(Dear readers. Full disclosure that this chapter may be more plot driven then sexually charged. Hopefully, it will still be an entertaining read, but I wanted to give that caveat. --Abashed)
*
Sierra quickly scanned the shelf in the instruction room one final time, perhaps as an attempt to delay having to go see what her venom had achieved. The light reflecting off a few glass syringes in shadow caught her eye. In that same corner on the shelf were bandages, tweezers, a few small, dark bottles and finally, a gray handheld device that looked vaguely familiar. Sierra glanced back at the prone form of Lord V and then grabbed the device before running over to the immobile Ingentian.
Sierra locked her jaw, her stomach churning as she swiftly knelt down beside him. Lord V's normally beautiful face was contorted, his eyes closed. His pale skin looked sallow with shadows of dark veins beneath the skin. Sierra was startled to see his chest rise as he took a rasping breath and his eyelids fluttered only to close again.
Though Lord V's eyes remained closed, he issued a whisper-groan so quiet that Sierra barely heard him, "Button . . . blue," he rasped.
Sierra fumbled with the device until she found a blue square on one side. She pressed in and the thing bleeped to life with various lights and a humming sound. Sierra held it to Lord V's neck, having no idea what to do. A scanning, blue light zipped across his features, then the device began issuing a pulsing red light and where the pulsing light hit, the lavender veins appeared to flare deep purple and then seemed to recede. Lord V's brows knit and he mouthed a silent groan.
Sierra began to move the device painstakingly along every inch of his head and torso. It didn't restore him perfectly, but she could see it was miraculously returning some smoothness to his skin and nearly erasing the purple blush to his features. His breathing seemed to be normalizing, though he remained motionless.
Sierra paused in her ministering. Thus far, she'd been responding only by instinct. The delayed reaction of her venom had surprised her. She looked down at her tormentor and the high buzz of anxiety seemed to drain from her to be replaced with a heavy, numb feeling. Setting the medicorder aside, Sierra stood up and with a determined tightness to her lips, stepped back over to the shelves, her eyes searching.
~
Lord V was barely aware of his surroundings as he nauseated in and out of consciousness. Every time he awoke, the pain laced anew through his body and every breath was squeezed out of him with a feeling like a fist tortuously grasping his lungs. He felt the subtle heated prickles of the medicorder helping to nullify the poison racing beneath his skin, but his consciousness would wane again before he could process much more.
The next time he resurfaced into consciousness, a thought tethered him awake, "I am alive." His body still felt quite sore, and he couldn't quite bring himself to open his eyes, but he was breathing normally through his nose except for the slightest twinge and delay of breath. He felt a kick to his leg. It wasn't a strong kick, but it seemed insistent. Lord V opened his bleary eyes and it took several moments for him to register what he was seeing.
It was his slave covered in human blood, no, it was Sierra in his red, silk night shirt. She hovered above him. Silly slave, he thought sleepily. He tried to close his eyes again, but another kick, this time harder to his shin, angered him. He meant to say, 'Let me sleep!' but all that came out was, "gnhemesleggh" and his saliva dripped down his chin from the ball gag.
Lord V's eyes widened in shock and he snapped out of his fog to find that he was still naked, lying on his stomach, but his wrists were bound behind him and his ankles cuffed into a spreader bar. A chain between the handcuffs and the spreader bar meant he couldn't raise his hands without also pulling the heavy bar up making him rock into an awkward arch. His predicament enraged him, but all he could do in his weakened state was to simply glare up at the clear, lovely, face of his slave who was frowning down at him.
She nodded at his seething, expressive eyes. "I could have let you die," Sierra said simply. Lord V's eyes narrowed to angry slits. Sierra chewed her lip then said flatly, "I'm not sure what I should do. Should I attempt to escape and leave you like this for your people to find you? Should I hurt you as you have hurt me?" At this Sierra gestured to the equipment lining the walls.
Lord V's eyes widened and he furiously began straining at his bonds. His body rocked comically as he tried to break free, eventually exhausting himself. He lay gasping around the gag, his body shivering from his efforts. As he regained his breath, he stilled his struggling and coolly observed her.
Sierra's sad, enchanting green eyes held his gaze. She spoke again, a tremble in her voice, "How can I let you live knowing you'll only come after me? Why can't you just leave me alone?" She shook her head sadly and looked away from him.
Lord V looked at the girl that had caused him so much trouble and so much intense pleasure. Her glossy, golden brown hair still fell in loose waves about her shoulders, the red silk of the night shirt a dramatic contrast to the soft springtime of her coloring. Though her face was strained and sad, it was like the shifting loveliness of the sea, no less beautiful for expressing a somber change in mood. Her lovely chin held high, her gaze steady; he had never seen her look quite so beautiful.
When she turned back to him, he motioned with his eyes and jerked his chin the best he could to indicate he wished the ballgag to be removed so he could speak. Sierra scowled at him and shook her head, but he held her gaze pouring all his longing and affection for her into one shared look.
~
The depth of feeling and strange softness in his gray eyes surprised Sierra and against her better judgment, she knelt down to remove the gag. Earlier, she'd grazed his ankle as she had bound him to the spreader bar, and it hadn't caused a relapse of the poison, but she still tried to remove the gag without touching him as much as possible.
Lord V worked his jaw. When he attempted to speak, nothing but air came out at first. Finally he managed to rasp, "Well slave, it seems you have developed some thorns after all."
Sierra kicked him hard in his side, however, she couldn't hold back wincing in sympathy to see his face contort in agony. He recovered with a grimace and sucked in breath, his eyes pinching shut only to pop back open indignant and angry. Sierra said in an even voice, "I am not your slave."
Lord V's jaw tightened, but he kept her gaze and nodded. "Sierra," he began. He cleared his throat eying her warily, "Surely, you cannot blame me for wanting you?"
Sierra loomed above Lord V's bound form, the red, silk nightshirt pulled taut across her chest as she folded her arms and peered down.
"You don't want me," Sierra bit out. "You want a puppet, a plaything. I will never be Elanna."
Lord V smiled weakly at that, "No, you will never be Elanna," he repeated softly. His voice rose in volume and took on some of its customary dry imperiousness, "And yet, you can't deny your own desire, little human. I recall how beautifully you begged me to fuck you." Sierra's face reddened, but Lord V continued, "In the end, isn't what I want from you what you crave to give?"
Lord V knew better than to laugh, but it was difficult as Sierra's expression became the most perfectly adorable sulk.
Instead, Lord V tried unsuccessfully to keep the teasing out of his voice as he taunted, "Unbind me and I'll show you what I mean."
It was Sierra's turn to have her eyes blaze in anger. She twisted her pretty lips in a stubborn, little scowl and stalked off to the toy shelf. She returned ominously tapping a black, riding crop in her hand. Lord V raised his eyebrows as she returned to his view.
"Now pet, don't make things worse for yourself," Lord V warned, his voice growing heated and severe.
Sierra shrugged, "I already almost killed you, what are a few swats on his lordships' rear worth after that?" Sierra's pretty lips curled up in a small, coy smile. She took a steadying breath and nodded to herself. Her clear voice warned, "Now, I'm not completely certain I have control over my venom yet so I would hold still if I were you."
Lord V turned his head from one side to the other trying to see where Sierra had settled kneeling beside the lower half of his body, but he felt rather than saw her tracing a figure 8 lightly with the riding crop on his thigh. A few taps of the firm leather gently up his thigh to his sculpted ass and snap! A stinging swat pelted his naked backside. Snap! A fat stripe of pain seared into his other ass cheek.
Lord V grunted, grinding his teeth in indignation. Still, he was spellbound as he felt her lightly trace circles that became a large figure 8 across the whole of his tight ass. The anticipation was delicious agony. And snap, slap, snap, she swatted alternating stripes between cheeks with surprising force.
Lord V's voice was tight. "Sierra, that's enough. Release me."
Sierra snapped a stinging, throbbing swat where his beautiful ass met his muscular thigh soliciting a groan. "You told me once, slaves don't get to say 'no,'" Sierra said her voice sullen. Slap, snap. Slap, snap. His ass was turning blotchy with the overlaying strokes.
"Sierra," Lord V's voice was both soft and commanding. "Sierra, let me go."
Sierra found that she was shaking and she couldn't bring herself to swipe at him anymore. She cast the crop aside a little disappointed with herself. She didn't understand what came over her, but she crawled forward until she was kneeling beside the pale, masculine face that craned to peer up at her.
Forgetting the possible danger, she reached down to place her small, graceful hand beneath his cheek, helping to support him. Their eyes met and burned. Sierra crouched down to place a soft kiss on his mouth. He stiffened in fear at first and then gave in, his tongue sliding between her lips. She had the control and ended the kiss by bracing his exquisite face in her soft hands. "Let me go," Sierra whispered.
~
The sound of footsteps scraping on the bathhouse floor drew Sierra and Lord V's gaze.
"Well looky here," Gerra's brash voice cut as she strode confidently into the instruction room. "Sierra, you should've sold tickets."
Sierra gently let go of Lord V's face and rose, "Gerra! How? I . . ." but Gerra ignored Sierra and strode forward with her normal swagger to grin down at Lord V's bound, prone and spread body. She placed a booted foot on one of his ass cheeks striped with pink and purple bruises, "Hmm, your lordship, I'm not impressed by your ass, it looks a right mess." She kicked her foot off him soliciting a grunt and a sharp intake of breath from Lord V.
Gerra grinned her dimpled grin and turned to Sierra. "Well, troublemaker, I'm authorized from the consortium government under the authority of General Conroy to do 'house visits' from time to time to see how you are faring and whether or not you've come to your senses and would like to come home."
Sierra smiled warmly and walked towards Gerra, "Oh Gerra, thank you!"
