With no care for his pride or his comfort, he felt his penis being pushed back into his pants. To his great surprise, this was followed by the sound of his zip being closed.
His lips left hers. ‘What are you doing?’
She grinned and patted the bulge that pushed against his jeans.
‘Keeping it for a rainy day.’
‘But, Crys...!’
She wagged her finger at him, tapped his nose, then kissed it.
‘Save it, buddy. Save it until Josie’s away and we can get down to things a little more seriously and in far less restricted a space.’
‘But, Crys...’
Crystal was already outside the car. He got out and ran after her before she had a chance to get into her soft-topped, sporty Merc.
‘I told you before,’ she said to him loftily. ‘I want you full-time. So get to it. Stop messing me around.’
Michael stood with his mouth open, hands hanging useless at his side.
Panic suddenly grabbed hold of him. ‘I will see you when Josie’s in Cornwall, won’t I?’
Crystal tossed her hair so it fell over her shoulder and down her back like a black fountain. Her attitude was unyielding.
‘Of course you will. I fully intend to have you Michael Warner - one way and the other.’
He watched her go, her headlights searing through the darkness and making the tarmac of the road look wet as she drove swiftly out of sight.
There was a hollow feeling inside him, as though she had drained him dry. Crystal played with him. She lifted him up, and she let him down. She aroused him, then left him stranded high and dry with a full-blown erection. It was still there now, hot and throbbing in his pants.
He walked back to his own car and drove home. When he got there, the house was in darkness. Josie had already gone to bed.
There was a blueness about their bedroom, a soft ghostliness as the same sort of curtains that hung in the studio wafted gently before the open window.
Her shoulders were bare and gleamed almost silver.
The sheet barely covered her breasts. No matter that it was Josie and not Crystal, his penis responded to the sight of her. Crystal had left him high and dry. Now he wanted Josie.
Naked, he slid into the cool sheets beside her.
Her back was towards him. He kissed her between the shoulder blades and drank in the scent that was all woman, all warmth and understanding.
Josie was sweet. She was like a flower - a neat carnation wrapped into itself with a silky stalk and slim-limbed leaves. She was fragrant and sweet but not as wildly heady as Crystal; not as dark, not as compellingly beautiful but she didn’t have the other woman’s prickly thorns.
Oh Josie was sweet alright, and tonight he was glad to have her.
He ran his hands down her back, felt the angular form of her shoulder blades, the nodules of her spine only barely covered by flesh.
As his hips pulsed towards her and the tip of his penis nudged at her behind, his fingers followed the soft curve of her hip and the sweep of her thigh. Between kissing the nape of her neck and the indent between shoulder and ear, he murmured sweet nothings, told her how glad he was to have her.
What he was saying was only truth. He was glad he have her - at that moment. But it was Crystal who had aroused him, Crystal who had egged him on, played with him like a cheap toy and then left him wanting. It was Crystal who had set him ablaze.
Josie did not waken. But Michael didn’t need to have her awake. He was enjoying what he was doing; feeling her, using her without her knowing. It was a very singular thing. With closed eyes, he jerked his pelvis against her, and when at last his moment came, he let his semen seep between the cheeks of her behind and run down to stain the sheets, just as Crystal was staining their lives.
And that was how Josie was thinking of Crystal: she was like a stain spreading, contaminating each person she touched. Thomas, her, Michael. And who else? Perhaps Jamie and Mariana too, though in what way was not clear.
I’d like to wash her out of our lives, just as I have to wash this sheet in the morning, she thought to herself.
Michael sighed and turned over, and Josie felt the semen run in a warm, sticky stream between the cheeks of her behind.
Chapter 5
Jamie’s Story
All three men had jogged themselves to a sweat on the treadmill, pushed up the poundage on the arm curling equipment, then rocked from the waist, counting beneath their breath as one abdomen crunch followed another. After that, they had left the health-giving torture of the gym behind, dived into the pool, then partaken of a sauna. Glowing and self-satisfied, they were now back in the changing room in various states of undress.
Jamie was stretching and rolling his shoulders in that casual way he had. He was the only one who was still completely naked. His towel, which was usually wound tightly around him, had fallen to his ankles. He made no attempt to pick it up.
‘Show-off bastard!’ Michael, who had completed his habitual stretching exercises and so was half dressed, flipped his towel at the tightness of Jamie’s stomach as he went past. Briefly, but regretfully, he let his gaze fall to Jamie’s rod which stood hard and erect. Like Jamie’s muscles, it was well developed.
‘Do you ever use it for pole vaulting, Jamie?’ asked Thomas, his gaze barely lingering before opening his locker.
Jamie beamed proudly. ‘You’re just jealous, my dear Tommy boy. Jealous that your John Thomas - Thomas - is nothing near the size and length of mine.’ He laughed at his own joke. Jamie always laughed at his own jokes. ‘If you’d led as sporting a life as I have, your muscles - all your muscles - might be as big as mine!’
Michael, who had now donned his underwear and pulled a polo shirt over his head, rejoined the conversation. ‘Was your prick that well developed by the time you lost your virginity?’
Jamie looked down at his proud member and puffed out his chest. He badly needed to go to the lavatory, but not yet. Not until he got dressed and they could no longer see that his erection was the result of a full bladder and would shortly disappear down the drain. Until then he would bathe in the warm balm of their admiration.
He rolled his shoulders again as he answered Michael. ‘I’ve always been a sporting man, my lads. Rugby, cricket, rowing. Still did plenty of sport when I joined the navy. Went all over the world then. Plenty of sport, plenty of women!’
He chuckled as though he were gathering his memories together.
‘So? Are you going to tell us about the first time, or were you that crap at it you’re keeping it to yourself?’ Michael was zipping up his chinos and looking sidelong at the big, sandy-haired man.
Jamie guffawed and stood straight and tall, fists clenched above his head, biceps bulging, member standing hard and proud from his body.
‘I was late in the sex game,’ he began. ‘All that sport took up a lot of my time, so sex got sidelined. I finally lost my virginity in Cairo. Like many ports all around the world, there are certain places frequented by navy personnel. We’d been at sea a long time and, perhaps because I had not been indulging myself in sport, I was pretty randy.
‘The chief petty officer pointed me in the right direction and towards the right establishment. They vary, he told me. Quality and sexual preferences are geared to all tastes, all classes, and all pockets. Because I was an officer, the particular one he sent me to was of a pretty good standard.’
Jamie’s voice seemed to drift slightly. There was a faraway look in his eyes, and those listening replicated in their minds what they thought he was seeing in his.
‘I remember there being a smell of spice and flowers in the air as I walked down a shady street. It was a very narrow street. Looking up I could see a strip of blue sky barely separating the white wall of one house from another. It had a lovely calm feel about it, t
hat street. It gave me a sense of magic, as though I was walking into a dream. High, whitewashed walls ran down on either side of me. From the other side I could hear the sound of fountains in hidden courtyards like they have in hot countries.
‘The address I’d been given brought me into one of those courtyards. I was let through a heavy wooden gate by a very tall black girl who smelt of musk and tobacco. I explained to her what I wanted. She looked at me as though I was stupid. She didn’t understand, you see. The first mate, who had travelled with me but was going on to a bar further down town, explained in Arabic exactly what I wanted. I squirmed when he told me that he had informed her that I was still a virgin. I could have killed him. But he laughed and went on his way, and I went in.
‘The coolness of the place fell upon me and the mix of smells made me dizzy. The sound of running water mixed with the swishing of silks and the tinkling of jewellery. It was a lovely sound. Lovely smells. All perfume and women and lemon trees.’
Jamie sighed and shook his head. A faraway look came to his eyes. ‘I can still see it now - and smell it.’
‘Are you kidding?’ Michael was making an effort to be mocking. The truth showed in his eyes. He was fascinated with Jamie’s flowery descriptions. But Michael hated to think that someone had led a more exciting life than he had. He sneered as he spoke. ‘I don’t believe a word of it. It was Hannah’s Whorehouse on the docks in somewhere like Amsterdam or Istanbul. All red lights, big tits, and ten minutes for ten Deutschmarks!’
‘Piss off, Michael! Do you want to hear this or not?’ Jamie’s face had turned red. He glared and seemed unbelievably flustered by such a trite comment.
Michael blinked and took a step back. After all, Jamie had big muscles and a broad chest. He didn’t doubt he knew how to use them.
It was Thomas who interceded. Gently, he patted Jamie’s arm. ‘Take no notice, Jamie. He’s jealous.’
‘He’d better be. It wasn’t Amsterdam! It bloody well wasn’t no two-pfennig whore either.’
‘Of course it wasn’t. It was Cairo, and it was sheer Arabian Nights.’ Thomas’s voice was as calm as his eyes.
Jamie nodded. ‘That’s right.’ His voice was less angry, his face less red.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Michael. ‘I was only joking. Go on.
Tell us the rest. I’m intrigued. Really I am.’ He shrugged and spread his hands palms upwards.
Although it was meant as a mark of regret and apology, Jamie fixed him with a stare before continuing.
‘I was led up some stairs and along a shady veranda.
There were blue and red tiles beneath my feet but, once I entered the building, the tiles were covered with thick carpets in the same colours.
‘The smell of flowers and the sound of jewellery was more obvious here. In the bluish haze of shadow and smoke, I saw many young women lying half naked on piles of cushions. Some smoked the hubble bubble or Turkish cigarettes.
‘I remember their dark eyes looking me up and down. It felt as though they were looking through my clothes - as though they could see my body underneath. Their lips were dusky pink and their skin seemed to gleam despite there not being much light in the room.
‘Dark fretwork shutters hid the glare of the sunshine outside the windows. I could smell the wood - cedar, I think. And sandalwood, I’m sure I could smell sandalwood.
‘I was a man in a room full of women, and I could feel the blood surge through my body. I felt powerful- powerful beyond words.
‘There was a light titter of laughter as my dark-skinned companion told the girls of my requirements.
‘Being only young, I began to feel embarrassed. I was in two minds to go, but the dark girl who had come with me turned and held my hand. “Premier,” she said, and shook her head as she smiled.
‘I took a deep breath, told myself not to be stupid, to hurry up and get it over with. Soon, I was entranced by the room, by the women, and by my predicament.
‘I remember the electric fan whirring overhead. I remember thinking that except for that one sound of the twentieth century, I could have been swept back in time to some fabulous place straight out of a fairy tale with genies and djinn, and princesses, sorcerers, and weird birds and vicious monsters. I could have been in a harem.
‘Here they all were, dark eyes, half dressed and smiling, and all waiting to do my bidding. Each one was there to fulfil my every wish, my greatest desire. Which one would I have?’
Jamie stopped telling his story and began to do arm-flexing and back-stretching exercises. He was smiling as he did so. His eyes gazed up at the ceiling.
Michael blinked. It was easy to see he had been hanging on Jamie’s every word, and Jamie knew it. Now he was punishing Michael for his earlier behaviour.
Thomas smiled secretively to himself as Michael began to show signs of impatience. Jamie appeared not to notice and continued his exercises.
At last, Michael could wait no longer. ‘Well go on then!
What did you do? I mean, which girl did you choose? What was she like? We want to know, don’t we, Thomas?’
Thomas said nothing. An amused smile played around his lips. Jamie stopped throwing his arms out from his muscled chest. He took a deep breath, grinned sidelong at Michael, winked at Thomas, then went on with his story.
‘There was this soft little thing with big dark eyes looking straight at me. I thought she was beautiful and she looked fairly young. I thought, right, Jamie old boy, that’s the one for you. She’s young, and can’t have had too much experience, and you’re completely inexperienced. I thought she seemed the most sensible choice. After all, I didn’t want to appear a complete fool now, did I?’
Michael gave a curt nod. ‘No more than you can help anyway!’ He burst out laughing.
Jamie got riled. ‘Do you want to hear this or don’t you?’
Michael held up his hands defensively. ‘Okay, okay!’
Again it was Thomas who intervened. ‘Go on, Jamie. I’m listening. I’ve always envied you navy boys and your experiences.’ Thomas was sat with his legs up on the bench, a towel still around his waist and his brown back gleaming. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was looking thoughtfully down at them. But he was listening. Jamie could tell that by the tone of his voice.
He beamed and continued his story. This time Jamie purposely looked in Thomas’s direction as he told it, rather than at Michael.
‘As I said,’ Jamie went on, ‘this beautiful young girl was looking at me and I thought, that’s the one for me!
‘I pointed to her and the black girl beside me said something to her in Arabic. The girl got up, took hold of my hand and led me out of the room.’
Jamie gave a big sigh and shook his head. ‘Her hand seemed so small, so fragile in mine. You know, like a butterfly does when you’ve got it trapped in your palm and you’re trying to throw in out into the garden. That’s how it felt.’
He looked suddenly thoughtful. ‘Strong, though. Incredibly strong.’ His voice faded and even his penis seemed to wilt slightly because his attention was focused on some picture in his memory, a picture provoked by his words.
‘Go on, Jamie. Tell us what she was like,’ Thomas urged softly.
Jamie blinked rapidly as though someone had just woken him from a deep sleep. ‘Yes!’ he said. ‘Yes! Of course. I’m sorry. I got a bit overcome. It all seems such a long time ago now.’ He smiled. ‘The product of a misspent youth. Happy memories, eh?’
The others smiled too, but said nothing. They were waiting for Jamie to continue.
‘The passageway she took me along had no windows. The only light came from a dark blue glass door at the very far end and a brass filigree lamp hanging from some sort of scrolled bracket high on the wall.
‘We stopped outside a carved wooden door and she turned and smiled at me. “Pl
ease,” she said. “Entrez.”
‘Fretwork shutters hid the room from the outside world, though shafts of sunlight came through the screen and repeated its pattern on the floor.
‘Beyond the reach of the sunlight was a low, round bed. It was piled with cushions. She drew me to it, lay down on it and motioned that I should join her.
‘I tried to kiss her, but she put her hand across my lips.
‘“Non,” she said. I asked her why not. She pointed to glasses and wine. She poured me some, raised it to my lips. It wasn’t Chateau bottled, but then it wasn’t wine I really wanted. It was her. I was on fire for her, my cock was hard for her, and she was giving me wine.
‘I drank most of it and she put the glass back. This time she let me kiss her, let me feel her breasts and run my hand up her skirt.
‘Her breasts were big and round, the skin soft as satin, the nipples as hard as hazelnuts.
‘As my hand went up between her legs, she got onto her knees and parted them as wide as she could. Then she lifted her skirts and treated me to the sight of her pussy. My, but pussy was the right word. A mass of black hair ran halfway up her belly and hung like streamers between her legs. Even so, I could still see the lips of her pussy and something else besides. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first, but I swear before you now, if my name’s not James Ewen Campbell, her clit hung a full inch below her lips. What a sight! What a girl!’
Jamie paused enough to take in the effect of his declaration. For once, Thomas was looking keenly his way.
Michael’s eyes were wide open and his jaw was hanging slack. ‘Good grief.’ Michael groaned it rather than said it. He looked stunned, and Jamie was pleased. He licked his lips before going on.
‘I reached out and touched it. It moved, jerked towards me as if it were erecting. I was astounded.
‘At first I was wary of going too near. Not because I was afraid of it. In all honesty, the opposite was true. I wanted to take a closer look. But I had heard that Arab girls take pride in having a strong smell, so I held her clit between my finger and thumb, rubbed it gently, and laughed as it danced over my fingertips.
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