Playing Their Parts

“It’s fucking bullshit, is what it is,” The Beast repeated sullenly. “They were all just jealous that I was so good at shape-shifting—better than anyone else on Seculare Four.”

“It does make me wonder how a society of shape-shifters gets along,” Cassie remarked. “I mean, how do you tell each other apart if everyone can change their appearance at any time?”

“Smell, mostly,” The Beast said. “We all make pheromones that only others of our kind—other Imposters—can sense. The smell is as unique as a fingerprint or a retinal scan is to you humanoids.”

“Really?” Cassie said. She was genuinely interested this time. “So how did you fake other people’s scents?”

The Beast lifted his chin.

“That’s because I’m better than the average Imposter. I can fake smells too—not just change appearance. I’m the next step up on the evolutionary ladder. But the elders of my planet treated me like fucking dirt.” He spat on the mossy carpet and Cassie sidestepped hastily.

“So that’s how you ended up here?” she asked diplomatically.

The Beast nodded.

“Yeah—Gozer, I mean his Slimefullness, has been really good to me. He pays me to do what I was having to sneak around to do on Seculare Four.” He laughed, as though it was a good joke. “Imagine, getting paid to fuck!”

So he had been sexually assaulting women on his home planet—or at the very least, impersonating their lovers and husbands in order to have sex with them, Cassie thought. Sick bastard. She did have one more question for him, however.

“What does your real form look like?” she asked, looking up at The Beast. “Since you’re someplace safe, away from your home world, why not wear your real face and body instead of impersonating a Kindred?”

He scowled and pointed to the large open doorway they were coming up to.

“Here’s the Dining Hall. Anything you want to eat—there’s the buffet. I’d stay away from the Androgian food though—it’s literally made of edible rocks. It’s hard to work on such a full stomach.”

It hadn’t escaped Cassie’s notice that he had not answered her last question but she decided to let it pass.

“Thank you for the tour,” she said politely. “Are you staying to eat breakfast, er, First Meal?”

The Beast shook his head.

“Don’t have time. I’m due in The Romance Room for an early scene.”

“The Romance Room?” Cassie shook her head. “I don’t think you showed us that.”

“Oh, that’s because it’s one of the filming areas in the humanoid wing,” The beast told her. “It’s for softer porn—all fucking hearts and flowers and shit.” He shrugged.

“Maybe…maybe Stone and I will see you there, then. After we eat, I mean,” Cassie said uncertainly.

“Don’t think so. The two of you are more likely to be in The Cave,” The Beast said. “If that scrip his Slimefullness wrote for you is any indication, I mean.”

“The Cave?” Cassie’s heart was in her throat. She wondered what kind of porn was recorded there.

“Sure—that’s the place they film the rough stuff. I’ve got to go but it was nice talking to you, Mistress.” The Beast shot her a cocky grin. “Maybe you and I will get a chance to ‘work’ together sometime, while we’re both here.”

At this Stone, who had been standing right beside her, suddenly pushed in front of Cassie and glared at the other male, a low growl rumbling in his throat.

“Stone, stop—it’s okay—it’s all right!” Cassie stepped around her partner and nodded coolly at The Beast who had taken a step back.

“Really fucking over-protective,” he muttered, looking mistrustfully at Stone, who was practically vibrating with fury.

“My slave is just upset because as a Yonnite Mistress, I would never allow a male to, er, penetrate me under any circumstances,” Cassie told him, frowning.

“Oh no? No penetration at all?” The Beast cocked an eyebrow at her sardonically. “Think you’d better check that script Gozer wrote for you then, Mistress. You might be in for a nasty surprise.”

Then he winked at her and sauntered away from the Dining Hall, leaving Cassie to clutch the script in her hand and wonder what in the world it contained and what she and Stone were supposed to do to each other.

Thirty-Six

“Oh my God, Stone, this is awful! It starts out with me tying you up and flogging you!”

They were sitting in the busy Dining Hall, which was crowded with all kinds of humanoids from triple-breasted females from Erotica Six to males with multiple shafts growing out of all their limbs.

Stone ate a bite of tooka fruit and looked over his partner’s shoulder—an easy task since Cassandra was so much smaller than him. There was plenty of food to choose from, including a towering rack of tirano ribs, leesa milk pudding, and hot buttered ooloo balls but neither he nor his partner were very hungry. They had grabbed a bowl of fruit and gone to a far corner to study the script Gozeriam had written for them—which was, incidentally, titled “Forbidden One.”