Vanished

  Not too full, like you felt after a Christmas dinner with all the fixings, though. Just perfectly satisfied, like she would never need to eat again.

  And at that point, the disk on her tongue melted away to nothingness, leaving a light, minty aftertaste in her mouth like a faint reminder of where it had been.

  “Oh…” Harper’s eyelids fluttered open. She’d closed them somewhere around the time her Grams’ banana pudding had made its appearance, the better to savor everything. Now she looked with new appreciation at the bathing attendant. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “That was lovely—absolutely lovely.”

  “You are very welcome, Empress.” The bathing attendant bowed her head in acknowledgement. “And now, perhaps you’d like to see our selection of sexual attendants?”

  “Oh, um…” Harper began as Shad took a step forward to protest. But neither of them got to finish what they were going to say.

  “Of course she wants to see the attendants. I do too, for that matter,” a strident female voice exclaimed.

  Harper turned to see an exotic-looking woman striding towards them. She was definitely plus-sized—even more so than Harper—and she had pale gray skin with a silvery, metallic tint to it. Even stranger, she was wearing a silver dress that appeared to be made out of large, overlapping scales.

  It was difficult to see where the gown ended and her skin began but there was no doubt about her hair—it was a bright, brassy copper-gold which stuck up from her head in a long fringe—like a Mohawk haircut allowed to grow out until it was too floppy to quite stand up on its own. Her ears had multiple piercings with precious jewels from her ear lobes all the around the curving cup of the ear itself.

  To Harper, this woman looked like a force to be reckoned with.

  “Greetings!” she said, striding up to Harper with a bold grin. “You must be new to the Baths—I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before and believe me I’m here all the time.”

  “Oh, Lady Marlbussen,” the bathing attendant exclaimed nervously. “I’m so sorry no one told you but this lady is the Empress Kyreella of Gobesh Prime of the Chavesh-Hie System and she’s here for a private bathing session before she sees the Goddess.”

  “Private, huh?” Lady Marlbussen laughed as though that was a good joke. “Well I’m afraid nothing’s private with me around, hon,” she said, winking at Harper. “Like I said, I’m here all the time—mostly because I’m richer than the Goddess herself. They can’t keep you out when you’ve got money, right?” She winked broadly and laughed again.

  In any other situation, Harper might have found the loud, confident woman irritating. But somehow the twinkle in Lady Marlbussen’s silver eyes and the joking tone of her rather husky voice made her smile instead of feeling aggravated.

  “I…guess not,” she said hesitantly, unsure how to take the other woman’s joking comment.

  “It also helps that I actually built these baths,” she continued. “Just another reason they let me have the run of the place and can’t kick me out.”

  “You did?” Harper asked, surprised.

  “Oh yeah, hon!” Lady Marlbussen nodded vigorously. “See, people—supplicants they call them—kept coming up here to see the Goddess and getting the wrong things fixed! Because she fixes the most pressing wrong thing in your life that she feels, you know?”

  “Does she?” Harper said.

  “Of course! So if you go up there with your tummy rumbling or if you’re horny out of your mind, well—that’s what she fixes. Not whatever other existential crisis is going on in your life.” She shrugged her plump, silver-toned shoulders. “She’s very practical like that. She Who Alters just fixes the most immediate thing that needs fixing.”

  “Oh—well now the flavor disks and everything else makes sense,” Harper exclaimed.

  “Do you like the disks?” Lady Marlbussen asked, grinning. “I have them specially made for the Baths. They cost twenty thousand credits apiece but of course you don’t care about money—or else you’ve got a lot of it to burn.” She laughed her forthright bray of a laugh. “There’s no other way that dried up old stick of a social secretary would let you in the front door—let alone grant you a private session. Right?”

  “Exactly, Lady Marlbussen,” the bathing attendant said, attempting to jump into the conversation again. “And since the Empress is having a private session, maybe you could just come back at a later time or—”

  “I don’t mind,” Harper said, smiling at the plump silver-skinned Lady Marlbussen. “She can stay.” She tilted her head at the other woman questioningly. “Maybe you can show me how things work here?”

  “Sure, hon—I’d love to!” The other woman grinned. “Now, the first thing you’ve got to do is to get yourself just the right sexual attendant. A male who can make you sa-tis-fied.” She snapped her fingers at the bathing attendant. “Go on—get them all lined up in the Choosing Room, sweetie.”

  “Yes, Lady Marlbussen!”

  And before Harper could protest, the attendant had already scampered off down the dark hallway behind the silver counter.

  “She’ll whip them into shape for us,” Lady Marlbussen said confidingly to Harper. “Then you can have pick of the litter. I’ll choose last.”

  “That’s very kind of you but I actually already have a, uh, sexual attendant.” Harper nodded at Shad who looked like he was coming to a slow simmer of irritation.

  “Do you now?” For the first time, Lady Marlbussen turned to look Shad over with a critical eye. “Hmm…not bad at all for one of the lower orders,” she murmured.

  “What? Lower orders? What does that mean?” Harper asked uncertainly.

  “Don’t you have orders of males on your planet?” Lady Marlbussen asked. “We do here. The higher orders are generally smaller but much more intelligent. If you want to have a child fathered, that’s the kind you’d choose. The lower orders are bigger but unfortunately on the dim side. Still, there’s something to be said for size…” She eyed Shad and ran the tip of her tongue over her silver lips.

  “Size isn’t linked to intelligence where I come from,” Harper said. “And Shad here is actually my bodyguard and my, uh, sexual attendant.”

  “Is he?” Lady Marlbussen seemed surprised. “Making him do double duty, eh? Well, just because you already have one sexual attendant doesn’t mean you can’t have two. In fact, I think I’ll take two myself. Follow me.”

  She walked around the silver counter as though she owned the place—maybe she did—and beckoned Harper to follow her. Feeling helpless, Harper did so. After all, she’d asked the other woman to show her how things worked at the Cleansing Baths so she could hardly decline her invitation to follow.

  Lady Marlbussen led her and Shad along a dark, echoing corridor until they came to a rounded doorway. She rapped twice and shouted, “They’d better be ready!” before opening the door and striding confidently inside.

  Harper followed and what she saw made her catch her breath.

  There were about fifteen males lined up in order of size standing in a row in the long, tiled room. The shortest, at the far end, only came up to her elbow but he had a sharp, intelligent look on his face. The largest, all the way at the other end of the row, was a foot taller than Shad. He had a vacant expression on his blunted features and his movements were slow when he turned his head to stare at Harper.

  All of the males were stark naked—it was the largest collection of male equipment Harper had seen since her friend, Emile, convinced her to watch gay porn with him. (It had not been her cup of tea.)

  And speaking of naked, that was exactly how Harper felt in her fringe dress.

  Oh my God—so much for nobody but other women and Shad seeing me in this dress! she thought, feeling a blush of shame creep into her cheeks. Quickly, she wrapped the cloak of thorns more tightly around herself but it wasn’t quite large enough to close in the front so she still felt exposed.

  “Now then…” Lady Marlbussen was already striding up and d
own the row of prospective candidates like a general inspecting her troops. “Which of you is it to be? I think I might be in the mood for two today but which two?”

  She stopped in front of one of the smaller males and looked him up and down.

  “Well, you’re not much for height but you’re quite impressive in the cock department,” she remarked and to Harper’s horror, she reached between his legs and took his shaft in her hand. “Tell me—are you a grower or a shower?” she demanded as she massaged him briskly. “Never mind—I’ll find out myself.”

  The male looked like he was trying not to groan and soon enough he had quite a large erection.

  Lady Marlbussen nodded approvingly. “All right. You’ll do.”

  She motioned the sexual attendant to get out of line and he stepped to one side as she continued her bizarre comparison shopping.

  Harper hardly knew which way to look. On one hand, it was mortifying and she’d never been in a room with so many naked men before in her life—nor had she wanted to!

  On the other hand, it was kind of fascinating too. And in a strange way, empowering. Lady Marlbussen was clearly the one in charge here and the men did exactly what she told them, no questions asked. She ran her hands over their biceps and chests, pinched to test the firmness of their asses, and stroked and fondled their shafts and balls until they were biting their lips to keep from groaning as she brought them to attention.

  Harper hoped they were willing participants here and nobody had forced them into this. They all seemed happy enough, though, and she saw looks of eager anticipation on the faces of the males Lady Marlbussen fondled, as though they were hoping she would pick them.

  Finally she settled on another male—one of the lower orders this time who was almost as big as Shad—and sent him out of line too. Then she turned to the bathing attendant who had been standing quietly to one side the entire time.

  “All right—I’ve got my two. I’m ready for the pleasure room.”

  “I, uh, guess I am too,” Harper said uncertainly but the bathing attendant shook her head.

  “Forgive me, Empress, but your sexual attendant must pass inspection before he can attend you in the pleasure room.”

  “What?” Harper exclaimed and Shad growled, low in his throat,

  “What in the Seven Hells?”

  “Oh, that’s right!” Lady Marlbussen snapped her fingers. “Sorry, hon, but those are the rules. But you can inspect him yourself if you want, just like I did with my own two males. The bathing attendant just has to watch and be certain he’s fit to serve you.”

  “Can’t you just, uh, take my word for it?” Harper asked desperately. She really didn’t want Shad to have to strip down in front of everybody. She’d seen him naked before—briefly, when he came to get her on the beach—but this was in a room full of strangers!

  “No, I’m sorry Empress, but the rules are firm on this matter,” the bathing attendant said primly.

  “Oh, but—” Harper started to protest.

  But to her surprise, Shad was already stripping off his clothes. When she looked at him uncertainly, he shrugged, his broad shoulders.

  “Not worth fighting about,” he growled. “Might as well get it over with.”

  “I, uh, guess so.” Harper watched, dry-mouthed, as he stripped out of the black leather vest and tight leather trousers and the heavy boots he wore. God, he was mouthwatering naked—she couldn’t take her eyes off the play of muscles as he moved. He was like a Greek statue come to life.

  Thinking of that made her remember the living statues out in the entry hall, especially the male with his face buried between the female’s legs.

  A hot blush crept into her cheeks and she tried to push the image out of her mind. She wasn’t interested in that kind of attention—she didn’t like it when guys tried going down. They either acted like they were doing her a favor and gave her two or three quick licks before coming back up for the “main attraction” or they had no idea what they were doing and couldn’t find her clit with both hands and a flashlight.

  There was nothing worse than having a guy fumbling around down there, thinking he was some kind of hero because he was willing to go downtown while he was missing the point—literally as well as figuratively.

  Harper had decided long ago that she just wasn’t going to go there—or let anyone else go there either. It was too much hassle for too little reward.

  Then she remembered Shad saying he had tasted her before—many times—on the different paths the time loop had taken them on. He’d said he always had to convince her but after she let him try it, she loved it…

  “I’ve tasted your sweet pussy so many times…” His soft, seductive words rumbled in her memory and she squeezed her thighs together tightly, wishing again that she’d worn a less revealing dress. If only she’d—

  But her train of thought came to an abrupt halt when Shad straightened up before her, completely naked.

  “Mm-mm. Very nice!” Lady Marlbussen said approvingly.

  “Yes, he really is,” Harper murmured. The big Kindred’s skin looked like pale, chiseled marble, each muscle on his massive body cut and perfectly defined. Her fingers itched to trace the hard planes of his chest, ivory column of his throat, the corded sinews of his thighs. And between those thighs…

  God he’s huge—even bigger than I remembered!

  He put every other man in the room to shame—even the one that was a head taller than him.

  Harper became aware that she was reaching out a hand to touch him as he stood at attention before her. Biting her lip, she drew back, restraining herself though she wanted desperately to feel the rough satin of his skin, the heat of his hard body…desperately wanted to see the contrast of her own creamy brown tones against the pale perfection of his flesh.

  “No, go on—you can touch him,” Lady Marlbussen encouraged her. “In fact, you’re supposed to inspect him to be certain he’s adequate to fulfill your needs.”

  “Really?” Harper said, looking at the other woman.

  “Yes, Empress.” It was the bathing attendant who answered. “Your choice for sexual attendant must be examined thoroughly. Either by yourself or by me or by another qualified person.”

  “I’ll inspect him for you if you want.” Lady Marlbussen sounded positively hungry. “I don’t mind a bit.”

  “No!” Harper said quickly, moving to stand closer to Shad and protect him from the predatory gaze of the other woman. “I…I’ll do it.”

  “Hurry up and get on with it, then.” Lady Marlbussen sounded impatient. “I want to get to the pleasure room.”

  Harper didn’t see that she had any choice. Either she was going to run her hands all over Shad’s big muscular body…or one of the other two women were. And though they weren’t exactly on the best of terms right now, she was pretty certain he’d rather have her touching him than some stranger.

  Hesitantly at first, she put up a hand to touch one broad shoulder. This was familiar territory—she’d clung to his shoulder as he sucked the nectar from her breasts and stroked her pussy with his fingers.

  Oh God—why had she thought that? Now she couldn’t get the erotic memory out of her head!

  Aware that the bathing attendant and Lady Marlbussen were watching her, she ran her hand lower, stroking the hard planes of his chest and even daring to circle the flat copper disks of his nipples with the tips of her fingers.

  Shad stiffened at that and she thought she heard a low groan, far back in his throat. Did he like that then? Having his nipples played with?

  Experimentally, she pinched one tender little nub between thumb and finger. Shad stiffened more but didn’t flinch away. Indeed, when she looked between his legs she saw that her actions were having a definite effect.

  Suddenly Harper lost her uncertainty. A sense of empowerment filled her instead. In their previous encounters, the big Kindred had always had the upper hand. He was always telling her what to do and what not to do and he was always in command
of any given situation. But here and now…

  Now I’m in command—in control, Harper thought suddenly. I can do whatever I want and he can’t stop me.

  The thought was immensely appealing. Harper felt a naughty smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Hadn’t she been thinking that she wanted to get revenge on the big Kindred for the way he’d been acting this whole last week? Well now was her chance—the perfect opportunity to torture him the way he’d been torturing her had presented itself—had fallen right into her lap!

  Leaning forward, she ran the tip of her tongue around the nipple she’d been tugging and then gave it a nice, slow lick.

  Shad made a low, hoarse sound of surprise and she looked up to see that his white eyes were wide with uncertainty.

  “That’s right, baby,” she murmured, giving him a slow, seductive smile. “I’m in charge now. You just have to stand there and take it.”

  To emphasize her point, she took the tiny, flat nub between her teeth and nipped him sharply before moving to the other side of his chest to do the same to his left nipple.

  “Empress…” he growled warningly but he didn’t move—couldn’t move—and Harper knew it. He just had to stand there and let her “inspect” him and by God, she intended to do a very thorough job.

  She straightened up and ran her hand down his rippling abs, admiring the way his flat belly quivered under her touch. There was a small trail of dark hair that ran down the center of his hard abdomen to his cock. Harper followed it, teasing lightly along it with her nails, watching as his thickness rose in answer to her touch.

  “Empress…” Shad’s voice was low and hoarse, for her ears only. “What are you doing?”

  “Just making sure you’re fit to serve me.” Harper gave him a smile that was half teasing/half cruel. She wanted him to suffer a little for the way he’d been treating her—for all the times he’d put her off and refused to talk to her…for the way he’d made her care for him and then turned his back after her heart was lost.

  She took the pulsing shaft in her hand and heard the big Kindred stifle a groan. God, he was huge. She wondered for the first time exactly how Shad was supposed to gratify her sexual needs. Hopefully no one would be watching to see if he made love to her because she knew he was dead set against going that far.