KENSINGTON BOOKS

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      Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Epilogue

      1

      “3,000 jewels!”

      The offer snapped out above the din of the auction patrons’ drinking and conversing, immediately earning an appreciative murmur of response. The bid was high and a large jump from the previous offer. The sense of excitement in the room spiked palpably.

      “A fine offer, sir!” Rhou Mas Hin chortled as he paced the length of the stage in broad, showman’s strides. The long, hide-wrapped crop in his hand zipped sharply, like the high note of a song, as it cut through the air and pointed to the object up for auction. “But not nearly fine enough for so prized a specimen! A slave of such amazing form and health, such fine lines and coloring! Guaranteed to be clean, disease free, and utterly perfect breeding stock if that’s your need. Why, this versatility alone makes this one worth so much more. A house servant, perhaps? Clearly strong enough for fieldwork. Or, as I would much prefer for myself, a trained sexual servant.”

      “3,100 jewels!”

      The counteroffer made Rhou grin slightly. He’d known instantly how valuable this captive would be, and he was prepared to push the reasons why in order to drive up the price. He also knew his market very, very well. He knew what the inhabitants of this planet needed, and he knew even more what they craved.

      “A wise woman you are, mistress,” he complimented the bidder. “Have you ever seen this coloring before in your life? Hair so fair it is white, like the virgin snow of the Yemm mountaintops. How prized and lucky a child born to a noble House would be considered if they bore this fascinating coloring! Or think of how envious your peers will be when they come to a party and are served by such a gorgeous tidbit. They might trade valuable favors with you if they could coax you into sending the slave to their rooms after they retire. This alone will repay whatever cost you extend to acquire such an asset.”

      “3,200!”

      “3,500!”

      “I say a good 4,000 jewels ought to do!”

      Rhou laid his palm against his chest and bowed to the High City official making the offer, knowing he’d just broken into a whole new territory of bidders. Once one of them coveted something, then they all began to covet it. Now it was time for the hard sell. Rhou stepped closer to his product, touching the crop to the slave’s chin.

      “The stasis field keeps this male docile, but I promise you there is great prowess and power packed into this physique. Take note that the broad shoulders and chest are thickly muscled, and here we have a lean waist with lovely definition and no visible fat. Long, powerful legs. Just look at those thigh muscles! This will allow for speed and flexibility. Undeniably he is a powerhouse, my good friends. He’s been outfitted with the latest in micro-translators and tagged with a tracker/locator. All the standards, including pestilent homeworld deterrent. There are a few scars”—Rhou glossed over quickly—“but they are merely proof of his fighting skills and his ability to take injury and survive. I guarantee there is no lameness or defect to be found from the visible to the cellular levels.” Rhou studied the nude body of his inventory carefully for a moment. He clicked the small remote in his hand and the platform began to turn slowly. The stylized display also ran an enhancing light over the contours of the slave’s warrior build, highlighting his fitness. “Now, I make no promises of docility or even the beginnings of being broken in. He is fresh from the wild places, a barbarian at heart. My supplier says he captured this one from Jheru Afrat, the wildlands of a planet called ‘Wite.’ I don’t need to tell you of the lusty and bloodthirsty ways of the planets along the outer rim, now do I? But don’t let his wildness put you off. The breaking in of a slave is the very best part, is it not?”

      The remark elicited a fury of bids, covetous laughter, and envious excitement from those in the rear of the room who had long ago found the bidding to be out of their means. Rhou hardly paid attention to the amount of the rising bid anyway. All he knew was that it could and would go higher. He was best served by focusing on his next selling point. His slave was positioned in stasis with his hands cuffed wide apart at the wrists, and his feet braced and cuffed similarly at the ankles. The added safety measure of a torso restraint had been added for this one because he was known to fight free of his stasis if it wasn’t balanced just right. Still, in spite of the extra restraint, the position made for a perfect showcase even when Rhou stopped the revolution of the stand.

      “And did I mention…?” He paused for effect as he used his remote to send a stimulant pulsing through the stasis field, causing muscles to bunch and flex, and his commodity’s eyes to flicker open. “He has eyes as green-yellow as a bellcat!”

      White hair and green-yellow eyes. Rhou didn’t blame his audience for their exclamatory reactions. He had hardly believed it himself, not even when he had first seen it with his own eyes. Bids were flying now, coming closer and closer to the stage. The nearer the stage, the wealthier and more powerful the patron. Only the highest-paying patrons, those with special invitations usually extended by the auctioneer himself, would sit in these expensive seats just for the privilege of viewing prime goods close up.

      For his last trick, Rhou added an aphrodisiacal stimulant to the mix, allowing it to flood the tissues of the unconscious male. Predictably, the slave’s penis began to fatten and fill with his now adrenalized blood, becoming quickly and impressively erect. Rhou took his crop and ran it up along the underside of the thrust-out cock, assuring all attention was on the awesome piece of flesh. Slaves and sex most always went hand in hand in some fashion or another. It wouldn’t be a proper sell if he ignored displaying this slave’s finest asset.

      “Now here,” he practically purred, “we see this slave’s best aspect.” The lurid remark made his enraptured audience titter, men and women alike pretending they weren’t thinking their most deviant of thoughts in that instant. “A grand cock and sac. He has been tested for fertility already, and I have the paperwork to prove these testicles are full of ripened seed and capable of manufacturing much, much more over the years…if that’s your focus. But you must confess, this rod would be worth its weight in jewels even if he were barren! I have rarely seen so mighty a tool on a slave. Thick in circumference…long enough to send its seed to root deep in even the most stubborn of wombs. The foreskin was removed some time ago, perhaps in a tribal ritual when he came of age. I would allow the stimulant to continue until he ejaculates, but the slave has proven himself very potent and it might bring him out of stasis.”

      The disappointed moan of the audience lasted only as long as it took for him to discontinue the stimulant. Then bids flew like birds up to him. Rhou managed them with smooth expertise.

      “Damn