Irona 700 by Dave Duncan

himself from sliding off his own bench. Vly, as she thought of him now, was incredibly attentive to her moods. If she did not speak, neither would he. If she wanted to talk, she chose the topic and he followed her lead. In fact, if Vly had a fault, it was that he was almost invisible, he so completely hid his own wishes.
    â€œI love that tunic. You looked very dashing.”
    â€œThank you. You outshone every girl there, of course. As usual.”
    â€œWhat was it that Chosen Ledacos wanted to know and I wouldn’t tell you?”
    â€œWhy you never wear jewels.” He spoke quite seriously, no hint of humor.
    â€œYou never asked me that.”
    â€œOf course not.”
    She was pleased. She always made sure that Vly was well decorated, as befitted a Chosen’s escort. Tonight he wore gold bracelets, a jeweled belt, and the dagger she had given him on his twentieth birthday. It had been outrageously expensive, having a hilt of jade carved in the likeness of a dolphin. He was never seen without it, and she suspected he must sleep with it under his pillow.
    â€œWhat else do you get asked about me?” she asked.
    â€œHow good you are in bed.”
    â€œNo! Who asks that?”
    â€œLots of men, even a woman or two.”
    â€œAnd what do you say?”
    â€œIncredible!”
    â€œRight answer again,” she muttered, but she spoke no more until they were home at Sebrat. Neither of them had mentioned sex since the day she offered him the job, but she had recently realized that Vly had no social life of his own. Whenever she wanted him, dawn or midnight, he was always available. Such total dedication was unheard of. Only slaves and Chosen worked like that, all day every day. It might be understandable if he was stupid or gauche, but he was certainly neither. What had she done to deserve such devotion? Given him trinkets?
    The chair reversed its tilt on the stairs up to her door, making it her turn to hang on. Then it leveled out and they were in the porte cochere at Sebrat. She rang the doorbell as Vlyplatin paid off the bearers; her night porter let her in.
    She knew that she was more than slightly tipsy. So was Vly, likely, but sober enough to catch her elbow and steady her when she stumbled on the stairs. She pulled free of his grip when he seemed to want to hang on, and she was careful not to stumble again before they reached her bedroom door—where his duties ended, as she had told him at the beginning. He had never questioned or suggested otherwise. Always, it was there that he bade her good night and handed her the lantern.
    Tonight was different. She was the youngest Chosen ever to serve on the Navy Board, she had been granted a committee in her first term, outperforming her patron. Such a day should end with a fanfare, a celebration, a breaking of rules. She surprised herself by ignoring the lantern and holding the door wide. Vly followed her in and set the lantern down on a table so he would have both hands free.
    All he said was, “I have been going crazy, waiting for this to happen.” That was as close as she had ever heard him come to complaining.
    â€œMake it happen.” She raised her lips to be kissed.
    Life was suddenly full of surprises. She was amazed to learn in the embrace that he had an erection already, that the rest of his body was equally rock-hard, that kissing involved much more than lips, that having all the breath squeezed out of her was as enjoyable as being undressed in an indecent frenzy, that whole-body contact was heavenly, that a man could taste as nice as he smelled, that a tongue on nipples produced fantastic sensations all over, that a man without fuzz on his arms might have fur on his chest, that rough and tumble reverted to gentle, even delicate, when they got to the tricky part requiring insertion of part of the second party into part of the first party, which didn’t hurt nearly as much as she had feared … slow and languid