The Mount Series Boxset

by K D Grace

  Neither of them spoke on the ride home. Somehow it seemed wrong to. Somehow it seemed like what had happened was something that shouldn’t be spoken about, something that needed to be held close inside, to be reflected on for a long time before thoughts of it were shared in the light of day. The scent between them, the scent of them together was warm honey and strong tea, and cool water flowing in a stream. There had been a million questions she wanted to ask before what happened in the dungeon, but at the moment she could find voice for none of them.

  At Bernini Place, he still refused to let her walk, but carried her into the flat, eased her out of the torn clothes, and into a warm bath. While she half dozed, he brought her cold water to drink and fed her fresh melon and prosciutto. Then he bathed her as though she were precious, wrapped her in a thick terry towel, and carried her to the bed. By the time he had pulled back the covers and tucked her in she could barely hold her eyes open. He smoothed the hair away from her face and spoke gently. ‘Just so you know, you don’t need a condom with me. Being clean and safe is a requirement for members of The Mount. And I’m pretty sure from what you told me, I don’t have to worry with you either.’

  ‘I’m on the pill,’ she said softly. In spite of the exhaustion that threatening to smother her in a blanket of soft warm sleep, her stomach did a tight little somersault. He was planning to have sex with her again. Good. She liked that idea. She was just about to invite him under the covers to try out their newfound freedom but she never got the chance. She dropped off into a deep, dreamless sleep before she could even say goodnight.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘I’ve convinced Jim Dryer to show me around the research facility,’ Vera said.

  ‘How’d you manage that?’ Carl admired her from where she stood in front of the hotel room window, the late morning sunlight all but making her summer sheath transparent. He’d checked into the room especially for their meeting. Better not to run any risks of getting caught with his pants down this time.

  ‘I blew him,’ she replied. ‘Then I took him back to my place and fucked him. Twice.’

  Carl chuckled, as he undid his tie and tossed it over the back of the chair. ‘You always did have a silver tongue,’ he said. ‘And what you can do with the rest of your body is even better. So what did you find out?’

  ‘Only that Coraline Martelli is extremely unhappy with the progress on the new line and she’s pulled the stops on the work her team was doing, in spite of the shitload of money they’d already invested in it. But you already knew that. If they’re worried about your threat of a takeover, they’re keeping their cards close to their chest.’

  ‘Wouldn’t expect them to do otherwise. But trust me, Vera, they’re worried all right.’

  She turned to face him. ‘What’s really strange is how Martelli, Delacour, and Dryer are all three treating Liza Calendar like she’s made of gold. Isn’t she just here to do a story on Martelli Fragrance for her little magazine?’

  ‘That’s what you’re supposed to be finding out for me, Vera.’

  ‘Well, you might find this interesting.’ She dug through the handbag she’d dropped on the chair and handed him a flash drive. ‘Coraline Martelli had me make up a couple of slides for her the other day while her little PA was away.’ She followed him back to the desk where his computer was already up and running and watched as he shoved the drive into the port. ‘Sadly I wasn’t at the meeting she had me make it for but she, Delacour, and Dryer were all there, and little Ms Calendar was invited right on in with the inner circle.’

  ‘What?’ Carl looked up at her. ‘That doesn’t make any sense. The woman’s a good journalist, granted, but all she knows of the perfume industry is what she’s done to research her story, and it’s certainly not likely that the entire big three would meet with her for that story, nor would they discuss me with her. What the hell?’ He pulled up the slide, and she looked over his shoulder.

  Romantic vanilla

  Dom

  sub

  Kink

  Animal heat/al fresco

  ‘What the fuck is this?’ He asked looking up at her.

  ‘Apparently that’s the revamped new line,’ she replied. ‘Or will be as soon as they come up with fragrances to go along with the names.’

  ‘Seriously? They’re no farther than simply the raw ideas? That means another huge outlay of money. I love it! I might as well hire someone to redecorate Coraline’s office for me.’

  Vera opened the bottle of wine chilling on the table by the window and poured them both a glass. ‘Actually, I think they’re starting over completely from scratch. That’s sure what it looks like, which means they have, indeed, lost a tonne of money on their first attempts. Still, Carl, I’ve never seen three people more excited, and Delacour escorted Liza Calendar into the meeting like she was their top secret weapon.’ She handed him the glass. ‘And when she came out, she looked pretty damned excited. In fact, they all did. Does she know you’re in Rome?’

  Carl pulled her down on his lap, nearly spilling her wine. ‘She will soon enough, honey, I promise you that. I’ll let her know when it works best to my advantage.’ He gave Vera’s tits a little squeeze and her tongue snaked out over her upper lip all porn-star like. ‘So –’ he tried not to grind his teeth ‘– Liza Calendar’s more than just Delacour’s bimbo then, is she? That’s very interesting. Very interesting indeed.’ He toyed with the hem of her skirt, which had slipped up to reveal a good bit of firm thigh. ‘And what did you find out from Dryer?’

  ‘Well –’ She sat her wine glass on the desk then reached behind her back to unzip her dress. Wriggling it off her shoulders and down over her hips, she offered him a cheap little stripper’s pout ‘– he says she has the most incredible sense of smell of anyone he or anyone at Martelli has ever met. He says you wouldn’t believe what she can smell.’ She undid her push-up bra and let it slide off onto the floor on top of her dress, and his cock stretched lazily in his trousers. The woman had nice tits.

  ‘And they’re going to use her sense of smell for this new line of theirs? I don’t see how.’

  She looked down at him from the height of her Louboutins and offered him a heavy-lipped pout that made him think of what she’d done to Dryer to get information. ‘Oh, and apparently she’s not as much of a prude as you thought. Dryer said she had a hot date with Delacour and she was dressed to the nines when they drove off in his Porsche. He said they’ve definitely been doing the nasty. In fact, he says they joined the Mile High Club on their flight to Rome.’ She shrugged. ‘Didn’t really figure Delacour for a kiss and tell sort of guy, but then you never know, do you?’ She squatted in front of him and began to tease open his fly, raking over the fabric with long fingernails. ‘As for Dryer, well, it’s amazing what a man’ll tell you when he’s about to get his cock sucked.’

  ‘Isn’t it just,’ Carl said, as he shifted in his chair and let his erection bounce from his open fly right into her waiting mouth. It pissed him off that Liza Calendar wouldn’t fuck him but she didn’t even make it to Rome before she was spreading her legs for Delacour. Well at the end of the day they’d see who got fucked, wouldn’t they?

  ‘She’s already over at the labs.’ Coraline spoke around a mouthful of pastry as Paulo stepped into her office and closed the door behind him. God there were times when he wished the woman couldn’t read him quite so well.

  ‘I –’

  ‘You stopped by her flat, yes, I suspected as much. She had Jim take her over.’

  He couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt that she’d called Jim and not him, but then Jim was right next door. ‘I’m amazed that she was up so early after …’

  She wiped her mouth daintily and tossed back the last of her coffee. ‘Did you sleep?’

  He shook his head. ‘But she was out cold when I left her.’

  ‘I figured as much or you wouldn’t have left her.’ Christ, was he really that transparent? ‘I have no doubt she was exhausted after what you did to her l
ast night.’ There was no accusation in Coraline’s voice, so why did he feel so damned defensive, like he’d done something wrong.

  ‘Angelo left me no choice.’

  She smiled lazily. ‘Yes, Angelo. Your constant pain in the ass.’

  ‘He’s that alright,’ Paulo agreed.

  ‘The problem is that the two of you are too much alike, Paulo.’

  His shoulders tightened, and he growled. ‘I’m not like him. He’s irresponsible and he’s out of control.’

  ‘And you’re hyper-responsible and extremely in control,’ Coraline nodded. ‘Opposite sides of the same coin.’ Then she changed the subject. ‘They’ve never seen you like that, Paulo, like you were last night. No one at The Mount has ever seen you that way. They were all stunned.’

  Paulo shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. He wasn’t sure he liked that everyone had seen him so vulnerable. Of course they didn’t know how vulnerable he was, though he wondered how the hell they could have missed it. No doubt Angelo hadn’t.

  ‘I don’t think that dungeon, in all of its years of use, has ever seen such a powerful display of dominance and submission,’ Coraline was saying. ‘Lots of attempts at it. Lots of wannabes, but what you two did, well, it was stunning. Oh, I know she’s not a sub. Nothing about her is submissive, except that her instincts are the best I’ve ever seen. Personally …’ she rose and came to stand in front of him, straightening his tie that was already flawlessly straight, ‘… I think she plays off your scent. She responds to the smell of arousal, and she responds in kind – sort of olfactory empathy, if I may be allowed to coin my own term.’ She smiled up at him. ‘And frankly, Paulo, I don’t know about you, but on a professional level, that excites the hell out of me. And on the psychosexual level, the implications are astounding. Don’t you think?’

  Paulo reached for the chair behind him and dropped into it, suddenly unable to catch his breath. He hadn’t thought about any of those things when he was with Liza last night. He had been so caught up in the moment, so caught up in what the woman did to him, so determined to protect her from a situation that she clearly didn’t need protecting from, that he hadn’t really thought about what it all meant to Martelli Fragrance. He hadn’t really thought about what it all meant to The Mount – not just The Mount in Rome, but to The Mount International. Here was a woman who knew scent and experienced it like no one else on the planet, and she had a way of expressing it, understanding it that would change the face of fragrance, and very possibly of human sexuality. It scared him more than anything that he had missed the implications. Of course he’d had the presence of mind to have David bring bags and zip-lock underwear and cleanup towels for the labs, but beyond that he was totally and completely focused on the woman, who so willing gave herself over to him in what, for most people would have been a frightening, even disturbing situation. And Liza had made him aware of the scent of them together, which rendered the whole experience far more textured and full-bodied than any dungeon play he’d ever been involved in before.

  ‘Paulo?’ He jerked his attention back to Coraline, who now sat in the chair next to his, her hand on his forearm. She smiled at him. ‘Sometimes it’s OK to lose control.’

  His laugh sounded more like a groan. ‘I like dungeon play because I’m always in control there. I guess I wasn’t as in control last night as I thought I was.’

  He could feel her sharp gaze as she studied him. ‘Control is relative, Paulo – far more so than most people think. You’ve not been a member of The Mount long enough to know that, and you’ve certainly never encountered anyone like Liza Calendar before. Paulo, it’s the first time you’ve ever made love in front of anyone at The Mount. There were a lot of stunned people in that dungeon, myself included. You don’t very often let anyone in. I know that better than most, and you certainly have never let a whole roomful of people in before.’

  Interesting that she had used the words ‘made love’ rather than had sex, or fucked. ‘I didn’t,’ he replied. ‘I only let Liza in. Everyone else just happened to be there.’ Paulo liked the role of Dom in the dungeon because he was in control, and he chose, for the most part, to orchestrate situations between submissives while he watched. Then he took his lust home with him and dealt with it there. It wasn’t that he was a prude. It wasn’t even so much that he cared if people saw him fucking, or at least he certainly hadn’t last night. But in truth, he had wanted everyone in the dungeon to know that Liza Calendar was with him, that he could possess her and she would allow it. She would allow it. Her power gave him power, and he felt it as he’d never felt it before, no matter how many scenarios he’d orchestrated in the dungeon.

  Both of their BlackBerries buzzed simultaneously, and Coraline patted his arm and returned to her desk. ‘I’m betting that’s from the research facility.’

  It was from Liza. His fingers tightened around the device. The email read:

  I have a basic plan in mind for the experiments we’ll need to run. Most of what we need to do, we can do at TM, though I may need some time to explore the city a little more for some scents I feel will be essential if we’re to make this work. Also we’ll need to have volunteers to ‘zip-lock’ their at-home sexual experiences for us to be certain our presence doesn’t interfere with the scents we want. Below is a rough outline for the first experiment.

  There was an attachment.

  ‘She’s excited,’ Coraline said. ‘Her enthusiasm is contagious, but then with her sense of smell, I’m inclined to be enthusiastic myself.’

  ‘I’m going to her,’ Paulo said. ‘I’ll have to make arrangements for her to come and go at The Mount as she pleases …’ He liked that she had been discreet enough not to refer to The Mount by name, understanding just how seriously the secrecy of the organization was taken ‘… and I’m happy to escort her on whatever jaunts about the city she feels she needs.’

  ‘Great! Then I’m making her your responsibility, Paulo.’ Coraline began to doodle on her desk blotter. ‘The two of you have a certain rapport, and she trusts you. Though if I were you, I’d speak to Angelo. You didn’t stick around long enough to see, and you were too occupied to notice, but he was pretty taken aback by all that happened last night, and I think he was pretty taken by our Ms Calendar.’ She waved a hand. ‘That’s for you and him to work out, but I’d do it soon if I were you, or Liza may be caught in the crossfire.’

  So what are we planning first?

  The text from Paulo sped up the beat of her heart, and she nearly dropped her BlackBerry in her effort respond.

  I’m voting for al fresco. We’re so close to Ostia Antica, I’m having Jim take me out there for a peek. Hoping we can get permission to do it there. Or not. How do you feel about trespassing? It would add another dimension to the scent.

  Keep it simple. Keep it businesslike, Liza told herself. She needed time to process what happened last night, and she needed it away from the man who she was pretty sure she’d throw herself at the minute she saw him if she didn’t give herself a moment – or in this case, a couple of hours.

  Always up for trespassing if it’s with you. Lose Jim & I’ll be right there.

  Her fingers trembled on the keys as she replied.

  Are you kidding? If you were here I wouldn’t be thinking about Martelli Fragrance. Besides we’re already at Ostia.

  There was a short pause and then he replied.

  Have just texted the lucky bastard & told him to get the job done, keep his hands to himself, and get you back here ASAP.

  She couldn’t keep from giggling when she noticed Jim getting a text, then glancing at her with a raised eyebrow. She was poised to text back when her phone rang. She was just about to answer it, thinking it might be Paulo, when Carl’s name flashed on the caller ID. At the very same moment, her toe caught on the uneven cobbles and sent the device flying from her hand. She would have gone flying too if Jim hadn’t caught her.

  ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Paulo and Coraline will both skin me alive if I brin
g you home injured.’ He settled her onto her feet. ‘Besides I don’t want to have to carry you piggy back to the Temple of Hercules if you sprain an ankle.’ He chased down her device, which had rung over to voicemail, gave her a stern look, and nodded down the Decumano Massimo. They’d only gone a little way when he asked, ‘Were you going to answer that? Was it Paulo?’

  ‘No, not Paulo. I’ll take care of it later.’ She stuffed the device into her pocket as they past the Tabernae of the Fishmongers and turned down the Via della Foce. Christ, she was hoping that Carl would just let it go when he got her message. In fact, she figured he would. It seemed like the face-saving thing for him to do. And really, he didn’t owe her an explanation. She pushed thoughts of him out of her mind, and it was surprisingly easy to do with the challenges Martelli Fragrance had set before her, and with another incoming text from Paulo.

  So tell me, what do you think of Hercules’s butt? And don’t tell me you didn’t notice.

  She was about to reply she didn’t know what he was talking about when Jim led her off the path to the Temple of the Republic and up close and personal to a weathered marble sculpture that was missing an arm and a head, but all the parts that defined him as male were very well in tact.

  Not his butt I’m looking at, she fired back.

  Behave! Both of you. We’re trying to work here! came the text from Jim, who only smiled at her and waved as she examined the anatomy of the statue thought to have been Hercules, and as she looked at the temple surrounds and the nearby Domus of Amor and Psyche, an idea began to form in her head.