Falling for Kindred Claus Read online

  The only problem she could see with the gown was the fact that it was so sheer she could see her bra and panties right through it.

  “This is gorgeous,” she said, looking down at herself doubtfully. “But, well…”

  “Well what, doll? Spit it out,” Kat encouraged.

  “Well, I mean—is it really supposed to be so, uh, see-through?” Lisa asked. “I mean, everyone will be able to see my underwear right through it.”

  “Oh, no they won’t—because you won’t be wearing any underwear,” Kat declared. “Not with that outfit, at least.”

  “Won’t be wearing underwear?” Lisa exclaimed. “But then…what are those?”

  She pointed to a matching set of underwear—a folded bra and panties that looked almost the exact same color as her own pale skin tones.

  “Oh, those are your purification garments,” Kat explained. “The ones you’re going to wear when you go through the purifying ritual tonight when you get to Helios Beta.”

  “Purification ritual?” Lisa asked, frowning. “What in the world is that?”

  “It’s the reason you’re going tonight instead of tomorrow,” Kat informed her. “The Chorkays believe that you must be ritually purified in order to attend the coronation of their Potentate and apparently it takes some time. Otherwise you could just fold space tomorrow morning and appear there instantly, just in time for the ceremony.”

  “And I’m supposed to wear those when I get, uh, purified?” Lisa reached for the garments and unfolded them. “What the hell?” she exclaimed, looking them over. “Am I really supposed to wear these?”

  “What? What is she supposed to wear?” Sophie asked from the other side of the screen.

  “We want to see too!” Liv chimed in.

  Lisa came out from around the screen and showed the flesh-colored bra and panties to the two sisters. Both of them got incredulous looks on their faces and no wonder, Lisa thought! Printed on the bra part of the purification outfit were two perfectly realistic-looking nipples complete with wide pink bands for the areolas.

  But the panties, if possible, were even worse. Printed on the front of them was a neatly trimmed patch of brown pubic hair and below that, a very realistic-looking vagina complete with partially parted lips which showed a pink clit.

  “Oh my God!” Liv said blankly, staring at the garments and then at Kat. “I can’t say I blame Lisa for being upset—these are really weird.”

  “Yeah, Kat-woman,” Sophie agreed. “What’s the deal with these?”

  “They’re what the Chorkay women wear for the purification ritual,” Kat insisted, frowning. “From what I read, they used to do it completely naked but some of the women felt exposed. So now the men go naked but the women wear garments which completely match their skin-tone but have genitals imprinted on them, so as not to upset their gods.”

  “Uh…it’s still pretty weird,” Lisa pointed out. “And I don’t love the idea of wearing this gown with nothing under it either,” she added, nodding down at the floating layers of the coronation gown.

  “I can synthesize you a robe to wear over it,” Kat offered. “Though I don’t think it’s the fashion right now, it might make you feel a little better.”

  “Or, it’s not too late to back out if you’re feeling uncomfortable,” Liv said comfortingly. “I mean, I know you said you would go but this is kind of weird.”

  “No…” Lisa took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’ll take the robe but I’m not backing out at the last minute—that would be a crappy thing to do to Asher, especially after he risked his reputation to get me hired on to this mission.”

  Plus, for two thousand, five hundred dollars an hour, she could stand to wear underwear with naughty parts painted on them for a little while. At least she wouldn’t be completely nude—although it was certainly going to look like she was, she thought with an inward wince.

  “Well, I think you’re going to be fine,” Liv said firmly. “And if Kat says this is what they’re wearing on Helios Beta, then that’s what they’re wearing there. She’s never wrong about fashion.”

  “I like to think I have a flair for it.” Kat tossed her auburn hair and smiled at Lisa. “Okay now, I packed you a few extra outfits just in case—all blue, of course—though I don’t think you’re going to need them. You’re only going to be there tonight and tomorrow and you’ll be coming home after the coronation ceremony ends.”

  “And now our hour is almost up,” Liv added, looking at a chronometer on her wrist. “So we’d better get Lisa back to the Docking Bay.”

  “You’re going to do great!” Sophie exclaimed, smiling at her as Lisa went behind the screen to change back into the traveling dress Kat had made her.

  “And you’ll be home in time for Christmas Eve,” Kat added as she helped Lisa out of the gauzy coronation gown.

  “Oh well—that doesn’t really matter to me,” Lisa said awkwardly. “I mean, I don’t really have any plans for Christmas Eve or Christmas, for that matter. I was just going to hang around my apartment and watch Pride and Prejudice again or something.”

  “What? You can’t be alone on Christmas!” Sophie protested. “Don’t you have family to spend it with?”

  “Well, I do but…” Lisa shrugged awkwardly. She had just met these girls and she wanted them to like her. How could she admit that her mom had spent Christmas Eve and Christmas passed out drunk almost every year she could remember? And her stepfather Gary was the same. The two of them aided and abetted each other in their alcoholism so there was no point in going home for Christmas, even if it had been safe—which it certainly was not with Cameron on her trail.

  “It’s complicated?” Liv guessed, cutting into her train of thought.

  “Yeah.” Lisa nodded gratefully. “Really complicated.”

  “Well then, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Sophie assured her. “But I want you to know you have an open invitation to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family if you want.”

  “Or mine,” Liv said. “Although it’s kind of the same thing since our families always get together anyway.”

  “Or mine,” Kat said cheerfully. “If you don’t mind being completely outnumbered—I have two husbands and three boys.”

  Lisa was touched.

  “Thank you so much, you guys,” she said, smiling at all of them. “You’re all so nice! You barely know me but you’re inviting me to spend Christmas with your families.”

  “Well, we take care of people on the Mother Ship,” Liv said, smiling. “And we can all remember what it felt like to be new up here.”

  “So drop by and see any or all of us, doll,” Kat said and winked. “Unless, that is, you happen to be spending the holiday with Commander Asher.”

  Lisa felt her face get hot.

  “Um, it’s not like that between us. He just recommended me for this mission because he felt bad about getting me fired because he was a crappy Santa Claus.”

  “He was?” Liv asked, interested, “You didn’t tell me that when Baird and I came down earlier.”

  “Oh yeah.” Lisa nodded expressively. “But in his defense, he clearly doesn’t know anything about Christmas or Santa or any of it. And he really did try.”

  Sophie shook her head.

  “I just can’t see him as Santa Claus, to be honest.”

  “He didn’t look a thing like him—even when he put on the suit,” Lisa admitted. “In fact he looked kind of…well, scary.”

  “Scary Santa, hmm? I sense a story behind that,” Kat said, grinning.

  “Me too—he is kind of an intense guy,” Sophie said thoughtfully. “What happened—he scared the kids and they wouldn’t sit on his lap?”

  “Worse than that,” Lisa said and told them about how Asher had threatened to put “dirty lumps of carbon” in one boy’s stocking and promised a menagerie of pets to a little girl.

  “Oh—I bet her mom was not happy about that,” Liv said sympathetically.

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