by Viola Grace
Tycho blinked. “We are allowed to do that? Zera never mentioned.”
Krizt nodded. “There is a setup so that it is given to the escort without us seeing them. Like a tipping system.”
Arcady smiled. “Zera has her hands full. I help out with that sort of thing. Birthday gifts for the patron or escort. Special arrangements. Now that Tirra is in Aksalla, someone has to help out.”
Krizt paused. “I got blue roses on my birthday.”
She coloured. “That was just something from me to you.”
Tycho asked, “When is your birthday, Arcady?”
“Three months ago, or nine months from now.”
Krizt frowned. “Wait, that is when my birthday is.”
She snickered. “We share a date.”
“You are fucking kidding me.” He looked genuinely angry.
She shook her head and brought up her new credentials. “See? Same date.”
Corianne held her as he got angry.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you didn’t need to know. You were finishing your sculptural implant project and working up a proposal for those bioagents.”
Tycho asked, “You are doing sculptural implants, like what?”
“Wing buds to anchor projections for folks like you specifically. Damn it. I am not getting distracted that easily.”
She looked at him with a scared bunny face. His expression softened ruefully. “Why don’t you want me getting upset about it?”
“Because when it happened, we were just co-workers.”
“And yet, you bought me flowers.”
She wrinkled her nose. “And you kept them in my office like I knew you would, so I got me flowers.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That is worse.”
“My greed is bad for you?”
“I didn’t even keep the gift that you got me.”
“Well, you saved me a few months after that, so I will call us even.”
He looked at her and shook his head. “You don’t get it.”
She frowned. “I really don’t.”
Tycho said, “He wanted to buy things for you, and he missed a perfectly innocent opportunity that would have let him express himself in a public manner.”
She stared at Krizt, and he morosely met her eyes. “Oh. Oh. Well, we will have decades and decades for me to let you make it up to me.”
Corianne kissed her hand and sat her next to Tycho. “She could use some jewellery or nice shoes.”
Tycho winced. “I have tried to buy Zera shoes before. That never ends well.”
Krizt frowned. “Why?”
Arcady knew the answer. “She doesn’t wear a lot of heels. She’s much more boots or bare feet.”
Tycho chuckled. “You haven’t slept with her, and even you know the answer.”
Arcady blushed. “Uh... That isn’t accurate.”
Krizt shook his head. “You slept with the boss?”
Corianne chuckled. “Nice. Zera is really good.”
Krizt patted his thigh. Arcady eased over Tycho’s lap to end up on Krizt’s thigh. “Yes?”
“You slept with Zera?” He examined the marks that Corianne had left.
“We didn’t sleep, but I have had sex with her. Yes.” She shrugged. “We didn’t have to sign the disclosure agreement because it was just a casual thing.”
Tycho grinned. “If Zera singled you out and recruited you, it wasn’t casual. She likes who she likes.”
“Zera likes everybody.” Arcady blushed.
Tycho tilted his head. “No. She doesn’t. She is very particular in those she invites to be escorts and those she accepts as patrons. She would like everyone to be safe and happy. She was furious the night you were attacked, and if Krizt hadn’t gotten there in time, the death toll would have been higher.”
Arcady frowned. “She wouldn’t have hurt anyone.”
“You are right. They would have been dead before they felt anything. Zera has her own aspects that can come out if she is motivated, and she was motivated.”
Corianne smiled. “I have... met Zera. She is rather intense for me and far too predatory.”
Arcady blinked. “Really? She is always a very big sister to me. Mind you, she wanted me to keep control of Krizt, so that was pretty obviously her motivation.”
“Keep control of me?” He raised his brows.
“Maintain you, and keep you from going elsewhere when your contract was up.”
He looked at her. “You were bait.”
“And a bribe. It took me seven months to figure that out when she told me that you had applied and were being fast-tracked. She was really smug.” She mumbled it as she looked toward the skyline.
Tycho chuckled. “And you and I had already had our first date by then. It was nice, but I really wanted to taste you.”
Corianne grinned. “As had I, and as I also did. Now that I have, I curse every wasted moment. You taste like a thousand drops of sex in the rain.”
The description baffled her, but Tycho and Krizt nodded.
Arcady frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Krizt smiled. “The next time it rains, I will show you.” He had tucked his knuckles under her chin, and his sexy-sleepy look had a slow-burning fire in it.
She blushed hot, and she swallowed. “I am good. No need for a tutoring session.”
“Oh, but I want to show you.”
The other two chuckled. Tycho said, “I would like to witness that.”
Corianne laughed. “I would like to participate.”
“That too.”
Arcady felt the flare of heat in her cheeks. She put her hand over Krizt’s. “Stop playing.”
“Who’s playing? It is a promise.”
She snorted. “I am just going to have to pull some overtime every time there is inclement weather. Nothing like staying at the office to stomp one’s libido.”
Krizt chuckled. “It has the opposite effect on me.” He kissed her softly, and Klauz arrived with a carpaccio platter, and it was enough for four.
Arcady gasped. “You let him peep.”
Klauz winked. “He did. Your needs changed.”
A set of finger bowls was brought out by Carly. She waited until they had all washed their hands and dried them on clean linen and then whisked the results away.
Arcady looked at the beef and the accompanying caprese platter. She reached for it and took a flatted piece of nearly raw meat, and tilted her head to lower it in. The truffle oil ran down her chin, and she caught the drip with her fingers. Krizt caught her fingers and swirled his tongue around them, sucking softly.
She looked at him. “No fair.”
He withdrew her digits from his mouth. “What?”
“I have to eat, and you have my fingers.” A light stroke on her cheek got her to turn her head, and Tycho put a slice of the raw beef in her mouth without lifting a finger. Telekinesis was annoying.
Corianne walked around the table and approached from behind, taking her turn to feed Arcady with dainty fingers that she held until Arcady licked them clean. The perfumed kiss to her temple was accompanied by a smile that Arcady could feel against her skin. “Good girl.”
This was the basis of what she did. She was compliant when they needed and wanted her to be and aggressive when they needed her to be. Right now, she was having fun; they were having fun. The carpaccio disappeared, but Arcady got the lion’s share. She was enjoying the intermittent tomato and mozzarella with basil, but she was getting full.
She drank her water, and she sighed. “I am done. No more.”
Tycho chuckled. “I have not heard that phrase from one of Zera’s escorts recently.”
Arcady snorted. “I am not on duty.”
Corianne laughed, paused to attend to something, and returned to enjoying the company. “So, when do you get your med exam for BDC, Arcady?”
Arcady shrugged. “Up to Krizt. When he decides that I am fit for up-to-date scans, the authorizat
ion will be issued.”
The other two looked at Krizt, and he grinned. “I had to make sure she was not suffering any side effects from her head injury. After a bit of analysis tonight, I should be able to provide the clean bill of health.”
Corianne clapped her hands excitedly. “I can hardly wait to have you for myself for a few hours.”
Arcady blushed.
Tycho grinned. “You are not just going to be dealing with your normal regulars. There are a few of us biters who are looking for someone to service us. Not a lot of folks enjoy being a chew toy.”
“I don’t like chewing, but I really like the biting.”
Tycho frowned. “Why wasn’t it in your file?”
She looked to Krizt and shrugged.
Krizt said with awe in his voice, “She was waiting for me.”
Tycho chuckled. “I am more than happy to be seconds.”
Corianne raised her hand. “Thirds.”
“That is very nice and all, but I know there are other escorts who take biters.”
Corianne smiled and shrugged. “They aren’t you.”
Tycho smiled. “They don’t taste like you.”
Krizt murmured, “I don’t want them. I want you.”
She sighed. “That isn’t practical.”
Tycho shrugged. “We are your patrons. We will work with your schedule.”
She looked around to all three, and they nodded.
Krizt murmured, “Though I will try to get my fill during breaks at work and mornings.”
“Uh, I am not staying with you indefinitely.”
He patted her hip. “Of course not. Just while your modification needs to be monitored.”
She blinked. “It is just the once. Right?”
“That depends on you. Would you like some wings? Claws? Faster biological repair?” His tone got sly. “Ovarian donation for future use?”
She blinked again, and her cheeks got red. “Uh, it depends.”
“On what?”
“On design, side effects, and who would be interested in acquiring those eggs... for what purpose?”
“Reproduction. If you don’t want to carry a child, there are incubators made in Aksalla for that purpose. I think a child with your potential would be adorable. Think about it.”
She didn’t mention that she would need a father for the other part of the recipe. She had the feeling that he wasn’t able to father the next generation. Something about the silver cum tipped her off that things might not be standard down there.
Tycho cocked his head. “What do you mean, her potential?”
Krizt began to explain how actives used a surge of power at puberty to turn on whatever power they have. The growth spurt to adulthood kicked in afterward with the leftover energy, and the active learned to control the adaptation they had turned on. Humans got to skip the activation step.
“I am working on applications that will turn on the remaining activations. Arcady has several others that could make her into something spectacular or terrible; it would depend on her.”
She sipped at her water glass, and Tycho looked at her suspiciously. “Others? What activations does she have?”
She looked at him with her big bunny eyes. He narrowed his gaze in response. “That doesn’t work in this situation.”
She sniffled, and a fat tear rolled down her cheek.
Tycho muttered, “Shit.” He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek with his. “Sorry, sweetie.”
She whispered, “That isn’t an activation; that is just practice.” She kissed his cheek.
He turned his head, and his kiss was thorough, leaving her lips swollen and her body throbbing. He rubbed his nose against hers. “That was practice, too.”
She was shaking a little as the scent of him was stronger now.
Klauz came over and chuckled. “Well, it seems that dessert is underway, so I brought this for takeaway. Arcady’s pheromones are getting heavy.”
Krizt chuckled. “They are. Aren’t they?”
The takeaway box was filled with a pavlova, and it had Arcady’s attention. “Uh, I can take care of that.”
Krizt looked to the other two. “Would you like to continue to discuss her future in a more private venue?”
Tycho nodded. “I would.”
Corianne grinned. “As would I.”
“I thought you were in banking.” Arcady looked at her as she got up.
“No, I am biosecurity. My brain is online, and I am processing transactions that can’t be traced. It is legal, but I am heavily monitored, so spending time with you lately has been a bright spot.” She helped Arcady to her feet so that Krizt could rise.
Krizt smiled as Arcady kept in contact with the dessert box. They headed out of the restaurant, and to Arcady’s surprise, there were several human couples making out as well as a few actives from separate tables. Whoops. That last one was more than making out. It was a good thing that Klauz’s was classified as a private club, or the health inspector would have a freak-out.
They headed to the elevator, and when they entered Krizt’s home, Corianne whistled softly. “That is quite the view.”
Arcady tried not to, but she knew she scampered on the way to the kitchen. She found the plates and set them out then went digging for a knife and forks. Krizt came in and picked her up. “Out of the kitchen, Arcady. I will bring dessert out.”
There was a certain lilt to his tone that she was starting to recognize.
“What are you planning?” She tried to dart around him and get some of the cream, but he caught her around the waist, turned, and set her down.
“Go. Shoo.” He grinned and got a tray out.
She walked into the entertaining space that she had spent time in that morning, and she blushed when Tycho sat on the wide chaise and patted his knee. “C’mere, Arcady.”
“Uh, don’t you have a natural disaster or a crime boss to take down?” She genuinely was nervous.
Corianne was looking at some of the antiques and books before she turned her head and laughed. “Scared little bunny.”
Tycho smiled. “I have a few days off. I got run through on a mission, and I am still recovering. Now, Miss Arcady, come over here and sit on my knee and tell me what you want for the winter holidays.”
She blinked and laughed. “I don’t do anything for the winter holidays.”
“Come on, sit on my knee, and make a wish.”
She slowly walked toward him; his expression was open and honest. She knew that was a fake-out. When she got within arm’s reach, he didn’t pounce. She edged a little closer, and his arm snapped around her, pulling her onto his knee.
She looked down, and her skirt was still up near the top of her thighs. “Oh, no. I left the restaurant like this?”
He chuckled. “You did. Don’t worry. All the diners there were busy. How did you do that, by the way?”
She shrugged. “That’s new.”
Corianne chuckled. “You had an intoxicating scent before, but now, it is like inhaling dessert. It is heavy and sweet and probably fattening.”
Arcady laughed. “That sounds like something I want to order at a coffee shop.”
Tycho nuzzled at her neck, and his hand started to open her blouse.
“Uh, did you guys discuss this when I wasn’t looking because this seems a little premeditated to me?” She put her hand over Tycho’s.
He raised his brows. “Do you object?”
“Well, no.”
“Are you upset? Turned off? Uninterested?”
She bit her lip. “No, I am very interested.”
Krizt came in with the tray of desserts and set it on a low table. “Then, enjoy yourself. All of my hungers were sated earlier today. I would still enjoy more, but it isn’t a requirement.”
Tycho’s fingers finished with the small buttons and slid inside her shirt, touching her skin with the cool, calloused skin of his palm.
She looked over at the table. “But... dessert.”
Tycho pres
sed his forehead to her shoulder. “Torun will never let me live it down if I tell him I came in second to a pavlova.”
She patted him on his shoulder. “It looks like a really good pavlova.”
He growled and tackled her to the lounge. Dessert would have to wait.
Chapter Twelve
Tycho was everything she had remembered. It might have been close to two months, but the careful foreplay that he put her through was still intense, but doing it with the lights on and her eyes focusing on him was enough to bring a hot blush to her cheeks.
He stared into her eyes, and hers went wide as he slid his fingers past the lace of her panties again, reaching into her with a slow plunge that made her arch her back. The lace and underwire of her bra was a constriction, but the rapid breathing was uncontrolled.
Tycho smiled. “So, little bunny, what do you want for the holidays?”
“They are months away.” She groaned as his fingers moved against her.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“I want to learn how to defend myself. I want to learn how to drive. I want to have a little black dress that I pick out.” She babbled it.
He chuckled. “Those are all very doable.” His hand continued to move into her and out of her, hitting all the right spots.
She murmured, “I feel like I should ask Zera if I can borrow you.”
He laughed. “No need. We can go with any escort who will accept us. You feel accepting.”
She moaned and arched. “What was your first clue?”
He pulled his fingers out of her and licked them; he flipped her over and unzipped her skirt, easing it down her legs and away. Her panties were peeled from her, leaving her in her stockings and the lacy belt that held them up. She reached for them, and he grabbed her hands. “Nope. Leave them on. They frame the target nicely.”
She got worried. “Target?”
“Well, now that I don’t need to worry about breaking you or biting, you are a much more desirable playmate.” As he spoke, he got her out of her blouse, and the bra was flicked to the floor. All she had on was the stockings, and he grinned.
Corianne circled, and Krizt was watching his display of her stats and stroking himself. Arcady winced. They were all getting into this in their own particular way.