Page 51 of Under His Heel

Tracht sighed. “Unless you want an eyeful, give me a moment.”

He pulled a thin t-shirt out of the nightstand drawer, put it on, and pulled the sheets high enough to cover himself up to the waist. After maneuvering a pillow to act as a cushion against the bed frame, he picked up the tablet again and leaned back. A few more taps, and he said, “There. You caught me asleep, Anna.”

Anna. Alex swallowed his shock at hearing Tracht call somebody by their first name. Everybody on the ship was addressed by their title and family name, with “Alex” being the single given name Tracht ever uttered.

“Better than catching you at work; you’d never take my call then.” She smiled. “Vasilis got word that your ship was approaching Atalanta, so I thought I’d give you a call. How was the trip?”

“The usual. Though I’m down two sailors.”

“Really? What happened?”

“Inter-personal drama that resulted in the dismissal of one sailor and a protest quitting from another.” Tracht shook his head. “I really don’t understand why people can’t remain professional.”

Anna laughed. “Not everybody is a robot like you, Johannes.”

Alex choked on his next breath. Bad enough that Tracht had called her by her first name, but now she was returning the favor? What the hell. Alex had to make a conscious effort to remain still. He didn’t want Tracht deciding to muffle Alex’s ears.

But wow, Johannes was such a normal name. It was probably in the contract somewhere, but Alex hadn’t asked about Tracht’s first name, and he never really considered that Tracht would have one. If he’d bothered to imagine a possible first name, ‘Johannes’ wouldn’t even have made his list. Maybe something more demonic sounding, like Damien or Vlad.

“If you don’t want people starting drama on your ship, you could consider following the satellite zones. Studies show that access to outside news and contact with friends and family curtails the effects of cabin fever.”

“Yes, and have the trip take twice as long,” Tracht reached out with one hand and squeezed Alex’s shoulder. “I doubt a longer trip will make people behave themselves. But forget about the ship. Tell me how you’re doing.”

It was so weird listening to Tracht be an ordinary person. Anna told him about some stuff with her job, and some trip she’d gone on with ‘Vasilis’ and news from Cadmus station. Tracht acted interested in all of it, offering a few comments here and there.

“How are the kids?” Tracht asked, and Alex’s eyes widened in horror. Was Anna Tracht’s wife? But that didn’t make sense—Tracht said he wasn’t interested in women.

“Oh, being themselves. Chrissy has sworn off boys and is now going after girls, though she’s discovering it’s just as complicated. Markus is sulking because Vasilis is making him get a job during the school break. And Johan...” Anna sighed. “He’s finding it hard making friends. I don’t know. I’ve got him signed up for so many different activities, hoping he’ll like and fit in with one of them, but nothing is sticking.”

“If you wanted a social son, you shouldn’t have named him after me,” Tracht commented. “I still don’t know what you were thinking with that.”

“I was hoping that naming him after you would make you interested in being an uncle.” There was a slight pause on her end. “Is there any chance you could speak to him? He does seem to like you a lot.”

“No.”

“Johannes...”

“Anna, I am highly doubtful you would want Johan to take any advice from me. If you think there’s an actual problem, get him a therapist. Otherwise, just let him be.”

Alex listened with a strange fascination. So Anna was Tracht’s sister? That explained the weird resemblance, and maybe even how nice Tracht was being to her. Though honestly, Alex would have expected Tracht to cut all family ties because they caused too much ‘drama.’

After another pause, Anna said, “I heard you got a new bondservant.”

“Hmm. Yes.” Tracht held the tablet up and angled it towards Alex, which shocked Alex even more. He held very, very still and hoped Anna couldn’t tell he was awake.

“Aww, he’s not as hot as the last one. But maybe it’s the bad lighting.”

Tracht set the tablet back on his lap, then used his free hand to pet Alex’s hair. “He suits me,” he declared. “The last one was a terrible fit.”

“You know,” Anna said with a slight tone of disapproval, “you could have given him more of a chance. Three months is hardly enough time. It took me a whole year to break Genevieve in. And the kids love her now.”

“The only reason you kept her around is because she could have been Sasha’s sister. You’ve always wanted paired servants, don’t even deny it.”

Hell, Anna was exactly like her brother. Alex’s mouth opened a bit in horror, listening to Tracht and Anna talk about Anna’s bondservants like they were less than people.

That couldn’t be how Tracht thought of him. Alex scooted away and wished he were actually asleep and not aware of any of this conversation.

“You’ve upset Alex,” Tracht remarked. He followed it up by hooking his fingers in Alex’s mouth and pushing down on the piercing.

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