Yes, her body had been reacting to his naked nearness, but not because of an urge to humiliate him even more. Tain had hated the idea of slavery even before she’d been forced to experience the state personally, and taking advantage of someone who couldn’t refuse her was completely against her beliefs.

And that thought made her admit to herself the real reason her body had tightened and hardened. It was a combination of concern and desire, concern over Killen’s well-being and a desire to feel his hands on her again. If he made love to her the act would prove that he was all right, and she very much needed him to be all right. But not because of what she had planned for tomorrow, not for any reason she was willing to admit even in the privacy of her own mind.

Happily, though, Killen had misinterpreted her reason for being there and for feeling the way she did. More than that he’d given her a way to get what she wanted more and more badly with each passing minute -without letting him know the truth…

“You know, it’s really helpful to deal with someone who doesn’t have to have the facts of life explained to him,” Tain drawled after what was really only a very brief hesitation. “Turn to your side so I can join you under that blanket.”

Killen stiffened, but he still did just as Tain had ordered. The pallet wasn’t very wide, but there was enough room for her to slip under the blanket and press her body to his. His warmth flowed into her at the touch, showing that she really was cold, but something else became even more clear. Killen’s mind might be reluctant, but his body certainly wasn’t.

“You are so nicely made,” Tain murmured as she ran her hands slowly over Killen, feeling a faint trembling in his body. “Will you be able to lie on your back without much pain if you brace yourself with your feet?”

“I think so,” Killen answered, the words sounding as if they were being dragged out of him. The blankness of his expression said he didn’t want her to know how he really felt, but it was a waste of effort. Tain knew Killen hated what was being done to him, and that fit in perfectly with her plans. With any luck the man would also hate her, and that would end any possibility of their ever getting together in a relationship. That end was something Tain knew she needed to survive, but a very small part of her hated the need more than she knew was possible…

Once Killen had put himself to his back with his knees bent to let his feet brace him, Tain made sure he wasn’t in pain before she began to kiss his body. In no time at all Killen was moaning, his arousal completely returned, and Tain found that she couldn’t continue with the foreplay. Her own arousal was so high that under other circumstances she would have been whimpering, but with her in control there was no reason to whimper. She went to her knees and straddled Killen, then quickly took him inside her.

Killen’s hands came to her waist as her own hands rested on his shoulders, her up and down movement making them share the moaning. It felt so good to have Killen inside her again, even though it would have felt better if he’d been on top. But Tain couldn’t allow that, so she’d have to make do with this as her final goodbye to him.

As a final goodbye it could have been much worse, considering how long Killen let the time last. Tain came more than once while Killen matched her movements with his eyes closed, but finally he was no longer able to hold off his own release. He came while Tain shuddered from the latest of her orgasms, and all she wanted to do was collapse on top of him. But doing that wasn’t part of her plan, so she patted his face instead, climbed off him, then left the alcove to return to her own bed.

And once she lay under her blanket she had to fight really hard to keep her crying from getting loud enough to wake Risdin…

Jake woke up feeling so comfortable that for a moment he didn’t remember where he was. He lay on his stomach, and even though his body ached here and there he was also aware of a sense of satisfaction. He hadn’t felt this sated since the last time he’d—That was when he remembered the night before, and what had come of Tain’s visit. All satisfaction and comfort disappeared as he sat up slowly, now aware of the disappointment he felt. It was stupid to have thought that Tain was a better person than he, someone who would never have taken advantage of a bad situation. But she had taken the same advantage he had, and even though his body had enjoyed the time his mind certainly hadn’t.

“Obviously you needed sleep even more than I did,” Tandro’s voice came from behind him, the words soft. “I’ve been awake for a while, long enough to hear one of the women moving around, but whichever one it is she didn’t come in here.”

Jake turned to see that Tandro also sat on his pallet, which meant that things were looking up for them. Last night he would have been able to sit if he’d really had to, but this morning there was nothing but a shadow left of the punishment he’d been given.

“If it isn’t Tain who’s awake, coming in here would be a waste of time,” Jake said, speaking just as softly. “Have you forgotten that we aren’t allowed to obey anyone but her? That means, of course, that we stay on these pallets until she says we can get up.”

Jake expected to see anger in Tandro over what he’d said, but the native suddenly looked drawn instead.

“After yesterday I really didn’t need any more lessons on the evils of slavery, but it looks like I’ll be getting them whether I need them or not.” The man’s voice was low, as if he were controlling himself sternly, but it was pain rather than anger that he strove to hold off. “It isn’t really possible to understand how bad it can get unless you go through it yourself, is it? Why is it that human beings can’t seem to learn except the hard way? Why can’t we know that something is wrong without having our faces rubbed in the wrongness?”

“If you ever find out the answer to that question I’d appreciate it you let me know,” Jake responded, reflecting that he’d thought some human beings knew right from wrong the easy way. But that was before last night…

“Good morning, men,” Risdin said from the doorway before she walked in holding two filled plates. “I’ve made breakfast, which I’m sure you can use. You can get started on the food while I go back for the coffee.”

“Thank you,” Jake said, taking the plate she handed him as he studied her face. “You’re being extremely good to us, and I don’t understand why.

Unless I’m mistaken you were once a slave yourself, so why would you treat two men in any way but badly?“

“Since I found myself the only one awake this morning, I did some thinking,” Risdin answered, her smile wry. “I know how badly the slaver treated you two, and that didn’t make any sense—until I realized that he must have done it because you’re against slavery. There isn’t really any other reason for making you slaves, and you were hurt and humiliated because you want to make it impossible for me to be hurt again. Was I

wrong?“

“No,” Jake admitted with a shake of his head after exchanging a glance with Tandro. “But I’d like to know how you know that we were humiliated as well as hurt. Did Tain tell you what was done to us?”

“Tain didn’t say a word, but she didn’t have to,” Risdin answered, her expression now more angry than wry. “Being enslaved means you’re going to be humiliated as well as hurt, since that’s the fastest and easiest way to control a slave. There are people who are strong enough to ignore pain, but I don’t think there’s anyone strong enough to withstand humiliation.”

“Before yesterday I might have disagreed with you, but not now,” Tandro said, his expression having fallen all the way to bleak. “What they did to Killen terrified me, thinking they might do the same to me. I don’t know how he managed to stay sane after something that bad, but I wouldn’t have been able to handle it like that. I was ready to do just about anything to keep from—”