Chapter 40 Today, Eve #2
The trainer’s voice grows grudging. “Better. At the Championships, trainers are scored on duration. Hold a male pet between twenty and fifty strokes before climax, you gain a point. Between fifty and one hundred, you gain two. Over one hundred, three points and prestige. This one usually loses me points.”
His cock is hot and slippery in my fist, twitching wildly now. Within seconds, the man bucks and then his come spills over my hand, thick and hot.
“Forty-five. Still not worthy of two points, but much better than his usual disgrace. Perhaps your human receptionist has her uses after all.”
I make eye contact with Rafe as laughter ripples from the other trainers.
His silver eyes meet mine, and I see the thought form on his face: she just broke the rules I never gave her.
My pulse quickens. I can almost feel his hand in my hair, forcing me to kneel.
I imagine his palm across my ass for daring to show initiative without permission, and then the Venus Lock spikes.
Of course it does. There’s no trying to hide my feelings.
The Sovereigns know I want them. But so does every other woman in this hotel, so it doesn’t make me special.
But what does make me different is that I’m their human liaison, and for the moment, they have a strong interest in me.
A waiter from the Spire hands me a towel to wipe my hand, and I take it, grateful and ashamed of the evidence of what I just did.
Rafe leans over and says, for my ears only, “Clumsy. But it’s sweet in a way, as you’ve clearly never done that before.”
“No, Sovereign. I’ve only read about it in books. The reality was a bit too hands-on.”
The silence that follows is worse than laughter.
“Romance novels,” Lorian says from behind me. “Oh, how I’m going to enjoy teaching you the proper technique.”
“Books or not, you made him last longer than usual, but don’t ever think to experiment without permission my again,” Rafe says.
“Oh, Rafe. I like her little rebellions. Just imagine what else she’s read about in those little romantic books of hers. And how we could reenact so many of those scenes.”
Before I can reply, the trainer Marath is addressing me. "Show me again, with the female this time."
I look at the human woman at my feet and drop to my knees. But before I can touch her with my finger and the medicine, Rafe is forcing me back up.
“Unfortunately, our liaison has to make the rounds and meet the other trainers. Perhaps later she can impress you with her skills,” Rafe says and then, to me, adds, "Come.” Then, he places a hand on my shoulder. "Aefre is here with his champion from last year. We should say hello."
He guides me away, Lorian following. As we walk, I catch glimpses of other humans in various states of display and distress. Some dance, some pose, and some service their trainers. It’s like a Best Pet in Show BDSM Alien Edition.
We find Trainer Aefre in a corner of the atrium, his pets nowhere in sight. He’s one of the premier human pet trainers, and from what I could gather, one of the reasons Tribune Jin Kol’s reports never really question the system directly—only its occasional inefficiencies.
"Keeping your champions hidden?" Lorian asks.
“They’re resting but will join us soon,” Aefre replies.
His green eyes slide over to me, taking in my formal uniform.
“I see you’ve promoted your receptionist to liaison.
In that uniform and with that ornate pin, she almost passes for an ambassador from Earth, if there were such a thing. ” He laughs at his own joke.
“She’s intelligent for a human,” Rafe says as if I’m a dog in service.
Lorian adds, “The IGC has recognized human sentience.”
Aefre waves a hand. “And a dozen other laws still call them property.” Then his gaze pins me to my place, and I feel stripped under it, like he’s measuring me for a collar.
“Your human has a beautiful coloring. The kind that breeds true and strong. Are you going to put her to use? Or just let her sit behind a desk wasting her fertile years?”
My mouth opens, but no words come out. What a bastard.
Aefre continues, “Imagine it. If this little human were trained properly, she could bear a half-dozen litters before her value declines. Imperial buyers would pay extra for her unique stock. I’d wager her first breeding with my Ember would fetch more credits than the union of two champions.”
I feel sick. Did he say, fucking litters? As if I’m a kennel bitch, not a woman standing in a uniform.
“Or perhaps you will keep her for yourselves.” His voice drops lower. “I’ve heard you enjoy breaking in your humans personally. I remember the blonde from last year. But this one, she looks untouched. Are you waiting to mount her after she’s served her official duties for the IGC?”
Mount me? I’m only silent because I’m trying to think of a comeback that won’t see me punished or with a collar around my own neck.
Rafe turns his silver ring, and it catches the light. I know he’s holding something back. He always turns his ring when he’s counting to ten to calm himself.
Lorian smiles a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes as he says, “Trainer Aefre, these are different times, and we never make the same mistake twice. Eve has been fitted with a Venus Lock and is an equal employee under contract here at the Spire. Please treat her as such.”
Aefre looks shocked but still nods and says, “My apologies, Madame Eve. These new laws take some getting used to, especially for men like me.” Then, looking at Lorian he says, “And you’re not worried she’s handing out Terra Ka’s new undetectable tracking chip?”
Lorian laughs and puts a hand possessively on my shoulder. “No. Not at all. After our mistake with Yasmin, we’ve not only vetted our human hires better, which is why we only hired Eve this year, but we’ve also put her under constant surveillance.”
Aefre’s cold eyes look at me again, but he answers Lorian, “Good. No one wants to lose a good pet. We spend years training humans to be the best their species can be. It’s good for the galaxy to see humans can be more than just sex toys.”
That’s it. I’m done with this, I think and then say as calmly as I can, "I understand, Trainer Aefre.” Then look at Lorian and Rafe. “I should check on the arrangements for tomorrow's competitions." I desperately need a breath of fresh air outside of this room. "If you'll excuse me, Sovereigns?"
Rafe nods, giving me permission. “Return as soon as you’re finished. It shouldn’t take longer than twenty minutes. I must introduce you to Tribune Jin Kol.”
As I step out of the atrium, I almost collide with a handler leading two humans on leashes. I glance down, annoyed, then I feel like I must be seeing things. Hallucinating.
I know that face.
Oh, my God. It can’t be.
Briar.
I rub my eyes.
She’s still there.
Fucking Briar. St. Catherine’s golden girl, my nemesis, the one who always had the right answer and the sharper tongue. My bully. The one who used to snatch my diary and read it out loud to the other girls all the while I wanted to die of shame.
And the last time I saw her—what was it, two years ago?
She was still the system’s darling. She’d made it to university, then had landed a fantastic job, and I’d read about her in the newspaper when the mayor had given her an award.
A headline girl. Proof you could escape the gutter.
Proof that I hadn’t, and I hated her for it.
But now—
Her hair has been dyed pink; her body has been mutilated with nipple piercings and a matching pink tail swishing between her legs, like an obscene anime parody. And she’s collared, and chained, an alien trainer’s wet dream, essentially.
Our eyes meet for half a second.
Does she even recognize me in this uniform?
Her handler tugs hard on her leash. “Come on. It’s just the Spire’s pet pretending to be free. She’s not. Keep walking, or I’ll swat your ass.”
Briar stumbles forward.
I stand frozen. My mind is spinning. Part of me wants to laugh, ugly and cruel. Bad things happen to bad people. She tormented me when we were kids, so maybe karma is real?
But the other part of me can’t stop thinking she’s still Briar. An orphan just like me who survived St. Catherine’s. So why should I not feel any less pity for her than for these other humans that are strangers? They could be just as immoral as Briar.
I stand rooted to the spot thinking about this for a second. Then, I decide I need to go back in and find out if that woman with the pink tail is really Briar or if I’m already going insane from all the abuse I’m witnessing.
Back inside the Atrium, the Sovereigns see me and call me over before I can even draw breath.
They are still talking to Aefre, and there’s Briar with them.
She’s that fucker Aefre’s pet. As I walk over, I know my face must be covered in sweat, but I don’t trust my hands not to shake, so I don’t wipe it away.
As I stop and join the conversation, I look at Briar more closely, just to make sure it’s not a doppelg?nger. But nope. It’s her. It’s definitely Briar. The woman I grew up with.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
“I acquired her at the Abyss Nexus from the Octopods for almost nothing. She was literally begging me to take her. And I almost didn’t.
She’d bitten off a human male’s penis in her holding cell.
But, of course, when I found out what the Octopods had done, it all became clearer.
” Aefre strokes Briar’s pink hair like a puppy.
“She’d been put in with the males. Who knows why? ”
“The lower on the hierarchy of Octopods the less likely they are to know the difference between female and male humans,” Lorian says.
“Now that our liaison has returned, we must make the rounds,” Rafe says politely, and we walk away from Aefre and Briar.
Finally, I have to wipe the sweat from my brow, and I do so with a shaky hand while thinking, Are orphans an alien abduction speciality?
“Are you feeling okay?” Rafe asks.
I nod. “Just that medical thing from before. I’m fine.
” I make eye contact with Rafe, and then he looks me up and down as if looking for some damage.
No doubt reviewing in his mind if he’d missed anything in his surveillance.
However, we’re interrupted by an Imperial man with a lot of jewelry before Rafe can finish his assessment.
Tribune Jin Kol. He looks nothing like I imagined from his picture in the database. Why am I not surprised he’s used an enhanced image to make himself look better?
He has very thin lips that are frowning as he looks me over with cold eyes.
“This is Eve Eden, our new liaison,” Rafe says.
Jin Kol lets his gaze drag down my body and back up again. “I preferred the blonde one,” he says flatly.
The blonde one. Denise.
This man isn’t just unimpressed; he’s dismissing me entirely, not because of my performance but because of my appearance.
How is this the man who is supposed to be the champion for humans in the galaxy?
I try again, thinking if I can just begin talking to him, perhaps he’ll become interested in what I have to say.
I try to speak to him, but he ignores me, and I just stand there like an idiot.
But I will not be beaten that easily. I’m not a fucking Labrador for him to walk past in the kennel. If he wants a poodle, fine. I’ll show him human curves he can’t ignore, brown hair or not. I have not put up with all the Sovereigns’ crap to fail now.
The Sovereigns move the conversation forward, but I’m not listening. I’m brainstorming about how I’m going to make Tribune Jin Kol listen to me.
After the trainers’ meeting is over, we have a break before the reception in the ballroom for the VIPs. I have roughly an hour to change my appearance.