‘I just don't understand why they insist on increasing funding to support these initiatives,’ the man was saying, when he was interrupted by a waitress offering a refill of his third drink of the evening. Cassian took the opportunity to excuse himself and headed towards the bathroom, leaving the man in the company of an equally disinterested woman, dressed in white with a mask that made her look a bit like a chicken.
As he feigned his exit, he looked across to where the attractive girl was stood and found her again. Looking at her properly now, he saw that her mouth was ever so slightly asymmetric, her lip curling in one corner to form a smirk, and she looked smart and driven, he could see that she was holding the attention of the group that surrounded her and not purely because of her striking looks. Then he saw that a tall man, with a sharp haircut and a well fitted suit, wearing a mask which gave him the appearance of a crow, was leaning into her, his hand softly placed in the small of her back, pride clear in his expression as she spoke.
Cassian found himself drawn to her, like he had discovered the life of the party, or a flame in the darkness, so much so that he found he was staring, and then her eyes caught his and for a brief and intense second they both gazed at each other, and she faltered.
He looked away, embarrassed and continued heading for the toilets, unsure of what else to do. He wanted to look back, to catch her eye again and feel that connection, but he was too embarrassed to do so. Inside the toilets, he headed into one of the cubicles and stood inside awkwardly before remembering why he was here. As he relieved himself he kept replaying the look in the girls eyes back in his mind.
He flushed, turned and then opened the door and came out to see the red woman’s partner, the man in the crow mask, slowly washing his hands in the sink. Cassian froze. The man looked up and glanced at him in the mirror.
‘My wife’s quite the centre of attention,’ he said. He looked around and picked up a paper towel as Cassian recovered. He stepped up to the sink to wash his own hands, smiling politely.
‘My names Mark,’ said the man.
‘Cassian’, he replied as he grabbed a paper towel for himself and dried his fingers before taking Mark’s hand. ‘She certainly draws a crowd.’
Mark laughed softly and turned back to the mirror. ‘Are you married?’
‘Six years,’ said Cass. ‘How about you?’
Mark nodded his head.
‘Two,’ he said. ‘It's gone by in a flash.’
Cassian looked Mark up and down, he was built but not excessively, lean, powerful and rigid, his stature and poise were hard and his movements snapped, the haircut was the clue but the rest was the evidence.
‘You military?’
Mark smiled. ‘What gave it away?’
‘You don’t hide it well,’ said Cassian.
‘Ex. I work in protection now, mostly politicians, CEO’s, a few rock stars. Charming people. Salt of the earth. How about you?’
‘Is that how you met? You were her bodyguard?’
‘No, it’s almost as cliche though.’
Cassian laughed and turned as he began to make his way towards the door.
‘Come and meet her,’ said Mark. ‘I already caught you staring at her, you may as well come and get a proper look.’
Cassian faltered as he reached the exit and realised he’d stopped walking.
‘It's fine,’ laughed Mark. ‘She's gorgeous, it's hard not to stare. Come and say hello, she’d love to meet you.’
Mark gestured to the doorway, and Cassian, a little flustered pushed it open. The sound of the party rushed back and filled his senses once again. On the other side of the door was a throng of people shouting and dancing.
‘This way,’ said Mark, touching Cassian’s arm above the elbow to guide him. ‘She won't have moved whilst she still has an audience.’
Cassian followed, squeezing and sliding his way through the party guests, smiling to various masked men and women. As he moved he was looking out for Emilia, hoping to catch her eye and beckon her over and then he saw her near the bar.
‘Wait, I’m just going to get my wife.’
Mark turned and nodded, ‘Come on over to us when you’re ready.’
Cassian weaved his way to the bar and touched Emilia on the arm, she was in the middle of being accosted by a young lad of around twenty, who was excitedly telling her all about the latest developments in the world of robotics.
‘Sorry to interrupt, Em, but we’ve got a date.’
‘Oh?’ she said, confused.
Cassian leaned close and whispered in her ear, ‘Follow me.’
He took her by the hand and lead her through the throng of party-goers towards what Emilia could see was a stunningly beautiful red haired girl, not much taller than she was. Emilia found herself feeling a sensation she hadn’t felt in years, perhaps not since school. She didn’t know if it was the intensity of the party, or the thought of what may or may not happen later, or what Cassian had said about a date, but there was an unexpected spark of attraction towards this girl and she found herself desperately hoping that Cassian was taking her by the hand to meet her, and not someone else.
As the couple approached, the handsome and clean cut gentleman to the woman's right turned and smiled and Emilia felt a sudden rush of excitement.
‘Amy,’ said Mark. ‘There's someone I’d like you to meet. This is Cassian.’
Amy’s jewel-green eyes met Cassian’s and she smiled such a friendly and disarming smile that it seemed to make his embarrassment disappear into a gentle haze. She reached out her hand and he took it and softly shook.
‘Cassian,’ she said, stepping away from her audience with an apologetic look.
As she spoke she reached out and touched his arm, and then leaned in and whispered. ‘I’m so sorry, I asked my husband to head off and find someone normal for us to talk to, I hope you don’t mind.’
Cassian laughed, ‘It’s quite the event, isn’t it?’
He brought Emilia forward, who was now feeling so shy she feared that actual butterflies might escape her mouth if she opened it.
‘This is my wife, Emilia.’
Amy reached out a hand to her, and said. ‘Well you are stunning, no wonder you found yourself a handsome man like this.’
‘Thank you,’ managed Emilia, grinning like a school girl. She had to stop herself from chewing her hair.
‘So what brings you two here then?’ said Mark.
Emilia tried to keep herself from stuttering, but as Cassian began to speak, she managed to interrupt him and get a hold of herself.
‘My sister gave us the tickets,’ she said. ‘She works for Berkshire Radcliffe, but they sent her out to Germany this week and she wasn’t sure if she would make it back in time.’
‘What does she do?’
‘Corporate solicitor and accountant,’ said Emilia. ‘What do you guys do?’
‘I’m a struggling artist, and muscles here thinks he’s Kevin Costner.’
Emilia frowned and look confused, but Cassian stepped in.
‘Mark is a bodyguard.’
Emilia’s eyes widened. ‘What sort of artist are you?’
‘Oh gosh, sorry, he’s not my bodyguard. Mark and I are married, but he works as a bodyguard.’
‘Oh, I see,’ said Emilia, embarrassed by her mistake.
‘As for your question, I’m a shit artist, but Mark gets paid a silly amount of money, so I’m fortunate enough to spend my days exploring my creative side, although I'm starting to wonder if I have one. What about you two?’
‘Marketing,’ said Cassian.
‘I’m a physiotherapist.’
‘So how does a physiotherapist and a marketing guru meet?’ she laughed.
‘How does a bodyguard and an artist meet?’ said Emilia, not quite ready to share their story of meeting at the age of fourteen.
‘Touché,’ said Amy. ‘Fine, I’ll go first.’
She leaned in closer, so she could talk a little more quietly. ‘I was da
ting the lead singer of a rock band and Mark was leading his security detail. One night, Mr Rock Star got fucked up on cocaine and whiskey and beat the shit out of me. Mark stepped in, and I began questioning my life choices.’
‘Oh shit,’ said Emilia, stunned.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ said Cassian, taken aback.
‘And apparently, my life choices led me here,’ she swept her hand around the room and Emilia laughed.
‘So how did you end up with an invite?’ said Emilia, trying to divert the conversation.
’Through Mark’s company, his security team is working the event and they had spare tickets. Although I’m pretending that I’m a world famous but completely unheard of contemporary artist and that Mark is my elite bodyguard for the night. Mark, do the thing where you speak into your arm.’
Mark shook his head and laughed and then feigned looking serious, holding his wrist to his mouth. ’PPO-five to TFT, unauthorised members of the public in close proximity to priority one, request take down. Over.’
Amy smiled and bit her lip, ‘It turns me on more than I care to admit when he does that.’
Emilia let out a long slow breath in agreement, thankful for the mask which was hiding her blush. Amy reached out and touched her arm and laughed, then she took her hand and started pulling her towards the bar.
‘Come on, I like you, let’s go get some more drinks.’
As the girls disappeared into the crowd, Cassian turned to Mark.
’That wasn’t as cliche as I was expecting, sounds like you did a good thing.’
‘It worked out well for everyone, Mr Rock Star spent a little time in hospital, then a little time in jail, then a little time in rehab.’
‘I’m no closer to figuring out who he was. That describes an awful lot of rock stars.’
Mark laughed, but clearly he had no intention of revealing who his client had been.
A few minutes later the girls came back over, with two more drinks each, holding out soft drinks for the men and keeping cocktails for themselves.
‘So Emilia tells me you like to fuck her in the ass?’
‘What?’ said Cassian, turning to Emilia shocked.
‘What, I never said that?’ said Emilia, equally surprised and embarrassed.
‘But you have, haven’t you?’ laughed Amy. ‘Oh my god, you guys are not as vanilla as I thought. You are dirty.’
Mark rolled his eyes, ‘Sorry, two sips of Margherita and Amy loses all of her inhibitions.’
‘What else do you like, Emilia?’ she said, staring at her with her big probing, green eyes. ‘Do you like it from behind? What’s your favourite position?’
Emilia laughed, but she felt emboldened by her mask and Amy was exciting. ‘Reverse cowgirl and the jockey.’
‘Oh my goodness, I love the jockey. Mark get’s really deep when we do that, like he’s trying to fuck my cervix,’ she burst into loud laughter and drank another gulp of Margherita.
Mark was gently shaking his head, as Cassian looked on bemused.
Emilia leaned forward and loudly whispered, ‘I love it when he fingers my ass,’ which prompted Amy to almost spew Margherita in her face.
Cassian stepped forward now, and put his arm around his wife. ‘I think you’re getting carried away,’ he said, but Emilia shrugged him off.
‘Oh come on, Cass, let your hair down,’ she snapped.
‘Yes, let's dance!’ said Amy. She reached past Emilia, and to her surprise, Amy grabbed Cassian’s arm and pulled him into the crowd, and began to dance to the thumping bass line.
Emilia watched them as Amy started grinding and sliding up against her husband. She suddenly felt a little left out.
Mark’s hand appeared in front of her, and beckoned an invitation to dance with him.
‘Come on, it’s best to meet her at her level after she’s had a few,’ he smiled. ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’
Emilia took his hand and followed him over to where Cassian and Amy were dancing. Her husband looked more than a little intimated.
Now Amy turned her attention on Emilia, grabbing both her hands and twirling herself around, so Emilia’s palms were on her hips, then she slid up and down and moved her new friends wrists up and down her body, brushing past the edges of her breasts. Now she was pressing her ass into Emilia’s crotch and holding her arms across her chest, all in time to the music.
Emilia could feel herself getting more and more aroused. She had never felt like this with a girl before, but Amy was something else. It was as though she was enchanting her, casting some sort of spell. If any other girl had danced like this with her before, she would have felt uncomfortable and walked away, but with Amy it was thrilling.
There was a hint of jealousy too. Amy and Cassian had some sort of connection that she didn't understand yet. Either way she could feel herself getting wet.
As Amy spun round and into her again, Emilia buried her face into the girls hair and breathed in deeply, and found it to be intoxicating.
The foursome danced for another half an hour, before retiring to a nearby table for another round of refreshments.
‘This night is turning out far better than I thought it would,’ said Amy, sitting down lightly on Emilia’s lap. ‘You guys are so much fun, and damn, you can dance, Em.’
Emilia started stroking Amy’s thigh and nodding.
‘I think we’ve had a great time too,’ said Emilia. ‘Cass?’
‘I’m exhausted,’ said Cassian. ‘So, probably, yes.’
‘What time is it?’ said Amy.
‘Zero hundred hours,’ said Mark.
‘He means midnight,’ said Amy, turning slightly and putting her arms around Emilia as she sat dangling her legs. ‘And I think we’ll need to be heading off. My carriage turns into a pumpkin if I don’t.’
‘But Cinderella?’ said Emilia. ‘Will I ever see you again?’
‘Would you like to see me again?’
Emilia nodded.
‘Give me your phone,’ she said.
‘It’s in the car,’ said Emilia.
‘Oh shit, so’s mine. Fuck. You’ll just have to remember it,’ she said. ‘We weren’t even allowed to bring in a sodding pen. I know Mark looks like a badass, but he’s not Liam fucking Neeson.’
‘I could kill all three of you with a pen,’ said Mark.
‘Well that’s dark. Wait, do you have some lipstick?’
Emilia nodded and delved into her dress. ‘And I have pockets,’ she said grinning. After rummaging around she produced a small red lipstick.
Amy turned to face her, and then pushed the edge of the neckline of her dress to one side and wrote her number on the top of Emilia’s left breast.
‘Nice underwear,’ whispered Amy.
Emilia tried to control herself, but let out an involuntary shake and had to bite her lip as Amy wrote.
‘There,’ she said when she was done, tucking her new friends boob back into her dress. ‘Now you have my number,’ then she kissed Emilia on the cheek and sprung up into the air.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Take me home and spank me, I think I’ve been a little naughty this evening.’
She winked, and then they were leaving.
Emilia watched, a mixture of jealously, disappointment and excitement as they left.
There was a part of her that had wanted them to stay, and for them all to head to the after party together, but for some reason, whilst Emilia fancied them both, the idea of heading off to a room together and shagging didn't feel like enough now.
‘You okay?’ said Cassian.
Emilia turned to face him.
‘I guess,’ she said, nodding.
‘Do you want to stay?’
Emilia looked around at the other guests, some of them starting to leave, others hanging back.
‘Yes, I think so,’ she said. ‘We can stay for a bit maybe, and see what it's like?’
But something had changed inside her, something was different. She didn
't really understand what it was, but it felt new and exciting.
She turned and tried to look for Amy and Mark, but they had already gone.
*
As the crowd thinned, Emilia and Cassian began to realise that a thinner stream of party guests were gravitating towards the central staircase that led up to the upper floors of the cavernous mansion.
As they began to head over, Emilia started to wonder who lived here. She guessed that they must be involved in the party somehow, or perhaps it was owned by a family who hired it out to functions like this. She also wondered just how many people did this sort of thing every week. If her own sister might be here, she wondered who else in her circle of friends was into this lifestyle.
At the foot of the roped off staircase stood two men, dressed in sharp, well fitted dinner suits and wearing Venetian masks like all of the other men and women surrounding them. As each couple approached the stairs they were vetted and checked, before being allowed to ascend.
Emilia also noticed that only couples and single women were being allowed through. No single men were approaching the roped off concourse.
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ asked Cassian, pulling her to a stop and squeezing her hand with a kind firmness.
Emilia looked at him, then over at the staircase, biting her lip and frowning.
‘I don't know,’ she said. ‘But I don't want to regret not trying if we walk away now.’
Cassian nodded and then he pulled her in close to him, holding her against his chest and kissing her forehead.
As he pulled back, she looked up at him, staring deeply into his eyes.
‘Do you want this?’ she said.
Cassian nodded slowly. ‘One step at a time though,’ he said.
‘One step at a time,’ said Emilia.
She took his hand, squeezed it and then led him slowly toward the stairs.
As they approached, a stern looking man turned to greet them and Emilia noticed him appraising them quickly as they drew near.
‘Good evening, Mr and Mrs Black,’ he said.
Emilia’s eyes widened with surprise.
‘Do we know you?’ she said.
The man shook his head. ‘No, Mrs Black. We memorise the features of each of our guests before they arrive to ensure a personal welcome.’
Be With Us: An Urban Foursome Love Story (Erotic Swingers Book 1) Page 4