Tales of the Odalisque

by Josie Litton

  As the other novices ripped the wrapping off their apparatuses with enthusiasm, Natalia eased hers open with the greatest care. Her frown became more pronounced as she inched the object out and stared at it. It really did resemble a penis from the mushroom-shaped crown to the veined shaft. Or it would have if penises came in bright neon colors which, to the best of her knowledge, they did not.

  “Excuse me, Miss Sheridan,” she said, “but I’ve been under the impression that men are quite sensitive about their appendages, even protective of them. How does that work with being…well, swallowed? Surely, they must have some qualms about that. Aside from the whole issue of teeth--”

  The instructress looked startled. Not quite managing to suppress her laughter, she said, “Do not concern yourself, Miss Bollinger. We’ll cover what to do with teeth later. As for the rest, men are capricious creatures. You’ll be amazed at how quickly they throw off all sense of caution where their cocks are concerned.”

  Nodding over that bit of information, Natalia reluctantly returned her attention to the device.

  Watching on the camera in his office, Lucius couldn’t help grinning. After the previous evening in the abbey theatre, he’d tried to resist the impulse to look in on her. But he’d convinced himself that it was merely sensible to keep an eye on a woman who might be planning to kill him--or hand him over to torturers--and now he was glad that he had.

  Sweet lord, she looked as though she expected the thing to bite her. At the rate she was going, it would take her all day to get past the first inch.

  Or not…?

  Abruptly, he sat up straighter in his chair and gaped at the screen.

  With a visible sigh, Natalia had grasped the dildo, tilted her head back and slid the entire eight inches down her throat until all but the base that she was holding delicately between two fingers had vanished from sight.

  “What…?” Lei Su said, staring at her in astonishment.

  “Sweet Saint Veronica!” Daphne exclaimed.

  “Had to be a fluke,” Kathleen insisted. “Do it again.”

  With a shrug, Natalia obliged, withdrawing the object, then promptly taking it down her throat once more. The smooth skin of her neck rippled as she squeezed more tightly, massaging all around its length.

  “Bravo,” Miss Sheridan said, clapping her hands. “You’re a natural!”

  She was more than that, Lucius thought, as he shifted painfully under the onslaught of a sudden, massive erection. She was downright lethal to his safety in ways that went far beyond Adrian’s concerns.

  He was damn well going to have to bring matters to a head and do it quickly. With grim intent, he brought up his calendar and set about scheduling the date for the auction.

  Chapter Nine

  “One week,” the abbess said. “Scarcely enough time but we must be ready all the same. Miss Sheridan, how do you regard our prospects?”

  “Middling, ma’am,” the instructress replied. “So much remains to be covered. But the young ladies are all very willing.” Turning her attention to the assembled novices, she added, “Isn’t that so, ladies?”

  Natalia’s white-bonneted head bobbed along with the others but absently. She was pre-occupied considering her most pressing problem, how to gain entry to the Odalisque and thereby find some clue to Naomi’s fate. After her brief, aborted attempt to enter via the roof, she had searched diligently for another way in, without success.

  She was still mulling that over as she joined the others in watching a series of videos featuring enthusiastic young women with the apparent ability to mistake the male appendage for a Popsicle or other similar confection.

  Amid swirling tongues and the moans of unseen men--the focus was entirely on cock, lips and tongue--Carla leaned over and said, “I can’t wait to see the inside of the club. People say it’s incredibly beautiful and the last word in luxury.”

  “I doubt you’ll see much of it the night of the auction,” Natalia whispered back. She hated to even think what the view from the stage would be like, all those avid, greedy men…

  Not that she would see it, of course. If she hadn’t succeeded in her quest by then, she would have no choice but to leave. The night of the auction was a hard deadline for her.

  “I don’t mean then,” Carla said. “For five nights before the auction, all of us will be in the club serving drinks to patrons. It’s a way for them to get a look at us, heightens the excitement and pumps up the bids.”

  “We’ll be in the club?” Natalia asked, hardly daring to believe that she had heard correctly. They were simply going to be allowed to be there for five nights? She didn’t have to contrive a means of entry? The doors would simply be flung open for her?

  “It’s strictly hands-off, of course,” Carla said with a laugh. “They’re not allowed to touch us no matter how much they want to. Should be fun, don’t you think?”

  That might be one way to describe it but for Natalia it would be the perfect opportunity. Get in, slip off on her own and find what she was looking for. Once she could prove that Naomi had been at the Odalisque, she would deal with Lucius Belmont.

  Until then, she had no expectation of seeing him again. Surely a man with his many interests couldn’t make it a habit to attend sexual exhibitions. Or perhaps he did. Who knew what depravity lurked in his dark mind.

  She shuddered at the thought--with disgust, of course, not with any sort of desire to know what dwelled behind that too-beautiful exterior. Not for a moment was she drawn to him, not really. It was just the circumstances, the surfeit of sensual stimulus, all that touching and groping and--

  On the video, a young woman was plying her tongue around the bulbous head of a cock while hard, masculine hands gripped her head. Natalia swallowed with difficulty and dragged her mind away from thoughts of Lucius, his own undoubtedly luscious cock in her mouth while she--

  “Ladies,” Miss Sheridan said as the video came to an end and the lights in the classroom were switched back on. “I am pleased to say that we are now ready to move into the final phase of your instruction. As I believe you have heard me say a time or three, success favors the prepared. Therefore, beginning today you will each be assigned a live model on which to practice what you have learned.”

  With a pointed look at Natalia, she added, “This should go a long way toward overcoming any remaining inhibitions.”

  No one else seemed in the least concerned about those. On the contrary, eight out of nine virgins were fairly bouncing up and down in gleeful anticipation. Only Natalia remained frozen in her seat. Miss Sheridan couldn’t possibly mean-- Live model? As in a living, breathing male?

  If only she could be as rid of her tendency to blush as she was of any gag reflex. Well aware of the fiery heat of her skin in stark contrast to the cool whiteness of her garb, she could only sit and wait as one by one, the name of each novice was called out and she was paired with a suitably eager looking young man.

  Until, at last, only Natalia remained in the classroom. She was getting up her nerve to ask Miss Sheridan why that was the case when the instructress gave her a gentle smile and slipped away.

  Chapter Ten

  Pigeons were cooing on the windowsill. Natalia tried as best she could to focus on them instead of the sense of dread mingled with dark excitement that was building in the pit of her stomach. Or somewhere. Surely not in the hot, wet recesses of her most secret self.

  Absolutely not.

  There had merely been some oversight. Miss Sheridan had gone to straighten it out. After she had done so, Natalia would take advantage of the privacy that the couples were apparently afforded and explain to the young man that she had no actual need to practice. If necessary, she would offer him a financial inducement to go along with her. They would spend whatever time was required together--perhaps he would enjoy playing cards--and that would be that.

  Except it wasn’t a pleasant, generic young man who stepped into the classroom.

  It was Lucius.

  Dark, danger
ous Lucius with a knowing gleam in his amber eyes and a slight smile curving his sinful mouth. All six foot plus of rugged, untamed masculinity sheathed in the thinnest veneer of civilization. With him came an aura of power and confidence that made the spacious room seem narrow and confining. Or perhaps it was her sudden difficulty breathing that did that.

  “Miss Bollinger,” he said with mock courtesy.

  She stood, the white silk robe flattening itself to her body in her haste, and said, “I realize that we have not been properly introduced, Mister Belmont. But as your identity is hardly a secret to me, I feel compelled to tell you that you have made a mistake.”

  A dark eyebrow arched. His gaze ran over her with unconcealed thoroughness as his smile deepened. “Have I?”

  The deep, sardonic timbre of his voice stiffened her resolve. Not for a moment would she allow herself to be intimidated by the likes of Lucius Belmont.

  “Yes,” she said firmly, “you have. Miss Sheridan is no longer here, neither is Miss Hamilton. I wouldn’t be here myself except that I’m supposed to waiting for some young man who--”

  “I’ve decided to undertake the final part of your instruction myself.”

  “You’ve what…? No, you can’t!” Despite her best efforts, the words burst from her unbidden. He couldn’t possibly be serious.

  On the edge of panic, Natalia glanced around for some way out, only to find none.

  Refuse him and everything she had been working toward would be for nothing. Her sole remaining hope of finding Naomi would be dashed. Go along and… She truly could not imagine what the consequences of that would be and she didn’t want to know. Absolutely not. Absurd to think otherwise for even a moment.

  “Can’t I?” he taunted as he stalked across the room, closing the distance between them until they stood only a few feet apart. “How foolish of me. I was under the impression that this was my club, my auction and that you are here on my sufferance.”

  The bastard! Why was he doing this? Because it amused his dark soul to do so? Or…far more ominously because he had conceived some suspicion of her? The second possibility exploded in her mind with all its dire implications. Could Lucius have somehow discovered her aborted attempt to enter the Odalisque? Or had something gone wrong with her background check?

  Perhaps he was merely possessed of such animal cunning that he was capable of sensing her duplicity. Whatever the cause, a great deal more than her personal composure was at risk. Her very life could be on the line.

  “What are so afraid of?” Lucius asked softly.

  She tried but could not manage to look away from his gaze. It bored into her, holding her fast.

  “You know what isn’t going to happen,” he went on. “I’m not going to take your extremely valuable virginity so what are you worried about?”

  His mocking tone made it clear that he thought he already knew the answer. She was susceptible to him in a way she had never been to anyone. It wasn’t just the all-pervasive atmosphere of sensuality that permeated the abbey. It was him. She could have tried to deny it but what was the point? Besides, she had long since learned that life was best faced straight on.

  She’d been in tough spots before--shimmying onto roofs, evading security systems, on occasion escaping from armed men and dogs. But she’d never before felt the combination of fear and excitement that assailed her now. She needed to turn that and somehow make it work for her.

  Pride came to her rescue. For once in her life, she wasn’t merely upholding her family’s long tradition of relieving the rich of the burden of their wealth. She was doing this for Naomi and even possibly for other young women who had responded to the lure of Lucius Belmont.

  Keeping that uppermost in her mind, Natalia cast him a look from beneath the thick fringe of her lashes and said, “To be perfectly frank, I’m not sure that you’re the best person to complete my instruction.”

  XXXX “Why is that?”

  “The young men paired with my fellow novices are all sex workers at the Odalisque, are they not?”

  It was a guess but a sound one and he quickly confirmed it. “That’s true.”

  “Then they’re all professionals--experts, as it were. Whereas you are…” She looked down her nose just a little. “A businessman.”

  Watching Lucius absorb the fact that she had just insulted his manhood, virility, and sexual prowess in one fell swoop was almost too delicious to bear. He rocked back on his heels as a full-blown scowl overtook his handsome features.

  Moving in for the kill, as it were, she added, “I’m certain that you’re very good at certain things--accounting, perhaps, or delegating? But as to the finer points of what will be expected of me, I think I would be better off working with a member of your…entertainment staff.”

  XXXX

  “You think that, do you? How interesting but as it happens, the choice isn’t yours.”

  Without waiting for her response, Lucius took her arm and guided her out of the classroom. Natalia tried to hang back but he was having none of that. In the end, she went along grudgingly, telling herself that at least she had managed to score a point.

  Besides, there could be some advantage to be found in the situation. If she could keep him off balance, she might be able to extract some useful information.

  Even so, she couldn’t hide her surprise when he led her down through the abbey theatre and along a corridor to a door she had never seen before. Opening it, he revealed a short passage directly into the basement of the Odalisque.

  Damn! If only she had known about that sooner. She could have spared herself the unfortunate episode with the roof.

  As it was, she only just managed to catch a glimpse of an extensive wine cellar before Lucius summoned an elevator. Once they were inside, he pressed a button for the top floor. His hold on her had gentled, she supposed because she was no longer defying him. All the same, she was vividly aware of his touch through the thin silk of her robe. The elevator was barely large enough for two people. His closeness threatened once again to rob her of breath.

  Before that could happen, she asked, “Where are we going?”

  He glanced down at her, his expression inscrutable.

  “I keep a small apartment above the club. I don’t use it often but I assumed you’d want privacy.”

  A shiver ran down her back--excitement once again coiling around a flame of fear. He was right, much as she hated to admit it. The entire situation threw her off stride but she had never backed down from a challenge and she certainly couldn’t do so now when the stakes were so high.

  He unlocked the apartment door and with a show of courtesy, stood aside for her to enter. As the lights flicked on, she looked around in unwilling fascination. The pale late afternoon sun did not intrude past the burgundy velvet curtains closed across high, arched windows. The walls were covered with dark amber silk brocade and trimmed in mahogany. Oriental carpets covered the polished floors. The furniture was dark carved wood where it wasn’t leather, heavy and masculine.

  Off to one side, double doors led to what she suspected was the master suite. Turning away from there quickly, she found Lucius watching her.

  “Take off that bonnet.” He sounded almost angry, as though the hapless bonnet had somehow annoyed him.

  She touched the rim gingerly and stared back. “Why?”

  “Because you won’t be wearing it with your buyer and I want to see how you’ll look.”

  Buyer. The abhorrent word made her flinch. She reminded herself that she would be gone before that could become an issue.

  When the bonnet--which truthfully, she loathed--was off, Natalia looked around for a place to set it. After a moment, Lucius took it from her impatiently and tossed it onto a nearby table.

  “Would you like a drink?” he asked.

  “No…” She almost never drank and wouldn’t dream of doing so under the present circumstances. On the other hand--

  “However, I’ll be happy to get you one.” Get him to drink, quell
his suspicions and then--

  An eyebrow rose. “So accommodating, Miss Bollinger?”

  She shrugged. “I thought I was here in order to practice?”

  “Indeed.” Loosening his tie, he walked toward a winged leather chair near the windows. Over his shoulder, he said, “Two fingers of the Speyside Malt neat.”

  Pouring the pale whiskey into a heavy cut crystal tumbler, Natalia breathed in the hint of honeyed sweetness chased by whispers of spice. The temptation to take a quick sip rose in her but she resisted firmly.

  Shorn of her hat, naked under the white silk robe with her hair coiled in the snood, she crossed the room to Lucius and handed him his drink.

  Seated with his long legs stretched out in front of him, he looked up at her as their hands brushed.

  Now that she was where he wanted her, doing as he wanted, his anger appeared to drop away. Softly, he said, “You really are quite remarkably beautiful.”

  Natalia had heard that before but always when she was working. Invariably, she brushed off such compliments, thinking them meant merely for whoever she was pretending to be rather than her true self, the latter kept so carefully concealed. But suddenly, on the lips of Lucius Belmont, the observation felt personal, not in the least because she wanted it to be. That was extraordinarily foolish on her part. Above all, she could not afford to give him any sense of who she really was and why she was there.

  Quickly, she said, “Thank you. You’re quite good looking yourself.”

  In the midst of taking a sip of the whiskey, he coughed. Was he so unaccustomed to flattery? She found that hard to believe. Whatever his morals, there was no getting around the fact that he was a stunningly handsome man. No wonder Naomi had been lured into his web. If Natalia herself had not been possessed of such fortitude acquired through long study and effort, even she might have weakened under his scrutiny.

  As it was, she was startled when he said, “You may remove my shoes.”