The Gallery

by Fredrica Alleyn

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Hasn’t Detective Chief Inspector Williams told you to stay away from me?’

  ‘Yes,’ muttered Tom, ‘but he doesn’t control my private life as well as my working hours.’

  ‘You should listen to him,’ said Cressida. ‘If anything goes wrong because of Monday we’ll probably both lose our jobs.’

  ‘It won’t,’ said Tom soothingly, and Cressida thought that he was almost certainly right.

  As soon as she put the phone down she forgot about him and began to think about the forthcoming weekend when Rick was taking her to meet some fellow artists.

  The rest of the week passed off without incident, and although Cressida didn’t manage to make any progress on the case, she wasn’t worried because she felt sure that her weekend with Rick would provide some useful information. She was enjoying working at the gallery more and more, and sometimes wondered how easy it would be to adjust to being a policewoman again once the undercover job was over.

  At five o’clock on the Friday night she straightened up in her chair and rubbed the back of her neck. ‘That’s the list of framing finished,’ she said with relief to Leonora. ‘I hope Polly gets over her virus soon, it’s made such a lot of work.’

  Leonora, who hadn’t contributed anything to help out with the extra workload, nodded. ‘We ought to be paid more for covering for her,’ she remarked. ‘After all, that side of things is her business really, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, but it’s a service our customers want and if we start turning people away they might go elsewhere,’ explained Cressida.

  ‘Who cares?’ queried Leonora. ‘It’s not our gallery. Daddy’s away tonight,’ she added in a rare moment of intimacy. ‘Piers and I have got to keep Rose company at some boring dinner tonight when she’s entertaining one of his friends for him. We were meant to be going to a party too.’

  ‘I’m surprised you agreed to help out,’ said Cressida, well aware of the antagonism between Leonora and her stepmother.

  ‘Rose knows things about me that I don’t want Daddy to know so sometimes I have to help her,’ admitted the younger girl. ‘It isn’t that it will be ghastly, just boring. Daddy’s friends only ever talk about money and property.’

  ‘Let’s hope Piers keeps his ears open then – he might pick up a tip or two for the future!’ laughed Cressida as she picked up her things, called out to Marcia and left for home.

  Piers was going to pick up some tips, but not the kind Cressida was talking about.

  ‘Why do I have to dress up?’ Leonora demanded of her stepmother when she was changing later that evening. ‘Piers will only be in jeans.’

  A picture of Piers, his dark curly hair flopping over his forehead as his deep blue eyes stared out through their long lashes, flashed into Rose’s mind and she turned away from Leonora to hide her smile.

  ‘Never mind what Piers wears; he isn’t my stepson. I’m not having you insult a friend of your father’s by wearing a baggy pair of leggings and that tatty top. It’s dinner we’re having, not a burger and fries.’

  ‘You’re such a snob,’ retorted Leonora as she pulled off her clothes and dragged on a short lilac-coloured flared skirt and a floral print cropped top. ‘If you’d been born rich you wouldn’t make such a fuss about things. It gives away your lack of breeding, you know,’ she added spitefully.

  Rose ignored the jibe. She was looking forward to the evening too much to let Leonora spoil things at this late stage. It had been such a stroke of luck when Peter had been called away to see his old and ailing nanny that she’d scarcely been able to believe her good fortune. Then, before she’d had to invent any excuse for Leonora’s benefit, Peter had told her that he still wanted her to have Guy round to dinner as planned.

  ‘I don’t want to spend the evening with him on my own,’ she’d protested. ‘He frightens me a bit, and if you’re away I won’t feel safe.’

  Peter had laughed, but Rose knew that he’d been flattered. ‘You sweet thing!’ he’d exclaimed. ‘In that case, Leonora and Piers can make up a four. It will do Leonora good.’

  So there it was; the whole evening that Guy had demanded handed to Rose on a plate. Now, as she pulled the ankle-length cream satin dress with its thin shoulder straps down over her hips, she realised that she was trembling with excitement at the thought of what lay ahead.

  Piers, who was about her height and worked out regularly, had attracted her from the moment she’d set eyes on him, and knowing that tonight she would actually possess him and teach him things that he’d probably never even heard of before, was so arousing she could hardly bear it.

  As for the thought of watching Leonora writhing in ecstasy beneath the skilful hands of Guy, well, that was a prospect that made her want to laugh aloud. She couldn’t wait to see the sulky girl helplessly enslaved by what would probably be the first truly passionate encounter of her life.

  ‘Just do as I say and try and be pleasant,’ said Rose as she heard Guy’s car on the drive. ‘You might find the evening turns out to be more fun than you expected.’

  ‘It couldn’t be less,’ snapped Leonora, and then she opened the front door and was astonished to find Guy Cronje standing on the doorstep.

  Chapter Six

  ‘I’M SORRY, DADDY’S out,’ said Leonora, hoping that Guy hadn’t come round to complain about her lack of interest at the gallery. ‘He won’t be back until about three in the morning, and we’ve got an important visitor for dinner so I’m afraid I can’t ask you in to see my stepmother.’ She was pleased about that, because if Guy was there to complain then Rose would be more likely to believe him than her father.

  Guy gave a slight smile. ‘I’m the visitor,’ he said softly.

  Leonora swallowed hard and hoped she didn’t look as foolish as she felt. Wondering why Rose hadn’t told her this, she stood to one side and let Guy walk into the entrance lobby.

  For the first time that she could remember she was grateful to Rose. If it hadn’t been for her she wouldn’t have bothered to put on her skirt for the evening, and she knew very well that Guy had a keen eye for women’s clothes. He was looking devastating himself, in an Italian suit that was dark taupe in colour with a single-breasted jacket. His dark blue shirt had wide-set collar wings, and the severity of the outfit was offset by a flamboyant red and blue tie with white rectangles woven into the silk.

  Leonora couldn’t think of a word to say to him, and she was casting around desperately in her mind for something that would be sufficiently witty when Rose drifted down the stairs. Her simple cream dress fitted her like a second skin and Leonora saw Guy’s eyes light up with appreciation, just as all men’s eyes lit up whenever Rose appeared on the scene.

  Luckily, before Leonora could go into a sulk, Piers arrived, and soon after that they were all in Sir Peter’s study having pre-dinner drinks. To Leonora’s surprise Rose took an unusual amount of interest in Piers, which meant that Guy was left to talk to Leonora.

  Guy, who had been able to read every single emotion that had passed through Leonora’s mind from the moment she opened the front door to him, was delighted by the way things were going. He could see the attraction that Piers held for Rose. The boy was about twenty, he thought. He was well built and confident on the surface, but once Rose got to work on him that self-confidence would soon disappear and she’d have the pleasure of taking on the role of sexual teacher just as Guy intended to do with Leonora.

  He knew that the gallery didn’t interest Leonora – Marcia’s complaints had made that clear – so he asked her about her plans for the future, and as she chatted away about her forthcoming visit to Italy he watched her face carefully and tried to picture it when she was at the height of sexual passion.

  This was an unusual evening for him. Normally he spent his time with experienced women – either Marcia or else the young wives of older men who needed to gain their satisfaction discreetly elsewhere, without jeopardising their marriages. This suited him very well, although in
the past few days he’d found himself thinking quite a lot about Cressida Farleigh and what it would be like to make love to her.

  Leonora was clearly so inexperienced that almost anything he did would have very satisfying results, but he did wonder now why he’d wanted her so much. He supposed that he must be getting tired of women who knew it all, but there had to be a middle path – a young woman who knew quite a lot but was still anxious to discover more about her sexuality, Leonora was almost a blank sheet. It was impossible to imagine that she and Piers did anything more adventurous than straight sex in the back of the boy’s car.

  At dinner the two women sat at opposite ends of the table, and by the time they were eating dessert Guy knew from Piers’s flushed cheeks that Rose was already making her intentions clear. She’d probably been touching his leg beneath the tablecloth from the moment soup was served, he thought with amusement, but he himself hadn’t made any move towards Leonora, who had talked endlessly about total trivia.

  They moved from the dining room to the lounge for coffee, and once there Rose’s intentions became even more clear as she patted the arm of her chair in an invitation for Piers to sit next to her. Guy felt Leonora’s body stiffen with shock as her young lover immediately went and sat where Rose had indicated, and then heard her quick intake of breath as she watched her stepmother’s hand rest on his knee, her fingers scratching lightly through the heavy denim of his jeans.

  Guy, who’d been standing behind Leonora’s chair, rested his hands on her shoulders and moved them over the surprisingly cool skin, skimming the surface as softly as he could so that for a few seconds Leonora wasn’t sure what he was doing. Then, when she did realise, she sat perfectly still and never even turned her head to look up at him.

  Rose smiled at her stepdaughter across the room and then very deliberately began to unfasten the buttons on Piers’s shirt. Her hand moved inside and she rubbed his chest. ‘You work out a lot, don’t you?’ she asked huskily.

  Piers, who could hardly speak, nodded and made a sound of assent.

  ‘I like a well-muscled body,’ continued Rose. ‘I work out a little myself, mostly on my exercise bike. Not that I manage to do many miles on it, but it all helps, don’t you think?’

  Piers nodded. ‘Yes, of course,’ he muttered. ‘I don’t think you need to worry too much, though. You’ve got a lovely figure.’ Rose gave him one of her most enigmatic smiles and Guy had to increase his grip on Leonora’s shoulders as she started to rise up from her chair.

  ‘Shall I show you the bike?’ went on Rose, getting up from her seat and catching hold of Piers by the hand. He didn’t need to be invited twice and without a glance back at Leonora he followed Rose from the room.

  ‘Well,’ said Guy softly, ‘I think we’d better go and keep an eye on them, don’t you?’ As he spoke he walked round in front of her and caught both her wrists in one hand so that for a fleeting moment he had her imprisoned in his grip. Leonora stared at him, her cheeks pink and then she too rose and followed him out of the room.

  Rose had taken Piers to the second bedroom, one of the few rooms in the house that Guy considered to be tastefully decorated, and as he and Leonora entered he paused for a moment as his eyes took in the quietly sensual appeal of the room.

  Two large eighteenth-century armchairs had been covered in a pink and white check design while the walls and curtains were in a soft pink and fawn Braquenie print. The same colours were picked up in the deep pile carpet, which also featured a Braquenie design.

  On the walls there were numerous pictures of French origin: cafe and restaurant scenes, and one evocative painting of a couple standing outside a restaurant, their bodies half-turned away from each other as they began to part. The look of infinite sadness on the face of the woman always had a profound effect on Guy because it made him wonder why the relationship was ending. Despite the sadness there was an eroticism about the couple that made you feel that in the time leading up to the parting they’d experienced something incredible, something that would live with them for ever. He thought Rick Marks would probably like it.

  The decoration of the room held no interest for Leonora, but what was happening on the large double bed did. Her eyes were wide with astonishment as she saw that her stepmother was totally naked, lying on her side watching as Piers hastily finished removing his jeans and boxer shorts. Once he was naked he was on the bed in seconds, and with a soft laugh of excitement Rose rolled him on to his back with his head on the pillows.

  A strange tightness formed in Leonora’s chest, and she couldn’t take her eyes off the bed as Rose positioned herself on top of Piers with her carefully shaven sex lips resting just above his mouth. As she lowered herself on to him, the fingers of her right hand fondling his testicles as her mouth closed about his already rigid penis, Guy moved Leonora into the room and closed the door softly behind them.

  Piers was making strangled noises of pleasure as he sucked vigorously at Rose’s vulva. She turned her head back and gave him one of her strange smiles. ‘Slow down, Piers,’ she murmured. ‘Use your tongue more. Lick me like an ice cream cone, up and down, and then swirl the tip around my clitoris. That’s what I really like.’

  Guy glanced at Leonora. Her face and neck were flushed and she was trembling all over. When he reached out and began to stroke the nape of her neck she gave a soft sigh and leant backward. He knew then that it was all going to work out as he’d intended. Piers and Rose were turning her on, and in a few more minutes she’d be ready for anything he chose to do; anything that could ease the desire that was already building inside her.

  For Leonora it was both shocking and arousing. She wanted to look away from what was happening on the bed, but she couldn’t. She and Piers had never done anything like this. She’d suggested it once but he’d reacted as though she’d asked him to do something immoral. Clearly his inhibitions had vanished now that he was with Rose.

  She was also acutely aware of Guy Cronje standing behind her and the gentle touch of his hand as he stroked her neck. She realised that this entire evening had been planned, and obviously Guy intended to make love to her just as Rose was making love to Piers. Leonora didn’t know whether this knowledge was making her tremble with fear or desire. All that she knew with absolute certainty was that the scene she was witnessing was making her feel more aroused than she’d ever felt before, and when Rose gave a sudden involuntary gasp of delight as Piers’s tongue touched the side of her swollen clitoris, Leonora jumped and felt her nipples harden beneath her skimpy top.

  Piers had never known such incredible sensations. Not only was Rose stroking and licking his testicles as she played with him, she had also pushed a hand beneath his buttocks and eased a finger into his rectum until she was able to softly massage his prostate gland. When she first started to do this Piers felt his orgasm beginning and tingles shot up his shaft as his testicles tightened and his stomach muscles contracted sharply.

  Rose had expected this and she changed the pressure so that suddenly she was pressing deeply on the gland. To Piers’s surprise this stopped his orgasm seconds before the point of no return so that all he was left with was a throbbing erection and the sensation of the moment of impending release dying away. He made a sound of protest but Rose ignored him. She was nowhere near ready for their lovemaking to end and the knowledge that he was frustrated only increased her own pleasure.

  ‘When I’ve finished, then you can come, Piers,’ she murmured and immediately Piers redoubled his efforts to please her as his own climax ebbed further away. He slid his tongue up and down the channel between her sex lips and caressed the side of her clitoris with its tip until he felt her shudder above him and then grind her vulva down hard against his mouth.

  Leonora and Guy watched Rose’s first orgasm, and when she tipped back her head and closed her eyes Guy knew that he couldn’t wait any longer before he started making love to Leonora. She turned to face him and he peeled her top off over her head and then took off his own clothes a
s she removed her skirt. When she started to remove her high-legged lace panties he stopped her, and before she realised what was happening he had picked up the discarded tank top and with one swift movement drawn her hands behind her back and used it to fasten her wrists together.

  Nothing Leonora had ever experienced had led her to expect this and she gave a squeal of surprise. Guy smiled at her, licked the middle finger of his left hand and then drew it down through the centre of each of her rigid nipples in turn so that both breasts started to swell.

  ‘It will be more fun this way,’ he assured her, but Leonora wasn’t sure he was right. She now had no control over what happened, and that was both frightening and darkly exciting at the same time.

  Rose, who had Piers’s tongue deep inside her vagina, spasmed in pleasure for the second time and swirled her tongue around the ridge beneath the head of his penis as a reward for his efforts. The problem with Piers was that whenever she did something particularly delicious he threatened to climax, and she had to keep checking him. This time, just as he felt the wonderful prickling feeling in his glans, Rose squeezed firmly with her thumb at the spot where the head of his penis joined the shaft and at the same time pressed hard on the opposite side of the penis with her forefinger. He could feel her fingers curled around his shaft as she squeezed but to his dismay the firmness of the pressure in those particular spots meant that his erection subsided slightly and all chance of him climaxing vanished. He moaned with disappointment and Rose laughed softly.

  ‘There’s a long way to go yet, Piers, but it will be worth it, I promise you. I’m going to change position now and you can enter me from behind, but slide in slowly and make sure you massage my clitoris at the same time.’

  Piers wished she wouldn’t be so explicit in her directions. Her words only increased his excitement and he felt like a sixteen year old rather than a twenty year old as his penis grew rock hard again. The constant arousal and then denial of gratification was becoming painful, but despite this he didn’t want it all to end. As the lightly tanned, slender body moved athletically round on the bed and he slid into her from behind, he knew that he’d never have the chance of making love to such a beautiful and experienced woman again and must make the most of this moment.