2. Sloane

two

Sloane

T he transport drops me off at the shipyard, where everyone is milling about, minding their own business. My driver points me in the direction I need to go, and then I push through the crowds of people, aliens, and others in the direction of the docked ships. I've never been up to the shipyard because I've never had a reason to. No point in paying for transport to bring me up here if I have nowhere to go except back down to Earth.

Now, I'm enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells. It's like a shopping mall, in a way. There are lots of small stores selling clothing, food, and other items someone might need but not want to go all the way planet side to get.

There are also so many different species up here. I'm surprised since this isn't even a very large station, but I've seen some aliens I don't even know the name of. I mean, that's most of them since there are hundreds of species in the Intergalactic Alliance alone. Still, I thought I was pretty well-researched when it came to alien species, and it's clear now that I'm not.

As I make my way through the crowd, I almost stop and get a delicious-smelling snack from one of the small vending booths. I stop myself, thinking I don't want my breath to smell when I meet the aliens I'm about to be servicing for the foreseeable future. The vendor's snacks smell like garlic and chili, and that is not the smell my breath needs when I'm trying to be sexy. At least not for the first time.

I'm just about to tell myself that I'm completely and totally lost when I see a tall, yellow alien woman holding a sign with my name scrawled across it. I narrow my eyes at her, taking in her appearance and trying to decide if she's friendly or not.

She's tall, for starters, at least a couple of inches over six feet. Her black hair is tied back in a bun that sits between two horns that spiral upwards in dark peaks. Her frame is slight, but I've learned that doesn't mean she isn't strong.

I've seen a few aliens who I thought I could take in a fight, which definitely proved to me I could not. Okay, maybe not an actual fight, but more of a tussle-in-the-sheets kind of thing.

She wears dark cargo pants that hang loosely from her hips. Her stomach is visible because the white tank top she's wearing stops a couple of inches above her belly button. There's a holster wrapped over her shoulders, but I can't see behind her for what it's holding.

She notices me eyeballing her and points to the sign with a finger on her six-finger hands. I nod, accepting that I'm the woman she's looking for. She beams at me and runs to wrap an arm around my shoulder.

"Sloane Parker, human crew," she says it like she doesn't know I'm actually the pleasure crew, which means Via may have already made this so much more difficult than it needs to be. "I'm Essa Bylath, Haventh crew."

I clear my throat, staring up at the yellow woman that I am now realizing is more of a golden color. Her skin seems to sparkle under the light, and it's strange to see skin that sparkles. "Actually, I'm pleasure crew."

Essa stops moving. Her smile seems to twist into something more akin to the way a cat might look at a mouse before it's caught. Her thin tail with a little poof of black hair at the end wraps around my ankle. I startle, not realizing that she has a tail to go along with the rest of her appearance. My reaction doesn't seem to phase her in the least, though.

"Via told me she was sending the human crew and the pleasure crew. I assumed she meant they were two different people." Essa looks me up and down in an assessing way like I did to her.

I'm wearing a loose pair of pants that make my ass look good and a t-shirt with a low v to accentuate my best feature—my boobs. I know what I'm joining this crew to do, and I have no issues with it. Being under Essa's scrutiny is making me feel embarrassed, though.

Well, it is until her smile grows, and she turns back around. "They're going to lose their minds."

I take a moment to register her words as she starts to direct me toward a spaceship. "In a good way or a bad way?"

"Which would you prefer?" Essa asks, her brow cocking in a way that tells me she's genuinely curious.

Now that her tail is wrapped around my ankle, she's let my shoulder go and is walking in front of me. She looks back every once in a while to make sure I'm still there, even though her tail is locked on me.

With her a step or two ahead of me, I can see all the weapons secured to her body. A blaster on her right hip. The blades on her thighs and the sword on her back. The muscles in her arms flex when anyone moves too close to us, and it's clear she's one of those species that's stronger than they let on. It's not scary, though, not when she only seems to be watching out for me. It's comforting since it seems she's taken to me in an instant.

I narrow my eyes at her, wondering if maybe I can convince her to give me a blaster even though Via says I'm not allowed. I don't even need one, but there's something about being told I can't have something that only makes me want it more.

"No blasters for the pleasure crew," Essa says as she notices me looking at the blaster on her hip. "Now, do you prefer they lose their minds in a good way or a bad way? We need to know this before we go in because if you want good and I go for bad, things could end up being no fun for anyone."

"Good," I answer before she gets another second to think I could want it to be bad.

We're moving straight toward a ship docked in the loading bay. It doesn't look like much from the outside. In fact, it looks a little rusted over and beat up. I'm hoping the shoddy appearance of the ship is because this crew works undercover as smugglers. Because I really don't want to die on a rickety ship on my first adventure off Earth.

"I want them to lose their mind in a good way. I want this job."

Essa stops again, throwing her head back to laugh long and hard. When she sees the seriousness on my face, she laughs even louder. This time, she grabs her knees and lets the laughs take all the air from her. She laughs so loud and for so long that someone from the spaceship we're approaching comes out.

The male looks pretty much human, but he's wearing leather and furs like he's from a more primitive time period. His blond hair is pulled back into a bun, and his beard is trimmed. He has swirling, intricate blackwork tattoos covering his arms, legs, and torso. They might be his skin markings since quite a few alien species have decorative markings on their skin instead of having to tattoo them like some humans do. One of his hands is on his blaster, and the other is on his hip like he's unsure what he's supposed to do right now.

I hate that I'm already a little disappointed if that's one of the males I'm here to service. I'm a fan of the more alien-looking aliens. If I'm going to sleep with someone who looks human, he might as well be human at that point. Unless, of course, he's packing something fun in his pants.

Essa notices the male and waves him away with a flick of her wrist. He pauses for just a moment and then heads back inside. I'm sure he'll tell everyone else on the ship that Essa is back with their new crew member.

"You have this job. They are little weaklings for the females sent to pleasure them," Essa says as she looks over at the ship. "I say this because you're not one of their kind, so you may be surprised by how they act. They're good males. They won't send you away, and they'll be so happy to have you on this ship, even if they try very hard to hide that fact."

Essa looks over at the ship again. This time, I do, too, and notice that a whole handful of people are now outside, all watching us with observing eyes. "You're the only female?"

"Not anymore." Essa nudges me with her elbow, and we're back to walking toward the crew. She leans close to my ear and whispers, "The Varons are the two you'll be servicing." She watches my face and then amends her statement when she realizes I don't know what a Varon looks like. "The two purple ones."

The two purple ones, as in the two enormous four-armed behemoth-looking males with three eyes and what looks to be about a dozen blades strapped all over their bodies. Both of them have bright white hair, one of them keeping it cropped short and the other letting it grow out so it hangs over his forehead and around his ears.

Of course, there's not a single shirt between the two. I can see the ridges of all their muscles, not missing how they flex when my eyes land on them. They already know I'm part of the pleasure crew, or they want to show off for fun. Either way, I don't hate the preening.

"Our newest member!" Essa shouts as we approach the ship.

Everyone's silent, waiting for her to introduce me, and I know she's savoring every single moment of making them wait. I shoot her a look, and she slides her eyes to mine before giving me a wink.

"Watch them," she whispers before making her voice much louder. "May I introduce Sloane Parker, human and pleasure crew."

I don't miss how the two purple males tense and then look at one another. They shuffle on their feet, drawing my attention lower until I realize why they both now seem so uncomfortable. I catch sight of one rock-hard, massive erection the shaggy one is sporting before the lower pair of hands from both of them snap down to cover their growing interest in me. The top pair of arms cross over their chests where their pale lavender skin has colored a deeper shade of purple.

"Jovi and Alik, to the entertainment room," Essa says as everyone takes a moment to size me up.

No one approaches me, not like Essa did. They all eye me warily like they aren't sure what to do with me. According to the handbook, I don't have to interact with anyone except for the males I'm hired to be with, but that doesn't mean I want them to all ignore me. This trip will be a real downer if they don't want to hang out, and I'm not the best at keeping myself entertained without other people. Instead of focusing on that, I let Essa lead me into the spaceship.

From the outside, the ship looks a little run down, which fits, considering Via told me they act as smugglers for their missions. The inside, though, is so clean but still decorated like this is their home.

On the walls of the ship, there are a few pictures of the five crew members. A couple have only the Varons and Essa in them, all three of them looking more youthful. The reptilian-looking crew mate and then the human-looking male are added in photographs, showing the progression of how their crew grew to what it is now. I stare at them for a minute, wanting to ask so many questions. There'll be time for that later.

Essa tugs on my ankle with her tail, leading me deeper inside. I expected lots of chrome and white paneling, maybe a few blinking lights in an assortment of colors. And sure, that's there, but it's homey still.

I'm led down a hallway through an automatic door that opens into a large room filled with two dark sofas, a couple of recliners, and a black, plush loveseat. They're all pointing toward one wall, and I notice it's a giant comm screen, perfect for watching movies on.

My eyes must show my pleasure because Essa releases my ankle and lets me explore. Fuzzy, brightly colored rugs cover the metal flooring. Soft, colorful blankets lie on the backs of almost every piece of furniture. And I don't miss the giant bean bag in one corner begging to be jumped in.

"Can I?" I ask, looking at how over-stuffed and fluffed the beanbag is and wanting to ruin it.

"Yes, of course."

It isn't Essa's voice that answers me, and that has me turning a deep shade of scarlet at my childishness when I turn to face one of the two males I'm here to work with.

The male with the more shaggy hair watches me intently, his hands in the same spots, one pair to cover his groin, the other covering the flush on his chest. He tilts his head to the side, almost in question, as his eyes shift to the bean bag I haven't jumped on yet.

"Sorry," I say.

I rub my elbow and walk back over to where Essa has made herself comfortable on a couch. I'll act childish and fun as soon as I know they're not about to kick me off the ship for being a human. Essa and Via can tell me all they want that the males will want me as pleasure crew, but I need to hear it from them.

The other male, who was watching from the doorway, remains silent but joins us. He grabs the other couch and picks it up like it's not heavy at all. He carries it in front of the one Essa and I are sitting on and sets it down so it's facing us before taking a seat across from me. Both pairs of arms now cross over his body as he stares at me.

"Such a strong male," Essa laughs as she says the words, the purple behind the male's arms deepening even more.

I want to ask Essa if it's their embarrassment that's causing the color change or if it's something else. If they're so concerned about it showing, why don't they just wear shirts? I don't ask because I feel like it's not very appropriate to ask with them right here, watching me with all six almost black eyes.

"Give her the pendant," the first male says, coming to sit down next to the other. His eyes stay on me the entire time. "We aren't allowed to acknowledge her until she has it."

"Where was the rule-following thirty seconds ago when you spoke to her, Jovi?" Essa asks.

"She wasn't facing me. I thought she might be wearing it," Jovi answers like he's prepared for the question. The other male, who must be Alik, cuts him a glare that tells him he doesn't believe the excuse even a little bit. "Now, give it to her, explain the color system, and then we can begin the mission."

Essa holds out a pendant on a small chain. "This is how you let us all know what amount of contact you're okay with. Green means you're open to pleasure, yellow means you're pleasuring but are fine with more joining, orange means you're pleasuring and don't want anyone joining, and red means to leave you alone."

I take the trinket from her, finding the small notch on the side that gives me access to changing the color. I click through all of them, noting that it turns off after red. I click it once more, turning it back to green. Alik and Jovi's eyes stay glued to the pendant like they're waiting to watch it change colors again. I ignore the obvious intrigue from them and turn to Essa.

"Can I make the chain longer? I like longer necklaces."

"Oh, right here."

Essa presses on a different notch, and more of the chain seems to unwind from inside the pendant. She presses it down until it's at its maximum length. I hold it up, checking to make sure I like it. Since I wore something revealing in the cleavage department, the pendant should fall right between my boobs, which is exactly what I want. Especially if these are males that enjoy a woman with a bigger chest. I'm here to pleasure, and I'm going to be the best pleasure crew these guys have ever had.

"Does that look good?" I ask Essa as I slip the chain over my head, letting the pendant and the green glow it emits settle right between my breasts.

Essa doesn't hide her smile or the knowing look she gives me as she shakes her head in disbelief. I take that as a good sign and turn back to face Jovi and Alik, who are both now piercing my tits with their gaze. I lean forward, pressing my breasts together a bit more. The pendant is pinched between them as I lean over.

"Is that an okay placement?"

Alik and Jovi both wrench their eyes from where they were glued as soon as they realize they've been caught. Not that I'm even sure they were trying to be sneaky in the first place, but if the deep purple on their chest is any indicator, they're plenty embarrassed.

Jovi is the one who answers me. One of his hands rubs the back of his head, then grabs the ends of his shaggy white hair and gives it a soft tug. "Yes, that's a fine placement." He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes flickering down to it again before tilting his head to the side.

"Okay, the last thing." Essa looks over at me, making it clear this next part is for me. "You're given three days to adjust to your new room and get over any space sickness you might have when we first take off. Neither of them will pester you for intercourse or anything else sexual. After the three days, we like to make sure they're taken care of because they get irritable. Does that sound good to you?"

"Three days." I grab the pendant and click it back to red, showing that I'm not down for sex. I mean, I definitely am, but if they're used to waiting the three days, there's no reason to rock the boat just yet.

"Anything else we need to go over?" I ask, noticing the tension in the air getting thicker the longer we're all sitting in here.

Alik and Jovi's eyes kept dipping down to the pendant's green glow. Now that it's red, they aren't even looking in my general direction. Instead, their eyes dance over other areas of the room. My brows furrow at losing their attention. I really enjoy having it.

"I don't think so," Essa says, her eyes glancing down at the pendant and frowning. "You?"

"I think we're good," I try to keep my voice light, but now I'm feeling a bit self-conscious about how awkward everything is getting.

Essa eyes me for a moment, staring at the red pendant and then chewing on her lip. I turn toward Jovi and Alik, not liking how everything seems awkward now. I mean, I know it's going to be awkward while I adjust to everyone knowing my one job on this ship is to get fucked, but the rest of them should be used to this since I'm not the first pleasure crew member to be on this ship.

"We're good, right?" I ask the two males, hoping to diffuse some of the tension or maybe figure out why it's so tense now that I've changed it to red.

"Right," Jovi and Alik both answer quietly. Their eyes fall back to the pendant before they give Essa a confused look.

I make a mental note to ask Essa in private why they're being so weird now. It was one thing when they were staring at my cleavage and the green of the pendant because I knew they were curious and aroused. Now, they're still horny. At least the bulge in each of their pants makes it seem that way. But they're trying very hard not to even look at me now.

"I'll show you to your room then," Essa says, not moving to get from the couch at all.

Her eyes flick down to the pendant once more before she pulls out her comm tablet and flips through a few pages of what I can see is the pleasure crew handbook. I've spent the last couple of weeks studying it front to back with Via. I would know its formatting and color scheme anywhere.

"What are you looking for?" I ask, peering over the top of her comm and noticing she's reading the part about the color of the pendant. "Oh, do I have it set to the wrong thing? I figured if they couldn't have sex with me for three days, I should put it on red."

Essa eyes me, tilting her comm tablet a bit more in my direction so I can read it easier. I'm glad she didn't take it as rude or snooping, even though that's exactly what I was doing.

I tuck some of my dark hair behind my ear, shuffle closer to her on the couch, and read over the section she's on. Jovi and Alik are still sitting, facing us, but casting their eyes away when they notice me looking at them. The dark purple of their chest never fades, and I chew on my bottom lip to keep from smiling.

"Right here, it says red means you don't want any contact with us." Essa points at a paragraph on her tablet. "Normally, this is fine. We don't bother the pleasure crew when she has her pendant set to red, but you keep speaking with me, so I thought maybe I misinterpreted the handbook."

"Hm." I chew on my thumb, narrowing my eyes at the text and reading back over it for probably the hundredth time. "No, that's what it says."

I frown, my brows drawing together. I don't want the crew to ignore me the entire time I'm here. That'll make for a very boring trip into space. Plus, it won't win me any points on getting signed up for another tour, so I don't have to go back to Earth.

"Those are the only four colors, right?"

Essa flips the pages back and forth, making sure we haven't mysteriously missed a fifth color being added to the pendant and handbook in the ten seconds since we last looked. "It would seem those are our options."

"Okay, but I want to talk to you guys," I say, adding a bit of a pout in my words that has Jovi and Alik both stiffening again. Their eyes find me this time, and when I look at them, they don't look away. "I mean, if you guys don't mind."

Jovi and Alik look at each other, then Essa, then back at me. All six of their dark eyes are wide, and their mouths open to say something, but they end up backing out. Essa wasn't lying about them not talking to me when it's red. It's kind of cute how badly they want to stick to the rules. It doesn't at all make me want to see if I can get them to break them for me. Nope. Not one bit.

"We'd all love for you to speak with us," Essa answers for them. "We have rules, especially the males, if they want to continue being allowed a pleasure crew member. So, we need to figure out a way around this. If the company finds out about them speaking to you when it's red, their overall rating will go down."

I hold the pendant up again, clicking through all the options until the light turns off. "Oh!" I smile up at Essa and show her the pendant, "What if it's off?"

"Off means…" Essa flips through the handbook, skimming over every page that may say something about the pendant being turned off. I also try to rack my brain, thinking if I remember reading anything about it being turned off, but I don't come up with anything. Essa looks at me and shrugs. "Off means you are human crew, not pleasure crew. Your paperwork is for both, so I don't think it should be an issue. Does that sound good?"

I beam up at her, the idea of being an actual part of the crew making me more happy than I thought it would. "Yeah, that's great."

"Good." Essa pushes off the couch and then points at the two males sitting across from us, who have decided it's finally safe to look at me. "She is human crew when it's off. If you wouldn't do it to me, you don't do it to her."

Her words have them both turning dark purple, their eyes finding new homes on the floor, trying to make themselves small, like that's even possible. When she's sure they're thoroughly humiliated, she offers me her hand to help me up.

"Come, I will show you your room."

As we leave the living area, I wave one final goodbye to Alik and Jovi. They keep their arms crossed over their chests, trying to cover what I assume is a flush of embarrassment. Their other hands still block my view of their crotches.

Jovi gives me a crooked smile while Alik stares at me with confusion and wariness etched into his features. Whatever they're worried about, I can ease those worries. I have three days to make them comfortable with the idea of me as the pleasure crew. That's plenty of time to get them to like me.