Seductive Logic

Chapter One: Beauty and Trust

Calypsa sat in the transport next to Jaref watching innumerable buildings whiz by. She let out a deep sigh; the Vulcan sunset she could see was twice as beautiful as any earth sunset she had ever witnessed. She felt quite content, not really very tired. She felt a tinge of sadness at the thought that her stay here was probably temporary and she would have to go back to her old life, if you could call it a life. She had never wanted to be a whore; it was very rare that she wanted anything at all. It almost frightened her that she found herself wishing she could stay. These Vulcans seemed less randy than most humanoids though, so the likelihood of her getting work as an escort was beginning to seem unlikely. She glanced over at Jaref; he seemed to be a very good pilot, this was the smoothest journey she'd ever had. He did not ogle her; he barely looked at her, in fact. She wondered though if these Vulcans were really as deadpan as they seemed; it could all be a big act. Perhaps if she could find a way to make herself useful, not even necessarily in a sexual way, she could convince him to let her stay.

"The sunsets here are much prettier than on earth." Cal hadn't actually meant to say it aloud but she had been thinking about it so intently that it just popped out.

Jaref decided that being agreeable was a wise course of action if he wished to win her favor. "I am glad you think so; the window in your room faces in a convenient direction to have an exemplary view of our planet's sun at dusk."

"Perfect." She said with a small smile, noticing that he seemed to be almost but not quite, smiling himself. You wouldn't even notice if you weren't paying attention.

Jaref was about to explain that for anything to be perfect was an impossibility but thought that might make him seem patronizing. He had read that Terran females find pompous men to be repugnant. He would wait to elucidate such things after she had been educated in the teachings of Surak. "The arrangement pleases you then?" He needed to know if she would want a different room.

"Yeah." She said softly, reaching for her brush to fix her bangs. "I don't want to be rude but, how much longer till we get to your place?"

"Approximately 12.56 earth minutes."

"You don't live in the city?"

"No, I live in my ancestral home; only those of low status within the family dwell in the city."

Story of my life, Calypsa thought. "That makes sense. You are highly respected, I take it?"

Jaref wasn't really sure what she meant but since he was respected the logical answer was yes. "Yes, I have always shown deference to my elders and done what is expected of me. Additionally, my career path is highly logical and I have purged myself of emotions more effectively than most. There is no reason that I should not be highly esteemed within the family."

Calypsa didn't know what to say. She had always done what was expected of her but no one respected her for it. It was interesting to her that he managed to say that without appearing full of himself. He seemed almost humble, if that was possible.

At last they arrived outside the odd-looking structure that was apparently his house.

"I will carry your things to your room. You will follow me." Jaref was still unsure of Calypsa's level of intelligence and decided that he should speak to her as if she were a child.

Calypsa nodded her understanding as her door opened. When they reached the entrance they were greeted by a woman who was obviously some kind of servant, who quickly closed the door behind them. Calypsa followed Jaref up a winding stone stairway that led to numerous passageways. They stopped outside an archaic-looking red door and he pressed a button, reciting something in Vulcan into the console. The door opened and she followed him inside. Her room had a desk, a chair, a dresser and a vanity and her bed was positioned next to a window with lavender silky curtains. The window was open a dry breeze caused the curtains to lift attractively.

Jaref set her items next the bed carefully. "You can program the door opening mechanism to open at whatever code you chose to recite, using the console on your desk. Feel free to close the window if you wish. Dinner will be in one hour in the dining room. There is what you would call a bathroom through the door on your right. Is there anything you require?"

Calypsa had never had such an elegant room. "No thank you, but I have a question."

"What is your question?"

"Could I use the code for the door that you used? It sounded nice."

"If you so desire, however if you did so I would be aware of the code and could gain entrance to your sleeping quarters at any time if I so desired, compromising your privacy."

"I trust you." She said with a wink as she sat on her bed and began to gaze out the window.

Jaref was confused. It would not be difficult to change the code. Did she trust him to enter her bedchambers, or to not enter her bedchambers? "Am I to understand that you wish for me to be able to enter your room at any time?" Maybe gaining her favor would be even easier than he had expected.

Calypsa chuckled softly, which earned her a raised eyebrow. "Whatever makes you happy sugar."

Jaref did not understand her response and was surprised that she was already referring to him by 'pet names', as they were apparently called. "Your answer to my query does not make sense. Please explain your implication."

Calypsa was so glad to be away from the slums that nothing could upset her right now. She actually found Jaref's interrogative questions kind of cute at the moment. "You can come into my room whenever you like, it's your house."

"To do so would be inappropriate as we are not yet bonded."

Calypsa wasn't exactly sure what 'bonded' meant but didn't want to argue. "Okay." She said cheerfully, shrugging her shoulders. This new Vulcan air did her good. "Like I said, whatever you want is fine by me."

Jaref felt accomplished; her non-confrontational behavior suggested that she wanted to 'please' him and her willingness to allow him within her room might suggest that she wished to engage in some kind of sexual act with him, it was not uncommon for Terran to participate in sexual acts outside of wedlock.

"I see, before I leave I would like to mention that I find the fair hue of your hair aesthetically pleasing." With that, he walked out the door, shutting it behind him. He wasn't positive that was the appropriate way to deliver a compliment on a human woman's appearance but he could not see any way in which she would have found it offensive. Now he must go finish his typed evaluation of the calcium deposits in subject 6's blood stream before dinner so he would have sufficient time to teach Calypsa three-dimensional chess and fill her in on his plans for tomorrow.

Calypsa was about to say thank you, but he left too abruptly. She went to the vanity to touch up her makeup. So these Vulcans had strong sexual morals? That would be…different. Calypsa felt strange as she stared at her beaming face in the mirror; it had been so long since she had smiled genuinely. She felt happy, as opposed to numb, which was how she had felt for all 25 years of her life. Fair hue…she wouldn't dye it then, apparently exotic worked for this Jaref.