Prologue
#2 of Lazuli Island: The Shimmering Paradise
"Everything ready?"
I lifted my head, still stroking Aden's fur, half of my thoughts preoccupied with working through a list of things that still needed to be done while the other side double checked all the things that had been completed, just to reassure myself they'd been done. I had been working on the bed, the canopy curtains closed to offer a thin, indigo barrier while I isolated myself to my thoughts, papers and notes spread along the bed sheet in what might appear to be a hap hazardous fashion but was actually quite organized, albeit messily so.
"For the most part," I replied, squinting through the curtain. Zane's form was just visible but the room was darker than I remembered it being. I shifted my Eevee, pulling his rump further into my lap and lightly pushing his tail off some papers. He protested with a quiet squeak but settled when I went back to scratching him behind his ears.
"What remains undone?"
Still stroking Aden, I watched as Zane moved from the doorway and made his way closer to the bed, his shadowy form growing larger through the mist like curtain as he approached. Some work at desks, some work outside, I did my best thinking in either the lab or a darkened room. The first because I was overly energized by ideas and possibilities, especially when seeing what we've come up with so far, the second because I could reflect on things without the added stimuli. He knew this, respected it even, but would still check in from time to time, as if to remind me of what existed outside my own little world. He really didn't need to...
Considering most of it we'd already created.
"Mmm, just a few minor things, really. Most of them should be corrected before our debut."
"Oh?" He didn't say anything more but I knew from the slow, quiet yet deep way he spoke he wanted more details to determine for himself how "minor" they were.
"Well..." I pulled up a sheet from a pile to my right, glancing at it, squinting a moment at the words I'd so carefully penned but most likely misspelled. I had been blessed with many things; a quick mind, great intellect, a swell rack and an ass large enough the guys liked it without being labeled "fat"... and yet spelling was forever my adversary. With things like spell check, who had time to distinguish proper spelling? "We're going to need another week or two before we become self sufficient in terms of crops... the weather on the island is perfect for maintaining a harvest all year round but we just completed that area. It'll be a little longer for some of the crops to be harvestable."
He made a small noise of acceptance, his hand grazing along the thin drapes, causing ripples in his wake as if he were stroking water. I could make out the spread of his hand as he ran it along the fabric, almost tell the exact pressure of his touch as the silk flowed around him, my mouth parting slightly as my eyes followed his motions. I could almost feel my skin aching, my body responding with a silent yet potent plea as it leaned forward, wanting that same touch. I shook my head a little, pulling back with a deep sigh.
I had work to do.
"Wuh..." I cleared my throat to get rid of the husky tone in it. "One of the shipments is late."
"Which one?" His hand stilled, resting against the flimsy barrier separating us.
"The specialized order. It's to be expected though, we placed a very large order." His silence spoke of his disapproval. "I'm going to call them tomorrow to make sure it's here before the opening, Zane."
"See that you do," he grumbled, less tolerant of this. If he had his way, we'd be making our own instead of ordering them... It had taken a while for me to convince him that it would be more trouble than it was worth when we could use our time and energy to come up with more... valued products for our customers, things that hadn't been created. Besides, we could always branch into it later, if we were so inclined.
Though nothing truly beat the real thing...
Aden cheeped softly from my lap, shifting himself to touch his muzzle to my chin, his soft mane tickling my neck as he leaned in closer for cuddles.
"My main concern," I continued, putting down the paper I had back into its allocated pile before running my nails down Aden's back, causing him to make series of quiet cheeps. "Is that we're lacking staff."
"We just hired Kim and Amy the other day," he replied, moving away from the curtain to stand a short distance away. "What other staff members do we need, Karen?"
"The twins still don't have a caretaker... we need someone to watch over them."
The groan he made caused a smile to form on my lips, making me chuckle softly as I moved to run my fingers under Aden's chin, the Eevee eagerly lifting his head for the scratches.
"We still haven't found someone to care for them?"
"They're quite a handful," I replied, trying to hide the laughter from my voice. "You know that."
He moved towards the curtain again, grabbing two fistfuls of it, his face so close to that I could almost make out his features through it. There was a low growl coming from his throat, as though he didn't appreciate my mirth. Drawing in a breath, trying to ignore the way my head lifted and tilted, my body responding to his growl with submission, offering my throat to him though he couldn't see it, I swallowed once, then twice, before speaking again.
"I have an interview session set up for tomorrow, Zane. If everything goes well, I should be able to find a caretaker for them."
"If?" The word sounded like water hitting a hot skillet, little more than a sharp hiss. A tremble ran through my body, as if that word had seared my skin, but I wouldn't back down on this matter.
"I'm not going to let just anyone care for them." My words held more of a bite to them then I intended and he responded by pulling down on my canopy, the cloth protesting at the top where it was attached, ripping quietly as if weeping at the way it was being handled. Normally, I would soften my approach but on this I would not yield. "The opening will not be delayed, but I'm not going to rush my decision with picking someone out for Mia and Kara." Aden bristled from within my lap, his peeping having quieted as his dark eyes remained fixated on Zane, his small body shaking with an inaudible growl.
Zane tugged a little more before releasing, the curtains flowing out of his hands, likely relieved at having escaped their fate of becoming torn shreds on the floor.
"Very well." He pronounced the two words slowly, dragging them out, the closest I'd ever get from hearing "You're right," from him. He exhaled in a gust, as if breathing flames, a rush of air that hissed by his teeth.
Now that he'd conceded, I softened my tone. "I was hoping to take your shadow with me, to help make a better decision... if you had no objections, of course."
"Lilith?" He was silent for a few minutes before giving his permission. "I'll allow it, but only for tomorrow."
"Thank you, Lord Zane."
He chuckled a little, the tension slowly draining from the air. "Your welcome, Lady Karen. Just be sure to find someone... appropriate for our darlings."
I slid Aden off my lap, the Eevee protesting again. A light bap to his nose ceased the whine, making him scrunch his nose and twitch it, rubbing a paw against it as he pouted, indignant.
"Behave," I whispered to him, petting his head with my hand before moving over the papers and sliding past the veil, Zane's arms eagerly reaching around me as I came out, holding me taut against him while his hands wandered over my back. I rested my head against his chest, the steady rise and fall of it soothing, as was the tightness of his embrace.
"Everything will go well, you'll see." I moved my arms around him, my fingers just able to touch but unable to interlace. He wasn't fat by any means, but broad. I considered myself to be plump, "well rounded like a Chansey," to be precise, but he only scolded that view of myself, advising that I was "cushy in all the right places."
"Of course it will!" His voice was confident but I noticed his grip tighten for a moment before relaxing. We were both so eager but still afraid we'd missed some angle, some insignificant detail that would doom our plans. The money he'd invested, the research I'd put into this dream, all of it so carefully done and worked out. It would be hard to determine who would suffer more should it fail, though I suspected it would be equal on both parts.
But given everything we'd done, we shouldn't be thinking about such little setbacks that might occur.
"Lazuli Island... the Glistening Paradise," I quoted from one of the brochures we'd made out and distributed to a select number of travel agencies. "A resort unlike any other..."
My breath caught as I felt him unclip my bra from atop my shirt, the material now hanging loosely instead of offering its support. His fingers ran along my back, unhindered by the thin strap underneath.
"Everything will go well." I'd barely realized I'd spoken till he answered, running his hands down my sides to grab at the bottom of my shirt, lifting it over my head.
He chuckled softly in the back of his throat. "Of course."
Leaning forward to whisper in my ear, his soft words made me press closer to him, the warmth spreading from my ear down to my toes. "After all... the owners here are unlike any other..."
I chuckled at the slight change in his voice, as though he were speaking as one of our potential customers. Given the nature of the island, we had planned not to hold back on the eccentricities once it got underway. Why hide behind a veil of pure professionalism when you want to make it perfectly clear that this is, or rather will be, a place of pure, unabashed entertainment?
His bangs shifted as he lowered his head to mine, letting me see the glitter of blue within his deep brown eyes. Surrounding his black, round pupils seemed to be jagged sky reflected against a pool of the darkest, sweetest chocolate. His forehead touched against mine, allowing those unique windows to his soul to drift closer to my own. The glint in them told of his driving ambition for a goal that only he truly knew.
But I was allowed to guess as many times as I wanted. He swore he'd tell me if I got it right.
Grinning, I pressed myself against him, both encouraging his actions and hoping to melt into him, cooing as my voice unintentionally took the husky tone of growing desire. "I think it will become more than a rumor, Master..." I told him, my lips curling in a devious grin and my voice humming with the desperate need welling up from within me. "...Especially with our more... hands on approach."
His grin shadowed my own, his teeth flashing with the same carnal wants that were causing my body to grow hot against his. His large hands pushed against my back, as if to punctuate my words, and my spine arched in response, giving his lips the opportunity they needed to sink beneath my jaw. The soft, wet suction of his latching mouth right over my artery warmed the blood before it reached my mind. I closed my eyes in reflex against the feel of teeth along my throat, making me tense and shiver while I whimpered my surrender to him.Â
One of his hands slid up my spine to entangle itself in my hair, a firm grip keeping my head from lowering and hiding my submission to him. His other drifted downward, rough fingers abrasive against my smooth skin as they roamed over me. Every second they stayed against me made my mind slip more and more, words and human intelligence being pushed aside for my body's natural instincts, of submission, giving up before the battle begun, and giving in to the victor.Â
I can only imagine who else will be lucky enough to feel this embrace, of the others who are bound to fall under his spell. This endeavor will be one of many applications, but as his hungry fingers pressing against the swell of my heated, swollen sex are quick to remind me, the project has one all-consuming goal.
To bring two worlds together to the point where their differences become purely external. What we do now will not be ready for the outside world but, if all goes well, we will be pioneers of the greatest union ever known. One that will show, once and for all, that humans and Pokemon have more in common than anyone has ever researched.Â
Anyone, that is, except for us.
As one of his fingers began to play against my hardened clit, I began to pant into the air, my breath soon captured by a dominating kiss. His every motion was if he were a beast driven by a human mind, hunting every need I had and devouring it, while keeping others well fed so that he could feast upon them later. Knowing who he is, what he is, it made it all seem so clear, and at the same time so very desireable, feeling him drag me into his feral world where nothing existed save for what the body craved. We were animals, but deep down, weren't we all simply animals? All we need to do is be released from our cages... and with a whole island in which to do so...
Chuckling quietly as I felt his teeth sink into my neck, I found myself looking forward to seeing the true nature of our inhabitants, of the beasts they would become when they find out for themselves what nature truly is in its most uninhibited form.
And embrace it.