“Oh, really?” Lilli got up at once and let him have the chair. “What Mistress were you with? Was she kind to you? Did you…like her?”
Karn shot her a glance as he seated himself behind the desk.
“I think what you’re asking is if I liked her as much as I like you,” he remarked as he began manipulating the cube with expert quickness.
“Well…” Lilli blushed prettily, looking down at her hands, as she often did when she was embarrassed. “I mean—”
“The answer is no.” Karn grinned at her. “I’ve never had any Mistress I like as much as you, Lilli.”
Which, again, was technically the truth, since he’d never had any Mistress at all before this mission.
“Really?” Her big brown eyes were bright as stars when she looked up at him and Karn couldn’t help himself—he put an arm around her waist and pulled her down for a gentle kiss. She tasted of the silki fruit she’d been eating at First Meal—a sweet, fragrant delight.
Lilli froze for a moment and then kissed him back eagerly.
“Oh, Karn,” she whispered, when he broke the kiss at last. “I’m pretty sure we shouldn’t do that but it’s really nice.”
“I like it too, baby,” he murmured, smiling at her. “But I guess we’d better get down to business,” he added when the cube beeped at him softly, letting him know it had found what he was looking for.
The liquid crystal screen, which floated above the desk the same way the desktop floated above the carpet, suddenly filled with a list of names and locations.
“Oh…” Lilli leaned on his shoulder and stared at the screen with wide eyes. “What’s that?”
“A listing of all the Kindred who are currently being kept as bodyslaves,” Karn said grimly.
Surreptitiously, he pressed the fingernail of the ring finger on his left hand. The tiny spy device that had been grafted onto the nail buzzed quietly to life at once, sucking data from the computing unit and transferring it directly to the Mother Ship, hundreds of thousands of light years away.
There—mission complete, he thought. But was it? He thought not.
Quickly, he began manipulating the cube again.
“What are you looking for now?” Lilli asked.
“I’m searching the list for any known felons,” Karn answered. “Or any convicted of crimes. I…there—there it is!”
He pointed at the liquid crystal screen where a single name was outlined in red. Quickly, he twisted the cube to highlight it and asked for more information.
“Oh, my,” Lilli said faintly, reading the grizzly details over his shoulder. “This is awful, Karn.”
“What he’s accused of certainly is awful,” Karn agreed grimly. “But I’m not convinced he actually did it. Look—it says the records are incomplete.”
“Oh, and look where the crime happened,” Lilli exclaimed. “The Zangelo Building!”
“Fuck,” Karn swore softly to himself. “The very place we’re going tonight.”
It had to be more than coincidence, he thought. The Goddess must be facilitating this—she was still blessing his mission. She must mean for him to find out more about this Kindred bodyslave—a Nightwalker, by the information he was reading—and help free him.
“We can search for more clues when we get there,” Lilli said excitedly. “Well, if we can get away from the awards ceremony, that is.”
“I think we can manage somehow,” Karn said. He did a brief search for any more information and came up with nothing. Anything further would hopefully be found at the Zangelo Building. “Come on, little Mistress,” he said to Lilli. “Let’s get out of here.”
“And do what?” Lilli asked. “We still have hours before Mother comes to pick us up for the awards ceremony tonight.”
“Well…” Karn gave her a wolfish grin. “You could always try on your outfit for tonight. I’m interested to see how you look in those ‘formal panties’ you’re supposed to wear.”
Lilli blushed fetchingly but she didn’t seem reluctant. In fact, she nodded eagerly.
“I think that’s a good idea,” she murmured. “After all, I’m supposed to make sure they fit me just right.”
“And I’m supposed to practice kissing them,” Karn growled. Already he could feel his shaft rising at the thought. As a Kindred, there was nothing he loved more than kissing and tasting his female’s pussy. And though he would technically only be kissing Lilli’s panties, he had an idea his little Mistress wouldn’t mind if he kissed a little more deeply than was technically necessary.
Lilli’s blush deepened.
“Oh, do…you really want to do that?”
“Practice kissing your pussy? I mean your panties?” Karn lifted his eyebrows. “You have to ask, baby? Hell yes, I want to do it. Come on—let’s go!”
And he ushered her quickly out of the study, making certain everything was in its place and the door was locked securely behind them. Part of his mission was complete and now it was time to tend to the other part—time to tend to his little Mistress and bring her pleasure.