men rarely changed their position. Still, she hadn’t expected this of Braden. “It will take too long to train another Healer, who also holds a Warrior rank, in the testing procedures to ensure no mistakes are made. We need the correct formula, Braden.
You’re well aware of that. You’re just trying to blackmail me into doing this.” She forced her voice to remain calm and steady. He wouldn’t deal with her if she lost her temper or broke down.
“I’d rather you didn’t look at it that way, Leila. This ceremony is necessary. I understand why you didn’t complete the third step originally. Rave, Shear, and Dare abused their power over you. I’ll make certain you’re taken care of this time around. I’ll personally choose the Alliance.”
So he hadn’t chosen yet.
“You won’t have to go through the entire rite. Just the third step. A minor sexual appetite afterwards.
Much shorter and easier than the full ceremony.”
“Unless you’ve never sucked cock,” Torque said. “And you’re opposed to it with any man.”
“I’ve sucked…” She shook her head and stemmed her words. “I’m not opposed to it. I’m opposed to the loss of control.”
“Even with men you know and otherwise trust?” Braden asked.
“I-I don’t really know. When I need relief, I always choose partners for the one time only. Since my original Initiation, that is.”
“And people talk about me,” Torque mumbled.
“Hey, I’m not some whore!” Leila picked up a laser pen and threw it at him. “Don’t you dare imply that I am.”
Torque batted the pen out of the air, then chuckled. “That was not my intention.”
“I’ve only been with a handful of men.”
Torque shrugged. “If you say so.”
Damn him. She felt like jumping across the table and throttling the man.
“Enough.” Braden looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe, with this re-initiation, we can help conquer your fear and trust issues with sex, as well as get you protected.”
Leila didn’t say anything. Men always made the solutions sound so easy. If Braden, instead of the Council chose the Alliance, she wouldn’t have to worry about abuse, she supposed. He’d see to it. He knew her past. No one would dare defy Braden.
But who would he choose? Warriors she trusted, but whom she faced and worked with daily, which might become awkward afterward, or Warriors he trusted, but she didn’t know? If so, she wouldn’t have to interact with them on a regular basis, but she might panic when they started touching her, because they’d be in control, not her, and she’d have no idea what to expect from strangers. Maybe that’s why he’d asked her the question, to get an idea of how to choose.
“Go to your quarters, Leila,” Braden told her. “Rest. And don’t worry. You have my word that nothing will go wrong this time.”
“Isn’t there another way?” Although she asked, any hope of a reprieve had already faded from her mind.
Braden approached and took her small hand between his much larger ones. “Trust me, Leila. This is for the best all the way around.”
Nodding, and sadly resigned to the situation, she stood. She held a Class 3 Warrior rank, and she would maintain her dignity by doing her duty, and doing what was best for Xylon. Regardless of her personal feelings. All she had to do was complete the ceremony, and then it would be done. She didn’t have to enjoy it.
Too bad she couldn’t take some sort of medication to get her through the ordeal. Medicine would counteract the preparation chemicals they needed to pump into her pussy, using a special dildo.
Otherwise, the healing elements wouldn’t absorb properly once transferred. Whichever way she looked at this, smooth and easy weren’t part of the equation.
Unable to meet Braden and Torque’s eyes for fear of revealing the extent of her inner turmoil about the situation, she pulled her hand from Braden’s and dematerialized out.
* * * * *
“You want her,” Erik