Page 13 of A Delicate Conquest

“What the…?” he groaned, whirling around to come face-to-face with Junik, a young tech he supervised from time to time. He was very green, but he was quick. With time, he’d become an excellent technician.

Junik had an unusual mutation—one eye was golden, and the other was crimson. His differently-colored eyes narrowed in consternation as he regarded Mavrel, his lips twisting wryly. “Sir, one of the human guests has had a mishap. A broken shoe.” He held up the offending item.

“That’sa shoe?” Mavrel shook his head as he studied the ridiculous thing. It was little more than a sole with an impractically tall heel—which had snapped off at the adhesion point. Thin silver straps crossed over the top, presumably to hold the foot in place.

Mavrel remembered. That day, in the human office…

He’d seen females wearing these kinds of things. Tall heels of all colors and odd shapes, some sharply pointed, others comprised of precarious-looking straps like the one before him.

They had the effect of elongating the leg, increasing one’s height, and accentuating the calf muscles.

Of all things, he remembered catching sight ofhershapely calves.

“Hmph,” Mavrel snorted. Why did humans attire themselves so? Those things couldn’t be comfortable, and they certainly weren’t practical. What if one suddenly had to escape, to run fast and far in an emergency?

What kind of anatomical deformities might be caused if one wore them for too long?

He had to admit, though, shehadlooked good…

“Uh, Sir?” Junik waved the thing around, trying to catch Mavrel’s attention. “They want you to put this into the synthesizer and create an identical replica. It’s rather urgent. The guest is waiting and currently shoeless.”

Mavrel glowered. “I’m a little busy. Is there not even a single spare pair of human shoes onboard this station that she could use?”

“Not anything that would match her dress,” Junik said mildly.

Dress?

It hadn’t occurred to Mavrel that she might have gone to great effort to dress for the event.

Part of him was intensely curious to see what she was wearing.

Human fashions could besointeresting… and provocative.

What if she was…?

Hm.

Visions of sensual curves and sumptuous human softness swam through his thoughts.

And he found himself… becoming aroused.

It wasn’t the first time.

There was no mistaking her scent. He could probably pick it out of a room full of thousands, and the logical part of him knew it was because his olfactory system was biologically attuned to hers.

Nature had programmed him, and the more he came into contact with any trace of her, the stronger the recognition grew.

Potentiation.

With each and every interaction, the circuit was reinforced.

Unable to help himself, he inhaled deeply.

There was no doubt about it; the shoe was definitelyhers.

Mavrel shook his head.

It was ashoe,for fuck’s sake.

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