Page 25 of No Strings Attached (Mated Fates #1)

The next day, Vi stood in their sitting room; she stood naked beside an equally naked Caussus, both of them standing before Bobby as he scrutinized their bodies, arms crossed. It was weird, even as she recognized that she was no longer really that fazed by being naked in front of anyone in their little group. She hoped that that would hold true for being nearly naked in front of the whole fucking galaxy, but she didn’t feel too sure about that, at the moment.

Bobby reached down into the box he had brought from the fabrication room and pulled something out, handing it towards Caussus. It appeared to be a gold, fine-mesh, wide belt with a golden metal codpiece hanging off of it.

“Put that on,” Bobby told Caussus casually as he continued rooting around in the box.

Vi watched as Caussus fastened the belt. It was exceptionally fine-linked gold, about an inch wide, and very shiny. Caussus collected up his junk and placed it inside the equally shiny codpiece, which was a kind of 360-degree container instead of just a one-sided affair like on ancient armor. It was shaped to make it appear that it held a penis and testicles. Bait and tackle.

The codpiece pulled the belt down in the front from its position on his hips, turning it into an extremely sexy, low-slung look. Without looking up, Bobby passed some long, curved, wicked looking blades to Caussus. They appeared to each sit inside a metal loop-style holder.

“Those attach magnetically to the belt. Put them anywhere you want.”

Caussus attached one to each hip at a slight angle, so they pointed backwards diagonally.

Vi looked at him in amazement. Bobby’s relatively simple solution to hiding Caussus’s junk had resulted in a sexy, dangerous looking Caussus. She grabbed one of the crowns that Bobby had set on the sofa, then placed it on Caussus’s head and stood back to admire the whole picture as Bobby stopped digging and stood up with more items in his hands. He stood and took Caussus in, too.

“Holy fuck, Bobby. He looks amazing!” Bobby just nodded, a little astonished himself, it seemed.

Caussus looked down at himself with a little smile, “Madam Vi, Master Bobby, may I go look at myself?”

Vi nodded and gestured him toward their bedroom. As he left, she said to Bobby, “It’s a good thing he doesn’t have any pubic hair to cover, like I do.”

Caussus turned back around, regarded the patch of hair between her thighs, and said, “Come with me, Madam.”

Vi looked questioningly at Bobby, but he just shrugged, so she went to the bathroom with Caussus. He beckoned her to follow him into the shower and pointed at the control panel.

“Would you like to remove your body hair, Madam Vi? You can do so, here.” He pushed a purple button on the control panel, then a laser beam came out of the panel, shining on her right breast. “At what height would you like the laser to start?”

“You mean, I just set the height of that laser, and it will remove all hair from that level and lower?” She raised her arm and looked at her hairy armpit.

“Yes.”

Vi gathered up her hair in both hands and piled it above her head, exposing both armpits toward the control panel. “Set it at my collarbone or wherever it needs to be to get my armpits and everything below.”

Caussus made the adjustment, then hit the button. Vi looked down to see that all of her body hair was gone. There was a slight smell of burnt hair in the room. She hadn’t felt a thing.

She grinned back at Caussus, “If we introduced this technology on my planet, we’d be the richest people in the whole fucking world!”

Caussus smiled back, nodded, said, “Madam,” then turned toward the mirror to admire himself. He looked stunning, and it was a delight for Vi to watch him realize that slowly.

“You look beautiful and deadly, Caussus, in exactly the right combination.”

“I believe, Madam Vi, that your lover is a true artist. He has an artist’s eye and the talents needed to make what he sees in his mind real. What a gift.”

“It’s true,” she said, “and we’re lucky that we have him using that gift for us. I can’t wait to see what he’s dreamt up for me if you look this good!”

Caussus laughed and Vi looked toward the door, where Bobby stood leaning in the frame, hands in pockets and smiling at both of them. She was glad he had overheard them, and she watched his expression change dramatically as he took in her new, smooth look between the legs. His glowing eyes crawled over her body back up to hers, and she gave him a crooked grin to match the lopsided one forming on his face. His eyes went wide, then he straightened, turned, and went back to the sitting room, quickly. Fuck , she had forgotten that they were “hands off” for the time being.

Everyone back in the sitting room, though it had taken some effort to pull Caussus away from the mirror, Bobby pulled the box over to Vi and knelt in front of her. She didn’t think she was going to get the same treatment Caussus had, being casually handed things, and instructed to put them on.

Bobby pulled a length of gold mesh out that matched Caussus’s belt, then said, a little hoarsely, “Um, I need you to spread your legs a little, Vi.”

She did, then he wrapped the piece around the top of her thigh, pulled out a second one and wrapped it around her other thigh, then pulled out a gold piece that fit precisely over her vulva, cupping it. He attached that piece to the bands going around her thighs, giving in for just a moment to run a finger over the now smooth surface of her pussy and looking up at her with another lopsided grin. Then he pulled himself back to the present and told her to walk away, then back toward him. He watched carefully as she came back toward him, making sure there wasn’t any kind of movement from the little gold covering and nodding to himself in satisfaction.

Reaching down into the box, he pulled out two more wicked looking curved blades and attached them to the gold bands on the outside of her thighs. Then he brought out the last two pieces, two small, circular, gold starbursts that matched the pattern of the crown, but with little gold thimbles in the center instead of a green bauble. She realized what they were for and laughed.

Bobby stood, smiling, and said, “There’s a little bit of adhesive inside to keep them on, but it’s moisture activated.”

Before she could respond, he dipped his head, pulled her left nipple into his mouth, then released it and carefully slid the little thimble over the now hardened nub. A lightning bolt flashed through to her clit. She looked at Caussus, who was studiously looking somewhere else, then looked down in admiration at Bobby’s handiwork. The whole piece was only big enough to cover her nipple and areola, otherwise it would be too heavy and just pull her tits down. Bobby repeated his actions with the right nipple, giving Vi another lightning strike between her legs, then stood back to regard her. Caussus came back to them, grabbed the remaining crown from the sofa, and handed it to Bobby, who slid it on under her hair. Then they both stood back in silent wonder.

“Even more beautiful and more deadly, Madam Vi,” Caussus whispered, then turned to Bobby. “Your work is miraculous, sir, and it is an honor to wear it.”

Vi beamed at Bobby as he looked down and said, “Thank you, Caussus,” before she jumped into his arms and squeezed him, tightly.

She pulled away and looked up at his face, then said, “I’m dying to see. Let’s all go to the bathroom!”

Vi stood in front of the mirror next to Caussus, Bobby off to one side, and looked at them together in wonder. They were stunning together, intimidatingly gorgeous with their gold adornments, sharp blades, crowns, and black/white hair, and they somehow looked even more naked than if they were wearing nothing at all.

They all stood at the mirror for several minutes, admiring. Then Vi turned to Caussus and said, “Please wait for us at the door, Caussus. I’ll join you in a second, and we can practice our grand entrances and walking together.”

When Caussus was gone, Vi turned to Bobby, grabbed up fistfuls of his coveralls in both hands, and pulled his face down to hers. She growled, “I want to rip this off of you, lock the doors, and spend the next week showing you what I’m feeling right now.”

Bobby’s hands found her bare ass and his mouth met hers, their kiss urgent and not in the least bit tender. Then he firmly pushed her away, panting and placing a hand on the wall next to him as a brace. He growled back, “Vi,” warningly, and raised his other arm to ward her off.

She was feeling equally breathless, trying and failing to keep her arousal from growing. She wanted to do exactly what she had said to him. Fuck Steve’s parents, fuck the mission, fuck the galaxy, because all she wanted was to fuck Bobby, right fucking now, then spend the next week doing it again and again. Instead, she said, “OK, I’m sorry. Give me a minute. I’ll meet you out there.”

Bobby whipped around and out the door, tail swinging. She needed to control herself, or she was going to make this harder than necessary on him. And how could they already be at a point in their relationship where she couldn’t take her hands off of him for a few days? It was getting dangerously close to time for her to take stock of her feelings about Bobby. She kept making assumptions about him being with her now and in the future, but she wasn’t honestly addressing her own emotions or giving Bobby any consideration by sharing them or allowing him to share his. She was being a selfish bitch.

But still, she bundled all those thoughts up, cracked the lid of the pressure cooker and stuffed them in, then screwed the lid back in place and made her way out to the guys, waiting at the doorway.

Bobby ran back to the fabrication room while Vi and Caussus practiced walking arm-in-arm around the room, getting a feel for the right distance to keep from each other so they didn’t throw off each other’s gait. Caussus coached her on posture and bearing, telling her to hold her chin higher and back straighter while giving her hips a little more swing. When Bobby shouted, “OK!” from down below, they made their way to the door.

Below them, Bobby, Acken, Mister Beastly, Steve, Trak, and Friend were in the front with about 20 Trallians standing behind them. Caussus walked Vi to the head of the stairs and stopped them there, whispering, “Cool, disdainful regard, Madam Vi. Regal and aloof.” They walked down the stairs slowly, heads held high, with everyone watching them, agape.

Acken bellowed, “You’ve done it, Bobby!” and whacked him on the back, sending him two paces forward. Acken quickly grabbed his shoulder and apologized while everyone else offered him praise and congratulations on his work. Then all of their eyes quickly returned to Vi and Caussus, roaming up and down their bodies with various levels of amazement, fear, and hunger. Yep, Bobby had given her exactly what she’d asked for, hadn’t he?

Bobby picked up another box and turned his attention to Acken, holding a big gold starburst with a flat emerald center that matched the crowns and was at least as big. He ran a wet cloth over a spot in the middle of Acken’s chest, then instructed him. Acken then adhered the starburst to his chest, looked down at it, then looked back up, grinning.

Bobby repeated the effort with Steve, adhering it to Steve’s chest? himself and standing back to admire his work. He had the same thing, on a gold chain this time, for Mister Beastly. Then he handed a smaller version on a chain to Trak and put one on himself. Vi guessed that the adhesive was good on skin or scales but didn’t go so good with fur.

The final thing in his box was an even smaller starburst on a chain for Friend. Bobby handed it to Caussus, who whistled for Friend. Friend came bounding over and Caussus removed his ruffled collar and attached the new medallion. Friend looked around at everyone, wagging his tail happily.

Vi walked over to Steve and asked, “Will this work? Are we naked enough?”

Steve looked over at Caussus, then looked her up and down before saying, “I think so. I will make sure they know you typically wear clothing but have chosen to appear thusly in their honor. They are very fond of pointless gestures in their honor.”

Vi laughed, then looked for Bobby. He was conferring with Acken, gesturing to Caussus’s belt and codpiece. She went over to them.

“No,” Acken was saying, “the metal needed to contain my cock would be much too heavy for the belt. But I should like a belt and pair of daggers to wear. My cock can swing freely.” He raised an eyebrow and grinned at Vi, then said, “If it’s naked they want, it’s naked they’ll get!”

Vi burst out laughing.

Acken said, seriously this time, “In fact, I would like every member of the party with hands to have those blades, at least until we can buy some energy weapons. So, me, Mister Beastly, Trak, and you. Is there time for that work, Bobby, if we want to leave tomorrow? Do you need an assistant?”

Vi jumped in, “We also need clothing for our arrival and meeting with the space station manager. We can’t walk around like this the whole time. Do you have something designed for all of us in your mind, Bobby?”

He nodded, “Yes, and I can work on it in transit, we just need to get the fabric and a few machines loaded in the cargo hold. I’ll take care of that.” He turned back to Acken, “I’ll make the belts and show someone else how to make the daggers. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Acken nodded, then bellowed, “Listen up! Who wants to assist Bobby in making 8 more daggers before tomorrow?”

Vi watched as all 20 or so Trallians raised their hands, then she turned to watch Bobby register the fact that every Trallian in the room had just volunteered to assist him. She felt a rush of emotion for him as the slow, happy grin spread across his face.

Acken and Vi sat across from each other up in her sitting area, Vi finally back into a coverall and feeling a new appreciation for being clothed.

“Tell me about Blue Rift Station,” she said, “and why you think the Ophidians picked that location to meet. Steve tells me it’s nowhere near Serpentia.” Vi sat cross-legged, while Acken had his legs stretched out all the way across the gap between the arms of the sofa to her side.

Acken said, “Blue Rift is between systems, but it is one of the few outfitted to host a royal reception. It caters to the rich and powerful. The main level is domed, full of gardens, and offers many high-end boutiques and restaurants, luxury suites. Of course, the lower levels contain all of the crime, nastiness, and squalor any other station has, but the people who can afford the main level never see that. It has separate hangar bays for the main level and the others.”

“So, the station manager is like a crime boss?”

“No, the station manager is a corporate man and is responsible for profits. The crime bosses are on the lower levels, and the station manager makes them be responsible for running their levels.”

“Meaning what?”

“Like keeping the crime off the main level, overseeing routine maintenance of the lower levels, policing their own. Things of that nature. If they don’t, the station manager can cut off their gasses and water. He can even open those levels up to space. The crime bosses below do everything possible to keep the station manager happy, including cutting him in to a portion of their profits.”

“So, he’s the guy we need to convince, huh?”

“Indeed, Queen Violet, he’s the guy you need to convince.”

“And we need to have him set us up with a broker who can do direct credit transmissions. Are we decided that we’re going to go with the smallest of each type of gemstone for our first run?” She glanced over at the safe that had been installed in the corner of the room. “Will that be enough money to start? Let’s see, we need to supply the asteroid, buy weapons, buy royal accoutrements, and start having our ship built, as well as pay all of our employees. What else am I forgetting?”

“Fuel all the ships, augment our asteroid’s point defenses, acquire equipment and explosives to excavate a new hangar for our gunship…”

“Royal yacht,” she reminded him. “Yeah, so, do we think one of each gem will be enough?”

“Maybe not with direct purchases, but I’d rather travel with only that amount to start with. I think we’ll fare better once we are able to hold auctions, but we must create a name for ourselves first as offering superior gems. The pink and blue diamonds are so rare in the galaxy that I think we will be pleasantly surprised at the final purchase price for those at auction, but we must start somewhere.”

“OK, so Steve said that the Ophidians will have done all the necessary planning and communication for the reception on the station. All we have to do is show up. But we’re showing up in Qlu’s creepy little orgy ship without any money to our names. How do we think that’s going to go?”

Just then, Bobby walked in and flopped down on the sofa next to Vi. He looked exhausted. She pulled one of his hands into her lap and started massaging it. He gave her a startled look, then leaned his head against the back of the sofa and sighed in pleasure, starting to purr.

“I think it’s going to be iffy,” Acken said, eyes fixated on the movement of her fingers across Bobby’s hand. “Everyone is going to wonder why we don’t have quarters aboard the station but are instead sleeping in the ship. We can explain the use of the ship as a loner from our dear friend, Qlu, while we have some minor maintenance done on our yacht, but I’m not sure how to explain the fact that we’re sleeping aboard the ship.”

Someone grunted from the doorway, and they all turned. It was Mister Beastly. He pointed to himself. Acken shook his head, not understanding. But Vi thought she might.

“Mister Beastly, you think we should explain our sleeping on the ship on something having to do with you?”

“Yes.”

“But what? Why would we sleep on the ship because of you?” Vi didn’t get it.

Bobby said, “Maybe you don’t explain it. Garoxians are mysterious and terrifying to everyone in the galaxy. Everyone will be glad to know that we’re returning to the ship to sleep instead of staying on the station.”

“Yes,” Mister Beastly said.

Vi and Acken shared a look, then slowly nodded at each other. He said, “It could work.”

Vi said, “It’s the best idea we’ve come up with, yet. We’ll run with it unless someone comes up with something better. Thank you, Mister Beastly…and Bobby.”

Mister Beastly grunted and walked away down the catwalk.

Vi took Bobby’s other hand, started massaging it, and murmured, “I can’t wait until that guy can talk to us.”

After Acken left, Vi led Bobby into their bedroom, stripped off his coverall, and had him lay face down on the bed so she could rub his muscles. He’d been working so hard, with such fantastic results, she just wanted to do something to make him feel good. And one of her best options for making him feel good had been taken away, temporarily.

She rubbed his body down until his purr turned into soft snoring, then tucked herself against him and went to sleep.