Candidate (Selected Book 4)

by Robin Roseau

  It finished encasing me, and it felt like I was held completely. I was well supported in back, but I felt it pressing against me, around me. My face was free, but it even held my head tightly.

  It was comfortable, but a little disconcerting.

  "There are rules," said the voice. "Until you are released, you may speak only to someone who initiates the conversation." I didn't say anything, as I hadn't been asked a question. I had long learned not to violate rules.

  Yes, in that way, I was completely cowed. It hadn't even taken that long. I could get mad, but when Jasmine set a rule, I knew breaking it meant punishment. Most of the time, the punishment was far harsher than I was willing to pay. And so I followed the rules.

  I was cowed, and I knew it, and I was bitter about it, but I tried not to let it control my moods.

  "I am authorized to play music of your choice. I will display your playlists, and you may pick one." A moment later, my music playlist appeared in front of me, and I picked Upbeat Instrumental.

  I was kept that way for what seemed like a long time. I didn't count songs. I simply closed my eyes and listened to the music. What else could I do?

  But eventually the visor brightened. I opened my eyes.

  I was near the center of the room, facing back towards the other women. I was supported in a pillar similar to how Charoite had kept me. I was inclined at a slight backwards angle, enough the material could support me a little. And, of course, the material was transparent.

  The other women were all still hugged by the wall, and it was clear they had just been given their own vision. They were looking around, several of them turning their heads to look at me before moving on.

  I couldn't do as much. My head was held firmly, and it felt like the material was even holding my hair. But I looked around as much as I could, which wasn't much. The room was full of aliens, all of them female, as far as I could tell. I didn't see any species I hadn't dealt with before, but they could be behind me.

  I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I was sure I would receive attention. I usually did, although it didn't necessarily result in being freed from the wall. And I was pretty sure this time I was reserved for the Whiteblacks. I hoped they didn't make me wait forever.

  It was some time later that I felt more light on my eyes. I opened, and the visor said, "Visor Control Activated." I looked, and the last of the women was being led from the wall by -- of all people -- Lotus, the Catseye who wouldn't go swimming with me. She didn't give me a glance, which didn't bother me in the slightest.

  I still didn't see any new species. I closed my eyes and zoned out.

  It was some time later -- I wasn't watching the time -- when I heard Jasmine's voice. "They're here. You're going to want to watch."

  "Fashionably late, hmm?" I asked.

  "Comfortable?"

  "Not bad, actually, even if you have me quite on display."

  "Like you noticed whether anyone checked you out."

  "I know they did. I ignored them doing it. What I don't know is if you did."

  "Of course I did. So did Peony and Clover."

  "Are they discussing an adjustment to their household?"

  She laughed. "I think they were each teasing the other one. That would be unusual for Catseye. But I won't let them have you. They don't need you, and there are too many women who do."

  "Got it," I said. I looked around. "I don't see any new species."

  "They're behind you. They know you can't move. Enjoy yourself, Andromeda."

  "Yeah, because I love when you do this to me."

  She chuckled in my ear for a moment then it was quiet.

  And so I watched while I waited, looking around as best I could, which wasn't very good at all. I saw other aliens watching me, or perhaps watching things behind me, but no one approached.

  But then from behind me, from very close behind me, I heard a voice. "Hello, Human."

  And a second voice said, "We find you very-"

  The first one finished the sentence. "Intriguing." And that was how they spoke. They didn't alternate words, but it would be odd that one would speak an entire sentence. It would take getting used to. One should assume this style of speaking for all future conversations.

  "Do I get to see you?"

  They moved around me, one passing on either side, coming to a stop side-by-side in front of me. And they were... stunning. I'm sure I've used that word before, but for them, it absolutely fit.

  One was as black as I've ever seen; the other was equally as white. But they were clearly of the same species, with similar facial features and physiques.

  "Oh. My. God."

  "Is that an expression of appreciation?"

  "It is this time," I said.

  They were both... built. Perfect. They had similar bodies, the sort you expect from a basketball player, although not as tall. And they knew how to display it, dressed in leather, but with bare shoulders and arms and tight waists. The pale one wore black, and the black one wore red. Somehow it worked.

  They had hair, and this was where they switched colors. The white woman's hair was as black as night, and the black woman's hair was pure white. Both wore their hair long, very long, and it was stunning. I would learn in the future they liked to braid it, but tonight it tumbled over their shoulders and down their backs.

  Individually, they were everything I found amazing.

  "Will you introduce yourselves?" I asked.

  "I am called Jaguar," said the black woman.

  "And I am called Harp," said the other.

  "Harp?"

  "It is from," said Jaguar.

  "A type of," explained Harp.

  "Seal," finished Jaguar.

  And no, I'm not going to write it like that anymore. I'll pick one or the other, whoever began speaking first, most likely.

  "I am pleased to meet you, Jaguar and Harp. I am Andromeda Hayes. I hope you will call me Andromeda."

  "Yes," said Harp.

  "We do not have much experience with humans," Jaguar said. "We wish to learn about you."

  "We will make mistakes," Harp said. "Will you forgive us?"

  "I can forgive much," I said. "There are things I cannot forgive. I will not forgive betrayal or violence against me."

  "We would never hurt you," Jaguar said. "You are small. Are you as delicate as you appear?"

  "I'm tough for my size," I said. "For a human woman, I am athletic. I am not a fragile egg. But I do not like being treated roughly."

  "We will not," said Harp. "You will guide us."

  "We wish to touch you. We know human women do not like being touched without permission. May we touch you?"

  "That is more complicated than it sounds. Touch has... a progression," I explained. "A brief touch upon the arm is unlikely to offend any human, with or without permission. Grabbing my chest in public will make me angry regardless of what I might allow in private."

  "We understand," said Harp. "We wish more than a touch upon your arm."

  I smiled. "Right now, about all you can touch is my face."

  "May we touch you?"

  "You may," I said.

  "Thank you," said Jaguar. They both stepped closer, and then Harp caressed my face with two fingers. Her touch was gentle, perhaps hesitant. Jaguar added her touch, also a caress across my opposite cheek, and then my nose, and then across my lips.

  "That is intimate," I said.

  "This?" She did it again.

  "Yes. I must know you better before I am comfortable with intimate touches."

  "I am sorry."

  "You are learning," I said. "I am teaching."

  "And you will learn," said Harp. "We will teach. For now, we touch."

  And then the strangest thing happened. All right. It was all strange, so that was probably hyperbolic. But Harp stroked some of the containing material near my face, and it retreated from her touch. She didn't release my head, but she was able to reach my ear. On the other side, Jaguar did the same thing. And then they
were each touching my ears, and my cheeks, and much of the rest of my face.

  "Do you like this touch?" Jaguar asked.

  "It feels nice," I said. "But it is also surreal."

  "We do not know that word," said Harp.

  "I am imprisoned here and unable to move. Two aliens are standing here, touching me as if they wish to be lovers. Other people are watching while pretending not to. It is a strange experience."

  "You will not understand," said Jaguar.

  "We must do this," said Harp. "We must learn you."

  "To claim you," said Jaguar.

  "Hold on," I said firmly. "No one is claiming me three minutes after meeting me."

  "We claim you for now," Jaguar clarified. But they stopped touching.

  I thought about it. "For now. Because letting you touch me is not a promise of forever."

  "For now," said Harp. "We are two. We wish to be three."

  "But we do not know if we wish you to be our third, to form our triangle."

  "You do not know if you wish to help us form our triangle," added Harp.

  "But we hope, and we are decisive," said Jaguar. "We will act as if this is what we all want. It is the best path to mutual happiness."

  "But we know humans take time to decide. You can be impulsive, but you consider permanent choices carefully. We are not as impulsive, but we also require less time. But we three need time. Will you give us this time?"

  I looked back and forth between them. I smiled. "You may touch. You may claim me for now. But you understand you share me."

  "We do not share."

  "I have duties," I said. "You share me with my duties. And I have friends here. Not many, but friends. You share me in that way as well."

  "In this way, we share," Jaguar said. "We have duties, although they are suspended as we decide. And we have friends."

  "Jaguar does not like my best friend," Harp said. "He is difficult to like. I do not blame her. Who are your friends?"

  "Jasmine Brighteyes," I said. "And the other people I work with. I have human friends as well, but I am not allowed to see or contact them."

  "We will share in this fashion, but you will give us time to learn and to decide," said Jaguar. "May we touch? May we claim you?"

  "You may touch, and you may claim me for now."

  "For now," Harp said. They raised hands and began again to caress. "We know this is not a human way."

  "But it is our way."

  "It is not so far from a human way that I can't understand," I said. "Do I not touch you?"

  "We are two," said Harp. "We claim you to make our segment into a triangle. You do not make your point into a triangle."

  And then she pushed away the material binding most of my arm, but she kept my shoulders and wrists restrained. Jaguar did the same. And then they were touching my arms. Harp stroked my fingers and my palm, and then she used two hands, one on my face, one on my arm. Jaguar did the same, but then she exposed much of my back, leaving only enough of the containing pillar to continue to support me. She stroked me from the top of my ass all the way to my shoulder, pushing away more of the material. Harp saw that and did the same on her side. They had to reach underneath my clothing to do so.

  Then they both knelt, and they freed most of my legs, stroking them. I stiffened as they reached high on the inside, but they stopped just before I was about to complain. Then they addressed the tops of my feet.

  They exposed as much of me as they could without actually releasing me, and they spent time, quite a bit of time, touching what they had exposed. I eventually closed my eyes and enjoyed it.

  It felt nice, even if I was socially uncomfortable to basically be getting pawed by two aliens I had just met while a room full of people looked on.

  Then they stood, their hands still on my arm, each holding one hand. I opened my eyes and looked between them. "This is not sufficient to fully claim you," Jaguar said. "But we know if we do all we want, it will anger you."

  "We cannot spend months claiming you," Harp said. "But to claim all of you, we must touch all of you."

  "Well, you aren't doing that in public, and you aren't doing that tonight." I thought about it. "I will allow a little more in private than you have done. Have you claimed enough for now?"

  "For now. We will claim more in private," Jaguar said.

  "You must invest," Harp said. "You must accept our claim. We act as if you will join our triangle. You must also act as if you will join our triangle."

  "I will need some time for that, or it will feel like I am lying to you."

  "You must not lie," said Jaguar. "How much time?"

  "Acting as if I will join your triangle is not the same as promising, is it?"

  "No," said Harp. "It is simply being optimistic."

  "It is an expression of desire to consider the choice and to believe it is possible."

  "That much I could do over the next few days," I said. "Is that too long?"

  They exchanged looks. "It is longer than we wish," said Harp. "But we know this is unusual for you."

  "But we have claimed much of you," Jaguar said. "You are now of us, for now. You must not share yourself this way with others."

  I nodded. "Are you going to release me? But I'll fall if you don't help support me."

  They adjusted their grip, one on each side. And then the pillar withdrew from me. I would have staggered, but Harp and Jaguar supported me easily, straightening me on my feet.

  "There is a human custom. Do Whiteblack hug?"

  "We touch in all ways," Jaguar said.

  "I do not wish to offend by hugging one first, then the other."

  "Why would this offend us?" Harp asked. "We are two, but we are one. What you do with one, you do with both. When you hug Jaguar, you are hugging me. And when you hug me, you are hugging Jaguar as well."

  "Well then." I turned to Jaguar, and as soon as I did, she pulled me into her arms. She was so much bigger than I was, tall, lanky, and powerful. I could feel the strength of her muscles as she drew me in. But she barely held me.

  "I am not so fragile," I said. "I prefer being held more tightly. Do you mind?"

  "I do not wish to hurt you."

  "Some human males do not know their own strength. If you cannot distinguish between barely holding me, and holding me too tightly, I understand. But you can hold more tightly."

  And so she tightened. "This is nice," I said. "More is nice, too." And so she tightened just a little more, and I smiled. "This is perfect."

  But then Harp stepped behind us, pressing against me from behind, and I was the meat in the sandwich. And I decided I liked that, too.

  Then Jaguar's hand, which had been in the small of my back, moved down to cup my ass.

  "Jaguar, if a human girlfriend did that to me in public, I would be angry."

  "We require more touch," she said.

  "In private."

  "No one can see," Harp said.

  "In private," I repeated.

  The hand moved.

  "Thank you. It felt nice, but not in public."

  "We do not completely understand," Harp said, "but we do not wish to offend you."

  "Thank you," I said. Then I rotated, and I was hugging Harp with Jaguar pressing from behind.

  But then Jaguar pushed the limits again. She lowered her head until her lips were near my ear. "You said you would allow more touch than you had. You will allow this touch." Then she was lipping at my ear. I felt teeth, but just a brushing. A moment later, Harp was doing the same thing to the other ear.

  And my libido began to notice.

  I clutched at Harp, and I let them do it, but then I said, "Okay. Okay. You're driving me a little crazy. Is that enough for now?"

  "For now," Harp said into my ear.

  They pulled away, but then they each took possession of an arm.

  "I have duties," I said. "And I need refreshment."

  "You have accepted our claim," Harp said. "We will attend your duties with you."

/>   "Refreshments first," I said. "There."

  And so they led me to the table we had set up. Everything was labeled, of course. We had pure water for all species, but it came in different temperatures, as not all species preferred their water cold.

  "What is that?" Harp asked, pointing.

  "Water," I said.

  "It is so cold it has formed into ice?"

  "Ice is added to make it colder," I said. "I find that to be too cold. Um. I need my arms."

  I was sure it was done reluctantly, but they released me. In compensation, there was immediately one hand at the back of my neck, just touching, and another at my lower back, slipping underneath the sparse clothing to touch my skin.

  They were as bad as a Catseye.

  I poured a half glass of ice water then added a little more from one of the cold, but not ice cold pitchers.

  "Most humans like cold water," I said. "But how cold can vary. We also have other beverages. I have no experience with Whiteblack and do not know what you can take."

  "We require nothing at this time," said Harp.

  "All right, then." I offered her an arm. Jaguar was forced to be happy touching my neck. "I must see to my duties, and then we will tell each other more of ourselves."

  We worked the room for a few minutes, moving from group to group, intruding on conversations wherever I wished.

  I had established signals for the women to use. The most common was to use my entire name. It simply meant she wished to speak to me privately. When that happened, sometimes it was a request to be rescued; she had no interest in an alien who was monopolizing her. The aliens could be, after all, quite insistent and intimidating besides. This happened on average once or twice per batch of women, but that was just an average.

  I could also encounter the reverse. "I really like her. What do I do?" This happened less often than requiring a rescue, but it happened.

  And the rest just wanted reassurance or to ask a question.

  It was during the third group that the woman looked at me in clear relief and said, "Andromeda Hayes, how are you tonight?"

  "I am good, Charlotte. Actually, I need to speak privately with you for a moment." She had been in conversation with Lotus, the Catseye, and I'd noticed Lotus was being very physically forward, with one tentacle wrapped around Charlotte's arm, another around her back, and a third reaching around in front of her to clasp her hand.