Page 23 of No Strings Attached (Mated Fates #1)

Vi wrapped a towel around herself as she and Bobby made their way back alongside the garden and up the stairs to their rooms. Thankfully, no one was around at the moment to see them. It was night cycle, but she didn’t know how long into it.

She asked Bobby as he bent over to inspect the boxes of gemstones, and he said, “Only about an hour, I think.”

“I have to be up and ready for our new morning meeting tomorrow when the day starts. I’d give anything for a working alarm clock on this rock.”

Bobby looked at her strangely, “What’s that?”

“It’s something that tells you what time it is, and you can set it to make noise at specific times, like to wake you up at a certain time.”

“I can do that for you. What time do you want to wake up?”

“Um, about 30 minutes before the light, so I can shower and get dressed. How can you do that?”

“I don’t know, it’s automatic. I tell my brain and it does the rest.”

“I wish I had that.”

“You do not need it. I will be your alumclot.”

Vi stifled a laugh as she pulled the blankets back on the bed, tossed the towel toward the bathroom, then crawled in, waiting for Bobby to join her. “So, we have about eight or nine hours available for sleeping before then? I really, really need a good night’s sleep.”

Bobby had moved over to the other side of the bed and was standing there, unsure. He looked at her and said, “Yes, I do, too. I did not sleep well while you were gone. Also, we didn’t get much sleep before you left.” He tentatively crawled in and settled beside her, “Last time, you pulled me close behind you while you slept. Now, you’re lying on your back. How should I be?”

“How do you normally sleep?”

“On my side. We don’t like to lay on our tails.”

“OK, do you want to be the big spoon, like last time, or the little spoon, like this?” She turned on her side toward him and gestured for him to roll away from her, then she snuggled up close to him and wrapped her arm around him. His tail made the position, um, interesting.

“I like all spoons. Which do you like?”

“I like all spoons, too. Let’s stay this way.” She began stroking the fur on his abdomen, then caught herself. “Um, Bobby, I have to confess something to you. I always have an almost uncontrollable urge to pet you. I love the feel of your fur.”

“Why is that bad? I love it when you touch me. Anywhere. Any way.”

“Because on Earth, it’s something we do with animal companions, like Friend. We don’t do it with each other, since we don’t have fur.”

“I watched you do it to Friend before the feast, and I was jealous. I wanted to trade places with him and have you scratch and rub me the same way.”

Vi laughed and began doing just that. To her amazement, Bobby began to purr.

“What? You can purr?! Why didn’t you tell me?”

She heard the shock in his voice when he responded, “I didn’t know I still could. Most Trallians only purr when they are very small and being directly tended by the mother.”

They fell into silence, and Bobby’s soft purr lulled them both into sleep.

Bobby woke her up with little kisses up and down the back of her neck, shoulders, and jawline, purring softly. She came up from the depths with her whole body wrapped up in his from behind, and she sighed contentedly at the warm, safe, comfortable feeling. She rubbed her cheek against fur on the hard bicep that was serving as her pillow and luxuriated in the feel. Then she twisted in his hold until they were facing each other, but he never released his hold on her, still continuing to wrap his body around hers tightly and purring. She looked deeply into his glowing amber eyes, which always seemed to be illuminated from within.

“Good morning,” she said, smiling at him.

“Best morning,” he said, a little dreamily.

“See?” she asked, laughing. “It’s nice not to wake up in a free-fall, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and I think ‘our bed’ has become my two new favorite words. Especially after your first surprise last night. I want to keep you in our bed until time stops. Or at least the next 10 or 20 years.” He pointed to the wall, laughing, “We can put a food synthesizer right there, and never leave this room again.”

“That sounds good to me,” she said, and meant it, “But for now we’ll have to just make the most of our nights together. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Bobby rolled over on top of her and slid his body up hers, stopping when they were face to face, eyes blazing into hers. “Then make sure you get it done quickly and give me yourself in this bed— our bed —for as many hours as possible tonight. I’m going to see how many times I can bring you to orgasm, and I’m not going to stop until you beg me. Maybe not even then.”

Her eyes widened and her face heated, nipples instantly becoming rock hard as her clit began to throb. Bobby’s eyes widened in response, then he was off of her body and the bed, saying, “Get in the shower, Vi, quickly. Or I’m not going to be able to let you leave at all.”

She jumped off the bed, ran to the bathroom, and closed the door, then just leaned against it panting. Had he really just said that? A sexually confident Bobby had made her wet and ready with just three sentences. She laughed and thought, I’ve created a monster .

She was showered, dressed, and sitting on the sofa trying to focus on what Acken was saying, but she kept replaying Bobby sliding up her body and telling her he was going to make her beg for him to stop pleasuring her. She couldn’t believe how much it had turned her on to see him growing into his potential for sexual power. Even now it made her excited and breathless.

“…so, we will probably be able to have three flight crews to support all four ships…”

She had no desire to be dominated, no attraction to alpha males except for an inherent biological response that she resented, but she had wielded all the sexual power in their relationship so far and had known that the imbalance would become tiresome to her after a short time. Bobby’s innocence and naivete had been sweet and charming to her, and she cherished the fact that she had had the opportunity to introduce him to sexual pleasure and shared affection. But she didn’t want to be Queen Violet in the bedroom; she wanted a sexual partner who had their own needs, wants, and desires and had the confidence to act on them. It took her breath away that Bobby was finding his sexual confidence so quickly, and it excited her that she couldn’t predict the ways that it would manifest.

As if summoned, he opened the bedroom door, closed it, and walked through the sitting room, freshly showered and carrying his coverall in a bundle. His amber eyes locked on hers and a heated look passed between them, complete with a mischievous, crooked smile on Bobby’s face before he strode out onto the walkway and was gone with a swish from his thick tail. Vi’s head had followed his passage the entire way, lingering on the empty doorway.

When she came to herself and looked around the room, Acken, Caussus, and Trak were all silently regarding her with looks ranging from amazement to amusement. She fished around for the last thing anyone had said but came up empty.

With a blush rising to her face, she looked down and said, “Sorry, guys. I was a little distracted. Where were we?”

The kitchen staff broke the awkward silence that followed, coming into the room, and setting up a simple but wonderful breakfast. They ate companionably for a while, then continued.

All of the Trallians had agreed to join them as paid employees after yesterday’s talk, except the hostage taker who was now in snake guy’s cell. Acken was going to have Qlu’s ship ready for travel and assign a Trallian crew from the cargo ship teams, so they would be prepared to leave for a space station within the next couple of days to start trying to monetize some gemstones.

Caussus had arranged to have the kitchen staff make simple, portable, but ample morning and evening meals to feed everyone on the asteroid. The food would be set up by a certain hour twice per day, and everyone could drop in during that time to get one. This council would have their morning meals delivered here. The Ophidian and the Garoxian were both satisfied with fish for the time being, although they still held each’s last special meal in reserve. There was currently at least a month’s worth of food on the asteroid for everyone, using the two meals per day plan.

Trak was going to gather up all the asteroid defense Trallians and learn the asteroid’s defensive and offensive capabilities, then brief everyone. They had received confirmation from 75% of the buyers planning to attend the auction that they were no longer on route or planning to arrive.

Vi wanted to know which space station they were going to try with the gems, then to learn everything she could about that station’s operations. They would need to present themselves to the station manager in their royal capacity and would need to figure out the best way to handle that. Acken said he would bring that information tomorrow morning.

She told them about Bobby’s interest in designing their clothing and jewels, and everyone seemed surprised by that, but satisfied with her decision. She planned on spending her day today between Mister Beastly and snake guy, seeing if they could be brought into the crew or if they needed to be taken home.

Then… I’m going to see how many times I can bring you to orgasm, and I’m not going to stop until you beg me.

Maybe not even then.

Vi found Mister Beastly looking ridiculous, his giant, furry body perched on a Qlu-sized stool and hunched over a computer monitor in a little room off the garden cavern. Since he hadn’t seen her, yet, she went into Qlu’s quarters and pulled out some of the huge pillows and took them back to him. He was happy to see her, and delighted with the pillows, which he used to create a nice little seat and backrest against the wall that still had him at the right height for the monitor. He was enormous, nearly still eye level with her as she stood and regarded him. She gazed into his cat’s eyes and smiled.

“Whatcha doin’ in here, Mister Beastly?”

He pointed at the monitor, then made a swiping finger motion in the air, and the screen changed. It showed a vertically divided picture, a line down the middle. One side had characters from the standard notation, the other side was blank. The whole screen was blue. He pointed at the side with the characters, and the computer said “blue.” Then Mister Beastly made a growling sound, and the empty side of the screen shifted at the same time she heard a bing sound. Then Mister Beastly pointed at that side of the screen. Vi heard the computer repeat the growling sound that Mister Beastly had just made.

She looked at him in open-mouthed wonder, “You’re making a translation of your language?!” Vi clapped her hands and threw her arms around his neck. “I can’t wait to talk to you!”

He patted her back and when she pulled back, he smiled at her. Then he made a motion in the air that produced a new screen, empty of images, colors, or notation. He activated the left side then pointed to the script on her left breast. She looked down, remembering that Bobby had stenciled her name there in phonetic characters.

She said, “Violet.”

Then Mister Beastly growled, “Aye” and the screen binged again.

He pointed to himself, and Vi said, “Mister Beastly.”

He made a strange series of glottal sounds and the screen binged again.

“That’s your name?” She tried to reproduce the sound but did a terrible job. Mister Beastly looked amused, then pointed at the left side of the screen and the computer played back Vi’s voice saying, “Mister Beastly.”

“Yeah, OK, point taken. You don’t want me butchering your name.” She gave him a chagrined smirk and he patted her on the head in the fatherliest gesture she had experienced since losing her own. Tears threatened behind her eyes. She wrapped herself around Mister Beastly’s huge bicep and hugged it, which was easier than trying to get her arms around the beast himself.

“Do you understand me, Mister Beastly? Or Acken? Or the Trallians?”

“Yes,” he growled, in English, tapping his ear.

It took her a minute to process her shock. “Your translator knows Garoxian? And translates the other languages for you?”

“Yes.”

She mused, “It must have been modified on your planet, then, since no one else has your language available. Can you take the translator out and just load it into the computer, so you don’t have to do this word-by-word?”

“No.”

Just then two Trallians entered the room, toting between them a huge half-barrel sized container of live fish in water. Mister Beastly growled.

Vi smiled at the terrified Trallians and said, “That means ‘thank you’ in his language. Don’t be afraid.”

They looked at her in shock and, when Mister Beastly said, “Yes,” swiveled their heads around to him in total astonishment.

Vi kept nodding, “He’s very grateful that you’ve provided him with this food, and so am I. Thank you from me, as well.”

The Trallians just gaped and slowly backed out of the room.

Vi looked at Mister Beastly and sighed, “I think it’s going to take the Trallians a long time to realize that they’re free and safe.” She looked down at the fish, “Now that I know you can understand me, I have a lot to tell you! Can I talk while you eat?”

“Yes,” he said, grabbing the first fish and biting its head off.

Vi got comfy on the edge of one of the pillows and started talking.

Wandering through the garden looking for the snake guy, Vi came across Kompi and Friend.

“Vi!” Friend shouted, wagging his tail so hard that he shook. A thoughtful expression passed over his face, and he said, “No, that’s not right. Queen Violet! And King Caussus! What will I be, Vi? In the royal court of Oz?”

“That’s an outstanding question, Friend,” she said, kneeling down to scratch behind his ears. “What would you like to be?” She was impressed that Caussus had taken the time to explain everything to the trawg, and thought that, perhaps, the relationship wasn’t as one-sided as it appeared.

“Hmm, I think I want to walk between you as a guard, so I can bite the hands off of anyone who tries to…why do you smell like Bobby?”

“Well,” she said, a little embarrassed that the trawg could detect Bobby’s scent, “because Bobby and I are…special friends. We share a bed.”

“Like me and Caussus? He lets me sleep with him.”

“Sure, we’ll go with that. How are you and Kompi getting along?”

“Great! Kompi can throw a ball really far! I’m trying to train one of the Trallians to take care of him, but he doesn’t seem to take to them very quickly. And they all seem to be afraid of him.”

She went over to Kompi, who still only ever gave her his vacant smile, and asked Friend, “Has Kompi seemed happy since we got free? Do you think there’s something he needs that we haven’t given him?”

The trawg looked thoughtful, “I think he might miss singing with you. Sometimes he sings by himself and looks sad.”

Movement over on the catwalk by her room caught Vi’s eye and she looked up to see Bobby going inside their room. Then she thought of the previous night and took Kompi’s hand, then prompted him with the opening lines of “Tiny Dancer.” He picked it up and she led him in increasing their volume until the sound was filling the cavern and bouncing back to them. She watched Bobby walk slowly back out through the door of their room, then scan the garden, until he saw them. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the railing, smiling.

When they finished, and Bobby had walked back down the stairs, Vi looked at Kompi and said, “I’m going to teach you a new song today.”

Snake guy was resting a little way away from the mini lake at the far end of the garden. He was semi-coiled and looked up when Vi approached, then raised up to be the same height as her.

“Hi, Vi. How was your trip with the Mineralite?”

Vi stood and stared at him with her mouth hanging open. “Don’t you mean ‘Viii, how wasss your triiip?’”

“No, that’s just an affectation to freak people out.”

“Ooohkay, then what about the name thing? Withholding your name? Is that an affectation, too? I’d really like to stop calling you ‘snake guy.’”

“You’ve never asked me my name.”

“Yes, I ha…” she thought about it. Had she?

“Nope.”

“Well, please do me the honor of telling me your name.”

“Steev.”

“Steve? You’re shitting me!”

“What’s wrong with ‘Steev’?”

“Nothing, I guess. It’s just a common name on Earth for males, and it surprised me. I’m very pleased to meet you, Steve. Now let’s get real. What are your plans? Do you want to be part of our crew, do you want to go home, do you want to just hang out in this garden, what?”

“Tell me, then, what are your plans? What would I be joining if I joined you?”

“Right, good point. Ugh, I wish I had thought of it when I was telling Mister Beastly. Then I could have killed two birds with one stone.”

“There are significantly fewer birds in this garden now, since I have entered.”

“Oh. Aren’t you getting enough fish to eat?”

“Yes, but I do enjoy chasing prey, and there is no challenge with a barrel of fish.”

“Ha! Shooting fish in a barrel. I understand. OK, let’s get comfy.”

Steve said, “So I would be…”

“Under Acken, organizationally. Alongside Mister Beastly.”

“Hmm, it would greatly irritate my family to see me aligned with a different royal house, so that does have some appeal.”

“Different royal house? Is there a royal house on your planet that you’re under?”

“Yes, my mother and father rule the planet as King and Queen.”

“Are you fucking serious? So, you’re Prince Steve?”

He chuckled, “In name, I suppose, but I’m about 30 th in line for the throne. I have 57 siblings.”

“Is there anything requiring you to return home?”

“Nothing. And I am enjoying the excitement generated since you arrived.” He thought for a moment, then said, “If I choose to stay, I will need to contact my King and Queen immediately, before we are captured by the roving cameras of Ogobian Broadcasting on some space station or planet. It will not be tolerated for them to find out where I am that way. Shall I contact them?”

“Yes, please do. We would be happy if you stopped being separate from us and joined the cause.”

It was getting late in the day when Vi finally went off in search of Acken, to let him know that they definitely had Mister Beastly and Steve—Prince Steve—in their camp, under him, with Friend itching to play a role in the royal entourage. Vi was trying very hard to stay focused, but one thought kept interjecting itself to interrupt her mental processes: I’m going to see how many times I can bring you to orgasm, and I’m not going to stop until you beg me.

After talking to Acken, she was heading back to the main cavern when she glanced into the fabrication room and froze. Bobby was in there, coverall stripped off to the waist, the lower half being held up by a toolbelt, grinding something that was creating showers of sparks. He wore dark, protective goggles over his eyes.

She stopped fully, standing in the doorway, to admire him. He looked totally in his element, though she had no idea what he was doing, and so fucking sexy. She leaned into the doorway, crossing her arms, determined to enjoy the sight until she was caught.

That didn’t take long, Bobby raising the goggles to his forehead to see who was there and breaking into a sunny smile. He called her over to show her something.

“Tell me what you think of this…the green is just glass I’m working with to do the prototypes. I didn’t want to use Malachite’s emeralds and risk wasting any. I thought I’d design your crowns, then use the crown designs to make smaller pieces for everyone else.”

He gestured at the table, where a green ball of glass, about the size of a ping pong ball, appeared to float in the middle of a nearly foot-wide starburst design made of gold, both of which appeared to be hovering off the table.

“Oh, wait! I forgot to turn it on.”

He tapped the green ball of glass with a metal stylus, and it illuminated from within, casting emerald green light. Vi was rendered speechless. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

Bobby stood back, hands on hips, and smiling, “It’s the emerald planet.”

“How…how is it hovering there by itself?”

“Oh! It isn’t hovering. I used this rigid filament to make the crown portion. It’s nearly invisible.” He handed her a piece of something that she couldn’t quite focus on. It was about the size of a fiber optic filament. “I thought it would look pretty cool if it appeared to be just floating above your head. Can I put it on you and see how it looks?”

She nodded, still utterly stupefied that he had created this gorgeous masterpiece in the course of a single day. No, conceived of it, designed it, and created it.

As he picked it up, she asked, “How is the ball floating?”

“Magnets in the lighting mechanism and in the gold corona.”

“It’s the most beautiful, ingenious thing I’ve ever seen, Bobby.” She whispered, reverently. “I can’t believe you did this in a few hours.”

She looked at him in awe and he glanced down, embarrassed, but also started purring. Then he looked back up again and slid the thin filaments around the crown of her head, under her hair, until it was firmly placed. She imagined what it looked like, seeming to float above her forehead tethered to nothing and glowing out that brilliant green light, and continued looking at him in utter wonderment.

He was focused on getting everything straight and just so, then he stood back and admired it, “Now it’s the most beautiful thing, on you.”

When he finally stopped scrutinizing his work and stepped back to take her in, he visibly registered the heated look in her eyes and his purr stopped, abruptly. She was fucking drowning in lust for him right now, had been even before watching him a few minutes ago while he had been looking so ridiculously sexy at his work, before seeing the wondrous fruits of his labors and his obvious genius for design and engineering. Those were sizable logs on the fire, sure, but he had kindled the blaze this morning with a few words and it had been raging ever since.

Bobby’s eyes went wide, then he turned and ran for the door, slamming it closed and engaging a lock. He was back in front of her in a second, tugging off her coverall and panties—but leaving the crown in place, a part of her mind noted—then his own and toolbelt, and she was wrapped around him tightly while he pressed her hard against the nearest wall.

She felt him slide into her while he murmured, “So hot and wet already,” and their tongues entwined as he grew to fill her.

Bobby started rocking into her, hands around the undersides of her thighs, and she moaned, breathing, “Harder, Bobby.”

His eyes shone with the green light from her crown while he ground into her even harder, and she was over the edge in seconds, screaming, while her fingers dug into his back. Bobby was right behind her.

When their breathing had normalized, Bobby pulled her away from the wall and she wrapped her legs around him. He grabbed their clothes off the floor and carried her to the back of the room, looking for a good place to tuck themselves away for a while, at least out of sight of the door.

“That’s one,” Bobby said, smiling wickedly and lowering himself to a cross-legged sitting position on top of their coveralls, with her still joined.

Vi laughed, pulling the goggles off his forehead, and tossing them behind her. Then she straightened her back, placed her hands on her hips, and asked, “So how’d you like fucking the Queen?”