"Relax, he's not on Madison's list."
"If I don't speak with Charlie about Davina Cole, I don't see how you can find out a great deal about her. I trust him, Robyn."
"Fine, but I trust no one so keep your inquiries discrete."
Perhaps energized by my new partnership, and yet somehow dissatisfied with the way the date went, I flung open the passenger door and stepped out.
I was greeted by the warm soft autumn rain and felt it soothe my frazzled nerves.
Harry called after me, "You turn into a pumpkin come midnight?"
"Come again?"
"What's your hurry? We could go someplace..."
I shrugged. "Got to return these glass slippers."
"OK, Cinderella. See you around."
I sprinted for the building.
I let myself into the apartment. Low lights were on, but the place was empty. I assumed Mai had gone to bed.
I tiptoed down the long corridor in near darkness towards my room. Forty feet from my door I reached Mai's door. I paused to allow my eyes to adjust to the dark.
Her door was half open. Moonlight flickered across the room and crawled to the doorway, pausing at my feet. A strange low sound, followed by a series of high pitch gasps accompanied two shadows moving across on the bed.
I heard a low grunting sound from one shadow as it knelt behind the other. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized Mai was on all fours. Behind her, a man knelt and gripped her hips.
They were both facing me. I took a step back into the darkness.
Neither appeared to have noticed me. Mai began panting hard. She turned her head to look back over her shoulder at her lover's face. I couldn't make out his face in the darkness.
Mai moaned loudly. She gasped, "You're a bad boy. You want me to be your slave don't you?"
The man grunted.
I couldn't help but admire Mai's perfect physique as her breasts hung down in the moonlight. She caressed her face back and forth against the silk sheets.
"Bad boy make me do anything you want. You want me to go down on another girl don't you?"
The man grunted again.
She giggled. "Bad boy wants his slave to go girl on girl with my roomie Robyn? Want to watch? Want to spank me as I lick her out?"
My hand shot to my mouth as I stifled a sharp intake of breath. I needed to run back to my room, but my legs refused to move. I was frozen on the spot.
The man grunted harder, raised his hand and spanked Mai's ass.
Mai panted harder. "That's my bad boy. Anything for you."
The stranger reached under her and cupped her breasts. Caressing them both and sending Mai into spasms of ecstasy with each thrust. He pulled her hair and lifted her up straight into his arms. Nuzzled the nape of her neck and moved his lips in frenzied circles up and down her neck and shoulders.
Grinding on his manhood as she glided her body across his rippling stomach muscles and his taunt chest in a mesmerizing whirl of passion.
His hands never stopped moving across her body. Each caress seemed to expertly inflame Mai's pleasure. His fingertips could read her body's needs. He was a maestro and she was both his muse and his instrument. Playing her to perfection towards an inevitable climax.
But just as Mai was building up to explode with joy, he delayed her orgasm with exquisite control. He lifted Mai up by her hips and flipped her around so they were both positioned with their backs to me. He began thrusting into her, faster, harder.
I couldn't breathe. Did Mai know I was watching her? Was this performance all for my benefit? Surely she couldn't see me in the darkness?
Droplets of sweat on his powerful shoulders glistened in the moonlight. My eyes were transfixed. My legs quivered with tension. I clung to the far wall for support.
I felt a sweet and shameful stirring between my legs. My nipples ached for soft sensual lips.
I watched the sweat droplets trickle down the stranger's back and pool on his buttocks.
Mai and the stranger seemed in perfect unison. The union of two lovers very much in love and anticipating each other's sensual needs.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Caught in this unguarded moment of lust I imagined the stranger was Harry and that I was Mai.
My fingers slid up my legs and into my thong. My other hand cupped my nipples in slow circles.
The moonlight burst through the clouds. It was then I noticed the tattoo on the stranger's right buttock. It was the same symbol in Madison's journal.
The mask and two crossed swords.
Those buttocks clenched together as the thrusting motion became frantic and Mai arched her back. Crying out she buckled like a wild mare with her stallion.
He collapsed on top of her. It was then I saw the tiny bright crimson light like a devil's eye staring, at me. Then I realized it was a camera light. They were filming themselves and if they viewed the video at some point they might notice me half hidden in the background.
I forced my body against the far wall of the corridor before my knees collapsed beneath me. I slid slowly down the wall. On my hands and knees I crawled down the corridor to my room.
I collapsed on my bed and could finally breathe. I stared at the ceiling. Mai's orgasmic moans were still audible. Round two in the orgasmic games was clearly underway.
My mind raced with the sensual imagery of the two athletic lovers as I fought with the tension of knowing one or both of them was the key to Madison's murder.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I knew I was dreaming when sat in Harry's Mustang, turning to him from the passenger seat, only to see Madison driving.
There was so much I wanted to say to her, but I couldn't get my questions lined up.
Instead I asked, "Where are we going?"
She stamped on the gas pedal and the Mustang lurched forward. "You know where, Robyn."
I felt panic rising up inside me. "I don't know. Where are we going?"
She pointed through the windshield.
I glanced in the direction of her arm and realized she was gunning the car along the old wooden jetty.
I threw my hands at the wheel and tried to pull it around. Madison threw me back against my seat and aimed the Mustang at the lake.
As the car hurtled off the edge of the jetty, I screamed out, "No!"
The car hit the water and began to sink. I pulled at the door handle and it came away in my hands. I raised my legs to my chest and kicked out at the windshield.
It wouldn't yield. The car sank. Spiraling downward into a dark abyss.
"Help me, Madison. Help me, help us."
We kicked together and at last the windshield fell away. Water rushed in at us.
I kicked off the back of the seat and swam out onto the hood. I turned to reach for Madison. She was she sat in her seat, shaking her head.
"I can’t go with you," she cried as the icy water filled her lungs and the car spiraled downward.
I tried to swim after Madison, but the car vanished. The feeling of loss engulfed me as I screamed, "No!"
The lake reached inside me and filled my lungs with its icy fingers. I knew I was dying. But the worst of it was I was dying alone.
I woke up screaming in bed. As I slowly realized where I was, I felt the sweat pouring off me and onto the damp sheets.
I sat in tears until the dawn sunshine shook me to my senses. I ventured into the kitchen before my first lecture with Professor Davina Cole.
When I walked into the kitchen, the stranger from the night before sat with his back to me. He wore nothing but a small white towel around his waist.
At the stainless steel table he sipped coffee. On hearing me enter, he turned to face me.
My eyes widened. It was my hero from my first day. Brad.
His face broke into a smirk.
"Hey, Robyn. How you settling in?"
I avoided his eyes. "Fine, thanks."
He turned back to the view from the window. As I poured coffee, I heard Mai walk i
n behind me. "Robyn, you know Brad?"
"Um, yes, a little bit more than I anticipated after last night's athletics."
Mai giggled.
Brad returned his coffee cup to the table and stood. "Got a training session before lectures."
He left the kitchen.
Mai seemed agitated for a moment then her natural smile returned. She turned to me.
"We didn't hear you come home last night. So I guess the protection came in handy after all?"
I shrugged. "Nothing happened."
She seemed puzzled. "You mean he didn't get on his knees and beg to see you again?"
I shrugged again and made my excuses to go shower.
I turned to see Mai following me down the corridor.
She whispered, "Robyn, about last night."
I swallowed hard and held my breath.
"Thing is, Robyn, me and Brad."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Mean to what?"
"Oh, I... nothing."
"Thing is, Robyn, officially Brad's still seeing Charity. She has no idea. And if she did, well... she has a temper."
"I noticed."
"So when you see her, if you could act like you don't know anything, I'll be forever in your debt."
"When am I ever likely to see Charity again?"
"Are you kidding? After yesterday, she'll be all over you. You're her pet project."
"Her project?"
"To get you laid. It's all over her social media profiles. She thinks of it as a personal social service responsibility of the rich to help the poor. She calls it, giving back to the community."
I flushed hot. "Oh. So that's why she was so helpful yesterday?"
"She's gone all missionary over it, I'm afraid. But it was win, win, for you both, no?"
I sighed. "I'll be late."
I showered quickly, knowing I had to follow Brad. I returned to the kitchen and found Mai alone. Crying.
"Are you OK?"
She wiped her eyes and acted like nothing was wrong.
"Mai, you want me to call Brad?"
She shook her head. "He's got his fencing team practice."
"Fencing?"
"He's on the Olympic team. Epee, foil and saber."
"Impressive."
"That’s how we met."
"You fence?"
"I used to be on the team." She rubbed her wrist. "I was never quite the same after an injury. Charity won my place."
Tears welled up in her eyes again. "Brad spends more time with his team mates than he does with me. I hardly ever see him."
This gave me an idea. "Don't suppose you'd like to give me a lesson? At least you'd see Brad."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
So I blew off my first lecture with Professor Davina Cole for the chance to learn more about the elusive Brad.
Mai and I arrived at the spectacular state of the art building that was the Kublai Khan Center of Excellence for Sports Science.
As we changed into tight fitting white fencing uniforms, Mai eulogized about how exhilarating the new sports complex was. I didn't quite understand what she meant until we ventured out into the indoor sports arena.
The walls of the arena were glass and nothing more than a two feet high safety barrier. Beyond them were diving boards above pools.
I felt like I was floating on a lily pond. There seemed dotted about like lilies, a different giant glass bowl for each individual sport.
I took one step onto the floor and as I glanced downward, my stomach leapt into my mouth and my head began to swim.
The floor was entirely translucent. Mai explained it was some kind of state of the art high tensile strength glass. Below us, swimmers raced in lanes across an Olympic size pool.
Mai stroked my shoulder. "Don't look down and you'll be fine."
I nodded. Less than certain.
Mai pointed out Brad training on one of multiple strips some fourteen meters long and just two meters wide. Brad was dressed all in white, with a wire mesh and dark tinted Plexiglass mask.
"Who's the best?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Jason Drake is the reigning champion, but I think Brad has the edge."
Mai reeled off the male members of the fencing team using her own special and unique method of categorization.
"You're looking at seven sons of industrial magnets, six sons of bankers, five rock star brats, four crown princes, three sons of media billionaires, two political dynasties and a Hollywood mogul's offspring. How's that for stuffing your Christmas stocking?"
I stared at her with a slack jaw. "You forgot the partridge in a pear tree."
"What?"
"Never mind. What about the girl's team?"
"A variation on the theme."
"You're saying they inherit the world one day."
"You bet your cute ass, Robyn. They are the zero point one percent. The ruling class. When these boys sneeze somewhere in the world suffers an earthquake."
As we stretched, Mai pointed out the piste and explained that the last two meters of each end were hash-marked to warn each fencer they were about to go off piste and lose that point. There was a further two meters on each end designed as a run off. I resisted the lemming-like fascination with the edge and kept my eyes firmly on Brad's sculptured ass.
The piste was marked in the center with an en garde line. Brad stood apart from his opponent by four meters. They bowed to each other and saluted with their swords.
Mai began explaining the rules of a bout and how to score points, but I wasn't listening. Brad moved as graceful as a gazelle, skipping, bouncing, feinting, twisting his body into impossible angles and whipping his blade through the air as if he were fly-fishing on ice. His athleticism mesmerized me.
As he teetered on the edge of the danger zone, with his opponent pressing a deadly advantage, I couldn't help but recall the night before when Brad exerted his rippling muscles with equal skill and dexterity. And most of all, a passionate, animal intensity. No matter how good his opponent was for every thrust of the blade, there was an equal reaction, a parry and riposte.
I felt the return of last night's familiar shameful and moist stirrings between my legs.
He deflected the most furious attacks with consummate ease. It led me to wonder if Brad, with his masterful sense of control, anticipating every possible attack was indeed at the heart of the mystery of Madison's disappearance.
Brad won his match. Both fencers removed their masks. Brad's opponent was a tall, dark haired, square jawed young man with a small scar like a half moon beneath one eye.
They spotted us and both swaggered over to say Hello. This prompted other matches to spontaneously end as everyone wanted to meet Mai's new friend.
He took my hand, bowed and kissed it. "Drake, Jason Drake."
Before I could react to his smoothness, I was surrounded by athletic young men, laughing and joking, but beneath their veneer of comradeship I sensed they all shared an animal cunning and intensity that dwelt in their eyes. It was then I suspected I stood with the Knights of Kimberley. Now, all I had to do was infiltrate their court and learn their secrets.
Brad touched my shoulder. "We're having a Frat party tonight. How about you and Mai come?"
"Can she use a blade?"
"I turned to see Charity, dressed in a tight white fencing uniform and swishing a sword through the air. The tip of her blade just close enough to make me think she could take out one eye if I so much as breathed in her presence.
Brad growled, "Quit fooling around, Charity."
She tossed her hair over one shoulder and quickly tied it into a bun. "I have the right to vet your guests, don't I?"
He shrugged. "It's hardly one of your parents' swanky dinner parties. We only serve beer."
"Nevertheless, I reserve the right to see what potential invitees are made of."
She turned back to me. "I challenge you, my virgin cherry girl, to a duel."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I stood four meter
s away and facing Charity on our piste. Her epee sliced through the air with all the glee of a psychopath on a day release outing from her secure wing. Undeterred, I swished my blade in response. I nearly sliced off my nose and stopped to untangle the blade from my hair.
As Mai fixed a wire to the back of my silver lame jacket and connected it to the electronic scoring lights, she whispered in my ear. "Sorry about this."
"Why? It's not your fault."
Mai shrugged. "Actually it is."
I shot her a quizzical look.
"Charity suspects Brad is having an affair."
Suddenly I got her meaning. "She thinks I'm the one?"
Mai bit her lip. "You're ready. Just keep your distance when she charges you."
I made the mistake of glancing at the far end of the piste and the perilous drop into the pool below.
"What do you mean by charges at me?"
"You'll be fine."
Brad came over and checked my connection. "Charity offers her body too much."
"Your love life is none of my business."
"What? I'm saying she presents a target."
"Oh."
"It's a trick, Robyn. Don't fall for it. Force her to make the first move and then counter around the outside. She won't expect that. Also, her front foot is lazy. You can pick up easy points from her big toe."
He shot me a quizzical look. "Robyn, does any of that make any sense?"
I shrugged. "What are the rules, again?"
His eyes widened and he took a deep breath. "OK, Robyn. You take turns to poke each other with the pointy end of the sharp stick. One poke scores one point. I restart the fight after each successful score. First to fifteen. Got it?"
I nodded.
I glanced nervously at Charity. She shot me an evil look.
I turned back to Brad. "Why are you helping me?"
"Mai says you're keeping my secret. Thanks. Besides... Charity deserves everything that's coming to her."
Charity shouted over, "I haven't got all day to kick your ass, cherry girl."
Brad caught my trembling gaze and whispered, "This is your chance to break the habit."
"What habit?"
"Every time we meet, you end up getting wet."
He had no idea.
Brad winked at me and walked off piste.
Guilty Secrets (Campus Love and Murder Sorority Eyes Romance Book 1) Page 6