That was an interesting philosophy and one Zarya could agree with. Nothing bothered her more than to step into a room and be assaulted by oversprayed scents.

Gera dabbed the stopper on Zarya’s neck and then her wrists and elbows. When Gera went to put it between her breasts, Zarya protested again. She was a little tired of being groped by other women.

Tsking, Gera gave Zarya a chiding, but patient stare. “Mistress, please, we’ve already gone through this. Either you allow me to prep you or I’ll be forced to have the guards hold you down for it. Either way, you will submit to this.”

They’d be bloody and blue from it if they tried… While she might not be able to expertly groom herself to Gera’s satisfaction, she did know how to fight.

Zarya started to tell the older woman that she wasn’t Darling’s property, but legally she was. Something the slave collar around her neck testified to.

Damn you, Maris.

Couldn’t someone have removed the stupid thing?

No doubt Darling intentionally kept it there to remind her of her new position in his world. No longer the love of his life…

She was now his piece of property to do with as he wished, regardless of her own thoughts.

A knot formed in her stomach as she remembered his words from last night. The words he’d growled to her downstairs after they’d made love.

“This changes nothing between us…”

He hated her.

Her stomach cramped with pain. “Fine,” she said irritably. After all, none of this was Gera’s fault. The older woman was just following orders and the last thing Zarya wanted was to get her into trouble.

But…

Darling had better duck when he came in the door.

Gera slid the stopper down Zarya’s chest, then underneath her breasts.

She tried not to cringe. “I don’t think you’re paid enough for your job.”

Gera smiled. “It’s not so bad. The other mistresses I’ve tended haven’t minded my attention. Most enjoyed it immensely.”

The thought of Darling having a mistress really stung, even more so if he’d had one while he was seeing her. “How many have you served?”

“Between the four rulers I’ve worked under, it’s probably somewhere around seventy total.”

That was a lot of women cycling through this room, especially for only four men. “Why so many?”

Gera returned the bottle to the tray. “There were fourteen under Governor Ehrun Cruel.”

Ehrun… That would have been Darling’s grandfather.

“He was very kind and giving to his mistresses, but he never kept one for more than three years.”

A bad feeling went through her as she remembered what Senna had accused Darling of. Could his grandfather have been that twisted?

“Why not?”

Gera picked up a brush to style her hair. “He would choose women from the stews who were already selling themselves, and then have us educate them. After two or three years, their choice not his, he’d set them up with a new home and a stipend for them so that they could move on with their lives. They were allowed to take all of their clothes and any gifts or jewelry he purchased for them while they were here. He considered it an even exchange. They would provide him with temporary companionship and he would take care of them for the rest of their lives. Many of their children and grandchildren still live on the trusts he set up for them.”