by Dalia Craig
“Yes.” Bryana reached for my hand. “Then tomorrow you can ride shotgun while I work.”
“Done!” I raised her fingers to my lips to seal the bargain. “Damn! I want to kiss you properly. Shall we go back to the hotel?”
“Yes, please, I’d like that.”
Full Circle
~
Bryana
Can Cassie keep Bryana safe and provide the discipline she needs?
The decorated façade of Amsterdam’s Rijks Museum provided a perfect backdrop for Célestin Reynaud’s collection of day wear. The wide concourse offered ample space for the models to parade in groups, and singly, or occasionally stop to strike a pose in one of the three arches that formed the imposing entrance. Célestin had been lucky to get permission to use an area that would normally be thronged with tourists at this time of the day, but with the main museum closed for renovations visitors were directed to a different entrance around the corner in the annex.
“That’s very good, Alexis.” I nodded encouragement to the final model in the set. “Just a shade more of that sexy hip movement, please. Perfect!” The motorized shutter whirred almost continuously as I fired off dozens of shots in rapid succession, moving around as I did so to capture the elegant suit from as many different angles as possible. “Okay that’ll do for now, Alexis. Thanks everyone. Just the final group shots then we’re done.” The models dispersed quickly, rushing toward the converted RV that served as a mobile dressing room when Célestin was on location for a quick check on hair and makeup.
There was a round of applause from the watching crowd. While changing cameras I took the opportunity to glance behind me. A number of people had gathered behind a taped cordon to watch the fashion shoot but I was only interested in one person.
My gaze homed in on Cassie Stuart. My lover, the woman who kept me sane, satisfied, and safe. Unmistakable in her usual attire of a plaid shirt worn over a white vest, jeans, and ankle boots. Too damned sexy for words. Heat sizzled through my body. She’d had an effect on me from day one. However, it’d taken me quite a while and much soul searching to accept that Cassie had held my heart hostage ever since she rescued me from a cold, wet, and very miserable night on a bleak Scottish mountain. The events of the past few days, since our arrival in Amsterdam, had finally confirmed her place in my life. Although it had been touch and go for a while as circumstances tested our relationship to breaking point.
Cassie leaned casually against a tree a few yards away from the main group of spectators. She appeared outwardly relaxed and disinterested in anything other than the fashion show, but I knew that was a front. Behind those dark glasses her eyes would be busily scanning the crowd for danger. In particular for a glimpse of Esmée Vincent, my ex, who still posed a considerable threat to me eight months after the end of our turbulent relationship. Esmée was here, in Amsterdam – at least I assumed she was. Somebody had delivered the note containing her latest threat to my hotel room on Monday night. Although Marisa, her lover, had a role in the catalog shoot I doubted she was responsible. Esmée’s insidious presence dominated our lives and impinged on everything we did. It was now Thursday, the last day of the shoot, and Esmée’s continued absence from the scene was giving me the jitters. Not that I wanted any contact with her, but the lack of some tangible sighting was singularly unnerving.
With one final, lingering glance at Cassie I picked up the two cameras I planned to use for this session hung one around my neck and turned back to work. Impatient to begin, I fired off a few shots as the models emerged spasmodically from the RV and assembled according to the plan set out for the finale. Another hour at the most and I’d be free to spend some quality time with my love.
Cassie had promised me a special treat to celebrate the rebirth of our relationship. After several false starts we both hoped this new beginning would mature naturally into the permanence we both desired. In this instance I had no idea what she meant by special since I considered all the time we spent together special. Clearly though, Cassie had her own ideas and as she was being somewhat secretive about the arrangements, I would have to wait until later to find out what they were.
Meanwhile, I concentrated on getting the best from the disparate group of models. “Wonderful, ladies.” With a sweep of my hand I directed them to move and reform, as per the rehearsal plan. To my amazement the choreography worked. The group flowed en masse, creating a seamlessly evolving pattern like a flock of birds in the sky. I followed every movement with the cameras, sometimes closing in and other times drawing back.
Finally this part was done. The next stage, the selection of the best shots for the catalog would take time and close study by myself in conjunction with the production team.
“Perfect!” Célestin stepped out of the RV to congratulate the whole team. “Thank you all for working so hard this week.”
There was a burst of applause followed by a mass exodus. The models rushed to change into street clothes before they drifted away alone or in groups, then hair and make-up left, too. Wardrobe always took much longer to pack up as did I.
Célestin appeared at my side when I had almost finished fitting my cameras into their traveling bag. “A word, Bryana.” She linked arms with me, then led me out of the RV and a short distance away from any listeners before she spoke.
“You and Cassie have sorted out your differences?” Very neatly she’d turned the statement into a question.
“Yes, I think we have...” I flicked a glance to where my lover waited. “How did you know?”
“Simple logic, chérie...” Célestin shook her head, and a smile formed on her lips. “I saw how troubled you were on Monday and now... Now you’re a totally different woman. Sex is a wonderful healer.”
Heat swept across my face. “Is it that obvious?”
“It is to me.” Célestin kissed me warmly. “I am so pleased for you. You deserve some happiness after the way that bitch Esmée treated you.”
“You knew?”
“Everybody did, chérie.”
“Oh!” Her revelation robbed me of speech. Had I born the scars for all to see? That thought appalled me.
“That woman is cruel, and manipulative. In my opinion, you are well out of it. Marisa is now the favored one... She and Esmée are two of a kind they deserve each other, but I doubt it will last. Quite frankly, I would prefer not to use Marisa, she is a disruptive influence, but she is the perfect shape for my designs.” Célestin gave a Gallic shrug. “Good models are like gold dust and business is business.”
“Working with Marisa doesn’t bother me,” I said, hastening to reassure her. Not strictly true, but I didn’t want to create problems for Célestin. This week had been particularly difficult with the threat hanging over me and Marisa being obstructive at every turn. Nothing big or too obvious, however, just niggly little things. Marisa, like all models, knew how not to step over the line; getting a bad reputation would see her losing out on the more lucrative bookings.
“That’s very generous of you, chérie.” Célestin hugged me. “I must let you go, Cassie has been very patient but...” She waved to Cassie who pushed away from the tree and sauntered over to us.
“Hello, chérie.” Célestin greeted Cassie warmly, kissing her on both her cheeks. “Take Bryana away, now, she needs a break from work and some serious TLC.”
“I have that all in hand.” Cassie winked. She turned to me, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Are you ready now, honey?”
“Almost. I just need to collect my stuff and then we can go.”
“Get a move on then.” Cassie gave me a playful tap on the ass as I turned to leave.
Wearing a smile on my face I walked toward the RV to collect my camera case. Then I came face to face with Marisa lurking in the doorway and the smile faded.
Has she been waiting all this time just to confront me?
“Out of my way, bitch!” Her dark eyes flashed menacingly. “Don’t get too cozy with Cassie Stuart, your time together is about to
come to an end. Nobody gets away with crossing Esmée. She has your card marked.” Marisa brushed me roughly aside and was gone before I could draw breath let alone utter a word. What could I have said anyway? I had no idea what any of her cryptic comments meant. They sounded like threats but... I shook my head. How could either she or Esmée influence my relationship with Cassie?
With Marisa’s snarky comments still buzzing in my head, I picked up the camera bag then reached into the locker for my purse and came out empty handed. I frowned. Shit! Why wasn’t it where I’d left it? After a frantic search I found the purse on the floor in the shoe sized space underneath the lockers. I quickly checked the contents were intact then went back out to join Cassie and Célestin who, in my absence, had become involved in a serious discussion. It took me a few seconds to tune into the subject and a couple more to check I was hearing it right. Amazing! I’d never have guessed that Célestin was into bondage, particularly rope play. Yet Cassie had drawn it out of her in a few short minutes.
“You must come to Scotland, to Auchtercairn.” Cassie acknowledged my return with a quirk of her brow then she slipped one hand casually across my shoulder and drew me close. “Bryana will confirm I run a well equipped dungeon. With something to suit every kink be it extreme pain, exquisite pleasure, or some place in between.”
“Indeed she does.” I grinned. “It’s like walking into a fantasy world. I could hardly believe my eyes when I stumbled on the dungeon and found all manner of equipment just waiting to be used. I have to say though, I found the stone-walled tower a bit foreboding at first but it soon grows on you and it’s a perfect setting for the instruments of torture and pleasure within.”
“A tower?” Célestin’s eyes widened.
“Oh! Didn’t I say?” Cassie suddenly looked very pleased with herself. “Auchtercairn is a seventeenth century castle. The real deal. Come and see for yourself. We can have a serious session with the ropes or anything else you’d like to try.” She fished a business card out of her pocket and handed it to Célestin. “Call me and we’ll fix a date that suits us all. I have a film crew there at the moment, shooting something dark and horrific, but they’ll be gone in a little over six weeks.”
Célestin smiled, her gaze swept Cassie’s body from head to toe and back again in the blink of an eye. “Yes, I will, I would like that, very much. Maybe later, sometime in October.”
I feared Célestin’s interest in Cassie went much deeper than a session in the dungeon. Confirmation came with a brief flick of her tongue across slightly parted lips – a perfect imitation of a cat with a bowl of cream. I hoped Cassie knew what she was getting into. Célestin could be a predator when it came to satisfying her sexual desires.
Somewhere close by the musical chimes of a clock heralded the hour, Célestin pulled a face and glanced around at the RV. “I must go. Our permit is about to expire and I don’t want to upset the authorities.” She kissed us both and hurried away.
Cassie turned me to face her. “Want to tell me what happened back there?” She indicated the RV with a nod.
“Search me.” I shrugged, attempting to keep my tone casual so as not to worry her. “Just Marisa being bitchy. What she said didn’t make any sense.”
“Mmmm, I knew I should have gone with you.” Cassie dropped a light kiss on my forehead. “Put her out of your mind. We have better things to do than dwell on that sneaky cow.” She picked up my camera bag and took my hand. Despite my outwardly relaxed mood, the leisurely stroll back to the hotel wasn’t the pleasant experience it should have been. I couldn’t get the brush with Marisa out of my mind.
What did she mean about Cassie?
How has Esmée marked my card and for what purpose?
I couldn’t fathom out what was going on with those two, or why Esmée was targeting me.
Later, I took my time in the shower mulling over the day’s events and the pleasures still to come. Cassie waylaid me as I emerged from the bathroom her mind clearly focused on pleasures of another kind. I tried really hard to respond to her overtures, but I couldn’t melt into her arms and her gentle kisses failed to ignite the fire like she usually did.
“What’s up, honey?” Cassie stroked gentle fingers down my neck and across my shoulders. “You are so tense. Why don’t I give you a relaxing massage before we go out to dinner?”
My first instinct was to decline, as I always did when she raised the subject. I could never see the point. Then I thought why not?
What have I got to lose?
Cassie was always harping on about her famous massage skills, maybe it was time I gave her relaxation technique a try. I certainly needed something to soothe away my stress and dispel the turmoil that Marisa had stirred up.
My tentative nod of agreement produced a swift reaction from Cassie. Before I could blink or change my mind she’d dispensed with the towel I wore and spread it out on my bed, then she added a couple more for good measure. Cassie obviously meant business this afternoon.
“Make yourself comfortable. I won’t be a minute.” Cassie disappeared into the bathroom.
In her absence I arranged myself on the bed face down, with my eyes closed, and arms loosely by my sides. Cassie returned to the room and I heard her moving about but in an effort to distance myself from events I didn’t open my eyes. A few moments later she approached the bed. “Are you ready, honey?”
Am I?
Yeah! No point in delaying the inevitable.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” My jocular confirmation was a thinly disguised attempt to hide my deep seated distrust of alternative therapies. Skeptic that I am, I wasn’t entirely convinced by Cassie’s faith in massage. Could it really be the magical cure-all she claimed? Seemed like I was about to find out.
“Take some deep breaths and empty your mind of clutter.” Cassie’s tone was calm, neutral and very professional.
Before I had time to do what she asked, a warm liquid trickled across my shoulders and over my back. A strange perfume reached my senses – intense, spicy, and sweet, like walking through a glade of tropical flowers – very hypnotic, yet not as totally overpowering as one might imagine. Her fingers traced the same path gliding across my neck and shoulders, then moved slowly down my spine.
“Just relax. You are still too tense,” Cassie scolded, when my body reacted to her touch by tensing up.
Her oil slick fingers returned to my neck kneading the muscles gently before they swept out across my shoulders and then down my flank only to go back and repeat the circuit. With each long sweep along my rib cage, her fingers just brushed the edge of my tits. The action sent pulses of sensation rushing headlong through me.
My body suddenly began to hum to a sexual tune.
If nothing else, I’ll get smooth skin and a sexual lift from the massage.
I sucked in a long breath.
“Good.”
I thought I detected a hint of laughter in Cassie’s voice.
Her hands slid slowly down until her fingers spanned my waist and her thumbs rested either side of my spine. “Now take another deep a breath and relax some more.” She tightened her grip slightly to put a little pressure on my waist as if squeezing the tension out of me. “Forget the past, it’s gone and you can’t do anything to change it. Let all those bad memories drift away. Imagine them floating into space then being sucked into an enormous black hole never to be seen again.”
Her fingers relaxed and moved lower, to massage the cheeks of my butt, her thumbs sliding into the crack and around the base. The breath caught in my throat when she came close to my slit but she never quite touched anything sensitive. Cassie moved on, her oil slick hands gliding over my skin, following the shape of my thighs, calves, and ankles until she reached my feet.
I turned over on her command and half opened my eyes to discover Cassie was naked, too. I hadn’t actually thought about her need for clothes but I suppose it made sense. Better than spoiling good clothes with massage oil.
I’d never realized bef
ore how erotic a foot massage could be. Cassie worked on every part, manipulating my toes, stroking my insteps, and the soles of my feet – Lucky I’m not ultra sensitive in that area.
Are feet erogenous zones?
“Take deep even breaths,” she intoned softly, working on my toes like she was milking the tension out of me. “Force all that negative energy from your body. You are in control of your own life. Concentrate on the positive aspects and the path you will take to move forward into the future.”
Cassie slowly moved back up my legs. Her face a mask of concentration. At which point she climbed onto the bed and knelt over me, straddling my legs. From that position she continued the massage, again straying only briefly into the sensitive area between my thighs. My anticipation gathered pace. Certain that she was about to touch me intimately, my body reacted with a rush of moisture to the throbbing heart of my sex. However, she carried on upward until she reached my breasts.
Oh, the exquisite pleasure of being touched, the sensual delight in the lightness of her fingers on my skin. I wanted more, more, more.
She leaned forward to run her fingers over my shoulders and our bodies met flesh on flesh. A spark of raw energy drew a gasp from my lips but her concentration didn’t waiver. It was as if she was in a trance, or inhabiting a different world to mine – somewhere detached from reality where nothing overtly sexual was happening, at least not for her. I, on the other hand, was totally fired up, with my body on the verge of total meltdown.
Cassie paused to drizzle a little more oil from a small bottle onto my chest. This brief respite from the sexual tension barely gave me time to catch my breath before, inevitably, Cassie took off again. Her fingers spread the film across my skin, gliding lazily through the fragrant oil, massaging my throat, moving over my breasts, and circling my nipples. I could hardly keep from crying out, from begging her to grant me the relief I so badly needed, but her air of detachment held me back.