A couple of girls sashayed by, and the men moved back against the wall to let them pass. Kai no longer found the nudity the least bit jarring. The odalisques whispered to one another, and the taller one threw a flirtatious glance back at Kai. Bastien led him in the other direction, toward the main house.
“When Constance came here a few months ago, we argued. I told her it would be too difficult for her to perform as an odalisque without a voice, without hearing. We fought, angry words with pen and paper.” Bastien led Kai into his office. He went to one of the shelves and lifted a piece of paper from beneath a crystal weight. He handed it to Kai. In a dark, scrawled script she’d written, I can do anything any of these other women are doing. Anything! And I can do it BETTER. Kai could see her anger, her frustration, right there on the page. He handed it back to Bastien.
“I have no problem with her being deaf. But now I feel sorry for her. I can’t help it, I do. I don’t know how I can honestly choose now, how I can measure her against the others without factoring that pity into the mix.”
Bastien frowned and squared his shoulders. “Well, then. That isn’t workable. Pity in any form would not be acceptable to her. We’ll go on as planned tonight with the other four women, but I think it best to shelve Constance as a candidate for now.”
Kai wanted to rip Bastien’s head off. Didn’t he understand? “That’s not what I meant--”
Bastien cut him off with a raised hand. “As I said, she reads expressions and body language with far too much acuity. She will not agree to go with you anyway, if she senses you feel that way about her. She won’t want deference and pity. But this is fine, she will understand. Between the four other women, you’re sure to find a workable match. All the ones you selected are lovely, and every bit as sexually talented as Constance herself.”
“You say she will understand. You won’t tell her what I said?”
“I will simply tell her that you have struck her from your list. It won’t seem cruel to her. It’s a fact of life here. Each visitor considers several women on average, but only ever takes one. Now, if you will forgive me, I have another engagement. Perhaps you will return to your room for some refreshment and rest. Tonight will most likely be a late night.”
Kai found himself in his room moments later, feeling irate and admonished, for all Bastien’s polite gloss. He knew he ought to go through emails again and check in with his business manager, but he was too agitated to do any good communicating. He considered--just for a moment--packing his bags and walking out the door. He decided to take a nap instead. There were still four more girls he’d earmarked as interesting that he hadn’t even met. At the very least, he owed them a look, the same consideration he’d given Constance.
But he found he couldn’t sleep at all, imagining her face when Bastien told her she wasn’t coming to the “party” after all.
Chapter Five: The Choice
Constance cycled between elation and panic.
When she’d first met Mr. Chandler the evening before, she’d found him attractive, yes. Way attractive. His eyes were so soulful, and his face so expressive when he spoke. She imagined he had a beautiful voice, and she was jealous of the other girls who got to hear it. But she was the only girl who had gotten to feel Kai Chandler. His body was quite an instrument. He’d made her senses sing.
He was tall, about six two or six three, with a commanding physical presence. Of course, he was a rich, successful person like all the men who visited here. He’d probably banked on that raw charisma to get ahead in his career. He was muscular, solidly built, with bronze burnished skin and beautiful exotic features. Full lips, an interesting nose, a strong jaw, and wavy black hair pushed back from his face.
It was his eyes, though, that were a revelation. Being deaf, she looked at eyes for meaning as much as lips, and his eyes were deep emotional pools. Intelligent and observant. You expected rich men to be self-involved and narcissistic, but no. Not Kai Chandler.
She’d wanted to converse with him and learn more about him as much as she wanted him to fuck her. She’d gotten the latter finally in the S & M room, a nice rough domineering fuck, tempered by surprisingly gentle caresses. Even though she’d already worked out and showered since then, she still remembered the feel of his girth and hardness. She still remembered the sensation of his cock stretching her, sliding into her while his fingers gripped her waist.
To be perfectly honest, Constance wasn’t here at Maison Odalisque for the sexual perks. She liked them, sure, but ultimately she was here to make a lot of money and gain independence--financial, emotional, and otherwise. That was mission number one, a goal that had driven her for the last ten years, since she’d packed her bags at age fifteen and left home. The sexual side of what she did…that was a means to an end. Usually.
But Kai had made her forget her ulterior motives for a few magic moments and just revel in the sex. The seduction, the thrill. Powerful and intense lust, and Kai’s infinite ability to hurt her or arouse her. He had wanted her, truly wanted her. She’d seen it in his amber brown eyes that seemed to hide nothing. If he was what she had to endure to make the money she needed, it was a pretty good trade in her view.
But Constance was still nervous. It was obvious from the way he’d interacted with her that Bastien hadn’t told him yet she was deaf. She’d always considered the quietness of her communication would lend itself perfectly to this lifestyle, but the two men who’d been taken with her so far had withdrawn their interest when they learned she couldn’t hear. She was thankful for that now. She hadn’t felt anything with either of them like the connection she’d felt with Kai Chandler.
So maybe it was all meant to be. Bastien often spoke of seeking that special chemistry, being attuned to finding your other “sexual half.” He prided himself on pairing his clients with the most compatible odalisques, and Constance had come to realize he truly had a knack for it. In the last year, Bastien proudly pointed out, only one odalisque had been returned to the Maison for “issues.” Constance knew Bastien had brought her and Kai together because he sensed promise there. What if... What if...
What would it be like to be his odalisque? To live in service to him, to his needs and his powerful sensuality? She could make money and yet receive even more. His dominance and sexual skill.
Constance sensed Bastien in her room then, although she wasn’t facing the door. The vibration of movement, an infinitesimal inkling of sound. As soon as she turned to him, the nerves downgraded to disappointment. His face said it all.
“Constance, love. Just rest tonight. There’s no need for you to come to dinner with Mr. Chandler.”
She watched his lips form the words, disbelieving. Devastated. Translation: He doesn’t want you. He changed his mind. Bastien came to sit beside her, already dressed for dinner. She wanted him to go. She wanted to cry in private, but he handed her the notebook they used to communicate.
She wrote, You told him.
“Yes. It was time to let him know.”
He wanted me, didn’t he? Before you told him.
Bastien looked down at her words, his face reflecting his own disappointment. “I think so.”
But not enough, she wrote bitterly. She put down the pen to wipe away a tear. She hated that she was crying. She hadn’t cried the other times. To be honest, she’d felt anger the first time, relief the second. But this time she felt rejected. It hurt. Bastien tilted her face u
p so she could see what he was saying.
“There now. I told him you wouldn’t get upset. You know this is all part of the process. You need to find the right man. Not just the man you want the most.”
She frowned and flipped the pen around in her fingers. Then she wrote, Why would a man like him need an odalisque anyway? He’s so hot. He can’t find it without paying for it?
Bastien laughed and she laughed too, spewing tears and snot. He handed her a tissue and held her while she cried for a while. She was careful not to get any tears on his dinner jacket. Not only because it was undoubtedly an expensive jacket, but because she didn’t want Kai to know she’d cried over him. It was pointless in the end. Maybe all of this was pointless. She took up her pen again, bit the end of it, then wrote, Do you only keep me here out of kindness? Because if there’s no place in the world for a deaf odalisque, I’ll go.
Bastien shook his head, his face darkening. “Of course you’re free to go at any time, but no, I don’t keep you here out of kindness. I keep you here because I believe you’ll make a spectacular odalisque for some fortunate gentleman. But let me turn the questioning back on you. Are you here because you think you’re not capable of doing anything else with your life?”
Constance thought a moment before she scrawled her reply. No. I’m here because scribbling poetry and masturbating doesn’t pay the bills.
Bastien laughed again. “Ah, yes. Your poetry. It’s true that very few poetesses make five hundred thousand a year. As for your masturbatrix qualities, these will undoubtedly stand you in good stead.”