The Slave (Free Men, #1) (Completed)

Part 9

                 

Kai and I skirted uneasily around each other when we returned to his room, not making eye contact. We settled awkwardly at opposite ends of his mattress, arms clasped around our knees. I didn't know what to say to him. The equilibrium we'd found only yesterday was gone, our fledgling rapport strained to breaking point.

I scowled. Why was Master pushing so hard? He'd promised me time. Kai needed to settle in, to reconcile himself to his new life. And I needed to adjust, too. Did Master honestly expect us to start going at it like mindless animals the moment he left us alone?

That thought hurt in about a hundred different ways.

And the worst of it was, there was something, some small spark between us. Left to muddle through in our own time, I could easily see more developing between us. Master was right. I'd picked Kai, and not for entirely altruistic reasons. He was beautiful; there was no other word for it, shorn head and all. But I was more than some dumb, brainless animal capable only of lust. Kai was damaged, that much was obvious, but I just knew that inside him somewhere there was a sweet soul, waiting to be drawn out.

I didn't want to bully or coerce him into sucking my dick or letting me fuck him, I wanted to get to know him first, forge a connection, however tentative. Even with Master.... To an impartial observer maybe I was just a pleasureslave, his to use as he wanted, but to me, we shared something. It meant something. Even if it was only one-sided, I made love to him. It wasn't fair of him to put me under so much pressure.

"I'm sorry, Kai."

He jumped when I spoke, a startled rabbit ready to bolt. "What for?"

I snorted. "Everything." My loose gesture encompassed the whole mess. "I didn't think he'd be like this."

"Like what?" He remained closed off, his words muffled by his knees.

"So... insistent."

"Would it have changed anything if you had?"

I frowned my confusion. "What?"

He turned to me, green eyes flashing. "Would you still have bought me? Would you have done anything different at all?"

"I... no. No," I admitted. "Whatever he makes us do, it can't be worse than what those others wanted to do to you."

"You think that's all that matters? Saving me?"

"What else is there?"

"What if I didn't want to be saved?" he screamed so loudly I jumped.

"I-I'm sorry. Kai, I'm so sorry...."

"Forget it."

I cringed.

"I didn't want to be saved for this."

He retreated again, hugging his knees tight to his chest. A fresh wave of indignation overwhelmed me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

He glared at me.

"No, come on, out with it. What would you rather? You were sold as a pleasureslave. That's not my fault. Someone had to buy you."

"Just go away and leave me alone."

His shoulders slumped, his whole body curled into a tiny, desolate ball at the foot of the bed, and my heart ached to comfort him. He didn't strike me as a man easily defeated, but he'd been living on a knife-edge for who knew how long. I didn't think he had anything left to give.