, babe?"

She could hardly believe her ears. She had been fretting over what chore she could tolerate in exchange for food and, though she found Guy Wilkes to be as repugnant as a man could be, he had come up with an option she hadn't thought of. Thinking of how enjoyable her experiences with Ray Higgs had been, she smiled up at the man who thought he was so smart.

He grinned back at her. "Rule number three, no lyin' here like a dead fish. No matter who you're with, you act like you're lovin' every minute of it, just like you did with Higgs. And just to be sure you do, I'll be right here watchin' you every minute you're workin'. Got it?"

She gave him another nod as she felt a twinge of anticipation in her lower abdomen. The thought of him observing while another man pleasured her was strangely exciting. Even better than watching herself with Fulton in the bathroom mirror. She wondered if the image had a similar effect on Guy Wilkes. The answer to that came the next instant.

"Time to show your boss what a good little worker you're gonna be," he said and tore open the front of her robe. Letting out a soft whistle of appreciation at the sight of her breasts, he groped and kneaded them in his big, meaty hands. "The boys are gonna love these tits, babe."

Feeling a surge of power at his male weakness, she made the mistake of letting him see it in her eyes. He immediately repaid her by giving her nipples a harsh, twisting pinch.
"Ow,"
she whimpered before recalling his order not to speak, and he quickly pinched her again.

"That was just a taste of how it can be between us. You obey the rules..." He bent down and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth, teasing her with his tongue and teeth until she moaned for him. Then he abruptly bit into her flesh. "Or you can fight me and get hurt. It's your choice, babe."

She massaged her bruised breast with one hand while wiping the moisture from her eyes with the other. When he rose to his knees and shoved his pants down below his partially swollen manpiece, she was no longer certain this was going to be better than dealing with smelly four-legged beasts.

"Now use that mouth of yours the way it's supposed to be used," he told her with an ugly sneer on his face.

She obeyed his command, but what followed wasn't anything like it had been with Ray Higgs, or even Fulton. Obviously the ultimate pleasure could only be achieved when she was the one giving the orders.

* * *

Simone stretched luxuriantly and moved her arms and legs over the satin sheets on Nadia's big bed. She mentally congratulated herself once again on having made such an excellent move.

Nadia's unusual tastes had proven to be an unexpected bonus. Simone knew she was supposed to disapprove of the lavish bathroom with its mirrored wall, the rich foods Fulton served and the satin sheets. But the truth was, she found it all very stimulating to her senses, as well as her thought processes.

There was only one thing that truly shocked her, and even that had turned out to be delightful. When Fulton had offered to prepare a bath for her, she certainly hadn't expected to find him waiting to attend her in the nude. Nor could she possibly have guessed the extent of his assistance. When he had asked her about her wishes, she had simply told him to do whatever he normally did for Nadia. Once she got over the initial embarrassment of being disrobed by him, she quickly overcame the shock of being touched as well. Wanting to learn everything there was to know about Nadia and recalling the scene she had witnessed in the transfer room, Simone decided to allow Fulton total freedom and soon made some amazing discoveries!

She stretched again and ran her hands over her body, touching and stroking places where she had never lingered before. That sort of contact was considered sinful and ultimately harmful to one's mental health. Perhaps there was a good deal of truth to that. Giving in to the physical pleasure that could be derived from such touches had certainly caused problems for Nadia.

But Simone now knew there were also lies mixed in with the truth. And Nadia had been ostracized rather than be allowed to reveal the real truth about what it was like to be touched by a man.

The more Simone thought about it, the more convinced she was that Nadia had a valid reason for trespassing into the Earth commune. It made sense to Simone that before Nadia could challenge age-old laws and traditions, she would need to do more research. Unable to conduct that research among her own people, she must have decided it was worth the risk to use Earth men.

Simone had not been able to learn all the details, but apparently the Earth women had been instrumental in exposing Nadia's misdeeds. She wondered if they were also responsible for convincing Parisia that Heart needed their assistance in developing a defense system.

There was clearly something very strange going on about that too, but Simone wasn't well enough connected with Parisia's advisors to get to the bottom of it. Nadia had had plenty of strong allies, but without her to speak for them, they had all backed off rather than defy Parisia and chance the same future as Nadia.

As much as Simone would have liked to be the courageous woman to oppose Parisia's defense plan and challenge Heart's traditional laws, she knew she didn't have Nadia's strength of character or commanding personality. Besides, she had been playing both sides for so long, it could be hard to convince people that she had finally made a choice.

For many years she hadn't been sure which side would provide her with the best future. More recently she had been leaning toward Nadia for a number of reasons. For one, Nadia's political opinions suited her better than Parisia's. More important however, Parisia and Brianne's inner circle was firmly fixed and nearly impenetrable. Nadia's court was still flexible. Though Simone didn't think she herself had sufficient leadership qualities, she did believe she'd enjoy being the leader's Domestic Affairs Advisor. The mere thought of possessing the same power now held by Iris gave Simone a shiver of excitement.

She continued to mull over what facts she had with those she had to guess at. Considering every possibility along with her personal goals, she eventually came to a conclusion.

She had to come up with a plan to help Nadia escape. Then, together, they would challenge Parisia for the imperial throne.

Chapter 17

Tarla awoke to the sound of running water. It took several blinks of her eyes before she recognized her surroundings and identified what she was hearing as the bathroom shower. Once total awareness set in, she closed her eyes again.

In an instant, the events of the previous evening flashed through her mind. There was absolutely no question of whose fault everything was.