Black Velvet

She was practically gushing now, her lubricating juices flowing from her in thick ropes, wetting his hand as he played the tips of his fingers up and down her burning vulva. He parted her labia, exposing her, Zuki pushing her face into the pillows near the headboard. Jules couldn't really see what he was doing, her butt and thighs were in the way, but he could feel his way around well enough. He pushed two fingers into her spasming entrance, and he was immediately gripped by what felt like a fist gloved in slimy silk. Her insides were feverishly hot, drenched with her syrupy excitement, the muscles beyond her exquisite walls squeezing down on him with an angry fervor.

Zuki sank her teeth into one of the pillows, her tall body shifting and roiling like she was dancing as he began to move his fingers inside her. It was a little like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time, and he found himself alternating his focus between her loins and her tail, amused to see that her reaction to the latter was comparable to the former. He didn't know what the deal was with her tail, but there must be a lot of nerve endings down there.

She moaned as he rubbed the web of muscles that anchored it to her body, they were thick and strong, able to support so much weight. He pushed his thumb deep into her tissue, circling it to ease out another knot, and she began to mumble incoherently into the cushions.

"I didn't catch that," he chuckled.

"I said that this is ridiculous," she groaned, her thighs clamping around his hand as he curled his fingers against the roof of her tunnel.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Never..."

He upped the tempo, sliding his fingers faster and deeper, Zuki whining as she pushed back against his hand. This was another thing that their claws probably prevented them from doing. You couldn't get yourself off, nor anyone else, with inch-long meat hooks on the ends of your fingers. Maybe that was one of the reasons that recreational sex was such a large part of their pack life.

Jules gave her some reprieve, taking his hand off the base of her tail and running it up and down her spine, stroking her as she bucked and writhed. He had wanted to do this so badly during her massage, and now he didn't have to restrain himself. He kept his fingers inside her, keeping up the pace as his pinky wandered down towards her clitoris. When it brushed across her firm protrusion, she growled, teeth and claws tearing into pillows and sending feathers floating through the air. The room was starting to look like the aftermath of a fox breaking into a chicken coop.

"Harder," she snarled. Her face was buried, but her ears pointed backwards to face him. He obliged, matching pace with her thrusts, pushing into her as she backed up into him. It was easy to admire the way that her lower body moved from this position, the fat of her thighs and butt rippling with each impact, her muscles flexing beneath her satin fur as the light that reflected off the sheen of her sweat picked them out.

The rhythmic clenching of her pillowy flesh around his fingers was coming faster now, accelerating like a heartbeat, crushing his digits together to the point that it was actually starting to hurt. He tolerated the discomfort, it would take a lot more than that to discourage him.

"P-pull my tail," Zuki muttered, so quiet that she almost seemed embarrassed to have made the request.

"What was that?" Jules asked, pretending that he hadn't heard her.

"Pull my tail," she repeated, a little more desperately this time. She turned to look back at him over her shoulder, her expression a blend of lust and frustration. Once again, her emerald eyes made his heart skip a beat, the facade of aloofness that he was putting on almost cracking. How easy it was to be bewitched by those glittering eyes...

"If you insist," he replied, taking a firm grip around the base of her tail. "How hard?"

"Hard," she growled. Well, she was a Borealan, after all. They were made of stern stuff, it was very unlikely that he could do much to hurt her. Jules gave her tail a yank, like he was trying to pull it off at the root. Zuki's twitching passage clamped down on him like a vice as she loosed a lurid moan, sinking her teeth in her shredded pillow. A tremor rolled through her entire body, her muscles tensing and then relaxing again. Talk about an erogenous zone. Her tail was as sensitive as her loins.

Jules gave it another yank, hearing a blend of bestial snarling and giddy chuckling, Zuki fucking his hand now as she tried to take his fingers deeper. She was already close, he could feel it in the way that her tunnel was drawing on him, her rolling muscles pulling him inside her in waves. It was creating enough pressure that he could hear the lurid sucking sounds that she produced.

He wanted so desperately to mount her, to take up position behind those ample cheeks and sink his fingers into them, sliding himself inside her trembling passage. But she was so close, so lost in her pleasure that he didn't want to snap her out of it, even for a second. He wanted to see her glistening, drenched body quake as the coming orgasm made her its drooling, moaning puppet.

He took hold of the base of her tail again and used it for leverage as he drove his fingers into her faster and faster, rubbing her swollen, tender clitoris like he was trying to polish it. Zuki's rump began to slowly rise into the air, and he watched as the chiseled muscles that ran along her spine started to tense, standing out from her wet fur and shining as they caught the dull light. Sweat dripped from her, raining to the mattress below, the excitement that was leaking from between her thighs joining it. There was a tearing sound as her curved claws sank deep into the mattress, but she could destroy the whole station for all Jules cared. He wasn't about to miss this for the sake of his deposit.

Between her throaty panting, she mumbled and cursed in a language that he didn't understand, or it could just as easily have been a string of wanton pleas for him to go faster and harder. Either way, her silken depths were practically vibrating around his fingers, the heat that her massive body produced almost alarming.

"Don't stop, don't stop," she hissed through gritted teeth as he changed position to account for the way that she was arching her back. All of a sudden, she loosed a yowl like a cat that had just had its tail stepped on. Her legs gave out, sending her toppling to the bed, her weight very nearly bouncing Jules into the air. He kept a tight grip on her tail, keeping his fingers lodged inside her, rubbing and stroking to ease out every last throb of pleasure that he could manage as she convulsed on the sheets beside him.

She emitted a drawn-out, pained moan from deep within, every muscle in her body seeming to tense up as a wave of ecstasy made her loins clamp down on him furiously. His heart thudded in his chest as he played his eyes over her shivering form, every gyration of her hips, and every ripple of muscle drawing his eye. Her movements had an almost musical quality about them, the rhythm of her bucking synced with the surges of pleasure, plucking at her nerves like the strings of an instrument.

Exhausted, Zuki's trembling body finally relaxed. She lay still, save for the occasional tremor as an aftershock teased her, panting as she enjoyed her euphoria. Jules slid his fingers out of her, watching as the thick, clinging strands of her come sagged to the sheets below, provoking another low moan from his partner.

"Magic fingers," she muttered, looking back at him in a daze. Jules laughed at that, returning both hands to her back, wondering how she might react to a massage so shortly after a climax. Her body was hypersensitive, more receptive than ever to his touch, her muscles tender beneath her soaking fur. Her eyelids drooped as she mumbled something unintelligible into the pillows, exhaling a drawn-out sigh that sent a cloud of feathers swirling into the air as Jules located a pressure point in her lower back, beginning to knead it with his palm.

His fingers were starting to ache now, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity. Seeing how good he could make her feel had become a sort of sport to him now. It wasn't that he was God's gift to women or anything like that, he just happened to be able to do things to her that nobody else in her life could, nature having gifted him with clawless fingers and a tongue devoid of barbs.

Jules kept up his massage for a few minutes longer, eventually realizing that Zuki's breathing had become regular, and she had stopped reacting so strongly to the sensation of his fingers pushing into her tissue. She was fast asleep in her pile of feathers, her sweat making them stick to her fur.

Careful not to wake her, he slid in beside her and gently pulled the covers over them both, conscious of his own throbbing need but not willing to disturb her peace for such a selfish reason. His time would come soon enough, and he had a feeling that she had not stated her intention to repay him in kind lightly. Now that he had a moment of peace, he reflected on the events of the night. Everything had happened so fast, one minute he had been teaching her to dance, and the next...

He had no regrets, however. This had been a long time coming, and he wasn't going to let it interfere with his work. Surely he could be professional where his assignment was concerned, but still pursue personal relationships outside of the context of that assignment? Sure, probably, that sounded right. All of his doubts melted away as he watched her sleep, her fluffy ears twitching occasionally, her breasts shifting subtly with the slow rise and fall of her chest.

Jules let his eyes close, listening to the sound of her breathing, letting himself be carried off into decidedly erotic dreams.

CHAPTER 14: PROFESSIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS

When Jules awoke again, he found himself alone. The door to the apartment was open, and it seemed as if Zuki was already up. Perhaps she had snuck out of bed early to get a shower? The events of the previous night came flooding back to him all at once, and he realized that he could still taste her on his breath. He threw off the sheets and made his way to the bathroom, noting that there was no sign of his ward. After brushing his teeth and washing up, he wandered into the living area to search for her. Zuki was still nowhere to be seen, she wasn't sitting on the couch playing with the remote, and she wasn't making food in the kitchen. Had she gone out onto the torus on her own? He hoped not. She was learning fast, but she was still naive.

"Zuki?" he called out, but there was no reply. Perhaps she was playing one of her games again? That must be it. He crouched low to check under the kitchen table, but she wasn't there. Where else could such a large creature hide in such a finite space? He wandered around the apartment for a few minutes, then decided that she must have gone out.

As he stood in the middle of the apartment and scratched his head, wondering how he was going to track her down on such a large station, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly began to stand on end. Something was giving him the distinct feeling that he was being watched. A he turned to look behind him, he was startled by the sudden movement of a giant shadow.

Zuki pounced on him from behind in a mock attack, wrapping her arms around him, Jules nearly jumping out of his skin.

"Zuki!" he gasped, the surprise making him laugh despite himself. "What the hell are you doing? I was about to go out and scour the station for you."

She was wearing her turtleneck and sweatpants again, but this time, the bandages were conspicuously absent. Her breasts were straining against the fabric, spilling over his shoulders and cradling his head like a giant travel pillow as she pushed her nose into his hair and nuzzled. She had no bra, of course. Without the support of the bandages, her bust was hanging free and full, Jules sinking deep into her flesh as she hugged him tighter against her sweater.

"Got you," she chuckled, squeezing him affectionately.

"You're not wearing your bandages?" he asked.

"No," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders that made the assets in question bounce. "Since you know my secret now, I don't really have a reason to, unless we're going out somewhere."

That wasn't the only reason. She seemed to have gotten over her insecurity, too, judging by the way that she was throwing her bosom at him. His plan had worked, at least in the sense that she now felt confident enough to remove her bandages around him and let it all hang out...

"I actually wanted to talk to you about what happened last night," he said, pulling away from her and turning to face her.

"Is...something wrong?" she asked, her smile faltering. Oh no, was she assuming that he regretted sleeping with her?

"Of course not," he said, quick to reassure her. "Last night was...incredible." She smiled again, her tail waving back and forth behind her. "But nobody can know," he insisted, emphasizing his words with a frantic hand gesture.

"Why not?" Zuki asked, cocking her head as she looked down at him. Good lord, her breasts were just hanging there, their perfect teardrop shape easily visible through the woolen material of her sweater. He tried to stay focused, driving the impulse to push his face into them out of his mind for a moment.

"I'm a diplomat," he continued, "I was assigned to evaluate the Araxie and to determine whether their application to the Coalition should be considered or not. My job is to be objective, to remain detached. I'm supposed to look at things from a purely empirical perspective, and after what we did last night, that objectivity could be brought into question. From the perspective of the council, there's a...substantial conflict of interest, seen as we have become so...heavily...involved." He tore his eyes away from her bosom again, shaking his head as if it might somehow dislodge the distracting thoughts. "If one of the council members were to find out about our...closeness, or any associated personnel for that matter, it might impact their decision and hurt Araxie's chances of being admitted."

"Oh dear," Zuki replied, "was what we did bad?"

"No, no," he insisted. "It was just a little unprofessional maybe, not forbidden, but...not something that they generally encourage either. It will lead people to assume that I'm making the recommendation because of you, not because I genuinely believe that your territory is a suitable candidate. That isn't true, of course, but they won't see it that way."

"So, what must we do?"

"I don't suppose the concept of maintaining professional distance means anything to you? Workplace boundaries, maybe?" She shook her head, and he ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. An idea occurred to him, he just had to phrase it differently, in a way that she would understand. "Alright, Zuki, let me put this another way. Our relationship has to be a secret. Nobody can know that you and I have...been close, or that we're a pack, understand? As far as anyone else can know, we're platonic friends, we're coworkers."

"What's platonic?" she asked innocently.

"Platonic means we didn't do what we did last night, that we never do things like that. Araxie like being stealthy, right? You like hiding? Well, now we have to be discreet, we have to hide our relationship so that nobody finds out about it. At least until all of this is over and done with."

"Alright," she replied enthusiastically, "I can keep a secret."

"Good, good. So let's establish some guidelines, some ground rules. No overt displays of affection in public, no hugging or kissing. We shouldn't even hold hands, come to think of it, that could be misconstrued as a romantic gesture. We can only do those things inside the apartment where nobody can see us. Humans don't talk about their sexual exploits openly, at least, most don't. So don't be telling people about what we've been doing in private."

"Relax," she chuckled, wrapping her arms around him again and pulling him into her. She hooked a hand around the back of his head, delving her fingers into his hair and forcing his face between her heaving breasts, her warmth and her scent sapping his will as he sank deep into her malleable sweater meat. "If that's what you want, then it will be as you say."

Maybe he was overreacting a little, it wasn't as if they were under surveillance. But then again, his career might be on the line here. It was hard to focus on anything besides the feeling of being close to her, and he let the steady rise and fall of her soft chest calm him.

"Will you cook breakfast for me?" she asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Sure," he mumbled.

"Oh, and one more thing," she added. "You should bathe thoroughly before you go outside. Human noses don't seem to be able to detect it, but other Borealans will smell me on you. That might give us away if there are any Borealans on the council."

"That's a good idea," he said, starting to pull away from her. She tightened her hold on him to prevent him from escaping her clutches, pushing him deeper into the boundless depths of her cleavage.

"Not just yet," she cooed, Jules feeling her warm breath in his hair. "I like that you smell like me..."

***

"What are we doing today?" Zuki asked, finishing off her bacon as she sat across the kitchen table from Jules.

"You can suggest things that you want to do, you know," he replied.

"You're my Alpha, I want you to decide," she insisted.

"Alright. Well, today, I thought we'd spend some time going over how the Security Council operates and what to expect during our meeting. It's in a couple of days, after all, we don't have a lot of time left to prepare. I want to coach you a little on what to say and how to act so that we can get the best possible results. After that, I think we should go back to the clothing store that we found the other day, you need some new clothes."

"Are these clothes not suitable?" she asked, tugging at the fabric of her sweater.

"They're fine, but, uh...if you're not going to wear your bandages, then we need to get you a bra or something. Trust me, it will be a lot more comfortable for you."

Her bust was currently spilling across the table within the confines of her turtleneck, it looked like she was smuggling a couple of those sandbags that they use to prevent floods under there.

"What is a bra?"

"It supports your chest, takes some off the weight off, and it's considered polite to wear one."

"It makes them lighter?"

"Yep. It should be a good alternative to your bandages. You shouldn't have to wear those, not here, and not back in your territory. You don't have anything to be ashamed of."

Now that he had finally coaxed her out of them, he didn't like the idea of her just reverting to her old habits the moment that she set foot in her home territory. If he could replace the bandages with something that had made her feel both more comfortable and more confident, then maybe they would stay off for good.

***

"Let's go over the Security Council again," Jules said as he paced in front of the monitor, Zuki looking to the notes that she had taken on her tablet. "List off all of the seats."

"The United Nations," she began, "those are made up of Earth and the human colonies. Then there's the planet Krell, the Brokers, the Elysian and Rask territories."

"And what about the Polars?" Jules asked.

"The Polars don't have their own seat, because they're members of the Russian Federation, which is a member of the United Nations."

"Excellent. Now, tell me who is currently sitting for each member, and what we know about them. If we're going to sway them, then we need to know as much about them as possible. What are their past histories, do they have civilian or military backgrounds? What might be their likes or dislikes? Can we use regional rivalries to play the members against one another in order to achieve the desired outcome?"