Her fingers traced a path over the swell of Ulric’s ass as she climbed up beside him.
They flanked Ulric, their gazes locked. Faris swallowed as he realized he needed to take the next step.
“What would you have me do…Mistress?”
“Nothing. Yet.” She turned to look at Ulric, a small smile softening her features.
“First there is something I forgot to do.”
It was then Faris noticed what she held in her hand—a black leather collar with a carringmite tag dangling from the front.
Without breaking contact with his body, Stella moved until her knees were by Ulric’s head. As if she’d issued a silent command, Ulric lifted his head and moved just enough to rest his cheek against her thighs.
“You should have said something,” she whispered. “I know how much it pains you to go without this.”
Faris shivered at the gentle possession, how Ulric relaxed even more once the leather collar was secured around his neck. The carringmite tag sparkled in the low light of the room, catching his attention.
“What does it say?”
Stella ran her thumb over the flat surface. “It tells the universe he belongs to me.”
“And he agrees to wear it?”
“Of course. He had to earn the right first. It took time and training, but he learned his lessons well, despite his relapse tonight. Very few have done that to my satisfaction.”
“What do…?” He swallowed, unable to look away from the collar.
Stella leaned forward and ran her fingers through Ulric’s hair. “I think your protégé is asking if he can join us. What do you think, pet? Is that something you’d like?”
“Yes, Mistress.” Ulric buried his nose against her leg. “Please.”
“We’ll need to start at the very beginning. You’ll need to show him what to do, what I expect. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
As she bent over Ulric, Stella lifted her gaze back to Faris. “You know my terms. I will agree to show you the first of my lessons. If you do well and if I choose to take you on permanently, there will be a contract. Conditions you must agree to. It won’t be easy.
Not every man I meet is strong enough.”
The impulse to throw himself at her knees and beg her to do whatever she wanted with him was crushing. It surprised him how passionately he was willing to acquiesce, but he knew she wouldn’t appreciate the display. And rightly so, she would discount anything he said. Instead, Faris nodded and waited.
“Ulric, get a cock ring and the cage.”
As Ulric rose up, Faris was struck by the raw power in the older man’s body. He was everything Faris had aspired to become. Physically, Ulric would have easily overpowered both him and Stella. He’d watched Ulric in training, showing the men under his command how to most efficiently capture or kill an opponent. There was no weakness, either mental or physical, that Faris had ever detected in the other man.
Even now, watching Ulric jump to satisfy the commands of Stella, Faris could not think less of his mentor. He understood that Ulric had made a choice—this was simply a different test of his strength and abilities.
Ulric stood behind where Faris knelt, a solid presence at his back. “I have them, Mistress.”
Stella stretched out on the bed, propping her back against the rails of the headboard as she shifted and ran her hands down the front of her corset and leather skirt. “Very well. Put them on him, Ulric. Make sure they are secure because I don’t trust his ability to behave.”
“Turn around.”
Faris shivered at the sound of Ulric’s voice. It was the same tone he’d used on the bridge of his ship when he’d given the command to fire on the outpost, killing the terrorists.
My fault.
Shuffling as best he could on the bed, Faris turned to Ulric, but was unable to meet his gaze. His cock was fully hard once again, and he couldn’t help but compare it to Ulric’s. The older man was bit longer, but nowhere near as thick. Faris imagined what it would be like to take him into his mouth. Have Ulric fuck his face the way he’d done to him.
The pressure from the cock ring was as tight as before, its presence somewhat reassuring. When Ulric held the cock cage up in his line of sight, Faris swallowed.
“It will prevent you from touching. Deny you the sensations and keep you from relieving the pressure of arousal. You must earn that right.”
“How?”
“By learning your lessons. By letting go.”
The cage was heavy, pulling on his cock. It felt odd, the brush of air against his skin, even as he was deprived of the most normal of incidental contact. He could easily free himself if he needed to, but knew it would be a kind of failure.
Panting, he finally looked up at Ulric and nodded.
“Good, you’ve taken a small step, Faris.” Stella leaned her elbow on the pillows and braced her head against it. “But there is so much for you to learn.”
She lifted the butt plug and held it out for him to inspect. “This will help. Not that you are ready for such a thing. This is not a child’s toy, but designed for a man.”
With nothing more than a look from Stella, Ulric climbed back on the bed and lay down, stretched out beside her. She ran the tip of her forefinger across his shoulders.
“Faris, you will watch. You will not speak unless spoken to or touch anything without my permission. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Her gaze snapped up and she cocked an eyebrow.
He swallowed. “Yes, Mistress.”
“Ulric, on your knees.” She pushed up as he shifted, moving until she knelt between his legs. Stella cupped his ass cheeks with both hands and pushed against the still-pink skin. “Gorgeous.”
She kneaded and massaged his skin, spreading Ulric’s ass cheeks. Faris forgot to breathe when she held Ulric open, exposing the tight ring of muscles, then bent over and pressed her tongue into his hole. Ulric moaned but did not move.
Faris watched, fascinated as Stella continued her oral attack on Ulric, alternating from long swipes from the base of his balls to the top of his crack, to sharpening the point of her tongue and stabbing it into his hole.
Ulric vocalized his intense pleasure, but Faris was stunned by how still he held his body. Three times Faris had reached down to squeeze his cock, only to be thwarted by the cage. Each time he let his hand fall back to his side, his frustration rising.
After what felt like an eternity, Stella pulled away. Saliva covered her mouth and chin, a look of satisfaction on her face. Reaching for the plug, she pulled it close but did not lift it to Ulric’s body.
“It’s been a while for you, pet,” she cooed. “Just this one time will I open you up first. But not too much.”
“No, Mistress, not too much,” Ulric said, sounding blissed out.
“Faris!” Stella’s voice held as much command as Ulric’s ever had. “Go to the drawer and fetch me the lubricant. Quickly!”
“Mistress,” he muttered, scrambling as best he could with the cage pulling at him.
The lube was easy to find, the only bottle in the top drawer. When he presented it to Stella, she took it quickly and indicated he should stand.
“I tend not to allow my pets to watch me prepare others, but given the circumstances of your arrival to me, I’ll make an exception.”
She heavily coated her forefinger with lube before she pressed the digit against Ulric’s ass. The muscles resisted for a moment, before giving way and pulling her into his body. Ulric sighed, but held still. Stella pumped her finger in and out several times before withdrawing, recoating her fingers and pressing two into Ulric.