Page 52 of No Strings Attached

“There are significantly fewer birds in this garden now, since I have entered.”

“Oh. Aren’t you getting enough fish to eat?”

“Yes, but I do enjoy chasing prey, and there is no challenge with a barrel of fish.”

“Ha! Shooting fish in a barrel. I understand. OK, let’s get comfy.”

Steve said, “So I would be…”

“Under Acken, organizationally. Alongside Mister Beastly.”

“Hmm, itwouldgreatly irritate my family to see me aligned with a different royal house, so that does have some appeal.”

“Different royal house? Is there a royal house on your planet that you’re under?”

“Yes, my mother and father rule the planet as King and Queen.”

“Are you fucking serious? So, you’re Prince Steve?”

He chuckled, “In name, I suppose, but I’m about 30thin line for the throne. I have 57 siblings.”

“Is there anything requiring you to return home?”

“Nothing. And I am enjoying the excitement generated since you arrived.” He thought for a moment, then said, “If I choose to stay, I will need to contact my King and Queen immediately, before we are captured by the roving cameras of Ogobian Broadcasting on some space station or planet. It will not be tolerated for them to find out where I am that way. Shall I contact them?”

“Yes, please do. We would be happy if you stopped being separate from us and joined the cause.”

It was getting late in the day when Vi finally went off in search of Acken, to let him know that they definitely had Mister Beastly and Steve—Prince Steve—in their camp, under him, with Friend itching to play a role in the royal entourage. Vi was trying very hard to stay focused, but one thought kept interjecting itself to interrupt her mental processes:I’m going to see how many times I can bring you to orgasm, and I’m not going to stop until you beg me.

After talking to Acken, she was heading back to the main cavern when she glanced into the fabrication room and froze. Bobby was in there, coverall stripped off to the waist, the lower half being held up by a toolbelt, grinding something that was creating showers of sparks. He wore dark, protective goggles over his eyes.

She stopped fully, standing in the doorway, to admire him. He looked totally in his element, though she had no idea what he was doing, and so fucking sexy. She leaned into the doorway, crossing her arms, determined to enjoy the sight until she was caught.

That didn’t take long, Bobby raising the goggles to his forehead to see who was there and breaking into a sunny smile. He called her over to show her something.

“Tell me what you think of this…the green is just glass I’m working with to do the prototypes. I didn’t want to use Malachite’s emeralds and risk wasting any. I thought I’d design your crowns, then use the crown designs to make smaller pieces for everyone else.”

He gestured at the table, where a green ball of glass, about the size of a ping pong ball, appeared to float in the middle of a nearly foot-wide starburst design made of gold, both of which appeared to be hovering off the table.

“Oh, wait! I forgot to turn it on.”

He tapped the green ball of glass with a metal stylus, and it illuminated from within, casting emerald green light. Vi was rendered speechless. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

Bobby stood back, hands on hips, and smiling, “It’s the emerald planet.”

“How…how is it hovering there by itself?”

“Oh! It isn’t hovering. I used this rigid filament to make the crown portion. It’s nearly invisible.” He handed her a piece of something that she couldn’t quite focus on. It was about the size of a fiber optic filament. “I thought it would look pretty cool if it appeared to be just floating above your head. Can I put it on you and see how it looks?”

She nodded, still utterly stupefied that he had created this gorgeous masterpiece in the course of a single day. No, conceived of it, designed it,andcreated it.

As he picked it up, she asked, “How is the ball floating?”

“Magnets in the lighting mechanism and in the gold corona.”

“It’s the most beautiful, ingenious thing I’ve ever seen, Bobby.” She whispered, reverently. “I can’t believe you did this in a few hours.”

She looked at him in awe and he glanced down, embarrassed, but also started purring. Then he looked back up again and slid the thin filaments around the crown of her head, under her hair, until it was firmly placed. She imagined what it looked like, seeming to float above her forehead tethered to nothing and glowing out that brilliant green light, and continued looking at him in utter wonderment.

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