The hope, the joy, and the love she'd felt last night cuddled against a male who'd saved her life and pleasured her without asking for anything in return… it'd all felt like a dream. A beautiful, deceitful dream
Cosmo awoke in the earliest hours of the morning to a cold, empty bed, the warmth of the young stag's embraces a distant memory in her mind. Her hazel eyes slid open, and she sat up in the king-sized bed, stretching her limbs with a resounding yawn. She blinked the sleepiness from her eyes as she looked around the room, taking in the fine oak wood furniture and beautiful painting she hadn't noticed before. Seems like the big bad lions of the Shishigumi have a taste for art, she thought, a small smirk on her lips. Though, her smirk faded when she noticed a bulky, white envelope laying on the bed beside her, as well as a small, curled-up sticky note attached to the front of it.
She picked up the envelope and read the neatly written words on the sticky note.
A thanks for your services. Feel free to use my shower before you leave—it's cleaned daily.
Cosmo sighed and set down the envelope, sitting back on her hands as she stared up at the roof. She thought back to last night, when she'd been whimpering and moaning in the young stag's arms. She had felt hope then, hope that she could somehow escape the black market and live a better life, as a better person.
But that life, that happiness, wasn't for her, it never would be. She only needed the black market, along with all the meat-crazed, sex-hungry carnivores within it, and nothing more.
Still, she felt a heavyweight press down on her chest, and her eyes began to burn with tears, but she blinked them away and hoisted herself off her hands, shrugging it all away as nothing.
What time is it, she thought, moving to stand up from the bed, I need to leave for my shift soon.
Though, Cosmo's nose began twitching when she caught the young stag's scent, heavily mixed with her own, emitting from her. She gazed down her naked body and noticed the multiple strands of hazel fur in the creamy white of her own. Definitely taking that shower, she thought, and then noticed a drop of white, warm liquid seeping out from between her legs. As well as a dull, tingling sensation thrumming from there. Her eyes lingering on her cum-coated slit, she spread her legs and reached down, placing a gentle finger against her bud—
She shivered, hard, a light gasp slipping from her.
Sensitive—she was still really, really sensitive from last night.
She wanted to stay and pleasure herself to the memory of the young stag's length slipping inside of her and the caress of his lips over her breast. But with her job being so far away, she knew she wouldn't have the time, especially since she traversed by foot. She needed to get to work, quickly. There were only so many tardies her boss could let slide before she faced termination.
Wiping away the cum slipping from between her lips, Cosmo sat up from the bed and entered the bathroom.
::::
Twenty minutes later, she walked out the master bedroom dressed in the clothes she wore from last night—a simple pair of jeans, her turtleneck and a brown over coat—shutting the oak wood door behind her. She sauntered down the main halls, looking over the fine carpets sprawled over the wooden floors and the beautiful, almost-pornographic paintings decorating the walls. It surprised her that the Shishigumi could manage to make their hideout so presentable, especially after the last time she'd visited the disgusting dump. Though, she had a feeling that most of the refurbishments were courtesy of the young stag, which didn't surprise her at all. The male red deer carried himself in a way that suggested he was an herbivore from a wealthy background. And yet, he was willing to lower himself down to the rot and filth of the black market.
Strange.
Cosmo held her chin high as she passed by some of the Lions of the Shishigumi, occasionally giving them a seductive glance that would have their eyes gleaming with hunger and lust… and uncertainty. Uncertainty on whether their boss would kill them if they tried to sleep with her.
They must've known, then, she thought. They must've known how their boss had made her moan and whimper in his arms, how he'd caressed her and fucked her as if she were his lover.
Lover. The word was like an echo reverberating through her chest, her heart, warming something within her that was soft and fragile—something she didn't even know was there. And a part of herself… a very, very small part of herself wished that the word could mean something true. That she could truly be his lover.
A useless, naïve thought, maybe, but…
She made her way from the hallway and to the large staircase that led to the front entrance of the Shishigumi's mansion. But before she could take the first step down, Cosmo froze with wide eyes when she saw the young stag sitting in a newly placed couch in the foyer, his hazel eyes scanning over a stack of papers neatly sprawled on the coffee table before him. A lion sat in the couch across from him, his appearance more professional and well-kept compared to the other Shishigumi members.
Though, her gaze remained on the young stag as those precious, beautiful memories from the night before streamed into her mind and she began to hear her heart pound in her ears. But she forced herself to maintain her composure, forced herself to keep that mask of boredom on her features as she continued to make her way down the steps.
The young stag's ears perked up and he looked towards her, his expression as blank and cold as it was last night. "Good morning." He said, casually, sitting up in the couch. "You're up earlier than I expected."
Having just reached the bottom of the staircase, Cosmo blinked. "You were waiting for me?"
The young stag remained silent as his gaze returned to the stack of papers. "Don't get the wrong idea." He said after a moment, and Cosmo felt her heart crack. The way she'd kissed him last night, the way she'd silently cried in his arms and whispered 'thank you' over and over again into his chest… he must've known how she felt towards him, and only saw fit to stomp down on that relationship before it could even blossom.
She clenched her fist. And the lion sitting across from the young stag eyed her with a warning look, his hand casually reaching over his lap.
The young stag continued, saying, "I'm not needed anywhere until noon, but if you need a ride, then just say the word. I know the mansion is fairly distant from everywhere else in the black market."
She opened her mouth to refuse his offer with a response that was just as cold and harsh but then stopped herself.
If she walked the whole way to her job, she would no doubt be late.
And I need this job, badly.
So, Cosmo swallowed her pride and said, "I work at Sam's Market in Downtown. I need to be there within thirty minutes."
The young stag nodded and ordered the lion sitting across from him to ready the limo as soon as possible.
::::
Sitting back casually in the fine, leather seats of the limousine with her legs crossed, Cosmo gazed solemnly out the dark-tinted windows as she watched the passing by of the alleyways and meat vendors of the black market.
She could never not bring herself to notice how different the place looked during the day. Without all the shaky meat addicts, drooling customers and crippled, begging herbivores roaming through the place, it looked subdued, almost normal—at least when compared to how it was over night. Though, even at night the place wasn't that bad anymore. With the young stag's influence over the black market, carnivores were more accepting of meat-eating—and their instincts in general. No longer did they walk around with grim, guilt-ridden faces or explode in sudden bursts of anger whenever someone annoyed them in the slightest. They were casual, joyous even, smiling and laughing with their friends as they chowed down on their pounds of fresh herbivore meat. And she was, honestly, thankful for that drastic change in atmosphere, because it made traversing through the black market a little bit easier, even if she still found herself getting eyed down, sniffed at or even mildly groped by some of the carnivores there—mostly by the males. But she was used to that kind of attention. Even when one of the male carnivores—a gray wolf—snatched her and forced her into a kiss, she simply gave him a seductive smile and told him that he could have more of her if he payed.
The gray wolf gave her a lustful, predatory grin in return and he spent two hours fucking and kissing and fondling her in a dark, disgusting alleyway, paying her very handsomely—along with an overly generous tip—afterwards.
That was one of the main advantages she had as being a beautiful, female herbivore prostitute within the black market: she was always lusted after, not just for the service she gave but for her natural beauty, for her ability to lure any male into her bedsheets with just a simple glance.
But having that ability, having that beauty, came with the price of her having to give her body away over and over again, to male after male, pleasuring them and seducing them in a way that would make them wanting to come back for seconds. But that didn't bother her much at all anymore, she'd forced herself to learn how to numb the pain and guilt of selling her body away a long, long time ago.
But… but after last night…
Pulling her attention away from the black market outside, Cosmo shot a quick glance (her sixth one this ride) towards the young stag, who sat across from her in the leather seats, his back remaining upright as he gazed out the window with that same, cold expression that was starting to get on her nerves.
She had been surprised that he'd chosen to ride with her, especially with how stern and uncaring he had acted towards her. But whether he came to make sure she made it to her job safely or not, she told herself that she didn't care.
But she knew that wasn't true.
In truth, she was waiting in silent pleading for him to say or do something that would express why he had sex with her the way he did last night, pleasuring her and comforting her with his touch, with his every thrust into her. She just wanted to know, wanted to know if he even cared for her at all.
She glanced at the young stag again.
Don't get the wrong idea.
She felt that crack in her heart throb and she lowered her chin just barely, her lips forming a thin line at the memory of those words. But a part of herself—a stupid, naïve part of herself—still chose to cling onto the belief that what he did last night had to have meant something.
It's why she took in a breath and said—
But the young stags spoke first. "Based on the constant glances you keep giving me, I'm assuming there's something you wanted to talk to me about."
Cosmo perked up with wide eyes, though, she suppressed that surprise as she looked towards him with a bored expression, unconsciously looking over his strangely attractive antlers and his beautiful, hazel-nut eyes, which remained gazing out the dark-tinted window, to the view of the now passing City Central outside.
She simply turned her own gaze back to the window and said, plainly, "it's nothing."
The young stag didn't say anything in response and silence lingered between them.
But anxiety began to grip her stomach as she noticed landmarks that were located near her job, meaning that they were only ten-to-eight minutes away. Once she was dropped off, there was a chance that she'd never be able to speak to him again—unless he decided to hire her.
And she didn't want to settle for that, didn't want to give up on the chance that she could possibly fall in love with a male who really cared for her. One more time, she told herself, just try one more time, Cosmo. Her heart pounding in her chest and her hands shaking in her lap, Cosmo took in a breath and said to the young stag, as a way to inch towards the subject, "you didn't have to pay me for last night."
The young stag turned his attention to her at that. He examined over her for a moment before saying, his gaze, once again, returning to the window, "as I said in the letter—assuming that you read it—it was a simple thanks for your services. I didn't want to trouble you by having you do a job you weren't compensated for."
"You saved my life," she almost exclaimed, the slightest quiver in her voice. "That's compensation enough."
"It was expected of me to save your life." The young stag corrected, his tone laced with boredom. "That's what your club owner is paying my organization for, is he not?"
It was expected of me to save your life.
Cosmo clenched her fist once more, her dull nails biting into her skin as her muzzle began to curl in. "But you accepted my invitation to the bar, did you not?"
The young stag, again, turned his head in her direction, most likely because of the anger present in her tone. He raised a brow, a sort of carefulness in his voice as he explained, "I accepted your invitation as a simple generosity for a fellow herbivore within the black market—nothing more."
In other words, it was just an act of pity.
Her lips thinned and her eyes flicked down, a blurriness clouding her vision. And the words she spoke next came out faster than she could stop them, spurred on by the frustration and wanting and sorrow wailing within the aching of her heart—
"Then why did you fuck me like I was your lover last night?"
The limo driver upfront, who was the same Shishigumi member who'd been sitting across from the young stag in the foyer, stiffened, his ears perking high.
Cosmo held the young stag's cold stare, and he looked away from her, lowering his chin. And, to her surprise, his cold, unreadable expression broke—shattered into pieces—as a frown stretched on his lips, a deep, pained sadness entering his eyes. He breathed, his back slouched, "last night… what I did… I wasn't thinking of you then."
…Silence… utter silence…
And Cosmo's heart broke.
She sat back in the leather seat, her head hanging low as she stared and stared and stared down at her limp hands.
I wasn't thinking of you then.
A tear escaped from her eyelid but she quickly wiped it away, a frown quivering on her lips as a sob clawed at her chest.
Everything he did last night… pleasuring her and comforting her…
I wasn't thinking of you then.
A small sob broke from her throat—
Cosmo ripped her emotions from her mind, her heart. She wasn't going to break down here, not in front of him. She wasn't going to give him that. So, she managed herself as best as she could and uttered through a shaky voice, "stop the car."
The limo driver perked up again, glancing at her through the rear view mirror. But he ignored her, his gaze returning to the road.
Dismissal.
Cosmo grit her teeth and her rage exploded from her. "I said stop the car!"
The lion looked to his boss this time, waiting for a response (of course he wouldn't take orders from a lowly prostitute).
The young stag glanced up and nodded.
And smoothly, the lion pulled the limo over by the sidewalk and placed it in park.
Cosmo didn't bother giving so much as a glance towards the young stag as she stepped out the limo and slammed the door behind her.
She walked hastily down the sidewalk, wiping away the tears brimming at her eyelids as she fought to keep her composure amongst the crowd of mammals walking past and around her.
But another sob cracked from her throat anyway and tear after tear continued to slip down her cheeks, no matter how many times she wiped them away.
She hated when she saw some of the mammals walking past her giving her a look of pity.
I wasn't thinking of you then.
Cosmo shook her head and breathed, calming herself down.
I'm only a few minutes away from my job, she thought, as an attempt to distract her mind from the memory of him, from the memory of those six words that had ripped her heart to shreds.
I don't want to be late to work again. I need to hurry.
But no distraction in her mind could take away from the pain sprawled out within the broken pieces of her heart.
The one time she thought a male actually cared for her, loved her…
I wasn't thinking of you then.
She wiped away another tear that, once again, began to form in her eyelid.
And she continued to walk down the sidewalk, stuffing those emotions deep, deep within herself, as she'd done for so many years.
I need to hurry and get to work, she thought again, and allowed the hope and joy and love she'd felt last night, as well as the precious memory she'd held so dear, to fade away into nothing, into the deepest crevices of her mind.
Forgotten.
She never wanted to feel that hope again.