Page 26
"Ready to go home?"
"Yes, please. Please, Daddy."
O'li guided me to the transition area, his hand warm on my shoulder. The leash between us felt almost ceremonial now. I wasn't going anywhere.
"Let's get this off you."
He knelt and unlocked the chastity cage. Relief made me inhale sharply as he eased it away and checked the skin beneath for irritation.
"Any pain?"
"No. Just... very aware that I had a dick all day."
He set the device in the sanitation tray and helped me pull my clothes back into place. Then his expression softened.
"I missed you," I confessed.
His hand returned to my cheek.
"I know."
"Your heart rate. I could feel it through the collar link."
Something in my chest squeezed.
"All day?"
"All day."
"Even when you were working?"
"Mhm."
I leaned forward until my forehead touched his shoulder.
He held me there for a moment before standing and guiding me toward the exit.
As we walked toward the door, I kept reaching up to touch his arm, his hip, whatever I could reach, needing the confirmation that he was really there. Each touch seemed to please him, that subtle shift in his posture that meant approval. We passed through the entrance, and the daycare dissolved behind us like a bad dream giving way to waking.
The plaza outside felt different with O'li beside me. The filtered sunlight seemed warmer, the air cleaner, the path ahead clear. My feet found their rhythm next to his longer stride, the leash between us slack because I had no desire to be anywhere but at his side.
"The meeting went well," he said, as if I hadn't just been sobbing into an institutional pillow minutes ago. "The weather modification team was very receptive to my proposals."
"That's so good!" I exclaimed, but, really, all that mattered was his hand occasionally brushing my head, the solid presence of him beside me, the knowledge that we were going home where I belonged. "Market?" I asked hopefully, remembering our morning negotiation.
"You were cooperative enough," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "We can stop for evening supplies."
The day that had felt endless suddenly felt salvageable. Not good, maybe, but survivable. And with O'li's presence beside me, his occasional touch grounding me, even the memory of daycare began to fade, replaced by the simple, perfect reality of belonging to someone who would always come back for me.
Chapter 13. Lucca
The first thing that always struck me about the marketplace was how it seemed designed to make humans feel even smaller than usual. The entrance arch towered four stories above us, its living wood pulsing with bioluminescence. Vendors had already strung their metallic sign-chimes from its branches, each one singing a different note when the wind caught them.
"Stay close, pup," O'li murmured, though I was already pressed against his side as we passed under the arch. His hand found the back of my neck. I loved it.
The main thoroughfare sprawled before us, wide enough for twenty Aconchians to walk abreast, though it never felt big with all the stalls spilling into the walking areas. Everything was scaled for beings who stood seven feet tall; display tables sat at their hip height, which meant I could barely see over most of them without standing on my toes. The vendors called out in voices that harmonized and clashed, creating a constant hum of commerce that made my ears ache if I focused on it too long.
We passed the plant vendors first, because O'li always liked to check their stock even when he wasn't buying. These weren't like the Earth plants we'd learned about in books or even the specimens in his greenhouse. One stall displayed what looked like transparent orchids, their petals actually thin membranes that showed the circulation of fluorescent sap through veins. Another vendor specialized in defensive flora, bristling things with leaves that tracked movement, following me with an attention that made my skin crawl. The seller, an Aconchian with skin that shifted from green to gold in the light, gestured enthusiastically at O'li, but we kept walking.
