Lockes and Chains Ch. 05

Clara's finger trailed on the page as she read the words. Despite Ezzo's assurances that he knew how to read, she'd reverted to tracking the words so many times now he'd basically given up on getting her to stop.

They were lying together in bed, with a large pillow between them for Clara to rest her wrist on. This was the third children's story she was reading to him. It was colorfully illustrated with some surprisingly realistic depictions of mice. Bbrasians seemed to have no fondness for cartoony portrayals of animals, even in literature for noble children.

"Then, with their food for the winter gone, and the cold setting in, Frederiggo shared with his family the words he'd gathered during the summer. The colors, the smells, the sensations, when put into words allowed the mice to withstand the scarcity of winter," she read cheerily.

To Ezzo's surprise, reading these simple stories was not as tedious or condescending to his personhood as he'd been expecting. On the contrary, these stories clearly meant a great deal for Clara, and she was more than happy to let it show in her voice, every page she read. On particularly nostalgic parts, she'd even stop to glance happily at her slave, invariably getting a reciprocal smile out of him.

"That's when his family said: 'Frederiggo, you're a poet.'"

Clara had been about to do it again. Ezzo could tell by the hint of the smile on her lips already. However, a knock on the door stopped her. Never a good sign, he thought immediately.

"Come in!"

Vera hadn't waited for her daughter's permission to start opening the door. The Locke matriarch entered the room with an air of casual superiority. Business as usual, I suppose.

She was wearing a burgundy dress that showed off just as much of her large bust as usual. Her gray hair was styled in an elaborate updo, and some sort of Bbrasian make-up had been applied to her pale face to make her cheeks blush. That was one of the few inferences Ezzo could make about Bbrasian cosmetics. After all, nothing could make Vera Locke blush. More alarmingly, her hands were clasped behind her back. It was enough to make him scoot a little further away from his mistress on the bed.

"Clara, darling." Vera's voice had that teasing lilt, the usual intonation she used on just about everyone in her estate, be them slaves or relatives. "You dashed off so fast after lunch. I had to wonder if everything was alright."

The older woman's blue eyes finally landed on the storybooks. There was a mild look of disapproval once she worked out what they were, a look she expertly disguised in the same second.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything naughty," she teased.

Clara blushed. Ezzo suppressed an urge to roll his eyes. Vera's gaze hardened a little when it reached him.

"Hi, Mother," Clara said meekly. "I was just eager to share some of my childhood stories with Ezzo. He told me a few from Scombia in the morning, so I wanted to show him my books."

"So I see," Vera's lack of emotion was enough of a hint of her displeasure.

She is not even smirking. It would be quite an enjoyable sight if there wasn't this sense of impending doom looming over me already, Ezzo thought.

The mature noblewoman finally revealed her hands. A golden brass leash, complete with a chain, was dangling from her fingers. Her smirk returned as Ezzo and Clara took in its sight. He didn't need to look at his mistress to know she was appalled. No matter her commitment to keeping him safe from her relatives, there was nothing that could be done to stop Vera. Ezzo, for his part, looked no more pleased about enduring the degradation of being put in chains again.

Once Vera seemed satisfied with their dismal facial reactions, she spoke again:

"Clara, dear," she called out in a faux-sweet authoritative tone, "be a good girl and leash Ezzo for me. I need to borrow him for a bit."

The collar dangled from Vera's finger for a surprisingly long moment. For a second, even Ezzo had to wonder if Clara wasn't about to defy her mother. It was not a particularly long second, though.

With clear reluctance, his mistress stood up and took the collar from Vera's hand.

"Ezzo," she said quietly, approaching him after unclasping the humiliating piece of neckwear.

He didn't resist her as she put the chain around his neck. Clara averted her eyes from his, pursing her lips while the chain was gingerly snapped shut. Ezzo felt the click of the lock behind him, a moment before Clara took a step away from him as if his very presence in that state was hurting her.

"It's done," she muttered reluctantly.

"So I see." Vera shot her daughter a satisfied smirk. "Now bring him to me, dear."

The mother's perfectly sculpted hand was extended forward. Clara sighed. So did Ezzo. He rose to his feet, deciding to put an end to his mistress's torment. Without a word, he walked up to Vera, maintaining a stoic expression to the best of his ability.

"Interesting." The matriarch looked at him with a bemused smile. "Maybe you have trained Ezzo better than I expected."

The older woman's fingers curled around his collar and pulled him closer. He could suddenly feel her perfume on his nostrils again. It still felt just as alien and Bbrasian to him, but now with the added discomfort of the unpleasant memories of his first day at the estate.

"You're coming with me, Scombian," she declared. "But I do appreciate a slave who knows his place."

Her hand trailed down his chain, until it reached the dangling handle. With one gentle tug, she directed Ezzo towards the exit. Halfway through the door, she turned around, glancing over the slave's shoulder. Clara was still standing in front of her bed, averting her eyes.

"I'll try not to take too long, darling."

Vera had a very brisk pace, much faster than she'd been while leashing him before her daughter. Ezzo had to stride to avoid getting dragged along the corridor. Thankfully, this room was on the same side of the manor. It required little more than a short march.

He was brought to a swish office, far more refined than any bureaucrat's lair he'd visited as a free man. Vera led him to a cushioned seat in front of an impossibly heavy-looking desk. She sat before a portrait of herself, younger, but no less curvaceous. Young Vera Locke still had those curious blue eyes, but her hair was as golden as Clara's then. Even at that age, she looked no less sure of herself than she did now. The painting depicted her wearing a riding uniform, mounting a destrier with a riding crop in hand. That same utensil - black leather sewn together with golden linen - was resting right in front of the Locke matriarch's seat.

A snap of her fingers brought Ezzo back to the situation at hand.

"I feel like I might not have made myself clear enough on why I bought you, Scombian." Vera's eyes narrowed sternly. "Care to remind us both why I bribed those slavers back in Sulatrava?"

Ezzo sighed. Before he could avert his eyes, the riding crop was tilting his chin up.

"Look me in the eyes, slave," Vera said without her usual mockery or amusement. "Why did I buy you?"

"To help Clara awaken," he said quickly, before clarifying. "Sexually, my lady."

The riding crop stroked his cheek, before taking off and hovering above his eyes. It felt as if it could come crashing down on his head at any moment.

"Correct," she said with a condescending little smile. "And pray tell: does the art of seduction in your homeland often involve children's storybooks?"

"Was I to refuse Lady Clara's request to read, Lady Vera?" Ezzo spoke with a hint of defiance. The way she smirked at him made him regret his choice of tone immediately.

"Oh, Ezzo. If you were remotely good at your job, you would have never been subjected to such a request in the first place."

Vera smacked him on the forehead with the riding crop playfully.

"Are you a sodomite, perhaps? Do women repulse you?"

That offended him. The fact Vera had seen him claim a female slave and yet was still questioning his masculinity stung more than he cared to admit.

"No, Lady Vera," he said with a glare.

"Good." She used the riding crop to push a strand of hair out of his eyes with an air of casual indifference. "As far as I know, you Scombians take a dim view of that kind of thing. It would simply not do for me to have bought the exception to the rule."

The noblewoman rose from her seat, placing the crop behind her back. She let her free hand glide over the desk as she walked lazily around it, stopping right next to Ezzo's chair.

"Surely you don't expect me to just believe my Clara is ugly," she said. Her smirk gave it away. She is toying with me.

"She is beautiful, Lady Vera," he said with some reluctance. Not because the statement felt untrue, but because he wasn't sure what game this noblewoman was playing with him yet.

"How beautiful, Ezzo?" Just as she asked the question, the crop landed gently on his shoulder. Her grip suggested it could land a lot less gently if he didn't think his words through.

"She takes good care of her appearance, she is well-mannered, and her demeanor is genuinely kind."

Unlike her relatives, he felt like adding.

"How... clinical," Vera mocked. "I am almost inclined to call my little Clara a liar when she tells me you have a way with words."

That's for people I like, Ezzo thought to himself. Vera must have noticed the defiance in his eyes, because her smirk widened right away. With one long step, she got behind his seat, burying her fingers in his hair. The riding crop was still resting on his shoulder.

"You do see how this paints a rather... unflattering picture of you, don't you, Scombian? An exotic slave, belonging to a hypersexual race, being described as quite the wordsmith by my own daughter... and yet she remains as chaste and innocent as the day I bought you. Makes you seem incompetent at best, disinterested at worst, does it not?"

Her fingers tightened around his hair. The crop was finally raised again. Ezzo found himself wincing as he replied:

"Yes, Lady Vera."

For a moment, he thought he was going to be struck. Then, Vera let go of him with a condescending chuckle.

"Good. You're quite the sharp little slave, when you want to be."

He still felt her voice behind him. Mocking, teasing.

"Of course, that still leaves us with a problem, doesn't it?"

Ezzo felt Vera's eyes burning on the back of his skull. In front of him, her riding portrait seemed to belittle him as much as the real Vera.

"Did I waste my money, Scombian?" she asked sternly.

He wanted to scream at her. About the stupid racial identity he'd been confined to, about the fact Clara was the one in charge rather than him, about how he'd been thoroughly used for his intended purpose, even if not by his mistress. Instead, Ezzo settled for saying nothing. His brown eyes went to the floor, and he simply pursed his lips.

"Oh, there, there," she purred mockingly. The riding crop patted him on the head with that same level of condescension. "No need to look so glum, Ezzo. All you need to do is answer me."

The crop slid down his temple, ending up pressed against his cheek.

"Did I waste my money?" Vera repeated, even more harshly.

"No, Lady Vera," Ezzo grudgingly retorted.

The crop didn't relent.

"Do you understand why your words alone fail to convince me at this point?"

"What must I do, my lady?" Resignation and annoyance were clear in Ezzo's tone by now. That seemed to satisfy Vera.

"I'm so glad you asked."

Vera set the gold-sewn riding crop aside on her desk. Her long-nailed fingers moved to his chest. They lingered there for a moment, before gripping the brass chain and pulling him forward a fraction. Ezzo's head tilted forward, until he felt Vera's hand on his hair again. He was pushed the rest of the way, until his forehead was pressed against the wooden secretary.

"I suppose you'll have to... earn my trust back," she sounded amused. "I was promised a Scombian lover, wasn't I?"

"Yes, Lady Vera," he muttered with his head still firmly held down.

Not by me, though, he added mentally. By slave-driving charlatans at your capital.

A pull of his hair was enough to get Ezzo out of that humiliating position. Vera's grip adjusted, and so did his posture. He wound up looking up at the Locke matriarch, her large breasts making her even more imposing from that angle.

"You know where this is going, don't you, boy?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, Lady Vera," he repeated.

"Tell me, then," purred the Bbrasian noblewoman.

"We will... make love," he muttered reluctantly.

Vera smirked. Ezzo immediately realized this was a repeat of that insufferable game they'd played on the carriage.

"Love? Oh, Ezzo, darling..." She brought a hand to her chest, looking playfully demure. "I'm married. Love is something I can't afford to give anyone else. You'd know that."

"We'll have sex," he scoffed as he rolled his eyes. There. No willful misinterpretations now.

"Crude," Vera chuckled. "Is that any way to speak to a noble lady?"

"Would you have preferred a euphemism you could wilfully misinterpret, Lady Vera?" he asked with some audible exhaustion.

"You do have some bite after all." Vera smirked down at him, leaning in from behind. Seeing her upside down did not keep him from detecting the mockery in her facial expression. "Sura's doing, or Clara's?"

Ezzo opted not to respond. His hair was let go. Vera stopped leaning towards him, stepping out of his field of vision again. His eyes returned to the young, confident rider on the painting. The chain on his neck stretched over his shoulder as the mature noblewoman gained some distance.

"I suppose you guessed correctly, even if you did spoil our little game there. But you don't seem particularly eager. Should I take offense, Scombian?"

"A slave has no authority to tell what his mistress should and shouldn't do," he responded neutrally. It felt quite satisfying.

Vera let out a low chuckle.

"Witty, aren't you? And here I thought Clara's talk about you being sharp was just her trying to feel better about her first slave."

A pull at his leash made the brass clasp tighten against his neck. Not enough to strangle him, but certainly enough to remind him that he wasn't as free to talk back as he might have been inclined to believe, if only for a moment.

"But you are correct, my dear. As a slave, you have no authority over what I shall and shall not do. And today, that means you'll be playing with me."

She tugged at the leash, cutting his air off for a fraction of a second.

"Up you come, Ezzo. My office is no place for me to claim you in."

He complied. The pull of the leash only got stronger the moment he stepped off his chair. Vera had clearly been holding back. When Ezzo was back on his feet, her two hands dragged him towards her with so much force it made him lose balance.

The Scombian stumbled forward, only stopping when he bumped into Vera's curvaceous body. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, and her face was so close to his he could feel her breath on his lips. From this close, he could more accurately feel the strange scent of her perfume. Perhaps lavender? Despite the proximity, and the fact that he'd lightly crashed into her, Vera Locke did not take a step back. One of her hands was still pulling him closer, holding the chain right above her shoulder.

"Get used to this proximity, Scombian," she whispered with a grin. "I assure you it's not more than what's coming."

Ezzo found it hard to keep his breathing steady. Her smell, her warmth, the way she could make even normal intimacy feel like a humiliating defeat... It was overwhelming. Vera's nostrils flared delicately.

"And look at that. All these weeks being subjected to regular baths, and that herbal scent of your kind is still with you. I wonder if it will cling to me by the time we're done."

The way she didn't let go of him suggested she was expecting a reply. Ezzo reluctantly gave her one:

"I'm afraid that's not how this works, my lady."

That seemed to please Vera. Or at least, her smirk widened.

"In Bbrasia, hypotheses are tested with experimentation. Not dogma."

Unless it concerns the sexual behavior of certain races, it seems.

The leash was pulled a fraction closer. Vera pressed her forehead against Ezzo's.

"Are you ready to be properly bedded, Scombian?"

She looked at him expectantly, as if whether Ezzo responded sarcastically or submissively would make no difference. She will love every second of this, whether I submit or not.

"Lead the way, Lady Vera."

The Locke matriarch took a single step away from him, before turning around and dragging him out of that office. The guards and slaves alike made it a point not to even look at Ezzo as he was walked like a dog through those corridors. They'd bow to Lady Vera, the slaves more hurriedly than the soldiers, and then they'd dash off to whatever their duties were. Either I am a dead man walking, or the people who interrupt Vera's fun are, he concluded.

The room he was brought to was familiar. The same pillows embroidered with gold, the same oversized bed, the same cushioned armchairs facing the mattress. The room I was tested in. How fitting.

The similarities didn't end with the objects in the room. With a slender leg crossed over the other, still wearing no clothes, Tara was casually lounging on the armchair. She immediately perked up once Vera and Ezzo walked in.

"Lady Vera." Tara elegantly rose to her feet. The leash around her own neck clinked as she sauntered towards her mistress. She looked a lot more comfortable in her brass bindings than Ezzo felt in his. "I missed you so."

Vera smirked, tilted her head sideways, and closed her eyes. Tara brought her lips to the noblewoman's neck, giving her a lengthy kiss. Lady Vera herself only hummed pleasurably, allowing her smirk to soften as the kiss went on.

"Mmm... See, Ezzo?" She opened her eyes halfway, glancing at him while her slave maintained the kiss. "Being a slave is no excuse for lacking initiative."

He only suppressed his urge to roll his eyes at that. When Tara pulled away, Vera immediately pulled Ezzo closer to her. He only noticed then he'd subconsciously stepped away from the two women during that kiss. Vera tsked playfully as she dragged him closer to them.

"Do Scombians fear same-sex affection this much?"

Tara didn't even reply to her mistress. Her gray eyes were focused on Vera almost exclusively, looking as dutiful and eager as a puppy's. Ezzo had to wonder if this was another act, or if this woman really had so little dignity.

Vera placed her free hand on Tara's ribs, sliding it possessively down to the side of her belly. The slave only bit her lip, looking up coyly at her mistress.

"Tara, dear, you remember our resident Scombian, don't you? Ezzo, remember your first playmate?"

That was the first moment he felt his fellow sex slave's eyes on him. She had a bemused smirk, no doubt still recalling that initial ruse she and Vera had pulled to test his lovemaking skills. Far from the most humiliated I've been here, but still not something I'm too keen on revisiting, Lady Vera.

"How could I forget?" Ezzo said with a frown.

"Unforgettable sex is what I specialize in." Tara placed her hands on Vera's shoulders once she felt the noblewoman's hand reaching her waist.

"That's not what I meant," he still muttered.

"Someone's ungrateful." Vera chuckled and rolled her eyes. "But not for long."

Ezzo let out a choking noise as she tugged at his leash forcefully and without warning. Just like that, he was brought up close to the two women, as if he'd been playing along with their kisses and caresses that far.

"Get to work, Tara," Vera commanded her slave with a smirk.

Before Ezzo could work out what 'work' even meant here, Tara got started, giggling while lowering his breeches. It was too sudden for Ezzo to stop her. When he tried to crouch to grab his pants, Vera hoisted the chain above her head, choking him with enough force to stop his efforts to cover himself up.

"That's... mine!" Ezzo struggled to say upon failing to grab his breeches. An obvious statement, but not one he was given much time to think through. "Agh..."

"Don't worry," Tara said as she pulled at his feet, now covered by his stripped legwear. "It will feel better once we're rid of your clothes. Trust me."

Ezzo wanted to say something snarky. Probably about how Tara was perhaps the least trustworthy person in the whole estate if they went by his experience with her. But unfortunately, the damn leash took priority.

He stood upright again and took a deep breath. His hands moved to Vera's wrists. If he held them, he thought, she wouldn't be able to choke him. It was, in hindsight, a very futile effort. Ezzo wasn't even considering what the long term plan would be. If he were honest with himself, he'd know sex with Vera was inevitable at that point. But the anger of being humiliated was enough to override his rationality. His hands moved, and Vera did not try to evade them. Only once his fingers curled around her wrists did the noblewoman react.

Ezzo had to let out a gasp as Vera Locke planted a sudden kiss on his exposed neck. She'd moved so quickly that his hands were still trying to restrain hers, tightening around her wrists as he shuddered through that kiss. Overwhelmed, he even let out a whimper - which he was quite sure elicited a chuckle from Tara down there.

"Wait...!" He could not gasp out much else.

The sensation of Vera's lips on his skin was enough to give him goosebumps, though that hardly surprised him at this point. Involuntarily, Ezzo tried to take a step back. It was not easy to retreat with his trousers lowered around his ankles, serving as makeshift cloth shackles. Still, the little clumsy step he was able to take proved to be a grave mistake. That one motion was all it took for Tara to grab his foot in the air and pry out one of his shoes.

With the slave holding up his foot, the breeches hindering his footsteps, and Vera's kiss still forcing him to backpedal, Ezzo's balance did not last long. He felt his body tumbling backwards, the sudden inevitability of a fall quickening his heart.

To his surprise, the fall never came. The back of his skull never crashed into the ground. Instead, Tara planted his foot firmly back on the floor, while Vera gripped the leash with both hands. Together, the two women held him in place, even if at a very uncomfortable angle for his spine.

"Easy, Ezzo." Vera was smirking, leaning forward to the point where her face was uncomfortably close to his. "We'll have plenty of time to lie down."

He felt Tara's hands clasping around his other wooden shoe.

"Let me take off your other zoccolo?" the slave proposed from below. He couldn't even see her face. Ezzo's brown eyes were stuck on Vera's intrigued blue ones.

He clearly took too long to reply. Vera's smile widened, just as she let go of the leash for a split second.

Ezzo let out a frightened gasp as his body dropped a fraction. The panicked reaction of his helpless limbs was all it took for Tara to take the other shoe off. The wooden zoccoli were playfully tossed aside. When Tara started pulling at his breeches to fully remove them from his legs, Ezzo had no energy left: he feebly lifted his feet, allowing himself to be stripped bare from the waist down in resignation.

"There's a good boy," purred Vera.

His hands clung to Vera's waist before he even noticed it. I hate this position, he realized. It was a terrible angle, impossible to maintain without falling down unless someone held him. Even while gripping Vera like that, it felt like it wouldn't be enough if she were to let go of the leash.

"Getting bold, aren't we, Ezzo?" teased the noblewoman.

Tara got off her knees and rubbed her nude body against Vera's side. It was almost cat-like. But cats have more dignity, he thought bitterly. The curly-haired woman had an amused smirk on her lips. It seemed she knew what was about to happen.

"Let go of me, Ezzo," Vera commanded softly.

You've got to be kidding me, Ezzo thought immediately. He felt too vulnerable to voice that insolent reaction, though. In any case, Vera explained herself with a hint of mock sternness.

"While we're in this room, I'm your mistress, Ezzo. A good slave trusts his mistress. So I repeat: let go of me."

There was some hesitation on his part, which immediately gave Vera the chance to sprinkle in a threat. The smile on her lips made it abundantly clear it didn't displease her to have to resort to such a measure.

"Holding on to me won't stop you from falling, Ezzo," she explained in a tone that suggested she saw him as a particularly stupid child. "Only I can keep you from falling. So. Let. Go."

Tara was biting her lip now, looking at the exchange as if it was the most enticing thing that had happened in that room so far. Does she imagine herself in Vera's shoes, or mine, I wonder?

Ezzo relented shortly afterwards. With an exhale, his trembling hands stopped holding Vera's waist. His breathing was heavy. Not from effort, but from the sheer humiliation of being placed in such a predicament. Vera's smile only grew wider and wider the more distance the Scombian's hands gained from her body. Unsure of where to put them, Ezzo wound up hugging his own torso, looking up at the Bbrasian noblewoman with reluctant vulnerability.

"Awww," Vera tilted her head sideways. "He is just so precious, isn't he, Tara?"

Tara bunted against her mistress like a cat again, this time moving her head upwards so her lips met Vera's cheek at the end of the motion. After the kiss, she responded with another giggle.

"He looks more innocent than I expected a Scombian to."

Ezzo's displeasure with the comment was evident on his face, but in that position, there was nothing that could be done about it. He didn't even dare to talk back to a fellow slave.

Tara's hand reached for his manhood. Ezzo gritted his teeth as he felt her fingers curling around him. He hadn't even had time to think about his nakedness, but this gesture was enough to remind him of it. His cock might not have been fully hard, but it wasn't as soft as he would have liked, given the humiliating circumstances.

"Ooh, he is excited, Lady Vera."

The mockery was enough to get him fully aroused. It was utterly embarrassing, but thankfully, neither of the women seemed too focused on his sex just yet.

"Of course he is, Tara," Vera teased with a smirk. "He likes to act reluctant, but Ezzo is a much better slave than he is willing to admit." Her blue eyes landed on his, looking far too amused for his taste. "Isn't that right, Scombian?"

Ezzo settled for glowering at her.

"No need to reply." Vera glanced at his sex, more to rub in the fact that she was right than to confirm it. "Your body speaks for itself. Tara?"

The slave was given his leash, holding Ezzo from behind so he wouldn't fall as it changed hands. Tara then led him in such a way that Ezzo could not recover his balance. He stumbled backwards in a desperate effort to keep from falling. When Tara stopped leading him, Ezzo landed on the bed, facing upwards. Immediately, the curly-haired slave crawled on top of him and pushed his chest down. She had an unsettling smile on her lips.

"Why are you-"

He didn't have time to finish the question. His beige shirt was pulled upwards, covering his eyes and getting stuck around his elbows and collar. His immediate response was to thrash underneath Tara.

"Play nice, Ezzo," teased Vera's voice from out of sight. "It will be easier if you just let her undress you."

Ezzo still resisted a while longer, if only to safeguard his dignity. His thrashing was soft enough for Tara to finish her task, but reluctant enough for him to feel comfortable with his lack of submission. The last of his clothes slipped out of him once Tara's fingers pushed the leash through the shirt's collar. The cold bronze chain landed on his chest, eliciting a soft shiver from him.

"Done, Lady Vera," Tara said with a proud smile. She then put her hands on Ezzo's chest again, pinning him down. But her eyes didn't remain on him.

Ezzo followed the woman's gray orbs. Vera had lost her clothes too, though entirely by her own volition. Her back was turned towards them as she placed her dress carefully on the armchair. Even from behind, it was possible to tell Vera's curves put any woman Ezzo had ever been with to shame.

He quickly noticed Tara was staring as much as he was, while looking twice as enthralled.

"Are you really drooling over your owner?" he scolded her in a low voice.

"Are you really not?" Tara settled for smirking at him. But not for long. Not while Vera was there to be ogled.

Ezzo hated to admit it, but he saw the appeal when the noblewoman turned around to face them. Vera was truly curvaceous. Her large breasts sagged a bit with her age, but time hadn't taken their fullness away. Her hips were wide, her soft-looking belly had the stretch marks of motherhood, and her thighs were thicker than the long skirts on her dresses would have allowed Ezzo to guess. Between her legs, Vera's flower was as shaven as Tara's was. Or his sex, for that matter. Nobody escapes the razor in this damn estate.

"Good work, Tara." Vera graced her loyal pet with an approving smile. "Not that I expected any less."

Ezzo tried to follow the noblewoman with his eyes, but lost her when she approached the head of the bed. He felt the mattress shifting as Vera crawled onto it. She must have made some gesture he couldn't see, because Tara immediately took his leash and handed it to her. It wasn't long before he felt Vera pulling him closer.

"Come up here, Ezzo."

Tara stopped pinning him down once her mistress's order registered. Ezzo crawled backwards, following the pull without much reluctance. He immediately became aware of how warm Vera's body felt, even before he'd fully settled against the pillows by her side.

Vera wrapped the chain around Ezzo's neck twice, before burying her fingers in his hair again. Ezzo's head tilted as she turned him towards her.

"You're rather handsome, Scombian," she said conversationally. "Have any of my daughters ever told you that after bossing you around this much?"

The compliment stunned Ezzo. He'd expected a mean jab, or some extra mockery, perhaps even some degrading command. Not praise. And certainly not praise without any backhandedness. He did not quite understand how it made him feel. Happy? Offended? Skeptical? There was a little heat in his cheeks. All this teasing, all this mockery, and a compliment gets me blushing?

"They... have not," he admitted softly. "Thank you, Lady Vera."

Down there, he was still hard, but Vera's eyes did not leave his for any other body part. When she broke their eye contact, she glanced at Tara, still kneeling at the foot of the bed, looking ready for just about any order.

"Come, Tara," Vera said as she extended her free hand. "I haven't forgotten you."

On all fours, the slave crawled to Vera's left side with more than a little eagerness. Tara gingerly handed Vera her own leash, before settling down next to her. The slave's head was resting against Vera's shoulder, while her hand landed absently on their mistress's soft belly. The brass chain was curled around Tara's neck, same as Ezzo's, before the hand holding the leash pressed into her curls too.

"There's a good girl."

"Thank you, Lady Vera," said Tara as she nuzzled against Vera's body.

Vera exhaled contentedly. In that position, pulling one slave towards her on each side, she managed to look regal even without any clothes on. Ezzo felt her fingers digging into his scalp a mere second before her first order was issued.

"Your appreciation has been noted," she stated regally, though her smirk gave away the general playfulness of her demeanor. "Now, I want you to show it to me."

She raised her chin, exposing the delicate ivory-colored skin on her neck.

"Your lips. My neck. Thank me like you mean it."

Tara didn't have to be told twice. Ezzo heard soft kissing sounds from her end of the bed right away. Vera's eyes closed softly as she hummed with some delight. Soon, however, her right one was half-open, staring at Ezzo expectantly. Coyly, even.

Ezzo didn't find such a prospect as unappealing as he'd expected. If he had a little less pride, he might have even admitted, internally, that Vera's neck was practically beckoning him, looking so dainty and pale. The compliance there did not feel as bad as he'd come to expect from Locke women. He leaned forward, planting his lips on her skin, feeling her soft breathing right away.

Vera's fingers gripped Ezzo's hair gently, same as Tara's. Their heads were both pressed against her neck, all while the noblewoman hummed lightly with a contented smile. Ezzo allowed his instincts to take over. His lips slowly trailed upwards along the noblewoman's neck, all while his warm breath caressed her skin. It wasn't very obvious, but he could see the hints of goosebumps on Vera at that point.

On the other side, Tara was happily nibbling her half of the neck. Her noises were a lot louder than Ezzo's. Sucking, kissing, moaning. It was clear that there was no reluctance in any of the work she was putting in. Eventually, Tara's eyes opened, and Ezzo noticed they were focused on him. Even with her lips practically glued to Vera's jawline, he could tell she had the hint of a mischievous smirk on.

When it became clear to the slave that Ezzo was staring back at her, she stirred. Without warning, she pushed herself away from the pillows and crawled lower. Vera didn't react. Her eyes were still closed, her lips still curved into that contented smile that had taken over ever since the kissing started.

Tara only stopped when her face was right by Vera's chest. She bit her lip, sliding her hand upwards from the noblewoman's belly. She only stopped once she was grabbing her breast, squeezing it very gently. Her eyes were still on Ezzo's then, still asking some kind of unspoken question. Is she daring me? When her lips parted, and she lowered her face towards Vera's nipple, Tara's gray eyes still remained on Ezzo's. They showed a hint of satisfaction when the noblewoman exhaled loudly in reaction to her initiative.

The slave's tongue danced around Vera's nipple. Ezzo could already tell they were hardening, but his focus invariably returned to Tara. She raised her brows, maintained eye contact, all the while her ministrations proceeded in that languid pace.

When he glanced at Vera again, she was still reclining against the pillows, completely unbothered. As if sensing the question that lingered in the air, her fingers let go of Ezzo's hair. That was as close to an answer as he got.

Tara couldn't help but smile when she saw Ezzo emulating her position by Vera's side. His hands clasped around Vera's other breast, making it jiggle softly as he positioned himself next to it.

He didn't dive into it as eagerly as Tara had, mostly because he felt self-respect was not too much for a slave to have. But he did copy Tara's moves. The tentative licks, the nibbling, the gradual transition into suckling.

He recalled, rather vividly, how Sura had done it too. Vera was taking it a lot better than he had, though, even with the pleasure being doubled. Her hands returned to Tara and Ezzo's heads.

While Ezzo hadn't even considered such a thing, Tara quickly adjusted her suctions to match his rhythm. Vera's breasts were cared for rhythmically on both ends. Whenever Ezzo pushed into her soft flesh, Tara would pull at her end softly, trapping Vera's nipple between her teeth. The Scombian soon figured he'd do the same on his end.

Tara continued to shoot him glances. They conveyed amusement, arousal, and perhaps a faint trace of mockery. If she is hoping to get more than that across, she'll have to try much harder, though.

Whatever Tara's messaging aims were, they hardly seemed important. Soon, the two slaves elicited the first ever moan Ezzo heard from Vera Locke. It was a low sound, one that barely made use of the range she employed while mocking or teasing others. Nonetheless, it felt real. An actual, involuntary noise from the Locke matriarch, brought into the world due to the pleasure she was feeling.

Tara exhaled loudly, with her mouth wide open, as she pulled away from Vera's breast. The thrill in her eyes confirmed Ezzo's suspicions: Vera wasn't a woman that moaned all that often.

"Don't tease me, girl," Vera commanded with a smirk. Her eyes remained closed, but she seemed to have predicted her slave's intention well enough. "I'm enjoying myself. You don't want to spoil the moment, do you?"

Ezzo, on his side, was still suckling as intently as before. But he could tell Tara had a mischievous smile on her lips. She won't mind spoiling it a little, Ezzo realized.

"Well-"

Vera interrupted Tara by gently forcing her back on her breast. Even though her eyes widened as her face was smothered by the soft flesh, there was little objection from the younger woman.

The Locke matriarch chuckled softly as her two slaves resumed their ministrations. Her breathing was getting heavier, but that was hardly noticeable when Tara - along with Ezzo, to a lesser extent - was emitting all those loud, sucking noises.

The two slaves kept their rhythmic suckling going for a short time, with Vera caressing their hair to encourage them. Eventually, Ezzo noticed her legs parting.

"What a pity... it seems only the most eager of you both will get to go lower now," sang their mistress.

Tara immediately moved into position. She practically rolled into the space between Vera's curvy thighs. Ezzo hadn't even taken his hands off the mature woman's breast before Tara's face was buried in her flower. Vera chuckled, but still visibly suppressed a moan.

"Oof... I can't... fault you for lacking enthusiasm, can I, Tara?" Vera smiled as she opened one eye.

Ezzo was just about to wonder where this turn of events left him, but the noblewoman was quicker. Her hand slid off his head and reached for the leash, still coiled around his neck. The pull was firm, but not particularly harsh. Yet.

"Don't worry, Ezzo. I haven't forgotten you. Come to me," she commanded breathlessly. "I have another task for you."

The Scombian dragged his body backwards, obeying the pull of her hand until his back was leaning on the pillows again. Next to him, Vera now had a slight blush on her cheeks, more than just the makeup she'd applied earlier. So she can blush after all. Her eyes were a little hazy with pleasure, and they focused on him with a kind of mischief that was less calculating than usual.

"Kiss me, Ezzo," she ordered, pulling him towards her just a bit.

"What?"

He immediately felt stupid for looking so perplexed. He'd been kissing this woman's neck and suckling on her breasts, but he drew the line at kissing her lips? Hell, he'd kissed Tara on his first day, and it had hardly felt any worse than the rest of his trial. But this feels different.

Vera was patiently observing him, looking more amused than offended by his hesitation. No doubt, she was thinking about the absurdity of his astonishment as well. Ezzo certainly couldn't explain it even to himself in the heat of the moment. A kiss was far from the most degrading thing he'd been forced to do for the Lockes. But it somehow felt... off. Like a line he hadn't yet crossed, and one that he was - rather foolishly - attributing significance to.

"You heard me, slave," she purred, leaning closer. "Kiss your mistress. Properly."

By now, Vera was so close to Ezzo he could feel the heat radiating off her face. Her warm breath already reached his lips, and that lavender scent of hers seemed to be engulfing them both now.

Tara, between Vera's legs, was hardly concerned with what they did. Her eyes were closed, and the bobbing of her head was so rhythmic it was as if she was in a trance.

Vera gently forced Ezzo's eyes back to her by grabbing his chin. Her other hand was still subtly gripping his coiled leash, gradually bringing him closer to her.

"You're not going to make me repeat myself, are you, Ezzo?"

She was smirking at him. She really is enjoying this, isn't she? It was as if the hesitation, the inner conflict between submission and rebellion was as much a source of pleasure for Vera as Tara and Ezzo's bodies.

Submission won out. Ezzo figured Vera would eventually get that kiss, one way or another. And the longer he hesitated, the bigger a victory that would be. The least humiliating option - as well as the least painful - would be to obey quickly.

There wasn't much buildup when Ezzo made his decision. His lips landed on Vera's, only to find they were even smoother than they looked. Her hand reached for his face, gripping it possessively as their lips danced smoothly against each other. Slowly, Vera's fingers trailed up to Ezzo's hair, never quite letting go of him enough to make it feel like he had a choice.

Vera poked at his lips with her tongue. She'd nibble at his upper lip softly after her tongue pushed it upwards, only to go back to the smooth brushing to tease him some more. Ezzo was a lot less active here. He responded to her motions meekly, and tried not to pull away, but his lips and tongue were doing no exploration on their own.

When he parted his lips to exhale, Vera slid her tongue into his mouth, all while her grip got more forceful. The Scombian had to let out a moan at the intrusion, but his hands hovered right above Vera's body. He couldn't stop her, and he knew it. It was not as bitter a realization as he'd expected it to be.

Vera's tongue was thorough. Ezzo felt it aggressively poking under his own, at the top of his mouth, at the inside of his cheeks. Her fingers, still tangled with his hair, held his head firmly in place while this happened. He'd never been kissed like this, so hungrily or combatively. To his dismay, apart from the initial strangeness of this style of kissing, it did not feel exactly wrong. In fact, when Ezzo mustered the courage to meet Vera's tongue with his own, she immediately rewarded him by gently lapping around it, all while letting out a soft chuckle.

The Scombian dared to open his eyes. Vera Locke was pressed against him, still pulling him by the hair and the leash. Her eyes were closed and her lips were glued to his, but he could still very clearly tell she was smiling.

His tongue was patiently toyed with a while longer. Vera's motions became gentler, more playful. Even her grip softened once it became clear Ezzo was responding more actively to her intrusion. He even had to stifle a soft hum once Vera's aggression had dwindled enough.

When the kiss ended and the noblewoman withdrew, Ezzo felt her warm tongue running along his jawline. Vera stopped right under his ear, exhaling warmly on Ezzo's jugular. His whole body shuddered.

"You're learning," she declared, whispering.

Her lips brushed along his cheek, before she returned to her place, staring at him intently from up close. Her full lips were curled into a challenging smirk, as expectant as her blue eyes were. That smirk... did something to Ezzo.

It was like a switch, something inside him falling off, being let go. He didn't even give himself time to hesitate. Before he knew it, he was leaning forward, pressing his lips against Vera's. The noblewoman laughed breathlessly against his mouth, but didn't resist. Her lips parted with full intentionality - his tongue was allowed in.

She was no less bold while on the receiving end of this treatment. Right away, her tongue pushed against the Scombian's, running loops around it and teasing it tenderly. Vera didn't just caress his tongue with her own. Her own lips suckled it gently, drawing Ezzo deeper and deeper into the kiss.

Her hands, he noticed, this time had let go of his neck and skull. Vera was letting him lead, even if she was responding enthusiastically to his every advance. Ezzo couldn't quite explain where all this initiative had come from. His breathing was growing heavier, his exploration of Vera's mouth more desperate, and his dignity was as far from his thoughts as possible.

He only returned to something resembling reality when Vera shook things up. Without as much as a hint in her body language, she chose to suck his tongue a lot harder. The sudden pain was enough to force Ezzo to open his eyes. In front of him, Vera's blue orbs were open too, smiling at him as if any reaction to the sudden hostility in this kiss was bound to be of great interest.

His natural reaction was to try to withdraw, but Vera's suction, perhaps unsurprisingly, managed to be quite difficult to escape from. Only after another chuckle from the mature woman did her lips part, letting Ezzo pull his head back slightly.

Ezzo didn't feel as angry as he'd expected. He felt... like he'd been challenged, a notion that the smirk on Vera's lips was hardly dispelling. No. I'm not backing off here.

He immediately leaned forward to kiss her again, to get revenge. Vera only moved her head backwards, still holding that teasing expression as she backed away from his initiative.

Two more attempts. Two more evasions. That finally made Ezzo put a hand behind Vera's neck. She would not be dodging him a fourth time. When his fingers curled around the back of her skull, she stopped playing coy and used words again:

"It's about time..."

There was no resistance from her. When Ezzo pulled her close, Vera Locke only shut her eyes and allowed him to have her. His tongue immediately invaded her mouth, tackling hers to get some deserved payback. Vera did little but dance around him, tickling the tip of his tongue but never pushing back.

Ezzo would soon retreat, hoping Vera's tongue would follow him into his mouth. Hoping for a chance at payback for that vigorous suck she forced him to endure. Vera only chuckled against his lips. Then, as if deliberately stepping on a trap, her tongue slipped out of her mouth.

He waited patiently for Vera to enter him - really enter him - coaxing her with his own tongue with slow, deliberate poking and prodding. Her blue eyes only smiled at these attempts. Each time, her tongue would stop halfway through. She'd push against his tongue, of course, getting it as far as his lips, maybe even his teeth. Then, she'd run a lap or two around the rim of his mouth, before retreating again, thus forcing Ezzo to have another go at coaxing her into his trap.

"You're not nearly as slick as you think you are, Scombian," Vera eventually said, after letting out a breathless laugh.

What would have once infuriated Ezzo only turned him on then. He kissed the Bbrasian matriarch again, vigorously entering her mouth to rise to her challenge. Ezzo almost failed to notice that his body was slowly overtaking Vera's, leaning over it and assuming a position above her. This will do, he concluded.

"I want you, Lady Vera," he declared huskily. The words felt alien to him, as if expressing sexual desire had become utterly foreign after all this time at the Locke estate. But the strangeness of the words could not be dwelled on. He was too aroused for it.

"Is that so?" Vera raised a brow. She was blushing now, panting a little. Ezzo didn't doubt Tara's licking, between her legs, had contributed to this even more than his kissing. Her hand pushed a lock of hair away from his eyes. "What could you possibly mean by that, Ezzo?"

Ezzo noticed Tara's slurping noises ceased immediately. Vera was staring at him expectantly, as if this whole little spectacle had been arranged for this precise moment. Knowing Vera, maybe it was.

He'd already exhausted his attempts at euphemisms for sex back at Vera's office. Not that he was even inclined to use them here. At that moment, the last thing on Ezzo's mind was politeness or decorum.

"I want to fuck you, Lady Vera," he said. The crude language, especially without being forced out of him, felt just as alien.

Vera's smirk widened at that.

"Well," she said, her face still practically pressed against his, "I think honesty like that is rather refreshing. We should reward it, shouldn't we, Tara?"

"Yes, mistress Vera!" came Tara's cheerful voice from the foot of the bed.

The female slave had already pried herself away from Vera's flower, instead sitting upright by the delicate feet of her mistress. Had Ezzo been feeling more cynical, he'd have mentally made another canine comparison.

Instead, his mind was exclusively focused on Vera, her curvy body, and the way it was invitingly sprawled on that massive bed. He eagerly moved to assume his position, getting one knee between her thighs right away. He would have got the second one there too, but Vera spoke first.

"Hmm. Tara, would you like to teach Ezzo our first rule concerning intimacy?" she asked the younger woman, her tone mockingly sweet.

Tara only giggled. Ezzo's eyes were glued to Vera's warm body, which only made what happened next all the more unexpected.

He felt Tara's fingers gripping the back of his collar. With one hard pull, Ezzo was dragged away from the woman he'd been desperate to enter. He stumbled onto his back, lying sideways on the bed. His fellow slave was looking down at him with a grin, her face upside down due to how she was leaning forward.

"Lady Vera is always on top."

On cue, their mistress let out a low laugh. Tara's hand was pinning him down by the neck, all while he heard the noblewoman moving nearby. Ezzo did not even stir. Eventually, he felt... warmth around his waist. Vera was straddling him.

The curvaceous matriarch got on all fours above him, her gray hair dangling as much as her large breasts did. She looked down on Ezzo with a smile that was a fraction less predatory than usual. It looked more... intimate, more giddy than what she usually allowed herself to show.

"Very good, Tara," she whispered, but her eyes were on the slave beneath her now.

She took a hand to Ezzo's member, pointing it firmly towards her flower. Ezzo could feel the slick warmth right away. Tara had done a good job.

Tara crawled around Ezzo's lying frame, only to nuzzle against Vera's cheek with the same cat-like ease as before.

"Mmm... I believe we're ready. Don't you agree, Ezzo?"

He nodded.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Vera shook her head playfully. "You were being so expressive just moments ago. Speak up," she commanded.

"I'm ready, Lady Vera," he hurried to say. His voice lacked the annoyance from before. There was only desperation, eagerness left. "Please."

She seemed satisfied with this final display of need. One last surrender, one last victory, before she'd really claim the slave she'd bought. Finally, she was upon him.

Vera lowered herself with grace onto his cock. She looked almost regal while doing it, keeping her back straightened and letting out a single, very subdued gasp.

Ezzo was not nearly as elegant. The sudden tightness made him suck in some air. When his eyes were open again, Vera was pressing her hands against his shoulders. Her smirk looked just a little less sharp, a little more indulgent. Her hips moved in circular motions until he was fully inside her.

"Been meaning to do this since I dragged you out of Sulatrava..." she whispered. A happy purr. "I'm going to... mount you like a destrier, Scombian."

He let out a gasp as Vera Locke began her ride. Just as her hips bucked, her lips met Ezzo's again. He moaned into her mouth just as he performed his first tentative thrusts into her snug folds.

Tara stirred while their kiss deepened. Ezzo felt her lying sideways next to him. Meanwhile, Vera's tongue toyed with his, adjusting to the budding rhythm of their hips combined. When the matronly woman pulled away, Tara immediately tilted her head upwards. With one hand, she pulled her mistress towards her, pushing their lips together even more desperately than Ezzo had.

"Och," Vera moaned once she was free to breathe again. Her hips hadn't stopped rolling. Much like Ezzo's thrusts, they were going faster now. "You still taste like my juices."

The older woman straightened herself and brought her hands to her updo. Each time she brought her full weight down on Ezzo's cock, her breasts would jiggle happily, dangling with heft that Ezzo was still in awe of.

Underneath her, Ezzo was just panting, moving in sync with Vera's riding. Her body felt much tighter than he'd expected, and that was hardly dampening the hunger all this foreplay had awakened in him.

His hands found their way to Vera's waist, though the slave could hardly recall having put them there. His grip was gentle, soft, only really exerting any kind of force when the time came for her to move downwards again. She didn't just take all of him. Now that he was pulling her downwards and thrusting into her, Vera wiggled her hips, only to immediately lift them again.

Tara, by his side, decided to trace circles on his chest while their mistress was mounting him upright.

"She's wonderful, isn't she?" the slave girl whispered dreamily.

"Yes."

It was all Ezzo could whisper back to her. No sarcasm. No attempt at pretending he was not under her spell now. Just a ragged, panting murmur, all the while his hips kept hammering away at Vera's.

The older woman's hands finally retreated from her head, holding an odd set of silvery chains that was rapidly tossed to the other side of the bed. Her gray-white hair fell loosely over her shoulders, before she leaned towards Ezzo again. Now, with the matriarch's silver hair cascading around his face, he felt like their lovemaking was even more intimate. Vera's blue eyes twinkled with intrigue, her mouth opening and closing tremulously each time she brought her body down to take him in again.

Ezzo's mouth opened too, but the moan took a moment to arrive. Instead, he was exhaling loudly, grunting softly with each of Vera's descents. Her eyes were already rolled upwards with pleasure. When they locked in on Ezzo again, her mouth, still hanging open with gasps and quiet moans, curved into a lewd smile. Just like that, Vera Locke bit her lip, and slammed her full body against Ezzo's beneath her.

"There we... go! Haa..."

Ezzo's eyes lost their focus with the sudden burst of pleasure, Vera's inner walls gripping him so tightly he was losing all sense of reality. It was enough to make him moan-

... but it never happened. Tara brought a hand to his mouth, clamping it with some force as she brought her forehead to his temple. All that came out of Ezzo's lips was a muffled noise that he quickly suppressed out of embarrassment.

"You can't moan like that," teased the slave. "Men aren't supposed to moan like overwhelmed maidens, right? At least not according to Scombian customs."

"Mmf..." protested Ezzo.

Vera let out some laughter that mingled with her soft, rhythmic moans, her body still jiggling as she rode him to her heart's content.

"Oh, Tara..." she purred. "You are positively wicked."

Ezzo could only whimper as Vera rolled her hips, burying his cock deep inside her while clenching. Hard. He wasn't sure if the taunting wasn't making the pleasure even more overwhelming.

"Mmmf!"

"Awww. I don't think it's so bad, Mistress Vera. He seems happy enough!" said Tara cheerfully.

That finally sprang him to action. His hands gripped Tara's wrist, forcing her fingers off his lips.

"You need to quit-"

Immediately, Vera descended upon him. Her fingers pried his hands away from the female slave, only to pin them against the mattress.

"Look at me, Scombian," she tilted her head, her hips still moving in circles atop of his member.

Vera's eyes had never sparkled so much. They shone with lust, staring at him like a magpie enthralled by an entire treasury. It was almost... feverish, even if their mistress still had that sharp hint of calculated rationality in her gaze. No. This was exhilaration. A moment of willful permission to let her base urges take over.

"It's only good manners," she whispered authoritatively.

Ezzo looked up at her. Helpless. Aroused. Vera didn't wait for his input to kiss him again. He moaned into her lips, now a little less self-consciously. Vera was a lot less gentle now, biting his lips hard and pulling them towards her even harder. That only elicited even more moans out of the Scombian.

"And for the record," she said with a gasp, once they were done kissing, "I like a man who can moan and whimper for me."

His thrusts were maintained, even while overwhelmed like this. Perhaps subconsciously, he'd leaned into Vera's rhythm, and neither of their bodies looked particularly uncomfortable maintaining it. Becoming aware of the compliance of his muscles was not enough to make Ezzo want to stop. Maintaining eye contact, he allowed Vera to ride him, his throat emitting soft noises that could, if you were a particularly proud male Scombian, be passed off for something other than moans.

This pace satisfied Vera for a short while. When it stopped being enough, she opted out of subtle signs.

"Harder, slave," she commanded, her hips immediately picking up the pace. "I want to feel you in my heart."

Ezzo found himself complying, even before his mind could grasp the order he'd received. Unlike his brain, his body was more than willing to follow and match Vera's freshly adopted pace.

Tara giggled and crawled on all fours behind Vera. Ezzo felt her kneeling between his legs. Not that he needed to feel her. The other slave was making no effort to remain hidden. Instead, her hands moved to Vera's breast and her belly, gripping the soft, pale flesh of their mistress tenderly.

"I feel your heart, Lady Vera," she whispered in the noblewoman's ear, squeezing the teat as she spoke. "It's beating so fast!"

Vera let out another low moan, never slowing her riding down even a fraction. Her eyes were half-lidded now, glancing hazily at the younger woman, whose lips were pressed against her neck again.

"Oh, Tara," she gasped. It was clear the intense riding was taking its toll on Vera's speech now. Her voice was a little hazy and ragged, a far cry from the sharp, focused intonation Ezzo had come to expect from the Locke matriarch. Still, Vera smirked, and then powered through the pleasure to speak again. "What else can you feel? Do you feel him inside me?"

Tara's fingers slid dangerously close to Vera's pussy, but they did not get there. Instead, they pressed against her soft belly, just above the waist.

"I do," said the slave, before biting her lip. "Wow..."

Vera let out a low, breathless chuckle. Whether it was aimed at Ezzo's puzzled expression regarding their relationship, or Tara's girly fascination with basic anatomy, it was impossible to tell.

"Feel me, Tara. I want your hands on me when I cum."

Tara's fingers finally reached Vera's clit, making the mature woman shudder with pleasure. Her fingers got to work, steadily fondling her nub as she rode.

"Gods, you've got hands of silk," she gasped contentedly. Tara only chuckled, before kissing her neck again.

Ezzo kept thrusting upwards. He was quite certain seeing Tara kissing Vera wasn't exactly something he was okay with, but the pleasure and arousal were too much for moral objections.

"Yes!" Vera's blue eyes widened with a gasp. "I'm close. Tara-"

It seemed the slave knew her cue. Just as Vera's bouncing reached a frenzied pace, Tara's hand was lifted from her breast to instead cup her face. The noblewoman was halfway through moaning an order, but a kiss from the younger slave cut her off.

"Mmm..." was all Vera could let out into Tara's lips. Repeatedly. In time with each motion that made their bodies clap together.

Below the waist, Tara's fingers maintained their patient rhythm, never quickening despite the vertiginous pace as they neared climax. Soon, the final descent came. The bed let out a single creak in protest as the mature woman's curvaceous body crashed down onto Ezzo's. Her little noises, muffled by Tara's mouth and lips, gave way to a lengthy, much louder moan.

Her eyes rolled back into her skull. Her body stiffened with pleasure, convulsing even as her hips wiggled to bury Ezzo deeper within her. Smirking, Tara allowed her mistress to pull away for a second, to have that unapologetic expression of pleasure echoing across the bedroom. Then, just as quickly, she brought her lips to Vera's again. The moan did not cease yet.

Ezzo, underneath Vera, felt like his work was done. With her orgasm apparent, he hurried his own thrusts. It would not be out of character for Vera Locke to call things off now that she'd had her fun, after all.

But his paranoid fears never materialized. Instead, when Vera felt his hastening movements, she only hummed against Tara's skin. Then, she pulled away from the slave, crawling onto her hands and knees again. Looking down at Ezzo as if she was just remembering which of her two slaves was the new toy.

"You're close too, aren't you, Ezzo?" she whispered. Her voice hadn't steadied yet. She was still panting. But even after an intense orgasm like hers, Vera still moved her hips to assist in his thrusts. Her walls still clenched him. When he failed to reply to her, one of her hands grabbed his face and squeezed his cheeks softly. "Aren't you, Ezzo?" she repeated, a little more sternly.

"Yes, Mistress Vera," he gasped. "I'm... I'm very close..."

"Good," she replied immediately. "Don't hold back."

That was an order Ezzo had no trouble following. A few more rapid thrusts, and an orgasm would be upon him too.

"I'm-"

Vera covered his lips with a hand, smirking softly underneath that blush of exertion that now tinted her face.

"We know, Ezzo. Do it," she commanded with a faux-sweetness to her tone.

Ezzo could only growl into her hand as it finally happened. Vera adjusted her hips to take him in fully, closing her eyes with a contented smile. He released inside her, his body trembling beneath her weight.

"Good boy," she whispered, before opening her eyes again. There wasn't a trace left of that pleasure-drunk expression she'd worn mere moments ago.

Vera did not relax any further than that. She did not lower herself onto Ezzo's chest, did not let him feel her warmth or her breathing on his naked skin. Apart from still being inside her, all he felt on him were her hands, pinning his shoulders down with little more force than the weight of her upper body.

When Tara rammed her head gently against the older woman's cheek, Vera's smile softened. The two exchanged another kiss on the lips, a kiss that Ezzo, now free of the haze of arousal, was rational enough to avert his eyes from. Vera noticed it, glancing at him with an open eye halfway through the kiss.

Neither woman hurried the kiss along, despite Ezzo's apparent disapproval, but Vera ended up pulling away first. She immediately smiled mockingly at the slave that she was still on top of.

"I suppose after an orgasm is the best moment to regain your morals. Wouldn't you agree, Ezzo?"

He didn't really know what to say to that. That particular situation did not feel too humiliating. A far cry from Sura and Ira's trials, for sure. Whether that was because this had been the first instance of "normal" - if the Lockes could even apply such a word to themselves - pleasure he'd had in months, or because he was not in pain, he could not tell.

Vera, this once, did not feel like pushing him. She lifted one of her thick thighs and winced as his cock withdrew from her. Then, she rolled onto his side with a contented sigh.

"I had half-expected you to be hugging yourself and whimpering after this, Scombian," she said. Those blue eyes remained fixed on him, as if those expectations could still be met at any point. "But I am glad this seems to be your honest reaction."

This? Ezzo had to wonder. He did not have the nerve to stare back at Vera, but he hardly felt like his reaction had anything of note. His body was still sprawling sideways on that massive bed, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and his hands were left limply by the sides of his hips, having slid off Vera's waist once she'd dismounted.

Tara crawled to Vera's free side, snuggling so happily with her owner that it almost made her enslavement... enviable, if only Ezzo wasn't in the exact same position as her already.

"Mmm..." Vera purred as she let her fingers stroke the young woman's hair again. Then, deliberately, she did the exact same thing to Ezzo with her other hand. "A woman could get used to this."

"Did you have fun, Lady Vera?" Tara asked softly from the other side.

The older woman stretched lazily, before removing her hands from the heads of her pets. She turned to face Ezzo with a smile that, for a second, did not even seem predatory.

"Damn right, I did."

Ezzo himself was unsure of what to do. Even now, with rationality slowly seeping back in, he was not necessarily ashamed of what had just happened. Or even his nudity, if he really thought about it. Still, just to be sure there was no trap, his eyes swiveled towards his clothes, still discarded on the floor rather than hidden somewhere. Good. I might walk out of here dressed up again.

Vera noticed the direction his eyes wandered in. She let her fingers caress his shoulder for a moment, before letting go of him fully.

"Go on. Get dressed. I'm sure Clara misses you terribly."

There was a hint of mockery in that last word, as if Vera doubted her daughter even had the lust needed to adequately miss him. Ezzo almost wanted to argue over it.

Instead, he rolled off that large bed, taking cautious steps towards his discarded clothes. The whole episode still felt too benign for him to truly believe it was over. Yes, he'd been coerced into having sex, but that was hardly anything new. The fact the sex had been fairly conventional, devoid of pain or humiliation, that was what made it so unsettling. Even as he slipped back into his clothes, Ezzo kept glancing over his shoulder, expecting either Tara or Vera to suddenly make life a bit more difficult for him. Both women looked a lot happier to just linger on the bed, cuddling and observing him from there.

"Jumpy, Ezzo?" asked the noblewoman.

"No, Lady Vera," he hurried to lie.

Her smirk suggested she didn't buy it for even a second.

"Take him to his mistress, will you, Tara? Ensure he feels... safe. Protected."

Ezzo almost bristled at her word choice. But that would be just what she'd like, wouldn't it? The barbaric Scombian, taking offense at being treated like a helpless maiden. Instead, he turned back to his shirt and finished dressing up. The collar did slow him down, though.

He heard Tara sighing and crawling off the bed. She donned the same beige uniform Ezzo had to wear, leaving the top three buttons undone. After running her fingers through her hair and tucking a strand behind her ear, she looked ready to leave. At least before she turned around to look at Vera, still sprawling on the bed with her maternal curves on full display.

"Should I come back to you, Lady Vera?" Tara asked with a hopeful smile.

Vera simply leaned back on her elbows, before glancing lazily at them both.

"Oh, Tara. I wouldn't expect anything else from you."

That seemed to please the slave. Tara allowed Ezzo to walk out of the room first, closing the door on her way out. She sauntered after him, even though Ezzo hardly needed her to find Clara's room again.

"You did well back there. Lady Vera was clearly pleased," Tara said conversationally.

"It's not her pleasure I'm concerned about," he muttered.

She seemed puzzled about that remark, as if looking beyond the enjoyment of her mistress was an alien thought to her.

"What else is there to be concerned about? If she is happy, you get to keep your occupation."

My occupation, he scoffed mentally. I had an occupation once, within this blasted empire too.

"You don't find the details of our... 'occupation,'" he couldn't help but make his disdain for the word audible, "utterly humiliating?"

Tara stepped in front of him, stopping Ezzo in his tracks. She sized him up as if she was trying to understand the inner workings of a complex machine.

"This is a Scombian thing, isn't it?" she asked. "About pride and masculinity. Lady Vera mentioned that."

The way Tara was looking at him was almost enough for Ezzo to imagine Vera Locke explaining his entire culture. A small, disinterested smile, as if his entire identity was a petty little superstition that could be scrubbed away in due time.

"It most certainly is not just a Scombian thing," he grumbled. The fact Vera had already been lecturing Tara and gods knew who else about his culture didn't make him very happy. "People don't like being enslaved for the pleasure of others. Or for any reason, really. I'm no exception, even if you are."

Tara tilted her head. Then, she took a couple of steps back and allowed him to resume the march to his mistress's room.

"Well... I would dislike my duties if I had to serve under less attractive people. But the Lockes? They treat you well, provided you bestow the same kindness onto them. And Lady Vera might be the most beautiful woman I've ever had the chance to touch."

This foolish girl talks like she wants to marry her owner. Ezzo couldn't keep his skepticism within the confines of his skull:

"You wouldn't happen to have spent a little too much time in Ira's hospitality, would you?"

Tara chuckled.

"You are allowed to find beauty in the people you serve, Ezzo. We're slaves, either way. Might as well take some joy out of our service. Besides, based on what I saw back there, I don't expect you to try and convince me you don't find Lady Vera at least a little enticing."

He felt some heat rising to his cheeks at that comment, which prompted him to reply quickly:

"It's still humiliating."

Tara rolled her eyes softly, but her good-natured smile persisted.

"It's only as humiliating as you allow it to be. No one in this house holds you to Scombian expectations of masculinity apart from yourself, Ezzo."

"Everyone reminds me I'm a Scombian!" he complained immediately.

"But has anyone told you you're being a Scombian wrong?" she raised a brow at him.

"Of course not. You Bbrasians wouldn't know the first thing about being a Scombian if it was shouted at you!"

"Exactly," Tara said with a grin. "So why even fret about the Scombian definition of humiliation to begin with?"

Ezzo had to spend a moment in silence, thinking. He hadn't been persuaded, of course, but it did require some extra thought as to why that was the case.

"Because it's my definition of humiliation," he said, a little more softly.

"Well," Tara said as she placed her hands behind her back, "no better time to change it. There isn't a single Scombian in this estate to police how you should feel, apart from yourself."

They stopped in front of Clara's door before Ezzo could object further.

"Oh, right." Tara smacked her forehead lightly. "That reminds me."

She dug in the front pocket of her breeches until she produced a little brass key.

"Can't return you to Lady Clara in chains, right?" she asked with a smile.

The key didn't properly fit inside the slot. Ezzo heard and felt it at the back of his neck, clacking unevenly. Tara immediately understood why that was the case.

"Whoops. This one must be mine." Immediately, her hands returned to her pocket to retrieve an identical key. This one fit the slot on Ezzo's collar.

The Scombian watched in disbelief as his neck was freed from the leash. His flabbergasted expression was only accentuated when Tara simply put the key back in her pocket, rather than freeing herself too.

"Aren't you going to lose your own collar?"

"Why would I?" she asked nonchalantly. "Lady Vera's not done with me."

This girl is unhinged, he finally decided, but outwardly, he said nothing.

"Think about what I told you, Ezzo," Tara still said amicably, already turning back to where they'd come from. "It will make you much happier here."

Ezzo watched her leave, unsure if her casual attitude towards her enslavement had been a choice or an inevitability. He opted out of dwelling on that thought for too long, however. Clara is probably worried sick about me. With that in mind, he knocked.

"Lady Clara?" he said.

"Ezzo?" came her voice from the other side. "Please, come in."

The room was almost unchanged since Vera had dragged him out of there. Clara's books were neglectfully stacked at the foot of her bed, as if they'd been responsible for her mother taking the slave away. Clara herself was already standing close to the door. Either she was pacing in circles, or she just sprang to her feet, Ezzo concluded.

"Are you alright?" she asked hurriedly.

"I am," he replied. For once, he meant it. Mostly.

Clara embraced Ezzo, letting her small hands roam along his back. Her touch is tentative. She is probably worried that her dearest mother left some marks on my skin.

"I wasn't harmed," he reiterated his reply, looking down at her with his best earnest expression.

His mistress looked up at him, but she didn't seem to focus on his emotions. Her eyes moved from his disheveled hair, to his swollen lips, and finally to his shining eyes. Sex is written all over me, no doubt. But can she tell?

"Did she... kiss you?"

That was probably enough of a hint. He didn't even bother to think about lying here.

"She did, my lady." Among other things.

The hug stopped. Clara immediately blushed. Whatever she was imagining, it was probably less erotic than the real story. Best keep it that way.

"I'm sorry, Lady Clara," he said, immediately scolding himself for even apologizing after being forced into yet another noblewoman's bed.

"No, no, no," Clara whispered, her blue eyes full of compassion. "You don't have to apologize, Ezzo."

The hug was resumed, a little more tightly. It lasted a few seconds before Clara's arms loosened, and her hands started trailing idly along his back. She must be thinking of something. Hopefully not what Vera and I did.

Eventually, Ezzo's internal musings got an answer without even asking for it.

"Did you like it?" Clara asked.

"I beg your pardon, Lady Clara?"

"The kiss. Did it... feel good? You don't seem as distraught as you were the... uhm... other times."

It wasn't the lack of a kiss that made the other times horrible, Ezzo felt like saying. But that would require delving into the specifics of what he'd been subjected to, and he was more than happy to never revisit any of those episodes again.

"It was... pleasurable, my lady," he simply stated. He figured, internally, that this conversation would be exclusively about kissing. No point in overthinking about the rest.

Clara still looked pensive in his arms.

"Is something on your mind, Lady Clara?"

"I just... I was just wondering if... if you'd like to do it with... me."

It took no genius to tell that, by 'it,' she meant 'kissing' rather than the rest of what Vera had offered him. Still, it was an offer that was nothing short of shocking to Ezzo. It wasn't that the idea displeased him. Not at all. If there was one Locke he'd enjoy kissing, it would certainly be Clara. But she'd better not be offering this out of pity.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly.

"I think I am." Clara averted her eyes just then. Her blush was getting more intense. "If you're okay with it... I'd really like to know what it feels like."

That reply at least helped him rule out pity as a motivator. He looked at his mistress again. Those soft, parted rosy lips looked especially enticing then. Ezzo nodded plainly.

"I'd be honored to kiss you, my lady."

Clara's blush did not soften upon hearing that. On the contrary, she looked even more nervous then. When she took an uncertain first step towards her bed, Ezzo followed her. They sat side by side. Ezzo made it a point to give her a little space.

"So," she said, keeping her eyes on the ground, "how does this usually go?"

"Well..." Ezzo leaned back a little, trying to seem comfortable if only for his mistress to feel that way too. "Normally, we would lean towards each other, close our eyes and just... do it."

He felt awkward saying it. Never in his life would he have imagined he'd need to explain to a Bbrasian, of all people, the intricate steps for kissing someone. Clara, having heard his instructions, was already leaning a little closer to him.

Ezzo thought about asking for her consent one more time, but the situation felt awkward enough as it was. Instead, he leaned towards his mistress too.

Clara did not close her eyes fully, but Ezzo couldn't fault her for that. On his end, he shut his eyes just before closing the distance. Their lips pressed together softly, barely moving while contact was maintained. He felt his mistress's breathing, as well as her hands pressing uncertainly against his chest.

When they pulled away from each other, Clara exhaled softly. She'd been holding her breath.

"That was a kiss," Ezzo said with a smile he hoped wouldn't be interpreted as mocking.

"Yeah," his mistress retorted breathlessly. Then, she chuckled. "I uhm... I don't know what I expected."

The Scombian only raised a brow at her remark. Clara soon explained herself.

"I mean, I don't think I understand the appeal. I expected it to be more... exciting? Given how often people write and talk about it."

Ezzo had to chuckle at that, but his amused expression softened when he noticed Clara pouting a bit. How in the world did Vera Locke raise such an innocent girl?

"Well, usually, we use our tongue, my lady. Or even nibbling. There's more playfulness to it than just pushing our lips together."

"So why didn't you do it?" she asked pointedly. Clara's pout hadn't fully vanished yet, though it looked more playful already.

"It was your first kiss! I imagined you'd like smaller steps!" he said defensively.

Her hand returned to his chest a little more confidently. Her blue eyes were now on his, expectant and open. The blush had mostly left her cheeks.

"Again?" Clara asked earnestly. "The full experience this time?"

Ezzo nodded. This time, Clara closed her eyes fully. When she felt his breath, as he leaned towards her, she met him halfway.

The second kiss was a real one. Ezzo moved his lips against hers, sucking lightly on her lower lip whenever he caught it in his mouth. Clara took little time to emulate his movements, nibbling Ezzo's lip gently to match his energy.

On his chest, her hand was now caressing him in tender, circular motions. The distance Ezzo had given her had been closed. The two of them were sitting together now, the kiss deepening by the second. Ezzo even placed a hand on her shoulder, acting more on instinct than intent.

When he extended his tongue, Clara quickly parted her lips for him. Their tongues met, dancing tentatively in her mouth. This dance only ceased when Ezzo pulled away a second time.

"Was that better?" he asked gently. "We can go slower if-"

"Again," Clara whispered.

This time, she closed the distance fully. Her hand, still lingering on his chest, pushed Ezzo gently downwards. Their kiss was broken a few times as they adjusted on the bed, but Clara wound up on top of him, this time letting her tongue do the exploring.

If it was Clara's first time loving someone with her tongue, she was quite good at it. She immediately took a hand to his cheek, holding him gently in place as his lips parted for her. When she was satisfied with her exploration, she moved on to teeth. Bites that started out soft gradually grew in intensity, culminating in Clara tugging at his lips with quiet, exhaled growls. At one point, Ezzo even felt her sucking on his tongue. Her mother's daughter indeed.

When it was all over, Clara rolled off of him.

"Okay," she said, panting. "I think I get it now."

Ezzo chuckled, and she joined in.

"Thank you, Ezzo. That was... wonderful."

He turned towards her on the bed. Clara's eyes were sparkling. Her lips were glistening with their saliva, curled in a dazed smile that seemed just a little less innocent than it had been that morning. Her blonde hairdo was just a little messier after having Ezzo's fingers tangled in it for so long. She didn't even seem to be blushing from shyness, but from exertion, this time around.

"I liked it too, my lady," he said as he ventured a smile of his own.

Still smiling, Clara closed her eyes and leaned back on the pillow. Ezzo glanced downwards. Between their bodies, their hands were entwined. When did that start? he wondered. But he didn't remove his hand. He didn't remove anything. For once, Ezzo was lying in bed with a Bbrasian noblewoman, and he was not looking for an opportunity to get out of there.