“She could be hiding a weapon,” Councilor Bertok said, eyeing her with disdain.
I rolled my shoulders back. “You question my mate?”
“Have you questioned your mate? She has committed a heinous crime on her world. The only punishment she received was to be sent here. Surely Trion is a more advanced and improved world than Earth. How is arriving here enough of a punishment?”
Councilor Bertok needed to retire, for his ways were too archaic. Unfortunately, he didn’t have to play diplomat. I did. What he said was also true. I had yet to ask Eva the details behind her actions. Cold-blooded murder was a grave offense on Trion. Was it so on Earth? What had she done? I would ask her, but I would do it in private. Later.
“Evelyn Day’s crime and punishment were the responsibilities of her world, not ours. She is here as my mate, nothing more. If she is to be punished, it will be because of an infraction here on Trion and I will see to it as her mate.”
The old man stood. “I will not remain while she is free.”
“What do you expect me to do, Councilor Bertok, imprison my mate, the woman sent to me by the Interstellar Bride Program? Would you turn your back on the treaty that keeps all of Trion and hundreds of other worlds safe because you are afraid of a woman? You are the one who wished to see her.”
“She should be kept in chains so our women remain safe. If not, we should all leave.”
Two other councilors also stood and nodded their agreement.
I couldn’t have the men leave. I needed their presence to close out the meetings, for I did not wish to return to Outpost Nine again for another year. And yet I refused to see my mate shackled just for their enjoyment. Discipline was required—when needed—but I was not going to punish Eva solely because of one man’s whim. I would punish Eva when the occasion required, spanking her until she submitted to my hand, but not now, not when she’d done nothing to earn it.
The man was pushing his power onto me via my mate and that was unacceptable. He knew I had to do as he bid. Inwardly, I wanted to rip the man’s head off and place it on a pike, but outwardly, I called for Goran.
“Bring me one of the luminaries.”
Goran probably questioned my request, but remained silent and did as I bid.
Turning to Eva, I said, “Kneel.”
She narrowed her eyes, but complied. Glancing up at me through her lashes, a very carnal image of her in just such a position as she sucked my cock came to mind. Fortunately, Goran returned.
“Remove the light,” I told him, and he removed the glowing portion from the top. I took the pole from him. “Thank you.”
He nodded and retreated.
“Lift the chain from beneath your dress,” I told Eva.
She looked first to the men, then at me. I saw fire in her eyes and for a moment I thought she would disobey, but fortunately, she remained silent and did as I bid again. She lifted the chain from between her breasts and let it hang on the outside of her slip dress. Perhaps, and I would like to hope, her quick response was based on a growing trust between us. I’d said more than once I’d never hurt her and I’d proven that by only touching her in pleasure. Spanking her ass, not once but twice, had been painful to start, but I knew from the way her pussy had been wet, she had liked it. Perhaps it was a poor punishment for someone who liked a hint of pain. Something to consider. Later.
I knelt down and carefully fed the bottom of the pole through the gap between the chain and her body and jabbed it into the ground, wa
tched as it sank and secured itself into the sand. I tugged on it to ensure that it was well placed.
The pole was placed within the circle of the chain and her body. Eva was not going anywhere, unless she decided to shimmy up the long pole to unhook her chain. I doubted she wished to rip her nipple rings from her body. This arrangement allowed her to be confined, yet completely unbound. She was by my side—and modestly covered—where I wanted her and I could easily release her if danger came upon us. A swift yank on the pole and she’d be free.
“Satisfied?” I asked Councilor Bertok.
He pursed his thin lips, but nodded and returned to his seat. He could do nothing else and he knew it. I’d met his requirement, although he had most likely expected me to strip her bare and shackle her in chains. The old fark.
The crisis was averted and yet the cost was solely heaped upon Eva. She kept her head down throughout the remainder of the meeting. She was, no doubt, embarrassed and very angry. While I focused on the agenda at hand, I monitored Eva carefully, assessing she was comfortable. While I was high councilor, I was also her mate and she was my top priority. I had committed myself to my role my entire life. It was time to commit myself to Eva.
As I brought the meeting to a close, one of the head guards ducked into the tent. By the urgency on his face, the sweat that dripped from his brow, something was wrong.
“High councilor, there has been an accident. Several are dead and we have injuries.”
* * *
It was possible I’d been more embarrassed when Goran had watched Tark fuck me, but it had been eased by arousal and ultimately an amazing orgasm. Being forced to sit on the raised platform beside Tark, not as his equal, but clearly as his… woman, or worse, a chained pet, was beyond mortifying. While he hadn’t actually tied me up, handcuffed me, or shackled me as that awful Bertok had wanted, I had been truly trapped. The chain attached to the nipple rings had kept me by the pole just the same. Tark was being considerate, but I was bound nonetheless. I’d fumed over it for the first few minutes of the meeting, but then realized my mate was doing his job.
Variation in custom occurred across Trion as well and Tark had to meet these differences of the councilors. Instead of shackling me, he’d devised a way for me to subjugate myself while providing me some dignity. I knew Tark’s strength and he could easily remove the pole from the sand as quickly as he’d placed it.