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“Oh? I didn’t know that.” Seline frowned. “Do they have some kind of belief that it makes them strong or something—like the Viridians think it makes their scales shiny and hard?”
“I have never heard any such belief among my fellow Kindred,” Nox said, shrugging. “I believe it is simply considered a desirable trait because Kindred warriors love the tastes of their chosen female’s honey.”
“Mmm. I see.” She nodded. “Well, I think I need to take a shower and change into some night clothes.” She looked down at her black Yonnie Six Mistress dress. “I can’t sleep in this. I wish I’d thought to bring my carry-all cube in with me.”
“We had no idea we’d be staying the night,” Nox reminded her. “It’s the same reason we decided to leave the Far Box on the ship for safe keeping.”
“You have a picture of it on your communications device, though,” Seline pointed out. “I guess you could show it to Master Lendrex to see if it jogs his memory.”
“I suppose…” Nox pulled his device out of his back pocket and flipped it on. He brought up the pictures of the Far Box—both of the metal carrying case that housed it and the device itself and studied them thoughtfully. Maybe he ought to show the pictures to Lendrex in the morning. Earlier he had been trying not to tip his hand, fearing that the other male might want too much for the artifact if he knew exactly what they were after. But now he had an idea anyway, so it didn’t really matter.
Suddenly, Peep-a-cheek, who had been making himself scarce during their tour of the Halls of Pain, flew down to light on Seline’s shoulder.
“Oh, hello, little guy.” She stroked his feathers gently with one finger. “You want to see what we’re looking for? It’s that thing, there.” She pointed at the pictures on Nox’s communicator.
She was clearly speaking to the little bird-like creature as she would to any pet—without any expectation of him understanding her. Nox wasn’t surprised when Peep-a-cheek tilted his head to one side for a moment and then flew off again.
He sighed and put the device away.
“I could go back to the ship for the Far Box and for your carry-all if you want me to, but I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone in the Upper Disk,” he told her.
“No—I don’t like that idea either!” Seline shivered. “It’s too strange up here! I always wanted to visit a fetish club, but I don’t want to be left alone in one.”
Nox frowned.
“So…humans have clubs that resemble the Halls of Pain?”
“Somewhat—though I’ve never heard of a club that has ‘Tasting’ and ‘Breeding’ tables. Let alone the Harvesting equipment for the breast nectar,” she remarked. “Though plenty of them have spanking benches and St. Andrew’s crosses—the flogging frame we saw in the Punishment Room,” she added, explaining when she saw the confused look on his face.
“Fascinating,” Nox murmured, really meaning it. He recalled the conversation they’d had at the beginning of their mission, about pain being sexual in the right context and situation. He hadn’t thought he could ever hurt Seline deliberately, and yet he had inserted the metal “tail” into her sensitive little rosebud, which couldn’t have been easy for her to take. But by offsetting the pain with pleasure, he had made it work.
He couldn’t help wondering what else might “work” in this context…but then he pushed the thought away. Thinking like that might lead to more “feelings” which he wished to avoid.
“We should both get ready to sleep,” he said. “Would you like the first shower or should I take it?”
Seline sighed.
“I’ll take it. Do you think Master Lendrex really has the other half of the Far Box or is he just making excuses so we’ll stay?”
Nox thought of the hungry way the Viridian male had stared at Seline and had to hold back a possessive growl.
“I do not know,” he said, trying to keep his voice normal. “But I hope it is the former and not the latter.”
“I hope so too.” Seline ran a hand through her hair. “Well—I’d better get that shower and get ready for bed.”
“Be careful,” Nox told her. “I know the guard showed us several interesting features but I am never completely easy with alien tech until I have worked with it some.”
“Everything he showed us seemed simple enough but I’ll call you if I need any help,” Seline promised.
She disappeared into the bathing and changing area leaving Nox to ponder her words…and wonder why he had lied to her about having feelings.
TWENTY-FOUR
SELINE
The Viridian version of a shower was really nice. There were multiple jets overhead and also on the walls of the large gray marble stall that could be adjusted for intensity and temperature easily by the touch of a few thermostat buttons. Seline also found a selection of hair and body products and a long-handled scrubbie that had a gently abrasive puff on the end which emitted rich purple foam when she pressed it to her skin.
