But somehow the collar had brought that response out of him.
Why? Was it just because he’d nearly been killed by it before? That would certainly be reason enough to cause an extreme reaction but somehow Trin thought it was more than that. More of what she didn’t know. She only knew that at the sight of the collar the proud, fearless, reckless male she was coming to know and grudgingly respect had somehow lost himself. Or rather…he was only holding onto himself by a thread. Maybe that was why he’d shocked himself on purpose—to bring himself back, to clear his head somehow.
Or maybe he was just showing the crew they were safe. Come on, Trin—stop making up stories and deal with the reality, she lectured herself.
But the reality was that she’d seen genuine distress when she showed the collar to him…the reality was that his big body had trembled as she fastened it on.
But he still said the proper words and made the proper gestures, Trin reminded herself. It didn’t occur to her to wonder how Thrace knew the proper words and correct gestures. After all, they’d already established that she’d been wrong about his past. But there was something about the pain she’d seen in his pale, piercing eyes that twisted her heart.
If she’d really seen it there at all. Maybe she was just imagining things…
“I’m fine. I feel good.” Thrace was already getting to his feet again, dusting off the tight leather trousers and giving her an irreverent grin. “Well, was that show good enough for you, Mistress?”
“It was,” Trin acknowledged. Although she wondered how much of it was show.
“Good.” He nodded at her. “Well, let’s get back to the cabin. I assume I’ll be sleeping with you tonight?”
“What?” Trin looked at him, genuinely startled.
“At the foot of your bed, of course. As any good slave would.” He raised an eyebrow. “What did you think I meant?”
Trin cleared her throat, not willing to get into that.
“I’m sorry but the small room where you were before is supposed to be for my body-slave.”
“You mean the one where you had me chained down so I couldn’t move for days on end?” His voice dropped to a low growl. “Look, Mistress, no disrespect but I’m not going back in there. I…” He cleared his throat. “I can’t. Not on top of this.” He touched the collar lightly with his fingertips and winced again as he got a slight shock. The collar was wired to keep a slave from trying to take it off too.
“Thrace—”
“Please, Trin…it’s too much,” he muttered, meeting her eyes. “I fucking can’t. Not tonight, anyway.”
“I…” Trin wasn’t sure what to say. It was true that there was space on the floor at the end of her bed—her cabin was rather large as sleeping quarters went—probably because the ship had originally been built for an elegant and spoiled mistress from Yonnie Six. But she’d never expected to have to share it with anyone—most especially not a male.
Still one glance at his face convinced her. The look was back in his eyes—that indefinable look that made her wonder…that made her worry…that made her sorry.
“All right,” she said at last, stiffly. “But I’m sleeping with the remote in my hand. Come on, I’m tired.”
“As my Mistress wishes,” Thrace murmured and followed her out of the pod and down the long metal corridor without further comment.
Chapter Twelve
Sidna was waiting for her in front of her cabin door, as Trin had half expected she would be. She gave a mental sigh and straightened her shoulders, unwilling to show weakness although she was beginning to feel more weary than she ever had in her life.
“Sidna, what can I do for you?” she said, trying to keep her tone light.
“I’d like a moment of your time, Captain. Alone.” It was always a bad sign when Sidna called her by her title instead of her name. Inside, Trin groaned. Outwardly, she somehow managed to maintain a pleasant, professional expression.
“Of course. Thrace—go in the cabin please and turn my bed down for sleep. I’m tired.”
“I will. And then I’d like a shower, Mistress.” He raised his eyebrows at her, making it a request.
“Of course, that’s fine.” Trin nodded. “Just go.”
The huge Havoc nodded and walked into her cabin quietly. The metal door swooshed shut behind him.
Sidna looked at Trin, iron gray eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“So now you’re letting him sleep with you? A male? In your bed?” she demanded. “That’s sacrilege! The Goddess—”
“Of course he’s not sleeping in my bed,” Trin said briskly. “He’s sleeping on the floor so I can keep an eye on him.”
“Right. So you can keep an eye on him.” Sidna’s voice fairly dripped sarcasm.
Trin put a hand on her hip—time to nip this in the bud.
“What exactly are you implying, Sidna? And you’d better watch what you say. I don’t appreciate being insulted on my own ship.”
“I’m not implying—I’m saying that this…this male has you fooled. Somehow he’s convinced you that he’s trustworthy when he’s not—no male is and you know it!”
Trin felt her professional demeanor slipping. It had been a hell of a long day and she was bone weary and not completely sure about her choices. Which meant she really didn’t feel like defending them to her friend.
“You know how he convinced me to trust him, Sidna?” she demanded. “The fact that he came after me, all alone, and saved my life and my honor in the Demon’s Eye. Then he risked his own life to get me back here—fought off over a dozen of B’Rugh’s goons—and before you say that all males are disgusting beasts that only think about sex and breeding, he didn’t lay a hand on me either, even when I was completely vulnerable. Then he willingly let me put the collar on him just so you and the rest of the crew wouldn’t feel uneasy about him being on board. So that’s how he earned my trust. What else can he do to earn yours?”
“Nothing,” Sidna said flatly. “He’s a male—they’re inherently untrustworthy and you know it. But since he has you fooled, I’ll try my best to have your back when he turns on you.”
“He’s not going to turn on me like some rabid feral.” Trin couldn’t keep the exasperation out of her voice. “Look, is that all you came to say? Because I’m really tired—being in mortal danger and nearly being raped and killed will do that to a girl.”
Sidna’s lips thinned. “As a matter of fact, no that isn’t all. I also wanted to tell you that you have a message from Lady Malroth on Yonnie Six. I saved it for you on your private viewscreen.”
“Thank you.” Trin nodded. “That’s good news—maybe she’s ready to deal.”
“Maybe,” Sidna snapped. “And I guess you’re ready to deal as well—now that you have a body-slave at your side to legitimize you in the Yonnie Six circles.”
“I am,” Trin said calmly. “And as soon as I sell the Jaxite crystals I got from B’Rugh to Lady Malroth, I’ll make back the investment on Thrace. Then he’ll consider his debt paid, and he’ll go. All right?”
Sidna looked slightly mollified.
“Really? This isn’t a long term arrangement then? Because I never liked the idea of you buying a male slave in the first place and I don’t trust this one as far as I could throw him.”
“It’s just a one time thing,” Trin told her soothingly. “As soon as the deal is done, Thrace is gone.”
“Well…” Sidna took a deep breath. “I still don’t like it and I still don’t trust him. But I’m willing to stick by you, Trin—at least until Yonnie Six.”
“Thank you.” Trin put a hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “That means a lot to me, Sidna. Good medics are hard to find and good friends are even harder.”
A small smile graced the medic’s thin lips.
“Just be careful letting him in there with you. Sleep with that remote in your hand.” She nodded to the small, black rectangle Trin still held.
“I intend to,” Trin said gravely. “Now,
I’d better go listen to the message Lady Malroth left. And then I’m going to get some sleep—I’m dead tired.”
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Sidna said, nodding. “Pleasant dreams, Trin.”
“Pleasant dreams, Sidna.” She watched the medic walk away with the feeling of a near disaster averted. Sidna was strong willed enough to stir the crew towards mutiny if she truly didn’t believe in a decision Trin had made. They’d had their differences in the past but never anything this severe. Trin just hoped she had put the older woman’s fears to rest.
And she hoped that Sidna was wrong about Thrace.
With a sigh, she went into her cabin and closed the door. There was nothing else to do.
* * * * *
When he came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his hips, Thrace saw Trin was sitting on the end of her bed watching a message on the viewscreen.
“I received your message about your shipment of Jaxite crystals with cautious pleasure, mingled, I must confess, with more than a little trepidation,” a sharp, cultured voice said.
Thrace started to go back into the fresher—this was a private message, after all. But he could tell that the woman speaking was a mistress of Yonnie Six by the way she was dressed. She was wearing an outfit that was a bizarre mixture of modest and revealing. Her dress had a collar that went up to her chin and fell down to her ankles, covering her completely. It was a flat, opaque blue except for clear mesh panels over her breasts and the area between her thighs. Though they were technically covered, her breasts and sex were clearly revealed by the odd garment.
But her dress wasn’t the only strange thing about her—her hair was dyed deep blue to match her dress and swept up in an elaborate style that towered over her head. On her fingers, rings filled with rare and precious gems flashed as she talked.
Oh yeah, Yonnie Six, all right, Thrace thought. His old Master had had some dealings with the mistresses there—though he’d been forced to use a female envoy to conduct them. The Yonnites had absolutely no respect or use for males at all—except as body-slaves. That was about as much as Thrace knew about them and it was as much as he’d ever wanted to know. But since this call might affect his future freedom and Trin’s ability to sell the crystals, he figured he’d better listen in.
“My trepidation, of course, stems from the fact that last time you came to see me, you were not properly accessorized.” The Yonnie mistress emphasized the word. “I trust you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Trin muttered from the bed. “You want me to have a body-slave, you snobbish prig.” Her back was still towards him so she didn’t see Thrace standing in the shadows watching her. There was a slump to her slim shoulders that spoke of her weariness and he felt a surge of pity for his new mistress.
“I very much want the shipment and I’m prepared to give you a very fair price. But…” The mistress held up one ringed finger. “You must have a proper body-slave with you this time. It is of utmost importance as the only place I can see you is at the Landra-Rey Celebration. There will be other mistresses there as well and I must not be seen to associate with an inferior connection. Every move you make will be scrutinized so I hope you’re up to date on the current customs and fashions. As you know, they change daily—sometimes hourly—on our lovely world and only the latest fashions and trends will be tolerated.”
“Customs and fashions. Goddess of Judgment, give me strength!” Trin sighed and ran a hand through her long black hair.
“Your body-slave must also be perfectly behaved with only the finest manners. An impressive specimen will be in order so I hope you have procured one.”
“Oh, I think you’ll be impressed, Lady Malroth,” Trin muttered to herself and Thrace couldn’t help grinning. It was good to know she had confidence in his ability to impress the picky Yonnite mistress.
“The Landra-Rey Celebration is being held two days from now at Lady Tam-tams estate, Dreaming Hills, located in the countryside just north of Opulex. I will leave your name at the estate entrance and I hope to see you at the grand reception the first evening. There we can meet and talk and finalize our deal…if everything is acceptable.”
The message ended abruptly with no good-bye. Presumably Lady Malroth was too busy for such trivial courtesies.
“Well, it looks like we have our work cut out for us,” Thrace said, stepping forward.
“Oh!” Trin spun around, one hand to her heart and the remote to the pain collar gripped in the other. Her eyes widened when she saw him.
“Take it easy,” Thrace held out his free hand in a gesture of peace—the other was holding the too-small towel around his waist and he didn’t want to let it go. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Were you listening to my message?” Trin demanded, her dark eyes flashing.
Thrace nodded, seeing no point in lying.
“I figured it concerned us both.”
She sighed and seemed to lose some of her irritation.
“You’re right about that. I was hoping she’d be willing to grant me a quick, private audience in her own home to do this deal but no—apparently I’ve got to go to some weird celebration or other where my every move will be scrutinized in order to even see her.”
“What kind of celebration is it?” Thrace raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. The daughters of Zetta Prime are descended from the Yonnie Six mistresses but we stopped following their customs long ago.”
“Except for the one about having nothing to do with males,” Thrace pointed out dryly.
“Except for that,” Trin admitted. “Although even the Yonnites have more dealing with males than we do. They use them for body-slaves—we just prefer to avoid them altogether.”
“Too bad I seem to be unavoidable,” Thrace remarked, smiling at her.
A small smile ghosted across her lips in reply.
“I guess so.” She sighed. “Well, that message was dated from much earlier—it must have come in just as I was leaving for the Demon’s Eye. Which means we really only have a day to get ready and get ourselves back to Yonnie Six and this Landra-Rey Celebration.”
“Guess I’ll have to become the perfect body-slave,” Thrace said thoughtfully. “I’d better not screw this up for you if I don’t want to remain in your service for the rest of my natural life.”
“I’ll have to be the perfect mistress as well.” Trin sighed. “That’s not going to be easy. The Yonnites are so devious and round-about. I prefer straight-forward dealings where you know where you stand.”
“We’re going to be standing in quickmud the entire time and we’ll sink in up to our necks if we don’t keep moving,” Thrace muttered. “With your permission, I’d like to run a few searches on the viewscreen—I need to find out exactly what’s going to be expected of me.”
“Okay, but tomorrow.” Trin yawned and shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. “We’ll start early but right now I’m tired and really cold. I need a hot shower and then I’m going to bed.”
“A hot bath would be better,” Thrace pointed out. “I noticed you have a small bubble tub in there. You should submerge yourself in hot water—it would bring up your core temperature.” Not that it would help that much if she was still having after effects from the passion berries as he suspected. But it couldn’t hurt…
Trin shook her head.
“That sounds great but I’m too tired for a bath right now. Just a quick shower is fine. Um…” She cleared her throat and her eyes flickered down to the towel around his waist. “The storage locker in the corner has extra blankets and pillows and a few items of male clothing left by the mistress who used to own this ship. I think she had a slave that was about your size. Maybe you could find something to fit you.”
“I’ll look,” Thrace said, nodding. He was heartily sick of wearing the tight black leather pants the slavers had forced him into but the flimsy towel he was holding around his waist was hardly a viable alternati
ve. He fervently hoped he might find something both more comfortable and more practical in the storage locker.
“Good.” Trin nodded at him briefly. “Okay, then I’m taking a shower. Good night.”
“Good night…Mistress.” The title still seemed strange to him, especially when he’d sworn to himself never to call her that. But it fit her somehow and Thrace found that the more he said it, the easier it came.
Shaking his head at the strangeness of it, he went to the storage locker she’d indicated and started to look for something new to wear.
Chapter Thirteen
Trin turned over on her side and rolled herself into a ball, pulling her knees in tight to her body. Goddess of Judgment, she was cold! And no matter what she did, she just kept getting colder. She’s already put two extra thermal blankets on and she was wearing thermal socks too. She wished she had some thermal sleepwear but the thin, silky sleep dresses which had so bothered Thrace when she wore them around him were the only nighttime garments she possessed.
Speaking of Thrace, he had apparently found himself a pair of sleep trousers to wear in the old clothes left by The Alacrity’s last owner. He had taken a pillow and a single thin blanket and was lying quietly on the floor at the foot of her bed.
Trin had been relieved to see that he was wearing more than the tiny, thin towel he’d been holding around his waist when he came out of the shower. She’d been seeing him shirtless for days now and she’d even handled his “equipment” when he was chained down and needed help to relieve himself. But back then she’d been thinking of him as just a big, not-too-bright animal.
Now she saw his intelligence and admired his bravery and sense of humor. She was, she realized, beginning to know him as a person and that changed the way she felt about him. Seeing him naked or almost naked made her feel…strange. And the idea of letting him see her in a similar state of undress was also uncomfortable. She’d been glad the room was dark when she came into the sleeping area, her thin robe belted tightly around her to keep from revealing anything. And also glad that his bare, muscular chest was mostly covered by the thin blanket.