Chapter Nineteen

She woke up in a gown and robe, cuddled on Vikor’s lap. She rubbed her eyes. “Hey. Why am I out here?”

Vikor chuckled. “Stella wanted to change the sheets.”

“Oh. Right.” She looked over at the pool and then at Techor. He was wearing shorts and sipping an umbrellaed cocktail.

“Where are Ekron and Remark?”

“Talking shop inside. I think they are planning on how to deal with the stalking and attack situation.” He was stroking her hip.

“It’s a situation now? I thought it was an event.”

His hand smacked her hip. “Your safety is no joke.”

“It’s okay. I talked to Remark, and he said that I wasn’t actually addictive. Nothing happens when the effect wears off, except the effect wears off. Then it is just a wistful memory.” She shrugged. “That is a load off my mind. I was worried about you guys.”

“What do you mean by that?” There was a growl in his tone, and it wasn’t a sexy one.

Techor sipped at his drink and said, “She means that if she dies accidentally in this new environment we have stuck her in, she won’t feel too bad as she passes away. She knows we’ll be fine.”

“I won’t be fine. I will be the furthest thing from fine.” He was still growling.

She patted the hand on her hip. “You will be fine. You have your family, the club, your day job. You will be good. Sorry, I was just thinking about that when the bullet hit me and Ekron moved to block the third. I already have funeral arrangements made, and I guess I should find them just in case.”

“You will come to the family mausoleum.”

She looked him in the eye. “Vikor, I am not family. And we don’t have a means of becoming one. You said it yourself; we are a business. This is a business setup. Even in the BDC, it is still a business.”

He cupped her cheeks. “In this life or the next, you are with me. Are we clear?”

She stared at the intensity of his lovely eyes. “Um, clear.”

“I don’t think you understand yet. Face me.”

She looked at the fabric she was dressed in and sighed. “This is gonna be messy.”

He grinned, and his fangs flashed. “Take your time.”

She hiked up the gown, stood up, turned, and settled on his lap. He stroked her hair over her shoulders. “Such hair. It is unmistakable no matter which face you wear.”

She sat and stared at him as he cupped her hips and pulled her in close.

“Hands on the horns, pet.”

She lifted her hands, and the silk sleeves slid back. She gripped the onyx of his horns, and he grinned before he leaned in to kiss her. Vikor slid his fingers into her as their kiss deepened, and her first orgasm was embarrassingly quick. But he merely growled in approval and kept his fingers teasing her until she came again and again and then went limp.

He held her against him and stroked her back. “Your cuffs came today, pet.”

She grunted.

He laughed.

Techor was laughing softly from a few feet away. “You might want to let her rest. She’s also about to get very hungry.”

She perked up. “That sounds like me.”

Vikor held her tight. “On, no. None of that until we get your bonding set on you. That’s why you are dressed all pretty.”

“In blue.”

He laughed. “In blue. Evali is an excellent designer, and she won’t put up with his shenanigans. You can wear what you like.”

“Well, my eyes are rainbows, so I either go with or clash with everything.”

He laughed. “As long as you blend with me, I promise you can wear whatever you like.”

“It’s called blending now? I thought it was fu—” His finger stopped her words.

There was nothing else to do, so she bit him.

His eyes widened with shock. “You bit me?”

She daintily released his digit. “I’m getting hungry.”

“Soon, Drin.”

Ekron called out from inside the house. “It’s ready.”

Drin tried to sit up. “Ready?”

Vikor got up and carried her into the house. Klauz was there, wearing black slacks and a white shirt. Remark was folding napkins and set the last peacock down on the place setting.

Drin blinked. “You fold napkins?”

He grinned. “My grandmother taught me. You got a swan, and we have peacocks.”

She twisted to be set on her feet, and Vikor set her down after a quick kiss.

Drin raced around the table and examined all of the birds shaped in fabric. Klauz stopped her for a kiss, and she held onto his shirt and enjoyed the taste of him for half a minute.

“Aw, you have been exerting yourself. Dinner will be served soon.”

“I thought we were going to you.”

He laughed. “That was before you decided to adopt another cock.”

She widened her eyes in shock. “That isn’t. I am not... Oh, dear.”

Techor frowned. “Klauz, she is embarrassed by that. Deeply.”

“Someone would point it out to her eventually. She can screw all day and doesn’t get sore, achy, or chafed. That is exceptional.” Klauz stroked her hair. “And an asset when she is around other oversexed actives.”

She looked slowly around the room, and she blinked. She blinked. “Oh. Right. That would explain why the BDC took me on.”

Techor nodded. “A woman who matched my physiology was high on my list. That included my sex drive.”

Vikor nodded. “Same.”

Ekron nodded. “Same. Plus, she had to have some interest in music.”

Klauz smiled. “She had to enjoy food on an elemental level and the whole match thing.”

Remark smiled. “Same with the match aspect, but she had to have eyes I could fall into and legs for days.”

She glanced down and hiked up her skirt to look. She shrugged and let the gown swirl around her ankles again.

Klauz steered her toward the head of the table and held the chair for her. “Sit. Food is coming.”

He left and returned with a plate that looked like a circus. Vegetables were carved into animal shapes and perched on braised pieces of beef. And pork and chicken and possibly ostrich. There was a seal carved of broccoli perched on a cherry tomato.

She bit her lip as she looked at it. Klauz and Ekron brought out plates for the others. Wine was poured, and she waited for everyone else. Ekron raised his glass. “To Remark, who has signed up to deal with Drin on a regular basis. Watch out. She hits. She also bites.”

Remark smiled. “I will deal with it. I have been watching those legs for a decade, and having them wrapped around me was just what I needed.”

Drin covered her face with one hand and ate some vegetable animals. The meal managed to reduce her hunger by ten percent.

She was going to have to figure out who delivered. “Ekron, what is your address?”

Klauz snorted. “You are going to cheat on me with takeout?”

“Well, unless there are nine more plates in the kitchen... yeah. I burned a lot of energy.”

Klauz looked at Remark. “Did you go too long?”

She helped Remark. “It was Vikor.”

Vikor calmly ate his dinner.

She put her hand under the table and looked at the options for pizza and ice cream on her new com.

She was so enthralled that she jumped when Klauz switched her plate for a pepper steak in cream, and he kissed her neck. “Cheating on me? I am offended. I will have to find a way to punish you for your lack of faith.”

She reached for her fork and knife, but he took her knife away and tapped the steak with the fork. It went down like dominoes and formed a cursive D. She giggled. “Can I eat it now?”

“Will you apologize for thinking I would ever leave you hungry?”

She nodded. “Sorry, Klauz. I am sorry for thinking you would leave me hungry.”

“Good. After dinner, you will demonstrate your apology.”

“D-demonstrate?”

“Yeah, I am going to be thinking about how until after you are wearing our cuffs.” He massaged her shoulders. “Now, eat before it gets cold, little pet. And then we will have your next plate and the next until you are groaning.”

She forked up the first piece, and it melted in her mouth. She didn’t stop until her plate was empty. She licked it clean.

Two more plates for everyone else and five more for her, and she was finally calm and not worried about her hunger.

She got up and carried off the dishes to the kitchen. Stella was startled. Drin shrugged. “What? I have waited tables before.”

“You just look so... fluffy.”

Drin giggled. “I can also do electrical and plumbing if there is an issue. I have my ticket for the electrical and finished my apprenticeship in plumbing. I don’t like it, but I can do it.”

Stella stared. “You are serious.”

Drin straightened and pulled her other face on. “This is what I normally look like.” The elf face resumed. “Being around the guys makes me look like this.”

“Why?”

“They provide an energy I can’t get elsewhere and make me happy. This is my happy face.”

Stella smiled. “Ekron makes you happy?”

“Vikor makes me happy. Ekron is like an annoying friend who wants to get into my pants and is very good at it. Techor relaxes me because I relax him. For Klauz, I am a woman who will eat everything rich and calorie-filled and ask for more. And for Remark, I am something to tick off a want list, I think. I am not sure about that.”

Stella loaded the dishwasher. “You can ask him.”

“I will. When I get up the nerve.”

“I meant now. He’s right behind you.”

She turned slowly, and Remark was there with the rest of the dishes perched on his arm. “A want list?” His voice was amused.

“I don’t know why.”

Stella took the dishes and muttered, “Take it outside.”

Remark took her literally, lifted Drin off her feet and carried her outside via the dining room.

Vikor asked what that was about, but Remark walked outside and pressed her against one of the support pillars near the pool.

He stared at her with his moss-green eyes blazing. “You don’t know why?”

She looked at him with a frown and caressed his cheek. “I don’t know why. I don’t know why for any of you. We didn’t meet at a coffee shop and play an attraction game. You saw me as Vaka’s friend and developed an interest. It was so much easier when I was on dates. Then I knew all the rules. At the end of the date, it was over. All over.”

He touched her cheek. “And what else.”

She let out a whine. “I don’t understand. Do I need to go to analytics? Am I giving off some kind of pheromone? A radiating signal? Can I stop it? Can I start it? I don’t understand.”

He looked at her, and understanding lit his expression. “Aw, honey. You have spent your lifetime with another face, hiding from yourself. You can’t see what you are because you have been hiding what you are. It looks like you need to go into active training.”

She sniffled. “Metabolics don’t get active training.”

“Then, you have become something else. We will go to the active centre, and you will be run through diagnostics, and they will tell you what you are, and I will run through the same tests, and they will tell us why we fit.”

Vikor’s voice was soft. “And I will be there, Klauz will be there, and Ekron will be signing autographs... And Techor will be at work. And we will all be there, and we will help you find out why, and if the answer is just because we want you, you will have to accept it.”

She bit her lip and felt her features flickering rapidly. “The behavioural department of Z-Tech can probably do the testing.”

Ekron smiled. “Send Arcady a message and ask her.”

“I need a minute.”

“Take it.”

She looked at Remark. “Let me down, please.”

He nodded and slowly let her slide toward the ground, but he licked her ear on the way down. She squealed and gasped, wriggling against him.

“Oh, that is what they do.” He chuckled.

Techor murmured, “It is a lot more fun if you just suck on the tip. She goes crazy.”

Klauz was looking at them. “Pretty sure she can cum from that alone. Will enjoy trying that.”

She slipped out of Remark’s grip and ran across the yard to make her call. Arcady was amused but supportive. She knew what she was and enjoyed it, but she understood Drin’s problems. Khytten had issues with being bullied as well. Arcady’s friend Tirra had spent a lot of time hiding herself until she finished her last activation. She got what Drin was trying to explain.

“I will run it past Zera and then set the appointments for you. Can you come in before work starts Monday if the docs agree?”

“Yeah. I think so. One of them can probably bring me.”

“Make sure it is one that doesn’t mind demonstrating your absorption capability. I will call you back.” Arcady chuckled.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. I am curious as to what the results will be. You are still evolving, and I wonder where it will stop.”

Drin sighed. “Before I start screwing them in public, I hope. That urge is hitting hard.”

“Meh. Folks get less excited than you think if you are wearing the right outfit. If you have any kind of a skirt that can hide what is going on, you can get away with a lot.” Arcady was completely confidently casual when she said that.

“Good to know. I wasn’t paying attention to that course in basic training.”

“It is something you either want to do or you don’t. I like getting bitten, and luckily, that isn’t too awkward.” She smiled. “Everybody has something that arouses them, drives them. For you, it is the guys around you. For me, it starts with Kritz, and that leaves room to burn myself out with others.”

“Do you ever feel bad that you have more than one partner?”

Arcady chuckled. “I did at first, and then, Kritz told me he didn’t mind, and he actually meant it. When I was sure of that, he became the rock at my back, and he encourages me to run around as much as I like as long as he is where I put my head at night.”

Drin jolted. That is what Vikor wanted. He wanted to be where she ran to and where she put her head at night.

“Oh, okay. I will be waiting for your call.”

“Should be about an hour for all the calls, but Zera is the first call. That answer will be quick. Relax. This is easy. Getting used to it is hard. Relax, sweetie. You will be fine.”

“Thanks.”

The call ended, and Drin turned to see her five lined up and watching her. She smiled and looked at Klauz. “Did I miss dessert?”

He cocked his head. “You had dessert.”

She ran to Vikor and jumped into his arms. “Hello, dessert.”

He was startled and stared at her. “What is this about?”

“Well, Arcady told me that public sex is fine as long as I was wearing something that would conceal the actual connection. I think this gown qualifies.”

He quirked his lips. “Here? It is not very public.”

“First, I thought I would try it around people I trust.” She looked into his blue eyes.

His expression grew soft. “Then I think we should try it.”

She smiled and kissed him, holding his head and pretending he was the only person in the world. In those sweet minutes, he was.

After working her way through all five of her fellas, she curled up on the couch. Ekron sat next to her and then rested his head on her lap. “It took a lot of courage for you to do that.”

“What, not scream when Techor and Klauz double-teamed me? I told you that would happen.”

He laughed and stroked her knees. “I mean, had all of us with the others watching, and we were really watching.”

She sighed and ran her fingers through his golden hair. “It was like ripping the wrapping off.”

“How do you feel about it?”

Drin chuckled. “Pleasantly tingly. You?”

He chuckled. “I feel great. We all feel great. Even Klauz felt great before he had to return to work.”

She sighed. “Good.”

“But how do you feel?”

Drin thought about it. “Pleasantly full. Not hungry.”

She kept stroking his head with her fingertips. “So, I just have to show up for the music awards?”

“Yeah, you and I will leave here, get to the red carpet, stand for the press, and be herded into the event space. I will leave you for a few minutes to perform a song during the ceremonies, and a seat filler will drop in next to you until I return. After that, we just wait for my category to be called, and if I win, we head out to celebrate with the guys.”

She chuckled. “Sounds good. What do we do if you don’t win?”

“Pity sex in the back of the car?” He looked up at her hopefully.

“Definitely.” She continued to stroke his hair. “By the end of the night, I will turn that frown upside down.”

“I am really hoping that I don’t win.”

She laughed, and her com chirped. She answered it. “Hello?”

Zera’s voice came through the line with no visual. “Drin, I hear you want to find out why you are the way you are.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Get your ass to Z-Tech. I will start right now. Bring one of your harem and a swimsuit. We are going to float you.”

“Oh. Uh. Right now?”

“Right now.”

“Okay. I am on my way. See you soon, Zera.”

She disconnected the call and tapped Ekron on the head. “Get up. I have to see if you got me a swimsuit.”

“Oh, I did. It’s a fun one. Let’s go look.” He sat up and offered his hand. She took his hand, and they walked to his bedroom, where he had put her new clothes in his closet.

He pulled out a laced dress and shoes and then had a swimsuit dangling from his fingers. “Grab a bag, and let’s go.”

He grinned and held out a designer purse large enough to hold the bikini.

She stuffed the tiny suit into the purse and got dressed. When she was ready to go, Ekron was dressed and grinning.

Drin headed for the front door, blinking at the stretch SUV limo already loaded with three out of five of her guys. Ekron put a hand on the small of her back. “Come on, pet. We don’t want to keep Zera waiting.”

“She said to bring one.”

The guys inside the car raised their hands and said, “I am one.”

“Oh, for pity’s sake.” She was hauled in and landed on Remark. He pulled her onto his lap and spent the entire trip sniffing her.

When they got to Z-Tech, Torun was waiting for them.

“Ah, little Drin. Zera told me about that little trick of yours. You owe me a date.”

Drin hid behind Vikor. Vikor chuckled. “She met the terms of your date contract, and she owes you nothing. Nice try, though. She’s definitely someone you don’t want to miss out on. Too bad you did.”

Torun’s eyes went wide, and then, he laughed. “I see. Well, Zera wants to see your mouse inside. Come on. We are cleared through security.”

They headed inside, and Drin held onto Vikor’s hand. It was time to get to the bottom of why she was the way she was and if she would become something else.

It was time to become the experiment.