Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Anyway, R’xs listened to Mar’ra telling him my sad story—abandoned on O’nagga Nine with no place to go and no way to make a living. He looked me up and down and nodded thoughtfully.
“Well, she’s a hsh’frux, but we could play that up,” he said at last. He raised an eyebrow at me. “You ever sold before?”
“You mean do I have retail experience?” I asked stupidly. “I worked in a jewelry store as an undergrad—”
“No,” he interrupted bluntly. “I meant have you ever sold your blood? Have you ever sold your ass?”
“What?” I looked at him, feeling shocked. “No to both of those,” I finally got out. “Of course I haven’t—I’m a grad student, not a prostitute!”
Then I looked at Mar’ra, who had a blank look on her face and realized how patronizing and hurtful that must be for her. After all, she was just doing what she had to in order to live.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with, er, sex work, I’ve just never had any experience before.”
“Hmm…virgin blood. Could play that up, too,” R’xs said, nodding thoughtfully.
“Oh, I’m not a virgin,” I said quickly. “So I don’t think—”
“You ever been bitten before?” R’xs interrupted again. “Ever let a male sink his fangs into your flesh?” Here he bared his own fangs—long and yellow and sharp as knives—as though to illustrate his point.
“N-no,” I stuttered. “I…no.”
“Good. Virgin blood. Of course that won’t last long—not after you’ve got your bite bracelets,” he remarked, nodding at Mar’ra, who extended her wrists, all covered in bites and bruises. “But once you get a few clients with a taste for that sweet, warm hsh’frux blood and a feel for that juicy hsh’frux ass—”
It was my turn to interrupt.
“I’m not selling my body,” I said quickly.
R’xs frowned at me, his glowing green eyes narrowing in his pale face.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I’m not selling my ass,” I said bluntly. “I’ll sell my blood all day long but I draw the line at…at doing anything else.”
For a moment I thought R’xs was actually going to strike me. His eyes positively blazed in his skull-like face and his fangs grew even longer—he looked like a demon.
I took a step back, ready to run if I had to, but then he seemed to subside for a moment.
“Okay, sure,” he said, shrugging his narrow shoulders. “That’s how you wanna do it, we can play it that way. Lots of customers like a girl who plays hard to get.”
I didn’t know what to say about that but before I could answer, R’xs put his hand in the pocket of his long, dirty robe and pulled out something that looked a little like a piercing gun—the kind they use in the mall or tattoo places when they pierce your ears or your nose or whatever you want pierced.
“What’s tha—?” I started to ask.
But before I could even get the words out, R’xs had pushed the pointed metal muzzle of the thing in his hand to the side of my neck and pulled the trigger.
I felt a piercing pain, like someone had stabbed me suddenly with a large, blunt needle.
“Ouch!” I jerked away from him, putting my hand to the side of my neck instinctively. The place where he had pierced me throbbed and my fingers came away with smears of blood on them. “What did you do to me?” I demanded.
“Just tagged you as one of mine.” R’xs shrugged, as though what he had done was no big deal. “Makes it easier to keep track of my girls.”
“Your…girls?” I felt stunned. Was I included in that number? Was I one of R’xs’ “girls?” Apparently so, though I could hardly believe it.
“You got a tracker chip in you now, honey,” Mar’ra piped up. “I got one too—see?” She pointed to the side of her neck where there was a small but distinct scar. “Marks you as being one of R’xs’ girls—that way none of the other Blood pimps will bother you.”
“Blood pimps?” I asked blankly. I still wasn’t getting it—this was all moving too fast for me.
“Sure—now we’re Blood Whores together.” Mar’ra hooked her arm through mine and gave me a cheery smile.
A whore? I was a whore now? A whore with a pimp? The thought made my flesh crawl, but I didn’t get time to process it.
“Morning rush is starting—show the new girl the ropes,” R’xs instructed Mar’ra. He pointed at me. “For today only you get to keep what you make—that’s so you can rent yourself a hole. But after that, I’m gonna want my cut off the top, no excuses and no exceptions. I don’t get my cut, I’m gonna cut you. Got it?”
“I…but…but what am I paying you for?” I demanded.
R’xs grinned at me, showing his fangs again.
“Protection, girly,” he told me. “Now go on—get working. Shake that ass and show your wrists and neck. You better have a good first day if you want to be able to afford the first solar month’s rent on a hole.”