Page 8 of Breaking the Bloodstone Curse
Serenai took it and held it out to Cheeky.
“Here you go, little guy,” she said coaxingly. “You like these, right?”
Cheeky sniffed her fingers suspiciously at first, but then he appeared to decide she was trustworthy. He took the crunchy nugget from her hand and began to nibble it happily. As he did, Serenai carefully stroked his soft little head with one finger.
Brax watched her as she did. The look of pure happiness on her sweet face as she caressed his little pet seemed to do something to his heart. After spending years fighting for his life in the Blood Circuit—years surrounded by other males who were bloodthirsty and desperate and hardened by the cruel life they all lived—it touched him deeply to see such sweet innocence—such pure love.
He vowed then and there that he would protect her—that he would keep his new little Mistress safe. He wouldn’t allow her innocence to be sullied or ruined—he would keep her safe if he possibly could.
Just then, Serenai’s Aunt Nibblegrim came back into the room. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her.
“What are you doing, child?” she demanded, glaring at Serenai. “Why are you so close to your bodyslave when you don’t even have the remote to his pain collar?”
Serenai stepped back hurriedly, her eyes wide.
“Oh, I didn’t think?—”
“Get back from him—get away!” Mistress Nibblegrim pointed the remote threateningly at Brax. “And you, don’t get any ideas!” she snapped. “My niece is not going to be your next victim, you brute!”
“I would never hurt my Mistress,” Brax said quietly, keeping his voice low and calm. “Just because I fought and killed in the ring doesn’t mean I have no honor.”
“Don’t listen to a word he says—all males are liars!” Mistress Nibblegrim said, speaking to Serenai again.
“Honestly, Aunt—he wasn’t hurting me! I was just petting his little pet!” she protested but Brax could tell by the frightened look in her lovely, dark eyes that he had lost almost all the ground Cheeky had gained for him.
Inwardly, he cursed. But he was used to people thinking of him as a killer. He had won over females before even after they saw him kill in the ring. He would win over his new Mistress too—if only her horrible aunt would leave them alone!
“Here, you take this and keep it on you at all times.” Aunt Nibblegrim put the silver link necklace with the small black remote back around Serenai’s neck. “And don’t get too close to him! Males are tricky, false creatures. You can’t trust them any further than you can throw them!”
“Yes, Aunt.” Serenai hung her head, looking down at the remote, hanging between her breasts.
“Good. Now that’s all settled, I have things I must tend to in my own apartment.” She pointed a long finger at Brax once more. “Just you mind you behave yourself or you’re going to get a taste of the pain collar you won’t soon forget!”
Then she left, slamming the door closed behind her.
6
SERENAI
Serenai felt horribly awkward. Here she was, alone in the penthouse with her new bodyslave and she now had nothing to say. They’d been getting along so well too—before horrible old Aunt Nibblegrim started shouting and pointing and accusing Brax, when he hadn’t even done anything.
“I’m sorry,” she said, daring to look up into his eyes at last. “That was…she’s so awful sometimes.”
“She’s just trying to keep you safe.” He seemed surprisingly unconcerned. “It’s like I told you, you need to be careful around strange males.”
“But not you?” she asked, frowning.
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under his ragged shirt.
“I’m half Kindred. You can always trust a Kindred not to harm you because we won’t hurt females. Other than that, though, you really do need to be careful. Especially here on Yonnie Six. The males here are angry because they’ve been ruled by women for so long.”
Serenai bit her lip.
“Are you angry because you’re now owned by a woman? By me?” she asked.
If he was angry, she could be in trouble, she thought. Her new bodyslave was so huge that the top of her head barely came up past his elbow and his shoulders were over twice as broad as her own.
But Brax shook his head.
