Talon's Trophy

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Talon’s Trophy ISBN # 1-4199-0500-7 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Talon’s Trophy Copyright© 2006 Dawn Ryder Edited by Sue-Ellen Gower. Cover art by Syneca. Electronic book Publication: February 2006

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 443103502. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Warning: The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated E–rotic by a minimum of three independent reviewers. Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme). S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination. E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as “fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature. X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles, stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

TALON’S TROPHY

Dawn Ryder

Dawn Ryder

Chapter One Discipline. It was a way of life. The force that could hold the body still when the mind wanted to disobey. When a man conquered his own inner beast, he was truly a Master. “Show me your pussy.” A soft rustle of fabric reached Talon’s ears as Ruthar’s female obeyed his order. Soft blonde hair appeared in Talon’s line of vision as the female lay across her Master’s table. Staring straight ahead, Talon caught the rosy tips of her breasts as the mounds of flesh jiggled softly with her movements. “Talon, come here.” That was a privilege. Most trophy masters didn’t let other males see their females. Ruthar grinned as Talon moved towards the table. “I captured Zola in my first year on hunter patrol. She is perfectly trained now.” The female never moved as her Master openly displayed her spread body. Ruthar reached forward and stroked her open pussy with one finger. The flesh glistened with moisture as he smiled. “You see? Perfect obedience. I promised your father that I would make sure you understand the value of training your trophy female.” Ruthar thrust his finger into the open pussy and worked it back and forth. Talon was fascinated by the display. His cock hardened painfully as Ruthar pushed two of his thick fingers into his female and worked her body with the digits. The older warrior had five females. He was ruthless in battle and his female trophies proved it. Ruthar’s eyes moved and caught his. “Mercy is for losers. Apply firm discipline to your female from the beginning and she will cater to your every whim. Turn around, Zola, and suck your Master’s cock.”

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The female moved instantly and turned onto her stomach. She never looked at Talon but immediately reached for Ruther’s pants to open them. Her slim fingers handled his cock with confidence as her little pink tongue appeared to lick it.

His trophy. Talon let the word bounce around his skull on the trip back to his bunk. Sweet temptation. His cock throbbed as he walked and he let himself think about sunrise. Carefully secured in his uniform vest was a set of new orders. Ten years of service was being rewarded with a chance to defend the outer sphere, and that meant leaving the protected living areas and patrolling the border that was the very edge of the hunter territory. His lips curled back as he tightened his control. Hunters did not get their own female unless they captured and trained one themselves. In the protection spheres there were only hunters and trainees. Females were not allowed to serve in the military ranks. But they did live in the reserve areas that hunters protected. Outside Talon’s base was a demilitarized area where females were part of groups known as families. Talon wasn’t too sure exactly what that word meant, but it had something to do with the way their resources were divided among their population members. There was often a male head of the unit who controlled the disbursement of food and other supplies. The hunters did not mingle with the other inhabitants due to their military training. In Talon’s world, a threat was neutralized—permanently. For some reason, the people outside his training sphere found that manner of thinking too harsh for their way of life. It was interesting to understand that they were all members of the same race but had actually split into two separate cultures. Two different sides of life that needed one another to continue to survive. Hunters spent their lives defending the planet. While they could produce enough food and other supplies, there was not an abundance of offspring. Outside, they did not have the skills to protect their families and farms but they did have a larger number of children. So both ways of life managed to live together without much strife. But there was strict 5

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enforcement of the militarized zone. Crossing into a hunter sphere was an infraction of law, and tomorrow it would become his duty to enforce penalty on anyone who invaded his territory. That was how a hunter captured a female. Appropriately aged law violators became the property of their hunter captor. All others would be sent to the work sphere. Law-breaking of any kind proved a lack of respect for authority, so that member of the population was removed from the demilitarized sphere to prevent their lack of discipline from influencing others. Hunters competed for outer sphere patrol duty. It was often a dangerous posting because invasion would strike them first but they gained the right to bring home what they captured and the outside community did not voice a complaint as long as the hunters stayed behind their warning signs. It was a simple system. The females were taught to stay away from the posted hunting grounds. If they crossed onto them, they placed themselves at risk. It didn’t matter a whole lot that they did not know the reason for the warnings—as far as Talon and his fellow hunters were concerned, disobedience was grounds for chastisement. You didn’t need to know why an order was given but you had better obey it or shoulder the consequences. The only other way to gain a female was penal colony duty. If a hunter volunteered for transfer to the work spheres, he would be allowed to claim one female after a year of service. Talon rejected that method. He found no pleasure in selecting a female from a lineup. No, there was something about hunting one daring enough to defy law that made his blood heat. He was going to bring back his own trophy and she would call him Master.

***** “Mia, you are heading towards disaster, mark my words!” The younger girl didn’t even look over her shoulder. She kept right on moving despite the warning signs posted in front of her. Chanah ground her teeth together with frustration as she tried to think of a way to get her younger sister to respect the law and return. “It’s not that far, Chanah. Don’t be so chicken.”

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Mia didn’t even look back at Chanah as she flung her comment over her shoulder. Instead her eyes were looking at the ripe yemuta stalks glimmering in the morning sunlight. The stalks were as big as Chanah’s fist, just one of them would buy enough food for the winter. On her current side of the forbidden zone, Chanah would be lucky to find enough to feed her family for a week. The rare plant was harvested clean everywhere except beyond the posted warning signs. But there were heavy penalties for those who violated the law. Chanah looked at the warning signs and bit her lower lip. Chanah knew better than to tempt fate. Females who went into the forbidden zone didn’t always return. There were rumors of males who hunted beyond the posted warnings. But they were huge men who bore little resemblance to the men who shared her village. Those rumors told of black-clad bodies that were twice the size of a normal man. For that reason, the forbidden zone was to be respected. Besides, yemuta was valued by all spheres, not just her own and Chanah very much doubted the hunters on the other side of that forbidden zone were willing to let anyone steal what was theirs. “Mia get back here! Do not disrespect the law.” Mia wrapped her hands around a yemuta stalk and began to pull on it. Chanah dropped her own basket and picked up her skirt to run. The hairs on the back of her neck were tingling as she watched Mia break her prize loose and turn to show it to her. Horror flooded her as Chanah saw the hunter rise from the other side of the yemuta. His eyes were sharp as they looked at her running towards him and then they sliced to Mia who was slowly walking away from him with her prize hugged to her chest, completely unaware that he was closing the distance between them. Chanah had no idea where the idea to challenge the hunter came from. She only saw his hand raising towards her little sister and something inside her mind snapped. She pulled the wooden club hanging on her hip free and raised it above her head as she

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ran faster. She carried the weapon to deal with snakes, and the hunter behind her sister looked just as vile. “Run, Mia! Run!” Her sister’s smile twisted with confusion as Chanah lunged past her shoulder and brought the club smashing down on that black-covered arm. The hunter hissed as he turned and kicked her weapon right out of her grasp. His body was a study in deadly motion. His eyes were fixed on her as she bent and picked up a rock to hurl at his head. The missile bounced right off his black helmet and Chanah heard him laugh at her efforts to wound him. Her temper flared at his taunting amusement and she plucked her skirt higher and let her foot kick out at his crotch. The hunter growled as she watched him stumble back under the blow. As his eyes rolled back in his head, Chanah tossed her head before she turned to run for freedom. The hunters never crossed the border—it was her only way to escape. Mia was screaming from the other side of that barrier, her sister’s face was filled with horror as she stumbled even further away from Chanah. A second later the hunter’s arms closed around her like steel. He pulled her right off her feet as Mia sobbed and moved further away. The yemuta was clasped to her sister’s chest like a promise to Chanah that her capture was not in vain. A huge hand covered her mouth and nose, clamping over both as she caught the strong scent of some chemical. Her vision blurred as though she was too hot as Mia turned and ran. Her body began to float like a leaf on those waves. The hard arms clasping her were the only thing that wasn’t swaying, Chanah leaned on her captor’s limbs as her muscles lost the ability to hold her up. Her eyelids fluttered shut as the world dissipated in a cloud of blackness.

***** Chanah wanted to wake up. She knew there was something very important she had to deal with but her brain didn’t want to surface from its deep slumber. It was like a

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thick blanket that was tucked tightly around her and she was struggling to loosen its hold on her. She had to struggle and fight for…for… Her eyes flew open as memory exploded in her brain. She needed to get away! She could still see his startling multicolored eyes. The hunter who had sprung at Mia. She had actually pushed her body towards his larger, armor-clad form and attacked him before he set his hands on Mia. While it might have been courageous, it had also been foolish. And then what? His eyes had burned into her for a moment before her brain stopped recalling what had happened. Her eyes moved around the room but there was nothing that looked familiar. Whatever she lay on, it was hard and cold but when she tried to sit up, Chanah discovered her body was secured in place. Her arms were bent and resting over her breasts but around each wrist was a two-inch wide metal cuff that a thin scarlet chain was attached to. Those chains ran to a collar that was secured around her neck and her hands were cupped lightly under her chin. But the most alarming thing was the way her feet were chained. Each knee was bent over a hard beam and her thighs were spread wide with each ankle locked in place. Her tender flesh was clearly visible to anyone who laid eyes upon her. There was a soft blanket covering her torso but her hips and legs were bare. Her mouth went dry as she looked around the room again. The ceiling was constructed of smooth navy blue material. All the corners were angles and the air was cool. Chanah strained to lift her head higher and see more of the room but the collar around her neck was secured to the table she lay on. There was a swish and then she heard hard steps. Every nerve she had tightened as Chanah actually felt a pair of eyes on her spread body. Her heart accelerated and her skin heated as blood raced through her veins.

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A little moan left her mouth as a man stepped into her line of vision. The multicolored eyes looked at her face before moving over her body with a slow inspection. The hunter did not speak. Instead a second set of footsteps came across the floor and he looked away from her to whoever was in the room with them. “Insert the ritith.” His voice rang with authority as she felt a hand brush over her spread sex. The lips protecting her little clit were pushed back and actually held aside by thin straps of something that ran up over her belly and to her waist. The cool air made her hips twitch but she was helpless beyond that tiny movement. The hunter returned his attention to her face as her entire lower body went numb. There was a sharp snap and then those steps on the hard floor as whoever had touched her sex left. “Feeling will return in an hour. You will stay as you are until then.” Chanah licked her dry lips and his eyes followed the tip of her tongue. “What did you do to me?” The hunter jerked his eyes away from her mouth and his lips tightened in anger. He appeared cross with his own actions of looking at her mouth but she shivered anyway. Her response appeased him. He smoothed a firm hand over her raised thigh before pulling the blanket down to cover her to the knees. “I have captured you. You will call me Master.” Why wasn’t the mind stronger than the body? That was a cruel dictate of fate, forcing her to remain among the living when death looked inviting and soothing compared to the life waiting to torment her. Chanah tested the chains on her feet and hissed with frustration when they refused to even budge a tiny amount to grant her some meager hope. Instead the firm hold drove home how helpless she was. Captured.

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That one word bounced around in her head as it became more of an idea instead of just a single word. No, it had expanded with hushed whispers among the older women of her village about what happened to those who fell prey to the hunters. Oh, she knew better. Mia did too, but that little fact was very small comfort as the seconds moved by like days. Feeling began to return to her lower body as she considered what the dark-haired hunter had looked like. With his helmet off, his face had been harsh, like he didn’t eat very often, his cheekbones high and his lips full. His eyes fascinated her with their kaleidoscope of colors. Green, brown and topaz combined with his powerful gaze. Chanah shivered as she remembered exactly how he had looked at her chained body…like he really did think he was her master. Chanah wanted to know what a ritith was but had a suspicion that she was not going to like what she discovered. Her current position told her the thing was attached to her genitals, and her cheeks flamed with that idea. No male had ever seen her sex, much less ordered something inserted into it. It was her body and a sense of invasion threatened to spill tears down her checks. Chanah resisted that weakness. Crying certainly would not solve anything, it would just give that hunter another reason to believe he had bested her.

***** Talon took the hallways too quickly. His heart was pounding and his cock too hard. Ten years of waiting had not prepared him for the rush of pleasure capturing his trophy had unleashed in him. The female had actually fought him. He should have been aghast but her sprit impressed him. Maybe that was the reason he was having trouble reining in his emotions. She was more then he expected. A spirit lived in her body which would rise to match his own and that strength would be born into their offspring. That sort of courage wasn’t something he had expected to find in a trophy. Females were soft and often needed firm discipline to be kept in line, but actually touching her body had set off an avalanche of sensations in his own, and Talon was still thinking about how her 11

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body felt against his. It had only been for a few moments but the memory was vibrant and fresh in his brain, spawning darker images of how well they would fit together once she accepted his touch and spread her thighs for his possession. Sinking his cock into a wet female was the closest thing to perfection Talon had ever felt, but thrusting into his trophy was going to far surpass any time he’d spent inside a common-use female. Stretched out on the inspection table was his trophy, and her body was for his cock alone. When her pussy became wet, it would be from his touch. His blood surged with heat as the desire to mark her blazed through every layer of his body. Talon grunted with approval as he stopped to survey the training ground in front of him. It was full of tan-clad, third-year hunters. Their formations were tight as the officers applied iron discipline to their exercises. Weakness was not rewarded here. Dedication, hard work and obedience gained rewards in his life. The strength burning in his trophy’s eyes would be well suited to her new life. But he would have to train her just as strictly as the men below him. A surge of anticipation heated his blood as Talon turned around to return to his prize.

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Chapter Two The door swished open and Chanah pressed her lips together. Her captor moved on silent feet this time as he slowly walked in a circle around her. He stroked her hair and she tried to keep her body from jumping but failed. The little sensation was like thunder rumbling through her. Chanah might have noticed it so deeply because her body was so helpless. Or maybe it was because her attention was completely focused on the hunter, she wasn’t quite sure. But that single touch raced down her skin, raising gooseflesh as it went, making her grateful for the blanket covering the response from his sharp eyes. The hunter moved around her and lingered at the end of the table. Her temper sparked to life as he just looked at her and offered not a single word of explanation for her body being chained down like an animal. Tears stung her eyes again as she considered that he most likely did think of her as a beast, or maybe the correct word was pet. He moved closer to the table and there was a click. She was suddenly able to sit up and move her legs. Chanah surged up off her prison and jumped to the floor. Her hands were still chained to her collar and the blanket went shimmering to the floor as she jerked against the restraints. Her body was completely nude, except for a leather harness of sorts that ran over each hip and down between her legs. Thin strips of leather that joined to a ring right over her mons. Chanah’s eyes widened slightly as she noticed every last pubic hair she’d had was missing, the skin smooth and her slit obvious to the hunter’s eyes. The only mercy was the fact that her arms covered her nipples. “For every freedom there will be a submission.” Her cheeks burned as the hunter held up one of his thick fingers as he spoke. His multicolored eyes watched hers for a moment before they very slowly swept down her

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bare body. This hunter wanted her to know that he considered it his right to look at her body. Chanah turned around and let him see her back. She did not submit to him. He might chain her hands but that did not a willing captive make. She cried out in surprise as her clit suddenly vibrated. It was like something was right through the center of the sensitive little button. Her eyes went wide as Chanah understood exactly what a ritith was. It was an electronic leash to torment her with. She pressed her feet solidly into the floor as the little thing vibrated at the top of her sex. Her nipples drew into little buttons as she felt the walls of her passage heating and becoming acutely aware of the stimulation being applied to her clit. Her heart accelerated and she could not stop it. Need clawed at her insides as fluid eased down to the tops of her bare thighs. Chanah hissed through her clenched teeth but her knees shook as her body twisted with the need to have her clit rubbed faster. A knot of tension was tightening in her passage, begging for release. She jerked on her hands and the collar cut into her neck. Sweat bathed her body as a moan broke through her clenched teeth. She wanted—needed—to climax. Chanah had never once suspected her body could yearn so much for release from sexual tension. It would stop if she turned around. She knew it, could actually feel those multicolored eyes on her back. He was doing this to her, using his ritith to try to force her submission. Her knees buckled and her body slammed into the hard floor. With her hands chained to her neck she toppled over and ended up lying on the cold tile. But the vibration stopped. Her lungs suddenly worked once more as her body twisted in frustration. A moment later she was on her feet again as the hunter plucked her up. He frowned at her and she flung her hair from her eyes to glare right back at him. “Your little toy doesn’t make you my master. Any fool can press a button.” Her mother had often warned her that her tongue needed to be dulled down a bit but maybe fate had always known that she was going to need to be able to voice her 14

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opinions. The hunter’s dark eyebrow rose along with one corner of his mouth. He made a low tsking sound before that single thick finger appeared once again. “If you desire proof of my ability to command your body, my sweet, I will be quite happy to prove myself.” His hands spread wide as his knees bent just a small amount. The posture struck fear into her and Chanah desperately tried to keep it from rising up to show on her face. He looked like a predator, a large untamed animal that was preparing to spring at its chosen prey. The thick muscles coating his limbs flexed a tiny amount and then he moved. His hands caught her body before her brain transmitted the signal to move out of his striking range. He lifted her right off her feet once more and her back landed on the table. This time he did not chain her to it. His hands grasped each of her knees and spread them wide. Chanah gasped as he moved right between her thighs, using his wide shoulders to keep her spread open. She lifted her shoulders from the table but one hand landed on her belly, pressing her flat and keeping her in place. “You must learn that I am stronger than you. Obedience will build the foundation of our relationship. Pleasure will be your reward for remembering that fact.” Talon took a moment to look at his trophy. She was thin, each rib clearly in sight. He frowned at the lack of food her life had provided her with to date, she was worth more. Her hips were wide and perfect for bearing his child. Her hair was as dark as midnight and was spread out over the table as he held her on her back. Although strong, she was covered in soft skin that his fingers wanted to pet for hours, but Talon recalled his attention to the task of bringing her to heel.

Those multicolored eyes shot her a look proclaiming victory before they lowered to her open sex. Chanah’s face flamed hotter because there was absolutely nothing she could do to shield her most tender flesh from him. She was at his mercy as he brushed a 15

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finger over her spread slit. The lips of her slit were actually held back by the two strips of leather running down from the hip belt. Chanah suddenly understood that the little leather harness was intended to do exactly what it was doing. Placing her clit on display by keeping her folds from shielding that tender center. The hunter ran a finger through her folds and tucked one leather strip in place to hold each side away from her clit and passage entrance. “I captured you.” The hunter looked at her clit once more as his eyes glowed with possession. It stunned her to see that much appreciation for her body on any male’s face—she had never considered her flesh that attractive. Chanah frowned at her own thoughts—she should be angry that he was looking at her sex like he owned it. She was a person, not a possession. But the hard fact of the table beneath her drove home that she was very much a captured thing at that moment. He was holding her down with one hand, and honestly she had to admit that having her hands unchained would not have changed who won their tussle. The hunter would just have used his superior size to subdue her. “Your body is mine to claim and pleasure. This pussy will hold only my cock.” One finger circled the opening to her body before thrusting up into her passage. He watched the penetration and worked the digit in and out. “Have you ever been penetrated?” Chanah hissed at his question and he frowned at her temper. “You must learn to accept me, but I understand you want it proven first. I am willing to comply with your demand.” His eyes left hers as he looked at her spread body once more. Chanah felt his breath hit the little bundle of nerve endings right before he licked it. Her entire body jerked as sensation renewed its grip on her. He flicked his tongue back and forth over her clit but once again denied her enough speed to climax. This time there was no containing the whimper that was born as the pleasure mixed with need so acute she hurt with it. She couldn’t even struggle anymore, her hips tried 16

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to lift towards his mouth, seeking more friction to push her into climax. No one could have warned her that her clit could command her so completely. The few times she had brought herself to pleasure had never been remotely as intense as the cravings clawing at her passage right then. “Please…” The hunter leaned closer and sucked her clit all the way into his mouth. One thick finger thrust up into her passage as her body bucked and pleasure ripped into her. She was suspended in that moment for an eternity. The pleasure flowed through her, heating and radiating to every last corner of her mind. She didn’t breathe and her muscles were drawn tight as he released her clit but his finger remained in her passage. He worked that digit in and out of her body and her eyes snapped open to stare into his. He watched her as he thrust two fingers into her body and held them there. Helplessness surrounded her as she felt little ripples of satisfaction moving along her limbs. Tears filled her eyes because he appeared to know exactly how to use her body against her will. Chanah despised him in that moment almost as much as she hated her own weakness. The hunter stood up as a frown marred his face. He considered her face as he held his hand on her belly to keep her there. Chanah might have struggled but it felt so useless right then to flail about like an animal snagged in a net. She still held her dignity for whatever it might be worth. Since it was her only possession, it was priceless. He cupped her chin and leaned over her body. Her nipples brushed against the harsh fabric of his clothing, transmitting the fact that she was still nude at his command. “I will be happy to share each and every pleasure with you. One at a time as you learn to accept me. It does not need to be a battle. Yet it can be and I will be the victor.” At least the hunter did not lead her out of that room nude. Chanah welcomed the burn of her temper as she stood still and he tied a loose robe closed over her breasts. He did not unchain her hands, so the garment was like a cape. It did look like it was constructed with sleeves but with her hands still chained to her collar, the hunter 17

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arranged the fabric around her shoulders and closed it with little ties to conceal her bare skin. Her hands were still resting in front of her breasts with her elbows bent up because the chain wasn’t very long. “I will show you to our living space now.” His voice was rich with pride. Clearly he was proud of being able to provide for her. Yes, pet was a good word to apply to the manner in which he thought about her. She just wished her body had not enjoyed his attention so completely. The top of her thighs was slick with her juices and she could actually smell her own scent. A little click made her gasp as the hunter attached a leash to her collar. She grabbed for the offending item but her hands became trapped in the fabric of her robe that looked flimsy but was rather strong. “You will not lead me like a pet!” The hunter’s eye’s narrowed at her tone but she stared right into the heat of his displeasure. Appreciation flickered though his gaze as he continued to stare at her temper. “You agree to follow me of your own free will?” Chanah’s eyes widened slightly as she bit back the denial her pride wanted to spit out. What a choice, be led or follow. The hunter’s words surfaced from her memory…”For every freedom, there is a submission”. She looked at the leash and her stomach twisted at the idea of being paraded in front of his people on the thing, but her pride screamed against any display of submission like trotting meekly behind him as if she desired to follow him home. The cold metal of her collar and shackles was almost unbearable as Chanah raised her eyes to the man responsible for chaining her. “I will not.” Chanah folded her knees and sat on the cold floor. “Go ahead and torment me with your ritith, I do not bargain my will for freedom.”

Her defiance should not have pleased him. Talon tried to fend off the curl of heat that flared up from his cock in response to her display. His cock jerked as it hardened 18

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with the urge to get inside her body. It was her strength of will that attracted him now, not just the scent of her pussy. That surprised him. Talon expected to feel his cock stiffen when he was looking at her spread flesh, could smell its spicy scent and test its softness with his finger. But the lust burning through his cock now was directed at that solid strength he’d noticed when she’d attempted to defeat him during her capture. There was more to this female than the ease he might find between her thighs. That was a foreign idea that he considered as he looked at her sitting on the floor. She would go with him, that was not in question, but there was a hint of something invading his well-thought-out plans that felt like distaste. Training his trophy was expected and the most effective manner would be to crush her will. Talon frowned as distaste rose into his brain. There was a part of him that applauded her stand against capture. He would not have yielded to a leash either, yet it was the way of life in this sphere. Females were trained and they became obedient. It was a system that kept harmony in a hunter’s life. Conflict between hunter and trophy could be dangerous for the weaker female. One blow spawned from a strained temper could be fatal. “We are leaving. Your choice is walk or be hauled over my shoulder. Make your decision.”

His voice was as hard as stone. Chanah raised her eyes to his face and believed him. Her eyes wandered over the set of wide shoulders as a tiny sigh escaped her lips. The hunter would not find it difficult to carry her. Yet, he had granted her a choice and that was truly more than she expected given the chains clasped around her wrists. Fighting with him would get her nowhere. If there were to be any relief in sight for her, she would have to find it through negotiation with his demands. Even if she detested all her options, a choice still represented some acknowledgement of her personality. Orders told her she was a pet.

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“I will walk.” Chanah detested her words but she pushed her body up and stood with her teeth biting into her lower lip to keep her temper from spilling out. She did not like her concession, yet she disliked the idea of her bottom on display even more. So she stood up. At least he had not reached for the leash again. A hard grunt was her response as the hunter studied her with his multicolored eyes a moment. The leash was hanging down her body and his gaze touched on it. He reached for her collar and unsnapped the length of leather. His boots made a hard sound as he turned and the door slid smoothly open. Chanah watched the hunter move through the door with the leash held in his right hand. She forced her feet to move and follow his wide shoulders. Her robe fluttered around her, brushing against oversensitive skin. Somehow, this male had awakened her body and she wanted to scream against it. There were friendly males from her own village whom she would gladly have enjoyed these pleasures with but not with a hunter who hauled her home like a prize. The outside hallways were filled with people. Chanah watched the hunters pass on their way to their daily tasks but there were very few females. The ones she saw raised her temper. They followed behind the other hunters, with their eyes either on the wide backs of their escort or even worse, some of them looked at the boot heels of the male they followed. The leather strips running between her thighs began to steal all her attention from the people around her. As Chanah walked, the strips moved into her slit. She was still slick with her own juices and the leather was slipping back and forth against her clit with each step. That little ritith rotated as the leather moved it back and forth, sweat popped out on her forehead as her clit burned for release. Her passage twisted as each step brought her closer to climax, and she bit into her lip as the horrible reality of climaxing in public pressed closer and closer. Her eyes were focused on the hunter’s wide back as she used every other ounce of willpower she had to fend off an orgasm.

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Her temper exploded as she realized exactly why the other females were staring at their escorts. They were all wearing the blasted leather harnesses too! A low moan escaped her chest as she froze in her tracks. She couldn’t take any more, her clit was throbbing with the need to come. The ache bordered on pain as her breath came in little pants. The ritith suddenly vibrated and she gasped as climax took hold of her. There was no holding it off, pleasure burst into her passage as the walls of her body contracted and lamented the lack of hard flesh inside her. Chanah raised horrified eyes to stare into the multicolored ones of the hunter. A slight grin sat on his lips as he raised an eyebrow at her. “You may begin to enjoy your ritith given a few more days. It can be a female’s best friend.” Chanah snorted at him. As ungentle as it was, she did not care! Her personality did not revolve around her clit! She jerked at the chains holding her hands captive and snarled at the hunter. “You are an animal to treat me like this. Besides, you are a male, how could you understand how a ritith feels? You hear only what you want to.” His face went serious. He moved closer and caught her chin in one hand. “We are all animals, the flesh doesn’t yield to the mind forever. Our primitive nature always breaks free under stress or during the need to mate. In a hunter sphere, we make sure to train our females to understand the true nature of their bodies. You might like to protest your current position but you cannot deny that your flesh is more alive than it has ever been. The ritith and your training harness are helping to awake your pussy.” He leaned in closer and inhaled next to her neck. “I can smell how hot your pussy is, but it isn’t enough, is it? The need to fuck is primitive, but don’t worry, you are correct. I am an animal. But not so barbaric as to fuck you before your body is completely ready for it. The ritith will help ensure that you are as eager for my cock as I am to breach your pussy.”

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He stepped back and looked at her stunned face. “Submit and you will never ache for me.”

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Chapter Three “What did your mother name you?” Chanah looked away from her new home to stare at the hunter. He was removing his hand armor and setting the black guards on a smooth shelf. His helmet was already resting there along with several weapons. Everything was laid out perfectly in order, not a speck of dust in sight. “I can name you, if you prefer.” His eyebrow rose. “You will be staying here and a name is much easier for communication between us.” His explanation soothed her pride a tiny bit. Somehow, she got the idea that he really didn’t have to bother with telling her why he wanted anything. Maybe she was just desperate but Chanah sighed. “Chanah.” She sounded dejected and it bothered Talon. He had spent years looking forward to her arrival in his life but he had never considered it from her point of view. A great many of his fellow hunters might dismiss her feelings as irrelevant but they rubbed his conscience. Chanah was looking around his living space as she tried to move as little as possible. Her training harness was performing perfectly, keeping her pussy hot and needy. As long as her hands were chained she could not interfere in the harness’s contact with her clit. The training harness was designed to draw a trophy’s mind away from her old life and help her focus on her new position as mate. The look of astonishment on her face as she’d climaxed in the hallway suddenly made Talon curious to understand how the males in her sphere enticed females to join them in bed. But the idea of any male impressing her enough to gain penetration of her pussy infuriated him. Still, he was curious to understand how any male prepared a female for full penetration without putting a harness on her. Multiple climaxes would begin to loosen her pussy and make that first possession less painful.

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A low rumbling from her belly suddenly broke the silence as Talon grinned. Chanah enjoyed having him prove his worth to her, so he would show her that she would not want for food in his care. “You are hungry.” Chanah raised fearful eyes as she heard that. She wasn’t sure if getting food was going to require walking somewhere and she was not hungry enough to tolerate another public exhibition. “Is there food here?” “Yes.” He sounded rather offended as his eyes studied her face. Chanah stared right back at him because she wasn’t going to begin lowering her eyes meekly anytime he sounded grumpy over something she asked about and she wasn’t going to stop asking questions either. “We will not be going to the public food areas until we have bonded more.” She sighed and Talon felt his forehead crease in confusion. “You desire to stay here with me?” That would be far too simple if it were true. Chanah laughed, she just could not stop the sound from escaping her chest. Desire? At that moment she was trying to convince herself to be content with small mercies! There was nothing here that she wanted. The hunter frowned at her and Chanah felt her temper rise as she recognized he had not even told her his name in return for hers. “Why does that amuse you?” Now his voice was more than grumpy, it was edged with displeasure. Chanah really should have been more concerned about his rising unhappiness but she wasn’t. If she began kneeling to his whims now, there was no hope for the future and she could not let herself go so simply. “Because there is nothing here of my choosing, I laugh because it is better than crying with self-pity.” Her dark eyes flashed with her temper as she gave a slight toss of her head. The long strands of her hair fell back over one of her shoulders. Talon stared at the pride in her and felt his approval swell. While her face was smooth and what some hunters

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might label pretty, he was more interested in the strength he was witnessing in her eyes. That was the truest form of beauty, if you asked him.

He grinned at her. Chanah stared at the little curve of his mouth as he moved towards her. It reminded her of a reptile’s ability to mesmerize its prey while it moved into striking range. There was a part of her that was fascinated with the way his body moved. He was so much larger than her and excitement actually flickered in her belly as he stroked the side of her face with his bare fingers. It was such a light touch but she knew his strength far surpassed her own, and the fact that he tempered it with iron control made her body shiver with more need to allow him closer. “Many trophies cry, yet I confess your resistance to that weak behavior impresses me. Strength begets strength and I am going to enjoy watching your belly swell with my child.” Chanah gasped and tried to spring away from him but he caught the little metal loop on the front of her collar that the leash had been snapped onto, holding her in place. His eyes burned into hers while he waited for her to acknowledge the fact that she was helpless in his grasp. Chanah pressed her lips into a tight line and raised her chin in the face of his hold on her. He leaned even further towards her and inhaled deeply. Her cheeks burned scarlet as she recognized that he was smelling her scent. No male had ever sniffed her and it unleashed another wave of heat that speared through her pussy. She lifted one foot to try and move away from the intimate invasion but that motion caused the leather strips running through her slit to rub her clit, and a spike of need cut into her in response. “I hate this leather contraption.” Something flashed across his eyes but it wasn’t anger. It was excitement and her belly quivered in response to it. Something deep inside her brain jumped to life at the sight of that flame in his multicolored eyes. The pure determination to mate with her answered some primitive need that Chanah had never even noticed was burning in her. 25

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“While pain can be an effective teacher, hunters do not enjoy hurting their mates. Has your pussy ever been penetrated?” His opposite hand found a hole in her robe and landed on the curve of one hip. He smoothed his warm hand over the curve in small motions that felt delightful. Her body was in full rebellion against her will, her flesh craving his touch while her logic screamed out the injustice of her capture. Frustration boiled through her because it was the only emotion that her flesh and her will shared. “Answer me, Chanah. I can take you to the medical section and have your pussy measured but you will wear the training harness every step of the journey.” His fingers tugged on one of the leather straps and it rubbed her clit, making her gasp. She was burning with need again, climax taunting her as more fluid eased down the walls of her passage. She shook her head. “Answer with your voice, Chanah.” He tugged the strap another time and her eyes widened as she bit back a little moan of pleasure. The hunter watched her the whole time, staring into her eyes as he tugged the strip of leather once more. “No.” “No penetration of any kind? My finger was the first to part your pussy?” The frank topic made her face burn hotter and his eyes flickered to the telltale sign of her distress as he released the leather strip in his grasp and spread his hand out over her lower belly. Her womb actually contracted inside her abdomen in response to the touch and a little moan did break free as her clit demanded more friction. “Chanah?” His hand moved over her recently bared mons and one fingertip began to slip into her slit. “Yes, you were the first to…um…touch me.” “Was that so difficult?” Chanah glared back at him. “Yes. My body is not a toy for your amusement.” His lips lifted but his eyes darkened dangerously. His thumb found her clit and she jerked as he rubbed the burning bundle of nerve endings. “Yes, it is. I captured you and

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I will be the Master you cling to when pleasure rips you apart. Your thighs will clasp my hips and it will be my cock that your pussy milks for the seeds of life.” His thumb rubbed her clit and her hips jerked against her straining hold to refuse him. Once more, her body was ignoring her will, overrunning her protests and demanding she just surrender to the need pulsing in her clit. The hunter watched her with intense eyes as he increased his speed. Chanah jerked against the hold on her collar but he only rubbed her clit harder. The need was too great and her hips jerked towards his hand. Her body shivered as she moved her hips up in little motions to rub her clit against his thumb. Pleasure twisted into a knot that bit into her body, wringing a cry from her lips as the hunter watched her. She shuddered as release took the burn from her clit and his fingers withdrew from her slit. He still held onto her collar as he lifted his fingers to his face. He sniffed at the glistening fluid coating his finger before he licked his finger and sucked on it a moment. His eyes closed as he tasted her juices, and then opened to display a firestorm of hunger. “Your body is more than a toy, Chanah. It is my haven for escape from duty, and pleasure will be the reward you receive for obedience.” Chanah jerked against her chains and her wrists ached as the skin began to bruise. The hunter released her collar and she jumped away from him and groaned as the little training harness glided along her clit with the motion. Frustration made her eyes widen with the need to scream. “Stop pulling on your chains. You will hurt your hands, Chanah.” The hunter turned and moved across the room. A door slid open and he turned to look at her. “Come and eat.” Chanah looked at the distance and hissed. The hunter raised an eyebrow at her disgruntlement. “You clit is very sensitive. Why does that make you angry?” “Because you use it to control me.” Chanah growled as the words just rushed past her lips, carried along by her temper. He already knew the little training harness was doing its horrible job, she really didn’t need to open her mouth and stroke his ego with 27

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words of confirmation. Chanah set her teeth into her lower lip and moved across the room, lifting her feet as little as possible. The leather slipped against her clit, rubbing the entire way. Talon turned his back on her. It was odd the way her words hit his conscience. He was using the training harness to impose his will on her body and had planned to do exactly that for months. She responded exactly as his fellow hunters had told him she would and yet he found himself wondering if he was wrong to treat her like other hunters cared for their trophies. There were differences, even among his friends. Some hunters enjoyed more obedience than others, maybe that accounted for his feelings on the matter. The scent of her aroused body was distracting him now. He found it hard to concentrate on the next stage of her training as the scent of her pussy kept his cock hard. The organ was driving him to the edge of his control with its insistence to plunge deep into her pussy. Standing there fingering her soft flesh had been a torment unmatched by any other, touching the satin skin his cock ached for. Forcing his body to only observe instead of sharing in release had taken huge amounts of resolve and now it was hard to think about anything except his cock.

Chanah stared at the food the hunter placed on the table. Her stomach rumbled with hunger but her hands were still bound. She longed for a bath as well. The scent of her climaxes combining with the dried perspiration on her skin was beginning to bother her now that need wasn’t clawing at her frantically. Being prevented from seeing to such a personal need frustrated her even further. “We will eat before we discuss anything more.” It was an odd sort of reprieve and it almost sounded like the hunter was attempting to be reasonable. Chanah was torn between the need to find something in him that wasn’t her captor, and the warning going off in her brain to cling to her distrust of him. There were three plates of food on the table and it was better fare than her family could have provided, except for maybe a holiday celebration. There was even a large portion

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of meat and cheese. She and her sisters had not eaten meat in a week because the small amounts her brothers bought home were given to the youngest members of the family who were still growing and needed the rich source of protein for their expanding bones. She was at her full height and could make do with more simple fare. Looking at the hunter, Chanah held her manacled hands out as far as the chain would allow. She had to angle her hands through the front opening of the robe because the garment was still around her like a cape, with the sleeves hanging down the sides. She watched his face as he contemplated what she was asking of him by sticking her bound hands up, but his earlier words floated across her brain—his demand that she voice her words. Her silent plea would not be answered. “Will you unchain me?” Chanah didn’t like asking but the two alternatives she liked even less. She could go hungry or allow the hunter to feed her. He considered her face a moment before he gave a hard nod of his head. He reached for her wrists and pressed his thumbs over the bands of hard metal. There was a little chirp and the manacles sprang open. “I would have enjoyed feeding you.” The hunter sat down and looked at the chair next to her thigh. Chanah slid into it as she rubbed her wrists. The manacles were still dangling from her collar and they bounced against her breasts reminding her that it wouldn’t take very much effort for the hunter to lock her back into them. There wasn’t even a key for her to find, the things operated by his thumbprints. She grabbed one in each hand and dropped them over her shoulders. The hunter watched her with a crease on his forehead. Chanah reached for a piece of fruit and brought it to her lips, deciding that distraction might be the best defense against his need to control her freedom. His face lost its frown as she began to eat. “I would have enjoyed you feeding me even more.” His voice was almost playful now, tempting Chanah to grin at his remark. “Why?” Honestly, she had never considered an idea like that. Looking at his larger frame she shivered as she considered being the one to approach him, instead of him

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cornering her. A little flare of excitement flickered in her belly as she played with the idea of touching him first. Would it affect him as strongly as his touches did her? That was a powerful idea that lingered as Chanah reached for some bread. “You need to eat the meat first.” Chanah couldn’t help but look at the meat with a little longing. She wanted it but had never been allowed to take any of the rare food source without it being given to her. The hunter grunted and captured her hand with his larger one. He turned it over and placed a large piece of meat on her palm. He closed her hand around it with his. “If this meat is not to your liking, you may tell me your preference. But you will eat protein at each meal.” Her hand shook a little as she lifted the food towards her mouth. At least this order was one that she would have little trouble obeying. Chanah looked at the meat before she ate it, and savored the rich scent a moment before taking a small bite and chewing it slowly. She wanted to gobble it quickly, like a child with a treat but knew better than to waste her chance to enjoy it. A harsh sound jerked her attention back to her companion as he pushed the plate with the meat and cheese across the table and directly in front of her. He was chewing as he studied her. Chanah swallowed her food and blushed once again. Her family was poor but that did not mean she was ashamed of their meager means. They had more than some. “There is ample meat in this sphere.” Chanah took another piece from the plate as she looked at the hunter once again. His wide shoulders and thick muscles took on another meaning now. Apparently, protein was not shared equally between hunter spheres and civilian ones. His much greater size spoke of meals that included protein every day from the time he broke his first teeth. Unfair? Well, that might be a harsh judgment. Hunters protected families like hers. There was no crime and no violence in her sphere. Disputes were resolved by the elder council.

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But there were rumors of unrest, whisperings of horrible things that dark hunters rose up and tore away from the rest of the peace-loving population. Maybe it was a good thing there were men like these who could be stronger and more powerful in times of turmoil. It allowed her family to live in peace. The history records were full of terrifying accounts of times when the lawless lived among the peace-abiding. The innocent suffered and that had led to their current way of life. While it was not perfect, Chanah believed it was superior to the way life had been in times gone by. The chains hanging down her back suddenly felt very heavy in the face of her thoughts. If she found agreement with the hunter’s reasons, she might as well ask him to chain her once more. “This is better food than you eat at your own table?” The hunter was angry now, and Chanah jumped as his question cut into her musings. The meal was growing cold between them because she was lost in her thoughts and he was busy contemplating her. “Yes, it is.” Chanah looked at the food and felt two tears sting her eyes, At least Mia had taken the yemuta back to her father and her family would have full bellies too. “Then why are you so displeased to be here?” His eyes were dark as he pointed one finger at her. “Would you prefer incarceration for your disobedience instead? The penal work colonies are harsh, even more so for females. Here you will only deal with my demands.” Chanah sucked in a gasp of horror. She had not considered that there was a penalty for going after Mia. Yet, she had broken the law and there were no law violators living in her sphere. They were taken away—instantly and permanently. “I had to help Mia, you were going to capture her.” The food had lost all appeal as Chanah absorbed the finality of her captivity. It was more than just this single hunter, she was a law violator and unwelcome in her own home now, her actions having tainted her forever. “She crossed onto hunter territory, and we always defend our sphere against invasion of any sort. Besides, she was stealing. The law is clearly posted.” 31

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“Yes, that is true.” And it made her miserable. Chanah stood up and moved away from the table, her throat dry and tight now, the idea of food revolting. She pushed her hands into the sleeves of her robe as she walked to one of the windows and looked out. The street was full of black-clad hunters and only a few females. That damn yemuta. It had better gain her father a fortune because it had cost her dearly! Two hands landed on her shoulders and she jumped. The hunter moved so silently! Chanah frowned as she recognized she still knew him as only a hunter. The only thing he had granted her permission to call him was Master. The training harness slipping through her slit was a blunt reminder of exactly how low a ranking she held in this living sphere. The hunter slipped his hands down her arms and it would be simple to think of it as a caring touch but that would be a mistake. He was touching her because he considered it his right and she his personal plaything. What made it so unbearable was the heat flickering to life in her clit. Her nose caught the warm male scent of his skin and his body heat actually teased her back through her thin robe. Her body was acutely aware of his, her pussy once again beginning to send thick fluid down its walls to further attract his attention. It infuriated Chanah to feel her nipples tightening back into little hard nubs that begged for a touch from his hand. Deep inside her pussy her body was aching for more than release from her clit, she felt empty and knew that true relief wasn’t going to be hers until the hunter did exactly as he promised and mated with her. Promise or threat…it was both to her, the idea of his body invading hers burned into her mind, refusing to be banished in the face of her logic screaming out the injustice of it. She should detest him, yet her body burned for his possession. Chanah didn’t understand how it could be so and yet the fluid touching the top of her thighs confirmed it. “Your body welcomes me.” Talon leaned down and inhaled her spicy scent. It was rising from her pussy to attract his attention. Chanah didn’t move but held still as he stroked her arms. He could sense the battle being waged in her mind as he moved his

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hands to her shoulders and pulled the first tie on her robe open. She stiffened but Talon gave her no mercy. Attraction between them was natural. The urge to mate deeply imbedded in their genes. Her pussy was heating for his cock and all the words in their language would not change the fact that male and female communicated best with their bodies locked together. History was full of rituals and rules that were created to tame the reaction of female to male but it was best when left to run its course naturally. “Are you empty, Chanah? My cock would fill you.” Chanah shivered as his words brushed past her ear and a second tie on her robe was untied. He leaned close to her neck and gently bit her. The little bite sent a bolt of pleasure down her body. She was suddenly so hot and practically grateful for the fact that he was removing her garment. Cooling air brushed the skin that was free of the fabric and it felt divine as he moved to the third tie that sat between her breasts. Was it really so wrong? Her body enjoyed his touch, his conquest of her flesh. Maybe she should begin to take what pleasure she could for the moment. The tie opened and the fabric fell away from her hard nipples, baring her breasts to the hunter’s gaze. Chanah could feel him looking down her torso from his greater height and she refused to shrink from his eyes. But she was suddenly sick of being touched and manipulated by him. Her hands were still free and she spread her fingers and moved her hands back just a bit until she found his hard thighs. He stiffened as her hands found his legs and she gently investigated the hard muscle of his thighs. A little smile lifted her lips as Chanah enjoyed being the one to stimulate him for a change. She moved her hand over the hard muscle as her fingertips confirmed the strength her eyes had noticed. His cock was a mere inch from her hands. Her clit throbbed gently as she contemplated stroking the weapon, testing its size with her hands. The hunter might order her to handle his cock but there was something even more appealing about touching him when he was not demanding she do it. Chanah moved her right hand and brushed her fingers over the swelling of his crotch. He growled in her ear and a second later she was bare. He snapped the remaining tie with

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a jerk of his large hands and pulled the loose garment down her body. Chanah watched the robe go fluttering to the floor as she was turned to face him and one solid arm bound her to his body. His cock wanted to explode. Talon growled again as the scent of her pussy filled his head when he turned her. One little touch from her hand and he was ready to come in his pants like a youth. Talon wasn’t sure if it was the touch or the fact that she had stroked his cock without his command that made him want to climax, and he didn’t care. All that mattered was the female in his grasp and the firm certainty that he would be fucking her before the night was finished. The fact that she stared right back into his eyes without whimpering with fear made it so much more imperative that he get his cock deep inside her pussy. Her strength matched his, and it was more than need that drove him. There was a growing respect for her that fueled his desire to mark her as his. The hunter cupped one breast as he studied her face. She gasped as pleasure surrounded the globe of flesh. His thumb brushed over the hard nipple as her hand landed on his biceps. The fabric of his clothing irritated her. She was once more the vulnerable one, overpowered and nude compared to him. Yet Chanah didn’t feel helpless this time, she had made him respond to her touch and it fed her pride, granting her the ability to raise her chin and stare into the inferno of his gaze. He was not untouched by her and she could stimulate him as well. He leaned towards her and his mouth caught hers. It was a hard kiss that pressed her lips apart. His tongue probed into her mouth exactly like he had promised to do with his cock. He let her breast go and cupped the back of her head as he deepened the kiss and demanded a response. Chanah reached for his jaw and moved her mouth with his. Sweet pleasure flowed from their kiss as she stroked his jaw and shivered at the strength her fingertips found there. The hunter broke the kiss as he held her head by her hair and inhaled her scent next to her neck. Her throat was thrust out and exposed in the most vulnerable position and he nipped the tender skin with his teeth as another low growl shook his wide chest. The bite and

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the sound traveled straight into her pussy, setting off an insane need to be filled. Her hips actually jerked up, offering her body to his, mimicking the submission of female to male. He raised his head and stared into her eyes. A moment later he had released her and stepped a single pace from her. The cool night air surrounded her, making her shiver for the warmth of his body. He held his hand out with the palm facing up. “Come to my bed, Chanah.” He could take her there so simply and that fact made his invitation a treasure. Conquering was not in question with his greater size but she was the only one who could grant him compliance. It was her gift to bestow and Chanah watched his face as she laid her hand on top of his. His eyes flickered with appreciation as his fingers closed around her hand and then he scooped her body off her feet and swung her up against his strong chest. The door to the sleeping room slid open as he moved towards it and his feet didn’t make a sound on the hard floor. The large bed loomed in front of her eyes as Chanah stared at the reality of her choice.

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Chapter Four The hunter’s bed was huge. The headboard made of curling black iron. Her shackles were still hanging from her collar but there was another set lying on the pillows. Scarlet chains attached them to the curling iron and it made Chanah angry. She glared at the hunter as he placed her on the bed and his eyes filled with triumph. One dark eyebrow rose in question as he noticed her temper. “You do not like my bed, Chanah? The time for protest is past.” His hands were working the fastenings on the front of his shirt as he spoke. Chanah felt the weight of her chains pulling on her collar and lifted her chin. “I do not like your chains.” The hunter chuckled and tossed his shirt over the footboard of the bed. Chanah hissed softly as she caught the glimmer of another set of chains and manacles attached to the iron of the footboard as well. “You will learn to appreciate your bonds, Chanah.” Chanah gasped but her temper lost its grip on her attention as the hunter opened his pants and stepped out of them. Her eyes immediately dropped to the cock her body had spent so much time thinking about since meeting this male. The organ rose up from his body, hard and thick. Her throat tightened as she looked at the swollen head of his cock. It was ruby-red and she saw a thick ridge crowning it that made her clit throb with approval. That hard circle would rub against the bar of the ritith with each thrust, making her insane with pleasure. The little vibrating device went through her clit and had small metal balls on either end. The waiting chains suddenly made her bold. For the moment she was free to touch him and Chanah pushed up onto her knees and crawled across the bed towards the hunter.

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He snarled softly as she came towards him. It was an amazing sound of animalistic appreciation that she understood in the primitive portion of her brain. Her clit pulsed with approval as she braced herself on her knees and reached for his cock. “I could make you learn to enjoy leaving me unchained.” Chanah stroked her fingertips over his cock and listened to his swift intake of breath. She kept her eyes on his as she moved her fingers down to the base of his cock and then back up to the ridge at the crown. “Unless you fear my free will.” The hunter leaned forward and there was a little click as her collar fell to the bed. Chanah rolled her head in a slow circle as she stretched her neck. She stroked his cock as she did so and then let her eyes drop to his erection. It was the first human cock she had ever seen. It looked large to her eyes but everything about the hunter was large too. It was not as large as a stallion’s and that managed to fit into a mare so she didn’t worry about him thrusting it into her body. Nature did not mismatch male and female. His breath was increasing as she touched his erect member. Chanah considered what to do with it, how to reduce him to her will as he had done by handling her clit. She craved a few moments of being the pleasure-wielder. The leather training harness still resting between the lips of her slit drove her to find a way to be in command of this large male. She looked at the little slit on the top of the crown and leaned towards him. He had used his mouth on her clit and maybe his cock was just as sensitive. He jerked as her tongue licked through that slit. A word tumbled out of his mouth that she had heard her brothers say when they thought there were no females around to overhear them. “Who taught you to suck a cock?” The hunter curled his hand into her hair and glared at her. Chanah closed her grip around his cock and he hissed in response but his grip slackened and she leaned back towards the hard flesh in her hand. No one had, but his question gave her a hint and she licked the head of his cock twice more before opening her lips to suck the head completely into her mouth. The

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grip on her hair suddenly changed and pushed her head towards his cock. His breath rasped between his clenched teeth as his hips jerked and offered his cock to her sucking. “More. Suck more of it.” While still an order, his words were edged with a deep need that made Chanah do exactly what he wanted. His hips thrust his erection deeper into her mouth and she used her tongue to flick the underside of the head as it moved in and out of her mouth. The bed was so high off the floor, his cock was at her face level as she knelt on the bed. Chanah gripped the portion not in her mouth with her hand and worked her hand with the same rhythm as his hips. The fingers in her hair twisted and jerked as she heard him snarl above her. A moment later a hot spurt of fluid erupted from the slit on the crown of his cock and spurted into her mouth. Those foul words tumbled from his lips as she sucked on his cock until his seed had finished spilling from it. The hunter pulled her mouth away and glared at her but it was not in anger. Chanah felt her lips rise into a smug smile born from retribution. Now he understood that she could command his pleasure too and that bit of truth was flickering across his dark eyes as she licked her lips. Talon was going to pump his seed into her belly. He needed to mark her as his, ensure that another hunter didn’t get the chance to steal her from him. Emotions boiled dangerously close to the top of his control as he watched the triumph fill her eyes. She had spilled his seed with her tongue and was proud of her ability to master him. Talon granted her the victory even as he planned her final conquest. But her attentions to his cock would give him the edge to press her completely into submission. Now that his cock had been momentarily appeased, his control was firmly in place. She sat back on her bent knees and her breasts thrust their puckered nipples forward. It was the picture Talon had often dreamed of, his trophy, kneeling in his bed, the scent of her pussy drifting to his nose as he took as much time as he wanted to touch her and have her return the attention. There were few things in his life that Talon had planned for so carefully and he ran his eyes over her body just for the sheer joy of seeing her.

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Chanah had to admit she enjoyed the way he stroked her with his eyes. The lingering look made her feel almost cherished and definitely appreciated. The hunter lifted one knee and climbed onto the bed right over the iron railing that formed the footboard. Chanah sat all the way down on her calves as the bed jiggled and he placed his hands on either side of her hips. He kept coming towards her and she bent back further, until her head was touching the pillows that were piled high at the head of the bed. There was a stack of three plump pillows that allowed her to lean back so that she was reclining. He stroked his hands up her body, cupping her breasts and then along her arms. He stretched her limbs above her head as he leaned down to drop a soft kiss onto her mouth. A little click startled her and she looked up to see one wrist secured in a shackle once more. This set of chains was secured to the iron headboard and her arm was resting on the pillows but held above her head. The hunter moved like lightning and her other wrist was captured in his grip as he reached for the matching shackle and firmly locked it around her free hand. The chains were spread wide and Chanah’s hands were pulled away from her body towards the two outer posts that made up the bed. He spread her thighs with his hips as he sat back to survey his work. Her eyes rounded with shock at the purely submissive position. The hunter pinched one nipple and then the other before cupping her breasts in his hands. “You are a very beautiful female, Chanah. Your spirit astounds me.” His voice was deep with appreciation as he moved his thumbs over her nipples. He stroked a hand over her belly and pleasure moved through her body with the contact. Chanah felt all her nerve endings tingle as he made a slow path towards her spread pussy. She was suddenly acutely aware of how open her slit was, how exposed her clit was to his keen gaze. “Would you welcome me into your body, Chanah?” The bed moved slightly and then a warm hand stroked up the center of her slit to the ritith. The hunter jiggled the little metal bar with his finger and her bottom lifted off the bed. Her clit twisted with

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need as that hand slowly moved back down to the opening of her pussy. He thrust it into her body and Chanah actually heard the little wet sounds of penetration. “If I released you, would you grasp my cock in your hands and guide it to your body? Open your pussy even wider and offer it to my cock?” Chanah shivered as her body screamed yes. Her pussy contracted and wailed about how empty it was. Her eyes looked at the swollen erection sticking up so close to her pussy and traced how thick his cock was and she ached even more for it to fill her. The hunter trailed his fingers through her slit until he found her ritith again. He growled softly as he moved the little bar and her bottom twitched, lifting towards the attention, begging to be fucked. “So wet. I wonder if you would ask me to fuck you.” Her pride battled against the yearning building up in her pussy. A thick finger parted her pussy and thrust up into her body. “Like this.” He worked his finger in and out of her body as a whimper escaped her lips. Her bottom lifted as she burned for him to jiggle the little ritith faster. “I need…” Her voice quivered as a deep contraction moved through her pussy. Her skin was covered in perspiration as her limbs shook. His fingers fucked her body as he removed the hand playing with her ritith and placed it on top of her belly. The glint of metal on his wrist caught the meager light in the room as he spread his hand on her soft skin. His breath rasped between his clenched teeth as he pulled his fingers from her pussy and moved towards his bracelet. Chanah gasped as she watched him press the little control button for her ritith. Her clit vibrated and Chanah screamed. Her voice filled the room as climax gripped her and wrung her like a wet cloth. She wasn’t sure if it was pleasure or pain that coursed through her body. The two sensations were twins at that moment and all she knew for certain was it was not enough and would not be enough until his cock was filling her while she climaxed. The hunter’s eyes never left hers as the bed moved and another whimper came from her lips. Her body was too aroused to think anymore, there was only need and

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more desire. Chanah found her eyes fixated on his cock, the thick staff jutting out from his body. Her gaze moved over the erection as he clasped it in his own grip and worked his hand up and down the length. He leaned forward and pressed his thumbs onto her shackles. They chirped and opened as her body shook in anticipation. “If you desire to be fucked, show me your pussy. Stretch your leg up towards your wrists and offer your body to mine.” Oh mercy! Chanah couldn’t resist when he spoke her desires out loud like that. She should have hated the way he was demanding submission from her but it excited her too much, the idea of lifting her legs and doing what he demanded because it would place her at his mercy. Hunger chewed at her, never granting her even a second of reprieve from the blazing heat the hunter had built in her. Release was not enough and she knew it. Her body was empty and only his would fill it. “My cock burns for it, to get inside your pussy and feel it clasping my length. Lie back across my bed and offer your body to mine, Chanah.” Chanah whimpered as her body twisted in response to his words. The hard cock thrust up so close to her slit made her pussy contract once more. Right here, right now, what did anything matter but the two of them and the way nature had designed them to fit together? Her thighs were quivering as a hard hand smoothed down one of her thighs and gently grasped her ankle. He began to lift her leg up. “I want to be inside you. Spread your body for me, Chanah.” His mouth caught hers in a hard kiss that demanded entry. His tongue thrust into her mouth, mimicking what his cock would do if she complied. Chanah raised her leg until it lay up near her shackled wrist and moved her other leg to do the same. There was no thought attached to her actions, only desire and need and the promise of a final end to their games. It was time to fuck, cock to cunt, deep, hard and primitive. He growled again and it sent a thrill of delight into her pussy. Somehow Chanah recognized that sound and the fact that he was finished waiting too. Chanah lay back against the pillows as she moved her thighs apart. Her breath raced in and out of her

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lungs as she complied with his demands. Excitement burned across her as she watched the way his eyes traveled over her body. Maybe she was the one following his dictates, but he was following her actions. “For every action of obedience…there will be pleasure.” His mouth caught hers in a hard kiss of demand that Chanah eagerly returned. The head of his cock slipped into her slit and her hips bucked up off the surface of the bed trying to gain the first taste of penetration. The hunter broke their kiss and stroked his hands down her body, cupping her breasts and then over her waist and the curve of her hips to her spread thighs. He pressed her legs open further before sliding one hand all the way over her knee to her ankle. Chanah heard another click as he locked the manacle attached to the headboard around her ankle. He had her opposite foot captured in a firm grasp before she realized her leg was chained to the headboard of the bed now in place of her hand. Another little snap and her legs were bound to that worked iron bedframe, and she was spread wide by the placement of the bonds. “I’m going to fuck you now, Chanah.” His voice shook and she shivered as she watched his eyes settle on her spread sex. He stroked her slit and moved the thin straps of her training harness so that they were holding her folds away from her pussy. He grasped his cock in one hand and ran the swollen head through her slit. He went all the way to the top of her folds and then back down towards her pussy opening. It was exquisite torment that deepened her need even further. He fitted the head of his cock against her opening and pressed the first inch into her body. Her passage burned as the skin was forced to stretch around his width. He gently rubbed her clit before pressing another inch of his cock into her. “That’s it, Chanah, take me.” His eyes glowed with hunger as he pressed forward and rubbed her clit as her body burned. It never became true pain because her clit was enjoying his rubbing too much. Her pussy ached as he sent his cock deeper but it made the pleasure from her clit even better. He raised his eyes to lock with hers as he rubbed her clit faster. Chanah whimpered as he pulled his cock completely out of her body and

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then thrust it back into her. She burned but climax was once more twisting her clit. He pulled his cock free and thrust it deeper into her as her hips lifted and climax began to ripple through her. “Come, Chanah.” Her body obeyed instantly, her bottom lifting from the bed to take all of his cock into her. Pleasure shot into her body as a cry escaped her lips. Seconds became eternities where there was nothing but the feeling of being filled with his cock and the pleasure rippling up from her clit. “Good girl.” His voice was dangerous. Chanah opened her eyes to see the animal he’d confessed he was at his core. It was free and she was chained to the bedframe for his pleasure. Fear collided with the pleasure from her climax and it mixed into a potent wave of emotion that swept her into a current that there was no fighting. There was only submission right then and Chanah felt excitement rip into her brain, unlocking a part of her mind that enjoyed being helpless in his embrace. “I’m going to fuck you.” It would be hard too. Chanah saw that on his face as his hands landed on either side of her hips. His chest hair brushed against her nipples because of the pillows piled up beneath her back, making them tighten unbearably as his hips flexed and his cock began to move in and out of her. She had no control over the penetration but that excited her too. His body drove his cock deeply into her and the little wet sounds her body made as it was penetrated made her whimper as the ritith moved with each thrust of his cock. Time fell away and Chanah wasn’t sure how many times she climaxed. It all blurred into a circle of pleasure and need. Her body took his and craved more. She felt her passage tighten around his cock as her clit reached another peak, but this time her clit felt like it was going to burst with the orgasm. His hips were hammering away faster and harder as the bed shook with their movements. His breath hissed between clenched teeth as he drove his cock harder into her body. “Milk me, Chanah! Come!”

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She obeyed again as the hunter growled and impaled her spread body with a final hard thrust. The walls of her passage contracted around his cock and pulled on it as she felt the hot spurt of his seed hitting her womb. Her eyes flew open and found the hunter’s eyes staring into hers as his cock spurted a few more times and her pussy milked it. It was bittersweet moment. Her body was covered in sweat and her muscles shook, but pleasure and deep satisfaction ran through every cell she had even as she felt that hot seed deep inside her belly. Despite everything she might have thought, she had craved that final evidence from his body that confirmed she satisfied his hunger. Her pride screamed against the truth of it but Chanah couldn’t deny that she had never come so violently before. There was something about this hunter that drove her to a higher level of pleasure. Her body shivered as her blood slowed and Chanah noticed that night must have fallen because the air was cool and the room dark. The hunter reached for the manacles holding her ankles and released her limbs as he rubbed each ankle before lowering her legs to the bed. He pulled his cock from her body and lifted his away from her. A moment later he scooped her up in his powerful arms and cradled her against his chest. A tiny whimper caught in her throat as she was held so securely by her captor. “Shhhh…be still, Chanah.” Two tears stung her eyes as he carried her through the room and another door slid open. He sat her down as he turned, and then the sound of running water hit her ears. Chanah fluttered her eyelashes to hide her weak tears as the hunter turned to look at her. He held out his hand as a cloud of steam rose up behind him. Her eyes traced the hard muscle coating his shoulders and she shivered at the raw strength contained in his body. Yet he had not hurt her and that amazed her. His control was to be admired. “Come here, Chanah, we will bathe before we rest.” She lifted her hand and placed it in his out of exhaustion. Her brain wanted nothing more than to do exactly what he promised. Sleep would be a blessed release from the 44

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tangle of emotions afflicting her fatigued brain. The hot water soothed the ache from her muscles as hard hands worked a clean-smelling soap into her skin. There was no point in resisting his touch, his hands washed every part of her, slipping between the folds of her slit to cleanse their passion away. She was too quiet for his taste. Talon stroked her body, easing the tremors from her muscles and she offered no protest. He suddenly understood that he did not like blind acceptance from her, this uncaring tolerance of his touch because she had no more strength to fight him. There was a stark difference between her lack of caring and the trust that had made her cling to him in their bed. Talon craved that trust like nothing else in his life. It would be the greatest gift Chanah could ever grant him because it could only come from her heart. The hunter gathered her up after her bath and placed her back in their bed. Chanah shivered as the cool sheets covered her chilled skin. The bed moved as he joined her among the bedding and she gasped as he pulled her against his body. One hand gently pushed her head onto his shoulder as a solid arm locked her against his side. She tried to wiggle away but he grunted softly and pressed her head back onto his chest. The warm scent of his skin filled her senses and it just completed the events of the night. His body was warm and hers clung to it as sleep took her away from any more thoughts. The sun would rise in the morn right on time…Chanah could worry about everything when daylight illuminated her situation. Right now there was strength and warmth and all that mattered was the wave of contentment that washed over her body, carrying her out to an ocean of slumber.

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Chapter Five Sunlight warmed her face and she winced slightly as she sat up and noticed a deep ache in her pussy. Chanah blinked as the light chased away her slumber and she took her first real look around her new environment. She frowned at the use of that word but wasn’t sure if “home” suited her new situation. The hunter was missing from the bed but the bedding was tucked over her body very much like a caring parent might do to a child. Chanah gently stretched her legs as her eyes roamed the room. The walls and ceiling were a soft cream color. There was a long dresser against one wall and that was it. No little bit of art or any private possessions that might have given her a clue as to who the male in bed with her last night was. Not even a shirt that might have told her what colors he preferred when not wearing his black uniform. Maybe that was all he wore. Chanah sat up and a little moan escaped her mouth. Pain twisted through her pussy as she moved and she sucked in a deep breath as she forced her body out of the bed. The pain had been a surprise. It wasn’t so bad as to make her cry but her body was very sore. The training harness slipped over her clit and she frowned. Her fingers yanked on the straps holding it over her hips as she tried to discover how to rid herself of the thing. “Leave it, Chanah.” She snorted at his command. Talon should have frowned and taken exception to the disobedience but the flaming hot look she flung at him made him want to grin like a fool instead. He clamped his emotions behind a firm expression as he watched her give one of the hip straps another jerk. “I am sore. Why do you need your things to drive me insane?” She hissed through her teeth as the harness stayed in place because there was no latch, it had been riveted

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together on her and could not be removed without destroying it. Chanah glared at him with frustration. “Hmm…” Chanah turned angry eyes at the hunter “Well, the males in my sphere manage to seduce their mates, but maybe that is too much of a challenge for you. So much simpler to let a unfeeling thing drive me insane.” Astonishment flashed across his eyes and it gave her a moment of satisfaction. Chanah tossed her hair over her shoulder and then wished she hadn’t because she was still nude and the hunter’s eyes dropped to her bare breasts the second her hair wasn’t hiding them. “Explain seduce.” Well, that made perfect sense. Chanah sighed as she looked at the male in the doorway. He had crossed his arms over his chest as he studied her and waited for her to answer his question. Where did you begin with a male who did not even know a word like seduce? “It means that we have relationships.” Her cheeks burned with a blush as Chanah remembered their night together. Relationship was much too tame a word to be applied to the escapades they had engaged in last night. It was more of a battle really, struggling against each other and even themselves as they pitted their minds against their bodies. They had pitted their flesh against their self-control and gleefully added more stimulation until it snapped. “We have a relationship.” And his voice told her he was content with it. Her heart gave a twist as she felt tears try and fill her eyes. His forehead creased as he contemplated her face. She glared at his confusion as frustration twisted her. She lifted her hands in defeat as she turned to walk towards the bathing room. She looked over her shoulder at the man who had washed her the last time she had bathed, and searched his face for even a hint of the lover who had handled her so carefully in the dark. The hunter in the doorway was every inch the male who had captured her

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yesterday, there was no sign of her lover in the bright light of morning. “You never even told me your name.”

Emotions shouldn’t distract him. Talon frowned at the closed door and tried to thrust his feelings aside. The dejection in Chanah’s voice refused to be evicted and it needled him as he went back to his work terminal. He hadn’t told her his name. Trophies called their hunters “Master”. It was what he expected of her, yet Talon was finding himself loath to demand the word from her lips. Yet…there was a part of him that didn’t want Chanah to be like other trophies, her uniqueness set her above the females he’d seen with his fellow hunters. That wasn’t a very practical attitude for him to develop. His life was defined by his ability to work on a team and Chanah was a lawbreaker. Yet she had not been the one to let greed lead her over that boundary, she had done it out of loyalty. That did make a difference to Talon. Dedication to those you served with was something he understood and valued. Last night drifted through his memory as his cock rose in response to her nude body. She was slim. Talon found himself understanding why her companion would have broken the law to harvest yemuta. The plant was the most valuable when it was allowed to grow for several seasons since the unique seasoning didn’t achieve its full flavor until the stock was at least six inches thick. While it might appear that hunters did not value the yemuta, it was a fact that they valued it so much, strict penalty was imposed on anyone who harvested it too young. That did not give inhabitants of other sectors the right to steal it. The plant grew best when it was left growing where it decided to sprout as cultivating it didn’t produce the same intense flavor that a wild stalk did. All resources on hunter grounds belonged to their resource control—no single male held the right to allow greed to dictate his actions. Talon would not touch that costly plant because when it was harvested it would be shared throughout the sphere. By protecting it Talon ensured his right to a fair share of it.

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But there was a part of him that recognized the injustice of Chanah being his trophy. She was not a thief and that made him even more determined to keep her. Talon frowned at his own possessiveness. It shouldn’t matter which female he kept as a trophy. He remembered the other deviant and felt his emotions rise up in rejection of the female who had been clasping the yemuta. He did not want her. Talon looked at the bathing room door and his cock stiffened until it was hard and longing once again. His lips settled into a firm line of determination. He wanted Chanah. Having her wasn’t quite enough. His cock was still demanding more than last night’s surrender. Talon craved something beyond the way Chanah had collapsed against him as exhaustion claimed her. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was but the idea of Chanah lying on a table as he instructed another hunter on how to train his trophy turned his mood angry. He didn’t want to share her and he wasn’t interested in training her to the point that she would allow her body to be finger-fucked in front of another male either. That left Talon wondering just what he did desire from her beside sex. His plans had been carefully constructed through the last few years but they did not account for the reality of just who Talon had captured. Right or wrong really didn’t mean a whole lot as he listened to the water running. But maybe he should return to his work terminal and find out what “seduce” meant. The corners of his mouth rose as he looked at the closed door of the bathing room. Chanah had cast down a challenge and Talon was a hunter to the core. No challenge was too great and he would conquer every one in his path…or die trying.

Chanah snarled at her training harness. She inspected the thing in the polished reflective panels mounted in the bathing room and still couldn’t find any means of freeing her body from the device. There was no visible clasp or latch anywhere on the

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thing and she even bent over to look between her legs to make certain she didn’t let her modesty keep her away from freedom. Her lips twisted into a grimace. She could see the hunter doing something like hiding the clasp in her slit. But all she saw were two rounded lengths of leather that ran between the folds of her sex. There were two metal rings sitting on either side of her belly button that the leather was laced through and one tie that could slide up towards them or down towards her clit. When you moved that little tie the two lengths of leather running through her slit opened or closed depending on the direction. That was how the hunter had used the strips to hold her slit away from her clit. When she walked or moved the little tie fell towards her clit and the leather closed to slip into her slit. Masturbating had never appealed so greatly as it did just then. Chanah was torn by the growing need flickering across her clit and the twinge from her pride. Facing the hunter with a wet pussy made her shiver, her memory instantly recalling the way he inhaled her scent. He would know she was aching for another visit to his huge bed. Her pussy actually ached just from the idea of going back out to face him with need chewing on her clit. Chanah stroked a finger over her clit and it jumped but her pussy twisted again and she hissed with frustration. Masturbating wasn’t going to feed her hunger. Last night had proven that to her. Her body was a traitor to her will. It cheerfully surrendered every scrap of pride she owned in favor of being filled. Her mother had once warned her that the need to mate was overpowering when it chose to rise from the subconscious, but Chanah had not believed it. Now she did. The training harness wasn’t the only reason she was pushing the idea of sex out of her brain this morning. Even the ache in her pussy made her clit pulse for another stretching on the hunter’s cock. She craved it deep inside her body and there were dark urges surfacing from her brain that pushed her to parade her willing body in front of the hunter just to see if he would pick up her scent and chase her.

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There was food waiting on the table when Chanah finally emerged. The only garment she’d found that wasn’t a uniform was the robe the hunter had put on her yesterday. It was quite comfortable and fell to her calves. The fabric slipped over her skin as she moved, causing little ripples of sensation to move along her skin. The leather slipped up and down over her clit making it a long walk to the outer room. Chanah dropped into a chair without comment as she felt the hunter watching her. The plate in front of her was all meat. She stared at the abundance of protein and was caught by two different emotions. Submitting to his dictates made her angry but Chanah couldn’t quite get past the fact that he must be paying for the expensive food and was offering it to her, instead of keeping it for himself. She would be able to provide him with sex on thin vegetable soup—Chanah would not expect meat unless she was carrying his child. Even then, the protein would be for the baby, not her. A captive just couldn’t expect any better. “My name is Talon.” Chanah’s jaw dropped open. Talon was watching her face and his lips curved up into a grin as he popped a round ball of bread into his mouth. The little amused expression transformed his face. Because he was in such extreme condition, he had always looked so fierce, but with a grin on his lips his face took on a boyish charm that caused her lips to return his grin. “Did you masturbate in your bath?” Chanah felt her cheeks flood with color as she choked on her food. Talon frowned at her as one of his dark eyebrow rose in question. “What bothers you, Chanah? We have engaged in sex. Since you still wear your training harness I was wondering if you masturbated to relieve your tension.” Chanah swallowed and tried to overcome her sensibilities. It was such a forbidden topic but there was a part of her that felt cherished by his asking after her needs— however private she might consider them. Chanah shook her head and filled her mouth 51

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with some meat to avoid answering with her voice. Talon’s lips rose into another grin as he pointed an eating knife at her. “Ah, Chanah, open discussion can be quite stimulating, maybe even seductive.” “You looked up the meaning of seduction while I bathed, didn’t you?” Her voice practically squeaked as Chanah felt her nipples tighten into hard little peaks. Oh, if Talon took the time to court her on top of the effect he already wielded over her flesh, she would melt at his feet. It was almost frightening to think about how controlling that combination might be if it were applied correctly. Chanah felt her eyes widen. One little day as a captive and she was broken. Just yesterday morning she would have laughed hysterically if anyone had told her that she could be so taken with any male, and here she sat thinking that Talon could melt her if he applied his charm to her. All amusement dissipated from Talon’s face. He studied her with his multicolored eyes for a moment before he flattened his hands on the tabletop. “I have spent years planning for the day I would bring you here, Chanah.” “You mean a captive, not me. You do not know me.” Talon nodded in agreement. “Yet that does not change the fact that I have been preparing this living space and my life for the day that I captured a trophy. Not knowing who it would be does not change the amount of time I have invested in getting ready for our relationship.” “Tro-phy?” Chanah’s voice was a mere whisper now. Had Talon really called her a trophy? That was worse then being his pet. Talon frowned as her distress bothered him. “Yes, you are my trophy.” Chanah surged to her feet with outrage and the training harness slithered up her slit. She gasped as a flame of need burned through her pussy and Talon’s eyes dropped to the little points her hard nipples made in the soft fabric of her robe. Emotion was cresting inside her like a tide coming in ahead of a storm. She wanted to dig her fingers

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into the expensive food and throw it at his possessive attitude. “I am not your possession!” Talon’s hand snaked around her wrist and yanked her against his body. He pushed his chair away from the table with one foot and she tumbled into his wide chest as he captured her wiggling body with a firm arm around her waist. Chanah ended up sitting on one of his hard thighs as his fingers cupped her chin to bring their eyes into line. “Yes, you are, Chanah.” Talon said each word like an order she was expected to remember and obey. “I am a hunter and you are my trophy. The most important thing I have trained for is to earn the privilege of touching. In this sphere, possessing a trophy is the greatest of achievements and I have spent countless hours working towards the day I would place you in my life. You are much more than a thing, you are a goal and an inspiration and you are my trophy.” Talon leaned his head in towards her neck and inhaled deeply. Heat surged up over her anger as Chanah watched his eyes close to slits and desire drew his face taut once again. Fluid coated the walls of her pussy in response as her clit pulsed with the need to attract his attention. His mouth landed on hers but it was not hard. Instead Talon kissed her deeply, slipping the tip of his tongue across her bottom lip before pressing her lips to part and allow him to taste her mouth. Need blossomed up from her pussy to kiss him back, not just be tasted but to let her tongue trace the length of his and draw reaction from him as she had done last night. Her hands crept up against her pride’s lamenting and stroked the firm muscle of his shoulders. A little mutter of delight shook her as her fingertips found his strength and that fed her need to let her mouth open for his kiss. The hand holding her chin moved to cup her head as Talon tipped her neck back and his tongue thrust into her mouth. Chanah felt her pussy contract with the need to be invaded as well. The firm stroke of his tongue was so similar to the way his cock had filled her last night. Both fed her need as the female to be impaled by the harder flesh of the male. It was a deeply

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ingrained urge that Chanah didn’t even attempt to fend off. It was a part of her, there was no ignoring the clamoring of her body as she sent the tip of her tongue along the length of his and she felt his shoulders shudder in response. Talon suddenly surged up from his chair and took her with him. Her body didn’t slow him down as he held her clasped to his length with one arm and he took another deep sniff of her scent before she was free. He bent at the knees and her robe went up over her head a second later. Chanah raised her hands as Talon pulled the thing up and over her head. That simply, she was nude. Gooseflesh covered her skin as she shivered at the pure helplessness she felt right then. She was surrounded by his superior strength, actually drawn to it, needing it. It made Talon’s possession so much more intense because she didn’t want to escape from him. Raw desire flashed from his eyes as he fingered her hard nipples. Sensation shot down her spine into her pussy making it contract with need. Caught in the blaze of desire, Chanah felt her boldness rising up again. She reached for the swollen bulge of his crotch and slid her hand over it. Talon sucked his breath in as she reached the top of his cock and then pressed her hand down to the base of it. Beneath the fabric of his uniform pants, she felt the organ give a twitch of appreciation. “Take your clothing off, Talon.” Chanah enjoyed the flash of surprise that crossed Talon’s face. She stroked his crotch once more as she shifted one of her feet across the floor because she knew he would smell her arousal even more when she moved. “Is this part of your relationship rules, Chanah? A change in roles between players?” Talon grinned at her smug smile as he took a step back and began to open his shirt. Chanah felt her breath lodge in her throat as his chest was bared to her eyes. Last night it had stunned her but in the bright light of day, she was mesmerized by the sculpted perfection he had hidden under his shirt. Talon tossed the garment aside as he propped one of his boots onto the chair and unfastened it. The opposite one followed immediately as he took to disrobing like a 54

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timed exercise. Thirty seconds later, there was only hot male skin for her eyes to linger over as Chanah dropped her gaze to his cock. It rose proudly in the morning air, the head ruby-red with its ridge of skin. “Is that what you wanted, Chanah?” Chanah nodded her head as she tried to decide what to touch first. The space between them bothered her immensely. Her skin cried out for the warmth of his. “Ah, so now it would be my turn to dictate.” Chanah’s eyes flew back up his body to his face as Talon propped his hands onto his hips. “Kneel in front of me and suck my cock.” Chanah gasped but she wasn’t too sure if it was with anticipation or shock. Her eyes dropped down to his cock as she remembered the way she’d taken control last night with the hard erection inside her mouth. Submitting meant taking their lovemaking into her hands. It was an interesting mixture of excitement that had her kneeling in front of Talon as her hands closed around his cock. Talon sucked in his breath as her fingers slid down to the base of the staff and she leaned forward to lick the slit on top. Another harsh breath made her bold and Chanah opened her mouth to take the swollen head between her lips. Talon’s hips gave a jerk as he thrust his cock towards her mouth and she relaxed her jaw to take more of his staff. The warm scent of her own arousal filled her nose as she sucked on his cock and worked her fingers on the portion that didn’t fit into her mouth. Chanah flicked her tongue around the crown as Talon’s hips thrust his cock in and out of her mouth and his hand twisted in her hair. She could hear his breathing becoming more labored and tried to take even more of his length but his hands suddenly pulled her head away from his cock. “Not yet, Chanah. My seed is going to be pumped into your pussy this time.” His voice was harsh and Chanah shivered as she recognized that Talon was past allowing her to control their mating. Raw need burned in his eyes as he held onto her hair and made certain she saw his eyes. There was something about the way he spoke to her that 55

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drove her into a frenzy of need. Never once had a male dared to use such base words as pussy or fuck with her but Talon said them like a warning. Chanah was almost positive he was daring her to refuse him. Talon enjoyed the sight of Chanah on her knees in front of him. His cock was shiny from her sucking and the need to fuck her was raging through his brain, threatening to snap every thread of control he’d ever had. The scent of her pussy rose thickly from her spread thighs and the little strips of leather running down her hips suddenly enraged him. No one and nothing belonged on her flesh but him. Hooking his hands under her arms, Talon pulled her from her knees. He growled next to her neck as he took a long breath and savored the scent of her pussy. He reached behind her and found the eating knife lying on the table. Tightening his grip on it, he slid the blade under the leather strapping of her training harness. Chanah gasped as Talon cut the thing from her body. He tossed the knife aside as he turned and sat down in the chair. His hand clamped onto the curve of her hip as he pulled her towards his body with its erect cock. “Ride me.” His words were an order and her body leapt to obey. Talon grasped his cock as Chanah moved over his bent thighs. Standing over the chair made her spread her legs wide and the folds of her slit opened as Talon fit the head of his cock against the opening to her pussy. “Sit.” Talon didn’t wait for her to comply. He grasped both sides of her hips and pressed her down onto his cock. Her pussy was filled with a twist of pain as the newly stretched skin protested the invasion of his cock but his length slid along her clit and ritith as she was pulled down, making it a temporary discomfort. “Now, Chanah, fuck me.” Talon stared into her eyes as he held her hips to balance her on his lap. He began to spread his knees apart and that forced her thighs to wrap around his waist. Her feet still touched the floor giving her the ability to do exactly what he’d told her to do, control their speed of fucking. A hard smack landed on her right bottom cheek and Chanah surged up off his cock. Talon allowed her to rise until only the head of his cock was still inside her and then he 56

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pressed her back down. She landed in his lap as she gasped in outrage but the spot on her bottom that he’d hit was actually feeding the need twisting her clit. Talon’s multicolored eyes studied her face a moment before she felt the hand on her left hip leave and she knew it was going to land on her bottom. “Fuck me, Chanah. Ride me while I give you a little taste of my discipline.” His hand smacked her bottom and she lifted off his cock. Talon pressed her back down to the base and then smacked her right cheek again. Chanah sobbed as her pussy sent another wave of fluid down its walls. The spanking was adding to the pleasure, making her quiver in anticipation of the next blow. “Ah, Chanah, admit you like being mastered.” She whimpered but bit her lower lip instead of answering. Talon could see the need swimming through her dark eyes but he needed to hear her say it. He rubbed her hot bottom as she rose up and down on his cock but it wasn’t enough and a little whimper came from her lips. Talon raised an eyebrow at her. “I like it.” Talon smacked her bottom and she lifted and then plunged back onto his cock. Climax was taunting her with the pleasure of release but it wouldn’t claim her without his spanking. “Spank me, Talon.” His hand landed on her bottom and she yelped but her clit twisted as she drove her pussy onto his cock and Talon smacked her once more. Pleasure bit into her as her pussy clamped around his cock but he didn’t shoot his seed into her. Chanah cried out as pleasure shook her body and Talon rubbed the smarting flesh of her bottom. Somehow, she’d known he wouldn’t come as she rode him. The hunter in him needed to fuck her before true satisfaction would cause his seed to erupt. Talon stood up with her still on his cock. “Lock your thighs around my waist, Chanah.” She twisted her arms around his neck too and Talon growled as he stood with her clinging to him in the tightest of embraces. Her pussy was still gently milking his cock and he snarled at the pressing need to come. Not yet. He wanted to fuck her, 57

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spread her thighs and watch her breasts jiggle as his cock rammed in and out of her. Turning around, he sent the half-eaten food onto the floor as he laid her out on the table. “Raise your hands and grab the end of the table.” Chanah lifted pleasure-dazed eyes to his as she started to obey but stopped as she realized how vulnerable it would make her. Talon pulled his cock from her body and made sure his length slid along her ritith as he did it. A little sob came from her lips as her clit demanded more friction. “Do it, Chanah, lay your body out like a trophy.” Chanah gasped but her arms were already lifting. Talon filled her pussy with his cock and she listened to her own cry as pleasure began to demand another moment as supreme ruler over her brain. Nothing mattered but the promise that was flickering in Talon’s eyes. Her hand found the table edge as he grinned at her compliance. “Very good.” And then he fucked her. It was hard and almost brutal but Talon held his body away from that fine line as he slammed his hips between her spread thighs. The room was filled with his soft snarls of enjoyment as Chanah watched him stare at her breasts as they bounced with the motion of his thrusting. The little ritith in her clit suddenly buzzed to life as Talon growled and shoved his cock deep into her pussy. His hands held her hips in place as his seed began to spurt into her womb. The vibration shoved her into another climax as her pussy contracted desperately around his cock, pulling his seed deeper into her body. Those moments of blinding pleasure were huge eternities where all they had to cling to were each other. Chanah clasped her legs around Talon as her hands closed around the hard muscle of his forearms. Her fingertips seeking out confirmation of his superior strength as her body milked his cock and her bottom lifted from the table surface to ensure she was impaled completely. The ritith went still once again as Chanah gasped for breath. She didn’t much care that she was lying across the table, in fact she had enjoyed being displayed to Talon’s eyes. She was slightly shocked to find that truth inside herself but she had felt so

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powerful being the center of his attention. Someone might argue that she had been helpless but Chanah knew what she’d felt as she reached for the edge of the table and put her body on display. Her head was turned slightly and she saw the ruined training harness lying on the floor. A smile split her lips in response. Talon turned his head to see what prompted her pleasure and he nodded his head with a sharp motion. His hands left her hips and smoothed up her torso until he cupped her breasts. “I believe I am going to enjoy training you with my hands far more.” His fingers pinched her nipples as he watched for her reaction. Excitement flickered in her belly as Chanah recognized that Talon watched far more intently than any male she had ever met. It was more than the eye of her captor—right then he was judging her response to his attention on her nipples. The word he used was trophy, but Chanah was finding it hard to maintain her displeasure for the word when Talon was so focused on her. Considering what he managed to do to her body, maybe being his trophy wasn’t such a bad place to be. A bell sounded and Talon groaned. He gave her breasts a last smoothing caress before he pulled his cock out of her body and offered her a hand. Chanah was already laying her palm into his before she realized he’d offered the gesture out of pure kindness. His fingers closed around her hand as he pulled her to a sitting position. “Find your robe, we have guests.” Chanah looked at the food on the floor and giggled. Talon was stepping into his pants as he looked at her. “Maybe we’d better not invite anyone into the kitchen, Talon.” It was funny how a little thing like using his name could change their relationship. Yet it had. It was a gift that Chanah wasn’t so blind as to overlook the significance of it. Talon had done it because she wanted him to. Talon grinned at her as he tucked his cock behind his fly. Her clit gave a little flicker of regret and Chanah sighed at herself. One day and she was transforming into a brazen female who thought only with her clit. Yesterday, life could be faced rather cheerfully without sex. Now she craved it.

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Well, she craved Talon. Odd and unexpected but she was finding her captor more to her liking, and it was more than the pleasure he unleashed in her body. A little halflaugh got caught in her throat as she stepped past her discarded training harness and picked up her robe. Talon wasn’t unbendable. Her feelings mattered and while the man might call her a trophy, there was obviously more than one meaning for the term. Chanah chewed on her lower lip as she followed Talon out of the messy kitchen. She was finding more little things that she liked in this sphere. Her heart was being torn between the need to continue to long for her home and the more practical emotion of finding things she liked about her new one. Perfection didn’t appear to be one of her choices.

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Chapter Six “She’s healthy, a little thin but I think you did well, Talon.” Ruthar turned and sent a smug grin at Talon. “She looks stubborn. Interested in trading her? You could have Zola and she is perfectly trained to obey your every command.” Ruthar actually licked his lower lip as he looked straight at her breasts. Chanah was horrified. She stared at their guest and couldn’t decide just what to blister his ears with first. The arrogant male was walking around her in a slow circle as his eyes ran over her body. Zola, on the other hand, was kneeling on the floor with her hands clasped behind her back as she looked at a spot on the carpet. There was no reaction from her as Ruthar casually spoke of trading her to Talon. Ruthar suddenly laughed and caught Chanah’s chin in a hard grip. His blue eyes were wide with anticipation as he stared into her fury. “You are a wild one, aren’t you?” His nostrils flared slightly as Chanah felt nausea twist her stomach. His fingers felt dirty on her skin and the idea of letting him fuck her made her want to retch. There was no recognition of his strength like she felt with Talon, even though Ruthar’s shoulders were just as wide and packed with muscles. Her clit wasn’t throbbing to life and there was no heat warming her pussy. The only feeling Chanah was certain she felt was a pressing need to break his grip on her chin. Ruthar leaned closer to her. “I enjoy bringing my bitches to heel…my heel.” His hand snaked out and pinched her nipple through her clothing. Chanah slapped his hand and Ruthar lost his smug expression. But Talon was suddenly between her and his friend. Ruthar snarled softly under his breath. “Don’t be so possessive, Talon.” Ruthar stepped away from Talon until he could see Chanah once again. Hard fury coated his face as he stepped even further away from her and hooked his hands into his belt. “You obviously haven’t used her ritith enough, 61

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Talon.” Ruthar kept his eyes on Chanah as he spoke and he raised his right arm to finger the little control that she knew activated the little vibration device. Zola still wasn’t moving but her arms went taut as Ruthar pressed the control device. His blue eyes stared into Chanah’s the entire time. Zola began to pant behind them and Ruthar didn’t even look at her as he continued to make her ritith torment her clit. Little whimpers escaped from Zola’s mouth as her hips bucked against her attempt to remain on her knees in her submissive pose. Ruthar abruptly released the control device and the girl moaned desperately as her body shook for the release he had denied her. The other male turned to look at Talon. “Interested, Talon? Look at Zola. She’s the perfect trophy, and even now the only pleasure that interests her is mine. She will beg you for your cock.” Ruthar moved across the room and stood in front of the kneeling Zola. He stroked her hair as she gasped and her hips gave another jerk. “Do you want your Master to fuck you, Zola?” “Oh yes! Please, Master, fuck my pussy.” Ruthar stroked Zola’s head again and looked at Talon. “She has a hot pussy. But her mouth is even better. You could be her Master, Talon. No training, just a perfect trophy awaiting your command.” Talon crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the man he had known as a friend for a long time. Today was the first time he’d wanted to kill Ruthar. Talon shook his head as he dug his hands into his biceps to avoid snarling. “Appreciate the offer, but I want to keep my trophy.” “I get it, want to fuck her a little more? Fine, just contact me and I’ll bring Zola back when you get tired of chaining her. It takes a long time to instill true discipline in a female. You’ll get sick of waiting.” Ruthar shrugged and looked at Zola on her knees. He frowned before looking back at Chanah, and an unholy light flickered in his eyes as he licked his lips once again. “I enjoy the training more than the trophy. That’s a bitch when border patrol is so limited.”

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Ruthar clasped forearms with Talon and Chanah was shocked to see Talon return the other male’s smile. Ruthar turned to look at her and sent her a promise with his blue eyes. Chanah shivered in response as nausea once again twisted her stomach. She looked at the kneeling Zola and the shiny tracks of tears that marked her cheeks. Ruthar had driven her to the point of pain because he hadn’t satisfied her hunger. Yet the girl said nothing. Her fingers were white from how hard she was twisting her hands in her effort to remain silent. “Stand up, Zola. We are returning home. You can suck my cock, and if you do it good enough, I’ll fuck you.” Zola shivered as she stood up and followed Ruthar from the room. Chanah dragged a deep breath into her lungs as relief slammed into her. “Many trophies enjoy being dominated.” Talon was frowning at her. “It drives them to the edge of pleasure.” “So says Ruthar?” Chanah shuddered again. “I believe I doubt anything he might think is true about a female’s body.” “You might enjoy his training.” Chanah raised horrified eyes to look at Talon. He really could trade her away. Her only option was to demand to be sent to a work colony, and even if she did that, she might still be selected for reproductive duty when she arrived there. As a lawbreaker, she had no choice. Free will was granted to those who respected the law. But her heart gave a twinge at asking to leave Talon. Even when they pitted their wills against each other, it thrilled her. She had felt more alive in the last day than the last year of her life. That didn’t make any sense, but no male in her sphere had even touched her body with half the amount of sensation that Talon evoked in her. She might have wished for a different meeting but could not dismiss that sexual attraction often did not strike you when you wished. It was directed by fate and you had to yield to it or live with frustration.

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But that did not mean she would yield like Zola. Talon was just as affected as she was and Chanah would be happy to prove it to him. “You should be careful what you wish for.” Chanah felt the need to challenge Talon and she wasn’t going to ignore the impulse. He had enjoyed her boldness and she wasn’t about to let Ruthar and his little trained pet erase that memory from Talon’s mind, even if that meant gaining his attention through his cock. Maybe that was an excellent idea. Ruther’s kneeling pet might look good, but Chanah could be both kinds of lover. Talon raised his eyebrow in that expression she was now recognizing as his questioning mood. Chanah shrugged her shoulders and reached for the top tie on her robe. Talon’s eyes shifted to her fingers as she tugged the little bow free and swiftly moved to the next and the following one. She tossed the robe aside and stood proudly nude in front of his eyes as her ears caught a little rasp of his breath. “However, if you really want a little pet who does nothing but follow directions maybe I should give it to you.” Chanah shoved her pride aside as she knelt in the middle of the floor exactly as Zola had done. She locked her hands behind her bottom and spread her knees wide so that her thighs were open. She thrust her breasts out and hid her smile as Talon’s eyes instantly went to her nipples. Chanah forced herself to stay still. She had a point to make and Talon would be the one adjusting his attitude today! But waiting for his whims sent a flicker of heat through her pussy. Zola hadn’t even looked at Ruthar and that meant she never saw his hand before her skin felt his touch. A shiver rippled over her body as Chanah lowered her eyes to look at the floor. All of her nerve endings were tingling with anticipation now that she wasn’t watching Talon. She was acutely aware of his presence in the room, her mind flashing images of how hard his cock must be in response to her nude body. Despite her need to prove her worth as a partner in his bed, there was a current of excitement running through her at the idea of holding her body still in submission to his desire.

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Talon felt his cock harden. Amazement kept him still as he lingered over the sight of Chanah submitting to him. It amazed him to discover that she would willingly initiate another round of intimacy between them. Another emotion surged through him at the idea that she craved him as much as he did her. Ruthar’s offer had filled him with fury because Chanah was his. It was more than having been the hunter to capture her, it was the way she teased him and rose to challenge him. Chanah was more than a trophy—she was proving she could also be a partner. “Submission can have its rewards.” Talon kept his voice low, so low Chanah had to focus her complete attention on understanding what he was saying. Her chin wanted to twitch up so she could see where he was but she held her eyes on the carpet because she wanted to prove she could, if she wanted to. A single finger traced across her back and she shuddered. Chanah gasped as her nipples grew hard and began to ache. Talon had only stroked her back but her complete attention on listening to him made every little touch more intense than it had ever been before. Yet it was a different sensation than the ones that she’d experienced while chained to that table yesterday. Excitement was flaring up inside her because she knew Talon would satisfy the hunger with his body. “I wonder if you can submit, Chanah. My demands might be too much for you to endure.” “I will.” Talon chuckled behind her ear as he knelt on one knee and stroked her neck with one finger. Gooseflesh rose up all over her body as he bent his head and inhaled. Her pussy instantly sent fluid down its walls. Arousal was instant in response to him smelling her. “Really? I will need to see it to believe that, Chanah. You enjoyed riding my cock a little too much earlier. Can you truly only move when I grant you the privilege? Wait for my command and resist the urges burning in your clit for friction?”

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Her throat went dry as Chanah thought about his words. Wicked images rose from her memory as she thought about the way his cock had felt as she controlled their pace. By leaning forward, his entire length had rubbed against her clit with each thrust. To force her body to be still after knowing how incredible that had felt, would take more self-control than she was afraid she owned. But the temptation of forcing her body to wait for Talon to touch it was taunting her with another sort of pleasure. This one would be so much darker and more intense. Right then, just his words were bringing her body to life, the idea was as powerful as his touch. Chanah shivered as she tightened her grip on her hands, her excitement was building faster this time and that tempted her with an even greater reward when release was reached. “Yes, I will.” Talon growled softly next to her ear and slowly licked her neck. “Amazing, isn’t it, the way one little touch begins the whole rage of hunger.” He used just the tip of his tongue and her clit yearned for the same treatment. A moment later every bit of light was shut out as Talon covered her eyes with some kind of fabric. Her hands unclasped but Chanah forced her fingers to lock back together. “Then we shall see.” Talon tied the blindfold on the back of her head and then he moved. Chanah listened but couldn’t hear his steps and her body shivered as it waited for his next touch. His hand landed on her hip and he stroked it. Her clit pulsed as he moved his hand to the top of her thigh before lifting it and stroking her other hip. Her breath was coming in little pants as her nipples begged to be touched and so did her clit, every part of her body was clamoring for a single contact of warm flesh. Blindfolded, Chanah held her body still through seconds that felt like hours. Talon licked her nipple and she moaned. Pleasure shot straight into her pussy where it set off a burning need. Talon licked all the way around her nipple and then

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sucked the hard point into his mouth. Chanah whimpered as her back arched without conscious thought, offering the sensitive tip for his feasting. “You moved without my permission, Chanah. Does that mean you want to quit, or maybe you crave a punishment from my hand?” Talon pinched the nipple that had been in his mouth and her hips jerked. “You did enjoy being spanked, didn’t you?” “Yes.” Her voice was a husky whisper. Chanah didn’t recognize it as her own. She had never sounded so sensual in her life. Talon had broken her open and found some primitive creature dwelling inside her that fed on his touch. Another pinch on her nipple made her gasp before Talon removed his hand and stood up. “I want you on all fours, like a bitch.” Talon wanted his words to be harsh. There was a hard edge to this game and it was heating his blood to near boiling. The scent of her pussy told him Chanah was equally aroused. “Like my bitch. Do you know something, Chanah? I will not share you. Ruthar would enjoy that, me allowing him to touch you.” It was a hard truth that Talon felt burn through his gut. Trophy Masters did trade their females for agreed-upon times but he felt his teeth grind together as he looked at Chanah’s kneeling form. Her submission was a gift, not a product of practiced training technique. Every scrap of advice Ruthar had ever given him didn’t include even a morsel of information on how incredible it felt to know Chanah wanted to share her body with him. It humbled him.

Like a bitch. Chanah shivered but she unclasped her hands and moved forward until she felt the carpet under her palms. She felt even more exposed in the new posture, the cheeks of her bottom already tingling in anticipation of the first blow. Her clit pulsed with excitement as her pussy contracted and lamented the fact that it was empty. “Do you want to be my bitch alone, Chanah?” A thick finger parted her pussy and thrust up inside her. She couldn’t speak as it moved back and forth, mimicking the motion she burned for. Chanah swallowed hard because she knew Talon was just 67

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beginning. His finger left her pussy and spread her fluid over her back entrance. She started to rise but a hard smack landed on one side of her bottom in reprimand and her hands hit the carpet instantly. “Would you have let more than one male in your sphere fuck you? At the same time?” His fingertip pressed against the tight opening and slipped inside. Her bottom wiggled but Talon smoothed a warm hand over her hips as he pulled free and then pressed his finger deeper into her bottom. His finger sent a crazy wave of excitement into her clit. Her bottom lifted a tiny amount, offering her body to his. “Ah, Chanah, maybe I will only share you when you’ve pleased me and have earned a reward.” Chanah whimpered as his finger thrust deeply into her bottom. The sensation was so intense she shivered uncontrollably with the need to climax. Talon pulled his finger out of her and left. Her skin instantly complained about the cold. Chanah understood how Zola could have been reduced to tears when she was denied any contact beyond the ritith. Right then, her body was desperate for Talon’s. If he had pressed the little control button and vibrated her clit, her cheeks would be wet with tears too. Talon’s hand stroked her chin. “Back onto your knees, Chanah. You will suck my cock.” Chanah pushed up onto her knees once again but she didn’t clasp her hands behind her back this time. She laid them on Talon’s hard thighs as he moved closer to her mouth and she muttered with delight as her fingertips found warm skin instead of harsh fabric. “You may not use your hands, Chanah. Clasp them behind you again, spread your thighs apart. I enjoy the scent of your pussy.” She complied and as she straightened up her head came even with his cock. Talon looked over her shoulder to see her fingers locked together and her nipples brushed his thighs as he moved towards her lips. “Open your mouth for my cock.”

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His command made Chanah shiver again. If she complied, Talon would be in control. It was an interesting reversal of roles because she had always been the one to control him when she tasted his cock. But excitement was running through her veins and Chanah admitted she enjoyed the intensity of being at his mercy. The lack of chains made it possible for her to relax and enjoy being submissive. Chanah obeyed his words and Talon felt a surge of need flash through his cock. The sight of her shackled to his bed hadn’t burned through him as brightly as her willing submission did. She opened her mouth as she clasped her hands behind her back. Her little nipples thrust their hard points against his thighs as he thrust his cock into her open mouth. Chanah held still as the head entered her mouth and the tip of her tongue lapped the little slit on the crown of his cock. Pleasure bit into his erection as he threaded a hand through her hair and thrust more of his length into her open mouth. Talon had never suspected that there were levels to sex. It had always been a matter of physical pleasure. The emotions flowing from his time with Chanah took everything they did to a deep level where Talon found himself struggling to remain unattached to her. The idea of Ruthar even asking for her in trade made him mad enough to start a fight with the other male. Chanah was more than a hot pussy to fuck, and exchanging her for a different female wouldn’t feed the need blazing through him. His cock touched her lips and her clit pulsed. Chanah struggled to keep her mouth open as her body screamed for that cock to be thrust into her pussy instead of her mouth. It was acute need but she craved even more of it because she didn’t want it to end. There was something about being poised on the edge of pleasure and pain that made her long to remain in the center of the flame. Talon’s hands grasped her head as his hips pushed the head of his cock into her mouth. His breath became hard as it rasped between his clenched teeth. Chanah didn’t need to see his face, her hearing knew the sound now and she savored the fact that she was really in control. Her submission was commanding Talon’s full attention and she choose to kneel at his feet.

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“Your pussy smells so hot, Chanah. Should I confess that I want to fuck it?” His cock moved in and out of her mouth in the same motions that he was describing. “Thrust my cock into that sheath and listen to you cry with pleasure?” Talon didn’t give her the chance to answer, his cock was in her mouth and he thrust it forward keeping her tongue trapped against its hard length. All Chanah could do was moan around his flesh as her pussy begged for a taste of his hard cock. Talon growled softly above her and pulled his cock from her mouth. His hands smoothed her hair before he knelt in front of her bringing their faces to the same level so his mouth could cover hers. The kiss was deep and lingering as he let his tongue stroke hers. His hands smoothed down her sides to her hips in that slow motion that he always used on her skin. “I love the way your skin feels, Chanah…so soft, I think I could just pet you for hours.” A whimper came from her lips as one of his hands smoothed over her belly. Her clit began to throb as Talon brushed lower and lower until he was just an inch from the sensitive little nub. He brushed her neck with a warm kiss but his hand didn’t move and her body trembled with need. “What would you like me to do, Chanah?” Talon whispered his words next to her ear and her brain thrust several dark images up for her to shiver over. He was sitting on his knees now, Chanah still could not see him but she felt him. His voice sounded more commanding now with her hands clasped behind her back and her body straight than it had before. Her breasts felt very exposed but Chanah admitted that there was something exciting about thrusting her nipples forward for Talon’s gaze to linger over. “Tell me how you want to be handled. Command me.” Talon rubbed her bare mons as he licked her earlobe. “But you may not move. You will use only your words to gain what you desire.” Oh, sweet mercy. Chanah trembled violently in response. Tell him? She had never spoken out loud her desires, it was so forbidden, so lustful she wasn’t sure if she dared

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to do it. But what if Talon obeyed her? Dark longings filled her brain as her body demanded more than smoothing strokes from his hands. “Touch my…clit.” “Hmm…how?” His hand brushed over her spread sex but he merely pressed all of his fingers against her clit for a moment before releasing the hold. Her clit pulsed as her pussy twisted in need. It was far from enough and her cheeks stung with a blush as Chanah realized Talon wanted detailed instructions. “Try again, Chanah.” The tip of her tongue appeared and moved over her lower lip as excitement made his cock twitch. Talon tightened his grip on his control—it was an insane game but the stakes were rising along with their hunger. He needed to know what she craved, not just what she enjoyed. Talon waited for her order because he wanted to know what she would ask for when the choice was hers alone. “Rub my clit with your fingertip.” Talon groaned next to her ear but he sent one finger between the slick folds of her sex to her clit. He gently rubbed the little button as Chanah moaned with rapture. Her hips jerked forward and his finger was instantly gone. “You moved, Chanah. I believe you have earned a punishment this time.” He pinched both her nipples and she cried out at the shock. The pain drove her even more insane with need and she panted as she tried to stay on her knees so that Talon would return to rubbing her clit. “I’m sorry, please rub my clit with your finger.” “First you will be chastised for your lack of submission.” Talon cupped her breasts and pinched the nipples once more. Chanah whimpered and she heard him chuckle. “You liked that didn’t you, Chanah?” Talon pinched her nipples once more to make sure she understood his question. The little pain zipped down into her clit making her whimper again. It was insane but she did like the hard pinch coupled with the burning need. “Yes.” 71

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“Good, I’m going to apply a pair of clamps to your little nipples now.” His hand cupped one breast as Chanah gasped in shock. The clamp pinched her nipple tightly and she shivered as she felt Talon move to her opposite breast, lift the globe of flesh before the nipple was pinched just as tightly. His hands returned to her sides and began the slow slide to her hips. She whimpered as her clit begged for that finger to return and relieve the need filling it. “Where were we? Ah yes, you asked me to rub your clit with my fingertip.” Chanah felt every muscle she owned draw taut as she waited for his hand to smooth over her belly and his finger to part her folds. Every hair on her skin transmitted the path of that fingertip until Talon settled on top of her clit once again. He rubbed it slowly as Chanah fought to keep her hips still. She was desperate to comply and gain his approval. But Talon kept his pace slow, too slow for her to climax. Chanah moaned as she realized he was waiting for her to give him more detailed instructions. “Rub faster.” “Rub what, Chanah?” Talon had sweat running down the sides of his face but he clamped his jaw tight as he forced his finger to a slow pace. His cock was raging with the need to fuck her. The tip of his finger gleefully taunting him as it slipped between the wet, hot folds of flesh that his cock craved. It was an intense form of torment that held him suspended on the edge of his control. Her clit burned and her pussy demanded more than the release that would come from a faster pace against her clit. She needed to be fucked but voicing such a dark longing tore at her pride. Asking to be fucked wouldn’t be enough, Talon would demand detailed instructions before he would grant her her desire. Her pussy responded with a twisting contraction that made Chanah whimper. The need was too great with the little clamps pinching her nipples. “Fuck my pussy.”

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Talon growled and Chanah gasped with relief. She had said it and now she would be rewarded. But instead of his cock, Talon thrust his finger into her pussy. It was far from enough as she struggled to keep her hips from thrusting up towards his hand. “Fuck my pussy with your cock.” Talon had to hold back the urge to pounce on her. His body wanted to spring forward and ram his cock into her like a beast. Maybe all men were animals beneath their discipline and training, Talon certainly felt like one at that moment. “Spread your body for me, Chanah, lean back and press your hands to the floor.” Chanah felt his eyes on her as she lowered her bottom to her feet and then scooted back onto the carpeting. She braced her hands on the floor behind her as she shivered before unfolding her legs and spreading them. The folds of her sex opened and the air brushed against the fluid coating her flesh. The nipple clamps still pinched her nipples making her clit demands even more desperate. It was the most submissive pose, but Chanah enjoyed it in that moment. She wanted Talon to take her, to press into her body and use his greater strength. Her brain was full of the pulsing need of her clit and the deep yearning of her pussy, and nothing mattered but separating her thighs to show Talon exactly how ready she was for his cock. Primitive, lust-driven but even blindfolded it was Talon she craved. She could smell his skin and recognized the scent. Ruthar hadn’t smelled the same. Her body knew Talon’s scent deep inside the most primitive part of her brain. “Please fuck my pussy with your cock, Talon.” There was no more control. Her words were deep and husky and Talon reached for her hips, lifted her right off the floor and pulled her onto his lap. Chanah grasped his shoulders as her thighs were spread wide by his. The head of his cock slid into her slit as Talon lowered her body onto his. He bucked and thrust hard, driving his cock into her cunt. Chanah cried out as her body took his length. His heart pounded as she rose off his cock with an amazing amount of strength, offering her body to his thrust as Talon sent his cock hard and deep into her pussy again. He couldn’t linger inside the 73

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wet sheath, his body needed to fuck her, move his cock back and forth against her clit. Talon held her hips in his hard hands as he lifted her off his cock and then pushed her back down until the hard erection was lodged completely inside her pussy. “Is this what you wanted, Chanah?” Talon lifted her off his cock and held her with only the head still inside her for a moment as she moaned for a faster pace. “Faster.” Talon growled but lowered her slowly until his cock was back inside her. “Details, Chanah, they make all the difference.” Talon snarled again but he kept to his slow pace, raising her off his cock and lingering with only the head stretching her pussy. Her clit demanded more. “Fuck me faster, Talon.” A hard smack hit her bottom before Talon grasped her hips and began to move her quickly on his cock. “I thought you would never ask.” He snarled against her neck as he answered her demand and fucked her quickly. Chanah clung to his body as her thighs grasped his hips, desperate for friction on her clit. Nothing mattered but keeping her body as close to his as possible. Climax stole her away too quickly. Chanah wailed as it twisted her clit and her pussy contracted around Talon’s cock. She wanted it to last forever but her clit refused to wait, yanking her into a wave of pleasure as Talon fucked her hard and fast. A moment later he wrapped his arms around her body and moved forward until her back was pressed to the carpet as he clasped her wrists in one hand and stretched her arms above her head. Later she would care about the little burns from the carpet on her bottom, but right now there was only the hard thrust of his cock and her last need to feel his seed fill her. His chest pressed her against the floor as his hips held her thighs wide for his possession. His cock was still so hard and her pussy screamed with delight as Talon began to fuck her hard. His body slammed against hers as he drove his cock harder and faster into her. He held her down for his mating and that excited her even further. 74

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Chanah climaxed again when his cock pumped the hot fluid into her womb, the walls of her pussy clamping around his thick staff to pull every last drop from his flesh. Talon’s chest labored as he tried to catch his breath and Chanah smiled at the proof that she took him as far into insanity as he took her. Talon moved off her too soon and Chanah whimpered. He stroked her face before pushing her blindfold up and off her head. “I must remove your nipple clamps. They can remain on your body for only a short time.” Chanah looked down her body at her breasts to see crimson metal clamps on her nipples. Had she seen the things before feeling them, she would have refused to let them near her tender nipples but they had driven her insane when coupled with the blindfold and her submission. Talon removed them and then licked one nipple as his hand massaged the opposite one. He lingered over her breasts as he stroked and soothed the ache from the clamps. “Would you really trade me?” Chanah didn’t much care for either the question or the hurt coating her voice as she asked it. She didn’t even know why she voiced the emotional inquiry. Talon was her captor, she shouldn’t be so foolish as to think he had tender feelings for her, but in moments like this, when he touched her so softly, she felt…cherished. The few males who had tried their hand at seducing her had struck her as clumsy and their hands greedy when they handled her breasts. Talon’s eyes returned to hers and what she saw burning there stunned her. Fury looked right back at her as he caught her chin in a hard grip. “You are mine, Chanah.”

Talon continued to soothe her nipples with a devotion that amazed him. He could have left it for Chanah to do, but needed to know it was done to her satisfaction. His emotions were tender as he listened to her sigh. Contentment had never been something he craved, yet Talon was discovering that it was very much something he yearned for. Right then, it flowed between them, wrapping them in a moment where each was content to linger in the afterglow of their rapture. For Talon it was humbling

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once again because Chanah wasn’t trying to wiggle away now that his hunger was sated. She trailed her fingers over his hip as another sigh escaped her lips. He had never been so glad to find his plans unraveling.

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Chapter Seven “You will always be mine.” Their embrace had to end and it died as Chanah regained her thoughts and her cheeks brightened with a blush. She rolled over and Talon let her go as he sat up and frowned. He had the right to sound possessive. Talon tried to make himself believe that as the day wore on and Chanah found little ways to avoid looking him straight in the eye. Dealing with hurt feelings had never entered any of his plans for the time when he would have a trophy cohabitating with him. Ruthar wouldn’t have cared but there were a whole lot of things Ruthar thought about females that Talon discovered he detested. Chanah enjoyed his touch. He was certain of that fact. Yet it wasn’t enough to know she would crave his body as he yearned for hers. Talon wanted something more, and trying to decide what that thing was ate at him as he tried to work. The terminal in their living space served as his workstation now—once you captured a trophy you were immediately reassigned to make way for the hunters waiting for their turn. A new duty rotation would take another day or so to be sorted onto his service number, so until then he was pushing reports. He could hear Chanah moving around in the bedroom and had to force his body to stay in place. Talon eyed the time meter and forced his mind back to reports. He was going to give her time to think, even if his damn cock didn’t want to. But doing that gave him far too much to time to think about Chanah.

“What do males in your old sphere do to convince females to have sex with them?” As blunt as the question was, Chanah was more shocked by the fact that Talon was interested in her expectations of a male than his assumption that all interaction was 77

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aimed at having sex. She frowned at her own thoughts—maybe she was the one being unrealistic now. The socializing events and flirting done back in her sphere were aimed at helping the single members of the population find compatible mates. Talon just cut through the nice labels and went for the core of the issue—sex. She looked at the wide shoulders and sculpted muscles once again and understood how hunters might be more direct in everything they did. It wasn’t vulgar, it was just their way of life. “We eat together and sometimes play games, we talk a lot to determine if we share common opinions.” Talon’s forehead creased as he considered her words. “What do you talk about?” He was trying to please her. Chanah found it impossible to remain unhappy in the face of his attempts to understand her needs. Maybe he had captured her, but today he wasn’t acting like her jailer. “Well, a lot of things—what we each do to earn a living and what we enjoy doing to relax.” “I am a hunter, my duty is to protect this sphere and the planet. Duty rotation will be assigned to me shortly now that I have obtained a trophy.” His words were blunt once again but it was more than she had known. Talon was looking at her with anticipation on his face and it stunned her to recognize that he wanted approval from her for his attempt to please her. “So what will I do? I mean, here, in this sphere?” Talon unfolded his arms as he began to relax. They were conversing quite well. “If you are willing, I will take you to the resource center. You must perform the required testing in order to be matched with a duty that you have the knowledge to perform well. It is your choice to serve but it is greatly encouraged. By joining the workforce you will earn a placement in this sphere after your childbearing ability has passed.” So, if Chanah didn’t work, she would be sent to the work colonies when she was past being a sex toy. Harsh, but Chanah could see the effectiveness of that system. Nonproductive members of the population were not tolerated in her sphere either. If they could not feed themselves, they could report for work-duty assignment. Each 78

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family was evaluated annually to ensure that there were no nonproductive members who would turn to stealing because they had no means of feeding themselves. “I will serve, my father raised me to respect the laws of resource sharing.” “And the female you were with when I captured you? Why was her father not sent to the work colonies for failing to instruct her?” Tears shimmered in her eyes as Chanah thought about Mia… Young, impulsive little Mia. Maybe it was just that she was here because of her sister’s crime. The entire family had babied their youngest child and Mia was spoilt because of their soft handling. “Mia is my little sister. I think we all failed her, so it’s fitting that I am here. If I had been a better sister, she might have never crossed the border.” Talon moved across the carpet in that whisper-soft way again, covering the space in a heartbeat as he captured her chin. “That is untrue. She was fully grown and responsible for her own actions.” Talon hated his words because they were true. But he didn’t want Mia cohabitating with him, nor did he want her influence anywhere near his offspring. The image of Chanah with his babe suckling one of her nipples almost buckled his knees it was so powerful. “Do you wish to change places with her?” Talon could have bitten his tongue in half for even suggesting it, but the look that filled Chanah’s eyes told him he had struck upon what ate at them both. This was what he had been trying to figure out that he lacked—Chanah’s willing embrace and her desire to cohabitate with him without her lawbreaker status imprisoning her. Chanah couldn’t speak. Her throat closed off until she couldn’t even draw breath. Leave Talon? That should have been pathetically simple for her to answer and yet it wasn’t. There was part of her that rose up in bitter denial of any female, even Mia, placing her hands on Talon. This male was hers because she had proven that she could pleasure him as deeply as he did her. A wave of despair followed on the heels of her anger as she considered being parted forever from Talon and his touch. Beyond his harsh edges she had found tender touches that words could never explain. In his embrace Chanah had finally understood what cherished meant. Their encounters were

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more than sex, they were intimate. His multicolored eyes were watching her every emotion as he stared at her face. Lurking in those eyes was uncertainty and Chanah recognized it as the same emotion that refused to allow her to say the words that she desired to be parted from him. “I…do not want to leave, Talon.” Her honesty pleased him almost as much as her words. Talon drew a deep breath into his lungs as he savored the fact that Chanah had not rejected him. The law might allow him to keep her but her willingness was sweeter than any capture had ever been. Talon held his hand out to her and Chanah placed hers into it without any further thought. She didn’t want to consider facts and harsh edges of reality, she wanted to turn the lights out and cling to Talon’s body. Right or wrong didn’t matter as her nose caught the warm male scent of his skin and her pussy gently began to warm and moisten. He closed his fingers around her hand and pulled her up from her chair. His opposite arm moved around her waist as he stepped into contact with her body. Chanah shivered as she felt how large he was compared to her. His embrace was firm but not biting as he tipped her head back. “Then let us go and discover some more things that we might enjoy doing together, Chanah. Because I do not find the idea of trading your for your sister appealing.” She shivered in his embrace and Talon felt a surge of emotion in response. Affecting her, beyond commanding her obedience, was more rewarding than he ever guessed it might be. “Let’s walk.” Talon held his hand out to her and waited to see what she would do. Chanah looked at his invitation before she moved forward and laid her palm against his. Fragile trust flickered across her face and Talon felt his ego swell with it. That was another gift that he very much doubted Ruthar would ever see in one of his trophies. The outer sphere was very much like her own and Talon proudly showed off his favorite walking trail to her. It was warm and there wasn’t another soul in sight. It felt like they were like a pair of children running loose for their playtime.

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“I often come here at the end of my duty rotation.” Talon pointed to a ledge that overlooked the valley that the main sphere was built in. The wind blew past her and picked up loose strands of her hair as Chanah moved towards the edge to look. Talon’s face was a study in relaxation. This was his sanctuary and it was a privilege to be brought there. He turned a boyish grin towards her and reached into a pocket on his uniform. He held up a package of betting disks. “Care to see if hunter games are to your liking?” Chanah laughed. Talon really had been paying attention to her. The man was still every inch a hunter but it was possible they just might be able to find some middle ground to carve out a life that pleased them both. That single idea placed a smile on her face as the afternoon wore on.

Talon kissed her the second they cleared the entrance to their living space. Chanah lifted onto her toes for it. She wanted to taste his mouth and feel his tongue licking along her lower lip. Once again he took his time to linger over her mouth, investigating the far corners where her lips met before slipping his tongue inside her mouth to find her tongue. Her hands spread out over his chest as she sighed with delight. Her fingertips found the ridges of muscles that made her body tremble with need as her clit began to throb with the same beat as her heart. Talon lifted his mouth from hers and bent to hook an arm beneath her knees. He swung her up against his chest as he turned and walked towards their bedroom. The light had faded into darkness and the room was cast into shadows. Chanah did not mind, it fit her mood as Talon lowered her to the surface of the bed. He pressed a kiss onto her mouth as he stood back up and swiftly discarded his uniform. His cock jutted out from his body and Chanah reached for the swollen proof of his interest in her. He sucked his breath in as she curled her fingers around the stiff length and pressed her hand all the way to the base. Leaning forward, Chanah let her tongue lick through the slit on the head. 81

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“This is something I enjoy doing with you.” Talon’s words were husky and that delighted her. Chanah licked around the head of his cock before she opened her mouth and sucked on the head. Talon’s hands threaded through her hair as his hips made little thrusting motions and she sucked more of the staff into her mouth. Her pussy filled with need as she let him fill her mouth with his cock. Chanah enjoyed the moments that she controlled him with her touch, but it was deeper than that, there was something very erotic about being able to pleasure Talon’s stronger body with her touch. His breath rasped between clenched teeth as she took more of his cock into her mouth then his hands tightened on her hair as he pulled her away from it. He was close to climax, Chanah knew. She raised her eyes to find his filled with the flicker of need once again. This time that need wasn’t tempered with the desire to command her. Right then Talon wanted to mate with her, hard and deep. Climaxing in her mouth would not be sufficient. Chanah’s body agreed completely. Her clit pulsed with need as she felt her juices coat her thighs. She stood up in the center of the bed and pulled her robe up and over her head. Talon growled approval as his hands cupped her breasts. “Are you too sore?” He raised his eyes from her nipples to look at her face. Her pussy said no but Chanah knew she would pay for the indulgence later—the flesh did have its limits. Talon stroked a hand over her belly to her mons and sent it between her folds. He rubbed her clit as she moaned and a smug grin covered his mouth. He thrust his finger up into her pussy and growled softly. “Your body is already wet for my cock, isn’t it?” His finger thrust into her pussy again before he moved to the front of her slit and rubbed her clit. Need burned through her as her legs trembled and her nipples drew tighter. “Yes.” Her answer pleased him. Chanah saw approval light his eyes before Talon knelt on the bed and pulled her towards his body. Her knees bent on either side of his hard thighs and the tip of his cock nudged the folds of her slit. She was so wet, his cock

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slipped right into her pussy. Talon’s hands grasped her hips and controlled the thrust as he pulled her all the way onto his lap with his cock imbedded in her pussy. “We’ll fuck easy, Chanah, I grant you my word, but I need to be inside you once more.” She needed it too. It was a stunning revelation and one that shook her emotions, but Chanah felt cherished in his embrace and no words of discontentment could shake the tenderness filling her heart. “Make love to me.” Chanah stared into Talon’s face as she twisted her hands around his shoulders and pressed her pussy down onto his cock. “Please.” His cock jerked inside her as his mouth captured hers for a deep kiss. He held her hips still as he stroked her tongue with his, lingering over the kiss instead of urging her to ride his cock. One of his arms clasped around her body and held her tightly to his torso before he moved forward and her back landed on the bed surface. “Yes, ma’am.” Talon drawled the words out in a husky tone as his hips began to move. His cock didn’t slam into her body, instead his thrusts were deep and slow, rubbing against her clit and driving her slowly insane. The crisp hair covering his chest teased her nipples as his cock filled her pussy and Talon did not increase the pace. Need and pleasure built slowly until it twisted her tighter with each thrust, and climax crashed over her like a bucket of honey, slow and incredibly sweet. It coated her in a thick blanket of delight, slipping over every inch of her body to coat her in rapture. Talon felt her pussy contract and begin to milk his cock. He let his seed flood her womb as a small snarl escaped his lips. Pleasure radiated through his cock and into the sacs beneath his staff. It was a deeper delight than the hard climaxes they’d shared to date. This time there was a simple need that drove them both, they both craved intimacy, and right then Talon would have sworn they shared the same heartbeat. There was no division between them, only one united pair of opposite sides that fit together perfectly.

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Talon rolled onto his back and gathered her body against his as Chanah sighed. She found a contentment in his embrace that she had been yearning for, and all the facts surrounding their meeting did not matter. Sometimes it was best to enjoy what fate handed you without quibbling over how fate decided to deliver its gift.

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Chapter Eight Chanah beat Talon out of bed the next morning. Being at peace certainly made for a better night’s rest! She didn’t stop to put her robe on as she crept from the room, wincing at the tiny sound her bare feet made as she walked. Talon was sleeping on his back with his arms flung wide and he looked a whole lot like a trap that would snap shut if even a tiny thing alerted him. Chanah slipped her robe on as she wandered around the rest of the living space. It was nicer than her family’s, and with only her and Talon, much less crowded. The food preparation area was neat and modern. She found a piece of cheese in the cooling storage unit and nibbled on it as her stomach growled. For the first time in her life she didn’t concern herself with eating without the rest of the family. Talon’s insistence that she eat told her he wouldn’t mind her snacking to fend off her hunger until he was awake and ready to break his fast. The little package of playing disks was sitting on the counter where they had dropped them the night before. Chanah looked at the disks with their different markings and recalled two of the games Talon had taught her yesterday. She was going to need a lot of practice before letting Talon convince her to wager anything on a turn of the disk. The man was as much a hunter when he played as he was when he was on patrol. Still, that was not a bad thing, most males enjoyed winning. Chanah simply savored the fact that Talon had listened to her and tried to please her. Wasn’t that what mattered the most between mates? That bond that made each one put the other’s needs before their own? A simple game, yet it reflected a true desire to please and that was something Chanah cradled close to her heart. “You need some clothing.”

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Chanah jumped and turned to find her hunter filling the doorframe. Talon moved across the floor silently and caught her hand with its half-eaten cheese clasped between her fingers. He grinned at her before he leaned down and nipped the food from her grip. “We’ll eat at the resource center. Today is a non-duty day, so there will be rich food available. Even sweets.” The trip was fascinating for Chanah. Talon pointed out landmarks and services that might interest her. His words were still blunt but she understood that efficiency was a way of life for him. So it was simply part of being a hunter. There was something to admire there, Talon’s dedication to duty. He was an honest male and she could not have asked for better in a mate. The garment shops were a shocking surprise. Chanah stared at many females who wore two-inch-wide crimson bracelets on their left arm and the fact that they moved about without male escort. “They are citizens. Some are daughters of hunters and others chose to unite with hunters after meeting through visual centers, but that is rare. The wristband denotes the fact that they are not lawbreakers.” Chanah felt her joy freeze as though she’d been hit with ice water. While she might have decided cohabitating with Talon was what she desired, having a choice was still something she would have cherished. She bit her lower lip as she tried to shake off her depression. There was no point in casting aside what happiness she held in favor of perfection. Life was rarely fair or perfect, the best strategy was to look at the things you enjoyed most. Chanah sighed as she repeated that advice and tried to believe it, but her eyes still lingered on the crimson band as envy filled her thoughts.

***** Chanah was humming as she arranged her new garments alongside his uniforms. Talon took the opportunity to watch her, notice the little details that made her female,

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opposed to his male form. He tightened his resolve as he recalled the look of dejection on her face during their morning out. To truly be content he had to set her free and see if she chose him. It had been much simpler to claim her by right of capture but it left him wanting something else, and the look of envy on her sweet face had finally revealed just what that something was. “I have a gift for you, Chanah.” Talon’s voice sounded as formal as the first time she’d heard him speak. His face was an expressionless mask as he moved forward and cupped her chin. He looked into her eyes before he clasped one of her hands and placed something cold in her grasp. He gave her a curt nod of his head before he stepped away from her. “It is yours because you did not break the law. I have filed the necessary report.” Chanah stared at the anger burning in his multicolored eyes as she tried to absorb what he was telling her. “It will be your choice to stay or leave.” Chanah ran a single fingertip over the crimson bracelet as she felt a smile split her lips. Perfection shimmered in her hand as Talon gave her the one gift that she could value more than any possession. His trust. Love was never complete without it and by freeing her from the title of lawbreaker he was telling her that he loved her too much to imprison her. “I think I love you, Talon.” Oh, she might be mad but she was not alone in her insanity. Talon was spinning around right beside her as their emotions reigned supreme over the dictates of both their spheres. She closed the metal band around her left wrist and giggled as it clicked into place. Talon’s face rose into a smug grin of male victory. She caught a glimpse of the little boy lurking in his multicolored eyes a moment before he bent and pulled her right over his shoulder. He straightened back up and gave a mock roar as he turned around with her hanging over his back. A solid whack landed on her bottom as Talon headed towards their bedroom. 87

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Chanah giggled the entire way. She had been caught by a hunter, and if she were favored by fate, she would never slip away from his grip! Talon tossed her into the middle of his bed as he flattened his hands on the mattress, caging her with his larger frame. He raised an eyebrow at her. “Love? I think it is another word for insanity but it has captured me and I believe I am becoming a willing captive to your whims.” Chanah stroked his chin with her hand. “May we both never recover.”

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