Chapter 8

NATALEE

“All ready for your big début?”Floura asked as she adjusted the sheer petticoats underneath my dress.

“Of course I’m ready. I’m not a virgin, you know.” I tried to sound brave, though in truth, I had a serious case of the jitters. But I couldn’t earn enough money to return to the Northern Isles simply by serving drinks and food. I needed to work upstairs. Then I could return to the Northern Isles with extra money in my pocket and a made-up tale about how Logan sadly died after we struck it semi-rich on our claim.

It was better this way. This way, I wouldn’t humiliate myself by groveling to my parents for the funds to travel home. As it was, despite their wealth, I didn’t know if they would spare me a single coin. But if I reached the Northern Isle of Jathaway on my own, I could possibly live with one of my older sisters. I could even possibly find love again. No one in my home city would learn of my stint at The Sweet Siren or the true origins of my money. I could return to Jathaway a wealthy widow in good standing, still young enough to marry again and start a family.

Madame Sage placed a hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure, sweetie? You are still welcome to your room downstairs. You can keep serving drinks and…”

“I’m completely sure,” I cut her off. “Besides, I’ve sort of been teasing the males all week, promising I’d be wearing an oceanstone necklace this evening. In fact, I’ve, um, come up with a naughty idea.” I leaned across the small table in the corner of the kitchen and looked from Floura to Madame Sage. “How about holding an auction tonight?” Perhaps it was a bold idea, but I wanted to prove I’d made the right decision to become a siren. I wanted to prove I knew what I was doing. And if I pretended I was eager, maybe I would eventually start to feel more at ease with my new job.

Floura’s eyes went wide and she bounced in her seat. “Oh, that is naughty. And fun!”

“I can’t dance well, but I’ll try my best on stage, perhaps with a little help.” I twirled one of my curls around a finger, my excitement growing. In the week and a half that I’d been at The Sweet Siren, I’d discovered this place felt more like a home than when I’d lived with the Foxthornes, or even my parents for that matter. Being surrounded by so many folks who seemed to care about me helped ease my jitters some. And Floura was right, an auction sounded like great fun, and I imagined it would set a playful and cheery ambiance for the remainder of the night.

“I’ll dance with you!” Floura clapped her hands in delight. “I’ll get Belle, Alice, Marguerite, and a few other sirens to step up with you too. You can stand in the middle of us and shimmy around while Yamennia plays the piano. Oh and I’ll be your auctioneer? How does that sound?”

I grinned. “It sounds perfect.”

Madame Sage’s expression grew serious and she touched my hand. “Don’t you forget, there’s a cord to pull next to your bed if the winner of the auction proves troublesome. Also, if you have a bad feeling about the winner, you can turn him down and go with another bidder. I won’t have you getting hurt or feeling uncomfortable, understand?”

“Yes, ma’am. I promise I won’t forget. Trevonn already went over the rules with me and had me test the bell out yesterday.” I appreciated that there were so many protections and rules in place to keep the sirens safe.

“Good.” Madame Sage scooted back. “Sounds like our first customers of the evening are starting to arrive.”

When I stepped into the main room wearing my glimmering, low-cut dress that left little to the imagination, complete with my very own blue oceanstone pendant necklace, I didn’t feel as naked as I’d expected. The other sirens were dressed similarly. It wasn’t like I was walking down the street wearing my siren outfit.

All eyes turned to me as I made my way to the stage. My stomach fluttered, but only for a moment. The steady and graceful poise of the sirens Floura had quickly rounded up to join us on stage buoyed my own confidence.

Hoots and hollers and whistles rang out as I stepped onto center stage. Yamennia played a short tune, during which I attempted to mimic the moves of the other sirens, and I breathed a sigh of relief when it ended.

Then Floura stepped forward and gestured to me. “Good evening, gentlemen! We have a special treat for you all tonight. As you can see, a certain someone is making her big début this evening. Go on, Julianne, show them what you’re hiding under that dress.”

Though my petticoats were already partially visible, I grinned and did an awkward shimmy during which I pulled my dress up to reveal the provocative undergarments more fully, as well as a good portion of my bare thigh. The crowd went wild.

“Quiet! Quiet, please!” Floura signaled for silence, and once the whistling and hollering—and in the case of some non-human males, lusty growling—settled down, she continued, “We’ve decided to celebrate Julianne’s first night going upstairs by holding an auction. That’s right, gentlemen, the highest bidder gets to go upstairs with this breathtaking siren whose looks rival that of the Goddess of Beauty herself. Now, who’ll start the bidding?” She put her hand up above her eyes and peered across the sea of eager males.

“Two gold pieces!”

“Three gold pieces!”

“Four gold pieces!”

The bidding quickly went all the way up to six gold pieces, when a familiar face appeared in the crowd. He stood and stared directly at me, his dark gaze not quite as kind as I remembered.

My heart nearly stopped.

“Fifty gold pieces!” the huge male shouted.

A collective gasp went up in the room, followed by disappointed mutters. After no one offered a higher bid, Floura excitedly announced the winner, though I barely heard what she said because my pulse was pounding so loudly in my ears.

The winner approached the stage and held a massive green hand out to me. I walked down the steps with his help and across the floor of the main room, still not believing who had outbid all the other males.

Why was he here, anyway?

Madame Sage shot me a questioning look, her raised eyebrows showing her concern. I gave her a reassuring smile and nodded, as if to say, “I’m fine going upstairs with this particular male.”

But was I fine?

My nervousness increased with each step.

Heput an arm around me as we ascended the steps to my new room. All the nervousness I should’ve felt before stepping on stage rushed through me now. Butterflies flitted in my stomach. Breathing became difficult. My hands commenced shaking.

Knot Thazurok had paid fifty gold pieces for a night with me.

My heart beat faster as we neared the top of the stairs. I’d expected a stranger to win the auction. My skin prickled with warmth everywhere the huge orc touched me, from the small of my back to my arm as he guided me down the hall.

“Which room is yours?”

I gestured to the left. “That one.”

He opened the door. “After you, my lady.” His deep voice made me tingle all over. What would it be like when he stripped me naked?

Former priest or not, this was a brothel and he’d paid a month’s wage for me.

Surely he meant to get his money’s worth.

I entered the room Madame Sage had helped me prepare the day before. The walls were painted a soothing blue, though Trevonn had offered to order a new color of paint if I wished to redecorate with a different color. I liked the blue walls though and thought they contrasted prettily with the white furniture. A dresser rested against the far wall, right beside a window that had a view of the main street. There was a large, tall-backed chair, plenty of hooks on the walls for hanging dresses, and best of all—a painting of a grand ship. I liked to stare at the painting and imagine I was about to set sail and travel far away from Faircross and all the heartbreak I’d endured on Black Dragon Island.

“Are you well, Natalee?” Knot asked as he shut the door. The room suddenly felt smaller, and I’d never been more aware of a male’s presence.

I tore my gaze from the painting and smiled. “Of course. Oh, and it’s Julianne. That’s my siren name.”

“Let me guess.” He moved in front of me and cupped my face, then his hands drifted upward and his fingers tangled in my hair. Gooseflesh traveled down from my neck to spread over my arms. “Julianne, for your resemblance to the Goddess of Beauty?”

Had my heart stopped beating? Certainly, time must be standing still. I remained in his arms for several seconds, not speaking or breathing. Finally, I exhaled and peered into his dark eyes.

Why are you here?I wanted to ask.

What do you want with me?

I longed to ask these questions, but I didn’t want to break the spell that had been woven between us. The air crackled with tension, and I was certain fireworks would explode outside the window the moment his lips descended on mine.

The day he’d followed me into the kitchen, I’d intentionally pushed him away. I hadn’t expected to see him again, or at least not so soon. But apparently, he wasn’t spending as much time at his cabin in the mountains as he once had. Why was that? My mind spun as I tried to figure this male out.

I lifted my face and closed my eyes, aching to feel his lips pressing against mine. But instead of kissing me, he grasped my hand and led me toward the bed. My eyes fluttered open as he sat on the edge of the mattress and nodded at my clothing, or lack thereof.

“Take everything off, Natalee.”

His command caught me off-guard, never mind that we were in a brothel. “I told you. I-I’m Julianne,” I said, wondering if he truly meant to sleep with me.

“Fine. If that’s what you insist on being called.” He stroked a hand up my thigh, above the sheer white knee-high stockings I wore. “My sweet Julianne.”

My breath hitched, and I fumbled as I tried to unfasten my bodice. Knot pushed my hands out of the way and had it undone in seconds. My breasts spilled out of the garment as he pushed the dress down over my hips, leaving it in a pile of fabric on the floor. I slipped my shoes off just before he commenced peeling my stockings down. My heart raced. He was stripping me naked. And if the lustful gleam in his eyes was any indication, he actually intended to take what he’d paid for. Me.

“I feel like I’m unwrapping a present.”

I flushed. Heat pulsed between my legs. When I’d decided to become a siren, I had never anticipated enjoying the act of being amorous with a customer. I’d simply been prepared to put on a show. I’d been prepared to smile and giggle and pretend I was having the grandest time of my life.

Floura had given me a few tips on how to make a male complete more quickly, should I wish for a customer to not take forever, and I had pictured myself falling into bed with the man who won the auction the moment we entered my room and doing just that.

But to my shock, I found I wanted to savor my time with Knot. I blinked back tears. Gods, I wanted to wake up in the morning and find he was still here, his arms wrapped around me, our legs tangled underneath the covers.

Don’t get sweet on the customers.

I tried to block out the tenderness I felt for this male. He’d offered to help me, but I had stubbornly refused his assistance, claiming I was fine working here in the tavern. Was that why I felt tenderness toward him? Because he’d shown concern for me?

But no. I’d felt something for him the moment he’d first looked into my eyes in the mercantile. The picnic we’d shared had been like a dream, until I realized he planned to leave town soon and surmised he wasn’t ready to marry again.

I tried to shut my feelings and thoughts off.

He’d paid for a service.

I had best give him his fifty gold pieces’ worth.

This was my life now.

Once he had me completely naked and bared to him, he guided me to lay atop the covers. The large lantern beside the bed cast a yellow glow across my nakedness, and I flushed at how exposed I felt. I looked at the light and reached to turn it down.

Smack!

“Ouch.” I cradled the hand he’d swatted and glared at him. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“The lantern stays on, human female. I want to see you. All of you.”

I stilled and gazed up at him, at a loss for what to do next.

Touch him? Try to kiss him?

As if reading my uncertainty, he said, “Put your hands above your head and keep them there.” His tone was no-nonsense, filled with command.

I gulped as I obeyed. My heart beat a frantic rhythm in my chest. Knot rose off the bed and unbuttoned his shirt, keeping his eyes on me as he undressed, revealing that huge, sculpted green body of his. His chest was so beautifully broad and muscular that I almost disobeyed and reached out to touch him. It took all my self-control to remain still with my hands in place above my head.

How long would he make me stay like this? Minutes? Hours? Customers usually paid in half-hour increments, and though our time limit hadn’t been discussed, it pretty much went without saying that fifty gold pieces could get him the whole damn night.

Moisture pooled between my thighs. Heat pulsed harder and faster in my core.

“Oh!” I undulated my hips in the air, seeking to quench the building ache, though he wasn’t even on top of me yet.

Still holding my gaze, Knot removed his boots and took his trousers off. The muscles in his brawny muscular thighs flexed as he approached me, looking like a powerful and lithe predator.

A quiver ran through me, and I instinctively parted my legs. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I stared at his large, rigid length.

Huge. He was frighteningly huge.

The other sirens had warned me that orc and fae males possessed larger appendages than their human male counterparts, but I’d never imagined I would be faced with a cock quite so massive and formidable as Knot’s.

He crawled on the bed, but instead of positioning himself to sink his cock into my quim, he put his mouth to my center and blew softly against my slick folds.

Oh, my gods.

I gasped as delicious sensations jolted through me. For a few moments, I was flying flying flyng, then I hovered in the air, hungering and aching for more. Desperate for his touch.

“I’m going to taste you, sweet Julianne, and I expect you to be a good female and hold still. If you move your hands, I will punish you. Do you understand?”

Punish me?Why did that sound so naughty? Why did the threat make me gush with moisture? Was it even a serious threat?

I licked my lips and swallowed hard. “Yes, sir. I understand.”