Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“I never signed any agreement with you,” I snapped at him. “You just met me and declared that I was ‘yours’. You don’t own me—no one does!”
The Baron looked down at me, mild surprise on his face.
“Feisty little thing, aren’t you?” he remarked.
I glared back at him.
“I’m fighting for my life here. If R’xs takes me away, he’s going to do something…something horrible to me.” The words choked me as I remembered what R’xs had done to Ger’tha and how she had to wear a hood now to cover her mutilated face. “He was going to let Ass-boy there rape me,” I added, pointing to the asshole customer. “Which was what he was trying last night—that’s why I used your sigil. I know I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t have any other way to protect myself from him!”
Of course, I’d had the can of “Get Off” but I hadn’t been able to find it, so that was beside the point, I thought.
“She’s lying!” Azz’lx exclaimed in a high voice. “Baron Vik’tor—who are you going to believe? Me or a dirty little hsh’frux Blood Whore?”
I could see by the look on Ass-lick’s face that he knew he had said the wrong thing the moment he said it. A glance at the Baron’s face confirmed it—his glowing blue eyes narrowed and his sensual lips turned into a thin, white line. But when he spoke, his deep voice was deceptively mild.
“That’s not a term you usually use around me, Azz’lx,” he rumbled, staring at the smaller male.
“Oh, er, you know what I mean!” Azz’lx backpedaled quickly. “There was no disrespect intended, of course. I just meant, well, you’ve known me for years, Baron Vik’tor.”
“Maybe,” the Baron rumbled. “Or maybe I only thought I knew you.”
Ass-licks (sorry, that’s what I’m calling him from now on) stared at him in disbelief.
“But…but the girl is nothing but a common whore and she’s been using your sigil without your permission! We don’t even know where she got it! She might have robbed one of your trusted friends or companions.”
“Not true,” I said clearly. “I got it from another human girl who was here on O’nagga Nine not that long ago. Her name was Elli and she was here with her Master. She said she was his, er, ‘pet’…” I trailed off—this was possibly too much information and it sounded kind of crazy when I said it out loud.
But when I looked at the Baron again, he was nodding.
“Ah yes—I hosted them not long ago,” he said. “Did she give you my sigil because she wanted you to have some protection from males who might wish to do you harm?” Here he cut his eyes at Ass-licks, who visibly quailed at the foreboding look the Baron was giving him.
“No, she gave me this fur coat so I wouldn’t be so damn cold all the time,” I said truthfully. I had already decided that honesty was the best policy with the Baron—he seemed to value that in a person—if the way he was throwing shade at Ass-licks was any indication, anyway. “The sigil was in the pocket—I happened to grab it when I was searching for my can of ‘Get Off’,” I added.
One corner of the Baron’s mouth quirked up and a low rumble of laughter came from his deep chest.
“So you used my sigil like another female might use a chemical spray to hold off a male? I fucking like that!” he said.
“Baron Vik’tor, this is no laughing matter!” Ass-licks protested. “By misusing your sigil, this whore had been dragging your name through the mud!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say she was misusing it.” The laughter was suddenly gone from the Baron’s deep voice as he glared at Ass-licks. He looked down at me. “I’m glad it worked for you, little girl, even if you weren’t the intended recipient.”
“Uh, thank you,” I said weakly. “And thank you for not…not being angry about it.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Lordship.” R’xs, who still had a grip on my wrist, bowed his head subserviently. “You are most kind to excuse this whore’s actions. But I promise you again, she will not go unpunished. Now, let’s go!”
These last words were directed at me and he yanked me sharply.
“Hey!” I gasped. I tripped and stumbled to the ground, scraping the skin off my knees on the rough floor of the tunnel.
“Let her go,” the Baron rumbled again and this time there was a real threat in his voice as he glared down at R’xs.
“But Your Lordship, I own her—I don’t care what she says—her contract is mine!” the pimp protested.
“All right.” The Baron folded massive, muscular arms across his broad chest as I scrambled to my feet. “How much does she cost by the solar hour then?”
“Pardon?” R’xs asked blankly. “What are you asking, my Lord?”
“I’m asking how much she costs,” the Baron said clearly. “I want to buy her services myself.”