“Will one of you please get me out of this?” I said to them, gritting my teeth against their amusement. “You’ve had your fun by now or at least you should have, so why not try being adult?”
“Are you asking us to go against the wishes of one of our hosts, Terry?” Len asked, stepping closer with Garth right beside him. “I don’t think that would make us very good guests.”
“Not to mention the fact that I’d hate getting that monster mad at me,” Garth put in in a drawl. “He’s almost as big as
Tammad, and might even top him by a few pounds. He may be older than I am, but I doubt if he’s any slower.”
“Garth, Len, please!” I whispered, suddenly frightened by what I saw in their minds. They were having fun teasing me, but neither one saw the teasing as a prelude to untying me. They were going to leave me like that, and their minds were firm with the decision.
“What’s the matter, Terry, don’t you like the show?” Len asked very softly, his blue eyes bright even in the near-evening dimness. “You’ve got a front-row seat, and you should be a big enough girl to appreciate it. Why walk out when it’s just getting good?”
“What are you talking about?” Garth asked him as I closed my eyes and pulled futilely at the leather which held me, forced to the sight by his words, against my will. “I don’t see any show going on.”
“Ah, but Terry and I do,” Len chuckled in answer. “Tammad has Gay King in his pavilion, and he’s beginning to teach her what men are all about.”
“That big brunette?” Garth laughed in disbelief—but still in delight. “How do you know?”
“Aside from the fact that I saw him take her in there, their emotions are so clear and strong I might as well be inside and watching,” Len told him. “And I’m sure Terry’s getting it even more clearly than I am—aren’t you, Terry?”
I tried to ignore big question, knowing he was only trying to direct my attention, but my try failed while his didn’t. I tried to get my feet under me and failed again, accomplishing nothing more than scrabbling around against the upright.
“I wish I could tell what was going on,” Garth said, sounding frustrated. “I’ve seen ones like that brunette before, and no matter how sexy they look, they’re usually cold as ice.”
“This one’s due for some warming,” Len laughed, and then there were small scuffling sounds. “Sit down and make Yourself comfortable, and listen to this.”
Another set of scuffling sounds came while Len rapidly rechecked his data, and by the time Garth was settled, Len was ready.
“As I said, Tammad took Gay to his tent,” Len began with a good deal of relish. “What I didn’t say was that he took her there dragged along by the hair. The woman was slightly shocked at being treated like that, but she didn’t start out at the top of her profession. She’s had her share of less-than-usual requests, so by the time she was inside and turned loose, she was back to her old attitudes.”
“Which can be seen in her eyes, if you know enough to look for them,” Garth put in.
“Exactly,” Len agreed. “She started giving Tammad some speech she had used so often she’d memorized it, but Tammad cut her off right in the beginning with some sort of order, most probably to keep quiet and get out of her clothes. She cut off the speech feeling very put out and began to get out of her clothes, but the speed her mind was running at probably made her move too fast. Tammad spoke again, an addition to his first order rather than a new one, and her mind closed down with outrage, but she obeyed. The appreciation in Tammad’s mind said she moved very slowly, showing him just what he wanted. After that she started posing.”
“I can see it,” Garth said with a low whistle, his voice growing husky. “I can also feel it.”
“You just think you can,” Len told him with a strained chuckle. “You ought to feel what it’s like through Tammad’s mind. The man was looking at every part of her, examining each individual line, anticipating what touching her would be like but in no hurry to get on with it. He knew he’d have all the time he’d want or need, and he wasn’t about to ruin it by hurrying.”
“I wonder what they use here in place of flesh and blood,” Garth said, decidedly more uncomfortable. “I don’t know how long I’d be able to hold myself back.”
“Gay didn’t think Tammad would last long at all,” Len breathed harder. “She was trying to force him into using her and getting it over with so she could start manipulating him, but her simple, savage little plans haven’t worked out. She’s still posing, he still hasn’t touched her, and she’s thinking about starting to get desperate.”
“Why desperate?” Garth asked. “She can’t be feeling embarrassed?”
“Not embarrassed,” Len laughed, perking up a little. “She’s beginning to react to the posing herself in spite of the fact that she’s done it so often. The posing is usually her own idea, started when she wants to start it, lasting as long as she cares to let it This time Tammad picked up on it at once and began directing her. She’s been moving according to his directions, holding each pose as long as he wants it held, doing everything to someone else’s taste rather than her own. It’s making her feel=oh, oh, look out!”
“What?” Garth demanded as I cringed. “What’s happening?”
“He’s got her close enough to touch,” Len said hoarsely, and then he groaned. “Lord, but her skin is soft! I’ve never felt a woman that soft, but he’s not impressed! He’s reacting, but it’s still well within his control!”
“Do you mean you can actually feel her skin like that?” Garth demanded. “That’s got to be more than just emotions.”
“I can tell from what she feels like to him,” Len explained, getting a better grip on himself. “The level of pleasure a man feels corresponds to previous levels set by tactile sensation. I know what a woman would have to feel like to feel like that to me, and I’ve never felt a woman that soft.”
“Maybe you’re not looking at it from the proper angle,” Garth said, a comment I didn’t understand any more than Len did, but before Len could question him Garth added, “Never mind. What are they doing now?”
“He’s touching her,” Len said, and the double, first-band, second-hand narrative made me shiver against the upright. I could feel his hands on her, feel the calm she was seeing and not understanding, feel her confusion and distress as her body began reacting to being touched like that. She was used to being in control of the men who used her, used to watching their panting, sweating and moaning without being more than surface—involved herself. Gay King was already beyond being surface involved, and she was beginning to be frightened.
“He’s touching her while he makes her hold a pose,” Len said, and the words sent a flash of intense heat through the two men beside me. “He’s not showing her a damned thing more than interest, but his hands are starting to stir the fires in her. He won’t let her move out of the pose no matter what she says, and it’s making her feel—I don’t know how to describe it.”
I shivered again, but made sure my eyes stayed closed. Len didn’t know how to describe Gay’s feelings, but I knew exactly how she felt. She found herself in the possession of a man who would not accept refusal of any kind from her, a man who would take what he wanted, and she was discovering that her body was reacting to him automatically and beyond her control. Her body was getting her ready for his invasion, a protection she needed with a man like that. Her mind hadn’t recognized what she was faced with, but her body had.
“He’s got her,” Len said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. “She really wants him now, but he’s still taking his time and intends to continue taking it. In another minute she’ll be yelling.”
“Or begging,” Garth said, his voice and mind strange. “Never in my entire life have I had a woman beg me. Have you?”
“No,” Len answered, and then I jumped when his hand touched my leg just above the knee. My struggling and fighting had pushed the caldin up onto my thighs, but I hadn’t realized it till then. My eyes flew open to see Len staring at me, and Garth was staring too.