Chapter 9 #2
“Not a problem. You two can read through the standard contract first.” The man slides the iPad toward me, and I stare down at it, my eyes trying to make sense of the small print.
“We can discuss any changes you wish to make, and when you’re done, the liaison will review it, then we can print it for signing. ”
“Sounds good,” I say at the same time as Rathyn says, “You don’t need to read it.”
I stare at him. “You’re joking, right? I’m absolutely reading this. You could be asking me to do something weird. I’m not signing my life away without knowing what I’m contractually obligated to do.”
His ears flick in annoyance. “I would not harm you. You know this.”
“Yeah, well, your version of harm and mine might be very different. I’m not signing anything until I know all the details.”
He sighs but makes a go-ahead gesture, and I glance down where I find my name right next to his.
“Rathyn of the Dark Vale?” I snort, and his ears flutter. “That’s your full name?”
“What is wrong with it?”
“Nothing.” I swallow back a little snort. “Just sounds very…archaic.”
He glances over at my name and then says, “Everest Hale.”
“Yeah. Hey, it rhymes with yours. Hale? Vale?”
Rathyn stares at me, oblivious to my fantastic humor.
“Ugh, fine. Whatever. Be quiet and let me read.” My eyes scan the terms of service and then the binding clause. It’s plainly stated that this contract is something we’re signing with mutual consent from both parties, which is kind of rich.
I mean, it’s technically true, but it doesn’t entirely feel that way. I had a choice between Rathyn and some other monster sucking my dick. He’s the lesser of two evils for sure.
The duration of the contract is negotiated once a year for as long as I’m capable of orgasming, or until one party decides to terminate the agreement in full. I wonder, for a moment, who will be the first to end this.
My gaze slides down to the duties and expectations, and my eyes widen. “Um, Rath, have you read this?”
His eyes flick over to mine. “Which part?”
“Duties and Expectations.” My stomach feels all tight, like I’ve swallowed a boulder.
His ears flutter, and for a second, I swear his face flushes. “Yes. I’ve reviewed this.”
I scoff. He knew all of this and didn’t warn me before we came in? “You want me to live with you? Not a chance in hell.” I’m not giving up my freedom for him. No fucking way. Not after it had been ripped from me after my parents died.
“We cannot live apart. Companions must be accessible at all times.”
I drop the tablet on the table with a loud clatter. “At all times? Hell no. Absolutely fucking not.”
“What is the problem?” Rathyn asks. He sounds a lot less patient now.
“I’m not going to be accessible at all times.”
His ears flick, showing off his irritation. “That is what a companion is for.”
I shake my head quickly. “No. I want some kind of…of amendment or something in here saying he can’t demand dick every minute of every day.”
“I do not require your cum every minute of every day. That is excessive,” he says flatly.
I stare at the man sitting across from us, then at Rathyn. “No. I want it defined in writing.”
“Perhaps during certain hours—” the man starts.
Rathyn thumps his tail on the ground. It’s loud, and everyone goes quiet. “I am the commander of an entire military force. I cannot have my companion’s hours dictated to me.”
“Then no fucking deal,” I say, crossing my arms.
His eyes narrow, but before he can say something to piss me off even further, the man clears his throat. “Perhaps a set number of…” he flushes as he says, “completions per day?”
Rathyn goes quiet, and it takes me a minute to catch up to what he’s saying.
“So,” I say slowly, “like, the number of times per day he can suck my cock?”
The man’s cheeks go redder. “The number of times he can bring you t-to orgasm.”
God, this poor bastard’s job must be really humiliating.
“Fine. I agree to thirty,” Rathyn says instantly.
My heart drops into my butt. “What the fuck? No! Ten.”
His ears flick. “Twenty-five.”
Twenty-five orgasms a day? He’s out of his fucking mind. “Even with your horrible herb, that’s too much for me. I will literally die of dehydration and protein deficiency.” That’s probably not true. I doubt you can become malnourished from coming too much, but still.
Rathyn studies me for a second, and I can feel him pressing at my mind like he’s trying to see if I’m telling the truth before he lets out a breath. “Fifteen.”
I sit in silence for a moment, working it out.
The money will be good if I do this. And at worst, it’s for a year before we have to renew, at which point I can probably request a termination.
At best, Rathyn gets bored of me after three months and sends me on my way with a nest egg that’ll help cover my bills for a while.
Fifteen is a lot of orgasms a day, though. It’s an absurd amount, actually. But…with the herb and determination, I can probably handle it. And, if I’m being honest, the look on Rathyn’s face tells me he’s not going to agree to any lower.
“Fine. Fifteen. Can you write that amendment in there?”
The man stares at the tablet. “I…I don’t know. We’ve never had a human companion dictate a number of completions before today.”
My eyes widen. Didn’t he just say we could make whatever changes we want? Or was that just for the Vyastil? This is starting to feel a lot less like I have any say in this contract.
“Please give me a few moments,” he says, then stands up and takes the tablet with him as he leaves the room. The door closes, and I hear the lock click, which makes my heart jump. I don’t like the feeling of being locked in this room.
Rathyn studies me for a moment, then his tail snakes between us and wraps around my leg. The feeling of it is beyond comforting, and I hate it, but I lean a little closer to him.
“You’re being argumentative,” he says after a beat.
I scoff. “No, I’m not. You just don’t like being told no.”
He doesn’t disagree with me. He stares for a long moment, then says, “Why is your heart beating so fast? You seem…disturbed.”
I am disturbed. I’m on the verge of a panic attack.
This feels like one giant mistake, and now I can’t even leave the room if I want to because we’re locked in.
“I don’t like being trapped in a small, enclosed space like this.
” I feel a questioning pulse in my head from Rathyn asking me why.
“After my parents died—right after the first portal opened—my aunt and uncle freaked out.”
“What is aunt and uncle?”
“My mom’s sister and her husband,” I explain. He seems to know so many random facts about humans, but things that should be common knowledge seem to escape him. It’s…odd. “Do you know about siblings?”
“Yes,” he says. I’m not sure if he’s telling the truth or lying to get the conversation moving. Whatever the case, it doesn’t matter. “And they locked you in a room?” The question comes out in a low growl. Oh. He sounds angry.
That’s…different.
I shrug. “No. More like, they kept me in the house and refused to let me outside past the front door for…” Well, for years, but I don’t say that.
“A long time. I was only ever allowed to attend school, and it got worse when the Vyastil began moving into houses nearby and getting jobs in our community.”
He huffs quietly. “I do not associate with those Vyastil.”
My brows dip. “Why not?”
His tongue teases his lower lip, then he says, “They are here for different reasons than I am.”
“Well, anyway, I don’t like being stuck inside after all that. And this room kind of reminds me of their house. Back then, I was still trying to get over losing my parents, and it felt like…so much. I don’t want to go back to that.”
His tail tightens a bit more, and it feels like a hug. “What is the average age parents leave their young?”
“Well, I was just a kid, but they didn’t leave me on purpose. They died, and my aunt and uncle had to take me in.”
His ears flick. “That was…difficult for you?”
I huff. “Yeah. It wasn’t great. I loved my parents. They were different. They wouldn’t have…” I stop. I don’t want to tell Rathyn that my aunt and uncle were raging bigots who would be foaming at the mouth with anger if they knew what I was doing.
It seems needlessly cruel.
“What was the age you were allowed to free yourself from your confinement?” he asks.
“Eighteen. That’s when I became a legal adult.” He looks confused again, but I don’t explain further. If they walk earlier than ten months old, they probably don’t hang around their parents for the first quarter of their lives. “Are yours still around?”
“I do not know. We don’t contact our birth givers once we are self-sufficient.” He says this with no emotion, which gets me right in the chest.
I’m not the kind of guy who wants kids, but it’s wild to think that if I did, they might not have any emotional attachment to me. I would give just about anything for five more minutes with my parents.
Rathyn tugs me close with his tail and leans in, dropping his forehead against mine. “You are…” He takes a deep breath. “Sad.”
“What the fuck? You can smell sad?”
“I feel it inside here,” he taps my temple.
I lean into his warmth, and his hand creeps into the space between us, but just as his fingers brush mine, the lock clicks and the door swings open. The man from before walks in with a Vyastil at his heels.
It takes me a second, but eventually I recognize him. Eissa, from orientation.
Beside me, Rathyn stiffens, then inclines his head. Eissa smiles, looking more relaxed and almost human in a way that Rathyn does not.
“Everest,” Eissa says in his low, melodic rumble. He extends a hand, but before I can offer mine, Rathyn tightens his grip on me and pulls me back. Eissa doesn’t look surprised. He smiles a little wider and pulls his hand back. “Commander Vale.”
Rathyn inclines his head again but says nothing.
“It seems you’re asking to negotiate a companionship contract,” Eissa says.