“But my dear, isn’t your mate half Beast Kindred?” the salesman asked, frowning. “You ought to be used to this and more if he is. Why a Beast Kindred’s shaft alone, not to mention his mating fist…but forgive me.” He shook his head. “I don’t wish to be crass.”
Luci eyed the black dildo again. So this was Kindred-sized, huh? And what in the world was a “mating fist”? Well, since she and Raze weren’t going to be together, it seemed she would never find out.
“Maybe…maybe I should just go with the patches,” she said reluctantly.
“Oh, but a couple agreeing to do a tandem scent book is so rare!” the scent salesman exclaimed. “I tell you what, my dear—I’ll double the fee we discussed. How about that?”
Well, that was simply too much money to turn down, Luci thought. It would not only allow her to win in court, she could also move away and start a whole new life far from Tony afterwards with that kind of money. It didn’t matter how huge the dildo scent collector thing was—she would do it.
“All right,” she said, nodding at last. “But how long do I have to wear it for?”
“Only overnight,” the two-nosed man assured her. “Well? What do you think?” He leaned forward anxiously.
“Okay.” Luci nodded. “I’ll do it.”
“Splendid!” His pale-yellow eyes glowed with excitement as he carefully re-shelved the glass-encased dildo. “Give me just a moment and I’ll go get you the kit.”
He left and returned in a moment with a much larger package wrapped in the same opaque black material the first one had been wrapped in.
“Here you are, my dear,” he said, presenting it to Luci as though he was giving her an expensive present. “Just follow the directions on the instructional vid, which is included in the kit. And be certain you encase the scent collector properly as soon as you, er, remove it, to preserve the freshest scent possible.”
“Of course.” Luci nodded. “Thank you for the, um, opportunity. This means a lot to me. I mean, it’s really going to help.”
“So glad to be of service!” The two-nosed salesman beamed at her. “Now, off you go, my dear! The sooner you bring back the scent collector all covered in your own lovely scent, the sooner I can pay you your fee.”
“All right.” Luci nodded again. “I’ll see you soon,” she called and left by the little door to go back to the front of the shop.
Seventeen
Raze was waiting for her when she came out into the front. He looked at the package in her arms and his face went as dark as a thundercloud.
“Lucia,” he said, his voice low and tight. “Please—don’t do this!”
“I’m sorry, Raze.” She shook her head. “But I have to. Please try to understand.”
“Is it money you need?” he asked desperately. “Just say the word and I’ll give it to you—as much as you need.”
But there was no way Luci felt comfortable asking to borrow the amount of money the two-nosed scent salesman was offering her. She had been thinking of maybe asking the big Kindred for a tenth that much but the opportunity to earn so much more all on her own was irresistible. It would give her a chance to stand on her own two feet for once and not have to take charity from anyone.
“I’m sorry,” she said again. “But with the money he’s going to give me, I can start a whole new life for me and the kids.”
“A whole new life? But why? Where will you go?” Raze looked worried. “Will you tell me where you are?”
“Why?” Luci asked, frowning. “You made it clear you don’t want to be part of our lives, Raze. So why do you need to know where we move to?”
“Damnit, Lucia…” He ran a hand over his buzz cut hair in a very human gesture of frustration. “Because I want to be sure you’re safe! Because I don’t want anyone to hurt you!”
“Well you’re too late for that,” Luci said crisply. “But don’t worry about it—I can take care of myself. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
She started to move past him but Raze quickly blocked her path.
“At least let me give you a ride back down to Earth,” he said. “I know it’s nighttime down there right now. I don’t want you going home alone in the dark.”
Luci frowned and raised her finger.
“Okay but on one condition—I don’t want to hear anymore about how I shouldn’t do the scent book stuff. I’m not going to spend the whole shuttle ride listening to you lecture me—I’m doing what I have to in order to survive and keep my family together and I refuse to be shamed for that.”
“All right,” he said stiffly. “I don’t think you’d agree to the scent collection if you understood the implications, but I can’t stop you and I won’t try.”