Eternal Slave Ch. 07 - Ménage à 4

I was woken by a gigantic flash of light that split the darkness as if fifty searchlights had been turned on at the same time and directed at me from three feet away. One moment it had been completely dark and I'd been sleeping soundly with Midnight Glow in my arms, the next I jumped to my feet, screamed, not yet able to feel that your body, despite having had the largest breasts in existence for a pillow, sure gets beaten up from sleeping on the deck of a tiny, cramped boat.

I swung my head around and stared about me, probably wild-eyes, probably bleary-eyed, probably red-eyed. We were still in the boat. The boat was out on the sea, above the surface, not below. The watery body in question was doing the gentle, yet large and wavy thing. Jiang was sitting on the seat Captain Ember had occupied as I fell asleep, his smart, red tie out-of-place against his rustic clothes and this the little, simple vessel. The mouth above the tie was grinning at my reaction.

The sun had Risen. Not risen like it does on Earth, like a shy girl at the door of the venue where school dance is being held, spending an hour daring to even climb over the horizon. No, this local sun had leaped onto the stage like an old rocker, like Mick Jagger dancing and strutting and singing the song that would be the theme for the rest of my life: I Can't Get No Satisfaction. How strange that the big, round circle of fire was a not a huge ball of hydrogen fusing into helium, but rather something shot out of a volcano that lay just under the horizon far away in what I liked to think of as a southerly direction. Inwards, they called it here.

Midnight Glow just turned around and groaned. She was not used to getting up this early. I already knew that.

Captain Ember on the other hand, got up and switched places with Jiang. The look he gave her was more happy and less fervent that that of last night.

"Good morning," the Captain said. She did not seem to want to include me in the greeting, yet had to, since I was there and the boat was just over fifteen foot long. "Let's commence with the morning routine, as best we can." She used salt water to clean her face, then applied a little something from a bottle in her sack that made her smell fruity. It was apparently a unisex product, because she offered it to Jiang and me after we'd done the same to our tired mugs. It felt felt nice, but didn't beat a good round with fresh water and soap.

"Private," she said.

"Yes, Ma'am," Jiang and I echoed.

"Private Jiang," she said, and I felt slightly miffed, even though I was not at present in my best, obedient mood. I just wanted to sit still and munch the hardtack or whatever it was she had handed out as substituting for breakfast.

"Ma'am?" he said.

"How do you feel about Ms Midnight Glow now?"

"Ma'am, she's smoking hot," he said and looked at the sleeping woman. "I don't worship her anymore, though. That was... That was some strange dream. The two of you, you all but ripped me apart, arguing like that, Ma'am."

"I apologize, private. I should have taken your state into consideration during the proceedings. However, it was necessary to assert military authority." She passed round a bottle of what I identified as some kind of weak, yet tasty, wine.

"Well, Ma'am," he said. "I'm back to normal now. You might want to assert it a bit more firmly now, with my help? Yes?"

"Indeed," Captain Ember said and gave us both two or three leaves to chew, about the size of basil leaves back home. They tasted like icy cold mint. I guess there were no spare toothbrushes in her sack, and that we would not be sharing hers.

"Is all that confounded noise the redhead creating all sorts of drama this early in the morning?" Glow murmured from under her blanket on top of the folded up sail. "Can we please wait with the fighting until I have had tea and breakfast and a nice, long massage?"

"I have biscuits and wine," Captain Ember said. Her voice was not very friendly. What was she thinking about what Glow and I had done last night?

"I hope it is strong, heady wine," Glow said.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Captain Ember said.

"Why, oh why?" she sobbed. "Can the men massage me first?"

"There is no need for a massage when there's work to do. We need to find our current position and plot a new course."

"Now? Before breakfast?"

"We've had breakfast, Ma'am."

"Before my breakfast, I mean?"

***

Captain Ember turned out not to be so cruel-hearted after all, despite any agitation she felt after being five feet away when I made love to Glow last night. She relented and we waited while Midnight Glow ate hardtack and drank wine and complained about how much her back hurt and how ugly she looked.

"There is a way to fix the back pain, Ma'am," Jiang said and smiled.

She looked at him. Suspicious.

He smiled some more. She figured out what he meant.

"Does it work?" Glow asked Captain Ember.

"This is not the time and-"

"Does it?"

"Yes, Ma'am. It works very well. But we will not indulge in such things now."

"Later," Glow said and winked at Jiang.

The man who would have made a sensational career as an unorthodox physiotherapist back home winked back at her.

***

After breakfast Jiang began filling buckets of water at the bottom of the boat and tossing them over the side. Then he tidied a little, scampering about and showing that he was more agile than the ape who'd won last year's Monkey Gymnastics World Cup. Captain Ember began setting up some instruments she had in her backpack. From what I could tell they looked just like what sextants and stuff from Earth would look like if they were designed for a completely different type of astronomy. Or, they could just be fakes. I had really no idea.

I was sitting around doing nothing because I didn't know how to do anything, when someone leaned up against me.

"Yes?" Glow said and looked at me.

"Hm?" I said.

"Did you forget something?" she said, while her hand found the green tie.

That got my attention. "Massage, my Lady? You said you wanted one."

"Brush my hair first, please. It's a mess. Then the massage. You schedule is full this morning."

"But your hair looks-"

"Shut up and get to work." She handed me her gleaming brass brush, then turned her back to me.

"Yes, my Lady," I said.

Then I didn't say another word for a few more minutes. I just led the brush slide through her dark, wavy hair, watching the marvelous process of turning windswept, confused locks into a sheet of silk.

"Don't stop," she murmured and reached back to take the tie between two of her fingers then pull it over her shoulder.

"No, my Lady."

I brushed her, I kissed her, I smelled her, I was in heaven. Glow purred and hummed and sighed. She was in heaven, too, dancing with me over the clouds.

Captain Ember was not. She was looking at her instruments, looking at the sky, looking out at the sea, looking everywhere but at us. In particular she did not meet Glow's eyes.

I could feel the tension in the air. Could feel how Glow was using me to strike at the other woman. I knew that I my movements were obsessive, that my passion was visible even from outer space, that her hair had the power to hypnotize me, but this made it even hotter. Exploited, used, humiliated. My cock was straining against the prison pants. Glow chuckled as she felt it, hot on her back, and turned around to kiss my cheek and wink. The fingers on her free hand found my knee and began caressing my calf.

What was Captain Ember thinking? Was she staring at the green tie from out of the corner of her eye? Was she grinding her teeth at how it was wrapped so possessively around Glow's hand? Once it had been part of her dress. It even contained a single, long hair off her head. Now another woman had it.

What would she do if she took control over me again? It would not be sex, I was sure of that. She would punish me. She would make me do all sorts of horrible tasks to pay for my insubordination. She would put me in a prison cell. A cage. A small, dog cage where I couldn't even stand up. And she would never, ever let me see her with her hair loose again.

It turned into a sort of standoff. Captain Ember was clearly finished with her calculations, but seemed unable to speak up and put a stop to what I was doing to Glow. Pride, probably. Refusal to show anything that might be interpreted as jealously. Jiang stayed well away, pretending the sea was very interesting.

In the end we needed an external intervention, and an external intervention was what we got.

"Ship o'hoy!" Jiang cried just around the time things were getting ridiculous.

We all turned away from what we were doing. A large, fast ship was heading our way. A forest of masts and sails was straining in a vigorous wind. Over here the air was still and hot. Were they using magic? Soon we could see the image on the standard it was displaying from the tallest mast. Blood red on black was drawn a stylized woman's head in profile. Hair fell down the back of that head, turning into an ocean wave.

"It's a pirate ship!" I said. "It's the Sea Hag!"

Glow gasped and dropped my tie when she saw the ship.

I, in turn, dropped my jaw, her brush, and my erection as I did my own gasping.

Captain Ember did neither. She rose, she assessed the situation for a few, intense seconds, then turned to face us.

"All right," she said. "It's one of the Sea Hag's raiding ships. This one is obviously powered by magical winds. They intend to capture our men and bring them to her Lair at the Red Tower and either kill or sell us women as slaves at Iron Sands. We're still far away from the Red Tower, so meeting this ship is just bad luck. Worse luck, even, considering we're carrying two powerful gift slaves. We will have to kill the men rather than letting them fall into the Sea Hag's hands."

"We can't outrun them?" I said, not feeling much like being killed.

I was no expert on sailing ships, but the other vessel was huge, and I imagined all sorts of rams and fire arrows and grappling hooks were laying abut on the deck, ready for action.

"We're several hours sailing from the outer Pebbles, the closest islands, and they're doing about fifteen knots, as far as I can tell. Ms Glow, are you able to raise the winds again?"

Glow nodded. She seemed scared, but she rummaged through a bag she'd brought with her until she found a large bottle. This contained a clear, glowing liquid that she touched to the masts and the boom. At once the sail unfurled, and a strong wind blew up. There came a violent jerk at the mast, and the boat almost capsized. That is, I believed it was about to do a roll, but it turned out that it just leaned over because of the way the sails pulled at it.

I had no idea what the 'Pebbles' were, but Captain Ember pointed and explained to Glow how to set a course that way. I had no idea what her explanation meant either.

I turned around to look at the other ship again. It look strangely smooth and sleek, and was moving with an almost predatory determination. Big and heavy, it broke through the waves long before our ship did, creating massive cascades of foam. It was obvious that the magical wind that controlled their ship was stronger than the one Glow used. The standard of the female head with the hair like waves slapped and slapped in the wind, making the stylized hair flap about. It was almost as if it was calling to me, waving at me to jump into the sea and join her.

When I turned around again, it was because Captain Ember touched my arm, looking at me with an impatient expression.

"Huh?" I said.

Then I noticed something hidden inside the sails that billowing now, full of wind. Jiang was tied to the mast. Right up against the canvas and the hundreds of ropes with unknown purposes stood the Chinese man with his arms held back by Captain Ember's leather straps. He was naked, and he was looking at his Captain with smoldering eyes.

Glow just looked at the scene, confused.

"You too, private," Captain Ember said.

"Huh?" I repeated.

"We need to prepare to exploit your powers. This particular procedure is the only reason the Slave Squad exists. Undress at once, private."

"You mean, now?" I said. "Ma'am?"

"We are being pursued by raiders, private. This is the correct occasion for such activities, not for hesitation."

"But, I'm not even horny!"

"Me neither, but I have long experience ensuring that sufficient erotic stimulation is given to both me and my partners in stressful situations like these."

"But why do we have to be tied up!"

"I'm demanding your use, private. That's your single role and only task. Having you restrained ensures that you stay focused on this assignment, not deciding to attempt acts heroics which it is not your part to perform."

"Now I am getting horny," I murmured to myself as I slipped off my shirt.

"Sam!" Glow said. "Don't listen to her. She's crazy! What's she talking about? Having sex while we're being pursued by pirates?"

"Silence!" Captain Ember said.

"Who do you think you're talking to, you dreadful-" Glow began.

Captain Ember raised her fist, throwing a punch at Glow, pulling back just before she split the other woman's lip. While Glow backed away, she tore my pants off, impatient with my lack of initiative, and dragged me under the boom, past some ropes and the dangerous presence of the naked crotch of another man.

After that she had me stand up and twisted my hands behind my back. With a few deft, well-practiced movements, she tied my wrists. Not around the mast, but to Jiang's hands. Only four inches of leather separated our flesh. The consequence of this was that if I pulled my hands forward, then his would be pulled back, and vice versa. I tried to remember that I was younger and bigger than him and also to forget that he was a magical kung fu ultra-black belt.

"This is my favorite part of the job, buddy," he said, turning his head towards me.

"Don't speak to me," I said, looking away.

"Captain Ember doesn't take 'no' for an answer, does she?"

"Stop it!"

"If I pull at your arms, it's not an invitation to jerk me off from behind, Sam. I'll just be after her tits."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"You're only mad because your cock is tiny compare to mine."

I was not amused, and I was not horny. The mast did not stay still, but bent and creaked in the the wind. The sails were tied right next to us, and the ropes rubbed against our thighs and upper bodies. The deck was leaning, and there was water lapping against our ankles as the waves threw themselves at the boat. Behind us, to my right, came a huge ship full of zombie pirates about to lead me into slavery. I used to think that to me there would never be such thing as a wrong time or place for sex, but it turned out I was wrong.

Captain Ember didn't seem to think so, though, and Captain Ember was in charge.

"Stay away from Sam!" Glow yelled, facing the Captain as best she could on the rocking boat. "If not, then I'm going to-"

"No, you're not," Captain Ember said. "You're going to keep a straight course for the Pebbles, and if we make it, then we may not have to use private Sam at all. You may avail yourself of private Jiang after I have done with him, if you so please."

"I what?" Glow said.

"His powers will be very useful to both yourself and all of us, whether they attempt to board us, or we manage to make it to shore."

"You want me to have sex with the other guy? Now?"

"After I have used him, yes."

"Wow," Glow said. "I didn't know they made automata that looked just like women."

"Stay away, now. If you interrupt our coitus, I will most certainly strike you for real."

"I rest my case."

With that, Glow sat down and stared up at the top of the mast, refusing to look at Captain Ember, refusing to look at Jiang or me, avoiding looking at the ship bearing down on us.

"Let's commence, private," Captain Ember said to Jiang and found her footing just in front of him.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he said and laughed. "Pay attention, Sam. You might learn something from an old master."

I made a reply to the effect that he might find an attentive audience if he inserted his head in his rectum and addressed his, I was sure, impressive collection of tapeworms.

"Silence, private," Captain Ember said and moved in to kiss Jiang. That shut him up, too.

It was absurd. Four people on a tiny boat being chased by a vicious enemy, and the person in charge decides that the best way to meet the threat is tie up two of them and then have sex with them. Not even I was convinced of the idea.

Well, not right away. It took a long, agonizing two minutes, and then I was sold.

First of all I was subjected to the sound of lips smacking against lips and Captain Ember telling Jiang that he'd always been a most obedient, most pleasing solider, as well as Jiang telling Captain Ember that he was 'fucking crazy' about her and always had wanted to be her personal slave. While he might be the property of the republic, Captain Ember opined, he might imagine that he held that role for now. In any case, he would act in that capacity for as long as this mission lasted. Hearing her speak like that, Jiang commented, made him horny as hell.

I was trying not to become horny as hell. Glow only had to lower her eyes to see any bulges on my prison pants, and I did not want to disappoint her with my weakness. Did not want her to think they made automata fitted with delicate hydraulics that looked just like men.

After a bit more whispering between the pair, someone touched my arm. First I freaked out and thought it was Jiang, then realized it was a unshackled hand with long, slender fingers. Captain Ember's fingers. The fingers tiptoed across my belly. Found the lock on the belt of my prison pants. Fiddled with it.

The pants fell to the ground.

The thing inside reached for the sky.

The eyes of the woman sitting alone rolled around inside her skull as she groaned.

The fun was about to begin.

I turned my head around to see what was going on. Jiang's head was leaning forward, and his lips glued to those of Captain Ember. She returned his kisses with utter professionalism while he was desperate and yearning. One of her hands was in his hair, the other stroking his bottom. Long, intense standard military moves designed to my efficiently arouse the male body, I guessed. Jiang was pulling at the leather that bound our arms together, seeking our her body. I didn't let him. Locked my fingers together on my side of the mast. Just to spite him.

"How do you feel, private?" Captain Ember said in a voice so calm I could barely hear her.

"I'm ready for you, Ma'am!" he said, straining to reach her.

"I know, private. I need a bit more time, though."

"You haven't used me for more than three weeks, Ma'am."

"I'm sorry. I have been busy with paperwork, private."

She let him kiss her throat, and for a brief moment her green eyes found mine. There was something there, something strange. What she saw in my eyes, though, wasn't hard to fathom. I was jealous. Jealous as hell. Even though I had been making out with Glow all night and brushing her hair this morning, all in front of Captain Ember, I was still jealous. The Captain let go of my burning gaze and closed her eyes, enjoying my misery about as much as the kisses from the other man, I was sure.

"I've missed you, Ma'am," Jiang murmured.

"You've had several women use you on most days, private," she said.

"None of them are quite like you, Ma'am." Jiang said. "None of them have your green eyes or your red hair."

"There are some redheaded soldiers in the garrison, private." She played with his red tie, now. I wish she would do that to mine.

"They're not like you, Ma'am. They don't drive me wild like you. No woman ever made me feel like you."