‘I don’t want to take any chances, better safe than sorry, right?’
‘Right,’ she responded quietly.
‘Come here,’ I ordered, parting my thighs and patting the vacated space between them. She came over and slid down to sit cross-legged on the floor with her back to me. I opened the necklace and put it around her neck, doing up the clasp before I started massaging her tense shoulders. ‘What can I do to put the smile back on your face?’
‘Let me put Bear in Rosie’s bed, then take me to your bed and do that thing you do with your tongue.’ She gave me a coy look over her shoulder making me laugh.
‘I do many things with my tongue, Tiger, you need to be a little more specific.’
‘The thing you do with it that makes me come on your face. I have a surprise for you, too.’
‘You always surprise me,’ I grinned, loving that she had no hesitation now in being vocal about her sexual needs.
‘When I had my hair cut yesterday, I left the seventies behind and joined the current decade. Rosie’s not the only one getting Bear.’
‘You didn’t,’ I growled, my cock coming to life in an instant.
‘I did, and you’d better love it, as it hurt like hell.’
‘Then what the fuck are we doing sitting here talking, let’s get upstairs and make both of those bears happy.’ I jumped up and pulled the fireguard into place as she picked up Rosie’s teddy, then I scooped her up into my arms and virtually ran up the stairs, making her giggle. ‘Sssshhh, this is a covert mission, in and out in under sixty seconds,’ I warned her as we stood outside of Rosie’s room.
‘I hope that’s not your plan when we get to your bedroom.’
‘No, it bloody isn’t, I’m going to eat you all night.’
‘Promises, promises.’
I cracked the door open and gently padded in to see Rosie flat on her back, one arm above her head, the other cradling the front of her neck, the way she normally slept when she had her beloved teddy in the crook of her elbow. She was softly snoring, which made my heart miss a beat.
‘Do it,’ I whispered as I set Alex down.
‘You do it, I’m not used to moving her when she’s asleep. I don’t want to wake her up.’
‘Neither do I. I’m exchanging a bear for some pussy and I know which I’d rather be stuck with for the night.’
‘Bare pussy,’ she teased.
‘Daddy?’ a little voice yawned.
‘Fuck,’ I mouthed, as Alex grimaced at me. ‘Don’t move a goddamn muscle.’
‘Is it time to get up?’ Rosie’s confused voice mumbled, still heavy with sleep.
‘No, Angel, back to sleep please,’ I whispered.
‘Can’t sleep without Bear,’ she moaned, her eyes starting to flicker open as I silently cursed.
‘You were asleep a minute ago.’
‘Was not,’ she protested as she rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up. Alex mouthed “Sorry” at me as I shook my head.
‘Would you go back to sleep if you had Bear?’ I asked.
‘Maybe,’ Rosie shrugged, then looked at me with hopeful wide eyes. When she looked down at my hands to find them empty, her face fell, dragging my heart down with it. She really loved that goddamn bear.
‘How about you give it a try?’ Alex said as she crouched down next to her and pulled him from behind her back. Rosie’s squeal of delight nearly pierced my eardrums as she snatched him out of Alex’s hands and nearly decapitated him with a crushing hug, as she peppered his face with kisses.
‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ she cried. ‘I love you, Mummy.’
‘Mummy?’ Alex whispered. She looked up at me, her eyes welling with tears of emotion, as Rosie proceeded to give Bear a stern lecture on the hazards of not venturing out into a hurricane again. Like it was his fault he’d ended up so mangled.
I pulled Alex up and circled her waist with my arms and kissed her.
‘When I made her pancakes for breakfast, after the night after you and I met, she told me that she’d met the lady she wanted to be her new mummy. I had no idea it was you, until you accused me of still being married as you’d met Amanda and Rosie at your gallery launch. I’m a practical man, Alex, I’ve never really believed in fate, but I can’t help thinking it’s played a part here.’
‘I’m so glad it has. I’m so happy I could burst, Castle,’ Alex whispered as she laid her head on my chest, her arms snaking around my waist to squeeze me tightly.
‘Bear says he wants a sleepover with me, Mummy and Daddy,’ Rosie announced as she tugged on my hand and looked up at me with pleading blue eyes. I groaned and looked down at Alex who was looking up at me with her best pleading look too.
‘Fine,’ I relented with a sigh. ‘But we’re all sleeping in my bed. My days of squashing in your bed are over, especially now there’s four of us.’
‘Yay!’ Rosie cried and bolted out of the room, Bear swinging from her right hand.
‘What about that thing I do with my tongue?’ I asked as I took Alex’s hand.
‘We have plenty of nights for you to do that. How many will we get of your daughter still wanting to share our bed?’
‘Our daughter, she’s claimed you too, now,’ I reminded her.
‘She has claimed me, and I couldn’t be happier for her to accept me into her life.’
‘Me neither,’ I admitted, kissing her temple. ‘I guess it’s for the best that we get a good night’s sleep. We have an early start tomorrow if I’m going to drop you at the gallery, and see what in your flat needs to be packed up, before I head for my meeting.’
‘You know, I’d love to christen my flat in some way before I leave it. Maybe you could do that thing with your tongue there,’ she suggested.
‘Deal,’ I confirmed, as we headed into my bedroom to find Rosie already snuggled under the duvet, peeking over the top of it, slap bang in the goddamn middle. I shook my head, then ran and dove on the bed, making Rosie scream with laughter as I started to tickle her. Alex wasn’t the only one who was so happy she could burst. The day I’d lost Imogen, I could never have conceived that I’d ever be this happy again.
Alex
Friday
‘Put me down,’ I squealed, as Tom lifted me off the floor and spun me around in a circle, making me feel giddy.
‘I missed you.’
‘I missed you, too, and Janice, who I’d like to hug as well, please.’
‘All for hugs,’ she beamed as Tom set me down and we rushed at each other. ‘It’s so good to see you. How long are you home for?’
‘Well, about that–’ I glanced over my shoulder at Castle, who had one shoulder against the wall, his arms folded across his broad chest and his ankles crossed as he watched us. I nearly salivated to see him dressed in one of his expensive three-piece tailored suits again. I’d got so used to seeing him casual, or naked, I’d forgotten how good a well cut fitted suit looked on him.
‘Pay up, Janice,’ Tom stated, rubbing his thumb and forefinger at her. ‘I knew she’d be leaving us.’
‘Damn it,’ Janice muttered as she leaned over to grab her purse off the reception desk.
‘You’re not mad?’ I asked, astonished at their reaction.
‘Depends on whether we still have our jobs,’ he scoffed. ‘But of course we’re not mad, it’s good to see you looking so happy. It’s been a long time coming.’
‘It really has, and your jobs are safe as long as you want them. In fact, I’d promote you both to joint managers. I still want to keep a gallery here in the U.K.’
‘Dibs on the flat,’ Janice yelled, making me jump.
‘Goddamn it!’ Tom exclaimed. ‘You know I wanted it!’
‘You snooze, you lose. Now don’t be a sore loser, I may have got the flat, but you get a whole tenner,’ she grinned as she handed it over. Castle barked out some laughter at the look of mortification on Tom’s face.
‘So, neither of you are actually sad that I’ll be living abroad from now on? No daily
coffees, no banter, or our weekly nights in?’ I uttered, feeling a bit unloved.
‘Nah,’ they both replied with a shake of their heads, then burst out laughing at the obvious look of dejection on my face.
‘We’re kidding, of course we’ll miss you, terribly,’ Janice said. ‘But we want you to be happy and we can still FaceTime. Besides, we won’t object if you want to have us flown over for the odd long month or so? Got to say though, having that sweet pad upstairs will take the edge off.’
‘Stop rubbing it in,’ Tom grumbled. ‘You’d better improve on your ability to stay in touch this time around, Alex.’
‘I promise, the last few months were crazy. We’ll get in a better routine once we settle back over there.’
‘And you’re both welcome to visit anytime,’ Castle added. ‘I have to come to London every couple of months, so you can always hitch a ride with me on my plane.’
‘Love him,’ Tom sang, cheering up in an instant.
‘You’re really lucking out today, Tom, as I got first dibs on you there, too,’ I grinned. ‘So, is my flat still in one piece?’
‘I think you’ll find it’s my flat now,’ Janice giggled. ‘With a very reasonable rent, thank you very much.’
‘It will be reasonable, on the condition that you let Tom stay over from time to time.’
‘High five to that,’ he added, throwing his hand up at me. I slapped it with a smile and realised I could make my life a whole lot easier here.
‘It’s also on the condition that you take it furnished, less any personal effects I want to remove today. It will save me a massive headache of trying to decide how to deal with it all. Keep what you want when I’m done, sell what you don’t want and split the sale proceeds between you.’
‘Done, thank you,’ Janice said sincerely. ‘Fluffy-poo is going to love it up there with that lovely sunny terrace for her to bask on.’
‘Fluffy-poo?’ Castle mouthed at me.
‘See, even he thinks it’s a shit name for a cat,’ Tom jeered, giving Janice a shove. ‘And that man has good taste.’
‘Oi, just because you were too slow on the dibs front, don’t be disparaging my cat,’ she replied, giving him a shove back.
‘Come on, they’ll still be bickering in an hour, they won’t miss us,’ I whispered, as I took Castle’s hand and led him to my flat door. I fumbled for my key, unlocked the door and led the way upstairs, feeling a little sad that it might be the last time that I did this while it was all mine.
‘It’s cute,’ Castle said as he stood in the middle of the flat and looked around.
‘Is that your way of saying tiny?’ I laughed. You could probably fit most of the flat into his dining room on Pepper Island.
‘Well yes, but it is cute. I can see why you loved to paint here, it’s flooded with light.’
‘And damn dust,’ I muttered, as I noticed a thin film on the kitchen island, along with lots of odd little piles of it scattered all over the place. ‘Do you want a drink?’
‘Hmmm,’ he murmured, as I opened my cupboards.
‘Goddamn it, Tom,’ I yelled. ‘How many times have I told you that I hate it when you rearrange my cupboards, I like all of the labels facing forwards.’
‘Forget your tins, forget the dust, forget the damn drink,’ Castle breathed in my ear as he pulled me back against him. ‘The only drink I want is your bare pussy.’
‘You know, it’s been said that I have a magic tongue of my own,’ I reminded him, as I spun in his arms and pushed him back against the kitchen island.
‘You do? No, can’t say that I recall saying that, or experiencing said magic tongue,’ he replied, trying to keep a straight face.
‘You need a reminder, handsome?’ I asked as I slowly lowered the zip of his trousers.
‘I just might, but you’d better not rush, take it slowly and give me time to make sure I don’t forget how good it is for the next time.’
‘Next time? Presumptuous.’ I snaked my hand into his suit, then through the gap in his tight boxers and wrestled his naked length out, amazed at how quickly he went hard.
‘Hopeful,’ he rasped as I slowly dropped to my knees.
‘Greedy,’ I breathed, blowing on his tip before licking and gently drawing him into my mouth.
‘Fucked,’ he muttered, as he curled his fingers around the countertop on the island, which I knew he was doing to stop himself from reaching for my head. I’d made huge strides, all by taking lots and lots of little baby steps. Being in such a submissive position was more than enough headway for now. I knew that in time I’d get there, not to mention letting my hair grow long again as he’d been so disappointed when I’d had it cut this week. ‘Completely fucked,’ he groaned as I took him deep into the recess of my mouth and moaned with pleasure to feel him swell inside me.
Richard
Two months of hiding out in the crappy abandoned flat next door, two whole fucking months waiting for her to come back, and there she was. Izzie Knight was within touching distance again, on her knees sucking some bastard’s cock like she loved it. The way she’d never done when I’d been forced to shove her face towards mine. Planting that baby monitor had been an inspired move on my part. I’d grown tired of waiting, day after day, never knowing when she might return. It had felt like another prison sentence, but this time with no release date in sight.
The moment I’d heard she was coming in, I’d hastily hurried up into the loft space, eager to get a sighting of her again when she finally ventured upstairs.
And after the last night she’d spent here, when I’d nearly given myself away by heading into her flat when she had company, I’d drilled a few more holes not wanting to miss any angle. I should have cleaned up the tell-tale tiny piles of debris that had nearly given me away, but she was currently too distracted to examine the ceiling closely. No one ever looked up. Not even that henchman who’d chased me, the one who’d come in earlier this morning to check that none of her doors or windows had been tampered with. He’d checked every conceivable space in her flat that I might have hidden in, but the loft. I guess they assumed that if no one had broken into her flat, no one could access the space above it.
I’d had her on a knife-edge back in October, watching her as she slept, softly singing her name and enjoying the terror on her face as she woke up each night in a sweat, trying to decide if hearing my voice was a nightmare or real. I’d been in it for the long haul, unlike the guy currently unloading down the back of her throat as he yelled her name.
After that close call, when I’d decided to hunker down next door with plenty of supplies, I’d amused myself by occasionally sleeping in her bed, coating her sheets in my come and leaving small hints around the flat that I’d been there. I’d wanted her on edge again from the moment she stepped foot back in her home, I’d wanted her scared. Then and only then could I get off on reminding her who she belonged to. Not this cocky prick who’d just lifted her up and was carrying her through to her bedroom.
I crawled carefully and slowly on my stomach, picking the peephole right above the bed, silently begging him to climb into it with her. The thought of me coating him with my spent come, as well as her, wasn’t totally unappealing, but instead he lay her down across it. He unbuttoned her white shirt, revealing her breasts. I could still see the outlines of my teeth marking them, which put a smile back on my face and my breathing began to quicken as he pulled off her skirt, followed by her panties.
I groaned, squeezing my hand down into my jeans and grabbing my cock as I saw the word “King” still slashed into her belly, then frowned. Why was he ignoring it? It was a warning sign. He wasn’t supposed to ignore it. It was my body, she was my property, she had the fucking brand to prove it.
‘Oh God, don’t make me wait, lick me out, Castle. I need to come so badly!’
I needed to come, since when did she act like a fucking whore? How many times had I tried to get her to talk and act like a slut when I was in the mood for sex? A woman s
hould appear to be virtuous, prim and proper, everything a good wife was meant to be. She’d had that part down pat. But they should also know their place, serve and obey, and act like a willing slut in the bedroom. God knows I’d tried to beat that into her, but she’d never acted with such abandonment with me. A red mist settled in front of my eyes. Years of grooming her and I’d failed, what the fuck did he have that I hadn’t?
‘Loving this new look. If I didn’t have a meeting, I’d spend the whole day showing you just how much,’ he told her.
‘I’ll settle for a whole minute right now,’ she cried, arching her back and closing her eyes as he buried his face between her legs.
‘I’ll never get tired of eating you out, Alex.’
I scowled, the simmering rage I was feeling starting to bubble and rise to the surface. Her name wasn’t Alex! ‘It’s Izzie,’ I hissed out loud as my cock responded to the thought of what I was going to do to her when I got her alone.
Her eyes snapped open as her body stiffened, and she seemed to stare straight at me for a moment.
‘Did you hear that?’ she asked, trying to lift his head away from her as she cocked her head to listen more closely, forcing me to hold my breath.
‘The sound of me groaning? Yeah, you’re so fucking wet.’
‘No, I thought … Oh! Oh yes.’ She closed her eyes as he buried his face again, then wrapped one of her long legs behind his neck as she started to buck against his mouth.
I tugged on my cock, which was starting to deflate as I watched this pathetic attempt at fucking. A woman’s body was only good for a man’s pleasure, why was he wasting his time on her instead of just banging her? His hands moved up to her breasts, squeezing and kneading. I bit my lower lip as I watched her squirm, then closed my eyes and pictured the countless times I’d had her on her knees with a bloodied nose and black eye, choking as I forced my cock down her throat.
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