Part of the reason for that was, well…they just didn’t seem very feminist or enlightened. It didn’t sound good to admit she wanted a man to take care of her and look out for her or that she wanted to give herself sexually to someone and let him do whatever he wanted with her. That didn’t sound independent or modern at all.
But sometimes she just got so tired of the day-to-day grind of life! Teaching was a joy sometimes, but it could be a slog too, and a lot of it was taking care of other people. Sometimes Selena just wanted someone to take care of her. And was that really so wrong?
Well, wrong or right, it was happening now—she was actually living out her fantasies.
Selena had read cautionary tales in the past, about people who had tried out certain sexual fetishes they dreamed about and were severely disappointed. Some things, apparently, were better left in the realm of fantasy. But so far, she hadn’t found that to be the case at all. She had been apprehensive at first, but she found she was loving being submissive to the stern and sexy Kindred warrior.
Even the parts she hadn’t been sure about—like being made to walk around mostly naked in public—had turned out to be pretty damn sexy. She liked that Valen found her so attractive he wanted to show her off—she even liked that he was pushing her boundaries—she only wondered if he was doing any of it on purpose.
Is he playing the game with me? she wondered, looking up at him again. Does he like being a Dom? Or is he just being himself?
It could go either way—the big Kindred certainly seemed like a natural Dom. He—
Her speculation was cut short when he turned his head abruptly and caught her looking at him.
“Studying me, are you?” he growled softly, frowning down at her. “What are you thinking, little one?”
“I…I was just wondering about…about…” Selena groped for an answer. She couldn’t tell him she was wondering if he was as into this BDSM fantasy as she was—he didn’t even know what BDSM was. He’d thought it was some kind of an algorithm!
“Well?” he rumbled, giving her a stern frown that made her stomach flutter. He almost looked like he might threaten to spank her—another long-suppressed fantasy she had never dared to tell anyone.
“I…I was wondering why some of the Ma’shorkans have, uh, double faces and some don’t,” she said at last. “I mean, it seems to be about one in twenty has an extra, upside down nose and mouth on their foreheads—why is that?”
“It’s actually more like one in a hundred—it just seems more common because we’re in the palace,” Valen told her. “The double-faced ones, as they’re called, have royal blood in their veins—so it’s actually a mark of status. The common folks—or single-faces—don’t have any royal blood.”
“I see…” Selena nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you for clearing that up for me.”
“Of course. Is there anything else you want to know about Ma’shorkan culture? Not that you aren’t getting a crash course in it right now,” he added, with a sardonic little half-smile.
“There is something else,” Selena said. “What does ‘bimbap’ mean? Ever since I got here, people have been calling me that and I get the idea that it’s not very complimentary.”
Valen scowled.
“I’m afraid you’re right. It’s kind of a slang term in old Ma’shorkan, which the translation bacteria you had isn’t able to translate. It’s a term often used for a foreign or non-Ma’shorkan female, but what it actually means is ‘little whore’ or ‘little slut.’”
“Hey!” Selena exclaimed. “That really isn’t very nice!”
He shrugged.
“Unfortunately not, but it’s a fairly common term here. It’s a reflection of how misogynistic the Ma’shorkan culture is.” He cleared his throat. “Speaking of the culture, how are you doing? I know I’ve been a bit hard on you and…touched you without your consent.”
“But you had to,” Selena protested softly. “I mean, you’re playing my Master. You have to play the part.”
He gave her a considering look, his blue eyes piercing.
“You’re certainly taking this whole situation much better than I would have expected. One might almost suppose that you like it—that you like what I’ve been doing to you. The way I’ve been touching you…treating you…talking to you, little one.”
“Oh, I…” Selena found that she couldn’t meet that intense blue gaze of his any longer. Dropping her eyes to the floor, she felt her cheeks getting hot with a blush. “I just—” she began, not sure what to say.
“Well, it was pure madness, but we’ve got it all sorted out now!” It was the servant again—the one they’d spoken to earlier. Selena felt a surge of relief as she looked up to see him bustling up in his black and gold livery. Now at least she didn’t have to explain to Valen about her fantasy of submission to a stern Master.