14. Kara
14
KARA
Kara looked at the note doubtfully, but to be honest, she really didn’t feel like wandering around the big resort either. It couldn’t hurt to go to her neighbor’s suite, she decided. And if she didn’t like it, she could always just make an excuse and leave.
She stepped across the hall and knocked tentatively at first and then a little louder. But no one came, even though she was sure she could hear voices on the other side of the white and gold door.
At last, she placed her hand flat against the wooden door and watched as her handprint lit up. With a soft click, it opened and Kara was able to walk inside.
Gaela’s suite was laid out a lot like hers, except it had much different coloring. The carpeting in here was a thick, black fur—Kara sank in nearly up to her ankles. The furniture was black too and the overhead lights were set to a deep blue, which gave an almost undersea effect.
“Kara, is that you?” Gaela’s voice called from the interior of the suite.
“Er, yes. I came in like your note told me to—I hope that’s okay,” Kara called back.
“Of course it is. Come on through—I’m in the bathing chamber!” was the reply along with the sound of splashing water.
Kara didn’t really want to see her neighbor naked so she called back,
“Oh, that’s okay—I don’t mind waiting out here until you’re done.”
“Nonsense!” Gaela insisted. “Come back here please, I need to talk to you.”
Reluctantly, Kara walked through the suite and found herself in the bathroom. It was every bit as big and luxurious as her own but Gaela wasn’t in the tub.
Instead she and her attendant, Brother Nono, were both in the shower. Both of them were nude—though thank goodness the frosted glass the shower stall was made of didn’t show more than the outlines of their bodies. Still, that was enough for Kara to see that Brother Nono was scrubbing Gaela with one of the washing mitts.
“Mmm, that’s right, Nono,” she was purring as she arched her back and presented him with a large, rounded ass. “Scrub me allll over—there’s a good boy!”
“Yes, My Lady.” Nono’s voice sounded hoarse as he bent to his work. Kara wondered if he was getting sexual satisfaction from this scenario. Or at least gratification, since satisfaction was impossible with the cage around his cock.
Gaela had him scrub her breasts as well.
“Touch me, Nono,” Kara heard her saying. “Do you like to fill your hands with my tits? Do you like to play with my nipples? Should I let you suck them to make sure they’re clean?”
“Goddess Eternal, My Lady!” Nono groaned. “If you wish me to suck them, you know I will—I will do anything in my power to serve you.”
“Mmm, that’s what I like to hear. Then you may suck them—go ahead.”
Kara watched through the frosted glass as the male figure of Nono bent in silhouette to suck Lady Winthrip’s tight peaks. It was like an X-rated shadow show. Gaela moaned appreciatively and stroked her fingers through his hair, urging him to “suck harder! Pretend I just had some houpiter berries and you’re trying to get the nectar out!”
Nono groaned something Kara couldn’t understand and sucked harder until Gaela finally told him to stop.
“That was very good, Nono,” she purred, reaching up to cup his cheek. “You made my pussy very wet with your sucking.”
“Yes, My Lady. Would you like me to give you the Kiss of Pleasure?” he asked eagerly.
“Not now,” Gaela told him. “We have a guest waiting for us. Just turn off the shower and dry me.”
“Yes, My Lady,” he murmured submissively and then shut off the water.
“I’ll be with you in a minute,” Gaela called to Kara. “I just have to let Nono dry me off.”
“All right.” Kara nodded, though she doubted the other woman could see her through the frosted glass. She understood the real reason she’d been invited over now and it wasn’t for dinner—it was clear that Lady Winthrip was an exhibitionist who liked having an audience.
Normally, Kara would have been put off by this, but she found she didn’t mind so much—maybe because of the spicy novel she’d been reading earlier or maybe just because she was on vacation and feeling loose and relaxed from her own bath earlier. Besides, it was kind of sexy the way Gaela dominated her attendant.
She watched through the glass as Nono knelt in front of Gaela and dried her thoroughly with a towel. Then he draped another towel around her and the door to the shower opened at last.
“Ah, there you are! Sorry to keep you waiting,” Gaela purred, smiling at Kara. Her bright pink skin was practically glowing—her attendant had clearly been hard at work scrubbing her for some time.
Scrubbing and sucking, Kara thought and felt her cheeks go hot with a blush.
But Gaela seemed completely unembarrassed about the show she’d just put on. She strutted around the bathroom with only a towel on until Brother Nono emerged from the shower as well. He was naked and Kara could see he was actually quite well-muscled, though not nearly as big or muscular as J’orn was. He still had the silver cage around his cock and she wondered again if he was aching with sexual need from being denied an orgasm for so long.
“Nono, get me my robe,” Gaela ordered him.
“Yes, My Lady.” Swiftly, he draped the plush white bathrobe around her shoulders and picked up the towel she dropped at her feet. Then he put on his own green monk’s robe again and knelt in front of her. “How else may I serve you, My Lady? Do you require the Kiss of Pleasure now?” he asked, looking up at her hopefully.
“You’re always so eager to serve, my darling Nono.” Gaela caressed his damp, silver hair. “But not now. Perhaps tonight when you tuck me into bed. Or maybe not until tomorrow—it depends on how I feel.”
Nono seemed to be swallowing a groan of frustration but he only nodded and rose to stand in front of her.
“Then what can I do to serve you, My Lady?”
“Well, nothing at the moment. Kara and I are going to use the Thought-cooker and make ourselves some dinner,” Gaela told him. She smiled at Kara. “Unless you’ve already eaten?”
“Er, no—there’s no food in my suite,” Kara admitted.
Gaela’s bright blue eyes went wide with surprise.
“What? Don’t you have a Thought-cooker?”
“A what?” Kara shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is.”
“Why, it’s the appliance that feeds you around here! Didn’t that awful Brother Feex show it to you or explain how it works?” As she talked, Gaela led the way back to the kitchenette area.
“No, he didn’t show me anything,” Kara said. “He just brought me to the suite and left.”
“And he didn’t give you any way to contact him?” Gaela looked scandalized when Kara shook her head. “Why, that is completely unacceptable, my dear!” She turned to Brother Nono, who was still hovering near her. “Nono, I have a new job for you. Go down to Father Gobash and tell him that my good friend Kara needs a new attendant. That awful Feex just won’t do for her at all!”
“Oh no—I don’t want to get anyone in trouble!” Kara protested. “In fact, I kind of like having my suite to myself,” she added.
Gaela raised her eyebrows.
“But without an attendant you don’t have anyone to scrub you or take care of you. And worst of all, you don’t have anyone to tease.” As she spoke, she reached out and slid her hand over the part of Brother Nono’s robe where his crotch would be. The result was a low groan from her attendant, but he didn’t try to pull away. In fact, he thrust forward, into her hand.
“That’s right, you like that, don’t you, sweet boy?” Gaela purred as she caressed him. “Would you like it if I unlocked your cock-cage? I have the key, you know. I got it just in case you were extra good. Do you think you could be good if I unlocked you or would you be so hot and bothered you’d try to mount me? Maybe while I was bending over the bed you’d try to sneak up behind me and?—”
“Uh, what exactly is the ‘Thought-cooker’ you were talking about?” Kara interrupted. It was one thing to watch the two of them put on a show through the frosted glass of the shower stall but quite another to see it right up close and personal like this. The secondhand embarrassment was making her cringe!
“Oh, sorry sweetie! I get so distracted teasing poor Nono here.” Gaela withdrew her hand and walked over to the small table, which had the same kind of microwave-looking device that Kara had in her own suite. Gaela sat and Kara took the seat opposite her.
“So this is the Thought-cooker?” she asked, nodding at the device. “We don’t have anything like that where I’m from.”
“I believe these are exclusive to the Fem Lovely Resort,” Gaela said. “I’d love to take one home but they won’t sell them. I’ll show you how to use it but first, Nono—get us some of that delicious Joopital wine I bought the other day.”
“At once, My Lady.” He went to the cold unit and got out a large green bottle. A moment later he brought them two crystal goblets each half full of a deep blue wine.
Gaela put her glass to her nose and took a deep sniff. Then she took a sip and sighed in satisfaction.
“Mmmm! Delicious. Try it, my dear!” she urged Kara.
Kara took a cautious sip of the blue wine and found that it really was good. It didn’t taste very alcoholic at all—it was more like some kind of sweet and tart melted fruit jelly. Only the fruit was one she’d never had before.
“It’s really good, right?” Gaela asked, draining her glass and motioning Nono to pour more for both of them.
“Oh yes—yes, it is.” Kara took a bigger drink—the wine was wonderful but she really shouldn’t be drinking on an empty stomach, she thought. “You told me you were going to show me how to use the Thought-cooker,” she reminded Gaela.
“Oh yes—of course. Look, this is how you use it.”
Gaela picked up the suction cup end of the black cord and pressed it to her right temple. Then she closed her eyes and her forehead furrowed in concentration. After a moment the machine turned on with a humming sound and Kara smelled something cooking. The scent was savory and herbal and vaguely tomatoey.
Finally there was a ding! and the light turned off.
“Good—it’s done.” Gaela opened her eyes and removed the suction cup from her temple. Then she reached into the microwave— no, the Thought-cooker, Kara reminded herself—and withdrew a steaming plate heaped high with something that looked like blue pasta tubes about as big as her thumb in chunky green and red sauce.
“Oh—how did you do that?” Kara couldn’t help being amazed. “Was that already in there before you started and you just heated it up?”
“Naturally not, my dear—I thought it into existence,” Gaela said loftily. “This is shawlenfrowl —one of my favorite dishes from back home on Bingelow Alpha—that’s where my sweet hubby lives when he’s not traveling,” she added. “But he’s always so far away from me—that’s why he doesn’t mind me coming to have some fun here at the Fem Lovely.” She smiled fondly as though thinking of her absent husband and then handed the suction cup to Kara. “Now you try.”
“How do I do it?” Kara asked, putting the black suction cup to her right temple. “Do I just wish for whatever food I want?”
“Sort of—you need to picture it in your mind—imagine it in great detail. Think of the way it looks but not just that—imagine the way it tastes—the way it feels on your tongue and between your teeth when you bite into it,” Gaela instructed. “Think about the scent too—how does it smell? Just remember everything about it and concentrate as hard as you can—the Thought-cooker will do the rest.”
Kara closed her eyes and pressed the suction cup even harder against her temple. It would probably be better to try something simple, she thought. She decided to picture a medium rare steak cooked to perfection and a baked potato with butter and sour cream.
Having decided what to “order” she concentrated on making the image come to life in her head. She pictured the juicy meat of a New York Strip and the crispy, salty skin of the baked potato. Then she added the creamy butter and the cool sour cream mixing together in the fluffy interior of the potato and thought how good it would taste in her mouth…how she would probably have to blow on it a little because it was hot and how…
Ding!
“Oh, there it is—you’re all done,” Gaela said, interrupting her thoughts.
Kara opened her eyes and watched as the other woman pulled open the door of the Thought-cooker. Inside, sitting on a plain china plate, was a juicy New York Strip steak and a crispy baked potato.
“My that smells delicious,” Gaela remarked, smiling. “What is it?”
“It’s called a New York Strip—it’s a cut of meat from an Earth animal called a cow,” Kara explained.
Gaela’s interest turned to horror.
“My dear—are you saying that the people of your planet eat other living beings?”
“Er…well, yes—but just animals. They’re not sentient,” Kara hastily explained.
“That’s still not right.” Gaela shook her head disapprovingly. “My people eat only dishes made from fungus that we grow in our Pure-Light Gardens.”
“But this particular steak isn’t from a real cow, right?” Kara countered. “I mean, I’m not sure what the food the Thought-cooker makes is made it from, but?—”
“Oh, all the food is made from juluum,” Gaela told her. “It’s a kind of all-purpose protein/carbohydrate paste that the Thought-cooker forms into whatever shape and consistency you tell it to.”
“Paste?” Kara looked down at her steak and potato uncertainly.
“Yes, but it takes on the exact flavor and texture of whatever you imagine. Let’s try it and you’ll see!” Gaela turned to Brother Nono. “Bring us some utensils,” she ordered. “Oh, and more wine.”
“At once, My Lady.” He bowed and went to rummage in one of the drawers. A moment later he came back with two, three-tined instruments with their points set in a triangular shape and a knife that was serrated on both edges.
“Now, try your dish and see if it tastes how it should,” Gaela instructed. She seemed to have gotten over the idea of Kara eating a “living being” and was eagerly watching to see what she thought.
Kara used the knife and triangle-fork to cut off a small piece of the steak. It looked pink inside and oozed juices just like a real steak would have, she noted. She put it in her mouth and chewed experimentally. It was juice, fatty, salty, and altogether delicious.
“Mmm!” She nodded approvingly at Gaela. “Yes, it’s really good,” she said when she swallowed. “Just like a real steak!”
“Oh, good!” Her new friend smiled. “Can I try a bite then?”
“Even though the real thing comes from a cow?” Kara asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Yes but this is actually just reformed juluum, so it’s all right. I’ll let you try some of mine too,” Gaela told her.
They exchanged bites. Gaela didn’t much care for the steak but she loved the fluffy baked potato. Kara smiled to see the expression of pure bliss on the other woman’s face as she tried a bite.
“Oh my—salty and creamy and just a little sour from that white stuff,” she said, pointing at the sour cream. “That’s delicious!”
“I’m glad you like it. And that’s a potato—it’s a plant that grows in the ground,” Kara told her.
“Oh good—I’m so glad you eat plants as well as animals,” Gaela said. “I was beginning to fear you came from a planet of barbarians!”
She gave Kara a bite from her own plate and Kara thought it tasted a little like lasagna if it was made with sausage and peppers. There was also a hint of dark chocolate in the aftertaste which should have been awful but was somehow delicious instead.
After they finished their meals and drank several more glasses of wine, Gaela had Brother Nono wash the dishes and suggested watching a show.
“There’s some exciting programming on the Action Channel,” she told Kara. “Or if you’d rather watch something else?—”
“The Action Channel is fine,” Kara told her. Despite the other woman’s exhibitionist tendencies, she found she was enjoying spending time with Gaela. It had been ages since she’d had a girl’s night because most of her friends still lived back on Earth and it was hard to coordinate their schedules. Plus the dark blue wine was making her feel warm and cozy and slightly light-headed—she was happy to sit on the couch and watch a mindless action movie.
They settled on the large, plush couch—Gaela’s was black instead of white—and watched a show about a group of men and women who were trying to get to the top of a mountain for some reason. To her surprise, Kara was instantly engaged with it. There were lots of near misses as the Paradisian mountaineers lost their handholds or footholds and some of them nearly fell, keeping Kara on the edge of her seat.
There was also a lot of tension within the group—half of them wanted to go around the mountain and try a different route and the other half wanted to stick to the side of the mountain they already knew. There was infighting and even romantic intrigue as a man from the first group tried to seduce a man from the second group. Kara really enjoyed it, despite not understanding some of the Paradisian phrases the characters used. Apparently, her Translation Bacteria had limits.
As the first show ended with all but one of the characters reaching the summit of the mountain, Kara was just thinking this was the most relaxing and enjoyable evening she’d had in a long time.
“Well, that was exciting, wasn’t it?” Gaela, who was sitting on the other end of the couch, remarked. “Let’s see what else we can find. But first I want to get more comfortable”
Then she called for Brother Nono and things got weird.