Chained (Brides of the Kindred) (14 page)

Chapter Twelve

“Are you serious? I can’t wear
this
.”

Kor gave a long suffering sigh. “What’s
wrong with
this
one? You’ve already rejected the first five—we’re
running out of options and the Grand Banquet starts within the hour.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Maggie gestured to
herself. “What’s
wrong
with it?”

She was wearing a white lace gown with a
deep V neck and a matching slit up the center of the skirt. The two met in the
middle with a black diamond design which emphasized her waist. It showed a lot
of leg—as well as the white lace panties that went with it—but at least it
covered her breasts completely, which seemed to be important to her.

Honestly, Kor thought she looked good
enough to eat. Just watching her full hips sway and seeing the outline of her
tight little nipples behind the delicate white lace was making his black leather
slave pants uncomfortably tight. But Maggie was unaccountably shy about her
body and not very happy about wearing the Yonnie Six clothing that
fashion-minded Lady Pope’nose had packed for herself.

“Yes,” he said, still trying to understand
her problem. “What’s wrong?”

“The same thing that’s wrong with all the
others—they’re too tight and even if they weren’t, they’re completely obscene.”
Maggie glared at him, as though he had personally designed the gowns they were
going through.

“It’s
not
too tight,” Kor tried to
tell her. “It’s stretchy—see? It hugs your curves perfectly,
Mistress.”

“Maybe I don’t
want
my curves
hugged.” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest protectively and looked down.
“Maybe I’m wishing for a nice baggy pair of sweatpants and a night in watching
trashy TV shows. Can’t we just skip the banquet tonight and do that? Do they
have cable up here? I’d commit murder for a
Pretty Lying Lovelies
marathon
and a big bowl of buttered popcorn.”

“I don’t know what either of those things
is but I
do
know you can’t miss the banquet after skipping the pool,” Kor
said firmly. “Not only would all the other mistresses talk, but the Sensorians
who run this place would begin demanding that you pay up. And I don’t think
you’d like the way they extract late payments here. I’ll give you a hint—they
find pain just as delicious as pleasure.”

Maggie shivered and took a deep breath.
“All right, fine," she said at last. "I guess this one is as good as
any. I might as well wear it.”

“You look beautiful, you know,” Kor
murmured, taking her hand. “The dress looks like it was made for you.”

“Um…thank you.” She blushed bright pink as
she always seemed to do when given a compliment, and looked away.

Kor frowned. Was she really so unused to
being complimented on her beauty? But how could that be? She was gorgeous with
her blonde curls and her big eyes…Suddenly he realized he still didn’t know
their color.

“Here,” he said, slipping off her oculars.

“What are you…hey, I
need
those,”
Maggie protested at once.

“I know. But I’ve been wondering since I
first saw you in my dreams what color your eyes are.” He stepped closer and
tilted her chin up so he could study her face.

His nearness seemed to embarrass her
because she blushed an even deeper pink and looked down.”

“Look at me, Maggie,” he commanded softly.
“Let me see you."

Reluctantly, she raised her eyes to his.

“Blue,” Kor murmured, studying them
closely. “They’re so dark I thought they might be brown or even black but
they’re midnight blue. Fucking gorgeous, blondie.”

“Don’t call me that,” she whispered, but
there was no fight in her voice and she didn’t look away from his gaze.

“Don’t call you what?” he asked,
deliberately misunderstanding her. “Gorgeous? I can’t help it—you are. And that
white lace dress is perfect on you. You’ll be the most beautiful mistress at
the banquet.”

“Only I’m not really a mistress.” Her
voice was soft and breathless.

“Tonight you are,” Kor corrected her
gently. “And I’m your slave. Listen, Maggie, you should know that we might have
to…act in certain ways in order to avoid suspicion.”

Her big blue eyes went wide.
“What
ways?”

“Never mind.” Kor was sorry he’d said
anything but he hadn’t wanted her to be completely surprised. “Just follow my
lead and do what all the other mistresses do.”

“But…but what are you going to do to me?” She
looked frightened.

“Nothing you don’t want me to,” Kor
promised. He cupped her cheek. “Look, I know we haven’t known each other very
long but it
feels
like we have.”

“Because of the dreams,” Maggie whispered.

He nodded. “Because of the dreams."

"What caused them? Why did we have
them?"

Kor shook his head. "I don't know.
But what I
do
know—what I want
you
to know is that I would
never
hurt you—all right? In
fact, my whole agenda tonight is about protecting you…about not arousing
suspicion.”

“All right.” She nodded. “I…I trust you, Kor.
But…after the banquet we’ll find the night porter and bribe him so I can make
the call, right?”

“Is that all you care about?” he asked
roughly. “Getting away from here? Going our separate ways?”

Maggie looked confused. “Of course not but
I thought—I mean, you want to go too, right? You want to get away and live your
life as a free man, away from Lady Pope’nose and everyone like her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” Kor sighed. “Here, let
me check your back one more time.”

She turned obediently and stood quietly
while he examined the two long scratches she’d gotten in the forbidden part of
the Dreaming Wood. They weren’t as deep as he had feared and they were no
longer bleeding which was good. Kor had found a first aid kit and covered them
with wound knitting salve that worked quickly. He was glad to see that both of
the scratches were almost healed—they should be closed enough for Maggie to
safely visit the Remembrance pool tomorrow if they had to make an appearance
before they could get away and…

Go our separate ways.
It was exactly what he had said to
Maggie—exactly what they ought to do. So why was he still so reluctant to let
this little female go?
I barely know her,
he told himself, running one
finger gently along her back, tracing a line between the two scratches.
Why
should I care where she goes?

But the fact was, he did care. A hell of a
lot.

Maggie shivered under his touch like a
nervous animal.

“Sorry.” Kor stopped at once.

“No, it’s just…it tickles. Are they
healing all right?” She turned back to face him.

Kor nodded. “Just fine.”

“Good.” Maggie breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then…could I have my glasses back?”

“Your what?” he frowned. “Oh, you mean
these?” He handed her the oculars.

“Exactly.” She slipped them back on and
pushed them up her nose with a contented sigh. “There. Now I feel like myself
again.”

“You like wearing them?” Kor raised an
eyebrow in question.

“Oh, well…I know they’re not the prettiest
things.” She gave a self-conscious little laugh. “With my prescription, the
lenses are always too thick to do much of anything decorative with them. And
I’ve tried contacts but they dry out my eyes, especially when I’m working and
looking into a microscope. I know they have all kinds of laser surgeries now
but I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to that. I mean, it’s your
eyes.
What
if they screw it up and you wind up blind?”

“From the look of those oculars, you’re
half-blind already.” Kor smiled to soften his comment. “But don’t apologize for
wearing them—I like them.”

“You do?” She looked at him uncertainly.
“Why?”

“Because, when you’re wearing them, no
other male can see those gorgeous blue eyes of yours.” Leaning down, he kissed
her on the mouth, barely brushing her lips with his. Gods, she smelled
good—some fragrance that was warm and softly feminine at the same time. He
wanted to bury his face in her hair and inhale deeply, wanted to crush her to
him and hold her sweet, curvy body close to his, but he held himself back, not
wanting to frighten her.

“What…” Maggie put her fingertips to her
lips, as though to feel where his mouth had been. “What was that for?”

“For luck,” Kor said lightly. “I have a
feeling we’re going to need it. Come on, my lady. The Grand Banquet awaits.”

* * * * *

Maggie had a bad feeling about the banquet
as they rode down in the green glass elevators which led to the lobby. Kor had
promised to do the bare minimum in the way of a slave/mistress display but she
couldn’t shake the idea that even the bare minimum was going to end up being a
lot more than she was willing to do.

Not that she didn’t
want
to do
it—she
did
and that was the problem.

I shouldn’t feel this
way about him,
she thought as they
stood in silence, waiting for the doors to slide open.
Shouldn’t be so
attracted to another man. A man who isn’t Donald.

And yet, she couldn’t help it. When Kor
touched her—when he even
looked
at her—her heart started to race and her
skin seemed to become more sensitive. And his scent…it was a warm, dark,
masculine spice that seemed to invade all her senses at once. Just standing
here in an enclosed space with him was making her feel hot all over. Of course,
part of that could be because he was just so
big—
his shoulders were
probably twice as broad as hers and he was at least six foot six if not taller.
He was probably generating twice as much body heat as a regular guy would.

Maggie had never spent this much time
around such a physically imposing man and it was a little hard to get used to.
Well,
after tonight you won’t have to worry about it,
she told herself uneasily.
We’ll
bribe the night porter and be out of here by tomorrow.
Hopefully
.
In
the mean time she just had to keep it together for a little while longer.

I can do this,
she lectured herself.
I can do anything I have to do
in order to get out of here. Get a grip, Maggie. Everything is going to be
fine.

Finally, the door chimed softly.

Maggie took a deep breath. “Here we go.”

Kor took her hand for a moment and
squeezed it gently in his much larger, warmer one. “Everything is going to be
fine,” he murmured, echoing her thoughts. “Come on, Mistress. Let’s do this.”

They stepped out onto a long golden carpet
that reminded Maggie of the white carpeted Grand Promenade Kor had carried her
down this morning. God, had it really only been that morning she’d rescued him
and run away with him to this crazy spa? It seemed like days ago—weeks ago. She
had no right to feel like she knew him so well. And yet, she did.

Just an effect of the
dreams,
she told herself as they walked slowly
down the carpet. Dreams which she still couldn’t understand or quantify. If she
ever had a chance to slow down and take stock, Maggie was sure she’d come up
with some kind of scientific explanation as to why she and Kor had been
dreaming of each other and she felt so strongly drawn to him. Right now, it was
just a mystery—one she didn’t have time to ponder at the moment.

Other slaves and mistresses were also
making their way down the long golden carpet—it was becoming quite a crowd.
Maggie watched carefully and tried to do as the other women did while she and Kor
mingled, trying to look like they belonged.

At first she felt undressed, wearing the
too tight gown that molded to her breasts and clung to her hips. Her nipples
were fully visible through the thin, stretchy white lace, just as her pussy
lips were outlined by the clinging material of the panties. But she soon saw
that the other mistresses were dressed in similar and even more revealing
outfits. Some of them had on gowns that didn’t cover their breasts at all and a
few seemed to have forgotten their underpants entirely.

At least I’m not the
most underdressed person here,
Maggie
thought.
Or maybe I should make that the most
un
dressed person.
She
took a deep breath—this was good. Now she could loosen up a little and observe
the crowd—get a feel for what she was supposed to be doing. Which, if the other
ladies were any indication, appeared to be striding regally along the golden
carpet with her head up, shoulders back, and her loyal slave trailing
respectfully behind her.

Maggie tried to imitate them and look
haughty and self-important.
I am a rich, important mistress,
she told
herself.
I am a rich, important mistress. I am a—
just then she stumbled
over a bump in the rug. She would have fallen on her face if Kor hadn’t grabbed
her from behind at just the right moment. He kept her from hitting the carpet
but Maggie was still off balance. She reached out blindly and her searching
fingers caught in the long, carefully styled ringlets of the lady in front of
her.