Chapter 19: Chapter 19

And now I lie atop her, opening her thighs with my knees, then lowering myself to press against her, but not entering. I want to draw the moment out for both of us. My cock hardens further as I nudge at her without penetrating, a gentle torment that sends lust jabbing through my groin and draws a gasp from her. Her flesh is hot, and liquid and I savour the aching anticipation in shaft and balls, and the tremble of her body against mine.

Our bodies meeting at mouth and loins, my hand combing through hair which flares out over the pillow in a halo of copper, I want only that my Jade-Eyes knows she is loved, and wanted and, for what it is worth, forgiven.

“Please, Master. I want you inside me.”

She speaks with that emerald-eyed gaze that entranced me the first moment I saw her image, though I didn’t realise it at the time.

And, still spell-bound by her, I shift to ease inside her, her satin flesh enfolding mine….

…. As I slowly penetrate her, the knot in my gut, that lay there from the moment her tracer vanished on my screen, unravels and dissolves.

“Are you going to come?” I say quietly.

“I don’t think so, Master. But that’s alright, I just wanted to be with you.”

And I with you….

Her eyes locked on mine, so close, I see the detail of her irises. Her pupils are black circles ringed by green flecked with gold and copper. And as we move together, slowly, languidly, they turn glassy….

…. I think you will come for me….

“Master?”

“Mmm?”

“All the time I was…. away…. I was thinking about you… the two of you. I was doing what I had to, but all I wanted was to get back to you and Michael.”

“It’s alright. I know.”

But until she said it…. Did I know? Was I sure?

Her words pierce me and as, once more, I stoop to open my mouth over hers, my body jolts into a climax that is sweet and agonizing and exquisite….

And her name shudders from my lungs as I tighten and spill.

And under me, her hands clinging to my shoulders, she arches and cries out as her eyes glaze….

“Master….”

*****

Richard My phone buzzes.

“Hello, James. How is she now?”

“Much better. A good sleep has worked wonders. Would you and Beth like to come up when it’s convenient. She wants to talk to all of us together.”

“We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I sit together with Elizabeth, who keeps her fingers laced with mine. James is relaxed, a smile playing around his eyes as he sits by Charlotte.

Michael is otherwise. For a man who is normally warm and relaxed, he seems distant, almost disconnected. On the several occasions when I have seen him before with Charlotte in similar situations, he has been, as James phrased it, her anchor. Now he barely looks at her, and there’s a set to his jaw that I’ve not seen before.

Beth notices it too, eye-pointing me across to him. I quell her with a warning glance and a squeeze on her fingers.

Charlotte sits by James, but her glance repeatedly skitters across to her blond fiancé, who doesn’t return it.

Better do my bit in support….

“Charlotte, um, I know you have issues with James and Michael here, over what you did….” Michael awards me a cool look, which I ignore…. “…. And I can understand that entirely….” He looks away, his mouth tight. “…. But for myself, I am grateful beyond words for what you did. I’ll not forget it.”

Charlotte nods, giving me a small smile, but she’s not missed Michael’s reaction, her eyes following him.

I continue. “If you’re feeling up to it now, can you tell us more about what happened?”

James also flashes a look at his friend, his eyes disturbed….

Dissension in the ranks?

…. then turns his attention back. “Charlotte, you said there were some things you need to tell us? And we all need to know why you didn’t want us to speak to the police. Richard here wasn’t very happy when I told him that he couldn’t discuss with Will Stanton what was happening…”

She turns to me, apology in her voice. “I’m sorry about that, but Klempner knew too many things that he shouldn’t have…”

“Klempner? Who is Klempner?”

“Lawrence Klempner. There were others there, but he was in charge when Beth and I were captured. I recognised him from Blessingmoors.” She’s pale, fighting for her words….

Bad memories?

“…. He would visit sometimes, looking over the older kids, pointing out the ones he thought were…

interesting….” Suddenly, she seizes up.

A hint of softness finally shows in Michael’s eyes. He pours a glass of water from a jug, passing it to her. “Take your time, Charlotte.”

She gulps down a couple of swallows, then, “He said he wouldn’t have known me from the home, but….” She gulps more of the water. “He said he recognised me because I look like my mother.”

The mask finally falls from Michael’s face, to be replaced by shock, matching that in James’

expression. Elizabeth squeezes my fingers, but she doesn’t need to warn me.

I keep my tone bland. “Anything else?”

Charlotte looks tormented, her face pasty, with spots of colour burning on her cheeks. “He said.... he said that he… he ran her with the other whores….”

Yes, I did well to hold my silence….

“….and that it must run in the family, because I’d sold myself, and now I live with two men….”

James and Michael exchange a glance which she doesn’t seem to notice….

The words spilling from her now, she continues. “…. He holds some grudge against me. He said it was because of Jenkins, the man that died when he chased me. But it felt like there was more to it than that.”

Again, that warning squeeze from Elizabeth….

As if I needed it….

Irritably, I pull my fingers from hers, still keeping my voice neutral. “That must have been… upsetting…

for you.”

“Yes, but how did he know about the auction? And James and Michael?”

Very good questions….

Very good indeed….

“…. The only people who know things like that are either us or the police. They have my records….

And then later, he got a phone call…”

Her mouth is working. She swallows the last of the water, a tremor in her fingers as she raises it to her mouth. “I’m sorry, but could I have a glass of wine, please. This…. isn’t very easy…”

Michael nods, disappearing out of the room for a minute before returning with a bottle and glasses. He pours for all of us, but the last thing I want is alcohol. Charlotte again gulps, taking a couple of large swallows before she resumes.

She continues, “I persuaded him to leave Beth alone.…”

“Yes, Elizabeth told me about that. You convinced them she was worth more for ransom if they didn’t touch her….”

She must realise that Elizabeth has already told me a lot of this….

Her eyes roll and the points of colour on her cheek spread over her pale complexion.

Yes, she does….

“Sorry about that. It seemed the best thing to say…”

I try to ward off her embarrassment. “No apology needed, Charlotte. But they then put her in a separate room, and she thought that….”

I grind to a halt.