Chapter 488

The Retreat

Jeff knew he was being set up. It wasn’t as if Diana had never done anything like this before; she had, in fact, done it many times. Taking another bite, his thoughts continued. Kei is cute as can be and, if I’m not mistaken, I can see nipple bumps on the front of her blouse even though she appears to be wearing a bra. Hmmm, it surely seems as if she’s excited.

Okay, maybe my women are right and I do put off some kind of pheromone or something, but that only happens when I’m sexually excited or thinking about sex, right? But damn, she has a sexy mouth that just begs to be kissed, and I wonder what’s really under that blouse. Those bumps sure look interesting.

Admonishing himself, his thoughts continued, What the fuck is wrong with me? I already have sixteen wives – mostly due to my Clan Queen’s manipulations. And yeah, with the mental thing, I can take care of them, and with the enhancement, I can come as many times as I want. But, dammit, this has to end somewhere. I can see that look on Diana’s face – yet again. She and I need to have a real heart-to-heart chat before this goes too far. Then resignedly, If it hasn’t already.

As he sat there trying to smile, he really wanted to put his head in his hands, instead. Crap. I’ve tried those heart-to-heart talks, but when I hurt her feelings, not only do I have her to worry about, but all the rest of my wives get their feelings hurt too, or even worse, they get pissed. It’s totally amazing that they can all continue to fuck me, even enthusiastically, and still let me know their feelings are hurt. They treat me as if they can’t live without me, yet with a look or two, I’m suddenly busting my ass to please them. I’m a fucking wimp when it comes to them. Then again, I probably have more pussy on a daily basis than any man on Earth, and they literally do everything for me. And I know that any one of them would die for me if something happened.

Diana looked over at him and winked. Fuck, there she goes practically reading my mind again. But, dammit, Kei is married, and chances are that asshole is going to fight to get more out of the divorce than she’s willing to give. No telling how long this will drag on. I still think he needs a little persuasion to clear his mind and get him on the right track. I could put on one of the camouflage suits, walk in there and stomp on his dick a few times. Chances are he would have a change of heart by the second or third stomp. The gate guards would swear that no one had left the Retreat. Edi might be able to figure out who did it, but he wouldn’t be able to prove it. But ... Diana would know. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Crap, I’m beginning to think like a pompous ass. I’m assuming Kei is thinking about me. The aroused nipples could just be because of all that’s happened. Yeah, that could be it. She’s upset about what’s happened and the nipples have nothing to do with sexual excitement.

Tentatively, he felt Diana’s hand beginning to caress his leg. Of course, his dick responded to her the way it always did. Pleadingly, he tried to lock eyes with her, but she studiously avoided it, although he thought he did detect a faint quiver of her lips as she fought back a grin.

“There’s a video we think you need to watch, and I suspect it will be very informative. So, how about joining us in the living room after we clean up in here?” Diana asked Kei.

The young architect was shaking her head. “Thank you, but I think I will go back to my suite and...”

“ ... worry some more,” Diana finished for her. “Surely, you’ve done enough of that today. Please, stay and watch the video with us. I think that most of my sister-wives have other plans, so there will only be three or four of us.” When Kei still seemed hesitant, the Clan Queen went on, “I insist. We’ll make sure you have a good time,” she finished as she punctuated her last comment by gripping Jeff’s leg hard for a second.

If Jeff suspected that something was going on before, he was positive now. The problem was, he didn’t know exactly what. He was aware that Kei was very intelligent, so he didn’t try to send Diana any questioning glances, realizing that Kei would notice. I don’t remember anything about a movie that was that great, so why is she suddenly talking about one? he thought while continuing to search his memory for a clue.

“Uh, Babe, if we’re going to watch a video, why don’t we do it in the theater? The screen is bigger and the seats are designed for that purpose,” he asked, reasonably.

Diana grinned at him. “I have my reasons,” she responded, mysteriously.

The women had made their trips to the bathroom. When Kei entered the living room, the lights were turned low. Several single seats and a love seat were positioned in front of the giant screen. A large bowl of freshly popped popcorn was sitting on the coffee table along with a number of empty smaller bowls. A cooler of soft drinks sat on the floor nearby – everything for an evening of watching movies, except ... it would have been more logical to use their home theater. Arlene and Kayla took their seats and Diana encouraged Kei to sit beside her on the love seat, only leaving room for Jeff to sit on the other side of the young woman.

Jeff now realized why Diana had chosen the living room over their theater. The theater’s seats were separate. Here, Kei was forced to sit between Diana and Jeff. Diana, he groused mentally. It’s too soon, even for you.

Kei, embarrassed, started to get up so Jeff could sit by his wife, but Diana grabbed her hand, saying simply, “Trust me. Please sit by me.”

Jeff, with a smile pasted on his face, sank into the available seat by Kei.

Kei obviously thought she knew what Diana was trying to do, because the young woman’s face flushed, but Diana ignored her hesitancy to say, “You need to get that ass off your mind. Sitting by my sexy husband should make that a little easier.” Then teasingly, “Besides, he doesn’t bite ... much, and he certainly isn’t going to attack you.” Then, with a devious grin, “He’s probably scared half to death by now, because he has no idea what I’m doing. But ... fact is, I only want you to relax and get your mind off what has probably been the worst day of your life. Sitting by a sexy man should help with that. You can hold his hand, or mine if that will help. When you realize that I really don’t have an ulterior motive, you might even use his shoulder to cry on if you should need it. Whether you realize it or not, you’re pale as a ghost and have been for several hours now. You certainly don’t need to be alone just yet. You are not by yourself in this. We will be with you every step of the way. If you feel the need of a man’s strong arms just now, my husband is available to do that without any repercussions. It’s amazing how comforting it can feel, snuggled in his arms.” Then after a pause, “Kei, not all men are like Edi, and Jeff certainly isn’t. You’re safe now.”

Jeff locked eyes with his Clan Queen for a moment, then tried to force himself to relax. Reaching over, he filled one of the small bowls with popcorn, handed it to Kei, then did the same for Diana. That done, he asked what kind of soft drink each wanted and served them before getting his own. Arlene and Kayla, both smiling, had gotten their own drinks and popcorn while Jeff was serving the other two.

Diana, seeing something in Kei’s expression, reached to hug her. The young woman sucked in a breath to protest. “Di, I am fine.” But her expression suddenly changed. “Why? Why did I ever marry him? My father was so insistent, but I knew better. I ... I...” After stuttering to a stop, the racking sobs began.

Jeff instinctively put his arm around Kei. Surprising him, she turned fully into him, seemingly trying to bury herself into his chest.

“Good,” Diana told her husband as she also put her arms around the crying woman. Arlene and Kayla came over to join in the hug.

After a few minutes, Kei cried herself out, sniffed for a while, then accepted a cup of coffee after Arlene brought in a carafe. “I am embarrassed...” she began.

“Hush. Hush,” Diana quietly whispered into Kei’s ear.

Coffee consumed and Kei with a freshly washed face, Jeff turned to his Clan Queen. “So what are we watching?” he asked, pretending to be relaxed.

“A video that you have already seen and one that will help Kei get her mind onto other things,” Diana responded. With that, she clicked the remote.

Two men, dressed in military fatigues, stood in a clearing, the surrounding trees in the background, huge, and the colors unusually intense.

“What the hel...” Jeff began, but a sharp look from his wife stopped him in mid-word.

The two men stood looking around them, with one seemingly very worried while the other was obviously pissed off. The worried one almost frantically cocked his crossbow, put a bolt in the rail and slung the weapon over his shoulder by the weapon’s lanyard, all the while continuing to scan his surroundings while slipping his bow off his shoulder.

As the nervous one (Morales) looked on disgustedly, the other screamed out, “I’ll kill those bastards when I see them again.”

The other man was obviously exasperated with his buddy. “They’re sure not going to come here. They told us this was a fucking prison planet. You’ll never see them again. We’re on our own – now, and for the rest of our lives. Don’t you fucking ever listen? You can’t talk your way out of this one, and Mazarella can’t bail us out; he’s dead.”

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!“ the first one screamed, then threw his bow down. “I’m fucking hungry. How the hell do you open this thing?” he grumbled as he pulled at the catches on a case that looked as if it were on steroids, its wheels obviously designed to roll over rough terrain.

While they continued to watch, the worried man stepped back, a determined look on his face. As he nocked an arrow in his bow, the scene faded.

When the scene faded back in, the second man was now alone as he struggled to pull the big case along what may have been a faint animal trail. Eventually, he stalked something in the distance and launched an arrow, then cursed as it obviously missed. The video jumped forward several times while the man searched for his lost arrow. When he found it, he grumbled again and eventually sat to work on the vanes of the bent arrowhead.

“Is this one of those survival shows?” Kei eventually asked, “and where did the other man go?”

Diana thought for a moment as Jeff glared at her over Kei’s head. “I suppose you could say that it is, indeed, survival of the fittest, but it is not a show. That’s a prison planet and the man’s name is Morales. He has been sentenced to that planet for life. There is no one on the planet, well at this point, other than male prisoners and they are scattered over a large area.”

With the scene paused, Diana turned fully to Kei, taking her hands. “When you and Edi were enhanced, you agreed to be blocked so that our secrets could not be shared with the public.”

“I remember,” Kei said, “but I still do not think it worked with me.”

“So, did you talk to anyone about anything you saw here?”

Kei thought for a moment. “Well, no, I suppose not. I do not think I have even mentioned the fortress in more than general terms.”

Jeff responded. “Well, we aren’t trying to keep knowledge of the fortress from the public. But, I can assure you that the block worked. You just never presented a reason for it to activate. Trust me,” he said, grimly, “if it had, you would definitely be aware of it.”

Diana continued. “There are many things that we need to keep from the public at this time, lest the politicians get control of the General’s people and equipment, which would doubtless, ruin everything he has tried to accomplish.”

Kei turned back to the big screen for a second before responding. “Sooo, you’re saying that there really is a ‘prison planet’ and this video is actually real life?”

“Exactly.”

“That is ... difficult to believe.” Kei tentatively remarked, her mild disposition keeping her from implying that Diana was lying. “I mean, we have barely visited the moon, yet you are saying...”

“Kei when we told you that you were part of our family, we really meant it, so we will no longer keep anything from you. Rather than having to stop to explain our references any time we mention something you haven’t been told about, I’ve decided to bring you up to date in a little different, and perhaps, more fun manner.” And you will be a sister-wife before you know it, she added mentally.

“My husband and his team have visited a number of planets. Others, mostly scientists and researchers from various fields, have visited many others.”

Kei sat silently for a few seconds, her emotions warring with logic.

Jeff let out a sigh. “It’s true, Kei. I would have chosen other ways to begin briefing you with what’s going on, but...”

Diana broke in. “But, I think this way will be a lot more fun for you.”

“I have not heard of anything like this. How could we visit other planets without the public being aware of it?”