Page 55 of Faithless
“But other things?” I paused to consider my answer. “If it would endanger other guests or interfere with how the resort is run, yes, I am supposed to report things of that nature.”
Her wry smile returned. “But do you?”
“Why?” I grinned back at her. “Do you have nefarious plans for this place?”
“If I did, would I risk telling you?”
I swallowed the remainder of my drink, put it down, and moved in much closer, until my thigh pressed against hers, and I could take her delicate chin in my hand.
“That might depend on how well I do today, won’t it?” Flirting and banter were great, but she’d come to me for a purpose, and we only had an hour. Now that her nerves were gone, it was time for me to do my job.
The woman’s pupils dilated, and her lips parted on a soft gasp. Damn, I might even enjoy kissing her. That usually wasn’t on the table for these kinds of sessions, but if she was on board, I sure as hell was.
I leaned into her, allowing my eyelids to fall closed, only to find fingers pressed to my lips at the last moment. My eyes popped open, and I saw her eyebrows knitted together in some conflicted emotion as she leaned away.
Panic fired through me like a gun going off. Oh shit, I read this completely wrong. Where did I fuck up? If she was stopping me, she was definitely going to complain to the staff. Fuck! I was usually good at this shit.
I slid back until a good two feet of space separated us on the love seat and cast my eyes downward. “I’m sorry.” My mind raced, grasping at things to say to hopefully avoid the beating from the pitmasters that would surely come out of this. “I’m very sorry. I…completely misinterpreted and did not intend to make you uncomfortable. I can have them send in another gladiator, if you wish.”
“No, don’t apologize.” The woman reached across the distance to place her hand on my forearm. “You did nothing wrong.I’msorry.”
I could only stare at her, even more thoroughly confused. Guests were never wrong. They never had anything to apologize for, no matter what they wanted. If something wasn’t to their satisfaction, it wasourfault. Always.
“I’m sorry,” she said again. “I’m…new to this and probably still not ready to…you know, sleep with you.”
I swallowed. “Would you like someone else instead?”
“No! I meant in general. I don’t think I can sleep with anyone being, you know, offered here. It just doesn’t feel right.”
“Oh. Okay.” My throat remained a tight knot, but my heart rate started to calm. It had been so long since I’d been around anyone who had ethical issues with prostitution. I had forgotten there were people like that at all. “So you’re not going to tell anyone I didn’t…satisfy you?”
Her expression turned horrified. “No, of course not! In fact, I’ll tell them the opposite.”
“You really will?”
“Yes! You did nothing wrong. I would never throw you under the bus.”
A sigh of relief left my chest. “Thank you.”
She shook her head, looking around the ornate room furnished and decorated for the sole purpose of satisfying guests. “It’s terrible that you even have to thank me for that.”
“That’s just how it is.” I couldn’t stop looking at her, couldn’t stop wondering how this woman ended up among the elite clientèle of this place. She seemed almost…normal. And yet lovely and fascinating. If I wasn’t so relieved about not getting reported, I’d be bummed about not sleeping with her. She seemed like a girl I would pursue if I was, well, not enslaved.
“Well, I like talking to you.” She tilted her head again in that way that made her hair shimmer. “Would it be so bad if we spent the rest of our time doing that?”
“Not at all.” A weight felt lifted off my chest now that I didn’t have the pressure of satisfying her sexual needs or her ego. I propped my arm on the back of the loveseat. “And the feeling is mutual.”
Her smile was warm and sultry. “Do you say that to all the girls?”
“Yes, but with you, it’s the truth.” Damn, she made it so easy to flirt and just pretend to be two people getting to know each other.
She played with some loose fabric on the couch, reserved but no longer nervous. “My name’s Aurora. I go by Rori.”
“Aurora.” I rolled the R’s in her name, enjoying the vibration of it in my mouth. “That’s beautiful.”
“You’re a show-off with that tongue, huh?”
I laughed. “If I really wanted to show it off, we wouldn’t be having a conversation right now.”
