Most of the girls were looking at him as if he had two heads, but one had clasped her hands over her mouth and bowed her head. She appeared to be crying.
“What did I say wrong?” Mike asked, looking at the crying girl and then Klavdiya.
“Most of us were… sold for less money than that,” Klavdiya said, looking at him in disbelief. “You are going to give us this?”
“You keep the clothes and jewelry and whatever,” Mike said. “The furnishings stay. And you keep the money, yeah. What’s the problem? It’s a good deal.”
“It’s wonderful,” Klavdiya said, throwing her arms around him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve never had money in my hand, before.”
“There’s the whole sex thing, too,” Mike pointed out, trying to avoid a pair of extremely firm breasts pressed into his arm.
“You seem gentle,” Klavdiya said, drawing back since he was clearly uncomfortable. “And we were to be whores. None of us were to have a husband. Now we are to be women of the Kildar! And paid too! This is too wonderful to describe!”
“I did mention the sex thing, right?” Mike asked, confused. Most of the girls were looking at him as if he was God. “Hey,” he added, to the girl who still had her head down, “could you quit crying? It’s a real turn-on. By the way,” he said, turning back to Klavdiya, “I’m not the nicest guy in the world. I can be pretty rough.”
“But you will not beat us to make us do things,” Klavdiya said. “Will you?”
“If I have to,” Mike said. “For that matter, I enjoy it. But I won’t do it at random. And I generally either need a damned good reason or permission. Some girls enjoy playing with pain. However, yeah, if you get out of line I’ll beat the heck out of you. Not as my first reaction, but don’t push it, okay?”
“I won’t,” Klavdiya said, swallowing.
“And I won’t be rough the first time,” Mike said. “It ruins the young lady’s approach. Speaking of the first time,” Mike continued, looking around and shaking his head, “the one requirement I’m going to make here is that I’m first. I figure I’m paying for it, I might as well get first crack. But slowly, come up with a list. Actually, just get the girls’ names and I’ll figure it out. Can you write?”
“No, Kildar,” Klavdiya admitted.
“Learning’s going to be a bitch,” Mike said, sighing. “I’ll get one of the female trainers in here to set up the logistics. After I have a list I’ll figure out who goes first.”
“I volunteer,” Klavdiya said, her jaw working nervously.
“Okay,” Mike said, shrugging. “You seem pretty balanced and hopefully the rest will be less worried if you give a good report. Later, though, I’ve got things to do.”
“Very well, Kildar,” the girl said, slightly crestfallen. She’d obviously screwed up her courage to volunteer.
“And tell Mother Savina to tell Uncle Latif that I want this fountain working,” Mike said, standing up. “Sheets on the beds, get clothes, get a list of the girls and fix the fountain. The rest can wait.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I heard we had some excitement today,” Adams said, coming into Mike’s office after a knock.
“This is getting out of control,” Mike said. “I just picked up seven more waifs. The only thing to do with them is kick them out or make them concubines. I thought about trying to just keep my hands off them but that would make things weirder in the long term.”
“You’re due, buddy,” Adams said. “Something about fifty college coeds if I recall.”
“Forty-nine,” Mike said, sadly. “Forty-nine.”
“Yeah, well we got forty-nine out,” Adams said.
“Besides, I screwed twenty of the forty nine,” Mike admitted.
“Twenty?” Adams shouted. “Damnit, I only got six!”
“Six?” Mike snapped back. “When the hell did you get six?”
“Well, there was the hotel in DC,” Adams said, ticking off on his fingers. “Two there, separate times, mind you. Then there was the party at the Kappa Alpha house, that was three…”
“Yeah,” Mike said, shaking his head. “I heard about that one.”
“Those Kappa Alphas can party,” Adams admitted. “Then there was the visit I made later. That was the last one, a Chi O, but then there were two more of her sorority sisters over the weekend…”
“Christ,” Mike said, shaking his head. “You were bent on taking over UGA weren’t you?”
“Dude, it was only a plane hop away,” Adams pointed out. “And all I had to do was get one of the girls to introduce me as a SEAL and it was pussy city. And you got twenty. Don’t give me any shit.”
“Well, it took most of a month,” Mike admitted, grinning. “But I think I potted all the girls that were recovered enough. It was fun. Good for them, good for me. But that doesn’t cover the present problem. I wasn’t planning on having a harem.”
“Wah,” Adams said. “Not a problem most guys want to listen to somebody complain about.”
“Well, if a certain team name ever gets tagged to me the area around me is going to get really exciting,” Mike pointed out. “Having a bunch of potential hostages around is not my idea of a good plan.”
“You’ve got the Keldara around you,” Adams pointed out. “Both as defenders and as potential hostages. A few more bunnies running around won’t matter.”
“I suppose,” Mike said. “But doesn’t it bother you a bit?”
“Nah,” Adams replied. “You always over analyzed. Go get it stuck in and forget the rest. It won’t matter in a hundred years anyway. But you need to get you a harem manager, you know that.”
“I can just see that advertisement,” Mike pointed out. “Wanted, harem manager for group of teenaged concubines. Must be female. Send photo and resume.”
“Mike, I’ve had teenaged daughters,” Adams said. “Well, stepdaughters. You don’t want to put up with them most of the time. They should be raised in a barrel. Oh, the screaming fits and the sulks and the pouts and the whines. Get a professional.”
“And where, exactly, does one find a professional harem manager?” Mike asked, smiling.
“Uzbekistan comes to mind,” the chief said, seriously. “We were there for a refit in-between jobs in Afghanistan. The team had a night off so we went down to the local club. Some dude with heavies was sitting in the corner with a girl about thirteen on his lap and another that looked like a damned model, maybe twenty-three or so, sitting next to him. Turned out he was one of the local sheiks and the twenty something was his harem manager. There were about ten girls out on the dance floor shaking it, all in a group, not one over seventeen I swear. The harem. That’s what you’re shooting for, man, trust me.”
“I’m not so sure,” Mike said, frowning. “Sounds fun, but I’m sure there are headaches. Besides the dealing with teenaged girls. I’ve noticed that if they’re getting laid on a regular basis they’re less prone to the sulks at least.”
“Braces come to mind,” Adams replied, shaking his head. “You’re going to be going through a ton with an orthodontist, if you can find one in Tbilisi.”
“Braces,” Mike said, wincing. “You had to mention those.”
“Okay,” Adams replied, shrugging. “So they’re a turn-on. This is a good thing.”
“Klavdiya,” Mike said, sticking his head in the girl’s room after knocking.
“Yes, Kildar, is it time?” the girl said, standing up. The bed had been made up but the room was still awfully Spartan, no more than a bed and a nightstand, not even a chair.