Which was a total lie. It was chewy and salty andthoroughly disgusting—exactly what she needed to calm the strange thoughts andfeelings that threatened to overcome her. She gave a piece to Thrace too, though he didn’t reallywant it.
“Mmm,” he growled dutifully, chomping on the piece.“Fucking disgusting. Thanks so much, Mistress.” But at least his shaft wasn’t quiteso hard against her.
“It’s a delicacy,” Lady Tam-tam remarked. “Especiallywhen combined with the nectar pods you ate earlier, the shromp can havean…interesting effect. They come from the same world, you know.”
“That’s the only reason I eat it,” LadyNeedra confided, chewing a piece and giving some to Yorth as well, who stilllooked considerably too distracted to eat. “Certainly not for the taste but Ilike the effects.”
“What effects?” Trin stopped with a second piecemidway to her mouth and eyed the gray, shriveled meat apprehensively. “Whatdoes it do?”
“You’ll see.” The blonde mistress giggled and tookanother bite. “Just wait, my dear Lady Trin. You’ll see…”
Chapter Nineteen
“What do you think Lady Needra meant when she saidthe shromp had interesting effects?” Trin whispered later, after dinnerwas over and they were strolling on the rolling back lawn of the vast estate.They, along with a few other couples, were heading for the dream-spherefountain, whatever the hell that was.
“No fucking idea,” Thrace growled. He certainly hadn’tnoticed any strange effects himself—not that he would have noticed anything, asdistracted as he’d been. Even though they were up and walking around, he couldstill feel the warm, wet spot whereTrin’s pussy had been pressed against hisshaft.
Gods!Dinner had been torture—sheer torture. Holding herso closely and intimately, wanting her so badly and being unable to act on it…
Thrace thought it wouldn’t have been so bad if Trinreally was as completely disinterested in males as she claimed to be. Then hecould have ignored his own feelings. But despite her repeated assertions thatshe wanted nothing to do with him sexually, her body and scent told a differentstory.
Havoc, like their Kindred cousins, had anincredibly sensitive olfactory sense. They could actually smell and identifypheromones which other species were manipulated by unconsciously. And Gods helphim, Trin was putting out fucking clouds of sex pheromones—filling theair around them with her lust as she sat on his lap and pretended to herselfthat she had no interest in sex with a male. In sex with him.
Not to mention the way her nipples got so hard andher pussy got so hot and wet when he was pressed against her. If she’d done thelittle trick Needra had and raised up—even just a little—he was certain hemight have slipped into her by accident. She was that wet—that ready to go.
Unbidden, the idea of having her under him,spreading her legs for him, rose in Thrace’s mind. He could imagine herparting for him, reaching up to scratch his shoulders, to pull him in deeper…
Fuckingstop it! he told himself angrily. Itdoesn’t matter what kind of chemicals her body is putting out, if her mindisn’t on board, it’s not going to happen. It’s never going to happen. She’s one of the Unpenetrated, remember?
Besides,why would you want to get involved? You’re just here to do the deal with thecrystals, then you’re gone. Back to The Empress and finding Solar and gettingon with your life. If you made love with Trin now you’d be sure to bond her toyou and Havoc don’t bond!
He glanced briefly at Trin who was walking besidehim over the short, well trimmed back lawn. It was true that unprotected sexwith her would almost certainly result in bonding. It didn’t always—Havoc werenot nearly as easily bound to a chosen female as their Kindred cousins. Makinglove to her and filling her with his seed wouldn’t result in a permanent soulbond unless there was some deep emotional attachment between them in the firstplace.
Watching her lovely face and the determined set ofher slim shoulders, Thraceknew he couldn’t risk it. It wasn’t just that he desired her—he was beginningto have feelings for his mistress. Feelings that were completely irrelevantsince she was never going to let herself care for him.
Getover it, he told himself roughly. She’snever going to change her views on males—she’s a proud female and part of thatpride is her dignity. It would never recover if she broke her beliefs for you.Anyway, why would you want her to? You don’t want to form a permanent bond withher any more than she wants one with you. Just do your job and serve her asbest you can until this is over and you can get the fuck out!
Thrace looked around him at the other mistresses andslaves walking over the dark lawn, trying to distract his mind from the turmoilinside him. To his left, Yorth was walking with Lady Needra. The two of themwere holding hands, smiling at each other like lovers, which they surely were.
Thrace reflected that no matter how hard dinner with Trinon his lap was, the meal had certainly been more difficult for Yorth. Hecouldn’t imagine the self-discipline it took to sit there while his ladysettled herself on his shaft and wiggled her hips, riding him in thatleisurely, casual manner while he wasn’t supposed to move a muscle. Still, itdidn’t seem to bother Yorth—he was probably used to the little game he and hismistress played together. Thracereflected with envy that they would almost certainly be playing other, evenmore erotic games in their sleeping chamber later.
“Look, that must be it.” Trin’s soft voice drew hisattention back from the other slave and mistress couple and he looked ahead tosee a tall, silver filigree pyramid structure rising before them. It was set inthe center of a circular, paved area which sparkled—doubtless made of the same semi-preciousgemstones that lined the path which led to the front door of the estate.
“Must be,” he said, nodding assent. “But what thehell is coming out the top of it?”
The silver pyramid’s point was about the level of Thrace’shead and it was shaped like a narrow spout or funnel. From this small opening,large bubbles were drifting. At least, Thrace assumed they werebubbles—they certainly weren’t like any he had ever seen before.
For one thing, weren’t bubbles supposed to beround? These weren’t. Or at least, not all of them were. In addition to a fewfloating spheres, there were also square, rectangular, and triangular bubbles.There were also a few which didn’t seem to stick to any shape at all butshifted constantly. But perhaps strangest of all, each and every bubble wasfilled with colored smoke. Pink, blue, purple, orange, scarlet, and even blacksmoke filled shapes drifted past him, wafted by the gentle breeze.
“What the hell?” Thrace muttered, staring as thesoft shapes drifted from the mouth of the tall silver pyramid.
“Dream spheres—unfiltered dream gas,” Lady Needrasaid, in answer to his question. She and Yorth had stopped right at the edge ofthe round, gem-encrusted circular path that surrounded the fountain.
“Unfiltered?” Trin asked, frowning. “I thought ithad to be purified with Jaxite crystals before it was usable.”
“Oh, that’s just how they do it in Opulex.” Needrashrugged. “That’s so they can use it for vicarious sensory play—you know,feeling like your acting out a book or vid or whatever entertainment medium youwant to feel like you’re part of. But dream gas can be filtered through manydifferent mediums to give different effects.”
“And what effect does unfiltered dream gas have?” Thraceasked, adroitly avoiding a smoky pink sphere which came drifting in hisdirection.
“It’s much more immediate and personal. But as towhat it does, it depends on the vein you get—there are several undergroundwhich all converge at this fountain,” Needra explained. “Come on—try some!”Leaning forward, she inhaled a triangle shaped bubble filled with sunshineyellow gas and began giggling hysterically. “G-get one, Y-yorth,” she commandedher slave, barely able to get the words out.