She nipped his lower lip. “Coward.”
He laughed and eased her to her feet. “You are a charming contradiction of emotion and sensuality.”
“I know. Enjoy your time in the capitol.”
He patted her on the backside, and the other two passed her, touching her cheek and arm. When the group left, she could breathe again.
She looked around and saw Alya. Her friend’s mouth was hanging open. She walked back to the coffee shop and picked up another coffee. She looked at Alya. “If you want answers to those questions, we can walk and talk. I have to get back to my lab.”
Alya scrambled off the chair, and they left to a thin whisper that rose to a roar. This was going to get worse before it got better.
Chapter Six
“What the hell was that? They were looking at you like my mom’s feline looks at fish.”
Zera chuckled. “Apt analogy.”
Alya blinked. “They were all so cocky, they just reached for you, and you went.”
“Yeah. That is how it goes. We aren’t dating. They are authority figures. I already punched Torun once today. I wasn’t going to get off easy the second time.”
“What would he have done?” Alya shivered.
“Public sex was not off the table. Torun likes to get his way. He’s bossy. He also enjoys tying me up so I can’t get leverage. He’s not the only team member like that.”
“Whoa. Okay. So, that is fine. What was Ryma doing?”
“Sniffing me. Apparently, I smell extremely good today.”
“And you let Tycho bite you?” Alya muttered it while they headed back to the research building.
“I taste good, too. He’s a blood drinker. You didn’t think that he got it from stored blood, did you?” She sipped at her heavily sugared coffee.
“I... didn’t think about it, I guess. Does that happen often?”
“Them grabbing me in public? No. This is a first.”
Alya blushed as they headed up the steps. “What was that last kiss?”
“Imagine us naked and extrapolate. He likes to fuck standing up.”
Alya covered her face. “Oh, gods. This is humiliating and so interesting. Thanks for being willing to talk about it.”
“Speaking of talk, if you want to try your hand at being an escort, you are going to have to know how to ask for what you want. So, if you don’t know how you like to be touched, find out. If you know a fast way to cum, share that information. They want you to be pleased with them, so they have a chance at seeing you again.”
She sent the interview letter to Alya while they walked. Being able to use her fingers while talking was another thing that made Zera popular.
They went through the facility and parted ways at the black sector. Zera headed back to Susa’s side, and she sat and sighed while news reports of the shocking behaviour of the team members outside the coffee shop began to scroll through the feeds. “Oh, dear. They are getting into trouble. Yes, I know I shouldn’t be upset, but folks were really shocked by Torun grabbing my hair like that.”
The dominating kiss was what had upset them. It made them feel less safe to know that he had that kind of impulse under the polite and powerful surface. He and his team were being interviewed on the matter, with international news organizations lining up to talk to them. She checked her com. Hm. Cool. No one wanted to talk to her.
She chuckled. “Since my talk a few hours ago, we have sixteen new applicants. That means there might be two suitable candidates. That’s exciting.”
Susa’s body remained calm, and it was time to take her for a walk. Zera sat her up and slid into her. She manifested her com unit through Susa’s body and continued working her way through the applications, as she dismissed a few who were just after sex or notoriety. They received very polite letters that thanked the applicant and stated that their application would be held for two years in case there was a requirement for their particular skills.
She did send a message out to the existing escorts to warn them about the upcoming notoriety and share the situation since one of their members had been exposed if they knew of any friends or acquaintances who might be interested in trying the escort option. Folks with healing activations were drawn to it, so she had a lot of med students.
She got a response from the professor, who offered two names. She would test the waters using the script that they had designed together.
Zera wore Susa around for about forty-five minutes while walking around, stretching, and doing push-ups in the body to keep it limber. Susa wasn’t using it anymore, but it still had to serve a purpose.
She had just finished her time in Susa when her com started to light up with date requests. Her stomach flipped. Her regulars were taking up every window she had for the next two weeks.
Hron wanted the pleasure of her company for three hours that evening. Astel wanted the next night. Naima wanted to meet her for coffee of all things. All were requesting that she left the mask inactive. They wanted to clearly remember a night with her.
She bit her lip. That wasn’t part of the deal. She wondered how many times she was going to have to say no on these dates. She hated saying no.
Zera went back to her office and worked on some new energy theory ideas. First, she set her manufacturing unit to make a micro version of the mask tech that could be concealed in a pendant, and then, she started answering some of the queries from her secure server. While she was paid via research grant, she was paid for the production of her ideas, so she had enough projects to trickle out for a few months in order to keep her association with the program ongoing. She had promised Susa’s parents that she would stay with it as long as she could.
