“Of course, sir,” she murmured, dropping her head in a bow. “Anything you wish.”
Instead of letting her walk, Lorse basically dragged her out of the room by the back of the robe. The moment they were in the hallway, he tossed her a little away from him with a disgusted expression. She hit the wall, but not hard enough to cause pain.
Keeping up the delicate human act, she hunched her shoulders and whimpered, as if the impact hurt her.
“You smell like Myrum,” he snarled. “Did you see to his needs on the planet while I was doing important work?”
Amina’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t expected this question and had no idea how to answer it.
They’d been so dumb! She and Myrum shouldn’t have played on the planet when they couldn’t clean up afterward. Ossisos probably had as good a sense of smell as Talins.
They’d been so messy, another human might even be able to smell the sex on her.
The silence stretched between them.
“You don’t know how to answer,” Lorse said. “I imagine it’s because you don’t want me to know he sullies himself with you. It’s good you’re loyal.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said. That seemed like a good answer.
“Do you enjoy his attention?” Lorse asked, leaning in close and pulling a deep breath through his nose. “I can smell him all over you, but you stink so much I don’t know if you liked it or not.”
“My joy comes from my master’s joy.”
Lorse smirked. “Ah, that’s the answer that tells me you don’t like it. Good. Things like you should only serve for duty, not pleasure.” He went silent, looking her up and down. Amina figured remaining silent was the best plan.
“You will remain until I can take care of all Myrum’s needs,” Lorse said as if to himself. “After that, I’ll reassess. Talin’s prize you things. I’m sure it would be easy to find someone to take you off my hands.”
Amina thought he might be done, but he wasn’t. He grabbed her hair and lifted, making her go up on her toes. Unlike the earlier shove, this actually hurt. Not bad enough to make her do something, but she swore she’d make him pay later.
“Let him use you, but don’t ever enjoy it,” he hissed. “Myrum is mine, not yours. You are nothing but a thing. Don’t forget that.”
This time he tossed her against the wall, making the side of her head impact with it. She sucked in a breath and focused on keeping her temper in check. Lucky for both of them, Lorse turned on his heels and strode off.
Two out of the four security personnel had been there the entire time. Each one made sure to bump her as they passed. The second one sent her to the floor.
“Assholes,” she muttered once they turned a corner.
Standing up, she redid her hair and pulled in some calming breaths before walking back into the bedroom. Myrum and Gis were standing near the door. Gis was facing Myrum with his hands out, obviously trying to keep Myrum from going out into the hall after her.
Gis moved out of the way as she walked in.
Myrum bared his teeth at the sight of her. “I’ll kill him,” he growled.
“Get in line,” Amina said, walking straight into his arms. They hugged until she felt calmer, then she turned in Myrum’s arms to face Gis. “How did you not know this was going to happen today?”
Gis let out a long sigh and rubbed a hand over his head, making his fur stick up in all different directions.
“The ceremony to declare intent to court someone and the ceremony for marriage are almost the exact same,” he explained. “I never thought Lorse would skip over at least three steps and jump straight to marriage. He must’ve decided he could get away with it because Myrum didn’t know better. Lorse turned what should've taken at least forty or fifty cycles to one.”
“Can Myrum use that to get away from him?” Amina asked. “You know, pretend to be deeply hurt and upset because Lorse didn’t treat him right?”
“No,” Gis said. “The law is very clear; once the binding ceremony has been performed, there is no going back. If Myrum tries to leave, he’s breaking Ossiso law.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter that I’m not Ossiso?” Myrum asked.
“No,” Gis said. “You’re in Ossiso territory and married an Ossiso clear. If you were another clear, you could fight it, butyou’re an anomaly. Marriages like this are so rare I don’t even know how they’ll classify you in the records office.”
“We need to do something," Amina said. “I don’t think Lorse will keep his hands off you, and I can’t stand by while you’re sexually assaulted.”
