Chapter 1
Seltire
Mierka and I had gone to Seltire for a rest - she from the research laboratory where she spent most of her time analysing vegetation from various parts of the galaxy, myself from the agency that spurred on the consumer boom that helped to pay for the exploration. Other than an occasional two or three days, neither of us had been able to get off at the same time as the other for a couple of years and both our work and our relationship were beginning to suffer as a result.
We had chosen Seltire because it was off the beaten track and yet reasonably priced, having its main resort complex set in the middle of an archipelago of islands that covered most of one hemisphere of the planet. Our plan was to leisurely cruise amongst them, roughing it some nights, returning to the resort for others, depending on just how 'primitive' we were feeling at the time. Mierka of course insisted on taking her mini-lab, micro-biochemistry is her interest as well as her job and even if she hadn't brought any work home she'd be peering at the workings of something or other sometime during most week-ends.
The journey was uneventful, if a bit long but then that was a penalty we paid for choosing somewhere off the main inter-stellar trunk routes. When we woke after the hyper-jump we had a quick refresher and a light meal then went up into the view-dome to watch our approach to Seltire. I'll never know how the early space crews stood the sheer boredom of long trips in space, before supra-light speeds I mean - but I guess their reaction to planet-fall after years in space would have been infinitely greater than mine is after only a few days. But then that's hard to imagine too, as I never tire of the last few hours, gradually drawing closer to a majestically spinning ball, watching the various features become more distinct, being able to see the character of the particular planet slowly forming.
I imagine Seltire in some ways looks very similar to Old-earth looked back in the early days, before the space-age, before industry and mankind actually killed it. Lots of blue-green sea with masses of fluffy, white clouds dotted about, the light from the local sun reflecting back off the choppy water still several hundred miles below us. A beautiful little world.
That was another reason we had chosen it, being only three quarters the size of New-earth meant gravity was only about .7 of what we were used to and would, we hoped, make up for some of our general lack of fitness.
The shuttle down from the parking orbit was great fun, zipping down through the great canyons between the clouds and, as we got lower, finally being able to see some of the literally thousand of islands that made up this half of Seltire.
The resort itself was nice enough but after we had registered we went for a stroll around the complex and were both glad we had chosen to spend much of our time island-hopping instead of staying there the full time. Too many bright, bouncy people of the sort we both knew so well. Loud and forever organising parties. The sort that never seem to be able to simply enjoy their own company, needing wall-to-wall people around them at all times - just to confirm for each other that they are all having a simply wonderful time. Not our style.
We had planned to spend the first night there though, to give ourselves time to adjust, unpack, check the skimmer I had hired for us, get in supplies, make sure we were fresh for the following day - that sort of thing - and when I decided to take the skimmer out for a trial run around the bay, Mierka said she'd just do some last minute shopping. Funny how women, no matter how much stuff you take with you, always need to head straight for the local shops to buy something else!
The skimmer was great, light, fast - capable of doing more klicks per hour than I was confident of driving it at and very manoeuvrable, with plenty of room for the two of us and our gear and I thought. if things got a bit too rough we would, at a pinch, be able to sleep in it. Not that I expected us to have to do that, I had already checked that it was stocked with things we had ordered - a small living-dome, that I could set up in just a couple of minutes, a refresher unit, sleep-pads, a food-prep and several other gadgets, some of which I was neither sure as to just what they did nor how I was to make them do it. Anyway, everything seemed just fine and I headed the skimmer back to the resort.
When I went up to our room I found that Mierka was already back from her shopping trip and that if what she was trying on was a reasonable example of what she had bought, then the local shops would get my unqualified support.
The outfit obviously came in two pieces, the first was like a second skin, covering her from neck to wrist and ankle and as I walked in she just about to slip the second, a billowy shimmer of next to nothing, down over her head. Her arms were stretched high and the outline of her body was reflected in the full-length wall mirror opposite me. Mierka has a great body, tall and slender but with firmly rounded breasts and buttocks that in that particular position were shown off to perfection.
The body-suit's colours were like tongues of fire, shading up from deep, flickering reds that licked their way up her legs and thighs, covering her stomach in shades of burnished orange that lightened as they swept on up over her breasts and shoulders. As the shimmering robe slipped down over her body she moved and turned towards me - the effect was simply stunning. It had a high, stand-up collar that framed her straight, black hair and the pale, honey colour of her face with its silvery sheen. The material fitted tightly beneath her breasts then fell in great filmy, sparkling folds around the rest of her, the flame colours of the body-suit flickering out through it.
I just stood there, mesmerised by the way the tongues of flame appeared to slowly wind their way up over her body. It was magical!
She smiled as she saw the look in my eyes and said.
'It looks as though you like it.'
I mumbled something about it being the sexiest thing I had ever seen and her eyes twinkled as she said.
'Well, what about this?'
She lifted her hands and held her breasts for a few moments - when she lowered them again I could see the shape of her palm and fingers and through it, her breasts, their slowly stiffening nipples and the dark halos surrounding them.
I licked my lips involuntarily as I stared, bewildered by what I was seeing. Mierka gave a low, throaty chuckle.
'It's a new material Slate. It responds to various sorts of touch - like that it becomes transparent, just for a few minutes. It does other things too but I thought you would especially enjoy this trick.'
She came slowly towards me and as she moved the tongues of fire began to writhe up over the curves of her body, appearing to flicker around her proudly thrusting breasts, as though inviting me, daring me to plunge my hands through the flames to reach them. When she stopped, just an arm's length away, I could see from the fact that her nipples had become fully erect that she had become just as aroused as her display was making me.
Her arms came around me and before she pressed her lips against mine she whispered. 'You'll just have to remember to be a little careful about where you touch me when we are out in public lover.'
I reached around her, cupping the curves of her bottom and pulled her tightly up against myself, feeling her thigh pressing against the swiftly growing hardness of my cock, as our lips crushed together.
But though I would have gladly made love to her right there and then she held me off, pleading imminent starvation and saying that if we did, she would have to start getting herself ready all over again, which I had to agree was quite reasonable - particularly since my own stomach was making quite loud protests about its emptiness too.
So I had a quick refresher and got dressed while Mierka put away several other things she had apparently bought and packed the things she wanted to take with her the following day. As we moved around each other I couldn't resist touching various parts of her but found that the outer robe served to inhibit the body-suit's reaction to my touch and that I could only get the uncovered area around her breasts to respond. It seemed a sensible precaution, a wearer would otherwise have problems every time they moved outside their home.
The meal itself was wonderful, mainly seafood of course, from the surrounding waters, some of which looked a little strange but tasted absolutely delicious. Fruit and vegetables were also local and we took the chance to identify some of the things we might find once we were 'out in the wild' - as we referred to our planned trips. Unlike the rest of the guests in the restaurant we took very little of the local liquor even though it was truly excellent, we both wanted clear heads for the following day's early start. All around us other people seemed to be in the middle of an on-going party and though of course we chatted to the people around us we refused several invitations to join in, being far more interested in the growing sense of togetherness we were feeling.
Several times during the meal Mierka teased me by placing her finger-tip on the fabric covering one or other of her nipples, which seemed to be fully erect each time they appeared and she grinned cheekily as she saw my eyes drawn automatically down as their familiar delights were exposed for a minute or two. We laughed as we tried to visualise the restaurant in a month or two, when the new material had become widely popular, imagining which parts of themselves various people might be exposing for their friends.
Later, when we returned to our room, Mierka disappeared into the sleep-pad area while I fixed us a night-cap, when she came out I saw that she had not only removed the gossamer-like outer robe but that she had also been busy with her hands. Both of her breasts were fully exposed for me and so was her exciting mound below and as she walked slowly towards me it was obvious from the expression on her face that she could see exactly what kind of an effect she hoped she was having on me. I had been so busy looking at her body that I hadn't noticed the small parcel in her hand that she then held up as she said.
'I bought you one of these outfits for you too - so get out of those things and try it on, I can't wait to see how you look in it.'
I emptied what was left of my own drink in one quick gulp and then did as she had asked and got out of my clothes. The memory of how sexy she had looked earlier, when I had first walked into our room plus the occasional glimpses she had given me of herself during dinner had kept my cock tingling for most of the evening and so it had begun to respond almost instantly to the sight of her walking towards me and as I stepped out of my under-briefs I glanced down at my crotch and saw that it had already started to get both longer and fatter.
I opened the small parcel and inside it found a light, loosely folded piece of silvery blue material which unfolded into a one-piece garment similar in many ways to the one she had on but cut with a deep vee in the front and a small collar around the neck - other than that touch of tailoring it seemed totally shapeless and so light that I felt it might tear from just handling it.
As though reading my thought Mierka said. 'Don't worry, it's stronger than it seems, try it on Slate.'
I cautiously slipped one foot down into what appeared to be a leg, then balanced myself awkwardly as I did the same with the other. Almost miraculously the material seemed to stretch and mould itself, obviously reacting to the warmth of my body and with growing confidence I eased it higher and, finding arm holes, soon had it all on. As I pulled it up around my waist I thought I felt a slight pressure around my crotch - and by the time I had finished getting it on I was sure of it, it felt just as though the fabric itself was intermittently squeezing me.