Royally Trained

by Diana Ames

  Mellissandra turned around to see Alyssa watching her from the railing. A blush stole over Mellissandra’s cheeks, and she couldn’t contain the grin that played across her lips. Once again, the other woman was outfitted in only a short robe that wasn’t cinched closed. Mellissandra tried to focus on Alyssa’s face instead of her breasts. Mellissandra tried to forget how the men and women had touched and licked those breasts or how Alyssa had thrown her head back in pleasure.

  “I can see that blush from here, Mel,” Alyssa teased. “Come on up and tell me what you thought.”

  “I can’t right now,” Mellissandra said, biting her lip. “I have to finish my work first.”

  “Oh. Well, okay. Just come on up when you’re done then,” Alyssa told her. “If I’m sleeping, wake me up. I’m dying to hear what you thought about it all.”

  Mellissandra waved as the other woman slipped back inside her bedroom. Mellissandra couldn’t believe she finally had a real friend, someone to gossip with and share secrets with. She had always longed for enough time and freedom to make friends, but as the oldest child, she had stayed home with her mother and helped with the house and the little ones. She had never resented her family; in fact, she loved them with every fiber of her being. It just seemed like a pointless sacrifice now that her parents had turned their backs on her. With those sad thoughts, some of her giddiness fled and Mellissandra began the task of washing the mugs from the previous night.

  ***

  In the small office that connected to both the house the main floor, Wally sat with Damian, going over accounts and profits from the past year. Wally was proud of the money she’d made for Damian. While the girls got the majority of the money they earned from clients, all the bar earnings went back to Damian. With the floorshows being hosted nightly, the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger until they had to sell tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.

  “You’re doing a great job, Wally. I didn’t come here for an account update,” Damian told her.

  “I know, I know,” Wally said with a little grin. “But I’ve been dying to brag to the boss man for months.”

  Damian chuckled and shook his head. He couldn’t believe how little Wally had changed over the years. He knew she was nearing forty years old, but even with her rough life and difficult profession, she barely looked thirty.

  “Damian,” Wally said a little more seriously, “I want to talk to you about the girl Ryan and I have hired.”

  “Ryan told me about her last night, Wally,” Damian said. “You don’t have to worry. Anton and I will be on our best behavior around her.”

  “It’s just that she’s not in a good place right now, and you are a very charming and handsome man,” Wally told him. “She’s been through so much already with her parents kicking her out and the father of her baby nowhere in sight—”

  “Wait, she’s pregnant?” Damian questioned. He didn’t know if he liked the idea of a baby in a whorehouse.

  “Yeah, maybe six or seven weeks from the look of her belly. But she’s a good kid, Damian. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got knocked up her first time,” Wally replied.

  “Well, where’s the guy that got her pregnant?” Damian practically growled. “She shouldn’t be having a kid while living in a whorehouse, Wally.”

  “She wouldn’t give the details on the father. She just said that he’s not in the picture and he didn’t want her.” Wally sighed. “It’s not such a bad place, Damian. We’ve kept her away from the main floor during business hours. I don’t think she’s even met any of the girls yet. We’re a family here, and everyone takes care of each other. Considering this girl’s family just dropped her on the border and took off, I’d say we’re the only option she’s got right now.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Damian said, standing up. “I’m not going to ask you to make her leave, but she needs to come up with another option. This is a whorehouse, not a daycare.”

  As he left the office, Damian felt irritated that Wally had a pregnant girl staying here. All he needed was the publicity that would come if anyone found out. He could see the headline: “New Royal Prince Breeding Next Generation of Whores.”

  He wasn’t sure what made him look up at that moment. He wasn’t sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. In fact, just moments after he saw it, he was sure he’d let his overstressed mind run away from him. For one brief second, just before one of the bedroom doors closed, Damian could have sworn he’d seen Mellissandra’s fiery red hair.

  ***

  Gilly entered the isolation room with a tray of food. The blonde had finally developed enough scar tissue on her backside to use a regular bed.

  “How’s the little mother today?” Gilly asked, sitting the tray over Jenalynn’s lap.

  Jenalynn didn’t respond. She just picked up the fork and started eating. She hadn’t been speaking to Gilly for the last two weeks or so. It hadn’t bothered Gilly, but she didn’t want the baby to be affected by the womb’s depression.

  “You don’t have to speak to me,” Gilly said sweetly, “but I am the only person you’re going to see for a while. If you want or need something, you’re going to have to tell me, so I can get it for you. I want you to be happy, at least as happy as you can be under the circumstances.”

  Again, Jenalynn didn’t respond. She just stared straight ahead, only glancing down at the food in front of her when she took a bite.

  Gilly was getting ready to say something else to the blonde when her pager went off. The emergency code made Gilly smile. She had a feeling they’d found the whore.

  “Last chance,” Gilly said cajolingly.

  When there was not even a flicker of eye movement to indicate she’d been heard, Gilly shook her head and left the room. She had other business to take care of right now.

  ***

  Mellissandra left Alyssa’s room, feeling giddy once again. Sitting for hours, the girls had tried to think of a way to disguise Mel’s unusual and noticeable hair, so she could hide in the crowd to watch the show. Alyssa had said she thought one of the other girls had a trunk full of wigs, but they would have to be careful with how they tried to borrow one. Alyssa had also mentioned that some of the other girls were jealous that Mel got to live in the house and didn’t have to whore to stay there. Alyssa knew those girls wouldn’t hesitate to turn Mel in to Wally, trying to get her kicked out.

  Mellissandra didn’t think Wally would kick her out. Wally had been horrified at her parents’ actions. But the thought of Wally and Ryan finding out and feeling disappointed that she’d disregarded their rules dismayed her. She was coming to love the couple, and even though it was important to her to be independent, she knew they’d made her life so much better and easier just by being themselves.

  Mellissandra went into the common area of the house to find Ryan rushing around. She had to stifle a laugh as the giant of a man hopped on one foot while putting a sock on the other one.

  “Glad to see I amuse you, Mel,” Ryan said good-naturedly. “I’m running late, but I’m glad I saw you before I went over to the bar.” After his socks were finally on, he repeated the strange hop to put on his shoes.

  “Why don’t you sit down, Ryan? It’d be easier.”

  “No time to sit,” he grunted, trying not to fall over. “Anyway, one of our old friends and his brother are staying here in the house for a few days. Don’t panic if you see a couple of strange men roaming around.”

  “Do they know I’m here? They won’t try anything, will they?” Mellissandra asked.

  “Nah. You’re safe, sweetie. They know you’re here and that you’re not one of the working girls,” Ryan said. With his shoes on now, he gave Mellissandra a big hug. “And if one of them tried anything, Wally would cut off his balls and feed them to him.”

  Mellissandra laughed at the image, but she knew Ryan was right. Wally was very protective of her. She waved him off and went into the kitchen to make a sandwich. She’d been in Alyssa’s room during dinner, and the b
aby didn’t seem to like it when she missed meals. She also wanted to get ready because she was sneaking over to see the show again tonight.

  ***

  Damian and Anton sat at the bar, drinking and talking with Ryan. Despite the fact that they were trying to keep their identities quiet, Ryan couldn’t resist getting a few digs in at Damian.

  “Who’d have thought it?” The big man laughed. “You’re a royal prince? The country is going to be all sex all the time now.”

  Anton thought it was hilarious to see his brother getting teased. Damian was such a stoic, imposing figure on the castle grounds that it was hard to imagine him as just a regular human being.

  Damian, on the other hand, was not amused. He hadn’t wanted to be a royal. And now, his friend was landing jab after jab over the new title. He wasn’t going to tolerate it much longer either. An hour of the constant ribbing was definitely stealing his jovial mood.

  Damian swung away from the bar to face the crowded tables and dance floor. Even though it was early in the night, the place was packed. Bodies were mashed together and bumping against each other. Everyone was dancing, drinking, and getting aroused. Damian could smell the scent of sex wafting through the room. He’d seen a few couples make their way up the steps to the balcony of bedrooms waiting to be used. All in all, he was pleased with the atmosphere Wally had created here.

  “Ryan, another beer, please,” Damian said, turning back around.

  “Of course, your majesty,” Ryan said, bowing slightly.

  “Hey,” the man next to Damian said. “You’re that bastard prince, right?”

  Damian gritted his teeth and nodded. He supposed he needed to make an attempt at this prince thing for Anton if for nothing else.

  “Well,” the man said, slurring, “I don’t like having a bastard as my ruler.” With that statement, the drunken man took a wild swing at Damian’s head.

  Damian saw it coming though, and he managed to deflect most of the blow. The man’s fist hit Damian in the shoulder. Angered by the miss, the man stepped up and swung again. Damian blocked his fist and returned with one of his own. He was pissed now. The man flew back and rammed into the person sitting next to him. For the next few seconds, it was a free for all.

  “Security,” Ryan screamed above the rising noise of the fight. He took a moment to reach under the bar for the sturdy bat kept there for just such occasions. “Damnit,” he muttered when his hand didn’t find its target. “Security!” Ryan screamed now. He wanted to jump in and rescue Damian and Anton, but Ryan knew that by the time he got around the bar he would just get in the way of the bouncers who were already pushing through the crowd. He stood helpless and frustrated as his friends engaged more than one of the inebriated bar patrons.

  The instigator was shoved back into Damian with enough force to send him reeling into the bar. After being shoved around, the man Damian had punched fell to the floor, groaning.

  Two other men who’d been drawn into the altercation started swinging at each other. Anton, playing the Good Samaritan, tried to break them up, but instead, he took a fist to the jaw for his efforts. Anton, who had never been in a fistfight or an altercation of any kind, felt his anger rise up as his face throbbed. The intense emotion wrapped around him like a tight glove, and fueled his need to spill blood. He put up his fists in pugilist form and shot a short jab at one of the men who was now facing him. It was a fairly solid hit, especially for being his first attempt at a punch toward a human being. But Anton’s inexperience left him unprotected and he failed to block when the man punched back.

  Damian was having problems of his own as two drunken men were blocking him against the bar. With no leverage to swing at them from his position, he reached around behind him for a mug. Damian brought the mug forward like it was a baseball bat, smacking one of the men in the face with it. The man fell flat on the floor, and Damian was surprised to see the mug intact in his hand.

  Coming to the rescue of his fellow bar crawlers, another drunkard grabbed a beer bottle and threw it at Damian. Damian managed to duck, but he wished he hadn’t when he heard the thump, crash, and groan from the bottle finding a target behind him.

  And then, it was over. Security swarmed around them, and everyone within a three-foot radius of Damian and Anton was being restrained.

  Damian turned to look at Ryan. He was wobbling on his feet with blood running into his eyes. Damian vaulted over the bar. He put a supporting arm under the injured man and called out for Wally. Wally came running over, but she stopped short, her eyes widening, when she saw Ryan with blood all over him.

  “Damian, Anton, please take him to the house,” she said, barking out orders. “Melanie will clean him up. She should still be awake. I have to get this situation under control, and then I will be right over.”

  Anton went around the bar and supported Ryan’s other side. By the way Ryan was swaying on his feet, it was obvious the man was fighting unconsciousness. Damian and Anton half-dragged and half-carried Ryan through the back of the bar, heading into the house.

  “Melanie!” Damian yelled as soon as they’d closed the door behind them. He raised his eyes when he heard a gasp, and he nearly dropped Ryan.

  ***

  Mellissandra glanced at the clock. It was early yet, too early to use the back stairs and go over to see the floor show. She felt a little resentful that Wally and Ryan’s guests were apparently over in the bar while she was stuck sitting in the quiet, lonely home portion of the building. Mellissandra shrugged the feeling off, grateful that she had a warm, safe place to live.

  “Melanie!”

  Mellissandra’s head snapped toward the doorway as she heard her name shouted. The voice was vaguely familiar, but it was the urgency behind the call that had her rising to her feet and dashing into the foyer.

  Mellissandra gasped audibly and Damian’s eyes lifted to meet hers. Mellissandra felt panic rise in her throat as she stared at the father of her unborn child and his prince of a brother. The three stood deathly still, shock evident on all of their faces.

  Anton finally broke the awkward tension as he nearly collapsed under the weight of Ryan. “Damian, I can’t…hold him up…alone,” he grunted.

  Damian snapped out of his paralysis and began supporting Ryan’s weight once again. The two men hefted Ryan over to the sofa and set him down as gently as possible. Ryan groaned when his head flopped back against the sofa.

  “Don’t just stand there!” Damian growled. “Go get a first-aid kit or something. Make yourself useful!”

  Mellissandra shot him a dark glare, but she followed his instructions anyway. She rushed into the kitchen and began running the water to warm it while she gathered clean cloths, bandages, antibiotic ointment, butterfly stitches, and ice and putting them on a serving tray. When the basin was half full, she added it to the tray. Moving slowly, so not to spill the basin of water or dump the ice, she struggled slightly with the cumbersome tray.

  She made her way back into the living room, and Anton, realizing she was having trouble, rushed over to relieve her of her burden. When the supplies were situated within easy reach, Mellissandra got to work, cleaning the blood from Ryan’s face and head.

  “Oh, Ryan,” Mellissandra said, biting her lip. “What happened to you?”

  “Don’t worry, Little Red,” Ryan mumbled. “That flying bottle hit the toughest part of me.”

  “Shhh,” she told him as she continued to wash him. The water in the basin was red with his blood, and it was no longer rinsing the cloth clean. “Can one of you get me fresh water?” she asked with a hardness in her tone, not looking away from Ryan.

  Anton grabbed the basin and headed for the kitchen. He wasn’t sure if Damian had even heard her request. Anton had been shocked to see Mellissandra, but Damian looked as if he’d been hit by a surprise train and he still hadn’t recovered. Damian was still just standing there, staring at Mellissandra with a sick look on his face. When Anton returned with the fresh water, he didn’t think Damian h
ad moved a muscle yet.

  Mellissandra took the basin of water without a word to Anton. As she began tending to Ryan again, she softly talked to him in a crooning voice, comforting him, while she exposed the gash that ran from his eyebrow to the top of his forehead. Once the wound was clean, Mellissandra began pinching the skin together at the edges. She apologized with every touch as Ryan winced. She applied the butterfly stitches and then put a glob of ointment on top of them. Finally, she covered everything with a sterile bandage and a kiss.

  “You’re too kind, Little Red,” Ryan said, holding back a chuckle.

  “Sorry,” she told him sheepishly. “That’s what I always did after I took care of my siblings’ boo-boos.”

  Ryan reached a hand up and gently pinched her cheek. She leaned into his hand and just enjoyed the fatherly touch.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Damian demanded. It infuriated him to see her fawning over Ryan. It made it even worse to see Ryan eating it up.

  Mellissandra jumped at the sound of Damian’s harsh question. She spun around to glare at him. His nose was flaring, and her chest was heaving. The anger and lust was coming off of them in waves.

  “What the fuck do you care?” she snapped back. “You threw me out with nothing but two security guards, an envelope full of money, and a note telling me how I’d earned it, remember?” she sneered.

  “I had you delivered to your parents, not a whorehouse practically in the middle of nowhere!”

  “Well, thanks to you, my parents threw me out in the dirt!” Mellissandra couldn’t take anymore of the shouting. Nausea was building in her belly, and she thought she was going to cry. Maintaining her pride, she spun on her heel and walked quickly to the kitchen and out the back door.

  Damian started going after her, but Ryan’s huge paw clasped his arm and brought him up short. When Damian met the other man’s eyes, he knew he’d managed to anger the gentle giant.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Anton listened to the painful screaming match going on between his brother and the first woman Anton had ever thought he could love. He was torn between wanting to know how she’d ended up here and wanting Damian to leave her alone. But then, she surprised him. She turned on Damian and screamed right back at him. Anton wondered briefly how she’d ever thought she would keep that temper under wraps long enough to become his submissive.