I Dated an Aquatic Ambassador Read online

  One woman is rescued from her imprisonment, and the other charged in to free others. Two women, different partners, one goal—free the actives of Uradda.

  Ledia has been working day and night for years. Her aunt is held hostage on Ledia’s good behaviour, so she behaves. She does her work at the port and goes to the Blind Date Corp resort in Aksalla to complete their erotic gardens.

  Meeting Juro has been fun. She has had someone to talk to about her work and experiences, and the brightly coloured Hyreno recognized her for what she was. She was born to be a water breather, but since she never opened her gills, her lack of water is slowly killing her.

  With the help of some friends, a plan is created to get her out of Uradda, and once that is accomplished, there are a few things to do. She needs to get used to her mates, and then she needs to get back into Uradda and break the damned walls.

  As a Uraddan refugee, Jeneev didn’t hesitate. When they asked the BDC escorts to volunteer, she jumped into line. The idea initially was to get the escorts to participate in the military action and have their regulars get into line to defend their sex partners. Jen’s relationship was platonic, and there was no answer from her patron, so she headed out on her own to blow up the Uraddan harbour. She was really not prepared for what happened next.

  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.

  I Dated an Aquatic Ambassador

  Copyright © 2022 by Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-990635-14-4

  ©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.

  I Dated an Aquatic Ambassador

  Blind Date Corporation Book 9

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Ledia stood in the archway as they activated the floating toxin in her system. She was on her way to the resort to keep working on their statues, and while she was exhausted, she was looking forward to it.

  Her guard finished getting his briefing about how he needed to keep an eye on her. She was one of the most productive dock workers that Uradda had. It would be embarrassing if she got away.

  She was issued two inhalers for her Rathnard’s Syndrome and given her overnight bag back. Everything had been searched, and it would all be searched on the way back. She had been doing this for seven months, and the time sculpting was the only break she really got. It was twelve hours a day at work for three weeks solid, and then she got her two days to sculpt.

  It was her aunt who had sold some of her risqué sculptures to visitors, and those small sculptures had eventually gained the attention of the Blind Date Corporation and their new pleasure resort where escorts and patrons could mix and mingle out in the open in a safe environment. The sculpture garden featured extreme pairings who had gone exclusive or exclusive within a grouping. The groupings were challenging, but since Arcady’s group were drinkers, the statue she had just finished was Arcady and her most frequent triad. With Krizt front and centre. The colours had been difficult—marble, lapis, rose quartz, and sandstone. She had been proud of the results.

  She and her guard got into the flying transport that would take them to the resort. Her guard muttered, “Just remember, you run, and you die.”

  “I know. I know.”

  He chortled as they left Uradda airspace. “And then your aunt will have to fend for herself. Is she an active? I think she is. I will make sure to tell the investigators to pay her a visit and have her examined.”

  Ledia didn’t comment. They always tried to rile her up on the trip. They wanted her to remember that her return home would save a life. She had gotten the rest of her family away from Uradda, but her aunt hadn’t gotten the message to not return from her trip to the capitol, so she was now the hostage used to ensure Ledia’s cooperation.

  The trip was two hours by flight over an ocean that called to her. She looked wistfully at the water as they passed over it and checked the images that arrived as she left Uradda. She smiled. To others, they would be porn; to her, they were source materials. Gorith and Tirra would be excellent subjects. She had met them both and seen their activations in action. They were easy to duplicate. She liked them.

  The transport set down after two hours, and she grabbed her bag and headed toward the resort with her guard following her. She walked to the guard station and nodded to the bulky male on duty. “Hello, Norm.”

  He grinned. “Nice to see you again, Ledia. I will call in and let them know you are here.” He glanced behind her. “And the human as well.”

  Ledia smirked. It was funny that this was the one place in her life where she felt at home, but she was only there for two days out of twenty-three.

  It was still early morning when she was allowed into the resort, and she headed straight for the sculpture garden. She had a lot of work to do and not very long to do it.

  Ledia felt her throat tightening and her breath started wheezing after a few hours. She grabbed her bag and used the inhaler. She closed her eyes as the jet of oxygenated water rushed into her lungs. She knelt for a moment and let her body relax.

  “They aren’t paying you to relax,” her guard sneered from behind her. She never bothered learning their names.

  “I can’t move the stone if I can’t breathe.” She sat with her hands turned up on her thighs. When she was ready, she got to her feet, drank some water, and got back to work.

  Gorith was the standing partner; that was important. Everything had to balance off the sunstone that made up his body. The galena that she had requested for Tirra would be heavy, so she had reinforced the legs of Gorith’s statue.

  She kept working and stopped when she heard a familiar voice. “Ledia, you haven’t taken lunch, have you?”

  She paused and turned to see her guard looking a little unwell and Juro standing there with his arms crossed, grinning with his very pointed teeth. He was wearing a skin-tight tank top and tight pants with boots. His skin fluctuated colour from green to crimson when he saw her.

  “Oh, um, no. I haven’t.”

  “Come on. You can’t create art on an empty stomach.”

  She smiled and nodded. “Lead the way.”

  He extended his hand to her, and she noticed the pack of sandwiches in the shrubs near her guard. They had been stepped and pissed on.

  The guard snapped, “She’s here to work.”

  Juro looked at him. “Then you should have fucking fed her, human. She is being paid to create art. Artists need to be maintained.”

  They walked down the path to the tiny village of the resort.

  “Thanks for coming to get me. I lose track of time.”

  “I know, Ledia.”

  “Um, sir, why did you come to get me?”

  “Because they alert me when you arrive. How have you been feeling?”

  “I am losing energy more easily now. I can barely get through the days at work without being smashed by cargo.” She sighed. “I am so tired, but this place rejuvenates me.”

  “Good. I am sure management will not mind if you take it easy.”

  They entered the restaurant.

  “I have to give it my all, or my guard will report back that I am leaving for no good reason, and therefore, there is no reason for me to return here. This one is a real jackass.”

  He
nodded. “He destroyed your meal.”

  “I noticed that.” She grimaced.

  He held her chair out and scooted it in with her on it. He walked around and sat across from her, smiling. “I picked out something special for you, so you don’t have to wait for your meal.”

  She took the glass of water, downed it, and smiled at the cup of tea that showed up with milk in it. She didn’t normally take it with milk, but she was thirsty. It was sweet with a honey aftertaste.

  He grinned. “Your watcher is by the door.”

  “I suspected as much.”

  “He is being seated, so he can watch you.” Juro smiled.

  The server came over with a few plates, and the smell was amazing. The thick beef stew scent beckoned to her, and she smiled.

  “So, what do you eat in Hyreno?”

  “Fish, kelp, new varietals that have been created for mass growth.”

  She was eating and asking questions after she swallowed. “So, you said you are an ambassador?”

  He chuckled. “You are curious today.”

  “This might be my last visit.” She smiled. “I don’t want to die with unsatisfied curiosity.”

  “Is that the only thing you need to satisfy?” He gave her an inviting smile.

  She paused. “Yeah. Absolutely. They do a complete scan of me, internal and external, every time I come home. They don’t want me spawning any baby actives.”

  He looked at her in shock. “Does it hurt?”

  “Oh, yeah. They are not gentle about it, but it is the price of leaving Uradda.”

  His expression was appalled.

  She finished her meal and was about to thank him when the server came over, took away her bowl, and settled a giant dessert in front of her. She grinned and dove in spoon first.

  It was a trifle, and she loved trifles.

  “To answer your other question, I am the Hyreno ambassador currently assigned to Aksalla. It rotates every few years, and I am often called home, but the embassy in Aksalla is lovely.”

  She smiled. “It sounds lovely.”

  “What is your home like?”

  She was caught by surprise. “Um, grey. Actives are not allowed in the regular housing. They put us in industrial housing so that we can be seen the moment we leave our apartments. Even our human relatives have to live where we do because of the faulty genes that could cause another active to be born.”

  He sighed, and there were a thousand things in his eyes that he didn’t speak. “How bad would it be for you if I tore your guard’s throat out.”

  She shrugged. “If I wanted to go that route, I would just smash his face into the floor, but my aunt didn’t make it out of Uradda before I finished with my assessments. Once I was confirmed, that was it. My family was locked down to keep me working for the government.”

  She finished the trifle and then the cup of coffee that was brought. Ledia sighed. “Well, thank you very much. I have to get back to the statues. It is going to take a while before I get all of Gorith’s tentacles just right. Shaping the stone is the hardest part.”

  “May I watch you?”

  “Sure.” She looked down at her tank top and baggy trousers. “I still haven’t figured out why you want to.”

  “It is amazing to watch you work, and anyone who doesn’t appreciate the artistry simply has no soul.”

  Ledia nodded. “Thank you.”

  She got up and bowed formally to him. He smiled, and she walked out of the restaurant and jogged back to the sculpture garden. Time to return to work.

  When the light changed, she realized that she had missed another meal. She sighed and changed the wrap of Gorith’s tentacles just under Tirra’s wings. The tentacle that disappeared between her buttocks had been a request of Gorith.

  She circled the statue as the light dimmed, then grinned. Final touches tomorrow, and she would be able to relax for a bit before she had to get back on the transport after dinner.

  She brushed her hands on her pants and jumped when Juro said, “That is amazing.”

  Her heart thudded in her chest, and she swayed. Juro moved quickly and put his hand under her elbow.

  “I forgot you were there.”

  “Ouch, I am hoping that will change eventually.”

  She stared at him. “Where is the guard?”

  “He left for dinner and some rest over an hour ago. He may or may not have been gently pushed by one of the servers at the restaurant.”

  She chuckled. “Ah. Well, that is that then. When are you expecting your date?”

  He didn’t speak for a moment and then said, “What date?”

  She started to cough and used her inhaler. “You come here to spend time with escorts. You usually meet someone.”

  He smiled and said, “I have met the person I was waiting for.”

  “What? I am not an escort. Well, not yet.”

  He rubbed the inside of her elbow with his thumb. “You have applied?”

  “Yeah, but I am still in training.” She ducked her head. “At least I managed to acquire a useless skill.”

  “It could be very useful in the right circumstances.”

  She blushed. “I am not going to be able to finish my final, so it is going to remain out of my reach.”

  Their slow walk had nearly brought them to the restaurant.

  “What is the final?”

  She bit her lip. “Spend a few hours with a patron. But as we discussed, that would be a death sentence for me.”

  “Then we will not risk it. I will be content with a few more meals and conversations with you.”

  She chuckled as they entered the restaurant. “I never said the patron would be you. I don’t get to pick.”

  She felt a sudden swat to her backside, and Juro muttered, “Don’t tease.”

  Her butt stung, and she looked at him in shock. “What was that?”

  He chuckled, his fierce colouring dark and his eyes glittering. “If you don’t know, I should do it again.”

  She frowned.

  The server smiled at them. “Patron, Miss Ledia. Come this way.”

  They were led to a part of the restaurant she hadn’t been to before. “Where are we going?”

  “A private room. A projection has been put into your room to mimic you, and you can stay out as long as you like tonight.”

  “I am all sweaty and gross. I really don’t want to be in a confined space.”

  He paused. “Would you like to shower and change?”

  “Uh. I have a version of this.” She waved at her clothing.

  “I believe we can do better.” He spoke to their guide. “We would like to delay for an hour.”

  “Of course, Patron.”

  Ledia was directed out and to the central building, where there was a boutique for clothing that the patrons would purchase for the escorts. Juro spoke to the staff, and Ledia was coaxed to the measuring stand that ran over her with beams.

  A series of dresses appeared on the screen, and Juro tapped the screen and then the shoes to match. The staff put the dress and shoes in a bag, and from there, Juro escorted her to his room, and he coaxed her into the shower. “I will be outside. I will leave the dress here on the hanger.”

  She looked at him. “Um, thank you?”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I will get payment from you.”

  “I don’t have anything to pay you with.”

  He inclined his head. “We will discuss it later.”

  “I still don’t have anything to pay you with. I don’t get any funds from my government.”

  “We will discuss it later. For tonight, it is my gift.” He inclined his head, and his long hair rippled down his back.

  She watched as he hung the dress up, then she engaged the latch and stripped off as fast as she could. The water was warm, and she could see the sweat and dirt leaving her body. She scoured herself quickly, gingerly bathing around the gill slits that had never opened. L
edia was squeaky clean in under three minutes, and the hot water kept coming. She sighed and towelled off. She ran the brush through her hair, towelled it again, and put the dress on.

  She looked at herself in the mirror, and she felt naked but looked like one of the escorts but without a mask. Her stomach was twinging, so she hoped that food would happen soon, but she didn’t know if she could not spill on her dress. She opened the door a crack and asked, “What do I do with my dirty clothing?”

  “The bots will clean it. Leave it where it is.”

  She came out, nervously touching her thighs, stomach, and arms. Juro was looking at her with a stunned expression. “Um, you had shoes for me?”

  “Do you ever wear your hair long?”

  She touched the locks at her jaw. “Um, they cut it off.”

  He walked in close and touched her hair. “It can be fixed.”

  “They will just crop it again or shave it off. I have seen that done, too.”

  “It can wait. You look lovely. Strong and graceful.”

  “Strong is never in doubt.” She looked up at him. “Shoes, please?”

  He touched her jaw. “Of course. You are probably hungry.”

  “Yes, Juro, I am.”

  He got her shoes, and he chuckled. “We generally go barefoot in Hyreno.”

  “I usually wear steel-toed boots. Heavy ones. What are these shoes made of?” She sat on the edge of his bed and wrestled the shoes into place. She had trouble with the clasp, and he knelt to help her.

  He chuckled. “Straps and gemstones.” His wide fingers made surprisingly quick work of the closure.

  “Why?” She flexed her ankle and looked at the shoes. They didn’t look very sturdy.

  “Because they make your feet look pretty.” He lifted her to her feet and held her while she balanced.

  She stepped back when his hands caressed her waist. He caught her when she wobbled.

  “They also make your partner delightfully unstable, lift their buttocks, and cause them to jut their breasts forward because of the instability.”