by Linda Mooney
“You are putting your command in jeopardy.”
“My command only. Not this ship. Not the crew. Not our jurisdiction.” Reaching out, Neeveer grasped the metal container and hoisted it under his arm. It was then Bajud realized the man was wearing his full attack uniform. He gave the commander a worried look. Neeveer turned for the door.
“Neeveer.”
“Await for your orders in the control room,” the man instructed, and walked out of the bed chamber.
Chapter Fifteen
Gift
“Krarrrasta, why won’t they let us roam around the ship? I mean, after all, they always seem to know where we are every moment, anyway. Plus, there’s always this if they think we’re getting into places we shouldn’t.” Meredith held up her arm bearing the neon pink cuff.
The alien adjusted itself on the pillows. “You have asked that question repeatedly, and we always give you the same answer. You are beginning to irritate us.”
To Meredith’s surprise, the creature got up and left the lounge, followed by two more, until there was only herself and two others left in the room.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” she apologized to the remaining products.
F’Orlo bobbed her body. “You are at that stage. We understand. Do not worry about Krarrrasta. Some of us have less tolerance than others.”
“Stage? What stage?”
“You are melancholy.”
“So what? Don’t you miss your world? Your friends and family? Your old life?”
“I do on occasion. It was bad in the beginning, and gradually became tolerable. But now, as my time here draws to an end, I find myself growing more and more anxious to get back to the way I was before I was abducted.” F’Orlo waved a limb. “I guess I am like you, only melancholy in reverse.”
Meredith snorted. “I haven’t heard that term in ages. Yeah, I guess melancholy pretty much sums it up. I miss my home. I miss being able to do things like go to the movies or read a book.” She gave a humorless chuckle. She’d listened so often to the short selection of music her ear button provided, she knew all the lyrics to the songs by heart. When she tried to request new music, she discovered those were the only pieces the ship could provide. She figured it was because they was too far out of range of the planet to pick up any additional tunes. It was the same for her selection in food. As much as she hated to admit it, she was getting pretty sick of prime rib.
“I even miss stuff like doing laundry and paying bills. I wonder if anyone ever found my car. Have they stopped looking for me? What’s happened to my apartment, and all my stuff?”
“You miss him.”
“Miss who?” As soon as she asked the question, Meredith knew who the alien was referring to. “Okay. You got me there. But it’s really not him I miss. I miss the orgasms.”
F’Orlo made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a fart. “No. You miss Terr Boh Deek.”
“It’s been days, F’Orlo.”
“We may be out of his system. Or too far away for him to reach us by regular starship.”
“Will we ever come by this way again? Do you know if this thing follows a specific route?”
“I cannot tell you if we follow specific route, but I can tell you I have had clients return to me after extended periods. So I suppose the answer to your question is yes. We should return to that quadrant again sometime in the future. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you when that will be.”
“Merry.”
She glanced over her shoulder to see Gleeth standing in the doorway. “Let me guess. I have a client.”
“Yes.”
Meredith groaned slightly as she stood, making it obvious she wasn’t quite in the mood for a sexual go-round. As she watched, Gleeth did its millipede thing that resembled crossing its arms and impatiently tapping its foot, only with tentacles.
“You are deliberately being slow,” the creature accused.
“I’m tired.”
Gleeth cocked its head to the side. “Too tired to service your client?”
Meredith momentarily wondered what would happen if she said yes. Would they give the client to another product to be serviced? No, that won’t happen. I’m the only humanoid on the ship. But I bet everyone would be pissed to have to give them their money back. Do whoreships even give refunds? What about a rain check? If they offer bonuses, it’s possible they may give out IOUs. Maybe they offer a separate service for those left in the lurch, like two blowjobs and a lap dance in exchange.
“Merry!”
Gleeth’s harsher tone broke through her reverie as she started to follow the alien out the door. One thing, however, was certain. The other day when Jeed Adru said it was too tired and would not service the clientele, the little alien was literally locked in its room and starved until it relented. What was it Gleeth had initially told her when she realized what she was expected to do?
“What if I refuse to do what you say?”
“Then you will get very hungry.”
“They weren’t kidding.”
“What kidding?” Gleeth repeated, and Meredith realized she’d spoken aloud.
“Nothing.”
Again, Gleeth made a little sound that signaled to her the alien was quickly reaching the end of her rope.
“Of all our clientele, I never thought I would see the time when you would not be excited at the arrival of Terr Boh Deek.”
At the sound of his name, a flush of heat rose through her. Without responding, Meredith brushed past her and sprinted to the pleasuring rooms, her heart pounding with the news.
He was here.
What had F’Orlo said? That the reason he hadn’t come back again was because they might be outside his area of space? If that was true, his return spoke volumes. More than that, it sang songs in her heart.
He was here. He had traveled countless miles, crossed an ocean of space, to come back to her.
But what if all that isn’t true? What if he hadn’t been back was because he was just too busy? Maybe the job was taking up too much of his time. Or he had to take the misses and the kids to the park.
“Shut up,” she growled at the little demon sitting on her shoulder.
Or maybe he found some prime pussy elsewhere.
“Just shut the fuck up.”
No matter what the reason or excuse, the end result was he was back. Her excitement and her run left her breathing heavily, and she paused a moment to calm herself before climbing on top of the padded table. Once she was settled, she tapped the cuffs at her feet to shut them, and waited for the wall panel to open.
There was no movement.
She wriggled her hips, shaking the table slightly. “C’mon! What’s the holdup?”
Hey, I’m sorry, sir, but it appears my fucking couch is on the blink!
She was about to call out to whoever was watching or listening, and let them know there appeared to be a malfunction in the equipment, when the panel started to rise.
And stopped.
“Merry.”
The voice came either from within the room, or from inside her head. She couldn’t tell which, but she answered. “Yes?”
“We are also releasing your hands. Place them at your side.”
“What? But—”
“The client requests you be unrestrained.”
They can do that?
Obediently, she lowered her arms and laid them straight by her side as she suddenly felt her ankles being released.
Finally, the table resumed sliding into the next room. This time, when the wall lowered itself, it stopped millimeters short of closing over her throat, leaving only her head in the other room. Visions of an ancient guillotine briefly crossed her mind, but she quickly banished them. She waited for the puff of air that came when the client entered the other room as her fingers nervously twisted lengths of fabric on her shift.
She was going to be able to touch him. Actually touch back. Oh, God, what am I going to feel? How much more alien is he?
A breath of
coolness wiped the soles of her bare feet. She knew she was nervous. Nervous excited. Nervous wary. Nervous afraid.
A large hand picked up her right wrist and laid it on something smooth. Something warm and solid. She involuntarily flexed her fingers, and the smoothness reacted with a little shake. Meredith gasped and jerked back her hand, but the Alcatian placed it back where it had been. He moved closer, and she tentatively began to explore.
She felt muscles. Muscles that moved, muscles that trembled as her nails lightly skimmed over them. There were other muscles that were like rock. The skin was hairless and scaleless, but at times she touched wetness. Turbo Dick was sweating?
He moved closer to the table until he was bent over her. She found his shoulders, like enormous logs, and slid down one arm. Now that she had an idea where she was, she brushed across the immense chest, searching for a nipple, but was unable to locate it.
A hand took her left one and held it lightly. Meredith paused in tracing his pecs to open her fingers and check it out. Three, four fingers…and a thumb. A large hand. She laced her fingers between his, closing the two together. Her hand felt small and vulnerable in his immense grasp.
He moved away. She felt the table jiggle slightly, and the legs swung apart, leaving her ass hanging dangerously off the edge. To keep herself from sliding off, she raised her knees and braced herself with her feet against the splayed sections.
Hands grabbed her knees and separated them. Meredith could feel his heat warm the skin between her thighs as he moved into position. Fingers carefully spread her folds. A slight pause, and the thick head of his erection bobbed at her entrance.
She reached down with one hand to touch the extension, prepared to find it wholly alien in texture and design. Instead, her fingertips discovered satiny skin. Soft skin. Sensitive skin that quivered during her exploration. She tried to close her fingers around it, but she was unable to reach that far.
The thick head played with her entrance, moving up and down, and rotating slightly. She could feel her juices coating it, until it was completely covered.
This discovery, this cautious exploration, would be the extent of their foreplay this time, and it worked. The repeated feel of his swollen length nudging up against her channel was slowly driving her into a frenzy. Twice she moved her hips in a silent appeal for him to take her, without luck. Her impatience must have amused him. She thought she heard a chuckle come through the hair-thin opening between the wall and her neck.
He took her wrists and pinned them down by her side. There was a tug at her neck before she felt the shift being pulled off, the tips of the filmy fabric tickling as it brushed over her skin. Now she could feel his breath on her belly where he placed a kiss. The hands released her to cup her breasts. Fingers closed around both nipples and started to manipulate them. Meredith almost reached up to place her hands over his when he shoved deep and hard inside her.
She had no time to catch her breath. His hands massaged her breasts, lifting them and rubbing underneath them. Capturing her taut nipples and rolling them, while slowly withdrawing his erection. He was teasing her. Making her wetter and more responsive.
Lifting her legs, she pressed her knees against his body and squeezed. Again, there was that amused chuckle.
Suddenly, without warning, he snagged her feet and hooked her heels over his shoulders. Before she could think about what he might be up to, hands roughly grabbed her thighs, and his erection was jammed back inside her.
It was all she could do to hold onto the sides of the table as he rode her hard and mercilessly, shoving into her with such force that her shoulders made indentations in the wall. Mr. Bumpy was back. Somehow, the perfectly smooth skin on the Alcatian’s dick developed small nodules on the surface, that ran roughshod through her channel. The effect was like a knobby match being pulled across the striker, making pleasure burst through her with such intensity that she cried out.
He stopped for a second, and she knew he’d heard her. The chuckle came again, followed by a wall of heat bearing down on her as he bent over and redoubled his efforts. His breath came in loud grunts as he repeatedly plowed into her.
Unable to hold onto the table any longer, she grabbed her breasts and pinched them as her completion boiled upward like steam ready to vent. She felt a sharp sting as one hand was slapped away, and a mouth clamped over the nipple. At the same time, he shoved a hand between them to find her clit.
She screamed as wave after wave of released passion rolled through her. There was fire, followed by more fire, and there was nothing she could do to stop him as he never faltered, keeping his pace and driving rhythm steady to keep her skimming along the uppermost lip of her orgasm.
Suddenly, he stopped. He was plugged all the way inside her, and she could hear his labored breathing as he drew air into his lungs with loud gasps. She started to reach for him as her body continued to relish in the last drops wrung from her, when he rested his cheek on top of her breasts. Slowly, she touched his face, a face that was so close to hers, separated by the thinnest portion of a wall. She found a cheek, a strong jaw, up to an ear that came to a point. Thick, silky lengths flowed over her knuckles, and she wondered what color his hair was. His eyes closed while her fingers traveled over them, to the nose that was curiously broad and flat.
“My one. My seela.”
His voice was low, but she could hear the words he whispered.
“Thank you. Thank you for coming back,” she told him.
He took her hand from his face and kissed her wrist, then laid her hand along her side as he got up and withdrew from her body. In his wake, her skin grew chilled from the lost warmth.
Stranger still, she felt something being dragged across her belly. His hand lifted her by the waist, arching her back, until the thin, cold length completely encircled her. Whatever it was he wrapped around her, it stung when it first came in contact with her skin, then quickly cooled. When he was finished, he laid her flat. A gentle kiss was placed below her navel, and she sensed him leaving the room. A slight breeze confirmed it.
The wall lifted. As soon as she was able, Meredith looked down to confirm what her hands already told her. He had placed a chain of tiny irregular-shaped beads, like iridescent pearls, around her body. Once the room brightened, she rotated the piece of jewelry around, searching for the hasp. As far as she could tell, there wasn’t one, or at least one she didn’t recognize.
“What did you give you?”
She glanced up to see Gleeth standing in the doorway. “I don’t know. Some kind of waist-size necklace.”
The alien scuttled over, and a tentacle lifted the chain. “Evadium.”
“What?”
“The stones are evadium. This waistlet is priceless.”
Instinctively, her hands clutched the object. “He gave it to me.”
“That alone would pay for your services for years.”
“How about to buy me?”
“Easily. It is worth four times your price.”
Anger began to simmer inside her. Was that jealousy she heard in the creature’s voice? “This is mine,” she whispered. “He gave it to me.”
Sighing, Gleeth retracted its tentacle. “The waistlet is yours to keep, as are all gifts given to the products.” The creature stepped out of her way. “Go wash yourself and put on another shift.” It spoke curtly, almost angrily.
Meredith slid off the table onto wobbly legs. Once she steadied herself, she exited the pleasuring room, but she didn’t return to her cubicle. Instead, she went straight to the lounge to find out more about what sat loosely on top of her hips.
Chapter Sixteen
Attack
She walked into the lounge where four others were relaxing. It was the first time she had gone anywhere on the ship bare ass naked, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t as if the transparent material hide anything from sight, anyway. She wanted to show off what she’d received, and to get their response to the piece of jewelry. Before she could tell them, Avalant
h brought everyone’s attention to her new acquisition.
“Merry! You were given a gift!”
A couple of products hurried over to eye the waistlet up close.
“It looks like evadium,” F’Orlo observed.
Diad shook herself. “That is evadium. Pure grade two.”
“Grade two? What about grade one?” Meredith wondered aloud.
Pudrith waved an arm. “You cannot wear grade one. It is a gas.”
“So, what I’m wearing is a solidified form of a gas? Is there a grade three?”
Veleetee made a giggling sound. “There are only a few known places in the galaxy where one can find evadium, and those places are very dangerous to get to. The gaseous form is prized as an inhalant. The solid form is priceless, and often used as currency.”
Similar to gold, Meredith silently observed. “Gleeth said this waistlet was worth four times my price.”
F’Orlo flushed a bright yellow. “Four times? You are worth that much?”
“But it’s mine, right? Gleeth said products could keep whatever gifts they were given.”
“She told you correctly,” Avalanth replied. “But I do not think anyone has been given something that extravagant. Why would the client do it?”
The alien had a point. Meredith could see being given something simple, like a keepsake. The waistlet was neither simple nor a keepsake.
“Maybe I should keep it hidden, in case someone tries to steal it.”
F’Orlo snorted, a sound that reminded her of a balloon blat. “No one will try to steal that, Merry. It is too unique and costly. If anyone tried, everyone else would know who it really belonged to.”
F’Orlo was right, with one exception. “Unless that person got off the ship with it. Then he could take it anywhere and sell it.”
“Not quite,” Avalanth corrected. “Evadium bonds to the owner. Did you feel anything unusual when he put it on you?”
She thought back to the moment. “Yeah, I did. It sort of stung a bit, but just for a second.”
The alien flipped an arm. “There you are.”
She hooked a thumb underneath the waistlet. There was less than an inch of give, more if she sucked in her stomach. Lifting the chain as high as she could, Meredith stared at the unusually glassy depths of the stones, and remembered not finding a hasp. “Does that mean I can’t ever take it off?”
