Movers and Shakers [M - S]

[Sara]

She stifled and swallowed down the choke as he pushed into her. She'd felt it most days since she'd come to Rome and the sensation never got easier, or better, or less uncomfortable. At least in this position he couldn't see her face - utterly dispassionate - staring intently down at the wood of the desk from where he pushed her down with a hand on her back. She did her best to breathe through it, focusing on anything else - the sound of the shattering cup was a good distraction for a moment before he was done. She exhaled deeply as he moved back, her body now free of constraint and use. She stayed where she was for a moment more, gathering her wits and her breath.

Then, slowly, she pushed herself up, bits of parchment sticking to her body which she carefully peeled off and set back down on his desk. He wasn't speaking and she knew her place, she wasn't about to either, so she silently moved to pick up the toga on the floor, pinning it back over her body quickly - haphazardly - so it covered her. Then, she silently slipped around the side of his desk. The cup wasn't hugely full but it had shattered on impact, the clay pieces and thick red wine spilling out over the floor. Crouching, she picked up the pieces in her hand. Ione always liked to be useful. It was habitual, for her. She spoke quietly as she went about her task. "May I visit the baths after I am finished, domine?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

She didn't move once he got started, she was just there, a body for him to use because he could. Not because he really wanted her, not now, after how she robbed him of pleasure just before, but here he was anyway. Letting her know he would and could have her, if he felt like it. And he wouldn't even have to look at her face. So he didn't. Then he was done and pulled back to sit on the bed, giving himself a moment to rest before he'd tie the breeches again. She stayed across the desk a few moments more too, before she also stood and put on her simple toga again.

He watched her move around the desk and then she began picking up the pieces of the shattered cup on the floor. Neat. That was something at least. And then she wanted to bathe. Why? Did she bathe after every client? There wasn't time for that. Yet she would do it after her master had his way with her? That wasn't a very positive sign to send. He would remember that.

"If you must." Lucius simply replied then, letting her know he didn't think she had to, but if she insisted, she could.

"And then you can go back to the kitchens, if there's more work for you there today. If not, you get yourself ready for the night. And I'll see you tomorrow." To find out if she'd learned anything from the men she would bed this night.

@Sara

[Sara]

His instinct was right - she did want to wash him off of her. She always had the urge after a bedding, but now it was stronger than anything. She merely muttered a quiet; "Thank you domine." As she finished picking up the shards of pottery, cradling them in her hand as she stood and nodded at his instruction. The kitchens. Solace. She knew she couldn't work in them all evening, there wasn't enough she could reasonably do to fill her time, but she could hopefully spend at least a few hours in them. Quietly, she backed from the room and then strode to fetch an as for the baths, discarding the pottery in the kitchens as she went. 

---

Ione felt wrung out. Usually, as dawn broke, she could sleep - curled up in her little cell under her blanket to snatch a few hours until midday or so. The brothel was quiet, others were taking their rest, but she couldn't. She knew she had a task stretching out before her to speak with her dominus and that only amplified the exhaustion she felt. She felt tired to her bones and just wanted peace after what had been a busy night in the Elysium, although not necessarily for her compared to the other girls. 

Pushing herself up on wobbly legs as she heard the sounds of one of the guards exiting her dominus' office, she quietly padded down the row of cells. She didn't look particularly presentable - toga barely folded around her, no cosmetics on her face and her hair haphazardly, messily piled on her head and pinned with a wooden prong. The bags that hung underneath her eyes suggested the sleep she desperately needed. But as she knocked on his door and waited to be admitted, she stilled herself. Then, when summoned, she slipped through the door and faced the desk where the previous evening she'd been sprawled out over it. She tried not to look at it, or him, and instead kept her eyes on her bare feet. 

"Domine, I have my report if you will hear it?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

The day went on and turned into evening and night. Lucius finished his own work and chose to stay a few hours into the night at the brothel, helping with welcoming clients and directing them to the right girl for them - if they didn't already have a favorite, which some of them did. Eventually he went back to the hospitia he still stayed at, while he was getting the last things in order for the house he was buying for his family. His wife had written that she had found someone to run the brothel for them in Hispania, so that they could keep it and still live in Rome. Lucius was quite pleased with that. Now he had brothels across the empire. What a life! 

He slept well that night, since he got his release from Ione the day before. But he came back to the brothel early, to find out how the night had gone, as always. Find out how much profit had been made. And then he let the guards know he was ready to see Ione as they had an appointment this morning. She showed up, looking tired and messy, as she stood there facing the desk.

"Of course I'll hear it. I hope you have something good for me." Lucius said, leaning back in his chair, looking up at her. She'd been had this night, good and well, that was obvious. A whore to use for anyone who would pay for her. But even despite that, she was his. He enjoyed that. Having slaves and slaves that were whores might be a strange thing to find joyful, but he did. In his own odd way.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ione offered a wan smile and then pushed the door shut until it clicked, stepping closer to his desk as he leant back. "Yes domine, I do." She exhaled and stopped clutching her hands together, dropping them down to the side. Habitually though, she clutched the side of her dress. She couldn't help herself when she was nervous. 

"I...tried to speak with most of the men, but many were drunk or didn't wish to speak." They just wanted a quick lay and then to be out the door. As if it were just another stop on an evening of fun. "But I managed to g-get two men to speak to me. One of them is a blacksmith, a-a pleb and he thinks another blacksmith - Oppius - is running some sort of racket with lead or iron or something." She frowned, the man had a thick accent. "A-and he was complaining about it. And then the other," She hurriedly continued, "He was a pleb but quite well off, h-he was looking for an equite patron I think he said...and he was playing two off of each other. Lucius Calavius Crispian and...Primus Te...Primus Te something..." She winced. Names weren't her strong suit. "There was one other but he just complained about his wife." She swallowed, almost breathless from her speaking. 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

She closed the door properly behind her and stepped closer, looking at her feet, seeming nervous. Why did she always seem so nervous? But at least she had something to tell him. Lucius nodded and made a hand gesture to let her know she could continue, so she did. And she had interesting things to tell! Lucius would look to see if he could find this Oppius, that the blacksmith mentioned. See if there was anything in it and if that could be useful. Then there was a plebian looking for a patron and playing two men out against each other. Lucius chuckled when she mentioned the man complaining about his wife.

"How kind of him to complain about his wife to you. I imagine she's the reason why he came." He said with a smile and reached for a piece of parchment to write down what she'd told him. Then he looked up at her again, "And that was all for last night? Well it's a good start. If I find it useful..." He began and leaned back, scratching his chin while considering something. Then he looked up at her with a smirk, "If I find it to be useful, you may earn yourself a bit more coin from the house. So... I look forwards to your next report." He would do this as a start, have her come each day, and once she'd become used to it, maybe just once a week after that. 

@Sara

[Sara]

She smiled a little, relief washing over her as he seemed impressed. Thank the Gods. The validation was what she craved, it's what she'd always craved - from her father, and her mother, from  her first dominus, from her clients here and from him. She needed to know she was valued...if only for what was between her thighs, and the secrets she could unearth. 

"That was it for last night domine, the other men wouldn't speak to me but...I'll try harder tonight." And the night after, and the night after that. Her world - she realised - was so incredibly small. She blinked, still looking down at his feet as he paused and she risked a glance up to his face. He seemed happy...or the smirk suggested it. She smiled in return before dropping her eyes back down. But his words prompted a grin. Ione was a habitually positive person but she rarely smiled that wide. She recalled Spurius' advice - she had to earn more, she had to save every single thing that she had. Granted - it didn't occur to her then that selling the secrets of her clients probably wasn't what he meant. 

"Thank you domine, thank you so much." She grinned and looked up at him. "I won't let you down I...is there anything else?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

Lucius was pleased with Ione, for now. At least more pleased than he'd been last night, when she'd failed to satisfy him the way he had wanted and he had wanted her to go. She did end up giving him some release, but it was barely the same as pleasure. The most pleasure he took from that experience with her, might be his power over her and how far and how much she would do to please him. Then today, she had pleased him in another way.

He did notice her smile and then she confirmed there was nothing more to tell for now. Then he decided he might pay her a little more, should he find the information she gained useful. That might motivate her more. Coin was great for motivation. She smiled again as she glanced up at him and now... now it widened. Then she thanked him and promised she would not let him down.

"I'm glad to hear you're grateful. Remember that for another time." Lucius said, "And remember your promise... that you won't let me down." He added, "There's nothing more now. Go and rest and get ready for tonight." He waved his hand to signal that she could leave. That was it for now. Time would tell if the information she gave him would actually be useful enough to pay her extra for, but for now, just the hope of more coin would hopefully help her. Once she had left, he returned to his paperwork.

@Sara