“A little,” I admit, getting myself together. I don’t want him to see mecrying.
“What do you think so far?” he asks, gesturing around him. “Not bad,right?”
“Beats my hostel,” Isay.
“And the steward, how washe?”
“Fine,” I say. “Stewards are…” I trail off, not sure what tosay.
“Stewards are weird,” he finishes for me,grinning.
“Yeah, they really are. What’s withthat?”
He laughs and shrugs. “They’re always so meanlooking.”
“Like they smell somethingbad.”
“I know, it’s like they’re looking down on you.” He laughs and shakes his head. “I don’t know why. They all doit.”
“Must be thetraining.”
“Of course. The pretentiousness training theyget.”
I smile and feel slightly more at ease. “How did you get in here anyway?” I askhim.
“Our rooms are connected,” he says. “Normally, we’d stay in the same room, but I thought you’d like thisbetter.”
I nod but don’t respond. He’s right, I’m glad we have separate rooms, though I don’t know how long that’ll last. I know, sooner or later, he’s going to come into my bed. And I’m going to have to sleep withhim.
I look at his handsome, grinning face, and it strikes me suddenly that I’m contractually obligated to have sex with this man. Not like that’s a bad thing, since my body reacts to him every time he’s near. But it’s totally strange to think that I’m bound by law to fuck a man who I really would fuckregardless.
“I hope you’ll be comfortable here,” he says to me. “This is your home now,princess.”
I bite my lower lip. “That’s so strange,” I admit. “I was cleaning this placeyesterday.”
He smiles at me. “Funny how life canbe.”
“And now I’ll be doing… what? Lying around all day, eatingchocolates?”
“Is that what you think royaltydoes?”
I shrug a little. “You’re sure not cleaning your owntoilets.”
He sighs but grins at me. “No, you won’t be eating chocolates all day. Although you can if you want, but please, I advise against it. You need to be in top physical shape for me, afterall.”
I blush slightly at the implication, though we both know full well that we’ll be having sex soon. “So whatthen?”
“We’ll be meeting with people,” he says. “We’re going to change my reputation around here, and you’re going to help me. So no, you won’t be cleaning toilets, but you will be doing something much moredifficult.”
“Is your reputation really so bad?” I ask, a bitnervous.
“Yes,” he says. “It reallyis.”
He laughs as I shake my head. “Then I don’t know if I canhelp.”
“Oh, you can,” he says. “Just make sure you’re ready to fulfill your end of thebargain.”
“I know what I agreed to,” I saysimply.