Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

The Bender v.3

Ava and Theo's conversation had been cut short by the woman who sat on her lap. An icy feeling set over Ava's chest when she saw Theo's arms wrap around the person on her lap. Jealously? Over what? Theo could barely even be called Ava's friend. She had no right to the captain. Plus, she wasn't even interested in Theo because Ava was not a nox. As far as she knew anyway. She had never been with a man further than a kiss, she had never been interested in a man, she had never even imagined a future where she was with a man.

Ava had thought for lengths that she wasn't interested in men because around her were just assholes and bastards. She thought her negative feelings towards ending up with a man were just rebellious thoughts aimed at angering her parents. But as she spent more time in the real world she was beginning to think she was building lies up in her head. Maybe it was about time that Ava had started to consider a possibility where maybe she was a nox or something along those lines. Or maybe she would continue to push the confusing thoughts away. It was easier to ignore the tightness in her chest when she thought about these things than to give in and explore those feelings.

Theo had been gone for a while and she didn't know what the hold up was. Ava thought that Theo did not partake in the brothel business but apparently that was untrue. She had been sitting alone on the couches, sipping on different drinks as the trays came around to her. Oceane had gone off into one of the rooms, Tuni had met up with an old friend and they were lost in conversation. The others, she had no idea where they had gone off to. They would stop by and then get whisked away to somewhere else. She was about three glasses of wine into solitude when a very nicely built man walked past her.

He had no shirt on. His chest was defined and his arms looked like a lot of work had gone into them. He had a nice face to look at and Ava did her best to whistle him over. It ended up going embarrassingly bad but the man got the hint and came over. He sat down on the couch next to Ava and smiled a charming smile at her.

Ava returned the smile, "I have a question."

"And for someone as pretty as you, I hope to have an answer," the man cooed at her, trying his best to charm her.

Ava ignored the comment, "How much would it cost for you to sit here and talk with me so I don't look like a sad and sorry sulker in the corner?"

The man laughed and scooted a little closer to Ava, "I charge one gold an hour and you can do whatever you want with me."

Ava blushed a little at the suggestion but she shook her head, "Talking is all I need. I'll give you ten gold if you just sit here and make me seem interesting and laugh at every few things I say."

"My boss won't be happy with me just lounging around..." the man admitted but he looked a little distressed to be passing up so much gold, "would you want to go into a room? We can talk there."

Ava hesitated. She didn't mind being in a room if it meant she was to be out of the eyesight of everyone. She didn't want the pirates in her group to pity her and feel like they had to come over and comfort her. However, she also had less than pleasant experiences when it came to being alone with men. The two attacks she had been through weighed on her mind.

"Alright," Ava obliged, also wanting to be able to share her money with someone who looked like they needed it, "but don't try anything. I have a dagger and I have been known to use it from time to time."

Ava tried to seem threatening but it did not come off that way. The man laughed as he helped her to her feet. He led her to an empty room on the first floor. As she went to the room she caught Cooker's gaze who sent her a questioning look. Ava shrugged her shoulders and went inside the room. The door shut behind her and the room looked clean and fresh, different than what she had expected.