“Sires…” he stuttered when his eyes landed on mine. “And lady. I am Erluh, owner of all this.” He raised his arms, gesturing to the room. “How has your time been so far here at Zero G-Spot? Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I believe we are fine. Our food and drinks are amazing. We are just catching up with each other,” Z’fir said, gesturing to the table.
Erluh leaned over to his waitress and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and left, taking the empty cart with her. Erluh watched her leave before turning to us. He opened his mouth to say something and cleared his throat.
“I was wondering why your group was at an establishment like this.” His eyes widened as he raised his hands, waving them as his tails moved wildly behind him. “Not to offend anyone, but I wondered why a group of males would take a female here instead of all the other places available. I mean, usually, males don’t come in here as a group… much less with a female.”
“Why is that?” I asked, curious. Perhaps he would be the one who would give me insight into this place. I saw nothing wrong with it.
He glanced at the others, his pleading them to help. When none came, he closed his eyes and deeply sighed, his tails wilting from their perky default position.
Finally, someone else was lost for words for once. It got old being the only one who didn’t know what to say when they found themselves in awkward social situations. The thing was, at least I had an excuse, which not many people knew about. But for an owner of an entertainment establishment on the CEG space station, he should have no problems leading a conversation or speaking to a female. He seemed to be able to talk to his waitress, so why not me? It wasn’t like we were alone.
“Because this is a male entertainment establishment—even though we have had a few females who have come who are attracted to the females. I heard the Circuli don’t actively… hunt for a breeder like most species do. Which makes me believe they are here because of you.”
“I wanted to see dancing. Simple as that. I didn’t know what kind of dancing there would be since none of my nestmates wanted to explain it to me,” I said, glaring at the offending males. “This is my first time on the space station where I don’t have obligations. If we are causing a problem, we can pay and leave.” I placed my glass on the table and scanned the nearly empty room. “But it seems like we are your only customers.”
“Stars, Selena,” Xylo cursed.
I glared at him. “You know it’s the truth!”
“No. She is right,” Erluh admitted, sighing in defeat. “I don’t know what to do. We opened a few moons ago, but as soon as it was discovered my ladies don’t sell themselves for favors, business tanked fast. I tried to bring something unique to the CEG station, but without customers, we won’t be able to pay rent. Then I will have to let my girls go and have them scramble to find work. I will feel guilty because they believed in my dream… my vision.”
“And what is that?” I asked, curious.
“I wanted to bring a new form of entertainment. Why do breeders… um… females have to sell themselves when things get rough? A lot of my females were abused or abandoned by the males who claimed to love them. They have few skills outside of serving and dancing. My goal was to create a place where they could feel safe performing without the obligation to sell their bodies. That is why I created this place. My sister was abused by her mate and hasn’t been the same since. She works in the back, dealing with the stock and staff costumes.”
“Lady Selena, I was told you requested my services,” Vagren announced as he walked around our booth and eyed the group. “Is there a problem?”
“No problem, Vagren. I need your insight on a few things about Destima,” I said, smiling.
He scanned the room before meeting my gaze. “Is this the best place for this?”
I waved him off. “I’m not going to go into that many details. I just need you to answer a few questions, and if things are the way I believe they are, we can have a more private discussion later.”
He pursed his lips as his tail jerked back and forth. “I will trust your judgment on this.”
“Excellent.” I studied the table and noticed everyone was watching me, waiting with a variety of expressions on their faces. All the males had finished most of their plates and drinks. I was the only one that still had most of their samples left.
“Can you make room for Erluh and Vagren? This may take some time, and I don’t want them to remain standing the whole time.”
The group shifted over as the two new additions sat on the same side as the princes. The table was cleaned off, other than my leftover items. New drinks were ordered, and introductions were made. Now we had a clean space, had freshened up, and knew who each other was, it was time for me to lead the meeting.
“Erluh, Elmynx, and Odevlyn, as you may know, I am the official Seedbearer to Prince Zirene Darcaw. What you haven’t been told is, I am also the new owner of Destima, the water moon of Lunkai, the capital of Aldawi’s second main star system. This means I can do whatever I want to the moon, within reason,” I explained, keeping my voice low.
“What are you saying?” Elmynx asked.
I smirked. “I am saying I have an offer for you three, if my elected enforcer Vagren approves, that is.”
Vagren nodded. “I am listening.”
I faced Odelm’s fathers.
