Chapter 24
24
“ Y ou have to promise to do everything I tell you. Everything . There’s no room for second-guessing and I won’t have your blood on my hands because you harassed me into coming and then didn’t follow my commands.” Hadrell looks at me like he expects me to protest.
Instead, my cock twitches in interest.
“That won’t be an issue. I promise to listen,” I say, voice sounding hoarse.
“We’ll need to set some ground rules for what happens while we’re there.” Again, they say it like they think I’ll balk at the thought.
I nod. “Okay. Whatever you need me to do, I will.”
“See? He’s a natural.” Rema’s voice pierces through the cloud of lust wrapping around my mind, and I flush as I remember we’re having this conversation in the mess hall in front of the whole crew.
I step back and return to my seat beside Val, taking a swig of my water to cool off.
“It’s very noble of you to offer assistance to the captain,” she says cheerily. “I’m happy to watch this sweet girl while you’re away from the ship. And of course, if anything were to happen…”
God, I hadn’t even thought about that. I’m a terrible pet parent, running off into danger right after I finally get one.
“I, uh, I appreciate that.” I pointedly ignore her worried expression.
“Rema, I’ll need you to provide as much information about the club as you can given your…experience there. Bret’u, I’ll need antidotes and a vial of the stuff we used on the Draxon job. Yaz, you’ll be on standby in case things go really poorly and we need help with an extraction. Tari, double-check ship systems for any issues and get them taken care of. Val, chart a jump ahead of time to another sector, so we’re ready if there’s a hot exit.”
I watch in awe as Hadrell lists off tasks to their crew, and they accept their assignments. Their ability to command and coordinate things is impressive. I love how they don’t hesitate and no one questions them, because they know Hadrell has things under control.
God, they’re sexy.
“Paul, you’re with me.”
I startle and pull my gaze from where I’m watching Hadrell’s lips as he speaks. “Oh! Right.” I stand up so fast I almost knock my tray over, and Leilit gives a disgruntled squeak and scurries up onto my shoulder.
Once I’ve set my dirty dishes in the auto-washer, I nervously trail after a waiting Hadrell toward the lift. “Are we going to do some more combat training?” I ask as we step inside.
“No.” Tension ripples off of them in waves as they press the button for the upper deck.
Shit, are they taking me back to their quarters to tell me off for insisting on going with them? I’d understand if they did. I don’t know what came over me, but I don’t regret offering to help. This is one of the few ways I can actually be useful to them, and I won’t let them go into danger knowing that if I don’t help, it could end in disaster.
“I understand if you’re mad at me,” I murmur.
They blink down at me in surprise, and a slight smile curves their lips. Hadrell reaches out and cups my cheek. “I’m not mad. Scared? Yes. But not mad.”
“It’s your fault, you know,” I say, trying to tease him a bit to help break the tension.
The lift ascends and they tilt their head at me. “What is?”
I attempt to give them a cocky smile, like they’ve flashed me many times. “My unearned confidence that I’ll be able to help you, of course.”
“Hah! Oh, that. Yes. I didn’t expect you to take my rambling about embracing delusion to heart.”
We both laugh as we step out of the lift, and Leilit purrs against my shoulder like she’s trying to join in. It’s possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever experienced. Once we’re back in Hadrell’s quarters, I set her down in her makeshift crate bed and sprinkle out a few nutrition pellets, which she happily starts eating.
“If you get a chance, can you load some info onto a data tab for me about taking care of flesstra? I’m not sure how much she’s supposed to eat, or where, uh, she should relieve herself. ”
“Why don’t you just…” Hadrell’s brow pinches together. “ Vash-ka , I never gave you your comm back.”
I laugh awkwardly. “No. I didn’t want to bring it up in case…”
At first it was because I knew he’d say no. That he didn’t trust me not to signal for help.
Then, it was that I hoped he’d say yes, and I was scared to find out he still didn’t trust me.
They sigh. “I’m an idiot. I’ll go get it from Yaz.” They move to the door, but I reach out and grab their arm to stop them.
“I don’t need it right away. It would be nice to have, but I assume you brought me up here for a reason other than researching flesstra care?”
“Right. Yes.”
A long silence passes. Hadrell’s gaze flicks up and down me multiple times, and he shifts his weight from foot to foot.
“Care to elaborate?” I prompt.
“I need to train you,” they say softly.
“Up here?”
“Yes.”
I take way too long to realize what they’re saying. “Oh! Train me on how to act when we go to that club. Duh. Of course, that sounds great. I mean, not great, but like it’s a good idea.”
He watches me as I ramble, a small smile twisting his lips. When I finally stop talking, he sits down on the edge of the bed and pats the empty space next to him.
Swallowing hard, I join him.
“Paul, you said before that you didn’t feel coerced into doing something because of the imbalance of power between us. I trust you to be honest with me about that.” They let out a long sigh and their fingers twitch against their thigh. “This job goes far beyond that. When we’re at the club, you’ll need to be my submissive. I’ll control everything you do, and you won’t be able to tell me no. In theory, this kind of kink event should have safewords, but I know the type of scum we’re trying to blend in with. They won’t respect that. You’ll need to obey me no matter what.”
There must be something wrong with me, because the thought doesn’t frighten or upset me. In fact, I’m hot all over at the idea of being Hadrell’s to do anything they please with. “I can handle that,” I say, thickly.
“I’ll do everything in my power to not push you too far. I should be able to convince them you’re my pampered pet, so anything extreme wouldn’t be enjoyable for me to subject you to. I won’t harm you. I promise.”
I reach out and rest my hand on theirs. “I trust you.”
Their throat works and they take a moment before they continue. “If we screw this up, or give them any reason to think we’re there for something other than enjoying the club, you could get hurt. Or worse.”
There’s a spike of fear at their dire tone, but it only makes me more certain I need to go with them. Yeah, I might not want to put myself in danger, but if I don’t, it will be far riskier for Hadrell. I can’t imagine Yaz selling the idea of him being under Hadrell’s control.
“Then let’s practice.” I squeeze their hand, then stand. My cheeks burn as I shuck my shirt for the second time this cycle, but I don’t shy away from looking at Hadrell. “I’ve never done this before. Been a submissive, that is. I’ve had sex! Lots of sex. Though, that was with humans, so…”
Their mouth twists into a smile and I swallow heavily, my cock thickening against my leg. “Anyway, I’m sure I’ll figure it out. How should we start? ”
Hadrell thinks for a moment, and I clasp my hands in front of my crotch so it’s not obvious how hard I am already.
“We need a safeword.”
My brow furrows. “But I thought I wouldn’t be able to use one.”
Hadrell stands and closes the gap between us in a rush that makes me take a startled half step back. “Two things. One, we’re not at the club yet. Your safety and comfort are nonnegotiable while we practice.”
I nod, a shiver going down my spine at their proximity and the rough command in their tone.
“Two, starting now, you don’t get to question me. Not without my permission, at least. You say ‘yes, sir’, ‘no, sir’, or ‘may I ask something, sir?’. Or you use your safeword.”
Fuck, my cock bucks as they lay out the rules for me. Why does this turn me on so much? I meet their gaze, nerves and excitement swelling within me. “Yes, sir.”
There’s a flare of light behind their natural eye and their devilish smile returns. “This is going to be easy for you, isn’t it? You’ll enjoy it?”
Their questions are teasing, but there’s a touch of sincerity to them. It makes my desire that much stronger, knowing he genuinely cares about me liking this.
I fight against the breathy shake in my voice and reply as firmly as I can. “Yes, sir.”
“What safeword would you like to use?”
I want to make a quip about him putting me on the spot, but the way he looks at me leaves no room for sass. This is important to Hadrell, so it’s important to me.
My mind unfortunately is blank beyond my building arousal, so I scan the room, looking for anything that could work.
“Pellet?” I ask, eyes landing on the container of nutritional pellets on the table. “Sorry, that’s awful. Uh, what about… helix?” I’m not sure why that word is the one I pull from the recesses of my mind, but anything is better than pellet.
Hadrell’s lip twitches, the only outward sign of his amusement. “Helix works. Use it whenever you need to stop. Until you get used to this kind of game, I’ll also check in if you say ‘stop’ or tell me you don’t want something.”
Now all I’m thinking about is what kind of scenario I’d be in where I’d ever want Hadrell to stop. Nothing comes to mind. All the same, it seems wise to have the word just in case.
There’s a petty flare of jealousy inside me, knowing they’re experienced enough to know the ground rules. That they’ve most likely played this kind of game many times before.
“Tell me your safeword, Paul,” Hadrell rasps, cutting through my possessive thoughts.
I meet their gaze, silently wishing they’d kiss me. Grab me and push me against the wall and…
Hadrell raises an expectant brow.
“H-Helix.”
“Good.” He steps back and sits down on the bed again, his legs spreading wide. “While we’re there, I’ll call you ‘pet’ or ‘human’. Will either of those names bother you?”
“No, sir.” It’s a little weird to become someone’s pet right after I got my own actual pet, but the difference between the two dynamics is clear enough that it won’t bother me.
“Kneel for me, pet.”
Their command is a soft, coaxing caress that makes my limbs weak as molten warmth spreads through me. It’s so easy to obey. I drop to my knees between their spread legs, looking up at them eagerly for their next command.
“Very good. Such a good pet.” They reach out and run their long, elegant fingers through my hair, their talons scraping lightly against my scalp.
I know logically it should feel demeaning, being pet like a dog, but fuck, it’s perfect. “Thank you, sir,” I murmur, fighting against the urge to lean into their touch.
“Stars, you’re even prettier like this than I imagined,” they murmur, stroking their thumb across my cheek and snagging it on my lower lip.
My entire body flushes at his praise. He’s imagined this? God, I wish I could ask him about that.
“Most of the time, you’ll be like this,” he explains, running his hand through my hair again. “You’ll either be at my feet or on my lap. It’s up to you what kind of pet you’d like to be for me. If you’re well-behaved, I’ll pet and praise you. If you’re needy and want my attention, I’ll either indulge or gently correct you. If you misbehave, I’ll need to punish you. Which of those do you want to try?”
Desires war within me. Something about Hadrell’s praise makes me light up inside, but when I imagine them making me do something because I was naughty, that also sends a pulse of heat through me. “I want to be good…but I also like the idea of you, uh, disciplining me,” I reply hoarsely.
They grab my chin and tilt my head up so I meet their assessing gaze. “What kind of discipline?”
“I don’t think I’d want pain. I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime,” I say with a slight wince. “Maybe you telling me I’m bad, if I make a mistake? Making me do something demeaning or, uh, you using me.” Putting voice to fantasies I didn’t even recognize I had until I got on my knees before Hadrell is terrifying and thrilling.
Hadrell lets out a low groan, pushing away any concern I had that I shouldn’t have shared those desires with them.
“Such a good pet, telling me what you want,” they murmur, stroking my hair again.
My eyes shut at the dual sensation of their praise and touch. My body is thrumming with an odd mixture of languid relaxation and arousal that I’ve never experienced before.
Neither one of us speaks for a while, Hadrell letting me sink deeper into this bliss. After a bit, though, a concern nags at the edges of my thoughts. I open my eyes again and look up at him, realizing I’ve leaned my cheek against his thigh in my stupor.
Hadrell smiles down at me indulgently and something squeezes in my chest that has nothing to do with a game or my arousal.
“May I ask a question, sir?” I ask, voice hesitant for fear of breaking the spell they’ve cast on me.
“Yes, pet,” they purr, tilting their head as they look down at me.
“What do you get out of this part of the game? When we’re not… when you’re not…”
“When I’m not using you for my pleasure?” they ask, finishing my question for me when I struggle to get it out.
I nod and they let out a low chuckle. “Oh, Paul, it’s all pleasurable for me. Being able to touch you however I want. Having you close to me like this, trusting me to take care of you. Holding the power you’ve given me is a heady gift. Never mind how wet it makes me, having such a strong, capable person at my feet.”
My breath hitches at their words. All I can think of now is tasting the slick between their thighs and finding out if their teasing at the bar held any truth.
I nuzzle my nose further up their thigh, inhaling deeply to try to catch a hint of their arousal. When it washes over my senses, I groan and look up at them, desperate. “Please, sir.” My voice is a breathy whine I don’t recognize.
Their hooded gaze flickers with heat and their hand tangles in my hair, pulling tight enough to send light prickles of pain scattering across my scalp, shocking me with how much I enjoy the sensation. “What are you begging for, pet?”
“I want to please you, sir.” I wet my lips as I gaze up at him. “I want to make you feel good.”
Their brow furrows and they pull me off their thigh, pushing me back hard enough that I have to catch myself on my arms. “Such a needy pet,” they murmur, a hint of chastisement in their tone. It stings, but makes my cock throb and leak pre-cum.
“I’m sorry, sir,” I pant, resisting the urge to move back to where I was and bury my face between their thighs.
“You need to prove to me how good you can be before you get a reward.” They grin down at me. “Stand up and take off your pants.”