The New Rakes

by Nikki Magennis

‘You wanted to fuck him.’

  ‘I … Ruby, don’t be like this.’

  ‘Be like what? You’re right, I’m not the only one who’ll ever want him.’ Ruby walked towards Jon. His eyes were pleading with her and, as she reached out to touch his face, he swallowed hard. ‘I just want to know that I’m the only one he’ll ever want.’

  ‘You know that –’ Jon started to cry out, but Ruby moved her hand over his mouth and silenced him.

  ‘I don’t want to hear it,’ Ruby said. She lowered her hand, dragging it over his chin so that his mouth pulled open. ‘I want to see it.’

  ‘What are you doing?’ Jon asked, his voice nearly a whisper.

  Ruby was tugging at his buttons, undoing his shirt slowly. She pulled it aside and bared his stomach. Kara tried to look away, but she was mesmerised. Not only by Jon’s naked flesh, the white shock of his hairless chest and the rapid rise and fall of his ribs as he breathed, but by Ruby’s deliberation. She was wrestling with the fly of his jeans now, tugging at it despite the look of panic and confusion that flashed across Jon’s face.

  ‘Ruby, stop,’ he said, reaching up to grip her wrists. Kara turned her face away.

  ‘I want to see you,’ Ruby said.

  In the half-light of dawn, the room was grainy and the tension made everything seem dreamlike. Kara heard the soft clicks as Ruby unbuckled Jon’s belt and pulled his zipper down. Her movements were slow, but she didn’t pause, and Jon seemed shocked into silence.

  ‘Kara, come over here,’ Ruby said. Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. Kara knew she couldn’t argue.

  She moved closer to the couple, closer to forbidden territory. With his clothes half undone, Kara felt that she was seeing Jon at his most vulnerable, the delicate fuzz of his pubic hair and the pale root of his cock just showing.

  Ruby shoved her hand into the open maw of his trousers, gripping his cock in her fist. ‘Kiss him,’ she said to Kara, without breaking her gaze with Jon.

  ‘Ruby this is crazy,’ Kara said.

  ‘I don’t care,’ Ruby said. ‘It’s what I need.’

  Kara held back, wondering when the dreamlike atmosphere would turn into a nightmare.

  ‘Do it,’ said Ruby.

  Jon didn’t turn his head until the last moment, but when he did Kara saw the desperation in his eyes. His mouth was soft and yielded to hers, letting her bite on his lower lip and push the tip of her tongue between his lips. His body swayed and Kara could hear Ruby’s breath speeding up. She kept kissing Jon, feeling the strangeness of it. It was almost like incest, she thought, not like kissing a lover.

  Kara felt a tug. Ruby was pulling at the sheet she had wrapped around her middle. Silently, Kara dropped her arms and let the cloth be unwound. Ruby let it fall to the floor and pushed Kara closer. She was naked, inches from Jon, with her mouth fastened to his and his girlfriend’s hand on her ass, kneading her flesh.

  It was strange how she could feel so many things at once, Kara thought. Fear, arousal and guilt all mixed up in a cocktail shaker and poured down her throat.

  20

  ‘HOW DOES IT feel?’ Ruby asked, watching Kara’s face closely. ‘Do you like that?’

  But when Kara broke away from Jon to answer her, she got a sharp slap on her bare ass. ‘Don’t stop,’ Ruby said. ‘I want to see this.’

  Kara’s head dropped, her gaze focused on the floor. The situation felt very wrong, yet there was such a charge surrounding their tight triangle that she couldn’t pull away. With Jon half-undressed and Kara completely naked, Ruby was the one in control. Such a small girl, swamped in a baggy striped jumper that was fraying at the cuffs, with her hair wild and her face pale under her freckles. But the force of her will, her anger and burning intensity meant she took on the role of director just as surely as Mike. If not as calmly.

  Ruby pushed at Kara, nudging her closer to Jon. Now there was only a sliver of air between the tips of her naked breasts and his chest. In the cold of the room her skin puckered with goosebumps and she was keenly aware of the heat of Ruby’s hand resting on the small of her back.

  At last she stumbled forwards, pressing up against Jon, feeling his shirt crushed between them and the smooth hot strip of skin where their naked bodies touched. Ruby’s other hand was between them, curled round her boyfriend’s cock, and her knuckles bumped against Kara’s pubis as she manipulated Jon.

  The dull pressure of Ruby’s fist on the root of Kara’s clit was a pleasant shock and part of Kara wanted to press harder against her friend’s hand. Something held her back though, knowing that this was Ruby’s game and she had to play by Ruby’s rules.

  ‘Down,’ Ruby said, as if reading Kara’s mind. ‘Kneel.’

  Kara slid to the floor silently, with Ruby’s hand on her shoulder guiding her. When her face was pushed into Jon’s crotch and she inhaled the sweet sharp smell of him, Kara closed her eyes. Ruby’s fist was against her face now, feeding her the tip of Jon’s cock. Automatically, she opened her mouth. The soft head of his cock rolled on her tongue, already stiffening so that she had to stretch her jaw to take it all in.

  ‘Suck him,’ Ruby murmured, working the length of Jon’s shaft deeper into her mouth. Kara didn’t need any encouragement. She sucked obediently, letting Jon swell and harden until he filled her whole mouth.

  Her hands hung uselessly at her sides. She didn’t even need to be tied to know that she could only touch what Ruby told her to. This was a kind of penance, with the floorboards hard under her knees and the cold air chilling her.

  Above her, Ruby and Jon were lost in a deep kiss. Jon’s knees were shaking and he made small meaningless noises in the back of his throat. Kara felt him twitch in her mouth and tasted a salty drop of pre-come.

  ‘Stop,’ Ruby said, pulling away and breathing hard. She looked at Jon, face screwed in a grimace as he tried to hold himself back.

  ‘God, you look so pretty when you’re going to come,’ she said. ‘But I’m not ready yet.’ She looked down at Kara, still kneeling on the floor. ‘I want to see you finish what you started. In the pictures,’ she continued, ‘you kissed her pussy. I want you to do it again.’

  Kara met Jon’s eyes. Guilt flared in his expression, his big doe eyes wide and uncertain. Was this a second betrayal? Even with Ruby’s blessing the act felt dangerous.

  ‘Ruby, you don’t have to do this,’ Kara said, even as she felt the pulse start between her legs.

  Ruby tossed her hair back from her face. Her eyes locked on Kara’s and she nodded. ‘I don’t have to. But it’s what I want,’ she said. Her voice was so soft and calm that Kara believed her.

  Ruby yanked her head towards a rickety wooden chair by the stereo. ‘Sit on there. And spread your legs.’

  Kara walked to the chair and lowered her ass onto the cold seat. She positioned herself as Ruby had instructed. Sitting with her legs open and her hands on her knees, she felt more exposed than ever. The pose was completely obscene. The brush of her pubic hair didn’t conceal the deep-pink bud of her clit and the wet gleam between her legs advertised quite clearly how turned on she was. No matter the rights and wrongs of the situation, she was aroused. She squirmed on the chair, the glimmer of shame only heightening the tension.

  ‘Isn’t this making it worse for you?’ she whispered to Ruby.

  To her surprise, the other girl smiled. ‘What hurt was the secret,’ Ruby said, leading Jon over to her. ‘This time when he licks you, I’ll be right here watching.’

  Jon crouched in front of Kara and bent his head to her lap, following Ruby’s instructions perfectly. Kara tried to keep herself still as she felt his warm breath on her. It was a replay of the photo shoot, she realised, only this time there was a backbeat of uneasy emotion. Should she feel less guilty because Ruby was directing the scene? When Jon’s tongue flickered over her clitoris, Kara suddenly reached out for Ruby’s hand.

  ‘Hold still,’ Ruby whispered. Jon was lapping at her now, his tongue blunt and clumsy. He could have be
en a dog drinking milk. The lips of Kara’s pussy were slippery wet, and the soft licking made her melt as though she were dissolving from the centre outwards. There was nothing to hold on to, nothing hard to rub up against.

  Kara clenched the muscles of her inner thighs, straining for something more intense, but Jon kept sucking her relentlessly, turning her whole body to jelly. She wanted his tongue to penetrate her, or his fingers, anything that she could tighten around.

  ‘Don’t let her come,’ Ruby said. ‘Just lick her softly.’

  Instantly, Jon slowed his movements and lessened the pressure, so that he was dabbing gently at Kara’s pussy with the tip of his tongue.

  ‘Please,’ Kara gasped, the little tickling touches infuriating her. She gritted her teeth and tried to push herself against the edge of the chair to feel something more solid than Jon’s butterfly kisses.

  ‘Stop it,’ Ruby said, mildly, reaching down to pinch Kara’s nipple. She squeezed hard, sending a burst of fabulous pain through Kara’s body. From the smile that curled on her lips, Kara knew Ruby enjoyed the act. Somehow the intensity of the sensation soothed Kara’s need and she sank back onto the chair to let Jon continue teasing her with his mouth. He darted his tongue in tiny circles around the mouth of her pussy, flicking at her lips and nudging the base of her clit.

  Kara felt like she was falling, as though the tightrope was lurching underneath her and unravelling at both ends. She’d known when she and Jon got mixed up in that twisted photo shoot that what she was doing was wrong. Her desire had been the problem, that reckless shimmer of temptation that seemed to trip her up so often.

  When Mike tied her up or held her down, he fixed her desire. Sharpened it to a point. The rules were clear and all she had to do was play along.

  But now her best friend’s boyfriend had his head buried between her legs, and everything was getting tangled and strange. The rules didn’t make any sense any more. Kara’s knees were shaking and the soles of her feet burned as Jon’s head nodded between her legs and his tongue stroked her up and down. She thought she might slip and she wanted to shift in the seat, but any movement might make him stop.

  ‘Please, Ruby,’ Kara said. She knew everything was up to the other girl.

  Kara’s fingers were still twisted in Ruby’s. The other girl shook her hand free and stuck it down her skirt. So she was turned on, Kara thought, before the next stroke of Jon’s tongue sent her spinning. She clung to the seat of the chair, her hips lifting off it to meet Jon’s maddeningly soft mouth.

  ‘Please,’ she called again, without really knowing what she was asking for. ‘It’s too much.’

  In response, Ruby pulled her hand out of her skirt and thrust her fingers into Kara’s mouth. The roughness of the gesture and the shock of it was what Kara needed, only in the wrong place. Still, she sucked on her friend’s fingers, grateful for the sensation of having something hard crammed into her. They left a slight metallic taste on her tongue, foreign and dirty.

  When Ruby pulled them away Kara gasped with the sudden emptiness. But she knew better than to complain.

  ‘She says it’s too much, Jon. You can stop now.’ Ruby gave a dismissive toss of her hair as she spoke, as though she was shaking Kara off. For the moment, she seemed to have finished playing with her toys.

  Her face set, Ruby slid down on the floor next to Jon and pulled him to her, kissing him with a violence that made Kara’s heart pulse with envy. She sat on her chair, sticky and unsatisfied, watching Ruby and Jon tongue each other. The stiff pole of Jon’s cock stuck out of his trousers and Kara knew that Ruby was going to take him right there in front of her.

  If that was her revenge, it was perfect. Claim her boyfriend with Kara watching on helplessly, unable to protest or join in. Kara felt the pulse stringing her along, the want and the lack booming inside her. She opened and closed her hands, but didn’t dare move to touch herself the way she wanted to.

  Ruby and Jon were devouring each other, falling back onto the floor and pulling clothes out of the way. Kara envied them so badly it hurt. She was transfixed, every muscle in her body wound up and tense. Ruby straddled her man and drove down on his cock, crying out through gritted teeth. She shook her wild dark curls over her shoulder and rode him, her hips bucking hard against his.

  On her chair, Kara rocked her hips from side to side, moving in sync with the couple on the floor. It was fascinating and bizarre at the same time.

  ‘Oh God, Ruby,’ Jon said, reaching up to touch her.

  She grabbed his hands as they flailed in midair and pinned them back over his head. ‘You want to come?’ she whispered.

  ‘Yes.’

  Ruby smiled. Slowly, her movements stilled, until she was motionless over Jon’s body. She held her face inches from his. ‘No,’ she said, her voice all velvet and treacherous. ‘Not yet.’

  Jon groaned. Ruby hushed him and stroked his face. She let her fingertips rest on his lips, very gently. Something in the touch was so intimate that it embarrassed Kara. It was as though by witnessing this one small gesture she was trespassing on territory even more private than the sex.

  Jon kicked and tried to lift his hips. He turned his head to bury his face in Ruby’s palm, whispering something into it that Kara couldn’t hear. Ruby stayed where she was, unmoving, her thighs locked over Jon’s hips.

  ‘Come here,’ she said.

  Kara knew she was talking to her and she responded instantly, slipping onto the floor and crawling over to them. She felt like a beggar at a feast, waiting to see what Ruby would offer her – something to suck or something to put inside her. It really didn’t matter. She hovered next to their entwined bodies, ready to do whatever she was told.

  But Ruby had a different plan.

  ‘Watch us,’ she hissed, drawing herself up straight. She leaned back, arching her spine like a dancer so that Kara had a clear view. Her eyes were drawn to the point where their bodies joined, the cleft of Ruby’s sex with Jon’s cock buried inside it. When Ruby started moving again, Jon’s shaft slid out of her, his skin dark and glistening with moisture.

  ‘This is what you don’t get,’ Ruby said, breathing heavily. ‘This is what you’ll never have.’

  She locked eyes with Kara as she swayed over Jon, rising up and sinking down again, over and over. Although Jon was pleading with her, she didn’t increase her movements, just kept rocking at a steady pace. Her eyes were glittering, with arousal, but also with the thrill of victory.

  ‘You get to be the star. You get to win the race.’ She panted as she spoke. ‘You get to win all the games, Kara. But you don’t get Jon.’

  ‘No,’ Kara said, ‘I wasn’t playing games with you.’

  But Ruby wasn’t listening any more. Her body had curled over Jon’s, her hands splayed on his chest while she ground her hips into his. Kara spread her hands on her knees and watched as Ruby rode Jon into the floor. She was locked out of their tryst, outside of the circle. Neither of them were even looking at her any more, just moving against each other, their movements perfectly in sync.

  Kara could tell they were going to come from the way Jon’s fists were curling and Ruby’s screwed-shut eyes. It wasn’t a performance any more – their bodies were lost in each other. Ruby slammed down, fucking Jon with short swift thrusts.

  Kara held her breath, listening to the broken cries and the short panting breaths. She watched as Ruby curled over and spilled across Jon, raining kisses all over his face and cupping his head in her hands. Words tumbled out of her mouth, softly whispered, something Kara couldn’t quite hear. There was a catch in her voice, as though she was crying.

  Jon repeated her words back to her and the two of them collapsed, sagged against each other. Ruby buried her head in the crook of her boyfriend’s neck and breathed hard.

  Sitting next to them, Kara heard the heartbeat in her ears match the pulse in her womb. It was the same restless rhythm that pushed her forwards every day – the one that she heard just before she went on stage or
when she was about to have sex.

  Jon stroked the small of Ruby’s back, a rhythmic soothing touch that Kara suddenly longed for more than anything. She hugged herself tightly and listened to the birds singing outside.

  Her phone woke her – the jangling ring tone screeching into her dreams and jerking her awake in seconds. She was in her own bed, wrapped in the sheet and lying flat on her stomach. Bright sunshine sliced through the curtains and the sky outside was a hard flat blue. Kara swore and scrabbled through her clothes for the phone. Mike’s name showed on the screen, and when she caught sight of the clock displayed under his number, Kara winced.

  He didn’t even bother to say hello.

  ‘Where the hell are you?’

  Kara started to stammer an explanation, all the memories of the long strange night flooding her brain and making her stomach twist. But she was still foggy and half asleep, and the words wouldn’t come out right. She was sure she could hear Mike grinding his teeth on the other end.

  ‘I don’t want to hear it. I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes. Be ready.’

  Kara counted in her head. Three hours until the sound check. Four until the doors opened and the audience started filling the black cave of the Polar. Five hours until she had to be up there, with a new set of backing musicians and new songs, making her big impression on all the people who mattered.

  She stumbled out of bed and stubbed her toe on the way to the bathroom. Lucky that adrenaline dulls the pain, she thought to herself as she jumped in the shower and blasted herself awake with scalding hot water. She thought about doing some vocal warm-ups in the steamy room, but decided she couldn’t risk waking Jon and Ruby.

  The night had been intense, weird and sexy – a strange way of making peace. But Kara still felt as if the ground underfoot was treacherous, that there were still pitfalls and tripwires between her and Ruby.

  For some reason, after all the charged sex and emotional confrontations, the image that stuck in her head was of Jon and Ruby holding each other so tight they looked like they’d been carved from a single piece of stone.