Page 21 of Pleasured By the Panther
He set her gently on her feet and reached for something that looked like a folded towel—only as he unfurled it, she realized it was a single enormous leaf, veined and supple—the surface soft as velvet. It glowed faintly with its own bioluminescence, the edges curling protectively as he wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Here,” he said, rubbing it over her damp skin with surprising tenderness. “The Mother Ship provides all we need. Even linens, when woven properly. But sometimes a fresh-cut leaf is better—warmer and more absorbent.”
Miranda laughed softly, still a little dazed from the intensity of the last hour.
“I never thought I’d be toweled off by a giant leaf on a spaceship orbiting Mars.”
He rumbled with amusement.
“Get used to it. The Mother Ship is alive. Every part of her exists to care for us…and now for you.”
Something in his words made her chest tighten, though she quickly looked away. He wasn’t promising forever—he’d only borrowed her for a day and a night. She shouldn’t start hoping for more.
Not that I would—I don’t even know him!
But that wasn’t quite true, was it? She might not remember any dreams of him, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t had them. At any rate, she felt a connection to the big Monstrum that felt deeper than just a day’s acquaintance.
Once she was mostly dry, Korrath draped the leaf over her shoulders like a shawl and gestured to a softly glowing arch of vines.
“Come. There is someone I want you to meet.”
“Someone?” she asked warily, hugging the leaf towel tighter around herself.
“A friend,” he assured her. “A tailor. You have your daughter’s Joining to attend on your world, yes? Then you must be dressed properly. Allow me to have something made for you that will make you feel as exquisite as you are.”
Her first instinct was to protest—she didn’t need gowns, she had a perfectly serviceable Mother-of-the-bride dress in her closet back home. But something in the way he said as exquisite as you are made her throat go tight.
“All right,” she said softly. “But let me get dressed first.”
“Just wrap the leaf around yourself. You’ll be wearing new clothing that feels and looks much better than what you took off shortly,” Korrath told her.
Deciding to trust him, Miranda wrapped the huge leaf around her like a towel, which worked surprisingly well. It covered her from breasts to mid-thighs and stuck to itself like Velcro, so she didn’t have to worry about it falling off.
She was still barefoot, but since the entire Mother Ship seemed to be carpeted in soft, blue moss, it didn’t seem to matter.
They walked together down another corridor, this one darker. The vines here were thicker and older, their blossoms dimmer—throwing patches of shadow across the path. The air was cooler, tinged with a faint mineral tang that reminded her of the Lurray Caverns, which she’d toured as a girl on a school field trip.
“This corridor leads to the Dark Side of the Mother Ship,” Korrath explained as they walked. “Here, things grow differently—slower, denser. Our artisans prefer it here, for they say the shadows sharpen their skill.”
Miranda shivered, half from the chill, half from nerves.
“And this friend of yours—your tailor—he works on the Dark Side?”
“He does.” Korrath’s lips curved faintly. “He has an eye for beauty, and a respect for curves. You’ll be safe with him, lovely one. I would not bring you to him otherwise.”
She glanced up at him. He was still shirtless, his sleek black fur gleaming faintly in the glow of the blossoms, and the leaf-dress suddenly felt woefully inadequate against the sheer physicality of him. Safe or not, her body was already remembering the feel of his hands…his voice…the way he’d urged her to let go and come…
No, stop it, Miranda—you literally just came! You can’t be horny again already!
She took a deep breath. They were going to get a dress—that was all this was. A dress she could wear to the wedding.
And maybe, just maybe, she’d get another glimpse into the strange, wondrous world of the Monstrum Kindred. She had to admit, she found the Monstrum Mother Ship fascinating—she wouldn’t mind meeting more of its inhabitants. As long as Korrath was with her, of course, because all of them were huge.
The corridor widened into a massive chamber, and Miranda stopped in her tracks, her mouth falling open.
“This is the Transport Hub,” Korrath explained, his deep voice carrying easily in the vast, echoing space. “From here, we move between the Light and Dark Sides of the Mother Ship.”
At first, Miranda expected something like subway cars or shuttles. What she saw instead made her blink.
