Courtesan

Turning around she leaned against the edge of the desk and looked at me. She looked really sexy and fetching in the sweater.

"Sir . . ." Her voice was suddenly very husky and inviting as she arched slightly. I could see her nipples poking through both the sweater and her bra underneath.

"Lady Jenna," I stepped back and looked at her and Charles both. "I promised that I would not. Not for this."

"Sir, I am willing."

"Lady Jenna, I cannot. If I accept what you offer, then I will have to demand it of others as equal payment. Some of those I hope to assist will not be members of the association. It would be wrong to demand the same from them unwillingly. Or give them for less that which you feel you must pay additional for. I cannot allow myself to do that. It would not be good for either them, or you. I will not abuse you, or them, or anyone else that way. It is wrong."

Her nipples flattened and she stood up on her feet to clasp her hands at her waist and look at the floor.

"I understand, Sir."

"Lady Jenna," I dropped into my rumble and stepped close enough I could lift her chin with a finger. "You are truly beautiful and had I not promised I would gladly take you and love you as you need and deserve. Even now I am tempted but giving in would prove me to be less of a man than I choose to be."

Her nipples poked through the sweater again and her ears started turning pink as she looked at me. Capturing her hands in mine so she couldn't grab me, I leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Be happy." I whispered it to her before I stepped back, stretching our arms between us then letting her go. "Do that and I will always be here to help you."

"Charles," I turned and held out my hand to him. "Thank you for coming."

I helped them carry their packages out to the car lamenting that I hadn't had the foresight to also buy some garment bags and hangars when I ordered it all. Shaking Charles' hand again, I watched them drive off before going back inside.

I was sitting at the computer looking at random things when someone knocked on the front door. Shortly afterward I could hear voices and then came a soft knock on my office door.

"Kevin?"

"Yes?" I replied.

"Someone is here to see you."

I opened the door to see my mom and Giz standing in the foyer. Dumbstruck, I just stood there for a minute. Giz's face turned pink before she suddenly turned toward the door.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have . . ."

"Giz, don't leave. I'm just really surprised to see you. Please, come in." I stepped back and gestured for her to come into the office.

Reluctantly she passed by and stood in the center of the open space of the room. I looked at my mother.

"If you're not busy, would you mind coming in with us?"

"Kelsey is here, maybe she would be better." She looked up the stairs.

"Actually, I'd prefer that you stay if you can. If you can't, then Kelsey would be more preferable than no one." I headed for the desk and gestured at the two chairs. "Please, sit down."

Giz looked at the chairs and finally sat after my mom sat down and we both looked at her. She folded her hands in her lap and turned pinker than she already was.

"Hey, it's me." I leaned back in my chair. "You know, the guy from work."

"I just . . ." She trailed off.

"Just what?" I waited for her to tell me why she was there.

"I just wanted to see if it was real. That you really did what you said you did."

I didn't know what to say. If the website didn't prove that I was legit, then I didn't know how I could show her otherwise. Maybe that was why I wasn't getting many hits on the site, too many people thought it was a scam.

"Is it? Real?"

"Kevin is very good at choosing things for women to wear." My mom told her.

She didn't look convinced. Standing I crooked my finger at her.

"Come with me."

"Kevin?" Mom asked as she stood also. She was wondering what was going on in my head.

"I want to take your picture," I told Giz and looked at my mom. "I need a rubber band."

I had Giz braid her hair. The end result was so thick it was a rope. Without thinking about if she would object or not, I reached past her ear to pull her braid over her shoulder so it could fall down her front. I let it go just as her eyes widened and she stepped back.

"Sorry, I should have asked first." I apologized.

"When Kevin gets in his creative mode, sometimes he forgets that we are people." Mom smiled at me then cocked an eyebrow asking me to tell them what I had in mind.

Rather than answer, I directed Giselle to lean over the breakfast bar in the kitchen and put her elbows on the surface.

"Just look off into the distance like you're daydreaming." I stepped back and framed her face and upper body in the camera. "Just relax and think of something pleasant that you'd rather be doing instead of this."

She drew in a breath and looked straight at the far wall.

"Softer Giz. Think of a fantasy. Unicorns, rainbows, anything, just let yourself go and daydream. Everybody daydreams, you know how it feels, go there."

She shifted her feet, propped her chin in her palm and relaxed. I held off for a second to two then clicked the shutter.

"Don't move. Just keep it up." I framed her face again and waited. "Now, without moving anything, I want you to look at me. Just use your eyes and look right at me."

She stopped staring at the kitchen wall and looked. I caught the image right before she broke out of pose.

"Fantastic." I waved at the both of them to follow me back to the office. "Let's go see what you really look like."

I pulled the card from the camera and uploaded the two images onto the computer. Opening them both, I positioned them side by side and turned the screen around so they could see them.

"It is very real." Mom said as soon as she saw both images. "As you can see for yourself."

The first image caught her soft and relaxed. The perfect picture of someone who was lost in her daydreams, her hair catching the eye because of it's color and the thick braid over her shoulder. Very pretty for such a quick snapshot.

The second image caught the intensity in her eyes as she looked at me. She saw me. I wasn't a daydream. I wasn't any part of her fantasy, whatever it had been, I was real. Her eyes were looking right at me with the windows in them wide open and I had caught it in the picture. You could see straight through right to her inner soul and what you saw was both blinding and beautiful at the same time. Her eyes were crystal clear, vibrant, and alive.

Her gaze flicked rapidly between the two images for a long time before Giz finally looked at me again.

"I told you, it's your eyes not your hair." I turned the screen back around. "Not that your hair isn't beautiful on it's own, but your eyes are your best feature."

"How?" She looked at the back of the monitor like she was looking at the two pictures still on it.

"I just saw you as you really are." I shrugged once then saved the images. That way I could show them in comparison to what she looked like later and really wow her.

"Can you . . . really?" She turned pink again, making her freckles stand out strongly. "I don't have a lot of money. I had to pay my dad back what I borrowed from him so I could get to work every day."

"There's no emergency." I waved that whole concept off. "Most of it won't be expensive anyway because it's not designer label. It's just things I find that I think will look good on you. We can start small and work up from there."

She looked undecided.

"Lucy," I mentioned her sister. "Is not one of my clients and you will not have to be just her little sister anymore."

She looked at my face for a long time as she mulled over what I just said. Suddenly she dropped her face to look at her lap. I couldn't see her expression but I could see that her cheeks moved. Just like they'd move if she was hiding a smile.

TWELVE

After Giz left I puttered on the computer. I had a couple of hours before I had to change so I could chaperone Helen for the evening and I spent it looking at things I thought would look good on Giselle.

Someone knocked on my office door.

"Can I come in for a second?" Ian's voice came through the panel.

"Sure." I shut off the computer and motioned at one of the other chairs as the door opened and Ian stuck his head through. "Kelsey not ready?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something before we left." He came in and sat down.

I waited.

"How do you deal with it?"

The question was surprising. Not the content, but that he had the courage to ask it. I leaned back in my chair and laced my fingers together over my stomach.

"To me, it's not something I have to deal with. I know my sister. I know what she does. I still love her anyway."

I waited but he didn't speak.

"Ian? Do you love Kelsey? Would you marry her right here right now if none of this was happening?"

"Yes." His answer was short and affirmative.

"So the big issue here, from what I see, is that you're having problems with her seeing someone else."

"It's not someone else, it's you."

"So?" I shrugged. "Why am I the only guy on the planet who can't love her the way she deserves to be loved? Why am I excluded just because she's my sister?"

But . . ."

"If Kelsey was my step sister, would you still have the same issue with me sleeping with her?"

That one caught him completely off guard.

"So, it's the fact that she's here all the time, and that I'm here all the time and you're not, is what the real problem is. Right?"

"How do I . . . I mean . . .?"

"How do you know she really loves you? Is that what you're trying to figure out?"

He nodded.

"Ask her." I opened my hands and spread my arms. "It's not hard, just ask her if she loves you. Don't put any conditions on it, just ask."

He looked lost.

"KELSEY!" I shouted her name.

"What?" The response was muffled.

"IAN'S HERE!" I yelled back.

Rapid thumps of feet on the stairs followed that. I held a hand cupped behind my ear and pointed at the wall.

"You know, if she didn't want to see you, she probably wouldn't be running down the stairs so she could get here faster."

"Ian?" Kelsey opened my office door before either one of us could say anything else. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Kel?" I got up from my chair before Ian could respond. "If you weren't going away, and Ian could make you perfectly happy beyond your wildest dreams, would you marry him right here, right now?"

She looked at me.

"Would you? Would you give me and everyone else up for him because he's the one? Not might be the one, is the one. Is he the perfect guy for you?"

"Kev . . ."

"He needs to know how you feel." I pointed at Ian and headed for the door. "So tell him. Don't tell me, tell him. Whatever the answer is, make him believe it."

I walked out and closed the door behind me.

They came out about five minutes later. I saw them from where I was sitting in a chair next to Helen in the living room. Kelsey had Ian's hand in hers and she towed him up the stairs without even glancing our way. Ian looked at me for a second then turned to follow her up the stairs.

"I hope he has a condom." I remarked to no one in particular.

Helen merely wrote something in her puzzle book as if she was unconcerned about it. She probably wasn't worried because Kelsey had to make her own decisions and then live with the consequences.

It took forty five minutes for them to come back down. Kelsey led Ian into the living room and sat on the couch tugging him down right next to her on the cushion. She looked at us looking at them.

"I said that if he still wants me when I come back, I will say yes."

"So he's the one?"

"Yes."

I looked at Ian.

"It's going to be difficult for me to adjust."

"Actually it won't be." I disagreed with him on that point. "Like I told you before, there are things you don't know. Things you can't be told about until after she comes home and you get married. But, if you trust me I can almost guarantee that you'll like what you find out."

"Almost guarantee?"

I shrugged and lifted my palms up.

"Kevin, sometimes . . ." He sighed at me.

I grinned back as he shook a finger in my direction.

So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"We're going to stay home and talk and be together." Kelsey snuggled into him. "I could really use some hot chocolate and a relaxing evening doing nothing." She looked at me. "And you'll be gone so I don't have to keep telling you to stay out of my other love life."

Ian cleared his throat and looked at mom.

"We have a dinner invitation. Well, mom does but it's for couples only so I got drafted." I grimaced. "I get to play chaperone."

"If you do not wish to go, I can always ask father." Mom put down her puzzle book. "There is still enough time for him to get here before I have to leave."

"Granddad is in a cast." I pointed that out. "So it's either me or nobody. Unless you want Ian to fill in."

At that Mom gave Ian the once over like she was seriously considering it. He held up both hands and shook his head no. With a small smile, she got up from her chair and headed for her bedroom to change. Kelsey cleared her throat and gave me a twitch of her head toward the stairs as a big hint to leave them alone.

"Yes dear heart, I'll go get changed and eventually we'll leave you two lovebirds alone for the evening." I followed mom up the stairs.

I came down first, as expected since Helen often took nearly an hour to bathe and change, wearing my blacks. Ian raised an eye at me when I sat down in my chair again.

"I told you, it's a dinner invitation." I looked down at myself. "I have to dress the part or ruin everyone's evening."

"Oh."

"You should know by now, since you and Kelsey go out when mom has these invites, that she has a fairly active social life. That means I get dragooned into this on a regular basis." I shifted in the chair to get more comfortable. "I'm used to it by now."

We talked about inconsequential nothings until Helen came down the stairs ready to leave. She was wearing the new formal gown I'd bought for her, an off the shoulder sheath dress that would be a lot easier for her to get off and then back on without having to adjust anything to make her presentable again. Usually after she was done servicing her Males, she seemed rather dazed. I didn't know why but anything that would help her look more like she hadn't been doing anything untoward, was a good idea.

Ian stared at her until Kelsey elbowed him in the ribs.

"Are you more interested in my mom, or me?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

I didn't wait for his answer. Instead I got up and grabbed my coat while holding out my arm for Helen.

"Ready?"

She nodded smoothly.

"Don't wait up for us." I told Kelsey as we headed for the door.

KELSEY

Kelsey stretched luxuriously as the Male she'd slept with ran his hands up her body and caressed her. Rather than waiting until the morning when they gave her the stinky rag and the Find The Male command, she just browsed the Males who were around all day and selected the one who she thought smelled the best. After that it was easy, just invite him to share her bed for the night.

They almost always said yes. The ones who didn't told her very nicely that they would except they had something else planned. As a rejection it was very well done and she didn't feel slighted or rebuffed. In fact, it only showed that she was in control of who, when, how, and where rather than just trying to find pleasure and fulfillment on the fly.

And none of them had any issues if she slept with someone else the next night.

"One more for the morning?" The Male behind her rumbled in his chest so deep she could feel it.

She shook her head. She had to shower and then get ready for her day of reading. Lots of rules and regulations now that hadn't been in the pink book. And whoever came to sit with her tested her on them.

The testing was casual and no one seemed to mind all that much when she flubbed something. The corrections were gently done and seemingly forgotten until she was asked again sometime later. She worked very diligently to be sure she knew the right answer the second time. Because she wasn't sure there would be a third time instead of a dismissal and a boot out the door.

Sitting up, she stretched again, feeling the heaviness in her middle as her pregnancy advanced. Not much change yet, just some added fat around her waistline but it was enough to let her know every morning that her future was going to change in a very drastic way.

Doctor Hartman was waiting for her at her table.

"Good morning." She told the Doctor as she sat down.

"Good morning." Hartman responded. "I'm just checking to see how you're doing."

"I'm doing very well, thank you for asking." Kelsey placed her hands on her lap and waited.

Doctor Hartman smiled at her.

"Have you decided what you're going to do after you leave here?"

"Yes." Kelsey nodded once. And waited some more.

Hartman didn't say anything else, just looked at her. Kelsey tipped her head slightly in inquiry but otherwise kept silent. Hartman smiled and rose from her seat.

"Take care of yourself."

Kelsey nodded.

Hartman only got a few steps away before Kelsey called after her.

"Lady Angela?"

"Yes?" Hartman stopped and turned around.

"Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"You're more than welcome, Starling."

THIRTEEN

Helen sat quietly next to me on the seat on our way home after she finished servicing her Males. We'd arrived on time and I'd walked her inside where she'd dropped the gown and followed one of the Males down the hall into another room where they disappeared. I sat on the couch in the living room and got comfortable.

I could hear them through the open door. The sounds of sex are unmistakable and her vocalizations as she orgasmed were familiar to my ears.

The Male she'd followed into the room came out again. I could still hear Helen gasping and crying out as she serviced another Male inside the other room.

"It might be awhile." He lit a cigarette and blew out the smoke.

"I can wait." I shrugged.

"I don't know how you can do it."

"She's worth it." I shrugged again. "To me anyway."

He looked at me, then at the open doorway.

"There are benefits."

"It's just sex."

For you, maybe. For me it's a lot more than that." I tried to explain it to him by asking a question. "How many women have you slept with this week?"

"As many as I wanted to. Why?" He blew out more smoke.

"I've slept with one." I nodded to the doorway. "Her."

"It's just sex." More smoke filled the room.

"For you, maybe. But do any of the women you have sex with ever tell you that they love you?"

"It's just sex." He repeated it a third time. "I don't need them for anything else except that."

I got up when Helen appeared in the doorway. Gathering her dress off the floor I held it so she could slip it over her head. Pausing as she laid her hand on my arm I looked at the Male then tipped my head toward Helen. "I get to go home with her and hold her after we make love. Do you?"

"I had her first."

I shook my head.

"No. I had her long before she accepted your invitation for tonight. And I will have her many times after tonight." I started to head for the door. "You will only have this single memory of one time on one night as she walks away forever."

I walked Helen to the car and opened the door for her before going around to get in behind the wheel. The Male was standing on the porch watching us. I drove away without looking at him.

Helen's hand inched its way across the seat toward me as I drove us both through the night. Eventually she touched my hand resting on the seat where her fingers curled around mine and held on.