A Reluctant Empress

A RELUCTANT EMPRESS:

Harem Masters #3

By

Nora Weaving

Kindle Edition

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PUBLISHED BY:

Infinite Muse Press on Amazon KDP

A Reluctant Empress: Harem Masters #3

Copyright © 2013 by Nora Weaving

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental.  The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Adult Reading Material

The material in this document contains explicit sexual content that is intended for mature audiences only and is inappropriate for readers under 18 years of age.

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A RELUCTANT EMPRESS:

Harem Masters #3

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Running a hand over her wild hair, Kalliope hurried down the hallway to the room that Priska had mentioned. A very wealthy businessman was apparently waiting for Kalliope and he had demanded to be shown to a room while he waited. Word of Kalliope had spread quickly and she could barely keep up with the steady flow of men that were showing up and requesting her services.

Kalliope stopped before the entryway and straightened the vibrant peplos that had once belonged to Gaia’s mother. She touched the small gold chain at her neck, a simple reminder of her old life. She smoothed her hair one last time, the new bangles around her wrist jingled gently. She had pleased a new customer so well a few days ago that he had sent over a set of beautifully braided bracelets. The bangles were quickly becoming the envy of all the women at Hera Selene.

 Taking a deep breath, Kalliope slipped into the room, ready to submit to the powerful client.

* * *

“So, how was he?” Harmena asked the following morning as she and Kalliope munched on a late breakfast.

“I don’t know who you mean,” Kalliope said absentmindedly.

Kalliope knew exactly whom Harmena was talking about. The wealthy businessman from last night. He had a reputation of not being very attractive, but being an absolute tiger in the bedroom.

The rumors were completely true.

While Kalliope had not found herself the least bit attracted to the man, once he had bound and blindfolded her, Kalliope had been panting and begging for more. What he lacked in appearance, he certainly made up for in experience. In fact, just thinking about him, made Kalliope squirm in her seat. She could remember just how thick and strong he felt inside her, and the dirty things his mouth had done to the sweet flesh between her legs.

Harmena narrowed her eyes. “You’re practically salivating,” she accused. “He was that good wasn’t he?” she exclaimed. “That’s what I heard! I’m so jealous!”

Apparently, the man visited Hera Selene frequently but Harmena hadn’t yet been graced by his visit.

Kalliope had been at Hera Selene for nearly three weeks and once she had recovered from the incident with Spyro, she had seen a huge increase in customers. While most of the other women seemed to like Kalliope, a few kept their distance. Kalliope tried hard not to alienate the anyone, she didn’t want to make enemies. Quite the contrary, she was hoping to befriend as many of the courtesans as she could.

Kalliope was eager to earn enough to be able to move into larger living quarters. Priska said that she imagined Kalliope would be able to move by the end of the week. As if this news weren't exciting enough, in a week's time Damianos was due to return from his trip. Just the mere thought of Damianos sent a jolt of sexual excitement through her body.

Trying hard not to let her mind run away with dirty thoughts, she turned back to Harmena.

“How was your night last night? The one soldier you were with was incredibly handsome.”

Harmena ducked her head at the question. Kalliope could have sworn that she blushed.

“Harmena?” she whispered, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. “You’re blushing!”

“Shh! It’s not a big deal!”

“Of course it is! What is it?”

“It’s just that I really like him! He’s different than the other men.”

“I know! He was incredibly handsome.”

“Yes, he is handsome, but he treats me better. He’s so kind to me.” Harmena paused, unsure she should say more. “And he asks to see me more,” she said quickly.

Kalliope was confused.

“But that’s a good thing. You want your clients to come see you more.”

“No, not like that. He asks to see me during the day. He doesn’t want to just see me at night.”

Kalliope gasped and then motioned for Harmena not to say any more. Melina was looking over at them with a curious and inquisitive expression. Kalliope shoved the last of her berries in her mouth and stood up to leave.

Harmena followed her and once they were safely in the hallways, Kalliope turned to Harmena, her gaze was stern. “What in the world did you tell him? Hopefully you discouraged him, you could get kicked out for that!”

Harmena hurried alongside of her, pulling Kalliope towards the baths.

“I didn’t say anything. I know that we’re not supposed to do that, but it sounds so amazing, doesn’t it?”

Kalliope shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. This place is incredible. I wish you could have seen the brothel where I came from. It was small, crowded and dirty. We lived on top of each other and we didn’t have any nice things.” Kalliope paused. “You can have anything here.”

Harmena shrugged off her comment. “I guess everyone has their own perspective,” she said sullenly.

Kalliope rolled her eyes as they approached the baths. “Ok, so what do you think will happen if you were to agree to see him? Would you sneak him inside and sleep with him during the day? Would you sneak out of here and have sex with him up there?” Kalliope motioned upwards to signify the world above. “You’re a prostitute, Harmena. He’s not going to make an honest woman out of you.”

Harmena’s face fell. Apparently, deep down she hoped that he might.

“You never know,” she said defensively as she slipped off her robe and sank into the baths. Kalliope followed suit.

“I don’t know much about this life in Athens, but I know enough to know that men don’t just do that. He might have a family-’’

“He doesn’t!”

Kalliope sighed. “That doesn’t mean anything. Just be careful. Don’t jeopardize what you have for some romantic fling.”

Harmena looked hurt and Kalliope hoped she hadn’t crossed the line. She still didn’t know Harmena that well, but she truly cared for the woman and would hate to see her thrown in the streets because of a horny man's promises.

At that moment, Elektra showed up. Kalliope was still trying to decide how she felt about Elektra, but she liked her enough, even though she seemed a bit of a loose cannon.

Elektra called out to them and made her way across the baths towards them. She smiled brightly; her dark hair pulled into a tight knot on her head. She dipped her entire body under the surface of the water. She came up, glistening and dripping.

“What are you ladies talking about? Actually, I don’t care because you know what I heard? I heard that a few more men have been permitted to enter Hera Selene.” She smiled broadly, flashing her perfect white teeth in what could only be construed as a predatory grin.

Now Harmena rolled her eyes. “Watch out Elektra, you have Kalliope to compete with now,” she teased.

Elektra was one of the young favorites at Hera Selene, known for her brass personality, eagerness to try anything and her incredibly limber body. Elektra gave Kalliope a tight smile. “We’ll see who gets the most men.”

“Not interested in competing, Elektra,” Kalliope said, as she dipped her hair into the water and began scrubbing at her scalp with a fragrant bar of soap. Since Elektra had joined them, Kalliope and Harmena had stopped talking about the soldier. But Kalliope still worried that Harmena might do something foolish. That day went by quickly and Kalliope never found another moment to speak with Harmena about the topic.

* * *

Three days later Kalliope was sitting in Melina’s room, asking her for advice on braiding, when Priska came in search of her.

“I’m sorry, Melina, but I must take Kalliope from you.”

Kalliope gave Melina an apologetic look and followed Priska.

Priska placed a heavy black velvet coin purse into her palm.

“What’s this?”

“A gift.”

“From who?” Kalliope had only just received the bracelets as a gift and she couldn’t imagine who else would be sending her such a present.

Priska swallowed, “Spyro.”

Kalliope shoved the purse back in Priska’s hands. “Not interested,” she said backing up.

“I don’t like it either, but he said it was an apology offering.”

“Liar,” Kalliope spat, her anger bubbling over. “He wasn’t the least bit sorry.”

Priska straightened up, and her eyes flashed. “Listen here,” she hissed, “I don’t like it any more than you do. But he’s a good paying customer and you work here now. Spyro is giving you a gift, and you would be wise to accept it!” She paused, and her face softened. “And since you’ve showed such promise already, I’m willing to move you to a new room this evening.”

Kalliope was about to retort back when she realized Priska’s words. “My own room? Tonight?”

Priska nodded. “If you’ll follow me, I will show you what I had in mind.”

Humbled, Kalliope snapped her mouth shut and followed Priska. To Kalliope’s excitement the room was located next to Harmena’s. It was also roughly the same size as Harmena’s room, and Kalliope decided that she would be able to split the room to accommodate a small sitting room as well as a bedroom.

“The furniture is a bit old,” Priska commented, motioning toward the worn out chaise lounge, “but I imagine you will be able to buy new furnishings soon enough.” She looked shrewdly at Kalliope. “Or maybe you already can.”

Kalliope quickly added up the money she had earned, plus the money that she had been given from Orestes’ deal with Gaia, not to mention Spyro’s disgusting gift. She had more than enough to buy herself new furnishings. And not only that, she could probably afford well-made pieces.

Priska left Kalliope in her new room, and she wasted no time moving her few belongings into the space. She then went in search of Melina, who she knew would be able to tell her how she could go about finding furniture for her room.

Melina was more than helpful, and a couple of hours later Kalliope found Harmena.

“That’s amazing!” Harmena exclaimed when Kalliope told her where her new room was located.

“Well, the way it happened was not ideal, but yes the end result is incredible!" Kalliope agreed.

Harmena looked confused, and Kalliope quickly filled her in about Spyro’s gift.

Harmena made a nasty face. “That means he likes you. He’s going to come back for more.”

As angry as Kalliope was at the thought, she still couldn’t forget how Spyro had managed to please her at the same time. She tried to shrug it off, and instead she and Harmena talked about how to re-arrange her new room.

That evening, Melina introduced Kalliope to Stelios, one of Hera Selene’s most valued customers, who also happened to be the most exclusive furniture maker in Athens.

Stelios was older with cropped salt and pepper hair and light eyes. He was friendly and flirtatious and Kalliope knew he liked her instantly.

“Tell me,” Stelios said warmly, guiding Kalliope to a quiet corner in the lobby. “What type of furniture are you interested in?” His hand lingered on Kalliope’s arm, and she decided to play along and flirt.

Smiling seductively, she let her hand graze across Stelios’ knee, and explained how she was interested in a large bed, a trunk, a chaise of some sort and a table with chairs.

Stelios’ nodded thoughtfully. “I think I have some items that you would like. A woman as beautiful as yourself deserves furnishing to match her beauty. How much money do you have?”

Kalliope leaned in, her mouth only inches from Stelios’ ear.

“Enough,” she breathed.

She saw Stelios shudder from excitement.

“Let’s make a deal,” he said silkily, “You take me back with you now, and I will provide you with furnishings that will far exceed your expectations.”

Kalliope licked her lips and stood up, and Stelios quickly rose as well. He followed Kalliope back to her new room, and he looked around quickly before pushing Kalliope onto the bed.