Sir finished putting the bandages on my face and then stripped the clear raincoat thing over my head. Laying it to one side, he lifted me and took me into the bathroom.
“You don’t always have to carry me everywhere, you know,” I pointed out as he put me down in the tub, which immediately began to fill with pale blue not-water. “I have two legs—I can walk.”
“It pleases me to carry you,” Sir said, one corner of his mouth twitching up slightly. “And the more contact we have, the stronger our bond will grow.”
I sighed.
“So I’m going to be the human equivalent of one of those spoiled little dogs whose owners carry them everywhere?”
I thought of how Great Aunt Maizy refused to even go to the grocery store without one of her “babies” tucked under her arm. They mostly behaved, just lying limply under her arm—another accessory like an expensive handbag or a pair of designer shoes. I didn’t want to think of myself like that—I was better than Princess Prissy, damn it! Even though it seemed I had been reduced to her level.
“I will carry you in the ship to bond with you and on any alien worlds where there is danger,” Sir told me. “But if it is safe, you will be allowed to walk on your leash.” He gave me a stern look. “As long as you promise not to cut it again.”
“I promise,” I said indignantly. “I said I’d stay with you until we meet the Sovereign, didn’t I? Besides, my one attempt to get away ended in disaster.”
“I could have told you it would,” Sir remarked. “F’too’sh Beta is a dangerous place. It’s one reason I was trying to keep an eye on you before I foolishly let myself get distracted.”
“Oh, that’s right,” I said. “You never did get me a pet bed, did you? Does…” I swallowed hard. “Does that mean I have to sleep in the crate? Is that part of my, uh, punishment for trying to run away?”
“I am not going to punish you, little one,” Sir rumbled. “I understand your motivations for trying to go now, just as you understand my motivations in choosing to take you in the first place. We will start on a clean page and move forward from there.”
“Oh, good!” I felt a wave of relief wash over me as the not-water lapped at my sides. “So then…I don’t have to sleep in the crate?” I clarified, wanting to be sure.
“You’ll be sleeping with me, every night cycle,” Sir said firmly. “I will instruct my candalla not to penetrate you and come in you,” he added, casting a glance at his tail, which was waving beside him in an interested way, as it watched me get my bath.
“Um, thank you,” I said. I would have preferred to sleep in my own bed, but sharing the vast sleeping platform was so much better than being crammed into the crate, I felt both relieved and grateful.
“You’re more than welcome, little one.” He gave me another one-sided smile. “I’m only doing it to grow the bond between us, of course. I normally prefer to sleep alone. Well…” He rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt and knelt beside the tub. “I think the cleansing liquid is high enough. Let’s get you bathed, shall we?”
“Okay,” I said, feeling a mixture of resignation and desire. I shouldn’t want to let him touch my naked body, but I couldn’t help the butterflies that were suddenly taking off in my stomach.
To distract myself from the sexual tension I was suddenly feeling, I leaned forward and tapped twice on the side of the tub to see if I could get the little golden faucet that dispensed soap to appear.
To my excitement and satisfaction, it did! The side of the tub parted and let it out, just as it did when Sir tapped for it.
“Oh, it worked!” I exclaimed, smiling at the little golden faucet. But when I looked up, Sir was frowning.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
“I just did what you always do,” I said, shrugging. “Tap twice, right? Isn’t that the code?”
He shook his head.
“There is no ‘code.’ This ship is tuned to my mind only—it shouldn’t respond to anyone else.”
“Oh, uh, sorry.” I shrugged again uneasily, wondering if he was going to blast me. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do it.”
“It’s all right—I’m not angry with you, little one.” He sighed and ran a hand over his hair and horns. “Gods, I wish you hadn’t seen me using my Mental Abilities back at the spaceport. Now you’re frightened every minute that I’ll hurt you with my mind, when nothing could be further from the truth!”
“You know I’m scared of you? Are you reading my mind?” I asked suspiciously.
“No, of course not—our bond isn’t strong enough for that yet. But I don’t have to read your mind—I can see it on your face. The minute you say anything sassy, you look at me like you think I’ll hurt you.”
“Sassy?” I couldn’t help grinning. “That’s your word for me?” It sounded really funny in that almost-British accent of his.
He frowned.
“Is your translation virus not working? It is a word in my language that means slightly rude or defiant, but in a saucy, playful way.”
“No…no, that’s pretty much what ‘sassy’ means in English too,” I admitted, but I was still grinning. “Look, if you can trust me not to cut my leash again, I guess I can try to trust you not to blast me with your mind.”
“You have no idea how many years I have practiced self discipline to avoid using my abilities in a thoughtless, impulsive manner,” Sire said earnestly. “I was drilled in it daily as a child—my father who was Overlord before me, constantly reminded me that I must never, ever lash out in anger.”
“With great power comes great responsibility,” I said gravely.
“Yes! Exactly!” Sir nodded eagerly. “I see you understand—that’s a very profound thought, little one.”
“Er, well I can’t exactly take credit for it,” I said, feeling guilty.
“It must have been some other great philosopher on your world who came up with it, then?” Sir asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Um, you could say that, I guess,” I said, trying not to giggle. But seriously, I could see how he would have to control himself so strictly. Having that immense mental power would be like walking around with a loaded gun in your pocket all the time. He must have been really angry to break his own rules and use his mind to lash out at Shadrack the way he had.
I thought again of how he had crumpled the metal gate into a ball and lifted the huge Pet Finder by the throat without even touching him…and shivered.
“Are you feeling afraid of me again, little one?” Sir’s deep voice sounded almost wistful.
Damn, I was going to have to work on my facial expressions—the man could read me like a book! Or maybe it was just that Sir was focused on me in a way that no one else—even Don, my fiancé—had ever been.
“I was just…” I cleared my throat. “Just thinking of how you, er, lifted that asshole, Shadrack by his throat without even touching him.”
Sir’s lips thinned.
“I was very angry—enraged, actually—when I saw that he had hurt you. I never would have let myself go in any other situation. I swear it.”
“I believe you,” I said quickly. “And…I’m glad you came for me. I wouldn’t have wanted to end up at the Pet Auction. Er, how did you find me, anyway?”
He shrugged.
“I simply followed my own scent and yours, mingled together. It was easy enough, considering how well my candalla had marked you.”
“Oh…” I looked at his tail, which was still waving at me. “Er, thank you, I guess.”
The tail nodded its metal capped tip at me as though to say, “You’re welcome.”
“Well,” Sir remarked. “Enough talk—let’s get you clean.”
He held out his hand and got some of the liquid soap stuff—though it certainly didn’t dry my skin like soap. In fact, after he used it on me, my skin felt extremely dewy and moisturized.
Sir was thorough washing me—more than thorough. It seemed like he wanted to touch every inch of me—like he was claiming me as his all over again. He spent a long time stroking my breasts and pinching my nipples and I bit back a moan and shivered as he washed inside me, his long fingers exploring my inner folds and sliding deep into my pussy.
But again, just as I was feeling close to the edge, he withdrew.
“Sir!” I couldn’t help moaning. “God, I was really close.”
He frowned.
“Close to coming, do you mean, little one?”
“I think so. I…I’ve never had an actual, er, orgasm before,” I admitted, feeling slightly ashamed. “But every time you, uh, touch me like that, it feels like I’m going to come. And then you just stop. It’s driving me crazy!”
“Hmmm…” Sir looked at me thoughtfully.
“This is your cue to touch me some more and make me come, like a good Master, isn’t it?” I demanded rather crossly. I was getting tired of being teased over and over and not being able to reach the elusive peak of pleasure.
“Most certainly not, little one.” Sir frowned at me. “If you’ve never had an orgasm before, then your first one ought to be special. Also, you haven’t done anything to earn it.”
“Earn it?” I exclaimed. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s part of your training,” Sir said.
“Having an orgasm is part of my training?” I said. “But…but I thought you weren’t training me as a, uh Sex Pet.”
“Actually, I’ve changed my mind about that,” he said coolly. “I think Sex Pet training is appropriate under the circumstances.”
“What? But…but I thought you said it was immoral to take advantage of a creature with a lesser mind than yours, that way,” I protested.
“I no longer think you have a lesser mind,” Sir said. “You might not have the Mental Abilities that I have, but you are extremely intelligent. However…” He raised a finger at me. “You are still my pet and you will orgasm when I say so—not before.”
“But, Sir—” I began.
“Don’t worry—I’ll make it worth the wait,” he murmured, giving me that one-sided smile again. “Now then—let’s see about a depilatory, shall we? I want to remove the fur on your soft little pussy so I can get a better look at it.”
I bit my lip as he rubbed a different kind of cream over my pussy mound, making certain to coat every hair completely.
“You might as well do my armpits and legs too,” I said sulkily. I was still throbbing with unrequited lust. “At least that way I won’t have to shave for a long time.”
“As you wish,” Sir told me. “Although I reserve the right not to use the cream on the fur on your head—it’s so lovely and long and silky. I do not wish to remove it.”
“I’m glad you don’t,” I said. “I don’t want to be bald!”
“Of course not.” Sir spread the cream on the other areas I had asked and then rinsed me off. To my surprise, the hair that was coated with the cream just melted away to nothing like bubbles melting in the sun—it was so much easier than shaving or any other kind of hair removal and it left my skin feeling silky-smooth. I loved it.
“This is really nice!” I said, admiring my new, hairless legs. “How long does it last before you have to do it again?”
“Oh, it’s permanent,” Sir said casually. “The hair will never grow back on the areas where I applied the depilatory.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “But…I mean, I don’t mind that with my legs and armpits, but what if I wanted to grow it back on my, you know, my private area?”
“Oh your soft little pussy, you mean?” He raised his eyebrows at me. “I prefer to keep that area bare. And since you’re my pet, that is my choice to make, not yours.”
This was a frustrating answer, but it was too late to do anything about it now. I had never been especially attached to the little patch of curls over my mound, anyway. But it was still startling to realize they were gone forever.
Sir took me out of the tub and dried me off and then said he had some work to do.
“But we’ll have a meal first as you must be hungry by now,” he added. “Come, let’s go to the Matter Synthesizer.”
Then he picked me up and carried me in his arms, like I was a damsel in distress, into the kitchen.