Space Invaders (56 page)

“Come on, let’s go see what Corrine has cooked up for dinner,” Ryder said.

AJ agreed, as did his growling stomach. Silently, he hoped for something with chocolate in it.

This time the meal with the staff was far more pleasant than the previous ones. For the first time AJ felt as though he was one of them. Only when Blake returned and bellowed for AJ to come service him was he reminded of his place.

AJ left the table, waiting for the snide comments to come, but even Jessiah, the only one not to apologise outright to AJ, remained silent as he left the room.

“You took your time,” Blake snapped the moment AJ entered the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, naked and fondling his erection.

“What can I do for you?” AJ asked.

“Suck me,” Blake ordered.

AJ dropped to his knees and set to work. At least if he wasn’t being fucked tonight it would give his sore arse a chance to recover.

As he sucked on Blake’s cock, AJ wondered idly what Ryder was doing right now. No sooner had the thought of Ryder entered his mind, AJ began to imagine what it might be like to be doing this to him. Would he taste better than Blake? AJ thought he might. Was Ryder even homosexual? Ashleigh constantly batted her eyelashes at Ryder, but just because he didn’t appear interested in the pretty young woman, it didn’t automatically follow he was attracted to men, or to AJ specifically.

“You aren’t concentrating!” Blake snapped when AJ’s teeth accidentally scraped the sensitive flesh. “Get your mind on your job or when I fuck you I’ll do it without lube.”

AJ startled at the knowledge Blake intended to fuck him tonight as well. His dick, which had begun to harden as he thought of Ryder, wilted at Blake’s words. This week was turning out to be harder than he’d initially thought. He only hoped he’d get paid at the end of it.

Chapter Six

Ryder was still awake when AJ limped back into the sleeping chamber an hour later.

“What the fuck did he do to you?” Ryder asked as he jumped from his capsule and helped AJ across the room.

AJ spared a glance for Jessiah and was relieved to see the teen was already asleep, his capsule closed for the night, with no possibility of him hearing them.

“I’m fine,” AJ said. “Just let me sleep and I’ll be fine.”

Ryder shook his head. “Were you really a virgin?”

“Yes.”

“And has he fucked you every night since the auction?”

“Yes.” AJ snorted. “He’s making sure he gets value for his credits.”

“He’s hurting you, is what he’s doing.”

“He isn’t doing anything I’ve not agreed to,” AJ reminded him.

“When you stood on that table and put yourself on offer, did you agree to a week of being fucked this hard?”

“No. But if I leave now I get nothing.”

“Is it worth it to go through this for a few measly credits?”

“Nineteen and a half thousand credits plus my sister’s life,” AJ whispered as he sank back onto the mattress. “Yes, it’s worth it.”

“Your sister is safe now.”

“I know.”

“You can walk away right now and she’ll still be alive.”

“I’ve nowhere to go if I leave tonight. I’ve less than a hundred credits on my band and nowhere to stay.”

“I know nearly twenty thousand credits for one week seems like a good deal to you—”

“Don’t,” AJ interrupted. “I made my choice and I’m going to follow it through.”

Ryder started to say something in response, but AJ pulled the capsule closed, effectively ending the conversation.

* * * *

The next day AJ woke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. His body still ached, but his spirit was revitalised. His new tentative friendship with Ryder made all the difference to his demeanour. Ryder noticed the change in him immediately.

“Wow, you look like a new man,” he said as AJ breezed into the kitchen.

“What smells so good?” AJ asked as he tried to see round Corrine’s shoulder.

“A full English fry-up,” Ashleigh said. “We only have one once a month because most of the ingredients are so rare.”

“What is it?” AJ queried as Corrine dished up the various strange items and handed out the plates.

“Bacon, sausages, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, eggs, toast, juice…” Ashleigh’s voice trailed off as she shovelled the food into her mouth.

“We don’t know where she puts it all,” Jessiah teased.

Ashleigh replied with a two-fingered salute that brought laughter to the whole table.

“Ready for your next lesson?” Ryder asked as they finished clearing their plates.

AJ nodded eagerly. “Definitely.”

“Good. I’ve got some jobs to do this morning, but as soon as they’re done we’ll get started. You can practise your letters while you’re waiting if you like?”

“Or I could help you with your jobs?” AJ suggested. “The sooner you finish, the sooner our lesson can start.”

Ryder held out his hand for AJ to shake. “Deal.”

Jessiah stood up and gathered the empty plates to carry over to the sink. “You’d better not let Blake catch you two making cow eyes at each other. I don’t think the boss likes to share his toys.”

Ryder glared at Jessiah’s back. “AJ isn’t a toy!”

Jessiah turned round at the sharp reprimand. “You know what I meant.”

AJ patted Ryder’s arm. “It’s okay.”

Ryder glanced down at AJ’s hand and AJ pulled back quickly. Ryder reached out and took his fingers in a light grip. “No, it’s not. It’s my fault Jessiah speaks about you like he does. And it’s going to stop right now. He’s following my example because he thinks it’s okay to look down on someone for how they earn credits.”

“Like you didn’t look down on him for the same reason,” Jessiah replied.

“No, I didn’t,” Ryder said. “I was just jealous.”

“Jealous?” AJ asked.

Ryder blushed. “When we were in the elevator, going up to the party, I liked you. I was going to try and hook up with you that night. Then you put on that damn collar and the next thing I know you belong to Blake. I was pissed because I missed my chance, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry for that, and I’m sorry for setting a bad example to Jessiah and the others. I’m apologising for my part in this and I hope Jessiah will do the same.”

“I’m sorry, okay,” Jessiah said. “But you know I’m right about Blake. However you want to dress it up, AJ is his property until the end of the week, and if he knows you have a thing for each other he’ll put a stop to it.”

“It’s not like there’s anything going on between us,” Ryder said.

“Of course not,” Corrine interrupted. “You’re sitting there holding his hand because your fingers are cold.”

Ryder looked down at their joined hands as though he hadn’t realised they were there. AJ eased his fingers out of the grip and wiped his suddenly sweaty palm on his trousers. At least the question of whether Ryder was into men—into him— had been answered.

* * * *

Ryder was in a quiet mood as he and AJ worked side by side throughout the morning.

“Does it bother you?” Ryder finally asked as he finished up the weekly accounts. AJ had been helping by totting up the figures, something they discovered he was quite adept at.

“Does what bother me?” AJ replied, not sure where Ryder’s thoughts had drifted.

“That I’m attracted to you.”

“No,” AJ answered. “Why should it?”

Ryder went silent again for several minutes. “I don’t want you to feel as though I see you as only a whore. I meant it when I said liked you before you put your wretched collar on.”

“I liked you too,” AJ admitted.

“Does that mean you don’t like me now? Did I ruin any chance I had with you completely by the way I treated you after the auction?”

AJ smiled and shook his head. “I still like you, far more than I should.”

Ryder looked at him coyly from under long lashes. “And why’s that?”

“Because this week I belong to Blake. Jessiah made a good point, tactless though his comment was, Blake wouldn’t approve of anything happening between us.”

Ryder leant closer and brushed his lips across AJ’s in a kiss as soft as a whisper. “Later,” he murmured. “You won’t be Blake’s forever.”

AJ shifted in his seat. His cock, which never seemed to rise to the occasion when Blake fucked him, decided now would be a good time to make its presence known. He needed a distraction before they got carried away. He grabbed a book off the shelf and opened it to a random page. “Perhaps we should carry on with the lessons,” he suggested.

Ryder nodded shakily and took the book from him. He read slowly, moving his finger across the page to show AJ the words he spoke. The book was one of Blake’s ancestor’s journals—AJ gathered that much. Everything else went right over his head as he listened to Ryder read. He wasn’t conscious of anything other than the heat of the man sitting next to him and the way his own treacherous body reacted. He tried—with little success—to hide his erection. Only when Ryder stopped reading did AJ realise something was wrong.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“This can’t be right,” Ryder replied as he flicked back through the pages.

“What do you mean?” AJ hoped his inattention wasn’t too obvious. He would hate for Ryder to consider him a poor student.

Ryder ignored him as he skimmed back and forth through the journal. AJ, worried and a little curious as to what Ryder meant by his comment, fidgeted at his side.

“According to this journal, Blake’s great-grandfather succeeded in his experiment with time travel,” Ryder explained. “But that’s impossible, or everyone would have heard about it.”

“Is time travel possible?” AJ asked.

“It’s not supposed to be,” Ryder replied as he continued to leaf through the pages. “But according to this book, Blake’s great-grandfather managed the feat several times.”

“I wish I could go back to another time,” AJ said with a small sigh of wistfulness. “To see the sky as it used to be, without the clouds of gases polluting the air. To lay on the grass and smell the fresh flowers must have been wonderful. I bet half the people back then didn’t appreciate what they had when they had it.”

Ryder smiled as he closed the book. “I suspect you’re right.”

“Do you think Blake’s ancestor really managed to go back in time?”

“I don’t know,” Ryder admitted. “If he did, it’s got to be one of the biggest secrets ever kept.”

AJ looked out of the window at the red sky. Long ago, before the Last War, it had been blue. Some people believed it might one day be so again. AJ was aware it wouldn’t be in his lifetime. There had been far too much damage caused to the planet during the war. The Earth needed the time to recover and all the remaining humans could do was wait things out underground in the various isolated communities across the world.

“What are you thinking?” Ryder asked.

“Nothing important,” AJ replied as he turned to face Ryder.

They sat close enough to kiss—properly this time—but AJ knew it would be a bad idea to make such a move.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Blake thundered as he took in the scene before him.

AJ and Ryder both jumped at Blake’s unexpected return.

“Nothing,” Ryder answered as he pulled back from AJ and turned to face their employer. “I’m just giving AJ some reading lessons.”

“Whores don’t need to know how to read,” Blake shouted. “And even if they did, they don’t need to be sitting on your lap to learn.”

“I’m not sitting on anyone’s lap,” AJ interrupted.

“Don’t answer back,” Blake snapped. “You’re my whore and no other man will touch you while you’re under contract to me. Do you understand me, whore?”

AJ nodded as he shrank back in his seat.

“I don’t think you do,” Blake replied. “You’ll both report to my room after supper.”

With his orders clear, Blake swept from the room and AJ let out a long breath.

“He’s angry,” Ryder commented unnecessarily.

“Why do you think he wants you to report to him?” AJ asked.

“I don’t know,” Ryder admitted. “I don’t like it either.”

AJ silently agreed. He guessed they would find out soon enough what Blake had in mind.

* * * *

Neither AJ nor Ryder said anything as they left the supper table and headed into the main living area. The other staff members remained silent as they departed.

When they arrived in Blake’s bedroom AJ saw Blake had rearranged the furniture and placed an armchair facing the foot of the bed. Blake pointed Ryder to the chair.

“Take a seat,” he said.

Ryder did as he was told and Blake nodded his approval. Turning to AJ, he gestured towards the bed. “Strip and get on the mattress,” he ordered.

AJ looked over at Ryder who gave a small shrug. He apparently didn’t know what Blake had in mind either.

“Are you suffering from a sudden case of deafness?” Blake asked. “Strip and get on the bed now.”

AJ quickly undressed and climbed onto the mattress.

Blake walked over to stand behind Ryder’s chair so they both faced AJ on the bed from the same angle.

“Face us,” Blake demanded, and AJ turned to kneel facing the armchair. Ryder looked at him with open admiration and AJ was rather glad Blake could not see the expression on his servant’s face. Ryder’s feelings of desire were written there for anyone to see. With Ryder watching him, despite the awkwardness of the situation, AJ’s dick began to harden in response to the heated gaze.

“What do you see, Ryder?” Blake asked.

Ryder frowned at the question. “I see AJ.”

“What else? Describe him for me.”

“He’s pale, with shoulder-length dark hair, blue eyes, and a slim build.”

AJ saw Ryder mouth one more word, soundlessly, so Blake could not hear him. “Beautiful.” AJ’s whole body seemed to flush in response to the silent compliment.

“And?” Blake demanded.

“He’s naked?” Ryder guessed.

“You’re seeing a man when you look at him,” Blake said. The impatience in his voice was obvious. “What else do you see?”

“I don’t know what you’re asking,” Ryder replied with barely concealed annoyance.

“My whore,” Blake snapped. “When you look at him you should see my whore.”

AJ could no longer meet Ryder’s eyes. His flush of pleasure became one of exposure and embarrassment. His partial erection became non-existent as his penis wilted.