12. Andi

12

ANDI

T hey went down a long, twisty hallway with no sharp corners—only rounded curves and bends—until at last they reached another archway. The servant bowed Andi through it with Thrax trailing behind and she soon found herself in another large, rounded room filled with people who had tall, blue fluted glasses in their hands.

There were lots of low couches scattered around and many of the women were lounging on them. Or rather, they were lounging on their male-wives, who were sitting on the couches—the women were using them as chairs, just as they had at dinner. Apparently it was beneath a Queen of Salacious Delta to sit on a piece of furniture herself—her male-wife must sit on it first and then she could sit on him.

Andi accepted one of the tall, fluted blue glasses from a servant passing with a tray of them and gave the contents a dubious sniff. Since she didn't catch even a whiff of licorice, she took a tiny sip and found to her delight that the liquor was actually good—if rather strong. It had a taste like burnt sugar and violets—a surprisingly delicious combination.

"Where's Queen Itchy-Panties?" Thrax growled in her ear and Andi nearly spit out her drink.

"Thrax! Don't say it like that," she scolded under her breath, trying not to laugh. Even though she was mad at him—she thought she was anyway—he still cracked her up.

A moment later, Queen Pantyitch found them, however.

"Oh, there she is!" Andi heard a voice say and then someone was waving her over to the far side of the room. It was the head of the Ruling Collective herself, sitting on her male-wife, who was in turn, sitting on one of the couches.

Andi walked over with a smile on her face.

"Hello, thank you for the invitation. I'm Andrea Elladaughter," she said, nodding in what she hoped was a polite way.

"Yes, yes—I asked your name before I invited you. Do have a seat beside me." Queen Pantyitch patted the couch beside her and Andi started to sit down before remembering that Thrax was supposed to sit first so she could lounge in his lap.

"Thrax—sit!" she said forcefully, just as she'd seen Shanna commanding her own male-wife, Rux.

The big Hybrid sat at once and Andi sat in his lap. However, this time Thrax wasn't content just to be sat on like a piece of furniture. Instead of remaining still, he immediately put his arms around her and pulled her closer. Andi wanted to protest but she was afraid it might look like she didn't have control of her male-wife, so she did her best to relax in her partner's arms and act natural.

Luckily, Queen Pantyitch didn't comment, though she did raise her eyebrows delicately at the possessive way Thrax was holding Andi.

"My dear, I've been watching you," she said to Andi. "And I'm impressed by how well you've trained your male-wife. He seems to genuinely enjoy giving you pleasure—which isn't always the case, I'm sorry to say."

"But I thought the swamp gas—I mean the Fume—made all the men here submissive?" Andi asked, raising her eyebrows.

"So it does, but not all of them actually want to be submissive and serve their Queens as they should," Queen Pantyitch said. "However, your male seems to want to serve you—especially sexually."

"He, uh, certainly does," Andi said, feeling uncomfortable.

Even now she could feel the lump of Thrax's cock growing under her bottom again. What was going on with him? Was the Fume actually making him sexually submissive to her? But if he was actually submissive, wouldn't he show it by obeying her and not going too far instead of by going down on her and making her come three times in a row in public? It was all very confusing…

"What breed of male is he?" Queen Pantyitch asked, her sharp green eyes roving over Thrax's big form. "Does he have any Kindred blood, perchance?"

Andi perked up immediately.

"As a matter of fact, he's a Dae'mon Kindred," she said, nodding. "How did you know?"

"Oh, I can spot a Kindred from a parsec away, my dear. They make excellent male-wives because they already have an innate devotion to females and all things feminine," Queen Pantyitch said, nodding. "So they love to serve their women. Especially orally ."

Andi felt a burst of disappointment—she'd been sure the other woman was going to say something about how the Kindred were good "seed producers" or something like that. She couldn't say why, but she had a feeling that the head of the Ruling Collective might know something about the milking farm they were looking for.

"They also make excellent milkers," Queen Pantyitch continued and Andi perked up again.

"Milkers?" she asked with studied casualness. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Oh, it's a little enterprise I've recently gotten involved in—a facility where we harvest and sell the seed of unusual specimens like your male-wife," the other woman said. "We pride ourselves on only selling the best and freshest designer seed. Technically it's a conception center but we like to call it our little ‘milking farm.'" She laughed as though it was some kind of joke.

Andi was tense inside now but she forced herself to remain relaxed in Thrax's lap.

"I see. It sounds like a very…profitable industry to be in," she remarked.

"Oh, it is! Women from all over the galaxy have been flocking to us to be impregnated by studs from our stable! And they pay a premium price," Queen Pantyitch continued. "So of course, I'm always looking for new studs—males who are big producers. Tell me, does your Thrax produce much seed when you allow him to come?"

Andi cleared her throat.

"Er, well it's been a long time since I allowed him the privilege of an orgasm," she said. "But yes, when I do let him come, you wouldn't believe all the, uh, seed he makes. Just gallons. Or, er, whatever unit of measurement you use that means a lot," she added.

"Indeed. I'm not surprised—Kindred are almost always big producers." Queen Pantyitch nodded thoughtfully. "Well here's the thing—we've decided to do a few limited runs—offering especially exotic seed that is only available for a very short time. And I think your male-wife would be a perfect fit."

Thrax stirred restlessly and Andi wondered what her partner was thinking about this proposal. Unfortunately, she couldn't ask him since it would look wrong for her to consult with her supposedly submissive male-wife.

"That sounds interesting," she said carefully. "What's the, er, compensation like?"

"Oh, it's more than generous, I assure you! And your male-wife would only have to produce a couple of times since we would be doing a limited time offer with his seed."

"I see." Andi nodded. "Out of curiosity, do you have any other Kindred ‘producers' there?" she asked.

"Actually, yes. We have one big fellow—even bigger than your male-wife, if you can believe it. I think he has some Giant Kindred blood in him. Anyhow, he's become our prize milker—he produces so much. And of course, with his genetic background, his seed is always in demand.

"We had difficulty selling it at first because women had some trouble conceiving with Kindred seed. But then we learned the secret—a woman using Kindred seed must be pleasured as she is inseminated. And now it's the most popular seed we sell!"

Bingo! Andi knew for certain now that the elusive milking farm was where Commander Kier was being held. Now she and Thrax just had to get to it and rescue him.

"How interesting," she said with studied casualness. "Well, I might see my way clear to offering my male-wife's seed if the price is right. But I'd like to see the facility first before I make up my mind."

"Oh, of course. We'd be happy to give you a tour." Queen Pantyitch nodded graciously.

"Wonderful! Then just give me the coordinates and I'll fly there as soon as possible," Andi told her.

But the other woman frowned and shook her head.

"Oh no—I couldn't possibly do that. The location of the milking farm is secret. You see, we've had so much trouble with industrial espionage—other conception centers trying to steal our stock—it's just ridiculous. Why, we had to move from the Southern Continent to the Northern Continent just to find peace!"

Andi remembered that Commander Sylvan had thought the milking farm was on the Southern Continent of Salacious Delta—possibly the information he'd received was old.

"All right," she said. "But if you won't give me the coordinates, how am I supposed to get there?"

"Oh, you can ride with me, my dear. I'm going up there tonight and I'll bring you with me. You can tour the facility and spend the night. If you decide to sell us your male-wife's seed, we'll milk him several times and then I'll bring you back to your ship the next day. What do you say?"

Andi frowned. What could she say? On one hand, she didn't want to offer Thrax to be "milked" which didn't sound like a very pleasant procedure at all. On the other hand, this might be their only opportunity to find the hidden location of the milking farm and rescue Commander Kier.

Of course, Commander Sylvan had told them to let him handle the matter diplomatically, but it seemed obvious to Andi that no amount of diplomacy was going to convince Queen Pantyitch to give up her prize "stud."

Still, she hesitated. She couldn't consult Thrax—not even silently because Queen Pantyitch would see her making eye contact and wonder why she was looking at her male-wife when she ought to be making the decision all by herself. What should she do?

"All right," she said at last, nodding. After all, she could always back out at the last minute if Thrax objected. "We'll come with you to tour the facility. But my male-wife doesn't have to contribute if I don't want him to—correct?"

"Certainly—it's completely up to you," Queen Pantyitch assured her. "Well then—shall we go?"

"What—right now?" Andi asked, surprised. She'd been expecting to be able to get some free time to talk to Thrax before she actually committed them completely. But it didn't look like she was going to get it.

"Yes, I'm finished here. It's time I was back at the milking farm," the other woman said briskly. "I'm supposed to meet my business partner there tonight—we have matters to discuss."

"Your business partner? Who is she?" Andi asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't know her. And besides, she prefers if I don't spread her name around. She's what you might call a silent partner ." Queen Pantyitch waved a hand dismissively. "Now come—I'm in a hurry." She was already rising and beckoning for her male-wife to follow her.

"But…I don't have anything with me for an overnight stay," Andi protested. "If you'd just let me go back to my ship for supplies?—"

"No need," Queen Pantyitch cut her off. "I can supply everything you need—both for you and your male-wife. Now, come."

She was already leaving the room and Andi felt that she had no choice but to follow her. Clearly the head of the Ruling Collective was used to being obeyed.

Andi rose and cast a look over her shoulder at Thrax. Their eyes met and she raised her eyebrows. Should we?

Thrax shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under the abbreviated leather shirt he wore. Looks like we already are, the gesture said.

It reassured Andi and she nodded. This was clearly the best chance they were going to get to rescue Commander Kier—they'd better take it.

Andi followed Queen Pantyitch and her male-wife out of the room with Thrax close behind her.

She had no idea she and her partner were walking into a nightmare.