Dane (14 page)

Gaetano wondered if their wives knew what they got up to. When he saw these men outside this place, they would never speak of these goings-on. Instead, they would smile and converse about politics, drink and smoke, and attend the races and galas together with their families, all very respectable. The thought of cards had him running worried fingers through his white-blond hair.

To distract himself from his misery, he peeked into one of the glass peepholes set in the nearest door, which allowed the guard to keep watch on the occupants. Ugh. The huge white ass of Maggio, owner of one of the finest restaurants in Rome, confronted him, jiggling as it pumped into the ass of the woman he‟d chosen. She was at least twenty-five and had been here over half her life. She was looking a little shopworn, Gaetano mused idly. About time to find a replacement. But he‟d just sent the fey girl to the river, and two unoccupied rooms would annoy them upstairs.

He meandered to the next door where Ridolfi and Luigi were engaged with “it,” as Gaetano had dubbed the hermaphrodite. Ridolfi stood behind their victim, his cock imbedded in its ass or its gusset, hard to tell which. The judge knelt in front, sucking it off. Anyone viewing the scene would assume the hermaphrodite was willing, for its cock was tumescent and its hands were stroking Luigi‟s head. But it was the drug Gaetano fed the creatures here that kept them calm and willing. Yet, soon there would be no more of the drug to be had, for he‟d lost the source of it. With a terrible sinking in the pit of his stomach, he threw himself on one of the couches.

From across the room, he heard the sound of Sergio, jerking himself off. The servant‟s ear was pressed to a door, listening to the slap of bodies within. Then came the moan of him coming in his own hand. A sigh; then he tucked his prick away and headed for his perch.

Gaetano stared at the water stains on the ancient ceiling painted with glorious exploits of Roman gods, thinking frantically. How could he repair the damage of what he‟d done before he was found out? He‟d been drunk a few nights ago and been taken advantage of by that fucking Satyr at cards. Dane. Where the devil had he come from so suddenly? His brothers were annoying enough. Half the women in Rome were in love with them. And now this new one would doubtlessly come along and take the other half for himself.

“What‟s wrong with you, boy?”asked Sergio.

“I lost the grove at cards.”

The unseeing eyes in the wizened face grinned, gleeful at the trouble this mistake would cause him. “Boss won‟t like that. Where you going to get the olives for the drug now?”

Gaetano lay the back of one wrist over his eyes. “I‟ll fix things.

Don‟t worry. And don‟t mention this or it‟ll go ill for you.”

“So what‟s the problem with you, eh?”Sergio asked. “You can‟t get your sausage hard or you can‟t spill your seed? Or you can‟t make babies with what you do release?”

“None of your damned business.”

The guard shook his head. “Does anything stir you?”

Gaetano hated the pity in his tone. The nerve of this lowly old scum of a servant to feel sorry for his betters! It made him furious.

“Something does, as a matter of fact.”Leaping up, he stalked to him and grabbed the man‟s balls, twisting them hard. “Inflicting pain.”

He wrapped his other hand over the man‟s mouth to still his shrieks as he held him there for a moment. Then he let go, and Sergio crumpled to the floor, whimpering.

Gaetano straightened his shoulders, feeling marginally better. He took a key from its hook, opened one of the doors, and entered a small room. A young man sat on the edge of the bed, wearing only a loincloth.

The room‟s sole occupant, he was ethereally handsome, his body strongly muscled. Gaetano went to stand before him and took his chin in his palm, tugging his face upward. Strangely beautiful eyes flashed silver. So like his brother‟s.

When this one had first come to them thirteen years ago, he had been five or so. They‟d only been able to siphon his tears at first, using the onions to bring them on. But eventually he‟d grown old enough to give them his male seed. In a matter of weeks, he would become a man in the way of his species; then they‟d put him to even more profitable uses.

He opened the front of his trousers and drew one of the fellow‟s hands to hold him. Though the touch of them gave him no particular pleasure, he liked seeing those hands on him, doing his bidding. It made him feel powerful. But in such large hands, his poor prick looked small and pathetic and limp. His face twisted with impotent rage.

At the card table that night, he‟d wanted to tell that bastard Dane Satyr about this so badly, wanting to hurt him with the secret news. I know where your precious brother is, he‟d wanted to say. But of course, he hadn‟t.

So instead of hurting Dane, he would inflict hurt here in this room.

He dug a thumb in the hinge of a jaw with one hand and opened his trousers with the other. “Come on now, Lucien. Open up,” he said softly.

“There‟s a good boy.”

8

“Un cadeau! A present!” called Mimi, dashing from her French studies into Eva‟s salon.

“Give me that package, you little demon child!”shouted Odette from the corridor behind her.

Quickly, Eva tucked away Lena‟s portrait of Dane, which he‟d left behind that morning, into her desk, not wanting to be caught mooning over it. And reluctantly she pulled her thoughts away from her favorite recent occupation—fond remembrances of their lovemaking. Neither her puzzlement over his precipitous departure and fluctuating auras, nor Odette‟s lectures and grumbles had been able to dampen her glorious mood.

A giddy Mimi screeched to a halt beside Eva‟s desk. “Your gift—it rattles, mademoiselle!”She gave the box in her hands a shake to demonstrate. “Oh, may I open it? Please!”

“No, you may not!”Odette informed her, entering the room hard on her heels. Snatching it from her small hands, she plunked it on the desk before Eva. “From Lord Satyr, via messenger.”

Dane‟s writing was strong and sure, black slashes on white. At the sight of it, Eva‟s heart rose in her chest, riding a crest of delight. No man had ever sent her a gift before. Her own maman had received many such parcels—perfume, jewelry, silks—from her “senori and messieurs,” as she‟d called them, and each delivery had created great excitement in the household.

“Found them!” Pinot entered, bringing scissors. She used them to quickly snip the ties and then carefully unwrapped the box, planning to save the paper in the drawer along with his portrait.

Mimi looked on, bouncing on her tiptoes. “I hope it‟s bonbons!”

“It‟s not for you, girl, whatever it may be!”said Odette.

Eva knew that look in Odette‟s eye. She‟d felt the smack of her hand more than once growing up when she‟d misbehaved. Mimi apparently noted it as well, for she sought refuge on the other side of Eva‟s chair, as far as she could get from Odette and still witness the grand opening of the gift. Eva frowned at her maidservant. They‟d discussed how the girls were to be reared and she wouldn‟t tolerate harsh punishment. Lena‟a and Mimi‟s lives had been hard enough on the streets. In this house, they were to be treated with kindness.

Sensing the tension, the usually sober Lena leapt into the breach.

“Who cares what it is! It‟s from her handsome beau. Oh la la!” she said in her best imitation of Eva‟s French accent, then pretended to swoon onto the couch, sending Mimi into a fit a giggles.

Since Lena kept her emotions under tight lock, it warmed Eva‟s heart to see that she cared enough for Mimi to momentarily break out of her shell.

“We needn‟t rely on strange ElseWorld men to bring us gifts,” said Odette. “Eva‟s gonna find a rich human husband soon. We‟ll buy our own gifts then with his money.”

“She‟s right. Still, Lord Satyr was handsome, wasn‟t he?” Eva sent the girls a wink. The package was open at last, and she pulled an envelope from it.

“A letter?” Mimi pouted in disappointment.

Inside was a sheet of paper with a signature at the bottom done in the same strong black slashes. For your services, he‟d written. Eva paled, before she realized he meant her match-making services, not services of a more personal nature. She turned it over, then back again. There was no mention of the fact that he‟d enjoyed or even remembered their time together. With a creeping sense of foreboding, she pulled a second sheet of paper from the parcel and examined it.

“Another letter?” Mimi drooped further. Eva shook her head, her own hopes wilting too. “No, it‟s. . ”

She dropped it on the desktop for them all to see.

Pinot‟s eyes lit and he gleefully scooped it up. “A bank draft.”

“Did he sign it?” Odette asked anxiously.

He nodded. “Payment in full! I‟ll go make the deposit.” With that, he dashed off for his hat and coat.

Tears of disillusionment burned Eva‟s eyes. After what had happened between them, Dane still expected her to find a human bride for him? An odd, aching sort of grief filled her. She turned away, surreptitiously brushing tears from her cheeks with her handkerchief.

Odette rubbed her back as if she were still a child. “Poor bebe,” she murmured, low so the girls couldn‟t hear. “You see? You give your body to him, and you see what he does? Satyr men—all Else men—they‟re the same. They‟ll take advantage if you let them. Better to marry a human you can control with your magic.”

Odette was right. Stiffening her spine, Eva stuffed her handkerchief and her tears away. She was being ridiculous. Naturally Lord Satyr expected her to keep to their agreement. What else? Had she imagined he would come back this afternoon, declare his love for her, and decide to ignore the Council‟s command? Naturally he wouldn‟t. No more than she‟d changed her mind about her plans to find a human husband. Nothing had changed. They both needed to protect their families and fortunes, and that meant obeying the Council‟s wishes.

She‟d only been upset because what had happened between them had been so new to her. Because she‟d never been with a real flesh and blood man before, that‟s all it was. And he was Satyr, for Gods sakes—

Satyr males were renowned for their lovemaking skills. Of course it had been an overwhelming experience!

And it had been overwhelming. So different from what she‟d done every Moonful since her eighteenth birthday. So exactly what she wanted. It had felt like a beginning of something, not an end. But perhaps he had not felt the same way.

“Letters don‟t rattle,” said Lena. “There must be something more.”

Behind her, Eva heard the girl thrashing around in the parcel. Then,

“Aha!” A triumphant Lena held up a small box and gave it a little shake.

“It rattles.”

Mimi brightened expectantly. “Bonbons?”

“Jewels would be better,” said the pragmatic Odette. “We could sell them and buy plenty of treats then, and dresses, and maybe a new carriage.”

Taking the box, Eva lifted a small pouch from within, which she then tilted so its contents spilled onto her desk. A single green oval tumbled out and then another. And another.

“Olives!”Lena exclaimed in surprise.

Eva pressed her fingers to her lips to still their trembling and stared, touched by the simple gift. She‟d wanted his olives, and he‟d gifted her with dozens of them. A thoughtful gesture, swiftly delivered. He must‟ve gone straight from her to the grove and gathered them.

“Un, deux, trois. . ”Mimi began tapping each with a fingertip, practicing her counting.

“What kind of gift is this?”Odette said sourly.

“They‟re the olives we need for the powders,” Eva explained. “From the grove described in maman‟s little book.”

“You told him?”

“Only that my mother had picked some there.”

Odette‟s lips tightened with worry. With a word to the children, she banished them back to their lessons. Once they‟d gone, she launched into another lecture. “You listen to me. You don‟t be foolish like Fantine.

This satyr man‟ll give you his semen. His bastards maybe. But he‟ll give his heirs to a human woman. His wife. He‟s gonna do what the Council tells him. Mark my words.”

“Did I ask for his children? His ring?”

“You know what happens to you on nights when the moon comes full. You‟ll wind up with his brat in your belly without meaning to. These rich and mighty satyrs. Thought themselves better than your mother.

Spilled their seed in her and gave her trinkets in exchange for her heart.

Then what? They abandon us all!”

“That was maman. Not me!”Eva argued. “Is it so wrong of me to want to hold on to my sanity? Last Moonful night I. . ”her voice faltered with emotion and she clasped a fist to her chest. “I just can‟t do that anymore, Odette. Not alone. I need him.”

“No! You‟ll get a human husband—“

“Who won‟t know what to do with me on those nights!” Eva finished for her, trying desperately to make this woman who‟d helped raise her understand. “I‟ll have to bespell him and hide what I am from him. You know what the moon does to me. Can you blame me for wanting a liaison with one of my own kind? Just one night a month.”

Odette‟s startled eyes searched Eva‟s. After a long moment, her expression filled with reluctant acceptance. “You gonna keep on with Lord Satyr, then? No matter what I say, you‟ll let him in your bed?”

“I don‟t know. He hasn‟t asked.”Eva uttered a rueful laugh. “But maybe I‟ll ask him. You said the powders would keep me from conceiving, even when he‟s at his most potent under the full moon.”

“You don‟t fall in love with him, though, eh?”

“No, I won‟t fall in love with him.”Eva rubbed a hand across her forehead, feeling suddenly weary. She‟d been weaned on her mother and Odette‟s tales of this world and their views on the workings of men‟s minds. On their notions of how to catch and control a human husband.