JamesBack at the house the workmen are packing up and leaving for the day. A solitary drill whines out from somewhere-or-other and Michael is standing at the front with a hard-hatted individual, alternately tracing out some detail on the plans spread out in front of them, then pointing out to the hotel and painting lines in the air. As we drive by he waves and smiles, and Charlotte bursts into a sunbeam smile."Why don't you go through to the hotel and have a bath while we're waiting for Michael. The workmen should have left, and you'll have some privacy." I suggest. "I'll get the meal on.""Don't you want some help with that, Master?" She peers across at where I am chopping onions."No, it'll only take me ten minutes to get it cooking. You go and relax. I can see you're tired."For 'tired'… read 'upset'........ and it's my fuckin' fault again...."Mmmm…" She nods, noncommittally, then vanishes into the bedroom to emerge with towels and a robe. "I won't be long.""Tak
James"Ready?""Mmm, yes.""Thought so. You're very wet." Rotating my hips, I tease at her, pressing close but not entering. She twitches and jumps, her breath catching, and she tries to swing up to take me in, but I back away."No. Remember who is Master here."Her tension trembles through to me but she relaxes, lying back obediently."That's better. You can have a little more now." And I press in a shade further, coming to rest just inside her. Her silken pussy tightens around me, repeatedly constricting then relaxing....Ah.... sheesh....I bite down, swallowing hard to resist the urge to drive in deeply and once more, she tries to arch, to take me in. And once more, I pull away."I want to fuck you brainless, but I'm not going to. We'll take it nice and slowly this time.""Master, please.""No. Do as you're told.".... I'll have your obedience one way or another....She relaxes back once more, but her eyes are wild, her breathing rapid..... How far c
JamesMichael surveys her, his fingers stroking up and inside her thighs........ Deciding whether he's going up her pussy or her ass…?He's looking at her from a good angle. I've seen it often enough myself; her heart-shaped rear, pale and lovely, and her pussy presented to him, now swollen, wet and brilliantly red. His hands sweep over her buttocks........ Should have taken the opportunity to slap her up........ pink that up a bit........ before with a twist of the wrist, he inserts a finger into her pussy. She wriggles and his head tilts, eyes crinkling. He inserts another finger and she moans, shuddering and trying to rise to all fours, but he plants his palm on her back, pressing her down again.Her eyes are squeezed closed...."You want to come, Charlotte?" he asks, leaning at an angle as he pumps her with his hand. I think he's working her g-spot and she whimpers, nodding.His eyes meet mine and we exchange a smile."How do you want to come? With your clit
JamesI glance down at Charlotte, but she simply returns a shrug.Francis checks some code from a note on a corkboard then, tapping at her laptop, "Her phone is showing up as being in Berkeley Street."Richard whirls on Charlotte. "Is that where you and she were shopping?"Sounding worried, "Just around the corner, yes."Wondering if she's done something wrong?Richard's usual unflappable calm is gone. His words terse, "Francis, give the exact location to Ross." She taps something in and hits a 'Send' key. Richard is already back on his mobile. "Ross, did you catch all that? Yes, go and find her."He taps off his phone and stands, pinching the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger. He is pallid and sweating."Richard, what's wrong?" I ask.He replies slowly, reluctantly, forcing the words out. "Elizabeth was kidnapped once...."Kidnapped? Beth?.... The Billionaire's wife........ An obvious target....".... Ever since then, I've always kept an eye on m
JamesCharlotte clicks through faces. Will she recognise any of them?.... At the seventh face, she stops, pointing at the screen. "That's one of them. One of the men I saw today."Fuck!Then I realise I have said it aloud.My eyes meet with Richard's and he looks back in sympathy. The implication is obvious.His hand on her shoulder, "Charlotte, I'm sorry. It looks as though they took Elizabeth by mistake. They were after you. They abducted the wrong woman."Behind me, Michael hisses through his teeth. Richard turns to him. "Get her out of here, out of the City...." But Michael is already moving to take Charlotte's hand. "Take her back to your mountain place. No-one's going to fall across that by accident. She should be safe there."Charlotte backs off, snatching her hand away from Michael. "Hang on." Her voice is shrill. "I don't want to hide away. I should be helping here. And Beth's my friend too."Michael meets my eyes, but it's not needed. Stabbing a finger at h
Jenny's beyelids flutter open and she inhales deeply....Whiteness above her, and a sweet scent........ and the sound of chatter and laughter....Her lips are a little sore and frowning as she pulls herself up, she sucks at dry skin.Jennifer sits in a bed made up with clean, sweet-scented linen, topped with a cover made up of knitted squares. She has never seen such a thing. Baffled, she slips out from the sheets, to find she is wearing a long nightgown in a plain white linen which smells faintly of lavender and falls almost to her ankles. And beside her, lying on a wooden chair is a white bathrobe and on the timber plank floor, by a rag rug in bright colours, slippersAround her, a plain pretty room painted in a neutral colour. Beside her, a small set of drawers with a vase of flowers, delicate and wild, and the source of the perfume........ Or are they? The room itself smells sweet.Fresh air blooms through the room from billowing linen curtains. The curtains flut
Brett is pleasant company. He doesn't seem the need to talk much, simply strolling around pointing out various sheds and barns as they go. "That's the roots shed. The potatoes and swedes go in there when we lift them. Over there's the tack room.... Morning, Tom. This here's Jennifer."'Tom' smiles, holding out his hand. "Hi, Jennifer. Nice to meet you.""Tom was one of Mrs Collier's fosters too," says Brett. "But he stayed on after. He does our odd jobs now.""Gotta go," says Tom. "I need to get the roof repairs done on the barn before the rain moves in." He strides away.Brett raises a brow. "He'll usually talk all day. He must be keen.... Anyway, in here, we have the cattle sheds...." He waves Jennifer through a door, then all but falls over her as she stops in her tracks, gawping."Don't worry about old Hero there," drawls Brett. "He's just a big softie."Jennifer gapes at the colossal animal standing amid the straw, placidly munching hay from a rack. "Isn't it very dang
JamesI wake in the deep of the night, and through sleep-befuddled confusion, cannot make sense of the sound I hear.But the noise is persistent and after long seconds it comes to me that my phone is ringing. Propping up on an elbow in the dark, rubbing grit from my eyes, I check the time on the screen as I touch Charlotte's flashing avatar. It's late enough to be early.My brain is still not wired up properly. "Charlotte? It's late to be calling. Is everything alright?"There is a rustling and a clunk, and it's Michael's voice I hear. "James, we were attacked...."Attacked?I sit up with a jolt, scrabbling for the light switch as I keep the phone pressed to my ear."Attacked? Michael, did I hear you right? Who by? How many are there?"".... Not sure how many there are, but they're armed with guns...."Oh, Christ........ and I sent you up there........ Charlotte....".... We've taken out two of them," he continues, "but there's more, so we're taking the trail
JamesMichael takes a moment before speaking, then, ".... All through your life, you've had everything thrust upon you. Even meeting James and me, you chose to enter the auction, but you did that out of necessity. I'd like to know what you want. Now that you are free to choose for yourself, what is it that you want?"And he falls silent, watching her, and waiting as she looks around at everything about us....And I wonder what she sees. With everything that life has thrown at her, the horrors of her childhood, the terrors of her adulthood, and now to be here, in this lovely place, with the home she always yearned for.And is that enough for her?She gestures around, hands trying to encompass it all. "What more could I want? We're all here, at last, together. I have you both. I have what I want."Yes!Result!Michael's eyes shift to mine....Definitely....She sees us, knows what is going on, and leans in to Michael as he kisses her. "I think I'm going to ask you to
Charlotte sits in the office facing Mr Chambers. He's middle-aged and pleasant enough, and clearly doing his best to make her feel at ease. Nonetheless, her embarrassment is excruciating and she can't look him in the face."Can I get you a cup of tea, Miss Conners? Or coffee perhaps?"Her throat tight. "No, thank you."If she tried to drink right now, she would bring it right back up again."Very well. I understand you would like to enter our auction for the sale of...." He picks up a sheet and reads.... 'The services of 'Charlotte' for the period of one week, those services to include anything required of her by her purchaser and also to include the sale of her virginity.' Is that correct?"She squeezes the word out. "Yes."He places the document on the table. "I should explain Miss Conners, that whilst you might find it easier to have a female representative to work with right now, here at the auction house we feel that a girl who cannot go through this interview with a m
RichardAt one of these interminable 'drinks dos' I am expected to attend, I do my best to put on a polite face. But I'm having trouble.I have the mayor on one side, "Since the plans were made public for the new City-Scape layout the share value has soared, Richard...."And my head of corporate law on the other. "There are still some legal obstacles to overcome...." argues Lazenby.I am unsympathetic. "That's what I pay you for."What I pay you a lot for........ So, stop whining and do your job.Listening to the mayor droning on, I nod politely, trying to appear interested but, in fact, my attention is half on the gathering at the other side of the room.As Charlotte and Elizabeth are chatting by the bar. Michael arrives, strolling across the lounge with that easy half-smile that is his habitual expression. Charlotte spots him and moves aside to make room for him."Hi, Michael." Elizabeth's eyes are bright as she looks up at him.He returns the smile. "Hi, Beth. L
Richard"But you've been running 'Life and Fitness' in the City for years.… and turning a healthy profit, surely?""Yes, but you know how it is since two thousand and seven. All the banks have tightened up the rules."Bloody bastards at the banks....Pretty perfect for me though....How to approach this…??James said he has a problem accepting help........ Carefully...."Ummm.…Take this the right way, but I'd be happy to help."Glass in hand, Michael freezes, knuckles. His voice is barely polite. "Thanks, Richard, but I'm not a charity."James' meets my eyes again with a 'Told you' look. He laughs softly. "Now, who's suffering from stiff-necked pride?" Michael gives him a look that should have dissolved him on the spot, but James simply gives him a mild look, sucking at his teeth as he tries to extract a bit of peanut.I follow Michael's lead, keeping my own tone cool. "It wasn't a charitable offer, Michael. I'm a businessman. It was a proposal."He flush
JamesAs we leave, Richard murmurs, "Keep your face straight.""You might have warned me....""What? That you were my ace-in-a-hole?" Despite his advice, Richard's mouth is twitching. "Not a chance. It worked out so much better that you were surprised when he finally realised who you are."I glance over my shoulder to see that we are safely out of range, then stop and turn to face him. "Richard, who am I? I'm an architect. A good architect granted, but...."He lays a hand on my shoulder. "You, my friend, are the architect who will have changed the face of the City. Not many can make that claim. Your immortality is going to be standing as evidence around us for generations to come."It's an interesting thought."I never expected to be famous."He rocks a hand back and forth. "Perhaps not with the Common Man, but I looked through those Get-Well cards at the hospital. Did you?""Er, no.""You should. I asked Michael to keep them for when you left the hospital; for when
JamesMy mobile rings: Richard."James, I was having a word with Charlotte earlier. She's a little upset that the university is kicking up a fuss over the way her course options are moving around. The training periods, academic time and so on. It was all supposed to be arranged, but apparently, they're giving her a hard time over it.""Yes, I thought something like this might crop up. Did you have something in mind?""Absolutely. I know where this is coming from. The Chancellor, Wilmore, is fine, but the Bursar is an interfering busybody with an inflated sense of self-worth, who pokes his nose into every aspect of university life, whether it belongs there or not. If he didn't have tenure he'd have been out years ago.""So…?""First, I like you to have a word with Charlotte...."*****The crook of my thumb and forefinger under her chin, I force her face to mine, "Charlotte, is it that you want to attend the university? Or that, in a couple of years' time, you simply want
James"So how did it go?"Michael prises the cap off a beer bottle on the edge of the table then gulps down from the neck before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "It was.... surreal."I'm up and about and able to walk now, at the level of using the bathroom without the intervention of a nurse. Nonetheless, Michael's return is an excuse for me to climb back into bed, take the weight from my aching leg and draw a surreptitious sigh, which he pretends not to notice.And I'm happy enough to be here. Back in the beach house, the environment is soothing and convinces me to sleep more than I could have done in the renovation/building site which is our mountain home, even were we able to return there.I prop myself up against the pillows and Michael reaches around, rearranging them for me. When I'm settled comfortably, "Go on. I'm listening.""Cutting a long story short, Klempner admitted to murdering Charlotte's father, seemed to have some kind of crisis over her looking
KlempnerJennifer's face....The loathing there when he says that....The idea that she might be anything to do with me........You're Conners' daughter........ Not mine…Blondie's still speaking… "And your final revenge on her was to steal the child, to force her to grow up into slavery herself.... To fit your idea of...."I claimed you........ Mine........ My due........ My redress....Blondie is still talking.... "And when you found she'd grown up to look like her mother, you became obsessed with it again, determined to have the daughter forced into a life that the mother had already told you repelled her...."And I remember the disgust in her eyes....My beautiful Mitch........ Looking at me like shit on a shoe...."Is she alive? Charlotte's mother?" Blondie asks.I can't stomach looking at him. "I've no idea. The police gave her a new identity, hid her from me. I couldn't find her, and I've not seen her for over twenty years. But if she's not s
KlempnerHer face twists...."You still don't want to believe me? She was very good at her job. Good enough that, at first, we didn't realise she was a professional. We thought she was just being.... friendly. And I'll admit, when I set eyes on her, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen...."..... Mitch's daughter....Blondie's knuckles on her shoulder whiten. ".... So did Frank. We took a room for the night and.... well, you know the script from there. You've had two guys together often enough I'm sure...."Her face sets. "So, what then?""She was fun to be with. Not just a good fuck, but actually good company. We both liked her. And she seemed to like us.... Really like us I mean, rather than just pretend to because that's part of the job description. In the morning, we took her number, and later, we called her back. It went from there. We'd meet up with her a couple of nights a week. It became regular. And then.…"Blondie breaks in, his voice low. "A