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The year was 1809, and the street was dark. Dingy lamps lit the cobblestones but were hindered by thick, hazy fog. There wasn’t much noise in the back alleys at this hour, just the clanging of drunk stray men making their beds for the night and the scurrying of rodents across the narrow passage looking for bits of food. Silently she stuck to the shadows, cursing her too-loud shoes and hoping no men looking for a fight came out of the woodwork. It wasn’t safe to be in Ketterdam this late at night, but she had work to do.
…
The Menagerie was a beautiful place, no matter the decrepit things that happened there. The back entrance was secret, hidden to keep lingering creeps that couldn’t pay out. Entering was something of a trick, a combination of moving wooden beams and clicking open locks that took months for her to perfect. No worries, she had six years of experience.
After moving quickly through hallways and curtain-covered private rooms making ungodly noise, Natalia made it to her hideaway. It wasn’t completely hidden, more like a nook in the back of a rarely used wing of the Menagerie. Her collection of nicer dresses and height-enhancing shoes lived stuffed away in a makeshift closet. Slipping on layers of silks and lace trimmed stockings and throwing a thick, fine dress over her head took less time than normal. She was ready to get the night over with.
Natalia was sick of being carted off to Peka Rollins every night. Not only was he cruel and vain and often didn’t check if he had food between his teeth before coming in, he was a terrible tipper. She wasn’t working at this job for nothing–she needed the money, and needed it desperately. She didn't have parents to support her or distant relatives that had died off and left her fortunes.
Natalia was fortunate, Heleen said, that she was so beautiful with looks favoriting her famous ancestor Benjamin. Those genetics helped Natalia in her work and made her a crowd favorite. She didn’t mind it all that much, it brought in a steady stream of cash that got her by in a small apartment only a ten minute’s walk away. If only Heleen let her pursue any of the younger, new men that came in with real money to spare.
The small mirror she had tucked away in her hideout didn’t provide much. The view was hindered by small flecks of rust and decomposed material that blurred her features too much to be reliable. She made do, smearing a thin layer of crimson on her lips and cheeks from a short stick of lipstick. Finally, she was ready.
…
“Inej, tonight you will have the governor. Oh don’t look at me like that, he is known to trim his chest hair down on occasion. Mira you have been assigned to Mr. Hibbins. Natalia, Rollins has been insisting that he keeps seeing you ever since last week. And Gwen—”
“Could Heleen stop giving me the grossest men possible?” Inej turns to Natalia with a swish of dark hair and rolling eyes. “It’s like she’s torturing me for wanting to get away.”
Natalia didn’t know what to say–it was no secret that Inej was doing everything she could to sneak away with her group of friends. Both handsome, one charismatic with a lovely warm smile and the other with guarded, shark eyes. But Natalia wasn’t concerned with Inej’s issue. She had her own problem. Rollins? Again?
Natalia didn’t need to worry for long. As soon as the other girls hurried away to their respective rooms, Heleen caught her arm and held her back. “Natalia, there is something I must discuss with you.”
Her first reaction was rolling through all the minor offenses she had committed in the past weeks. Minor vandalism, hiding her things in that back corner, laughing at Rollins when he finished in under a minute. Nothing seemed severe enough for her to warrant this kind of attention.
“There is a change to tonight’s schedule.”
“In what way, Ma’am?”
“A new patron has asked for you tonight. He is not the usual sort of fellow, let’s just say.” Heleen looked around the empty room to make sure no stray women overheard them. “Anyways, all you need to know is he is a well known business owner in the area and wishes to keep his identity secret. I trust you will be the most private with this information.”
This news didn’t concern Natalia at all. If anything, it brought a flare of hope in her chest for something new and exciting. “Of course, Ma’am,” she said.
“One more thing. He has um… an issue. Yes, that’s what I would call it. So be hesitant, be careful, and don’t do anything outside our guidelines.” With one last pointed look, Heleen was gone in a flutter of full skirts.
…
The room she was given was different than her usual. Instead of the gilded gold rooms that boasted of riches that Rollins preferred, it was a quiet, small back room tastefully decorated with plain dark colors and fine fabrics.
Natalia was sitting on the bed when he came in.
The man entered stiffly and promptly closed the door behind them, turning his back to her and taking a deep breath. The tension was thick. She instantly recognized him. It was the same man that owned the Crow Club, and Inej’s friend with the shark eyes. She wondered how on earth Inej got along with this man; he was perhaps the most unapproachable person she’d encountered.
“What is your name?”
“Call me Freddy.”
“How believable is that?” She said with a snort. He looked nothing like a Freddy. “I hear they call you… Dirtyhands.”
“Shut up.” Freddy said as he came closer, the click of his cane loud in the quiet room. His jaw was tight. “It’s Kaz. I’m not here to fucking chit chat.”
“Oh, that’s right. We are having a little issue, aren’t we?” Natalia said with a mocking tone. Her hands darted out to his belt as he approached the bed. He stepped right back, making eye contact with her for the first time. She had been wrong, his eyes weren’t like sharks at all. They were deep brown, almost black, and beautiful. Full of life, but completely closed off. They sharpened for a moment when he took her in.
He hesitated for a moment, sighing. “I can’t– I can’t touch people. At least without these,” he said, lifting his gloved hands up sharply.
“And how am I supposed to help?”
“I want to. To be able to touch people. And I want to be able to know what I’m doing.”
“Okay,” Natalia said with a soft voice. This was going to be hard. Prideful, stubborn man that wants to be taught something? It was her thing.
“Don’t fucking pity me or anything. I’m not a child… I’m not even going to be nice to you.”
“Of course not,” she said with a little smile. “I don’t pity you. That would require me to care way too much about my job.”
Kaz nodded resolutely as he stood at the end of the bed, unsure of what to do next. He had stopped looking at her with disdain and his gaze instead hung over her with curiosity, no longer measuring her up but wondering how good she really was at her job. She came the most highly recommended, he would never choose someone incompetent. It was a perk that she was beautiful. Kaz had long harbored respect and private feelings for Inej and often thought she was pretty in her own way, but it was nothing compared to this. It wasn’t respect that led him to be attracted to Natalia. It was a lurching desire in his stomach that was nothing short of biologically primal.
She was gorgeous. He wondered how many people had already had her. It didn’t matter, he decided. He was not jealous, only content that he would be learning from the best.
“You could sit next to me, for a start. You’re freaking me out.”
He wandered towards the furthest edge of the bed and sat, resting his cane on a banister with a blush heightening on his cheeks.
“Maybe even closer.”
Kaz moved an inch.
“Alright,” Natalia said under her breath, moving across the bed and sitting right next to him. “I know you don’t like touching people, but do you have a problem with others touching you?”
“It’s less of an issue,” Kaz said, turning his head to look at her. She was so close. He decided he liked the color she had put on her lips. It was a cool red that complemented her skin and her dark hair and would smudge so easy. He wanted to smudge it into a mess just to see if she still would be as pretty. He bet she would.
“Okay,” Natalia whispered. It was needless to speak at full volume, their faces were only a few inches away. “How’s this?” She asked as her hand left her lap and traced the edge of his leg.
All he could do was nod. It had been so long since he’d been touched, and never sexually. It was overwhelming to feel the trail of her fingertips run up and down his thigh.
“And this?” She spread her hand and laid the entire thing there, moving her thumb in comforting circles that did more to arouse than to soothe. He hated it.
Kaz looked up at her through his lashes. Although still guarded, they had reluctantly softened with desire. He clenched his jaw and nodded again.
Her hand returned to sweeping movements and she trailed it from leg to leg and up and back. He stiffened as it brushed against his most sensitive area and let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.
“Do you like that?”
“Must I answer all these stupid questions? Of course I do.” He was embarrassed, she could tell. Her efforts to ease him did nothing to make him more comfortable. He clearly wanted a plunge into it. So she grabbed his dick through his thin pants and rubbed him with her palm.
“Fucking hell,” Kaz said, his eyes growing wide and blood rushing to his cock. His mind cleared of any thought other than, “more.” This was nothing like having to shake someone’s hand or brush against people in the street. Nothing like holding a friend close or thinking about his brother. Nothing registered as dangerous or sick-inducing. Only waves of want came over him and he leaned back on his arms. Natalia followed, hovering above him, her smile gone. He never thought seeing someone having power over him would make him so warm. He hated those red lips. They were open just enough for him to feel the slight exhale she took every couple seconds. He hated how she couldn’t seem to stop talking or asking questions. He hated how she looked so perfect while he was an utter mess beneath her.
In a flash decision, he lifted his neck an extra couple inches and pressed his lips against hers. Natalia inhaled in quiet surprise as they parted, moving her hand from the front of his pants to press against his throat as she leaned back into him.
Their lips met as Kaz opened his in a gasp. He was awkward and stiff but she didn’t mind. She only took her time kissing his top lip, then the bottom. Kaz adjusted to her method, returning it with equal vigor. He moved his hands carefully to her waist, where her dress melted into silky fabric that was smooth instead of thick. He moved his lips back and forth across hers gently, enjoying the feel of such soft, delicate skin. He got to know her as he opened his mouth imperceptibly more, letting the wetness of her mouth warm his own. Why had he never done this before? It was heaven. No cold, clammy skin that he was so afraid of touching. Only heat coursing through him.
Kaz laid back on the bed, allowing her to swing her leg over his lap, straddling him, without ever breaking their kiss. His hand scrambled from her waist to the back of her head, pushing it against his to get closer. It wasn’t enough. He weakly thrusted at the air in between her hovering body and his. Why wasn’t she sitting on him? She should sit on him.
“Sit on me. Please.” He choked out in the warm air between their mouths.
“You sure?”
“Fuck off and do it.” Kaz’s hand that still caressed her waist pressed down until the heat of her through her dress met his groin. “God. God. Fuck.”
As Natalia rested against him, moving in slow, tantalizing circles, Kaz couldn’t help but to throw his head back against the sheets and push up his hips. His gloved hands scrambled at her layers of dress, fumbling for the edges only to push them up around her hips, searching for the barest part of her to press against. He met smooth, olive skin that was far too intimidating to touch. His hands returned to her back in a constant flutter of motion, desperate to get the most he could. They flew from her hair to her waist to finally gripping the back of her neck in something mimicking a choke.
He sat up to get a better angle, shifting her against his hardness as he groaned and gasped at all the sensations he had never felt before. Natalia was a fucking tease, he decided. She knew the exact ways to move to get the reaction from him she wanted. She hovered and fell over his lap in a sickening pattern. Her hands caressed the sensitive space on his neck behind his ear, changing from grasping his neck to pulling his hair.
Natalia wasn’t immune to what was going on, no matter how many times she had been in this position before. It wasn’t common for men to want a woman to be in charge. And it especially wasn’t common for there to be this much foreplay involved. Usually nights started and ended within a couple minutes–patrons coming in, flipping up her skirt, and getting busy. This, this was entirely different. There was something about this man. Perhaps it was because he was riddled with secrets, hell even his name was fake. Maybe it was because he is so desperate for her. Or maybe, some sick, twisted part of her liked that she was the first one to ever make him feel this way. It was pure and complete power that throbbed through her veins and led her to be a sticky, wet mess above him.
“Do you want to?” Natalia asked in a pant, moving rhythmically over him.
“Do I want to what?” Kaz choked out with his eyes shut in bliss
“Fuck me?”
Kaz stopped and snapped open his eyes, no longer cold or unyielding. “I didn’t pay for that.”
“I was offering,” she said resolutely.
The hesitance that had washed off of Kaz in the former moments came back with a vengeance. “I don’t think I’d be any good.”
“I think I’ve had far worse.” And with that she leaned back in slowly, more sure of her movements than before. Her hands pushed delicately at his chest for him to lay down and traced up and down the buttons of his shirt. He grabbed her wrists with one hand and his eyes looked sharply into hers, “I’m not taking off any clothes.”
“Alright,” Natalia responded with a nod. Her hands instead found the buttons of his pants, popping them open slowly. “We will do it this way then.” Kaz’s hands came to help hers, shoving his pants only far enough to release himself and take him in hand. His gloved hand stroked impatiently up and down, the thumb rolling over the dripping tip. He swallowed a groan and a blush spread over his cheeks as he looked up at her, already completely hard.
There was no need to be embarrassed however, Natalia thought. She felt completely the same. All she needed to do was hook her fingers over the gusset of her panties and pull them to the side. From there she lowered herself onto him.
He was deceptively big. Just when you think cocky guys with a big attitude are making up for something, they prove you wrong. He was longer than average, and when she thought she was fully sat, he quickly put the last bit in without any self control.
Although Kaz wanted to look into her eyes to make sure he was okay, he was currently in another world. His eyes were screwed shut and his head was thrown back and his mouth was open in a silent gasp. It was all he could do to put his hands on her waist and press her further down on him. She was so wet and so warm and all he wanted was more. His hips couldn’t stop from moving in an erratic pattern, untrained to what kind of movement would suit her the most, only chasing what felt so unbelievably incredible to him.
He felt helpless. And for once in his life, he fucking loved it.
Natalia had to steady herself, putting her full weight off of her knees and onto his lap. She fell forward a bit, her hands searching for a spot to hold onto. Kaz momentarily stopped his pressure on her hips to place her hands around his neck and hair. Natalia choked him. He unknowingly groaned, lost in the moment.
It was a slick slide, not so much in-and-out rabbit movements that Natalia was used to from her more inexperienced patrons, but deep, rolling shifts that hit every good spot within her. They were pressed together in such a way that his pelvis hit hers rhythmically, brushing her clit and adding pressure to the most sensitive part of her.
Kaz’s gloved fingers finally moved to touch her under her dress, grabbing at her ass and brushing the string of her panties. He made his way to where they were joined, dipping his finger around the slick entrance of her and feeling where it met his cock. He suddenly wished he could feel it without the barrier of his gloves, but it didn’t matter. There wasn’t any time.
He turned suddenly, an arm wrapping around her waist to steady her as he shifted to be on top. It wasn’t missionary that he wanted though. He wanted to watch as his cock disappeared inside of her. He flipped her to lay on her belly, head in the pillows, dress over her hips, and ass hovering a few inches above the sheets. When he came back to her they both had to groan. The new angle felt deeper, they could go faster, and Kaz was certain he had lasted long enough to warrant finishing without embarrassment.
He brought his hand down to spank her, the black of his gloves contrasting with the paleness of her ass, now turning a pretty shade of pink. He did it again. Then one hand went to the small of her back and the other went to grab her dark hair, pulling her against him so they could be the closest they could be.
It felt like it was over before it began. The flipping and heat in his stomach had intensified. One stroke became two, three, and that was the most he could handle. He tore himself out of her and came all over her bare ass, dripping over the string of her underwear as he watched intently.
Natalia was left panting on the sheets. In the course of ten minutes, the constant movement had led her to not one but two orgasms. She couldn’t feel her legs, much less move them as she heard him stand up, resituate his clothes, and drop change on the nightstand and close the door behind him.
All he left her with besides the extremely generous tip was, “I’ll be seeing you again.”
THE END