Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Vesper
Vesper slammed the metal box shut, looking up at the lobby’s high, vaulted ceiling, tracing the intricate paintings with her eyes. She took a deep breath and slipped her key out of the lock. Fucking empty. No new assignments in nine days.
Their employers were punishing them. Or they were trying to force them to renew their contract. It would be expiring soon. Shit. Vesper already knew they’d have to. They didn’t have a choice, they both needed the money.
At least this time Vesper would get the renewal bonus since Bellamy got it last time.
The organization always pulled this bullshit when it was close to renewal. Their contract had one hundred days left, and they weren't even allowed to re-sign until the fifty-day mark. Fucking bullshit. They’d make their lives as miserable as possible until then. Bleed them fucking dry.
It wasn’t technically illegal. Their contract stated there would be a job every ten days, at the minimum.
They were clearly going to push it to ten.
They didn’t usually start their bullshit this early though.
Therefore, this had to be punishment. Someone had to have found out about that fucking envelope.
Vesper was going to kill Bellamy. She shouldn’t have this shit coming down on her head too.
Heels clicked against the grey tile floor and a light, sweet voice purred from behind her, “Hey, V. I know something that can relieve that tension you’ve got.” Thin brown arms wrapped around her midsection, followed by giant tits pressing into her back.
Vesper sighed. “I’m sure you do, but I don’t have the money, Mazz.”
“The girls miss you.” Mazz turned Vesper around, giving her a pointed look. “It’s been a few days.”
Vesper winced, “I haven’t had a job for a few days.”
“Or does your girl keep you locked up now?”
Vesper barely withheld her frustrated groan. “You know I don’t have a girl.”
“Funny,” Mazz shrugged her delicate shoulders nonchalantly. The thin straps of her tight camisole almost fell down with the move, but she didn’t bother trying to fix them. “Heard something contrary this morning.”
“What did you hear?” Vesper ground out.
“Heard someone was yelling at Cedar, saying to stay away from you. Now, I couldn’t help but wonder,” Mazz purred, pulling back and tapping her bottom lip with a thin finger.
She dragged it down before biting it and running her hands up Vesper’s arms. “If you don’t got a girl, who would be so upset about you with someone else? ”
“If you thought I had a girl, why’d you come over to proposition me?” Vesper asked calmly. She was going to fucking kill Bellamy.
There were a lot of things Vesper loved about where she lived: the assignments coming in downstairs, the proximity to the shops, gardens, and trolley station, the whores being in the building.
But some of those things could also be very irritating.
Like now, for instance when some bitch decided to get pissy, and the whores were bored.
As much as Vesper enjoyed them, they were all terrible gossips.
She’d known that even before she started seeing them in a professional setting.
She’d been friends with a few of them—was friends with most of them now—but Vesper was damn certain they’d already spread word around about Bellamy’s little outburst.
“Like I said, the girls miss you. One in particular,” Mazz whispered. She cuddled up closer to Vesper and slipped her hands under Vesper’s shirt, her fingers trailing over Vesper’s back.
“I’ll come by to say hi later,” Vesper relented with a sigh, shoving her hands into her pockets.
She was perfectly content to let Mazz try to get her around this way, but she knew as well as anyone that if she accidentally let herself touch Mazz in any way, she’d be charged for it.
And she hadn’t been lying. She really couldn’t afford a whore right now.
“Maybe your girl will lend you some money so you can do more than say hi to me later,” Mazz purred, winking as she pulled away just before an angry Bellamy stormed up to them.
Bellamy had exchanged Vesper’s pants for tattered fishnets and a pleated skirt that barely covered her ass, but, of course, she’d kept Vesper’s shirt on.
Just to piss her off.
“Fucking Cedar all night wasn’t enough for you?” Bellamy growled, shoving Vesper away from Mazz who sauntered off in search of a real fare. “Can you not keep it in your pants for two fucking seconds?”
“Fuck off, she came onto me. What’re you even doing here anyway?” Vesper groaned, her hands clenched to fists in her pockets. “And give me my fucking clothes back.”
“Why don’t you take them back,” Bellamy challenged. She stepped into Vesper’s space and pressed against her, almost copying Mazz’s exact positioning.
Instead of dignifying her with a response, Vesper snapped, “Don’t you have other lives to ruin aside from mine?” Bellamy narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here, Bellamy?”
She huffed, petulantly. “We have an assignment.” Bellamy waved a bit of paper in front of Vesper’s face and she snatched it out of Bel’s hand.
“Stop breaking into my fucking box,” Vesper grumbled.
She scanned over the scant details of their assignment, grateful they did actually have one.
“Starts tomorrow, transport is scheduled for us,” Vesper mumbled, more to herself than Bellamy.
She was surprised they’d arranged transport.
That was usually Bellamy’s job. “Leaving early as shit too. Oh—” Vesper looked up from the paper with an eyebrow raised. “Soveba. One of the New Cities?”
What the fuck were they going all the way out there for?
“Yep,” Bellamy confirmed. “And my Sovesian is fluent. Just finished my annual refresher, might be why they picked us,” she added. And then because they were almost in civil conversation territory, she said, “You can’t afford the whores there.”
“And you can’t afford the gambling debt you’ll inevitably accrue there,” Vesper snapped. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the building. Bellamy clearly didn’t care, but Vesper’s Sovesian was also fluent.
They’d each been required to learn three languages during schooling. Both she and Bellamy had picked Sovesian—it was how they met. Not that Bellamy had bothered to remember. Clearly. Not that Vesper cared she’d forgotten.
“Bitch,” Bellamy grumbled under her breath, loud enough for Vesper to hear, before footsteps followed her out of the building. “Where are you going?”
Vesper held up the paper. “Need supplies, don’t we?
” she said. “I assume you haven’t lost all of our stipend for that already?
” Vesper stuck out her hand and Bellamy slapped the notes they’d been given for this assignment down with more force than was necessary.
“Good. Now why don’t you make yourself useful and go get our accommodations secured? ”
Bellamy did not make herself useful. Instead, she opted to follow Vesper in an unsettling silence as they passed between towering buildings and weaved through the crowded, cobbled streets of the city centre.
Green and white banners had been hung for some festival.
She wasn’t paying much attention to that, though. Her sole focus on the body behind her.
The sun beat down through the few clouds, and Vesper tried to stay mostly under the building awnings.
Despite the heat, she still made sure to take the longer but more crowded route.
Bellamy was too quiet in her pursuit, and Bellamy only shut her mouth when she was plotting.
Vesper did not fucking trust her one bit.
Unfortunately, the buildings eventually gave way as the river popped up on one side, the trolley track on the other.
Trees grew heavier, which provided more shade.
But that also meant the people around them dwindled.
There were fewer and fewer the further along they walked until they were eventually alone.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long to find out what Bellamy had been planning.
“So,” Bellamy started innocently once the last person had disappeared from view.
“Did you have fun last night?” She stepped in front of Vesper and pushed her against the iron railing that kept them from tumbling into the wide river below.
She leaned in and made obscene moaning sounds. “Oh, V. Fuck me harder. Mmm, yes, V.”
“What do you want?” Vesper snapped, refusing to admit the exaggerated mocking affected her at all. She shoved Bellamy away. Undeterred, Bellamy crowded against her again, pressing their bodies close. Her hand drifted to Vesper’s crotch, feeling for something she didn’t find.
“You’re not wearing it,” she pouted.
“Don’t make a habit of it.”
“You should.”
“Get the fuck off me,” Vesper sighed. She pushed Bellamy to the side, and Bellamy immediately bent over the railing, her small skirt riding up and revealing a tempting view of the lower half of her ass.
“If you were strapped, think of how good you could fuck me like this.”
Vesper chuckled, not moving. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because no one can satisfy you like I can.”
Vesper forced another laugh. She’d never tell Bellamy exactly how right she was.
“Careful, Bel,” Vesper warned, moving behind her to press herself into Bellamy.
One hand snaked around Bellamy’s hip while the other came to squeeze her throat.
Vesper pulled her up until they were flush.
Bellamy’s breathing stuttered. “You almost sound desperate. Like you haven’t been able to get off in days.
” Bellamy whined, pressing herself against Vesper who let out a taunting laugh.
“You haven’t, have you?” Vesper mocked, lowering her voice to a whisper. “That needy cunt of yours must be dying for me. Besides, you know I don’t need that thing to fuck you.”
Bellamy’s hands tightened on the railing. Her knuckles turned white, and another whine escaped her throat. “Yes,” she whispered back, “do it.”
“Please. I’m not the desperate one,” Vesper growled, squeezing Bellamy’s throat tighter.
“You’re right, I need it,” Bellamy admitted, wiggling against Vesper. “You know you want to.” She grabbed Vesper’s hand and moved it from her hip to right over her underwear. The dampness seeping through made Vesper’s core heat, but she was not going to give in. She could not let her win. Again.
“You’re so needy for someone you hate to fuck you.
I’m right, aren’t I? You haven’t gotten off since the last time I did it for you.
” Vesper mocked. She shoved Bel’s thong aside and slid a finger through her drenched folds.
“That was months ago.” Vesper wiggled a finger inside, just up to the first knuckle. “You’re fucking pathetic.”
Each word she hissed increased Bellamy’s wetness. Her breathing sped up. Bellamy spread her legs further to allow better entry, and Vesper withdrew. The soft whimper from Bellamy almost had Vesper caving.
Vesper shoved Bellamy down so she leaned over the railing and wiped her finger on Bellamy’s exposed ass before she spanked it—hard. Bellamy cried out, not caring if anyone was around, and bent over further.
Vesper walked away. “You’re worse than the whores,” she chuckled tauntingly.
“Yeah, well, I bet they can’t make you come like I can!” Bellamy called after her, breathless and angry.
Vesper turned to look back at her, a wicked smile on her face. “The good ones can do it better. Go book our fucking accommodations.”
“Don’t get those shit fruit bars this time!” Bellamy yelled, thankfully not trying to follow her again. Instead, she let out one final frustrated scream and turned to go in the opposite direction and, hopefully, do as she was told.