She frowned. “You could?”
“Yes. You forget what a whizz I am with that kind of stuff. But we haven’t exactly been on speaking terms recently, have we.”
She blushed at this, which surprised him a little. “Well, anyway,” she continued. “When we were out driving yesterday, a ton of messages downloaded onto my phone, including rather a lot from Uncle Coilin.”
“And?”
“And Valmont’s bad news.”
“I’ve been trying to tell you that.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s worse than you think. I mean, it’s all hearsay and rumour and gossip—French privacy laws and plenty of money ensure that nothing gets into either the press or the courts. Coilin has the right contacts, though. Apparently there have even been a couple of women hospitalised.”
Hayden scowled at this. “He certainly likes to play rough, does our Marquis. But I’ve been trying to tell you that already. You should see what he’d done to Eloise…” He paused when he saw the look in her eyes.
“Why should I care what he did to that slut?” she asked.
He was suddenly irritated by her tone. “Because it could affect you, you stupid idiot!” Beneath him, Ajax began to twist, annoyed by his rising voice.
“Don’t you call me an idiot,” she hissed.
However much Hayden wished to tell her that she was precisely that, that he was trying to warn her about what he thought Valmont wanted to do to her, he now had to give his full attention to Ajax who was turning and bucking, clearly unimpressed with his rider’s modicum of horsemanship. “Oh shit!” was all Hayden managed to yell as suddenly the bay turned and began to gallop at full speed towards the fence.
Grip tightly, point the head thingy in the right direction and hold on! Hayden yelled silently as the ground rolled and swayed beneath him, the stallion pounding the earth with violent hooves. You can do this, you can do this, he told himself as the fence came ever closer—purple and violent fields stretching away on the other side. One jump and you’ll be over—you can do this!
He didn’t do it.
With a great shudder Ajax halted as he came to the fence, his rear legs rising up and bucking high so that, to his huge surprise, Hayden felt the sky and land change places and a great feeling of weightless settle on his limbs. The almost pleasant sensation quickly came to an end, however, as he crashed down on his back into the river, grateful at least that the water had broken his fall to prevent any more serious damage, even if stars were now spinning before his eyes.
As he staggered to his feet, he could hear Karla laughing in the distance. “You bitch!” he shouted angrily. “You bloody evil bitch!” Water dripped from his clothes and hair, making the fabric of his shirt cling to his wet skin and, feeling punch drunk, he stumbled and fell again as he tried to climb out of the river.
Karla’s laughter had stopped and, lifting his head, Hayden could see that Ajax had turned his attention to the grey mare. Although Karla’s skill was greater than his own, it was also clear that the bay stallion shared some of its master’s lusts and had no intention of letting her stand between it and its prey. As Ajax rose on his hind legs, so Marie kicked and galloped, causing Karla to fall from her back with a yell.
“Karla!” Hayden shouted. Adrenaline pumped out as he dashed towards the fence, leaping it with one athletic bound, terrified that Ajax would hurt her. The stallion only had one thing on his mind, however, and had already set off in pursuit of Marie, leaving Karla lying prone at the edge of the trees.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice tender with concern as he dropped down beside her. Her face was twisted in pain, the skin white from the shock of her fall, but she nodded her head and then gasped.
“My foot,” she said between clenched teeth. “I landed on it.”
Carefully, very carefully, he began to check around her leg, sliding his fingers between the leather and her trousers. His fingers, like the rest of his body, were soaking, but he moved expertly. “I can’t feel anything broken, but I’ll have to remove the boot to check. You might have sprained it.”
She nodded, biting her lip as she looked first at her leg and then at him. As he slowly slid off her boot, she watched him with a strange look in her eyes.
Taking her small foot in his hands, he held it very gently against his lap. “Tell me if this hurts, okay?” Again she nodded, still watching him in silence.
He let his fingers explore her leg, probing softly. There was no break, he was sure of that: intent on his task, and staring at her petite toes, he banished the thought of how pretty they looked, how slim and delicate her ankles were. “Let me know if you feel any pain.”
Rotating her ankle extremely slowly, he stopped when she winced and glanced at her. She, however, shook her head. Returning his attention to the bare foot, he continued to flex it very gently. It felt warm in his fingers, her skin soft and tender as he supported it against his thighs.
“I think you just twisted it,” he told her, his voice suddenly thick as he fought down other thoughts. When he looked up at her, she was staring at him, her eyes half hooded.
“I’ve missed you, Hayden,” she said. She pressed her foot down into his crotch, rubbing along the thickening length of him.
“I’ve missed you too,” he replied, quietly.
Still moving very slowly, very gently so as not to hurt her, he lowered her foot onto the grass and began to raise himself over her body. She lay back as he moved, her eyes glistening as he came closer and hovered above her. For what seemed like an age they remained like that, he staring down at her, she looking up at him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded and lifted her head to his. When he kissed her, the warm longing of her tongue slid between his lips, hungrily seeking out his mouth as her arms clasped his shoulders, dragging his wet body down on hers. She winced once more as he rolled between her legs and he started to lift himself up once more, but she clung onto him. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” she whispered, then began to kiss him hungrily, devouring him as though her very life depended on it.
If she still felt any pain, other desires now eclipsed it as she began tearing at his shirt, ripping the damp fabric from his skin as he lifted up her blouse, pushing his fingers into the cups of her bra and enjoying the warm softness of her flesh. They rolled over and around each other and her frantic fingers pushed down to his waist, yanking aside the buttons to his jodhpurs and dipping inside to grasp the hot length that was swelling up in anticipation.
“Oh Christ,” she moaned. “I have missed this.”
There was a comical moment as they attempted to pull off each other’s clothes while still attached to each other and, as they parted momentarily, Karla’s face was wolfish, her grin broad and feral as she watched Hayden rip the remainder of his shirt from his torso and drag boots from his feet. His erection, which seemed to be growing every second, almost throbbed as Karla, naked from the top up, slid her own pants along her smooth buttocks, howling in frustration as she encountered the one boot that remained on her foot. He helped her pull that off and then fell once more between her legs.
Her fingers were deft and sure as they guided him towards her. Holding himself up above her, the muscles in his arms clenching and his face intensely serious, he felt her rubbing the tip of him along the slit of her sex. He could feel her desperation for him, a flooding wetness as she rolled up her thighs to wrap her legs around his waist, and she squeezed his cock as he pressed his hips into her.
“Oh shit! Oh God!” she yelped, her eyes rolling upwards as her neck arched. “So. Fucking. Big!”
And it was true. Hayden had not been a man to deny himself the pleasures of women since he had entered early manhood, and a week of enforced celibacy was slowly driving him mad. Karla was not the only one who was desperate. At first there was a little resistance as he entered her, causing her to breathe in sharply, but then he felt her suddenly open and he slid into her so that she yelled in pleasure, her finger
s digging into his shoulders.
There was no finesse, no fine art to their lovemaking, simply blind need, two bodies locked together as he moved into her and on her, holding her, caressing her as she held onto him, pulled him inside her. Too quickly, all too quickly he felt himself surging, a throbbing pulse along the length of him and he tried to slow down but she forced her hips to buck upwards, her legs and arms vices around him. “Fuck me!” she growled. “Do it!”
And so he abandoned himself to his lust, pummelling her as she whimpered, and then groaned, and then screamed as he flooded her. The skin about her neck flushed deep red and she screwed her eyes shut as she climaxed, all the time he thrusting deep inside her, lights flashing in the air around them and a dull roar filling his ears.
When he collapsed on her, her small hands held onto him as her lips sought out his, kissing him deeply then, while he was still in a state of post-coital confusion, she expertly pressed against his chest, making him roll onto his side. Before he could respond, she had slipped her small body from him and, as his cock began to shrink, she took it into her mouth, greedily sucking it. That made him gasp, the skin all around his loins so tender that he felt as though a thousand pins and needles were pricking along his flesh in a fashion at once both painful and deliriously sweet.
As he looked down at her, her mouth full of him, her tongue licking along his balls, she stared back at him, her green eyes full of desire. To his astonishment, his cock was beginning to swell almost immediately, and he gently stroked her hair as she was forced to lift her head, unable to take all of him into her throat as he increased in size.
“God,” she growled, at last letting him slip from her lips. “I want you.”
This time he took her from behind, penetrating her slippery sex as she lay on her side, one of his large hands cupping her breast, squeezing it, pinching the nipple between his fingers as she reached behind her, nails digging into his side as his buttocks clenched and pumped. This time she climaxed twice more before he did, her cries loud and joyful.
Neither of them knew how long they lay there on the grass, the blue sky up above, nor did they care. Again and again they explored each other, as though discovering each other for the first time, their hands, their mouths, their bodies given up to every pleasure they could imagine. At last Hayden could do no more and fell onto his back, his chest rising and falling with deep gasps for air, sweat covering his limbs and face as Karla placed her head in the crook of his shoulder.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to walk again,” she groaned.
“That’s what comes of twisting your ankle.”
She lifted her face and grinned. “Then next time I’ll break my bloody leg. For that I expect a good seeing to every hour for a week!”
He laughed and looked up at the sky, his fingers tracing her hair, savouring the warmth of her against him, her scent. It was all so peaceful, he so content, that he thought he could forget everything.
Evidently, Karla could not.
“What are we going to do, Hayden?” she asked quietly.
“About what?”
She sighed and hit his chest—a playful thump that, nonetheless, made him jerk his head up and stare at her. Then he sighed.
“I don’t know,” he said simply, his head falling back to the ground with a thud. All he wanted to do now was sleep.
“Valmont let his mask down yesterday,” Karla said. Clearly he wasn’t going to be allowed to sleep. “At the ruined castle. That was the real him showing, you know.”
“Yes.” Hayden didn’t want to spoil the moment, but he was also aware that the bright Provençal sky above them was a treacherous lie. There would be no peace here, not with Chateau de Tour so close by.
“And did you see how Eloise behaved?” He groaned at this.
“I was trying not to look at her.”
To his surprise, Karla laughed. “I noticed. I don’t think any other man would have sat in such close proximity to a porn star who was so clearly gagging for a fuck with such fastidiousness, Mister Hayden Carter.”
He smiled at this and turned his head to look at her. “Well, they don’t know Ms Karla Steel, do they.”
She kissed him and he returned her affection, but then he frowned.
“I could have killed Valmont yesterday morning. You too for that matter. What the hell were you thinking of?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I wanted you to feel jealous.”
“Well you damn well succeeded.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Let’s not do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Hurt each other.”
He looked back up at the bright blue sky.
“No,” he agreed at last. “Let’s not.”
“I love you Hayden.”
“I know. I love you too.”
For a while, neither of them moved. Then at last, her soul still restless, Karla asked: “So, what should we do?”
“Go back to the chateau and pack our things. Let’s get the hell out of this place.”
“What about the money?”
Hayden gave a wry laugh at this. “What of it? It’s a drop in the ocean compared to what Valmont’s really worth. My brother told me that he has a huge number of investments—many of them very risky, but taking any of that isn’t worth the risk of losing you.”
“You wouldn’t lose me. I mean, not for more than a night.”
That made him angry and he suddenly twisted his body, making her fall backwards so that he was above her, his eyes burning into her face. She watched him silently.
“No!” he said at last, very firmly. Then, curious, he asked: “Would you?”
“Would I what?”
“Have had sex with him.”
She shrugged. “A year ago, easily—just for the experience. A week ago, probably—just to hurt you. Now…” She shook her head. “Never.” Lifting her hand, she stroked his cheek softly, her eyes soft and emotional. He nodded.
They began to dress, looking around for scattered items of clothing. “It’s not just you,” she continued. “Well, it’s mainly you,” she added hastily as he looked offended. “But I realised yesterday that our Marquis is one sick bastard. I mean, the way Eloise acted—she was genuinely scared of him. I never thought I’d say this, but I almost felt sorry for her. And there’s more.”
“There is?”
Karla nodded. “Among the stuff Uncle Coilin sent me. You remember his comments about Vichy?”
Hayden frowned, wondering what on earth she was talking about. “Yes,” he said cautiously.
“Seems the Valmont family had quite a lot to do when the Nazis invaded. The family fortunes had been falling for quite some time, but…” She shrugged. “Well, I guess that’s ancient history now, but let’s just say their fortunes suddenly recovered during the occupation.”
“Great,” Hayden muttered. “A rich sadist with a Nazi family history. Can this guy get any worse? Let’s get out of here.”
“Yes,” Karla said then paused while she was buttoning up her blouse.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Go on, spit it out.”
“I would have liked that ring. Emeralds go with my eyes, don’t you think?”
Hitting her with his shirt, Hayden laughed and then continued clothing himself. As they began to make their way back to de Tour, they saw Ajax and Marie in the distance, peacefully grazing together.
“Bless him,” said Hayden indulgently. “All he needed was to sow his oats.”
Chapter Twelve: Valmont
Valmont was furious. In such a mood there was only one way that he could possibly begin to calm his anger. Lifting the crop high into the air, he brought it down savagely.
Eloise, naked on the floor, her buttocks pushed up high into the air, shuddered and shut her eyes. She was evidently in pain, thought Valmont, but for some reason she emitted no more than a stifled grunt. That made him angrier.
; They had done this many times before. When he wished, he would modulate his blows, creating a symphony of pain and pleasure that would explore the outer boundaries of Eloise’s limits, placing her on the very edge of the abyss the result of which was ecstasy.
Today he had no such care. She had failed him, and for that she would have to pay. All that mattered was his own satisfaction.
For as long as he could remember, Valmont had always had his own way. As a child, he had been indulged in every way possible. When he’d grown older he’d learned that sometimes it was better to defer immediate gratification—there were still a few things that society affected not to tolerate, but so long as he complied with the general hypocrisy, Valmont always knew that he would get what he wanted in the end.
He could not recall the last time he had been denied anything. Had it ever happened? The fact that this was the first time infuriated him even more. Raising his arm once more, he struck Eloise again with even greater brutality: at last he had the satisfaction of hearing her whimper as her hands came up instinctively to cover her buttocks. Perhaps he should have tied her up after all.
“Did I say you could move, bitch?”
“N-no, Master.”
“Then get back into position.”
They had been doing this for, what, half an hour now? An hour? His shirt was patched with sweat from exertion. Some of the welts on her buttocks were vivid purple, the skin broken in a few places so that blood showed, and he’d not spared her inner thighs or her cunt this time. And yet, despite it all, he still wasn’t stiff. He was too angry.
He was slightly annoyed at himself: had he remained at de Tour the day before, none of this would have happened—he would not have permitted it. The opportunity that had arisen had been too good to miss, but then he knew such opportunities would always come around again? But Jeanne Duval: would she ever return?
When he and Latour had returned, the servants had begun running around the chateau like stupid birds during a hunt. They had tried to stop them leaving, they said, but neither of them would listen. The woman had called for a taxi and the man simply pushed himself past anyone who attempted to get in their way. Latour would have been able to stop him, but none of them could.
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