“Yes, I did. But then I found out there’s a really good, uh, business opportunity here.” Luci lifted her chin.
“What?” Raze exploded. “What are you talking about? You’re not thinking of making a scent book, are you?”
“Of course I am,” Luci snapped. “What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that I don’t want the scent of the woman I love being passed around to every lonely, bored, horny male on board the Mother Ship!” he roared.
Luci flinched back at his tone, but lifted her chin higher.
“Oh, so now you love me? So maybe you want to be with me after all?”
A look so wretched it almost made her feel sorry for him crossed the big Kindred’s face.
“Lucia,” he said hoarsely. “Nothing’s changed. I love you with all my heart but I still can’t bond you to me.”
“Fine. Then I guess I have my answer,” Luci snapped.
Just then the small door opened and the two-nosed man came out. He was carrying a small package wrapped in opaque black material. He started to hand it to Luci but then he saw Raze standing there with her.
“Oh, hello.” He nodded genially at the big Kindred. “Are you here to choose a scent book?”
“No, he’s with me,” Luci said quickly. She might be mad at Raze, but she still didn’t like the idea of him sniffing some other girl’s panties—or what amounted to her panties, anyway.
“I see.” The two-nosed man looked at her appraisingly. “Well, then if you’d like—”
“Excuse me,” Raze muttered. Turning, he shouldered his way through the first door, going back to the front of the shop.
“Oh dear! Is he all right?” The salesman gave Luci a worried look.
“He’s fine.” She made a shooing gesture. “That’s just his way, that’s all.”
“Oh, well…” He looked relieved. “I had no idea you had a mate, my dear.”
“Raze isn’t—” Luci started to say, but the two-nosed man kept talking.
“If I had known that, I would have offered you the advanced inner scent collector to go with the scent receptor patches,” he went on. “Which, of course, pays much more.”
“It does?” Luci’s ears perked up. “How much more?”
The man named a price and she felt her eyes grow wide.
“That’s probably enough to win my court case and send Tony to jail for not paying child support!” she exclaimed.
“Excuse me?” he looked confused.
“Never mind,” Luci said. “I’ll take it. I mean I’ll do it.”
“As long as you know that the inner scent receptor must be worn on the, er inside, not the outside of your…ahem…hoo-hah, as you so charmingly called your sex,” the man said.
“Really?” Luci frowned. “Can I see it?”
“Of course! I have a model of it right here.”
Reaching into one of the bookcases, the man drew out a glass rectangle. Encased in it was what appeared to be a long, thick, black dildo.
“Oh, my!” Luci eyed it doubtfully.
It was sitting on a flat base and was most definitely bigger than anything she’d ever had inside her before. Tony had been extremely proud of his equipment, but really, he had only been on the small side of average as far as Luci could tell. Not that she’d had a lot of experience since he had been her first and only lover, but this thing the two-nosed salesman was showing her looked huge in comparison.
“What do you think?” the scent salesman asked anxiously. He was handling the black dildo in its shiny glass case like it was something extremely precious—a wonderful trophy or museum piece, Luci thought.
“Um…I’m thinking it’s a little bit big, that’s all,” she said hesitantly.
“But my dear, isn’t your mate half Beast Kindred?” the salesman asked, frowning. “You ought to be used to this and more if he is. Why a Beast Kindred’s shaft alone, not to mention his mating fist…but forgive me.” He shook his head. “I don’t wish to be crass.”
Luci eyed the black dildo again. So this was Kindred-sized, huh? And what in the world was a “mating fist”? Well, since she and Raze weren’t going to be together, it seemed she would never find out.
“Maybe…maybe I should just go with the patches,” she said reluctantly.
“Oh, but a couple agreeing to do a tandem scent book is so rare!” the scent salesman exclaimed. “I tell you what, my dear—I’ll double the fee we discussed. How about that?”
Well, that was simply too much money to turn down, Luci thought. It would not only allow her to win in court, she could also move away and start a whole new life far from Tony afterwards with that kind of money. It didn’t matter how huge the dildo scent collector thing was—she would do it.
“All right,” she said, nodding at last. “But how long do I have to wear it for?”
“Only overnight,” the two-nosed man assured her. “Well? What do you think?” He leaned forward anxiously.
“Okay.” Luci nodded. “I’ll do it.”
“Splendid!” His pale-yellow eyes glowed with excitement as he carefully re-shelved the glass-encased dildo. “Give me just a moment and I’ll go get you the kit.”
He left and returned in a moment with a much larger package wrapped in the same opaque black material the first one had been wrapped in.
“Here you are, my dear,” he said, presenting it to Luci as though he was giving her an expensive present. “Just follow the directions on the instructional vid, which is included in the kit. And be certain you encase the scent collector properly as soon as you, er, remove it, to preserve the freshest scent possible.”
“Of course.” Luci nodded. “Thank you for the, um, opportunity. This means a lot to me. I mean, it’s really going to help.”
“So glad to be of service!” The two-nosed salesman beamed at her. “Now, off you go, my dear! The sooner you bring back the scent collector all covered in your own lovely scent, the sooner I can pay you your fee.”
“All right.” Luci nodded again. “I’ll see you soon,” she called and left by the little door to go back to the front of the shop.
Seventeen
Raze was waiting for her when she came out into the front. He looked at the package in her arms and his face went as dark as a thundercloud.
“Lucia,” he said, his voice low and tight. “Please—don’t do this!”
“I’m sorry, Raze.” She shook her head. “But I have to. Please try to understand.”
“Is it money you need?” he asked desperately. “Just say the word and I’ll give it to you—as much as you need.”
But there was no way Luci felt comfortable asking to borrow the amount of money the two-nosed scent salesman was offering her. She had been thinking of maybe asking the big Kindred for a tenth that much but the opportunity to earn so much more all on her own was irresistible. It would give her a chance to stand on her own two feet for once and not have to take charity from anyone.
“I’m sorry,” she said again. “But with the money he’s going to give me, I can start a whole new life for me and the kids.”
“A whole new life? But why? Where will you go?” Raze looked worried. “Will you tell me where you are?”
“Why?” Luci asked, frowning. “You made it clear you don’t want to be part of our lives, Raze. So why do you need to know where we move to?”
“Damnit, Lucia…” He ran a hand over his buzz cut hair in a very human gesture of frustration. “Because I want to be sure you’re safe! Because I don’t want anyone to hurt you!”
“Well you’re too late for that,” Luci said crisply. “But don’t worry about it—I can take care of myself. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
She started to move past him but Raze quickly blocked her path.
“At least let me give you a ride back down to Earth,” he said. “I know it’s nighttime down there right now. I don’t want you going home alone in the dark.”
Luci frowned and raised her finger.
; “Okay but on one condition—I don’t want to hear anymore about how I shouldn’t do the scent book stuff. I’m not going to spend the whole shuttle ride listening to you lecture me—I’m doing what I have to in order to survive and keep my family together and I refuse to be shamed for that.”
“All right,” he said stiffly. “I don’t think you’d agree to the scent collection if you understood the implications, but I can’t stop you and I won’t try.”
“Thank you.” Luci nodded. “Then you can take me back down to Earth. Let’s go.”
Eighteen
Raze wished he could make Lucia understand what she was about to do—wished he could put it in terms she would believe.
A female agreeing to do a scent book in the Kindred world was the same as her agreeing to pose for sexually explicit pictures in the human world. Or perhaps becoming a…what did humans call it? A stapler? A strooper? Anyway, someone who removed their clothing and danced around a tall silver pole while others watched.
Raze was quite certain that Lucia—who was normally extremely modest and chaste—wouldn’t do either of these things. Yet she was prepared to make a scent book of her own personal and private scent—the scent that he loved so much and didn’t want any other male to smell—in order to get some money.
He wished he knew why she was suddenly so desperate for cash. But she wasn’t saying much on the way home. She simply stared straight ahead as he flew the shuttle car back to where she’d parked her own vehicle.
“Thank you for the ride,” she said stiffly, acting as though they were strangers, as she exited the shuttle.
“You’re welcome,” Raze said quietly. He wanted to say more—to say that he still loved her and wanted to be with her desperately. But what good would it do when he couldn’t act on those emotions?
Still, there was something he could do.
“Lucia,” he called, before she shut the shuttle door. “Wait—just a moment.”
“Yes?” She turned and was there something like hope in her big brown eyes? A wish that he might tell her they could be together after all?
How Raze wished he could tell her that! But he couldn’t. Instead, he reached into an inner compartment of the shuttle and pulled out a thin golden circlet.
“Here,” he said and handed it to Lucia.
“What’s this? You’re giving me a crown?” She looked at it in puzzlement.
“No—a way to contact me, in case of trouble. That’s a Think-me,” Raze told her. “You only have to put it on and concentrate on me and no matter where I am, I’ll come to help you. I swear it.”
For a moment, he thought she was going to give it back. But then she simply tucked the Think-me into her purse and nodded.
“Thank you, Raze,” she said quietly. “That’s very kind of you.”
“Please call me if you need me,” he told her. “I’m not sure why you need money so badly and I can tell you don’t want to tell me. But if there’s anything I can help with, let me know and I’ll come running. I promise you that, Lucia.”
She nodded again and he thought he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. But she turned away before he could be sure.
“Goodbye, Lucia,” he said quietly.
“Goodbye, Raze.” Her voice was muffled and she swiped at her cheeks before digging the keys to her vehicle out of her purse.
Raze felt his heart throb with longing. If only he could call her back and put his arms around her! If only he could bond her to him and make her his forever and adopt her little family as his own to love and protect!
But he couldn’t. For a hybrid like him, it was next to impossible.
So he watched her get into her own vehicle and drive away, his heart full of unspoken love he knew he could do nothing about.
Nineteen
Luci cried all the way home. Seeing the big Kindred again had been like opening a wound. On the way up to the Mother Ship, she had been hoping that she was at least partly over him. But when she looked into his mismatched eyes and heard him say he loved her but they couldn’t be together, it hurt all over again, almost as badly as it had the first time.
Why can’t I stop loving him? she asked herself desperately. How did I fall for him so quickly and why can’t I let him go?
There seemed to be no answers to those questions and she sobbed her heart out as she drove, feeling worse than she had before.
It was cathartic to get her grief out, but when she finally parked in the garage of her apartment building, Luci dried her eyes and made herself stop.
There’s nothing you can do about it, she told herself firmly. So just get over it. You have other things to think about now.
Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car, clutching her precious package from the Scent Shop to her chest. She might not have Raze, but she did have a way to save her family. And that was a lot better than nothing.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to open the package that night. She felt too miserable and tired and emotionally wrung out to even think of doing what had to be done at the moment. She went right to bed and spent all the next day with her kids, making Play Dough creations and baking cookies—just trying to de-stress.
It wasn’t until Saturday night when her mom was gone home and the kids and animals were all settled down for the night that Luci locked her bedroom door, sat on her bed, and opened the black wrapped package the Scent Shop salesman had given her.
Inside was a long white dildo every bit as big as the black one in the glass case the two-nosed man had shown her. To Luci’s relief, it wasn’t completely rigid. Instead, it was made of slightly squishy, gel-like material which seemed like it would give a little and bend with her body while she wore it. Thank goodness for that!
There was also a packet of lube, presumably to help her get the dildo into herself in the first place and a plastic-type baggie which she was supposed to seal it up in when she was finished.
Luci wasn’t surprised by any of this, but the last thing she found in the package was perplexing. It was a small, perfectly circular sphere with shiny, mirrored sides about the size of a tangerine.
Luci picked up the sphere and stared at it uncertainly. What in the world could this thing be for? Also, hadn’t the two-nosed man said something about instructions? Where were they? Was there some special way to do this or was she just supposed to put the huge dildo up inside herself and keep it there for a couple of hours?
As these questions were occurring to her, the silver sphere began to buzz and vibrate in her hand.
“Oh!” Luci dropped it like a hot potato and it landed on the bed in front of her and began to glow. Just as she was wondering what in the world to do with it, a tiny red dot appeared on the top of the sphere and noises began projecting from it.
“Welcome to the world of scent books,” a deep, masculine voice murmured as soft, sensual music began to play. “Please pay attention to the following instructions to help make your scent collection a pleasurable and rewarding experience.”
Thankfully, the voice and music weren’t too loud because, though she picked it up and turned it over and over, Luci could find absolutely no volume control on its smooth silver sides.
“In your collection kit you will find the inner scent collection receptacle, which is shaped like a phallus,” the masculine voice continued. “As well as a collection sleeve to seal it in when it is finished collecting your scent and some lubrication you can use to ease the way. Unless you are a numalla, in which case you should find extra lubrication unnecessary.”
Luci had no idea what a “numalla” was but she was pretty damn sure she was going to need the little packet of lube. There was no way the huge white dildo-thing was going to slide up inside her otherwise.
“Before you attempt insertion,” the voice went on, “Please have your mate or mates taste and tease your private areas with their tongue in order to stimulate you erotically.”
Suddenly, the silver sphere started projecting a 3-D holo image right in front of
her.
Luci gasped in shock when she saw the picture of a Beast Kindred and a human woman pop up in front of her face. The images were in color and appeared almost solid, but the couple she was watching were about the size of her daughter’s Barbie dolls—only they were doing things that certainly weren’t possible for Barbie and Ken.
First the Beast Kindred took the woman in his arms and kissed her passionately. She kissed him back, winding her arms around his thick neck and pulling him down into her embrace. She was wearing a lacy white bra and panties while her Beast Kindred mate had on only a pair of long black sleep trousers.
As Luci watched, the Beast Kindred unfastened his mate’s bra and bent down to nuzzle her breasts. She moaned softly and ran her hands through his thick black hair as he took first one nipple and then the other into his mouth, sucking and licking the tight pink buds as she shifted and writhed against him.
“Allow your mate to taste your sex as well,” the deep, male voice murmured.
As it spoke, the holo-images illustrated the speaker’s words.
The Beast Kindred stopped sucking his mate’s breasts and dropped to his knees before her. Looking up at her with fire blazing in his golden eyes, he leaned forward and placed a soft but urgent kiss on the front panel of her panties.
The girl gave a little hiss of indrawn breath as he hooked his long fingers in the lacy sides of her panties. Slowly, he pulled them down, revealing her pink pussy slit, which was already swollen and wet with desire.
Looking up to hold her eyes with his, the Beast Kindred leaned forward and took a long, slow taste of her pussy, starting at the bottom and moving all the way up to the top of her slit.
The girl gasped in obvious pleasure and gripped the Beast Kindred’s shoulders as she widened her stance—opening herself wider for his tongue.
“Oh!” she moaned, her hips pumping as her Beast Kindred mate held her pussy open with his thumbs and licked her for all he was worth. Clearly both of them were enjoying themselves immensely as the Kindred continued to taste his mate over and over and over again…
Dark and Light: A Kindred Tales DUET Novel. Contains: Saved by the Drake AND Captured by the Kru'ell One Page 8