Pillow talk, my enemy, my ally

Cinder did not end up receiving enough orgasms for her collar to come off that night, much to her chagrin. She tried her hardest, but by the time the evening came to a close, she barely had enough strength to keep going. She passed out in bed with the collar still fastened to her neck, which would make for a nasty surprise for Ella in the morning.

If she was in any state to protest, she would have. But the sweet release of unconsciousness took her, and she slept until morning.

The bed was quite a sight that morning. Nick was sprawled out with Dawn curled up on top of him, behaving more and more like a cat than one would expect. She had a pleasant smile on her face, and even purred as she rubbed her cheek into his chest.

At the same time, Dani was sleeping beside him, doing her best to keep things platonic between them. Just because she was forced to share a bed, that didn’t mean she had to do anything further than that. She wasn’t going to hug his arm like a girlfriend or anything gross like that.

But there was a certain someone who was hugging Nick’s arm tightly like a girlfriend, without even realizing she was doing it. The girl still dressed dutifully in her maid uniform was behaving in quite an un-maidly fashion, clinging to the master of the Master’s Suite like a lover, instead of the hired help. What a scandalous display!

“Ungh… wh-what…?”

She was the first one to wake up. She sat up in bed with bleary eyes, and looked down at the man resting beside her.

The look on her face was neutral. Her dull eyes reflected limited understanding of the situation in front of them, and she let out a yawn.

“…Huh…”

With that being the most she registered about the situation, the tired young latina climbed out of bed and trudged over to the bathroom to clean herself off, ignoring the metal collar clinking around her neck and the drying panties chafing against her lower body. They weren’t all that significant at the moment- not compared to her desire to get ready for the morning, anyway.

She was barely even awake.

The second the door locked behind her, the host of the season made her appearance.

Echo looked down at the sleeping figure of Nick with an uncharacteristically calm expression on her face. She pressed her lips together into a thin smile, and narrowed her eyes.

“How domestic,” she crooned, circling around the bed. She leaned over the empty spot that had just been occupied by the sleepy maid, and took an even closer look at Nick.

He really did seem to be at peace, with Dawn clinging to his chest like that, acting as though everything were completely fine and that he had nothing to be alarmed by.

Seeing him that way…

It almost made Echo want to throw up.

“Wakey-wakey…” she purred, reaching down and running her gloved hand along his cheek. She leaned even closer, pressing her lips right up against his ear and sensually whispered to him, “Nick… it’s time for you to wake up… my darling.”

Nick’s face morphed into a confused expression. His body was responding to the voice of his wife, but he knew on a subconscious level that it wasn’t Mary talking to him. As a result, he twisted himself away from her out of instinct.

Echo smirked, amused that he could see through her so easily.

“I’m honestly a little flattered,” she murmured, softly turning his face back towards her. “But… I’m afraid you aren’t allowed to get away from me that easily… my dear boy…”

She brought her face closer to his. “If you don’t wake up soon… I’ll have to play the role of the dashing princess, and wake the slumbering prince up with a kiss…”

Echo was getting the story backwards, but she hardly cared about that.

Nick flinched. His eyes snapped open, as if his body was telling him that if he stayed asleep for any longer then he would be in danger.

Judging by the menacing smirk he awakened to, his body wasn’t wrong.

“There you are,” Echo purred, standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips. “I was wondering what it would take to get you up. …In more ways than one.”

She gestured to the erection that Nick had woken up with, which was poking harmlessly against Dawn’s thigh. Nick bristled and glared at the smirking host, but he knew that anything he said or did was liable to be used against him given the sort of person Echo was, so he didn’t push the issue.

He just stared at her and waited for her to tell him what she was doing here.

“…Glare at me all you want,” Echo said, deciding to climb into bed with him, “but it isn’t going to change anything.”

She rested her head on the golden pillow and turned to look at Nick, as if they were old lovers who had just woken up beside one another. “Was it good for you, as well?”

“…Good morning,” Nick said, keeping his voice low so as not to wake up Dawn or Dani, or Mary in the other bed. He couldn’t even move, but he still kept his eyes trained on the woman in front of him carefully. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

He was as polite as he could be, given the circumstances. Not that Echo was going to be appreciative of that.

She smirked.

“…There are a few things you could do for me,” she whispered, scooting even closer to him. She ran her gloved hand along the section of his chest that Dawn wasn’t covering with her face. “But… I don’t think you will.”

Nick glared at Echo, telling her with his eyes not to touch him. But, of course, she didn’t listen. If anything, seeing that expression was enough for her to up the ante. Her hand drifted lower, maneuvering around the cat girl on top of him, and slowly crept towards his waist.

Before she could reach his erection, he snapped his hand out and grabbed her by the wrist. He squeezed her harder than he needed to.

“Don’t even think about it,” he hissed at her. “I’m not going to play your game, Echo.”

Echo pouted at him. “How rude,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I’m serious about this, Nick… you’re really hurting my feelings. What’s the problem with letting me… relieve you, just a little bit? You sure had plenty of fun last night…”

“That was with people I care about,” Nick replied. “Not with you.”

It didn’t matter that the woman in front of him wore the face of his wife, or that she had all of Mary’s memories from prior to the show. She had made the choice that she was no longer Mary MacTaggert, and he wasn’t about to treat her the same way.

Not after everything she’d done in the short time she’d been in charge of this season.

Maybe he could have been swayed, if she’d given him a wounded look, like his cold words had hurt her feelings. But no, Echo just smiled even wider, positively delighted by the hostility she saw in Nick’s gaze. She clutched her cane to her chest, and shook her head.

“Well… if that’s your choice, I’m not going to argue with you,” she said in the most patronizing tone Nick had ever heard. “We’re all entitled to make mistakes, after all…”

“Yeah, sure we are,” Nick muttered. He let out an exasperated sigh. “You can go now.”

“But your bed is so comfy… and I’m enjoying our pillow talk,” she added, moving her lips even closer to his face.

Nick’s immediate reaction was to pull his head away from her, but he fought that impulse. A sharp movement like that would probably wake Dawn up, and that wasn’t fair to her.

He could handle Echo’s games himself.

“You’re only here because you want something,” he said bluntly. “So, tell me, what do you want?”

“First, I have something for you,” Echo said. She held up her hand, and a few pairs of underwear flopped down onto the bed between them.

“…What is this?” Nick asked, staring at her dubiously. “What am I looking at?”

“Panties,” Echo replied. “From a certain Rose. Now, normally I wouldn’t be handling delivery on something like this, but Rose had a hard time getting in contact with you yesterday, so consider this a one-time exception.”

Nick rolled his eyes. The only reason Echo would agree to help Rose with something like that was because she wanted to see the response to him being caught in bed with panties. “I’m not that naïve,” he whispered to her.

Echo ignored him. “Now, the more pressing issue… you’ve been slacking a bit, I’m afraid. When it comes to winning over hearts and minds. Going a little too slow for our preferences. And don’t worry, it’s not your fault! …Not completely, anyway.”

“What does that mean?” Nick didn’t know what Echo was talking about. He narrowed his eyes into a cold glare.

“Well… this is a prime example of it,” Echo said, reaching towards his cock again. He bristled, but before he could grab her wrist to stop her again, she actually managed to stop herself. She turned her smirking face towards him, a challenge in her sparkling green eyes, as if she were asking “Did you think I would really…?”

Nick didn’t respond to the unasked challenge. He knew that the answer was “Yes!”

Echo had proven that already, the night he had first been introduced to her. So, he said nothing, and just kept glaring at her.

She licked her lips in response.

“Still quite hard, isn’t it?” She lowered her voice into a husky whisper and pushed herself up on her elbow so she was staring down into his eyes. “That really isn’t what we want to see, Nick. Waking up with morning wood? That’s against everything that Harem Hotel stands for, don’t you know?”

“Blame biology,” Nick dryly replied. “Or didn’t they teach you about how the male reproductive organ works in your Sunday School classes?”

That was a low blow. Nick probably shouldn’t have used that sort of taunt against Echo, given that he was provoking her with something from Mary’s past. It obviously rattled the malicious woman, given the twitch her lips made and the way she slightly narrowed her eyes. But Echo didn’t lash out at him, or let her anger show on the surface.

“…What should be happening,” she said instead, redirecting things back to the main topic at hand, “is that you, Nick, should not be in a position where you have any sexual energy left in the morning! Don’t you agree?”

No. Nick had been dealing with that already for the last few days, thanks to the intensity and scope of his sexual interactions. Last night he’d been in bed with three women, and the last time that had happened, he had been so exhausted he could barely move the next day. Gina’s Dream Alley date had saved him, but he didn’t have that to fall back on this time.

So, no, he couldn’t say he was that upset by the fact that his dick was working the way it was supposed to be.

“…Well, if you don’t want to tire yourself out, there’s always the option of having someone ready and willing to wake you up with a morning blowjob,” Echo pointed out. She popped her mouth open and mimed a blowjob with her tongue.

Nick rolled his eyes again. “No, I’m not going to do that, either,” he said, becoming keenly aware of Dawn’s presence on top of him. She’d absolutely agree to do that if he asked. Gina would, too. Hell- Holly already lived in the Master’s Suite, and if he asked her, she would leap at the chance.

But he didn’t want that. And he let Echo know it.

“…Well, I tried,” Echo said, throwing up her hands as if she was sincerely giving up. But Nick knew better than that. “I just thought that it would be a waste of a good maid. Can you believe that girl?” She turned her gaze towards the bathroom. “Wasting time on a bathroom break, instead of handling things like a professional.”

Her eyes dropped down to Nick’s exposed cock again. “Well… handling a thing like a professional, I should say. You know how particular with our words us English majors are.”

“Yes, I do,” Nick calmly replied. “And I’m sure you’re aware of how last night went, so you know that you’re just talking out of your ass. Neither Cinder NOR Ella is ready for something like that. Even just bringing it up is, frankly, insulting to them.”

“No, it isn’t,” Echo replied with a scoff. She was speaking louder now, and that was making Nick more aware of the people around him. But he couldn’t exactly stop her, either.

“So, is that why you’re here, then?” Nick questioned her impatiently, just interested in getting Echo out of the room at this point. “You’re trying to give me a hard time about Cinder or Ella? Trying to goad me into doing more with them?”

Today was supposed to be Ella’s (or Cinder’s) day with him, which was probably why Echo had taken the initiative to come see him this morning.

Echo smirked. “Smart enough to figure it out… but not smart enough to figure it out quickly.” She shook her head, still grinning. “Nick, you really are adorable…”

“Thank you,” Nick dryly replied. Just as he feared. Echo really was trying to turn this into a problem.

What could he do about it, though?

“Last night was hot, I’m not going to deny that.” Echo sat up and crossed her legs, her tall boots messing up the mattress a little. Not that she cared. “Seeing the four of you together? Sexy. Buuuuuuttttt… there were a few issues, as I’m sure you’ll agree.”

“Nope, none at all,” Nick replied. He was being petulantly contrary just to see if it would get under her nerves.

It obviously did. But Echo was much better about reining in that side of herself than Mary was, unfortunately, and she didn’t respond to the provocation. She just sighed and clicked her tongue again in exasperation.

“Be difficult if you want,” she said, shaking her head. “Unfortunately, it won’t end up going the way you hope, Nick.”

She reached down and placed her hand on his chest. Beneath her gloves, her sharp nails dug into his skin.

There was a warning look in Echo’s eyes that actually did leave Nick a little worried. But he forced himself not to let that show on his face as he stared at her, trying to challenge her into falling for his provocations.

“Last night would have gone much smoother if Cinder was more open to her sexuality. Agreed?” Echo prompted.

“The only reason she was so torn up all night was because of the collar you put on her,” Nick responded. “Nice work with that, by the way. How could you do something so cruel?”

“It was an acceptable punishment,” Echo calmly replied, not letting Nick get her distracted. “And besides, would she have even made it into bed with you, if not for that collar?”

“…That isn’t the point,” Nick said, scowling. Echo may have been correct, but so what? There were things that mattered more to him than getting every woman on this island into his bed.

Even if Echo disagreed.

“It’s exactly the point. This is Harem Hotel,” Echo coldly pointed out, narrowing her eyes into emerald slits. “It won’t do to have someone still behaving like such a prude this far into the season.”

There was a lot of irony in that statement coming from someone who had once been Mary, but Nick ignored that.

“Cinder and Ella need to take things at their own pace,” he hissed at her. “You can’t just force them into doing something that they’re not comfortable with! I won’t go along with something like that!”

“Then make her comfortable with it,” Echo said. She was done playing nice at this point. “Tonight is your night with that girl, Nick. And after last night’s performance, I can’t say I have high hopes for her. All the hiccups? Because of her inability to accept what she really wants. She almost ruined Dani’s evening with you, you realize that?”

Nick scowled. Again, that was Echo’s fault! Cinder wasn’t even supposed to BE here!

“I know what you’re going to say, and you can forget it,” Nick growled. “I told you, I’m not going to have sex with someone who doesn’t want to just to pass one of your stupid obligations. I don’t care what you’re willing to reward me with, it’s not happening.”

“Now, now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I haven’t even told you what I want!” Echo cracked a lopsided grin.

The look in her eyes said it all.

She was going to make him do it. One way or another.

“Right now, she still has the collar on,” Echo said, reaching up to her neck. “I don’t think she’ll be in a good mood about that, do you? …Cinder, I mean.”

Nick didn’t respond. They both knew the answer to that question.

“…But, things could be worse!” Echo pressed her fingers together and leaned in close. He could feel her breath on his cheek.

“Last night did show us… that she wants it. Deep, deep down.”

Nick couldn’t argue with that, either. But he wasn’t going to just take her statement on face value. He narrowed his eyes at Echo and scowled.

“…I already told you-”

“Yes, yes, you told me,” Echo cut him off, talking at her regular voice level now. It wouldn’t be long before Dani, Dawn, and the others woke up from this conversation.

“So, now… I’m telling you.”

Echo got off the bed and stood over Nick, leering down at him like a statue.

“Your task for today is to give Ella and Cinder… comfort. Comfort them. Make them want it. You do that, and… I’ll allow you to comfort Dakota as well.”

She was being intentionally vague. On both ends of the bargain.

“Not happening,” Nick snapped.

“You don’t have much of a choice,” Echo snapped right back. “…But go ahead, feel free to discuss it with her, maybe it will help put things into context. I don’t really care. It’s your life, Nick, and your relationship. Do you really want Cinder to keep causing problems?”

With a tap of her cane, Echo vanished.

Almost as though that were a cue of some sort, the door to the bathroom swung open.

Nick’s heart sank in his chest as he craned his head and tried to look, wary of what he was about to be subjected to.