AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thiemo scoffed at that. "Yeah. Of course it would go both ways. I mean, it's not like I have to worry about my son inheriting anything but my supposed fortune, and I'm pretty sure I'll squander that away somehow."
She laughed. "The trick is to talk. That's it. Even when it's hard, or embarrassing, or you don't know the words - you still have to try to talk it out. Sex is easy. Ignoring it is easier. Talking might be hard, but it's how we all make sure we're on the same page."
"So I need to find a wife who will be willing to talk," he said.
Wraythe grunted, clearly not agreeing. "Not in your circles. You need to find a woman and then convince her that it's actually ok to say what she thinks. Your peers don't seem to like that much, and women aren't stupid. They quickly learn how to play the games better than you could ever dream of. It's a survival technique."
"Shit," Thiemo breathed. "No, that's a good point. Look at Yamina. The guy that's interested in her this week? Yeah, I'm going to have to pick a fight with him or something, because no. She deserves more than that."
And with his words, it felt like a weight left my shoulders. "At least someone's looking out for her."
"That's the benefit of being the embarrassment of the family," Thiemo assured me. "It means that when I do something scandalous, it's almost accepted. If that's what my sister needs, then you watch me start another scandal."
"Then you can come back any time," Ela told him, "because that young lady is my friend. Keep her happy, and I'll consider that a very hefty tithe."
"Then it sounds like I'm going to spend a lot more time in the temple," Thiemo decided. "This might even be fun."
Chapter 17
Eladehl
Talin's brother stayed for quite a while. The more the man relaxed, the more I found myself enjoying his company. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that while he was polite to Nari, he was never overly interested in her. Instead, he flirted with me.
Oh, all of it was subtle. Things like his eyes holding mine a little too long, a shy smile when he replied, or how often he ran his hand through his hair all made it obvious. Well, to us. Plus, he had that Ranndor beauty. His cheekbones were high, his lips were made to be kissed, and his jaw was clean and angular. Added to his lithe body and tall frame, there were a lot of things I would enjoy doing to that man.
But I wanted to make sure that Talin and Nari were honestly ok with this before I committed to anything. Getting myself more involved with Talin's family was probably a stupid idea, and it would certainly make the tangles of temple politics horrendous, yet Shalsa had been the one who brought him to me.
So, that weekend, I went out of my way to ask her opinion about it. Shalsa's thinking was shockingly straightforward: if we'd pissed off one brother, then having the rest on our side might even things out. She wasn't wrong. When Talin told me later that he honestly didn't care, I started to get excited about the idea of a patron specifically asking for me. One with the rank and title to get myself - and Nari by association - a little more attention of the right sort.
So when we headed to classes the next week, I was starting to feel like things were looking up for us. With Thiemo on my side, any complaints Tath might make about Nari would hold a little less weight. Thiemo made it clear he'd seen what had happened. That he'd be willing to request a session with me afterwards nullified a lot of what Tath might say. With Kinen looking for anything to use against Nari, Thiemo became even more important.
Yet the moment we entered our Advanced Sexuality for Entertainment class, Thiemo fled my mind. Saval had those stacks of papers again, which meant another session was coming, and I knew Thiemo wouldn't have had time to request me yet. Fuck! Then again, our sessions last semester hadn't been too bad.
But when we sat down, it seemed that Nari had the same concerns that I did. "How bad do you think this will be?" she asked.
"It's been fine," Wraythe reminded her. "Plus, it's Saval."
"And Migard has been looking out for us," I reminded her, referring to our scheduler.
And yet this was going to be her first assigned session after Tath. The entire winter break, that man had done his best to remind Nari of how cold and cruel patrons could be - and we'd had enough bad sessions in our first year as initiates to know that. It brought back all the concerns we'd had with the number of sessions on this specialization.
When the last person slid into their chair, Saval finally stood and grabbed the stack of papers. "We've been talking about easing patrons into new experiences," she said as she started passing out the forms. "So, at the end of the week, each of you - individually or in pairs - will fulfill someone's fantasy. That could be anything from erotic asphyxiation to spending the evening with a virgin. Because of the number of students in this specialty, we accepted requests that would otherwise go to other specializations, so the options are rather varied."
"Do we get instruction on safe strangulation for asphyxiation?" someone asked.
Saval smiled as she counted out papers for the next row. "Yes. We will also be learning about the resources available to each of you for sessions outside your normal experience levels. However, certain requests will be assigned to the priest or priestess with the most experience in that area."
"Me," I realized, but the word came out a bit too loud.
"Not in this case," Saval said. "You have your own niche, and I assure you that it will be used. Believe it or not, Eladehl, you're not the only one who has been assigned private instruction. Just the student your former instructors chose to call out for it."
Then she passed us our papers. I waited for them to get to me, trying to think of anything I wanted to add or remove from my list of limits, but my mind came up blank. Beside me, Nari was writing quickly. Curious, I looked over.
"What are you changing?" I asked her.
"I'm making it clear that I will gladly tie or restrain others," she said. "Migard knows that being tied is still something I would prefer to do with you in the room." Then she dropped to a lower line. "And that I require a second guardian for any group sessions. You should add that too."
She had a very good point, so I started writing. I knew that Wraythe could hold me off. I had no worries about Talin or Anver's ability to get control of me. However, when working with a group, Wraythe could only do so much. The problem was that I'd be too willing to help, and right now I was starting to think that would cause more problems than it would fix.
