Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
They're all excellent suggestions for improving this place, and I'm no fool. The happier and better off this fort is, the more prosperous it will be. Word will spread. Others will come looking for safety and assurance, and we'll take them all in, growing our empire. Melina is wise to realize this. But I can't praise her too quickly or she'll think I'm soft. I arch a mocking eyebrow at her. "Should I take notes?"
Her return gaze is withering. "I'll remind you."
I incline my head. "Then go on."
She does. Melina tells me about how we need to improve gardening programs and to clean the streets. How everyone needs to work towards building a better fort, rather than sitting around and scrounging for scraps. She also wants supplies for her clinic and wants an assistant. She wants her clinic to be her domain, her kingdom, and completely under her control. "I ask people to pay me what they can," she tells me. "And if they can't pay, I still treat them. If I'm your consort, I expect you to keep me stocked with supplies. If they can't pay, they can work it off once they feel better. They can garden, or clean, or cook in the barracks cantina. But I want everyone to know that the clinic is open to them and that everyone deserves fair treatment."
I cluck my tongue at her. "Anything else?"
Melina straightens, her back stiff and proud. "I'm sure I'll have more later, but that's it for now."
"And what do I get in return for this list of demands?" I hold my palm up, gesturing.
"You get me," she says flatly. "You get your consort. I won't contradict you in public. I'll be your supportive little woman. I'll support your ideas in public and help you run this place. And I'll share your bed. In return, I get my clinic, and the people here get a better life."
There's still a mutinous expression on her face, as if she's not pleased at having to give in to me. I didn't expect her to be, though. Melina likes to do things her own way, and she's going to bristle at me taking charge. She'll eventually see things my way, however. She'll realize what a strong, intelligent leader I am and her reluctance will drift away.
I try not to look too eager, keeping a remote expression on my face. "Are you satisfied with the negotiations, then, my pet?"
Her nostrils flare with distaste. "Don't call me that."
"This is the hill you choose to die upon?" I smirk at her, utterly amused. "If I said no to the clean water and the schooling, would you still suck my cock? But I can't call you my pet?"
The dislike on her face grows. "Fine. You know what? Call me whatever you like. I don't care. I said I wouldn't contradict you, and I mean it." A tight little smile curves her mouth, as if it's physically paining her to do so. "I'll be your pet. Fine."
For some reason, her easy acquiescence disappoints me. I like her fiery spirit far more than her brittle acceptance. "In that case, I agree to your terms. I won't call you pet, and I'll implement your ideas. The medical supplies will be delivered to your clinic tomorrow and it will reopen then. You can spend your days there, but your meals must be with me and your nights must be in my bed. Understand?"
Melina nods. "When do we start?"
I get to my feet, glad that my robes hide just how stiff and aching my cock is. "I'll instruct the servants to have a bath drawn for you. You want one, right? A bath, and dinner. And then I expect you in my bed tonight."
"Tonight." She breathes the word, and for a moment, her face looks shattered. Her expression quickly twists and changes again, though, becoming blank once more. "Fine. Tonight it is."
"I'll want my cock sucked," I say, because now it's all I can think about. Plus, if she services me, she won't realize how woefully inept I am in this particular area.
"Fine," she says listlessly and gets to her feet. "I'm going to want a bath afterwards, too."
Curious. Maybe she just likes to bathe. "Very well."
Chapter
Four
(Sensitive readers be warned that this chapter contains dubious consent/quid pro quo.)
AZAR
I spend the next few hours in my library, looking at pictures of humans coupling in books and the flimsier tomes called “magazines.” Many of them are extremely vague and don't show the mechanics. I need one of the human “videos” that will show me in great detail what happens. I squint at one picture on the front of a book, frowning as I try to decipher what exactly the male is doing to the female. Both of their faces look ridiculous, and it seems as if the male is ripping her clothing off as if it displeases him. Is this some sort of human ritual in which the female is defrocked? Is it a show of strength? What? I peer at the inside of the book but there are no pictures in this one, just lots of small black squiggles that someone once told me are spoken words, but written down. My people do not have such a thing, and I wonder at the people in this world.