One hand was pressed into the straw stuffed mattress and the other was braced against the wall as she let out a moan of pleasure as she felt Aleksei moving behind her. She pressed back against him and looked at him over her shoulder.
As he thrust into her she could tell he was lost in pleasure by the expression on his face. The shadows that came through her small window played across his features made him even handsomer.
When he saw her looking at him he smiled at her and stopped his movements and helped her to turn over so she was on her back again. As he settled himself over her he watched her with that same smile and touched her face gently with fingers callused from hard work.
He was the only one that bothered to treat her gently and smile at her. In fact, he was the only customer she liked spending time with, which said a lot for Aleksei.
Overall, she was not enjoying her time as the village whore, but she did what she had to. The tavern was her home now. In truth, the tavern was really the heart of the village, which really said something about the population of the village as a whole.
Irina had stood out there like a sore thumb from the moment she arrived. Once she had taken the inn keeper into her bed and continued on to take the tavern's patrons between her legs as well, the men were happier than they had been in a while.
Olaf, the tavern keeper was more than happy with the arrangement. In addition to having Irina ride him in her small room some evenings the stupid girl didn't know that he was making a hefty profit off the men she took up to her room as well. Sure they gave her some coin, but when they headed back down they knew they were expected to pay him as well. So, in the end, Irina was paying him with her body by bedding him and his patrons, all this on top of her paying him rent. Oh yes, he was lucky that she had come to join them.
The men felt that they were lucky as well. None could remember ever lying with a woman as beautiful as Irina. Oh, they had dreamed of it of course, dreams of a woman with sunlight for hair, beautiful blue eyes the color of the sky on a clear day, pale skin, long slender limbs that clung to them, and a soft voice that moaned in their ears. She was a dream come true and they spoke of her freely at the tavern or when away from it.
And word of the village's tavern wench did spread far and wide.
Just like Aleksei was spreading her legs in her small bed.
After a while she let out a cry of release and then he gave into his own mindless pleasure and collapsed on top of her, panting against her neck as he tried to catch his breath.
Holding him she wondered if he would stay the night or make his way back to the hovel he shared with several other miners. In a way she wished he would stay. When he did, she almost felt, well, normal. When he slept next to her, holding her close and keeping her warm, she pretended that he was her husband rather than a customer, and that the sounds coming up through the floorboards from the first floor were those of their children being restless in the night rather than the sounds of drunks who had been left to sleep it off at the same tables where they had passed out.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him to stay so she could envelop herself in that delusion once again, but she knew better then to do so. The night she asked him to stay, or asked any patron to stay for that matter, was the night that she couldn't ask for coin in exchange for her services. When that happened it would mean she was no longer a whore because she must be, but then she would be marked as a whore who slept with men for something more than survival.
She frowned at this thought as she looked up at the ceiling. This was not the life that she had imagined. No, she did not like being the village whore. It wasn't that she didn't like the act itself. She was beginning to realize that her body found pleasure with even some of the more loathsome characters she took into her bed, such as Olaf, but still, she wished that she had a family of her own. She couldn't be a whore forever. There would be a point when nobody would want her. Everyone lost their beauty at some point…everyone.
Aleksei was already falling asleep lying half on her, his limbs growing heavy and his breath growing steady as he gave himself over to sleep. She ran her hand absently up along the back of his arm as she continued to lie there thoughtfully.
Of course he was tired. It was a wonder that the miners found any energy to bed her at all with how hard they were worked. Turning to look at him as he slept she couldn't help but smile at the streaks of black she saw along his jaw line. Apparently he had been in a hurry to wash and had missed some spots.
Running her finger along one of these trails of sot she watched as he grumbled in his sleep. Trying not to disturb him further, she pulled her hand away and snuggled close to him and closed her eyes, trying to find her own tenuous peace that would fade with the coming of dawn when a new day would start.
Perhaps Aleksei or some other kind man would come along and make a life with her. She could dream about it, but she could also plan in case it didn't happen, but the planning could wait till tomorrow.