Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Oh, er, thank you.”
She cleared her throat. Braze had never looked at her like this before—well, aside from the meeting in Commander Sylvan’s office—and she found she rather liked it. Feeling her Protector’s eyes on her body made her lift her chin and take a breath which gave him a better view of her breasts, spilling out the top of the corset.
“You’re welcome, Mistress.” There was a hungry growl in his voice that made her heart pound.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to call me ‘Mistress,’ when we get down to Salimba Prime,” she said, coming towards him. The high-heeled boots gave her a sway in her walk that moved her hips seductively and Kaitlyn leaned into it. She felt like she was strutting on a catwalk, and she liked the way Braze was looking at her. It made her feel sexy and desirable.
“What do I fucking call you then? Wife? Spouse? Mate?” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“According to the sites I found on the Outerweb about the Salimbans, the husband usually calls his wife a pet name like ‘my goddess,’ or ‘cherished one.’ Something like that.” She shrugged as she came to a stop in front of him, daring him to keep looking at her.
“Hmm…my goddess is nice. I guess it’s better than saying ‘my owner.’” He sounded thoughtful and his golden eyes were half-lidded again as they scanned her body, just as they had been in Commander Sylvan’s office when Kaitlyn had joked about “owning” him. Was that idea turning him on for some reason? Surely not…
“I’m afraid that Kat made you an outfit too,” she said, deciding to gloss over the tension that had suddenly sprung up between them. “I don’t know if you’ll like it or not, but it’s what males wear on Salimba. I left it in the bathroom—er, fresher—for you.”
“Really?” He scowled. “Don’t like playing fucking dress-up.”
“I know but you have to dress like the other males to be my ‘husband,’” Kaitlyn pointed out. “At least Kat said you can wear your own boots with it instead of changing into a pair of torture devices like these.” She sank down on the passenger seat across from him and nodded down at the thigh-high boots with only their top buttons fastened. “I suppose I ought to finish buttoning them—I can’t meet the Salimban Empress with my boots only half-buttoned.”
“I can help you with that…if you want.” Braze slid off the seat onto his knees before her, his big hands hovering over the buttons on her right ankle.
Kaitlyn felt her heart flutter as she saw him kneeling there, waiting to serve her. This wasn’t actually out of the ordinary for Braze. The big Beast Kindred was always offering to help her in small ways. He lifted anything heavy and had—on more than one occasion—lifted Kaitlyn herself over mud puddles or ditches or holes or anything really that might get her shoes dirty or trip her up. But this was the first time he’d offered to help her with something more personal—something she was wearing.
“I mean, if you really don’t mind…” she began uncertainly.
“I don’t mind,” he rumbled, looking up at her—his golden eyes looked sleepy with lust. Was this turning him on? Serving her like this? What was going on here?
“Well…I guess it would be good practice for the way we’ll have to act once we land on Salimba Prime,” Kaitlyn said thoughtfully. “I know the husbands are supposed to serve their wives—some accounts I read said they act almost more like personal servants than spouses, at least in some instances.”
“They do, do they?” Braze raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. He was already working—his big fingers manipulating the tiny silver buttons with surprising delicacy.
“Y-yes…they do.”
Kaitlyn’s breath caught in her throat as his big hands moved up to her inner thigh. She could feel the warmth of his fingers as they brushed against her bare flesh, making her want to moan and shift in her seat. That warm, spicy, masculine scent she’d smelled in Commander Sylvan’s office was back. Seriously, what was going on here?
“So I guess it makes sense for you to…to serve me,” she said, trying to get the words out without panting.
“Of course I want to serve you, Mistress,” he growled softly, looking up at her. “I’ll be the best ‘husband’ you’ve ever fucking had.”
Kaitlyn let out a rueful little laugh.
“Well, that won’t be hard considering how my ex, Mark, acted,” she remarked, feeling some of the tension leak away at the thought of her philandering ex-husband.
Braze’s eyebrows lifted as he started on the next boot.
“So he didn’t honor you properly? Didn’t treat you right?”
“He didn’t honor me at all,” Kaitlyn said dryly. “He cheated on me with a girl half my age at his work. Then he tried to pretend it was my fault he cheated because he said I wasn’t ‘meeting his needs.’”