It wasn’t until Balfore had knocked discretely at his study door and informed him that Midnight Court was going to begin very shortly that Valen had stopped reading. His head had jerked up and he glared at the chronometer strapped to his wrist, realizing that he had spent all the time he’d meant to use to get ready for court on reading the Earth romance book instead. He had rushed to court, only to be told that the deposition had been canceled.
He was still shaking his head as he stepped through his front door. What in the Seven Hells was wrong with him? How could he neglect his duties in that way? Why had he—
It was then that he had heard the low, helpless sobbing coming from somewhere upstairs.
It’s Selena—there’s something wrong with her!
His heart beating triple time, he rushed up the stairs and stopped in front of the finest guest room, where he had instructed Pashmeena to install the little Elite. He could hear her crying as though her heart would break—and was there a note of pain in her voice?
Without waiting to knock, Valen thrust open the door.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” he demanded, rushing over to the bed.
She looked up at him with wide, wet eyes.
“V-Valen?” Her lovely voice was hoarse with sobbing. “I th-thought you were in c-court.”
“It was cancelled,” he said roughly. “Now tell me—what’s wrong? Quickly!”
“It…it’s the harness.” She had thrown the sheet over her but now she pulled it down, revealing her full, firm breasts. They were lovely as always, but behind the crystal suction domes, her nipples looked dark pink and extremely swollen.
“Damn, the harness!” Valen felt a rush of guilt. He was responsible for the little Elite—he was her Master. And as her Master, he should have thought to remove the harness before he left her.
I didn’t even think of it! I was in such a hurry to get away from her—in such a hurry to forget her and concentrate on my work instead—that I left her in a bad situation.
A situation which had apparently gotten much, much worse.
“How long have you been like this, little one?” he demanded as he dug the remote to the harness hastily out of his pocket.
She shook her head.
“Don’t know. I woke up in the middle of the night because the suction cups were squeezing me and it just keeps getting w-worse. G-get them off me—please!”
“I will, little one—I will.” Valen felt another rush of guilt as he pressed the remote, slowly easing the suction. His first impulse was to press the release button at once, but the royal harness maker had warned him that he must take his time in releasing the pressure, or it could result in even more pain.
He also said that her nipples should be sucked and her Goddess pearl massaged to ease the tension after the harness was removed, Valen remembered. It was yet another detail he had carelessly forgotten. He might not be a Broken One after all, but he was turning out to be a fucking awful Master!
“There—is that better?” he asked, as the suction finally went down to zero.
“S-some.” Selena swiped at her big brown eyes—her long, dark lashes were matted with tears. “Could you please take it all the way off me, though?” she begged softly. “I’m really tired of wearing it.”
“Of course I will, little one.”
Calling himself every bad name he could think of, Valen pressed the release button and the front ring of the breast harness popped open. Carefully, he pulled it off her, wincing when he saw how dark and swollen her tender nipples were. He would have to heal her with his Essence and soothe her with his tongue as well as he could.
What if she hates you now, for leaving the harness on her? whispered a little voice in his head. What if she doesn’t want you near her after your neglect?
Grimly, Valen acknowledged that might be the case. If so, he wouldn’t blame her. But he was still going to have to heal her, whether she wanted him to or not. He couldn’t possibly leave her in this state.
“Come here,” he said, getting on the bed and going to sit against the headboard of the sleeping platform. It was padded in the same warm cream color as the sheets and bed covering.
Selena looked at him mistrustfully.
“Why?” she asked. “What are you going to do to me now…Master?”
Her use of that title for him gave Valen a little bit of hope that maybe she didn’t quite hate him. After all, if she did, he was certain she would have simply called him by his name. By calling him “Master” she was saying that she was still willing to see him that way—still willing to be his submissive and trust him.
Or maybe he was reading too much into the situation—thinking too much about that damn book he’d been reading. But either way, he intended to heal her.