The Prince's Slave by P.J. Fox

Author:P.J. Fox [Fox, P.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evil Toad Press
Published: 2015-07-28T22:00:00+00:00

FIFTY

And he spun a tale for her of bored, spoiled women, jaded men, and beneath their studiedly casual interactions an undercurrent of desperation. A desperation both strong-flowing and cruel to patron and party-goer alike, as he well knew. The men paid the women, because without their millions or in some cases billions no one would look twice at them. They, like Ash and like the heroes of a thousand different so-called romance novels, were emotionally stunted creatures who thrived on control and whose understanding of the word love was entirely based on a devotion to their own needs. Men whose high-end cars and bespoke suits did their flirting for them.

Men who, if they worked as mechanics, would be immediately spotted as weak-willed and thoughtless. And women who, for their part, treasured the fantasy of being pursued by a billionaire. Of being thought irresistible; of being showered with compliments and gifts alike. Of shopping sprees and hours—months—spent sunbathing by countless different pools, doing nothing to earn their keep except letting themselves be worshipped.

It lasted for as long as it lasted, and then it was over.

Some women sold themselves into an informal sort of slavery, a revelation that seemed to surprise his companion. Others, like Belle, were decidedly taken against their will. Still, the haze of drugs and alcohol that pervaded the industry, and its customers, made it difficult to tell one from the other. And sometimes, even the unwilling girls weren’t as unwilling as they seemed: a politically incorrect observation that, in being ignored, only served to muddy the waters and make helping those legitimate victims all that much harder.

A cause that, Ash had to admit, until he’d met Belle had singularly failed to interest him. He’d been to a number of different auctions, more for sport than to purchase—he’d told Belle the truth about that—and the thought had crossed his mind that not all of these women were there on their own initiative.

Not that anyone particularly pretended otherwise. Indeed, the…hesitancy was part of the draw. Some men had interests that couldn’t be legally sated. Others simply had no interest in purchasing a woman the old fashioned way, with dinners and compliments. Still others were lonely, convinced that no woman would ever want them. So they opted for a formal arrangement, believing that something was better than the inevitable nothing.

Sometimes, love—or an approximation—bloomed.

Sometimes it didn’t.

Sometimes nobody cared, so long as everybody’s needs were being met.

Ash had read a study, years ago, concluding that men who visited prostitutes did so for the same reason that other men dated: someone to talk to, who’d listen. An activity partner. Simple companionship. Even when cash was exchanged, emotion was always a factor.

For men as well as women. The notion that only women sought solace from the opposite sex, sought intimacy from the act of love was a myth. Men had needs, too.

Ash hadn’t thought much about his own needs, until he’d met Belle. He supposed he’d had them; but he didn’t question them. They weren’t relevant to him at all, unless they weren’t being met.

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