“How nice to see reason prevailing,” he said, his tone dry and not quite back to being amused. “Don’t even think about leaving any of that over, or I’ll make sure your section leader finds out. I happen to know what she’ll have done to you, and you really won’t care for it. I will, but you certainly won’t.”
Good humor had returned to him with the last of his words, and the mood seemed to help him make his breakfast decision. He dialed his choice from the chef and took it eagerly when it came, then proceeded to make the rest of the meal more silent than the beginning had been. His food smelled a whole lot better than mine, something I was sure he was aware of, and he even went so far as to offer me a taste of it. I ignored the offer and just kept working my way through the plain and very healthy food I’d been given, having no desire for anything better. I didn’t even have a desire for what I was eating, but others had decided on desire for me.
By the time the meal was over, I was thinking seriously about being depressed. I’d expected to have trouble finishing so many different items of food, but each portion had proven to be exactly the right amount, and before I knew it everything was down my throat. Even the large glass of swed was just right for the meal provided, and it really bothered me that they knew my capacity and needs so well that they’d known just what to give me. Being still hungry or terribly stuffed would have been much more pleasant, but they weren’t trying to make things pleasant for me. They were trying to keep me alive and healthy, to make sure I served their high and noble purposes.
“It’s time for us to get going,” Kel-Ten announced into the brooding silence I was wrapped in, taking the empty swed glass out of my hands before getting to his feet and pulling me up after him. “My first class is a relaxer, to let me digest my meal in peace, and after that the heavy stuff starts. I also haven’t checked my schedule for today, so we’ll begin with that. Come this way first.”
His “this way” turned out to be a stop in the bathroom, where I was allowed to see to my bodily functions—but not privately—and then had my hair brushed by him. Hair brushing without first bathing and/or washing was ludicrous, which meant the action fit in very well with the rest of what had been done to me in that place. When I was groomed to my owner’s satisfaction, we left the apartment.
Since wed taken a lift up to the apartment the night before, it wasn’t entirely unexpected that we needed a drop to go down again. We emerged onto a floor different from the one the dining room was on, but not different where posh was concerned. The red carpeting was top quality, the walls paneled and hung with artwork, the lighting source excellently invisible, the ceilings high enough to accommodate a gathering area that large. Men dressed like Kel-Ten filled the area, some sitting on the cream-colored furniture, some standing around, some strolling from group to group or place to place, all looking perfectly relaxed and at home. I was led into the midst of them by a briskly strolling Kel-Ten as though I were nothing special or of particular importance, but most of the conversations slowed and died as we passed. We went through a good part of the area before stopping in front of a large glass board with electronic notices neatly posted all over it, and that was where some of the men suddenly decided to go as well.
“Good morning, Kel-Ten,” a man in red greeted my companion pleasantly but respectfully, looking at me rather than at the man he addressed. “I hadn’t noticed what a really pretty morning it was until you got here, but now I can see it clearly. Yes, sir, more than clearly.”
“It’s supposed to rain today, Ank-Soh,” Kel-Ten said without turning away from the board, his observation casual and accompanied by his tapping a finger against one of the items in the glass. “The window I looked out of earlier seemed to confirm that, but maybe my windows don’t face the way yours do. I hate running outside when it rains.”
“Oh, it shouldn’t be all that bad,” the man Ank-Soh came back, a grin on his face as he continued to stare at me. “Who cares if you come back wet and cold, as long as you have something to dry you off and warm you up? You wouldn’t find me minding if I had all that, especially if it was scowling and blushing with embarrassment instead of bouncing with eagerness. You never know how much you’ll miss having a woman trying to say no, until you don’t have it any more. And what did you do to get them to let you keep her like that?”
“Her?” Kel-Ten echoed, as though he had no idea what the other man was talking about, and then he turned away from the board to show heavy, overdone revelation. “Oh, you’re talking about sweet thing here. I’d almost forgotten I had her with me. I didn’t do anything, Ank-Soh, except for what I always do, which is continuing to be First Prime. I’m teaching her to behave herself while I keep her, so maybe they think I’m doing them a favor and that’s why they’re not trying to take her back. She’s been fun so far, but who knows how long the fun will last? By the time she’s ready for her first covering, I might be bored again.”
“If you are, then I’m next in line to try for the privilege,” Ank-Soh murmured, his dark eyes bright as he reached two fingers out and used them to stroke the side of my breast. The extended tear in the shirt made a touch like that easy to accomplish, but in my opinion he didn’t have the right to do something like that. Without even thinking about it I stepped back away from his fingers, and his grin widened as he and Kel-Ten both began to chuckle.
“Don’t forget I said ‘might,’” Kel-Ten stressed to the other man, his amusement clear as his hands came to my arms from behind. “Even when she obeys me she does it reluctantly, and that’s one of the things I like best. Go ahead and touch her, and you’ll understand what I mean. ”
The hands on my arms tightened to hold me in place, which meant I couldn’t avoid Ank-Soh’s casually reaching fingers a second time. The man in red stroked the side of my breast lightly, then deliberately reached his entire hand inside the shirt to squeeze my breast gently but possessively. I tried to twist out of Kel-Ten’s grip and away from the insult of being touched like that, but the man behind me held me in place while the one in front of me kept on with his amusement. It continued for a time that was short but infuriating, and then Ank-Soh’s grin widened again.
“Those green eyes would broil me to a cinder if they could,” he said with a laugh of pure delight, still moving his fingers on my flesh. “Not only is she damned goodlooking, but she’d hate it if I started dipping her. What’s your schedule like, Kel-Ten? Any chance you’ll be so tied up you won’t notice if someone borrows her for an hour or two?”
“Sorry, Ank-Soh, but I only have three scheduled for today,” my owner answered with a laugh of his own, nothing of regret to be heard in his voice. “I’ll need sweet thing to keep me entertained the rest of the time, so you’re out of luckat least for now. Tomorrow could turn out to be different.”
“Then I’ll check with you again tomorrow,” Ank-Soh said, withdrawing his hand with what seemed like real reluctance. “Right now I think I’ll skip relaxation class and find one of the rings I’m assigned to cover. If I don’t, I’ll never survive heavy ex. And if they try taking her away to make her like the others, let me know and I’ll help you organize a general riot. See you later, my friend—and you, too, sweet thing.”
He tapped me lightly under the chin before turning and walking away, and Kel-Ten chuckled as he finally let me go.
“I knew you’d be popular, sweet thing,” he murmured, patting me on the backside. “Ank-Soh is one of the two Primes one step directly below me, and thinks that when he gets around to challenging me he’ll win. One more minute of touching your knob, and he would have projected his rock to every man in a thirty-five foot radius. The board says he has a challenge of his own to meet today, and how much would you like to bet he wins it without half trying?”