Trinhad no idea how to deal with a strange male but she did know how to gentle a nervous horse.

“Look,”she said softly in a low, even voice. “I’m not going to hurt or abuse you. Iknow what you must think but I didn’t buy you for any kind of sexual service, Iswear.”

Hehad stopped struggling now and was simply looking at her. His muscular chestwas still heaving but at least his eyes had lost some of the intense hatredthat had filled their silver-blue depths when she reached for his trousers.

“I’mnot that kind of female.” Trin risked a touch on his arm—gentle and non-sexual.He still couldn’t move but she could feel him thrumming like a pluckedstring—as tight as a wire with tension. It wasn’t just hatred and anger hefelt—it was fear. A fear so deep it harrowed his very soul.

Thoughshe was trying to remain detached and calm, his terror touched her heart. No wonder he was afraid—she would be too ifshe’d woken up in a strange place chained to the bed with someone reaching forthe front of her trousers.

“It’sokay,” she reassured him again. “I have no interest in males at all but someone has to get you connected to themed-bot so you can relieve yourself. See?” She held up the long, snaky silvertube with its soft plasti-coupling on the end. “I just need to get thisconnected with your, uh, equipment and then you can go.”

Hiseyes blazed at her for a long moment and Trin thought she could feel himevaluating her motives. He was asking himself once again if he trusted her—justas he had when she offered him the drink. Then she’d been able to take a drinkherself and prove it was all right. Unfortunately with this exercise, shewasn’t able to prove anything. So she simply waited quietly, meeting his silver-bluegaze and letting him size her up.

Finally,he nodded.

“Allright, good,” Trin said briskly, reaching for his trousers again. “Let’s see ifwe can get this done as quickly as possible.”

* * * * *

Thrace grittedhis teeth as he watched her slim, brown hands unfasten the magno tabs at thefront of the too-tight black leather trousers the slavers had forced him towear. Gods, this was humiliating! Not just the fact that he needed her help torelieve himself, but also the way he’d reacted to her touch in the first place.

Hispeople, the Havoc, did not bond with females or have any kind of long-lastingrelationships with them. In fact, the Havoc code was, We do not bond. But that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy femaleattention from time to time. Usually he sought out some willing prosti wheneverThe Empress was docked for repairs orrefueling and scratched his itch that way.

Hewas always careful to use protection and he always paid in advance—he was agood customer and he enjoyed unattached sex—enjoyed it a hell of a lot. And yetthe minute this gorgeous girl with the unusual creamy brown skin like nothinghe’d ever seen before reached for him, he went fucking crazy.

Itwas his past again, trying to creep in—Thrace knew it but he didn’t wantto admit it. Instead, he tried to calm his nerves but it wasn’t easy. Thefeeling of lying here helpless while someone else handled his shaft was fuckingterrifying. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go—he liked to be in control,liked to be on top of the situation both literally and figuratively.

Relax, he told himself roughly asshe got his trousers unfastened at last and pealed the too-tight leather apart.She said herself this is nothing sexual.She has no interest in males. So just relax and try to endure it.

Heclosed his eyes as she reached for him but cutting off the light let the rushof dark memories overcome him again.

Let’s have a look at this shaft, theMaster said, reaching for him. Nice, verynice…

Thrace snappedhis eyes open again. Gods, what was wrong with him? He hadn’t thought of thosebad, old memories in years. Had been sure he was over it, over and done withthe things that fucker had done to him. But this situation was bringingeverything back like a flood of dirty water seeping under the door of his consciousmind. It was as if everything he’d tried so hard to forget was just waitingthere, waiting for the right trigger to move back into his brain and set upshop.

Desperately,he focused on the girl in front of him, on her lovely hands as she reached forhim. They were long and slim with the unusual creamy brown skincolor—completely unlike the hairy, liver-spotted hands of his old Master. Herfingers were long and tapered and delicate and her touch was gentle, not rough.

Not the Master, he toldhimself over and over. She’s just agirl—a female you don’t even know. She’s not the Master.

Hertouch was reassuringly impersonal. Thrace was relieved when she didn’tlinger overlong as she touched him. She simply pulled his shaft out of histrousers in a matter of fact way and inserted it into the soft end of theflexible metal tube.

Hewas completely limp, despite her beauty and the soft touch of her small hands.In other circumstances, if she’d been a willing prosti he was visiting, hewould have been hard as a rock. But the feeling of complete helplessness, ofbeing unable to control what was happening to him, robbed him of any desire hemight have felt.

Andeven if he had been inclined to gethard, this girl looked nothing like a prosti. She had an innate class andregality that professional sex workers lacked. She was what his Sire would havecalled a “lady.” Not the kind of female for a quick fuck and run—his favoredway of scratching the sexual itch.

Whenthe operation was finished and he had relieved himself, she unhooked him fromthe metal tubing and tucked his shaft neatly back into his trousers. It wentmeekly back to position, curled like a sleeping snake against his belly.

“There.”She re-fastened his trousers rose from the side of the cot. “Now I need to gocheck on some things—this ship won’t run itself and I need to get the navigatorto plot a new course. Will you be all right for now?”

Slowly,he nodded.

“Good.I’ll be back to check on you later and bring you something to eat. Try torest.”

Thenshe was gone, leaving a faint, lingering scent of sweetness behind her.

* * * * *

Trinwas distracted for hours after her encounter with her new slave. He botheredher…and not just because she suspected something serious had happened with hislast Master. There was something about the huge Havoc she’d spent her entirebank account on that drew her. Butwhat? Well, there was the fact that he was so different from anyone she’d everknown for one thing—she couldn’t help remembering his rippling abs and muscularbiceps. She had never been around males much—certainly not enough to develop anappreciation for the male physique. But even she had to admit that the big Havoc was impressive.

Butit wasn’t just the way he looked that interested her—it was the way he acted.The way he’d distrusted her at first when she tried to give him a drink, theway he’d flinched from her touch and his deep, bass roar the first time she’dtried to open his trousers.

Whydid he dread being touched? What did he fear? What had happened to him to makehim that way?

Maybe something the slavers or his oldmaster did to him, she speculated idly as she checked andre-checked the new course the navigator had set for the Demon’s Eye. Maybe just waking up in a strange place andfinding himself chained down. That would be disturbing to anyone—I sure as hellwouldn’t want it happening to me!

Shehoped she might be able to let him up eventually but that wasn’t going tohappen until she got some answers out of him. Anyway, there was no denying hewas easier to manage in his current condition. Even lying on his back, theHavoc was huge—every part of him morethan twice as big as every part of her and she was considered tall and wellproportioned for a female on her home planet. Plus, she’d felt his terrifyingstrength for herself first hand. She touched her bruised throat and winced. Nopun intended.