At that point, Rissa was naked except for her thigh-high, white silk hose and the ice gel pads which were stuck to her points with the sticky glue on their backs.
She held her head high, but couldn’t help blushing as James knelt before her and helped her take off her stockings. Her nether mouth, with its delicate fuzz of brownish-blond curls, was so close to his face!
But she reminded herself that she had been undressed by Lady Mildew many, many times and it had never embarrassed her—she would not be embarrassed now. After all, a Royal Princess must have help to remove her clothing and her new Companion was just a kind of robot—why should it be embarrassing to let him help undress her?
Then James looked up at her, frowning. He was so tall that he didn’t have to look far—in fact, they were almost eye-to-eye, even with Rissa standing and him kneeling before her.
“I am not certain about the, er, items you have on your chest, my Lady,” he said. “Are they also to be removed?”
“Oh, yes—they, er, peel off,” Rissa exclaimed. “Like this…” She pinched the edge of one ice gel pack and began to tug it away from her stiff peak, but Lady Mildew stopped her with a derisive snort.
“Are you trying to undress yourself, girl? You know Royalty must have help with such things!”
“Why?” James asked, frowning, before Rissa could react. “I can understand the Princess’s need for help in getting off the heavy wigs and gowns she is forced to wear,” he continued. “But why must she have help removing her undergarments?”
“Why…why because!” Lady Mildew exclaimed. “It is our custom. And who are you to question our customs?” she added, glaring at the big warrior.
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling.
“I only asked to acquire information that will aide me in serving the Princess and keeping her safe. I wanted to know if there was a practical reason she was unable to undress herself.”
“If you’re too lazy to undress her properly—” Lady Mildew began.
“Of course not,” James interrupted smoothly. “Please, allow me to do that, Princess,” he added, and grasped the edge of the right gel ice pack and tugged it gently but smoothly away from her glowing point.
When it came away, his metallic blue eyes rested briefly on her red-hot nipple and Rissa had the idea that he wanted to ask her a question. But then his eyes flickered quickly away and he pulled the pad off the other nipple and nodded at her.
“There, Princess—you are ready for your bath.” He rose and took a respectful step back.
“Not quite.” Lady Mildew stepped forward and pointed the small, black remote control as the silver Chastity Wire. It made a sizzling sound and then Rissa felt its steady, constant hum cease abruptly as it went dead for the time being. Lady Mildew took the wire from around her waist and nodded at her. “Well—go on, get in.”
Feeling more naked than she ever had with the big Kindred in the room, Rissa walked to the tub filled with icy water and stepped down into it.
As always since her Heat Cycle had begun, the frigid water made her shiver but felt good at the same time. When she sank down so that it covered her large breasts, twin puffs of steam rose from her peaks and they went from glowing cherry-red to their normal berry-dark.
Below, Rissa could feel the cool water caressing her nether lips as well. She wished that she dared to reach between her legs and spread herself open to allow the cold water better access to her forbidden regions—what a relief it would be to cool the burning down there!
But even without the Chastity Wire to shock her, she didn’t dare. Lady Mildew was standing there, glaring at her, and the water was crystal clear—it would be obvious that she was touching herself in places she should not. So she simply sank further down in the tub and sighed as the cold water did its best to chill her Fire Blood.
But she wasn’t allowed to relax for long.
“Well?” Lady Mildew exclaimed, glaring at James. “Why are you not scrubbing the Princess, you great oaf? Do you think your job is just to loll around watching her all day?”
James frowned at her.
“You know, Lady Mildew, you have accused me more than once of wishing to touch Princess Ka’rissa in an improper way, though I have told you I am a cyborg and have no desires in that direction. But then you urge me to undress her and scrub her naked body. There would seem to be a dichotomy between your words and actions.”
“How dare you accuse me of having a…a…whatever it was you just said?” Lady Mildew exclaimed. “I’m just trying to tell you to do your job, you idiot robot! The Princess must be bathed. As her Companion for many years, that lot always fell to me. So if you’re too stupid to do it, I can show you how—”