by Ann Raina
“I understand that your presence in this house is necessary to keep you safe.”
Alyssa grimaced. The statement was true both ways. Kamal made her a prisoner with a strike of his hand. She had no place to go. It was unnerving.
George resumed an upright position again. “I might not share Lady Summerston’s opinions, however, in this case, I advise you to stay away from the men of the escort service. Alyssa,” he went on when she shook her head softly, “I know what you think and I agree that we are grownups who can’t be restricted to mere business interests. You have to understand that your employment was against my sister-in-law’s wishes in the first place. I won’t be able to stop her from firing you if she finds out you date one of her men. Again.” The last word was a sigh of resignation.
Alyssa could not sit any longer. “Listen to it—her men! She doesn’t own them, for pity’s sake! And even if their job is to entertain and fuck other women, who pay grand for that service, she can’t keep them from a normal life!”
“Yes, she can.” His voice was matter-of-fact. “I know you’re disturbed and angry, but the safest place right now is with us. Here. You better don’t spoil it.”
“So you, too, want me to stay a nun while you offer hospitality so that I won’t get killed by some bastards on the street?”
George forced a smile on his face. The real threat might not be a goon on the street. “Put it like that—” He opened his hands. “Yes, I suppose, that would be the wisest.” He winked at her. “I don’t expect you to be wise at your age, Al, but on your position, I’d be careful…like hedgehogs making love.”
“I’ll be careful.”
* * * *
“Lester, what did you find out?” Michael asked after a brief exchange of niceties.
“You’re in a hell of a mood, hum? Okay, I won’t press on that though I’m dying to learn of your nocturnal experiences. Man, you must be full of stories by now!”
“Lester, cut to the chase!”
“Have you ever been accused of rudeness?”
Michael on the other end of the line huffed and Lester hastened to continue.
“Now, let me see what we did. We sent a car up the alley to check for the guys. For your relief—we were the first on the site and there’s no fingerprint of you left. By the way, you killed one with the bar, the other’s still unconscious. Concussion, broken nose and other injuries.”
“Who are they?”
“Hoodlums from out of town. Hired guns, so to say. Both with a crime record longer than my arm. Since killings are on that list but not abduction, they must have had explicit orders to take but not harm Alyssa.”
“Did you learn anything about their destination?”
“Some scribbling on a small notepad is still at the lab. We checked the interior of the van, tires, gas etcetera. After that, an anonymous call to the police got the officials to the scene.”
“Any news from them?”
“Oh, the detective’s an old guy. Thinks there was trouble over the van and that some youths interfered. We took away the guns, of course.”
“What about Alyssa’s car?”
“Tire’s been changed. She can claim it any time she wants.”
“Thank you. You sure this went unnoticed?”
“Our people checked the surroundings, be sure of that, Mighty. We know our job.”
“Good.”
“What about you?”
“I was almost fired for dating Alyssa.”
“Fuck! You okay?”
“The lady looked as if she wanted to hit me with something hard.” Michael shook his head, a weary smile blossoming on his bruised face. “She was angry with me, but at the same time—I don’t know. She blushed and the heat in her voice was different.”
“Oh, Mighty, she’s got a crush on you, too!” He sang the last sentence. “Be aware, it’s never easy to be in the spotlight of the woman who hires you!”
“Thanks for telling me!”
“It might prove advantageous.”
“In your dreams!”
“Hey, she’s a nice lady. Didn’t you say, everyone would expect you to get close to her? Here’s the chance. Take it. Take her. Literally.” He laughed and hung up.
Chapter 16
Patricia watched him enter the room. He corrected the placing of the blindfold and stood, insecure how to proceed. She flinched at the cut and bruises on his face. According to Katherine, he had been in a fight and her motherly instincts argued with her wish to have fun with him.
“Please, close the door and lock it.”
She saw him hesitate as he inhaled. The door clicked shut. Silence followed. Patricia leaned back in the broad, cushioned chair, legs crossed, chin propped on the knuckles of her right hand.
Her chosen man wet his lips. “What do you want me to do?”
“Come a little bit closer.” He took three steps and stretched out his hands, afraid to bump into a table or chair. But the entrance of the room was large. Patricia had chosen one of Lady Summerston’s hotel suite arrangements to have enough space for her game. The ceiling was high and wide, painted in soft blue shades and decorated with small, blinking stars. Blue curtains and dark blue covers were chosen as contrast to the white furniture. It was a room to dream and dwell in. Anticipation sped up her pulse. This will be good.
“Can I take off the blindfold now?”
“No.” Patricia made it a command he understood. His hands fell loosely at his sides. “Matthew, if you think, you can’t stand to be blindfolded for an hour, turn around and walk straight back to the door.”
“I’m fine, but can you live through this hour without seeing my emerald green eyes?” His smile was as manly as it was smut.
She laughed. “Show-off!”
He shrugged. “I only repeat what is said about me. So you stick to your decision?”
“I stick to it.”
“Then what do you want with me?”
“Play.” She rose slowly and moved around him. His aftershave was subtle, beneath it she detected a scent that was him. He trembled slightly upon her touch which aroused her on the spot. “Are you willing to play?”
“I’ve never been asked nicer.”
“You’re a charmer, I was told.” She reached around his slender frame to unbutton the jacket and help him out of it.
“As long as I’m not gagged I can be.”
“Afraid I might go too far?” She opened his tie slowly, enjoying the warmth of his shoulders.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
The tie was gone. Patricia looked at the short hair in his neck and before she could think, her fingers stroked it against the grain. It was soft, much softer than she had anticipated. He lowered his chin, easily following her movement. She swallowed, not knowing what to say. It had been a long time since a man had rendered her speechless. She had planned on seducing him with words first and actions later, but the feel of his hair and his willingness to just go where she wanted him to, ruined her intentions.
Patricia told her hands to move on to the buttons of his dress shirt.
“I like that,” he said quietly.
“You’ll like much more tonight.”
“Hmm, prospects. Fine with me. Do you want me to join?”
“Not yet.” She opened the cuff links. Matthew shrugged out of the shirt. Warmth radiated from his skin and a very manly scent. She kissed his shoulders, his neck and the softness of his hair.
“I could—”
“No,” she whispered against his skin. “You’re mine to play.” Patricia rested her forehead against the spot between his shoulder blades, felt his slight tremble and was glad for it. She reached for his belt and the zipper. His pants dropped down. She heard Michael breathe when she slowly slipped her hands into his boxers. “Do you like to be at my hands, Matthew?”
“Uh-hum.”
“And what else do you like?” Just thinking about the various possibilities gave him a hard-on. She laughed qui
etly. “Your imagination is splendid. Let’s make it real.”
* * * *
Lady Summerston put her feet on the table beside the tumbler with scotch on the desk while the computer booted for tonight’s entertainment. The lady smiled and whoever had seen it would have called it a very dirty grin, worth the old ladies in Western times who fought for their land with guns. However, the nights in this room were private, secluded from her daily routine and all people she knew. A hired professional took care of the computers to avoid any questions from George or her friends. She had the only key and did not even hand it to the cleaning staff. For all they knew, it was a storage room and to be neglected.
The monitors offered a variety of shows to watch and when her gaze found the Starlight Suite, she quickly turned away. It had been the hardest decision to give her friend to Matthew. Pat’s rambling and wailing still in her ears, Lady Summerston sipped scotch, pondering the outcome. She had had the choice to either grant Patricia her game or reveal her own desires. She ground her teeth. Though without audio, it was simple to figure out that Patricia had a good time.
* * * *
“What did you find?” Kamal asked in a hushed voice. He checked the surroundings, not sure anymore that he was safe. By all he knew, he was never safe anywhere. Life had taught him to be watchful, to look over his shoulder every time he went out of the house. Finally, in the great USA he had thought—hoped—to find some peace. Reality was different. His superior had roared that he hadn’t yet accomplished his mission. Kamal disliked the way he was treated and he hated his enemy ferociously.
“I couldn’t get to it,” the voice over the cell phone said in Arabic. His tone was apologetic, anxious. “Police was already there. A detective named Burke. He said that some youth gang got into trouble with the two men.”
“They’re dead?”
“One is. The other’s badly wounded. That guy was a trained fighter. The one who took them out.”
“I thought so, too.” Kamal bit his thumbnail. “We move up our schedule. Try to find out what the police got. I need to know the names! Get to our sources.”
“Will be done, Kamal.”
* * * *
“Where do you want me?”
“Here. I’ve got everything we need right here in this room.” Patricia helped Michael out of shoes and pants. Still behind him, she pulled the boxers down slowly. So slowly, he inhaled and swallowed and let her know with his body language that he was in the game, hooked up and ready.
Patricia stroked his legs up and down. She loved the firmness of his muscles and the rough hair, which got finer along his well-shaped butt. She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them, giggling.
“What is it?”
She stood up again and put both hands on his hips to direct him to the bed. “I hope you will be utterly grateful to learn that it was my idea to relieve you of the duties of a handyman.”
He felt the rim of the bed in front of him. “I was a good handyman.”
She heard the amusement in his voice and her commanding tone failed. “Up with you.”
“As you wish.” He climbed the high bed and lay down on his back. “So you had seen me before.”
“Not like this, no, but in a way.” She stretched out his arms left and right above his head and fastened his wrists with satin laces. His lips twitched. “What are you thinking right now?”
“I didn’t know that the ladies choose their men among the employees.”
“Only in this case.” She turned to spread his legs. “Don’t dare moving, Matt.” She waited for him to nod. “Ever been in this situation?”
He licked his lips, testing the tightness of the laces and relaxing again. He could have freed himself easily, but he wasn’t here for freedom. Or maybe he was, but in a very different way. He loved to be taken like this, to roll with the imagination of the woman. It was the perfect job, the perfect life. He smiled broadly. “Like you said, my imagination is splendid. I don’t need to know everything in advance.”
Patricia lifted her perfect powdered brows. There was hardly any man who didn’t want to know what was planned around him. Men usually dictate happenings, they don’t flow with them. She kept her surprise in check. “Good to know.” Her skirt dropped to the floor, followed by shoes and blouse.
“Tell me what you look like.”
“Lift your ass.” She had a thick pillow ready to push under him.
He lifted his head. She read astonishment though he couldn’t look at her. “What is this about?”
“Pleasure.”
* * * *
Lady Summerston’s finger hovered over the button to switch channels. She had told herself that voyeurism was a bad habit. She must not do this. And yet, she was addicted. She had been thinking about such a room when the wing had been redecorated for the needs of the escort service. Without telling George, Liza or Dave about her intentions, she had installed cameras in every playroom. At first, she had convinced herself that it was a kind of security to make sure none of the women went too far with the boys or vice versa. But then she had hired guards to check the floor and be available if there was trouble. However, the cameras remained, hidden in panels, bookshelves and cupboards. No one had ever found out. Maybe, she mused, if one of the ladies knew, her whole business would be sued. But it was not her intention to blackmail her customers for their sexual habits.
The small room at the end of the corridor, secluded from the official rooms in the wing, was a kind of refuge. She could linger here and enjoy without anyone knowing of her addiction. After all, George used to play blackjack in every casino he entered. What is so bad about watching couples?
Patricia’s preferences were not new to her, but seen through the eyes of envy and rage resulting of an ill decision she was ready to throw something through the window, preferably the monitors.
* * * *
“I’m not much of a help to your pleasure if you keep me like this.”
“Matthew,” she whispered close to his ear.
“Yes?”
“Relax and let me take care of the pleasure of both of us.”
“Oh…”
Patricia licked his right nipple, making him forget the thought he had been about to utter. She knelt on the bed—close to her toy—and enjoyed that he didn’t move away, no matter what she did with him. The mere thought was arousing. Not new, but wonderful time and time again. She had had dreams she would never tell anyone, not even her closest friends.
Her tongue moved in slow circles while her gaze was directed at his face. She didn’t want to miss his reaction. It felt like being rewarded for something outstanding if the submissive enjoyed what was done to him.
Matthew parted his lips as he drew a shallow breath. Linda’s mouth hovered above his chest, licking here and there, leaving faint lipstick marks. She bit his left nipple. Gently. Not meaning to hurt. Again, he inhaled visibly, anticipating her next move.
She waited for him to say a word, but he remained quiet, and only his breathing indicated that he liked her doing. One hand caressed his stomach, moved down his hip and leg while the other rested on his chest. It was a soft massage and Matthew flowed with it as if he had never been touched like this. His hands clenched into fists and opened again as he stretched his lower body toward her.
“May I join now?” he asked, voice low, not meaning to spoil the moment.
“Not yet.” Patricia put both hands on his hips, thumbs directed to his stomach, and moved them down toward his pubic hair. Matthew moaned and pressed his head into the pillow. She couldn’t help but smile. How could this man ever work as a handyman? He was so sexy she had noticed on a mile distance! A deep satisfied smile spread on her face. She was happy no one would see her face in that dreamlike state when she gave herself completely. There were wishes on her mind she would never utter to anyone, but tonight she would make some of them real.
Her hands met between his legs. He was warm and the skin so soft. Almost erect, he was eager to get
attention.
“More…”
“Sshh, Matt, not now.”
“I so like your perfume.”
“No need to prove you’re a charmer.”
“And your hands on me.”
“I imagined that.”
“You could—”
“Be quiet.” She slapped his rump. Not hard enough that it hurt, but he understood. “Toys don’t have a word in this game.”
“No word at all?”
“You can scream if you wish.” She saw his smile and a short nod. He would play along, which was all she hoped for tonight.
She stroked his member, gentle then stronger, and took him into the rhythm until he stood hard and ready. Matthew breathed louder now. The laces around his wrists were taut, the muscles of his arms pumped as he tested them.
The wooden bed cracked and for a flitting moment Patricia wondered what would happen if he broke the furniture. Will it be added to my bill? The thought was very funny. She had never before ruined anything in Katherine’s house. What would she say? Congratulations? Would she ask for details? No, she never had. Secrecy was one of the unwritten house rules and even close friends like Patricia were never interviewed in detail about their nocturnal activities. They might say if it had been good or bad, but there was no need to explain the reasons.