"Miss?"

Njeri looked up from the book that had taken her attention. She'd been in the little corner bookstore for a little over half an hour, looking for a perfect gift, and had found herself wrapped up by a book of comparative mythology.

"Oh, sorry, yes?"

The ... cashier? clerk? owner? Only other person in the store, anyway, a sprightly, grinning redhead with 'Voyager' on the nametag pinned to her simple blue dress, nodded politely. "Ah, we close in five minutes, can I ring anything up for you?"

"Oh! sure, yes, I'll, uh..." Njeri handed the book of myths to Voyager. "You can take that to the front for me and, uh... I still need..."

Voyager giggled cheerfully. "Hey, it's fine. I'll start closing things up, you can come up when you're ready to pay, alright?"

Njeri sighed in relief. "Oh, thank you. Really, I just got swept up, and I still need to find the gift I came for."

"Anything particular?"

"Uh... Something like pulp sci-fi?"

Voyager nodded and pointed towards the back. "New and old, over there. Not a lot of new pulp sci-fi happening but we've got a lot of used stuff over there."

"Perfect!" Njeri matched Voyager's smile. "I hadn't got there yet."

"Well, we're open tomorrow, too, if you need a second look." Voyager gave a final nod and, taking the book of myths Njeri had picked out with her, headed towards the front of the store.

Behind her, as she moved towards the sci-fi section, Njeri heard two noises: the sound of Venetian blinds closing, and the bell over the door ringing.

"We close in five minutes," Njeri heard Voyager say.

"It's alright," a male voice replied. "I can see just what I'm looking for."

"Perfect."

Another Venetian blind closed. Footsteps. Njeri pulled an interesting book off the shelf.

"Quiet."

The whisper in her ear held the force of law.

The hand on her shoulder made her flinch.

"Stop."

She couldn't move.

Another blind slid shut behind her.

"Turn."

Njeri slowly rotated in place to find herself face-to-chest with a powerfully-built male figure in a pink pastel button-down shirt. His hand tilted her chin upwards and she saw a smattering of dark stubble around a gentle, almost paternalistic smile, a pale nose, and a pair of bright green eyes. She figured him to be not a lot older than her own twenty-four years.

"Just watch."

The smile seemed to sparkle in his eyes as he said it. As if to correct himself, he spoke again:

"No fear. Just watch."

Njeri took a deep, slow breath, and felt all her confusion and nerves melt away as she did, as though she had literally exhaled the concept of being scared.

The stranger nodded. "Fantastic."

He walked away from her, and Njeri's view widened.

Another blind closed. A final blind. The only light in the shop was from the cold fluorescent bulbs overhead.

She watched as the man approached Voyager from behind. Though he presumably spoke in that same commanding whisper, too quiet for Njeri to hear from across even that small space, she could imagine what he was saying, and see its effect on the redhead.

She froze in place, stiffly, no doubt at first paralyzed by shock, and then by his words. She turned, slowly, as Njeri had, and faced the customer, the man moving with her to stand behind in the same relative position he had occupied before. Njeri could see his smile as again he leaned in to speak, and the worry on Voyager's face melted away, a serene expression taking its place.

Almost too gently, the stranger slid the straps of Voyager's dress off her shoulders, caressing her bare arms as he went. Unable to fear, Njeri simply watched attentively. She could imagine Qian's fingers doing the same to her, his pale skin against her blackness, peeling off a layer of clothing as he often had... Her mouth went dry.

Adept fingers worked behind Voyager's back, no doubt unzipping that simple blue dress, because in a moment it fell to the floor, pooling at the woman's feet. Guided by the stranger, by her captor, Voyager took a step out of that puddle of fabric, and another, closing a bit of the distance between the window and Njeri. Her white bra followed, casually tossed aside by the stranger, landing almost delicately on top of the dress that had so effectively hidden it, leaving the woman standing there in black sport sandals and plain white panties.

He didn't remove the panties. He produced a pocketknife, ran the safe part of the blade down her side. Njeri watched, having no frame of reference. This was nothing that Qian or anyone else she'd slept with had ever done. Certainly, Voyager's closed eyes and quick gasps suggested that she was enjoying it. And when the stranger's knife reached Voyager's hips, he drew it through the underwear with a single, quick stroke, leaving the cloth to flutter to the ground on its own.

Voyager was naked, except for her sandals.

Njeri had never seen another woman naked in such a clear sexual context. While there were the obvious differences between the two of them—Njeri was shorter, more fit, had larger breasts, and didn't shave her crotch—she couldn't help but wonder if her expressions were the same, if she moved the same way, if her knees trembled like Voyager's did.

The stranger put the knife away and proceeded to step into Voyager's body, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her breasts, audibly kissing the back of her neck. He turned her around, pulling her into a deep kiss, hands on her soft ass. Njeri could see his fingers digging in, watched as Voyager leaned towards him, put her weight on him, the heels of her sandals leaving the soft floor.

At a word, Voyager sunk to her knees. The stranger stood strong, wrapping his hands in Voyager's hair, while the woman undid his belt, pushing his khakis and boxers down enough to free his stiff cock. She immediately wrapped a hand around his member and took it into her mouth.

Njeri had given blow jobs before, but what she was watching looked like something out of a porn video. The sound, the movement, the enthusiasm. The rough way the stranger pulled Voyager's head back before he came all over her face, the way she mewled in pleasure at the sensation. It seemed somehow unreal, dreamlike, impossible.

Njeri didn't hear the next command he gave, but saw the effect on Voyager all the same. First she wiped her face with her hand, licking semen from her fingers, then she started using those fingers to work between her own legs. Njeri found herself wishing she had a better view, instead of just seeing Voyager from behind. Her focus shifted instead to the stranger, who was slowly, deliberately, stripping of his own clothing, right down to his shoes and socks. She looked at that limp, damp cock and her mouth went dry. It wasn't anything particularly impressive, but it was what she wanted, right then.

He saw her watching.

He smiled at her.

She smiled back.

He seemed to be considering something.

Voyager gave a cute little gasp and moan, distracting the two others. Njeri saw the stranger's head turn, saw a small response from his member, or maybe she was imagining it. It was fairly soon after...

Njeri watched the stranger pull a couple books off the shelves, creating a makeshift pillow for himself. She considered offering to help, but those last words he'd said directly to her, just watch, continued to ring in her mind, holding her in place. Besides, there was enough going on to watch that held her attention, between Voyager's writhing on her knees and nude stranger's casual rearrangement of the inventory.

Soon, the stranger lay himself down on the floor, his head towards Njeri, and Voyager made her way on hands and knees to lie next to him, taking his cock in her hand. She purred and cooed and kissed his arm and chest as her hand worked to get him hard again. Njeri focused on Voyager's hand, the way her fingers moved and danced, and the slow recovery of the stranger's hardness. She found herself rooting for Voyager, silently urging the stranger's cock to stiffness, willing him to sexual potency. She imagined her silent entreaty was part of the process, that the harder she focused, the greater the effect of the redhead's fingers and kisses.

Between the two of their efforts, the stranger grew hard again. He spoke to Voyager, and she carefully got up on her knees and straddled him, pushing her body down on top of his, and Njeri now saw the wisdom of the position the others were in. She could see Voyager clearly, watch her descend on his cock, see her overjoyed expression, study the bounce of her breasts as she thrust herself against him.

The pace quickened. Njeri had never watched other people fucking before, not live, and the effect was powerfully arousing. There was something strangely enticing about seeing Voyager's sandals still on her feet. Njeri allowed herself to imagine Qian with that same magical control, her own not-completely-stripped body rising over his without any ability to resist his words.

She imagined the lovely redhead standing where she was, watching them, and was surprised and delighted to find that made the fantasy even better.

She wanted to touch herself, but the order to just watch kept her in place.

The stranger's upwards thrusting and grunting became more rushed, and Voyager's gasps and moans became deeper, and Njeri could recognize the telltale signs of approaching orgasm in both of them, Voyager threw her head back and howled, and the stranger gave a powerful thrust upwards and held his awkward position as he groaned out wordlessly with his own pleasure.

Njeri watched as Voyager slowly rolled off the stranger, lying on the floor and panting as he was. There was an odd stillness in the room that accompanied the scent of sweat and sex, the sound of three heavy breathers and the air conditioning system, and the constant, even light. The time passed in that stillness, and Njeri found that she wasn't bored or impatient, just... just there, just present.

The stranger rolled over and got up. He helped an exhausted Voyager to her feet, and led her to a chair, positioning her facing a curious Njeri. He leaned down over the chair, and, loud enough for Njeri to hear, spoke two words to the tired shopkeeper.

"Just watch."