Not Compatible (Stand Alone Tales Book 11) Read online

  She works at a space station catering to everyone else’s virtual fantasies. When a man gets stuck in the scenario, she must wake the sleeping prince.

  Styra works at the Blue Station and has been programming since she was able to reach a keyboard. When she became an adult, she went from writing the simple scenarios and backgrounds to guiding tangled clients through the environments they had selected. Lately, she has been going in to pry out the difficult cases and making sure that everyone plays by the rules. Her boss calls her in on her day off and sends her in after an imperial captain. Somehow, he has gotten stuck in one of their fairy tale environments.

  She headed in to find the missing client, and the computer had locked him in the role of the sleeping beauty. The criteria were clear. A kiss was necessary to wake him, and the protocols were set.

  Once he was awake, she was ready to get him out of the scenario, but the computer was still locked.

  Yr-el wasn’t counting on his distaste for the virtual princess, but his drake had wanted to play in the scenario. When he wakes in the arms of a woman with moonlight for skin, he begins to understand why he was steered to this station at this time. All he had to do was get her to release the drake the same way she had released him, and he could begin a courtship.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Not Compatible

  Copyright © 2020 by Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-989892-29-9

  ©Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.

  Published by Viola Grace

  Look for me online at violagrace.com. Available at eBook sellers.

  Not Compatible

  Stand-Alone Tales Book 11

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Styra grunted as she did another sit-up in the station gym. There were a few crewmen and women from some of the resupplying freighters working out. Still, most had facilities on their ships, so the gym was a luxury for the people who worked at the station.

  Her com started pinging, and she groaned, sat up, and answered it. “Yeah?”

  “Styra, please tell me you are near the center.”

  “I am, but today is my day off, sir.” She wrapped a towel around her neck and started toward her locker to get her passes for travel in the Blue Station.

  “What will it take you to come in?”

  “Double time and a full-day spa pass.” She grinned and waited for him to negotiate her down.

  “Done. How soon can you be here?”

  She was stunned. He never gave up that easily. There must be a disaster looming.

  “I will be there in five. I am assuming an emergency retrieval is in order?” She grabbed her bag and fished out her passes. She waved at the attendant and headed out, tossing the towel into the hamper as she sprinted into the monstrous station that she called home.

  “You presume correctly. Come to me directly when you arrive.”

  “Yes, sir. ETA three minutes.” She hung up and continued her jog through the station toward the entertainment center.

  In the four years she had worked for Mr. Blue, she had never gotten him to agree to her terms on the first offering. There must be a VIP trapped in a scenario.

  She scanned through security and headed up to Mr. Blue’s office. She knocked when she was outside the executive suite, and he muttered, “Come in, Styra. We have a situation.”

  Mr. Blue was agitated. He was letting his human-seeming mask slip. His skin was bright blue, and his eyes were reptilian gold.

  “Show me the file.” She picked up the tablet and checked the file he sent her. She flicked through it and paused. “He’s a drake hybrid?”

  Mr. Blue grimaced. “Yes. He should be fine. There is no reason for him to have had an issue. We have two hours to straighten it out and get him free of the system.”

  “Why the time crunch?”

  “Because he came in with some guards from the Ackerwol Imperium, and they want to leave with him.”

  She groaned. “Oh. Joy. Right. Okay, I am just going to finish scanning his file.” She caught a few points of concern. Military service, high-stress position, and all of the accumulated experiences of three or four decades.”

  “Do you think you can sync to him?”

  “I haven’t run into anyone I couldn’t sync to yet. I will take pod six.”

  “Great. Change and lock in. Time is literally money.” Mr. Blue inclined his head.

  He was resuming his human appearance, and she headed to the change room and sonic shower. She had prep to do and sweat to remove. She didn’t need a rash on top of her other issues.

  Styra smoothed the sensor suit on over her body and made sure that all of the pads and feedback material was in the right place for a proper drop into the scenario.

  Her hair was pinned up, but the wrap around her face and ears would be the means by which her face was projected into the scenario.

  She settled in her pod, put in the connection monofilament into the nearly invisible port that she had installed, and linked the pod to the captain’s scenario. She was going to fall and land in the world he had chosen.

  She dropped and landed on the ground, looking around at the surprising fairy tale landscape. Men usually chose this scenario when they had a companion who had either been with them or paid for. She was currently wearing the adventurer clothing that she preferred in this game. She liked to be able to move and climb with ease.

  The display built into her headgear showed her that the client was two kilometers away, right under that swirling pile of drakes. What fun.

  Styra set out at a jog and kept an eye out for any of the drakes changing direction. When she arrived near the coordinates, she saw the bramble wall and sighed, pulling out her blade. She touched it with the blade, and the brambles and thorns rustled angrily. She spoke softly, “I just want to help him. Please, let me through.”

  The brambles and thorns pulled apart and gave her ten inches to squeeze through. She turned sideways and eased her way through. She was cut, scratched, and gouged over the ten-meter span, but in the end, she staggered free, and she could now see the castle that the drakes were circling. Styra paused for a moment, and then, she headed for the castle.

  In the solid world, seconds had passed, but here, it took hours for her to hike to the castle. She was virtually sweaty and a little tired when she got to the castle and pulled on the chain to open the portcullis.

  Styra stepped into the castle and didn’t flinch when the portcullis slammed down behind her. That was what it was supposed to do.

  She sprinted up to the tower and climbed the endless wave of steps that were required to get her to the royal chamber. Styra looked around and blinked. There was something awry with the sleeping beauty. He was tall, he was dark purple, and he definitely wasn’t provided by the scenario.

  She pressed her right hand to her left wrist. “Identify situation.”

  The computer’s voice spoke in her ear. “Client determined that the offered female wasn’t suitable. Computer replaced the projection with the client.”

  Styra groaned. “Right. I will wake him up.”

  She walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Captain Yr-el. Please wake up.”

  He was cool, and as she watched, stars
moved on his skin. The leather straps across his chest were definitely not the standard clothing that the computer issued. Nor was the long skirt that wrapped at his hips and went straight to his ankles. The computer had turned him into the princess.

  She shook him again and then gripped her left arm. “Computer. What is stopping the client from waking?”

  “Client is awaiting completion of the scenario.”

  “Fucking fantastic.” She groaned and looked him over. He was huge. There was nowhere to kneel on the edge of the dais, and she couldn’t reach his lips by leaning over, so she was going to hope that she had good reflexes when he started to wake.

  She took a few tries but ended up plastered on top of him with her arms supporting her weight near his head. His hair was a silky black, and his brows and lashes matched.

  Styra looked at the strong line of his lips and quickly pressed her lips to his with her eyes squinched shut. She lifted her head. Nothing.

  She rolled to one side and activated communication. “Computer, kiss was administered, no response.”

  “Kiss of true love must be administered for no less than ten seconds.”

  “Fucking fantastic,” she muttered.

  She looked at him and rolled back to lying flat on him. She lowered her weight to her elbows and cursed Mr. Blue and all his scaly glory. He was so going to pay for this rescue.

  She looked at the captain, and then, she pressed her lips to his, moving across his mouth to coax him into participating. She was counting until she got to seven, where she felt his mouth move under hers. His tongue eased along her lips, and she froze until she tasted him, groaning mentally at her chance to put on the aura of a staff member.

  He threaded his hand through her hair and held her as he continued the kiss. She dueled tongues with him while he stroked a hand down her back and cupped her ass. That was it. She squeaked and pushed away from him, meeting his silver and amused gaze.

  “Hmm. I didn’t think you were supposed to resist.”

  She blushed. “I am a staff member. I needed to wake you, and that meant following the scenario protocols, more or less.”

  He smiled. “You are real?”

  She swallowed. “Yes. Well, this is a projection, just like your body is.”

  To her complete shock, he kissed her again, tasting her and holding her head with both hands. His tongue twisted around hers in a fascinating way. Yes, it was a simulation, but it was a simulation of something that his mind knew very well.

  Her body was humming with heat as he took his time exploring every inch of her mouth, and he seemed to be memorizing the taste of her.

  She pressed her hands to his chest, and then, she thumped on him. He parted their lips in surprise.

  “Sir, if you are done, we need to get you out of here. You have been in too long.”

  He blinked in surprise and then smiled slowly. “Fair enough, but you will have to get his agreement as well.”

  He nodded his head to the side, and she slowly turned to look in that direction, jolting in surprise as the head of a drake was looking at them from a few meters away. The body was clinging to the exterior of the tower, and the head had extended in via the balcony. The body was the same midnight purple as the man she was lying on, but the eyes were a bright crimson.

  She gripped her arm and said, “Computer, what is the drake’s part in the scenario?”

  “The drake is a segment of the client. It requires a kiss to complete its scenario. A princess costume is highly effective.”

  “Fucking hell.” She carefully got away from the client, and she focused on her appearance. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was wearing a coronet and a gown that was just thick enough to make her limbs vague.

  As she walked toward the drake, the gown was whipped by the wind, and the panels of fabric that were held in place by a gold chain and small pins at her shoulders went flying about, exposing a lot of skin to her original target and her new one.

  She walked up to the drake, and she bowed deeply. The head extended, and the nostrils flexed and snuffled as they took in her scent. She shivered as the casual brushes of the hard beak at the tip of his head bumped and dragged across her breasts.

  “So, he gets a translucent gown, and I got a bodysuit?” The captain’s voice was amused.

  She put her palms out and extended them toward the drake. The drake’s tongue lashed out, and he then pressed against her body and whined.

  She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  The captain’s voice was amused. “He wants you on your feet with your legs apart. He’s missing a scent for his collection.”

  She got to her feet, and the nostril pressed against the juncture of her thighs, inhaling wildly.

  Strya’s cheeks were blushing, but this was all virtual and part of the job. If she had to get two parts of him out, she would.

  “And now, the drake is going to kiss you.”

  She frowned and yelped in surprise when the drake wrapped the tip of its tongue around her ankle, widened her stance, and then ran that same tongue up her leg and inner thigh, delving into her with shocking dexterity. Her knees buckled, and a hand wrapped around her waist. “Easy, just count to ten.”

  She counted with every stroke, every slide, and she was nearly on the edge of orgasm when it concluded. Styra was panting, and the captain was holding her up. “Easy now, he’s gotten his maiden. He’s content to leave.”

  She nodded. “Right. Well, did you want to leave from here? Or walk back to the entry point?”

  He smiled. “I believe that we can take a short cut. Your suitor here would be happy to give you a ride.”

  She blushed, and the drake’s eyes flashed silver before returning to crimson. It undulated up the tower and presented its neck. The captain didn’t give her an option, he picked her up and took up a seat on the drake, near the base of the thick neck. Once they were in place, the drake spread its wings and simply fell across the landscape, gliding back toward the entry point. The moment that they landed, she grabbed her wrist before the captain could say anything to her. “End scenario, eject clients.”

  Chapter Two

  Styra sat up and hit the com, “Mr. Blue, are they out?”

  “They?”

  “Him and his drake. Two minds, one body. You could have warned me.”

  “Confirmed. They have been released and are on their way to recovery.” He chuckled. “Huh. I had no idea that he was an activated hybrid.”

  She shuddered and started to pull off her sensors and remove the filament. “He was very active.”

  “Well, you earned your spa day. I would take it today. You sound tense.”

  She groaned. “Right. Have you registered me with the spa?”

  “Of course. Just walk in and do your biometrics. A day of snacks and pampering awaits.”

  She grinned and went to remove the sensor suit. “Thanks for holding up your end of the deal, but I am still going to penalize you for setting me up to be groped by a drake.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind. I am going to try and enjoy the rest of my day off in peace.” She sighed. “Or as much peace as I can get out here.”

  “Styra?”

  She had her suit opened to the waist. “What?”

  “Thank you.”

  She paused. “You are welcome. Just verify their time compression, and everything should be good.”

  “Already done. It is as I expected.”

  Styra nodded and headed off to the changing room and finished hanging up the sensor suit before she got back into her grubby exercise gear. She took her passes and left the entertainment center. Knowing Mr. Blue, she was probably on a timed pass. If she didn’t check into the spa soon, she was going to lose her spot.

  She turned up at the spa and smiled. “I believe Mr. Blue has called ahead.”

  The rest was a flurry of getting her into a comfy robe with her clothing stored; s
he was to have everything she wanted, and she opted to start with a full-body massage.

  Thirty minutes later, she was getting a serious massage when there was a flurry of activity among the staff. Face down on the table, she muttered, “What’s going on?”

  Her masseur left and came back in. “A group from the imperial warship came in, and they are taking over our facility for the day. All clients are being offered complete refunds and are being asked to leave the facility.”

  She groaned and threw a small tantrum, kicking her feet. “Of course. Well, thanks for the ten minutes. It was great.”

  She sat up and flexed the arm that frequently went numb from an old injury. “At least I can move it.”

  Fennor paused and said, “Just a minute. Don’t leave.”

  He came back with a smug expression. “I have a compromise, but you have to share this space.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. Come on, lie back down. We will get you moving again.” Fennor oiled up his bright green hands, and when he was ready, she lay back down and kicked her sheet into position. She was moaning slightly as Fennor’s fingers dug into the scar tissue on her right arm. The footsteps and soft voices were dismissed. She was in a haze of pain as her body fought the massage.

  “How long has it been, Styra?”

  “About three months. I have been busy.” She grunted and kept herself facing downward as he straightened and flexed her arm to check the motion.

  “Right. I will come back to that later. You are going to bruise.”

  He carefully placed her arm at her side and covered it up. Fennor continued to work on her, but he paused. “I have to get some more of the medicinal oil.”

  She nodded and sighed.

  From the other bed in the room where another masseur was working on the other client came a familiar voice. “You have injuries.”