Hayley grinned wickedly. ‘I could show you a thing or two, Mallory. Um, I mean…god…deploy filter,’ she muttered to herself, tapping her temple, as Skandar laughed out loud. Hayley’s face was red. ‘You know what I mean.’ She waited until he’d stopped laughing and her face had returned to its usual color and heat. ‘What’s your kink rating, Skandar Mallory?’
Skandar, his mouth full of orange juice, had to swallow before answering. ‘We’re really talking about this, huh?’
Hayley shrugged. ‘Hey, look, I was brought up in a very sex-negative environment. It wasn’t until I got to college and read The Story of O and Anais Nin that I realized what a beautiful thing sex could be, almost like an art form.'
Skandar shifted uncomfortably, starting to get turned on. ‘Dude…you really into being pierced and led around by a chain in your hoo-ha?’
Hayley grinned. ‘Firstly, I’m impressed you’ve read O, and secondly, nope. But they did set something free in me.’
‘So, that being said, have you ‘connected’ with anyone who satisfied you like that?’
‘Oh, I haven’t slept with anybody yet, this is all just a theory.’ She said it so nonchalantly that it took a moment for him to process what she’d just said.
‘Wait, what? You’re…’
‘A virgin? Yep.’
‘Wow.’
‘Why ‘wow’?’
Skandar blinked at her. ‘Have you seen you?’
‘What do my looks, good or bad, have to do with it?’
Skandar didn’t answer her for a moment. ‘Nothing, I’m just…you talk about sex as if you’ve really thought about it…so why?’
‘I told you. I’m waiting to have that connection. And I have thought about it.’
Skandar smiled at her. ‘You are something special; you know that?'
Hayley’s eyes narrowed. ‘Mocking me?’
‘I swear, not at all. Impressed. Really impressed. I hope whoever you do decide to sleep with first, deserves you.’
‘Thank you. You didn’t answer my question.’
‘My kink?’ He smiled at her. The restaurant had emptied out now, so he felt more relaxed. ‘Well, okay. Let's start with my history. Cashed in my v-card at sixteen. Haven’t formed any lasting attachment – until Annika. That night was the best one of my life – my sex life. And, of course, the worst.' He felt hollow again. Hayley pushed the rest of her hot chocolate over to him.
‘It's only lukewarm now, but it helps, the sugar helps.'
He smiled at her gratefully. ‘Can we do this again?’
‘Of course. Anytime. Next time, how about we meet in a mall, get some pretzels and hang out like teenagers?’
‘You are a teenager.’
‘Only my body is. I’m actually forty-nine in maturity.’
He laughed. ‘I can believe that. And pretzels sound good.'
Skandar drive back into the city, feeling more relaxed than he had in weeks. Hayley Applebee was enchanting. That was the only word he could up with. And, damn, if she hadn’t turned him on with her brutal honesty about sex. A virgin at nineteen, these days? Alone now, he allowed himself a little fantasy about kissing that rose-bud mouth of hers, twisting his hands in her long hair, letting the fine blonde strands running through his fingers. He thought about the weight of her slender body on top of his, straddling him, her full pert breasts bouncing as she rode him…jesus, man, pull yourself together. You cannot fall for your dad’s girlfriend’s sister. God, that was way too complicated. Still, he felt lighter, almost high, a smile plastered on his face. At the turning for his grandfather’s place, he let the car drive past the entrance to the property, knowing where he really wanted to be. Home. His condo where all his stuff was. Yeah, there might be paparazzi, but it had been weeks – maybe they had better things to do now. If nothing else, he needed to grab some more clothes. With that in mind, he turned the car and drove into the city.
Hayley got home, and distracted, walked into Nan’s bedroom without knocking. ‘Hey, I…oh god…’
She turned around quickly at the sight of Joel Mallory orally pleasuring her gasping and moaning sister. Seeing her, Joel leaped up, off the bed, and Nan shrieked in shock.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’ Hayley made a dash for her bedroom and shut the door behind her. God, to unsee that. Luckily Joel had yet to remove his pants, so she was spared the sight of…Little Joel. Despite herself, she giggled but straightened her face when her sister knocked on the door.
‘Come in.’
Nan, scarlet, wrapped in her robe came to sit down on the bed.
Hayley waited a moment then asked 'Where's Joel?'
'Um, he left.'
'Okay.'
For a moment they avoided looking at each other, then Hayley could stand it no longer, and a laugh escaped. Nan stared at her in horror for a beat then her own face crumpled and soon they were both laughing hysterically.
‘Stop, stop, my insides hurt,' Nan pleaded after a while, and Hayley dragged some air in her lungs.
‘I’m really sorry, Nanny,’ Hayley said, using her childhood nickname for her sister. ‘I didn’t think.’ She smothered a grin and started to sing, ‘Skyrockets in flight, afternoon delight…’
Nan swiped playfully at her. ‘We thought you were out with Skandar all afternoon.’
Hayley looked at her watch. ‘It’s seven p.m.’
‘We may have got distracted. How was your date?’
Hayley got up to find some food. Nan followed her into the kitchen as Hayley grabbed a box of Pop Tarts. ‘Want one?' Nan nodded. ‘It wasn't a date; we're friends. It turns out I think we'll be good friends. So, mommy, you don’t have to worry.’
‘Not your mommy,’ muttered Nan but she smiled.
‘No, you’re not,’ Hayley suddenly grabbed her sister and hugged her, ‘You’re better than she ever was. Ever.’
Nan hugged her back. ‘You too, weird butt.’
‘Have not got a weird butt.’
‘Have too.’
Hayley gave up, laughing. She grabbed the pop tarts from the toaster, cursing as the hot sugar burned her fingers. She dropped one onto a plate and handed it to her sister.
‘How was Skandar?’
‘Fun,’ Hayley said, gingerly biting into her pastry, ‘I think he’s coming out of the slump. I wish they would hurry up and let him know where he stands. He needs to grieve that poor girl and get on with his life.’
Nan waved her into the living room. ‘Sit. I need to tell you what Joel said to me.'
Hayley grinned wickedly. ‘How could you hear? Wasn’t his voice muffled?’
‘Oh ha ha. Annoying brat. Anyway, here’s the thing…they think it might be tied the ex-partner of Jakob’s, the one who attacked Quilla. They seem to think he might be targeting all of the family as revenge.’
Hayley put her Pop Tart down. ‘Asshole. And they still don’t know where he might be?’
Nan shook her head. ‘He has unlimited funds to hide himself away with, plus Jakob thinks he was planning to usurp Jakob or the Mallorys for years. Getting Jakob hooked on drugs, weazling his way to the Board, positioning himself for a takeover. When Jakob fired him, he went insane – or was already halfway there. Gregor Fisk is a billionaire – and a corrupt one at that, he could literally pay anyone to do anything. Which is why the Mallory’s homes are like Fort Knox now.’
Hayley frowned. ‘Has he told Skandar any of this? Because him tipping up alone to meet me today probably wasn’t the wisest thing.’
‘Probably not, but hey, the guy has to live.’
Later, when Hayley crawled into bed and switched on her iPad, there was an email from Skandar.
Had a blast today, thank you. Let’s do it again very soon, deal? S.
She grinned, typed back. Deal, I had a great time too. Here for you whenever. H.
She sat back and thought about him. There was no doubting Skandar Mallory was drop dead gorgeous; his dark blonde hair cut short was never tidy, and she loved the undo
ne-ness of it - nothing less sexy than a young man who spends more time doing his hair than his girlfriend – his crooked grin, his little-boy swagger. She loved that when he smiled, his eyes would crease so much they would almost close. God. A small heat shot through her groin. Yeah, that smile could ruin a woman, and he damn well knows it too, she thought to herself. Do not fall for him.
Do not fall for Skandar Mallory…
He’d gotten away with it by the skin of his teeth, had to lose a couple of paps, but Skandar was home. Before he switched any lights on, he regretfully closed the drapes – with drones nowadays, even a condo as high up as this one could be spied on – but it shut out the view of the city that he loved so much. The place smelled dank and unlived in. He was used to leaving it for extended periods of time when he was on tour, but this seemed different. He walked around the place, trying to get the feel for it again. This had been his solace, his cave but now…
It's not the place that's changed; it's you, he thought to himself. The condo seemed empty, hell, his day seemed empty – without Hayley in it. Shit. He didn't want to complicate their friendship by having feelings for her; he really didn't. And after what had happened to Annika – he was gun shy and a little paranoid.
He took a shower and went to bed, logging on to see if Samadamadingdong was online. No dice. Damn. He could do with someone to talk about Hayley with. Hayley Applebee.
‘Virgin,’ he said out loud, shaking his head. He still couldn't believe it – but he did think she was telling the truth. He thought back to what she said and on a whim, downloaded Delta of Venus by Anais Nin to read in bed.
And when he went to sleep that night, he dreamed about Hayley Applebee in his arms, sweating, panting, crying out his name, and definitely no longer a virgin…
Quilla looked up from her paperwork as her boss turned off the lights in his office. Gerry smiled at her. ‘It’s after seven, Quilla, go home.’
She smiled, waved a wad of paper. ‘I will, just want to finish this before the weekend. Jakob’s coming for me in twenty minutes anyhow.’
‘Well, goodnight.’
The art department at the college was quiet in the evenings. Occasionally a student would pop by for supplies or to borrow some equipment and they would always stop and have a chat with Quilla. She was one of the most popular grad students to go to for advice.
Tonight, though, all was quiet. Good, I can concentrate, and then she groaned as her phone rang. I jinxed that, she shook her head ruefully and picked up the phone.
‘Hello?’
Nothing. She heard the line crackle.
‘Hey, I can’t hear you, so…’
‘Quilla.’
Her palms started to sweat. Gregor. ‘What the hell do you want?’
He laughed. ‘I’ll you that in a while. For now, I wanted to apologize for…hurting you.’
‘Hurt me? You stabbed me, you son of a bitch,' She was mad now, and her voice rose, ‘and you killed that tennis player, that poor girl. Why?’
His chuckle made her want to scream. ‘No, why would I want to do that?’ So fake – he wasn’t even trying to convince her. Bastard.
‘To set Skandar up, to punish the family, because of the pathetic psycho you are.’
‘You listen to me, you little whore,' he spat out suddenly, and Quilla's body started to tremble at the hatred in his voice. ‘You tell that boyfriend of yours that I will never stop until I've destroyed everything he loves. Everything and everyone. And Quilla?’
She didn’t answer him, her throat closed. She heard his breathing, hard and enraged.
‘Tell him soon, very soon. Because when I come for you next time, Quilla, I’ll make damn sure that you don’t survive my knife again.’
The line went dead. Quilla frozen, dropped the receiver onto the desk, heard the dial tone. She wasn't sure how long she stayed frozen like that, but it wasn't until Jakob came to get her that she moved. He took one look at her terrified, stricken face and dashed to her side, locking her into his arms.
‘What is it, darling? What is it?’
She mumbled something, and he smoothed the hair away from her face. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t catch that.’
She stared up at him. ‘I said he’s going to kill me…’
The police were kind, but Jakob could see their hopelessness. Gregor was in the wind. Quilla told them about her accusation that Gregor had killed Annika, was setting Skandar up. She saw them exchanging glances and desperately blurted out everything she could think of to help but eventually one of them calmed her down.
‘Miss Chen…it’s okay. Mr. Mallory came to us a few days ago with his theory, and in concert with the Italian police…well, we think it has some credence. Skandar Mallory should hear something in the next few days, but we can't for legal reasons confirm that yet. It’s entirely up to you whether you pass that information on to him.’
Later, Jakob and Quilla were in the bathtub, Quilla’s head rest back against his shoulder. The fear that had been roiling in Jakob’s gut since the phone call hadn’t abated and now, stroking his long fingers down her belly, he couldn’t help but picture her dead, stabbed not once but a hundred times, bled out in his arms, her lovely eyes staring and sightless for evermore.
Fuck. He squeezed his eyes shut. He should have told her about the messages earlier. He’d had to admit to receiving them when they were interviewed and the look of surprise, of betrayal on her face he would never forget. She hadn’t said anything to him about it afterward.
Now, they bathed in silence; he heard her sigh. Pressing his lips to her temple, he asked her if she was okay.
‘I’m mad.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Not at you, baby. At that asshole. For making me afraid again. Fuck, I'm so mad.’ She sat up and turned around to face him, straddling him. Not for the first time, he was struck by the beauty of her, her face, her breasts, and the way her belly curved out slightly as she sat on top of him. There was fury in her eyes. ‘Jakob, will you do something for me?’
He slid his hands onto her face. ‘Anything, anything.’
‘I need angry sex,’ she said, ‘I need to fuck and be fucked, hard. All night. In this tub, on the floor, against the wall. Fucking do what you want to me, just nail me right.'
At her words, he felt his cock respond, and she slipped her hands between his legs. ‘You’re so fucking beautiful,’ he growled and pulled her to him, kissing her until they both tasted blood.
She pulled and massaged his cock until it was pulsing with the desire to be inside her. Jakob lifted her so she could guide him in then with one furious thrust, she impaled herself on him, taking the long, thick length deep inside her, grabbing the back of his head with her hands to kiss him as they fucked. His cock drilled into her as she moved and he could feel the muscles in her cunt constrict and pull at him, sending glorious sensations through his body. He clamped his hands around her waist, his fingers biting into the soft flesh there.
‘When we get out of this tub,’ he growled as his lips found her throat, ‘I’m going to lick your pussy until you cannot stand it any longer then my fingers are going to go deep inside you as I fuck you in your perfect ass.’
Quilla moaned. ‘More.’ She slammed her hips onto him and threw her head back. Jacob molded her breasts in his hands, feeling the weight of them, stroking his thumbs over her nipples. He smiled at her. ‘You want more?’
He tumbled them out of the tub onto the floor and pressed her down on her stomach. Grabbing the belt from his robe, which hung on the door, he bound her hands behind her. ‘You like this, Quilla?’
She nodded, her breath quickening as he pushed her legs apart and eased into her ass. Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he began to thrust slowly, listening to her moan and say his name over and over.
‘You’re mine to do with what I like tonight, Quilla Chen.’
‘Always yours, always…’
They fucked until the sun came up, the rays of ligh
t streaming across their aching bodies as Jakob took her against the bedroom wall, holding her small frame easily as he slammed into her. His eyes were full of her; he could not get enough of this goddess in his arms. Finally, exhausted, they fell into bed, wrapped their arms around the other and slept. Neither of them noticed – again – the tiny camera that been planted in their bedroom for months now, watching them fuck and kiss and sleep.
The man watching the feed smiled as he watched them, marveled over the body of the woman, so curvy and ripe. He stared at the man, his old friend, his former partner and wondered to himself how he would feel when she was dead. He would soon find out…
This just in…all charges against Skandar Mallory have been dropped after the murder of Mallory’s girlfriend, Annika Hahn last month in Rome. Police are now satisfied that Miss Hahn, a former Wimbledon Juniors champion, was killed in a random act of violence by an unknown assailant sometime after leaving Mr. Mallory’s room on the seventeenth of the month. The Italian Police Association has offered an unequivocal apology to Mr. Mallory for the inconvenience caused and asked for anyone with any information to come forward…
‘Holy shit,’ Hayley said, shooting upright in her bed, and grabbing the remote. ‘Holy shit, holy shit.’ She turned the volume up and listened for a few seconds more before raising her arms above her head and whooping loudly. She muted the t.v. and grabbed her cell. Skandar’s line was busy. It clicked onto voicemail.
‘Yo dude, I just heard, God, I'm so happy for you, Skan, so, so happy…' She found herself choking up as the house phone started to ring. ‘I'll try and call you back in a few but…baby, you made it. You made it!'
Still half crying, half-laughing, she grabbed the house phone. ‘Hello?’
‘Get off your phone I’m trying to call you,' yelled an obviously deliriously happy Skandar, and she laughed through her tears.
‘I was trying to call you! It was just on the t.v. God, Skan…' she did cry then, and he laughed.
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