“Yes,the way I take care of you.” Trin nodded. “You’re my responsibility, the sameway—oh!” she gasped as she unfastened his trousers and his hard shaft sprangfree.

Thrace hadbeen able to keep himself from getting completely hard when she handled himbefore—mostly it was the memories of his past that stopped his desire for herfrom coming to fruition. But it had been days since he’d had any sexual reliefand seeing her dressed as she was and smelling her sweet scent was too much forhim. He was hard as a rock and unable to help it.

“I’myour responsibility the same way your other pets are. Is that right?” hegrowled, finishing her sentence for her. “Only I bet none of your other petsever had this problem.”

“Is it a problem? What’s wrong?” Shelooked at him uncertainly with those large, dark eyes.

Thracegroaned. “Damnit, Trin—”

“CaptainTrin or Mistress,” she reminded him severely.

“I’mnot calling you Mistress because I’m nota fucking slave,” Thracegrowled. “And the problem is you’rewearing that little nothing of a nightdress that shows all your sweet flesh andtouching me all over. How the hell am I supposed to keep from getting hard?”

“Isit painful?” She looked with concern at his throbbing shaft. “And are youactually saying I caused it? How?”

“Becauseyou’re fucking gorgeous,” Thraceexploded. “And you’re touching me with those soft little hands. I know yourpeople don’t have many dealings with males but that much ought to be obvious.”

“So…youfind me attractive?” She looked disturbed. “I thought the Havoc didn’t care forfemales.”

“Wedon’t bond with them—doesn’t mean wedon’t bed them.” Thracenarrowed his eyes at her. “I haven’t been with a female in months and I can’teven get a hand free to relieve myself. Then you come in here dressed like somekind of a sex goddess and expect me not to react? It’s fucking torture.”

“I…didn’trealize.” Trin put the damp cloth back in the bowl of water and stared at hisshaft with concern. “I’m sorry, Thrace—Ihad no idea you felt this way. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Wouldit have done any good?” he demanded.

“I…don’tknow.” She sounded uncertain. “I’m not sure what…but you’re saying that lookingat me is what made you, uh, hard?”

“Painfully fuckinghard,” Thraceassured her. “You probably don’t know this but males are very visual. Seeingyour sweet creamy flesh exposed like this is more than I can stand. I can’tstop thinking about it—about you—evenwhen you’re out of the room.”

“Thinkingabout me?” She sounded both disturbedand maybe just a touch intrigued. “Thinking of doing what to me?”

“Whatdo you think?” Thracewas beyond exasperated. Could even a female who had never dealt with malesbefore be this oblivious? “I fantasize.Fantasize about caressing your soft skin…tasting those ripe nipples I seepressing against your nightdress…”

“You—”Trin looked down and quickly pulled her robe tighter around herself. Still Thracecouldn’t stop.

“Iimagine tasting you lower too. Spreading your thighs and taking my time, lappingyour pussy with my tongue until you moan and pull my hair. I want to feel yourjuices all over my face…want to feel you quivering against my mouth.”

“I…Idon’t…I wouldn’t…” She crossed her legs involuntarily.

“Andfinally,” Thracecontinued recklessly. “After you’d come all over my face half a dozen times,I’d take you.”

“Takeme?” She frowned. “Take me where? How do you mean?”

“Imean I’d fuck you. Penetrate you.” Hewas hard as a rock now, nearly crazy with need as he looked at her exposedflesh and spoke aloud what he’d been dreaming of doing for so long. But hisfinal words seemed to shut something down in Trin. Something that mightpossibly have been growing between them even if it was without her knowledge.

“Impossible,”she said crisply. “I have never been penetrated and I never will be. Especially not by a male.”

“Isuppose being penetrated is beneath you, coming from Zetta Prime,” Thracegrowled.

“Somedaughters of Zetta Prime allow it—but only with each other,” Trin said primly.“But penetration is reserved for one you love so truly and deeply you wish toform a life-bond with her—and swear to never be apart again. And if I did find someone I cared for that way, Ican promise you this—I would be theone doing the penetrating. Not theother way around.”

“Well,there’s a scenario I’m not likely tofantasize about,” Thracegrowled. “I’m not up for being penetrated either—not even by a female asgorgeous as you.”

“Itseems you’ll have to restrict yourself to tamer fantasies,” Trin remarked. “Notthat you ought to be…” She cleared her throat and her cheeks flushed a bit.“Ought to be fantasizing about me in the first place.”

“Why?Because I’m your ‘slave’ or because I’m male?” Thrace demanded. “Look, I can’thelp what I think—not when you run around half dressed like that. Will you atleast uncuff one of my hands so I can take care of myself?”

“Soyou can…” A deeper blush came into her creamy cheeks. “Oh, I see.”

“Justone hand.” Thracelowered his voice, coming dangerously close to pleading. “That’s all I need.”

“Itonly took you one hand to do this.” Trin put her fingertips to the fadingbruises around her neck.

“Wouldit help if I said I was sorry for that? I never meant to hurt you. I was in thegrip of a dream—a nightmare. I thought you were—” He stopped abruptly, clampinghis jaw shut.

“Youthought I was who?” Trin stared at him shrewdly, her lovely eyes narrowed.“Someone who hurt you? Your old Master, perhaps?”

“Nevermind,” Thracesaid tightly. “Doesn’t matter who I thought you were. What matters is if I knewyou were a female, I never would have tried to strangle you. The Havoc don’thurt females—we’re like the Kindred that way.”

“You’relike them in lots of ways,” she said, letting his nightmare go to Thrace’sgreat relief. “In fact, I don’t see any difference except the fact that youdon’t bond with females. But I can understand why you don’t—the slaver saidyour kind live longer if you don’t bond.”

“That’snot the reason we don’t bond,” Thracesaid, glad to change the subject. “The real reason has to do with ourhistory—our heritage. We actually were Kindred at one time—the father of ourrace was, anyway. Until he changed his DNA.”

“Hewhat?” Trin settled on the side of his cot, her eyes wide with interest. “Whywould he do that?”

“Hewas trying to eradicate his need to bond with a female.” Thrace was glad to tell her—glad totalk about anything but his past. “You see, his bride had left him for anotherand he was bitter and angry about it.”

“What?But if they were bonded—”

“Shewas one of the unbondable—a Y’lyn.They are females of surpassing beauty but they’re half demon and have no soul.You can’t form a soul-bond with a being who has nothing to bond with. So whenshe tired of him, she left. And Havoc—that was his name— Kern Havoc—swore torid himself and all his descendants of the need to bond with a female which isthe Kindred’s most singular trait.”

“Anddid he?” Trin was hanging on his words, plainly very interested.

“Notcompletely,” Thraceadmitted. “He managed to wipe out our ability to dream share—that is, for ourminds to align with the female who is supposedly perfect for us. The one who ischosen by the ‘Goddess.’” He sneeredat the idea.

Pickingup on his tone, Trin frowned.

“Youtalk about the Goddess as though you don’t believe in her. My people certainlydo.”

“Idon’t,” Thracesaid grimly. “After the life I’ve led…the things that have happened…if there is an all powerful Goddess somewherecontrolling things, she’s got a hell of a lot to answer for.”

“Sonow you and all the other descendants of Kern Havoc stay away from femalesunless you have the urge to mate?” She nodded at his shaft, which had gone downsome as they talked of other things. “Like animals?”