Her callouses snagged in the material.
“Those are a favorite with the men here,” a woman said from behind her.
Alexa pivoted, clutching the underwear to her chest. “I’m only looking.”
It was an android. A beautiful, older-looking one. She wore a silky red robe, open in the front, to reveal perfect breasts wrapped up in ruby satin. Auburn hair fell over her shoulders in thick waves, ending on a curl down her back.
Alexa gripped the panties harder.
The lady smiled. “They’d look good on you.”
“What would?”
The android’s eyes twinkled. “Those panties, of course.”
Alexa dropped her eyes. “Oh, right.”
“I know just the thing to wear them with,” the shopkeeper said, turning on her heel and stepping toward a rack exploding with black lingerie and lace. She yanked something out, and then another thing, and returned before Alexa could tell her not to. “This. This would match those panties and make you a goddess. Men will fall on their knees to worship you.”
A black robe fell between them like a waterfall, and with it, a lacy garter belt with a matching bra. The back of the bra had a large, black bow.
Agift.
More than anything, Alexa wanted to touch the fabric. “You think so?” she whispered.
She imagined what Hysterian would do if he saw her in something like…that.A rush of excitement flooded her, and though she was thrilled in it, she hated it at the same time.
“A goddess.” The android nodded. “Whoever the lucky guy is won’t know what hit him.”
Alexa inhaled.
The shopkeeper folded the lingerie in her arms, turned, and went toward a table where another android was helping a man.
Alexa had no choice but to follow.
“I don’t know if I should…” she started to say.
The android wrapped and bagged the lingerie. “Nonsense. You have the assets. Now use them.”
Alexa turned her wristcon on and swiped the funds toward the shopkeeper. Alexa looked down at her body and her lack of curves. “I don’t think so.”
The man beside her stepped away and checked her out. Alexa stiffened.
He hummed, grabbing his bag from the android helping him. “She’s right. You’ll be fine.” He inclined his head at Alexa and left the shop, leaving her an embarrassed mess as one of the shopkeepers nodded with him in agreement.
Alexa snatched her bag and peeked into it. What had she just bought? She closed it up tight and stuffed the bag in with her purchase from earlier. She turned to the android helping her.
“Make him beg,” the android said.
Alexa shivered but nodded, her excitement wavering somewhere between dread and longing. Hysterian would never beg. Never.
But she really liked the idea of it.
She started to leave but pivoted right back, remembering why she was here at all in the first place.
Fifteen minutes later, she was rushing through the port toward Termite, having spent much longer in the lingerie shop than she had planned on. The shopkeeper convinced her that she could do her job wearing silk, satin, and thongs instead of cotton and linen. Now Alexa had more panties and bras than she would ever, ever need and in materials she never thought she’d ever own.
She pushed through the crowd gathering out in front of Termite, searching for Pigeon and Raul. The smell of liquor was strong here, and so was the laughter. Pushing through a group of men, she found Pigeon at the bar, holding a beer.
