13. Kara
13
KARA
The inside of her suite at the Fem Lovely Resort was absolutely gorgeous, Kara thought. She soon saw why it was called “The Twinkling Stars Suite.” Embedded in the ceiling were thousands—maybe millions—of teeny, tiny lights that emitted a soft, golden glow that filled the entire suite with an air of magic.
Kara found a remote on the wall that controlled them and soon discovered that she could change the color from gold to silver or any other color she wanted. She decided to leave them gold for now though. The color softened the mostly white interior of the suite and made everything feel grand and luxurious, like the low lighting in an expensive restaurant.
She was standing in the living room area which had a vast white couch filled with fluffy cushions. Across from it was a fireplace with a screen mounted above it. Kara spent some time studying the fireplace to see how it worked but there was no wood in it or any way to light it. She thought for a moment that it might be like one of those gas fireplaces you could turn on with a switch, but there was no switch to be found either.
“Well, that’s kind of a bummer,” she muttered to herself. Probably her attendant was supposed to take care of making a fire for her, but she was sure Brother Feex would only resent her if she asked him to do his job. Actually, she didn’t even know how to reach him—he’d just left her without giving her any contact information at all. His superior, Father Gobash, probably wouldn’t approve, but she wasn’t the type to tattle on anyone. She could make do without a fire, she decided —even though it really would be nice to have one.
The screen had a small remote control which she used to turn it on and flip through the entertainment options. The different channels were helpfully labeled at the bottom right corner.
“Love Channel,” said one which showed a scene of two Paradisian actors staring soulfully into each other’s third eyes. “Fight Channel,” said another which showed two men punching each other as hard as they could. There was also a Food Channel that showed mouthwatering photos of unfamiliar alien cuisine and a Sports Channel, that showed people jumping and hopping through a complicated series of swinging ropes—it reminded Kara of playing Double Dutch when she was a kid.
The Sex Channel was what she lingered on the longest. It showed Paradisians giving each other the “Kiss of Pleasure” in many different ways and positions—they seemed to really like oral sex here, Kara thought dryly.
At last she snapped off the screen and went to look at the rest of the suite. There was a small kitchenette with a cold unit, sort of like a mini refrigerator, but no other appliances that Kara could see except for one. Sitting in the middle of the small table, which was just big enough for two, was something that looked a little bit like a microwave oven. It had a door with a handle and a knob in the front and a long cord coming from the side of it.
At first Kara thought the cord was to plug into the wall, but she couldn’t find an outlet. And when she looked more closely at the cord itself, she saw that it didn’t end in any kind of plug. Instead there was a small black suction cup, a little larger than a coil—how strange .
She opened the odd appliance but it was empty inside and there was nothing to see so she closed it again and left the empty kitchenette. Probably it was another feature that Brother Feex was supposed to show her and hadn’t.
There hadn’t been much to see in the last room, but once Kara stepped into the bedroom she immediately fell in love. The bed was vast and pillowy with a puffy cream linen spread and lots of fluffy pillows. There was a tall window with a rounded top and a picturesque view of the city down below.
The nightstand beside the bed held a collection of books that seemed to be written for women, by women. Some of the titles were deep— The Light Within You: Unlocking your Divine Feminine Power, read the spine of one book. But others appeared to be of the smutty variety. Belinda’s Adventures with Three Well Hung Brothers, and Trapped in the Magic Cabin with My Sexy, Muscular Coworker were two that stood out to Kara.
Apparently the Paradisians weren’t coy about their love for written porn. Or it could just be that her Translation Bacteria was translating things extremely literarily—either way, she was interested in reading several of the books.
The tiny lights embedded in the ceiling above cast a golden glow over the entire bedroom and a faint floral scent floated through the air. The whole room was inviting and relaxing—Kara was glad all over again she hadn’t let J’orn talk her out of staying here.
Speaking of her ex-assistant, she wondered where he was right now. Had he found any clues about the kidnapping ring? It was certainly a good thing she’d booked herself into an all-female resort, she thought. It was nice not to have to worry about that kind of thing. This was going to be the most relaxing vacation she’d had in years .
She stepped into the bathroom and saw that the luxury continued there. The marble walls were a deep, cerulean blue studded all over with tiny specks of silver. They looked like stars in the night sky, Kara thought.
There was a broad bathtub that looked almost deep enough to swim in and a large shower stall that was big enough for four or five people to use at once. Kara found a plush bathrobe hanging on the back of the door and a selection of blown glass bottles all filled with what she assumed were shampoo and bubble bath sitting on the edge of the tub. There were also several long-handled back scrubbers as well as a large scrubbing mitt which was soft on one side and abrasive on the other.
This brought to mind what Gaela had said about having her attendant wash her hair and scrub her. Just the idea of letting the creepy Brother Feex see her in the nude—let alone allowing him to touch her and wash her—made Kara cringe. She was glad that he was so inattentive—it would have been extremely off-putting if he actually wanted to care for her in that way.
She drew a warm bath in the vast tub, adding some of the sweet-smelling liquid from one of the bottles which made mountains of foamy bubbles. Then she sank down into the tub and relaxed, letting the stress of the day wash away as she thoroughly enjoyed herself.
After soaking in the tub for several hours, she got out and lounged on the bed for a while, reading a few of the books from the nightstand. There was one about a girl who got caught in a never-melting ice storm—which was apparently the Paradise Prime version of a snowstorm—in a small cabin with her gruff but handsome neighbor. They found a bottle of exotic liquor to drink, not knowing that it contained houpiter berries, which were apparently an aphrodisiac.
The woman in the story drank much more than her neighbor, who didn’t like the taste. Then she got violently horny and her breasts filled with thick, sticky nectar. She had to beg him to suck it out and afterward he had to fuck her to release the last of the wine from her system…or something like that. It didn’t really make a lot of sense, but it was sexy as hell.
Kara enjoyed the story—though the alien prose got a little convoluted at times—but she couldn’t help picturing herself as the female protagonist and J’orn as the gruff and growly neighbor. What would happen if her breasts filled with nectar and he had to suck it out?
Don’t be silly, she told herself, when she realized what she was doing. Stop this ridiculous daydreaming and go do something else!
Her stomach was growling and it was definitely dinner time so she decided to try and find something to eat. She put down the book and found her carry-all cube, which had been left on the bed for her. She slipped into her favorite flowered dress along with some strappy sandals. She wasn’t going to leave the resort—she’d promised J’orn to stay put. But she still wanted to look nice while she wandered around.
There must be some kind of lounge or a machine where you can buy snacks or something, she thought as she opened the door to her room. There must be ? —
Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked down and saw a small piece of paper lying in front of her door. Picking it up, she saw an alien language written in elaborate, curving script. Thanks to her Translation Bacteria, she was able to make it out.
“Kara my dear, do come have Last Meal with me tonight,” the note read. “I’m so lonely and I don’t feel like going out. Just come over and put your hand on the door—I’ve had Nono key it for a guest.
Love, Gaela.”