Free A Reluctant Companion by Kit Tunstall Page A

control their emotions and made a scene about sharing him.”
     
    Madison stared glumly at her tea. Asking Tiernan to dispense with his other bedmates was one thing she couldn’t do…unless she wanted him to send her home. It should have been the perfect solution, but she found herself reluctant to try the strategy, though she couldn’t figure out why.
     
    “How long do you have to stay after he selects you?” she blurted. Seeing several blank looks, she tried to clarify. “I mean, is there a contract for length of service?”
     
    Layko shook her head. “The agreement is open-ended, and we can leave anytime we wish, just as Tiernan can send us away if he chooses.”
     
    “Didn’t he explain that?” asked Esme.
     
    Madison gave a quick shake of her head, avoiding the girl’s probing gaze. “How often does he rotate? Is six his usual number?”
     
    “It depends,” said Cleo. “I’ve been with him for seven years, and I’ve sometimes been his only companion. Other times, he’s had more than six.”
     
    Her eyes widened, and she looked at her. “How can you stand it for so long?” Shocked gasps accompanied her question, and she groaned. “What I mean is, it’s like being in limbo for seven years. You can’t fall in love with him, but you can’t love anyone else either. Um, I assume that’s a no-no?”
     
    Cleo grinned. “Can you imagine the commander sharing?”
     
    No, she definitely couldn’t and shook her head again.
     
    “As I told you before, honey, I like this lifestyle. I like Tiernan, but I don’t love him. I don’t think anyone could survive as his personal companion if they did fall for him.” She turned sympathetic eyes in Nina’s direction. “Tiernan doesn’t do love and commitment, Madison.”
     
    “That’s a lesson you need to take to heart,” said Ashandi with an apparent lack of concern. She obviously had no problem with the arrangement either.
     
    “How long have you been here?” asked Madison.
     
    “Two years,” said Ashandi.
     
    “Eight months,” said Layko.
     
    “Thirteen months,” said Esme.
     
    Nina seemed disinclined to answer, so Madison was surprised when she grudgingly said, “Three months.”
     
    It hovered on the tip of her tongue to ask Nina how long the other woman had been in love with Tiernan, but Madison bit back the impulse. It wasn’t her business, and she knew Nina considered her a rival, so there would be no sharing of confidences. She was already the object of the other women’s pity. She wouldn’t want Madison’s too.
     
    Still, she did feel sorry for the other girl, to be in such an impossible situation. At least Nina had the option of leaving. Somehow, she didn’t think Tiernan had blackmailed and kept as his prisoner any of the other women sitting around the table. They were here because they wanted to be and seemed to be in no hurry to leave. How she wished she could trade places with any of them, except Nina. She’d be out of his mansion so quickly her head would spin. Wouldn’t she?
     
    Clearing her throat, she asked, “What happens to a companion when Tiernan’s ready for her to move on?”
     
    Cleo answered. “He makes sure she’s taken care of, which could be a number of things. My friend Heidi has an orchard now, because that was her dream. He gave it to her when he ended their arrangement.”
     
    “And if it doesn’t end amicably?” she asked, barely restraining the urge to glance at Nina.
     
    Esme and Cleo traded a look. “I guess it depends on the reason things are bad. Most of the time, the women are just gone.” Esme shrugged. “Who knows what he gives them when it’s over?”
     
    That was as vague an answer as one could get, she mused. She really wanted to ask them what they thought Tiernan would do if she escaped, but she couldn’t voice the question. None of them were here as his prisoner, and it sounded like he’d never taken a companion before under such circumstances, so they