Enslaved by a Warrior [Sold! 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (3 page)

“Not with that word.”

Tyler kept his mouth shut for a long time until he realized the only one he was hurting with his sulking was himself. This was a golden opportunity for him to ask questions, and here he was taking a slight from being called dumb. Maybe he was stupider than he thought.

“Do you know who bought me?”

“I do not.”

“So I’ll probably end up cleaning things?” If they thought he was stupid, then menial tasks seemed likely.

“I know not what the plans for you are.”

“How much did this person pay for me?”

“More than I have ever seen paid for a slave who can’t stop talking.”

“Fuck you!” Tyler grabbed his leash with one hand to stabilize it and then yanked hard with his other hand, pulling on the creature who held the other end.

There was a startled cry, and then the other end of his leash fell to the floor. His moment of triumph was short lived.

“You impetuous fiend!”

Tyler braced himself for a walloping dose of punishment, but what he got instead was a jolt of pleasure so intense he almost climaxed. He was baffled, because in all the shows, books, and graphic novels he’d ever read, he’d never heard of any civilization using pleasure as a weapon.

As soon as the ecstasy wore off, he asked, “What the hell was that?”

“A blast right into the pleasure center of your brain.”

“It was incredible.”

“And it’s highly addictive.”

Tyler considered that for a long time. Why would they punish him with something that felt good and had no horrible side effects? Once the pleasure receded, he felt fine. Well, except he wanted another jolt. And that was when he understood. Hit him hard enough and often enough in his pleasure center, and he’d become their more than willing slave just to get another hit.

“Only sentient species are afraid of what we use. I guess you’re not so simpleminded after all.”

“I guess not.” Tyler continued following his invisible pal down the hall. He had no intention of causing him any more problems. It wouldn’t take that many more pleasure blasts to turn him into a quivering bowl of pudding that would fall to his knees and gladly perform any perversity they wished. His only thought now was what his master would look like and just exactly what this mysterious alien wanted him for.

Blessed waited in the claiming area. Before he took possession of his new slave, he would have an opportunity to thoroughly inspect him to ensure no trades had taken place. Since he had dealt with this auctioneer before, and the man was in awe of Blessed, he doubted very much there would be any kind of trickery.

“What is taking so long?” Usually by the time he took the elevator down from the bidding area his prize was ready to go.

“He is a little…resistant.”

It was clear from the hesitation the auctioneer had considered lying but then thought better of it.

“Good.”

The auctioneer’s three eyes widened in his round little face.

“I prefer a thrall who has some fight left in him.”

“He had to be given a jolt of joy to stop him from harming his escort.”

“You dare to give pleasure to my slave?” Blessed didn’t bellow, as only those who feared others not listening spoke loudly. When Blessed talked, all within range listened, even if they had to strain to do so. “Do not dare to do so again.”

“No, your graciousness. No one will do anything to him again.” The auctioneer spoke in hushed terms to whomever was bringing Blessed’s purchase forth. “It seems the slave was quite afraid of the jolt of joy.”

“As well he should be.” But Blessed preferred to deliver his own version. With his hands, his mouth, his cock, and his
strosan
, he could give a slave a dose of pleasure that rivaled the jolt of joy. And then Blessed considered why the Earthling was afraid. Obviously, he feared addiction. This was powerful to know. Knowledge of a species’ fears, longings, and such gave him tremendous power. “You will bring him here and have him wait on me.”

“Your graciousness, if you would permit, we have rooms available so that one such as yourself can be assured the slave is up to par?” The auctioneer’s voice rose at the end as if he were asking a question. Blessed got the distinct impression that he could have this Tyler, this Earthling, for the night, and then declare him unfit. He wouldn’t get back all his money, but he would get back most and the auctioneer could simply sell him again.

Suspicious, Blessed reached across the counter and placed his hand over the auctioneer’s chest. “You have not sold him in this way before, have you?”

“Oh, no! Absolutely not, your graciousness. He is untouched by any but those on his own planet. Oh! But for the display on stage and the cleaning afterward.”

“You swear this on your life?”

“I do.”

Blessed withdrew his hand. The auctioneer sighed and settled his clothing.

“I will give you the best room we have, your graciousness.” He handed over a key. “If you require anything—”

“Have a mix of food for him and for me. Be careful that you pick things that will please him. I will also require a full array of—never mind. I will have my people bring me what I need. You give me a room, put this Tyler Stewart in it, and I shall deal with the rest.”

The auctioneer nodded.

“And if he is not as you say, I shall return for your heart.”

“Yes, your graciousness.”

Blessed turned and strode off to the nearest restaurant. He would make his slave wait for him so that he could learn more about his kind. Knowledge was power, and Blessed would need an edge if he were to fully control his latest playmate. He instructed his devotee to make arrangements to have all he would need delivered to the room provided.

Once inside the exclusive club, he only had to look at the
maître d’
to obtain a seat. There was no place on the planet so exclusive that it prohibited a fully named warrior of the neutral class. Blessed didn’t have to say his name or even display insignia of his rank. All who looked upon his face knew what he was. A black mark of power rode on his right cheek. The gentle curve of a planetary horizon with five dots below told all who looked at him that Blessed had conquered five worlds. He was retired now, hence his insufferable boredom, but he was working on a way to alleviate the worst symptom of civilized living.

Blessed spent a leisurely time sipping a drink and eating a small meal. He didn’t want to be too full or too inebriated to play with his latest toy. But he did want to make him wait and make him wonder. He snapped his fingers hard below the table, reprimanding himself. If he had been thinking, he would have had his devotee order cameras placed in the room before Tyler arrived. Ah, well. Such was the folly of afterthought. Had he placed watching devices, Blessed could have observed his slave considering the room and pondering his fate. He could have learned much. With a sigh, he rose, paid for his modest repast with a fingertouch to the billpad in the table, then left. In his wake, he noticed there were hushed murmurs, fanned faces, and a general sense of relief. Yet there was also a cloud of longing.

Warriors spiked hormones in men, women, and neutrals.

Blessed grinned. He enjoyed his status as both a figure of regard and of lust. Not that he had ever waylaid an unsuspecting citizen and expected them to bow before him, but the notion that he could do so, and possibly get away with such a bold scheme, pleased him greatly.

Rumors followed him wherever he went, and often in places he didn’t. Blessed couldn’t recall how many times some enterprising huckster insisted Blessed had been to his establishment and raved about what had happened to him there. All were false. Blessed went about the entire planet of Krase since he had lodgings on every continent, but he did not favor one place over another. He found value in all he indulged. From high to low and all points between, there was nothing richer than the experience. The cost wasn’t the criteria. In the dregs of the universe, Blessed had found peace and riches beyond what most could comprehend.

And tonight, he would find out just what Earth had to offer him.

Anticipation made Tyler so wired he was unable to sit still. The invisible man had taken him from the hall to an elevator. It, like the hallway, was built on a huge scale. Again, he swallowed. He had asked how big this thing was that bought him, but the invisible host didn’t know since he had no idea who had actually won the bid.

“You will find out soon enough.”

After that terrifying comment, the invisible hand had taken him from the elevator to a room and left him there with his leash dangling from his neck down to the floor.

The first thing Tyler had done was remove the leash from his collar. He’d done so roughly, and right after it had come free he’d had an exquisite panic attack. For all he knew, the device was now counting down to head-explosion time. He ran around the room looking for the bathroom so he could see what was happening to the lights on his collar, but what he found within that room had terrified him worse than the prospect of getting his head blown off. There wasn’t a mirror, and he didn’t recognize any of the fixtures. Whatever sat on their version of a toilet wasn’t even remotely human. He’d backed out of the room and slammed the door. Leaning against it, he waited for the explosion, but it didn’t come. His shoulders slumped with relief, and then he felt foolish for overreacting.

“Oh, fuck it. I’m entitled. How many humans can say they survived an alien slave auction?”

Once he calmed himself, he examined every nook and cranny of the room. The first thing he noticed was that the furniture was big. Not thirty-foot-tall big, but still much grander in scale than human furniture. And then his gaze riveted on the bed. He gulped. At least he thought it was a bed. It was gigantic and square and had what looked like pillows. Again, he had no idea what he was dealing with, so for all he knew he was looking at the toilet and that thing in the closet was where the creature cleaned his teeth.

Everything was color coordinated, but he couldn’t really say what the exact shade was. It seemed to be constantly shifting and made him nauseous. There were chair-like things around what kind of looked like a table. Sort of. Basically, everything was boxlike. With that realization, the room took on more shape to him. All the furniture was built in boxes. Not rectangles, circles, or any shape but a perfectly square box. It was a carpenter’s dream. His gaze easily traced out the pattern, and his mind calmed. Yes, the boxes were big, but they weren’t monstrously so.

“Maybe this wouldn’t be so difficult to get used to.”

Tyler went over to what he thought was the bed and sat on the edge. It was surprisingly hard. He frowned. Apparently this advanced culture had not heard of pillow-top mattresses. With a sigh, he realized there was already a long list of things he was going to miss from planet Earth. His family, of course. First and foremost he would miss them. But he’d also miss his coworkers, his friends, and his gym buddies. In addition to people, he was going to miss coffee, his comfy mattress, and those chili-cheese dogs that cute and chubby guy made just for him. He would pile it high with onions that were so pungent they burned Tyler’s eyes. He’d once asked the man if he hated men with onion breath, but the vendor—damn that Tyler couldn’t remember his name—had said he
loved
onions. And Tyler had grinned and eaten a big mouthful of dog, bun, chili, and onions. Regret washed through him because Tyler hadn’t ever made his move. He wasn’t sure what he’d been waiting for, and now it was too late.

Or was it?

Maybe they’d only taken him for a while and eventually he could go back. For some reason he doubted that. Generally, when one civilization took people from another, they kept them. His ancestors had. Despicable business, really. Slave owning, selling, or running attracted basically unsavory people in his opinion. Not that anyone was asking. But Tyler had to start wrapping his head around the fact that he’d probably never see Earth again unless he managed to get free and then get back there. Considering he couldn’t fly an airplane, it was probably unlikely he could fly a starship. Maybe he could take a captain hostage…

He settled back on the bed, peering up at the ceiling. He startled to find a mirror and then grinned. Were all species inherently kinky? Lifting his head to expose his neck, Tyler examined the collar. The lights were still blinking away, but he had no clue what they indicated. He paid attention to his heartbeat and realized that the green light on the side was tracking that. Grinning, he tried to figure out what the other lights were tracking.

“Just where I want you.”

Tyler rocketed out of bed so fast he almost shot himself into the ceiling but ended up tripping and face-planting on the floor. When he got to his feet, he looked up at the most gigantic man he’d ever seen. His skin was dark maroon, and his eyes were gleaming red. Muscles bulged all over his arms, chest, legs, and what the hell was squirming in his pants? Tyler backed away, hitting the edge of the bed and sprawling himself back almost right where he was before. He sat up and used his arms to propel him further away from whatever the hell that thing was. What was so astonishing was that as scary looking as he was, he was also unbelievably handsome, in an I-can-rip-your-head-off kind of way.