Stealing Her Heart: A Kindred Tales Novel (Brides of the Kindred)

by Evangeline Anderson

  Professor Torella’s mansion was made of some pure white stone and had banks of shining windows on every wall that reflected the muted light of the setting sun. It was surrounded by manicured gardens filled with exotic-looking blooms as big as Vicky’s head in shades of turquoise, lavender, scarlet, and emerald. The grass around the gardens was a silvery gray-green, just as it had been on the university campus they had first visited on Priima Belle.

  “Oh, it’s gorgeous!” Vicky breathed. “This looks like something out of a dream.”

  “If you dream of everyone being able to look in on you at all hours of the day or night,” Chain pointed out, gesturing towards the vast banks of windows as they landed. But he was smiling as he said it. “It is lovely though,” he added. “I have a feeling your new friend Professor Torella isn’t hurting for cash.”

  “I think you’re right,” Vicky murmured, unstrapping herself from the seat harness. “I just hope she still likes me when she sobers up.”

  “And that we can prove you’re an excellent teacher,” Chain remarked. “Although what you’re supposed to have taught me, I don’t know.”

  “Maybe Spanish?” Vicky asked. “Did you pick up anything from the lesson I was teaching while I fed everybody tacos and tequila?”

  “Si de hencho. Soy bastante fluido en espanol ahora. Eres un excelente profesora, Senorita,” Chain answered smartly.

  Vicky looked at him in astonishment.

  “Wait—how did you get all that from a lesson about food and restaurant words?”

  “I didn’t.” Chain smiled smugly. “Spanish was one of the languages I studied when I found out I had business on Earth. It was much easier to learn than English.”

  “Well, I’ve heard that Kindred have a gift for languages,” Vicky remarked. “And of course you developed that translation bacteria. If that stuff ever spreads all over Earth I’ll be out of a job!”

  “No you won’t—you’ll still have your dramatic skills,” Chain reminded her, grinning. “Come on, Profesora, let’s go find our hostess and see what we can do to prove I’m a good student and you’re a good teacher.”

  “Well, if it really is speaking Spanish, then we have nothing to worry about,” Vicky mused. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “Come in, come in!” Professor Torella exclaimed, opening the front door before Vicky could even knock. “I’m so pleased to have you in my home! All the other professors are just going to be so jealous when they find out I was the one who got to host the famous Professor Victoria!”

  “Oh, well, thank you.” Vicky smiled at her as she and Chain walked in through the front door.

  Inside, it was minimalist décor. The floors were smooth gray marble and there were no pictures hanging on the white walls—mainly, Vicky thought—because there wasn’t enough space to hang any. The huge house was basically a glass box with floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere you looked.

  “Your house is so airy and spacious,” she said politely to Professor Torella, who was being trailed around by her two students—the beefy brunette and the slender blond. “You must get a lot of natural light in here.”

  “Oh my yes—I am addicted to natural light,” the other woman exclaimed. “You know, the sun we orbit here on Priima Belle is a blue giant but we are rather far back from it and our atmosphere is almost always cloudy. So I like to soak up every spare photon of sunlight I can. Now come—I’ll show you the lounging area.”

  She led them through the large, open-concept house which didn’t appear to have hardly any walls to divide the space into rooms, as far as Vicky could see. Instead, she saw little clusters of furniture scattered around the large area in artful clumps.

  She saw some chairs and a couch together in one place and a collection of what looked like exercise equipment in another. A third grouping had a screen for entertainment as well as a bookcase clustered with several padded stools and little tables. Strangely, every piece of furniture seemed to be on a kind of low platform—Vicky wondered what that was for?

  There was even what appeared to be a small food prep area—if the appliances she saw were indeed used to prepare and store food. They appeared to be a kind of cold storage box, a single countertop, a small sink, and something that might have been an indoor grill or fire pit.

  A little later on, they came to a big puffy hammock-type bed with a beanbag-like mattress—or was it a couch? Anyway, it was silver and had a collection of blue and green pillows and bolsters on it. And, like all the other furniture, it was placed on a small metal platform. Was it someplace to take a nap or just a place to sit and relax or maybe both, Vicky wondered? Nothing about the layout of this place made sense!

  “The layout of your home is rather…esoteric,” she remarked to Professor Torella as they walked. “Back where I come from we have different rooms for different functions. But here everything just seems to be scattered around all over the place.”

  “Oh yes—that’s how we like it here on Priima Belle,” Professor Torella said cheerfully. “Or I like it anyway. I believe that one’s home must be ever-changing to keep the mind from becoming set in its ways. That’s why all the furniture groupings are on hover-boards. I have them remotely programmed to constantly rearrange themselves during the night while I sleep. It’s so charming to wake up and not know where anything is, you know!”

  Vicky didn’t think it sounded charming at all. She imagined stumbling out of bed and going to where the kitchen ought to be for her morning cup of coffee, only to find that it was now the living room or the den or maybe even the bathroom with no coffee in sight.

  That would seriously piss her off but Professor Torella appeared to be a rather flighty person who liked living with daily uncertainty. Or maybe she just liked surprises. Either way, she was certainly an interesting woman.

  “Now, here we are at the lounging area—the one place in my entire domicile that doesn’t change,” Torella announced. “Mainly because the fire pit and the pool aren’t mobile—more’s the pity.” She sighed mournfully.

  Vicky looked around this new part of the house with interest and saw that Chain was doing the same.

  The first thing she noticed was an immensely long free-standing fireplace which looked like an extension of the gray marble floor. It ran half the length of the room and was around waist-high, with a long translucent chimney made of glass bricks positioned above it.

  The fuel appeared to be some kind of blue crystals and the flames were gold and green and blue as they flickered over the long fireplace. Vicky could see pearly blue-gray smoke from the fire flowing up through the glass chimney, presumably being let out into the night sky somewhere above.

  On the other side of the fireplace, three long padded tables were standing and a little way beyond them was a rectangular pool filled with clear lavender liquid.

  Vicky didn’t think the liquid was water—it didn’t move like water for one thing. There appeared to be a kind of rippling current running through it but the small waves it caused didn’t exactly lap against the sides of the pool. They moved more like syrup or honey, with a sluggish motion that seemed to coat the gray marble and then slowly leak back down again.

  Sitting across from each other on either side of the pool were two long, low, white leather couches that looked spotlessly clean. They were filled with throw pillows in every shade of purple and silver and gray imaginable—presumably to match the liquid in the pool.

  Looking up, Vicky saw that the ceiling over the pool was clear glass. She could see right up into the night sky—which was mostly a dense black with only an occasional star peeking through the thick cloud cover.

  Sitting on one of the couches was Professor Lornah. Her student, Lorn, was sitting stiffly on the floor beside her and giving her a foot massage. He appeared to be wholly into this task—so much so that he didn’t even look up when Professor Torella led them into the room.

  Vicky frowned at the ongoing foot massage—was that the way things were done he
re at Priima Belle or was this some kind of illicit activity? She would never have accepted a foot massage from a student herself—it would have been way over the line of propriety. But Professor Lornah seemed to feel this service on the part of her student was her due. Or at least, the sour, bored expression on her face seemed to indicate it was nothing out of the ordinary.

  “Oh, Lornah, there you are!” Torella exclaimed. “I thought you’d be in the flower grove. You usually head right there the minute you come over!”

  “I couldn’t find it,” Professor Lornah said tightly. “Apparently it’s been moved since the last time I visited you.”

  “Well, of course it has!” Torella exclaimed, laughing brightly. “That’s the fun of it—finding it again!”

  “Yes, I was most amused,” Lornah snapped, sounding anything but. “Do you mind if we get on with this? You asked me here to witness if Professor Victoria is a good teacher or not and it’s already late. You know how long these types of trials can go on for!”

  “Oh yes, of course. But you know, I thought we might all sit and have a nice little after dinner drink first—you know, just to get loosened up?” Torella asked. “After all, Professor Vicky and her student might not be used to performing for an audience—even if it is just an audience of two.”

  Professor Lornah gave her a level look.

  “Don’t you think you’ve had enough to drink tonight, Torella? If you have much more it won’t be safe for you to get into the pleasure enhancement pool.”

  Vicky watched this exchange with mounting concern. Perform for an audience? Pleasure enhancing pool? What exactly was going on here?

  She had a bad feeling she was about to find out.

  “Very well.” Professor Torella gave her colleague a sulky look. “No drinks then. I vow, Lornah, you get more boring every year! One would think that anyone who based her studies in something as lovely and delicious as cake would be more fun!”

  “I don’t only study cakes and pastries, I also study the dishes they are plated on!” Lornah reminded her tartly. “And I couldn’t study anything if I drank half as much as you do!”

  Vicky thought Torella might get angry at this, but she only honked a laugh through her beaky nose and tossed back her bright pink hair.

  “Oh Lornah, you’re always in the doldrums—it’s so droll to be around you—really it is.”

  Vicky didn’t think it was fun to be around Lornah at all, but of course no one had asked her.

  “Um—should we have a seat?” she asked, wishing to end the argument and also trying to figure out what came next.

  “I suppose it won’t hurt to relax for a bit before we start,” Torella remarked, though Lornah looked like she wanted to object. She settled herself on the couch beside the other professor and snapped her fingers for her students. “Come here, boys,” she demanded. “Come here and get me all warmed up for a dip in the pleasure enhancement pool.”

  As she spoke, she opened the teaching slits in her fluttery gown and exposed a pair of rather improbably large breasts for her skinny frame.

  Vicky watched from the corner of her eye—because she was trying not to look directly at this strange sight—as Torella’s two students sank down on either side of her. Then each took one a nipple in his mouth and started sucking.

  Okay, this was way, way over the line that should exist between a teacher and a student, Vicky thought with dismay. What the hell was going on here?

  “Excuse me,” she said and cleared her throat.

  “Yes?” Torella looked up casually. She was idly running her fingers through the hair of both the blond and brunette students as they continued to suck her nipples. It was clear she had absolutely no shame at all about what was going on.

  “Um what are you…why are you letting them do that to you?” Vicky asked, motioning with one hand. “I mean, why are your students, uh…”

  “Sucking my nipples?” Torella finished for her. “Why, because I’m teaching them how to be good lovers, of course! And part of that is paying proper attention to a woman’s breasts and nipples, as I’m sure you’ll agree.”

  “Why even have the teaching slits in the gown if you’re not going to use them?” Lornah asked sharply, joining in the conversation. Then she looked down at her student. “Ah, that’s right, Lorn my pet,” she murmured, stroking his head as he continued to suck her right nipple. “You’re learning very well. See—I told you not to worry about that little stutter of yours. Any woman you’re with after I finish with you will be happy to use your talented tongue for much more important things than talking.”

  Vicky thought she was beginning to catch on to what was happening here but it was so strange—so alien—that she felt she had to be sure. But she had to be careful finding out, she thought—she didn’t want to alert the other women that she wasn’t exactly up to speed on these kinds of “teaching methods.”

  “I see,” she said to Professor Torella. “Er…I think maybe your educational system here on Priima Belle is a little different from the one we employ where I come from on Earth, which the Mother Ship orbits. Would you mind telling me exactly how things are set up here?”

  “I’ll tell you but don’t let our conversation stop us from you teaching your student,” Torella said. “By all means, give him your breasts and let him practice his skills as we talk.”

  Vicky’s heart started pounding. She couldn’t believe she was expected to sit here with her breasts out and just casually let Chain suck her nipples while she talked. But really, what else could she do? Both Torella and Lornah were staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to begin.

  And it’s not like Chain hasn’t sucked your breasts before, whispered a little voice in the back of her head.

  “Um…” She fumbled with the magnetic tabs in her flowing gown, looking uncertainly at Chain.

  The big Kindred was looking back at her with half-lidded eyes.

  “Professor,” he murmured, “Will you bare your breasts for me? I would love to taste your sweet peaks again and practice my nipple-sucking skills.”

  Vicky blushed as she remembered how pleasurable his hot mouth on her naked breasts could be. But letting him suck her nipples in the privacy of her own bedroom was one thing. Letting him do it in front of other people—people she had only just met—was something else altogether. It felt weird and wrong.

  But she had to get along here or how else was she going to get her hands on the T’lix-Kruthe?

  Don’t think about it, she ordered herself. Just do it.

  Or rather, let Chain do it to her.

  Feeling self-conscious, she settled stiffly on the other white couch—pushing a myriad of purple and silver pillows away to get a spot. She opened the magnetic tabs Kat had put in her gown, exposing her breasts and then motioned for Chain.

  “Come here, Chain,” she murmured, looking up at the big Kindred. “Come here and, er, suck me.”

  His midnight-blue eyes were filled with lust in the light from the green and gold flames.

  “It will be my very great pleasure, Professor Victoria,” he growled softly.

  And then he was on his knees before her, reaching for her breasts.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Gods, how he loved to suck and pleasure her! Chain growled softly in the back of his throat as he lapped and circled her erect nipples with his tongue. Her ripe, pink peaks were so tight—so needy. And so sensitive. He loved the way Victoria writhed and squirmed and tried really hard not to make a noise while he pleasured her.

  But every once in a while a little moan or gasp slipped out and he could see from the way she was biting her lip and tell from the warm scent of her aroused pussy that she was enjoying this every bit as much as he was.

  Chain would have been happy to suck her nipples all night. He loved the salty flavor of her skin and the way she thrust her breasts up and out, as though begging mutely for more. But he couldn’t help wondering if this was regular behavior between a professor and student here on Prii
ma Belle.

  Luckily, it appeared that Professor Torella was going to tell them.

  “So, you wanted to know about the Priima Belle teaching methods,” she mused as she carded her fingers carelessly through the hair of the males sucking her nipples. “It’s based on a very simple premise, actually—men don’t know what a woman wants or needs sexually unless they are taught it.”

  “And so…you teach them?” Victoria’s voice was breathless as Chain flicked her left nipple gently while slowly circling the right with his tongue.

  “Indeed.” Torella nodded. “At the age of first maturity—twenty cycles old—young males are taken from the general population and brought to live at one of the many university compounds—like the one where we first met.” She smiled at Victoria. “There they are matched with mature professors like myself and Professor Lornah there…” She nodded at Lornah who nodded back, “And we train them for the next five to seven years exactly how to please a woman.”

  “Five to seven years? That seems like…like a long time.” Victoria shifted in her seat and the warm smell of her aroused pussy drifted up to Chain’s nose again.

  He felt his shaft grow even harder than it had been before. Gods, he hoped he got to taste her tonight! He wanted to be between her thighs so damn badly lapping her salty-sweet pussy honey right from the source.

  “Oh, some of our students decide to stay longer—all their lives, in fact,” Torella explained. “That was why I asked if your student was with you for life. I thought maybe you had taken him on when he was younger and he just decided to stay with you, rather than going back to the general population.”

  “You mean, you, uh, let them go—your students—once you feel like they’ve learned enough?” Vicky asked, panting and shifting in her seat as she spoke. The slow teasing way Chain was stroking and lapping her nipples was definitely having an effect on her, he thought with satisfaction.