Free Chained (Brides of the Kindred) by Evangeline Anderson Page B

They’ve
been very helpful and willing to share research opportunities.”
    “Hell yes, I know of them.” He frowned.
“I’ve got Kindred blood myself—they’re the ones who sold me—slaved me out in
the first place. Because I didn’t fit their ideal—because I was a freak.” He
tapped his temple, indicating his red eyes. “I know because I heard it from my
first master.”
    “They what?” Maggie frowned. “I’ve never
heard of them doing anything like that. They’ve been nothing but nice to me.”
    “I’m sure,” Kor said neutrally. To change
the subject, he tickled the arch of her foot and smiled when she jumped.

 
    * * * * *

 
    “Hey!” Maggie flexed her toes. Despite the
impromptu tickle, he really was amazingly good at this. “You know, you still
never told me how a gladiator got so good at giving foot massages,” she
remarked.
    “It’s the easiest way to relax a female
when she’s nervous—at least, so I’ve found,” Kor said.
    “What?” Maggie began to get a bad feeling.
“What do you mean by that? How many women have you had to, uh, relax?”
    Kor shrugged. “On occasion my master sent
me a female to breed who was a virgin. I never wanted to frighten them so I
tried my best to relax them before we did what was necessary.”
    “What?” She sat up fast, jerking her foot
out of his hand. “You’re treating me like some…some floozy you’re about
to have sex with?”
    He frowned. “No, of course not. I’m just
trying to relax you…and to be honest with you. You asked how I learned to give
massages—well…” He shrugged again, like it was no big deal.
    “But this is…that’s…” Maggie shook her
head in disgust. “I knew I shouldn’t have gotten into this ship with you.
You’re just some kind of a…an intergalactic player, aren’t you?”
    Kor lifted an eyebrow. “Define ‘player.’
Is it like a gladiator?”
    “No! It’s a guy who screws every girl he
sees—or tries to. He doesn’t give a damn about their feelings—he just wants
into their pants.” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest angrily. How could
she have let herself be so taken in by him? The quickest way to relax a girl,
indeed. It was disgusting .
    “Maggie,” Kor said, leaning forward. “I
don’t think you understand. I didn’t try to get into these girls, uh,
pants—or under their skirts—or however you want to put it. They were sent to my
cell for me to breed them whether I wanted to or not. I simply tried to make it
easier for them.”
    “So you had nothing to do with it?”
Maggie asked sarcastically. “Poor Kor, forced to have sex with all kinds of
beautiful woman. What a terrible time you must have had.”
    Kor shook his head. “I won’t pretend it
wasn’t pleasant at times but sometimes I was sent a female I had no affinity
for. That was mostly with the rich mistresses though, who wanted the thrill of
sleeping with an arena champion.”
    “Oh great—mistresses, virgins, was there
anyone you didn’t screw?”
    “No,” Kor said harshly. “Because I didn’t
have a choice. My master rented my stud services the same way he used me in the
arena. I fucked at his pleasure as I fought at his pleasure. I was a slave—I
had no free will in the matter.”
    Maggie shook her head, bewildered. “But
how…how could you live like that?”
    “I had no choice,” Kor said simply. “It
wasn’t all bad so I lived with it.” He frowned. “At least I didn’t try to take
revenge, like some of others.”
    “Revenge? For being a slave?”
    He nodded. “Some of the other warriors in
my master’s stable were cruel to the females that were sent to them. They
looked at the opportunity to breed as a way to pay back the pain we were dealt.
They didn’t dare get too rough with the rich mistresses but the
slaves…sometimes they were brutal.”
    “That’s awful,” Maggie whispered.
    “Worse than you think. There was one…” He
frowned as though remembering and his big hands