Chapter 9

As they walked along the street toward Lenny's apartment, the Englishman questioned her further.

"The thing I don't understand, Lenny, is this..." he spoke in a soft voice, "why is it that I haven't been able to have a real thing with a woman since the war, then all of a sudden everything clicks with you?"

Lenny stopped and pulled his raincoat more tightly about her well-shaped body. He eyed the jutting of her indescribable breasts, beneath the stretched cloth.

"I think I have an idea about that, Cubbie," she replied.

"Oh?" he had begun to respect this woman of the streets a great deal more.

"Yes," she looked deeply into his gray eyes, you told me that you used to have a lot of animals around, right?"

"I suppose so, yes, but that was when I was just a child."

"Never mind, lover, it's obvious to me that the difference between my kind of sex and the stuff that McClain is trying to pawn off on the world has a lot to do with animals. You see, the thing everyone seems to forget is that we're all basically animals. We aren't any different basically from the cattle in the fields or the tigers prowling about the jungles in hot pursuit of the opposite sex."

"I'm not so certain that I follow you," Cubbings said, staring at her with a blankness one sometimes finds in children asking questions about the size of the universe. Cubbings seemed strangely naive.

Lenny laughed gaily and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. As it is, we'd both better get some rest if we're going to sell the xylotrope to the world.

The sophisticated Cubbings nodded almost regretfully.

"Yes," he said in a low voice, "I suppose you're right, see you tomorrow night."

After the door was securely shut and bolted behind her, Lenny threw the raincoat off and fell full length on her couch. It seemed hysterically funny to her suddenly; the whole business of the xylotrope seemed like some kind of hideous joke.

She sombered slightly when she thought of the zealous intensity with which McClain had jotted down his notations. He was obviously not a man to fool around with. She yawned and fell asleep for a few hours.

When she finally awoke, it was seven in the morning. Life was just beginning again on the streets outside her windows. She stood for some time on her balcony, staring down at the porters and cabbies who bustled by. In fifteen minutes or so the sidewalk began to fill with people rushing off to their early jobs. She grinned and turned back to her own apartment.

Lenny Morgan began her working day by taking a quick shower and dousing herself with expensive perfume. She was to meet Lenora at the dark girl's own apartment in the West Village.

That was a safety precaution, there was some chance that McClain might have Lenny followed. The Carl Industries people had decided it would be for the best if there were no direct contact between the blonde spy and her true employers.

At any rate, Lenny was somewhat excited at prospect of seeing the beautiful gypsy an again... alone.

Lenny knocked on the battered door of Lenora's apartment. There was no answer at first.

Lenny knocked again anxiously. It was odd, but she was more worried about Lenora's safety than her own. Suppose something had happened to the gypsy woman? Suppose that the devious magnate, McClain, had made a connection between the two women and had come here to do her in?

The fears were allayed when Lenny heard a rustling behind the door.

"Who is it?" a sleepy and somewhat annoyed voice called out through the wooden paneling.

"It's me," the blonde answered eagerly, "it's me, Lenny."

"Oh!" the voice behind the door changed its tone suddenly. There was the sliding of a bolt from a lock and the great oaken door swung clumsily open.

"Good to see you," Lenora said in a husky, gypsy voice. "How'd everything go with the xylotrope?"

"Fine, I guess," Lenny entered and looked about her to establish some bearings in the strange apartment. "One thing is for sure, that little machine of McClain's is a mighty weird piece of equipment."

"Yeah," Lenora had a peculiar look in her eyes, something that verged on jealousy. "Yeah, I would imagine so."

Lenny explained the events of the previous day as completely as she could, describing the weakness of Cubbings, the problematic nature of the machine, and the evil efficiency of Masters McClain.

"Good work," Lenora commented finally, "I bet you're pretty hungry after all that. Would you like some breakfast?"

Lenny eyed the dusky beauty carefully.

"Well," she purred, "to tell the truth, it's not so much food that I'm really hungry for."

A look of pleasure and understanding came into the gleaming black eyes of the glamorous gypsy woman. She smiled and let her house robe fall back over her smooth murky shoulders.

"Maybe," she murmured seductively, "you'd like to play with some of my pets."

The idea seemed refreshing and exciting after the time wasted at Xylotropic Industries. Lenny nodded her head in eager assent.

Lenora led the way to the bedroom. To Lenny's great surprise, the room contained no bed at all. Instead two huge double mattresses were piled upon the floor and covered with red silk sheets.

Around this exotic bed-place were placed several large cages. In these cages were animals that seemed even stranger and more exotic than those used in Boss Carl's exclusive basement club.

"I keep these babies for a kind of bus driver's holiday," the gypsy explained. "If you'd like, I'll introduce you around. Then, if you feel the urge, you can have your pick of the beasts."

"The Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite bedtime story," Lenny quipped good-naturedly.

Lenora smiled fetchingly as she introduced Lenny to the first cage. It was a gold-gilt affair with a large, ornate silver lock. Inside the cage was a large Koala bear, the cutest and most cuddly looking animal that Lenny had ever seen.

"Why," she exclaimed spontaneously, "he looks just like a teddy bear!"

"Yes, he's cute enough all right," Lenora agreed, "and more than that, we've got him trained so that he'll eat right out of your hand. Or anywhere else, for that matter."

They moved on to the next animal housing, which was a singularly tall and skinny cage. Lenny giggled with the exotic excitement of this menagerie-tour. She covered her eyes with her hands and said, "Don't tell me, lover, let me guess."

"Okay," the beautiful gypsy woman caught the mood of the game immediately. "I'll give you three guesses as to its nature. One clue, it's neither animal nor vegetable."

Lenny giggled delightedly and swung her hips as she approached the peculiar cage with hands tightly over her eyes. "I'll ask you first," she began seriously, "If it has fur."

Lenora, the dusky gypsy beauty, let her robe slip to the floor with a soft rustling sound. Something in that gentle sound stirred a new excitement in Lenny's groin.

"Nope," the gypsy girl crooned, "it sure doesn't have any fur."

"Would it remind me of something else, something very familiar to girls like us?"

The gypsy began to softly stroke her long, commanding thighs. The almost inaudible moanings led the lips of Lenny's blonde-furred vagina to smile open. The knob of her clitoris became inflamed with hot blood and she could feel it itch and cry out for attention.

"Yeah," Lenora replied cagily to Lenny's leading question, "yeah, I guess that it's a sort of familiar shape, anyway."

Lenny smiled and began to unbutton the cardigan sweater that she had donned for this morning's adventure.

"Okay gypsy love, tell me one last thing before I make my guess."

"Anything!" the woman's voice was hoarse and strained now. Even though her eyes were tightly shut and covered by her delicate hands, Lenny knew that Lenora was rubbing her palms in between her smooth, silky thighs.

"Okay, baby, is it an animal that I've met before somewhere? Or have I met one like it on real intimate terms?"

"That's two questions!"

"Have I met one like it before then?"

"Uhh, huh." The gypsy girl moans were less an indication of a positive response to Lenny's question than a command to her own fingers. It was as if Lenora were sighing, "Yes, yes, lovely little searching fingers, that is the right place to feel."

"Then I think I know what it is," Lenny chirped gaily as she pulled the sweater off from her back, "I think it's my old friend the boa constrictor."

"You're right!" cheered the dark-skinned gypsy, "you must get a prize for such a wonderfully good guess!"

"A prize! A prize!" exclaimed the happy Lenny, tossing her blonde hair back over her shoulders.

"What would you like, my lovely white beauty?" Lenora asked in a tense, hopeful voice.

Lenny grimaced in mock consternation as she tried to make up her mind. It was a joy to tease this most exotic of women. Lenny knew damn well what the gypsy wanted to give as a prize!

"I think," Lenny piped up finally, "I think that I would like you to help me take off my trousers."

The dark eyes blazed with passion inherited from centuries of wild-blooded gypsy lovers. Lenora bending down was a sight that made Lenny's young heart thrill. To have a woman who was so beautiful kneel before her was like being a queen of all women!

With smooth, rapid movements--Lenora undid the wide belt that supported Lenny's bell-bottomed trousers. A quick flick of the tanned wrist and the zipper flew down.

Lenny felt the expensive material of her pants rustling down her legs to the floor. It was exciting and new to her. In the course of her work the blonde girl had had occasion to make love to women, but she had never particularly enjoyed it before. Moreover, there was something wonderful in this ritualistic seduction. It was not just the beautiful body of the gypsy girl that Lenny loved, it was the whole tradition of her lusty ancestors, the whole race that had spawned this princess of sensuality!

"I wonder," Lenny teased the figure kneeling before her on the floor, "I wonder who is really getting the prize, you or me?"

The gypsy did not reply, instead she leaned forward and began to brush her lips along the inside of Lenny's smooth thighs. The flesh there was soft and sensitive, twinges of hot desire flashed up from every light touch of the dark lips.

"It is..." the gypsy woman murmured, "both our prizes, is it not?"

"Kiss me all over," commanded Lenny. The kissing increased in rhythm, as if driven by some ancient and foreign order. Lenny stared up at the ceiling above her, breathing rapidly and clutching at the long black hair that swung gently back and forth between her legs. Gripping the strands of hair more tightly Lenny forced Lenora's face in against her crotch.

"My panties," she breathed, "kiss my panties."

"I kiss them," the gypsy woman recited, "because they must be holy, residing so close to your sacred place, your beautiful treasure."

"Yummy," Lenny sniggered as the lips rubbed against her cleft. "That is a wonderful prize, Lenora."

Then, abruptly and playfully, Lenny pulled the woman's face away from the long, shapely legs.

"Enough," she said sternly, "I've been given my prize."

Lenora looked so crestfallen that Lenny had to bend down and plant a kiss fully on her ripe lips. She winked and said, "Don't worry, my lovely gypsy princess, there are more animals, more cages, more guesses, and more prizes.

Lenora smiled, flashing her brilliant white teeth.

"Yes," she said happily, "and now you must go on to the next cage and guess as to what rare pet I have there."

The young blonde strode a few steps further into the erotic room. She saw that the next cage was low and very large indeed. It seemed to be seven or eight feet long by five or six feet in height. She could not tell exactly how deep it was, as it was set at an angle toward her. A brocade curtain hung over the front of the cage.

"I will give you one clue about this cage and its animals. There are three of them, and they are asleep now. That is all I can tell you, you must guess the rest."

Lenny covered her eyes, once more and advanced on the large cage.

"I have three guesses, right?"

"That's right."

"My first guess is that they are furry animals."

"That's true. They are furry animals, and very much fun to play with." Lenora ran her fingertips down the gently slope of Lenny's flank. The sensation was intense, almost like being tickled.

"You mustn't get too fresh, little princess," Lenny cautioned, "you haven't won a prize yet."

Lenora bit the blonde dancer playfully on the small of the neck. Lenny winced and moved away with a little chuckle.

"If they're furry," Lenny hazarded, "then, they must have paws."

"Yes and no," the gypsy woman hedged.

"You have to say definitely."

"Yes," Lenora allowed that they might have paws. Her black eyes gleamed like devil's diamonds. She knew that she would be the one to get the prize this time.

"I have one more guess?"

Lenora touched her fingers to the flesh of Lenny's thigh. "Yes, my pretty one, you have one more guess before I claim my prize."

"I guess that they must have long tails."

Lenora nodded. "Yes, they have long, long tails."

"They're monkeys!" Lenny cried out triumphantly.

"No," Lenora's hand grasped a buttock and pinched heartily, "you're wrong, dummy!"

Lenny uncovered her eyes and watched as Lenora lifted the brocade covering from the front of the cage. Inside were three smiling raccoons, with their tiny hands and bushy tails. They stared out at the two beautiful women like lascivious little bandits.

"Look at their little black masks!" cried Lenny excitedly. "They're so cute and wise-looking."

There was something of the gypsy fortune teller in Lenora's eyes now. "Oh, yes, they are wise little animals. Legend among my people has it that they are the wisest of all god's creatures. They know the secrets of your innermost heart. As your guess was wrong, I am the one who gets the prize this time, am I not?"

Lenny smiled bashfully and nodded.

"Well," Lenora proceeded to strut proudly about the room, tossing her long black mane haughtily over her exquisitely shaped shoulders. "Well, well! So I am to receive the prize this time?"

"You deserve the prize, make it whatever you want it to be..."

"So! The prize!" The twinkle in Lenora's eye was a combination of good humor and passion. "The prize! I think for my prize I shall play with my pets!"

For an instant the fortunate gypsy stared malevolently at the shapely blonde woman.

Lenny felt her heart drop in dismay; even though the sight of the gypsy woman playing with her wanton beast would be exciting, it seemed disappointing that she herself would not be the object of desire. She lowered her eyes and frowned gruesomely.

"Ha!" Lenora spun commandingly in front of Lenny's slumping shoulders. "So you thing! You jealous thing! You fear to be left out of the gypsy games, is it not so?"

Shamefacedly, Lenny nodded.

"You will not be left out. Never fear. But you must do my bidding!"

A smile whipped across Lenny's full red lips, she nodded genially. "I promise that I'll do anything that you ask."

"Then open the cage and let my little pets out!" Lenora commanded sharply.

Lenny rushed to obey. She gasped in awe, as she swung the gate open. Its latch and hinges were made of handsomely carved ivory. This gypsy woman was surely as rich as a queen!

The little beasts were energetic and well trained; they scampered quickly to the mattresses and snuggled up in a circle on the silk sheets.

"Now," the gypsy ordered fiercely, "you will lie down with them!"

Lenny moved to the bedside and knelt onto the mattresses. They were as soft as heavenly clouds. She felt a powerful urge welling up in her. She knew now what it must have been like to have been a harem slave in Pharaoh's time. She felt a powerful willingness to sacrifice her body--and, yes, even her life--upon the altar of her master's passion.

"Your wish," she said quite seriously, "is my command!"

Lenora stood over the wide love mattress with a cocky demeanor. She grinned wickedly and hissed out a command to the raccoons. They stared at her for a moment, then began to move as if hypnotized.