Hedge had no idea how he was supposed to answer that, so he stayed quiet, and just shrugged his shoulders. He had managed to tear his eyes away from her chest at last. He suddenly felt very nervous again, and his stomach was churning, although he wasn’t sure why exactly.
Amanda leaned over to where he was sitting and took him gently by the hand. She pulled him up from the chair and put the palms of her hands on each side of his face.
Hedge felt his nervousness rise to a new level. For the first time though he noticed up close just how beautiful Amanda actually was. Her skin was very white, and her eyes were a shiny, light brown colour. She had soft, pale lips, which gave her an air of innocence.
‘Have you ever kissed a girl Hedge, I mean really kissed properly?’
He nodded. He had done so many times, although he wasn’t sure whether he had done it properly or not.
‘I need you to kiss me to see if I am in the mood for Alistair to come and visit me,’ she said.
She was a few inches shorter than he was, so she tilted her head up and put her lips against his. She gently opened his mouth with her tongue and pulled his head down hard against hers.
Hedge was surprised by this at first, but after a few moments he began to relax, and was then enjoying the experience. For some reason she tasted of strawberries - maybe she had been eating them at lunch, he thought. Her mouth was soft and moist, and they kissed for a while before she pulled away slowly.
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that’s definitely putting me in the right mood. Let’s do some more of that to make sure though.’
She pulled his head towards her once more and kissed him again. This time as they embraced, she pushed her body against his. He was concerned that she might be able to feel how excited he was, so he backed his groin away from hers. She reacted by moving her hands behind him and pulling him back towards her, pressing herself against him even harder as she did so.
Eventually she broke away from him. ‘That was very nice, but I still need you to do one more thing for me.’
With that, she quickly undid the buttons on the front of her jeans and pushed them off her waist to reveal her white underwear. Then she took hold of his right hand and pushed it down inside the material until he could feel the bush of hair at the base of her stomach. She moved his hand slowly down further until his fingers were between her legs and pushed his middle finger against the little lump just inside the lips of her vagina.
Hedge was horrified, and amazed at the same time. He could feel her soft pubic hair pushing against the palm of his hand and the dampness of his fingers. He couldn’t believe how wet her underwear had become – he innocently thought that she must have peed herself with all the excitement. His hand was sliding easily between her legs, and she parted them so that he could feel his way around easier.
She leaned over and whispered in his ear softly. ‘Push one of your fingers inside me.’
He moved his hand further down and did as he was asked. His finger felt incredibly soft and warm inside her. He had never experienced anything like this before, and he didn’t want it to stop.
She took hold of his hand again and moved it back up to where he had begun.
‘Can you feel that there,’ she said. ‘Move your fingers over it very slowly. Yes like that, that’s nice. Press a little harder. Yes, lovely, keep doing that.’
Hedge pushed a little harder on the soft, round part of her vagina where she had directed him to. He noticed that her breathing had started to get heavier and quicker. Her eyes were also closed.
She whispered again in his ear. ‘Keep doing it like that. It feels really nice.’
She moved her lips up towards his and they kissed again, briefly at first but then for longer. He could taste the strawberries on her breath once more, and he could feel her breathing more heavily as he continued to move his fingers.
She kissed him again, harder this time, and as she did so she was moaning gently. Without thinking, he pushed a little harder against the soft skin between her legs. She responded immediately by moving her own hand down and pushing it hard on top of his, so that he was applying even more pressure than before. Her breathing was now very heavy and the noises she was making were becoming louder.
Suddenly, she pushed hard on his hand and let out a long groan, as her whole body seemed to shake for a few seconds, until finally she rested against him. She held on to him for a moment longer, while her breathing slowed down. After a short while she pulled his hand slowly out from her underwear. She moved away from him and started to straighten up her clothes.
‘Thank you master Hedge,’ she said sweetly. ‘That was very nice. Just make sure you don’t tell anyone about this, it can be our little secret.’
‘I won’t tell anyone,’ he promised.
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Now, you can go and tell Alistair that you managed to track me down. Tell him I will write him a reply and send it over to him tomorrow. Oh, and tell him I can’t see him this afternoon as I’m busy washing my hair.’
She gave him a mischievous smile, kissed him lightly on the forehead, and led him back to the front door.
He said goodbye, and she closed the door. He stood in the corridor, dazed for a moment, not really believing what had just happened to him. Then he headed out of the building and off to find Simms to pass on the message.
As he swaggered back, he really hoped that Alistair Simms would be asking him to run another errand to Amanda sometime soon.
The dream ended, and he was suddenly returned to the present time. The nurse had come in to the room again, and Hedge came slowly back to reality. He still felt groggy, but his vision had improved a little.
‘How are you feeling young man,’ the nurse said. She had taken hold of his wrist and was checking his pulse rate.
‘Thirsty,’ he said. His throat felt like sandpaper and he was finding it difficult to swallow.
She passed him a glass of water and he gulped it down in one go.
‘Can I have some more, please,’ he said.
‘You have to take it easy to start with. Your system has had a major shock, and you have been heavily sedated,’ said the nurse.
Hedge was suddenly aware of the pain which seemed to come from all over his body. His legs, back, arms and chest all seemed to be on fire.
‘Yes, it all seems very painful,’ he said to her quietly.
She leaned over and turned a small plastic valve on one of the tubes next to him. Almost instantly he felt a surge of warm fluid running through the veins in his arm. His mind started to drift again, and his head slumped back against the pillow.
‘By the way,’ she said, ‘my name is Constance, not Amanda as you keep on calling me.’
He was on his way down again, down to that deep place where he had just been. He didn’t quite hear what she had said, but he heard the name Amanda. Yes, Amanda, it was definitely her he had been dreaming about. He slipped gently back into unconsciousness, but it all seemed so real. It seemed to him like the vision was actually happening, right here, right now.
But it wasn’t, he was reliving another time, another place, a time when he had been youthful and innocent. He was back there now, in his mind, and he was about to meet the lovely Amanda for the second time. It was a memory he would never be able to forget.
Chapter Forty Seven
It was about four weeks after his first visit to the staff residence that Alistair Simms came across Hedge in the boarding house common room. It was just after lunch on a warm and sunny Saturday. Alistair was due to have refereed a rugby match, but the game had been called off at the last minute. Apparently the other team had so many injured players that they were struggling to get a full squad fit enough to play.
‘Master Hedge, my young lady friend tells me she thinks you are cute. Not sure why, but women aren’t always easy to understand, are they?’
Hedge wasn’t sure if he was expected to reply, so he didn’t.
‘Right then, I want you to do me a favour. Go
and find Miss Grey and see if she wants me to walk her down the park this afternoon. Tell her I’m free as the game has been called off. I need an answer from her as soon as possible, so don’t dawdle,’ he said.
‘I'll be waiting in the television room. If I’m not there, then I will be out the back keeping an eye on the lads playing football. Come and find me as soon as you get back.’
Hedge was naturally apprehensive about meeting Amanda again. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her since the experience he had with her a few weeks ago.
With some trepidation therefore, he headed off in the direction of the staff apartments.
He didn’t get all the way there though, as Amanda was sitting on a wooden bench near the school pond. She was reading a book, but looked up as Hedge approached.
‘Hey, little man, have you come to see me. Do you have another message for me from dear Mr. Simms?’
She jumped up and walked slowly over to where he was standing. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a narrow track that led down to the sports field.
‘So what does he want you to tell me today,’ she asked with a grin. ‘He was going to be busy with a rugby match this afternoon.’
‘Yes, he was supposed to be the referee, but the game has been abandoned. So he wants to know if you would go for a walk with him instead.’
‘Is that it, just a walk?’
Hedge wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond to that, so he kept quiet. He still felt very nervous in her presence.
‘Ok,’ she said. ‘That sounds like fun. What else do you suppose he wants to do, any ideas?’
Hedge felt like she was teasing him, and it felt a little like déjà-vu. He would give anything to have a repeat performance of their last meeting, but he guessed that was strictly just a one-off. Her actions last time had seriously surprised him, as she had a reputation around the college as a very nice young woman. He had seen her on a few occasions handing out hymn books in chapel on a Sunday morning. That was the image that most people had of Amanda Grey.
‘I’m not sure,’ he said.
‘Well, do you know what his favourite thing is?’ she asked.
Hedge shook his head.
Amanda had a devilish look in her eye, and she pulled him away from the track and stopped behind a large oak tree.
‘Lean against the tree,’ she commanded.
Hedge stepped back and did as he was told. She looked around to make sure they were alone. There was no one else in sight.
Amanda moved towards him, bent down and carefully unzipped the front of his jeans. She pulled them a short way down and then pushed her hand inside his underpants. Next, she took hold of his penis and squatted down in front of him.
Hedge certainly hadn’t expected this, but his body reacted immediately. Her touch was very sensitive, and his penis stiffened instantly. She started to run her tongue along his erection, slowly from top to bottom, and then she closed her mouth around him.
Hedge couldn’t believe the sensations he was feeling. Was this level of excitement even possible? He had played with himself many times before, of course, but nothing had ever felt like this. She ran her closed mouth up and down very slowly at first, and then started to increase the pace. She was quite gentle initially, but then applied more pressure to her lips, especially when she reached the tip each time.
Normally it would take him several minutes to make himself climax, but Amanda’s mouth had been working for less than sixty seconds when it happened. He clenched his fists, pushing them against the tree. His eyes closed hard and he suddenly cried out in ecstasy, before ejaculating into her mouth with several powerful spurts.
She slowed her movements, and then finally pulled away and spat his seed out onto the dry leaves under the tree.
‘Hmm, that tasted good. Was it nice for you Master Hedge,’ she said.
‘Amazing...amazing,’ he replied.
He could barely say the words as his breathing was fast and erratic. He was still leaning hard against the tree, but he felt unsteady and quite lightheaded.
‘Good,’ she said. ‘That is Alistair’s favourite thing. He loves it when I do that to him. He usually takes a bit longer than you, but then he is much older.’
She laughed, stood up again and helped him to do up his trousers.
‘Now, go and tell Alistair that I will be waiting for him by the cricket pavilion. A walk would be very nice.’
Hedge nodded, and started to go.
‘Oh, and tell him that you have had the blow job that he was going to get, so he will have to go without today.’
Hedge stopped and stared at her. He had a worried look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
‘Actually best not to say that, don't you think?’ She laughed mischievously and waved him away. Hedge ran off. As he ran he was smiling to himself.
The pain returned with a rush and he awoke from the dream. He came abruptly back to reality and the present day. He pushed himself upright in the bed. It felt like he had been whipped all over his body. His head throbbed and his throat was still very dry. He picked up a glass of water off the small table next to his bed, and took several mouthfuls.
He looked round the room. It was empty apart from his bed, the table, and the metal hanger holding his drip. There was one other item of furniture in the room though, it was a wooden chair next to the door, and sitting in the chair was Cole.
Chapter Forty Eight
‘I hope you’re enjoying yourself lazing about in bed all day,’ Cole said with a smile.
‘Not sure I would call it enjoyment,’ replied Hedge. ‘How long have I been out for?’
‘Nearly three days now. Sounds like you have been having some very interesting dreams. Must be all the painkillers they are pumping into you. By the way, who is Amanda? You keep calling out her name.’
Hedge smiled as he replied. ‘She was a teacher I used to know at college, and she was a very nice young lady. She taught me a lot.’
‘I’m sure she did,’ Cole said. ‘Anyway, while you have been relaxing, I have been busy.’
Just at that moment the nurse came into the room with a bowl of soup and a fresh glass of water. ‘Eat and drink young man, you need to keep your strength up.’
‘Thank you,’ he replied.
Hedge started on the soup while Cole explained what he had been doing over the last three days. Cole told him that the local police had confirmed that someone had deliberately placed the venomous Portuguese man of war in the bath at the spa centre. They had a description of the suspect, but had not been able to track him down yet. Cole believed that they were unlikely to ever find him.
Cole had also been back to visit Robinson, but he had seemingly disappeared. He hadn’t turned up for work since they visited his office. Cole had then checked to see if the money had been transferred as they had requested, but it hadn’t. In fact, when he investigated further, all the bank accounts being used by the fraudsters had been emptied. The cash had been used to buy what is known as bearer bonds. These bearer bonds had disappeared along with Robinson.
Hedge was looking a bit puzzled at this. ‘Bearer Bonds, wow, I didn’t think such things were very common these days?’
He had come across the concept of Bearer Bonds during his university course. He knew that essentially they are documents which promise to pay money to whoever actually holds the paperwork. So Robinson had converted all the money held in the fraudster’s accounts, into a set of bonds that he was now in possession of. The advantage of this to him was that the money could no longer be traced. The disadvantage was that he had to hold onto the bonds, if he lost possession of them, then he effectively lost the money.
These kinds of bonds have been popular in the past with people looking to launder money or evade tax. Governments around the world have been trying to limit their usage, and have been quite effective in doing so. Since the 1980’s, the issuing of such bonds in the US has been heavily restricted, mainly
due to government regulation.
‘So does that mean we have effectively lost any chance of recovering the money,’ said Hedge.
‘Indeed, unless we can track him down. I have some good news though. While you have been dreaming about the lovely Amanda, I have traced our man to a flight from the BVI to Puerto Rico about two days ago. I then made some further enquiries, at no small financial cost I might add, and it seems a Mr. Jameson left these islands carrying a metal brief case. It seems both Robinson and Jameson share the same appearance and physique. A strange coincidence, I don’t think. So, when you are ready, me and you are flying to Puerto Rico.’
‘And that won’t be for at least two more days,’ said the nurse.
She had walked in quietly behind Cole. ‘Our young man here still has high levels of venom in his blood stream. If he exerts himself too much at the moment, he will go back into shock.’
‘It’s also very painful still,’ said Hedge with a grimace.
‘That will fade hopefully in the next twenty four hours,’ said the nurse. ‘The pain from the wounds is usually only effective for up to four days. In the meantime I will give you some additional morphine.’
The nurse pulled out a plastic syringe and pushed some clear liquid into the drip bag beside the bed. She opened the valve on the drip a little more.
The effect was almost instant. The pain lifted within seconds. His arms and legs felt limp, and his breathing began to slow down. Hedge felt his thoughts float away, back to that strange place in the depths of his mind.
‘Say hello to Amanda for me,’ said Cole with a wide smile on his face. ‘I will come back tomorrow and see if you have survived the ordeal with her.’
Hedge tried to respond to this, but the words didn’t form. He was drifting into a restful sleep. He heard the name Amanda again as the door of his room was closed, but he didn’t know who had said it.
She was there again, that lovely woman who made him into a man. It was the third time he had met her, and the best, although it was such a distant memory now. Yet, strangely, he suddenly found that he could remember every detail.
The Palindrome Cult: A gripping, page-turning, crime suspense thriller, its fast pace takes you from London to New York, via Dubai and the Virgin Islands. (Hedge & Cole Book 1) Page 18