Odalisque (8 page)

Bastien drifted over, still fully dressed, still in host mode. “Leaving us so soon?”

“Forgive me. It’s been a long day. But thank you. The hospitality at Maison Odalisque is”--he swept a hand around at the various fornicating couples--“legendary. It was an enjoyable dinner.” He refrained from giving any critique of the four candidates, and Bastien didn’t press as he escorted him to the door.

“Before you retire, perhaps you’d enjoy a late night swim at the grotto,” Bastien suggested. “It should be near empty at this hour. The water is fine, very warm and relaxing. And of course, there’s no need for a bathing suit.”

A refusal was on the tip of Kai’s tongue, but then he thought about relaxing in the humid, secluded pool, and found the idea really suited his mood. He went straight from the dinner party, not even putting his jacket back on.

The grotto, too, was lit by the light of a recessed fireplace. Faint lights shimmered beneath the water of the man-made pool, creating an almost eerie glow. Mist danced on top of the water in little wisps. Kai threw his clothes over a nearby rock, and was about to slip into the water when he realized he wasn’t alone. A woman was sitting across the pool from him, twenty or thirty feet away. She was hunched over on a rock, her shapely pale legs dangling into the water. She turned her head to look at him and stared.

Constance.

She didn’t smile, didn’t even acknowledge his presence. Instead, she sank into the water and began to swim--away from him. He called out to her before he realized the stupidity of it. He dove under the water instead and used the faint filtered lights to find her. When he grabbed her legs, she struggled. He surfaced to the sound of her hoarse scream. “Stop!” she said, perfectly clearly. “No!” Those two words seemed to exhaust her available vocabulary. He tried to soothe her but she responded by pushing him away.

“Constance, relax,” he said. “Calm down.”
She has to see your lips to hear you.
He took her chin in his fingers and stilled her shaking head. “Look at me. Listen. Calm down.”

She subsided under his gaze. He saw, now, how her eyes fixed on his lips. Then she raised her eyes to his and gave him a look that felt a lot like a hot knife twisting in his chest. He shook his head, denying the reproach he saw there.

“It wasn’t me. It was Bastien. All I said was that...that I wasn’t sure...” Kai paused, trying to think of words that wouldn’t sound like excuses, but she was off again, slipping from his arms like a mermaid. She slid under the water and took off like a shot, but he was taller, stronger. Faster. When she came up for air, he was waiting for her.

“Constance!”

His expression must have arrested her, if not the pleading note in his voice.

“Give me a minute to explain. You have to understand--” He drew her close, not wanting her to flit away again. His fingertips traced her curves under the water. He made sure she was looking before he spoke. “It scared me at first, okay? The responsibility of communicating with you. I wasn’t sure I could do it. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. Bastien misunderstood...” Or maybe he had understood all along. “Wait. Did Bastien tell you to come here tonight?”

Constance thought a moment, and then rolled her eyes in a perfect approximation of Kai’s own feelings.

“That manipulative bastard,” Kai said with a laugh.

Constance pulled away from him. She didn’t swim away, but bobbed in the water at arms’ length, dissecting him with an astute gaze.

Kai drifted beside her, moving his legs slowly to stay afloat. “Listen, I know now... Now that I’ve thought about it... Look, I want you, and you’re the only one I want. Everything else is secondary, and I’m sorry--so sorry--if your feelings were hurt.” He looked down in the water, where her hand floated next to his. He took it, lacing his fingers with hers. “I’ll learn sign language. Whatever. We’ll figure it out as we go along. I can even live with your insect thing.”

She looked confused. He said it again, more slowly. “Your insect thing. It said on your profile that you were interested in etymology.”

The most amazing thing happened then. She laughed. She threw back her head and laughed out loud. The melodic sound echoed off the rocks around them while Kai watched in wonder. Obviously, she was laughing at him, but he didn’t care. He thought to himself,
she can’t even hear how beautiful her laughter sounds.

She swam to the edge of the pool near the fire, and he followed her. She pulled herself half out of the water and picked up a little notebook and pen. She wrote two lines while he floated in the water beside her, and then thrust the page under his face.

Etymology--the study of the origins of words

Entomology--the study of insects

He looked back over at her. “I see. Well. That’s actually a relief.”

She laughed again, her face alight with happiness, and tossed the notebook down. He picked it up and drew her close, handing it back to her. “Tell me. Write for me. How do you feel? Do you want to come with me to the U.S.? Be with me for a year? My odalisque?”

She didn’t even glance at the notebook, nor did she write a word. Instead she put her arms around his neck. She laid her cheek beside his, trailing fingers through his hair. “Yes,” she whispered against his ear. “Yes. Yes.
Yes.
”

He caught the last
yes
in a kiss. He took her mouth with all the pent up frustration--and now relief--of his desires. Yes, she would come with him. She pressed closer, and it was all he could do not to spear her on the head of his cock and drive all the way in. If only he had protection, he would have. But there would be plenty of time for that.

Instead, they spent an hour swimming together, exploring one another’s bodies and getting one another painfully aroused. The shadows danced around them, lending an air of unreality and timelessness to their play. In the absence of condoms they resorted to hand jobs. She rode his fingers under the water, braced against him with her arms clutching his neck. He bit and sucked her nipples, hard and cold in the air above the water, and thrilled to each jerky twitch of her hips. By the time she came, he was nearly bursting himself. She reached eagerly to grasp his cock, running her fingers over it in breathless exploration. It felt naughty and secret. Kai had no doubt they weren’t alone here in this deserted place. He hadn’t attempted to locate the camera, but assumed it was there. But it couldn’t see under the water, to their grasping fingers. It couldn’t hear her sigh in his ear, or his low answering moan as she caressed his balls.

When he came with a growl, spent his cum in the currents of the murky water, she watched with her hyper-observant gaze. He knew she could never just be some mindless, inert body for his usage. Again, he felt the specter of awesome responsibility he was taking on. But it would be worth it. He was one hundred percent convinced of that.

So, the next morning, when they sat across the table from Bastien and Maison Odalisque’s elderly lawyer, Kai didn’t feel one iota of doubt. Only impatience--it would be a full month before Constance could come stay with him. Of course, that made sense. Such involved arrangements couldn’t be undertaken in one night. Odalisques weren’t a cash-and-carry kind of thing.

Kai signed releases for background checks and credit inquiries. He agreed to present medical tests and physicians’ references so he wouldn’t have to use condoms while she was in his care. He signed agreements to require barriers for any others who shared her, agreements to provide needed medical and dental care, and a “privileged” level of keeping and shelter. He agreed to allow her freedom from any menial obligations.

He learned some things too. That odalisques were guaranteed one day a week free of sexual use by their Master, unless they voluntarily granted him rights. He learned that odalisques were given respite during the days of their period. That odalisques were, by agreement, to be allowed “adequate” time to sleep, to the tune of a required eight hours a night. Kai mentally added it up. All that time he
wouldn’t
be allowed to fuck her. He chuckled inwardly at the anxiety that provoked. It would never be enough time, never. In the event a year
wasn’t
enough, the contract allowed for a renewal, up to five times. Six years. After six years of service, all odalisques retired with the small fortunes they had accrued.

It was all very fascinating. Kai slid a look at Constance perched on the edge of her chair beside him. For the first time since he’d made her acquaintance, she was wearing clothes--and she looked very fetching in her long black jacket and pencil skirt. In negotiations and the signing of documents, odalisques were equals, not slaves, and so clothes were a necessity. Her hair was pulled back in a chignon--a loosely elegant one his fingers itched to bring down. Her legs were primly crossed. Somehow he knew those stockinged legs ended in a garter belt and nothing more.

A month. It’s not possible.

But he had a lot to accomplish in that month. He had to take a crash course in sign language--that was task number one. He had to give her a method of communicating with him besides the pen and paper she clutched in her lap. He wanted her to be able to look at him and speak to him without fumbling for a pen.

He also had to outfit her personal dwelling rooms, explicitly described within the pages of the code. An
odella
--sleeping quarters--and an adjoining
saray
outfitted for many lustful hours of pleasure. Sofas, beds, cushions, curtains, lush and plentiful plants, and maybe a spanking bench or two. He would give her the rooms near the rooftop garden and the infinity pool. She would be a naked, willing captive in his tower.

So involved was he in all his excited fantasies that when the meeting came to a close, he was caught off guard. Constance was gone too soon--he only had time for a soft kiss and a quick grope beneath her skirt. Yes, stockings, garters, no panties.
Sigh.
One month.
One month.
He’d just authorized a one million dollar bank transfer. The least he was owed was a see-you-in-a-month sendoff fuck!

“The month will pass quickly,” said Bastien, watching Kai’s crestfallen gaze follow Constance’s legs from the room. “If I might have a moment to speak privately with you…”

The lawyer left, and for the first time, Kai picked up on a confrontational vibe from Bastien.

“First of all, I’d like to thank you for visiting Maison Odalisque. I’m very happy that we were able to accommodate your needs.”

“And I’d like to thank you for suggesting a swim in the grotto last night.” Kai gave him an accusing look. “You really are very good at what you do.”

Bastien chuckled. “I’ve been doing it a long time. I’ve developed a sense for good matches. I’ve developed a sense for a lot of things.” He leaned forward on his elbows, sobering. “I just want to caution you, as I caution all our candidates for ownership, that the
Code d’Odalisque
does not outline or delineate, in any way, a binding emotional attachment between owner and odalisque. Sometimes the newness and excitement of the relationship carries the risk of a romantic misunderstanding, from both sides. This is, in fact, something we advise you to avoid.”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned this before. But as I said, I don’t have time in my life for ‘romantic misunderstandings.’ There’s no need to worry on that account.”

“Of course. I’m only telling you to be on guard. A woman who enters odalisque slavery is not, how do you say, girlfriend material. She expects--and very much needs--to be used sexually, and not led to expect relationship-type things. Your cock should remain the center of Constance’s concern from day one, and as her keeper, the burden of responsibility in this falls on you. Odalisques are naturally submissive and given to worship. Just be certain, from the start, that she is worshipping the right thing.”

Kai shifted and shrugged. “I can assure you Constance is going to have my cock in her face and in her holes plenty of the time she’s with me.
Constance
-ly, if you know what I mean.” Kai thought he was hilarious. Bastien didn’t crack a smile.

Kai tried again. “I’ve grown quite cynical in these matters. Honestly, it’s a relief to me to know what my financial loss will be at the outset, and to know that the woman in question is not going to pretend to love me. No playacting. Everything on the table.”

Bastien studied him. “I sense some bitterness in your words. Please tell me you are not a hater of women.”

“Only some women. Well, one. My ex-wife to be exact.” Kai gave Bastien a rueful smile. “You know the age-old story. Conniving bitch pretends to love very rich man. Keeps up her side of the act just long enough to fulfill the terms of the prenuptial agreement. Waltzes off with millions of his dollars into the arms of her new lover.”

“I’m sorry to hear you were victimized in that way.”

Victimized.
The word startled Kai. No one had ever said it to his face, that he was a victim, although that was exactly what he’d felt while it was going down. “I’ll try very hard not to let my bitterness over my ex-wife color my interactions with Constance. I really do like her very much. I can’t claim to be the best judge when it comes to women’s character, but she doesn’t seem to me like the scheming, soul-crushing type.”

“No. Odalisques don’t scheme or crush souls. There’s no need. The simple beauty of the whole thing is that there need be no emotional manipulation. No power plays. I think Constance may be exactly what you need at this point in your life. I hope you will find great fulfillment in your ownership of her.”

Kai thought about the month to come, about all the things he had to get ready. About how eager he was to have her at his beck and call, constantly available and willing. “I very much hope so too.”

For so long, Kai had been in a haze, choking on distrust, loneliness and betrayal. Now he felt like he could breathe again. Constance would be his much needed breath of fresh air.

Just one more month.

Kai was getting nothing done. He didn’t know why he was even trying to work from home on this day of all days. He clicked off the Chandler Systems website and over to the airline site to check the flight times for the twentieth time. Stupid, since he knew her plane had landed about an hour before, and that his driver had long since been dispatched to pick her up. She was here. On her way.