Jesse part eight
Sep. 13th, 2007 03:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maculategiraffePart Seven
Rather to Jesse’s surprise, Bran climbed into the back seat of the car as Holden got into the driver’s seat. Jesse got in next to Bran, suddenly flashing back to his last ride in this particular back seat, and put his hand involuntarily to his mouth. Holden caught the movement in the rearview mirror, but said nothing. Bran moved closer to Jesse and put a hand on his leg; Jesse wondered if he, too, had caught the quick gesture.
“So what were you two talking about that set Bran off?” Holden asked as they drove off, and Jesse felt Bran tense.
“Could we wait until later to talk about it?” he asked. “Please?”
“All right, Bran,” said Holden after a few moments’ pause. “But I’m not going to forget. I don’t like you coming home tear-stained.”
“I’m sorry,” said Bran meekly, and Holden glanced sharply up at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Don’t try to play me, kid,” he said. “You know damn well that wasn’t a reprimand. I’m not backing off just because you pull your little please-master-don’t-hurt-me voice.”
Bran looked up quickly, then gave his master a small, sheepish smile in the mirror. “Yeah. Okay. Sorry. Talk about it later?”
“Count on it. How are your teeth, Jesse?”
Jesse jumped at the abrupt change of subject. “B– better.”
“Good. Are you doing okay? Anything you need?”
“No,” said Jesse. “Thank you.”
“We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we hear from Quen,” said Holden, making a turn. “But don’t worry if it’s not for a few days yet. No news is probably good news. Karl and Tara know their business.”
Jesse nodded.
“Already practicing keeping your mouth shut?” Holden said after a moment, eyes on the road.
Jesse shrugged. Bran sent him a curious look.
“Kai and Sophie will be glad to see I’ve brought you, Bran,” said Holden, changing the subject without segue again. “Kai’s always asking about you. Suspiciously.”
Bran chuckled. “Well, he worries. I mean, you’re so cruel to me.”
“He probably thinks I’ve knocked you up,” said Holden. “Speaking of which, Jesse, my daughter and her best friend are coming to dinner tomorrow night, which will be another opportunity for you to keep your mouth shut.” Jesse nodded. “And Bran, Pavel says Lisa’s broken up with what’s his name, so she may be wanting your services. If you’re up for it.”
“Of course,” said Bran readily. “I like Lady Kareyeva.”
“Please don’t call her that,” said Holden, shuddering elaborately.
Bran smiled. “No relation to the first Lady Kareyeva.”
“Thank the gods. I don’t think I could have learned to like those kids if they’d been half Maria. As it was, I’m actually a bit disappointed Val and David broke up. He’s a good kid.”
“Yes, but you said yourself she was too young to be thinking of getting married, master,” said Bran. “And at least they’re still friends.”
“Awkward if they weren’t,” Holden agreed, and lapsed into a thoughtful silence. Bran moved a little closer to Jesse and laid his head down on his shoulder; Jesse put an arm around him, enjoying the feeling of Bran’s warm, supple body resting against his, and they rode the rest of the way without speaking.
Lady Irina Galenova was tall and spare, her hair a salt-and-pepper gray, and dressed with austere elegance in dark blue, with no jewelry, but her slaves were dressed in a vivid crimson color that was particularly startling against the male slave’s russet hair. Jesse thought it must have been chosen to complement the female, whose skin was the color of tea, her hair black and glossy as a crow’s wing, and who curled indolently on the couch with her head in her mistress’ lap, her pleasurable languor nearly as sure a sign of a favorite as her age, which must have been at least thirty.
“Irina,” said Holden, smiling at the lady and going over to the couch. “Don’t get up. Sophie looks comfortable.” He bent down to kiss the noblewoman’s cheek.
“Holden, dear,” said the noblewoman, smiling back. “You’ve brought Bran. Aren’t you thoughtful. Was that to console me for the loss of Inga, or as a peace offering for Kai?”
She glanced up at the male slave, who was standing to the side and slightly behind her, as she spoke.
“Kai is Greta’s twin,” said Bran in Jesse’s ear, and Jesse blinked, startled, and missed Holden’s answer. The man had Greta’s red hair, but otherwise Jesse could see no resemblance– where Greta was short and soft, full of rounded, maternal curves, with delicate-looking skin and features, Kai was tall and sinewy, coarsely handsome, with large freckles on a broad-featured, rather pugnacious face, unless that was only the expression he had assumed on seeing Holden. As Jesse looked, his gaze shifted to Bran, and his expression softened slightly. Bran glanced at Holden, who nodded, and Kai almost smiled as Bran came close enough for Kai to put an arm around him and kiss him on the cheek.
“And who is this?” Lady Galenova continued, looking at Jesse, who dropped his eyes quickly, determined to behave himself as impeccably as Presniakov himself could have wished. Holden might be forbearing in private, but he obviously valued his reputation as a trainer. Jesse didn’t think he’d hesitate to punish him for Lady Galenova’s benefit if he acted other than the respectful slave in front of her.
“This is Jesse,” said Holden, putting a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. Jesse flinched very slightly, but no more than would have pleased Presniakov. “I’m sure you’ve heard that story.”
“He’s the one who belonged to Gregorei Presniakov, isn’t he?” Lady Galenova asked with interest. “I did hear, but I didn’t know– were his teeth really knocked out?”
“Show the lady your teeth, Jesse,” said Holden, and Jesse bared his brace obediently. “We still don’t know if they’re going to survive, but we’re hopeful.”
“Apart from that, he’s quite attractive,” said Lady Galenova thoughtfully. “How is his temperament?”
“Moody,” said Holden. “Well, he’s still grieving for his friend. I don’t think there’s anything time and patience won’t fix, especially once Inga’s out of the house and I can give him more attention. Why, are you interested?”
He sounded so convincingly businesslike that Jesse was unnerved. Bran must have seen him tense; he winked quickly from where he stood in the crook of Kai’s arm.
“Not at my age,” said Lady Galenova, smiling. “It’s all I can do to handle these two. Though we’ll miss Inga. Sophie’s really enjoyed her visits.” She nodded down at the dark girl, who smiled suddenly and brilliantly at Holden. “And so have I.”
“So have we,” Holden said. “Speaking of which, shall we get down to business?”
Lady Galenova rose, dislodging Sophie, and took Holden’s arm.
“You two behave yourselves with Bran and Jesse,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yes, mistress,” Kai and Sophie chorused.
When Holden and Galenova were gone, Kai picked Bran up unceremoniously and carried him around to the front of the couch, where he sat down at the opposite end from Sophie with Bran half in his lap. Smiling, Bran leaned his head back easily against Kai’s broad chest. Sophie motioned lazily to Jesse, who came and sat down cautiously between her and Bran; she stretched her legs across his, resting her bare feet in Bran’s lap, and Bran automatically began rubbing them with a practiced motion, his thumbs describing gentle circles of pressure on her insteps.
“It’s good to see you, Bran,” she said, in a sweet voice with a slight, lilting accent.
“Yeah, it is,” said Kai, and kissed Bran’s hair quickly and rather clumsily. “Larssen still treating you okay?”
“Sure,” said Bran, “except that he’s started smacking me across the room every time he sees me, on general principles, he says. And he doesn’t feed me. I live on pot scrapings and semen. But other than that...”
“Okay, smartass,” said Kai, and bit Bran’s ear. Bran squirmed, grinning.
“Kai doesn’t like your master, Jesse,” said Sophie. “Why is that, do you think?”
Jesse shrugged nervously.
“Because his master is an asshole,” said Kai grimly, and then, in a more conciliatory tone, as Bran stiffened, “Now come on, kid, don’t get mad. You’re so damn touchy about him, I swear.”
“I just don’t get why you always have to be making comments about him when I’m around,” said Bran irritably. “You know how I feel.”
“How does Jesse feel?” Sophie asked.
Jesse looked into her dark, piercing eyes. “He’s nice. So far.”
“So far,” said Sophie thoughtfully. “Yes. My mistress is good to me, too, so far. Nine years now. But it’s still only so far, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” said Jesse, “exactly.”
Bran shook his head. “That’s no way to live your life.”
Jesse opened his mouth, then shut it again with a snap. Sophie smiled at him.
“Tell us about your former master, Jesse,” she said. “Was he as much of an asshole as Holden Larssen?”
Jesse couldn’t help but smile a little. “A bit more of one, I guess.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t, Soph,” said Kai when Jesse hesitated. “His friend got killed. He doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Sophie sighed.
“My first master only liked to fuck girls,” she said, apropos of nothing. “He didn’t like boys, so he didn’t know about artificial lubrication. Girls got wet at his touch, his hairy face on theirs, his big paws grappling their nipples. Except me. The first time he touched me my cunt went–“ She made an O with her index finger and thumb, then curled her fingers in on themselves, closing it off. “But he fucked me until I was wet– with blood. Then he grew angry. It should not have hurt me. There was something wrong with me. He hit me and cursed at me. I was fifteen. I was a virgin. He had never had a virgin.
“He thought his wife had been one. Hence the confusion.”
She smiled at Jesse, who looked back at her thoughtfully.
“He hadn’t wanted to hurt me. Only to fuck. The blood frightened him, and my tears. I think he was ashamed that he had hurt me so much, and the fear and the shame made him angry.
“Was your master like that? Or did he like to hurt?”
“He liked to hurt,” said Jesse laconically.
“Ah.” Sophie reached out and touched Jesse’s hair. He was startled, but not displeased. “Kai says Larssen liked to hurt, too, when he was first Greta’s master. I can believe it. He looks into a slave’s face. He looks for– desire, respect, trust. But I can imagine him looking for pain, just as intently. Can’t you? Not like that first master, who never looked into my face at all.”
“He looked for more than pain in my sister’s face,” said Kai. “He was trying to beat her, to grind her down, to win– and she wasn’t even fighting. The sweetest kid in the world. All she wanted was to please Alix– she worshipped her, still does– and that bastard couldn’t stand it.”
“That was twenty years ago, Kai,” said Bran rather wearily.
“Yeah, I know how long ago it was,” said Kai. “The kid’s at university now, isn’t she? Their kid? The one he browbeat her into having?”
“He didn’t browbeat her,” said Bran. “She says you’re making that up.”
“Yeah. The sweetest girl in the world, like I said. She’d have cut off her own hand if she thought Alix wanted her to– and when they gave her the option, she fell all over herself to ruin her life and tie herself to that prick for good. And who do you think told her Alix had always wanted a child?”
Bran sighed. “Yeah, yeah. You’ve explained it all before, Kai. He engineered everything to bring about the abomination in the sight of the gods that is Miss Valor.”
“I’ve got nothing against Valor,” Kai said, threading his arms under Bran’s and clasping them firmly across Bran’s solar plexus. “She’s a nice enough girl, even if she does take after him more than a kid with none of his genes has any right to. But she should never have been born. My sister was only sixteen, and he came along and her life was over, just like that.”
“No, Kai, her life would have been over if they’d killed her,” said Bran patiently. “You know, like some owners would have, for getting pregnant when she wasn’t supposed to be fucking anyone with viable sperm.”
“And who made her miserable and lonely enough to do that?”
“She did what she did,” said Sophie firmly. “And she lives in peace now with the woman she loves. Not many of us are so lucky.” She looked at Jesse, shaking her head. “Every time Larssen comes over, the same argument. At least today he has it with Bran, instead of having it with Larssen, and being punished afterwards. I tell him he should be careful, or our mistress will sell him to the slave breakers.”
Jesse smiled at the joke.
“And I’m no fun for him to fight with,” Sophie added, “since I neither love nor hate Larssen. Though I could wish he had been the one fucking me for the first time, when I was fifteen.”
“I hear he’s good with virgins,” Kai admitted grudgingly.
“And with those who aren’t virgins,” said Sophie, with a broad wink at Bran. “My mistress has told me I have a home with her for as long as she lives, and I’m very grateful for her kindness. But if she ever grows tired of me and of keeping her promises, I wouldn’t mind belonging to Holden Larssen.”
“Has he ever fucked you?” asked Jesse, who was beginning to like Sophie. Her sharp observations and matter-of-fact, unsentimental attitude struck a chord in him, and he rather enjoyed playing her straight man as she widened her eyes at him dramatically.
“Heavens, no,” she said. “I haven’t had a cock in me for nine years. Another kindness my mistress has done me.”
Jesse smiled again. “Then how do you know you wouldn’t mind?”
She grinned back. “I’ve spent some time with Inga– she’s a very pretty girl, isn’t she? Golden all over. I think you’re imagining us together, Jesse.”
She moved her legs slightly against Jesse’s half-erect cock. Jesse reddened, and Sophie laughed.
“Inga will belong to a woman soon,” she said, “though not my mistress, more’s the pity. Larssen brought Inga to us to learn to please women– and be pleased by them. Do you know she hadn’t had an orgasm in two years?”
“No wonder she bit,” said Jesse, and the three others laughed. “But why did he have to bring her here for that? I mean, what about his wife and Greta?”
Sophie shrugged. “I didn’t ask. At a guess, because he wanted her to learn from the best.” She glanced up at Jesse through long black eyelashes. “That’s me, by the way. Too bad you don’t have a cunt, so I could show you.”
“You’re a cock-tease, Sophie,” Kai drawled.
“It gives me pleasure,” Sophie agreed serenely. “What about you, Jesse? Does your master fuck you?”
“No,” said Jesse quickly, and then, “Um. Not yet.”
“I don’t know how he’d have time,” said Kai.
“True. Inga and Bran and Yves and Jer and your sister and his wife...” Sophie yawned softly. “It makes me tired just to think of it. Poor Larssen.”
“Yeah, my heart bleeds,” said Kai grumpily, and Bran and Sophie giggled. Jesse smiled.
Enjoying himself much more than he’d expected, Jesse found it an unwelcome interruption to the pleasant chatter when Holden and Galenova came back in, but Bran was obviously pleased; he smiled at his master from Kai’s lap. Smiling back, Holden gestured to him, and he pulled out of Kai’s arms and came to stand at his master’s side.
“Such a sweet-natured boy,” said Lady Galenova, looking at Bran, “and so pretty. You must get offers constantly.”
“I currently have–“ Holden paused, his lips moving silently, his fingers tapping sequentially against each other. “Eight. Eight standing offers– no, I forgot Anna. Nine standing offers from approved buyers, for Bran. Not counting all the ones that are defunct or that I don’t bother to keep on file.”
“Is that Anna Lavrova?” Lady Galenova asked, amused. “What does she want with another boy?”
“Bran’s unique. Plus, I think Mal’s in love with him.”
“And nothing but the best for Mal,” said Lady Galenova, smiling. “Bran’s filled out a good deal since you first got him, too, hasn’t he? Could I see him naked before you go?”
“Sure,” said Holden with no particular interest. “Bran.”
Bran looked away. “I’d rather not.”
Jesse was fairly sure he heard Kai and Sophie stop breathing at the same time he did.
“Why not?” Holden asked after a pause, not ungently.
“I just don’t want to,” said Bran, flushed, without meeting Holden’s eye.
Kai made a quick, involuntary movement, and his mistress sent him a warning glance, but Holden’s eyes stayed on Bran.
“Do it, Bran,” he said softly. “Now.”
Crimson and glassy-eyed, Bran pulled off his tunic and stood naked, head bowed, before his master and Lady Galenova.
Holden walked around him once, looking him up and down, then said brusquely, “Get dressed.”
Bran pulled his clothes back on and dropped to his knees at his master’s feet, touching them lightly, in the supplicating pose of a slave who had misbehaved in public and hoped to escape equally public discipline. Jesse had seen the gesture before, but to see Bran doing it to Holden was horribly unsettling. He waited, his heart in his throat, for Holden to grant or deny the reprieve.
“We should be going,” Holden said. “Sorry, Irina.”
“Don’t apologize,” said Lady Galenova graciously. “Compared the way Kai’s behaved in front of you before– Bran’s a good boy. Perhaps a little spoiled. You do indulge him a great deal.”
“I do,” Holden agreed politely, and reached down a hand to Bran, who allowed himself to be helped to his feet, his head still hanging low. Holden made a few more courteous farewells to Irina, snapped peremptory fingers at Jesse, who scrambled to his feet, and turned to lead the two boys out to the car.
Part Nine
Rather to Jesse’s surprise, Bran climbed into the back seat of the car as Holden got into the driver’s seat. Jesse got in next to Bran, suddenly flashing back to his last ride in this particular back seat, and put his hand involuntarily to his mouth. Holden caught the movement in the rearview mirror, but said nothing. Bran moved closer to Jesse and put a hand on his leg; Jesse wondered if he, too, had caught the quick gesture.
“So what were you two talking about that set Bran off?” Holden asked as they drove off, and Jesse felt Bran tense.
“Could we wait until later to talk about it?” he asked. “Please?”
“All right, Bran,” said Holden after a few moments’ pause. “But I’m not going to forget. I don’t like you coming home tear-stained.”
“I’m sorry,” said Bran meekly, and Holden glanced sharply up at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Don’t try to play me, kid,” he said. “You know damn well that wasn’t a reprimand. I’m not backing off just because you pull your little please-master-don’t-hurt-me voice.”
Bran looked up quickly, then gave his master a small, sheepish smile in the mirror. “Yeah. Okay. Sorry. Talk about it later?”
“Count on it. How are your teeth, Jesse?”
Jesse jumped at the abrupt change of subject. “B– better.”
“Good. Are you doing okay? Anything you need?”
“No,” said Jesse. “Thank you.”
“We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we hear from Quen,” said Holden, making a turn. “But don’t worry if it’s not for a few days yet. No news is probably good news. Karl and Tara know their business.”
Jesse nodded.
“Already practicing keeping your mouth shut?” Holden said after a moment, eyes on the road.
Jesse shrugged. Bran sent him a curious look.
“Kai and Sophie will be glad to see I’ve brought you, Bran,” said Holden, changing the subject without segue again. “Kai’s always asking about you. Suspiciously.”
Bran chuckled. “Well, he worries. I mean, you’re so cruel to me.”
“He probably thinks I’ve knocked you up,” said Holden. “Speaking of which, Jesse, my daughter and her best friend are coming to dinner tomorrow night, which will be another opportunity for you to keep your mouth shut.” Jesse nodded. “And Bran, Pavel says Lisa’s broken up with what’s his name, so she may be wanting your services. If you’re up for it.”
“Of course,” said Bran readily. “I like Lady Kareyeva.”
“Please don’t call her that,” said Holden, shuddering elaborately.
Bran smiled. “No relation to the first Lady Kareyeva.”
“Thank the gods. I don’t think I could have learned to like those kids if they’d been half Maria. As it was, I’m actually a bit disappointed Val and David broke up. He’s a good kid.”
“Yes, but you said yourself she was too young to be thinking of getting married, master,” said Bran. “And at least they’re still friends.”
“Awkward if they weren’t,” Holden agreed, and lapsed into a thoughtful silence. Bran moved a little closer to Jesse and laid his head down on his shoulder; Jesse put an arm around him, enjoying the feeling of Bran’s warm, supple body resting against his, and they rode the rest of the way without speaking.
Lady Irina Galenova was tall and spare, her hair a salt-and-pepper gray, and dressed with austere elegance in dark blue, with no jewelry, but her slaves were dressed in a vivid crimson color that was particularly startling against the male slave’s russet hair. Jesse thought it must have been chosen to complement the female, whose skin was the color of tea, her hair black and glossy as a crow’s wing, and who curled indolently on the couch with her head in her mistress’ lap, her pleasurable languor nearly as sure a sign of a favorite as her age, which must have been at least thirty.
“Irina,” said Holden, smiling at the lady and going over to the couch. “Don’t get up. Sophie looks comfortable.” He bent down to kiss the noblewoman’s cheek.
“Holden, dear,” said the noblewoman, smiling back. “You’ve brought Bran. Aren’t you thoughtful. Was that to console me for the loss of Inga, or as a peace offering for Kai?”
She glanced up at the male slave, who was standing to the side and slightly behind her, as she spoke.
“Kai is Greta’s twin,” said Bran in Jesse’s ear, and Jesse blinked, startled, and missed Holden’s answer. The man had Greta’s red hair, but otherwise Jesse could see no resemblance– where Greta was short and soft, full of rounded, maternal curves, with delicate-looking skin and features, Kai was tall and sinewy, coarsely handsome, with large freckles on a broad-featured, rather pugnacious face, unless that was only the expression he had assumed on seeing Holden. As Jesse looked, his gaze shifted to Bran, and his expression softened slightly. Bran glanced at Holden, who nodded, and Kai almost smiled as Bran came close enough for Kai to put an arm around him and kiss him on the cheek.
“And who is this?” Lady Galenova continued, looking at Jesse, who dropped his eyes quickly, determined to behave himself as impeccably as Presniakov himself could have wished. Holden might be forbearing in private, but he obviously valued his reputation as a trainer. Jesse didn’t think he’d hesitate to punish him for Lady Galenova’s benefit if he acted other than the respectful slave in front of her.
“This is Jesse,” said Holden, putting a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. Jesse flinched very slightly, but no more than would have pleased Presniakov. “I’m sure you’ve heard that story.”
“He’s the one who belonged to Gregorei Presniakov, isn’t he?” Lady Galenova asked with interest. “I did hear, but I didn’t know– were his teeth really knocked out?”
“Show the lady your teeth, Jesse,” said Holden, and Jesse bared his brace obediently. “We still don’t know if they’re going to survive, but we’re hopeful.”
“Apart from that, he’s quite attractive,” said Lady Galenova thoughtfully. “How is his temperament?”
“Moody,” said Holden. “Well, he’s still grieving for his friend. I don’t think there’s anything time and patience won’t fix, especially once Inga’s out of the house and I can give him more attention. Why, are you interested?”
He sounded so convincingly businesslike that Jesse was unnerved. Bran must have seen him tense; he winked quickly from where he stood in the crook of Kai’s arm.
“Not at my age,” said Lady Galenova, smiling. “It’s all I can do to handle these two. Though we’ll miss Inga. Sophie’s really enjoyed her visits.” She nodded down at the dark girl, who smiled suddenly and brilliantly at Holden. “And so have I.”
“So have we,” Holden said. “Speaking of which, shall we get down to business?”
Lady Galenova rose, dislodging Sophie, and took Holden’s arm.
“You two behave yourselves with Bran and Jesse,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yes, mistress,” Kai and Sophie chorused.
When Holden and Galenova were gone, Kai picked Bran up unceremoniously and carried him around to the front of the couch, where he sat down at the opposite end from Sophie with Bran half in his lap. Smiling, Bran leaned his head back easily against Kai’s broad chest. Sophie motioned lazily to Jesse, who came and sat down cautiously between her and Bran; she stretched her legs across his, resting her bare feet in Bran’s lap, and Bran automatically began rubbing them with a practiced motion, his thumbs describing gentle circles of pressure on her insteps.
“It’s good to see you, Bran,” she said, in a sweet voice with a slight, lilting accent.
“Yeah, it is,” said Kai, and kissed Bran’s hair quickly and rather clumsily. “Larssen still treating you okay?”
“Sure,” said Bran, “except that he’s started smacking me across the room every time he sees me, on general principles, he says. And he doesn’t feed me. I live on pot scrapings and semen. But other than that...”
“Okay, smartass,” said Kai, and bit Bran’s ear. Bran squirmed, grinning.
“Kai doesn’t like your master, Jesse,” said Sophie. “Why is that, do you think?”
Jesse shrugged nervously.
“Because his master is an asshole,” said Kai grimly, and then, in a more conciliatory tone, as Bran stiffened, “Now come on, kid, don’t get mad. You’re so damn touchy about him, I swear.”
“I just don’t get why you always have to be making comments about him when I’m around,” said Bran irritably. “You know how I feel.”
“How does Jesse feel?” Sophie asked.
Jesse looked into her dark, piercing eyes. “He’s nice. So far.”
“So far,” said Sophie thoughtfully. “Yes. My mistress is good to me, too, so far. Nine years now. But it’s still only so far, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” said Jesse, “exactly.”
Bran shook his head. “That’s no way to live your life.”
Jesse opened his mouth, then shut it again with a snap. Sophie smiled at him.
“Tell us about your former master, Jesse,” she said. “Was he as much of an asshole as Holden Larssen?”
Jesse couldn’t help but smile a little. “A bit more of one, I guess.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t, Soph,” said Kai when Jesse hesitated. “His friend got killed. He doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Sophie sighed.
“My first master only liked to fuck girls,” she said, apropos of nothing. “He didn’t like boys, so he didn’t know about artificial lubrication. Girls got wet at his touch, his hairy face on theirs, his big paws grappling their nipples. Except me. The first time he touched me my cunt went–“ She made an O with her index finger and thumb, then curled her fingers in on themselves, closing it off. “But he fucked me until I was wet– with blood. Then he grew angry. It should not have hurt me. There was something wrong with me. He hit me and cursed at me. I was fifteen. I was a virgin. He had never had a virgin.
“He thought his wife had been one. Hence the confusion.”
She smiled at Jesse, who looked back at her thoughtfully.
“He hadn’t wanted to hurt me. Only to fuck. The blood frightened him, and my tears. I think he was ashamed that he had hurt me so much, and the fear and the shame made him angry.
“Was your master like that? Or did he like to hurt?”
“He liked to hurt,” said Jesse laconically.
“Ah.” Sophie reached out and touched Jesse’s hair. He was startled, but not displeased. “Kai says Larssen liked to hurt, too, when he was first Greta’s master. I can believe it. He looks into a slave’s face. He looks for– desire, respect, trust. But I can imagine him looking for pain, just as intently. Can’t you? Not like that first master, who never looked into my face at all.”
“He looked for more than pain in my sister’s face,” said Kai. “He was trying to beat her, to grind her down, to win– and she wasn’t even fighting. The sweetest kid in the world. All she wanted was to please Alix– she worshipped her, still does– and that bastard couldn’t stand it.”
“That was twenty years ago, Kai,” said Bran rather wearily.
“Yeah, I know how long ago it was,” said Kai. “The kid’s at university now, isn’t she? Their kid? The one he browbeat her into having?”
“He didn’t browbeat her,” said Bran. “She says you’re making that up.”
“Yeah. The sweetest girl in the world, like I said. She’d have cut off her own hand if she thought Alix wanted her to– and when they gave her the option, she fell all over herself to ruin her life and tie herself to that prick for good. And who do you think told her Alix had always wanted a child?”
Bran sighed. “Yeah, yeah. You’ve explained it all before, Kai. He engineered everything to bring about the abomination in the sight of the gods that is Miss Valor.”
“I’ve got nothing against Valor,” Kai said, threading his arms under Bran’s and clasping them firmly across Bran’s solar plexus. “She’s a nice enough girl, even if she does take after him more than a kid with none of his genes has any right to. But she should never have been born. My sister was only sixteen, and he came along and her life was over, just like that.”
“No, Kai, her life would have been over if they’d killed her,” said Bran patiently. “You know, like some owners would have, for getting pregnant when she wasn’t supposed to be fucking anyone with viable sperm.”
“And who made her miserable and lonely enough to do that?”
“She did what she did,” said Sophie firmly. “And she lives in peace now with the woman she loves. Not many of us are so lucky.” She looked at Jesse, shaking her head. “Every time Larssen comes over, the same argument. At least today he has it with Bran, instead of having it with Larssen, and being punished afterwards. I tell him he should be careful, or our mistress will sell him to the slave breakers.”
Jesse smiled at the joke.
“And I’m no fun for him to fight with,” Sophie added, “since I neither love nor hate Larssen. Though I could wish he had been the one fucking me for the first time, when I was fifteen.”
“I hear he’s good with virgins,” Kai admitted grudgingly.
“And with those who aren’t virgins,” said Sophie, with a broad wink at Bran. “My mistress has told me I have a home with her for as long as she lives, and I’m very grateful for her kindness. But if she ever grows tired of me and of keeping her promises, I wouldn’t mind belonging to Holden Larssen.”
“Has he ever fucked you?” asked Jesse, who was beginning to like Sophie. Her sharp observations and matter-of-fact, unsentimental attitude struck a chord in him, and he rather enjoyed playing her straight man as she widened her eyes at him dramatically.
“Heavens, no,” she said. “I haven’t had a cock in me for nine years. Another kindness my mistress has done me.”
Jesse smiled again. “Then how do you know you wouldn’t mind?”
She grinned back. “I’ve spent some time with Inga– she’s a very pretty girl, isn’t she? Golden all over. I think you’re imagining us together, Jesse.”
She moved her legs slightly against Jesse’s half-erect cock. Jesse reddened, and Sophie laughed.
“Inga will belong to a woman soon,” she said, “though not my mistress, more’s the pity. Larssen brought Inga to us to learn to please women– and be pleased by them. Do you know she hadn’t had an orgasm in two years?”
“No wonder she bit,” said Jesse, and the three others laughed. “But why did he have to bring her here for that? I mean, what about his wife and Greta?”
Sophie shrugged. “I didn’t ask. At a guess, because he wanted her to learn from the best.” She glanced up at Jesse through long black eyelashes. “That’s me, by the way. Too bad you don’t have a cunt, so I could show you.”
“You’re a cock-tease, Sophie,” Kai drawled.
“It gives me pleasure,” Sophie agreed serenely. “What about you, Jesse? Does your master fuck you?”
“No,” said Jesse quickly, and then, “Um. Not yet.”
“I don’t know how he’d have time,” said Kai.
“True. Inga and Bran and Yves and Jer and your sister and his wife...” Sophie yawned softly. “It makes me tired just to think of it. Poor Larssen.”
“Yeah, my heart bleeds,” said Kai grumpily, and Bran and Sophie giggled. Jesse smiled.
Enjoying himself much more than he’d expected, Jesse found it an unwelcome interruption to the pleasant chatter when Holden and Galenova came back in, but Bran was obviously pleased; he smiled at his master from Kai’s lap. Smiling back, Holden gestured to him, and he pulled out of Kai’s arms and came to stand at his master’s side.
“Such a sweet-natured boy,” said Lady Galenova, looking at Bran, “and so pretty. You must get offers constantly.”
“I currently have–“ Holden paused, his lips moving silently, his fingers tapping sequentially against each other. “Eight. Eight standing offers– no, I forgot Anna. Nine standing offers from approved buyers, for Bran. Not counting all the ones that are defunct or that I don’t bother to keep on file.”
“Is that Anna Lavrova?” Lady Galenova asked, amused. “What does she want with another boy?”
“Bran’s unique. Plus, I think Mal’s in love with him.”
“And nothing but the best for Mal,” said Lady Galenova, smiling. “Bran’s filled out a good deal since you first got him, too, hasn’t he? Could I see him naked before you go?”
“Sure,” said Holden with no particular interest. “Bran.”
Bran looked away. “I’d rather not.”
Jesse was fairly sure he heard Kai and Sophie stop breathing at the same time he did.
“Why not?” Holden asked after a pause, not ungently.
“I just don’t want to,” said Bran, flushed, without meeting Holden’s eye.
Kai made a quick, involuntary movement, and his mistress sent him a warning glance, but Holden’s eyes stayed on Bran.
“Do it, Bran,” he said softly. “Now.”
Crimson and glassy-eyed, Bran pulled off his tunic and stood naked, head bowed, before his master and Lady Galenova.
Holden walked around him once, looking him up and down, then said brusquely, “Get dressed.”
Bran pulled his clothes back on and dropped to his knees at his master’s feet, touching them lightly, in the supplicating pose of a slave who had misbehaved in public and hoped to escape equally public discipline. Jesse had seen the gesture before, but to see Bran doing it to Holden was horribly unsettling. He waited, his heart in his throat, for Holden to grant or deny the reprieve.
“We should be going,” Holden said. “Sorry, Irina.”
“Don’t apologize,” said Lady Galenova graciously. “Compared the way Kai’s behaved in front of you before– Bran’s a good boy. Perhaps a little spoiled. You do indulge him a great deal.”
“I do,” Holden agreed politely, and reached down a hand to Bran, who allowed himself to be helped to his feet, his head still hanging low. Holden made a few more courteous farewells to Irina, snapped peremptory fingers at Jesse, who scrambled to his feet, and turned to lead the two boys out to the car.
Part Nine
