Chapter 3: Communal Showers

The store that stands over our underground home is called Mr. Naughty's. It sounds like a funny name, but the contents of the store don't usually bring about fits of laughter. As the name implies, those products were designed with, well ... naughty thoughts in mind.

Here's the funny part: I'm Mr. Naughty.

After all the events that led to me collecting the women living with me, I had helped to bring down the woman who originally purchased the land and unfinished underground complex. The FBI had been offering a reward to whoever helped with information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the disappearances of so many women. Since I was the only witness to any of the crimes and helped with the arrests, I received the money. Some of the families offered to pay their own personal awards too. I only accepted the money from the ones who could afford to part with the amounts they offered. The ones I turned down took my suggestion to use the money for their returned relatives to help them get back on their feet.

Part of the money was put away for emergencies, part used for school and such, and part was invested. Law and Chaos were still owners of the underground complex and the store above it. When Vikkor had been arrested, they closed the store but after me and mine moved in, we filled the missing manager and sales positions. It had been named after Vikkor, but with new ownership, it was given a new name.

How did we come up with Mr. Naughty's? Well, I had discovered that I had a different birth name. I grew up Ral Setton, and continued to use that name for school and all legal paperwork for the store because that was my legal name, but I had been born Ral Nautikuus. Chaos took to calling me Mr. Naughty one weekend and it stuck. When Law, a very tall, very large African American with an amazing intelligence, heard Chaos call me that for the first time, he laughed.

He didn't laugh very often.

So when the question of what to call the store came up, it was simple. My pseudo-name was closest to a description of what the store sold.

I made my way quickly and quietly through the store to the stairs leading down to home without anyone making a scene. Okay, it didn't happen that often, but then I didn't go up to the store that often. Really, I didn't need to. If I wanted to know about any new products we were carrying, my women were usually more than happy to show me.

I may have gotten through the store without being woman-handled (as opposed to man-handled), but that didn't mean I would get away completely free.

Erin smiled up at me, coming up the stairs I was descending. As another employee of Mr. Naughty's she wore some of the more popular merchandise. A lace-up leather bodice, that looked like it barely held on to her abundant bust, forced her into a solid hourglass figure. She wasn't as big up top as Renée, but she was still quite naturally gifted, and that gift hid most of my mark in her soft cleavage. The dark, dark brown of the bodice made her skin look even more milky white than was natural. A pair of black lace panties, matching stockings, and black high-heels completed her outfit. Her dark red hair fell in gentle waves past her shoulders and framed her face. Emerald-green eyes sparkled as I watched her approach.

I had met her mother on one weekend during the semester. Erin's green eyes were part of her Irish heritage. The red hair was her request when I discovered that I could alter people physically. She had been bottled since she was sixteen and it kept her from growing her hair as long as she wanted. The only thing Erin lacked was her mother's lilt of an accent.

I stood there and drank in the sight of her. Even though I had just had an intense round with Renée, I was getting revved up for more carnal entertainment. Erin brought me out of my reverie. "How did your test go?" she asked smiling.

She moved up and hugged me as I answered. "I got a C. Truth be told, my blue book looks like I should have gotten worse." I didn't want to let go. Erin had taught me how to be as bold as I wanted when with her and the thought of just having her there on the stairs moved to the front of my mind. My fingers were already running along her soft, delicate skin. The desire to run my tongue over her was there too.

Erin looked up with a grin. "Let me guess, she wanted something in return for allowing you to pass?" Erin was something like Renée. Renée would constantly ask if I had added anyone to the family but Erin would almost accuse me of it.

I gave her a quick run down of my meeting with the Professor, not only what almost happened but the exchange that occurred after we stopped. Erin looked shocked.

"You mean she's another child?"

I shrugged. "She claimed not to be, and, honestly, as much older as she is than me and Renée, I'd be really surprised if she was. She said she was part of a society that called themselves the Mind Magi."

Erin's reaction was very similar to Renée's. "Ral, what if..."

I cupped her face. Her hands held onto my arms as we looked into each others eyes. "Relax. I won't let anything happen. If they find us, we'll just leave. All of us."

Tears were threatening to ruin her mascara. One of the many things I learned while living with so many women was to never wipe tears away from mascara, it makes it smear worse. So I used my sweater sleeve to dry them while she said, "Everyone won't want to leave. Jeri and the twins won't leave their careers."

"I won't force anyone to leave with me. If someone wants to stay, I'll let them go. That should make them safe enough from any kind of threat to me."

Erin nodded. "I hope so."

I pulled her to me for a gentle kiss, and then wrapped her up in a big hug. I wasn't the only one feeling amorous. Through the direct skin-to-skin contact, I could tell that Erin was getting turned on in my arms even with the news that frightened her.

"Have you told anyone else yet?" she asked after calming a bit.

"I told Renée. She was the first I went to see after class."

Erin knew what that meant. She had enjoyed my direct attention after classes a couple of times. "Oh, I bet she's feeling good. Having you to herself after class and then news like this dropped in her lap." Her sarcasm wasn't lost on me.

"That's not all," I said before I could stop myself. I wasn't sure if I should tell Erin about Renée's spirit-daughter. It was pseudo-good news and something I should have been happy to share. What gave me pause was how Erin might react. After all, she was there when I threw my fit and turned my fertilization factory off.

Erin looked ready for the worst. Well, there was worse news to be had.

"Renee has a spirit bound to her."

I said it with a crisp clear tone. Still, Erin asked, "A what?"

Instead of trying to explain, because it would lead to a lot of questions, I just shared the memories with her. Her eyes went wide. "You? Renee? A baby?" She threw her arms around my neck in a tight hug. "Ral! That's great news!"

I didn't know how to accept her elation. Of all the things I expected, out-right joy wasn't one of them. Don't ask what I did expect because I couldn't answer. Something bad, like jealousy or maybe concern, but Erin was brighter than that.

Holding Erin to me, I could smell her light perfume. A fragrance that always turned my head, as it did again. I took in a deep whiff and not only enjoyed the manufactured scent, but the scent of her too. Her skin and hair. It thrilled me down to my toes to be so close to her to be able to smell her even through the perfume.

Erin pushed me back, her smile was gone and in those emerald eyes I saw her flame glowing low. "Now's not a good time. Renee's promised us all breaks since you and Mandy are leaving tomorrow. I'll go talk to her about all the news and then be down later to see you." She pulled me back to her, kissing deeply, trying to reach my tonsils.

Just as quick as she started the kiss, she pulled from it and leaped up the rest of the stairs. The panties she wore were a thong and her cheeks flexed like the muscles in her legs as she moved. She stopped at the door and gave me another brilliant smile. Then she was gone.

As I moved through the underground halls and got closer to the showers, I could hear the tell-tale sounds of someone talking, and by the sound of the voices it was pleasant. It was good to know everyone wasn't downtrodden or in a bad way. However, with the news I had that might change.

Just inside the doorway was a line of hooks for towels and clothes. The way things were designed, those items wouldn't get wet even if all the showers were going simultaneously. There were already several towels hanging up as well as a fishnet outfit, a soft lavender shirt, denim shorts, and several undergarments. After dropping my coat and backpack just outside the doorway, I pulled off my sweater and hung it up with the other clothes.

I heard wet footsteps approach from across the showers. Honestly, someone could shower right next to the exit and still not send any water out of the doorway. Tabitha stepped around the corner wet from bathing.

Tabitha was fairly tall at about five foot, nine inches and had mid-back-length dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Her athletic stature and sculpted legs were a model's dream and fully nude she was a stunning woman. She didn't have the extreme curves most of my others had but that didn't keep me from noticing her and getting just as crazed. At that moment, her nipples were hard little pebbles on the tips of her round breasts. She stood leaning against the wall that separated the exit from the showers and something about her overall demeanor was different, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"You took your time getting here," she said.

I just nodded as I pulled off my first shoe. "My History class ended in an unexpected way."

Tanya stepped around at that point and stood next to Tabitha. The blonde stood just a couple of inches shorter and her curves held more of the extreme that so many of my women had. Both had trim bellies, but where Tabitha's looked taut and semi-muscular, Tanya's was smooth and looked round by comparison. Tanya's hips and buttocks were wider and fuller but not to the point of even beginning to look fat. Not even. Her tapered thighs didn't show the muscle Tabitha's did, but their shape was still just as exotic.

There were two big differences between them physically. Tabitha had a rich dark tan that made Tanya look a bit pale, even though she had a natural unbroken tan herself. Even with the crappy weather outside, Tabitha looked like she just got back from sunbathing all day. The tanning salons must have loved her. The other major difference was their breasts. Tabitha had round, high set boobs with almost no sag. She often went without a bra, even with her size, because she didn't seem to need one. Tanya, however, did need a bra or she might fall out of her top if cut too low or just slip out from under if it were designed to show off her midriff. She was soft and billowy.

Both women, just like Renée, carried Amber streaks hovering between their breasts. However, I had learned that the marks didn't jump out at me. I had to want to see them. Otherwise they seemed to blend in with the appearance of whoever I was looking at.

Tanya stood there watching me as I hopped on one foot while pulling off my other shoe and sock. She didn't say anything, she just smiled. For a while, after we had been bound together, she kept quiet and seemingly closed when around me. When I asked, the others told me that she wasn't like that all the time. It had been Tabitha that found out what happened.

Vikkor had trained her to be absolutely obedient and in full control of her emotions. However, that control was limited to when Tanya was with Vikkor. Any other time, she could relax and be herself. When Tabitha told me about it I wasn't surprised. It seemed that anyone who spent any time with Vikkor came away changed somehow.

Knowing the kind of sadistic person Vikkor was, I had looked into Tanya's profile in Master PC. There was no code regarding Tanya's obedience and restraint. She had been trained the old-fashioned way. I considered using the program to help her be herself whenever she wanted, but somehow that seemed worse.

Looking up, I found Tanya smiling at me. It wasn't the first time, but she usually dropped the smile as soon as I noticed. I smiled too. "Wow!"

With the smile still in place, she stepped away and went back to the showers.

I looked at Tabitha. "Was that a blush?"

Tabitha was smiling too, watching the other woman where I couldn't see her. "Yeah."

"You've been working with her, right?"

Tabitha looked back at me and nodded. Was it just me or was there a sparkle in her eye?

"What's going on? I've never seen you looking so happy."

She cocked her head to the side. "I've always been happy."

"But you've never expressed it like..." I looked her over. If her stunning body hadn't been glistening from being freshly washed, she would have glowed. I held out my hand to indicate that glow, " ... Like this."

She looked down at herself. "Like what?" Either she was playing with me or she honestly didn't know what I was talking about.

Reaching out I said, "Come here. Let me have a kiss." I was suddenly very happy to be with her.

She smiled and shook her head. "Uh-uh. You want a kiss, you'll have to come and get it." With that she stepped around and followed Tanya.

Wondering what was going on, I got out of my pants and hung them up. I still felt strange walking around completely naked with women near by. There were other situations that would have been worse, such as walking around other naked men - at least in my opinion. Still, I had some comfort issues. Well, until one of the girls had me in the mood, then it wouldn't matter at all.

I stepped around and found them standing together talking softly. They looked back as I got close enough to hear them.

"So are you two going to tell me what's going on or do I have to find out by other means?" I was half joking and the smirk on my face told them that.

"Well," Tabitha started, "I have some news and I'm not sure how you're going to take it."

"What kind of news?" The way she was acting it had to be good news, right?

Tabitha smiled, but it was accompanied by a blush. I never knew her to blush about anything. Then she nodded like she finally decided something. "You remember the day we were supposed to meet the Users?"

I nodded.

"Do you remember sitting in the living room of your apartment and talking to us after you and Nadia merged?"

"I don't understand," I said looking from Tabitha to Tanya and back. "Did you two merge?"

Tabitha shook her head. "No, nothing like that. But you remember after Nadia came out..."

"I remember watching her like a love-sick puppy drooling on myself and everyone laughing about it. Why?"

"Do you remember what happened next?"

I did remember. I recalled panicking because Nadia and I had just had unprotected sex. My inherited gifts were developing at an alarming rate and the stress and frustration was making me irrational.

Tabitha saw the look on my face and knew I had remembered. "You turned yourself off so none of us would get pregnant."

I shook my head. "Why didn't you just say that? I know that." I was slightly irritated because she wasn't getting to the point.

The smile that had been there faded. That wasn't what I wanted.

"Tabitha, I'm just trying to understand and you haven't gotten to the point yet. Please tell me. Whatever this news is, I'll..." I stopped. I had held her arms while talking to her and through the contact she felt different. Her elation was still there but hidden because she thought I was upset. I started to explore deeper, to probe with those abilities that had frustrated me so many months before. I had learned to focus and accept what I was and that the women drawn to me weren't going to do anything to wreck what we had together. All those months allowed me practice and my ladies were more than just external people of blood and bone and thoughts and emotions. There were so many more dimensions to them via my gifts, and in Tabitha a new dimension was present.

"What is that?" I asked her. She knew I had been looking, for lack of a better term, inside her. She could feel it because I let her feel it.

"You may not be happy about it," she said quietly.

I pulled back from that other perception and looked deep in her eyes. "Try me."

"I'm ... I'm..." It was like she couldn't finish. Did I really scare her that much?

I pulled her into a warm hug and helped her to calm down. Her elation passed to me. What was she so thrilled about? All of my women expressed how happy they were, but Tabitha was a step beyond that.

She hugged me back and just held on. I could feel her breathing shift, as if she were softly crying. She was utterly happy but she was crying. Tears of joy?

Tanya stepped up and ran her hands over us. "Would you like me to tell him?" she asked Tabitha.

Tabitha pulled back shaking her head. She smiled at Tanya and then me through her tears. "I want to tell him." She held my face with her hands and said, "I'm pregnant and you're the father."

I had a feeling that something about pregnancy was the case, but to hear her say it was all-together different. I stood there for a moment looking back at her, unsure what I felt. A storm of emotions swept through me including dread, joy, and, somehow, a sense of accomplishment. Why did I feel that?

Tabitha watched me from inches away. "Well?"

I blinked.

A lot.

Even after talking to Renee about having a baby, it still wasn't a reality. It was going to take time for her system to work the affects of the pill out of her system. Plus I still had to turn myself back on. "Wait..."

Tabitha just looked at me. Tanya seemed to be holding her breath.

I looked from one to the other and back again. "Okay, first, I'm fine. I'm not going to freak out or anything because I've got other news to share."

Tabitha perked up, that bottled elation leaking through in her face. Tanya asked, "What news?"

"Well, similar to Tabitha." I shared the memories of Renee's spirit-daughter with both of them. Eventually, everyone else would find out or end up with the memories. That was just the way of it.

"You and Renee are going to have a girl?" Tanya sounded just as happy about it as Erin had.

I nodded.

Tabitha, however, brought up a good point. "But, Ral, how do you know it'll be a girl? I mean, will the spirit get to choose that or what?"

"That's a good question. I didn't think to ask the spirit, but I've got time. I can find out tonight. In the mean time, I'm curious about your pregnancy," I said nodding at Tabitha.

She shrugged but couldn't hide her smile. "I don't know. When I told Renee about it, she pulled up your profile and the code you put in is still there."