“Here we are! This is the clothier I was talking about,” Chandra said brightly. She pointed at a small tunnel with a sign over it up ahead on their left.
“Oh good,” Sarah said, trying to smile. She certainly hoped the shop they would be visiting would be a little less brightly lit than the street area. The long, underwater tube which housed the part of the city of Idd they were walking in was brightly lit from both above and below. Outside its glass walls, Sarah sometimes caught glimpses of what she assumed was the ocean but the bright illumination inside made it difficult to tell.
It wasn’t just that the bright light was annoying, although it certainly was— but the blazing illumination was also making her worried about Sazar. The big Kindred strode along with a stoic look on his face but Sarah thought he looked paler and his eyes were narrowed in apparent pain. And had she seen them flash red—the same dull, almost-maroon color they’d turned the night before when he was so thirsty?
This light really isn’t good for him, she thought anxiously. He’s beginning to look like he did when he needed blood so badly.
Would she have to feed him again? The thought gave her a strange shiver in the pit of her belly. She was glad that Kat and Liv had given her the blood replenishment pills. If Sazar needed to bite her again he could without fear of draining her—she would be able to slake his thirst as often as she needed to.
But where will he bite me? She couldn’t help dreading that initial moment of pain. Would it hurt less on the neck? Or maybe—
Her thoughts were cut off as they entered the small side tunnel which dead-ended in a round bubble of glass that housed a cool, dim shop. Beside her, Sarah heard Sazar breathe a sigh of relief. She couldn’t help feeling relieved herself. It was like stepping out of the brilliant sunshine of a Florida day into a cool, dim, air-conditioned house.
But not everyone liked the change.
“My goodness, it’s so dark in here I can hardly see a thing!” Minister Obglod complained.
“That’s just because the proprietor, Lemesh, has light sensitivity,” Chandra explained. “She spends most of her non-work hours in the depths. Don’t worry, Minister. We won’t be here long.” She raised her voice and called, “Lemesh? Oh, Lemmy—I have some customers for you here.”
Her call brought a girl to the front of the shop, which was crowded with hanging swaths of fabric in every conceivable color. Like all the other females they had seen, she was dressed in a manner which showed off her assets, though her clothing wasn’t quite as bright as Chandra’s. Her skin was also a darker green and Sarah thought the gill slits at the sides of her neck looked much more pronounced. Chandra had said she spent a lot of time “in the depths”—did that mean swimming out in the dark ocean, which was much more visible in the dim bubble of the shop, than it had been in the brightly lit outer tunnel?
“Hello, my dear.” Lemesh flowed forward with a graceful gesture that was almost like swimming and hugged Chandra, pressing her cheek to the other female’s for a moment. “What can I do for you? The Breeding Ball isn’t until tomorrow night and I thought you had your outfit all ready. Do you need to make an alteration?”
“Oh, I’m not here for me, Lemmy dear,” Chandra said. “These nice people are Sarah and her pair partner Commander Sazar of the Kindred. They have come to visit us all the way from another galaxy.” She motioned to Sazar and Sarah who smiled and nodded politely. “Minister Obglod here is their host and he’s anxious that they should be, um, properly dressed for their meeting with The Lord Magnate.”
“Oh my, another galaxy? Well, that’s certainly interesting. I just…” The clothier stopped short, her eyes flickering over Sarah. “Oh my dear—why are you dressed like a male?”
“We, uh, didn’t know how females dressed here,” Sarah said, feeling her cheeks get hot. “I’m really very sorry—the only videos we had showed men, er, males only.”
“I sent you very proper vids of our most famous law-making sessions,” Minister Obglod said, frowning. “If you had listened correctly, you would have heard our law about how males and females are to dress appropriately at all times with no exceptions.”
Sarah wanted to exclaim indignantly that if he thought they had time to listen to hours and hours of old men droning on about laws he had another think coming but Sazar spoke before she could say anything.
“Forgive me, Minister. The fault was mine—I did not interpret your laws correctly,” he said smoothly. He seemed much more at home in the dim shop and she noticed with relief that his handsome features had lost their strained expression and his eyes were no longer red.
“Well, well, it can’t be helped,” Obglod grumbled. “Let’s just hope Chandra and her friend can make your female presentable.”
“Oh, I’m certain I can. What lovely, unusual skin coloration,” Lemesh remarked, coming closer and tilting her head to one side as she studied Sarah.
“Um…thank you. I think your skin is lovely too,” Sarah said with a smile.
"Oh no," the clothier protested. "My skin is too green—my coloration is dark because of my blood." She smiled at Chandra. "But we can't all have such pure blood as my lovely friend here."
"Oh, Lemmy…" Chandra made a shooing motion.
“Well, it seems you have the matter in hand,” Minister Obglod announced, clearly bored of the female chatter. “I must go make some excuses as to the delay of our party to the palace.” He pointed at Chandra. “I’ll be back soon. See that she’s properly arrayed when I return.”
“Of course, Minister.” She kissed him affectionately on the cheek and he tugged at the chain between her breasts almost absently and then left the shop in a fast, shuffling walk.
“Well, you heard the Minister—we need to get moving,” Chandra said briskly. “What can you do for us, Lemmy?”
The clothier was still staring at Sarah thoughtfully.
“I think perhaps some lovely gold netting to set off the rings in her breasts—or maybe silver. Tell me dear, what color are your piercings?”
“Oh…” Sarah felt the blood drain from her face. “I…I don’t have any, uh, piercings,” she admitted. And she really hoped she didn’t have to get any either! The idea of someone poking a needle in her nipples was not appealing.
“What? No piercings? Let me see your breasts!” Lemesh demanded.
“Um…uh…” Sarah stuttered, casting a glance at Sazar. She couldn’t just start stripping in front of her boss, could she?
Sazar clearly saw the uncertainty on her face because he considerately turned around, putting his broad back to her and the other two girls.
Sarah felt somewhat relieved but she still didn’t like getting undressed in front of strangers, even if they were female. Still, what else could she do? Alquon Ultrea could represent an important alliance with the Kindred—she couldn’t screw that up just because she was shy.
Taking a deep breath, she dropped the bulky robe and pulled the tight blue shirt over her head, revealing her bra.
This garment, which Sarah had bought yesterday, was a nice, new black one with plenty of support for her too-large breasts. It immediately provoked a lot of interest from both of the Alquon girls.
“But what is this?” Lemesh fingered the black elastic straps with interest. “What can be the meaning of covering your breasts with a top and then covering them again with this strange thing?”
“It’s a foundation garment,” Sarah tried to explain. “It…gives you support. Especially if your breasts are on the, uh, large size,” she added in a low voice. “We’re not all as perky as we’d like to be.” She nodded at Chandra’s tea-cup sized breasts which were small and perfectly formed.
"She does have extremely large breasts," Chandra remarked. "I don't think I've ever seen such big ones." She giggled. "You're going to be quite the center of attention once we get your outfitted properly!"
"I'm a triple D," Sarah said, trying to keep her voice low. "But that's not that unusual back on my home planet of Earth." She knew for a fact that there were women with bigger boobs than hers. Mostly porn stars, not that she ever watched porn, but still…
“I still don't understand the use of this garment." Lemesh was frowning at Sarah's bra. "If you need support, why do you not simply wear a float dot under each breast? So much easier and they don’t hide your lovely breasts like this ugly thing does.” She plucked at the elastic strap again disdainfully. “Ugh.”
“Float dots? What are those?” Sarah asked.
“Lemmy will show you. Come on— take that that nasty black thing off,” Chandra commanded. “Hurry—the Minister doesn’t like to be kept waiting and The Lord Magnate likes it even less.”
There was no choice. With trembling fingers, Sarah unhooked her bra and let it slide down her arms. She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder but to her relief, she saw that Sazar was still facing away, although she could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was listening to everything they said.
“Oh, you do have large breasts,” Lemmy exclaimed. “Very large. My—we might need two float dots under each one.”
“They’re nicely shaped though,” Chandra remarked. “And I don’t think I’ve ever seen pink nipples before—how unusual. Lovely, though.” She spoke in the conversational tone someone complimenting a new pair of shoes might use.
Sarah did her best to take their remarks in stride although she couldn’t help wondering what Sazar was thinking of all this.
“Um, thank you,” she said. “Pink isn’t an unusual color for my people.”
“Oh no? What a strange planet you must live on,” Chandra mused.
Lemesh, however, was all business.
“Now then—you’ve never been pierced at all?” she demanded.
“No, and I really don’t want to be if I can avoid it,” Sarah said quickly. “I mean if it would give offense not to, I’ll do it, but—”
“Don’t worry my dear—I’m not set up for piercing here,” Lemesh told her comfortingly. “I’ll tell you what—let’s just get your outfit settled first and then we can see about nipple jewelry. I think I have some non-piercing sets for clients with sensitive skin in the back. But of course we’ll need the help of your pair partner to put it on.”
Sarah had no idea why Sazar’s help would be required but before she could ask, Chandra was already holding swaths of cloth up to her front, looking for the perfect color while Lemesh took her measurements using a tiny hand-held machine which pricked her skin lightly without drawing blood wherever it touched and beeped intermittently.
Before she knew it, Sarah had been fitted for several outfits which were, unfortunately, every bit as revealing as the ones Chandra and Lemesh were wearing. One was a stretchy, gold lame' material which molded itself to the tops and sides of her breasts while leaving her nipples bare. The skirt that went with it was of the same fabric and clung to her hips and behind with a slit up both the back and the front. Lemesh had apparently made it for another client who decided to wear something else so it was all ready to go.
“That one is for the Breeding Ball,” she explained as she had Sarah try it on. “I’m assuming you’ll be invited since you’re important guests of the Minister and you’re visiting the palace today.”
“She’ll need the right undergarments too,” Chandra reminded her friend.
“So she will. I’ll pack them with the dress when I wrap it up for you,” Lemesh promised Sarah.
“Undergarments? But I thought…thought you didn’t wear, uh, bras here?” Sarah asked in confusion.
“You mean that ugly breast-hider thing you were wearing? No, of course we don’t! We show off our assets as is right and proper and feminine,” Lemesh exclaimed. “But you’ll need the proper breeding panties—it isn’t good etiquette not to wear them during public breedings, especially in a formal setting like the palace.”
“While you’re…breeding?” Sarah heard the tone of uncertainty in her own voice but Lemesh was already moving on to other things.
“Now, as for your outfit for today, I think something a little less formal but still eye-catching. I have a gorgeous deep, sea green I’ve been dying to use but it didn’t quite match any of my client’s nipples.”
“It won’t match Sarah’s either—they’re pink,” Chandra pointed out.
“It won’t match but it will accentuate,” Lemesh said. “Here, let me show you.”
She went to the back of her shop and returned with a bolt of deep green, silky fabric. Holding the same machine she’d used to take Sarah’s measurements, she ran it over a length of the fabric and several pieces of pre-made clothing simply fell out of the cloth.
“Wow! That was fast.” Sarah marveled at how quick and efficient the process was. She couldn’t help remembering how laborious making clothes was back home—how her mother and the other women of the Compound had labored for hours cutting and using their sewing machines. Sarah had helped too until she had been promoted to working in the office—sewing was something she hated with a passion but with a tool like Lemesh’s, it would be a breeze.
“Yes, the measure-maker really does come in handy. Don’t you have anything like it on your planet?” Lemesh asked.
“No—I wish we did,” Sarah said as the other woman pulled the top over her head.
“Maybe we can get you one while you’re here,” Chandra remarked. “Oh Lemmy, you were right—that color is just stunning against her pale skin!”
Sarah had to agree they were correct—the deep green looked wonderful with her ivory skin tones. The material was silky and cut in an inverted V neck which started at the hollow of her throat and then sloped down and away, framing her full breasts beautifully. If the top hadn’t exposed her so much, she would have really liked it. As it was, though, Sarah couldn’t believe she had to wear it out in public. Had she thought she felt exposed before when she’d been wearing the close-fitting clothing Kat had talked her into? Well this was a hundred times worse and there was no way to get out of wearing it!
The one thing she didn’t like was that her breasts weren’t as perky as Chandra’s or Lemesh’s or really as any of the Alquon girls she’d seen. The Alquon people seemed to tend towards small breasted women and there was no denying that small, tight breasts looked better in this particular style than her own full to overflowing type of bosom.
Lemesh seemed to see the problem too because she announced, “Time to get out the float dots!”
Before Sarah could ask again what they were, she produced a small black box and opened it to reveal tiny red jewels that looked like rubies.
“Here we go,” she said, picking one out carefully with her fingertips. It made a slight humming sound and Sarah bit her lip as the Alquon clothier lifted her right breast in a professional manner and placed the tiny ruby-looking thing directly on the crease where the bottom of her breast met her chest wall.
At once she felt a soft vibration and her breast began to lift. Not in a strange, unnatural way—it was as though some invisible hand was cupping her from underneath and giving her support.
“Hmm, another I think,” Lemesh said, looking critically at the result. She added another float dot to the underside of Sarah’s right breast and then two to the underside of the left. When she was finished, Sarah’s too-large breasts looked every bit as perky as Chandra’s teacup-sized ones and the deep green top fit perfectly as it molded to the sides of her breasts without covering the undercurves or nipples.
“Wow, that’s…amazing.” Sarah looked down at herself. No wonder nobody wore a bra here—the float dots did a perfect job of support without the need of tight elastic straps or uncomfortable bands. “How long will they last?” she asked Lemesh.
“Hmm? Oh, as long as you keep them on, my dear,” the clothier assured her. “I’ll give you a special box to keep them in—you have to keep them charged up of course, and that’s what the box does. But once you put them on, they draw power from the warmth of your skin.”
“So you can wear them multiple times?” Sarah asked.
“As often as you want.” Lemesh smiled brightly. “Many of my clients wear them all the time and just never take them off. They work so well.”
“They certainly do.” Sarah regarded her breasts which, now that the effects of gravity had been removed, suddenly looked like she’d had a boob job. They jiggled when she moved but they stayed full and firm no matter what she did, apparently immune to gravity.
“Now the skirt fits nicely too,” Lemesh remarked, smoothing it over Sarah’s full hips. She and Chandra had gotten Sarah to take off the baggy trousers, but Sarah was still wearing her nice cotton flower-print panties. “But those won’t do at all,” she added, frowning.
Sarah saw she was staring at her underwear and pressed her thighs together protectively. “I’d rather not take those off. My people don’t, uh, believe in going around without underwear.”
“We’ll give you some to take their place,” Chandra promised her. “But you absolutely cannot wear those to the palace! They don’t match at all—they ruin the look of the entire outfit.”
“Here—these are perfect for the palace.” Lemesh had brought out something which looked a little like a thong but instead of fabric in the back, it had a double strand of exotic-looking black and green pearls of all different sizes, from the circumference of a ball bearing to the size of a gumball.
“Really?” Sarah looked at the strange garment uncertainly as she reluctantly shed her own panties. “But if I wear that, won’t the uh, pearls go right up my behind?” The pearls in question were in a kind of long loop, she saw, making a kind of oval of little green and black spheres which was certain to be uncomfortable if it got into the wrong crevice.
“Up your behind?” Chandra started laughing. “Oh my dear,” she exclaimed as Lemesh helped Sarah step into the new underwear. “The honey pearls don’t go in the back—they go up the front.”
To her dismay, Sarah saw it was true. The double strand of pearls nestled in the center of her pussy slit against her outer lips. She was glad she kept her curls neatly trimmed into a small triangle because the new panties did nothing to hide her mound at all.
Well, at least they’re not up inside me, she thought and then Lemesh said,
“Wait, it’s a little too loose.”
“And you forgot to turn the honey pearls on,” Chandra added.
“Silly me—how could I forget?”
The Alquon clothier reached under the slit of Sarah’s gown and did something to the panties. Suddenly there was a slight humming sound and the double string of multi-sized black and green pearls cinched inward, sliding between Sarah’s outer pussy lips and coming to rest against her inner folds.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, shifting her hips quickly but that only made things worse. The pearls were vibrating—not a lot—but enough to cause a tingling sensation right against the pink button of her clit that made her feel like she suddenly had ants in her pants. There was one pearl on each side of her button and the strands seemed to be moving up and down as the pearls spun in circles, creating a double sensation that began driving her crazy in short order.
Suddenly Sarah felt like she had the night before when she’d been touching herself and trying to reach that elusive peak. She didn’t think the faint vibrations of the honey pearls would be enough to help her get to that peak or push her over, but they were certainly enough to make her uncomfortably aroused.
“Just perfect for the palace,” Chandra exclaimed. “Now all she needs is some nipple jewelry!”
“But…but…” Sarah stammered. “How, uh, what if I want to turn them off?”
“Why would you want to do that? They feel nice, don’t they?” Chandra giggled. “I love to wear my honey pearls! My pair partner, Kendro, says they make me so wet for him. Sometimes he fills me while I’m wearing them—won’t even let me take them off.” She winked at Sarah. “I bet your partner will feel the same.”
Mention of her “partner” made Sarah realize that she’d almost forgotten Sazar was standing behind her, waiting patiently for this whole process to be finished. Suddenly she remembered all over again that he was going to have to see her in this extremely revealing get-up and she felt herself blushing. What would he think of her? The clothing fit well, showing off her curves to the best advantage and the float dots made her full breasts perfectly perky, but it was all so revealing. And the honey pearls wouldn’t stop stimulating her, no matter how she shifted around. In fact, shifting her hips seemed to make their effects worse.
“Here we are!” Lemesh came back carrying a broad, flat black lacquered box. “I knew I had some non-piercing ones.”
She opened the box, revealing several sets of tiny gold and silver bands joined by chains, just like she and Chandra were wearing.
“Go ahead, pick a set,” she told Sarah. “I’d recommend gold because it will match with both outfits.”
“All right.” Feeling a sense of disbelief—as though she was trapped in a bizarre dream and couldn’t wake up from it—Sarah pointed to a set with a thin, filigreed golden chain attached to two thick gold bands. She had an idea that the thick bands might hurt less wrapped around her nipples than the tiny thin wire ones she also saw in the box.
“Excellent choice!” Chandra said. “Now we just need your pair partner to help put them on.”
“Oh, I…I can put them on myself, I think,” Sarah said quickly but Lemesh and Chandra only laughed at her.
“Now how can you do that? How are the bands going to adhere to your peaks without the help of your pair partner’s mouth?”
“What?” Sarah exclaimed but Chandra was already tugging on the back of Sazar’s robe, telling him to turn around.
The big Kindred didn’t move.
“Sarah?” he said, making her name a question and Sarah knew he was asking if she wouldn’t mind him seeing her in her present state of dress—or rather undress.
As it happened, she did mind—a lot—but again she reminded herself that she couldn’t scuttle the entire mission just because of her own personal sense of modesty.
I’m dressed like everyone else here, she reminded herself. Well, everyone else who’s female, anyway.
“Yes,” she said aloud in a voice that trembled only a little. “You…uh, you can look.”
Sazar turned slowly and Sarah bit her lip, waiting to hear what he would say. He was silent at first but his pale eyes widened as he took her in from head to toe, lingering briefly on her exposed breasts and the string of honey pearls nestled between her pussy lips. Finally he breathed a single word.
“Beautiful.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Lemesh smiled. “That dress really sets off her pink nipples, don’t you think, Commander Sazar?”
Sazar cleared his throat, his eyes drawn downward to Sarah’s bare breasts again.
“Indeed,” he said at last in a somewhat choked voice. “They are…lovely. Very full and ripe.”
For a moment Sarah thought she saw his eyes flash red again. Was that a sign of lust as well as a sign he was needing blood? Did it signal a different kind of hunger? The thought made her feel flushed and hot in all the wrong places and she wished she could cover herself with her hands but she knew that would look wrong. She and Sazar were supposed to be mated partners—she wouldn’t cover herself from her own husband, would she?
I guess not, Sarah thought, shifting her hips and wishing the honey pearls wouldn’t vibrate so much.
“All right, now that your partner has had time to admire you, we need his help getting this jewelry on,” Lemesh said briskly. She produced a small round bottle with a long thin tube attached to it which reminded Sarah weirdly of an old-fashioned perfume atomizer. Unscrewing the top, she pulled out a long, thin silver pin and motioned to Sarah. “Give me your finger please.”
“What? Why?” Sarah asked even as she held out her finger.
“I need a drop of your blood for the compound,” the clothier said. And before Sarah could protest, she stuck the pin into the pad of her right index finger.
“Ouch!” Sarah exclaimed, jumping.
Sazar came forward, his face like a thundercloud.
“I don’t appreciate you hurting my mate without getting her permission first,” he growled. “I have sworn not to allow even a single drop of her blood to spill.”
“Please don’t worry, Commander Sazar,” Chandra told him soothingly as Lemesh held Sarah’s bleeding finger over the black bottle and squeezed gently. “One drop is all it takes and we promise she will be well taken care of.”
“I need a drop of yours too,” Lemesh told him briskly. “Please give me your hand.”
“First I will heal my mate.” Stepping up to Sarah, Sazar took her wounded finger and sucked it gently into his mouth.
“Oh,” Sarah whispered as a tingle ran through her. God, it felt good when he healed her! And the intense way he was looking at her made her feel weak in the knees. His eyes flashed red again as he held her gaze.
“Your blood, Commander Sazar,” Lemesh reminded him impatiently.
“All right.” Sazar released Sarah’s hand and frowned as he extended his right index finger for the clothier.
“What is the purpose of this? Why do you need our blood?” he asked.
“Because…” Lemesh pricked his finger and allowed a drop of his blood to fall into the small black bottle. “It’s the only way to activate the adhesive compound,” she finished, releasing his hand and screwing the top back on the bottle.
“Adhesive?” Sarah asked. “What do you…Oh!” Her last word ended in a gasp because the Alquon clothier had sprayed her right nipple with the contents of the black bottle and it was some of the coldest liquid she’d ever felt in her life.
Her right peak, already hard from the cool air in the room and the embarrassment of exposure, tightened even more until it ached. Lemesh did the same to the left nipple before Sarah could protest and then nodded at Sazar.
“All right, suck them, Commander. Hurry or I’ll have to spray her again.”
“Excuse me?” Sazar frowned as though he was certain he’d misunderstood her. “I’m sorry but what did you say?”
“Suck them—suck her nipples.” Lemesh sounded impatient. “It’s the only way to finish the reaction started by the compound and make the jewelry stay in place. Hurry or I’ll have to spray her again.”
“I…I don’t understand,” Sarah said faintly. “You want him to, uh, suck my…um…”
Lemesh frowned. “Why are you acting as though this is hard to understand? The compound keeps the nipple jewelry in place but only if it’s activated first by the saliva of your partner.”
“And…it won’t stay on otherwise?” Sarah looked doubtfully at the small golden bands which were supposed to encircle her tender peaks.
“Not at the right tension,” Chandra said, jumping in to help explain. “You see, the jewelry automatically tightens to just the right amount to keep your nipples hard and erect without cutting off the blood flow. Without the chemical compound, which is tailored to both of your bodies by the drops of blood you just gave, the metal will either be too loose and slip off—which is terribly embarrassing and unacceptable, especially in front of the Lord Magnate…”
“Or it can tighten too much and cut off the blood flow, causing permanent damage to the sensitive nerves of the nipple,” Lemesh finished for her. “You don’t want that, do you?”
“No, I…I guess not,” Sarah said. “But…”
“It’s either this or get your nipples pierced,” Lemesh pointed out. “And you don’t want that either, do you?”
“No,” Sarah said fervently. “No, I really don’t.” If she had to choose between the embarrassment of having her boss put his mouth on her nipples and the pain of having a needle shoved through them, she would take the embarrassment every time.
Sazar was still frowning. “Are you certain this jewelry is necessary for Sarah? Can’t she simply go without it?”
“What? Go out in public without her nipple jewelry?” Chandra looked shocked. “Why, that’s indecent! She might as well go outside naked!”
Like I’m not half naked already, Sarah thought dryly. God, it looked like there was no way around it—she was going to have to let her boss suck her nipples. But how would Sazar feel about it? Did he want to suck her nipples?
A look at his eyes, which had turned that maroon-red color again and the prominent lump rising in the crotch of his loose black trousers gave Sarah her answer. Sazar wasn’t opposed to it—he was probably just worried that she was.
“Now just look,” Lemesh said impatiently. “The compound has dried and I’ll have to spray her again. I don’t see why something as simple as nipple jewelry is causing such a problem!” She sprayed Sarah’s tight peaks with the achingly cold compound again, causing her to hiss and flinch. Then she motioned to Sazar. “Come on!”
“Please hurry,” Chandra begged. “The Minister will be back very soon and we need to be ready to go to the palace!”
Sarah bit her lip and looked up at Sazar. He was looking at her with uncertainty stamped on his chiseled features and she knew it was up to her to give him permission to do this—he was too honorable to take advantage of her.
“Please,” she whispered. “I…I don’t want her to have to spray me again. That stuff is really cold.”
It was apparently all he needed to hear.
“As you wish,” he said hoarsely and dropped to his knees before her.
He was so tall that the new position put his lips exactly opposite her breasts. Looking Sarah in the eyes, he opened his mouth slowly and lapped upward, dragging his hot tongue up and over her aching peak, making her gasp with sudden need and pleasure.
“Sazar,” she whispered and put her hands on his broad shoulders. “Oh God that feels…feel so good.”
He gave a soft growl in the back of his throat and sucked her stiff peak deep into his mouth. Sarah gasped again and gave a little moan when she felt the sharp points of his fangs bracketing her tender nipple as he sucked her hard and long. She found that her hands had somehow gotten buried in his thick black hair and she was pressing forward, trying to get more of her breast in his mouth.
She had a hazy thought, wondering again if he could drink from her here, and then Lemesh was saying, “All right now—that’s quite enough. We’re not at the Breeding Ball, you know.”
Reluctantly Sazar allowed Sarah’s stiff, aching nipple to slip from between his lips and sat back.
Quickly and efficiently, the Alquon clothier slipped one of the golden rings over the throbbing peak and Sarah felt it tighten at once to just the right amount.
“Good,” Lemesh said. “That’s one down—now do the other.”
Wordlessly, Sazar leaned forward and took her other stiff nub in his mouth, sucking and licking until Sarah started to wonder if she could reach that elusive peak she’d been seeking just from having him suck her nipple.
Once more Sazar held her gaze with his, his eyes burning red, and once more she found she couldn’t look away. This definitely wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she walked into the interview room with him but she found she was having a hard time thinking of him as her boss right now—especially while his sharp fangs pricked her lightly and his hot tongue drew circles around her swollen peak. He never drew blood but Sarah couldn’t help wondering if he wanted to…and if he could from this sensitive area.
Finally, again at Lemesh’s orders, he withdrew, releasing her peak with a last, soft kiss, and the Alquon clothier was able to fit the other golden ring on Sarah’s left nipple. It tightened just as the other one had and the golden filigreed chain hung between her breasts enticingly.
“So beautiful,” Sazar growled softly as he rose smoothly from his kneeling position. “Do they feel all right?” he asked, indicating the golden rings now encircling her tight pink nubs.
“I…I think so,” Sarah murmured. She looked at Lemesh. “But…how do I get them off when…when I want to go to sleep at night?”
“The same way you put them on.” The Alquon clothier smiled.
“You mean use the spray again—the compound?” Sarah asked, nodding at the bottle.
“Oh no, my dear—that’s only for putting them on. To get them off again, your pair partner must get them nice and wet with his mouth—that will dissolve the compound and release the rings until the next time you want to wear them.”
Oh God, this situation just got more and more embarrassing!
“So every time I want to take these off or put them on…” Sarah began.
“Your pair partner has to help you,” Chandra said brightly. “Which is sure to lead to lots of fun. I know it always does with my partner Kendro when I wear the non-piercing kind of jewelry—sometimes I do it on purpose just for that reason.” She giggled.
“Oh, uh…” Sarah wasn’t sure what to say to that. She glanced up at Sazar who was still looking intently at her. What did he think about this arrangement?
There was no time to ask him because just then Minister Obglod reappeared.
“Well, there you are. And looking much better I’m sure!” he exclaimed, looking Sarah over. He reached forward, as though to grab for the chain between her breasts but Sarah took a quick step back and wrapped her arms over her exposed assets. She couldn’t fight the instinctive urge to cover herself. She had gotten somewhat used to being half naked in front of Lemesh and Chandra and even Sazar but she just couldn’t let some man she barely knew ogle her bare breasts—she couldn’t.
“What’s wrong, my dear?” Obglod asked, frowning. “Does your jewelry pain you?”
“She’s just not used to it yet,” Chandra said quickly. “Come Minister—we are all ready for a trip to the palace!”
“Excellent—we have kept The Lord Magnate waiting long enough. Come this way.”
He started to lead the way out of the small, dim shop but Sarah said, “Wait!”
“What is it now?” The elderly minister turned on her with a fierce scowl. “We need to go!”
“I just…I was wondering if you had any sunglasses, er—dark lenses—my partner could use to shield his eyes,” Sarah said, speaking to Lemesh rather than the minister. “He has a sensitivity to light which makes the brightness of your main corridors very uncomfortable.”
Sazar was giving her an unreadable look, which she hoped wasn’t anger or irritation. But she didn’t want him going out in that bright light again without any protection. A good assistant anticipates her boss’s needs, she told herself. And the last thing Sazar needed was to be exposed to that painfully bright light again.
“Oh, of course!” Lemesh exclaimed. “I am light sensitive myself, you know. I’m sure I have an extra pair of blockers…”
She ran to the back of her shop and returned with a strange contraption which looked like a long, rounded metal wire with a black square attached to either end.
“Look, you wear it like this—if you’d just lean down…” She motioned to Sazar.
The big Kindred leaned over obligingly and Lemesh looped the wire around the back of his neck. Then she brought it up and pressed the black squares together to form a long, dark rectangle which fit over his eyes.
“There—that should work.” She nodded approvingly.
“I thank you,” Sazar rumbled but he was looking at Sarah as he spoke.
“My pleasure,” Lemesh said, smiling.
“Yes, thank you, Lemmy—you’re a lifesaver.” Chandra gave the other girl a hug and they pressed their cheeks together briefly.
“We really do appreciate your help,” Sarah said, smiling at the Alquon girl. Though it was going to be excruciatingly embarrassing to walk out in public completely exposed, the clothier really had done her best for them. She was good at her job—Sarah just hoped she could be as good at hers.
“You’re welcome, my dear.” Lemesh smiled back warmly. “I’ll have the other clothes and the bottle of compound packed up and sent over to your guest quarters.”
“Thank you, Sazar said gravely. “And now it appears the minister is eager for us to go.”
“Yes, yes—hurry up, won’t you?” Obglod exclaimed impatiently. “We cannot keep the Lord Magnate waiting for one moment longer unless you wish us all to be thrown to the grike.”
Sarah wasn’t sure what a grike was and she certainly didn’t want to find out.
“We’d better go,” she said. Waving at Lemesh, she followed Minister Obglod and Chandra out of the small dark shop and back into the brilliant corridor. She immediately wished she’d asked for a pair of the sunglasses herself but it was too late now. They were going to the palace to meet the Alquon ruler and she would be squinting all the way. She was also going to have to fight the urge to cover herself again once they got into public.
God, whoever would have guessed when she took this job that she’d be walking around bare-breasted on an alien planet? What had she gotten herself into?
And yet, when she stole a glance at Sazar, striding along beside her, she couldn’t feel sorry about the strange turn her life had taken…and she also couldn’t help remembering how hot his mouth had felt on her breasts or the intense way he looked at her when he’d sucked them.
Was she falling for the big Kindred?
You’d better not be, whispered a stern little voice in her head. He’s your boss and this is still a professional relationship—don’t forget that, Sarah!
But somehow it was hard to remember when her nipples were still tingling from his mouth and her body was on fire from his touch.