Page 55 of The Prisoner's Gambit
As she walked away, that strange sensation warming the middle of her chest grew stronger. A strange tingling that felt as though it was moving in her skin of its own accord. Her Infala rune. It had to be. And it was reacting somehow. Changing. From what she’d heard, it was supposed to take so much longer to begin to do that. Hers was brand new, after all. It was all so different. Soalien.
Whatever was afoot, it was incredible, and she was looking forward to more of it, and soon. Alotmore.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Maureen barely felt the road beneath her feet when she hurried back to the Tormik residence. Her body was buzzing with sensations the likes of which she’d never felt before. As she walked she kept replaying the ridiculously hot tryst she’d just engaged in over and over.
A storage container,she marveled.And in the middle of the day. Hot damn!
It had been exceptional. Exceptional and hands-down the best sex she’d ever had. Maureen got so caught up in her revelry that she dropped one of her parcels when she bumped into another household’s servant.
“Oh, damn. I’m sorry,” she blurted, a blush rising to her cheeks.
“It is okay,” the woman said, picking up the dropped parcel and handing it to her. “I see you are new here.”
“That obvious?”
“Most are that way their first days. There is much to look at here. A whole city of marvels to take in. It is no wonder you would be distracted.”
“Uh, yeah, you’re absolutely right. I was too busy looking around and not paying attention where I was going. Again, I’m so sorry I bumped into you.”
The woman smiled kindly. “And, again, it is not a problem. But do try to be more aware as you walk through the residential areas. Elites are not nearly as forgiving as their servants.”
“I can imagine,” Maureen replied. “Well, thank you. I’m Maureen, by the way.”
“Nika. I am in the employ of the Mintzik household.”
“They nice people?”
“Yes, it is a rather pleasant work situation.”
“Cool. I work in Mistress Tormik’s home,” Maureen said. “Gotta admit, I’m still getting used to the whole servant thing, to be honest.”
The woman’s eyes widened slightly. “The Tormiks? Oh, you had best be on your way. Mistress Tormik does not tolerate tardiness.”
“You worked for her before?”
“No, but her reputation is well known.”
Maureen didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit. “Okay, thanks for the heads up. I’d better get a move on, then. Thanks again, and nice meeting you. Hope to see you around.”
“Nice meeting you as well, Maureen,” Nika said as her new acquaintance hurried away. “And good luck.”
Maureen’s feet were solidly on the ground the remainder of her trek back to the residence tower. The conversation with Nika, and more importantly, her curious reaction to the news that Maureen was working for Vice Quaestor Tormik’s household, had forced her to assess her situation with a bit more of a serious eye.
Perhaps it wasn’t as straightforward a living situation as she had initially thought. In any case, she was home now, and even with her sexy detour she had still managed to make it back on time. In fact, if she was not mistaken, she had even arrived a little bit early.
Maureen dropped off the smaller household items she’d been tasked with picking up on her outing then straightened her clothes and hair and made her way to Mistress Tormik’s chambers.
“I have the items from the tailor,” she announced from the doorway. “May I enter?”
“Come,” an irritated voice replied.
Maureen stepped into the room and headed directly to the far wall. She touched a textured indentation and moved aside as a small table extended from the seemingly seamless material. Alien tech was still an absolute marvel to her, and every day she found something new that amazed her. Compared to some of the things she had seen, the magic table, as she had come to call it, was actually ranking rather low on that list at this point.
She took the parcels and lay them out on the table then stepped back and stood silently. Stood and waited.
It was several minutes before Mistress Tormik emerged from the adjacent room and headed over to inspect her purchases. She was fond of making people wait, Maureen had learned early on. A rather immature power play that really served no purpose when it came to servants. She was required to do whatever the woman wanted regardless, so this little display was purely for Tormik’s own amusement.
