“Wait,” I called hesitantly as he reached the doorway. “Sir, I don’t…don’t know how much you know about how…how he caught me. I just…”
I trailed off when he turned back, his eyes flashing from full-black to full-white for just a moment.
“I knoweverything.” His voice was a low, rumbling growl. “But we will not speak of it. Not yet.”
Then he walked through the doorway, leaving me on the bed, wondering if I was about to get crumpled up like the metal gate back in the spaceport.
NINETEEN
SIR
Iwas so angry I could barely speak. At my rival, the Overlord of the Southern Continent—the greedy bastard was always looking for new worlds to exploit and ruin! At the fucking Pet Finder scum who had nearly stolen little one from me and who had hurt her delicate little body. And yes, I admitted to myself, I was angry at little one herself.
How dare she run away from me like that and put herself into harm’s way? I could have lost her forever—she might have been sold to another and formed a bond with some other Master!
The very thought of it—of my own little pet forming a bond and asexualbond at that—with some other male, made me angriest of all. So angry that I had broken my personal rules against Mental Manipulation not once buttwicein the space of the pastahrn.
What the fuck was wrong with me? I had never felt this possessive of a female before. I had already had two matings—this was called for, to try and produce an heir for my throne. Neither had resulted in children, however, and I had parted with both of the HighBorn females I had mated with amicably after our respective contracts had expired.
Those women had been my equals—women of my own rank and species and yet I had left them without a second glance and no emotional pain whatsoever. Not so with little one. The thought of her with another male drove me nearlycrazywith possessive anger. What was wrong with me, to care so much for a female who was nothing but a pet?
I had no answers as I stalked into the food prep area and over to the Matter Synthesizer. I jammed the Control band over my temples and closed my eyes, but my first few attempts to get healing wraps came out like badly formed lumps of clay.
I took some deep breaths, trying to calm myself. I couldn’t heal little one unless I could clear my mind to interface with the Matter Synthesizer, I reminded myself. And we would deal with her escape attempt later. Right now I just needed to synthesize some healing wraps for her face.
At last I managed to get what I wanted. I was feeling a good deal calmer as I finally pulled the plate holding the wraps out of one of the Synthesizer’s doors and went back to the sleeping chamber.
I would heal her first and we would deal with everything else afterwards.
TWENTY
ELLI
Iwatched Sir warily as he came back into the room. He was holding a silver plate that had what appeared to be some white bandages folded on it. I thought maybe his face looked calmer as he sat beside me on the bed and beckoned for me.
“Sit up, little one. Let me apply these healing wraps.”
I just lay there, frozen to the spot. Ever since he had told me he knew “everything” about my escape attempt, I had been wondering if I ought to hide under the bed. Only knowing that his arms were quite long enough to pull me out kept me from trying to get away.
“Well?” Sir frowned. “Are you afraid to approach me now?”
“Can you blame me?” I whispered through numb lips. “After all that stuff I just saw you do with your mind? You’re like a cross between an X-man and a Sith Lord! OfcourseI’m freaking scared of you.”
Sir sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face, producing a scratchy sound when his fingers ran over the stubble on his jaw.
“Listen to me, little one—I don’t normally use my abilities in that fashion. I should not have done so but seeing you lying on the ground, obviously hurt, frightened and enraged me.” He shook his head. “All I could think of was getting to you…and punishing the bastard who had hurt you.” He looked at me directly. “But I would never…neveruse my abilities to harm you. You have my word on that.” His voice dropped to a gentler tone. “Now please…let me heal you.”
“Um…okay.” Cautiously, I sat up and scooted a little closer to him, though I wasn’t sure I should. “So…how do you do all that? I mean, manipulate things with your mind?” I asked curiously.
“It’s a talent most HighBorn Korrigans are born with,” he said. Cupping my wounded left cheek in one big hand, he looked at me with concern. “Poor little one…your sweet face…”
“I’ll be okay,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if I would. If Shadrack had really cracked my cheekbone, wouldn’t I need some kind of surgery for that? I had no idea but it really hurt—the whole left side of my face was throbbing like a rotten tooth.
“You will be after I use the healing wraps on you,” Sir assured me.
Unfolding one of the white bandages from the silver plate, he began applying it delicately to my face. The bandage felt slightly damp and stuck to my skin like glue.
“Don’t play with them,” Sir ordered, when I reached up to touch the one over my cheekbone hesitantly. “They’ll fall off once they’ve done their job.”