by Sam Hall
“Now I’ve got the taste of you,” he said. “That’ll have to be enough until tonight.”
“It’s not enough,” I said as I felt the ache twist inside me. “It’s really, really not enough.” I grabbed at him, but he just stepped free of me and winked.
“Later,” he said, turning to the door, and then looked back over his shoulder. “And none of that,” he said, as my hand slid between my legs. “I want you so fucking ripe, it’ll take only a few flicks of my tongue to make you come, and then I want to keep on licking until you come again.”
I threw a pillow at the door as he walked out, shutting it behind him. I’d thought the hardest thing tonight was going to be finding artsy ways to show a band getting laid, when it turned out, getting some for myself was going to be the biggest challenge.
11
I kicked my heels as I sat in the makeup chair.
“Very still,” Marlow said, leaning over with an eyeliner pen in his hand.
I stuck my finger up at him. We’d been at this for over an hour. A quick application of makeup turned into a full makeover, complete with a wash and style of my hair.
“Ooh,” he said with a smile and a wink. “How quickly they turn from grateful to nasty. Now sit still, or instead of winged eyeliner, you’ll end up with something like this on your face.”
He shoved a finger under his sleeve, revealing those hieroglyphic tattoos for a moment. He grinned when my eyes lingered, then bent down. I closed them, didn’t move, and felt the next application of the mask.
“What the hell am I going to do once I start taking photos?” I said after he had pulled back and made me wait until the eyeliner dried. “This gunk will get all over my camera.”
“Worried about that, are you? Rather than admiring what I’ve done?” He shifted so he was standing behind my shoulder. “Look at yourself.”
“I am!”
“No, seriously. Stop, take a breath, and look.”
“Do it, Ki,” Jen said, looking over from her chair, then she grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
I wasn’t sure about most other women, but it wasn’t something I liked to do that often. What I saw in the glass was rarely a reflection of the sense of me I carried with me. What did the shape of my eyes or the tumble of my hair have to do with who I was? But I sighed and did as they asked.
I’d been disappointed to hear I wasn’t going to wear an actual mask. I’d kinda relied on that to get me through tonight, but I needn’t have worried.
My hair had been styled to look unstyled. You know, that effortlessly wavy tousle shampoo spokesmodels always seem to sport—looking wild and unfettered, yet perfectly put together. But that was nothing compared to what they’d done to my face.
“You love it?” Jen said, swivelling around in her chair, much to the consternation of her makeup artist. “Please tell me you love it. You look so bloody gorgeous!”
I leant forward, needing to see the reflection move when I did, to reassure myself that it was me I was looking at. Jen had said Marlow was a genius, and I saw the evidence of it now. Marlow had taken the raw material of me and bundled her up behind a more subtle mask. He’d managed to smooth my admittedly reasonable skin to porcelain-like perfection with a dizzying array of concealers and bronzers and highlighters, but it was my eyes, transformed and almost hidden in a veil of smoky grey eyeshadow, that had me transfixed. My hand went up to touch my face, but he grabbed my hand and stopped me.
“Can’t touch the mask,” he said with a knowing look. “It’ll start to slip soon enough, no need to help it along. Now, some finishing spray to prolong the illusion.” I shut my eyes as he spritzed my face, and didn’t open them until he said I could. “Alright, time to get Cinderella to the ball. Come on, love. I’ve got to get you and a million others dressed before this whole bloody thing explodes.”
“What about you?” I said, taking his hand, then Jen joined us not long afterwards. “Or are you strictly backstage?”
“No backstage here, my love. No rules, no out of bounds, no little man behind the curtain. Tonight, it’s all out there on display. Everything.”
“So what will you be wearing?”
“Snakeskin,” he said with a wink as we wove our way through the masses of milling staff. “Always got to be a serpent at the centre of the Garden.”
“To tempt the humans?”
“To tempt everyone.”
“Come on!” Jen said, dragging me into a run up the hallway to her room and mine beside it. I laughed and went along with it, feeling like the kids we’d been when we first met. Initially, I’d been daunted by this place, but she’d soon broke me of that. I pulled up short when we reached her door, as there were two men standing there in leather kilts, bovver boots, and nothing else. Jen looked back at me when I stopped short, her perfectly pencilled brows frowning for a second before a sly smile spread across her face. She looked at Paulie and Mark, standing there with those truly impressive biceps flexed as their arms were folded across their chests, then back at me.
“Oh, this is just too delicious,” she giggled. The guys stepped back to let her open her room. “Paulie, you’re with me. I’ll need someone to zip me up. So will you, Ki darling.”
I just stood outside the room I usually slept in, holding the garment bag in one hand and the sequined Chuck Taylor’s in the other. Mark looked at me, his stoic expression unreadable, which just made him look hotter as I looked back at him.
“C’mon,” he said finally, opening the door for me. “Let’s get this over and done with.”
Not something a woman wants to hear just before a big event, especially after she’s spent an hour in the makeup chair. Kira, you look lovely, would have been nice, or even a little stumble as he fought to take a breath, struck dumb by my loveliness. But slightly scowly? Not so much. I jumped when he shut the door, then just stood there when he turned to face me. His arms crossed at his chest again, and he stared down at me as if he expected…what? For me to strip down and get in my dress before him? I knew getting naked might be on the table later, though that seemed less certain with every second he stared. But right now…
He’s changed his mind, I thought. That had happened a few times, and it always stung more than any other kind of rejection, though none was fun. One minute, you’re having a great time, both flirting and responding to each other, and then… He’s ducked out of the pub when he said he was going to the loo or ghosts you when he said he was going to call. I took a deep breath, moved over to the bed, and tossed the dress and shoes on it before taking the camera bag off over my head.
“Look, it’s cool,” I said. “You don’t need to do this. Jen was just teasing, or maybe something else on her part, as she did take Paulie in her room with her. But this, you don’t need to do. There’s a trick you can do with zippers and an old coat hanger, or I’ll just call her in here. You can go and…do whatever guardy thing it is you do.”
He let out a long breath, his hands falling to his side and clenching into fists, then his head twisted to one side.
“Or…not,” I said, edging away, because I didn’t know what the fuck was going on.
“Just…stop…talking.”
He ground the words out, his face like thunder.
“Um…OK,” I said, frowning myself now and feeling the tightness in my face as I did so. Don’t dislodge the mask, I thought. It’s all you’ve got to get yourself through this.
My phone buzzed, and I fished it out. A few messages had popped up while I was sleeping and then getting tizzed up, several from Johnno.
Where you at, camera girl? Wanna document the pre-show? read the most recent one.
Yes, yes I did. Anything to get the fuck away from whatever aberration this was. I wasn’t sure if this was some really elaborate letdown or whatever, but big, tall and cranky looking wasn’t on my required list to shoot. So I was gonna frock up and flounce on out of here, even if he had changed his mind about seeing what else of me he could taste.
�
��Well,” I said, waving my phone in his face. “I’ve got to get this stupid bloody dress on and pretend that wearing this shit is entirely natural for me, while completing a job I feel singularly unprepared for and completely overconfident about by turns. So can you go outside, turn around, or at least close your fucking eyes so I can do this?” I said.
He didn’t reply, just looked at me with that selfsame shitty expression, so I huffed out a sigh and turned around. I went to rip my shirt off over my head, but then realised I was likely to dislodge the makeup Marlow had caked on. I shook my head, then stretched the neck of my shirt as I brought it carefully up and over my face.
Then hands joined mine and drew the fabric up and over, pulling it taut so it didn’t brush against me, forcing me to duck down and through the neck hole. Those same hands tossed my shirt onto the bed and then came to rest on my shoulders.
“I’m… I feel like I’m holding onto a thread,” came the voice over my shoulder.
Feels like you’re holding a lot more than that, I thought, but I stayed silent. I could hear the ragged note in his voice.
“We’ve got jobs to do. You need to shoot those insufferable children at play, I’ve got to protect them from harm. This is going to be a long, long night, and you…” Strong thumbs rubbed hard into the muscles along my neck, pulling a luxurious shiver from me. “You look so stunning, Miss Leigh. It’s bad enough I’m stuck doing this bloody job, but you…” A rough prickling kiss was deposited where one thumb had been, making me arch up into the caress. “Do you have any fucking idea what seeing you like this does to me, Kira?”
That hand slid around my jaw and tipped it back so I was forced to look up at him.
“If it’s anything like seeing you shirtless in a leather kilt, then really damn moist.”
Um…oops? The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, but the grin I got made everything seem a lot better. Well, even better than his big, broad hand on my bare skin.
“I’m… I’m going to turn around now and you’re going to get into that damn dress and I’m going to zip you up. Then we’re going to do our bloody jobs.”
“And then?” I asked.
“No ‘and then.’ I cannot think of ‘and then’ for the rest of this night. This place is a security nightmare. I’ve got to get my mind in the game, or people could get hurt or worse. This is about to become the epicentre of every lunatic fringe group in the country.” He dropped his hands away, something I missed instantly. “Rutherglen has given us the budget but none of the requisite time. Half of his new hires don’t even know who to let in or not.”
I turned around in time to catch him scrubbing his hand through his hair and froze when I saw those muscles work. He smiled slowly, but that stilled too when his eyes dropped down.
Today would, of course, have been a great day for some kind of filmy, demi-cup bra, made completely of French lace. Instead, I was in this boring beige thing, but it didn’t seem to matter. His fingers turned to claws in his hair, and the muscles popped out in further relief.
This is what I’d hoped for, those grey eyes going molten as they were dragged up my body slowly to meet mine.
“Kira…” He hissed my name, taking a massive step towards me, but I put my hand out on his chest to stop him from coming any closer.
“We need to focus on our j—” Oh! Oh my god, he is so firm and hot. Like fucking damn, there is not an inch of softness here. Not on his chest. I wonder what it’d be like if I slid my hand down to his—
A thump on the door broke my focus.
“Ki? Are you ready?”
I shook my head. “You’re right. Absolutely, one hundred percent right. We both have jobs to do, and we need to do them. Turn around.” He growled at that, a low rumbling sound. I’d never heard an actual person do that, only read about it in werewolf porn, and it was totally as hot as I’d thought it would be. “Turn around, I’ll get dressed.”
It took a bit, but he shook his head, some of the fire leaving him as he did so. “Let’s do this quick before I toss this contract, once and for all.”
I wriggled out of my clothes and into my dress, trying not to listen to the sound of Mark’s breath behind me. I could have zipped the dress up myself, since I’d done so before, but when I called his name, the feel of his fingers against the bare skin of my back, even for just a few moments, was freaking hot.
“Kira?” Jen called.
“Coming!” I said, plopping down on the bed to pull the sneakers on. I laced them up rapidly and then slung my camera bag across my body.
Which made one of my tits pop up even more, something Mark well and truly noticed.
“So, how do we do this? How do I…?”
“Come to my room, whenever you finish. I’ll leave the door open,” he said, putting his hand on my waist.
“Kira?” Jen said, sounding a little cranky now.
“OK, time to get this show on the road.”
12
The house was in an uproar. We emerged from the private part of the residence to find people everywhere—serving, finishing, organising, decorating. It was like there had been a non-stop train of people running through the house for the past few days. It was hitting its last few stops, so I could fill in the gaps of what I saw and get a sense of the overall design, and it was epic. Lush, beautiful, eerie, and weird. I clenched my hands tight. They didn’t want me photographing the party set up, but I wanted to.
“Whoa,” I whispered as we emerged out into the grounds. The whole place looked like it glittered with fairy lights that shone even in the late afternoon. What would it look like once the sun had set?
Magical, I decided. And a bitch to shoot. I needed to ask Anna about some kind of mobile light source.
“What do you think?” Jen asked, and that tremulous smile reminded me of something important. I had assumed she swam in these waters on the regular, that this was just another event for her, but while she was always a large part of the organisation of her father’s events, this was on a scale neither of us had ever seen.
“Jen, it’s a bloody triumph,” I said, stepping in closer and enfolding her in my arms. She squeaked a bit at this, at possibly creasing her dress or mine and flattening carefully constructed hairstyles, but she relented quickly enough.
“Do you think so?” she said in a small voice.
“Jen…” I pulled back, tipping her chin up when she would only look at me sidelong. “Seriously, this is like Eden, fairyland, and Xanadu all mixed up together, and not the cool trashy 80s movie version. It’s going to look gorgeous in print and video. The crews you’ve invited are going to be wetting their pants.”
“Oh, well, if you put it that way.” She smiled, that familiar impish grin. “Involuntary incontinence is always the measure with which to judge these things.” She shook her head. “We better hurry. Marlow’s gonna have a fit.”
And he was.
“Where have you lot been?” he snapped as soon as we entered his HQ. We’d had to fight our way past massive crowds of dancers and performers, since only the actual acts had their own green rooms situated all around the estate. I felt all hot and flustered, and we hadn’t even started yet.
Part of the reason may have been because it took Paulie and Mark pulling rank to get us through the crush of people.
“Right!” Mark had shouted, his deep voice sending a shock wave through the crowd. “Move out the way for Miss Rutherglen and guest, or risk being tossed out on your ear!”
I liked to think of myself as an independent woman. I looked after myself, despite my parents hovering, but goddamn, I felt like I drenched the very expensive knickers Marlow had given me as I watched everyone scurry to do his bidding. The crowd separated like the Red Sea, and Jen stalked forward like the queen she was in her high-necked elegant white sheath dress that had some kind of frilled flounce forming a short train behind her, Paulie at her heels. Mark glanced down at me with that professional mask firmly in place when I just stood there, stari
ng at him and fighting the urge to run my hand up his thigh to see if he was following Scottish customs.
That mask wobbled a little as he smiled at me, then gestured for me to follow them, something that I regretted would deprive me of the opportunity of watching his very fine arse move. But I did as I was told, and the crowd returned to chaos once we’d passed.
“We couldn’t—” I started to say.
“We’re here now, so stop fussing,” Jen said with a wave of her hand. Y’see, Jen could be an imperious bitch with everyone but me. Marlow’s eyes flared bright apple green before he unclenched his jaw and turned to me.
“You have your gear? Spare batteries? Memory cards?”
I patted my bag. “Yep, all in here.”
“Excellent. You’ll need to go into The Changelings’ green room. Fair warning, they’ve been…preparing for this for much of the morning. And afternoon. Look, I want you to take one of the security boys with you. They know the rules, but…”
“But Eden before the Fall,” I said, feeling a thrill up my spine. Of fear? Of arousal? I didn’t know, and I wasn’t likely to. I glanced at Paulie and Mark. “So who’s coming into the lion’s den?”
“I’ll—” Mark said.
“It’ll need to be Paulie,” Jen said. “I’m sorry, darling, but Mark is head of security. Daddy will expect him to have eyes on me, and I have to be out circulating well before people arrive. I know there’s something—”
“It’s fine, Jen,” I replied before she discussed that in front of everyone in the room. “Seriously, I probably don’t need anyone with me at all.”
