“Come here, Mr. Doyle,” she pulled him to her and kissed him until he pulled her down, rolled on top of her, and plunged into her, causing her to break the kiss with a gasp. He drove her over the top repeatedly.
When he finally spilled in her and they lay together panting, she said, “Make a good baby with her, Collin. Make her happy. And don’t you ever let her or her daughter sorry you did, you hear me? It’s a lifetime commitment to that little girl, and I’ll cut them off if you don’t do it right.”
“I take it that’s a yes?”
“It’s a very definite yes, if that’s what you want to do. Are you sure Robbie’s okay with this?”
“Yeah, I know he is. As long as Rosie’s happy, Robbie’s happy. I haven’t seen him so happy since we were kids.”
~~~
Brenna and Irina were lying on her bed. She could feel the sexual tension in Irina, maybe not so much sexual, but rather a need to touch, to be closer to her. Irina was playing with Brenna’s hair.
“Do you think I should grow mine out? Like yours?”
“I don’t know,” Brenna said, looking at Irina’s shoulder-blade length golden locks. “It’s an incredible pain to take care of, and you’re so beautiful with it at that length. Why would you want to?”
“I just always hear people talk about your hair, how beautiful it is, how unique.”
“Irina, don’t grow it out. Men who like blondes aren’t going to like you any better with it longer. You’re perfect, Irina. If I was a man I’d go for you, not me.”
“But you’re not a man.”
“No, I’m not. And I’m totally hetero.”
“Yeah, I know. Does it bother you that I love you?”
Brenna thought about her answer for a while. She hadn’t been ready for that statement. “Bother me? No, I’m flattered. I worry about hurting you.” She sighed, “I’ve always worried that you’d tell me, and I’d say I don’t love you in that way and that you’d be hurt.”
Irina sat up and turned to look at her. “I’m not hurt, I know how you feel. I’ve always been afraid that if I told you, you wouldn’t want me as a friend anymore. You’re not mad? You aren’t going to push me away? We can still be friends?”
Brenna reached up and pulled the smaller woman down, cradling her head against her shoulder. “How could I be mad that someone loves me? It’s the greatest compliment you can get. I do love you. I’m just not sexually attracted to you. You’re beautiful, you’re sweet, and I love you to death, but I don’t want to screw you.”
Irina sighed happily. “As long as you’ll be my friend, and cuddle me like this, I’m happy. Thank you.” She wriggled a little closer, and they lay like that for a long time, not speaking, just feeling each other’s bodies and emotions.
Brenna reflected on how easy something she had been afraid of had worked out.
Irina asked, “Have you ever thought about taking money for it?”
“Sure, people tell me I could make a living as a succubus. A man offered me ten thousand dollars to go to bed with him once, before I knew what I was, before I met the family. I turned him down, but I think about it sometimes.”
“Siobhan tells me I can make a lot of money in New York, like five thousand, ten thousand a night. I think about it. I mean, what’s the difference between screwing strangers for free and screwing them for money?”
Brenna was quiet for a space then said, “Yeah, I wonder that, too. I guess I’ve always had a fear people would call me a whore. You know, in the society we grew up in, that’s the worst thing people can think. You’re a terrible person if you screw a lot of men for free, but you’re a criminal if any of them give you money.” Her face took on a look of distaste, “On the other hand, it’s pretty much accepted if you’re young and pretty and you can con an old rich man into supporting you. Weird.”
Rebecca knocked on the door then entered when Brenna called out. She walked over to the bed and sat on it, not showing any surprise at the two women lying in each other’s arms. “What’s up? Can I have a beer?”
She went and got a beer, offering the others one. When they declined, she said, “Really, what’s the deep discussion you’ve got going?”
“Rebecca,” Brenna asked, “Have you ever thought about taking money for it?”
“Hmmm … interesting question. You know, when I was so uptight about being a slut, I still felt moral because I wasn’t a whore. Isn’t that strange? You talk to Siobhan and she’ll tell you the condemnation of women selling their bodies is only because men don’t want to pay for it. They want you to give it away. It makes sense. I really don’t know what the difference is between doing strangers for free and charging them for it except the label.”
Irina spoke up, “What about Solstice Night? What we did? What we were expected to do? How did you feel about that?”
Brenna considered, “I felt like I was playing a part, like an actress. Siobhan and Cindy say we’re the celebrities, the rock stars of telepath society. Well, that’s what I felt like. I was cast in a role, and I played it. I wonder if that’s how my mother viewed it. From what I’ve heard, she screwed men for money, she screwed men for her own pleasure, and she screwed my dad for love. Either she was very good at hiding her feelings or she didn’t have a conflict between those things.”
“I just wonder if I’d feel different if someone was paying me. I wonder if I’d feel guilty or dirty or something,” Irina said. “I was trying to count, the other night. I lost my virginity at thirteen, and I don’t have any idea how many men I’ve been with. I don’t even have a cheap necklace or pair of earrings to show for it.”
~~~
Late that night, Brenna called Nigel, catching him first thing in the morning in London. “I hope I didn’t call before you had your morning tea,” she teased.
“Not at all, and it’s coffee, just so you know. Actually, I’ve been up since four, the German bourse is doing strange things. So what’s up? Just called to tell me you love me?”
She laughed, “You know I love you. As soon as Collin unties me from the bedpost I’ll fly into your arms.”
He returned her laughter, “The bounder, tell him I’m terribly displeased.”
“Nigel, I have a rather strange question. I hope you won’t be shocked or take it amiss.”
He laughed, “Brenna, without any disrespect to your beauty or intellect, you’re rather young and I’ve been working with Siobhan for a long time. I doubt you can shock me.”
“Well, Irina and I were talking, you know, just speculating, and I was wondering if you know anyone who runs a high-end brothel or escort service …”
“And you were wondering what it might feel like to do it professionally?”
“Yes, that’s what we were talking about.”
“It so happens our main operative in Amsterdam, mine and Collin’s, does run a high-end brothel, one of the most exclusive in Europe. Would you like me to make a discreet inquiry for you? What are we talking about, one night?”
“Yes, just one night. If you could, I’d be interested in finding out.”
“Sure, I can ask Margriet if she’d like to market a succubus or two as a special. Would you mind sending me pictures of you and Irina? They don’t have to be sexy ones. Just so she can see how beautiful you are.”
“I can send a couple tomorrow and sexy isn’t a problem. I can take pictures of us. Nigel, I don’t know if I’m really willing to go through with something like this or if Irina is. We were just talking, you know? But I am curious.”
“Send me the pictures, Brenna. I’ll be discreet and I won’t promise anything.”
“Thanks, Nigel.”
The next day, she spoke with Irina, then borrowed one of Callie’s cameras that wasn’t too complicated to operate. She and Irina put on corsets, took pictures of each other and sent them to Nigel.
~~~
Standing in the middle of the room, Brenna turned to Collin with a lecherous smile. “Want to see some of the other things I’ve
been practicing?” She teleported his pants to the top of the sideboard, and followed them with the rest of his clothes. More comfortable with her own clothes, she teleported all of them off at once.
He laughed. “Any other new tricks?”
“Not one I’ve practiced, but one I’ve wanted to try. Have you ever made love to another telekinetic? Do you think it would work to do it in mid-air?”
He floated up off the floor. “No, I’ve never tried it, but I’m game.”
It was an interesting experiment, one that had both of them laughing as they tried several positions and discovered issues with keeping in synch with each other. They did manage to make it work until they reached their climax. That broke their concentration and they ended up in a tangle of limbs on the floor laughing. “Next time, we try it over the bed,” Collin gasped.
~~~
Chapter 2-12
The two women exchanged the kind of glance women use when no knife is handy. - Ellery Queen
The flight to London was fun. Brenna discovered both Rebecca and Irina had flown only once before and she ensured they got window seats. Callie insisted Brenna take one as well, and all three spent the time flying over Ireland and England with their noses pressed against the glass.
The Council meetings were scheduled until three in the afternoon, Monday through Thursday. Brenna was jealous that her friends were free to sightsee and explore the city while she was forced to attend the meetings. While Irina, Rebecca, Siobhan and Antonia toured London, she had to listen to boring presentations by each of the regional managers for the first two days.
The bright spot, in Brenna’s estimation, was meeting Aislinn O’Rourke, regional director in Melbourne, Australia. The Oceana region was the largest in area and smallest in personnel. The office had been open only a year. A forty year-old Oxford graduate and native of Dublin, Aislinn had blazing red hair, a pale, clear complexion, emerald green eyes, and a fit, curvy body. She was very pretty but seemed very tired.
Her region seemed to be the only area of the company that was struggling. Aislinn hadn’t been to the holiday gatherings at the estate. When they broke for the day, Brenna sought her out and asked if she’d like to go for a drink.
“So you’re the new heir. I’ve been hoping to meet you,” Aislinn said wearily.
“I wasn’t aware that had been decided yet.”
“It’s just a formality. Callie wants out and you’re a convenient excuse. Everyone is tired of fighting her on it.”
“It sounds as though you’re tired of fighting a lot of things. What’s going on in your area? Do we need a stronger manager there?”
Anger flared in Aislinn’s eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with my abilities. I could take any of the other offices and do as good a job as is being done there now.”
“Oh? It sounded to me as though you were whining in there.”
“Is that why you asked me out? To beat me up? To show me how smart you are?”
“No, I wanted to ask you what’s really wrong, find out what it is you need that they aren’t giving you, and to piss you off and see what you’re made of. But I didn't ask you out for a drink to beat you up. There's something wrong that you're not saying, and I want to know what it is."
The redhead searched her face and probed her shields. Surprising her, Brenna dropped her first three shields and let her see inside her mind. “Good God! Oh … Oh my God …”
After a few minutes, Aislinn heaved a deep sigh, withdrew from Brenna’s mind and took a drink of her beer. “You’re scary. Jesus Christ you’re scary. Do you have any idea …? Oh hell, of course you don’t.”
A bruised look appeared in Brenna’s eyes, “People say that. I don’t mean to be.”
Hurriedly, Aislinn reassured her, “I don’t mean I’m afraid of you, but your potential, what you’re capable of, and I mean that in a good way, is incredible. Brenna, I’m going to trust you because I think you really want to help me, but if you ever think I’m in your way, let me know and I’ll move.
“To make a long story short, Australia and New Zealand are small countries, not in land, but in population. Our Oceana operation will never be a major one like New York or London or Hong Kong but there are a lot of natural resources in the area, raw materials that can feed other operations worldwide. What I need are human resources. I have a good core team, but there’s no population to draw on. I can’t even fill a position for an accountant, and the position has been vacant for six months.”
“What about wilders?”
“Shit, what do you think I have now? Only twenty of my hundred employees came from the Clan or from other Clans. I’ve scoured for wilders and I’ve about tapped out. Besides, the learning curve for them is high and I don’t have enough people to truly make up a society. We live with norms for the most part. It’s like being in exile.”
A bit of discrete questioning of various people revealed that Aislinn had been one of two candidates for that post. Callie and Jill had favored the other one, but Seamus had overruled them.
That evening, she sought out Antonia and presented her with the problem, hoping the older woman might have some suggestions.
“Brenna, sometimes there aren’t any creative, innovative answers. And other times the answer is brute force. You say the west coast and Hong Kong are growing? Why aren’t they including Australia in their plans?”
“We seem to have tunnel vision. Noel’s operation in San Francisco is growing but there are almost a thousand Clan members in the Pacific Northwest and we don’t have any facilities there. None of them work for the Clan.”
“Then tell Aislinn to move her operations to Seattle. Set up a Seattle-Melbourne office. Market to Oceana, pull natural resources from there, but have the majority of her workforce in Seattle.”
Brenna stared at her and then started laughing. “Interesting. Thanks Antonia.”
The following day’s meetings were primarily concerned with business planning and projections for the ensuing year. Brenna pulled Aislinn aside at lunch and explained her idea.
“They wouldn’t let me,” Aislinn said. “I’ve been assigned Oceana and the west coast is Noel’s.”
“I’m not saying you should pull out of Oceana, I’m saying you should expand into Seattle, especially for the business functions you can’t find people for in Australia. Continue developing markets in your core region and developing the raw resources, but there are five times as many Clan members in Seattle as you have in all of Australia and Noel isn’t doing anything with Seattle. He’s focused on Tokyo.”
Aislinn shook her head. “I understand what you’re saying and it makes sense. It would take time to develop, though, and I don’t have any allies that would support me.”
“You will tomorrow.”
Aislinn stared at her, understanding growing in her eyes. “You really think it would work?”
“I don’t know. I think giving it a shot and finding out might be more productive than banging your head against the wall.”
“And you’d support me if I made such a proposal?”
“I’m not suggesting that you make any proposal. I read somewhere that it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission, and in my experience that’s true. I’ll make a proposal to spend my time attempting to help you straighten things out. They’re all aware that I know nothing about business. They’ll see it as a way to have someone other than them, namely you, train me. But I can request resources, which they’ll give me as a sop.”
Aislinn’s eyes widened as Brenna spoke. “Some people think you’ll be a puppet when Seamus retires. Succubus, scientist, young and not interested in the real world. I think they’re in for a big surprise.”
Brenna was silent for several minutes, her eyes unfocused. Then she asked, “What would happen to Australia if there was a nuclear war in the northern hemisphere?”
“Probably nothing. We’d be cut off, but it wouldn’t affect us. No trade, but the country is pretty self-sufficient,” Aislinn said.
Aislinn laughed, “That’s the major thing they have.”
That evening she asked Collin to run a database search on Clan and other known telepaths in the Pacific Northwest. She asked for all information about them, Gifts, education, job history, personal history. His search returned one thousand twenty-two adults in Washington and Oregon. What she hadn’t expected was for him to expand her search parameters a little. It turned out there were another five hundred seventeen adults in Vancouver. He sent the file to her account and she took him to bed and thanked him.
~~~
With her party separated, Rebecca needed security for the three succubi playing tourist and another team to cover Brenna. Jeremy volunteered for Brenna duty, saying he had been to London many times. Rebecca suspected that a pretty brunette who was helping Nigel with the conference might have something to do with Jeremy’s willingness to sit through boring meetings all day. When he showed up with the woman on his arm for breakfast on the second morning, she considered her suspicions confirmed.
Rebecca and Carly took a team of eight Protectors with them. Each of the succubi had two assigned to them and the others floated at the periphery of their group. The first day, they took the Tower of London tour, walked along the Thames, rode the Big Eye, and generally played tourist. A history major in college, Rebecca was in heaven. Irina’s father was English, but she’d never been out of the U.S. She bounced around like a leprechaun on meth, laughing and skipping and trying to look at everything at once.
At one point, Irina flung herself at Siobhan, hugging the taller woman around the waist, and said, “Thank you so much for rescuing me. If I’d taken that job at the UN I’d be listening to a bunch of boring speeches right now.”
The second day they took brief tours of Westminster and Parliament, then ate lunch outside along the river. In the afternoon they went shopping at Harrods. On the third day, they hit the British Museum. Rebecca could have spent a week there, but there was so much more the others wanted to see, Piccadilly, Leister Square, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and more.
The Telepathic Clans Omnibus Page 41
