Kept by Luna Voss
Chapter Twelve
Melyta
“How many planets do you think have a Rangasta World?” I ask Barion as we make our way into the park. “There’s one on Tarsheb 7, right?”
He nods. “Yeah. Probably millions across the galaxy. After all, it is The Galaxy’s Favorite Place to Have Fun, or whatever they call it, right?”
“Have you ever been?” Jenyta pipes up.
“No,” he chuckles. “Do I look like the amusement park type?”
She grins. “Apparently you do, considering we’re about to walk through the front gates. But sure, keep playing too-cool-for-school.”
Barion shrugs. “What can I say? Melyta wanted to go. I can’t say no to my mate.”
I raise my eyebrows at him. He says no to me whenever he damn well pleases. Like when I’m asking permission to orgasm and he would rather tease me.
Barion winks, grinning, and reaches over to give my butt a little squeeze. I suppress a squeal, very glad that Jenyta is walking in front of us and doesn’t have eyes in the back of her head.
The human employee at the security checkpoint seems to take longer with us than some of the other guests. Maybe Barion gives off some kind of obvious Vostra vibe, or maybe it’s just good old-fashioned prejudice against Voorians. In any case, I’m relieved once we’re through. It’s not like we’re the only members of our species here, but it’s hard not to notice that all the people getting through security quickly are human.
Once we’re in the park, however, all my anxiety melts away. This is the kind of place I never had the chance to go growing up, but always dreamed about. Sure, it probably would have been more fun as a kid. But we’re all kids on the inside, right?
Throngs of people move all around us. Visitors, couples, families with children. And interspersed among the guests are giant, life-sized cartoon characters, some of them people in costumes, some of them clumsily programmed robots that wander around repeating the same prerecorded lines. Everything is loud and bright and colorful. I’ve never been anywhere like this before.
“There’s so much going on,” I whisper to Barion, taking his hand as we walk through the crowd. “Where do we even start?”
“Let’s go there,” Jenyta suggests, pointing at a big gray castle in the distance. “Medieval Kingdom, or whatever. Looks cool.”
Barion and I both shrug, then follow Jen through the crowd.
Medieval Kingdom is full of its own sort of character. Instead of the cartoon animals that greeted us closer to the entrance, the employees now are all dressed as knights in armor, jesters, princesses, stuff like that. It’s a very different vibe, but a fun one. We stop for lunch in Ye Olde Tavern, and all three of us enjoy big mugs of ale. By the time we leave, we’re all a bit tipsy.
“Let’s take a picture with that knight,” suggests Jenyta, running over to an employee in a shining suit of armor. “Sir Knight, may we… dost… take a picture with thou?”
I start laughing at her failed attempt to sound remotely authentic, but the knight motions us over, puts an armored arm around each of us, and we both giggle as Barion takes a photo on his communicator.
“Good day to you, fair maidens,” calls the knight as we part ways. “Look for my coat of arms in the gift shop!”
“Maybe I’ll try to work here,” Jenyta laughs. “I’m going to need a job on Gerbbbexai IX, after all. Look at that wizard guy over there. He seems like he’s having fun.”
I grin. “I don’t know, Jen. I think you might have trouble growing out the big gray beard.”
She snorts. “I was thinking I would be a princess!”
I shake my head. “Princesses are classy. Refined. Maybe you could be a cartoon frog.”
“Wow,” she pretends to gasp, pushing me playfully. Then she grins. “Seriously, though. I might try to see if they’re hiring. Beats waiting tables.”
“Wait, does that say what I think it says?”
I stop, squinting at a sign to our right.
Barion looks over and immediately starts laughing uproariously. “The Vostra Gangster Blaster Experience?”
Now Jenyta starts laughing, too. “Wait, really? Okay, we have to go on that ride.”
We make our way over, Barion still chuckling to himself. Sure enough, it’s exactly what it sounds like: some kind of interactive experience where you ride on carts and pretend to get shot at by the Vostra. There’s a big sign at the front of the line:
Note: This ride includes loud noises, flashing lights, and may be disturbing to some guests. Total ride time is 10 minutes. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
“You sure you’re up for this, Jenyta?” I joke. “Sounds like it might be a little intense.”
She wrinkles her nose. “I’m accompanied by you and Barion. You count as adults, right?”
It takes almost 20 minutes before we finally get on the ride.
“This had better be worth it,” Barion grumbles.
“Oh, I’m sure it will be a total shit show,” I say to him, grinning.
The carts we ride on only have two seats. I share with Barion, while Jenyta takes the one in front of us. I gulp as the attendant straps us in, not wanting to show to Barion that part of me actually is slightly nervous. It’s the first time I’ve been on a ride like this before. And the tunnel we’re about to enter looks really dark.
“Here we go,” Barion whispers as our cart starts to move, squeezing my hand. I hold my breath, not sure what to expect.
First, some epic music starts. Then a loud, exaggerated crack, like the sound a plasma weapon would make.
And then dim lights on either side of us turn on, and I see the silhouettes of figures with guns that are clearly intended to represent unsuppressed Voorians.
The caricatures are effective, if exaggerated. All of the pretend-gangsters have absurdly broad shoulders, glinting fangs and claws, and bright red beacons on their foreheads, glowing brighter than I’ve ever seen on an actual person. It’s obvious what they’re supposed to be.
“Wow, is this what normal people think a vostrat is?” Barion whispers. “This is fucking ridiculous.”
“Yeah, pretty much,” I chuckle, remembering my own ill-informed ideas about the Vostra prior to meeting him.
“You violated the Vostra code,” a voice blares out. “Now we will destroy you.”
Barion and I both start laughing at this. It’s just so silly, an outsider’s absurd understanding of the Vostra with no actual connection to reality. We spend most of the ride giggling like schoolchildren.
Near the end, after the “battle,” we ride through what I guess is supposed to be Rangasta World’s version of a Vostra neighborhood, complete with random citizens getting held up on the street at gunpoint.
“They really didn’t do a bit of research, did they?” I sigh. “When the Dultaz Family moved into my neighborhood, all the street crime stopped completely.”
“They got that part right, at least,” Barion grins, his eyes glinting mischievously. I turn to where he’s looking, and see an animatronic Voorian woman splayed over her partner’s knee, a pair of ridiculous, antiquated bloomers spilling out from under her skirt as he spanks her rear end repeatedly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I laugh, pushing him with my shoulder. “I would never wear underwear like that.”
We’re all in a pretty good mood by the time we get off the Vostra ride.
“So I guess that’s what your life is like?” Jenyta chuckles to Barion and I as we disembark. “One shootout after another?”
“Pretty much,” I say, grinning. “You know, when I’m not getting spanked in my old-fashioned bloomers.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon going on other rides. Or really, we spend the rest of the afternoon waiting in line, with occasional ride breaks. Either way, it’s fun, whether we’re riding a roller coaster or talking and laughing as we wait. It makes me happy that Jenyta and Barion get along so well, even if we won’t be able to see her as often after we return to Tarsheb 8. She’s my closest friend, and it’s important to me that my partner has her approval.
“Do you want to go on that one?” I ask, knowing fully well that Jenyta will tease me.
She raises her eyebrows. “The Tunnel of Love? Yeah, I think I’ll let you guys do that one alone.”
“Oh, come on! It’s just a lazy boat ride. It’s not like we’re going to fuck on there.”
Barion suppresses a laugh. I give my friend imploring eyes.
“Fine,” she gives an, shaking her head. “But you’re riding in a boat behind me.”
Truth be told, I had expected to get somewhat frisky with Barion on the Tunnel of Love. Maybe just a bit of fooling around in the dark. But apparently, that’s frowned upon. Or more like, planned against. Contrary to what you might expect, almost the whole ride is brightly lit, affording us far too little privacy to do anything serious. I’m guessing that’s the point. They’ve probably had so many problems with teenagers that they didn’t even want to take the chance.
So there’s a tiny part of me that’s feeling unsatisfied as we get off the ride and look for a place to have dinner. Not in a serious way. I’m still having fun. I had just hoped for a little moment of privacy with Barion. We are still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship, after all.
But by the time we’re done eating, I don’t have a thing in the world to complain about. The food is great. Barion and Jenyta are great. The park is great. Everything is fun and luxurious in a way I never thought I would have the chance to experience.
Whatever the designers of that stupid ride think, being part of the Vostra has its perks.
We decide to visit the Rangasta planetarium before we leave the park. Jenyta is especially excited as we pile into the circular, dimly lit room and take our seats. She’s always been especially interested in space.
“This is so cool!” she exclaims. “I can’t wait for the show to start.”
Barion and I don’t quite share her enthusiasm, but we smile at each other and sit down next to her. We’ve been on our feet all day, so it’s nice to have a break from standing and walking, planetarium show or not.
“Ooh, it’s starting!” Jenyta gasps as the lights turn down and the projector in the center of the room begins to cast a spectacular array of stars above our heads.
“Welcome to the Rangasta World Planetarium,”a loud voice booms out through the room. I look around for the person speaking, but I can’t see the presenter. “Over the course of the next half-hour, you’ll learn a little bit about our galaxy, space travel, and the high-tech logistics network Rangasta pilots use to make sure we all have the exact items and materials we need exactly when we need them.”
I sigh. Half an hour? I thought this would be more like 15 minutes. To my right, Barion does the same. To my left, however, Jenyta leans forward, transfixed. I can see the stars on the ceiling reflected in her eyes, a look of wonder on her face as the projector takes us on an animated journey from star system to star system.
The narrator begins to explain the basics of hyperspace travel and I tune out, leaning my head against Barion’s shoulder. Flying in space is cool and all, but that doesn’t mean I need to know the details of how spaceships actually work. It’s like the communicator in my pocket. I don’t particularly care what magic the microchips inside are doing as long as it functions properly. It’s a good thing the world has people like Jenyta, or else we would forget how all this technology works in the space of about one generation.
Barion shifts in his seat next to me, putting his hand on my upper thigh. I inhale slightly, my attention suddenly focused on the placement of his hand. It’s intimate, but nothing inappropriate. He’s still at least an inch away from the hem of my skirt.
But I kind of wish it was inappropriate. We’ve still got 20 minutes of Boring Science Show left, and I suppose I’m experiencing a bit of pent-up frustration from not getting any intimacy during the Tunnel of Love. I place my hand on top of Barion’s and scoot it higher up my leg.
“Take your jacket off,”he whispers in my ear, so quietly that Jenyta can’t hear us. I don’t fully understand what he means, but I comply, pulling it off and folding it neatly in my lap.
Oh.Now I understand. As soon as my lap is covered by my jacket, his hand creeps higher, slipping under my skirt and laying possessively over the fabric of my panties. My breathing gets faster as I try not to react.
Slowly, still watching the presentation on the ceiling, Barion slips his fingers into my underwear. I stifle a gasp, and am lucky that some part of the show causes the rest of the audience to gasp at the same time. I’m really not paying a bit of attention to the planetarium at this point.
It’s difficult to keep still as Barion begins to stroke my clit with his finger. He’s extremely familiar with my body at this point, and knows exactly how to touch me. It doesn’t take long before I’m very worked up.
“Enjoying the show?” he whispers in my ear. I bite my lip to avoid a gasp and he smirks, leaning back in his seat as he continues to finger me.
Soon, what Barion is doing feels so good that I’m struggling not to squirm around in my seat in rhythm with him. It’s a very particular type of restriction, being restrained only by the fact that I’m in public. It turns me on in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
A gentle moan escapes me, and I shut my lips tightly, mortified. Next to me, Jenyta leans over.
“Isn’t this amazing?” she whispers, not taking her eyes off the ceiling. “I had no idea space travel was so complicated.”
I just nod, worried that I’ll moan again if I try to talk. What my mate is doing between my legs is very, very effective.
“Barion, can I come?” I whisper in his ear as quietly as I can, embarrassed to even say the words in a place like this.
He nods. “Whenever you want, vulta.”
I’m a bit shocked how quickly I feel my orgasm building now that I have permission. It’s as though my body has started playing along with his rules. I bite my lip, trying to keep my breathing steady as the pleasure wells up between my legs, threatening to hit a very powerful, very public crescendo.
My toes curl, and I start to come. I bury my face in Barion’s shoulder, wracked by waves of climax that ripple through me, for a moment almost blinding me to the outside world. Then I flash back to reality, and I have to close my mouth against a moan as my pussy begins to twitch against his fingers. I can feel the presence of countless audience members all around me, hear the presenter’s booming voice, see the stars and suns and planets on the ceiling above. My lower body trembles as I do my best to remain still.
“And that, folks, concludes our presentation,”announces the narrator. “On behalf of Rangasta World and the entire Rangasta Corporation, we thank you and wish you a pleasant day. And always remember: if you use it, Rangasta shipped it.”
Barion slips his hand out from between my legs just as the lights come back on. I blink at the sudden brightness. Jenyta is still staring at the ceiling, as though she doesn’t want the show to be over.
“That was so interesting,” she breathes, turning to me. “How cool would it be to work as one of those pilots? I think this was my favorite thing we did at the park all day.” She frowns as she catches the blank, slightly guilty expression on my face. “Are you okay, Mel? Did you not like the show?”
I shake my head, trying to snap out of my post-orgasmic haze. “No, no, it was great.” Barion gives me a look, and my cheeks warm as I make eye contact with him. “Actually, it was my favorite thing we did at the park today, too.”
