9. Andi

9

ANDI

T he minute she saw the dining room, Andi understood why Shanna had offered the bribe—it was huge, with a table that looked like it could seat a hundred people at least. If Shanna hadn't asked to be seated by the head of the Ruling Collective, they surely would have been lost in the crowd.

The servant in the frilly apron and short-shorts led them to one end of the vast table and nodded courteously at Shanna.

"Your seat, my Queen. Would you like some help to strap your male-wife in?"

"Yes, of course—I can't strap him in myself!" Shanna said, looking annoyed. "Rux, sit!" she added, pointing to the chair the servant had offered her.

Rux sat at once and Andi saw that the dining chairs around the table were all extra large and extra deep. They also all had leather straps on the arms and legs. As soon as Rux sat, the servant went to work strapping his wrists to the chair's arms and his ankles to its legs. When he was finished, he offered the chair to Shanna yet again.

"Your throne, my Queen. Would it please you to sit?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you." Shanna seated herself on her male-wife's lap and got comfortable. "This is lovely—now help my friend," she told him, nodding at Andi.

"Of course, my Queen." The servant turned to Andi and Thrax, who was standing right behind her. "If you would be so good as to have your male-wife sit in your seat?" he asked, indicating the chair right beside Shanna's.

"Oh, of course. Thrax?" Andi looked up at her partner, only to see that Thrax was having a very strange reaction.

His golden eyes had gone wide and he was staring at the straps on the dining chair with something like horror. It was as though the servant had offered him a seat filled with deadly snakes.

"Thrax?" Andi went to him and put a hand on his bare chest, trying to find out what was going on. Her palm landed on the left side and she was suddenly aware that she could feel his heart—it was drumming at an incredibly fast rate.

She frowned. Something about this situation was freaking out her normally unflappable partner. Andi had never seen him look like this—there was a haunted, hunted look in his golden eyes that twisted her heart for some reason. What was going on?

"Thrax?" she asked for the third time. "What is it? What's wrong?"

He shook his head, his eyes never leaving the chair.

"Straps," he managed to get out at last. "Don't like to be restrained."

"Really?" This was something Andi hadn't known about the big Hybrid. But then she remembered his strange question during their briefing with Commander Sylvan when he'd demanded to know if he had to wear a pain collar or be tied up in any way. It must be some kind of phobia he'd never disclosed to her.

"My Queen, will you be much longer? I have other guests which I must assist." The servant sounded impatient.

"You go ahead," Andi told him, still looking at her partner. "I can manage on my own, thanks."

"Fine." The servant flounced off, his frilly apron shaking but Andi barely noticed. She was still focused on Thrax.

The big Hybrid still looked close to panic and she wanted to reassure him—though he certainly had never needed reassurance before. She'd seen him face down a three-headed Trollox without an ounce of fear but he was still staring at the straps on their dining chair like someone had shown him the gateway to Hell. And under her hand, his heart was still galloping in his chest.

"Hey, Thrax, look at me," she murmured. "Look down here—come on, big guy."

Her soft tone seemed to get through to him somehow and he dragged his eyes away from the chair and finally met her gaze.

"Hey, it's okay," Andi told him. "If you don't want to be strapped down, I won't let them strap you down. We can just pretend, okay?"

"Well…" He cleared his throat and suddenly the look of fear on his face was replaced by a look of shame, quickly followed by his usual scowl. "Right. Fine," he growled. "Sorry, I just…don't fucking like restraints."

"I got that." Andi nodded. "And it's not a problem, believe me." She took her hand off his chest and entwined her fingers with his instead. Tugging gently, she nodded at the table. "Come on, let's sit down before someone grabs our seat."

She said this because she could see another couple talking to one of the other servants and pointing at the chair beside Shanna. Clearly this was the desirable end of the table—probably because Pantyitch Tieradaughter and her male-wife were getting seated at the head of the table which was only two chairs down. The head of the Ruling Collective was settling herself in her spouse's lap with regal disregard for everyone around her, pretending not to notice that most of the people around her were looking at her.

Andi could see the servant was nodding—they were about to lose their seat! She tugged again and this time Thrax came with her, which was a good thing. He was so big she never could have moved him if he didn't want to go.

"Sorry, this seat is taken," she said, brushing past the couple and the servant. Pointing to the chair she said, "Sit," to Thrax, just as Shanna had told her male-wife.

Still scowling, Thrax sat. Then he raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Well?"

Andi played her part and sat in her partner's lap, though it felt strange to do so. Of course, she and Thrax were affectionate with each other—she often sat on the arm of his chair and she wasn't shy about asking for a boost when she was getting into the long-range shuttle, which was high off the ground—but this was the first time she'd sat in his lap. It was a little awkward—especially considering that he'd just been sucking her nipples a few minutes ago.

No, don't think about that! Andi told herself quickly. Think about the mission. Who in this room might know where Commander Kier is?

"Oh, there you are." Shanna said, breaking into Andi's desperate train of thought. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to. Why did it take you so long to sit down? You almost lost your seat to Queen Thingybottom and her awful male-wife Lisp!"

"Queen Thingybottom?" Andi had to abruptly keep herself from laughing.

"Yes, she's awful. All she ever wants to talk about is how rich she is. I just can't stand women who flaunt their wealth!" Shanna made a face. "Last time I had to sit by her, she went on and on about how she was going to visit a special Conception Center where they have all kinds of ‘designer seed' so she could work with a Conception Specialist to choose just the right DNA for her baby."

Andi's ears perked up at once.

"Designer seed?" she asked. "But…if she's going to get pregnant, why doesn't she just, uh, have sex with her husband? I mean, her male-wife?"

"Let her male-wife get her pregnant?" Shanna's eyes widened in disbelief. "My dear Andi—you have a lot to learn. No one on Salacious Delta gets pregnant by their male-wife! That's unheard of! Besides, Queen Thingybottom has Lisp locked in permanent chastity. She says she finds him easier to control that way."

"Er…locked in what?" Andi asked. This place was getting more and more bizarre by the minute, she thought.

"In chastity. She locked his penis in a cage," Shanna explained patiently. "So he can never penetrate her or even get hard. It's all the rage this season—I've even thought of doing it to Rux. But I find I like teasing him too much." She wiggled her bottom, which was firmly planted on her male-wife's lap and Rux gave out a faint groan. "See?" She grinned at Andi. "Try it—it's fun to tease them!"

"Oh, er…" Feeling extremely awkward, Andi copied her actions, wiggling her hips as she pressed against Thrax's groin.

Almost at once she felt something hot and hard growing under her ass and Thrax's big hands gripped the chair arms so tightly his knuckles turned white. A muffled, "Fuck, Andi!" drifted to her ears and she knew she was definitely having an effect on her partner.

"There, see?" Shanna giggled. "Who would want to lock their male-wife in chastity when you can tease them instead? I just love tease and denial games. Poor Rux is always getting all worked up and then I don't allow him to come."

"Is that…a normal thing to do here?" Andi asked uncertainly. "I mean, is it part of the, er, Female-led lifestyle?"

"It can be. It's an excellent way to train your male-wife," Shanna assured her. "It's one reason we use our male-wives as chairs. The more you rub against him without letting him come, the more he knows who's in charge. Look—even Queen Pantyitch does it."

She nodded at the head of the table where the leader of the Ruling Collective was indeed rubbing her behind against her male-wife's groin in a leisurely fashion. There was a stoic look on his face, as though he was used to this kind of treatment, Andi noted.

She wondered how Thrax would feel if she kept rubbing against him. She also wondered if the lump she felt under her ass was going to get any bigger—it already felt enormous . How big was her partner when he was fully hard, anyway? Andi had never seen him naked—though she couldn't help noticing he was packing quite a weapon in his tight leather trousers. She'd heard that the Kindred were all hung like horses and it seemed that Thrax was no exception.

She pushed the thought away, telling herself she ought to be ashamed. They were here to find Commander Kier, not to get off on each other like a couple of horny teenagers!

"So where did, uh, Queen Thingybottom go to get the designer seed?" she asked Shanna, trying to steer the conversation in a productive direction.

Shanna shrugged.

"Some new conception center on the Northern Continent. She told me the name, but I forgot it. Apparently they stock seed from males all over the galaxy. She was going on and on about how it's always fresh—never frozen—and they get it from only the best specimens. They milk them right there on the spot, you know, so you can be sure you're getting the seed you're promised from the male you choose—as if that makes a difference." She sniffed disdainfully.

Andi felt a surge of excitement. That certainly sounded like a milking farm. She was about to ask more about it when the servants came around and served the first course.

"Oh good—speedor sandwiches!" Shanna exclaimed, taking one from the platter the servant had placed in front of them.

"What kind of sandwiches, did you say?" Andi asked doubtfully, picking one up herself. It appeared to be a section of warm, crusty blue bread. That was fine—aside from the odd color, the bread looked and smelled delicious. But… was there something moving between the two pieces? Surely not…she hoped not, anyway.

Cautiously, Andi peeled back the top layer of bread and was horrified to see an enormous purple spider sitting there on a bed of red lettuce-like leaves. Its long, hairy legs were splayed out and twitching— that was what she'd seen moving.

"What the hell?" she gasped, and dropped the sandwich on her plate, fighting the urge to jump up from the table and run away. She could handle almost anything but spiders—she hated them.

"Oh, be careful—don't let the speedor escape!" Shanna exclaimed. She was gripping her own sandwich tightly in both hands. "They make such a mess if they get loose!"

As though in answer to her question, the enormous purple spider—it looked like a tarantula to Andi—shook itself and rose up from the bed of red lettuce it had been lying on. Andi watched in horror, knowing she ought to slap the top piece of bread back down but unable to make herself do it.

What if it gets on me? What if it runs up my arm? She could just see the horribly plump purple body skittering up her arm on its long, hairy legs.

The mental image was so strong she couldn't stop herself from shrinking back against Thrax, trying to get as far from the table as she could.

Suddenly, her partner leaned forward and grabbed a sharp knife-like piece of cutlery from her place setting. With a single move, he stabbed the spider, impaling it before it could leap off her plate and cause havoc.

The speedor gave out a dying hiss and its long legs quivered for a moment before it went limp. Thrax returned his hand to the arm of the chair and Andi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," she muttered, glancing back at him.

"Not a problem," he rumbled. "Though we're going to have a problem if you keep rubbing your ass against my shaft."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Andi murmured. "I'll, uh, try to sit still."

"Oh—you killed it!" Shanna exclaimed, sounding disappointed.

Andi turned back to her dinner companion and saw that the other woman was still gripping her own sandwich tightly. Shanna must not have seen exactly what had happened since she was sitting on Andi's right side and Thrax had killed the giant spider with his left hand. So Andi's body had blocked her view.

"Sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to eat it alive," Andi said blandly.

"Oh, yes! Because the minute you kill them, they release a foul, bitter flavor," Shanna explained. "Never mind trying to eat it now—you've ruined it," she added. "Servant! My friend here has accidentally killed her speedor," she called to one of the male servants in the frilly aprons and shorts. "Can you bring her another?"

"No, no—that's okay," Andi said quickly as the servant cleared away her plate with the dead spider sandwich. "I, uh, had spiders for lunch. I'll just wait for the next course."

"Well, suit yourself." Shanna shrugged and took a large bite of her own sandwich, which was twitching in her hands. There was an awful crunching sound and a long, hairy leg was suddenly protruding from her mouth.

Andi looked away, telling herself she was absolutely, positively not going to be sick. In the three years she'd been working as a WLA agent, she'd seen a lot of alien cultures and weird customs and foods and she had never even gagged before. A spider sandwich was not going to be the thing that made her lose it. She hoped, anyway…

"Heads up, looks like the second course is here," Thrax muttered in her ear. "Let's hope it's not some kind of fucking snake soup."

Andi stifled a laugh and was suddenly glad to be so close to him, despite the awkwardness. Thrax was so dour that people often missed his dry sense of humor but Andi loved it. He cracked her up and made her smile no matter what the circumstances were. Also, she felt safe in his arms, which was a good feeling in a strange situation.

As it turned out, the next course was a kind of soup. It was a milky pale blue broth served in a large, white tureen. The smell that wafted from it was enticing and Andi thought that maybe she would get something to eat after all.

But when the servant reached over her shoulder and ladled a generous helping of the soup into her bowl, she noticed little black things floating in it. No, not just floating— swimming, she realized.

Picking up the spoon-like instrument beside her place which looked like a miniature spade, she stirred it through the broth. It was full of what looked like little black tadpoles, about as big as her fingernail.

The sight didn't fill her with horror like the spider sandwich had, but it was still disgusting. Andi was used to trying alien cuisines but she drew the line at eating something that was still alive.

"Oh, don't you like your wow-wow stew?" Shanna asked.

"My what?" Andi asked, frowning.

"Wow-wow stew," her companion answered. "It's filled with wow-wows—these little creatures are the larval stage of the main meat animal we farm down in the swamps below our cities," she added, lifting a spoon filled with wiggling black tadpoles to her mouth.

Andi had to look away as she slurped them down.

"That's fascinating," she said tightly and swallowed hard. "And it smells delicious."

"Then why aren't you eating any?" Shanna asked, frowning. "It's so tasty! And the wow-wows tickle as they slip down your throat."

"I…I can't eat anything that's still alive," Andi said quickly. "My, uh, religion forbids it."

"Oh, really?" Shanna raised her eyebrows. "And what religion is that?"

"Methodist," Andi said blandly. "Er, when do our male-wives eat?" she asked, hoping to change the subject. "Don't they get any dinner?"

"Not at a formal dining event like this one!" Shanna sounded shocked by the very idea. "You can feed your male-wife later, after the feast is over. "It would be rude to try and feed him at the table when all the other Queens are eating."

"Ah…I see." Andi nodded.

"Nice try, partner," she heard Thrax mutter in her ear. "But I'm not anxious to eat that fucking stuff either."

Andi smothered a smile. She hadn't really been trying to feed him the wow-wow stew—she'd just been looking for an excuse to change the subject.

Luckily, the soup course didn't last very long. A moment later the servants came and whisked away their bowls as well as the vast, half-full tureens.

"Oh good—it's time for the main course!" Shanna said expectantly. "Pantyitch always has the most sumptuous dishes for her mains!"

Andi just hoped that whatever came next wasn't alive. Soon enough, a servant placed a large silver platter covered in a silver dome in front of her. With a flourish, he withdrew the dome and a cloud of fragrant-smelling steam puffed out, making her stomach growl.

At first, Andi couldn't see what was on the silver platter because of the steam. The scent was delicious though—like a mixture of roast beef and bacon— and her mouth was watering. This time, as long as it wasn't alive, she really was going to try whatever it was, she promised herself. She was getting so hungry .

But when the steam finally cleared she felt a burst of disappointment. Lying on the silver platter on a bed of decorative greens was what appeared to be an alligator head as long as her forearm.

If an alligator had a huge, fleshy nose, anyway, Andi thought to herself. The dark green, scaly skin was stretched tight over the long, boney skull and the eyes were an opaque white from being cooked. Sharp, yellow teeth stuck out from between its jaws and the end of the snout was bulbous and about as big as Andi's fist. The flesh there was pink rather than green. It quivered like Jell-O when Andi poked it with the two-tined fork-like instrument beside her plate.

"Now I'm sure you can't object to this," Shanna said to her, smiling eagerly. "It's clearly dead ."

"Yes, it is," Andi agreed. "Er…what is it?"

"Oh, this is a kroc-o-wow—it's actually the grown version of the little wow-wows we had in the stew during the last course," Shanna explained. "These are juvenile specimens though—they can actually get as big as this table, when they're full-grown," she added.

"Really? As big as the table?" Andi looked down the length of the enormous dining table with surprise. She'd watched a documentary with her daughter once about a "super-croc" that had walked the Earth during the dinosaur days—a full grown kroc-o-wow would have to be that size or even bigger, she thought.

"Oh yes—they get huge," Shanna said, nodding. "That's why it's so dangerous to go down into the swamps—it's the main reason almost all our farming is done by robots."

"That makes sense." Andi nodded.

"Try it," Shanna urged. "The eyes are delicious when they've been steamed like this. But it's the snout-meat that's the real delicacy—it's so tender it just melts in your mouth!"

Andi didn't especially want to try the "snout-meat" of the kroc-o-wow at all, but it did smell good and she'd promised herself she would try it as long as it wasn't alive. She poked the gelatinous pink, fist-sized snout with her fork again and tore off a small chunk which quivered like jelly. Closing her eyes, she popped it in her mouth…and had to fight the urge to spit it right back out again.

It wasn't the flavor but the texture that bothered her. It was like pork-flavored Jell-O and when it melted, it filled her mouth with little grainy bits like gristly bacon bits. Ugh!

Andi quickly took a big gulp from her wine glass, but that turned out to be a mistake. It was filled with a liquor that tasted like salty black licorice which made her gag.

"Take it easy, there, partner," she heard Thrax mutter in her ear. "Was it that bad?"

"Worse!" Andi whispered back, putting down the cup and signaling for a servant. "Excuse me, but can I please get some water?" she asked politely when he put his head down to hear her. "As soon as possible?"

"But of course, my Queen." The servant nodded smoothly and glided away. He came back in a moment with a glass of cold, clear water, much to Andi's relief.

She drank thirstily, washing away the taste of both the kroc-o-wow snout and the black licorice liquor.

"Better now?" Thrax asked in a low voice.

"Much." Andi sat the water glass down beside her plate. "But I'm still hungry."

"Don't worry—I've got some protein bars with me," he assured her. "We'll eat some later when we get a chance."

Andi felt a surge of gratitude.

"Thanks, partner," she murmured.

"Anything for you, my Queen," was his droll reply which nearly made her snort with laughter. It occurred to her that they had been through some weird and awkward things together today but as long as they could still make each other laugh, their partnership was still strong.

"It's almost time for dessert. But you barely touched your snout meat!" Shanna said, drawing her attention back to the dinner.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I guess I'm just not very hungry," Andi lied.

"Well, it's time for dessert now anyway. So I hope your male-wife is hungry," Shanna remarked.

"What? But I thought we didn't feed our, uh, male-wives until later?" Andi protested.

"Not hungry for food—hungry for you," Shanna said. "It's tradition at a formal feast like this one that the male-wives get under the table and pleasure their Queens with their mouths as they eat dessert."

"It is?" Andi wasn't certain she'd heard that right. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am! Oh look—they're bringing the dessert plates now. As soon as the servant gives you your dessert and unstraps your male-wife, just push him under the table and let him lick you," Shanna instructed.

"Uh…" Andi wasn't sure what to say. She shifted uneasily in Thrax's lap and realized that the hard lump was back under her ass and it was bigger than ever. Was the idea of licking her turning Thrax on? Surely not…but then again, she'd heard from more than one woman who was Bonded to a Kindred warrior that they loved going down on their wives…

" Mmm …it sounds like dessert is going to be interesting," Thrax rumbled in her ear.

"Not for you," Andi whispered back. "Because you're only going to be pretending."

"Sure. Unless you want me to do more than pretend," he growled and she could hear the unmistakable desire in his deep voice.

"No! I never—" she began, but just then a servant whisked the kroc-o-wow head away and placed a large silver dish filled with what appeared to be many long green vines with thousands of tiny, bright red berries growing from them.

"Oh good, thelka-weedles!" Shanna exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Hurry and unstrap my male-wife, servant! I can't wait to try them but I must have his head between my thighs first."

The servant at Andi's side started to unstrap Thrax and saw that there was no need. She was afraid he might make a fuss about it, but he simply moved on to the next guest instead.

All around them people were standing so that the male-wives could crawl under the table. Andi stood too, feeling very uncertain as Thrax rose behind her. At the far end of the table, Queen Pantyitch rose as well.

"I hope that all of you have enjoyed the feast," she remarked in a loud voice that carried down the long table. "Please enjoy dessert as well and don't forget to remove your undergarments so that your male-wives can give you the ultimate pleasure as you eat the delectable thelka-weedles which were grown in my very own swamp garden."

"Oh yes—can't forget that!" Shanna giggled as she reached under her skirt and pulled down an extremely skimpy pair of panties. She kicked them aside and then gestured at her male-wife. "Rux—under the table," she told him. "And be sure you do a good job of tasting me. If you do, I might even let you come tonight."

Andi looked up, exchanging a glance with Thrax. The big Hybrid raised his eyebrows and nodded at her skirt. Well? Are you going to take them off? the gesture said.

Andi shook her head. No fucking way!

But then Shanna said,

"Why aren't you taking off your undergarments? Do you want to offend Queen Pantyitch?" She nodded to the head of the table and Andi noticed with discomfort that their hostess was staring right at her.

"Uh, no. No, of course not," she said quickly. Reaching under her skirt, she hooked her fingers in the stretchy elastic of her panties and tugged them down.

She'd gotten dressed in the dark that morning and had just grabbed the closest clean pair from her drawer. It embarrassed her to see that they had electric blue zebra stripes on them—God, why couldn't she have grabbed a plain white pair, which was what she usually wore?

Andi stepped out of her panties and then balled them up in her hand. She wasn't sure what to do with them until Thrax unexpectedly took them from her.

"I'll hold these for you, my Queen," he murmured. Pressing the fabric to his nose, he inhaled deeply and his eyes went half-lidded. Then he pushed the panties into the pocket of his kilt and ducked under the table with the rest of the male-wives.

Andi settled back on the chair but kept her thighs together. There was no way she was going to participate in this—it was too weird. And too uncomfortable—it would be pushing the bounds of intimacy too far, even for a strong partnership like the one she and Thrax had.

All around her, it was clear that the other women were enjoying the attentions of their male-wives. Shanna was already moaning as she raised one of the many thin green vines filled with tiny blood-red berries to her mouth.

"Good boy, Rux," she was saying, as she melted back into her seat and nibbled the berries. "Oh, that's such a good boy…"

Andi supposed that she ought to at least pretend that Thrax was pleasuring her under the table instead of just sitting down there with his long fingers wrapped around one of her ankles, which was what he was doing. But just as she was about to start moaning, something awful happened—the tabletop became completely transparent!

It happened in a flash. One minute she was staring at the silver dish filled with the weird alien dessert fruit sitting on the table and the next minute she could see right through the table. All the male-wives were visible and almost all of them had their heads pressed between their Queen's thighs. In fact, Thrax was the only exception—at least the only one that Andi could see.

Shanna could clearly see him too.

"Hey, what's going on? Why isn't your male-wife giving you oral pleasure?" she hissed at Andi. "You're going to get in trouble with Queen Pantyitch if you don't make him behave and taste you!"

Andi didn't know what to say. She was still looking down through the table and she wondered if it was see-through both ways. Apparently it was, because a moment later Thrax looked up at her and lifted his eyebrows again. So what do you want me to do now? the gesture said.

Andi knew the answer…though it made her really uncomfortable. Her ex, Brian, had never liked going down on her. He hadn't liked her scent, he said, which made her self-conscious. What if Thrax didn't like it either?

She had a quick mental flash of the big Hybrid pressing her panties to his nose and inhaling. Okay, so maybe that wouldn't be a problem but it was still damn embarrassing to let her partner put his face between her legs!

It wasn't up to her though. Queen Pantyitch was openly staring at her now with clear disapproval on her face and other women at the table were taking note of where she was looking. In a minute, the whole table would be glaring daggers at her if Andi didn't hurry up and get with the program.

"Excuse me a minute," she said to Shanna. Ducking her head under the table, she locked eyes with her partner. " Pretend ," she breathed. "That's all."

"As my Queen wishes." Thrax's golden eyes were glowing in the dimness and they were half-lidded again, just as they had been when he'd been sucking her nipples. It was a look that said, I want you, as clearly as if he'd shouted it.

Andi felt a shiver of pure desire run through her at seeing that look directed at her but she tried to push it away. They were pretending, that was all. It was going to be really bad for their partnership if they actually started something sexual, so pretending was all they could do. She tore her gaze away from her partner's and rose to sit upright again.

"Sorry about that—he just needed a little, uh, extra instruction," she said to Shanna—but loudly enough that she knew Queen Pantyitch would hear her as well. Then she leaned back in the chair, took a deep breath, and spread her thighs.