As the sun came around, it found a small gap in the curtains and cast a strip of bright light onto the bed, bringing me from the light doze I'd slipped into. Mhairi was fast asleep beside me, her hair ruffled but still framing her face. The sunlight was just enough to show her peaceful features off. For a few minutes I didn't move, grateful for the reprieve and a moment to gather my thoughts.
In the middle of the day the threat through the late night and early morning didn't seem too terrible, but I knew I couldn't live every night in the same way. I needed to find us some protection. And I needed to find a way to get along with the other courtesans. Or enough of them that the others were less likely to cause a problem.
Getting off the bed was enough to disturb Mhairi. She sat up, wiped the sleep dust from her eyes and was on her feet in seconds. I blinked, not sure how a human could go from asleep to upright and alert in such a short space of time.
“Is Yaru here?” she asked. I shook my head, grabbing a dressing gown and covering up.
“I don't think so. But I wanted to try and have a chat to Kevin before we got started this morning,” I replied.
“Perfect. It will give me time to fetch what I need and get myself ready.
“Meet back here in half an hour?”
She nodded, a small smile lighting up her eyes for the first time since we'd met.
“Thank you,” she whispered as we pulled the chair out from underneath the door handle. She didn't need to say what for. We'd kept each other safe. I owed her as much as she thought she did me.
The sitting room outside was still quiet, none of the other courtesans out of their own rooms yet. I relaxed, glad. I didn't want to have to confront anyone.
But the guards were another matter. Somehow I needed to find Kevin while also keeping away from the others.
Some kind of God or Goddess must have smiled on me. No sooner had I thought of the bodyguard than I saw him going past the open doorway, heading towards the court's front door. I picked up the pace, not daring to call out from so far away.
As I emerged into the front lobby I spotted Kevin unlocking the front door. Opening it, he let in Jake and Edward. I hesitated, but only long enough for the three men to greet each other.
“Look, it's the newest resurrected. I had rather hoped to see your paintwork,” Edward said as soon as he saw me. I smiled, not wanting to antagonise him, remembering his threat.
“Maybe later. Takes a long time to get all made up like that.”
“I'll bet, cupcake.”
His eyes lingered on me as he and Jake continued past. I tried not to let my fear show, instead looking for Kevin again. Still by the door, he was pulling several items out of a small box to one side.
I hurried up to him.
“Do you have a minute?” I asked, finally close enough not to need to shout.
“I guess. What's the issue?”
“I heard you last night say one of the other courtesans was your toy,” I said, launching straight in to what I needed to say before I could change my mind. He nodded and paused by the door, letting it shut.
“Mhairi explained what that meant.”
“And now you're looking to be some guard's toy so the rest don't pin you down and stuff you full of cock when you're least ready for it?”
“Something like that,” I said, frowning. Was my intention that obvious?
“Well, you're hot, I'll give you that, but if you were hoping I'd be interested you're out of luck. One of these days I'm hoping to buy Sarah's remaining debt and set her free. I'm not interested in getting tangled with another woman on top.”
“Oh, it wasn’t my intention of asking you. I wouldn’t try to part you from Sarah for anything. It seems rare in this world for two people to find a semblance of happiness. I merely hoped you would have some advice on which of the other guards wouldn’t be as rough.”
“That I might be able to help with, but few are likely to satisfy whatever notion you have in your head of male chivalry. Many of the guards will use you for their own pleasure in return for a little protection.”
Suddenly Kevin's eyes fixed on me. I raised my eyebrows and waited to see if he'd explain.
“Edward has taken an interest in you, right?”
“Yeah, tried to demand a blowjob when Yaru wasn't looking on my first day.”
Kevin chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds like him, especially in front of Jake. He may seem coarse and demanding, but you could do a lot worse. He'd keep the others from bothering you and he wouldn't hurt you himself.”
I nodded, picturing Edward in my head. Could I let him use me and not hate myself for it? Did I really have much of a choice?
Filing the thought away for later, I left Kevin and went back to Mhairi. It was time to get ready for my second day as a veiled courtesan. And I needed to work out how I was going to make myself look unique yet use very little paint.
There were men to please, and I had to work out how to do it.
***
I tried my best to relax as I sat near Tomichii in his relaxation room. Nearby, I could hear the moans of another courtesan as she lay backwards over a table, a man burying himself over and over again inside her.
We'd been here since lunchtime, Yaru not wasting any time in reminding me Tomichii was still the most overtly interested person to come to my unveiling. Besides the other resurrected, anyway. Yaru hadn't brought him up again so neither had I.
“Tired?” Tomichii asked when I failed to stifle a yawn. I saw Yaru's eyebrows raise. Apparently appearing tired was a big no-no, something he'd mentioned on the drive over when I'd told him of my night full of adventures.
“A little,” I replied, doing my best to look sheepish and apologetic. “I confess I didn't sleep very well last night. I was too excited.”
“Oh, really? And what could have caused that?”
“I was thinking about coming back here. You have a wonderful building here, especially the garden. And...” I pretended to be embarrassed, looking away and hoping I wasn't being too coy.
“And?” he asked, taking my bait.
“And I very much enjoyed the company.”
“Did you now?” He grinned, a warmth in his eyes that made me feel genuinely pleased. I didn't think I'd have to fake much more interest in him. Of every guy I'd met so far, he had been one of the few to treat me like a human being, even if he hadn't hid the expectation that I'd follow the courtesan path and allow myself to be bought at some point.
The mixture of respect with honest acceptance of the current culture was enough. I liked him. Possibly even liked him a lot.
“Would you like to stay for dinner this evening?” he asked as if he'd suddenly thought of it. “I have some visitors from one of our off-world branches of the company, and I know they'd appreciate the artwork you've wrapped yourself in.”
“I don't think we have any prior engagements,” I replied, glancing at Yaru to check. He merely lifted a hand to signal his approval before turning his attention back to his crystal pad. “I'd love to stay for dinner, and I'm sure I'll like anyone you'd wish to introduce me to.”
With this Tomichii excused himself, using the need to organise the extra seating as a reason to leave. I almost immediately felt bereft, finding myself sitting with just Yaru.
“Well done, my dear,” Yaru said, barely louder than a whisper. “He appears quite smitten.”
“He's nice. Easy to get along with.”
“As long as I don't have to remind you that falling for any of these men is a bad idea.”
I rolled my eyes without thinking. It was probably the piece of advice I'd heard most. Don't fall in love. Don't let emotion cloud your judgement.
I didn't plan to.
How could I ever truly love any man who was comfortable paying to screw a woman who had no choice?
***
I spent most of the rest of the day at Tomichii's office, in the relaxation room, steering clear of the more explicitly active courtesans, or in the garden, talking to Tomichii and anyone else who'd engage me in conversations.
A couple of times I saw Kioshi, but only from a distance. He never stepped foot in the relaxation room, and only used the garden to get between several of the offices the more senior staff in the company occupied.
During one of my walks in the garden, towards the evening, I spotted Benton. He sat eating something from another paper bag while reading a book. With no one else to talk to, and Yaru once more immersed in something on his crystal, I wandered closer.
“Is it a good book?” I asked as soon as I could do so without shouting. He didn't seem to notice. Repeating the question a little louder only made him jump. He dropped the book and almost did the same with his food.
“Oh my, I'm so sorry.” I grabbed the book, smoothing out the pages as he rescued his food and resettled it onto his lap. For a moment he merely stared at me.
To end the awkwardness I held out the book. “Benton, isn't it?”
He nodded, his mouth seemingly glued shut.
“We met yesterday.”
“I remember.”
Way to help a woman make conversation, I thought, trying to keep the smile on my face without looking fake.
“And the book is excellent, thank you,” he eventually said, reopening it.
I nodded, caught off guard by the sudden response. The pause was enough for him to carry on reading.
Frowning, I waited a moment, wondering if he'd want to talk more at all, but his eyes scanned back and forth, completely focused on his book, the cover very clearly fantasy.
Good to know fantasy is still a thing, I thought. I'd loved reading about elves and dragons when I'd been alive before.
I considered saying this aloud, trying to engage on the topic, but it was clear he wasn't interested right now, and I remembered how annoying it could be to be interrupted when enjoying a good book.
Given I also had no idea if this guy had enough wealth to be worth trying to charm, I slowly walked away. Almost immediately I spotted Yaru, standing just out of sight, his eyes fixed on me. I could only assume he'd seen the entire exchange.
“Is that the guy from yesterday?” Yaru asked. I nodded, glancing back at him. As I did, I could have sworn he had hastily looked back at the book. Had he been watching me after all? “Benton?”
Once more, I moved my head in the affirmative.
“Hmmmm. Interesting person. But it's time to come inside. Tomichii is looking for you. I think he would like to ask you a few questions. Something about having a dinner menu that you'll like.”
“That sounds like a lot of effort for someone whom he's only recently met.”
“He likes you,” Yaru said, walking me towards the offices. “I must admit, I had some fears about this artistic endeavour of yours, but between you and Mhairi, it is working wonders.”
“I guess we'll see if it's enough to earn back the investment soon enough,” I replied, not sure how much I should hope. Or if I even wanted to. There were times over the last two days that I'd felt amazing, glamorous even. But other moments when I felt like a piece of meat.
“That, we shall. But you're making good progress.”
I smiled at Yaru, grateful for his words. Feeling a little bit more like I could face a room full of men to try and impress, I let him lead me inside. How bad could it be?
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