In-Between Work and Play (The Jocelyn Frost Series Book 1) (19 page)

Whisper motioned
toward the cart. “Please feel free to load up your luggage and your coats. 
We’ll be ending the tour at your rooms.”  The bellhop helped us with our things
before rolling the cart away.

“First off, you
may have noticed that each member of our staff is wearing either a ruby or
emerald pendant.  For guests who registered to find a companion for the
evening,” her bright eyes shifted to look at Finley, “you must pay attention to
the color of the staff’s pendants.  The ladies wearing rubies are members who
are not interested in your sexual advances; while the ladies wearing emeralds
are open to your advances.  The pendants shift colors, so they may be green for
one guest and red for another.” 

“That’s one way
to save time.” Finley grinned.

The dryad handed
Whisper three boxes.  Inside the first box sat a sparkling, blue sapphire on a
thick silver ring.

Whisper glanced
up at Finley. “Please extend your hand.”

The cat jumped
out of Finley’s arms, landing on the counter.

“While in our
facility, you are required to wear one of our pieces of jewelry.”  She slipped
the ring on his finger. “If the stone resembles a blue sapphire, then our staff
and other guests will understand that you are open to their advances. If it
turns into a pink sapphire, they will know you are not open to their
advances.”  The second box provided a pink sapphire that was slipped onto Dex’s
finger.  I was given a pink sapphire pendant.  A buzzing sensation started at
my neck and soon spread down to my toes.  It bounced back up, settling on my
lower belly.  “What just happened?”

“The jewelry is
warded against unwanted pregnancies and diseases.” She motioned for us to
follow her. 

The tabby jumped
up onto Finley’s shoulder while he examined his jewelry. “Is the ring for
sale?”

“Yes, however
the ward only lasts for about seventy-two hours after coming into contact with
your skin.”  She began walking in the direction she originally came from.  A
gilded gold elevator door chimed before opening for us.

My stomach
twisted in a knot.  For the first time in my life, I could have sex without
worrying about getting pregnant?  “Who casts the ward spell?”

“Well, it’s not exactly
a spell.  It’s more of an intrinsic ability that our mistress and her sisters
possess.”

Whisper led us
onto the elevator. While we traveled upwards, she informed us that this place
employed more women than any other industry in the city.  The entire staff was
allowed to work the floors during their free time to make extra money.  It was
their choice as to whether or not they wanted to sleep with a guest and their
responsibility to report it to the front desk.  Yes, they received
compensation, but it was a flat rate that was prepaid when the guests checked
in.

She also warned
us that if any guest continued to pressure a staff member or another guest
whose pendant clearly showed he or she was not interested, they would be immediately
escorted from the building.

Maybe my
original perception of this brothel was wrong.  Maybe it wasn’t like the
brothels back on Earth.  According to our tour guide, there was a constant list
of applicants seeking vacant positions from all over Erda.  Apparently, working
at the Amber Primrose was like hitting the lottery. 

She must have
sensed my skepticism because she kept assuring us that Mistress Winters did
right by her employees.  They were encouraged to have lives outside of work. 
Many even attended the local colleges, while others chose to raise families
while continuing to work at the facility. 

The brothel did
well enough that all of the employees were given their own private living
quarters.  Three meals a day were also provided in the food court; and if they
needed medical attention, there was an infirmary that catered to them as well
as their families.

We exited the
elevator on the fifty-fifth floor.  The space matched the ambience of the lobby
without the domed ceiling.  Two sets of double doors stood at the opposite ends
of the hall.  Large, golden placards gleamed under spotlights adjacent to the
doors.

“The Amber
Primrose was designed to fulfill the fantasies of every guest.  Each floor of
the west wing is divided into two fantasy rooms.” Whisper motioned toward the
closest door with the grace of a ballerina.  The elegant cursive on the placard
read, “Olympus” in several different languages. 

With a wave of
her hand, the double doors opened. 

Wisps of dry ice
circled our feet, while the notes of lyres and pipes graced our ears.  A short
walkway led into a colonnade. 

Inside the
colonnade, which resembled a courtyard, were several small booths with staff
members selling food and drinks.  In the center, a grand fountain housed
statues of a nude Poseidon surrounded by naked sea nymphs. Water overflowed
into a basin the size of an above ground swimming pool.  

The giggles of a
bare-breasted mermaid drew my attention.  Her fingers lazily stroked up and
down the sculpted pecs of a demigod’s chest.  A second later, he pulled her out
of the water to sit on his lap.

Blushing, I
shifted my gaze away from the happy couple.  Whisper continued to talk, but I
only gave her half my attention.  She explained the room extended further than
what we could see.  Most of it was actually out of sight. 

A giggling dryad
scurried between the columns and a satyr chased after her.  They darted past us
into the hallway. 

At first, I
assumed the dryad was the staff member and the satyr was the guest; but on second
glance, I noticed the dryad was wearing a sapphire. 

Whisper cleared
her throat. “Please keep in mind that even though most guests have their own
private rooms, many choose to fornicate in the fantasy rooms.  Each room is
appointed with semi-hidden alcoves to give everyone a sense of privacy.”  She
motioned for us to head back into the main hall. 

“I had no idea a
place like this existed.” Dex stood, wide-eyed.  I followed his gaze.  A satyr
had his head buried between the legs of a naked demigoddess who was lying in a
flowerbed.

Whisper drew our
attention back by placing her hands on our shoulders.  She led us into the
hallway.  “We shall proceed down to your rooms.  Inside, you will find a
garment that was woven and enchanted by the daughters of Arachne, who are a
part of our staff.  After you put it on, you will be able to enter any room of
your choice.  The garment will magically shift into the proper clothing that
matches that room’s theme.” We followed her down the hall to a different
elevator. 

I was so
overwhelmed, I stopped paying attention to everything.  Part of me was excited
to try the different rooms, another part wanted to jump Dex, and the last part
wanted to annoy the girls at the front desk until I got to see Caress. 

Whisper left us
outside our doors after reinforcing the rules for the third time. 

I won’t lie.  It
was kind of awkward standing alone with Dex in a hotel room.  Okay, it was
really awkward.  Without our third wheel, we suddenly didn’t know what to say
to each other. 

After several uncomfortable
minutes, Dex broke the silence. “Which bed do you want?”  He dragged his
fingertips down my bicep. 

I wanted to say,
“yours,” but I settled for, “The one next to the bathroom.”

“We could
probably push them together.” His sly grin gave him away.  I could tell that he
was half-joking and half-serious. 

“Oh, that would
be such a great idea.  You know what would be an even better idea?” I gave him
a smirk. “Showering together.”

He pulled me
into an embrace, engulfing me in his woodsy, sweet scent. “I bet you have a
real wicked side that’s just waiting to come out.”  His hands gave my ass
squeeze before pulling my sweater dress over my head.

My lips pressed
together. “Maybe, maybe not.”

He cupped my
breasts. His thumbs massaged my nipples until they were hard and visibly perky.
“Refresh my memory.  Why are we waiting?”

“Floodgates.”

“Floodgates?”

“Yes,
floodgates.”  I lifted my leg, allowing the thin material of my leggings to rub
against his crotch.  “When these floodgates open, there won’t be any way to
close them.”

His penis
hardened against my core.  “You are such a fucking tease.”  He pushed me
against the wall, grinding his hips against mine.  Nibbling on my ear, he
promised, “When we finally fuck, and we will fuck, I’m going to make sure that
you scream so loud, you won’t be able to talk for a week.” Gasping, I tried
really hard to concentrate, but my nerve endings were cheering for more. 

He pushed a hand
down the front of my leggings.  My clitoris was already swollen just from a
little dirty talk. His fingers massaged my mound.  They dipped between my moist
folds in order to rub that swelling ball of nerves. A single finger dipped
deeper into my core.  It felt a bit raw as my vagina refused to give him any
wiggle room.  “You’re so fucking tight.” I squeezed him so hard, I felt my eyes
rolling into the back of my skull. Giving me one last rub, his hand slipped out
from my leggings. One-by-one, he licked his fingers clean. “Delicious.”

He stepped back,
leaving me wet and lusty against the wall.  I couldn’t stop him even if he
wanted to change his mind.  Instead, he turned and headed into the bathroom.  I
slid down the wall. Hearing the water run, it looked like I would have to wait for
my turn to take a cold shower.

When Dex finally
reemerged, I took my time getting ready. Having extra time on my hands was also
dangerous.  As much as I wanted to tell Dex, “Let’s stay in and do it,” I
realized I barely knew him, which scared me enough to remember to keep my
hormones in check.

At least, there
was one positive thing I thought about.  I could tell my clients about this
place.  I’m sure some of them would love to hear about it.

The black cloud
of guilt and fear threatened to chill my core, but I managed to selfishly push
it deep down for the time being.  With all the scary shit that happened these
past few days, I deserved to have a little fun.  Right?

I exited the
bathroom and found Dex sitting on the edge of his bed.  His Arachne Garment
shimmered with silvery magic.  Like mine, it was a simple, long-sleeved shirt
and slacks.  

“Are you
ready?”  I gave him a bashful little smile.  Luckily, most of the sexual
tension between us was gone for now.

He grinned up at
me while undressing me with his eyes.  Okay, so maybe there was still some
sexual tension.  His gaze settled on my chest, and I realized instead of
staring at my breasts, he was actually peering at my sapphire.  Damn, it was
blue. Oh well, there went my plans to keep him at arm’s length.  As it so
happened, his ring was blue as well. 

“Sure, unless
you want to stay in?”  He wiggled his eyebrows.

I slowly shook
my head. “If we do that, Mistress Winters will never be able to track us down.”

Disappointment
clouded his eyes. “You’re right.”  He stood. “I’m going to use the restroom,
and then we can go.”

“’Kay, I’ll get
Finley.”  I crossed the room toward the connecting door, and was actually a
little surprised that Finley didn’t come to us.  Well, maybe he thought he
needed to give us more privacy. 

In retrospect, I
should have knocked on the door.  But I didn’t think anything of it.  I am glad
now that I waited those critical ten seconds before I announced my entrance.

Atop a
California king-sized bed, Finley’s pelvis slowly dipped up and down into a
woman with strawberry-blonde hair.  Her ankles were hooked behind his back. 
They were so busy sucking on each other’s tongues, they didn’t hear my
entrance.

I don’t know how
long I stood there, but I was definitely in shock.  A strong grip pulled me
back into my room.

Dex firmly
closed the door.  His cheeks were flushed, but he kept his cool.  “I guess
we’re on our own tonight.”

Doing the math,
there were fifty-five floors with two different fantasy rooms, plus five
basement levels that also had two different fantasy rooms.  That totaled a
hundred-twenty different fantasy rooms!

Guess where Dex
and I finally wound up?

Yep, on
Spaceball One. 

The room was
divided into several small sets, which allowed us to act out some of our
favorite scenes from the movie. Of course, I got to play Princess Vespa, while
Dex took the role of Lone Starr.

There we stood
in the middle of the last scene.  We were decked out in wedding attire for the
finale, with several staff members scattered around the chapel who were
pretending to play the other characters. 

The fake priest
stared down at us, “Do you?”

“YES!”

“Do you?”

“YES!”

“Great, you’re
married!  Kiss her!”

We skipped the
I love yous
and went straight to the best
part—the kiss.  Tender at first, his lips made my knees buckle.  I clung onto
his shoulders while his hands pulled me up against his body.  Our mouths opened
together, allowing our tongues to mate.

About five
minutes later, we left the room, grinning like naughty, little kids.

“I don’t think
I’ve ever had that much fun!”  I flopped down on one of the benches outside the
elevator.  For a brief moment, I forgot about all my fears and grief.  Yes, my
brain was still processing all that happened to me during the past couple of
days.  But at least, I felt a few moments of joy before we left the fantasy
room.

“Me, too.”  He
kissed the back of my hand. “What do you want to do now?” I noticed him
shifting his man package with his elbow.  Damn, it must be hard being a guy.  I
would hate to have to worry about my lusty side being so obvious all the time.

“Joce?”

I twisted my
lips and shifted my focus back up to his face. “Yeah?”

“Staring at it
makes it harder.”

My lips came
together to form an “o.”

“But, umm…
petting it can make it softer.”

His eyes widened
as I timidly ran my hand over his rigid erection.

The ding from
the elevator drew my attention away from Dex’s hot gaze.

Stepping off the
elevator, looking like the cat that ate the canary, Finley strutted over toward
us with the strawberry-blonde hanging on his arm.

“I told you this
is where we would find them.” He gave his date a playful tap on her ass.

She rolled her
cerulean-blue eyes. “I never had any doubts.”

“We were just
trying to decide where to go next.” Dex draped his arm around my shoulder.

Finley’s date
slowly looked us over. Her eyes hesitated when she saw my hand on top of his
crotch. “I’m guessing that you’re heading back to your room?”

Dex shifted his
hips. “That’s up to Jocelyn.”

I turned toward
him, pulling my hand away. “That’s up to me? I thought we were staying visible
in case Mistress Winters was looking for us.”

A pained
expression crossed his brows. “Yes, you’re right.  I wasn’t sure if maybe you
wanted to call it a night.”  He turned his attention back toward Finley and his
date. “Do you have any idea where we can find Mistress Winters?  Because until
we do…”

A pitiful look
crossed her face as she pursed her plump lips. “Your balls are going to stay
blue?”

Finley released
an uncontrollable laugh.  After a minute of murderous glares from Dex and me,
he finally regained his composure.  He rubbed his hand up and down his date’s
waist and ass, whispering into her hair so low that I couldn’t hear what he
said.

She turned her
blushing face toward him.  If I hadn’t known any better, I might have said that
she genuinely looked smitten with him.  Their mouths drew together like
polarized magnets, leaving Dex and me to wonder if we should have given them
more privacy.

We were halfway
to the elevator when they came up for air.

“Wait!” she
gasped.

I turned back
toward them.

She gave Finley
a little push. “Sit.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He
planted his ass down on the bench Dex and I just vacated.

Her eyes met
mine. “I’m Caress Winters.”

My jaw dropped. 

“I know,” Caress
sighed. “I normally don’t date guests, but,” her gaze turned lovingly toward
Finley, “I felt a connection with your friend.”  She shifted her weight on her
high heels.  “Most men are attracted to me because of who I am.  With Finley,
it’s different.”  She hugged her arms. “I don’t know.  It’s really hard to
explain.”

My jaw didn’t
move.  Dex was kind enough to tap it shut for me.  “I don’t understand.  When,”
he motioned toward Caress and Finley, “did this happen?”

Caress twisted
her luscious lips.  A second later, her body shimmered.  Her dress dropped to
the floor, leaving a ginger tabby in the middle of the pile of material.

“Holy Helheim!” 
I shifted my gaze back to Finley. “I guess you can’t adopt her.”

“That’s still
debatable.” Caress hissed at him. He blew her a kiss and waved at us. “Turn
around so she can shift back.”

I turned toward
the elevator door and was glad Dex did, too.

There was a
brief rustle of fabric. “Here we go.” Caress linked arms with me.  “Why don’t
we head down to my office?  Finley told me you have a business proposition.”

When we stepped
into the elevator, Finley called from the hall. “Can I get up now?”

Caress held the
door. “Come on.  You too, Dex.”

We traveled down
to the lobby in relative silence.  Well, except for the lip-smacking Finley and
Caress were doing in the corner.   

The door
chimed.  When it opened, there was a small crowd of diverse guests waiting to
go up.  We skirted around them into the main lobby.  There was a group big
enough for a football team and a cheerleading squad of tall blondes and
redheads with various shades of blue eyes present.  They milled around the
check-in counter in small clusters.

Caress leaned
into me. “Demigods and demigoddesses.  They’re regulars.  Most of them will
travel up to Olympus while the rest go to Ancient Rome or Valhalla.  They don’t
even bother checking into the rooms anymore.”

“They’re allowed
to do that?  What about the Arachne Garments and the jewelry?” I gave them one
last glance before we rounded the corner into a long hallway. There were about
five doors on each side with a double door at the end of the hall. 

“They’re good
customers.” She shrugged. “They pay a coverage fee.  Besides, they bought their
own Arachne Garments, along with pieces of jewelry.”

Whisper exited
one of the closed doors.  Sky-blue eyes briefly widened before a mask of
composure took hold of her face.  Her gaze ran up and down my person before
doing the same to Dex and Finley.

Caress gently
touched her arm. “When you finish warding their jewelry, come and check in with
me.”

She flipped her
curly, blonde locks over her shoulder. “Sure.” 

Caress’s office
was the last one in the hallway.  Its double doors magically opened as we
approached.  The room was so large, it could fit at least ten of my offices
inside with enough room for eleventh one. 

A large
bookshelf divided the room down the middle into two sections.  Upon entering,
we faced a seating area and a mahogany wood desk.  On the opposite side of the
bookshelf, a four poster bed stood with a blazing fireplace in front of it. The
back wall was comprised of a kitchen, complete with an island and seating for
six.

One of the doors
opened in the bedroom section of the loft.  A preadolescent demigoddess,
dressed in rose-print pajamas, froze in place. 

A look of displeasure
crossed Caress’s supermodel-like face. “It’s past your bedtime.”

The girl tugged
on her braid. “I’m sorry.”  She rubbed a loose, glittering, red tear away with
her sleeve. “I had another nightmare.”

Turning back
toward us, Caress said, “Please take a seat.  I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Is everything
all right?”  Finley seemed genuinely concerned.

“I’m not sure.”
Caress left us to take care of the crying girl.

Embracing the
child, Caress kissed the top of her head.  Leaning into her, she whispered
something before leading her back into the other room.

About a minute
later, Caress reemerged with a troubled look on her face.  Once she rejoined
us, she sat down next to Finley.  “I apologize for that.  Normally, Precious
waits until the morning to come and see me.”

 “If you don’t
mind me asking, is Precious your daughter?”  Finley studied her face.

“Oh, no.  She’s
one of my half-sisters.  Ever since I opened this place, my half-siblings keep
showing up here.   Five of them help me run the business while the other three
are younger than twenty.  They have to wait until they graduate from college
before I would even consider letting them take on any responsibilities around
the facility.”  She leaned into Finley and rested her head against his chest.

“That’s very
kind of you to take in your half-siblings,” Dex said. 

My insides
always turned mushy when I saw someone in distress.  It got even worse when the
person in distress was a kid.  But come on, Freya was terrible at naming her
daughters.  Caress?  Whisper?  Precious?  No wonder the kid had nightmares. 
What were the other daughters called?  Sigh, Moan, Pleasure, and Lust?  At
least, the boys seemed to have decent names, if Marek’s name was any example.

“Blood is
blood.  We all share the same mother.  Without a little guidance and training,
they would likely find themselves at the mercy of some beast, ready to exploit
their powers.  It’s only been in the last few years that my mother began
dropping her unwanted children on their fathers’ doorsteps.  Before that, we
were all raised in her hall, Sessrumnir, in New Asgard.”

I frowned.  It
was bad enough having a sperm donor father that you’ve never met, but even
worse to have an egg donor mother. 

“Precious is
convinced there is something wrong with our mother, but I have no way to
contact her.  I really wish I could check in with her.”  A yawn escaped her
plump lips.  “Enough about that… what was this business proposition you wanted
to ask me about?”

I felt a little
awkward, but that was the main reason why we were there. Guilt tugged at my
heart.  I spent part of the night having fun instead of mourning for Lucinda. 
For the love of Odin, I was a terrible person.  And of course, Whisper took
that exact moment to make her reappearance.  I waited for her to take her place
on one of the accent chairs while I continued to internally berate myself.

“Well,” deep
breath in, deep breath out, “I was wondering if you would be interested in
manufacturing warded condoms for the demigod population.  As you may already
know, we are extremely fertile, and any form of normal intercourse results in
pregnancy.  The extra-strength condoms rip, and birth control pills don’t
work.”

Caress sat up. 
No longer the relaxed lover of one of my new friends, she was now a businesswoman. 
Her brows knitted together. “Let me get this straight: you want me to ward
condoms just so the demigod population can practice safe sex?”

“You do realize
that would hurt our business,” Whisper said, raising an elegant brow.

“Not
necessarily.” Dex leaned forward.  “You can use the condoms as a marketing
device.”

Score one point
for Dex.  “I’ve worked in the In-Between for five years and today was the first
time I ever heard of the Amber Primrose.  I’m also positive that my regular
clients haven’t heard of it either, otherwise, they would have mentioned your
warded jewelry during our group therapy session,” I chimed in.

“Just think,
Jocelyn could offer a whole bunch of samples to her clients.  They could tell
their siblings and boyfriends.  With the high risk of multiples, most of the
demigoddesses will make sure their boyfriends and husbands use them.” Dex gave
my knee a supportive squeeze.