Stark Pleasure; the Space Magnate's Mistress (The LodeStar Series) (29 page)

“There, you see?” he chided, smoothing the fabric over her hips. “Just another piece of jewelry.

Kiri had to admit that while unusual, the chains made a pretty belt and the length down between her breasts lay in the folds of fabric, blending with the gown. She was so relieved he wasn’t going to make her wear the balls in her pussy she didn’t complain that they tickled her thighs.

“One more thing,” Stark whispered and kissed her ear, nibbling softly on the shell as he cupped her breasts in his big, warm hands and then pinched her nipples. Kiri gasped as they sprang to instant attention, and he made a low sound of approval as he worked them hard.
 

Then he let go, and smiled at her in the mirror. “There. You look supremely fuckable, kitten. Let me know if you get … bored this evening, and I’ll take care of you.”

Kiri didn’t answer. She was too busy staring at her nipples, poking through the thin fabric like little spears. The fabric abraded them, and she had the horrid suspicion they weren’t going to subside anytime soon—not with him touching her.

Stark tugged her away from the mirrors. “Come along, No more time to admire your pretty self.”

“I’m not admiring,” she sputtered. “I’m—I look almost naked.”

“Yes,” he agreed.”I certainly won’t be bored this evening.”

He gave her just time to grab the evening cloak and bag, and they were on their way out to the cruiser. Kiri wanted to dash back into the penthouse and hide in bed. The evening ahead made her night out at Le Tigre seem as tame as a ride on the spaceport hoverway.

Chapter 24

Kiri had seen the Grand Lava Hotel and Casino from outside—it was impossible to miss with the holovid volcano spewing lava and sparks night and day atop the skyscraper. Silly, because the only volcanoes on Earth II had been harnessed for energy production long ago.
 

She knew from history lessons that Old Seattle on Earth I had had volcanoes that blew centuries before and covered the city in mud and debris hundreds of feet thick. No picturesque lava involved.
 

However, this faux volcano was certainly spectacular. Gaping at the fiery display, she nearly tripped on the carpet laid out on the landing pad.

“Head down, kitten,” Stark murmured, smacking her on the bottom. “Or shall I carry you?”

Kiri gave him an indignant look. They were surrounded by other beings in lavish evening wear, and he’d spanked her?

He bowed to a Serpentian couple in brilliant evening wear. “Yes,” he murmured to her. “And I’ll do it again if needed, so behave.”

“Great,” she grumbled. “I can dress you up, but I can’t make
you
behave.”

He crooked his arm for her to take.”No, you can’t. Remember that.”

A wide awning had been set up to shield the roof-top arrivals from the rain. Kiri shuddered as the acid droplets pelted the clear sides of the enclosure. Beyond them, sky traffic zoomed and hovered, signal lights a blurred wash of color against the black night.
 

Kiri hung on to Stark’s arm as they paced along the walkway toward the open doors ahead, which resembled the opening of a plant-edged grotto opening into the mountain under the volcano. Holo-vines and holo-ferns swayed in an imaginary breeze.
 

The walkway was lined with huge Argonautians holding spears. At first startled glance Kiri thought they were naked, but then she saw they wore brief purple loincloths nearly the same hue as their skin.

Inside, lights flashed and glittered, red and golden ‘lava’ shooting up from a central holo-fountain to stream over the heads of the hundreds of guests mingling in the huge, sunken room. Huge ferns and vines, so lifelike Kiri wasn’t sure if they were real or not, walled the room, and every seat and table appeared to have been carved of some exotic wood.
 

Long bars were attended by beautiful women and men wearing brief, clinging garments, and overhead dancers writhed on long vines, twirling through the air.

Kiri had never seen anything like it, but the beings chatting and laughing, posturing in their gilded evening clothes seemed to find it nothing out of the ordinary.
 

She and Stark were the cynosure of avid gazes as he led her through the crowd. In the lovely gown and wrap, she nearly felt as if she could hold her own. Stark nodded to many men and women, but he didn’t pause until they’d reached one of the bars. Kiri was glad—most of the women seemed to be trying to use their heavily made-up eyes as lasers, on her at least.

“What will you drink?” he asked her.

Kiri eyed the variety behind the bar. “Something with fruit, please.”

“A tropical sun for the lady,” Stark told the bartender. “And a moon brandy for me.”

The bartender, her bare breasts painted with green and gold glitter, smiled at Stark, and Kiri gave her a warning glare.
 

“What do you think?” Stark asked her, turning his back on the bar to survey the room.

She looked around, letting her wrap slip down her arms to the crook of her elbows. Other women wore their wraps that way, as did a few men. “Your associates sure know how to party.”

His hand slipped from her waist to cup her ass. “Remember that. These are just people—with a bit more credit or influence. Some earned, some inherited, some stolen.”

She looked up at him. “You earned yours.”

He returned her look. “Not always in sunlight, kitten. Don’t romanticize me.”

Even though he was holding her, she felt as if he’d just pushed her firmly away. She was surprised by how much that stung. She forced a laugh and looked away. “So serious. I thought we were here to party. And if this is a casino, where’s the gambling?”

“I might have known you’d want to gamble. Through there.” He nodded toward one side of the ballroom, where lava poured through a rift in the rock and vines. “You’re welcome to it. I’ve set a credit limit for you.”

“Thank you. Don’t want to lose too much of your credit,” she said. “Rather spend it on my coffee stand.”

Stark bent to brush his nose and mouth along the curve of her bare neck. Kiri shivered with pleasure. “Don’t worry,” he murmured in her ear. “I’ll take it out of your sweet hide, little cat.”

Kiri accepted her drink, a tall flute of golden liquid topped with a creamy froth and a bright fuchsia bloom. She took a sip, avoiding looking at Stark. She believed him. And she was so bent that the mere thought of working off a gambling debt with sex made her pussy clench.

She peered down and saw that her nipples were hard again, or still. Every breath sent the fabric of her dress whispering over them.
 

Stark took a drink of his brandy and clinked his glass gently against hers, his gaze warm. “Supremely fuckable. Come along, I’ve people to talk with.”

The next hour was a blur of beings, from elegant to shocking, friendly to icy. They all had one thing in common: wealth dripped from their fingertips. Slowly Kiri realized this was just another decadent nightclub. The patrons were simply a bit older and more richly dressed than those at Le Tigre and Flash. There were heavy drinkers and even druggers in the crowd; she recognized the glassy stares and languid movements.

 
Stark introduced her to the mayor potentate, senators and commissioners of this and that. She liked the mayor potentate immediately. She was a tall, commanding woman with a sly twinkle in her eye, her stout figure encased in dark satin with the broad ribbon of her office draped from shoulder to hip. Her partner was a stunningly lovely Serpentian in emerald diamante.
 

“A collar,” the mayor approved, looking Kiri over with clear appreciation. “Very wise, Logan. I’d be inviting her to join a threesome myself.”

Kiri froze.
Quark.
These people knew what the collar meant? Stark had been serious.
 

He merely smiled lazily. “As a mere male, I thought it wise to forestall any such attempts.”

The other two women laughed, and Kiri looked up at him through her lashes. There was nothing ‘mere’ about Stark. He wore his air of command like an aura. She couldn’t believe that out of all the enhanced women in the huge room he wanted to be with her.

“Perhaps we’ll see you at one of the clubs?” the mayor suggested, lifting her brows at Stark.

He nodded. “Eventually.”

“Excellent.” The two women were smiling as Stark led Kiri away.

“You want to explain these clubs of yours?” she asked suspiciously.

Already greeting another couple, Stark ignored her question. She’d ask him later, that was certain. She wasn’t going to any twisty sex club where other women would want to touch him.

A loud gong sounded, ringing over the noise of conversation.

“Ah, dinner time.” Stark turned Kiri to the stream of people already moving toward one of the openings.
 

He led her to a table in the center of the dining room. The tables were decorated with centerpieces of lush greenery and the most beautiful flowers Kiri had ever seen, brilliant red, fuchsia and yellow. Their heavy blooms nodded, with long waxy stamens protruding from the centers. Kiri blinked as she sat in the chair Stark held for her. The flowers were almost sexual.

She wriggled in her chair, letting the chained balls fall between her thighs. She was looking forward to her dinner until she heard a smooth, familiar voice. “Logan, here you are.”

It was Haassea, in a sleek gown of cream diamante, long earrings dripping to her shoulders and an ornate stole hanging from her arms. Then Kiri looked at her escort and her eyes widened. Lithe, auburn haired, clearly Serpentian with his golden skin, tilted green eyes and high cheekbones, he was quite possibly the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. He wore a fitted suit of olive raw lii silk, and a heavy gold choker, visible through the vee of his high collar.

He gave Kiri a solemn wink, and she snapped out of her trance, her cheeks heating up. Quark, she’d been staring like a teenie meeting Chaz Jaguari.

“Haassea and her husband, Traay,” Stark said. She cast a guilty glance at him. He looked amused, as did the other couple. Well, okay. Guess she wasn’t the first to be dazzled.

The Serpentians sat on Stark’s other side, with Haassea between the two men. Kiri nodded politely at Haassea and looked away, her stomach clenching. Damn, she was going to have to spend the next hour or more listening to the Serpentian slithering all over Logan, verbally at least. And if the woman touched his hand again, Kiri was going to leap out of her chair and claw her sly eyes out.
 

Two couples sat on Kiri’s other side, a pair of Pangaeans, and a human-Serpentian couple. They all greeted Stark with obvious respect and admiration, and eyed Kiri with interest. The Serpentian whispered something in his companion’s ear that made her smile wickedly at Kiri. Kiri gave her a cool stare.

Stark alternated between visiting with them and Haassea and her husband. Kiri joined in at times, but mostly she listened.

They’d been seated for a while when another couple joined them. The woman had elaborately arranged hair and wore a tiny red dress. Kiri noticed her only peripherally. Her escort was broad and muscular, with harsh features, dark blond hair tied back and arresting light eyes. He wore a tailored gray suit shot with silver. His demeanor said what he wore didn’t matter, nor did his date, unless he chose to make them matter.

Kiri stiffened with instant dislike. She recognized his face, had seen it on the holovids and business sites. Marc Moon, owner and CEO of MoonPenny Coffee. The man who was trying to put all other coffee stands out of business, and the man who’d insulted her friend Illyria Tate.

The others at the table greeted him cordially. He didn’t bother to smile back except at Stark. His gaze landed on Kiri, with interest and then amusement. Stark’s hand tightened on the back of her neck. Only then did she realize she might possibly have a less than friendly look on her face.

She took a drink of the excellent white wine, figuring it was better to do that than throw it in the coffee mogul’s face.
 

Stark caressed the side of her neck with his thumb, tracing over her collar. He looked amused too.

“My evening has just been ruined,” she muttered.

“Then I’ll have to see what I can do to improve it,” he replied. She didn’t trust the gleam in his eyes. “I could tell him you’re in the same business, then you’d have something to chat about.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. Rather chat with a shark.”

He chuckled. “Perhaps one day you’ll be competition for him.”

“Now that, I would enjoy,” she said. “It’s not just the business, though. He insulted a friend of mine. Propositioned her during a sales call.”

“She must be very attractive.”

Kiri gave him a look. “That doesn’t make it all right, Logan.”

“He didn’t get where he is by not going after what he wants when he sees it,” he replied calmly. “Like me. I saw you, I wanted you, I asked.”

That was true. Kiri looked at Marc Moon again and wondered if Illyria was going to be able to hold out. The man did have a certain raw magnetism.

Marc Moon glanced at her and smiled. He had big white teeth, and his gaze held cool calculation, just like a shark. Illyria was in trouble.