“And it’s to allow people to get wild?”
“People who own pets don’t have to rely on drink or a party’s wild atmosphere to explore their fantasies. The party’s just an opportunity for gathering and for group activities. There will be some meetings and discussions among owners as well, aside from the party.”
Normal pets and owners might not need the party to explore, but Brande thought she did. Being masked and at a party would lower her inhibitions. Being anonymous at the assessment center certainly had.
“I like parties,” she murmured absently.
She also thought the party might help lower Evston’s inhibitions too. Not physically. He was very capable of playing all manner of physical games with her. Instead, she wondered if she could get him to lower his guard and confide more in her. He always seemed to hold back when she asked him questions about his past activities. If she were able to see more of that world, he might consider her a part of it.
She’d been feeling quite torn lately and it made her restless. At times, she felt desperately in love with Evston and enjoyed all the exotic games they played. At others, she couldn’t imagine having her life confined to being a little pet of a wife in a castle. Sometimes she plotted a final escape to a freedom she’d never known. What if she left the planet altogether? High-ranking Endricane officials could track anyone down on a home planet, but to try to find her off-world could lead to incidents that the crown would not want. They could never be aggressive in an off-world search.
“You shouldn’t go to the party. It’s not the kind of thing a girl like you should see,” Rocurt said, and then turned and disappeared.
She pursed her lips. Shouldn’t she know what her future husband did and experienced at parties that were mandatory for him to attend? If he was not going to take her, he shouldn’t go either.
It was not much longer before Evston returned. He arrived wearing the smart uniform of a high-ranking official to the crown. Normally, it took her breath away to see him looking so handsome, but ever since her father had treated her so monstrously, she harbored resentment over the fact that Evston had chosen to remain in the king’s service. Of course, it was childish of her to wish that he’d stepped down from the position, but in her heart that’s exactly what she wanted.
“Come out here, pet,” Evston said from the doorway.
She rose, bristling at being called pet when she wasn’t in the mood to be. She set her book down and emerged from the bedroom. Rocurt appeared too. Apparently he’d been in his own room off the playroom. Why was that? Shouldn’t he be residing downstairs if Melsint was away?
“Yes?” she asked.
“Yes, what?” he demanded.
She was a princess and had been studying law all day.This is not play time, she thought defiantly. She took a breath though and held her temper in check.
“Yes,Sir,” she said tartly, folding her arms across her chest.
“We’ll deal with that tone in a moment. Did you have your lunch on the balcony?”
She colored, but lifted her chin. He’d forbidden her from sitting on the balcony during daylight, but it had been overcast, so practically dark, and there’d been no one around. She’d kept a very sharp eye, with plans to dart inside if she spotted anyone. Except someone must have escaped her vigilance to have reported it back to him that she’d been on the balcony.
“I was suffocating inside.”
“You’re allowed to open the doors to take in air and light. Remind me what you’re not allowed to do.”
“If you are so concerned that I will be seen and identified, then perhaps you shouldn’t keep a princess as a pet in your own home!” she snapped. “I could be downstairs in a guest room in this castle with a companion. Everything could be handled easily and without the possibility of scandal, but you’ve chosen this,” she said, gesturing to the wall of erotic tools. “Despite the risk.”
“You agreed to it.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “I was pressured into it, as you well know.”
His eyes snapped dangerously. “If that’s how it feels to you then I release you from the arrangement.”
“From which arrangement?” she asked slowly.
“Your role as a pet.”
“I would like you to release me from the engagement too,” she said coolly, though she wasn’t sure at all that that’s what she would like. Her temper had flared beyond control.
“That’s impossible. The king has been promised the marriage and been paid the bride price. You and I both signed the engagement contract, and it’s at the palace. None of us has the power to break the contract without a high judge reviewing the case, which the king will never allow since it would expose events that would be an enormous scandal.”
“I don’t care about scandals that inconvenience the crown. The crown doesn’t care about me. And sometimes neither do you!” She turned and stalked to the bedroom. “I’ll pack the few possessions of mine that I’ve been allowed up here, so you can install me wherever you see fit. But I won’t stay in these rooms a moment longer.”
* * *
“Let’s go downstairs,” Rocurt said, standing in the middle of the playroom that was currently devoid of pets.
