Waking to a bright, sun-lit room was something Hollem hadn't done in years. Squinting at the beams of light that played over his face, he slowly rolled over to face the wall, allowing him time to adjust his eyes. When he rolled back over a minute later, he saw Amia standing by the one small window in the room, the pitch black curtain he'd fastened over it pulled aside.
Sitting up with a yawn, he watched the guy, his focus seemingly on something outside. What is he looking at that he didn't even hear me move? Hollem wondered as he got himself comfortable against his pillows and just watched Amia. He took in his looks calmly, moving his eyes from his near-flawless face with just a slight brush of freckles on the side of his nose, down to his slender shoulders, torso, and legs. He had a very nice body. People would pay for him, but Hollem was still hesitant to let him start.
He would likely be the one to start the scheduling, but considering the way the guy reacted to his touch... I can't let him start. If he so much as flinched for some of their high paying customers, they'd ask for a refund and not even touch him. They wanted someone who loved them, not someone who was just having sex because they had to.
"What's your full name?" Hollem asked, finally snapping the young man out of his daze as he jerked his eyes toward him.
When his chocolate brown stare narrowed on him, Hollem knew that he was in for a long several weeks, or days, if the guy didn't last. As if reading his mind, Amia sent him a venomous scowl and replied. "None of your business. People only scream the first name when fucking, if they even bother to remember it."
Hollem bit his cheek to keep from reprimanding the guy. If he ended up staying with them, he would definitely scold him, but he wanted to see what Amia was about.
"Alright. Why are you a prostitute when you hate people touching you?" He asked, getting straight to the point as he crossed his arms loosely over his chest.
When he just continued to receive the man's glare, Hollem leaned his head back and yawned again, then replied in a calm, patient voice. "I am the one who will sign you off for being capable of performing your job. You do not get to work until I deem that you can."
That got the young man's attention. His jaw clenched, along with his fists at his sides, yet he still didn't speak. Hollem tilted his head, adding a slight smirk to try and rile the man, but the gesture only made Amia practically spit with anger and spin around, forcing his attention back out the window.
There's a lot of hate in this guy...
"Well, if you do not want to discuss the issue now, then I'm going back to sleep." Hollem said as he gave the man his back and pulled a blanket partially over his body, mainly trying to block out the light from hitting his face.
Hollem was just getting back to sleep when he felt the bed depress right beside his back. His eyes snapped open beneath the blanket and he focused on what he could hear and the weight being added to the mattress.
When the blanket was slowly lifted and a warmth pressed up against his bare back, Hollem stiffened unintentionally. He didn't like having people in his personal bed. He hadn't invited Amia, but he was curious as to what he was doing. Madam Maria would not have allowed him inside of the brothel with any sort of weapon, so Hollem wasn't worried about his safety at that moment.
When he felt Amia trying to nudge him onto his belly, he slowly allowed himself to be moved. The moment his body had finished turning, Amia straddled his lower torso and began pressing down firmly onto his back. Hollem was just opening his mouth to tell Amia to get off of him when he felt a muscle that had been nearly pulled for several days slip back into place, making an embarrassing groan slip from his parted lips.
A dark chuckle reverberated around the room from Amia, but Hollem chose to ignore it. Good massages cost a lot of money, and while he had a decent amount saved up, he never dared to spend it.
Another press, this time against his lower back, had him sighing. Amia sure knew what he was doing. As the guy worked all of his muscles in silence, Hollem fought to stay awake. When Amia got to the waist of the soft trousers he'd pulled on to sleep in, Hollem blinked one eye open. Amia slid his thumbs into the sides of the fabric and began pulling the pants down, exposing Hollem's backside a second before he growled and flipped the guy off of him, pinning his body beneath him with a glare of his own on his tired face.
"What do you think you are doing?" Hollem asked, wanting to pull his pants back up, but not trusting Amia not to react if he did so.
The guy lay beneath him, his semi-short hair fanned out around his head against the sheets. His scowl had returned, but behind it was a haughty expression that Hollem didn't like one bit.
"What? I took you for a bottom." Amia said, making Hollem squeeze his eyes shut for a few moments, fighting his normal easy control.
When he felt like he wouldn't strangle the guy, he moved off of him to drop down onto the bed beside his body. He immediately gave Amia his back and pulled his pants back up, then tugged the blankets up to cover his chest and face again.
"Be quiet and go to sleep." He grumbled.
There was silence just long enough for Hollem to begin drifting off. "How can I get your approval to start working?" Amia asked after what felt like an hour, but couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes.
"Start by being quiet. I'm tired." Hollem mumbled, keeping his eyes closed as he nuzzled into his pillow.
Amia's weight shifted on the bed, but Hollem kept his eyes shut and stayed still. When he felt warmth press up against his back, he opened his eyes, scowling at the blanket that covered his face. He expected Amia to try something again, but when he felt the guy just stretch, then settled in, he blew out a stressed sigh.
"I need to work. I don't have any money." Amia said after a long silence.
When Hollem didn't respond right away, he felt a hesitant finger poke him between the shoulder blades beneath the blanket. "I don't have any food... or other clothing." Amia mumbled.
Hollem still didn't reply, because something sounded off. He could believe that Amia had no money left or clothing, but the tone of his voice was still irksome. As if he knew that he was above Hollem and was just trying to let him think that he was behaving in order to be allowed to work sooner or get things.
"We will feed you for the time being, and there are plenty of spare clothes in the laundry area. One of the maids can find some things for you." Hollem finally replied, making the finger poking his back pause for a moment.
"You would feed me? Even when I'm not earning you money?" Amia asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
With a tired sigh, Hollem rolled over and lowered the blanket so that it only rested across his waist, leaving his legs and upper body free of its constricting heat. "Can you sweep floors? Wash dishes? Do laundry?" Hollem asked, earning a fresh glare from Amia.
"I'm going to take that look as a yes. If you wish to eat and receive clothing, you may do chores until I allow you to start working with clients."
Amia groaned and rolled onto his belly, grabbing the pillow closest to him and squeezing it in a tight hug with clear frustration. "Why don't you just watch me once? You'll know that I'm good at what I do." He said, making Hollem make a face at him that had Amia smirking.
"No, thank you." Hollem said with a dull voice, trying to portray his complete disinterest.
I have zero intention of watching him pleasure someone else. Someone. Not someone else.
Rolling his eyes at himself, Hollem rolled onto his back, intent on trying to get at least a little more rest. He still likely had a few hours before they opened and he was needed downstairs, but he doubted that he'd sleep much longer. Especially with Amia in his bed.
Wait a minute.
"Get out of my bed. There are blankets in the corner. If you're here long enough, the madam will get you one, but I didn't say that you could stay in mine." He said as he turned his head to stare at Amia.
When the guy just turned his head away on the pillow and pretended to ignore him, Hollem scowled. "Get off my bed."
"It's easily big enough for both of us." Amia said, his words slightly muffled against the pillow.
That's not the point.
"Get off." He growled.
Amia just laughed as he rolled back to face him, a cocky grin on his face. Hollem couldn't deny that he was handsome, and maybe a little bit cute with his faintly boyish features, and lack of facial hair, but he'd already seen enough of his attitude to not fall for his looks.
"I already tried to get us both off, but you weren't exactly cooperative." He cooed, making Hollem blow on the guy's face, rustling his hair and making him scowl.
"Your breath stinks." Amia said, wrinkling his nose.
Hollem grunted, then rolled back over, giving the guy his back again. "And your attitude stinks."
"I could change it for you, master. Anything you'd like..." Amia whispered right up against Hollem's ear, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine.
This guy.
Rolling back over abruptly, Hollem pinned the guy beneath his body and folded his arms over Amia's chest to rest his chin on. "I told you to be quiet and go to sleep. Do you not understand English, Amia?"
The guy beneath him rolled his eyes, then sighed.
"Fine. I'll shut up and go to sleep. Happy?" He said as Hollem slowly moved off of him to lie back down.
"Ecstatic." He said, rolling over for what felt like the hundredth time.
When Amia got up and replaced the black curtain, dimming the light in the room, Hollem felt himself finally relax... Until the bed depressed again and a warm back pressed against his own.
"Get. Off. My. Bed." He ground out, only to be answered by silence.
Hollem was about to roll over and shove the guy off, but instead, he forced himself to take a few deep, calming breaths. He's finally quiet and not trying to have sex with you. Just take it as a victory and ignore him beside you. It was hard at first, but soon sleep tugged at him, and he blissfully let it pull him under.