“They will not be informed of what you have told me, you may rest assured. But each will undoubtedly court you as males of our kind are taught. Understand, serving a woman is the ultimate goal among them, and each will do his best to prove his worth to you.”
It was a lot to take in, that was for sure. And there were complications.
“Uh, Zoldana? There’s more.”
“More?” the woman asked, her curiosity piqued even more.
“Well, we, uh... kind of had sex.”
“With which one?”
“Yeah, about that.”
The old woman cackled with delight, tears streaming down her face. “Oh, that is marvelous! What a lively change of pace you have brought to my city!”
“I don’t think it’s funny.”
“I would not say funny, exactly. But you have to admit, the situation is, at its core, rather amusing, would you not?”
“If it wasn’t me in the middle, I suppose. But what now? I can’t sleep with them both, can I?”
“Why not? There is nothing wrong with it. You are young, and the pleasures of the flesh should not be ignored. Not to mention that sort of connection is vital for a long-term bond, and as such one should never make such a decision lightly. And certainly not without thoroughly sampling their potential mate’s skills.”
Olivia fell silent, more than a little shocked at the woman’s frank and open-minded assessment of the situation.Do the deed again? And with each of them? I mean, I already have, so I suppose that’s not a big deal. And the overseer of the whole city says it’s perfectly okay, and who am I to argue with their culture?
She cocked her head slightly, a little smile creasing her lips. “You know what? Maybe I’ll do just that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Rykker had been the first to contact her after her meeting with Zoldana, arranging a dinner that night now that they were back in civilization and out of harm’s way. Despite bathing thoroughly, she still felt his presence, though that could possibly have been lingering traces of his wonderfully hot load lingering inside her.
Whatever the case, she was more than happy to accept his offer. Arkness reached out on comms just a short while later, having been delayed temporarily. Had he known it was a race, he’d have likely found a way to contact her sooner, but as it stood, he found himself informed that tonight would not work, but the following day she would be happy to see him.
Without his physical presence, thanks to the comms system, the distracting pheromones were not in play, and Olivia found herself able to have the conversation without devolving into a trembling ball of arousal.
Speaking of which, Rykker asked her to come to his place this evening, somewhere she’d never been and was quite curious to see. How did this man live? Was he a slob? A neat freak?Something in between? You could tell a lot about a man by how he maintained his living space.
She arrived just after dark, following the directions he sent her, the display built into the sheer dress she was wearing under her more modest street coat providing her with the most direct route to her rendezvous.
The AI had really lived up to the request she’d made, crafting a dress so flattering even a man not pheromonally bonding to her would do a double-take. The AI had also been aware enough of the likely effect to have provided the outer covering along with it to make her passage through the city as gawker-free as possible.
When she arrived at his place, however, all bets would be off.
The final location was a lift disc situated far below an invisibly suspended bubble home far above. Olivia stepped onto the disc and was whisked upward in a flash, arriving at his front door, from which the view was amazing.
“Wow,” she gasped.
“You are here,” a sexy, deep voice said as the door opened, making her loins tingle with anticipation. He was dressed impeccably, she noted, his clothes fitting his muscular frame perfectly, accentuating all of his attributes to their fullest. “Please, come inside.”
She took his hand and crossed the threshold, marveling at his home.
“I only ask that you leave your shoes here. I prefer a barefoot residence.”
“Oh, sure,” she replied, slipping out of her shoes, feeling the comfortable warmth of his floors on her bare skin. “This is really an amazing place,” she added, staring in awe at the three-sixty view through walls that were opaque on the outside but clear from within.
“Thank you. I am quite fond of it,” he replied with a knowing grin. “May I take your coat?”
“Of course,” she said, shedding the garment seductively, watching with great delight as parts of him reacted of their own accord at the sight of her.
