“There she is,” Tomichii said as I walked into the room, trying not to look as flustered as I felt.I smiled and slipped into the offered arm, letting him pull me into a hug while I smiled at the room of people. There were four investors, as Tomichii and Kioshi had promised, but no sign of Kioshi himself.Tomichii introduced all the men, although I recognised a couple of them from a previous party I’d been at. One where Bernice had done her best to embarrass me before I was unveiled.This time all the eyes were on me and I was the only courtesan in the room. I tried to smile and asked the two I recognised if they were doing well, wracking my brains for something they might have said the last time so I could ask them about it again. This seemed to do the trick and immediately I was surrounded by the four men.I was offered drinks, small items of food and generally conversed with for the next few minutes, everyone making it clear they were only there for me. I used the opportunity to pra

Groaning, I stretched and woke Mhairi beside me. It was the beginning of yet another day. I sighed, and tried to think of something to look forward to.“Another day?” she asked. I nodded.“Afraid so. Another day, and yet another attempt to earn enough money.”“You’ve not been doing badly so far,” Mhairi replied as we both began getting up, already a sort of routine between us. “You’ve got two companions who see you daily. That’s huge for a courtesan this early on.”“Only one,” I said as I sighed and began looking over the body paints. I didn’t have much left, and knew I couldn’t afford any more right now, but there was only one design I’d not worn in public yet; the one from my unveiling ceremony. “Tomichii doesn’t want me today. I’ve just got Keaton and then Rick until the very last hour of the day.”“Oh.” Mhairi came to my side and took one of my oldest designs out of my hands, mixing parts with the new design until she was satisfied. “Why don’t you come to a few places with me?” The

“So, are you going to introduce us?” a guy said, coming up to the table between Edward and me, looking at me although he seemed to be addressing my bodyguard.“She can introduce herself if she wants to. I don’t own her,” Edward replied. “I just keep her safe and make sure anyone she doesn’t want near her gets the message.” Edward’s eyes were also on me, just a little extra emphasis on the words that mattered.I smiled.“I’m Auralia,” I said, trying to be polite.“Logan,” he replied, his eyes sticking to my face in a way that seemed more than a little refreshing. “Used to hang out with Ed here when he was a teenager. Before he got a big bodyguard job at one of those fancy courts. I can see he’s still doing the hard job.”“It’s harder than it looks,” I replied, feeling defensive of him. “We’re an interesting bunch to look after. But the job has its perks.”Logan laughed, his eyes lighting up.“I bet it does. We’ve been hearing rumors that there’s a new courtesan shaking things up. I gues

“Well, that’s got to be the best quickie I’ve had in a few centuries,” I whispered as he began to pull back.“There’s plenty more where that comes from,” he replied, his mouth close to my ear as he gently helped me back onto my feet. “But the other men will never forgive me if we go for round two right away. Don’t leave without me getting another taste of you.”“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said as he began to walk away.No sooner was he out of my arms than another man walked up, coming past Mhairi as she rode someone in a chair. He had my tablet in his hands already and held it up with an offer on it. I pressed confirm and glanced at the name. Link. Unusual name.Link didn’t waste any more time leading me over to a long chair and encouraging me down onto it. Thankfully he was gentle, but the sex became a bit of a blur, several men only waiting for the previous man to get up before they came to use me too. An audience quickly grew as well, many men coming to watch, and Mhairi meeting any

“Anyway, enough of these deep discussions. I’ve had a long day and I’ve been looking forward to having you back for hours,” Daniel said as he put his arms around me.His erection was apparent against my lower abdomen. It took all my self-control not to roll my eyes. For a planet with few women where the men couldn’t get sex as much, they were all so turned on all the time.But I also felt a slight thrill of smugness. Daniel had been waiting for me. Out of all his courtesans, it seemed he wanted me the most. And I knew that gave me an edge that none of the others had. It had perhaps already helped me protect Belle.Deciding one last fuck wouldn’t be so bad, I kissed him passionately and reached for his pants to free him myself. The idea of me holding some sway over Daniel pleased me, but I knew if I did, I’d have to use it wisely. Making us all a little safer was a good idea. It could help me in the future too. But I didn’t know how far I could push it.One thing I did know for sure, ho