Too late, Pierce, he reminded himself. You screwed up, buddy. You can wish all you want but you’re never gonna hear from her again.
He slipped out of the factory and got back to his ship, still thinking of her. He vaguely remembered promising himself that if he got out of the man-whore factory alive he’d spend some time at the Pleasure Baths on Bast Six with a few dozen friendly whores but that idea held zero appeal for him now. What he really wanted was Leita and if he couldn’t have her, he didn’t want anyone else.
Sighing, Pierce slipped the Titan Jaunter into gear and lifted into orbit. The galaxy suddenly seemed a colder, darker place than it ever had before and he was afraid it wasn’t going to get any better.
Chapter 8
“Schneider, I have got to get out of here.” Leita put her head in her hands and sighed. From outside her sealed bedroom door, the sound of creaking and thumping could be plainly heard. Just great—the Companion 2000 was humping the couch again.
Ever since she’d shot her new sex toy with the tazer pen the night Pierce had left, the Companion had been on a horny rampage. In fact, that was what Leita had named him—Horny—and he answered to it too, or any other sound for that matter. She and Schneider had taken to sneaking around the life pod as quietly as possible since any noise made Horny come running, hoping to service one or both of them sexually. Leita had lost count of the times she’d told him that she wasn’t interested but Horny wouldn’t give up. Like a dog in heat in search of something to hump, he was constantly circling, suggesting new scenarios and positions.
Her Companion had somehow gotten it into his head that Leita harbored some secret and perverse sexual fantasy that she was still too shy to share with him and he seemed to think it was his job to guess what it was so they could act it out. Leita had already turned down his offer to play “Captain Horny the ruthless space pirate and his innocent victim”, “Mister Horny the stern office manager and his naughty secretary that needs a spanking”, and “Mistress Leita the female gym instructor teaches her star athlete, Horny, a lesson with the paddle” among dozens of other suggestions and variations. She was beginning to wonder how many bizarre and twisted scenarios Horny was programmed to come up with—whoever had written his code must have been a true pervert.
Of course, there was no way Leita was actually going to tell her new Companion what she did fantasize about. Her encounter with Pierce was too fresh in her mind—it had barely been a month since she’d sent him away at tazer-point and the pain hadn’t faded yet, if it ever would. And besides, she had no urge whatsoever to have sex with Horny. Even if she had, she was pretty sure if she let him tie her up he would screw her to death in a matter of hours. So she and Schneider continued to dodge her new Companion, leaving Horny to vent his sexual frustration on the household appliances and furniture. Recently he seemed to have fallen in love with her worn but comfortable synthi-suede sofa. It was too bad because he had poked several holes in its sides and Leita was fairly certain she would never be able to get the stains off the rest of it. At least when he’d been sexing up the vacuum, the evidence of his love had been sucked out into space instead of remaining to make her life miserable.
“I have got to get out of here,” she told Schneider again. “The Galleria ship is passing close enough to our orbit to make a trip worth it. I’m going to go and get some supplies—we’re running low on a lot of things.”
“And leave me alone here with ‘Dick-boy the brainless wonder’?” Schneider demanded incredulously. “I don’t think so, Leita. He’ll turn me inside out if he gets half a chance.”
“No he won’t—just tell him your hottest sexual fantasy is to watch him hump the sofa some more and he’ll leave you alone,” Leita said.
“I still don’t like it,” Schneider grumped. “He looks at me the way you used to look at your favorite dildo before…well, before,” he ended lamely.
Leita closed her eyes briefly, trying to push back the pain. She knew Schneider had been about to say “before Pierce came” and had stopped himself at the last moment. Damn it—she ought to be over this by now.
“Look, Schneider,” she said, “You don’t like crowds and shopping which is what the Galleria is all about. And somebody has to stay in case the drone ship comes back to pick up Horny while I’m gone. The sooner we get rid of him the better, don’t you think?” She had sent a message via her web mail to For Her Pleasure, asking them to come pick up the defective Companion over a week ago. She still wasn’t sure if she would get a refund yet but at this point she really didn’t care—she just wanted Horny out of her life.
“All right, you’re right.” Schneider groomed his sleek tan fur morosely. “I just don’t like being left alone with that thing. I thought Pierce was bad but at least he didn’t hump holes in the furniture.”
Leita pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger to drive back the stress headache that was hovering behind her eyes like a dark cloud. “Yeah, Pierce was a real prince of a guy. Helped around the life pod, cooked, fixed the ships in the mech bay. If only he hadn’t been a complete liar and an opportunistic bastard, he would’ve been the perfect man.”
Schneider put a small black-furred hand on her knee. “I’m sorry, Leita. I shouldn’t have brought him up.”
“No, it’s all right.” She sighed. “I’ll get over him eventually.”
“I hope so,” Schneider said. “I wish you weren’t going to the Galleria alone, though, Leita. I know everything looks bright and shiny there, but you still have to be careful.”
Leita patted his tiny hand. “I’ll wear my watch-me bracelet just in case so we’ll never really be out of contact. Okay? And in the meantime, I just hope we get rid of Horny soon. Like while we still have any furniture left.” A loud thumping climax from the other room complete with cries of passion from the Companion 2000 served to emphasize her point. Leita shook her head. She had never been so glad to be going grocery shopping in her life.
The Galleria ship was huge, a floating shopping complex divided into sections for the different species that inhabited the Centauri solar system. On it you could find everything from basic necessities to the latest fashions. It only came to Leita’s part of the system once every solar year and she usually loved making the trip to the massive ship to stock up. But this year she had been anticipating making the trip with Pierce. She’d imagined spending several days with him, taking in the sights and maybe seeing one of the latest entertainment vids and eating at the different restaurants. It was going to be so perfect, a romantic getaway for just the two of them, even though she’d been telling herself she wasn’t in love with him because she thought he was a machine.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her as she docked her tiny ore collecting ship in the port of the Galleria’s human goods and services section. She had wished that Pierce was a real man and he had turned out to be exactly that. But he’d also turned out to be a jerk, just like every other man in her life. Now she was left with nothing but bittersweet memories and a crazy couch-humping machine that was nothing like the man of her dreams, despite the For Her Pleasure advertisements and guarantees. As her tiny ship connected with the side of the Galleria like a flea clinging to a massive dog’s back, Leita wondered if she ought to invest in a sexual orientation change operation while she was here. She was fairly sure she had a better chance of finding a life partner who would love and cherish her as a lesbian than if she remained heterosexual.
She was still considering the idea as she left her ship and wandered down to the null-grav walkway that scrolled through the human food sector of the ship. The Galleria was so immense that no one could be expected to walk the length of even a section, which could be twenty Old Earth standard miles or more. The walkways allowed shoppers to float gently along until they saw a store they wanted to visit. A touch of the walkway’s guardrail deposited the shopper outside the shop of his or her choice. Once in the store, all items were purchased with credit and delivered direct
ly to the buyer’s ship so no one had to worry about carrying their purchases everywhere they went. It was all waiting at the end of the day or the week or however long you chose to spend back at the ship. Leita found the arrangement very convenient, especially since she was buying supplies for months at a time.
She also enjoyed the ambiance of the Galleria; with its soft lighting and gentle music it was an ideal place to relax. You sometimes heard rumors of kidnappings or muggings since the huge ship was an ideal outpost for organized crime, but in all the years she’d been coming, Leita had never seen anything to support that. As far as she could see, the Galleria ship fulfilled its promise of relaxed, comfortable shopping. The stores along the walkways exhibited colorful displays of every item she could possibly want and quite a few she didn’t know she wanted until she saw them.
Of course, she told herself as she drifted along through the crowd of other shoppers, she wouldn’t be buying as much as she’d imagined she might be earlier. Food for herself and Schneider wouldn’t be nearly as much as food for the two of them plus Pierce would have been. The ironic thing was that she could easily have afforded food and supplies for three since while Pierce had been with her, the ore collection of her mining business had increased dramatically. That was because while he’d been helping her, she’d been able to repair disabled ships much more quickly and efficiently. In fact, if he really had been a Companion he would have paid for himself twice over, just in the time he’d spent in the life pod with her.
Stop it, Leita, she lectured herself angrily. Why does every single thought in your head have to go back to Pierce? The guy was a jerk—forget about him. He’s not worth the time or emotion.
That was absolutely right, Leita decided. She took a deep breath, taking the filtered, lightly scented air of the shopping area deep into her lungs. She was here on her annual shopping trip and even if she was alone she ought to try and enjoy herself and forget about the disaster with Pierce. In fact, what she needed was to treat herself to something decadent. Maybe she’d get a full body massage and mud wrap once she drifted past the food section and got to the services area of the ship. But that was twenty miles down the walkway and she felt in serious need of cheering up right now.
As though the Galleria itself had read her mind, something to the left of the null- grav walkway caught her eye. A closer look showed her a brightly lit store whose display window was full of gold and silver boxes wrapped in elegant crimson ribbon. Xander’s Gourmet Chocolates. For when only the finest will do! the scrolling holo-sign above the boxes proclaimed. Leita felt her stomach rumble and her taste buds perk up at once. How long had it been since she’d tasted real chocolate? The chocolate-flavored protein powder mix she often had for breakfast didn’t count—it tasted like sawdust with a little bit of cocoa mixed in.
Chocolate, especially luxury chocolate, was usually an item Leita denied herself, feeling she couldn’t afford it. But she’d had a truly rotten month between trying to get over Pierce and fending off Horny the humping robot—she deserved a little chocolate. For that matter, she deserved a lot of chocolate, Leita told herself. As though sensing her interest, the scrolling holo letters changed from Xander’s Gourmet Chocolates to Annual Half-Off Sale!
That did it. Leita touched the railing of the null-grav walkway, which parted obligingly to let her through and found herself standing in front of the brightly lit store front. If she couldn’t have love, then chocolate was the next best thing. She could almost taste it melting on the tip of her tongue and the warm, indescribable smell of pure cocoa came drifting out the front of the shop like a beckoning finger. Mmmm, she had to have some.
“Good afternoon, Madam. How may I be of assistance?” The man behind the counter had sleek black hair and narrow black eyes. His coat was spotlessly white, contrasting sharply with his yellow teeth when he smiled.
“Hello.” She smiled back a little nervously. The clerk made her uncomfortable for no reason she could put her finger on. Maybe his smile was too wide or his tone too fawning. Then again, she reminded herself, he was there to sell a product. She just wasn’t used to being around people that much. Besides, she had on the watch-me bracelet, a tiny slim vid device around her wrist that looked like an ordinary piece of jewelry. The watch-me was recording everything she did and said and sending the images in a streaming link to Schneider back at the life pod. So she had nothing to worry about.
“Are you interested in any of our fine products?” the clerk inquired, still smiling. “We have a wonderful sale going on right now. Chocolate is often thought to be a luxury but we here at Xander’s Gourmet Chocolates consider it a necessity and we price our products accordingly. Our prices are so low your husband or lifemate won’t even complain about the cost.”
“Oh, I’m not here with anyone,” Leita said, before she thought about it.
“Oh, no?” The clerk leaned forward, a look of interest on his swarthy face. “A beautiful young woman like yourself alone at the Galleria? How very surprising.”
“Well, I did have someone but he turned out to be a jerk and…” Leita shook her head. “Never mind. Maybe I should go.”
“No, no.” The clerk leaned across the counter eagerly. “You’re exactly the kind of customer we’re looking for. Would you like to sample some of our fine chocolates? I can give you a free taste as an incentive to buy.”
“Well…” Leita hesitated. On one hand, the clerk was kind of creepy. But on the other, she had on the watch-me and he was suddenly holding out a tray full of exotic chocolate truffles. The smooth dark brown spheres were the perfect size to pop in her mouth and savor.
“Our most tempting display,” the clerk said with a yellow smile. “Liquor truffles. An absolute taste sensation. Just try one—I guarantee it will change your life forever.”
“Well…all right,” Leita decided. The rich aroma of the truffles was making her nose twitch and her mouth water. She selected a truffle from the center of the tray that the clerk said was filled with champagne and put the whole thing in her mouth as he recommended.
“Let the flavor explode across your tongue,” he said and Leita did just that. “The exquisite aftertaste that lingers at the back of the palate is our own special additive,” he continued. “A secret ingredient known only to those who work here at Xander’s Gourmet Chocolates.”
Leita swallowed and licked her lips. “It does taste…kind of strange,” she admitted. “Sort of makes my tongue numb. Is that normal?”
“Perfectly,” the clerk assured her. “It’s that secret ingredient I told you about. Try another one.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly. They’re so rich, I—mmph,” she ended because the clerk had popped another dark brown sphere between her open lips while she was talking. Leita found this chocolate much less appealing—its center was a heavy, thick syrup that tasted almost medicinal, not light and airy like the champagne truffle. Still, she could hardly spit it out. She had to chew and swallow it and by the time she was finished, her tongue was so numb it felt like deadweight in her mouth.
“Good?” The clerk’s smile was definitely unpleasant now.
“Ver’ good.” She was surprised to hear herself slurring the words and suddenly her eyelids felt so heavy she could barely keep them open. What was wrong with her? “I mean, it’s ver…ver…very good,” she finally managed to get out. “But now I mus’ go.” Through the wide front window she could see glimpses of people passing by on the null-grav walkway but she realized none of them could see in. The battalion of gold and silver chocolate boxes stacked in a towering display effectively blocked the view.
“Oh, my dear.” The clerk took her by the arm and pulled her toward the back of the chocolate shop, which was much dimmer than the well-lit, attractive front. “You’re not going anywhere. Except to the nice back room of my shop.”
“No!” She made a sudden effort to break away from him but the clerk only laughed and tightened his grip. His black eyes and yellow smile looked decidedly feral now. Lei
ta felt like she was caught in a childhood nightmare and couldn’t wake up. All her limbs felt heavy and useless and her eyelids kept wanting to close even though she knew she had to stay awake at all costs.
“Did you like the chocolate?” the clerk sneered. “I told you it would change your life, didn’t I?”
“Let…lemme go.” Leita sagged in his hands so that the man lost his grip on her momentarily. She wanted to keep on sinking until she could rest her tired head on the spotless floor but she knew lying down would be suicide.
With a wild effort, she staggered drunkenly toward the door, her elbow striking the silver tray of truffles and knocking them to the ground with a musical clatter. Chocolates flew everywhere and she trampled some under her feet, releasing a strong medicinal smell as the sticky drugged syrup leaked out of them and stained the white tiles dark red and brown.
“Stupid bitch!” The clerk’s oily voice was a snarl now. “Look what you did! That was my entire supply.” He grabbed her roughly by the elbow and started dragging her to the dimly lit back of the store by sheer force.
Leita didn’t have the strength to resist him—she felt as if her entire body had been dipped in lead. But she touched the watch-me bracelet to calm herself. Schneider was watching her. He could send help right to her location with the built-in directory chip she was wearing.
“And while we’re at it,” the clerk said, clearly catching her gesture from the corner of his eye, “let’s just take care of this—shall we?” He snatched the watch-me bracelet from her wrist, breaking the thin gold chain with a decisive snap. Throwing the bracelet to the floor, he ground the delicate mechanism beneath his heel. “Too bad, princess,” he said, smiling nastily at the horrified Leita. “I guess there’s no help on the way after all, is there?”
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