Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,65
the Star Marshal cruiser, but it’s clean and has a little viewport to space. Bathosc offered to deal with the bill, so we should be comfortable.
I go over to the little porthole and look out. “Will Koyanara be okay there in the ship?”
Zaroc comes in behind me and locks his hands right under my breasts. “Grandmother has more entertainments inside that computer than anyone could enjoy in ten lifetimes. Including games and some very erotic immersives. She’ll be perfectly fine.”
The stars outside shine with a steady glow. I’m starting to get used to seeing them this clearly. “It’s kind of unpleasant how everyone I meet thinks I’m for sale, just a commodity.”
“If you had been wearing your gun belt, Bathosc wouldn’t have thought you were.”
I put my hands on his, holding them in place around me. “What do you think about that? I mean, sentients being the property of other sentients? Being owned? Against their will?”
“Not so long ago, I would have seen no problem with it, just like everyone else. I think I’m coming around to a different view. Give me some time, my love.”
I struggle to turn around in his firm grasp. “What did you say?”
“I said, ‘not so long ago.’”
I look up at his blue lights. “After that. The last thing.”
“‘Give me some time’?”
“And after that you said…?”
“Oh, that. Yes, I did say that. I confess.”
I groan. “What exactly was it?”
“Oh, it loses its meaning if you say it too often. But you heard correctly. That is what you are.”
“Your love?”
“My love. My light.” He looks right into my eyes and says it with such feeling that the world spins.
“My love, too,” I manage, my heart brimming with emotion.
“Good,” he says and turns me around again, then moves his hands up, cupping my breasts over the jumpsuit. “That gives the whole thing a little bit of balance. Now I wish to inspect my love to see if her behind is still as alluring as before.”
“Yes,” I agree, heat rushing to my center. “Better inspect it closely. You never know.”
- - -
The food is better on this station, probably because they entertain all kinds of aliens, not just one species. I notice I’m losing weight already, so it was about time I got some real nutrition. Zaroc seems to like my curvy shape, and so do I.
The next day Zaroc goes to the shipyard to help with the upgrades, while I stroll around the station on my own, gun belt securely strapped to my side so nobody gets the wrong idea. While I enjoy not having my cell phone with me at all times anymore, I still bring it to do some filming for my never-to-be-seen-by-humans documentary.
The station is small, and after one day I know my way around. On impulse I drop into a shop that looks like it deals in antiques.
Then I turn on my heel and try to walk right back out again when I see the owner.
“It’s all right, young lady;” the alligator says from the floor behind me. “I’m not quite as dangerous as I look.”
“Ah,” I try, pushing up against the door that just won’t open right. “No, it’s just I think I have the wrong store.”
“They all say that,” says the alligator and curls up, a movement that makes it taller and less alligator-like and dangerous. Though still clearly reptilian, although most of its body is hidden by a long robe.
I relax a little. A talking alligator wearing clothes can’t be all bad. “I’m not even sure why I came in. I don’t actually have any money. I just thought I’d take a look. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” the not-alligator says. “That’s how most of my customers begin their collections. My name is Puf. I sell curiosities from many different species.”
“Oh. I’m Averie. Are all these things from different planets?” I indicate the various shelves and podiums, all full of strange things. It’s a little like the inner shell of Verv, except these things don’t look pristine or totally enigmatic.
“Some are from the same planets, some from others. Are you particularly interested in any one species? Apart from the Elders, I mean?”
“How do you know I’m interested in the Elders?”
Puf chuckles in a very otherworldly way. “Oh, word gets around. Bathosc came here to appraise her new artifact, and she told me all about the two aliens that gave it to her. And of course, you are wearing an Elder Uncertainty Bracelet right now. Also from Verv, I presume.”
I glance down at