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  “The day they got the doors open and freed us, I cried like a baby.”

  DNAmo had grown alarmed after that. They knew they could not release R294E8S into the world, like they did the other Sha reem. If he did frightening things in a more-or-less controlled environment, what would he do when he was free?

  They had staff meetings in which they discussed the termination of the R294E8S experiment.

  Some wanted to give him drugs that would control him permanently. The problem was that someone would have to administer these drugs for the rest of his natural life.

  Some suggested brain surgery, lobotomize him. A pity, because he was so intelligent, but they’d created a monster, and they had to stop him.

  A few went so far as to suggest they give him a lethal injection. A quick jab with a needle, and he’d cease to be a problem. Painlessly.

  Not long after one of these meetings, R294E8S disappeared.

  He had seduced one of the researchers and made her his slave, and the last thing she’d done for him was help him escape.

  They made a panicked search but never found him.

  The news that DNAmo had created a Sha reem they could not control leaked to the press and so to the public.

  DNAmo was condemned by stiff-necked philosophers and the government. They lost money. Lawsuits began to be filed. DNAmo quietly folded, and left the planet and angry shareholders behind.

  They’d never found R294E8S.

  Talan took a deep breath. She searched the files for pictures of this mysterious R294E8S, but there were none.

  She did find a description, Six feet, eight inches tall, muscular, blond hair, blue eyes. Not particularly helpful. Many Sha reem in the records had that description.

  One Sha reem who did fit that description—her Sha reem—was not in the records.

  She looked at the name again.

  R294E8S.

  In her head, she took away the numbers

  RES.

  Rees .

  A strong hand came around her and snapped off the monitor.

  She turned slowly around on her stool. He was standing over her, six feet, eight inches tall, blond hair, blue eyes. He wore his tunic, strained tight over muscle. The thin black chain glistened on his bronze-colored arm.

  She swallowed. “They didn’t even give you a name.”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  They stared at each other for a long time. His eyes were dark blue, watching her.

  “Why did you stay on Bor Narga?” she asked. “Once you were free, why didn’t you go off-planet?”

  “Easier to hide here. Everyone from DNAmo left, and they were the only ones who knew what I looked like.”

  “But you are trapped here.”

  He shook his head again. “At DNAmo, I never went outside. I could look through monitors but never leave the compound. Now, every day I wake up, I can go wherever I want to go, do whatever I want to do. I talk to people, I have friends. Some days, I do absolutely nothing. It’s my choice.”

  Simple words, but she knew they were very important to him.

  “Does anyone else know?”

  “Rio knows.”

  “And he has never betrayed you?”

  “He’s my friend.”

  A simple statement, but an important one.

  “But you have an ident card.” She thought of the two arrogant officers who’d pressed Rio for his ident card and tried to give him a hard time.

  “Yes,” he said calmly. “As Rees. Rio helped me have it made. Few people ask me for it.”

  The officers had been keenly interested in Rio, she remembered, and had barely noticed Rees.

  “Because you do things to their minds.”

  “I persuade them to forget about me,” he acknowledged.

  “You have done things to my mind.”

  He hesitated a long moment, then nodded. “I might have hurt you if I hadn’t.”

  “Then I haven’t really fallen in love with you?”

  His pale gold lashes shielded his eyes. “No.”

  She touched the silver globe that hung around her neck. “When you bought me this, you were just playing with my mind?”

  “I do whatever it takes.”

  Tears stung her eyes. “Why? Why pretend to care?”

  “Because you were an innocent, and I wanted to be gentle.”

  “I suppose Lady Petronella asked you to.”

  “She talked to me, yes.”

  Talan stood up. Her heart beat fast with fear and anger. “You and Lady Pet decided what I needed, did you? How dare you make me love you and then take that away so casually, like I’m one of your researchers? You go on about not hurting me, but do you have any idea how much that hurts?”

  “I have some idea, yes.” He looked annoyed.

  “Do not start preaching to me that Sha reem have emotion. You obviously do not.”

  He came close to her. “You think so? You wanted to find out all about Sha reem, Talan. I can’t help it if you don’t like what you found. If you’d studied Sha reem as much as you say, you’d know what we can do.”

  “Well, no, I wouldn’t, because you aren’t Sha reem. You are this—thing—called R294…whatever. Anything I have learned about Sha reem does not apply to you, and you knew that.” She tapped his chest. “You knew that all along and didn’t tell me!”

  “Tell you what?” he snapped. “That I’m a monster who scared the shit out of my creators?”

  “You aren’t a monster. I told you, your DNA is—”

  “Human. Yeah, you said.”

  “It is. But it doesn’t matter. You knew what you were, and yet you went on with it. If you really didn’t want to hurt me, why didn’t you just tell me to go to another Sha reem, like Rio, or…or a level one?”

  “I remember trying, and you not listening.”

  “Why didn’t you just walk away? You could have at any time.”

  He pinched her jaw between his fingers and thumb. “Because I wanted you, Talan. I wanted you for my own.”

  “Don’t you dare do your tricks on my brain again. I’m wise to you, R294E8S.”

  His eyes darkened, the irises widening. “I saw you, I wanted you, I took you. That had nothing to do with your research, or Lady Pet, or mind tricks. I wanted you because you’re beautiful. So, get over it.”

  “You mean you did all of this so you could enjoy yourself? It had nothing to do with me?”

  His grip tightened. He was so strong, she should be afraid, but she was too angry.

  “No, it wasn’t all about you, rich girl. When I saw you follow me into the holo-block that day, you turned me on in a big way. No woman ever did that before. So when I got the chance to have you, I took it. I didn’t do it for your pleasure.”

  “You used me,” she fumed.

  “You used me.”

  “You are Sha reem.”

  He stilled. “And that’s what Sha reem are for. Yeah, you told me.”

  “I was in love with you.”

  “No you weren’t. But I—”

  He stopped talking. He released her, turned and walked to the door.

  Her anger blossomed into pain. “Where are you going?”

  “Away. We’re done.”

  “What about my level three?”

  He stopped. His eyes had gone light blue. “I thought you wouldn’t want that anymore.”

  She stood with her back straight. She was afraid, angry, and hurt, and she didn’t want him to know it.

  “Of course I still want it. If you aren’t willing, I can always ask Rio.”

  He looked furious. “As much as you piss me off, Talan, I know you aren’t ready for Rio.”

  “Am I ready for you?”

  “No.” His gaze was hard. “But you’re going to get me. If you really want level three, I’ll give it to you. I’ll give it to you so bad you’ll never forget it.”

  A shiver ran through her, but she stuck out her chin. “Fine.”

  He opened the doo
r. “Come on.”

  “Right now?”

  “Yes, right now. I’m ready. Are you?”

  She clenched her fists, willed her knees to stop shaking. “Of course.”

  He held out his hand. She went to him.

  He seized her hand in a rough grip and dragged her into the sitting room.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Talan asked him why they weren’t going back to the holo-room.

  “I’m sick of holo-rooms,” Rees said. “We’re doing it right here, right now.”

  He locked the door of the sitting room. When he turned around he saw Talan standing uncertainly in the middle of the room.

  He was angry at her, but her red hair, her sweet face, and her tight ass had him throbbing anyway.

  She wanted level three. She was going to get it, oh yes, she was.

  Talan’s sitting room was neat and almost bare, with only a lounge and a chair with a table in between. The walls were decorated with simple paintings and souvenirs from off-world.

  One of these souvenirs was a long pole made from polished wood, all decorated with carvings. He didn’t know what it was for, and he didn’t care.

  He snatched it up. He looked at the ceiling, picked out the lenses of the three security monitors that watched the room.

  He took the smooth end of the pole and jabbed it into the first lens. The plastic broke easily.

  Talan gasped. Rees jabbed the second, and the third. The wires behind the lenses broke and smoldered.

  “Why did you do that?” Talan asked, eyes wide.

  “You don’t want anyone watching, do you?”

  His blood was up. He returned the pole to its place and crossed back to the door.

  He’d learned about doors a long time ago. A panel to the right of it held the controls, including a mechanical switch that would open the door in case the power went out. No one needed to be trapped in a room because of a blackout.

  He opened the panel, easily fused the electronic lock, and yanked out the lever for manual opening.

  He was strong enough to replace the lever when he wanted to, but Talan would never be able to do it.

  She couldn’t leave.

  She was trapped in here. With him.

  Mine .

  She watched him, eyes round. He could smell her fear, her anticipation.

  He could also smell her lust. She was afraid, but she wanted him. She wanted him to do things to her.

  Rees had prepared. After he’d sent Talan to her room to rest that afternoon, he’d returned home and gathered up his accoutrements.

  He’d quietly prepared the sitting room when she was supposed to be sleeping. His plan had been to walk into her bedroom while she slept, wake her up by spanking her, and start then and there.

  He’d opened the door to her bedroom, and it had been empty. Then he’d found Talan in the study, reading all about R294E8S.

  Even without pictures, even without his name, he knew Talan was smart enough to figure it out.

  When she’d looked up at him, she’d said, her eyes soft, They didn’t even give you a name.

  She felt sorry for him.

  Even Rio didn’t feel sorry for him.

  Come to think of it, no one had ever felt sorry for Rees. They’d either been afraid of him or excited by him.

  Talan, this sweet girl watching him and biting her lip, cared about how he felt.

  This was not good.

  Rees had manacles. They were thin metal and kind of pretty, but they were strong. They were made to fit snug against a woman’s wrists.

  He had a silver collar, too, also made to fit snug. A shiny chain hung from a ring in it.

  He lifted these out of the container he’d brought with him, and slanted Talan a look.

  “Come here.”

  He wouldn’t force her. He wouldn’t have to.

  She took a hesitant step forward. She was shaking, the little globe hanging between her breasts trembled.

  Rees slid the manacles on her wrists and locked them. She stood still while he closed the collar around her throat.

  He was already hard. He pulled her to him with the collar chain and kissed her.

  She kissed back, her mouth needy.

  He enjoyed the kiss. He tasted her to the corners of her mouth. They wouldn’t be kissing much tonight, so he savored it while he could.

  She’d be too busy screaming to kiss him later.

  His cock throbbed in anticipation. He took her chain and led her to a clear space on the other side of the room.

  “Put your hands against the wall,” he instructed. “Don’t move them until I tell you.”

  Gingerly, Talan faced the wall and touched her palms to it.

  She didn’t need to be tied up. She’d stay there willingly.

  Rio liked to talk to his ladies, to tease them, flirt with them, even while he was binding them. Rees liked to work silently, get down to business.

  He wanted Talan to wonder what he would do, to not know until it happened.

  He took a container of lube from his pack. He opened it, lifted Talan’s tunic, and lubed her all over her cunt and her ass.

  She looked back at him nervously. He methodically swiped the cool gel over her backside and pussy, making her even wetter than she already was. The lube blended with her cream and gave off an exciting scent.

  He let the skirt of her tunic drop and put away the lube.

  He wiped off his hands, then gathered up her hair. He twisted it into a soft knot and pinned it in place.

  Then he took out his whip.

  Rio used leather, but Rees had his specially made of synthetics. It felt soft as silk to his hands.

  Talan’s eyes widened. “What are you going to do?”

  Rees wrapped the whip around her arms.

  “Naughty girls don’t ask questions,” he said.

  She closed her eyes. He watched the lulling effect of his voice in action. Her face and body relaxed.

  “Do you want me to take off my clothes?” she asked.

  “No.”

  He reached into his pack and pulled out a knife with a thin sliver of a blade. Talan opened her eyes just then, and gasped.

  He didn’t bother to reassure her. Whatever empathic abilities he had kicked in and calmed her down. Her look turned dreamy, even hopeful.

  “Hold still,” he said.

  He sliced the tunic apart at each shoulder. He shifted the knife to her side, and drew it all the way from the inside of her arm to the hem.

  The knife was so slim and his hand so precise that he slit the cloth thread by thread and never touched her skin.

  He finished. She hadn’t moved a muscle.

  Rees pulled the tunic free. She was naked beneath it.

  “You’re pretty,” he breathed. “Rees is going to love you all over.”

  She swallowed and said nothing.

  He put away the knife and unwound the whip from her arms. “Do you know what this is?”

  “A whip,” she whispered, her lips barely moving.

  “It’s a special whip.” He took the handle in his fist and smoothed her cheek with the cord. “I had it made just for you.”

  “You did?”

  “As soon as I met you. I went out that day and told my whip maker what I wanted. For when I met you again.”

  Her eyes flickered. “You planned this all along?”

  “I did, sweetheart. I wanted you. I was going to find you and do you, no matter what.”

  “Why?”

  He smiled. “Because you’re gorgeous, baby. You’ve got the finest ass I ever did see. I wanted to whip it and fuck it and make you beg me to do it some more.”

  “So everything you did was to lead up to this?”

  “Yes. I had fun along the way, though.”

  “You used me.”

  He turned her face to his. “Isn’t that what you want? A Sha reem doing what he does best to you?”

  She started to turn. “You told Lady Pet—”

 
“Hands against the wall,” he snapped. She automatically slapped them to the wall again. He brushed the whip against her cheek. “Don’t let go again, or I’ll have to punish you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You will be.” He took a step back. “Do you know why this whip is special?”

  She shook her head.

  “It’s made of silken fibers all woven together,” he said. “When I spank you with it, it won’t break your skin or leave a mark.”

  Her mouth trembled. “Then it won’t hurt?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  He coiled the cord in his hands, stepped behind her. Her arms started shaking, but she kept her palms pressed against the wall.

  “I’m going to whip you now,” he said softly. “You tell me when you want me to stop, all right?”

  She nodded once. She was sweating, her skin glistening under the low room lights.

  He smiled to himself. His cock pushed hard at his tunic, wanting escape. Not yet. Let’s have a little fun first.

  Rees was practiced. He knew exactly how far back to stand to let the whip come down fully across her buttocks.

  She flinched, drew in a breath between her teeth.

  “Do you like it?” he asked. “Say yes, and I’ll go easy on you.”

  “Yes,” she babbled.

  He chuckled. Swish, snap, swish, snap. He whipped her five more times. His blood heated, excitement pulsing.

  He stopped, held the whip coiled again. “Enough?”

  She let out her breath. “Yes. Yes, that’s enough.”

  Rees stepped close to her, raked his hand through her hair, and pulled her head back. “No, Talan, it’s nowhere near enough.”

  “But—”

  “Understand me, sweetheart. I don’t want you begging me to stop. I want you begging me for more. All right?”

  She smelled of fear and rising excitement. “Yes.”

  He released her. “Now then, I asked you, is that enough?”

  She hesitated, swallowed once. “No. No, it’s not enough.”

  “You want more?”

  “Yes.”

  “Say it then, little girl. Say please, Rees, whip me some more.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “Please, Rees, whip me some more.”

  “You got it, babe.”

  The whip hissed through the air five more times. She flinched as it came down, sting on top of sting.