Shrugging her shoulders, she followed him down the staircase. Each step seemed to be difficult. Feeling strangely lethargic, she wondered about interplanetary jetlag. At the bottom of the stairs, there was something resembling a subway train. People, some native Shimerian, some obviously from other planets, were gathering in lines to get into what looked like subway cars. The individual cars had seats like benches inside where people sat.
There were no lone, unescorted females, although she did notice some women together in groups of two or three. The women were all dressed in outfits similar to the one she was wearing, although the colors were different. Some of the blouses were halter-tops and some of the skirts were much shorter. There were some women who looked like they were probably human, although she was having more and more trouble focusing on her surroundings. Fatigue was weighing down her body more with each step.
The cars formed a train that was pointed toward the gateway of a portal. Noting each side of the room had a portal, she assumed one was for coming and one for going. Looking at the portal the train was facing, she noticed it was smaller than the one back at the pactbuilding, but the eerie darkness was the same.
“Train ride to oblivion,” she muttered to herself. “Great, just what I wanted, another portalto travel.”Already exhausted, she wasn’t looking forward to another trip through that blackness. As they entered the
Feeling her weight sagging against him, Liken put his arm around her and drew her close to his chest. “
Before he finished the last word, he saw that she was sound asleep. Feeling her soft weight against him, he sighed. Finally, she was here. Touching her hair with a soothing motion, he felt the
Chapter 4
Where the hell was she? Sharon looked at her surroundings and found nothing familiar. This wasn’t her bed. This wasn’t even her bedroom. Coming fully awake, she assessed the situation. She was lying in some sort of bed, although it was huge. The covers were quite soft but she couldn’t place the material. It had the comfortable feel of cotton, but felt soft as silk. The walls were a light blue color. There were no windows and no doorway.
Was this a prison? If so, it was a comfortable one. There were pictures of strangely alien, but beautiful landscapes on three of the walls. Alien. With that thought, the events of the previous day came back to her. Startled, she sat up. Realizing she was stark naked, she immediately yanked the covers up around her. Oh, boy. Today was the first day of the rest of this farce.
Feeling energized, she looked around for some kind of clothing to put on. Her clothes had better be close by. As the wall slid open and Liken walked through, she had the mortifying realization that he must have undressed her. Oath or no oath, she didn’t appreciate it.
Liken entered the room to discover Sharon sitting up in bed, bedclothes barely covering that naked body, cheeks rosy, eyes shining with outrage. In an instant, he was hard. He wanted to climb onto the bed and make her beg. Voice gruff, he asked “How are you feeling
It was hard to be angry and maintain your dignity while stark naked under the thin cover of bedsheets. “Fine. Where are my clothes?”
“You will find garments in there,” he replied with cautious gravity, although his amusement leaked through. She was shy, but he would change that inhibition. If he had his way, she would spend the rest of her knowing period naked and eager for him
Sharon noticed the large bulge in the front of his pants. She knew if she didn’t hurry, he would be joining her on the bed.Following his pointed finger, she saw a button off to the right. She assumed it opened a closet. “I’ll meet you in a minute after I’m dressed.” Her stomach growled.
Liken could hear the soft noise from the doorway.He smiled. “We will eat and then I will show you our home.” He headed back out of the room. At the last second, he paused and turned back to her. “Regardless of what you choose to wear,
He was charming; she’d give him that. Smooth. She had the feeling that the charm was only one layer though. Underneath it, she sensed a hard resolve. His desire was obvious and barely held in check. He would try to get something by charm, but if charm didn’t work? She shivered a little at the thought.
Carefully crossing the room with a sheet wrapped around her, she pushed the button on the wall and watched as it slid open. It was a closet, just as she had thought. She examined the clothes hanging there. There were numerous blouses and skirts. All were quite beautiful. They were made of a thin, silky material in different hues of colors. Some colors were like nothing she had seen on Earth. Blues and greens were more vibrant. The silver was especially lovely. There were even tiny panties with string ties. Looking everywhere, she couldn’t find any bras. Just great. That silky material was going to outline everything.
Resigned, she selected a blouse and skirt of shimmering silver with tiny panties of the same color. There were strappy sandals to match. Putting everything on,she looked down at herself. The thin fabric of the blouse outlined the thrust of her nipples. The skirt was loose but hit just above the knee. Reluctantly, shewandered out into the hall.
Seeing a button on her right in the hall, she pushed it to reveal what was obviously a bathroom. It had a recognizable toilet, which she used gratefully. Seeing a stall to the side, she opened that door and discovered a shower with one handle. Feeling grubby, she decided to give it a shot. Removing her clothes and shoes, she sat them on the floor and then turned the knob.
She was expecting water. She gave a little yelp of surprise as bright red liquid flooded from the nozzle high up on the wall. She reached out with one cautious hand and touched it. The temperature was hot, but not overly so. It felt more slippery than water, a little heavier. Weighing her grubbiness against the unknown, she decided to try.
Stepping under the pouring liquid, she was surprised to discover it was like quicksilver. She hoped she didn’t get dyed lobster red. The liquid poured over her skin, but when she stepped out, she was nearly dry. Grateful her skin hadn’t turned the same hideous color, she put her clothes back on. Walking out into the hall, she kept going until she spotted open archways to the right and left. She could hear movement in the room to the right and turned toward it.
Entering the kitchen, she was surprised at the similarities to Earth kitchens. There was a long counter running along one side of the room. There were cabinets above it, although they had buttons she assumed would open each one. One wall was completely bare except for what looked like a small computer panel. It had a lot of buttons that presumably opened the wall or provided food transport maybe.
There was a mural carving of some kind on one wall that showed a waterfall. It was quite beautiful. In the center of the room, was a square table with four chairs. They could have come from any Earth kitchen. She was surprised to see that the table was already set. There were two settings, one on each side of the table. She saw plates and cups along with napkins, but no eating utensils.
In the center of the table sat a couple of bowls filled with oddly shaped fruits or vegetables, she guessed. There were some oblong dark green things, small orange shiny things that looked like berries, some larger purple things that were lumpy-looking, and even some bright yellow things that were almost square. She figured her first experience of exotic cuisine was about to start. Oh, joy.
Liken sat the last bowl onto the table and turned to smile at her. “Please do not assume I can cook. I am a guardian by profession. This is merely fruit.” He moved and held out a chair for her to sit.
Pleased with his manners, she took it, watching as he sat down opposite her. “A guardian? What does that mean?”
Casually gathering an assortment from the various bowls, he began to put things on her plate. “A guardian is
