Heir, page 11
part #5 of Ressaline Series
“Such a rule is only inappropriate tonight,” Dee said, “If Lady Olivia declares it inappropriate.”
“We are in the embassy,” I pointed out. “Shouldn’t it be Allium’s choice?”
“It would be, but the two pleasure slaves aren’t mine,” Allium pointed out.
“What if Princess Gionna declares it inappropriate? After all, I’m not sure I want my date kissing anyone but me tonight.”
“It is the Flarvorian embassy, not the palace in Ressaline City,” Dee said. “I am quite sure Princess Gionna’s opinion caries insufficient weight to determine the rules.”
“I am fairly certain my opinion weighs more heavily than yours, Dee.”
Dee and Bee exchanged a look, and then they both slipped from their chairs then moved to either side of Gionna’s chair and offered beseeching looks.
“Not fair!” she complained. “Olivia, they’re giving me The Look. Both of them.” She shut her eyes tightly. The pleasure slaves laid their heads in her lap, and Bee made little mews.
Around the room, people began chuckling.
“You’re not really saying ‘no’ to us,” Dee said.
She sighed. “I bet Lady Olivia is more immune to your charms than I am. Fine.”
Olivia laughed. “I leave this decision to the ambassador.”
“Well, seeing as how I get to kiss Bee under this rule, sure, why not.”
The two slaves clapped happily, but then Gigi said, “How did you decide you get to kiss Bee? Maybe I want to kiss you, and Bee should kiss Gionna.”
“I assumed you would prefer to kiss the princess,” Allium said. “Her lips are much softer and kissable than mine.”
“That’s very sweet of you to say, Allium, but having kissed your lips, I know just how delightfully kissable they are.”
Bee didn’t wait for a resolution. She stood then slipped onto Gionna’s lap and then lowered herself for a kiss as the rest of us watched. From what I could tell, it was an awfully nice kiss, and Gionna fanned herself at the end.
Bee grinned, slid from Gionna’s lap, and plopped down in Allium’s lap.
“Well, that’s one way to resolve that,” Olivia said. “We haven’t finished here.”
I decided to go with the flow, so I stood and then slipped between Holliahta and the table, making room as I sat on her knees. I lowered my own head, setting my hand on her cheek as our lips met. She set her hands on my hips, letting me control the kiss, but there was warmth in it, and when I was done, I hugged her tightly.
From the sounds, I decided Dee was seeing to Gretchena.
But then Gionna said, “Well, now that the game is entirely derailed, and my date is well-kissed besides, I think I am going to take her away.”
“Good night,” I declared, sliding away from Holliahta. “Gretchena, I’ll see you tomorrow, and many more of you later.” Then I leaned over and whispered, “That was a lovely kiss. Thank you.”
She squeezed my arm, and then Gionna collected me. We didn’t speak, but I led her to my room, closing the door and leaning against it. She turned around and smiled at me. “Gionna, I want to talk to you about something.”
“Talk is overrated,” she said, advancing on me. She stepped into me, pressing me to the door, and we kissed. I let her collect my hands and press them against the door beside my head, and we spent a minute or two like that. When finally she separated from me, we were both panting. I opened my eyes and looked at her.
“I want to do more of that,” I whispered. “But I need to talk to you.”
“Long conversation?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on.” She took my arm and pulled me to the sofa. We sat down, our knees touching, and she collected my hands.
“I don’t want my first time to be… Like that.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t want my first time with a woman to be during my first time.”
“Oh,” she said, grinning.
“Was yours?”
“No. Both ways are common. There are debates over what’s better. In the end, everyone has an opinion, but I don’t think anyone’s opinion is more authoritative than anyone else’s.”
“What is your opinion?”
“I think the way I did it is better. But ultimately, it’s not going to matter.”
“It matters to me. Gionna, I don’t know what to do.”
“We’re friends. We can talk this out like friends. Okay?”
“Okay.”
She caressed my cheek. “You said what you don’t want. Do you know what you do want?”
“No.”
“Okay. Let’s start simply. How much have you done in the past.”
“My first kiss with a woman was two hours ago.”
“And with boys.”
“I’ve done more kissing, but I haven’t taken any clothing off, and I make them control their hands, or I do it for them.”
“All right.”
“I don’t want to rush it, though. Except I kind of have to, don’t I?”
“I think you’re going to compress it,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s rushing it. For me, it was a progression. It took a few months before I went from good night kisses to getting naked and touching, to the rest.”
“I want the first time to be special, with someone special,” I said. I touched her cheek. “With you, if you want me.”
“I do,” she whispered.
“Olivia wants me-”
She covered my lips with her fingers. “I’ll manage Olivia, as long as we have a plan. Here’s what we know. You and I have tonight. Tomorrow is the dance. Saturday is the Saturday event. You’ll have a few dates.”
“What about you?”
“I don’t know what you’re asking.”
“If you and I…” I trailed off.
“This is Ressaline,” she said. “Not Flarvor. On this, the rules are different. It is quite normal to see one person one night, and someone else the next. Even committed relationships remain open. Gigi and Claary both partake in other events.”
“Practice challenges?”
“Yes. Sometimes it’s between them, but often enough, it’s someone else. Claary gives herself to Olivia with some regularity. Olivia was her First, and she loves Bee and Dee as much as she does anyone.”
“So you’re not jealous?”
“I’m jealous in that I wish I could be your First. But I can’t. It’s not legal, and I’m not old enough to do a very good job.”
“I think I understand,” I said. “What’s possible?”
“Almost anything. Do you know what you want?”
“I don’t want to do everything tonight,” I said. “But will there be time?”
“We’ll make time. Olivia won’t interfere as long as we have a plan. But we can’t drag it out for months, Ahlianna. Do you know what I think?”
“No.”
“I think we should kiss, and you should let me undress you. We’ll both put on something else and climb into bed together. Then we can kiss and cuddle, but we won’t take it any further than you’re ready. And then I’m going to talk about you behind your back.”
“No!”
“Trust me. I’m going to encourage your dates to progress this with you, but only a little. And then we’ll have more dates, and I can show you everything. Would you like that?”
Slowly, I nodded. “Okay,” I whispered.
“Okay. If I’m going too fast, or if I do anything you don’t want me to do, just tell me. Okay? And you may do anything to me that you like.”
“Okay,” I said again.
“We’re going to start out with kissing. I like kissing.”
“I do, too.”
She brought us together, a sweet, gentle kiss. We kissed, and we stroked, and then she stood, pulling me to my feet. I looked into her eyes. “Do you have something I can borrow?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” She went to work on my gown, touching and caressing the skin as she exposed it. It felt nice, and I closed my eyes, letting her do what she wanted, stepping out of things as she asked.
She got me naked, and then she took my hands and set them on her gown. I looked into her eyes. She smiled. And I set myself to finding the stays and the ties, and eventually I had released everything, her gown sliding down her body. I helped her step out of it, and then I pulled her into a tight hug, she not quite naked, but for the first time in my life, I was skin to skin with another woman. I held her tightly, my heart pounding.
She held me in return, kissing now and then, my shoulder, my neck, and stroking my skin. It felt nice. Then she slipped away, removing her underthings. I watched as she saw to both our gowns, hanging them in the wardrobe. Then she went searching and found a simple slip for each of us. She dropped one in place over me, then one for herself before taking my hand and leading me to bed.
We kissed. We touched. I moaned a lot. I clutched at her a lot. And then she pulled me to her, both of us under the covers.
“This isn’t what I expected,” I whispered to her. Then I laughed. “I don’t know what I expected.”
“There’s one other way you can do this,” she said. “You can ask Olivia to give you to Bee and Dee. They’ll work their magic, and you’ll have been made love to three times before you realize it.”
I laughed. “That might be fun, but I want you. Do you want me?”
“Very much, Ahlianna. Very, very much. But most importantly, I want what is best for you.” She caressed my face. “I’m only worried about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“That regarding what happens in bed, we have different expectations.”
I rolled away from her, but she pursued me, pressing against my back. I didn’t retreat any further, but I stared at the window, the dim light of the night showing little more than the outline. “Have I angered you?” she asked.
“No,” I whispered.
“You’re upset.”
“My life isn’t entirely my own,” I said.
“Nor is mine. We’ve become friends, true friends,” she said. “I don’t have many of those.”
“Neither do I.”
“No matter what else happens, we’re friends,” she said. “The rest of this: Ahlianna, for now, this is sharing, and fun. It’s not commitment.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I thought about it and then nodded.
“Good,” she said. “So, we’re going to agree on a few things. These are the reality of our situation. We’re going to agree we’re friends, but we’re also this.” And she began rubbing my bottom. No one had ever done that to me before, and I decided I liked it.
“That’s nice,” I whispered.
“I like doing it, too. We’re going to enjoy these touches. And we’re going to enjoy other touches. But you’re also going to enjoy this with other people, and I am, too.”
“All right,” I whispered.
“The other women you’re going to spend time with…” She kept rubbing. “They’re going to want to do this, too. And more. I’m going to quietly tell them that we’re moving you along a little at a time, but that we’re going to get you there before you have your First enslavement. I’m going to tell Olivia, and that she’ll just have to be patient, at least for a few days.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“And you’re going to let the other women do this,” she said. “If you end up doing a lot more with someone, that’s okay. But if not, then we’ll step it up, too, until I show you the joys of two women. But if you decide that you’re having fun and you want it to continue, then you should.”
“Okay. Gionna, you could do that on bare skin, if you wanted.”
She kissed my shoulder and then pressed, pushing me more fully onto my stomach. And then she lifted my slip, and I felt her hand on my bare bottom. I gave a little whimper, not quite sure what it meant.
But I didn’t want to stop.
She rubbed for a while, then she leaned over me, speaking into my ear. “I’m going to do just a little more, and then I think we should cuddle and sleep.”
“Okay.”
She pulled on my shoulder, pulling me until I lay on my back. “Keep your eyes closed.”
And then she reached under the slip, her hand on my stomach, but it moved up, and up further until she was gently playing with one breast.
It felt nice, and I lay quietly.
“Am I scaring you?”
“No,” I whispered. “You’re making me wonder why we’re wearing slips.”
She giggled. “Because I didn’t think we’d do this much.”
I opened my eyes and looked at her in the dim light. She gave me a little kiss before settling in, her hand now just resting, still inside my slip, pulled halfway up my body. I reached with a hand, outside the slip, but I found her hand and cupped it.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Oh, darling,” she said. She kissed my nearest shoulder. “There are two of us enjoying this.”
We stayed like that just a little longer, then she pulled her hand out and smoothed my slip down as I rolled and squirmed a little. Then I was on my back again, but my head turned to look at her. “Gionna.” I found her hand and brought it to my lips, kissing it. Then I set it on my breast, on top of the smooth slip this time. With a smile, she cupped me. I held her to me. Then she rolled onto her side and pressed against me.
I held her hand in place, right on top of my breast. We talked quietly for a while. Finally, I said, “I was so scared.”
“I know.”
I looked at her. “I want to go first, and I want you there. Can we do it that way?”
“We can do it any way you want. It’s your First, after all.”
“Thank you.”
We grew quiet after that, and eventually I slept, safe beside my friend.
Chapter Five
In the morning, Gionna and I woke together. I rolled to her, spooning her from behind. “Thank you.” I kissed her shoulder.
“You’re welcome,” she said. “We should talk about the dance tonight.”
“All right.”
She rolled over and we were nose to nose. She giggled and kissed my nose. I wrinkled it. “You’re a goof.”
“You’re cute.” She kissed my nose again. “Okay, so. Mostly, tonight is a formal ball, like you might have at home.”
“Except no men. I think I like that part.”
“Except no men,” she agreed. “You’re going to be very popular. I haven’t discussed the guest list with Olivia and have no idea who is coming. I can make predictions for about twenty people, but after that, I don’t know. I didn’t even ask if the embassy staff is invited, but if I were guessing, I would guess ‘yes’. But she might want it more intimate.”
“So expect anywhere from 10 to 200.”
“Probably not more than 50. If it’s that many, neither of us will be able to dance with everyone. Oh, and Bee and Dee will be there. They’re wonderful partners.”
“I bet.”
“There are no rules regarding who you have to dance with.”
“No foreign ambassadors to impress.”
“Only you and Allium.”
I laughed. “Right. I forgot we’re the foreigners here.”
“Exactly. You already know this, but absolutely everyone is going to want to dance with you and me, and probably Olivia and Allium. But here’s the good part. We all get to pull rank. And you don’t have to wait to be invited; you can do your own inviting.”
“I can, can’t I!”
“Yes, you can. However, it would be rude if you just danced with the same four people.”
“That wouldn’t do.”
“So, you and I will get a dance, probably fairly early, and possibly first. You will also dance with Allium and Olivia, and if you ask, you could dance with Bee and Dee. No one should be offended if you say, ‘I’m going to dance with Dee, but ask me in a while’. If it were any other pair of slaves, they might be offended, but those two are special.”
“Okay.”
“This probably isn’t dramatically different than you’re accustomed, except for the no guys thing.”
“And no disapproving mother.”
“Right. About three quarters of the night through, however, things change.”
“Oh?”
“We’ll play a game. It’s unique to us, or so we think, and somewhat new. We call it Hunters and Prey. It’s a lot of fun.” She explained the game.
I laughed. “I’m so going to lose.”
“It’s not losing. You can decide to start as a hunter or a prey. I’m not sure which I’ll be. It might depend on the numbers. In fact, it will almost certainly depend on the numbers. I’ll have a lot of fun either way.”
“So I should be a hunter.”
“You can try, but we’ve found that people should learn the game first as prey, unless they’re already quite comfortable with our styles, and with leading. And you know how to lead, but you haven’t spent your life at it.”
“Does that matter?”
“Not until some of the hunters decide there’s too much competition, and they turn you into prey. Or maybe they turn you into prey because they want you, which is even more likely.”
I laughed again.
“You can try it, but if I were in your position, I would simply accept being prey, at least until you’ve played a few times, and maybe you’ve had more experience leading.”
“We should start our lessons again.”
“Let’s talk about that later.”
“Sure.”
“Okay, so. Eventually the dancing ends, and you’ll almost certainly have been caught, normally by one person, but perhaps by two.”
“Two?”
“Yes. You’ll see some of that. I think it would be fun if you and I did that sometime, partnered up as hunters, but not this week. Maybe I should partner with someone. Gretchena, maybe. I’d partner with Allium this time, but I’d want to go after you, and I don’t think she’d go for that.”
“No, probably not.”
“Anything I need to know?”
“Nope. Nothing you need to know.”
“So something but it’s between the two of you.”
“Her relationship with Mother is more important to her.”
