Rescuing Reya (The Beast Masters Series) Page 3

  Altan knew his brother’s words were to be calming, but the fear of losing the tiny woman, whom he had yet to learn a name for, was too much. His body knew deep down she was the one for him. The woman he was to collar. He could also see clearly how weakened she truly was. He could not lose her. To lose her would be to lose himself. He knew as much, and from Utan’s expression he did as well.

  Utan nodded to the forest. “Go, Altan. Go deep into the woods and force a shift. It must be done. You are too close to the Heat to allow this to simmer. I shall watch over the female. I shall ensure healers treat her and I will come for you should her condition worsen. Go.”

  “Thank you,” he said, nodding and rushing off.

  Chapter Five

  Utan wiped the woman’s brow and spent far longer than he should staring at her sleeping form. She was to be Altan’s when he returned from his forced change. His brother was too close to the Heat to return until he was in control. If that meant more than one day, so be it. So far, it had been five. Altan would not risk the harm he could bring to Reya should he return too soon and the beast overtake him fully—it was unthinkable. Ralen had seen such things occur in its history in times far past. The results of a male’s beast taking control were whispered about among the people from an early age so they fully understood what was at risk.

  Utan shuddered as he thought back to the story his uncle had told both he and Altan upon Utan’s sixteenth year. It was the story of Wanu, a respected warrior and one of the heads of the sectors. His Heat had come upon him swiftly and without much in the way of warnings. His selected, a young female from planet Tagun, had been out with him, enjoying a picnic lunch near one of Ralen’s many rivers. Wanu’s Heat overtook him, and in his crazed beast-locked state, he tore his love to pieces. Wanu had remained in beast form and was hunted and killed by his own men. The same men who had idolized him only days prior were forced to end his existence and then clean up what he had done.

  Utan sighed. It was that type of past, those incidents that had once been high in number, that kept women of the universes from flocking to Ralen to bond and collar. Though it had been over a hundred years since such a horror had occurred, it did not matter. To the women of the many other planets, the horrific events of old were as fresh today in their minds as they had been long ago.

  Mayhap the men of Ralen were dammed. Cursed for the actions of their ancestors. It was hard to believe otherwise.

  He stared at Reya more, committing her face to memory. Even with the knowledge she was to belong to another—his brother—Utan couldn’t stop watching her. She was so beautiful and something about her captivated him.

  She is to be your brother’s, he reminded himself.

  He had a business to run but had done little more than hover over her since her arrival several days prior. He had permitted his women to handle the day-to-day running of the House. It was not something he’d normally permit, but he could not seem to pull himself from Reya’s beside. One of two of the women who worked for him raised a brow at his interest in Reya, and one in particular seemed almost jealous.

  Reya whimpered softly in her sleep and Utan touched her hand lightly.

  “I am here. You are safe,” he whispered.

  She eased somewhat, falling into a deeper sleep once more. He remained close. While her breathing was much better, she was still weaker than she should be.

  Manuk, a skilled healer, swore she would be well soon and that she would wake for longer than the short bursts she had so far. Manuk also warned that the damage to her lungs was great and that some may be irreparable. Only time would tell. But Utan was impatient. He wanted to know she would wake soon and be healthy and right. The idea of her suffering haunted him but he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as if he truly knew the women in his bed.

  It feels as if I have known her all my life.

  Utan pushed her long blonde hair from her face and then wiped her neck with the wet washcloth. He’d had some of his women cleanse the newcomer each day, but today was different. He didn’t want them near her. He didn’t like the way they shot him dagger-like looks when he lurked in her doorway. They acted as if he was spending too much time with her and not nearly enough with them.

  What fools they were.

  He’d been very clear with each of them when they came to work in his House of Pleasure that he had no interest in them sexually and would not require their services in such a manner.

  Each one had foolishly believed she would be the one to change his mind. That she and she alone would somehow make him look past his rule about refusing to mix business and pleasure. The last thing he wanted was to bond to a woman who had serviced half a legion of men.

  He sighed.

  He wasn’t fond of the idea of women servicing men for coin, yet he took good care of them. He ensured they were always safe, always had food and lodging, and that they were paid well for their services. But he didn’t feel the way they wished he would for them. He never had. Altan had no problem bedding several of them. Though even his brother’s visits for sex had slowed greatly. It seemed the closer Altan came to his Heat, the more he realized the women of the establishment did little to keep it at bay.

  Utan had fallen into ownership of the House of Pleasure and had not wanted to keep it. Direct orders from those higher than he left him no choice. The houses of pleasure were necessary evils on Ralen. Males outnumbered females in numbers too great to count. Much had been done to rectify the situation, but to no avail. The women did not come unless left no other choice. Rumors circled the universe on how Ralenium males were cruel and hurt their women, how they kept them chained to the wall, using them only for sex and nothing more.

  Rumors started by those who were too weak to challenge Ralen directly. Instead they chose to exact their revenge with words. Words that damaged the Raleniums’ chance at survival. While they did have lives longer than most, it mattered not if no young were born to carry on their legacy. Birth rates were down because of a lack of females to reproduce with.

  The women who came to the planet mostly came by way of slave trader vessels. They didn’t respond to the positive ad campaigns the Raleniums had tried. The males would never hurt a woman.

  Ever.

  It was against all they stood for.

  Utan focused on the mouse of a woman in his bed. He himself was shocked he’d demanded she be placed in his personal bed chamber. To date, no woman had been within the walls of his room. It was his sanctuary, never to be soiled by the taints of paid sex.

  The woman stirred, her green gaze finding him. She blinked several times before she gasped and sat up fast. The sheet covering her naked form fell away and her pert breasts taunted him. His mouth watered and his cock responded. It held great interest in this woman, as did he.

  She covered her breasts with her hands and stared around the room. “W-where am I?”

  “You are safe within my home,” he replied, taken by her voice as well. It was soft and small, much like she was.

  She moved one hand up more, her arm still covering her breast as she touched her upper chest. She took a deep breath and then smiled. “I can breathe. It doesn’t hurt. How?”

  “The toxins from the air onboard the Voxenites’ vessel have been cleansed from your system.” He continued to watch her, mindful to stay very still on the edge of the bed for fear of scaring her with his size.

  She glanced down the length of herself. “Am I naked because you wanted to examine your property?”

  Confused, he tipped his head, his long, dark hair moving over one shoulder. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m yours, right?” she asked. “Your sex slave. I thought the other one would get me. The one with the small scar on his chin. Um, Altan. Yes, Altan was his name.”

  He hid his smile. “And you did not wish to be caught by one such as him?”

  She tugged at the sheet, pulling it up and over her breasts. Her chin wobbled and he feared she might cry, something he wouldn’t be able to handle. S
he took another deep breath and then boldly locked gazes with him. “I’m an educated woman who has been reduced to this. It doesn’t really matter who I belong to, I don’t want to be property, yet I am. So, while you may technically own my body, my mind and my thoughts remain my own.” She dropped the sheet. “Do it.”

  Utan leaned and drew the sheet up, covering her. His hands skimmed her nipples and they hardened. His nostrils flared and the beast within wanted free. It wanted to lay claim to her, his brother be damned. If he dared give in, Altan would go into the abyss and never return. Utan managed to control the moment and concentrate on the tiny woman. She had a certain fire to her he was surprised to see.

  “I will not take what you do not truly offer,” he said, unsure why he didn’t clear up the miscommunication about owning her. “Have you a name?”

  She stared at him for a long time and then the edges of her mouth lifted upwards. “You phrase things funny. I like it.”

  From her speech patterns she was most likely from Earth or one of its sister planets.

  “My name is Reya of Earth, Old World Section Seven.”

  “I am Utan,” he said.

  Her forehead crinkled. “Utan and Altan. Your names are close.” She continued to study him. “And you look similar.”

  He nodded. “We do. Though our mother will assure you that Altan is the hellspawn of the two of us.” He winked to let her know he was kidding. “He has always been a handful for her while I am a model son.”

  Her smile widened slightly. “Brothers?”

  He nodded again.

  “So, I belong to both of you or just you?” she asked, and then continued before allowing him a chance to answer. “You should know that I have some skills when it comes to sexual situations, but that I have not, as of yet, had actual sex. I won’t be very exciting for you at first but I’m a fast learner. I told your brother the same.”

  Both?

  The idea struck a chord with him. Could it be so? Could they share a woman? Jaston and Malock had been in his establishment only days prior, when the trader vessel had first landed, using one of his rooms to seduce the woman they both planned to bond to. It was unique for Ralen in modern times, but that had not always been the case. He remembered stories of old telling of two males bonding to one female.

  Could he and Altan do such a thing?

  Utan slid his hand over hers. “Reya, for now let us worry about ensuring you are well. The rest will fall into place.”

  She cocked a brow.

  “A question forms in your mind, but not upon your lips,” he stated evenly, enjoying how animated her expressions were.

  “I told you I don’t want to be property, and that I’m not an exciting lover, but you haven’t yelled once. Aren’t all Ralenium males brutes, ready to shift form into a beast and descend upon the innocent?”

  It took all Utan had not to fall to pieces in fits of laughter. He had to take a moment to collect himself. “Perhaps all you have heard is not truth?”

  “Perhaps,” she countered, still watching him closely. “Am I naked because you inspected me like the slave trader did?”

  Utan’s jovial mood soured at the thought of a slave trader touching her. “You will tell me more of this.”

  She stiffened and then inclined her head, averting her gaze as she told him of the slave trader wanting to see how a woman of her kind joined with a male. When she got to the part where he laid his sex organs upon her body, Utan could barely control his beast. He wasn’t known for having issues with it. In fact, others often consulted him in search of secrets to control their beasts and their Heat.

  His incisors began to lengthen. “I will seek him out and tear his head from his skinny body.”

  Reya yelped, her eyes wide. “Your teeth.”

  His anger cooled as he saw the fright in her eyes. His teeth returned to normal and he looked away. “I liked not hearing he took advantage of you and the situation.”

  She said nothing for what felt an eternity and he continued to look away, unsure he had full hold of his beast. When her small hand found his shoulder, he stiffened. She eased up next to him, on her knees, the sheet tucked to her body.

  “He didn’t hurt me,” she said. “He was curious to see what a female looked like. And he didn’t break my virginal barrier so your purchase is whole, Master, erm, Sir? Uh, what do I call you?”

  Utan turned his face and found hers near his. Waves of golden tresses went in all directions around her head, making her look wild—kissable, even. “You are to call me Utan.”

  “Very well, Utan.” She offered a warm smile. “How will this work? Do I stay naked in here always? And do I just wait until you want sex from me or do I follow you around and initiate it as well?”

  Yes.

  He had to take a deep breath, his cock already swollen and hard near her. “First, we shall see to your needs and then we shall think more upon the rest.”

  “My needs?” she echoed.

  “You have been here for days, Reya. You require food and I’m sure you’d like a bath that does not come in the form of a washbasin.”

  She glanced to the basin and the washcloth near it. “You bathed me?”

  “Come. You may soak in a warm bath while I have food brought in for you,” he said, refusing to answer her. He liked her thinking she was his. More than that, he liked thinking she was his.

  There was a soft knock upon his chamber door.

  “Enter.”

  Shebia stepped in, her jealous gaze landing upon Reya instantly. She focused on Utan. “Master, additional men have arrived. More than we have women for.” She eyed Reya. “Is she ready to begin servicing? Though I do not see how she will fetch much coin; she is small.”

  Reya tensed, her nails digging into his shoulder. She looked from Shebia to him and her jaw fell open. “A brothel?”

  Shebia snorted. “She is not as simple-minded as we first believed. Come. I shall see to it you are ready to receive callers. You may set your own price within the limits of the House’s guides. I suggest you begin at the lowest.”

  Utan growled and met Shebia’s gaze. She overstepped her bounds. “Leave.”

  “But, Master, we require her.”

  “Get out!” he shouted.

  Shebia jolted before shutting the door and scurrying down the corridor.

  Reya tried to pull on the sheet and stand but couldn’t keep herself covered because Utan sat upon the sheet. She stood anyway before him in her naked glory. He had to fight to keep from dragging her small frame against him and fucking her senseless.

  She kept her head lowered, her hair covering her face. “If you point me in the direction of the bath, I’ll clean and get to work.”

  He reached out and touched her chin, forcing her gaze up. It was then he spotted her unshed tears. “Reya.”

  “I understand now,” she said, her voice shaky. “No one wanted me so I ended up here at a brothel. I’m not surprised. With my lungs and all, I know I’m broken. For a moment I thought, hoped even, that Altan wanted me. Then I mistook your kindness for desire. I’m such an idiot. I’m so desperate to be wanted that I invent it.” Her lips quivered. “I should be grateful I didn’t get thrown out with the trash like they’d have done on the ship. Thank you for taking me in when no one else would.”

  Utan, a master of self-control, found himself shattering as he drew her against him. He pulled on her face, drawing her lips to his. He expected resistance. He didn’t expect her to gasp into his mouth and then return his advances.

  Chapter Six

  Reya’s tongue found Utan’s and her body lit with need. The man was her keeper and she was wildly attracted to him. It made no sense to her. When she’d awoken in his bed and found him sitting there, washcloth in hand, she’d been speechless. He, like the man she’d first encountered on the planet, was so incredibly handsome he made it hard to think.

  There was something in his eyes and the way he carried himself that said he could dominate her in the be
droom—just as she’d always longed for. That he could make her body feel things it had never felt before, and that if he crooked his finger she’d bend to his every whim. Sadly, she expected she’d have done the same for Altan. Was it all Raleniums? Was her body attuned to them? Would she service them all with such vigor and wanton desire?

  As his tongue darted around her mouth, she found herself pressing her nude frame against him. Seated on the bed, he was still tall and hard to reach. She pushed against him more, crawling up and onto his lap. His hands found her hips and he drew her to him, her legs going around his waist. He had on too many clothes and she wanted to feel his sleek, hard, thick cock against her mound.

  Whatever he was doing to her, it was powerful. She wanted this man. She wasn’t sure of the hows or whys, but she knew she wanted to please him. Maybe it was profound gratitude for saving her from a fate of death at the hands of the slave traders. Since no others had wanted her, Utan had at least given her a chance at survival.

  He eased to his back, taking her with him. She continued kissing him, feeling powerful because she was on top of him. The harder she kissed and ground against him, the more his hands roamed her body, pulling on her as if he wanted to pull her straight through him.

  He broke the kiss and held her at arm’s length. “Go! Summon Shebia and the others quickly!”

  Confused, she stared down at him, his golden gaze full of lust. She thought harder on his request and then nodded, making a move to slide off him. “I understand. I know I’m no prize, that your kind like your women stronger than me. I’ll get the others to service you. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I kissed you.”

  He thumped his head on the bed. “R-Reya, go from me, now!”

  Hurt, she failed to stop the tear that came to her cheek. Rejected again. It was the story of her life. She eased off him fully.

  He snatched a hold of her and stood, towering over her. “I seek to save you from being ravished by me and you weep?”

  Ravished by him?