Opal didn’t even flinch.
How sad. Phantoms weren’t so different from Earthlings after all.
Taylor shook her head and swallowed her disappointment, then began her demonstration. “This is what I did for a living. It's hard to dance without music, but I'll do my best." She hummed a quiet tune and slowly twirled around the pole, holding it with one hand.
"Aren't you going to use the other pole?" Opal interrupted.
Taylor stopped moving. "Why?"
"The point is to climb them." Opal motioned with both arms to show her what she meant.
"I only need one," Taylor said, then started dancing again.
Taylor’s anger slipped away and her body went liquid as she circled the pole once more. She hooked her knee around it and let gravity take her, slowly spinning until she came to a stop.
She ground her hips against the pole, undulating, then spun, gripping the pole behind her back. Taylor slid down the pole, then quickly turned and jumped onto it, spreading her legs wide in a perfect 'V'. She held the pose for several seconds, then clamped the pole tight with her thighs and hung upside down, arching her back to make her large breasts thrust out. She shimmied some more, weaving her hands in the air, humming a little louder, then grabbed the pole and slowly flipped her body over, landing softly on the ground.
Opal looked both fascinated and confused. "What use is that?"
"I'm sure to you it doesn't seem like much, but where I'm from," Taylor said. "Men pay money to see me do that. Of course, I'm normally topless at the time."
Opal blinked, then blinked again. "You do that unclothed?"
Taylor shrugged. "I slowly strip my clothes off as I'm dancing until I am down to a thong and heels." She glanced down at her feet and tapped her toes for emphasis.
"Those shoes are impractical for everything, including a fight."
Taylor cocked her head and slipped off one heel. "I wouldn't say that," she said, showing Opal the business end of the stiletto. "It hurts if you put this," she pointed to the tip, "through a man's foot."
"A sword works better," Opal muttered.
"Yeah, well, there aren’t a lot of those lying around on Earth," Taylor said. They’d moved onto guns long ago.
Opal frowned as Taylor put her shoe back on. "You said you dance in those and a thong."
"That's right," she said.
"What is a thong?" Opal asked.
"A small piece of clothing that goes here." Taylor pointed. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing at all. I know some girls from a totally nude revue. The level of clientele drops considerably."
"Clientele? I know this earth word. Are you a sex companion?" Opal took a step back as if Taylor were contagious.
"No! Why does everybody keep thinking that?"
Probably because you came running out of Hades’ chamber this morning wearing nothing but a fur.
Taylor huffed.
"It would explain what you were doing in the King's quarters earlier," Opal said.
“So you don’t think I’d sleep with Hades unless he paid me to, is that it?” Taylor didn’t think Opal’s opinion of her could drop any lower, but she’d been wrong.
Opal seemed oblivious to her distress. “You don’t have a proper position here on Zaron or any obvious means of obtaining credits. Becoming a sex companion would be your best option given your skill set. There are enough warriors here to keep you busy and provide you with a comfortable life. Who knows,” she shrugged, “the King might even hire you on occasion.”
Heat flooded Taylor’s face. She tried to imagine having Hades as one of her
many clients
, but her brain shut down. “You know what, I was wrong. This isn’t going to work out.” She’d taken a few steps toward the door, when Opal called out.
"Do you think that you could show me how to do that?"
Taylor stilled, questioning whether she’d heard her correctly. First the woman insults her, then she wants her help. She spun around, planning to blister Opal’s ears with expletives.
Opal was holding one of the poles, rocking from side-to-side, trying to imitate Taylor’s moves. Her face flushed, when she caught Taylor watching her. “Forget it,” she hissed and walked off.
“Wait!” Taylor said. No doubt she was going to regret this. “I’ll show you how to dance…if you teach me how to fight.” It was a generous offer on her part. If Opal were smart she’d take it.
Opal switched direction at the last second and grabbed a couple of practice swords. She tossed one to Taylor. The wooden handle hit her fingernail and she immediately dropped it. Not the best way to impress the warrior woman.
"Pick that up and we'll get started."
***
Hades stood in the shadows entranced by Taylor's 'performance'. He'd never seen anything so seductive in his life and she hadn't even been trying. Watching her twirl around the pole only made him want her again. It was one thing to see her dance in her mind, quite another to experience the movements firsthand.
He adjusted his hard cock inside his uniform, but it did little to ease his discomfort. He stared longingly at the woman, who only hours ago had cradled him within her body. The heaviness in his groin increased. There was no chance of obtaining relief anytime soon.
Hades watched Taylor and Opal spar. It was obvious the Earthling had never handled a weapon, yet she moved with grace and speed as she attempted to thwart Opal's repeated attacks. Given enough time and adequate practice, she might even become proficient one day.
Taylor's wooden sword clamored to the ground with a loud thud. Or maybe not. He grinned, admiring her round bottom as she bent over to pick up her practice weapon. Suddenly, it wasn't that
sword
he wanted in her hand.
Hades had heard what Taylor said about him—both times. It shouldn't thrill him that she'd stuck up for him, but it did. He didn't care what his people thought about him personally. All he cared about was that they respected his position and his power. Their hushed whispers didn't make a difference, but Taylor's opinion did. Why? Why now? Why her of all people, a hapless, helpless human female who couldn't survive a day on her own?
What was it about this woman that distracted him so? He'd had her writhing beneath him only hours ago. Hades thought bedding her once would be enough to get her out of his system, out of his mind, but still she
lingered
.
Taylor made him want in ways he never thought possible. Her presence was a danger to him, to his carefully constructed world, yet Hades couldn't bring himself to send her away.
"Sire, we have the coordinates? Are you sure that you want to go out and see the area?" The guard's words brought him out of his musings. He was holding a holomap in his hand, circling a location with his finger.
"Yes, now show me what you've found." Hades turned away from the one thing, the one woman that could make him break his vows.
***
The next morning, Opal was waiting for Taylor in the Pit. They'd agreed to meet before Opal reported for duty, so they could continue their lessons. The warrior woman had brought several practice swords and had two poles placed at the far end. She was dressed in loose leggings and a snug shirt.
"I see you're ready to go." Taylor entered the caged arena in her workout shorts. She'd thrown them into her bag, along with a couple of T-shirts just in case. She’d hung the clothes Hades had given her, deciding they were unimportant in contrast to what she’d learned yesterday.
"I warmed up, while I waited for you," Opal said.
Taylor bent over and stretched, then picked up her wooden sword. The women faced each other.
"Begin." Opal struck immediately.
Taylor danced back, moving lightly on her toes to avoid the blow. She thrust the wooden sword forward like Opal had taught her yesterday and nearly made contact with the warrior. With a little more practice, she just might be able to hit her someday.
They sparred steadily. A rhythmic thud, crack, thud sounded as the swords met and parted. Sweat dripped from Taylor's body from the exertion, while Opal wasn't even winded.
"Nearly got you there." Taylor lunged to the side and missed again.
A slow clap sounded from within the Pit, startling them. Taylor and Opal looked up to find Hades leaning against the opening, avidly watching them. She hadn't seen him after he'd left yesterday afternoon.
When evening rolled around, Taylor had chosen to eat in her room, instead of joining the warriors in the Great Hall. Hades wasn’t gone long, eight hours at the most. There hadn't been time to miss him. Yet Taylor couldn't deny the lurch of her heart or the sudden thrill zinging its way through her body upon seeing him again.
She grinned at Hades as he approached. "Soon I'll be good enough to challenge someone in the Pit." Taylor swung her wooden sword for emphasis. It slipped from her hands and she fumbled to catch it.
"After a day and a half?" Opal balked. "Doubtful."
Hades' gaze flicked to his Righthand, then quickly returned to Taylor. Heat scorched her as he continued to stare. "If you want fucked that bad, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Fighting in the Pit isn’t necessary." The bulge in his pants attested to the fact that he was ready to go, but his tone said something altogether different. Hades’ words were cool, detached, despite the smolder she'd glimpsed in his eyes.
Taylor shivered from the sudden chill. This was the Dark King she'd met on her first day at the Keep, not the man she'd slept with yesterday.
Before she could come up with a pithy response, Hades turned to Opal. "When you're finished here, we need to debrief. I require your expertise on the area the Slavers chose to hide in. We were unable to locate them, despite having a blood trail. I suspect the blood was planted to throw us off. The Slavers have not only cloaked their ships, they've somehow cloaked their scents. Either that or..."
"Or what?" Taylor asked.
Opal stared at her, this time with distrust. "Or someone is feeding them information on where our scouts will be."
Why would somebody do that? It didn’t make sense. By all accounts, the Slavers were extremely dangerous. "Are you saying that you have a traitor in your midst?"
They didn't immediately reply.
“I find it odd that all this started when you arrived,” Opal said.
“Me?” Taylor gulped and looked at Hades. His expression remained stony. “You think I’m your traitor.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I’d never betray the Dark—the Phantom people.” She stumbled over the words, already admitting more than she liked. Taylor didn't even know how to send a message from the Keep. The fact that she'd had so much trouble contacting Linx proved it. But she knew it would take more than her word to convince Opal and the Dark King.
“We shall see,” Opal said.
Hades left as silently as he'd arrived. They both watched him go. It was hard not to, when his pants lovingly gripped his sexy ass as he strutted off.
"You do know that the King is only interested in sex, right?" Opal asked.
Pain slashed Taylor's heart, but she made sure it didn't show on her face. The woman could sense weakness and she'd all but accused her of being a spying prostitute.
"He doesn't
care
about anything, but a willing quim." The look Opal sent her way told Taylor that she knew all about how willing she’d been. “And even those he tires of quickly.”
Taylor’s first thought was to apologize, though she didn’t know for what, but something stopped her. Why should she say that she was sorry, when she'd done nothing wrong? Having sex with Hades might not have been the smartest move and it may have been bad timing on her part, but she no longer regretted it. Not after everything that she’d learned.
It was more than great sex and you know it,
a little voice in her head whispered
,
but Taylor wasn't ready to acknowledge that yet—if ever!
She steadied herself, then glanced at Opal. "If all Hades is interested in is a warm, willing female to fuck, then why do you hang around waiting for him?" Opal opened her mouth to vehemently deny the accusation, but Taylor raised her hand to stop her. "Save it for the other guards!” she said. “It's not exactly a secret. Anyone with eyes can tell that's what you're doing."
Opal’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click and black fur bristled under her skin.
Taylor watched, fascinated by the display of emotion. Opal quickly got her beast under control.
"According to the guards I've spoken to, Hades doesn't want a mate and he isn't interested in producing an heir. You knew this going in, so why waste your time?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Opal spat. She swung her sword.
Taylor barely got her sword up in time to block the strike. "I'm not looking for a mate," she said with a calmness she did not feel.
“Then you are a fool.” Anger suffused Opal's face. "And so are the guards you’ve been speaking to. They do not know the King as I do," she said. "The truth is Hades isn't interested in a
weak
mate.” She glared at her. “His handicap makes him hesitant, but the right woman, the right
warrior
will change his mind...and make up for his shortcomings."
Shortcomings? Was she serious?
Opal's determined expression said that she was.
"I wouldn't count on it," she said under her breath. It didn’t escape Taylor that Hades and his powerful position were interchangeable in Opal’s mind. She wondered how many other women the Dark King had slept with felt the same.
Hades was a royal ass. There was no reason to feel sorry for him, yet Taylor still found herself pitying the King. He must feel so alone surrounded by these types of subjects. No wonder he walked around like he didn’t care. It was the only way to survive.
They dropped their swords and walked over to the poles. She stood by one and waited for Opal to take her position beside the other. Taylor had seen many women over the years, herself included, set out to change a man. More often than not, the journey ended in heartbreak for the woman. "I take it that you think you're strong enough to tame the King?"