Page 29 of Xel: Broken Bond

“Perfect,” Leesha said, examining the readout on her screen. “You can put your shirt back on. Then you can take off your…” She stopped suddenly, her brow furrowed. “Forgive me for asking a personal question, but do you have underwear on?”

“I’m going to go check on Rose,” my master declared, spinning on his heel and stalking out of the room. A moment later, I heard the front door open and close.

Leesha waited until the door was shut, then she snorted. “I think we scared him off,” she said, though from her tone, it seemed that she was trying to make a joke of it. I wasn’t quite sure I understood why it was funny. I didn’t like the idea of upsetting my master, and while I didn’t think Leesha was the cruel or inconsiderate type, I failed to see how making my master uncomfortable was appropriate.

“It’s okay,” she said, her expression softening when she saw my confusion. “He’s not angry. Not with you, at least.” Seeing that I wasn’t satisfied with her explanation, she continued. “After the fire happened, he can get frustrated about things he can’t control. Or things that are unexpected. I assumed he’d be listening in from the kitchen about what we were doing, but apparently he missed that bit. So he just needs a bit of space to deal with his own reaction to it. Give him fifteen minutes or so, and he’ll be fine.”

That made a certain amount of sense, but I also felt like I was missing something. Was my master not happy about us choosing new clothes? But he’d already said that we should do so. So was there something else he was upset about?

“Are you wearing underwear?” Leesha prompted me, apparently deciding to simply move on.

“Yes,” I said. I waited for her response, honestly not sure whether that was the right answer or not. Some masters didn’t like their dimari to be overly encumbered with clothes. Some masters didn’t like their dimari to wear clothes at all. So far, my master had given no indication that that was the case here.

“Okay, then take off your pants and I’ll scan your bottom half.”

I made a mental note of that, even as I slid the horrible beige pants down my legs. Apparently, in Alliance culture, wearing underwear was generally considered appropriate. Neither my old master nor Dorral had ever said much on the topic, one way or the other.

Leesha scanned me, then I dressed again and took a seat beside her. She scrolled through the options the program in her comm was recommending. “Do you know much about fashion?” she asked me. “Have any particular preferences?”

“I was never taught much about it,” I admitted. “Be it Alliance fashion or anyone else’s.” What I’d been taught about clothing was largely how to use it to seduce people.

“Okay, then let me be your guide.” Leesha seemed to be in her element, chatting about fabrics, styles, summer versus winter colours, and I nodded along, offering suggestions where I preferred one style over another, and contemplating the various different situations that might required different clothing. Most of my time was going to be spent at the sanctuary, so loose, comfortable work clothes would be best. But Leesha seemed convinced that I would also need some things for casual social events, and also one or two outfits for special occasions.

We were nearly finished when I heard the front door open again, and I looked up as my master came into the room. “Rose is almost certainly going to calve tonight,” he said. “She won’t settle and she wouldn’t eat when I offered her some pellets. I’ve moved her into her own stall in the barn. We’ll need to check onher every hour or so, to see when she starts going into labour properly.”

Leesha nodded. “I’ll set an alarm,” she said, immediately switching functions on her comm. “I won’t be going to bed until about midnight anyway, so I can check her up until then. Then we can figure out where she’s up to by that point. I’d most likely expect she’ll be in labour by then.”

“Is there anything you’d like me to do?” I offered, knowing I wasn’t likely to be much help.

My master shook his head. “I appreciate the offer. But you don’t have enough experience to be able to assess her properly. You can come with me when I go to check on her, though, if you’re interested?”

“Yes, sir,” I said, trying to convey my enthusiasm with the response. Getting up in the middle of the night wasn’t particularly appealing, but seeing a new thumbit be born most certainly was.

“How’s it going with the clothes shopping?” my master asked next. He settled into the corner of the other sofa, though he seemed tenser than he usually was.

“Oh my god, you have to look at this,” Leesha crowed, her eyes lighting up. “Black jeans and a lavender shirt. How fucking good does that look?” She held up her comm, and the device had combined the two pieces of clothing with a 3D projection of my body, showing a detailed image of how I would look wearing the items. She’d also added a pair of black boots, and I was thoroughly pleased with the result. Far more interesting than non-descript beige, and a much better fit for the shape of my body.

“Uh… yeah. Looks good,” my master said, his eyes riveted on the image. “You’ve, um… been doing well,” he stuttered, then subtly licked his lips. “Thanks for giving him a hand.”

Leesha shot him a saccharine smile. “You’re so very welcome.”

◊◊◊

I woke to a rapid thumping on my door, and I was up and on my feet even before I’d figured out what was happening. Or even where I was. “Yes, sir?” I answered, fumbling for the door in the darkness. If my master was calling, I was obligated to answer. And if he was waking me in the middle of the night, then it could only be because he wanted to make use of myservices. My cock was already half hard, given that I hadn’t had the opportunity to climax in two whole days…

Reality jolted back into my brain as I stumbled into the hallway, seeing Leesha shoving her feet back into her boots at the end of the hallway.

“Rose is in labour,” she told me, as she saw me emerge from my room. “If you want to see the birth, get dressed and meet me over in the barn.” She shot me a bright grin, then dashed out the front door.

Right, yes. I remembered that I was living at the animal sanctuary now. And a moment later, I remembered that the reason I hadn’t been allowed to climax in two whole days was because my master was not actually my master, and he had no use for the many, many talents I’d been taught during my training.

“Xel? Are you… Oh!” My master skidded to a halt as he burst out of his bedroom, still buttoning up his pants. He looked me up and down, seeming lost for words as he took in my state of undress and the visible erection straining the front of my boxer shorts. “We have to… uh… Leesha said that…” He gave me another quick once-over, then blinked and shook his head. “Rose is about to give birth,” he finally managed. “Put some clothes on and you can come and help.” That was a direct order,and I braced myself for the irrepressible pull of the compulsion to obey him…

Only it never came. The innate desire to please my master remained, but the buzzing in my brain that demanded I comply with his orders remained conspicuously absent.

“Yes, sir,” I said nonetheless, scrambling to gather my wits amidst the dregs of sleep, the remnants of the entirely arousing dream I’d been having before I was woken, and my confusion at the absence of the bond I was so used to feeling.

I stumbled back into my room, pawing at the wall to find the light switch, and by the time I was dressed, my master had already left. I shoved my feet into the borrowed boots I’d been wearing and turned on the light on my comm, to avoid tripping on the way across the paddock. As I was reaching for the doorknob, Bribie came padding sleepily out of Leesha’s bedroom, blinking at me in confusion. I hurried down the hall to his side, turning him around and giving him a nudge to go back into Leesha’s room. “Go back to sleep,” I said to him. “You don’t have to help with this one.”