“Well…” T’lle Vos’don looked around, as though he thought someone might be listening. “This is not something everyone knows. In fact, only the most trusted advisors and favorites of his Slimefullness are privy to the information. But he seemed to like you and your body-slave so much, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me telling you.”
“You’re very kind.” Cassie smiled at the little man ingratiatingly. “Please, go on.”
“All right, then. To get anywhere in the palace, you simply tap the wall and say where you want to go. Yes, it’s really that easy!” T’lle Vos’don exclaimed, beaming at her. “Here, allow me to demonstrate.”
He stepped over to the right-hand wall and tapped it smartly three times with his fingertip. In a low, but stern voice he commanded,
“By order of his Slimefullness, take me to room four hundred and ninety- seven in the humanoid actors’ wing.”
At once a tiny dot of light appeared on the smooth, white wall where the little man had tapped. It blinked off and on for a moment and then became a trail of lights, leading further down the hallway.
“And now we simply follow the lights!” T’lle Vos’don grinned at Cassie again. “They will take us directly to your bed chamber, Mistress!”
“How amazing!” Cassie exclaimed, not having to pretend to be amazed at all. “And how useful—I wish the buildings back on my home world had light guides like this.”
She thought of the time her father had gotten his gall bladder removed in Tampa General Hospital, a sprawling building that took up a large chunk of Davis Island. She and her mother had gotten lost twice going to visit him after the operation. A light guidance system like this would be really good in a big, confusing place like that.
“It is extremely useful, but please remember that it’s not commonly known,” T’lle Vos’don warned her. “Please don’t use it if anyone is around. It’s strictly for those late-night vid-shoots when you’re trying to find your way back to your room and there’s no one about to ask directions.”
“Of course—I’ll be discrete,” Cassie promised.
“Thank you. And now…here we are at your room. Just press your hand to the panel in the middle to open it. It will automatically key to your palm print and not allow anyone else to enter.”
They had turned the corner and ended up in front of a door with a number on it in a hallway filled with doors that were exactly alike. It reminded Cassie of a hotel back on Earth—except the carpet in the corridor appeared to be alive. It was a soft, cushiony moss that was bright red in some patches and orange and brown in others like autumn leaves.
“Thank you,” she said to T’lle Vos’don again. “You’ve been most kind.”
“I’m just looking forward to seeing more of your work, my dear.” He bowed to her formally. “My best wishes for a good night’s sleep. In the morning if you’re hungry, simply follow the other actors to the humanoid Dining Hall.”
Then he nodded again and whisked away, leaving Cassie alone with her partner, feeling awkward in a way she never had before.
Twenty-Eight
“Well, we passed the first hurtle,” Stone remarked, after checking their bed chamber thoroughly for bugs and vid devices and assuring himself they weren’t being watched or listened to. “We got the job without blowing our cover.”
“Yes, I guess we did.” Cassandra shot him an unreadable glance and then looked away, her cheeks slightly pink.
Stone frowned.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Wrong? No, of course not,” she denied quickly. “This is a nice room, isn’t it? Look—we even have a floating beanbag bed. Never seen one of those before.”
She drifted over to the immense mattress which was shaped rather like the human chair called a “beanbag” and stroked its side. It had a shiny golden cover on it and it was hovering about a meter up in the air. It looked big enough for two, but Stone wasn’t sure they ought to share it. For one thing, it might look strange if a Mistress invited her body-slave to sleep with her.
And for another thing, you might not be able to keep your hands off her, whispered a disapproving voice in his head. What came over you, telling her exactly how you feel for her and how much you want her as you were giving her a massage? What were you thinking, Stone?
The answer, of course, was that he hadn’t been thinking. He had allowed his feelings for Cassandra to run away with him and had done and said some very unwise things as a consequence.
But maybe it was time to let his feelings for her out—time to take a chance, Stone thought. He had smelled her desire for him as he touched her and felt the way her body reacted. Her soft little pussy had been glistening with her juices as he massaged her. Maybe it was time to take a chance.