The Chaste Legacy

by Susanna Hughes

  'Yesss,' she hissed, closing her eyes, letting the feelings wash over her. 'I'm going to let you fuck me today,' she said. 'A special privilege.' She didn't move, waiting for the initial pleasure to subside.

  Slowly she got to her feet. His mouth and chin were wet with her juices. She wiped them with her hand, then licked her fingers and tasted herself eagerly. She lifted her leg and straddled the bench again, this time with her thighs either side of his hips. His erection was pulsing, the glans perfectly smooth. She took it in her hand and squeezed, then slapped it with her palm. Gradually she bent her knees and lowered herself onto it, guiding it between her labia with her fingers, her eyes staring into his. She nudged the tip against her clit and was hit by a wave of sensation so intense it forced her eyes closed.

  Corinda timed her moment perfectly. There was a small glass panel in the door, and though Eloisa's back was to her the shudder of pleasure was unmistakable. She dashed in and struck Eloisa over the head with a branch she'd picked up outside. The American pitched forward heavily, then rolled to the floor.

  Seeing Tim had been the second shock of the day. 'You're alive,' she said. 'Oh God, you're alive!' She hugged his chest. 'Oh thank God, you're alive.' She had seen him through the window as she approached the house and could hardly believe her eyes. She'd seen what Eloisa was doing too, and knew she had to rescue him.

  Eloisa moaned and rolled onto her side.

  'Quick,' Tim said, 'get me up.'

  Corinda unsnapped the hooks that bound him to the bench and unbuckled the leather belt around his waist. Rubbing his arms and shoulders he got to his feet.

  'We've got to tie her up,' he said quickly.

  There was a length of rope hanging from a pulley that was hooked into a beam running across the ceiling. The American had already used it to string him up. Pulling it from the metal block he rolled Eloisa onto her stomach, and before she had begun to recover her senses bound her wrists together. He forced her legs back, and tied her ankles too. Then he bound them to her wrists, so she was hogtied and helpless.

  'Gag her,' he said as he completed the job. Corinda picked up the leather bra. She stuffed it into Eloisa's mouth then used the belt from the leather shorts to tie it in place, just as Eloisa's eyes opened. She realised what they had done to her and began to struggle. Fortunately she could do no more than rock from side to side. She tried to scream for help but could produce only a muffled moan.

  'How did you get here?' Tim asked.

  'This way,' she said, taking his hand. She wanted to kiss him and hug him, but there was no time. They ran down the short corridor outside his cell. It opened into the courtyard at the back of the building. Lying by the gate in the fence was a man in a shabby grey uniform. He too had fallen victim to Corinda's hefty wooden branch, and lay in the dirt breathing heavily.

  Tim dropped to his side.

  'What are you doing?' Corinda said.

  Tim unzipped the man's trousers and began pulling them off his legs.

  'There's no time,' Corinda said.

  'I've got to wear something.' He pulled one leg free, then the other, then quickly pulled the trousers on. They were too big for him. He pulled the man's watch off his wrist and strapped it on his own. 'We've got to tie him up too,' he said as the man began to come round.

  'No time. Quick.'

  Corinda caught his hand again and pulled him out into the forest, running as fast as she could.

  'What are we going to do?' Tim panted.

  'We've got to find a boat. It's the only way off the island. Constantine is mad.'

  'I know that.'

  'There might be a jetty on the other side of the headland,' Corinda said, their progress slowed by the thick foliage.

  'There is. I saw it when they brought me here.'

  'You were in the other house?' She looked astonished. 'Constantine told me he didn't know what had happened to you.'

  'No, no. They boarded the yacht and ransacked it. I managed to get us into a life-raft. They ran it down.'

  'My God.'

  'I saw at least two motorboats tied up at the jetty. If we can get one of them out to sea we'll hopefully be picked up by a passing yacht.'

  Corinda stopped for a moment. 'It's so good to see you,' she said, looking into his face. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

  'It's good to see you, too. I had no idea what they were doing to you.'

  They fought on through the heavy undergrowth, following the direct track but not daring to use it. It was just as well. Twenty or so minutes into their trek an open Land Rover came careering down the road towards the beach house. Minutes later they heard its engine returning. It drove by slowly, Eloisa and two guards mounted in the back, staring into the forest for any sign of life. Tim and Corinda threw themselves to the ground and did not move again until the noise of the engine had faded completely.

  'Damn,' Tim said. 'They're bound to guard the boats now.'

  'Are you a good swimmer?' Corinda asked as they pressed forward again.

  'Yes. Why?'

  She explained about the prince's yacht. It would not be moored on the jetty, she suspected. It would be anchored some way off. It might have a motorboat they could take.

  'Good idea,' Tim agreed.

  They slowed their pace, wanting to conserve their energy. It was dark by the time they saw the lights in the distance. The last mile they had been forced to walk on the track because the forest had become too dense. All the time they kept their ears open for any engines. Nothing had come along. It would be obvious to Constantine that the only means of escape were the boats on the jetty, so he was concentrating his forces there.

  As soon as they saw the lights they ran under cover again. Fortunately there was a line of shrubs running right down to the beach. They moved through them as stealthily as possible until they could get a good look at the jetty. There were two large motorboats moored to it, with a guard sitting in each and another two standing by the mooring capstans. Eloisa strode up and down the wooden planks, her anger obvious from her strutting steps. There was no way they would be able to overpower the five of them.

  'There,' Corinda whispered, pointing out to sea.

  Anchored in the natural bay formed by the headland on one side and a sweeping outcrop of rocks on the other, was a three-masted yacht, with several lights hanging from the rigging. But as far as they could see there was no smaller boat moored next to it.

  'No boat,' Tim whispered.

  'It'll be on the other side,' Corinda said.

  They heard an engine start. The battered Land Rover, with headlights blazing, rattled down to the jetty. The prince and Constantine stepped out.

  They were close enough to hear their voices as they talked to Eloisa.

  'Have you seen them?' Constantine snapped.

  'No, but don't worry. They won't get off the island.'

  'This is all your fault,' the prince accused Constantine. 'All your ridiculous pretence. I should have taken her aboard straight away.'

  'You didn't object at the time,' Constantine snapped back.

  'Just find her,' Samora replied, getting into the back of the vehicle.

  'Keep us informed,' Constantine told Eloisa, before getting back into the front seat and driving off.

  'Look,' Corinda whispered to Tim, 'I'm a good swimmer. I can swim out there and back with no trouble. The sea's calm. If there's a boat on the other side I'll steal it. The problem is, if they hear the sound of a motorboat engine they'll immediately follow it. We've got to disable these boats first.'

  'We could just drift.'

  'Too risky. We wouldn't get far. If someone on the yacht notices the boat gone they could find us in minutes with these motorboats.'

  Tim thought for a minute. 'I've got it. How long will it take you to swim out there? About thirty minutes, and thirty minutes back, right?'

  'Yes.'

  'So if you're not back on the beach here in an hour I'll know there is a boat, right?'

  'Yes.'
/>   'Good. If there isn't one you'll swim back and we'll have to think again. But if there is don't start the engine until you see my signal after the hour is up. Then come in and pick me up. I'll make sure we can't be chased. I've got the watch to time you.' He indicated the guard's watch on his wrist.

  'What are you going to do?'

  'They won't be in any state to chase us,' he said, grinning.

  'All right. Be careful, Tim,' she said, touching his cheek.

  'You too.'

  She slipped off her dress. Despite the circumstances she saw him looking at her naked body.

  Very quietly she scurried across the beach and waded into the water. She swam slowly to avoid causing any disturbance, but further out, with the risk of being seen diminished, she began to swim more powerfully. Stretching out she was glad to be using her muscles again, and even gladder to be swimming away from the island, if only temporarily. As she got into her stride, kicking her legs and bringing her arms over to cut into the water in a perfectly executed front crawl, she began to think of Tim. Her relief at seeing him alive again was only tempered by their present situation. She had seen what Eloisa was doing to him and wondered what else he had been made to suffer at her hands.

  The yacht loomed nearer and she swam more slowly again, so she would not be seen if anyone was on deck. She headed for the stern, then slowly rounded it, almost not bearing to see at what lay on the other side. But she had been right. As she swam she saw the outline of a sleek motorboat, moored to a gangplank on the other side of the yacht.

  Going very gently she swam to it. As far as she could tell there was no one on deck. She pulled herself out of the water and into the motorboat. Another piece of luck. The keys were in the ignition, the crew obviously expecting no thieves on a private island. There was a clock too, showing it had taken her exactly twenty-four minutes to swim from the beach. It was ten minutes past six.

  The time passed slowly. Her mind drifted. She thought of what the prince had done to her last night, and how it had made her feel. The fact of Constantine's betrayal did not change the way she felt about men or about sex. She ached to have a man again, but this time, hopefully, it would be Tim. They would be able to finish what they had started on the yacht a few days ago.

  It was six thirty-five. Occasionally she heard movement on the yacht, but it was distant. She could hear a radio playing Glen Miller. Six thirty-six. She couldn't see the jetty from here, only the outline of the strange concrete house, silhouetted against the dark sky by a near full moon that played hide and seek with drifting clouds. If they escaped they would lead the police back here and no doubt, literally as well as metaphorically, bring new light to bear on Constantine's nefarious business.

  Six thirty-seven. Corinda heard a new sound. It was the engine of the Land Rover. But it was not chugging along gently as it had done before. It was racing. That was the signal, she knew at once. She turned the ignition of the motorboat's engine and it growled into life. Fortunately she knew how to handle it. In fact she was expert, taught by the woman who had been employed to teach her to water-ski.

  She swept the boat around the yacht in a wide arc and headed for the jetty. The noise roused the men aboard, who rushed up on deck. But there was nothing they could do but stand and stare. Corinda could see the Land Rover now. It was powering down the road from the house at full speed. Eloisa and the guards had seen it too and were standing still, watching it approach. As it got nearer to them it did not slow, but accelerated, careering directly towards the jetty. It was obvious what it was going to do so Eloisa and the men around her jumped out of the way. The Land Rover mounted the jetty, heading for the two boats. It veered sharply to the right and plunged into the sea, right on top of them. At the very last moment Corinda saw a shadowy figure jump clear.

  She opened the throttle and gunned the engine, sweeping towards the wreckage. Both boats had been smashed, but in the inky-black water there was no sign of Tim.

  'Oh God,' she said aloud, cutting the engines to listen for him. The water was slicked with oil and she heard a muffled explosion followed by the flicker of fire. In seconds the whole jetty was alight and the flames were heading across the water towards her boat.

  'Here!' Tim screamed. He had surfaced ten yards away in the middle of the oil. She throttled forward and turned the wheel, so the boat would travel in a sweeping curve towards him. As it approached he threw his arm over the side.

  'Go, go, go!' he shouted. The flames licked at his feet as he pulled himself aboard. The engine accelerated, and the bow of the boat rose up as the big propellers bit deeply into the water. The boat surged forward at full speed, heading for the open sea.

  Chapter Ten

  'Look!' exclaimed Corinda excitedly.

  A red light and a green light bobbed up and down high above the water.

  'It's definitely a yacht,' Tim said. 'And a big one.'

  They had run out of fuel half an hour before, though they were well clear of the island. The clouds had gathered, totally obscuring the moon, and it was very dark. The clock on the instrument panel told them it was one o'clock in the morning.

  They approached the anchored yacht slowly, with nothing but the drift of the current to move them. There was no sign of anyone aboard, the crew, presumably all asleep. As they nudged against the side of the sleek white boat Tim grabbed the anchor cable and tied a line to it.

  'We'll have to wait until morning,' he said. 'It's too high to climb the sides.'

  'We could bang on them,' Corinda suggested.

  'No need to do that.'

  The voice came from above them. It was English. A thin shadow looked down over the side of the yacht. He held a torch, which he shone into the motorboat.

  'Are you in trouble?' The torch beam played on Corinda's nakedness.

  'We've run out of fuel,' Tim explained.

  'Come aboard then. I'll lower the gangplank.'

  The man disappeared. A minute or two later they heard the grinding of machinery. A floodlight lit the side of the yacht and they saw a steel structure being lowered from a gantry projecting over its side. It formed a staircase with a platform at the bottom. Tim untied the mooring and the motorboat drifted back along the hull until he could tie it to the steps.

  Corinda went up first, the man waiting at the top to greet her.

  'Malcolm Arlington,' he said, taking her hand to help her aboard. His eyes feasted on her voluptuous body, bathed in the stark floodlights.

  'Corinda Chaste,' she said, showing no embarrassment at her nakedness. 'This is very good of you.'

  'Not at all.'

  As Tim climbed aboard a woman appeared from one of the cabins. She had dark olive skin, and black hair that reached almost to her waist. She was one of the most beautiful women Corinda had ever seen.

  'Candy, darling, we have visitors,' Malcolm said.

  'So I see,' she replied. She had clearly been roused from her sleep. She tied the sash of a cream satin robe around her body and walked towards them. She was wearing cream satin slippers with a white boa feather on each of the toes.

  'We're really terribly sorry to disturb you,' Tim said.

  'Did you have an accident?' Candy asked, shaking her hair out and looking, with one eyebrow raised, at Corinda's naked body.

  'It's a long story,' Tim replied.

  'Well, you were fortunate it's such a warm night. Come in. I'm sure you could use a drink.'

  'Oh, yes please,' Corinda said. After six hours at sea she was thirsty.

  'And I'll find you something to wear, or my husband's eyes will never go back into their sockets,' Candy said. Then turning to Tim she said, 'And you could obviously use something too.' He'd had to knot the guard's grey trousers around his waist to keep them up, and they were too short for his long legs.

  Malcolm led the way into the main stateroom. The yacht was every bit as luxurious as the Chaste yacht had been. The stateroom was decorated in cream and beige, with roman blinds at the windows and a large beige banquett
e built out from two of the walls. There was a bar, complete with chrome and leather stools. Halogen lights concealed in the ceiling gave the room a pleasant, warm glow.

  'What will you have?' Malcolm asked.

  'Brandy, please,' Corinda said. She sat on the banquette. 'But I'd like some water too.'

  Malcolm looked at Tim.

  'The same,' he said. 'This really is very kind of you.'

  He handed them two glasses of sparkling mineral water, which they drank thirstily, then poured large measures of Camus XO into glasses the size of melons, and left them on the coffee table in front of them. He poured two more brandies, leaving one on the bar and taking his own over to the banquette where he sat next to Corinda. 'Cheers,' he said, looking blatantly at her breasts.

  'Thank you,' Corinda said, sipping the brandy.

  'I hope you don't mind me saying so... Corinda, is it? But you are a very beautiful young woman.'

  'Yes, she certainly is.' There was a spiral staircase at the back of the stateroom leading to the upper and lower decks. It was made from tubular chromium steel with ash steps. Candy spoke as she came down it. 'Very beautiful,' she agreed.

  She dropped a T-shirt and a pair of shorts in front of Tim, and handed Corinda a black lace nightgown. 'I think you and I are about the same size,' she said, looking at Corinda's body as avariciously as her husband was. She took the remaining brandy balloon from the bar and downed half of it with a single gulp.

  Corinda stood up. She pulled the nightgown over her head and let the soft silk drop around her body. The gown had two diagonal inserts of lace positioned so that they revealed a great deal of breast and tummy, and her downy pubis. It only served to increase the allure of her body.

  'Mmm... it's so soft,' she said, stroking the material on her thigh.