“Oh, can’t I take one myself, though?” I asked. “I mean, you don’talwayshave to bathe me, do you?”
Sir frowned.
“I most certainlydo, little one. You agreed as your part of our bargain to continue your pet training. Tell me—do you have any pets back home on Earth that bathe themselves?”
“Well…no,” I grumbled. “But I just thought—”
“Are you going to abide by our deal?” Sir asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
I sighed.
“Yes, Sir. I will.”
“Good. Then let me finish applying these wraps and we’ll put you in the tub,” he said agreeably.
I wanted to complain, but I realized I really couldn’t. I had basically traded away the rights to my bodily autonomy in order to take a chance on saving my galaxy. Well, at least I had a noble cause to let my Master handle my body and get me all hot and bothered, I thought. Though I was afraid being intimate with him was going to make it harder to leave him in the end.
But hard or not, Iwillleave him and Iwillgo back to Earth when all this is over,I promised myself.There’s no way I’m spending the rest of my life as an Alien Overlord’s pet!
I was certain of that.
TWENTY-ONE
SIR
Little one was silent after we struck our bargain but I could almost see the neurons in her brain firing as I applied the rest of the healing wraps. She was determined to resist me—determined that after we made our presentation in Court, she would be going back to her home world of Earth.
I was equally determined that she would not. I was going to tie her to me in every possible way, I vowed to myself. And I was no longer going to be giving her regular pet training. I was going to train her as my Sex Pet—that would deepen the intimacy between us and grow the Master/pet bond much faster.
And whether she knew it or not, that bond had already begun to grow. The fact that she had smelled another Korrigon male and found his scent repugnant proved that. Shadrack—the pet stealing bastard—hadn’t smelled of anything much in particular. Maybe some sweat, but nothing like the “rotten fish” odor little one had described. She was disgusted byhimbecause she was already beginning to bond tome.
Knowing that made my heart swell in my chest. She would be mine—mineforever, whispered a possessive little voice in my head. No matter what bargain we had made, I would never,everlet her go.
I was certain of that.
TWENTY-TWO
ELLI
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 youpromisenot to cut it again.”
“I promise,” I said indignantly. “IsaidI’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?”