Shayla cleared her throat. “My father. He is very keen to work with Hezara. He would know what to do.”
The queen stood. “We will contact the father of Shayla and ask him to come here. I shall approach the other queens; our network of hives shall be united behind this new adventure.”
“And the judges?” Kriss, the disciplinarian, wasn’t convinced.
“Will continue to judge. We can’t make new laws, yet. We need to shake off our dependence on aliens. Perhaps Hezara will even consider returning to birthing, and not hatching. I would like to have sex, like Shayla. What she has described is quite enticing.”
Shayla’s cheeks burned. Kriss’s mouth dropped open into a gape. Only Jago was unsurprised by the bluntness of the queen’s desire. “It will open your eyes, my queen. It is nothing like the artificial relationships we created with the droids.” He bowed. “We should leave you to begin this new journey. Do we have your permission to contact Earth and Shayla’s father?”
Roisa clapped her hands, a summary judgement that was like the stamping of the judge’s staff on the ground. “Yes. And... there is something else I wish you to do. You and Kriss.”
Kriss straightened his back. His loyalty hadn’t faltered after all. “What, my queen?”
Roisa took Shayla’s hand in hers. “Give Shayla your Hunger, not me. Allow her to be what you desire—your love angel. From now on, you are free to choose for whom your heart glows.” She summoned the men to her side. Each of them placed their hands on Shayla’s outstretched palm and bowed, and spoke in unison.
“We will.”
Tears pricked Shayla’s eyes, but she was far from upset: they were tears of joy, of optimism. The look of relief on Jago’s face was visible and Kr
iss swept her into his arms, kissing her lips with unbridled passion.
The queen applauded. Her eyes sparkled with delight.
* * *
When the day of the next Hunger arrived, there was no vessel in the room, just the two hulks of Kriss and Jago waiting for her to walk out of the bathroom and into their arms. The embrace would be swift. The Hunger remained what it was, an unyielding need and she would naturally surrender to it.
She smoothed her skin with sweet-smelling lotions. With a quick glance in the mirror, she gave herself a thumbs up. The first thing she noticed when entering the room were their glowing chests. She was convinced their hearts shone bright—the luminescence was clear to see, and they were beating faster, too.
Jago slipped behind her and kissed the nape of her neck, while Kriss pressed his groin into her hip and ensured she had a measure of his steely erection. She purred softly into the crook of his shoulder and nuzzled his collarbone. He smelled good, too. The welcoming embrace was completed and the gentle nuances of romance cast aside. She expected something else, after all this was the day of their Hunger, and they had whispered in her ear certain plans for her.
They might have treated Tina indifferently, but they both knew that the things they had described to Shayla were still playing on her mind, feeding her fantasies and to deny them would be doing all of them a disservice. She had exposed her inner thoughts, wicked daydreams that meant they now could test her mettle and explore a darkness that she’d tried to keep secret from them.
“Hush,” Jago said. He pressed his fingers to her lips. “No talking.”
She nodded.
“You’ll do as we say, understood?” Kriss lifted both of his eyebrows.
Her skin prickled with anticipation. She nodded again, and licked her glossy lips.
The ropes dropped from the ceiling hoist, bouncing slightly before settling into a sway. The cuffs at the end were metal. However, when Jago lifted her arms above her head and ringed one of her wrists with one, she noticed the metal was pliable, like plasticine or clay, and although cold, it molded itself around her wrist. He repeated the binding on the other arm.
The ropes went taut, forcing her up onto her tiptoes. She suppressed a wince, reminding herself this was how she wanted it to be—bound, silenced, and totally in their control.
Kriss held out something shiny in his palms. Two little pincers of metal, shaped like claws. She gasped, and wriggled her hips from side to side in a pretense of resistance. She wanted to protest with words, too, just to make it more exciting, but they’d forbidden her to talk. Instead, she made sure her eyes were as wide as moons. Kriss smiled and dangled the two clamps in front of her face.
“Do we need to gag you?” he asked. The light twinkled in his eyes and she noticed his cock twitching frantically, the purple veins pulsating with hot blood.
She shook her head.
With a delicate touch, he used the clamp to circle her nipple and the cool metal stiffened it into a pebble. The game continued, the play at tormenting her. Jago approached her from behind, reached around and cupped both of her breasts in the palms of his hands. She squirmed on her toes, and squealed. The first clamp locked around her right nipple and it bit. She panted, absorbing the tight pinch. Then, abruptly, the pain lifted and a numbness descended. Kriss ringed the other nipple, and captured that one too in the claw.
Jago lowered her breasts, and the weight of the clamps took their full effect. Neither painless nor painful, she hovered in an indescribable middle location. What was most noticeable was the way her clitoris throbbed and her pussy leaked its nectar.
The nestors switched locations. Jago slipped his broad hands under her thighs and hoisted her legs up and around his waist. With her bottom supported, and the rope slackened slightly, she swung toward his cock. He aimed and thrust between her folds, finding his target with ease. The clamps were forgotten. She was impaled, and the entirety of his shaft disappeared inside her wet pussy.
Jago groaned. His eyes half closed as he paused to savor her. She liked that dreamy expression, the half-tilted head, the parted lips and flared nostrils. He inhaled, sucking his breath between his teeth, then exhaled. He slid back until the head of his cock was nearly visible, then thrust forward again.