Chained (Brides of the Kindred) (12 page)

“I told you, that’s just the way he is—he
loves his work,” Maggie said defensively. “We both do. It’s one of the things
that makes our relationship so perfect—we can concentrate on our research and
not bother each other. Sometimes for days on end.”

“So that’s what you call love on your
planet?” Kor asked doubtfully. “Being able to completely ignore each other in
favor of work?”

“It’s
our
kind of love. I mean,
we’re both scientists. What do you expect—a freaking bodice ripper romance?”
Maggie demanded.

“I think the question is what do
you
expect?”
Kor said frowning. He took her hand. “What do you want?”

Maggie lifted her chin, ignoring the way
the touch of his large, warm hand made her pulse race.

“What I
want
is to study more
trees.”

“Oh, no.” Kor frowned. “After I almost
lost you in the first one? I don’t think so. Come on,
Mistress
, you’ve
had enough tree dreams for today.”

Maggie pulled her hand out of his. “No,
I’m not going. This is the most interesting phenomenon yet! How do the trees
give the dreams? I’ve never experienced anything like that—it was the most
vivid hallucination imaginable. I could feel the warm breeze, smell the
flowers—”

“Hear the male you claim to have given
your heart to express his irritation at having to join with you,” Kor finished
for her dryly.

Maggie felt a surge of irritation. “For
the last time, that’s
my
business—not yours! And I’m going to study
these trees as long as I want to. After all,
I’m
the Mistress here,
aren’t I?”

His face immediately went cold. “So you
are,
my lady.
Please…” He made a sweeping gesture with one hand. “Be my
guest.”

“I will.” Uncertain why she was so angry,
Maggie flounced off, deeper into the woods.

* * * * *

Kor watched her go with a surge of
irritation. What was it about this curvy little female that got under his skin
so much? He’d only known Maggie a little while but it felt like much
longer—probably because of the strange dreams they’d shared. A few things were
clear however: she was brave, compassionate, beautiful, and completely dedicated
to her work. She was also blindly committed to a male who didn’t appear to
deserve her.

He shrugged uneasily. Why should it bother
him who Maggie chose to spend her life with? True she had rescued him and true
he had sworn to protect her—at least until he could see her safely back to her
ship. But it wasn’t like they were bound together for life or anything like that.

The very thought of such a foolish, starry-eyed
notion made him shake his head. Living as a slave, he had seen romantic
attachments torn apart more times than he could count. It didn’t matter how
much a master valued a slave—if he was offered a high price for the female that
slave had foolishly allowed himself to love, then she would be sold away and her
lover would never see her again. How often had he seen broken hearted couples
parting for the last time, crying in anguish as one or the other was led away
to a new master? Of course, it was even more heart wrenching when the parting
was between a mother and her child. It—

Kor shut that thought down immediately and
shoved it away. The point was, love was a fool’s game and there was no way he
would allow himself to grow such an attachment to Maggie.

Why did you bring her
here, then?
whispered a little
voice in his head.
You could have hotwired a hovercar on Yonnie Six and had
her back to her ship in less time than it takes to tell. Across the chasm is a
good place to steal a ship, too—you could already be five systems away by now
instead of hanging around in a place where you’re a wanted male.

Kor didn’t have an answer for the
questions the little voice was posing. It was true, he
was
in danger
here and any sane male would have acted to get himself out of it by now.
Instead he was hanging around like a love-sick fool while Maggie ran off into
what was possibly a dangerous forest like a spoiled brat.

“Shouldn’t even go after her,” he muttered
to himself, crossing his arms over his chest. “It might teach her a lesson to
get trapped for a while.” Besides, there were spa slaves wandering around
everywhere—surely one of them could help her if she had problems.

Except he had promised to protect her. And
the very
thought
of another male laying hands on her filled him with
possessive rage. Kor couldn’t fight the feeling any more than he could fight
the urge to go after her and make sure she was all right.

With a muttered curse, he plunged into the
trees in the general direction she had taken. He just hoped she hadn’t touched
another joining-day dream tree—he didn’t want to have to see that narrow-faced,
rude bastard she called her fiancé again. If he did, he just might punch
him—dream or no dream.

Chapter Eleven

Maggie stumbled through the trees blindly.
Though she told herself she was studying them, she barely saw a single one. Her
mind was still fixed on the fight she’d just had with Kor. Why couldn’t he just
leave her alone? What was his problem, asking all kinds of personal questions
like that?

You mean all the
questions you’ve been trying to avoid yourself for years?
whispered a little voice.

“Shut up,” Maggie told it fiercely. “Anyway,
it was just a stupid tree-dream. It’s not like everything would really happen that
way.”

Except it probably would. Her mother would
cry over the fact that she was
finally
getting married and her sisters
would whisper to each other about how rude Donald was and he would probably
leave the reception early to check on whatever work he’d managed to bring with
him down to Key West. Then Maggie would end up drinking too much champagne to
dull the ache of being alone at her own wedding and by the time she got back to
the honeymoon suite she would be well past tipsy. It wouldn’t matter if she was
falling down drunk, however, because Donald would be so engaged in his
experiments they would once again fail to have sex and she would cry herself to
sleep and—

“Stop it!” Maggie said to herself.
“Seriously—this is ridiculous. I’m not even going to see Donald again for six
months. This trip is supposed to be all about research and work.”

Then how had she wound up at an alien spa
dressed in a skin-tight cat suit getting high on improbable tree-dreams and
questioning her relationship?

Maggie didn’t know. It seemed like she had
gotten herself into a mess, as usual. Only this time she had no one to help her
out of it.

Never mind. I’ll help
myself
out,
she thought determinedly.
And the first thing I’m
going to do is march right back to my room and get out of this ridiculous
getup. Then I’m going to find out who the night porter is and offer him every
single piece of Lady Pope’nose’s ridiculous jewelry to let me make a call to
Ferna and Ratner. I’ll tell them to come pick me up and I’ll be out of here and
on my way to Gaia tonight! Kor can steal a ship or whatever he wants to do and
go his own way. I don’t care—I really don’t!

Mind made up, she lifted her chin high and
started for the edge of the forest…only to find it was nowhere in sight.

“This is ridiculous,” Maggie murmured to
herself, turning in a circle. “Where is it? I couldn’t have come that far
in…could I?”

She looked around for anything familiar
but saw nothing she recognized. Somehow, she seemed to have gotten into a
darker part of the Dreaming Wood. All the brightly colored trees were gone,
replaced by trees with black leaves whose bark was made of things like cracked
concrete, stained brick, and some nasty barbed-wire looking stuff with cruel,
sharp points sticking out all over.

“Ugh!” Maggie made sure to keep her hands
tucked to her sides. She didn’t know what kinds of dreams these trees would
give but she was betting they weren’t of the happily ever after variety. She
didn’t want to take a chance that—

Just then, something long and sinuous
slithered over her foot. Maggie only caught a glimpse of it from the corner of
her eye but it looked like a foot-long caterpillar with long black bristles all
over its body.

Scientist and Xenobiologist though she
was, Maggie still didn’t like bugs. She screamed and jumped back from the
horrible thing which put her off balance in the ridiculously high black
platform heels she was wearing. She went staggering backwards, pinwheeling her
arms madly, trying to keep her balance. Something sharp raked along her back,
tearing the tight cat suit open in several places and drawing blood. It was one
of the trees with barbed wire like bark but Maggie didn’t know that. She was
sure the giant caterpillar was back for more—only this time it had somehow
gotten up in a tree and decided to take a bite with its huge pinchers.

Screaming again, she lunged forward and
nearly face planted on the soft mossy ground. Flailing madly, she managed to
get her arms out in time and stop her fall by grabbing onto a slender tree with
shiny black leather-looking bark.

Oh no,
she thought, even as her fingers closed around a branch
of the tree.
I shouldn’t have—

Before she could finish the thought, she
was transported out of the forest and into someplace lit with low, red light.

“Mistress?” someone said in her ear.
“Excuse me, Mistress?”

“Huh?” Maggie looked around. Maybe she had
somehow ended up in another part of the spa. After all, they called everyone
“mistress” and “my lady” here so maybe—

“Mistress,” the voice said again. “Pardon
my intrusion but the slaves you ordered to be lined up for discipline are ready
for you.”

“What?” With a sinking feeling in her
stomach, Maggie turned to see a small man who looked a little like Lady
Pope’nose’s slave, Jonas, standing beside her. No, not standing—he was actually
crouching. Crouching and shivering in a submissive posture that made it clear
he expected to be beaten at any moment. Now why would he think a thing like
that?

Maggie realized there was something in her
hand and looked down at it—a whip. Great. No wonder the poor little guy was shivering.
And even if she hadn’t been holding a whip, what she was wearing would have
scared anyone silly. It was a black leather bustier which barely covered her
breasts and a pair of tight black leather panties with silver studs on the
sides. On her feet were high black leather boots that went all the way up to mid
thigh,
Pretty Woman
style. Wonderful. She was dressed like the sex
goddess from Hell—what else could go wrong?

“Mistress, please,” he said humbly. “I
have them all lined up but if you wish to discipline me first…” Without
finishing the sentence, he turned and showed that the tight black leather pants
he was wearing were assless. Hairy white cheeks stared out at her from the
round cut-outs, looking to Maggie like undercooked hamburger buns.

Gross!
Maggie took a step back involuntarily. Okay, so she
hadn’t
found her way into another part of the spa. Instead, she was trapped in
another tree-dream. A really
weird
one. So how did she get out of it?

“Mistress?” The slave who had stuck his
ass out for “discipline” turned to face her, a confused look on his face.
“Aren’t you going to punish me?”

“Uh, no. Not now—maybe later,” Maggie
muttered distractedly, looking around the dark chamber for an EXIT sign.

To her disappointment, no such sign
appeared but the more she looked, the more details popped out at her. There
were lots of people dressed in tight black leather and many of them were using
pieces of equipment she had never seen or even imagined. In one corner, someone
was getting spanked with a hairbrush. In another, a female slave with large,
bare breasts was whimpering with pain as she got her nipples pierced with cruel
looking silver barbells. One poor soul appeared to be tied to a huge wooden
wheel and was upside down while two more leather people, (as Maggie was
beginning to think of them,) did painful looking things to his genitals.

“What the hell?” she muttered, shaking her
head. “Whose idea of a sick, perverted fantasy—”

“Mistress, the slaves. They grow restless
waiting for their punishment.”

The new speaker was much taller and more
muscular than the shivering one who had begged for a spanking. In fact, he was
so big and tall that at first Maggie thought he was Kor. But that couldn’t be—Kor
had let her go off on her own—a move she was regretting more and more. Also, he
was wearing a black leather mask that covered his entire head with slits for
eyes and a zipper for a mouth.

“Um…” She looked up at this huge,
forbidding figure and took a step back. “Okay, I’d like to go now.”

“Of course, Mistress. Allow me to escort
you.”

That, of course, wasn’t at all what Maggie
meant but it was too late. Without another word, he took her firmly by the arm
and began leading her through the weird black and red-lit dungeon. Maggie tried
to protest but he didn’t appear to hear her. She wanted to break free but he
was too strong. He simply propelled her along until they came to a large
free-standing platform in the middle of the space which could be seen from all
corners of the room.

Kneeling in the center of the stage, were
three slaves—two men and one woman. All were completely naked except for black
leather harnesses fastened with shiny silver buckles which held their hands
behind their backs.

“Oh, my…” Maggie didn’t want to go up on
that stage but the fierce looking giant leather man compelled her, practically
dragging her up to stand behind the slaves.

“They have come for their punishment,
Mistress,” he whispered harshly through his zippered mouth. “You must not
disappoint them.”

“But I don’t know how…I mean I can’t…can’t
do this,” Maggie protested.

“Yes, you can,” he assured her. “And you
must.
Whip them, Mistress. Whip them until their bare bottoms bleed for the
crimes they have committed. Punish their indiscretions, their blasphemies and wrongdoings.”

Maggie flinched—she didn’t want to make
anyone or anything bleed. She wouldn’t even have killed the foot long
caterpillar that had gotten her into this mess in the first place as long as it
would have just left her alone. But the huge leather man was looming over her,
looking like he might start whipping
her
if she didn’t get started on
the slaves.

The whip!
Maggie looked at the instrument in her hand and had a
sudden burst of inspiration.

“Well, I
would
start whipping them
and punishing their, uh…their indiscretions,” she said. “But you know, this
whip is just not…it’s not right.”

“Is it of inferior quality, Mistress?” The
giant leather man sounded genuinely concerned.

“Um, yes. Yes, as a matter of fact it is.”
Maggie nodded firmly. “I can’t ever remember holding such an, uh, inferior whip
in my life. This is just ridiculous,” she went on, getting into it. “I mean,
how am I supposed to punish slaves with something like this? How can I do my
job if I don’t have the right tools to do it with?”

“My deepest apologies, Mistress.” The
leather giant bowed deeply. “Another instrument of torture will be provided at
once.”

“Oh, no—no you don’t have to bother with
that,” Maggie protested. “Honestly, I was just thinking I could really use a
break to go powder my nose and you know how tight this getup is.” She nodded at
the black leather bustier she was wearing. “I mean it takes half the night to
uh, unlace it so you probably should go on without me and—”

“A flogger,” the leather giant
interrupted. “Perhaps you would prefer a flogger?”

“Oh, uh, no. Not really,” Maggie said
weakly. “Floggers are so, you know, last season.”

“Indeed?” He frowned. “Well, then, a
paddle.
That
will be perfect for you, Mistress. You can sit upon the
chair and I will have each slave come to you in turn. They will lay across your
lap and receive their just desserts.”

“But I don’t
want
to give out
desserts—with a paddle or any other way,” Maggie protested. “And I especially
don’t want naked strangers in my lap!”

But the muscle bound giant was already in
action. He whisked the whip out of her hand and replaced it with a huge, thick,
black wooden paddle which had multiple tiny holes drilled in its flat surface.
Then he pushed Maggie into a straight-backed wooden chair and grabbed the first
slave—a tall lanky man with a very obvious erection—by the scruff of the neck.

“Come, slave,” he thundered, herding the
man toward Maggie on his knees. “Lay across the Mistress’s lap and take your
punishment.”

“Ugh!” Maggie exclaimed involuntarily when
the naked man was shoved face down across her lap. His bare, boney ass was
sticking up in the air, practically in her face and something stiff and sticky
was rubbing against her leg. Was that—? Unfortunately, yes it was.

Gross! He’s
leaking
on me!
Maggie moved her thigh, trying to get away from the eager
slave’s body fluids. She wanted to shove him off her lap altogether but with
the leather giant looking on, she didn’t quite dare.

“Mistress,” the lanky slave murmured. “I
await your punishment.”

“But I don’t
want
to punish you,”
Maggie protested.

“Then perhaps you would prefer me to lick
your boots?” he asked humbly, looking up at her. “Or perhaps remove your boots
and suck your toes? I am told I have a most talented tongue…”

“Ewww!” Maggie was completely grossed out
by now.
“No,
I don’t want you to lick my
feet!
Are you crazy or
just—”

“Just what, Mistress?”

Maggie took a deep breath. “Don’t freak
out,” she muttered to herself. “None of this is real. It’s just a tree-dream.”

“A what, Mistress?” the naked slave asked.