10. Seth
ten
Seth
T he leather collars sit in the middle of our bed. The same place they've been since Adam brought them in and threw them there. His eyes were rimmed red, and his emotions were volatile, so I didn't ask him any questions. I let him stalk to the bathroom and turn the water on. There was heaving, but he wanted to pretend it wasn't happening, so I let him.
Now, I'm sitting at the end of the bed, staring at the collars, waiting for Ixor, the space pirate captain, to message us back and checking Adam's emotions every few seconds to make sure he's not about to go nuclear.
The bathroom door slides open after being closed for more than an hour. I want to turn and look at Adam, but he's not okay still, and I'm not trying to make him face things he's not ready for.
I don't even understand why he brought these collars into our room. He doesn't even look at his scars, so I don't know why he thought bringing a collar into this whole thing was a good idea.
"Have you looked up anything about Haventh culture?" Adam asks, swiping the comm tablet off the bed next to me before I can answer.
What does Haventh culture have to do with the collars? Maybe he wants to focus more on helping Essa than the objects taking up space on our bed right now.
"Not very much," I answer. "I looked up a little when I learned that's what Essa was. They have a caste system in place, with the ruling families controlling much of what happens in the different territories. Most of them are nonmonogamous, which is a plus for us if we want to add her to our relationship, but there was talk about upper classes having harems and concubines. I didn't get that much into it because I wasn't sure what caste Essa fell into or if she still practiced things the same since she's been gone for so long."
"Yeah, well, it turns out she's from a ruling family, basically royalty, so here," Adam snarls as he says the words, thrusting the comm tablet back into my hand.
I look at the screen, my brows pulling together as I read. The article is titled 'Concubines in Haventh Society.' I skim over the text, unsure of what this has to do with us until I get a little further in.
'Many Haventh families in the ruling classes reestablish and grow their power by intermingling with other ruling families. It is not uncommon for the children of one ruling family to be promised to another. These pairings might be love matches, but more often than not, they are purely for political, economic, or societal gain. To counteract the negative realities of these pairings, Havenths have been firm supporters of having more than one partner. In ruling-class families, these additional partners are known as concubines. They do not receive the same benefits as the married partner, though these additional partners can come from any class.'
'To become a concubine to a Haventh in a ruling class family, one must offer themselves completely to the Haventh they are seeking out. It is up to the Haventh to decide if they do or do not accept the other as a concubine. If they are accepted, the Haventh will bite them to inject them with their venom, securing their safety in not being intoxicated by anyone else. Then they will collar them so others know the concubine is accepted, cared for, and granted all rights the family has dedicated to concubines.'
I look up at Adam, noting how his nostrils flare when he looks at the collars on our bed. I'm not fond of the idea of putting another collar on, but Adam said we were doing anything to help Essa. We don't back down just because of a little bit of leather. Plus, our collars at the labs were cold and metallic. At least these don't look like they'll cut into us, and there are no needles that'll sink into our skin to keep them embedded in our necks.
"You said we'd do anything."
I wait for Adam to look at me before continuing. His heart is racing, and his breathing is uneven. He's horrified about putting a collar back on, terrified that it means he's failed me.
That's what helps me ask the next question and know I'll be okay no matter the answer. "Are you still okay with doing anything to help her?"
Adam stares at me for long seconds, the sound of his heartbeat loud and thumping in my head as he tries to decide if he's willing to do this. If he's willing to let me do this.
There's a lot he isn't scared of. A lot that doesn't set off his self-preservation instincts. Losing me and putting me in danger all bring him to the peak of fear, and I don't even think he realizes it. He's probably thinking he's just really, really angry. He can't see that that's fear and won't allow himself to go there.
"Anything," Adam says, the word rough and strained as he forces it out. I clap him on the shoulder and grab one of the collars. If we're going to do this, I need to get him desensitized to the idea.
"You know the game plan?" I double-check with Adam as he looks at himself in the mirror.
He's preening. I don't even know if he registers that's what he's doing, but I've never once seen him mess with his hair as much as he is right now. It's not even long enough to do anything other than just be there, so I don't know what he thinks he's doing to it. I have to force myself not to mention it because I might scare him into not leaving the bedroom.
"Ixor and his crew will be here in about an hour to transport us to Haven III. Before that happens, we have to ask to be Essa's concubines so we can go with her to keep her safe. Then we do just that," Adam says, nodding at himself in the mirror before turning to face me.
I'm holding both collars we stole from Essa's room. Over the last two days, I've been making Adam touch them. Yesterday, he went to the bathroom and put it on for a little while. He didn't let me see it on him, but I praised him in his mind, hoping he understood that I knew it was hard for him, but I was proud he was trying.
When he saw me put mine on last night to see his reaction, he might have freaked out more than either of us would've liked. That's going to be the hardest part for him. I'm hoping when he sees that we're not in any pain and that no one is going to hurt us, he'll be able to calm down.
"Phial promised to have Essa in the entertainment room for us," I say, looking at the time on our comm screen.
If he's a man of his word, she'll be in there now, which means we need to head that way soon. Essa still needs to bite me. I'm hoping the effects won't last as long as they do with Adam. If we're going to Haven III, I don't want to be drugged when we get there.
"Okay." Adam brushes his hands down the thighs of his jeans and motions for us to head out.
I let him lead, knowing this is harder for him than me, mainly due to the collars. He'll be fine. I know he will, so long as no one brings up that he's scared of the collars. If that happens, he might try to overcompensate his fear by doubling down with anger.
The chains that connect to the rings at the front of each leather collar clink softly in my hand, and I try to quiet the sound as we walk. I'm not nearly as worried about putting the collar on as I should be. Maybe it's residual trauma from having the metal collars, or perhaps I can separate them easily enough to know these leather collars are nothing like the suffocating metal collars that demanded submission.
"I'm leaving, Phial." Essa's voice is loud on the other side of the entertainment room doors. "I need to find transport to Haven III because you can't drop me off there. I can't risk the ship being detained and all of you along with it."
"Just one more moment," Phial says.
I'd love to hear his excuse for needing her to wait with him, but this is important, and we should get it done. Essa doesn't need to worry about finding transport to Haven III because Adam and I have already secured it.
Sure, we might've used our favor up with the space pirates. If this all goes south, we'll need to find a new way to get somewhere where we'll never be found out to be clones, but the more pressing issue is getting Essa's sister away from a marriage she doesn't want. Not to mention making sure Essa doesn't do something stupid like marrying the male herself.
Adam squares his shoulders as he walks through the entertainment room door. He wears a hard look on his face, but his heart and his breathing betray him. The sooner we put a collar on him, the sooner he can get used to it and see that it's not the same as the one the scientists put on us.
"What are you—?" Essa's question cuts off when I follow in behind Adam, with the collars in my hands and a half smile on my lips as she takes in what exactly is about to happen.
"I can leave now, yes?" Phial asks, not waiting for an answer before scurrying out of the entertainment room.
That's fine. We don't need him for what's about to happen, and we've already gotten approval from the rest of the crew. Not that we need it because we're going to do this with or without their approval. It does make everything easier if we're all working toward the same common goal.
"What are you two doing?" Essa manages to get the question out this time, her yellow eyes bright as they track between the two of us rapidly, as if this is all some kind of joke we're playing on her.
"We need to ask you a question," I say, letting the smile grow on my lips at the teasing.
Adam huffs beside me, not liking that anyone gets any of my flirting other than him. He'll be fine once everything's settled, but he's more jealous than anything else right now, which works out since it's overriding his worry about wearing the collar.
Essa shakes her head, not registering or letting herself get too hopeful about the question we need to ask. "Where did you get those? They're mine."
"Pretty sure we want them to be ours, Essa," I tell her, taking another step toward her. I offer Adam one of the collars as I step around him, and he takes it with a scowl.
"I don't understand." Essa's voice is barely a whisper as she stops herself from reaching out to me.
I take a few more steps until I'm right in front of her, and her tail moves to lash around my ankle before she can stop it. It causes my smile to grow and her emotions to become even more tumultuous. She really doesn't understand what we're doing right now, and it'd be cute if it didn't make me hate whoever made her think she doesn't deserve the things she wants.
I kneel and look up at Essa, waiting for her to run her fingers through my hair. According to our research, there's a specific process involved in being accepted as a Haventh concubine. Essa doesn't make me wait long before her slender golden fingers run through my curls. She has one more finger than us, which is startling, but makes for even more head scratches. She grabs the strands toward the crown of my head, giving them a soft, reassuring squeeze.
"What do you wish of me?" She murmurs the question so easily that I wonder if she wants this as badly as we do.
Adam can say all day long we're only doing this to help Essa, but something deep inside me wants this reassurance to be claimed and marked and for everyone to know I'm cared for. Adam will always protect me, and Essa wants to protect us both. She can, too.
That's what I like the most about this whole thing. I want the people closest to me to keep me safe, to make sure no one recaptures me or forces me into more experiments. Essa's the safest creature I've ever been around, and that's saying something since I know Adam would lay down his life to keep me safe.
"I wish to be yours," I tell her, the words heavy with lust as I say them.
I knew this would be an intimate moment, and Essa and I haven't done anything besides touch Adam together. This binding that's about to happen, though? It's getting me all kinds of worked up, which is unfortunate since there's nothing to be done about it yet. We don't have long until Ixor and his crew are here to get us to Haven III.
Essa kneels in front of me, her hand still in my hair as she brings her face closer to mine. She studies my face, and I offer her as much openness as I can in my expression. It's fast and irrational, but I want this with or without needing to go to Haven III to save her sister. It just sped up the process of getting Adam to accept it, too.
"You will be mine," she says, her hand leaving my hair so she can grab the collar from my hands.
She's shaking as she loops it around my neck, her fingers tracing over some of the puckered white scars from the slave collar. Her pupils constrict into tiny slits, so I raise my hands to cover hers, hoping to help ease some of her fury at what was done to us. Her eyes soften as she buckles the collar around my neck, checking to make sure it's not too tight. She twines the slim chain around her hand and tugs on it, pulling me forward so I fall to my hands, my face close to hers as amusement sparkles in her eyes.
"You will tell me who gave you your scars, and you will allow me to right the wrongs done to you," she says with a smile, her words sincere.
She's not leaving room for any argument. She's telling me what's going to happen, and it has me aching hard in my pants. Not to mention how I pulse every time her fangs flash or her tongue slides around them to whisk away excess venom. She wants to bite me, take care of me, and hurt anyone who ever hurt me. I don't think I could ask for anything better. No, I could, and it's about to happen.
Essa helps me to my feet and clips the end of the chain of my collar to a loop on her belt. According to everything we read, we'll only need to be leashed when Essa wants it and to keep us safe on Haven III. She'll probably have us leashed the whole time to make sure everyone knows we're claimed. Right now, I think she just likes knowing that I'm hers, which is fine.
I move around behind her, noticing that the chain gives me about six feet of distance from her. She frowns at the distance as she tugs me closer, looping the chain around until she's happy with me standing only a foot away and refastening it to her belt. I smile at her, needing me to be close, and then move my attention to Adam, who's watching us with narrowed eyes and thin lips. Oh, he's mad.
Essa watches him for long moments, her tail firmly wrapped around my ankle, her fingers playing with the chain falling from her belt and linking us together. She tilts her head to the side when Adam's nostrils flare, his lips pulling back in a snarl.
"We're not fighting," Essa says, calm like she knows exactly how to tame Adam when he's all snarly and angry. Maybe she does, which would be amazing since the only way I know to get him to calm down is to suck his dick.
"We could fight," Adam says, his fingers twitching by his sides, curling into fists the longer he stares at us.
"Do you fight all the females you're attracted to, or is it just me?"
"You must be special," Adam admits with a long exhale.
His eyes close, and he squeezes the collar so tight his knuckles turn white. When he opens his eyes again, he's resigned himself to what he needs to do. His throat bobs with a thick swallow as he lowers himself to his knees.
Essa wastes no time closing the distance between them, and I match her pace, not wanting my leash to tighten and make her hesitate in offering comfort to Adam during this difficult moment. Her fingers splay over his dark hair, scraping at the back of his neck since she can't pull on his hair like she did for me. Adam's eyes close at the sensation, but his heartbeat calms. His breathing grows heavier instead of the rapid in and out he tried to make appear normal. She's good for him, even if he hates admitting it to himself.
"What do you wish of me?" Essa asks, her voice soft and comforting, the same tone she uses when he's drugged up and she's being sweet to him.
He melts into her touch, and if it were just the two of them and Adam could get out of his head, I'm sure he'd be whimpering for her like he does when her venom is coursing through his veins.
Adam opens his eyes, dark and burning, and yearning for Essa. I wish I could show him what he looks like when he looks at her because maybe he'd stop with the whole front of not being as attached as he is. No one who sees him looking at her would ever think he's not infatuated, maybe even working on falling in love with her.
"I wish to be yours," Adam whispers, the words so quiet I don't hear them. I just feel the way his emotions lift, the joy that zips through his body as the words are released into the world.
Essa kneels and I'm left standing over them, watching as she places her hands on the collar clenched in Adam's fist. She doesn't pry it from his fingers or drop his eyes as she holds him. His jaw works back and forth as he swallows another lump in his throat.
"You will be mine, Adam," Essa murmurs as she wraps her fingers around the collar and gives it a soft tug.
Adam releases the collar, even if the movements are jerky, and his lips pull back in another snarl. He bares his teeth at Essa, his emotions spiking hard with fear.
She keeps the collar in her hands, though, lowered between them as she tries to calm him. Her fingers play over his dark hair, her lips moving close to his ear to whisper something to him that I'm not privy to. I watch them together, watch Adam's features soften, listen as his heartbeat slows again and his emotions level out.
Essa moves her hand in his hair to around his neck, placing soft touches along his scars like she did for me. She doesn't tell Adam he'll tell her who did it to him because she's already made that promise to him. She made it the first day she met us, and I don't think she's a female to break her word.
"If you want it off, you may take it off," Essa says as she raises the collar to his throat and holds it in place. She doesn't start working on the buckles. She holds it there to let Adam feel it against his neck. "You wear this only when you can. If anyone ever tells you differently, you tell them they can discuss it with me."
Adam nods, his nostrils flaring as the buckle clinks. Essa fiddles with it, not doing anything but showing Adam that it's there. When he doesn't object, she pushes the leather through the buckle and secures it around Adam's neck. She checks for tightness and then keeps her hands on his throat as she searches his face for any signs of discomfort.
"Do you wish to wear this now?" she asks, moving one hand to the front of the collar, where the thin silver chain dangles.
"I need to," Adam says, his words holding more vulnerability than I think I've ever heard from him.
I keep my expression neutral so he doesn't get self-conscious. I want to tell him I'm proud of him for doing something that makes him uncomfortable and that he's amazing for doing this because it's what he wants, even if it scares him. Now's not the time. There'll be plenty of time for Essa and me to lavish him with praise once we tell her our plan.
"You need to do nothing," Essa says, her hand moving up to cup his chin, forcing his eyes into hers. I wonder if she doesn't get off on the fact that she's stronger than us and could manhandle us into doing whatever she wants. Not to mention the venom that makes us compliant.
"He actually does." I clear my throat, hoping not to startle them out of this moment together. "Our ride to Haven III will be here in less than an hour. If he's to look like the collar is wanted, he should get used to it while we're in the comfort of our ship."
Essa stands, her hand on Adam's chain loosening so she doesn't jerk him. She attaches it to her belt on the other side of where mine is connected, but Adam's chain isn't shortened. No, she allows him to move around with the entire length of the chain. He uses it to stumble over to the couch to sit down, his face a mixture of panic and anger as he lets me do the talking.
"How do you know about Haven III?" Essa asks, her pupils constricting as she looks at me, causing me to lower my head in submission. She should point that look over at Adam. It'd get him hard and maybe get his mind off the collar.
"It doesn't matter how we know. It just matters that we do," I tell her, trying not to let the fear tickling my spine worry me more than necessary.
Essa won't hurt me. No, she's just upset right now because we went from asking her to claim us to telling her we're going with her to her planet, where she's going to stop her sister from marrying some male by marrying him herself.
"We've secured a ship to take us to Haven III. This way, you aren't going alone."
Essa takes a deep breath and tugs on my chain until I'm standing right in front of her. My eyes are still cast down, but she fixes that with her hand under my chin. When I look up, her scariness is gone, replaced by a look of admiration.
"You did this for me?"
Adam makes an unhappy sound from the couch, and we both turn to face him. "Now's not the time to decipher what we would or wouldn't do for you, Essa. Bite him so your venom is in his system."
Essa's hold on my chin falls to my neck, tilting my head to the side as she lowers her mouth to the leather collar, tracing it with her nose. I groan, my cock twitching in my pants.
Adam's off the couch as soon as he hears it, his chain clinking softly as he grabs Essa's neck and pulls her off me. There's a challenge on both of their faces, and it's easily the hottest thing I've ever seen in my life.
Adam's fingers tighten on the back of her neck as he moves her from my neck to my shoulder and urges her mouth to it. Essa's lips kick up in a smile, her fangs pressing harshly into her lower lip. Adam watches those fangs with lust, but it's not his turn to get bitten.
Essa waits only a moment longer before sinking her teeth into my shoulder. There's a minor pinch before my whole body relaxes, the world grows fuzzy, and I melt into Essa's hold.