I study them thoughtfully, and then a plan forms in my mind.
I wonder…I wonder if he’d wear those while I tried kissing him again? And I wonder how long it would take for me to panic then? Or if I’d panic at all?
I flush with heat at the thought of Nassakth lying on the bed next to me, his hands bound, mine to do with as I please, to explore without fear, to touch and taste and—
“Kim?”
I jerk to my feet. “What! What?!”
Nassakth frowns at me. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Just distracted.” I brush a lock of hair back, my pulse pounding. There’s a curious liquid heat between my thighs I haven’t felt in a long while, and I squeeze them tightly together to compress the feeling. “What’s up?”
“Did you know one of your bots has a faulty card?”
“No?” I move to his side so he can show it to me, but my thoughts are full of stun-cuffs and potential. Tonight, I decide. Maybe tonight I’ll roll the idea past him and see how he responds. The thought fills me with excitement.
33
NASSAKTH
Kim’s perimeter bots are a mess. They’re several software updates out of sync with her host system, and some are so fried from lack of maintenance that they’re useless. I work on them all day long, fussing with components and stealing parts from one broken bot to repair another. In the end, I can’t set up the perimeter I want, so I set the bots on patrol instead. They’ll scan for invaders and ping my datapad. I make a mental note to order an entirely new set of bots for her land, because I won’t have anyone distressing her.
My mate seems to be in a good mood after spending the day at her farm, though. She’s humming and fresh-seeming, her clothing crisp. She’s baked several loaves of something that steam on the counter, and her tiny house is spotless.
Me, my fur itches from sweating in her barn, I’m covered in noli pollen, and I’m irritated that Risda’s government gave her such worthless equipment. “Good afternoon?” I manage as I come inside, even though I want to be grumpy. It is not Kim’s fault, and I will not take it out on her.
“Great afternoon,” Kim says, beaming. “I got so much done, and I packed up my things.” She gestures at a small bag near the door. “I got two chapters in on my book, and I made you some meat pockets.”
“Meat…pockets?”
“I guess it’s a human thing? I wanted to bake some bread but I knew you liked meat with your food so I stuffed the middle with some meat I had in my stores. I hope it’s okay.” She inhales deeply. “It smells like heaven.”
I point at the breather pinching my nose. “I can smell nothing. And I should clean off before I eat.” I dust pollen off my sleeve.
“Oh.” She looks disappointed. “Well, I can wrap them and we can eat later?”
I nod.
We gather Kim’s small amount of possessions and put them on the air-sled, and I’m irked she does not have more than this. She puts the loaves in a thermal wrap to keep them warm and cradles them on her lap as I drive, and I cannot help but notice that this bundle is almost bigger than her bundle of possessions. I should buy Kim more clothing, I think. More trinkets. More everything.
I strip off my clothes in the barn and head into the house naked, not wanting more pollen inside than can be avoided. By the time I clean off, I feel better, my sour mood vanishing like steam. Tonight, we will begin weapon practice. She is probably tired, but some things cannot wait. Then I must be prepared to sleep elsewhere, if she is uncomfortable with my presence in her bed. I will take this as slow as I need to with Kim. There is no rush for anything.
I emerge from the shower and head into the bedroom, only to run into Kim in the closet.
“Oh.” She blushes and averts her gaze from my body. “I didn’t—I wasn’t thinking you were coming in here—I’ll leave—”
“You can stay. I only need fresh clothing.” I rub a towel over my mane, soaking up the water, and move to the far side of the closet. “I cleaned out that half for you.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs, and her tone sounds distracted.
“Is all well?” I ask, rubbing more water out of my mane and then dragging the cloth over my arms and chest. “Are you too tired to train tonight?”
“No, it’s fine.”
When I glance over, she looks away and hurries out of the closet. I glance down at my naked form. There are scars on my torso that cut through my fur, but I am still strong and fit. My thighs are like rocks and my cock hangs heavy between my legs. Truly, I see nothing alarming. Perhaps humans are uncomfortable without body coverings. I think of Kim, and how every time I have seen her, she is hiding her body. That must be it.
Well, she will be in for an unusual surprise when we start training.
I leave my tail unbrushed so she will not get the wrong idea, and put on a simple robe. We eat dinner in silence, Kim looking flustered as she picks at the meat pockets. They are good, but I prefer just the meat and force myself to swallow the thick, bready parts that do not sit well in my carnivore stomach because my mate worked so hard on them.
She takes our plates and gives me a smile as she stands up. “Cards tonight?”
I shake my head. “Tonight, we start your training.”
“Even though you’re tired?”
“Even though,” I agree. “Come. Let us head to my war room.”
Kim murmurs assent, setting the plates down in the kitchen and following me as I head through the house. I enter my war room, select training weapons from the wall, and then touch a panel. The floor shifts, the easy seating disappearing and a thick, springy pad rolling out over the floor. New walls descend from the ceiling, covered with a similar pad so we can practice in a safe environment. Kim watches all of this with awe, her mouth falling open.
“I didn’t know this was here. How much did it cost to set this up?”
I chuckle. “Many things are cheap here.”
“Not enough,” she says, and I know she is thinking of her poor farm.
I feel like a fool for bragging about my wealth. “Come. Let us get started with your training.” I fling my robe off and toss it aside. “Strip.”
“I beg your pardon?” Kim’s strangled voice raises an octave.
“Strip,” I gesture, indicating her clothing. “A true gladiator fights with no clothing for his opponent to use against him. I will teach you how to protect yourself first, and later on, we will add clothing to our practice rounds so you can know how to use it against the enemy.”
“I’m going to be fighting naked?”
“Is that a problem?”
I can tell she wars with the thought for a moment. Her throat works, and then she lifts her chin. “No. No, it’s not.” She puts her fingers to the collar of her tunic and touches the auto-fastener. It zips down her body, and then her clothing falls away. Kim swallows hard and steps out of the fabric, then turns to face me, her body pink and exposed.
And not entirely furless. She has a small patch between her thighs that I did not notice in the human porn vids I watched. I decide I like it, quite a bit. I study her hips, her legs, her arms, and notice she is soft all over. There are no cords of muscle, just more and more softness.