Pet's Pleasure (14 page)

Bekion wondered why the woman didn’t understand the seriousness of Starling’s words. “Lady Idruc, our meeting will have to wait until I deal with my pet’s agitation.”

He couldn’t wait to be away from her. She was oblivious to Starling’s upset and disinterest in Ladrow. The latter made him happy. He didn’t want to think about Starling in the arms of another man.

Furielle awaited them in Bekion’s chambers. Bekion assumed one of the guards had alerted her to the altercation.

“I want a bath,” Starling said upon seeing the woman.

Bekion nodded when Furielle looked at him.

The woman stepped forward to help Starling undress but Starling backed away. “Hold on a second, Furielle. I need to speak to Bekion. Get out for a few minutes.”

Furielle left after confirming the command with Bekion. He faced Starling and confronted her anger. That surprised him. “The ordeal is over, little Starling. I know it upset you but you needn’t worry about going through it again.”

She pointed toward the door. “Is
that
what you see when you look at me?”

“I’m sorry?”

“That
thing
is the reason you think I’m not fit to sleep with you, right? That’s the reason you see me as an animal and not a person, right?”

“I don’t see you as an animal. I see no similarities between you and Lady Idruc’s pet.”

“Except we’re both human and not worthy of being thought of as sentient beings.”

“Why are you angry with me?”

She pulled back in obvious shock. “After everything you said to me last night, you have the nerve to ask me that?”

Bekion had almost forgotten about last night. This attack couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. It emphasized his earlier words, making him feel the sting again. He knew Starling must feel the same. No, worse. “Starling—”

“That thing is deformed due to generations of inbreeding, yet you think we’re alike. I have measurable intelligence. My speech is intelligible. The only difference between me and someone like,” she twirled her hand in the air in a thinking motion, “like Furielle is our size.”

Did she choose Furielle’s name at random or had she found out about their brief liaison? Had Furielle told Starling of that encounter? Why?

Starling said, “It must be nice to get laid whenever you want. Having a captive audience probably makes it even better.”

She must have heard the girl Vieve sent him last night. Since he’d made no noise, she wouldn’t have heard
him
. He’d found the interlude more trying than satisfying. Telling Starling that wouldn’t make the present situation any better. In fact, it might make it worse, if she believed him at all.

She said, “I shouldn’t have backed down when you threatened to take away my clothes. Parading around naked might actually get me laid by someone who doesn’t care that I’m human.”

Bekion asked between clenched teeth, “If you are so desperate for sexual partners, perhaps I should agree to Lady Idruc’s suggestion and couple you with Ladrow?”

“You do and you won’t have to worry about assassins because I’ll be the one who kills you in your sleep.”

He believed her. The threat was serious and so was she. He backed down—figuratively and literally. He sat on the bed with a long, tired sigh. “I have no intention of giving you to Lady Idruc’s pet, Starling. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“And you have no intention of sleeping with me either.”

“No.”

“Then why do I have to stay in your room? Give me a room of my own or let me sleep with Nausic. That would make his job easier.”

Though said in an offhand, innocent manner, her words reignited the full force of Bekion’s anger. “Your place is in my room.”

“Your closet, you mean.”

“You put yourself there.”

“I wouldn’t want to tempt you into bestiality.”

He pushed to his feet and stalked toward the door. “You’ll remain in my chambers until Lady Idruc and her pet leave tomorrow.”

“Whatever.”

He turned back but regretted it. Starling stood in her panties and nothing else. She’d stripped off her dress while his back was turned. He swallowed, trying to wet his suddenly dry throat.

Starling glanced at him. “Did you want something?”

Bekion turned his back once more and left the room. “Furielle, see to her,” he barked as he passed the woman.

Starling yelled something in her mother language. Bekion started to face her but Rois yanked him to the side. He felt the wind of a small vase speeding past his cheek. It crashed into the wall exactly where his head would have been if Rois hadn’t moved him. Bekion glared at Rois for laughing, which the man tried to cover with a coughing fit.

Bekion and Starling needed distance so they could both calm down. The recess he called had ended five minutes ago, so he headed for the throne room. He didn’t have to explain his tardiness to anyone. But he hated setting a bad example.

“She has a strong arm,” Rois said, amusement still coloring his voice. “She threw that vase from the inner chamber doorway. It had some speed on it too. I almost didn’t get to you in time.”

“Silence, Rois.”

The man bowed and then slowed so he walked two paces behind Bekion.

Putting his anger aside, Bekion couldn’t help but agree with Rois. Starling did have a strong arm. Power like that shouldn’t exist in such a small frame.

Starling possessed other powers.

How had one small human female come to mean so much to him in only two months’ time? She actually made him feel guilt when he chanced upsetting her. That had never happened to him before. One woman was the same as the next to him. Yet Starling proved the exception.

The tutors who practically raised him had warned Bekion of one day meeting a woman who would make him care for her more than his duty and his crown. They cautioned, such a woman would be dangerous. At the time, he had laughed off their words of warning as silly musings from old men.

Now he wished they had predicted a
jattikan
woman putting him through such tortures.

Chapter Ten

Starling punched her pillow several times before picking it up and slamming it against her bed a few times. That didn’t vent her spleen enough. She wanted Bekion to come back so she could throw more things at his head.

If she could get Rois and the other guards to leave the room, one of the projectiles might hit. She had been her baseball team’s ace pitcher all through high school, her specialty being the fastball. She planned to crack open Bekion’s skull the next time she threw something at him.

Every time she thought about her run-in with Ladrow, her anger came back full force. Bekion really saw her that way. All of the
jattikans
saw her that way. Despite her looking and acting nothing like Ladrow, they automatically put Starling in the same category. It pissed her off.

“Lady Starling?” Nausic stood in the closet doorway with a worried expression.

“Get out.” She threw the pillow at him. Lacking proper aerodynamics, the pillow didn’t make it and hit the floor with a soft plop. That added to her anger.

She yelled, “I’m nothing but some dumb animal to you. Leave me alone to wallow in my own filth.” She faced the corner and said in a normal voice, “I don’t even know why I bother talking. You all act like you can’t understand me anyway.”

Her tablet caught her eye. She picked it up and threw it over her shoulder, not caring where it landed or if it broke in the process.

Why would any self-respecting
jattikan
want to understand and speak English anyway? Vieve had only suggested the project as a way of shutting Starling up. Bekion liked the convenience and went along with it.

Behind her, Nausic heaved a sigh before leaving the doorway.

Good.

She hoped they all left her alone. They could lock the closet door and only open it again when they needed to change her paper and give her food and water.

Her pity party lasted only long enough for her anger to cool and boredom to set in. She looked over her shoulder at the closet door. If anyone occupied the rooms outside, they weren’t making noise.

She didn’t want to see anyone though. Her gaze traveled to her discarded tablet. She left the bed and retrieved it.

The tablet started with no problems. Her abuse hadn’t damaged it. She continued the section on slang terms and compound phrases. She almost felt sorry for the poor translation program. It kept trying to correct her on words like
bad
and
cool
since they didn’t fit any previous usages.

She’d found out some days ago, the tablet was a type of artificial intelligence. It liked to point out the convoluted nature of her language. She spent most of her time having to explain why certain words meant one thing when in one situation but something totally different in another. In this instance, firefighter, crime fighter and freedom fighter were giving it fits. The AI assumed a freedom fighter fought against freedom. Starling spent a large chunk of time arguing it down. The computer probably thought she was stupid or didn’t have the proper grasp of her own language.

The little power struggle with a logical entity made Starling giggle in spite of her upset. The closet door opened, interrupting her amusement. A maid entered, carrying a tray. She set it on the end of the bed, uncovered it, bowed and then left. Starling guessed Nausic had instructed the woman not to speak to her.

Good. Starling didn’t feel like talking to anyone but the tablet. She did nibble at the food because it was there. She didn’t protest or even acknowledge the maid who returned some time later to retrieve the tray.

Nausic peeked in on her a few times but he didn’t speak either. He simply nodded and left once more.

Starling didn’t register how much time had passed until another maid brought in another tray of food. Dinner this time. Starling didn’t have an appetite so she ignored it. The slang section was almost finished. That meant she could move on to idioms. If the AI gave her fits over slang, it would burn out a few circuits with the idioms.

Noise drifted into the closet from the outer chamber. The servants were bustling around more than usual. Bekion must have returned or would soon. Neither mattered since she refused to see him. She didn’t even want to hear him.

She picked up the dinner tray, put it outside the closet and then slammed the door. The sounds of the servants stopped for a minute. Her actions must have surprised them into silence.

She went back to her bed and the tablet. Her arm cuff beeped, startling her. She looked down at it.

A message of tiny printed red letters from Nausic appeared.
King
Bekion wishes to know if you are well
.

So many responses came to mind. She settled on the one that took the least amount of effort on her part. Using her finger, she wrote back,
Fine!

She could have given a voice reply but she refused to waste the energy. Nausic had shown her the many functions of her armbands in case she had a non-dire emergency that didn’t require the personal alarm bells.

The cuff beeped again. Nausic wrote,
King
Bekion is entering to disable the cuffs so you can sleep.

The door started to open after the message appeared. Starling ran to it and threw her full weight against it, slamming it shut once more.

She wrote back,
Stay out!

Silence stretched for several breaths before she heard a loud sigh and Bekion’s retreating footsteps.

The cuff beeped once more.
Muffle the armbands if you refuse to let them be deactivated. I don’t want to be summoned by accident.

Fine. Go away.

Nausic replied with the
jattikan
equivalent of a winking smiley face.
Sleep well.

She kept her flip reply to herself and stayed leaning against the door until all sound outside the closet stopped. When she was sure no one else would try to enter, she left the door.

Pulling down some scarves from a nearby shelf, Starling wrapped her arm cuffs. She planned to go to sleep later but she didn’t want to forget and receive a rude awakening.

She returned to her tablet though sleep claimed her soon enough. Her last thought was a silent prayer for a restful sleep with no dreams.

The sensation of floating and warmth encompassing her body roused Starling. A soft beep made her open her eyes.

Bekion whispered, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

She stared at him in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Go back to sleep.”

He laid her against his pillows then settled down beside her.

“What are you doing? You don’t want me on your bed.” The statement made sense to her sleep-muddled brain. She rolled to the edge of the bed.

Bekion grabbed her back and tucked her against his chest. “It’s fine. Go to sleep.”

She stared at him a little longer.

He passed his hand over her face, closing her eyelids. “Sleep.”

Something about the situation bugged her but she couldn’t think what. She normally slept with Bekion. That thought made sense. She settled against his warmth and returned to peaceful slumber once more.

The error of her sleeping arrangements became apparent when she woke the next morning. Then her anger returned. She wanted nothing more than to kick Bekion in the head for his wakeup call.

She might have followed through on the urge if she could move. He held her trapped against his chest with one of his hands beneath her shirt, cupping her bare breasts. That seemed to be his favorite position. He even had his thigh between her legs, locking her in place. She couldn’t budge him though she tried without waking him.

“I’m sorry,” Bekion said in a husky whisper.

Starling stopped trying to wiggle free.

“I don’t see you like that.” His hold on her tightened. “You are not a dumb animal to me.”

She whispered back, “I’m not a woman to you either.” She gasped when Bekion moved his hand, massaging one of her breasts. His movements edged her nightgown up, exposing her chest.

“Shall I prove you wrong?” He laid a kiss on her neck.

Starling started struggling but to no avail. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? What about all that talk of deviants and low nobles?”

“I said those words to make you shun me, which you did.” He turned Starling onto her back then claimed her lips in searing kiss that left her breathless. “Thank you. It didn’t help my wayward situation but I made the effort.”

Starling freed one of her arms and pushed at Bekion’s head. “Stop. This cannot go anywhere. You know it and so do I. It may piss me off but I don’t expect you to do this.”

“I want to.”

“Because you know you shouldn’t. The forbidden is always the most attractive.”

“Yes, you are.” He rolled his head out of her hands and aimed his mouth at her exposed nipple.

All Starling’s arguments ceased as her body flooded with heat from that one point of contact. She clutched at the edge of the blanket, balling it into her mouth so it muffled her sounds of pleasure.

What time was it? Would someone knock at the door soon and announce breakfast? Did Bekion lock the door?

She couldn’t lie here and let this happen. She also couldn’t make her body obey the command to move away from the sweet sensations Bekion’s lips gave her. It had been too long. Her body craved this intimate attention.

A familiar chime from Bekion’s arm cuffs pulled Starling out of her semi-euphoric state. She buried her fingers in his hair when she meant to tap his head. She rasped, “Your armband is chiming.”

He said around her nipple, dancing his tongue against her flesh, “Ignore it.”

“What if it’s important?”

“It’s not or they would use the emergency line. Your attention should be for me.” He settled his weight on top of her, pressing her into the mattress.

He braced his upper body on his elbows so his full weight didn’t crush her. Starling didn’t mind and wanted to feel more of him. She liked having him above her. The thin blanket spread over Bekion’s back enveloped them both, trapping his spicy scent so it filled her senses.

The chiming cuff faded into the background. Bekion trailed kisses from one breast to the other before taking one nipple into his mouth. Her breathing turned shallow. She pressed upward, wanting to feel more.

She couldn’t believe how hot Bekion’s mouth made her feel. Every delicious sensation from his tongue vibrated through her whole body, which felt more sensitive.

“Bekion!” yelled Vieve as she slammed open the door. “You didn’t answer your cuff.”

Starling ducked down at the same time Bekion let himself drop to the bed, covering her fully with his body and the blanket. She held her breath and hoped Vieve hadn’t seen her.

Bekion gave a groaning sigh. “Vieve, I locked that door. Only my guards have an override code. How did you open it?”

Vieve snorted. “Please. Like some simple lock or lack of an override code could keep me from performing my duties.” She waved a tablet in Bekion’s direction. “I gave this to you to sign before you retired for the night.”

“I have no intention of signing that.”

“Bekion?” Rois stood near the door.

Another groan escaped Bekion before he snapped, “Close the door.”

Rois nodded and pulled the door closed, leaving Vieve, Bekion and Starling alone.

Starling used the momentary distraction to try shifting in an inconspicuous way so she could breathe. Bekion moved as well but he covered her more. He probably thought she was nervous. Meanwhile her body struggled for more air.

Vieve said, “This document is important, Bekion. It’s also time sensitive. I thought to have it out of the way by this morning and—” She stopped with an annoyed sound of her own. “Stop squirming around like that and let Starling out from beneath that blanket before you suffocate her.”

Starling stopped trying to get free and held her breath.

Bekion asked in a disbelieving voice, “Vieve, you knew?”

“I don’t care. I do care about these forms you refuse to sign. Give me a valid reason or sign them.”

Starling pushed at Bekion’s chest.

He moved to the side, lifting the cover. She thankfully sucked in the cool air. When she would have left the bed, Bekion grabbed her wrist and pulled her back against his chest once more. She looked over her shoulder at him and then Vieve.

The woman seemed unfazed at Starling’s state of semi-undress.

Bekion said, “Vieve, sometimes you surprise me.”

She shrugged her indifference. “What you do in private is not my concern and not worth wasting breath repeating. However—”

“I have no intention of signing a request I have not fully read.”

She thrust the tablet out at him. “Then read it.”

Bekion raised an eyebrow at her. “Vieve, I allow you much. Do not overstep yourself.”

Vieve looked at Starling and then back at Bekion. “Fine. You two are talking again. I’ll leave you to it. You are reading this while you eat, however.”