When K’rra woke, she found herself in Kaster’s bed. She vaguely remembered being carried into his room by him. The thought of him lifting her naked with ease warmed her.

He’d put her through her paces the evening before. Having her service him, posing her, teasing her, and delighting in her. She’d relished every moment of it, especially when he commanded her and demanded services. There was something so wholly satisfying in having a man tell her what they wanted, expecting nothing less than complete obedience in its execution.

She reached out and discovered that she was alone. There was a moment of panic. A slave should never neglect her duties. She had failed to wake her master properly. Fatigue and exhaustion from the unending stress were no excuse. She chastised herself. If he was to be her guardian, the shield that defended her, she needed to be the ground beneath his feet. She wanted to be his foundation, the one thing he could rely on without fail. And here she was, failing him.

She slipped from the bed naked and went to the cabin door. There was the faint sound of conversation, which she thought was odd. The ship's vibrations told her instantly that they were in space, traveling under their own power. It must have been a mistake. No one was on board with them.

Opening the door, she entered the common room and caught her breath. Kaster sat on one of the couches, and beside him was the Fury, whom he’d risked his life to capture. K’rra’s morning greeting caught in her throat. Not only should the wounded woman still be sedated by the autodoc, but Kaster was endangering himself all over again, being so casual with her.

Kaster and the Fury looked at K’rra, their conversation dying instantly. The Fury cocked her head, then looked quizzically at Kaster.

“She had more clothes the last time we met,” the Fury said.

Kaster seemed awkward for a moment, then introduced K’rra, “This is my slave. She’s a trained scientist, medic, and other things.”

The Fury looked at K’rra with piercing eyes as if disassembling the slave piece by piece. “I’ll just bet she knows other things.”

Unsure how to react, K’rra slipped right into the slave protocol she’d been taught in Hol Vydon’s harem: “Greetings, ma’am. Good morning, Sir.” Unsure of what else to do, she walked to the center of the room and assumed her Kneel position. As she was taught around women, she kept her knees closed.

The Fury turned back to Kaster, “You didn’t mention that you had a slave. It’s illegal in Federated Space, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Kaster said. He struggled to keep from showing just how awkward things had gotten, at least for him. Neither K’rra nor the Fury showed any indication that things were strange. “She was gifted to me for a job well done.”

“That I should have such a generous benefactor,” the Fury said, looking back at the kneeling slave. “What should I call her?”

“Her name is K’rra,” Kaster said.

K’rra had let her training take over. The repeated reinforcement lessons, delivered at times with pleasure or pain, made protocol very easy to follow. She could literally turn her thought processes off and simply do as told. At times, it was a blessing to surrender so completely to her training. Right now, though, her mind raced. This woman had tried killing Kaster, and now he sat casually with her even though there was a cell made specifically for captured bounties.

“Kah-raw,” the Fury said, having difficulty with the trilled Rs. “It’s a pleasure meeting you Kah-raw. How long have you been a slave?”

“About a year, ma’am,” K’rra said while keeping her gaze on the floor. “And if I may? How should I address you?”

“I’m Kae.” The Fury said. “Were you born into slavery?”

“No, ma’am. I chose it.”

“A debt slave?” Kae asked.

“No, ma’am. I was captured by slavers. I had an opportunity to escape but chose not to.”

“Out of fear?”

“No, ma’am. Out of freedom. I found that slavery freed me from much of the tedium free women find themselves voluntarily enslaved to.”

Kae looked at Kaster, “She’s educated. A scientist, you say?”

He nodded, “She’s a clever girl. Proven her worth many times.”

“In more ways than one, I’ll wager,” Kae replied with a smirk. “You keep her naked?”

“I prefer it, ma’am,” K’rra said quickly. She chastised herself for speaking over her master but couldn’t bear the thought of him having to defend himself for violating cultural mores that she’d chosen to cast aside.

“Do you?” Kae asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Clothing is one of the chains that modern women must endure. Worrying about how they appear, who they please, and if it is appropriate for the circumstances. Naked, I am just me, as you see before you, nothing to hide, exposed and open in my subjugation to a wonderful master.”

“And if your master weren’t so wonderful?”

“Then it would be a badge of honor to show how deep my service is.”

“Only a year?” Kae asked Kaster, “It's like she was born to it.”

“I’ve only had her a few weeks,” he said. “I didn’t do the training.”

“And still, in just a few weeks, it seems she’s grown quite fond of you.”

A double ping sounded through the ship. The universe lurched, and K’rra knew they’d just exited hyperspace.

“I’ve got to set course,” Kaster said, rising and leaving quickly.

K’rra dared to glance up. Kae stared at her in ways that made K’rra feel as if she were being unwrapped. She lowered her gaze back to the floor.

“So,” Kae said. “What makes him a good master?”

A series of images flicked through K’rra’s mind. He’d fought off a crew of pirates with nothing more than a pipe for her. He’d saved her from three monsters intent on breaking her down. He’d saved her from arrest. He’d shown kindness that had been non-existent when she was in the Hol’s harem. He was willing to kill for her. He could defend her. He respected her even though she was just a slave. She said, “He treats me well, ma’am. Better than most other masters I’ve known.”

“Look at me,” Kae said. There was an icy edge of command in the voice.

K’rra looked up into the free woman’s eyes. Was she free? She was supposed to be a prisoner? When she looked into the hazel eyes of the Fury, she felt something she hadn’t in at least a year. She felt exposed. It made the breath catch in her throat.

“You weren’t honest with me, were you?”

K’rra didn’t want to answer. She couldn’t say why exactly. Her feelings about Kaster were personal. They were her own. Even though slaves weren’t supposed to own anything. As a slave, she knew she was supposed to be completely honest when asked a question, but this was something she wanted for herself. “No, ma’am.”

“And what didn’t you tell me?” Kae asked evenly.

Images flashed again through K’rra’s mind. The first time she saw Kaster, her matron pointed him out on video and told her to go and please him and take the best care of him. The dinner table when she first took him in her mouth. Wearing his gift dress. Telling him her fantasy of being taken in a library. Her service to him again and again. It wasn’t just the orgasms. There was something about him that made them even more galaxy-shattering. “I… I… I have never been with a master so kind and self-assured.”

“You’re being diplomatic slave girl. I told you to tell me.”

The woman’s eyes bore into K’rra’s. It hurt. Something in that glare made K’rra want to turn away, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to tell this woman her most intimate secret. The slavery, the use, and the training, all of that was superficial. She found the words spilling out in a whisper, “I think I am in love, ma’am.”

“Good girl,” Kae said with a smile.

“Thank you, ma’am.” K’rra was relieved and hoped for a moment that the free woman had any inkling of how disastrous it could be for a slave to fall for her master.

“But…” Kae said, dashing K’rra’s hopes, “Have you considered how he feels? A free man, for a lowly slave. Does a carpenter fall in love with his tools?”

It stung. In ways K’rra hadn’t thought possible. She’d exposed herself to this woman, and the woman immediately questioned her feelings. K’rra forced her lips tightly together, afraid something ugly might slip past them.

Kae continued, “Spread your legs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” K’rra whimpered. She forced her legs apart, exposing herself even more to this woman. She could only watch as Kae’s gaze drifted down her body. The Fury smiled when looking right at K’rra’s pussy, as if amused by it somehow.

“Have you told him?”

K’rra felt ice run through her veins. “Please, no, ma’am.”

“You were told in training, weren’t you? Not to go down this path.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“That it would only lead to heartache. And that… would interfere with your duties.”

K’rra wanted so badly to tear her eyes away from the Fury’s. She could feel the painful stab of tears welling up. “Yes, ma’am. We were told we were only things.”

“Feelings complicate things, don’t they? A man with feelings for a slave may treat her differently. May soften his tone. Might become more female himself in his disposition. It might, in fact, change his libido. No?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And what do you suppose a master is advised to do if his slave develops feelings?”

“He’s advised to sell her, ma’am.” K’rra said, then continued, “Please, ma’am. I’ll do anything. Don’t tell him what I’ve said.”

Kae came up off the couch and stood over K’rra, one foot between her thighs, almost touching her pussy. “Keep looking at me. Take note of exactly where you are. Beneath me. Looking up at me. Promising me anything, an anything you don’t even have. Because a slave has nothing to bargain with, she is just a tool. Now tell me, what are you?”

“I’m a slave, ma’am. A tool to use.”

“That is exactly right,” Kae said as she knelt down to look K’rra right in the face. “Tonight, you are to come to me. Tell him whatever you need. But you will offer me the same services you offer him. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good girl,” Kae said with a smug look. She reached down and felt K’rra, “Just like I thought. You’re wet. Just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, ma’am.” K’rra choked out, furious that the implants were making her respond to a commanding voice in this way. Deep down, she knew it wasn’t just the implants. She’d been trained for so long to feel good when anyone treated her this way. It was just a natural physiological reaction by now.

“One more thing. I need to continue the conversation I was having with him. Find an excuse to do anything, anywhere else. I want to talk with him alone and uninterrupted. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Now clean me off.” Kae said, thrusting her fingers into K’rra’s mouth. K’rra dutifully sucked and licked her own juices off the offered fingers.

Kae smiled and suddenly backed up. She sat on the couch, and her demeanor changed as Kaster returned from the cockpit.

“We’ll be landing in thirty minutes,” Kaster announced. He looked at K’rra, his gaze going down to her spread legs as she knelt.

“And where are we headed?” Kae asked.

“Just a backwater planet in the middle of nowhere,” Kaster said.

K’rra could tell that Kaster was not being completely honest. She disobeyed her training and studied the two on the couch. Some game was being played between the two of them. K’rra wasn’t sure what it was, but one thing was certain. She did not want Kae to tell Kaster that his slave was in love with him. It would only complicate things exponentially.

She decided she had to find a way to keep the prisoner, who seemed to be taking all too much control of the situation, quiet somehow.

First:

Rogue Fury – Part 1