Free A Reluctant Companion by Kit Tunstall

few bright spots in her day, and she suspected they had become a bit of one in his day too. He’d often had to hide his grin as she’d teased or tortured him. It was a strange sort of friendship they’d established, since she didn’t even know his name and probably never would now.
     
    Following Cleo’s directions, she found the sitting room easily. Madison stepped inside and paused, taken aback to see four other women besides Cleo seated around a round table with a white tablecloth. She swallowed a lump in her throat, suddenly nervous. She hadn’t expected to have to deal with new faces. Forcing a small smile, she walked to the table, taking the only free chair. “Hello,” she said in a general way.
     
    The other women smiled, and Cleo said, “Hello. Ladies, this is Madison Cole. Madison, meet Layko, Ashandi, Esme, and Nina.”
     
    Maybe it was paranoia, but she could swear there was a hint of resentment in the gaze one of the women directed toward her. All four sets of eyes displayed blatant curiosity, perhaps touched with a bit of puzzlement. Reassuring herself that she was just as curious about who they were didn’t help her nerves settle.
     
    It was only when Cleo had poured a cup of tea from the pot and passed it around to everyone that Madison got an inkling who the others were. As soon as she smelled the tea, she recognized it as the daily contraceptive she had to choke down every afternoon. Grimacing, she swallowed it in a couple of gulps, noting most of the women did the same. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. The most likely reason they were all taking contraceptive tea together was—
     
    “Welcome to the flavor of the month,” said the one Madison tentatively identified as Nina. Her blatant hostility gave her face an unappealing quality, though she was technically striking, with a fall of straight black hair and dark eyes that contrasted beautifully with her pale skin.
     
    A sick feeling crept into her stomach as she examined the women with new eyes. Tiernan must like variety. He had a woman from all the major groups—Asian, African, Indian, Hispanic, and Caucasian. Considering he already had one white girl, why had he picked her? Was that why Nina was so antagonistic? Did she think Madison was her replacement?
     
    Her first instinct was to reassure the other woman that she didn’t want to supplant her, but she didn’t say anything. It occurred to her that she very much wanted to get rid of the other woman. Rid of all them, at least in their current roles. If Tiernan expected her to give up her entire life to be his plaything, it wasn’t unreasonable for her to want him to get rid of the harem, was it?
     
    “Nina,” said Cleo in a sharp tone. “Don’t be such a bitch.”
     
    Nina rolled her eyes. “Why do you care, Cleo?”
     
    “Use your head,” said the Asian girl. Layko? “Miss Cole clearly has favor with the commander at the moment. Stay on her good side.”
     
    Madison set down her cup and started to push back her chair. She’d had enough of the probing examination. This wasn’t a tea party. It was an attack. “If you’ll excuse me…”
     
    Cleo put a hand on her arm. “Please stay, Madison.”
     
    “Yes, do,” said Ashandi. “It’s not your fault one of his other companions has crossed lines.”
     
    After a second, she eased back against the chair again. “What lines?”
     
    “Ashandi,” said Nina, scowling, “Keep your theories to yourself.”
     
    With a scoffing sound, Ashandi took the next cup of tea Cleo had poured, this one from a different pot. “They aren’t theories. You have grown too possessive of Tiernan, Nina. You risk your position in his life with your actions. Jealousy will be your end.”
     
    Esme sipped her new cup of tea, nodding. “I’ve seen it before, chica .”
     
    “So have I,” said Cleo, passing Madison another cup. “I’ve lost count of the girls Tiernan has discharged from his service because they couldn’t