One
“We’ll take that one.”
Sadie knew she was in trouble when the dark, curly haired man pointed straight at her, despite her attempt to hide behind the cybernetic prostie-borg in front of her. Pasting a blank look on her face, she tried to remain calm and look like all the other girls in the line-up.
There were prosties with small breasts, some with large, and some sported racks any porn-vid queen would be proud of. Some were so short they were practically dwarf size and some were so tall they could have played for any Zero-G team in the league. Their measurements ranged from anorexically slender to downright Junoesque. They sported skin tones from ebony to golden tan to peaches and cream pale, and hair ran the gamut from blond to redheaded to brunette and every shade in between.
Every face was plastically perfect and completely blank. “A Girl For Every Taste—Cybernetic Sex Made Delightfully Easy” was the motto of the Prostie Palace. Every possible combination of attractive female features and attributes was represented in the silent ranks of the assembled prosties and this joker had to pick her.
Hidden inside her outrageous scarlet wig she could feel the bargain Overlook-Me chip flicker for the last time, fizzle, and die. The noninterference field she’d been wearing like a protective halo for the past two weeks faded into nonexistence. Damn it, she’d known it was a bad idea to buy her main protection from Big Bob’s Bargain Basement Chips, but what was a girl on a budget supposed to do?
It was hard enough financing the ticket from Io to Titan in the first place.
In the end she’d had to ride on an ore transport that was far from luxurious. Insinuating herself into the Pleasure Dome Prostie Palace had required several bribes to the right people, both to get inside in the first place, and to add herself to the database of resident prostie-borgs. Add that to the cost of her outfit, make-up, and wig, and she barely had any credit left at all.
My whole life savings spent paying for this trip and now I’m screwed. Literally and figuratively. She stared blankly, as the man pointed her out to the mechanical madam who nodded in her direction. It was the same panicky feeling she had experienced when she first walked into the Prostie Palace and saw the kind of outrageous sexual practices that went on here. Having been raised on the morally uptight colony of Goshen on Io, the scene at the prostie brothel was an education to Sadie in more than one way.
She had financed the trip on her own for the ultimate payoff, a juicy scoop on the nitty-gritty, hard-boiled life of a prostie-borg in the Outer Rings.
Prostie-borgs were cybernetic organisms grown in flesh tanks on Mars.
They were a variation on the more common flesh-bots that were used for manual labor all over the solar system but instead of being fitted for heavy lifting and tasks no human laborer could do, prostie-borgs were crafted specifically for sex. Despite a simple synthetic brain that put them on the mental level of a ten-year-old child, they were very popular, especially with the sex-starved men that mined the outer rings of Saturn. Intellectual stimulation wasn’t high on the must-have list of female attributes for most Ring miners, and real women were few and far between at this cold, dark end of the solar system.
Sadie was tired of covering joining ceremonies, baby showers, golden anniversaries, and all the other human interest crap that a junior reporter got saddled with at the Io Moon Times. Problem was, her senior editor, a grouchy, chauvinistic man by the name of B. F. Fields, thought that was all she could do. Sadie had set out to prove him wrong.
Taking all of her yearly vacation in one big lump, she had hopped an ore transport to the most notorious prostie-brothel in the System, located on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. There she had planned to spend her free time gathering facts for a blistering tell-all exposé that would blow the top off the barely legal prostie-borg industry. She even had a title for her article all picked out: “Pain and Suffering in the Pleasure Dome: A Prostie-Borg’s Daily Life in the Outer Rings.”
When she got back to Io, Fields would have to recognize her reporting prowess and promote her out of the human interest section once and for all. Hell, she might even go freelance and sell her story to one of the intergalactic news vids.
Her plan had been working like a charm, too, until the bargain Overlook-Me chip began to die. When the other prosties began noticing her, Sadie knew she was in trouble, but she kept hoping the chip would last just one more week until her transport for Io left. Now the chip was good and dead and she didn’t even have a repair kit to try and get it working again. She was about to find out first hand exactly what the prosties went through and she was afraid it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience.
At least he looks cleaner than most of the clientele you see around here. Sadie eyed the dark man carefully. He had very tan skin and his hair was the color of bitter chocolate, curly and thick, cut short but not too close to his scalp. Any woman she knew would kill for that kind of natural curl, she thought absently, taking in the indigo eyes fringed thickly with black lashes and the narrow but sensual mouth of the man pointing her out. Broad shoulders covered in a black leather jacket tapered to a narrow waist and powerful legs. There was a heavy bulge outlined by his tight black pants that made Sadie bite her bottom lip nervously as she felt those deep blue eyes sweep over her body.
“That one,” he said again, and Sadie had no choice but to step forward. Maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe it’ll add realism to the story, she thought desperately, trying to nerve herself up for the act. She felt horribly exposed in the tiny gold mesh dress that showed her breasts and sex plainly, but, after all, she’d been wearing it and outfits like it for two weeks. While the Overlook-Me chip had remained functional, no one had really seen her in them. From the look in the dark man’s eyes, he liked what he saw.
Sadie was suddenly aware that her nipples were erect with fright against the scratchy gold mesh fabric. She squeezed her thighs tightly together, trying to keep her knees from shaking.
“Which one for the other gentleman?” the silver-skinned, mechanical madam asked, giving a jerky nod to the man’s right. Standing beside him, hidden partially by the dark man’s broad shoulders was another client. He stepped out from behind his friend with a nod to the madam and Sadie could see he was almost the exact opposite of the other man.
Tall and muscular with a runner’s build, he had hair the color of beaten metal and the clearest sapphire eyes she had ever seen. The dark man wasn’t short, but the blond was at least two inches taller with a full mouth that seemed naturally red against his pale golden skin. He was dressed in the same style as his colleague in tight black pants and a white shirt with the ubiquitous mining company symbol stitched in red on the collar. He was also wearing an identical black leather jacket.
Sadie couldn’t help noticing that the bulge outlined by his pants was no less impressive than the dark-haired man’s. Did they work for some mining company that only hired well-hung men? What was their motto—Less than nine inches need not apply?
These two were so different from the typical grimy, disheveled specimens who usually patronized the Prostie Palace that they might have come from Stud Miners R Us. Sadie felt a hysterical bubble of laughter rise in her throat at the thought and forced it back down. Prostie-borgs did not laugh.
“My friend and I prefer to share,” the blond man said, to Sadie’s horror. “That one will do fine.”
Two at the same time…? She couldn’t stop her eyes from widening.
Merciful Goddess, she didn’t have all that much experience in the first place and she’d never done anything even remotely kinky. Certainly nothing like this.
“I…” she began and shut her mouth fast as she felt both sets of blue eyes boring into her. A prostie-borg wasn’t supposed to have opinions about the clients she serviced, Sadie reminded herself. She simply went with the men the madam matched her with and did as she was told. But still…
“Is there a problem…?” The madam stepped forward and scanned Sadie’s ID number which hov
ered like a small holo-star over her right hand with glowing red eyes. “Number 217?”
Sadie shook her head mutely, thankful that she hadn’t depended completely on the failed Overlook-Me chip for security. The disguise and the fake ID number had seemed like a luxury, but it was a good thing she had them now.
The madam stared at her closely for a minute, clearly processing her personal data, then the blinking slits of her eyes turned green. Sadie knew she was in the clear—as long as she could take whatever these two men dished out. She shivered involuntarily and tried to contain her dread.
I got myself into this; I’ll have to get myself out. That was fine, she was an independent girl, but she couldn’t do anything, in front of the madam. One more security check and a supervisor would be dispatched to see to the problem—a human supervisor who wouldn’t be as easily fooled as the mechanical madam.
“Go with the nice gentlemen, number 217.” The madam made a creaky shooing gesture with her silver, tentaclelike arms. “Be sure to give satisfaction.”
“Yes, madam,” Sadie submissively bowed her head. She followed the two men meekly to one of the many pleasure cubicles that lined the long steel corridor to the left, her heart galloping madly in her chest. Could she really do this? As she was trying to answer that question, they reached the room the madam had indicated and the dark-haired man produced a scanner card and reached down to pull up on the sliding steel door, which disappeared obligingly into the ceiling when he yanked.
“After you.” He nodded mockingly to his blond companion and made a flourishing gesture with one arm.
“Ladies first,” the tall blond man said quietly, gesturing for Sadie to enter before them.
Sadie looked despairingly at the door. It was solid steel–titanium alloy and once she was locked inside the tiny pleasure cubicle anything at all could be done to her. There was a strict noninterference policy at the Pleasure Dome, which was why the customers had to put up a sizable damage deposit before renting the services of any of the prostie-borgs. The deposit was in case the prostie was rendered nonfunctional. In other words, killed, Sadie thought, trying to breathe past the sudden lump in her throat.
Sadie swallowed hard. She looked at both sets of blue eyes, indigo and sapphire staring expectantly at her and then looked at the monitoring device on the wall to their immediate left. Someone was watching right now, probably a bored guard who would like nothing better than to sound the alarm and add some excitement to his monotonous day. Sweet Goddess, she was going to have to go through with it. She swallowed again and edged reluctantly toward the doorway.
The fear she was feeling must have shown in her own amber-brown eyes because the dark man who had picked her out in the first place stepped forward and took her elbow gently, looking at her intently as he spoke.
“Hey, it’s okay, sweetheart,” he said gruffly. “We’re not gonna hurt ya.”
She noticed for the first time that he had a strong New Brooklyn accent and wondered why anyone would come all the way from Old Earth to be a miner in the Outer Rings of Saturn. It was a hell of a long trip to do a dirty and dangerous job even if it did pay fairly well.
“My friend here is correct,” the blond man put in quietly, taking her by the other elbow. “We have no interest in hurting you in any way.” His voice was softer and more cultured than his friend’s, but no less deep and commanding for all of that.
In spite of her fear, Sadie found herself propelled into the tiny steel room.
Breaking their hold on her arms with a convulsive effort, she turned around just in time to see the dark-haired man slam the rolling door closed with a muffled bang.
She was trapped.
Want more? Of course you do!
Tandem Unit releases November 9, 2019.
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Also by Evangeline Anderson
Below you'll find a list of available and upcoming titles. But depending on when you read this list, new books will have come out by then that are not listed here. Make sure to check my website for the latest releases and better yet, sign up for my newsletter to never miss a new book again.
Brides of the Kindred series
(Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)
CLAIMED (Also available in Audio)
HUNTED (Also available in Audio)
SOUGHT (Also Available in Audio)
FOUND (Also Available in Audio )
REVEALED (Also Available in Audio)
PURSUED (Also Available in Audio)
EXILED (Also Available in Audio)
SHADOWED (Also Available in Audio)
CHAINED (Also Available in Audio)
DIVIDED (Also Available in Audio)
DEVOURED (Also Available in Audio)
ENHANCED (Also Available in Audio)
CURSED (Also Available in Audio)
ENSLAVED (Coming Soon to Audio)
TARGETED
FORGOTTEN
SWITCHED
UNCHARTED
UNBOUND
SURRENDERED
VANISHED
IMPRISONED
TWISTED
DECEIVED
BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME ONE
Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found
BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME TWO
Contains Revealed, Pursued and Exiled
BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME THREE
Contains Shadowed, Chained and Divided
BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FOUR
Contains Devoured, Enhanced and Cursed
BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FIVE
Contains Enslaved, Targeted and Forgotten
BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SIX
Contains Switched, Uncharted and Unbound
BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SEVEN
Contains Surrendered, Vanished, and Imprisoned
All Kindred novels are now available in PRINT.
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Kindred Tales
The Kindred Tales are side stories in the Brides of the Kindred series which stand alone outside the main story arc.
These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.
MASTERING THE MISTRESS (Also Available in Audio)
BONDING WITH THE BEAST (Also Available in Audio)
SEEING WITH THE HEART (Also Available in Audio)
FREEING THE PRISONER (Also Available in Audio)
HEALING THE BROKEN (a Kindred Christmas novel) (Also Available in Audio)
TAMING THE GIANT (
Also Available in Audio)
BRIDGING THE DISTANCE (Also Available in Audio)
LOVING A STRANGER (Also Available in Audio)
FINDING THE JEWEL (Also Available in Audio)
BONDED BY ACCIDENT (Also Available in Audio)
RELEASING THE DRAGON
SHARING A MATE
INSTRUCTING THE NOVICE
AWAKENED BY THE GIANT
HITTING THE TARGET
HANDLING THE HYBRID
TRAPPED IN TIME
TIME TO HEAL
PAIRING WITH THE PROTECTOR
KINDRED TALES VOLUME 1
Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast and Seeing with the Heart
KINDRED TALES VOLUME 2
Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken and Taming the Giant
KINDRED TALES VOLUME 3
Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger and Finding the Jewel
KINDRED TALES VOLUME 4
Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate
KINDRED TALES VOLUME 5
Contains Instructing the Novice, Awakened by the Giant, and Hitting the Target
Born to Darkness series
(Paranormal / Action-Adventure Romance)
CRIMSON DEBT (Also available in Audio)
SCARLET HEAT (Also available in Audio)
RUBY SHADOWS (Also available in Audio)
CARDINAL SINS (coming soon)
DESSERT (short novella following Scarlet Heat)
(Also in Audio)
BORN TO DARKNESS BOX SET
Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows all in one volume
Alien Mate Index series
(Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)
ABDUCTED (Also available in Audio)
PROTECTED (Also available in Audio)
Pairing with the Protector Page 24