Relief washes over me. Dominic. I grasp his hands.
‘It’s okay. I’m here. Did Brother Giovanni freak you out?’
‘What, you mean the hooded monk with the hidden face who ordered me to follow him through a pitch-black monastery? Er – yes, just a bit.’ I’m able to laugh weakly as the terror recedes. I’m still completely blind though. I reach up and feel Dominic’s face. ‘Is it really you?’ I say wonderingly.
I sense rather than see his smile. ‘It’s really me. And you are really with me.’ His whisper becomes husky. ‘It’s so wonderful to be with you again...’ His warm sweet lips fall on mine again and we kiss as we did earlier in the day, with the kind of depth I have only known with him and I think I only ever will. How could two mouths be so perfect for each other? When we meet, lips to lips, tongue touching tongue, probing and exploring, it’s as though we’re set free to roam within one another. The darkness is velvety and all encompassing, and the feeling of surrender to everything my body yearns for is delicious. All we want to do is offer one another the pleasure of our body and receive pleasure in return: I want to feel that hard muscle, the rough hair on his chest, lick his fingers and the tiny bullets of his nipples, while he is hungry to feel my soft breasts and suck on my nipples, smoothing his hands over my waist and hips and back. For this reunion, so sweet because it has been so long in coming, we don’t need anything at all except each other.
My nightdress is pulled over my head and I stand before him naked, but he can only see me with his hands, and he groans as he takes my breasts in his palms, rubbing his thumbs over nipples that are already stiff and sensitive. He bends down to take first one in his mouth and then the other, sucking and nibbling, bringing each one to a peak of hardness. But I can’t bear to be away from his mouth for too long, and I bring his face to mine so we can kiss. He presses against me and I gasp again. He’s naked, and his huge erection, hot and iron-hard, juts out from his body and into the softness of mine. I put one hand down to it, and caress its velvety top.
He breaks our kiss. ‘I can’t wait long for you,’ he says softly, and kisses at my ear, sucking on my lobe and sending hot rivers of desire gushing through me. I feel his hand at my belly, and a moment later, he is cupping my sex in his hand, pushing one finger into the depths that are already wet and waiting. He presses the ball of his thumb against my mound, creating a delicious pressure on my clitoris, and he pushes a second finger inside me, making me moan and tighten my grip on his shaft.
Unable to bear it much longer, we release one another and move without words. Within a moment, he has pressed me down onto a narrow single bed and I open my arms to him, desperate to feel his weight on me, the sublime pressure of his body against mine. His mouth finds mine again, but our kisses can’t be restricted only there; now we’re hungry for every part of each other. He is kissing my shoulders, pausing to tug deliciously on my nipples again, and then he is burning a trail down my body.
I gasp as he reaches my sex, and nuzzles into the patch of downy hair there. I’m worried that one touch of his tongue will send me over the edge and I don’t want to come yet. But already my excitement and my body’s desperate need have taken me almost to the peak. I fight for control, breathing deeply, trying to close the door to the whirling climax I know awaits me. Dominic’s tongue has already begun to explore my depths, tantalising me as it circles my bud, taking its time over the approach, kissing and tasting me until I’m almost in a frenzy. I bury my fingers in his thick dark hair, coaxing him towards the sweet spot. I can’t see a thing and yet I can envisage him clearly, his dark head between my legs, paying such a delicious homage to my womanhood. Then he touches it and I cry out, arching my back as the sensations crackle through. I want it and yet it’s almost too much. I revel in the feelings, twisting and turning when they threaten to overpower me, eager for them and yet keen not to come too soon and bring all this to an end. I pull him up towards me and he comes to me, panting, smiling, his lips wet with my juices.
‘You taste like nectar,’ he murmurs. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’
‘I need you, now,’ I whisper. ‘Please...’
I have to feel him inside me, and the next moment, he’s between my thighs, the hard head of his erection probing at my entrance, then he’s pushing inside, filling me up. After all these weeks, I’m tight and he has to press on against the resistance, giving us both exquisite pleasure as he buries himself in me. When he’s entirely inside me, we pause, panting, surrendering ourselves to the sensations, then he kisses me wildly and deeply as he begins to move. I know I cannot last long, and I don’t know whether to fight it or surrender to the desire to come but soon I have no choice anyway. He is fucking away with all his might, forcing home his hard cock and at the same time pressing hard on my clitoris. I open my thighs to him as wide as I can, so that he can get as deeply inside as possible, and I grasp his firm buttocks in my hands, squeezing them and forcing him further and harder in his thrusting. Then I feel the climax building in me. My sex seems to be melting into liquid heat as the waves of pleasure grow stronger and stronger.
‘That’s it,’ Dominic says to me urgently, ‘oh God, that’s it, I’m going to come, I have to, squeeze me hard.’
I dig my nails into his skin and thrust up to meet him. ‘Yes,’ I cry out. ‘That’s it, oh, Dominic...!’ I release myself to the boiling torrent and cry out again as the feelings become too much to stand in silence. The orgasm picks me up and whirls me round, releasing me breathless and spent. Dominic’s climax comes at the same time and he stiffens as it grips him and then, with two more slow, hard thrusts, he falls forward onto my chest, all his strength gone in the force of his orgasm.
We lie together, getting our breath back, stroking one another gently, kissing warm soft kisses that are all the more tender now we’ve gone through such an intense experience together.
‘I need to ask you something,’ I say, after a while and he murmurs drowsily. ‘Why have you been away so long? Why didn’t you get in touch with me?’
There is a long pause and then he says, ‘At first, I felt that I had to sort my head out. The way we left things... well, you remember.’
There is silence as we both recall the seismic events between us. When, despite the heady attraction between us, Dominic told me that his sexual desires meant we weren’t destined to be lovers, I fought against it and persuaded him that I was eager and ready for a taste of what he enjoyed so much. We agreed that he would initiate me, carefully and with control, into the role of his submissive and that I would allow him to play out his desires. I gave him my faith, trusting that he would know when to stop. But he hadn’t. He had taken me beyond my limits to a place I didn’t want to go, and his own urges had overcome his role as my guide and protector.
Even now, the memory of the flogging I endured in the dungeon of The Asylum comes back and makes me shake with the remembered fear and pain.
But I thought that my forgiveness and the love I had for Dominic would make everything better, take us to a new place of trust and understanding where we could enjoy the delicious aspects of Dominic’s preferences and discard whatever was left. I thought we could experiment with our role-play, and take turns at being in control. But Dominic’s crisis of faith in himself didn’t allow it, and that was when he vanished from my life.
‘Yes, I do remember. As I recall, you said we would stay in touch and that you would call me soon,’ I say in a tight voice. I don’t want to spoil our beautiful reunion but I can’t help asking for the answers to questions that have tormented me for weeks.
‘I had my phone changed,’ Dominic says. ‘It happened very suddenly – it’s the kind of thing Andrei does every now and then, to guard against hacking and bugging. All communications are refreshed. Your number didn’t make it to my new phone, so I couldn’t call or text you.’
‘What about email?’
‘Same. If I ever had your email address, which I don’t think I did.’
I absorb this fo
r a moment and then say, ‘But you could have reached me if you’d wanted to. What about Celia? Or James? Or even Vanessa?’
‘I don’t want them involved,’ he says a little impatiently.
‘So you’d rather we never spoke again?’ I burst out, hurt.
Dominic hesitates, stroking my hair gently. ‘Listen, I know it seems like it’s been a long time, but I’ve been very busy. Dubrovski has a lot going on and I’m deeply involved in it. I’ve been travelling non-stop. Time has moved very fast, probably faster than it has for you. And besides, I wanted to be sure that I was ready to come back to you. I’ve had a lot to think about, you know.’
I nuzzle into him, finding comfort in the heat of his body and the touch of his skin on mine. I want to believe that he’s just been too busy to be in touch with me, even if, somewhere deep inside me, a voice is telling me that he could have reached me if he’d wanted to. So why didn’t he? I ignore it. I don’t want to hear it. ‘And are you ready now?’ I ask in a soft voice.
‘I don’t have a choice,’ he replies huskily, his arms around me. ‘The reality of you is so overwhelming, I can never walk away again.’
I breathe out long and slowly, holding on to him tightly. ‘So what happens now? Are you coming back to London?’
There is a long pause and I listen to Dominic’s soft breathing. At last he says, ‘I don’t know. Not quite yet. Perhaps soon.’
‘What is it you’re doing for Dubrovski?’
‘Deals. In commodities. There’s a very big one on the horizon that’s going to make a large amount of money – we’re talking billions. Everything is focused on it.’
I frown into the darkness. ‘So why he is so interested in a painting, with all of this going on?’
‘I have no idea,’ Dominic says slowly. ‘Listen, Beth, I will be returning to London eventually. Can you wait a little longer?’
‘Of course. It’s the not knowing that was killing me. I can wait as long as it takes. And now we’re in touch, we can work out ways to meet again.’
‘Of course we can.’ He places a gentle kiss on my cheek, then yawns. ‘God, I’m tired.’
‘Go to sleep.’ I hug him. ‘We have to be up in a couple of hours.’
‘Brother Giovanni will be here any minute,’ he says, his voice drowsy. ‘I’ll stay awake till then.’ But within a few moments, I can tell from his breathing that he has fallen asleep. I’m filled with a rush of tenderness for him: my beautiful Dominic, sleeping in my arms. This is real joy, lying with him, our bodies pressed close, our arms intertwined, breathing together, both satisfied.
I run my hand over his arm. He shifts in his sleep, turning on to his side. I smooth my hand over his back. Then I feel it again, for certain this time. On his back are raised marks, like the welts I remember there after he made me whip him in punishment for his loss of control. I move my fingertips over them. Yes, there’s no mistake. A pattern of weals, almost healed, criss crosses his back.
I am holding my breath, my eyes are wide in the darkness.
How can Dominic have flogging marks on his back? Only if someone has whipped him recently. Oh my God. But who? And... why? His instincts are dominant, not submissive... or at least, they used to be.
A cold chill is prickling over me. What can it mean?
There is a knock on the cell door and a low voice murmurs, ‘Are you awake? You must come with me now.’
I’m frozen, thoughts and suggestions whirling through my mind. The knock comes again. ‘I’m coming,’ I say out loud, and begin to slide away from Dominic. He stays deeply asleep, breathing softly in the darkness
It’s no use. I have to go. I have no choice.
I begin to pull on my nightdress so that I can return to my room alone.
Chapter Six
Mark flings the newspaper onto his desk with an expression of annoyance. ‘Precisely what I didn’t want!’ he growls.
I lean forward to look. There is a picture of the newly discovered Fra Angelico under the headline ‘Lost Masterpiece Found in Croatian Monastery’. I scan the article quickly and see Mark’s name. He is cited as the expert who verified the authenticity of the work while another expert from Christie’s expresses delight at a possible find but also reservations until others have had the chance to examine the piece. At the very end of the article, it is revealed that the work has been purchased privately for a sum in excess of two million pounds by a buyer believed to be Andrei Dubrovski, the wealthy Russian businessman.
Mark has gone over to the window and is staring out crossly. Since our return, the weather has become distinctly autumnal, and the branches outside shed a confetti of leaves with every gust of wind. A grey sky lowers overhead; evening is coming earlier every day. He takes off his glasses and polishes them on his sleeve. ‘I don’t understand,’ he mutters. ‘Why would Dubrovski place me in this position? Why not wait until I had got the proof? Now it’s my reputation on the line. I just hope the bloody thing is real, that’s all.’
‘He’s obviously very impulsive.’
Mark nods. ‘A man who acts on his instinct and who satisfies every desire he has immediately. That much is certain.’
‘Will you say anything to him?’
Mark turns back to me, sighing. He looks truly worried. ‘There’s nothing I could say. Besides, it’s done now. I shall carry on behind the scenes, hoping I find something to guarantee this painting is what we say it is. But when he comes to dinner tonight, we must be our usual selves. Upbeat and professional.’
I nod. I still don’t understand why I’m going to be at this dinner, but Mark said that Andrei Dubrovski particularly requested my presence. Besides, he explained, it is a little custom that Andrei dines with him whenever he comes to London and then takes the time to peruse Mark’s collection to see if anything takes his fancy.
‘Is he going to be staying in London for a while?’ I asked, when Mark told me this.
‘Apparently. If it’s a flying visit, he usually stays at the Dorchester and he mentioned he’ll be in his London apartment. That means he intends a stay of a week or two, I should think. He’s a non-dom here, so he can’t stay longer than three months in a year.’
The news makes a tingle of excitement spread over me. If Andrei’s coming back for a few weeks, perhaps that means Dominic will be here too... Suddenly Dubrovski’s return takes on a new character. I’m positively looking forward to it.
I didn’t have another moment alone with Dominic after I left him that dawn morning. Dubrovski was eager to be off, chivvying Mark along to get the picture negotiations finished.
‘Give them whatever it takes, just hurry up!’ he commanded.
Forty minutes later, the deal agreed, we were in the cherry red helicopter again, rising from the top of the tower into the sky before the nose of the aircraft dipped and we soared off back to France. I had seen Dominic at breakfast but we were not even able to talk privately, let alone kiss goodbye. I hated leaving him, but as we flew over the Italian coast, my phone shuddered in my pocket and I pulled it out to find a text from him.
That was incredible. Thank you. Take care and I will see you soon, I promise. Dx
I smiled and sent one back to him.
You made me happy. Please do it again very soon. Bx
The reply arrived at once:
Try and keep me away. Dx
When we landed at the villa, our luggage was already packed and waiting for us in the big black car. Dubrovski didn’t wait around but said a swift goodbye to us on the lawn, with the rotary blades on the helicopter still turning.
‘Thank you, Mark,’ he said, his dark-blond hair ruffling in little waves as the eddies of air moved it. He shook Mark’s hand. ‘I appreciate it.’ Then he turned to me, his eyes intense, his mouth still unsmiling. ‘We’ll meet again, I’m sure,’ he said in a tone that was more like an order than a polite remark. Then, inexplicably, ‘I’m glad you enjoyed yourself in Croatia.’ Without waiting for a reply from me, he turned and walked away towa
rds the house.
‘Come on,’ Mark said. ‘Let’s go home. It’s been a most peculiar couple of days.’
On the plane home, I was silent, thinking back over the delicious hours Dominic and I had spent together. Mark read while I gazed out of the window into the blackness beyond, and tried not to show that I was thinking of Dominic’s smooth and beautiful cock plunging into me, driving me to that dizzy peak of intense sensation. If Mark had been aware, perhaps he would have seen my lips parted, my chest rising and falling a little too fast, my eyes unseeing because of the riot of pictures in my mind, the memory of Dominic’s dark head between my legs and the soft nibbling touch of his tongue and teeth on the tip of my most sensitive part. But Mark never looked up from his book and never saw me close my eyes and lean back in my seat, eaten up by need and tormented by remembered joy.
‘What’s happened?’ Laura demanded as soon as she saw me. ‘Have you met someone? Come on, something’s happened, I can see it in your face.’
I hadn’t meant to tell her. I was going to keep it entirely to myself but it was impossible once she asked. I shook my head. ‘No – not someone new.’ A huge smile spread over my face.
‘Dominic?’ she asked, incredulous.
I nodded, beaming, then we both squealed and jumped up and down, and Laura hugged me.
‘So everything is right between you guys?’ she said, when I’d told her what had happened. ‘You’re back together? Oh, Beth, I’m so happy for you!’
‘It’s not completely straightforward,’ I replied. ‘Dominic doesn’t want his boss to know we’re in a relationship.’
‘Why not?’
‘I suppose it’s a bit unprofessional – you know, his mind is supposed to be on his work, not on me.’
‘I don’t see why it matters if he still does his job. And after all, you were a couple before you started working for Mark.’
‘Well... maybe.’ I had a sudden vision of Dubrovski’s face: the serious unsmiling visage, the broad mouth with his stubborn lower lip, and the piercing icy eyes. He doesn’t look like the kind of man to be touched by romance. I can understand why Dominic doesn’t want that side of his life revealed. ‘Anyway, he’s still working on some huge deal so he’ll be away travelling for I don’t know how long.’
Secrets After Dark Page 6