Chained (Brides of the Kindred) (21 page)

“Your theories are excellent, Margaret,”
he had said. “Shouldn’t I know? I was instrumental in helping you develop
several of them.”

Maggie had felt a twinge of irritation—her
research had nothing to do with Donald’s ideas. But irritation was quickly
overcome by affection.
He believes in me! He cares—cares enough to stand up
and fight for me. He…

…was down on one knee in front of her.
Right there in the Microbiology lab and there was a small black velvet box in
his hand.

“Donald?” Maggie looked at him, hardly
daring to hope. They’d been dating for so long and he’d never even broached the
subject of marriage before, though she had dropped several hints. Could it be that
he was finally going to ask the ultimate question?

“Margaret?” he asked stiffly, holding out
the box and swallowing so that his Adam’s apple bobbed in that adorable way he
had when he was nervous. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Oh, yes! Yes, Donald!” Maggie flung her
arms around him and buried her face in his boney shoulder. “Yes, I will!”

“Excellent.” Donald patted her shoulder
awkwardly. Maggie knew he tried hard but physical affection never came easily
to him. Just at that moment, though, she didn’t care. She had enough affection
for both of them.

“Oh, Donald,” she whispered as he slipped
the ring with its tiny chip of a diamond onto her finger. “This is so romantic!
I can’t believe you asked me here in the lab where we first met. I can’t
believe we’re really going to be married. I can’t believe…

…that I cheated on
him that way!

Suddenly Maggie’s head broke the surface
of the red, slimy water and someone pushed her up onto a rough, cold surface
out of the wet depths. She coughed and gasped, looking around wildly through
smeared glasses.

Where am I? What
happened? Where’s Donald? I didn’t cheat on him, did I? I wouldn’t do that. I’m
not that kind of girl…am I? What’s going on?

“You okay, blondie? You’re not hurt are
you?”

The deep anxious voice in her ear was
completely unfamiliar. Maggie looked around and saw a huge, muscular man
dragging himself wearily out of a swimming pool filled with blood. His thick
black hair was slicked back from his face and his eyes were a strange, pale
blue with slitted oval pupils like a cat’s. His bare chest was scarred, as
though he’d been in several fights and the black leather pants he wore clung to
long, muscular legs. The man reached for her but Maggie pulled away, her mind
going blank.

“Who are you?”

“You know damn well, who I am. Now let me
look at you—my eyes were doing that thing again. Want to make sure I didn’t
hurt you.”

“No—get back.” Maggie evaded his grasp.
“Where’s Donald?”

“Donald?” He sounded irritable and his
eyes flashed briefly red. “Isn’t that the name of your stupid fiancé?”

“Yes, that’s him. Where is he? I had a
crazy idea I did something wrong—that I cheated on him. But I would never. I…I…”
Maggie put a hand to her forehead, still keeping her distance from the strange
man. Her head ached—had she hit it on the edge of the pool when she fell in?
Even worse, her back burned—burned like someone had dipped a knife in fire and
decided to carve into her flesh. What was going on with her? Who was this big,
muscular stranger and where was she?

“Maggie, come on…” He reached for her
again and Maggie scooted backwards, nearly falling into the pool again. “Stop
that!” The man lunged forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the
edge by sheer force.

“Let me go!” Maggie gasped, slapping at
the large hand around her arm. “Don’t touch me—I don’t know you!”

“Sorry.” He dropped her arm at once. “Just
don’t want to have to dive in and drag you out again. I’ve had enough of that
fucking Remembrance Pool to last me a lifetime.”

“Remembrance Pool?” Something about that
sounded familiar. Maggie frowned, trying to bring the thought forward but it
wouldn’t come. All she could think about was the burning in her back. God, it
hurt! She reached behind her, trying to touch the wounded spot and nearly cried
with pain. “Ow! My back!”

“That’s right—the scratches.” The man
frowned. “You’re probably having a reaction.”

Suddenly a strange pinkish white creature
with pink and blue striped eyes and waving, tentacles for hair came rushing up
to her.

“Lady Pope’nose! Are you all right? I saw
everything.
My deepest apologies…”

Maggie shrank away from the strange
creature which was reaching out to her. “Get away! Where’s Donald?” Suddenly
tears were very close to the surface. Her head ached and she didn’t recognize
anyone and her back was on fire. “Donald,” she sobbed. “I want Donald! He was
here just a minute ago—he was asking me to marry him. Where is he?”

“Damn it,” the muscular man swore. “She’s
got fresh cuts on her back from a run in with one of the trees in your damned
Dreaming Woods,” he told the weird alien creature. “The waters of Remembrance
are still working on her—she’s stuck in a loop. Quick—get her something to wash
it out.”

“Oh dear!” The creature looked concerned.
“Come right this way—we have a decontamination shower located in the annex.”

Over Maggie’s vigorous protests, the
muscular man lifted her as though she weighed no more than a piece of paper and
marched her through a crowd of richly but scantily clad women and bare chested men
who appeared to be their servants. The alien led them to a large, echoing room
and pressed a button on a blue marble wall. Suddenly hot water began pouring
down from the ceiling above.

“I’ll leave you,” the alien said. “Call if
you have need of me.”

Maggie could barely hear the strange, high
voice over the roar of the water rushing down on her head. She was half drowned
and thoroughly frightened.

“Let me go!” She beat against the
stranger’s broad, bare chest, fighting with all her might. “Let me go—put me down!”

“Hold still. You have to get that damn
stuff off your skin and out of the cuts.” He held her tightly—too tightly to
get free but that didn’t stop Maggie from struggling as hard as she could.
Reaching up, she clawed at him, leaving long red furrows in his cheek. They
started to bleed at once. The man gave a muffled curse and jerked his head
back, but still he refused to let her go, even with the blood dripping down his
face.

Even as frightened as she was, Maggie
couldn’t keep it up forever.

“Please,” she gasped, exhausted at last.
“Please, I can’t…can’t do this.” She started to cry again. “I just…just want
Donald.”

“Yes, so you’ve said—repeatedly,” he
growled. Pulling her closer, he put her head on his shoulder and cradled her
body with one arm. With the other hand he lifted her hair, making sure the warm
water gushing down from overhead poured directly over her burning back.

Maggie whimpered in pain and wiggled
against him but even one handed his grip was firm. She wasn’t going anywhere.
Finally the burning in her back began to subside. As it did, her head began to
clear.

I’m at a spa,
she remembered although it seemed a strange place to find
herself.
I was going to Gaia but I got sidetracked and wound up running off
with
him
. With…
She wiped at
the smeared lenses of her glasses and looked at the huge, muscular man who was
holding her from the corner of her eye.
Kor. That’s right—his name is Kor,
she
suddenly remembered.
I rescued him from Lady Pope’nose. Why did I do that?
Oh right—because of the dreams.

Though she was trying to study him surreptitiously,
he saw her staring.

“So, blondie—feeling better?” he asked,
raising an eyebrow at her.

“I…” Maggie put a hand to her head and
pushed the wet hair out of her face. “I don’t know.”

“You sound more like yourself,” he
rumbled, finally stepping out of the flow of water coming from the ceiling.
“That’s good anyway.”

“What happened?” Maggie demanded. “How did
I end up here?” Her head was still throbbing and the past and present were only
gradually beginning to separate.

“That crazy Ponce’beast female pushed you
in the deep end,” Kor growled. “I jumped in to get you out.”

“Oh.” Maggie shivered as the things she’d
seen in the blood red water began to resurface. “I remember now—I had…had so
many memories down there.”

He looked away. “Yeah. So did I. Things I
thought I’d forgotten…tried to forget, anyway.”

When he turned his head, Maggie saw the
long, bloody furrows on his cheek—they looked like fresh scratch marks.

“Oh, Kor!” she gasped, reaching to touch
his face. “Your cheek!”

“It’s fine.” He jerked his head away from
her seeking fingers.

“But…you’re bleeding.” More and more
details were becoming clear. Maggie remembered him dragging her out of the
pool… remembered her throbbing head and the burning in her back…remembered
fighting and struggling to be free of his arms. “Did…did I do that?” she asked
timidly.

“It doesn’t matter.” He rubbed his
bleeding cheek against his broad, bare shoulder.

“No, it’s not—I hurt you! Oh, Kor, I’m so
sorry!” Maggie wanted to cry she felt so bad. “I would never…I was just so frightened.
And you’re so big and strong and scary and I didn’t know you.”

“No, and you didn’t
want
to know me
either.” He looked at her directly at last. “I’m not the male you wanted when
you were in pain…in fear. I’m not the one you were crying out for.”

Maggie didn’t know what to say. She
did
remember begging to see Donald—maybe because all of the memories she’d had in
the Remembrance Pool were of him.
Now why would that be?
whispered the
snarky little voice in her head.
Maybe because you were cheating on him at
the banquet tonight? Cheating with the same man holding you in his arms right
now?

Maggie felt a fresh surge of guilt. Oh,
God, no matter how she justified it, she
had
been doing things she
shouldn’t with one man while she was engaged to another. The tiny diamond chip
on her finger winked reproachfully at her as though to remind her of the man
who had given it to her—the man she’d left behind.
Donald
.

Thinking of the things she’d done with Kor
made her realize that he was still holding her in his arms and the white lace
dress she was wearing was totally soaked and completely transparent. She might
as well be naked—
everything
showed.

“Kor,” she said, shifting uncomfortably.
“Maybe…maybe you should put me down. I’ll go see if I can find something for
your face.”

“Don’t worry about my face.” He set her
carefully on her feet but he was still looking at her, almost as though he was
hoping to see something in her eyes. Maggie didn’t know what he wanted to see
but after a moment he looked away. “It’ll heal.”

“You’ll have scars,” Maggie protested.

He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling
with the movement. “Got plenty of scars—a few more won’t make any difference.”

“But—”

“Mistress Pope’nose, are you all right?”
The master of the spa came toward them, a concerned look in his Easter egg
colored eyes. “I’m so sorry—Lady Ponce’beast is being dealt with.”

“I think I’m fine,” Maggie said but Kor
shook his head.

“My lady is still very shaken. I must take
her back to her suite and tend to her there.”

“Of course. Of course.” The Master of the
spa nodded obsequiously. “Please don’t hesitate to ask if there is anything you
need, Lady Pope’nose.”

“I…thank you, I will,” Maggie murmured.
She shivered. “Right now I’d really like a towel.”

“Here.” Kor had already found some large,
fluffy things that looked more like blankets—they were hanging from hooks on
one wall. He brought one over and wrapped Maggie up in it. Then, before she
could protest, he swung her up into his arms again. With a short nod to the master
of the spa, he carried her away.

Chapter Seventeen

“Where are you taking me?” Maggie asked.
“This isn’t the way back to our room.”

“No, it’s the way to the night porter,” Kor
said shortly.

Maggie looked confused. “The night porter?
But why…?”

“Thought you wanted to bribe him to make a
call. So you can get out of here as soon as possible,” Kor growled. “Isn’t that
right?”

“I…I guess so.” She still sounded weak and
upset and part of him felt guilty for speaking so roughly to her—for forcing
her to do this now. The other part, though—the larger part—knew there was no
other way. She needed to get away from here—away from him—as quickly as she
could.

Kor knew something else too—he wasn’t
coming with her.

She doesn’t want
me—not deep down where her deepest memories and wishes live. When she dreamed
of her joining day, it wasn’t me she saw. And when she called out for a male to
save her, it wasn’t my name on her lips. Hell, she didn’t even know me at
first—I scared her. As well I fucking well should. I’m a danger to her.

He kept remembering how he’d cut through
the water with the red hot beams from his eyes. He might have cut her in two
without even trying—might have vaporized her along with however many gallons of
liquid he’d boiled away at the same time. Gods be thanked she had been out of
his line of fire.

At the very least he could have blown
their cover with his little ocular display. It was lucky that the water was
dark red and had already been churned up by their struggles or one of the other
patrons of the spa might have noticed him doing his damndest to burn a hole in
the side of the pool.

I’m not safe without
my inhibitor collar but the damn thing’s broken beyond repair. Not safe for
Maggie or anyone. What if I got angry or had a bad dream one night on Gaia? What
if I hurt her or killed her without even meaning to? I have no control over
this power—I don’t even know how it happens or where it comes from.

And even if he
could
control the
power and wasn’t a danger to her, Maggie didn’t want him with her. Not really.
She wanted that idiot Donald who she was determined to stay true to. Even the
limited sexual acts they’d performed together during the Pleasuring had given
her intense guilt. Kor didn’t need to add to that burden and he didn’t want to
waste his time on a female whose heart was already given.

What about your own
heart?

Kor pushed the thought away. He was fond
of Maggie and he was grateful to her—hell, she’d saved him from certain death
at the hands of the sadistic Lady Pope’nose. But it wasn’t like he’d fallen
in
love
with her. That was just stupid. Wasn’t it?

“Kor?” Her soft, hesitant voice pulled him
out of his inner turmoil and he looked down to see that she was shivering in
his arms. “Kor, please, if you’re angry…I’m just so sorry about your cheek.”

“It’s not my cheek. It’s—”

“What? Please tell me?” She was looking up
at him so earnestly he felt his heart twist. Gods, she was beautiful—even
soaking wet and shivering in his arms. Her sweet, lovely little heart-shaped
face and those lush lips…not to mention her curvy little body which fit so well
into his arms. But what Kor liked the most about her was the innocence shining
out of her deep blue eyes. It was an innocence he would no doubt extinguish if
she stayed with him too long.

Kor hardened his heart.
Have to let her
go. Before it’s too late.

“Kor?” she said again and he realized she
was still waiting for an answer.

“It’s nothing,” he said shortly.
“Here—this is the night porter’s station.”

“But I don’t have anything to bribe him
with,” Maggie protested as he set her down gently in front of the round green
door of the little room beneath the grand staircase. “All of Lady Pope’nose’s
jewelry is back in our room.”

Kor felt a growl of frustration rising in
his throat and swallowed it back down with difficulty.

“Maggie,” he said softly. “The night
porter is a Sensorian, like all the rest of the beings who run this place. What
use do you think they have for jewelry or riches?”

“But…then how…?”

“Think,” he said softly. “What is it that
they value? What is it they feed on?”

“Pleasure—sexual pleasure.” Her face went
pale with understanding. “Kor,” she said in a low voice. “
I can’t.
I just…we already went too far tonight. I feel so guilty
about—”

“About Donald, I know.” Kor took a deep
breath. “But you need to make this call. After the scene with Lady Ponce’beast
tonight, you’re officially a person of interest here. People are going to be
looking at you, talking about you. And the more they look…”

“The more likely they are to see what’s
going on. That I’m not…who I say I am.” Maggie nodded and lifted her chin.
“You’re right. I just…I guess we’ll have to do…whatever it takes.”

“Wonderful,” Kor said shortly. “I’m so
glad to hear you think you can
tolerate
my hands and mouth on your body
at least until you can get out of here.”

Maggie’s face went red. “I never said it
like that!” she protested. “I just—”

“Never mind.” Leaning forward, he knocked
on the round green door. After a moment it opened revealing a large, corpulent
Sensorian who was overflowing his small chair. To Kor’s dismay, the male’s skin
was already dark pink proving that someone had been there before them.

“Yes, Mistress?” the night porter asked,
addressing Maggie. “How can I be of help to you?”

Maggie bit her lip. “I need to make a
call. I know it’s not allowed but I was told if I talked to you…maybe offered
you something you, uh, wanted?”

The corpulent Sensorian frowned. “I fear
there is nothing I want just now. I am, as you see Mistress, quite replete.” He
patted his round belly as though to illustrate his point.

“Oh, but I…surely there’s
something
you want,” Maggie faltered. “Look…just try this.” Turning to Kor, she stood on
her tiptoes and put her arms around his neck.

He knew what she wanted but for a moment
he just stood there. Gods, it was
killing
him, touching her for this
reason! He wanted her to come to him because she wanted him—not because she had
to. It wasn’t fair to Maggie for him to feel this way—she barely knew him. But Kor
couldn’t help it—he wanted to be the male she cried out for when she was in
trouble or pain. He wanted to be the one she came to when she was in need.

“Kor,” she whispered, tugging at him. “Kor,
please…”

The pleading in her eyes was more than he
could bear. At last, reluctantly, he allowed himself to lean down. Maggie wove
her soft little fingers through his hair and pulled him close, pressing her
lips to his.

Kor let her kiss him, determined not to do
more than simply stand there. But the press of her trembling mouth to his, the
feel of her soft, sweet body so achingly close was too much to resist. He might
never get to kiss her again, this sweet, beautiful girl who had risked her life
to save his. He might go his whole life without holding her in his arms even
once more.
Maggie,
he thought.
Gods, don’t want to leave you. Don’t
want to ever let you go…
Something inside him snapped and he crushed her to
him, covering her mouth with his own.

Maggie gave a little moan and melted
against him, giving in with a sweet submission that made the blood rush to his
cock. Gods, how he wanted her! And this was his last chance to have her—Kor
intended to make the most of it.

Reaching down, he slid his hand between
her legs and cupped her soft little pussy, still covered in the thin white lace
panties. Maggie moaned again and parted her legs, rubbing against his hand like
a feline begging to be caressed. He could feel her heat through the fragile
fabric. Could almost taste her sweet honey as she rubbed against him.

Suddenly touching her through the panties
wasn’t good enough anymore. He needed to feel her bare pussy in his hand,
needed to slip his fingers deep into her hot, slippery little cunt and hear her
cry his name as he pumped inside her, fingerfucking her cleft.

With a low growl, Kor tangled his fingers
in the wispy fabric of the panties and ripped, tearing them away, baring her
completely.

Maggie gasped and jumped against him but
she didn’t break their kiss. Kor cupped her again, feeling the warm, wet heat
of her secret spot, loving the soft patch of curls at the top of her mound and
the way her little cunt was already so swollen with need.

He pressed two fingers against her,
parting her plump little pussy lips and rubbed gently against the side of her
needy clit. Gods, she was wet! Her slippery honey coated his fingers and her
warm, feminine scent drifted up to entice him until he felt half mad with the
need to possess her.

But first he wanted to taste her.

He broke the kiss at last and looked into
her face. Her eyes were half-lidded behind her oculars—dazed with pleasure—and
her lips were swollen from the passionate, possessive way he’d been taking her
mouth. Kor wanted to kiss her pussy the same way—wanted to worship her soft
little cunt with his tongue.

He dropped to his knees before her and
pushed the clinging, white lace dress aside. One look confirmed what his hand
had already told him—her soft little pussy lips were puffy and dark
pink—blossoming like a flower. And when Kor spread them gently with his thumbs,
he could see that her inner folds were shiny with honey. Gods, how he longed to
taste her there! To press his face between her legs and lap her slippery slit,
caressing her aching little clit with the tip of his tongue and then sliding
lower to penetrate and fuck her orally, to press deep inside her until she came
for him just as she had at the banquet.

Kor was just about to do exactly that,
when a soft sound from above stopped him. Looking up, he saw Maggie with an
expression of agonized uncertainty on her face. It was clear she wanted
him—that she wanted
this—
her body said so in the most unmistakable
terms.

But it was just as clear that her heart
was not committed. She was feeling guilty again—he could read it on her face.
Maggie was a one-man female—a girl who would be faithful until death. Doing this
with Kor—allowing him to touch her in such an intimate way when she felt she
shouldn’t—was killing her.

With a low curse, Kor released her and sat
back on his haunches.

“Kor?” Maggie looked at him uncertainly. The
night porter—who Kor had all but forgotten about—was also looking on.

“Your pardon, Mistress, but why did you
stop?” he asked Maggie.

“I don’t know.” She looked at Kor.
“I’m…not sure.”

The night porter frowned. “I was just
thinking about letting you make that call. Unfortunately things ended a little
too, ah,
abruptly
for my taste.”

Kor looked at Maggie, at the guilt and
anxiety on her lovely face, and knew he couldn’t go on. If he went a single step
further she would carry the remorse and shame for what they had done her whole
life. He couldn’t do that to her—but he had to do something to appease the
night porter. Something to complete the bribe.

Suddenly he knew what to do.

Leaning forward, he pressed a soft, almost
chaste kiss to the small blonde patch of curls at the apex of her mound. Then he
rose to his feet and drew his knife.

* * * * *

“Oh my God, Kor—what are you doing?” A
cold hand skittered along Maggie’s spine as she eyed the long, silver blade in
his hand. “And where did you get that knife?”

“Picked it up in the kitchens earlier,” he
said shortly. “You forget I used to be a fighter on the Blood Circuit,
Mistress. The first rule of combat is to never go into a hostile situation
unarmed if you can help it.”

“Combat? But what…? How…?” Maggie didn’t
even know how to finish asking the question or indeed, what question she was
trying to ask. What was he planning to do with that thing? Was he going to
threaten the night porter with it? Or do something worse?
He wouldn’t hurt
me with that—would he?

I don’t know, would
he?
asked the little voice in her brain.
After
all, excluding the dreams, how long have you actually known the man? Less than
twenty-four hours. You’d probably spend more time checking out a possible date
on the Internet. Who knows what he’s capable of?

Kor must have seen the fear in her face
because he shook his head and a look of sorrow came into his pale blue eyes.

“Didn’t I tell you,” he said softly. “That
I would
never
hurt you?”

“I…you…” Maggie didn’t know what to say.

“This isn’t for you.” He gestured with the
knife. “And it’s not for him either.” He nodded at the night porter. “It’s for
me.”

“For you? But what…?”

“Listen,” Kor said, turning to address the
Sensorian who was watching him with obvious interest in his pink and blue eyes.
“I know your kind live on physical pleasure and the emotions it causes but you
like pain, too—don’t you?”