Turning Up the Heat

by Ashley Lister

  She rested, on her knees, with her shoulder slumped against the corner post and her backside blazing. She could feel the sticky rivulets of her excitement trailing down her inner thighs. She didn’t think her body could cope with any more pleasure this evening.

  Bill walked over and unclipped the cuffs so her hands were free from the bedpost. She was about to thank him and tell him what a relief it was when he fastened her wrists behind her back.

  She was still on the floor, kneeling before him, and he chose that moment to slip the erection from his trousers.

  He was large, swollen, and she had to lick her lips to stop herself drooling. She pushed her head towards him, desperate to run her tongue along his length. Bill grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back.

  She gasped.

  With her mouth open he pushed the end of his hardness between her lips.

  She moaned around him. She could taste the flavour of his excitement and knew he was already close to his own climax. Sucking and licking him, she tried her best to devour him with kisses.

  She held him in her mouth and suckled on him. She worked her mouth back and forth along his shaft. She continued until she knew that he wouldn’t be able to resist the surge of his climax.

  Between sucking and licking and swallowing the taste of him, Trudy kept him in her mouth. She savoured the richness of his flavour and revelled in the sensation of his pulse beating at a quickening pace against her tongue. When he finally climaxed in her mouth, Trudy swallowed and swallowed and swallowed.

  * * *

  Afterwards they both lay on the four-poster bed. Bill had unfastened the spreader-bar and she was able to curl against him and drink in the fragrance of his perspiration and the memory of his cologne.

  She placed a hand on his chest, relishing the sensation of his heartbeat beneath her fingers. She felt weary. It had been an incredibly long day. But she knew there were still things that they needed to discuss.

  Trudy wanted to ask his advice about what had happened with Charlotte. She had upset her best friend and caused so much offence Charlotte hadn’t even been able to talk to her. Trudy also wanted to know if Bill had any thoughts about how they could deal with Donny. Most importantly, she wanted to know why he had bought her the flowers and then suggested that they needed to talk. She supposed, if she was honest, that was the one issue that she wanted to get resolved this evening.

  Noticing the readout on the digital clock that said it was close to three in the morning, she doubted there would be time to discuss all of those issues.

  Bill absently stroked the bare flesh of her shoulder.

  Watching him she said, ‘What did you want to talk about?’

  A troubled frown crossed his face. He brushed it off with a shake of his head. ‘Not tonight,’ he said. ‘You’re tired and we’ve just made love. It’s not the right time.’

  Made love, she thought tenderly. Was that what they’d been doing? She thought he’d been leaving bruises on her bare backside. She liked the idea that they’d been making love. It confirmed the idea that he did have feelings for her.

  ‘You made it sound important,’ she told him.

  He nodded. ‘It is important. But we’re both tired this evening and I want you to hear exactly what I’m saying.’

  Reluctantly, she nodded. She wasn’t happy that she’d have to wait until the morning but, given that her eyes kept closing involuntarily, it was probably best to do so.

  ‘Did you speak with Imogen?’

  ‘I did,’ he admitted. ‘Imogen is going to be working full-time at the restaurant from now on.’

  She smiled sleepily. ‘That’s wonderful news.’

  ‘She stayed behind this evening and we ended up talking and talking.’

  ‘Thank you for that,’ Trudy said tiredly.

  She didn’t hear if he said anything in reply. That was the point when exhaustion overtook her and Trudy finally fell asleep.

  Chapter 25

  Trudy awoke in a fighting mood. Today, she told herself, would be the day when she resolved all of her problems. She would find out what Bill needed to talk about. Good news or bad news, she would deal with it and move on. They were a couple and that was what couples did.

  She would also make a reconciliation with Charlotte. That she had upset her friend so badly the previous evening was maddening and distressing. Trudy loved Charlotte and the thought that she had hurt her caused genuine pain. She had been wrong to think Charlotte was again seeing Donny and she needed to apologise and do whatever was necessary to show her friend that she was repentant.

  The most important item on her to-do list, the one she vowed to clear by the end of the day, was her personal promise to sort out Donny. Trudy had no idea how she was going to deal with that item but, she figured, addressing the situation was long overdue.

  Her agenda sounded like a long list of tasks, but she knew she wasn’t going to make any progress towards accomplishing her goals unless she was resolved to do these things.

  She hurried out of bed and dressed in her darkest running clothes. After packing her bag with two isotonic drinks and a pair of muffins she went out to meet Charlotte.

  The morning was crisp. The approach of winter was now more than a promise in the air. The trees were shedding their leaves to a crunchy carpet underfoot. Her breath lingered in small rainclouds whenever she exhaled.

  The music was loud but she was unhappy with the way the random selection on her phone had shuffled tracks. Kenny Loggins sang ‘Danger Zone’, followed by Alice Cooper with ‘Poison’ and then it was Meredith Brooks singing ‘Bitch’. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with any of the songs. She loved each of them, which was why they were in her playlist of power ballads for jogging. But, linked together, the titles sounded uncannily like some twisted harbinger of doom. When the fourth track turned out to be Richard Marx singing ‘Hazard’, she switched the music off and ran in silence.

  Goosebumps prickled on the backs of her arms. She told herself it was a reaction to the cold and not a nervous response.

  It was good to listen to her own hurried breathing and the rapid pounding of her heartbeat. It was good to be back into the regime of running. She also thought it would be good to start dealing with all the problems that had recently been making her life so troublesome and complicated. She welcomed the chance to start crossing them off her list.

  There was no sign of Charlotte outside the university.

  Trudy spent twenty minutes outside the campus, stretching, sipping an isotonic drink and checking her watch. She checked her phone, just in case Charlotte had sent a message to say that she wouldn’t be out running this morning.

  There was no message from her friend.

  She continued stretching and drinking and checking the misty shadows of the roads. All the time she was wishing that Charlotte would appear. As soon as she saw her friend’s silhouette hurrying through the mist, Trudy knew she would embrace her and apologise and hold her until Charlotte accepted the apology.

  Charlotte didn’t show.

  Weary, Trudy jogged back to Bill’s cottage, showered and changed into work clothes. It would have been nice to wake Bill with breakfast and perhaps some kinky play as an extension of the night before. If he had been awake she guessed there would also have been an opportunity for him to say what had been on his mind yesterday. Whatever it was, it had been important enough for him to intimate that they needed to sit down and have a lengthy and serious conversation. But Bill remained fast asleep and she reasoned there would be time to have that all-important discussion when she returned from a day working at Sweet Temptation.

  Dressed in jeans and flats, she left the cottage and headed to HQ.

  She arrived at the doors just as Daryl was unlocking the premises. It was a relief to see a familiar face and Trudy tried not to make her smile look too wide or needy as they exchanged ‘good morning’s.

  ‘You’re here early,’ Daryl observed.

  ‘You ha
d a go at me the other day for not getting into work early enough.’

  ‘You could at least try to be consistent,’ Daryl grumbled.

  She was wearing a cobalt-blue dress with black heels. It clung to her hips as though it had been cut from silk. Trudy couldn’t decide if Daryl hadn’t managed to make it home last night and was still in the same clothes she’d worn for a date the previous evening, or if this was another example of her unconventional over-the-top dress sense.

  Once the door was unlocked, Daryl shouldered her way into the building.

  Even though it had been unused overnight, the bakery still smelled of freshly baked pastries. For the first time since she’d been working at the Sweet Temptation offices, the smell didn’t make Trudy smile.

  ‘Where’s Charlotte?’ Trudy asked.

  ‘Charlotte’s pissed at you.’

  Trudy sighed. ‘I know. I guess she’s got every right to be pissed at me.’

  ‘What were you thinking?’

  ‘I asked her last night if she was seeing Donny.’

  Daryl nodded as though she already knew this. ‘Charlotte’s still trying to put that episode behind her. Surely you didn’t really think –’

  ‘I know,’ Trudy admitted. ‘But the idea was in my head and I had to ask.’

  Daryl shrugged. ‘There were other ways to find that out.’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘You could have asked me.’

  Trudy rolled her eyes. ‘How the hell would you know if Charlotte was seeing Donny?’

  ‘I’d know because I’m currently living at Eldorado. Charlotte’s let me have Donny’s old room.’

  Trudy blinked. The answer did make perfect sense. ‘I’d forgotten that.’

  ‘I know exactly who she’s seeing,’ Daryl told her. ‘And I also know why she’s not telling you anything about him.’

  ‘This isn’t what you said the other day,’ Trudy reminded her. ‘When you were driving me down to the radio station you said you knew nothing about him.’

  ‘I said Charlotte’s keeping him a big secret,’ Daryl corrected. ‘I didn’t say I knew nothing about him. I know quite a lot about him.’

  ‘Who is he?’

  ‘I’m not telling you,’ Daryl said firmly. ‘She made me promise not to say anything and I’m staying true to my word.’ She paused and lowered her voice. Beckoning Trudy closer she whispered, ‘I will tell you one thing about him.’

  Trudy leaned closer. ‘What?’

  ‘It’s not Donny.’

  Vexed, Trudy gritted her teeth. ‘Does this mean Charlotte’s not coming in today?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Daryl admitted. She had picked up the mail from behind the entrance doors and was thumbing through the envelopes. She dropped the stash of papers on the reception desk and then walked over to the reception’s kitchen area. Glancing at Trudy she said, ‘I do know we could certainly use another pair of hands here today. Could you spare a couple of hours to work reception?’

  Daryl explained that she was trying to train a couple of replacement members of staff, to cover those days when she would be working as Trudy’s PA. ‘I need to introduce one of them to the payroll software and the other one needs to learn about our HR procedures.’

  ‘Sure.’

  Trudy liked the idea of being on the reception desk. That would mean that, as soon as Charlotte entered the building, Trudy would be able to catch hold of her and repeatedly apologise until Charlotte accepted that she was sorry.

  Daryl asked about the filming of Master Baker and Trudy explained that it had been a lot of fun. She told her about the excitement of being on TV and the thrill of standing alongside celebrities she watched regularly. She showed off her new hairstyle and explained how she had been given the deciding vote as to which contestant went through to the final rounds.

  If she had been talking to anyone else, Trudy knew she would have been scorned for sounding so much like a besotted fangirl. But Daryl was addicted to Master Baker and Trudy felt certain she would understand that the whole evening had been a genuinely exciting experience.

  The reception phone rang.

  Daryl held up a hand to interrupt Trudy as she took the call.

  ‘Yes, Mr Walker,’ she said calmly. ‘Trudy is here.’ She placed a hand over the receiver and said, ‘It’s your agent, Harvey. Do you want to take this here or up in your office?’

  Trudy pointed towards her office in the mezzanine and promised she’d be back down to the reception desk once she’d finished with Harvey. She scurried up the stairs, settled herself into the comfort of her familiar old office chair and took his call on speaker phone while her laptop booted.

  ‘Good morning, Harvey,’ she said cheerfully. ‘How are you today?’

  ‘I’m just listening to your voice on the radio,’ Harvey growled. ‘Why the hell didn’t you consult me before giving out a press statement? Aren’t I supposed to be your agent? Didn’t I tell you that you could call me anytime? Please don’t tell me you thought it was too late.’

  Trudy didn’t understand what he was saying.

  ‘I haven’t given out a press statement,’ she told him.

  In the background she could hear her own voice speaking softly and firmly.

  ‘Most of the fast-food chains I’ve visited know how to make something that satisfies the customer’s needs. As a chef, I respect that ability in any restaurant. That’s why I was sitting in that fast-food diner.’

  When understanding came to her she said, ‘That wasn’t a press statement, Harvey. That was just me talking with Kevin at the radio station.’

  ‘That wasn’t a press statement,’ he repeated. ‘That was just you talking to the press.’ She could hear him sigh with frustration on the other end of the line.

  ‘You know what I mean, Harvey. Kevin’s not the press.’

  ‘We’ll discuss this later today,’ Harvey told her. She could hear the barely concealed anger in his tone. ‘In the meantime,’ he went on, ‘and following on from what you said about fast-food diners: how do you feel about product endorsement?’

  She hesitated for an instant. The questions were being fired too quickly.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘It means some company pays you a silly amount of money for having your name associated with their product.’

  He sounded grumpy and tired and Trudy figured she was part of the reason for his weariness. She had been offending too many people over the past few days. She couldn’t afford to upset someone as important to her career as Harvey.

  ‘It goes without saying,’ he went on, ‘I’d advise you to consider this one favourably because I’m on a commission of twenty per cent.’

  OK, she thought. She now understood the concept of product endorsement.

  ‘What product? Which company?’

  ‘The burger bar you defended last night when you weren’t giving a press statement: they want to be associated with your name.’

  She tried not to bristle at his sarcasm. She felt sure it was deserved.

  ‘I’m not endorsing that product,’ she said quickly. ‘That’s a definite no.’

  ‘Are you sure? It’s a lot of money that they’re offering.’

  ‘I’m already associated with Sweet Temptation and Boui-Boui,’ she reminded him. ‘I don’t think it would be wise for me to be linked with a burger bar too.’

  ‘I agree,’ Harvey said. ‘But it was a large amount of money so I figured you’d want to know about it.’

  She thanked him and said, ‘If the burger bar are interested, Sweet Temptation can supply them with a range of high-quality gourmet desserts for all their UK branches.’

  ‘I’ll see what they say,’ Harvey told her.

  He severed the connection. She noticed that there was no kind word before the end of the call. She figured he was very annoyed with her.

  Trudy spent the day working behind the reception desk at HQ. She took messages and orders through to the shop
floor. She helped out with orders, preparation and packaging when she was needed. Throughout the day she refused to let herself shirk any responsibility.

  She was surprised by how busy the factory was and dearly wished Charlotte had been there so they could work together and she could find a way to make amends for her ill-advised accusation of the previous night. But, as the day progressed, there was no sign of her, and Trudy could feel herself gnawed by guilt.

  By the time most of the factory staff had clocked off for the evening Trudy was exhausted from rushing up and down the stairs to the mezzanine. The fragrance of toasted sugars and cinnamon spices filled the air. A couple of the factory workers were talking about Master Baker and arguing about whether Kelly White would be returning. Trudy didn’t bother joining their conversation. She was finding it difficult not to yawn as she worked her way through the computer file she’d been building. She was close to collating the remainder of the recipes she’d worked on while she was studying. It was a substantial file, and, if Harvey still wanted a recipe book from her, this collection would be a great place to start.

  Daryl passed a call from Imogen through to her. Trudy answered it straightaway. ‘Imogen?’

  ‘Where are you, Trudy?’

  ‘I’m in my office at Sweet Temptation. Why?’

  ‘You ought to be down at Boui-Boui. It looks like Dad’s got something special planned here. More importantly, I wanted to see you so I could say thank you.’

  ‘Why do you want to thank me?’

  ‘For getting me a job here,’ Imogen explained. ‘And for making that grumpy old pillock see sense about his daughter and his grandson.’

  Trudy laughed softly.

  ‘What do you mean when you say he’s got something special planned?’

  ‘I assumed you knew about it,’ Imogen said. ‘I hope I haven’t spoilt a surprise.’

  ‘I don’t think you have,’ Trudy told her. ‘Does it look like I’m expected?’

  ‘Your friend Charlotte is here,’ Imogen said, ‘so I assumed you’d be here as well. In truth, I assumed you knew all about it. I’m worried now in case it was meant to be a secret.’