her in something like…that. A rush of excitement flooded her, and though she was thrilled in it, she hated it at the same time.
“A goddess.” The android nodded. “Whoever the lucky guy is won’t know what hit him.”
Alexa inhaled.
The shopkeeper folded the lingerie in her arms, turned, and went toward a table where another android was helping a man.
Alexa had no choice but to follow.
“I don’t know if I should…” she started to say.
The android wrapped and bagged the lingerie. “Nonsense. You have the assets. Now use them.”
Alexa turned her wristcon on and swiped the funds toward the shopkeeper. Alexa looked down at her body and her lack of curves. “I don’t think so.”
The man beside her stepped away and checked her out. Alexa stiffened.
He hummed, grabbing his bag from the android helping him. “She’s right. You’ll be fine.” He inclined his head at Alexa and left the shop, leaving her an embarrassed mess as one of the shopkeepers nodded with him in agreement.
Alexa snatched her bag and peeked into it. What had she just bought? She closed it up tight and stuffed the bag in with her purchase from earlier. She turned to the android helping her.
“Make him beg,” the android said.
Alexa shivered but nodded, her excitement wavering somewhere between dread and longing. Hysterian would never beg. Never.
But she really liked the idea of it.
She started to leave but pivoted right back, remembering why she was here at all in the first place.
Fifteen minutes later, she was rushing through the port toward Termite, having spent much longer in the lingerie shop than she had planned on. The shopkeeper convinced her that she could do her job wearing silk, satin, and thongs instead of cotton and linen. Now Alexa had more panties and bras than she would ever, ever need and in materials she never thought she’d ever own.
She pushed through the crowd gathering out in front of Termite, searching for Pigeon and Raul. The smell of liquor was strong here, and so was the laughter. Pushing through a group of men, she found Pigeon at the bar, holding a beer.
He waved when he saw her approach.
“Sorry I’m late,” Alexa said. “Where’s Raul?”
Pigeon shrugged. “Not here yet. And no worries, I was just enjoying a beer in the meantime. The Terraform Championship is on.” He flicked a finger toward a screen behind the bar.
Alexa saw the two empty glass bottles next to Pigeon’s elbow. “Or three.”
“Hey. I’m on break, and it’s not like there’s anything for me to do anyway,” he teased.
It was a running joke with the others. Pigeon was an engineer for a brand new ship that did not need an engineer…yet. He was often found reading a book in the lounge or playing word games on his wristcon in the middle of the day shift.
“And the Captain’s hired help didn’t like me sticking around to check out the Questor’s water system with them,” Pigeon continued. “Apparently, it’s working just fine. It was fine the twelve times I checked it, but why listen to the expert?”
“Really? They found nothing wrong?” The water was almost always cold on the Questor, at least during the night shifts when most of the crew showered. “Odd.” She liked cold water, so she didn’t mind if the water system got fixed or not.
“It is what it is. They don’t want us peons getting too comfortable now.” Pigeon smiled.
Alexa leaned her elbows on the bar. “I think you’re right.”
Pigeon cocked a brow. “You go shopping?”
She started to shake her head but stopped, recalling what she’d bought, what was hiding in the bag hanging over her shoulder. “For some new clothes,” she muttered. What would Pigeon or Raul say if they saw what she splurged on?
What would they think? She had no intention of wearing it, ever, especially not for Hysterian. If she wore the lingerie, it would be for herself.
What if Hysterian finds it?
Hell… Alexa secured her bag to her side. I need to return it. What if someone found it, even if it wasn’t Hysterian? No one would look at her the same way. A month ago, she wouldn’t have cared what Pigeon, Horace, or Raul thought about her. She did now. She cared a lot.
She liked having their respect. She wanted to keep it.
The man sitting on the stool beside Pigeon strode off. Alexa slid into his seat. “Can I…ask you a question, Pigeon?”
Pigeon lowered his beer. “Depends.”
She swallowed. “Have you ever really wanted something? And I mean really wanted something, something