Harper was bored. The only thing that prevented him from being completely bored was the slight edge of irritation induced by Dylan’s insistence that he attend the ceremony welcoming Serapis Charm to the New Commonwealth. He sighed and thought about all the more interesting things he could be doing; and Serapis had plenty of more interesting things. It wasn’t called ‘Lover’s colony’ for no reason: pleasure was a serious business here. Fat chance of any pleasure while I’m stuck here he thought, wondering how much longer this was going to go on.

Harper had pushed away the last of his food and was well into his second bottle of wine when the after dinner speeches began. Ninety percent of the population of Serapis was human but their president was the oldest Persied Harper had ever seen. He wasn’t overly fond of Persieds: they tended to be even more irritating that he was. And almost getting killed by one hadn’t helped.

"Ladies and gentlemen" the president began, "I never dared hope that this day would come. To become part of something bigger than just one world is a great honor and I am glad that I have lived to see the return of the Commonwealth." Harper tuned out the speech and concentrated on the prominent cleavage shown by the vice-president’s wife. It wasn’t until half an hour later, after the last of the bottle was making his head spin that he realized there might be some good news coming...

Trance was poking his arm, "Harper did you hear? We’re going to The Imperial Gardens tomorrow!" The purple girl was bouncing in her seat, "I hear they have one of the few Monguru trees left there, and Sufi vines."

"Snuhhh!" Harper’s head jerked off the table; this wasn’t good because it fired off sparks behind his eyes. "The Imperial Gardens? The most famed pleasure ground in the known universe? The place where all fantasies can come true?" The back of Harper’s throat went dry just thinking about it.

"Uh huh" said Trance, her eyes sparkling. "I can’t wait to try the volcanic mud baths and the chocolate room. Oh and Harper.... The plants! They have so many endangered species protected there: I could spend all day in an oak tree if I wanted to."

A picture of Trance naked in a tree, tail wound seductively around a branch invaded Harper’s mind. He paused for a few minutes contemplating it before guiltily pushing the image away. I’m not ready to settle down and nothing less would do for Trance. I don’t want to ruin our friendship. He told himself. Besides there would be plenty of distractions to take his mind off her tomorrow.

<><><><><>

The next morning Harper was up and in the medbay early for a hangover cure. Thank God for detox tabs he thought as the thudding behind his eyeballs subsided. Now lead me to the babes! He wandered down to wait for the rest of the crew in the hanger deck. He wasn’t surprised to see Beka and Trance already there. "Hello ladies" he said, back to his usual chipper self, "And what do you two have planned for today?"

Beka laughed, "What do you think Harper? I haven’t had a date in four months. I guess I don’t need to ask what you’ll be doing?"

Harper shrugged, "Hell, I’m just going for the trees, right Trance?"

Trance hid a giggle behind her hand. "Of course you are. I’m going to the oak grove first; we can go together."

"Ah, maybe later. I want to check out.... some other stuff first."

"Yeah, I’ll bet" drawled Beka with a smile on her face.

Dylan strode into the room with Rommie. Harper did a double take: he couldn’t remember seeing Dylan in casual clothes before. He seemed somehow even bigger. That was a fleeting thought next to the mind – blowing impact of Rommie’s outfit. Wow was about the only thing his brain seemed capable of. She was wearing a tiny, filmy red dress over a black swimsuit that had so much cut out of it that it was almost a bikini.

"Oooh, pretty dress" said Trance skipping over and touching the soft material at the shoulder of the dress. "Is this silk?" Rommie nodded and smiled at the impact she’d made. Harper was sure she did that on purpose. Could an AI be vain?

Rev and Tyr soon followed. Tyr had brought an alarming array of hunting equipment with him. Trance wasn’t impressed but Tyr didn’t care: he was looking forward to spending the day stalking some of the exotic beasts in the wilderness area.

"I don’t see why you have to shoot them" said Trance, "Isn’t just finding them enough?"

"No." He sighed, "It’s not as if I’m going to hurt them: they just fall asleep long enough for the trophy pictures."

"I still don’t think it’s very nice."

"I’m sure it isn’t but then life isn’t usually ‘nice’."

They carried on in like that in the transport until they arrived. Harper didn’t mind: right now he wouldn’t mind anything. The transport stopped and they piled out into warm sunshine and a soft, fragrant breeze. An attractive young woman who’s nametag read Yvette smiled and walked over with a med scanner to check for undesirable infections. Harper held his breath as it passed over him and let it out in a relieved gust as she smiled and moved on.

"What!" Yelled Beka when the scanner beeped as it passed over her head.

The young woman looked embarrassed, "I’m sorry you seem to have a parasitic infection in your hair."

"That’s not a damn ‘parasitic infection’: they’re nanobots. They change my hair color, see?" and her hair went through a rapid shifting of colors, ending in the exact same shade of red as Yvette’s. She tapped on the screen and must have found some data to verify Beka’s claim because she waved them through into the main complex.

Now that he was here he wasn’t sure what to do. Trance sped off in search of trees with Rev in tow and Beka had vanished as soon as she’d got past the scanner. Tyr was marching off towards the tubes for the wilderness enclosure and Dylan and Rommie were arguing the merits of beach volleyball over swimming. Harper thought that Dylan was mad to pass up the chance to see Rommie in that swimsuit wet until he thought of Rommie bouncing and sweating as she jumped for a ball. Tough choice. He considered following them but decided against it. Rommie had made her feelings very clear towards him.

He wandered over to the tubes to see what was available. Surfing? He loved to surf and there were always girls around that were impressed by his skills as a surfer. Hell, half the action I’ve seen is because some chick had a thing for surfers. That thought was a little depressing and he jumped on the first tube that appeared. I have all day: I can just wander around for a while.

The tube let him off five minutes later in a formal garden. Trance would like this he thought as he wandered past carefully clipped hedges. There was an opening in the hedging and he walked through. It wasn’t until he’d taken a few too many turns to remember his route that he realized he was in a maze. And he was lost. He was just about to yell for help when he turned a corner and saw someone sitting and reading a book. She looked up and smiled.

"Hello, are you lost" she said. Harper smiled and nodded. The young woman in front of him was dressed in some ancient costume. The dress was long and loose except for a series of intricate ties around the bodice. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied above her head with ringlets cascading down the back to the nape of her neck. She put down her book and said, "I can show you the way out if you like. Or would you like to go to the center?"

"What’s in the center?" he asked

The girl grinned, "You’re really lost aren’t you? The Minotaur is at the center."

"Huh?"

"I guess you’re not a student of Greek mythology then. The Minotaur is a big monster that’s going to eat me unless you save me, I’m supposed to be a sacrificial virgin." She laughed at the expression on Harper’s face, "This is a role – playing area, didn’t you read the signs?"

"No, I was just wandering about"

She smiled and took his arm, "I’ll show you the way out. I’m Maria, by the way. What were you hoping to find when you came here?"

Harper blushed, "Uh well, I guess I just wanted to meet someone nice?"

"Everyone is nice here" she lowered her voice, "I think they put something in the water." Harper laughed out loud and started to relax. By the time they’d got to the entrance to the maze Harper was trying to think of excuses to stay in her company. His stomach decided to intervene by growling. "Are you hungry?" asked Maria, "I know the best places to eat."

"I missed breakfast. I sort of had a headache from last night."

"Ah, you need recuperation food: I know just the place." ‘The place’ was actually a collection point for picnic baskets and Harper was soon sitting under a tree with Maria eating something that tasted quite like a roast beef sandwich with French mustard and drinking a Sparky cola. He sighed in contentment and wriggled closer to Maria. What he really wanted to do was lay his head in her lap but he wasn’t sure what sort of function a ‘sacrificial virgin’ served here.

"So what do you do? Y’know as a ‘sacrificial virgin’?" he asked, kicking himself at his clumsiness

"Oh it’s pretty much a screaming and heaving bosom thing" she replied, raising one eyebrow. "The hero slays the monster and rescues me and then it’s party time."

"So you’re a...."

"An entertainer. How I entertain, however, is entirely up to me. The management wants the customers to be happy so they prefer us to choose what we do. There’s no bigger turn off than someone who’s only there for the money. For instance if I hadn’t wanted you to find me you wouldn’t have."

Harper’s eyes lit up when he realized what she was saying, "So you knew I was coming?"

"Oh yes, the planning is very thorough"

Harper smiled and laid his head in Maria’s lap. Maria smiled back, "Oh good, I was wondering when you were going to do that." She said and started to feed him grapes.

They flirted and fed each other food from the basket until the day began to get a little hotter. "Siesta time?" asked Maria with an inviting grin.

"Siesta time" said Harper as he leaned over and kissed her. Her lips were soft under his; he slid his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. Her tongue slid into his mouth and he groaned and pulled her closer. He could feel her breasts pressing against his chest and could feel his pants getting tighter as he began to swell. He pulled back, "Where?" he asked.

Maria stood up and led him by the hand to what looked like an open-air pavilion with a large bed on a raised platform. Harper could tell from the slight shifting of the surroundings that they had entered a room with holographic walls. He was impressed with the realism: it really seemed as if they were still outside, there was even the hint of a summer breeze. He turned to Maria and began to kiss her again; his hands slid from her waist to her ass and her pulled her firmly against him. He could feel her smile on his lips as she felt the hardness of his cock against her stomach. Her tongue flicked into his mouth and she guided his hand to a tie on the back of her dress. "That one" she said. Harper tugged the cord and the whole complicated mess unraveled.

Harper smiled, "That’s convenient" and began to kiss her again. He raised his hands to her shoulders and sucked gently at her lower lip as he pushed the loose material down. He moved his lips to her neck and she shivered as he found a sensitive spot. The fabric of her dress slid down, past her breasts and fell to the floor. Harper pulled back for a moment to look at her, his eyes were dark with lust, "Oh, Maria you are beautiful". She kicked the dress away and climbed up to the bed. Harper got a great view of her ass as she crawled across the crisp, white bed linen. He quickly stripped off his T-shirt and kicked away his shoes as he followed her. Before he had his pants more the half undone she pulled him onto the bed and straddled him.

Harper groaned as her mouth descended to his left nipple; her tongue swirled around it and then flicked the tip. Her hand moved to the right and played with the hardening flesh there. Harper raised his hands to cup her perfect soft breasts; he ran his thumbs around the edges of her nipples and then gasped as she bit down gently on his. Maria sat back, out of the reach of his hands and licked her lips. She grasped Harper’s wrists and pulled them to his sides as she dropped her head to his chest again. Harper felt nerve endings fire off all over the place as her lips roamed over his body; he moaned as her tongue dipped into his navel.

"I can’t hold out much longer" he gasped, she had released his wrists and was pulling his pants slowly down while tracing the line of his pelvis in kisses. She slipped her hand into his underwear and gave his balls a squeeze. "Uugh!" Harper couldn’t bear this any longer and he sat up and tugged the rest of his clothing off.

Maria gave him a mock scowl; "I wanted to do that. I’ll make you pay for spoiling my fun" and she hopped off the bed.

Harper sat up in alarm, "Hey! Come back." Maria picked up the cord from her dress from where they’d left it and turned back to face Harper. He saw the mischievous glint in her eyes and smiled, "And what were you planning on doing with that?" She just gave a low chuckle and walked back to the bed. Poetry in motion: I never realized how true that could be he thought as he watched her slowly swaying hips and the movement of her breasts.

The cord was for his wrists, "But I like to use my hands" he protested.

"Later" was all she said as she tied him to the headboard. Harper was about to argue but her hand on his balls stopped him. She pushed his legs apart and knelt between them, her hand gently squeezing as her thumb moved in slow circles at the base of his cock. She leaned forwards and kissed a line down the center of his chest. He gasped again as her breasts brushed his cockhead. The kisses moved slowly further and further down.

"Please" he begged, and was rewarded with the feel of Maria’s hot mouth surrounding him. She used her hands and lips to pump his shaft as her tongue teased the head. Harper’s eyes rolled back in his head and his hips bucked as he came, his ecstasy vocalized in a drawn – out howl of pleasure.

Harper lay panting recovering his composure while Maria moved up the bed and watched him with a broad grin on her face. She untied him and rubbed his wrists. Once he’d caught his breath he rolled over to face her and stroked the curve of her waist. He noticed that her hair had slipped down into a sexy tangle at the nape of her neck and he gently removed the last of the grips from it. Her hair was very soft and he stroked out the knots. "You’ve got beautiful hair," he said.

"Thank you. You’re kind of cute too." Harper growled and wrestled himself on top of her, tickling and nibbling at any part he could reach. Maria had a fit of the giggles and then gasped as his mouth found her breast. Harper was pleased at her reaction: she hadn’t been expecting him to want to please her. She wriggled under him.

"Am I going to have to tie you down?" He asked.

"If you want" Maria replied.

"What I want," said Harper, "Is to give as good as I got." Harper noticed a slight blush on Maria’s cheek before she sighed contentedly and lay flat back on the bed with a sensual stretch. Harper focused on stimulating her nipples with his mouth and one hand. The other hand moved in lazy circles down her stomach and over her thighs. He stroked slowly closer and closer to his goal. He pushed her legs further apart and slowly slipped a finger inside her. Maria was hot and very wet; he slipped another finger into her and found her clit with his thumb. Maria began to moan softly as he timed the sucking at her breast with the rubbing of his thumb. "Is this what you want?" he asked.

"Mmmm, yes"

Harper kissed the soft skin of her stomach and felt the muscles ripple under her skin. He was becoming aroused again. He moved further down her body and pulled her legs over his shoulders. "Do you want this?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Maria’s answer was to shift her hips to give him better access. Harper buried his face between her legs and started to probe her with his tongue. Maria’s gasps grew louder. He raised his head, "Is this what you want?"

"Yes, yes please." Harper was pleased to have made her confess her needs rather than just gratify his. He dropped his head back down and when he judged her to be on the edge he lifted himself up and penetrated her in one smooth movement. Two quick thrusts were all it took before he felt her muscles tighten around him.

Harper looked down at her flushed face and grinned. He began to move slowly inside her watching her face as he thrust against her sensitized flesh. "I like to make sure everyone gets what they want" he said. He increased his tempo and felt another shudder run through her. They lay rocking together for what seemed like hours until they couldn’t stand any more and both came simultaneously.

When Harper woke up she was gone and the day had turned cold. Time to be getting home. He wished he’d had a chance to say goodbye to Maria but knew she probably had to be rescued from something. There was a washroom hidden behind an ersatz tree and he cleaned up and returned to Andromeda. The whole crew looked relaxed after their holiday. Except Dylan and Rommie: they were twitchy and uncomfortable. They’ve either worked up a world – class case of sexual frustration or they’ve done it and feel guilty. Harper thought.

It HAD to be frustration didn’t it?

The End

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