By the time I was let up off the floor and sofas, several hours had passed, some of the men had even left, and there was a large pile of credit tokens in my purse. I was a little sore, but I'd had a few orgasms of my own to take the edge off, some of the men genuinely enjoying giving me a little pleasure too. As I got up I noticed Lord Logan still staring and I suspected he had been sat alone at the bar by himself the whole time.

Hoping I was doing the right thing, I walked slowly up to him, our gazes locked.

"You've been very quiet and distant. Do you not want to come join in?" I asked.

"I'm not particularly interested in exhibiting myself to a room full of men I only half like," he replied, his accent eastern european. I tried not to show my surprise, but came a little closer, seeing if his body language would change.

"Would you like to find somewhere quieter?"

He chuckled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Have one of the richest men in the city become a regular schmuck, paying to stick his cock in you again and again."

I raised my eyebrows and didn't respond at first, the disdain taking me by surprise. Eventually I decided if he was being so honest with me, I would be honest with him.

"No, not particularly. I'm grateful to be alive. And to be healed, but to have been woken up in a world where it's okay to essentially force a woman into sexual slavery to pay back such enormous sums of money? I'm doing what I have to do to one day be free. You don't want to fuck me, and don't like the idea of being seduced by a courtesan, then why in the hell did you invest in me?"

The last sentence came out more angry than I'd intended, but Lord Logan didn't seem to appear ruffled, although his eyes were a little wider.

"I have to go," he said. "But I'll give Daniel credit. You're not the normal courtesan material. Check your messages later, Angel. Perhaps you can thank me another time."

With that he walked off, and I found myself wanting to reach for him and pull him back, but I restrained myself, noticing Daniel coming towards me. Belle was giggling by the door as Conner gave her his card and then all the men were gone.

"Well done," Daniel said. "I think more than one of those will consider becoming a regular, and even Belle snagged herself a new companion."

"Thank you," I replied, more than a little absentminded.

Daniel took my arm again and led me back down the stairs and out to the car. At first I was subdued, not sure what to say, or to do after having such a strange experience, but I rushed into the court and to my room as soon as Daniel relinquished me.

I couldn't help it, but I wanted to check my messages already. How interested had Logan been. He'd been by far the most striking of men at the party, but he'd been the most reserved and mysterious. His accent had also been something from a fairytale. The kind of accent Count Dracula had in movies before I was frozen.

Tipping my tablet and my tokens on the bed, I tried to work out where to find messages from men I'd not already booked into my calendar or sent a message to myself.

When Mhairi appeared a little later she helped me navigate to them. I was blown away to see I had over thirty unsolicited messages in my inbox. It was more than I'd expected, and my mouth fell open as I wondered if they were all from Lord Logan.

"You've not been checking your messages from cold callers, have you?" Mhairi asked as she glanced over my shoulder.

"I didn't know they were filed separately," I replied, quickly scrolling to the bottom to see how long ago I'd received the first one.

"Well, you'd best take some time to reply to them. And check them regularly. They put them in a different place because a successful courtesan gets a lot of them. So you can find the ones from regulars and people who matter more swiftly."

I nodded, understanding, but kicking myself. Ignoring the old messages for now, I looked for something from Lord Logan. I felt more than disappointed when I didn't have anything.

Mhairi was ready to go out again, and left while I sat on the bed reading through the old messages.

Some of them were out of date by now, invites to events that already happened. But some of them were general enquiries, a few were messages from people I had since added in my contacts, and even more messages from people I didn't know who might make potential regulars.

To all of these latter messages I replied, asking them for more information, trying to politely find out if they can afford me. I also asked a few questions about them and their desires. If I was going to have them as a companion, I wanted to make sure that we were compatible.

By the time I was done I felt exhausted. I never found it particularly easy getting to know new people, and having to message so many of them at once had fried my brain.

I was more than ready to go to Tomichii again. He was a man I enjoyed spending time with, and I can think of a better way to unwind. Although every time I went to see him, a small part of me longed to see Kioshi too.

The smiling businessman was waiting where he usually was, in his relaxation room. His eyes lit up when he saw me and I hurried towards his outstretched arms.

"Auralia," Tomichii said. "I hear you met some royalty today."

"I am not sure about royalty, but I did meet some interesting men earlier," I replied. "But please, tell me how you are doing."

"Do not fear, Auralia. I am not one of those companions who can't talk about other men. Did you have a good time at the races?"

"I did, but I'm afraid I didn't win anything on the horses."

"Neither do I. And Kioshi always tells me off when I bet."

I smiled and I sat down beside Tomichii, noticing that he hadn't moved. As soon as I did Tomichii ordered us both drinks. Large glasses of champagne appeared. Three of them.

Raising an eyebrow, I wondered if I could ask him who the third one was for. But before I could say anything, Kioshi appeared. He joined us at the table, taking his glass as Tomichii handed me mine.

"A celebration?" I asked.

"The new healing system has been deployed," Kioshi explained. "Thanks to you, from tomorrow, no one will be left frozen who can be healed from MS."

"That is something to celebrate," I replied, lifting my champagne glass. "To cheaper healing for all, and the men who make it possible."

"Hear hear," Dante said, appearing to my right.

I tried not to look too surprised, or to let my cheeks flush too much. But I couldn't help thinking about what happened the last time we had met.

"Yes, thank you," Tomichii said, looking at Dante. "We couldn't have done it without you."

I lifted an eyebrow just a fraction, but it was enough to talk Kioshi's attention.

"Dante was one of the biggest investors in the project."

"He was? How wonderful." I smiled at him, hoping it came across as sincere.

"I don't think it's right to earn all this money without doing something good with it."

"I can drink to that as well," Kioshi said, raising his champagne glass again.

"Come, sit. Have a drink. Celebrate with us," Tomichii said, as he patted the seat beside him.

For a moment Dante looked like he might refuse, but eventually he nodded and sat down. Sandwiched in between Tomichii and Kioshi, I wondered how I had found myself at a table with three of my favourite people. And it seemed they all got along with each other, something that didn't happen when I was with Keaton.

"Do you think there are many women frozen who had the same disease as I did?" I asked, not wanting to be an awkward silence and not sure how to fill it any other way.

If any of the men minded my question they didn't show it,. Instead, they speculated. Kioshi had done some research before he'd created the first prototype, the one that had led to my resurrection. But even he didn't know exactly how many people were frozen with the same disease.

Half an hour slipped by, the conversation easy, the three men talking of their trade, and the good they could do. It was only as Tomichii got up, our drinks finished, but I realised I was there for another reason. I was there to please Tomichii as his companion.

"Come, Auralia," Tomichii said, taking my hand.

I said goodbye to the other two letting Tomichii lead me away. Although I was tired, the gentle businessman had a way of making me desire him. No sooner were we alone together then I felt the first stirring of heat deep between my legs.

For a moment we lay down on the bed beside each other. He looked at me, studying my face. With two gentle fingers he stroked the hair away from my cheek back by my ear.

"I am sorry it wasn't cheaper when we resurrected you."

"There is nothing to be sorry for. You did your best, and I am very grateful to be alive and healed."

Giving me another sweet smile, Tomichii came forward and pressed his lips against mine. I shifted closer, wanting to be near him, wanting to fill his body against mine.

As I did, he reached out to me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close. When he moved his hands lower, I groaned. After feeling like nothing but a toy to all the men at Daniel's party, it was more than a relief to know I was special to Tomichii.

His expert hands knew exactly where to touch, roaming over my breasts, and heating me even further. I more than wanted him inside me by the time his hands moved even lower, trailing down my skin, past my hips, before coming together. He slid them slowly between my thighs, parting them and finding me wet.

Once again I moaned, my mouth still locked with his, kissing his cheeks and whatever part of him was closest if he decided to kiss me anywhere else. I tried not to rush him, wanting him to feel in control, and to do as he pleased, but I was almost desperate, my body beginning to shake as I fought not to try and impale myself on him.

When I did finally feel his hardness against my entrance, his body now above mine, poised over me, I couldn't help myself. I wanted him so badly, I lifted up, pushing him into me. Taking it as a clear invitation, he drove downwards, meeting me in the middle as he filled me completely.

The sensation was bliss and I could think of nothing else. I wasn't sure what followed other than the rhythmic back and forth as he pulled out and denied me the satisfaction of feeling full, only to give it back to me the second before I thought I might go crazy for need.

My orgasm washed over me, tearing a loud moan, his name intermingled. It tipped him over the edge of his own peak, his body pumping me full of his seed as he groaned into my neck.

Slowly, we descended, still wrapped in each other's arms, kissing now and then, but sated. I sighed as he lifted me back to my feet and helped me smooth out my hair.

"Come a little later tomorrow, so I can have your portrait continued," he said. Immediately I nodded. I would do anything for Tomichii and I was fairly sure he knew that.

Feeling like I'd had the strangest day, I hurried to my next appointment. I was pleased to find I had several replies to my messages already as I sat in the bubble car being taken to finish Jack's night. More than a few of them sounded like they might be potentially good regular companions.

I frowned as I caught myself thinking this. Had I really fallen into this lifestyle so completely that every man was weighed up on how likely he was to regularly pay me for sex?

It seemed I had. And if I truly thought about it, I knew there was a deeper understanding of myself. A part of me liked all the sex. A part of me was finding the whole experience liberating. I was getting to explore my own sexuality and figure out what I also liked and didn't. And men were paying me for it.

"What's put such a big grin on your face?" Edward asked. I blinked, not having realised I was smiling. For a moment I considered lying, but Edward was my bodyguard and a lover of sorts. Instead I told him the truth, almost confessing and making myself feel cleaner about the thoughts.

"That's a good thing, princess. It'll help you through some of the hard weeks, cause make no mistake, if you keep visiting Keaton every single day without a proper day off, you're going to have a few difficult days along the way."

I nodded, not sure how else to reply. Edward was usually right, but that didn't mean I wanted to hear it. I'd rather think about how good the sex was beginning to feel.