Velvet Blade

By Sean Michael

Gideon Blueplum walked into the Velvet Glove and plonked his bag down at his feet at the security desk, and tossed his credchip on the counter. "I'd like an apartment, please. For a year."

He grinned at the guy behind the desk, hoping he'd thrown the man. The Velvet Glove was the premiere bdsm club in the galaxy -- hell, probably in the universe -- and he'd come to have some fun. He figured there were some heavy hitters here and he'd have to do what he could to stand out.

"A year?" Rainbow-colored eyes stared at him a moment, then the young man's head tilted. "I think you'll need to make arrangement with Kestrel. That's his thing. Come on in, have a seat at the bar and I'll have him come to you."

Pretty, pretty. The eyes were a nice touch.

"What about my bag?" he asked. He'd only brought his tools with him -- he planned to buy everything else new.

"You can secure it in a locker, if you'd like, or you're welcome to carry it with you." He received a warm, welcoming smile, the young man just a sweetheart.

Well if they were half as impressed with him as he was with them, he'd be happy. "I'll just carry it, honey."

He followed the young man, admiring a sweet little ass. At least that's what he was doing until they walked into a large room with a bar along one wall, a dining area, a dance floor, a pair of raised dias at the far end of the space.

Late afternoon though it was, the place was almost half full, folks doing everything from having a drink at the bar to making out on the dance floor.

Awesome.

He took a seat at the bar, just taking it all in as Rainbow Eyes scurried off, no doubt to get... what was it now, a bird-name of some sort.

"Good evenin', sir." A huge dark-skinned man bellied up to the bar, the syn-wood sparkling with thousands of tiny lights. "Can I get you somethin' to drink?"

"Just some water, please." A bar's water was the true test of what kind of place it was. A lot of people didn't know that.

"Surely." He got another warm smile, a glass of icy cold water handed over. "You're new. Waiting for Kes?"

Ah, yes, Kestrel. He'd never have remembered that if the bartender hadn't mentioned it. "Yes, I believe I am. You been working here long?" The staff were certainly varied and lovely.

"About ten cycles. I'm Banks." A huge, square hand was offered to him, his hand taken in a firm grip.

A communit beeped and Banks answered, murmuring for a moment before meeting his eyes. "I'm sorry, sir. Kestrel is dealing with an emergency and will be a few moments. Would you like a meal while you wait?"

"I'll tell you in a minute."

He took a sip of the water. Along with icy cold it was pure and fresh -- this was the real deal, not recycled. Top of the line all the way.

Gideon nodded. "Banks, my man, I would indeed like a meal while I wait."

"Excellent." Banks tilted his eyes, shiny eyes sparkling a moment. "I have a new employee. Very new, but very sweet. Would you mind being his first customer? He's been trained, but he's not ready to have a half-dozen tables."

It was the twinkle in Banks' eyes that convinced him. "I'd love to."

"Yes? Wonderful." Banks leaned close, smiled. "He's a very sweet one. No scaring him." Then he got a wink. "Tybalt? Lovely? You have a customer."

Gideon looked over as a door slid open, a beautiful, dark-haired man stepping out.

Continued in First Section