Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“I’ll be fine,” I told him firmly. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get into a cat fight.”
“See that you don’t.” Sir gave me a stern look and then—to my surprise—bent down to press a gentle kiss to my forehead. “Be a good pet and I promise you’ll be rewarded when we get back to the ship,” he murmured.
“Yes, Sir,” I whispered back, feeling tingly all over as I considered what kind of “reward” he might have in mind. Maybe I had finally earned my first orgasm? I certainly hoped so! But only time would tell.
Sir rose and the Baron led him and Azz’lx out of the room. Meanwhile, the servant who had first met Sir and me at the door was bowing low before Dru’silla and asking if “my lady would care to take some sweet Vin’tien liquor in the living area.”
“Very well,” Dru’silla said frostily. Lifting her long, pointed nose in the air she swept from the room. It would have been a grand exit if the front of her gown hadn’t been all splotched with the grun blood, which smelled strongly of sweaty gym socks and dirty urinals.
The servant bowed to me next.
“Would you care to accompany Lady Dru’silla to the living area for some sweet liquor?” he asked.
“Actually, I’d really like to visit the necessary room,” I said, hoping he would understand what I meant. “I need to, er, answer the call of nature, if you know what I mean?”
The servant looked confused at first, but then his face cleared and he nodded understanding.
“Ah yes—of course. Please follow me.”
He led me out of the grand dining room and back down the long hallway until I was right by the area where Sir and I had hung our coats.
“Here you are, my lady,” he said formally, opening a door for me which led into a small room that appeared to have some kind of alien plumbing inside.
“Thank you,” I told him, entering the room. “Er…I might be a while so there’s no need for you to wait.”
“Quite all right,” the servant assured me. He gestured down the hallway. “When you finish attending to your, er, personal business, simply follow the hallway this way and make a right to find the living area. I shall have some liquor poured and ready for you.”
“Thank you.” I said, nodding and smiling. At least the servants had some manners around here, though it was clear Naggians in general didn’t care for outsiders.
The servant smiled and bowed and shut the door behind me.
I waited, my heart pounding as I listened to his muffled footfalls retreat down the long red carpet. Now that I was actually in the bathroom, a new plan was percolating in my head. It was a plan that was going to get me into a lot of trouble, but I didn’t know that then.
I just knew it seemed like a wonderful idea and I was aching to try it…
THIRTY-ONE
ELLI
I held my breath, waiting for the servant’s steps to die away completely. The bathroom I was in was right beside the coats and the entrance to the elevator that led downward. What if, instead of hiding the whole time Sir talked to the Baron, I snuck down in the elevator and went to find the human girl I had seen earlier?
I knew it was a risky plan, but I also knew this might be my only chance to see her and find out if she needed help—which I strongly felt that she did. Plus, maybe I could get some of those yummy snacks I had seen the merchants selling. I didn’t have any Naggian coins, but I could pay for them with blood. I had already pricked my finger once tonight—I was more than willing to do it again to get my hands on that bacon-on-a-stick.
I stuck my head tentatively out the bathroom door and looked up and down the long hallway—it was totally empty. After I was sure the coast was clear, I came all the way out and closed the door quietly behind me.
I pressed the button to call the ice elevator and was waiting impatiently for it to come, when my eyes happened to fall on the thick fur coat Sir had synthesized for me. It was made of long, luxurious brown fur that made me think of mink and I still had the Baron’s sigil in the pocket, which might come in handy.
I had almost thawed out completely, sitting so close to the fire in the dining room, but now I remembered how cold it was downstairs. I snagged the coat off its hook and pulled it on. I was only planning to go down briefly and come right back up again but it was better to be prepared for everything, I told myself.
The elevator arrived with a ding! and for a moment, I froze. Had anyone heard? What would I say if Sir came out and asked what the hell I thought I was doing?