Courtesans in Space (The Space Courtesans Saga Book 1) Read online

  Courtesans in Space

  Space Courtesans Saga Book One

  Cheri Chaise

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events, businesses, institutions or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Cheri Chaise. All rights reserved.

  Woman on the Chaise Publications

  No part of this publication may be used, stored, reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by copyright law. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Manufactured in the United States

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Other Works by Cheri

  About the Author

  Want More?

  Chapter One

  A courtesan never acts rashly

  The rules of the Courtesan Court are numerous and all-encompassing. They are meant to lead and guide. To protect. Rules crucial to learn within the first cycles of training, because they are vital to survival. Forgotten at a courtesan’s peril.

  And never, ever ignored.

  ~~~~~~

  The sweet scent of flowering trees lingered as I strode down the lined walkway. I walked away from the Courtesan House, darkened by the early morning hour. The house where I’d been groomed. Matured. The house where all of my dear friends remained. The only home I’d ever known.

  At least the only one I remembered.

  I fought against the tears welling in my eyes and the burn in my throat as Lily hurried on my heels to overtake me, the blood-red gossamer robes of her station trailing around as the wind whipped them in an erotic dance.

  A dance that guaranteed death if I stayed.

  “Dahlia…please,” Lily called, putting her palms up to stop me. “Reconsider.”

  “I’ve considered and reconsidered a thousand times over the last few cycles.” I didn’t stop, sidestepping my mentor as I headed toward the landing platforms overhanging the cliffs. “My mind is made up.”

  Again she followed, her breath coming short at the exertion so unbecoming to a courtesan. “But unless I am mistaken, you don’t know anything about piloting a ship.”

  “I’ll learn.” Just like I’d quickly learned the courtesan ways. After all, I was raised around it throughout all – or most – of my life.

  The metal hull of my spaceship gleamed alongside other transport vessels under the platform lights, growing larger and brighter with every step, yet still dwarfed by those of the House clients currently in residence.

  My recent purchase might be older compared to today’s models, but the seller assured me it was of the highest caliber in her heyday. He’d even made modifications and upgrades to integrate the current technologies into its interface.

  Half of what the seller explained I didn’t understand. But I’d fallen in love with the sleek structure of the old cargo vessel the moment I’d seen it.

  Now it called to me, urging my sandaled feet toward the unknown. To freedom. But even with the promise of freedom came fear.

  Fear of failure. Fear of aloneness. Fear that I’d end up floating somewhere off in the far reaches of the galaxy, never to see a civilized planet again.

  But anything was better than remaining on Andurea. I had to escape. I couldn’t stay any longer. Especially now.

  Because of him.

  “Besides,” I continued. “The onboard AI is top of the line. The seller assured me it can handle anything I encounter.”

  Lily succeeded in clasping a restraining hand on my bare arm that stopped forward momentum. “What about space pirates?”

  I gasped. How could she bring up such a painful subject? Memories assailed me. Faces I could no longer remember. The cries. The overwhelming fear. The sizzle and scent of burning flesh.

  I fought against the terror-filled memories from the mere suggestion and once again successfully locked them away. I wouldn’t – couldn’t allow anything to dissuade me from the resolve to escape while I still could.

  I raised my chin. “The Galactic Council has assured they’ve been eradicated.”

  “The galaxy is vast.” Lily’s arms spread wide. “The Council can’t possibly be one hundred percent certain they’ve all been killed or contained.”

  A warm, comforting hand rested like a mother’s against my cheek, stopping my sharp response. I wanted nothing more than to lean into it. To stop the madness threatening to choke me in its grip.

  Until Lily’s azure gaze pierced almost as deep as her words. “You understand that better than most.”

  That wasn’t fair. My heart hardened. The familial reassurance dissipated, and I wrenched my arm away a bit more forcefully than intended as I continued toward the ship, swiping at the errant tears that crept toward my chin.

  The delivery couriers had just landed as I mounted the steps up to the platform to inspect the manifests of the unmanned hover vehicles. Good. I had something mundane to focus on in order to get my emotions under control.

  It appeared the andro overseeing my rooms had fully and correctly completed my commands this time, packing all of my worldly goods into individual containers instead of trying to cram it all in one giant and unwieldy crate. That should make some of my things easier to store around the ship.

  And others to hide.

  The silk-lined crates contained gowns, robes, and various other clothing items that wouldn’t all fit in my personal chamber pod. For now I’d place them in the cargo hold and decide later how to divide them between the other three pods.

  Silk sheets and fabric for my work also went into the hold. Foodstuffs and supplements I directed toward the kitchen. I could brew a personalized special blend of tea better than any courtesan in the House, but I’d never cooked a meal in my life. However, just like everything else throughout my life, I’d learn.

  The jeweled boxes were sent immediately to my personal pod for safekeeping. The value of the precious gems my clients had bestowed on me over the cycles would buy my ship five times over. But as Lily had taught, a courtesan never sold gifts. If she properly pleased her clients, there’d never be a need.

  And I made certain to always take good care of my clients. Very good care.

  I tried to keep busy checking off each line item in order to block out Lily’s tearful pleas. To no avail.

  “
What if you get space sickness? Or a parasite?”

  “I’ve stocked plenty of oils and medicinal supplies.” I sent that particular courier up the ramp toward one of the pods until I decided which tiny room would serve as a medical bay. “I’ll be fine.”

  “But…” Lily hesitated as if searching for another excuse. “What if you get lonely?”

  “I’ll have a conversation with the ship’s AI.”

  “Okay…what if you run into a transport of military personnel?”

  I stopped and stared incredulously at the House Matron. “I’m an elite courtesan. I’ll do what any other in my position would and give the officers the time of their lives.” I finished with a mutter. “And make a lot of credits doing it.”

  “Then what if they steal from you?” Lily challenged, her hands planted on shapely hips that many a client and initiate had enjoyed.

  “I’ll report them to the Galactic Council. I still have my Courtesan Court credentials, you know.”

  “Well…then what if you run out of credits?”

  My laugh sounded hollow to my ears, so unlike the light, musical one I’d perfected cycles ago. “That’s not likely to happen, Lily, because you taught me yourself. I’ve saved much in only seven cycles. Plus, I can make more any time I please.”

  Since the scare tactics had failed in their thinly veiled purpose, Lily’s pleas turned to more intimate subjects. Her voice dropped to a thinly strained whisper.

  “Then what am I supposed to tell all the girls when they wake up?”

  Emotion coated my throat. Thickened it like I’d drank a cup of tea tree oil. Tears threatened again, but I had to push past them. “Tell them I said goodbye.”

  That sounded heartless. Harsh. But I couldn’t afford to waste any more emotional energy, or I’d never get off this planet. And if I didn’t leave this time, I was afraid I never would.

  It was painfully obvious with each passing cycle that staying was impossible. All the more so after my return yesterday from Kardis.

  “What do I tell your clients?” Her fingertips rested lightly on my forearm. “Tell him?”

  My heart pinched. Constricted. Lily had one weapon left, and she’d gone for the jugular with it. But if she’d known what had last transpired during my time off-planet with him, she’d have realized it was no longer a weapon but a warning that offered the final push necessary to make the break.

  Swallowing the knot that rose in my throat, I shoved aside any further connections to this life. “I left a contact signal code in my chamber. If I’m in the area, you can tell them they can send a reachout there,” I replied. Then thought better of it. “Better yet, let them pair off and join with one of the other girls.”

  Satisfied with the review of my goods, I coded out the final delivery courier then locked the ship’s bay ramp. The hold hissed, sending a thick cloud of slicks scent our way as it sealed shut. The extended ramp curled up like a tongue to gobble up my life’s accumulations in one bite.

  I only took one step before Lily grasped my hands and pulled me into a silent hug of final desperation. My mentor clung to me, sharing her warmth for the long, cold travel through space. Her comfort to quell the sudden attack of terror. Would I ever see her again?

  I melted just a little and breathed in the floral scent of her hair one last time. “I will miss you most of all, Lily.”

  The House Matron drew back, her gaze probing. Searching. With tears pooling in her eyes, Lily traced an elegant fingertip down my cheek.

  “You were my best student, Dahlia,” she rasped, an errant tear tracing a path down her cheek. “It was my greatest joy to personally train you.”

  Full lips pressed to mine in a tender kiss of longing that lingered even after Lily drew away. She dragged in a deep breath before gliding from the platform and returning toward the House.

  I watched. Waited with baited breath as the first rays of the rising suns glimmered over the verdant, flowering landscape where we each earned our name. I allowed one last look before boarding my ship as the golden light touched the opening then closing front door of the House with a flicker of crystal glass.

  But Lily never looked back.

  Chapter Two

  A courtesan plans for the unexpected

  “Dahlia.”

  “Dahlia.”

  The call roused me from the depths of the dream. I laid in bed and clawed at it, willing the dream to return. I didn’t want to greet the real world just yet, lingering in the memories of warm embraces. Of friendship and family. Safety and security.

  Of home.

  “Five more minutes, Mother,” I mumbled around the pillow’s edge.

  A disembodied titter floated through the ether between sleep and awake. “I do not think I will ever achieve such a title, Dahlia.”

  My courtesan name clashed with the whisper of another I’d once been called as the dream dissipated. Freezing air tickled my exposed cheek and dragged me from the remaining edges of sleep.

  Then the remembrance of the latest predicament slammed into me with the rattling force of planetary reentry as my toe peeked out from the bed covers.

  The ship’s climate control was busted. Needed a new coil, or some such or other the AI had identified. The last few days we’d limped along with a patch that kept me from freezing to death out here among the stars. But just barely.

  How many major repairs to the ship did that make since I’d left Andurea? Twenty-four in the last three cycles? Twenty-five? Somewhere along the way, I’d lost count. And the problems only continued to mount of late – and not just for the ship.

  Food supplies ran low. Water levels neared the red line. Space travel was hard on fabric, and I’d finally resorted to learning the fine art of hand-stitching hems and frayed edges just to stay clothed, a common practice discovered out here along the Rim planets.

  However, I still hadn’t learned the art of cooking. Most everything I’d tried ended up undercooked, burned, or just plain unpalatable. It was so unlike me. I had perfected many talents, but cooking was beyond my abilities. In desperation, I’d given up the practice and simply stocked the galley with plain, old nutri-bars – just like so many of the commoners ate out here.

  I sighed and burrowed deep in the thick blankets, dreading the moment when I’d have to launch out of bed and leap into as many layers as I could reasonably manage.

  I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. My breath steamed tendrils through the air. “What’s the status of our approach?”

  “That is why I woke you, Dahlia. We are now twenty klips from the nearest starport.”

  Twenty klips? “Why didn’t you say so?”

  “I thought that is what I just did.”

  “You should’ve woke me sooner.” AI’s were so smart-alecky sometimes. Or maybe it was just mine. “Just turn on my steam shower, BIP.”

  “Turning on Dahlia’s steam shower,” repeated the AI.

  The hiss immediately started behind the closed doorway leading from my bedchamber. I couldn’t afford to waste water for the bathing unit to heat up as much as possible. So I tossed aside the covers and made a beeline to the only real warmth available on the ship.

  The cold bit into my toes as I skittered across the floor. Goosebumps sprouted along my naked flesh. Even with the barely heated steam, I welcomed the tepid embrace as I yanked open the door and climbed into the unit with a sigh.

  Using precious water resources wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do, but extreme circumstances required extreme measures. I had to look and smell my best the moment I docked on the starport. Just one of the things I’d learned in the three cycles since leaving Andurea.

  Sunny. Steamy. Warm Andurea.

  There wasn’t a day that went by of late when I wasn’t sorely tempted to return to the life I’d left behind. Plentiful bathing water always within reach. The finest silks to wear. Food aplenty. Wanting for nothing.

  I missed the continual presence of my fellow courtesans, and a parade of clients to warm my bed. W
ell-spoken – and well-groomed – paramours to share in the ceremony of joining for one night.

  The ship’s breakdowns were tiresome and expensive, but longing for home had grown particularly bad after the climate control failed. All I could think about was the last time I’d witnessed the rising of Andurea’s twin suns. Felt the heat from the golden rays. Longing threatened to overwhelm me.

  But there was no going back. My future lay in the nearby starport that hopefully carried the necessary spare parts. Used parts most likely, but the right dealer would never sell me anything that wasn’t still serviceable. Being a courtesan had its advantages.

  Or at least it used to.

  If I could just find the precise person who could fix the climate control and a few clients to help restock my coffers somewhat, I’d continue on my way into the wilds of the Rim. I only hoped this port wasn’t crawling with unscrupulous technicians waiting to rip me off.

  Again.

  Lily’s concerns when I’d left continued to taunt. The House Matron had been right. On Andurea I’d been the House’s brightest pupil, the best student Lily had ever trained. I’d grown to become the most requested courtesan in all the court, garnering the attention of planetary administrators, governors, and ambassadors alike. Even royalty.

  And him.

  I’d excelled at everything and had whatever I wanted at my fingertips. But none of my training had prepared me for the life of space travel. Sure the AI took care of piloting the ship, but I hadn’t considered what to do in the event of breakdowns. Or how expensive everything out here was – and how easily someone would take advantage of that ignorance.

  Yes, Lily had been right to caution me. But I would never, ever reveal to her how bad things had gotten.

  I finished scrubbing the accumulated space grime from my smooth flesh then chose one of my finest oil mists to scent me from head to toe before climbing from the unit. The recycler immediately sucked the accumulated moisture from the air – and with it, the warmth.

  Cold air blasted as I slipped into my bedchamber, instantly hardening my nipples into diamond bits. I wrapped up in a thick robe I’d purchased during my first starport stop all those cycles ago. Then I withstood the torment to curl and wind my hair with jeweled strands that signified the last of my accumulated wealth. I then chose a fine silk dress that revealed just enough to denote my station without causing too much of a ruckus at port.