Attached to it was a long beautiful silver chain that glittered in the holo-sunlight, and dangling from the end of the chain were two more binding cords like those that had cut his flesh in the first lesson.Attached to it was a long beautiful silver chain that glittered in the holo-sunlight, and dangling from the end of the chain were two more binding cords like those that had cut his flesh in the first lesson. Julian sat up at this, and looked up at her. "This is . . . ?" he began, but she cut him off with a finger against his lips. "This is yours," she told him, "the only thing that will be recog- nized as yours as long as you are on this ship." He felt the soft kid leather wrap around his neck, and heard the tiny click of the fastening. The chain and binding cords lay on the ground behind his head. He fingered the collar, mark of his bodily duty to his Lady and watched her as she lowered herself into the water again. "It is your mark of allegiance to me. By undergoing the initiatory lesson, you've proved your worth to receive the collar." He was silent at this. "It's actually a nice fit; I had to use a smaller one than usual for you." She leaned forward and touched his face. "You have such a lovely slim neck, you know." Her hand dragged down his wet chest, disappearing under the water that covered him. Again, his nerve endings awakened to her. He knew then that he would have stayed, no matter what, and endured even more exhaustion than previous, all for her and what she could teach him. |