“You’re a h-human, aren’t you?” Ray muttered, tripping over syllables.
“What does it matter? I said I’ll buy your Joy Vessels. Right now.”
He scrambled to all fours, trying and failing to push up to his feet.
“They’re not for sale.” He sat down on the rug again, giving up on trying to get up.
“Name your price,” I insisted.
He scoffed, staring at me closely. “Ahhh, I know you. You’re the one who got away. Your weight in gold seemed like such a high price that day, didn’t it? But then, I ended up paying even more for these two.” He waved at the humans behind him in an uncoordinated gesture, then reached between Mia’s legs again.
Ray pressed the ball of his hand to her clit, eliciting a post orgasmic shudder from her otherwise motionless body. A shiver crossed Ray’s shoulders, too, as he tipped back his head and rolled his eyes, basking in the echo of her pleasure.
“Worth every coin I spent on her,” he moaned. “You know, they were right when they said women were better than men.Men don’t last as long and can’t come as often. At least mine can’t.” He shoved a hand against the man’s leg, then fondled Mia’s naked breast. “She’s much better.”
“Name. Your. Price,” I gritted through my teeth, balling my hands into fists.
Ray’s bloodshot eyes met mine, and I drew in a shaky breath.
“They’re not for sale,” he snapped. “I would buyyou, however…”
He rose to his feet unsteadily and sauntered toward us in stumbling steps, with his stare glued to me.
“Elaine, come here,” Timur’s voice rang with alarm.
The bones in his tail rattled menacingly. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back to him.
“Stay close,” he whispered into my hair.
Ray’s tendrils stretched to the limit between Mia and him, forcing him to stop about a step or two from us. Licking his lips, he stared at me in a way that made my skin crawl and my stomach roil.
“Stay away from her, Ray,” Timur warned in a low, threatening voice.
Swaying on unsteady feet, his gaze unfocused, Ray didn’t appear to hear Timur’s words or to read the warning behind them.
“When was the last time you made her come?” he asked Timur, not taking his eyes off me. “It’s better if it’s been a while. Their pleasure wears out from fucking too often. W-weak, wretched creatures. My two aren’t enough…”
He grabbed a metal teapot from the ground and shook it, then tipped it over with not a drop coming out.
“Shit. We’re out ag-gain,” he mumbled, slurring his words, then tossed the teapot against the doors with force. “I said the tea needs to be here! Always!”
His shrieks reverberated under the high ceiling, making me jump. Timur’s hold on me tightened. He lifted his tail, aiming the sharp end at Ray’s chest, right at his heart.
“My Joy Vessel is mine.Onlymine,” he said firmly, articulating each word.
“I’ll buy her from you. How…how much did you pay for her? Her weight in gold? I’ll double that. No…triple it.”
My heart thudded frantically, not from fear but in anger. Once again, I felt like a chattel, to be owned, sold, and used.
“She’s not for sale,” Timur replied evenly. “I came here to talk about a different business.”
Ray’s features shifted into a grimace of distaste. He tossed a calculating glance at the human couple passed out from exhaustion, yearning to get back to them already.
“No business.” He waved a hand. “L-later.”
He turned to pick up another teapot. Timur whipped his tail, wound it around Ray’s chest, then yanked him toward us.
“Not later. Now,” he demanded.
