Explicit Detail

by Scarlett Finn

  ‘I’m sorry about that,’ Whyte said, and Flick noticed he’d taken her to the side of the room. ‘Lisa is an emotional person, she’s young and—‘

  ‘Either Joey loves her or he doesn’t,’ Flick said. ‘If he doesn’t, he should just let her go, they should both move on with their lives.’

  ‘You’re upset,’ Whyte said, using her arms to guide her onto a nearby couch. ‘I feel awful about this. I should have known that... they’re volatile. The pair of them together are ridiculous, but apart they’re just as bad. I am sorry that you were forced to endure that.’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Flick said.

  ‘No, but our first date was cut short because of my employee’s incompetence, and now our second date has been cruelly blighted as well. You must think awful things about me.’

  ‘No,’ she said, feeling it necessary to soothe him. ‘It wasn’t your fault. I’m not hurt, not physically, embarrassed perhaps, but there was no harm done.’

  ‘I disagree. Let me get you a drink.’

  ‘No, I shouldn’t drink.’

  ‘You’re shaken up,’ Whyte said. ‘I understand that. Given your sexual position... I mean... well I didn’t mean—‘

  ‘I know what you meant.’ Flick smiled and took his hand from her arm. ‘You have been kind to me, but I do think I should go home now.’

  ‘Given what you’ve heard about their sexual proclivities, I imagine you’ve been discouraged.’

  ‘Not exactly,’ Flick said, not ready to confess that she had never intended to encourage Whyte in the first place.

  As for proclivities, plenty of men went upstairs with the lingerie-clad women in the Lounge after having paid for company. Coupling that with what she’d heard about Monday nights, Flick became more curious about what made them “special”.

  ‘Let me accompany you home.’

  ‘No,’ Flick said, and from Whyte’s startled expression, she realised how vehement the word had sounded. ‘I’ll be fine.’

  ‘I insist. I wouldn’t dream of pursing you this evening, but I do feel responsible for what happened. I want to know you’re safe, that you’re ok.’

  ‘I am,’ Flick said. ‘Like I said, I’m not hurt.’

  ‘Let me get you a room then, a room here, in the hotel.’

  ‘A room?’

  ‘A suite, the best we have available.’

  ‘Oh no, I couldn’t possibly...’

  ‘You’re not like other women,’ he said. ‘Your chastity may have been unexpected but I’ve seen the way you carry yourself, the way you speak, your posture, there’s something... refined about you. We don’t have many women of your... class, around here.’

  Her mother would be proud that Whyte had noticed her breeding, but Flick panicked. If he pressed for information, Flick had no idea what story to tell. If she told the truth he could investigate her, but if she lied and he did that anyway...

  ‘Thank you,’ Flick said and got to her feet. ‘I should go.’

  ‘Please,’ he said, not relinquishing her hand. ‘Let me pamper you.’

  ‘I don’t need to be pampered.’

  ‘I would feel wretched to see you going home alone while you’re distressed. What is one night in a hotel, one night of room service, and a morning in the spa? No strings attached, I’ll leave you completely alone, I promise.’

  ‘Why would you do that?’

  ‘Not everyone is out for themselves,’ he said. ‘You’ve proved yourself to me as an exception from the masses, with your chastity and your sophistication. Let me show you that I can be the same. I can treat you to a night under my roof with no expectation. I want to do something nice for you, to show you what I can offer, in a way I haven’t managed to do yet.’

  Flick pondered the offer for only a few seconds. ‘Ok.’

  The suite was beautiful; it included a large lounge area with thick drapes and a broad couch. The minibar was an actual bar, and the bathroom was about the same size as her and Rushe’s bedroom. If Rushe knew that she was under this roof he would go postal.

  Nevertheless, Flick admitted into the quiet night around her that he was the reason she had stayed. Rushe was under this roof too. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know which room was his; it probably worked out for the best that way, because she’d be tempted to visit him.

  Rushe was here and she felt safer, more comforted, to know that he was close by. Home wasn’t home without him. Here she wasn’t used to having him, so Flick showered, using the complimentary toiletries, and changed into the complimentary nightgown, then she went through to the sumptuous bed.

  Whyte had stayed true to his word, and after making the arrangements he had escorted her to the door, handed her the key, and given her his private phone extension number, in case she needed anything. Flick could read between the lines on that one.

  That night she closed her eyes ready to sleep soundly, because somewhere, not too far away, her love’s heart was beating, and that was enough to soothe her to sleep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Flick hadn’t found her senses when she answered the ringing phone that had awoken her. The voice asked her what she wanted for breakfast. Flick declined the offer, but the voice informed her that Mr Whyte was seated in the members’ breakfast room, awaiting her arrival. The man had ordered dinner without her input, so this was clearly his way of procuring her company. So it turned out there was a string after all, and that string was breakfast.

  Flick went down and sped through breakfast on the claim she had things to do with her day off. When Joey came into the breakfast room with his father, Flick was even more desperate to get out the door. But just as she thought she had a clear shot and was home free... the door opened again, and Rushe entered.

  Rushe didn’t like people, and there would be no reason for him to come down to breakfast, except that he wanted more information. His role here was to get into the lives and heads of these people.

  When he spotted her, his eyes narrowed, and in the shame of the moment, Flick averted her attention. As soon as she did, she realised this probably conveyed guilt, so she looked back up at him. But Rushe was already perusing the fruit, seemingly, she was forgotten. Again, he’d detached himself from her so easily.

  ‘Tomorrow night,’ Whyte said, when they exited the breakfast room. ‘Come to the hotel, at ten thirty. I want to show you something.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Flick said.

  ‘You reacted last night with such grace and discretion, I feel confident sharing our secret with you.’

  ‘This just... it seems like it’s never going to get off the ground.’

  ‘It will get off the ground tomorrow night, Flick. Please, give me one more chance. I’ll show you all that I can be for you, all that we can be.’

  ‘The hotel?’ she asked, trying to appear unsure while fluttering her eyelashes. However, his talk of a secret had reeled her in.

  ‘Yes. Come to the hotel. It’s very important.’

  Flick nodded, knowing that she’d rather be at the hotel with the possibility of seeing Rushe than away from it wondering what he was doing.

  Today she’d have the chance to go to the library and dig deeper. Rosa hadn’t been an original figure of interest, but she was now. Flick wanted to understand her connection to all of this, and Michael’s too. Lisa’s brother had duped Flick, but Rushe’s instincts had been right on the money.

  The library was a great distraction, and immersing herself in the investigation was vital. Flick needed to get back on course now that she knew some of the players involved. Studying the Lounge led to an examination of the architectural plans, which was something she’d struggled to scrutinise in all cases of structures associated with the mission. The venue space was on the original blueprint, but its purpose was unspecified.

  Years after initial construction, there was a refurbishment of the Lounge. From what Flick could tell, the room had gotten smaller. The plans were confusing to her, she couldn’t read them properly,
but she didn’t know a professional who would assist her understanding.

  The librarian literally had to ask her to leave. Flick hadn’t realised that she had worked until midnight, but she had gotten so much done. Glad that the day was over, Flick tucked everything into her oversized messenger bag and flung it up over her head to cross her body. The security guard escorted her out and locked the door at her back.

  Flick ran down the stairs and crossed the road without seeing a single vehicle, in contradiction to during daylight when it could take as long as ten minutes to get a clear shot across.

  Slowing her pace when she passed The Grill, Flick rounded the corner pondering how she might get a message to Rushe. She couldn’t call the hotel and ask for him because that would be too suspicious, and he would be angry with her for taking the risk.

  Halfway down the block, Flick stuck her hands in her button down dress pockets and wished for a coat. It had been warm enough when she left the apartment that morning after going home to gather her things for the library and change her clothes.

  Suddenly, from nowhere, Flick was grabbed from behind and lifted clear off her feet. A gloved hand smothered her mouth, and though she kicked and tried to scream she could do nothing as the assailant carried her down the blackened alley and up a step into the deep entryway of a boarded up doorway.

  She was set on her feet, the body came around her, and she was bundled into the corner. The weight of her aggressor pinned her in place, and though his hand twisted around it stayed over her mouth.

  The ominous size of the molesting body clenched her chest with utter terror, and her body was solid with the tension. Flick tried to struggle, she tried to scream again, but her muffled sounds would alert no one. On blinking her eyes upward, she half expected to see Satan himself. Then when her eyes met the attacker’s, her whole body sagged back.

  ‘What’s a dirty little Kitten like you doing out alone so late?’

  His hand relaxed, and though it didn’t move she had enough space to sigh out. ‘You scared me, Rushe,’ she hissed. ‘If anyone saw you grab me off the street—‘

  ‘No one saw,’ he said. ‘No one cares.’

  Flick had heard that before, and she let her head fall back against the wall. Rushe’s hands moved to her breasts. Their time together could be short, so though it was obvious his mind wasn’t on the job she had to take this opportunity. ‘Can you read architectural plans?’

  ‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘Where are they?’

  Flick fumbled her way to the pocket of her bag to retrieve a USB memory stick. ‘On here.’

  Rushe took it from her and slid it into his jacket pocket. ‘Dump the bag.’ He gave her just enough space to do that and no more. ‘You’ve been in the library all day.’

  ‘Have you been waiting all day?’ she asked. ‘You didn’t seem to care about me when you saw me this morning... with another man.’

  Rushe paused in what he was doing, and Flick glanced down to see he’d unfastened part of her dress to expose her bra-protected breasts. ‘Do you think I didn’t know that he got you a room? I knew exactly where you were all night.’

  ‘And you were ok with that?’ Flick asked.

  ‘Never got a wink of sleep,’ he grumbled.

  She had been perturbed that he hadn’t cared she was hurt, or that it appeared she’d spent the night with another man, when all the time he was monitoring her. Rushe didn’t know it but in his own way, he’d just romanced her again.

  ‘What panties you got on?’ he asked, crouching to lift the hem of her dress and grope underneath.

  ‘I was going home to bed,’ she said, as Rushe pulled down her underwear. When he got them all the way to the ground level, she stepped out of them. ‘You know bed, I have a really great bed, it’s also known as our bed. If it was sex you wanted...’

  ‘I can’t go back there,’ he said, tucking her panties in his leather jacket pocket then shirking out of it.

  ‘What are you doing? Flick asked, when he pulled her forward and tucked his jacket over her back.

  ‘Put your arms in the sleeves or it will come off.’

  Flick complied. ‘I’m cold, but you can’t go back to the hotel without your jacket.’

  ‘Don’t plan to,’ he said, and undoing a couple more of her dress buttons he took the strip of material between her breasts that held the bra cups together, and with one tug he ripped it.

  ‘Rushe!’

  ‘Shut it,’ he said, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples.

  ‘I seem to recall telling you once that a dirty alley was out of the question.’

  ‘A car’s too conspicuous... and it can be traced.’

  ‘Is that supposed to persuade me?’

  Rushe crouched to kiss one breast, and then he ducked to grasp her ass, under the skirt, and hike her off her feet. Flick shivered. ‘I gave you the jacket. The wall won’t mark you or make you dirty; I’ll take care of those things on my own.’

  Flick shouldn’t encourage him, but her smile was involuntary. ‘You think of everything, don’t you?’

  He had known she would object, so he covered his bases. What Rushe didn’t understand was that she’d been as desperate for him as he had apparently been for her. Right now, she’d have sex with him anywhere.

  Flick took her own initiative and unbuckled his belt. Already the bulk of him tried to insist its way around the denim barrier impeding it, and when she took hold of him she ran her thumb over his head, smearing the moisture seeping from him.

  ‘He missed me,’ she said, tightening her grip and drawing her fist up and down around him.

  ‘Don’t do that.’

  ‘I’ve missed him too, I’m thinking I might want to slide down there and wrap my mouth—‘

  ‘Some virgin you are,’ he snarled, snatching himself from her hold. He lifted her higher and stabbed his dick into her pussy.

  Flat against the wall, she could do nothing but take his thrusts as he pounded into her, right up to the hilt every time. Leaning in against her, Rushe got hold of her pelvis to tilt her up and yank her in against every deep plunge.

  ‘Rushe,’ she sighed.

  He growled. ‘That’s my pussy... You in that dress... you got yourself all gussied up for that sack of shit.’ Forward, higher, faster, Flick struggled to catch enough oxygen. ‘You like that, you’re dripping, Kitten, getting that sweet juice all on my dick, letting me slide in nice and easy. You want it in you, you been dreaming about this? Thinking about my cock inside you? Speak.’

  ‘Yes,’ Flick moaned out through gritted teeth.

  ‘You been a good girl? You been playing with my toy? Pampering my girls?’

  ‘No, God, Rushe!’ Flick bucked into his grip when the explosion of pleasure tore through her. But just at that he stopped moving, and as she panted through the shimmering web glittering throughout her, she opened her eyes to see his staring down at her.

  ‘Last night, when you walked in that room... with him...’

  Rushe didn’t finish, and though Flick hadn’t yet found her breathing rhythm, she covered his cheeks with her palms. ‘What?’ she asked. ‘Lover, what is it?’

  ‘I couldn’t stop it.’

  Flick wasn’t used to Rushe making so little sense, because that was usually her role. ‘Stop what?’

  ‘My cock smelled you or something; you weren’t even in the room and...’

  ‘You got hard?’ she asked, with a wistful smile.

  ‘Don’t smile,’ he snapped. ‘You keep your guard up. You should be aware of everyone in the room, and all I could... it was the dumbest thing...’ Rushe shook his head to the side as if he was trying to rid water from his ear.

  ‘What?’ Flick said, not discouraged, or willing to relinquish her hold on his face just yet. ‘What was it?’

  ‘Your shampoo,’ he said. ‘I never knew your shampoo was so fucking... I lost my senses, Kit. I couldn’t see straight, then when you came over and... you used my soap, didn’t you?’ Flick nodded. ‘My scent on
my woman, and that fucker—‘

  ‘Hey,’ she said, when his jaw clenched, and rage clouded through him. ‘Your woman is right here in your arms; your woman loves you and misses you so much. I didn’t go home last night because... I can’t sleep there without you.’

  ‘I’m addicted to your body,’ he said. ‘I’ve never... I’ve had the choice in the past, drugs, women, money... I thought guys who got hooked on shit like that were... Last night, I couldn’t remember why I was there or what I was doing...’

  Flick had thought him unaffected, but she should have known better. Rushe could hide behind his solid, unaffected exterior. ‘We still have each other,’ she said. ‘When this is over...’

  Rushe shook his head. ‘There’s more going on here than you know.’

  ‘More?’ Flick asked. ‘I know about Lisa and Galante. I know about Rosa’s relationship with Galante too, and about Rosa’s relationship with Michael Lewis. Joey came to the Lounge on Sunday night, he and Lisa were fighting I think.’

  ‘He’s got a thing for you,’ Rushe said. ‘You’ve got them all by the balls.’

  ‘I belong to you, Rushe. I’ve been around rich influential men all my life. I couldn’t care less about the superficiality.’

  ‘I’m not worried about them, but my girl...’ pride crept into his tone, ‘you were such a scared little thing, but that strength, you never cowered from me, not from any of them. You’re strong, Flick, and I don’t always give you credit for that.’

  As much as Flick knew he meant emotional strength, she had to smile when he drew his hips back then forward, exploring their point of unity. Just as she began to doubt herself, Rushe displayed his faith in her. It had been a while since they’d made love, though this wasn’t the best place or time to be considering that.

  Fast and frenzied suited this situation; he’d started with such fervour and then stopped. His body was sturdy enough to handle the physical exertion, and he hadn’t kissed her as he did when they mated slowly. His eyes burned into hers, and Flick saw him try and fail to lift the shutter over his demeanour.