Confidence was born from Assertiveness

Believe it or not, Jacy was a relatively modest woman predisposed to classy displays of affection. She was more prone to demure propriety and good taste than any of the crew had reason to believe. At this point you’ll just have to take my word for it. Yes, she did enjoy dressing in nice clothes and being the center of attention, but her behavior onboard the Lunar Veil had not been an accurate representation of her true self. From the moment she’d walked up to Lt. Riley Thorne a week ago she’d been out of sorts and doing her best to fit in to the expectations she assumed others would have of her. She knew she was not an imposing tower of strength and experience where ship board life was concerned. She couldn’t operate most of the equipment down in the cargo hold or budge any of the crates. By this point that was likely clear to any and all on the ship, but that she had not been spaced or left behind on Santo led her to believe she was dealing with a lenient Captain even if his pilot was a hard ass. A hard ass that still turned every head when she walked through; especially their new dentist turned doctor, Dorian Adler. Knowing what got Dorian’s motor going was an important part of Jacy’s job. Knowing what got all their motors going was an important part of Jacy’s job. She wasn’t being paid for her time on board the LV, not unless you wanted to count the crew wages she assumed would be forthcoming, eventually. But knowing how to motivate a person towards a particular course of action was essentially the entirety of her profession. Her clients tended to know in advance what that course of action was since it was of their own deciding, but she still navigated them through a series of pleasurable events that brought them through the other side closer to their goal and with fewer obstructions to their perspective.

People sometimes wrongly assumed Companions were glorified whores or dolled up escorts, rented for twelve hours at a time. And truthfully, sex was a positive assurance for most of her clients, but Companions were costly and the sex alone would not justify their expense. Whores were looked down upon, Companion were looked up to. To be sure, there were applicants who wished only to bed as many beautiful women as they could or to have one at their side during a particular event or social gathering, but these prospects were rarely taken on as clients. Companions were sought after for their other skills and the boost in one’s status after being seen with one was merely a bonus. The fact that Companions chose their clients and not the other way around made them that much more desirable.

Members of the Companion Guild were educated and well traveled; they studied and learned many branches of business. They were disciplined, highly motivated women who whispered in the ears of powerful men. They learned the basics of psychoanalysis when they were little more than children, right alongside geography, fine penmanship and complex mathematics. Seduction was certainly an integral part of their training from a very young age, but the art of giving physical pleasure didn’t come until they were older, mature enough to treat it with the proper respect. And by this point further training was undergone in the areas of psychology and motivational speaking. The only reason Jacy held no degree in the subject was that she learned it in the sequestered temple of the Companions’ Guild instead of University.

To her clients, Jacy was the lesson, the advisor, the conquest and the reward. She took them through an intimate journey of self discovery or embetterment. And at each step the client’s feelings were valued, reciprocated and ultimately applied to a process that would help them achieve their goal. She was essentially a supermodel practicing naughty therapy using sex and pleasure to reinforce positive behavior and clients couldn’t get enough of it. Physical intimacy between a companion and her client was rumored to be an act of sheer magic. Sex was perhaps the best motivator of all. It did not offend Jacy to admit this of herself or others. She felt empowered knowing and working from this place of knowledge. Was she ahead of the game? She thought so. Was she playing the same game everyone else did? She thought so. Was she in the habit of getting paid to play the game while others spent their lives playing side games in order to afford the ante for the main attraction? She thought so. Jacy liked sex. Jacy was good at it and urged others to be good at it too. That sort of talent required practice.

So Jacy had more experience than Vas in the arena of flirtation, affection and affectation. That was not to be held against Vas. He knew a thousand ways to bring a man to his knees. Jacy wasn’t a killer, but she knew how to get a man on his knees and it normally started with getting on her knees first. By her very nature she was a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of girl, but she was all in on every hand. And that was not to be held against Jacy. Vas was concerned that the poker match wouldn’t last while Jacy was just trying to get him to ante up.

Despite popular belief, Jacy was not just skipping through the ship goosing Vas each time she passed him. That did happen quite often, but she wasn’t skipping. She’d helped with all the boxes and crates that she could lift, which weren’t many. She’d unloaded and organized the galley, but that was done now. She’d removed all of the curtains from the communal shower because they were filthy and disgusting, but she also wanted to encourage camaraderie among the crew. You couldn’t check out another man’s hanging bits without showing him just a touch of respect. And if you looked long enough you might just make a friend.

With that good deed done, she swung by the galley where Dillon, Henry & Vas were … working? Vas was working, but Dillon was playing with fire by tempting Riley. He warned Henry not to access the bridge and that sounded like solid advice. She hoped Dillon was working smart and not hard? If he stuck with her she’d teach him a thing or two.

“I can’t stick around, Sugarbear. Doc Dorian has an appointment with my mouth. Perfect teeth are a must.”

She leaned in and whispered to Vas with her lips brushing against his ear. “This won’t be the last time I grab your ass, but if you don’t start returning the favor my feelings will be in jeopardy.” True to her word she cupped his heiny and gave it a squeeze.

She stepped back and pointed at Henry, “Don’t get any ideas there, preacher man. He doesn’t let just anybody touch his butt.” Then Jacy well and truly did skip to the infirmary.