Faris shook his head and sank to the floor. “I didn’t realize.”
“You don’t understand. How could you?”
“But I do.” He looked back toward the room. “I asked him…after…I couldn’t understand how he was able to stay so strong in the face of everything. He brought me here.”
“What did you do?” It was apparent to her now that the young man had been the cause of the day’s tragedy. It was the only explanation that made sense—the only reason Ulric would have jeopardized what they had between them. Ulric had fallen in love with Faris the same way he had with her—quickly and wholeheartedly.
Faris shook his head, dropping his chin to his chest.
Stella didn’t want this. The young man wasn’t her responsibility. He hadn’t come to her seeking guidance and support and he wasn’t in the proper emotional place to accept the only type of help she had to offer.
Still, Ulric had come to her and he was her responsibility. He’d saved her, given her a life of protection and comfort when others would have sent her away. She owed it to him to try. He trusted her to do what was best. Right now it meant forcing Faris to make a choice.
Straightening, Stella locked her gaze on Faris. “I have needs I must attend to. As before, the choice to leave is yours alone. But I warn you, if you stay this time you will be relinquishing all control. Ulric is not yours to possess or tempt. You have much to learn and are in far worse shape than I’d realized.”
Moving toward the room where Ulric waited, Stella prepared to cross the threshold when Faris’ voice stopped her.
“And if I choose to agree to your terms and stay?”
“Then I’ll help you.”
“In the way you helped him?”
“Yes.” She crossed through without another look at Faris.
Waiting quietly on his knees by the bed, Ulric sat with his hands laced behind his head. His cock had softened in the cage, but not by much. She knew he was worried about Faris and it was clearly taking its toll on him.
“You have been dancing to the tune of two masters tonight.” She reached down and lifted his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze. “It stops now.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Stand up.”
She did not help him rise, instead waiting until he struggled yet again to concede to her will. With everything going on, she knew a softer touch would be needed to make things right.
Her fingers played with the nipple clamps, still distending the tortured flesh. She carefully removed one and bent her head to gently swipe her tongue over the angry red skin. His soft gasp made her cunt clench, as a pang of want she forced herself to ignore ripped through her. There would be time enough for pleasure later.
“You bore this so well.” She swirled the tip to her tongue around the nipple, the taste of his skin exploding in her mouth. “I know how uncomfortable you must have been.”
Stella waited only a moment before removing the second and administering the same treatment and care to his nipple. Ulric sighed but held still. She felt the weight of the cock cage slap against her thigh, reminding her of its presence once again.
“I think we can do without this, though the cock ring stays. You haven’t proven yourself in control enough tonight to be trusted without it.”
Ulric sighed and Stella knew she’d once again pushed him further than she’d intended. It was rewarding to know he had still trusted her, not stopping her actions with his safe word. “Get on the bed, ass in the air.”
This time there was no hesitation as Ulric moved. She watched his body relax into the final position—facedown, ass up. The marks on his buttocks were fading already, a sign that Faris hadn’t quite done the job properly. While the young man had talent, tonight Ulric needed a sure hand. Hers.
“I don’t approve of your methods, Ulric.” She kept her gaze locked on his body, watching for Ulric’s tells, knowing he was still focused on Faris and not his own needs.
“You agreed that while you are here the outside world does not exist. I am the commander. You relinquished your control willingly. You allow me to help you strip away the world until there is nothing left.”
Ulric shivered, but held otherwise still.
“I know you did what you believed was the right thing. So for now, I’ve decided to start this evening over and attend to you properly. But I want you to know that this can be the only time.”
He turned his face to look at her. Stella couldn’t help but smile at what she saw.
Gone was the earlier panic and worry reflected in his eyes. In those few minutes of reassurance, he’d begun his journey to the special place in his mind where nothing could touch him. He was close—she would take him the rest of the way.
This room was hers to use whenever she wanted. It was lavish compared to the rest of the ship’s quarters, possessing a bed large enough to accommodate three or four people if they so desired. It was different from the small room she used when she needed to find herself. He’d given her the option to have another larger one, but she’d declined. Decadence didn’t help remind her of the person she was outside this place, or the hell she’d come from. Living between those standard-issue walls, she was simply Stella from a backwater world where she’d been punished for being who she was. It wasn’t a place she could dwell on now.
Walking over to the drawers along the side of the room, Stella pulled open the one that held her most-prized tools. A collection of butt plugs in various sizes and shapes available to her. It had been many weeks since she’d played with these particular toys.
They would be just the thing to intensify the connection between them.
“I have just the thing for you, Ulric.” She smiled, pulling out one of her favorites. “I think you have earned the pleasure of this tonight.”
“I—”
Stella snapped her head around to see Faris standing in the doorway. His eyes were on the plug. She held her tongue, heart pounding in her chest as she waited to see what he would say.
Faris stepped further into the room. “I would…like to stay. If you’ll have me.”
Stella knew if she did this, took Faris on with Ulric, she would have her work cut out for her. Not that she had ever backed down from a challenge in her life.
She smirked. “Strip and get on the bed.”
Chapter Five
Faris didn’t think his heart could beat any faster.
Ulric was already naked and in what he now recognized as a submissive pose— facedown, arms flat at his sides, ass in the air. It was thrilling and terrifying, the idea of handing over his control in the same way. He wasn’t sure he could lie there and wait for Stella to do whatever she wanted to him.
Still, he wouldn’t back down now.
Proud of the fact that his hands didn’t shake, he pushed his pants down, letting them fall in a silent heap to the floor. His cock was already showing renewed signs of life. God, how could Ulric have gone as long as he had without coming? Or Stella for that matter?
She clearly cared for Ulric. In Faris’ world, people had a higher regard for propriety, image and status than actions. Not Stella. The way she ran her hand along Ulric’s flank, and the look in her eyes when she stared at Ulric stretched out before her, showed the depth of her emotions for him. Faris wasn’t sure she was even aware how much the look in her eyes gave away. There was a connection between them, one Faris had never experienced in his life.
He wanted it too.
The bed dipped under his weight as he moved to get close to Ulric. Unsure if he should take a similar pose, he was about to lie down when he saw Stella moved beside them. Her scent made his head spin and his cock twitch. No other woman had affected him like this—quickly and all encompassing.