Amber’s stomach muscles bunched tightly as she fought to stop herself from climaxing. “And you think that’s enough to stop her loving David and fall for you?” she said, her voice shaking as Andrew’s naked body crouched over her and he pushed two fingers into her rear opening while at the same time letting a vibrator play over her tight stomach. “No, but it’s a start. You need more faith in my ability to get a woman I want,” he murmured. “Do you have a better plan?”
“God, I need to come,” said Amber breathlessly.
“I think this is turning out well,” murmured Andrew. “Perhaps a touch of the whip on the stomach now? Would that trigger an orgasm already, even in you?”
“I don’t know, just do it!” shouted Amber.
Andrew dropped the vibrator, and whipped Amber’s heaving belly hard before gripping her swollen breasts firmly in his hands and thrusting himself urgently into her.
Amber tried to get him off her, she hated it when he took over like this, but she was helpless to stop him, and the harder he thrust, moving against her bruised thighs, hands gripping her marked breasts, the closer she came to reaching her orgasm. Finally, with a scream of relief the pleasure flooded through her, and she tightened her muscles around Andrew, milking him hard even after he’d come, until he cried out with pain and withdrew rapidly.
“That was good,” she said after her breathing had calmed down. “It will test table three’s guest to the limit next month.”
Andrew padded off to the shower room.
“If Grace succeeds next month, she’ll want to challenge me, because she knows now that I’m her enemy. I saw it in her face last night. I felt it in the way her body reacted to my touch,” said Amber the moment he returned.
“Hardly surprising; you’re not exactly subtle,” Andrew pointed out, releasing her from the bed.
“Listen, if this so-called plan of yours fails, all you lose is the chance to move in on Grace. I could lose everything. Where would I go if David got rid of me? What could I do?”
“You could set up your own Club, with a similar theme. Be your own boss. That would suit your sexual preferences very well.”
“But I’d never see David again. We’ve been together for ten years now, and he does care for me.”
Andrew looked genuinely sad. “Surely you’re not in love with him? You of all people should have known better than to let that happen.”
She bit on her lip. “I didn’t mean it to, but it was impossible to keep totally detached and despite all the women he’s dated, he’s always ended up coming back to me. He told me he’d never find anyone else who matched him so perfectly.”
“But did he tell you that he loved you?”
“Of course not! I’ve already told you, David doesn’t fall in love.”
“Maybe he never has before, but Grace is different. He’s different when he’s with her too.”
“He nearly made her fail last night,” protested Amber.
“Yes, but in the end he helped her succeed. That’s when I knew how much she meant to him.”
“But you still want her?” Amber sounded desperate now.
“Yes, I want her and I think I’m half in love with her already. The irony is that I’ve never felt quite this way about a woman before, yet she’s in love with the only man I know who always gets what he wants and who’s also my closest friend.”
“Then fight for her,” Amber urged him. “If you fight for her as strongly as I’m going to fight to keep David, we won’t fail. Play to your strengths. You’re the polar opposite of David, and right now she’s probably torn between desire for him and her newfound sexual needs and fear of what a future with him might mean. You can satisfy her sexual desires but you’re less complex than David.
“Right now I’m sure she’s in a state of total confusion about what’s happening to her. I can tell she likes you, and with David out of the way these next three weeks are your best chance of success.”
Andrew nodded. “You’re right. It’s now or never for me. I’ll get things organized. We’ll leave that enema trial for another time.”
Amber watched him leave. She hoped he’d be successful, but if he failed, then she would need to have a fallback plan, to make it very difficult for Grace to take her place.
Thoughtfully, squeezing her still sore breasts to keep herself aroused for as long as possible, she began to watch all the film that they had of Grace from her first visit to the Dining Club.
* * *
At ten o’clock on the Friday night, Grace and Fran walked through the black doors of the King’s Head theater in Islington into the light and noise of the pub bar. As always the cramped pub was packed full of people, but Fran ruthlessly elbowed her way toward the fireplace as Grace collected the drinks they’d ordered in the interval.
To her surprise, by the time she’d been served and got through the crowd, Fran had found two seats at a table, which was nothing short of a miracle.
“How did you manage that?” she asked in astonishment.
“All thanks to this nice gentleman sitting beside me,” said Fran with a smirk that made it clear she fancied the nice “gentleman.”
Grace set their drinks down and settled herself in the remaining empty seat before looking at the man sitting next to Fran. “Andrew!” she exclaimed in astonishment, feeling the color rush to her cheeks.
Fran raised her eyebrows. “You two know each other?”
Andrew looked equally astonished. “Grace! How lovely to see you again!”
Grace didn’t think it was lovely at all. “Have you seen the play?” she asked, hoping they could talk about that so that Fran didn’t start trying to find out how they knew each other.
Andrew pulled a face. “No fear; I’m not a great fan of Shakespeare, and I don’t like The Winter’s Tale at all. I’m too old for fairy stories!”
“I love it,” said Fran. “Every time I see it I’m reminded of the power of jealousy to ruin even the strongest love.”
“I find the fact that it shows how even the closest male bond can be ruined by jealousy more interesting,” said Grace, directing her comment at Andrew.
“It’s only a play!” he responded, smiling at her, and despite her shock at seeing him, and a suspicion that it wasn’t a chance meeting, Grace couldn’t help smiling back.
He was so relaxed, and totally at ease in his surroundings. He was also even more handsome than she’d realized, and judging by the way Fran was hanging on his every word she hadn’t failed to notice that either.
Grace liked him a lot, but she couldn’t help worrying that for some reason David had sent him, although why he’d want her watched she couldn’t imagine, since he was the least jealous man she’d been out with.
“How do you two know each other?” Fran asked. “Clearly it’s not through work if you hate Shakespeare, Andrew.”
“Grace isn’t only interested in Shakespeare surely?” he asked, with a quick teasing glance across at her.
She felt herself tensing, remembering the last time he’d seen her and what she must have looked like as she struggled to reach that final elusive orgasm. “No, I like all theater, and I specialize in the work of new playwrights. Fran’s a playwright,” she said, trying desperately to push Fran in Andrew’s direction and distract him.
“Then how do you know each other?” persisted Fran, who was like a dog with a bone once she got hold of something, and it was plain she now thought she was onto something very interesting.
“We work out at the same club,” said Andrew.
Fran looked at Grace in astonishment. “You’ve joined a gym?”
“Yes, but I don’t think I’ll be going there much longer.”
“It was a special offer; one she couldn’t refuse!” laughed Andrew.
The three of them made desultory conversation for a few minutes, but when Andrew went up to the bar to get himself another drink, Fran began to gather up her things. “Don’t go!” protested Grace.
“Look, he c
learly fancies you and I’m not sitting here like a spare prick at a wedding. We can talk about the actress who played Hermione when we meet on Monday. You two have a nice evening. Does your financier lover know about him?” she added curiously.
“There’s nothing to know! We’re just friends.”
“Maybe, but he definitely wants to be a friend with benefits! Phone me over the weekend and tell me all about it. You’re certainly good at keeping secrets these days. You never talk about David and now up pops a handsome hunk with a body to die for!”
If she knew exactly how good she was at keeping secrets, Fran would be stunned thought Grace to herself.
“Where’s your friend gone?” asked Andrew when he got back.
“Home, she wanted an early night… Do you come to the King’s Head a lot?”
“Yes, I like the atmosphere.”
“I’ve never seen you here before, and I come at least once a month,” said Grace, still convinced he was only there because David had asked him to come.
“Maybe we’ve always come on different nights then. You don’t look very pleased to see me,” he added. “I’m quite hurt.”
He didn’t look hurt, because his eyes were dancing with amusement, and now that Fran had gone, Grace began to relax a little and reluctantly smiled back at him. “I was embarrassed. I didn’t know how I was going to explain knowing you.”
“I thought I did that quite neatly for you.”
“Yes, but now Fran will expect me to be super-fit!”
They both laughed, and for a time Andrew chatted in a way that Grace realized David never did, telling her amusing anecdotes about things that had happened to him. He made her feel attractive and amusing too, and when they left the pub together, with Andrew insisting he must see her safely back to her apartment, she noticed the look of envy in the eyes of several women in the pub.
She wasn’t surprised. His broad shoulders and powerful physique were emphasized tonight by his tight-fitting jeans and short-sleeved shirt. His thick, dark hair was as tousled as always, and again she was struck by how easy he’d be to cast if he were an actor. He’d certainly attract a huge fan base, and if she weren’t in love with David she knew that she’d be enjoying his attention this evening.
“What are you thinking?” he asked as they waited for the next tube train.
“That you’d be a great hit with the women if you were an actor.”
“Maybe a career change is called for!” he said with a laugh.
“Tell me what you were thinking,” said Grace.
“That David isn’t being fair to you,” he said quietly, just as the train appeared out of the tunnel.
Shocked to the core, Grace didn’t speak at all during the journey. On the short walk from the underground to her apartment, she still felt too shaken to make conversation, and when they stopped at her front door she didn’t know what to do or say.
Andrew put his hands gently on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that, but it upsets me. I know he’s my friend, but I care about you Grace, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“He’s not hurting me,” she protested. “The Dining Club has made a huge difference to my life, a positive difference, and it’s brought us closer together as well. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but the fact is that I love David and I want to be part of his life, all of his life.”
“I know you do, that’s why I think you need to hear what I’ve got to say.”
Grace hesitated. She didn’t know what to do. She liked Andrew, and felt instinctively he could be trusted to speak the truth. If he wasn’t there on David’s behalf, and she didn’t think David would need to test her loyalty like this after their sessions at the Dining Club, then obviously Andrew was genuinely worried about her. On the other hand, having seen the play tonight, the power of jealousy was still fresh in her mind.
“At least hear me out, Grace,” said Andrew urgently. “If you don’t believe what I tell you, or it doesn’t make any difference, then no harm’s been done. If you do believe me, then you can make an informed decision about any future with David. All I’m asking is that you hear me out, for your own sake.”
Still Grace hesitated. A part of her didn’t want to let Andrew inside the front door, and didn’t want to hear what he had to say. But, and she was honest enough to realize this, that was only because she already had some subconscious doubts after the last weekend, and was terrified that Andrew was now going to prove them right.
For a few more seconds Grace waited. “All right, you’d better come in,” she said at last, turning her key in the lock but hoping against hope that what he was about to tell her didn’t mean that she would never return to the Club with David again.
Once in the apartment she turned to face him. “Right, you’d better tell me what it is that you think I need to know.”
Look for
Caress
Part Six of The Dining Club
About the Author
Marina Anderson is the pseudonym of a British author. Her novels have sold over half a million copies worldwide and she is a Sunday Times bestseller.
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