Page 24 of Darkest Desire

Phoebe did as he said, trying her hardest to keep the strands of her top from parting and flashing her breasts as she did—which wasn’t quite possible since the feather strands kept flying in all directions. She couldn’t help noticing that Sirex’s eyes strayed in her direction from time to time.

What was he thinking of her? And what was going to happen once they finally landed on Salacious Prime and she started “submitting” to him?

Phoebe supposed she was about to find out.

11

PHOEBE

“No, no, no—that won’t do at all!” Their consultant, Lady Scornfoot, frowned as she looked Phoebe up and down.

“What won’t do?” Phoebe looked down at herself, mystified. She was dressed like most of the other women in the spaceport. It was a busy place with lots of people moving through it. The floor was some kind of shiny black stone which had been scuffed by many feet. The ceiling above was arched and someone had thought it would be nice to make it look like a fake sky with purple clouds and a red sun twinkling in the center.

Most of the women in the spaceport were dressed like she was—with one exception. Almost everyone she saw was wearing elaborate gold or silver jewelry around their breasts. It wasn’t easy to see because it was mostly hidden by the long strands of fabric, beads, and feathers, but there were flashes of it from time to time.

What made this breast jewelry most noticeable was the fact that a leash was usually attached to it. Everywhere she looked, Phoebe saw men leading their women around by a long gold or silver chain attached to their breasts. It was a shockingly misogynistic display and yet, when she imagined Sirex leading her around like that, the idea gave her a shiver of desire.

“What’s wrong with Phoebe’s outfit?” Sirex asked Lady Scornfoot, frowning. “She is dressed like all the other women here.”

“She has no breast harness—no nipple rings.” Without even asking, Lady Scornfoot—who was the only woman not accompanied by a man in the entire spaceport, at least as far as Phoebe could tell—reached out and pulled the strands of Phoebe’s top wide open.

“Hey!” Phoebe gasped, snatching at the strands. It was one thing to flash her mentor from time to time with a naughty glimpse of her nipples—it was quite another to have her breasts put fully on display in a public place where anyone could see them.

“Hmm, so your collar speaks the truth. You really are a virgin,” Lady Scornfoot sniffed disdainfully. “So ridiculously modest.”

“No, I’m not!” Phoebe denied. “I just don’t want anyone but Sir touching me!” She felt an immediate flush of embarrassment as she said the words but they were true, after all.

“Well, you’ll never get into the Emperor’s palace wearing a white collar, I can tell you that,” Lady Scornfoot said.

She was dressed modestly enough herself, in a long blue cloak that closed in the front and didn’t show even a hint of skin. But maybe she had earned the right to modesty—after all, she was supposed to be one of the only women on the planet who had autonomy and social status in her own right, Phoebe reminded herself.

“What’s wrong with a white collar? I don’t want other males seeing or touching my woman.” There was a low, possessive growl in Sirex’s voice that sent a shiver down Phoebe’s spine.

“Well then, you’re never going to get into the palace and you certainly won’t make it past Thruck. That’s the Emperor’s right-hand male, in case you didn’t know,” Lady Scornfoot added in a condescending tone. “He demands the right to inspect any female who will be in the presence of the Shining One, so that his Majesty’s eyes won’t be offended by ugliness.”

“That’s just rude!” Phoebe exclaimed. “Why does he have the right to judge people by their looks?”

“Because the Emperor gave him that right. And also because he has five eyes—three in one head and two in the other,” Lady Scornfoot said.

“What? Two heads?” Phoebe asked.

“Of course. He’s a two headed Trollox but it’s the right-hand head—the one with two eyes—that you have to look out for,” Lady Scornfoot told them. “The left-hand head with three eyes is completely mad and just hums and drools all day. Every once in a while, it speaks, but mostly in riddles that no one can understand, so you can just ignore it. It’s the right head that makes all the decisions.” She motioned at Phoebe and spoke to Sirex. “And it’s the right head that’s going to insist on inspecting your woman.”

Phoebe could see her mentor was about to refuse so she spoke up quickly.

“So there’s no other way to get to see the Emperor?”

“None. The only way to the Shining One—as we call our beloved Emperor—is through Thruck. I can’t tell you how often I had to let him ‘inspect’ me when I was one of the Emperor’s favorites.” Lady Scornfoot made a face. Then she straightened her shoulders. “However, it got me where I am today—an independent woman with a house and servants of my own. So it was worth it.”

“This inspection—will he be content just to look or will he want to…to touch me too?” Phoebe asked.

“Well…” Lady Scornfoot gave her a speculative look. “You’re clearly not from our part of the galaxy and you have lovely skin—all one color, too, which both Thruck and the Emperor like.” (Lady Scornfoot had smooth, pale pink skin herself.)

“Which means what?” Sirex asked impatiently.

“Which means that he’ll probably be content just to look. But you’ll need a color changer for your collar so you can fit in with the rest of the Royal Court,” Lady Scornfoot remarked. “Luckily, I have one you can use.”

She reached into a pocket of her voluminous blue cloak and withdrew a small, flat disk about the same size as a quarter. It had a sheen to it that reflected rainbows around the vast room when she moved it back and forth. There was a silver clip on the back of it. Lady Scornfoot reached up and attached it to Phoebe’s white collar.

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