‘I think we should stop there,’ he said calmly. ‘You haven’t really relaxed at all, have you? Time for the flotation part of the session. I’ll help you into the water and then fetch Bradley. He may be useful later.’
Despite the fact that they had been lovers for over a year now, Marcia still didn’t totally trust Guy. His behaviour was too unpredictable, his changes of mood too swift, for her ever to relax totally with him, and her body was taut with tension as he led her towards the bath of water.
‘Why are you so tense tonight?’ he murmured, running his fingers over the nape of her neck. ‘You know how much you enjoy this.’
She did, but not the fact that she was blind and helpless. ‘I’m too vulnerable,’ she said sharply.
There was a short silence. ‘Then I’d better let you go,’ said Guy slowly. ‘You can use the flotation tank on your own and see if that’s sufficient to relax you, but I hope you won’t mind if I don’t stay around to watch. I might get a little bored, I think.’
Marcia cursed her stupidity. She knew that it was the very fact that she was totally under his control that excited her so much. If he were to go and leave her alone in the room then there would be no special sexual charge; no undercurrent of danger that added so much to their sex life. He’d be gone, and she would be alone and bored, because Bradley was no substitute for Guy.
‘No, don’t go,’ she said quickly. ‘I didn’t mean that. It’s the waiting that’s put me on edge. You’ve made me wait too long.’
Guy laughed. ‘You’ve got some time to wait yet, but at least we can get you in the water. Here, let me lift your leg in. Lean on my shoulder.’
The water was pleasantly warm, very buoyant and about six inches deep. Marcia’s head rested on a floating headroll and a rubber ring was placed beneath her hips so that the area below her hip bones was more easily accessible for Guy.
‘Arms here,’ she heard him murmur, and then each of her wrists were strapped into the rings on the sides of the bath and she was floating in the darkness with the water lapping soothingly against the areas where her wetsuit left her flesh exposed.
‘I’ll put on a little music for you while I fetch Bradley,’ said Guy. ‘That should relax you even more.’
She heard him switch on a Mozart tape and then heard the click of the bathroom door as he went to fetch her young chef. Alone in the dark, her breasts, belly and buttocks still tingling from their earlier massage, Marcia was left to contemplate what sexual delights awaited her when her lover and his companion arrived.
Despite the music, she heard the two men approach and moved her head blindly on its support. ‘Keep still,’ said Guy calmly. ‘You know you can’t see anything. Just relax, let yourself go, and make your mind a blank. I’ll switch on the jets so that the water stays warm.’
Now Marcia felt tiny currents of slightly warmer water rising up beneath her, and when they tickled against her buttocks and the sensitive flesh at the backs of her knees that were also revealed by the suit, she sighed with delight.
‘That’s better,’ said Guy in a gentle voice, and at last Marcia began to relax.
Above her sightless eyes, Bradley was standing waiting with an ice bucket in his hands. At a nod from Guy he bent over the supine form of his employer and, using a pair of stainless steel tongs, carefully placed a large cube of ice on each of her breasts.
The contrast with the warmth of the water and her previously relaxed muscles was almost cruel, and Marcia gave a cry of shock as the ice cubes, trapped by the edges of the wetsuit, stayed perched on her breasts and began to melt.
As the ice-cold drips trickled across the swollen surfaces of her breasts, Marcia arched her belly upward off the supporting ring, and Guy firmly pushed her back down. ‘Let the water take your weight, float on it and keep weightless,’ he reminded her. This was the part that was always difficult, because as her arousal grew Marcia’s body became tight with desire and it needed incredible self-control to remain limp on the surface of the salt water. Guy waited. He always enjoyed this moment, the point in time when Marcia had to subdue her natural inclinations and force her body into submission in order to gain her pleasure.
When she was finally level on the water once more, revelling in the heat of the tiny jets beneath her and the rapidly melting ice, Guy fitted a piece of plastic over the cold tap of the nearby basin and then, without any warning, he played a jet of cold water over Marcia’s belly and watched the muscles twist and ripple beneath the surface of the skin.
Marcia tried to move herself away from the jet, but this was impossible because the bath was narrow and her arms were fastened. She felt the pin-pricks caused by the water spreading through her whole abdomen and then down towards her thighs and vulva. A climax began to build but almost immediately the water was turned off and the ice cubes removed, and she was left floating with her body aroused but unsatisfied.
Whenever that happened Marcia’s pelvic area would start to ache, and her hips moved without her knowledge to try and ease the restless need that was consuming her. Then she felt Guy’s hand slide beneath her in the water and he carefully slipped an anal plug into the space between her buttocks.
The plug was wide and spread the walls of her rectum, touching every sensitive surface so that the ache of frustration in her pelvis increased and she gave a whimper of protest. Guy only laughed. ‘What do you think, Bradley? Should we let her have a climax now or make her wait a little longer?’
‘She needs to come,’ said Bradley quietly, and Marcia could have sobbed with gratitude.
‘In that case, you may give her her first orgasm,’ said Guy casually. ‘Use this waterproof vibrator; it works very well at times like this.’
Marcia’s buttocks tightened around the anal plug as she sought to give herself additional pleasure, and the stimulation this caused meant that sparks of hot excitement rushed through to her vagina where Bradley was slowly passing the tip of the vibrator over her swelling labia and around the area of the clitoris.
The vibrations from this, together with the sensations from her rectum, at last gave Marcia the release that she so desperately sought, and as she tightened all the muscles in the lower half of her body a shudder ran through her as the overstretched nerves at last found momentary relief and the pleasure engulfed her.
As soon as she’d climaxed the vibrator and the anal plug were removed and she heard Guy ordering her to let herself go totally limp once more so that she was again floating calmly on the surface of the water.
‘I can’t,’ protested Marcia. ‘I’m still aroused. I need more.’
‘You won’t get more until you relax again,’ said Guy, and she heard him start chatting to Bradley as though she wasn’t even in the room. Marcia forced herself to take slow, deep breaths and to listen to the music that was still playing softly in the background. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she knew that she’d achieved what Guy had demanded.
‘I’ve relaxed,’ she said loudly, hoping that he wasn’t going to simply unfasten her wrists, remove the blindfold and call it a day as he had done two or three times before. Guy wasn’t; tonight he too was in the mood for more.
‘I’m going to give you a special massage, Marcia,’ he whispered, and then she knew why he’d used the anal plug and she felt her body shaking with delight. This was one of the things she enjoyed him doing most to her, and she found that she could hardly breathe she was so excited. She also knew that very few women liked him doing it, and felt sure that Cressida wouldn’t take pleasure from it despite the fact that Guy was such an expert.
She heard the snap of the latex glove as he put it on his hand, and then his other hand was beneath her, spreading a waterproof jelly around her anal area. When the protected hand started to tickle lightly around her anal rim, Marcia exhaled with gratitude at the prospect of the pleasure that lay ahead.
Very slowly Guy eased his index finger into her back passage and at the same time Marcia contracted her anal muscles and inhaled, be
fore relaxing them and exhaling. The sensation that this aroused in her brought her close to ecstasy. A heavy warmth seemed to fill her rectum but the heat also spread up through her entire body and a delicious tremor kept running through her nervous system as he gently vibrated the finger.
Once he felt her start to shake, Guy slowly turned his finger in a rotating movement, pushing against her delicate tissue until finally he was able to move deeply enough inside the rectum to massage her coccyx before lazily pressing against her sacrum bone through the flesh in a zig-zagging move that drove her wild with ecstasy.
Marcia was totally out of control now as the muscles of her abdomen coiled and slithered in response to his touch. She thrashed around on the surface of the water, screaming for Guy to keep going, to probe harder and more deeply as the heavy, hot sensation expanded until she thought that it would totally consume her.
Her body was swollen with excitement, her belly pressing up through the gap in the wetsuit and her breasts so full that the watching Bradley couldn’t resist bending down and drawing each of the rigid nipples in turn into his mouth where he nibbled and sucked on them, increasing her frenzied movements in the water.
As her orgasm continued to build, Marcia was almost afraid of how it would feel when it finally broke. For Guy, the sight of the normally controlled blonde helpless and screaming in a delirium of need was too much, and without thinking he withdrew his finger from her rectum and, ignoring her cry of disappointment, tore off his clothes before climbing into the bath and crouching over her floating body.
Marcia hardly had time to whimper her despair before Guy was thrusting his erection between her swollen labia, allowing the head to play briefly over her clitoris before sliding himself inside her vagina.
Now that her vaginal walls were being stimulated, the pleasure centre started to move there, but then Bradley decided to re-insert the anal plug and suddenly Marcia found that both entrances were full. As Guy managed to press down above her pubic bone with one hand, massaging her clitoris through its protective hood of flesh, her body at last erupted into a shattering climax that had her sobbing in total abandonment as the agony of her previous frustration was finally broken.
Guy felt her internal muscles shuddering and gripping him tighter than he could ever remember. Even he was shaken by the power of her orgasm, so that when it was over and she lay limply on the surface of the water he wondered briefly whether or not he was doing the right thing in pursuing Cressida when this blonde-haired woman was capable of such intense sexuality.
As usual, Guy returned to his own home soon afterwards, and as he was putting his key in the lock he heard his phone ringing.
‘Hello?’ he said quietly.
‘Guy, it’s Rick here. I thought you ought to know that Cressida seemed unduly interested in my reproduction painting work tonight,’ said Rick nervously.
Guy’s fingers tightened round the cordless phone. ‘How does she know about it?’ he asked softly.
‘It was my fault,’ confessed Rick. ‘We’d had a fantastic evening, you know what it’s like, and I wanted her to share everything with me. Well, not everything, but my work – my talent if you like.’
‘I don’t like any of this,’ retorted Guy. ‘Go on.’
‘Well, I thought she’d just say how brilliant I was, how multi-talented, that kind of thing!’ laughed Rick nervously. ‘The trouble was, she kept trying to get me to say that I did the work for you.’
‘What did you tell her?’ enquired Guy calmly.
‘That it was a sideline of my own. That I sold the works to the nouveau riche who were out to impress their friends.’
‘Why did you have to say you sold them to anyone?’ demanded Guy angrily. ‘Wasn’t showing off your talent enough? Some people do that kind of thing for a hobby, you know.’
‘I know, only I thought that if she knew I did other things then she might realise I wasn’t quite as broke as I appear to be. She’s not as keen on me as I am on her, I know that, and I’m sure it’s because she thinks I’m always going to be hard up. This was my way of showing her that I do earn other money, apart from the work I sell at the gallery.’
‘You cretin!’ snarled Guy. ‘If, as you surmise, Cressida isn’t as much in love with you as you’d like, it isn’t likely to have anything to do with money. She’s not that kind of a girl. You could be a millionaire and still not have that vital sexual chemistry for her. It’s a sad fact of life and I wish you’d asked me before showing her the paintings. Now you’ve put a lot of people at risk and probably all for nothing.’
‘You don’t know anything about the sexual chemistry between us,’ protested Rick. ‘Anyway, I’ve let you know now; I could have kept it to myself.’
‘Yes, and put your own income in jeopardy,’ Guy pointed out, less than impressed by this apparent display of unselfishness. ‘If she’s a spy and finds out what’s going on then you’ll be a loser just as much as the rest of us, won’t you?’
‘I don’t know what to do now,’ confessed Rick. ‘I knew I’d made a mistake as soon as she started questioning me, and I think she sensed it.’
Guy sank down into an armchair and thought for a moment. ‘Leave it all to me,’ he said at last. ‘Marcia and I have already agreed I need to find out more about her. Set up an evening out for next Tuesday – say you’re going to take her to dinner, then you’ll be struck down by a nasty virus and I’ll take your place.’
‘You’re not to hurt her,’ said Rick sharply.
Guy laughed. ‘Hurting her was the last thing on my mind! I’m sorry, Rick, but you’ve blown your chance with her. From now on she’s mine and in case you start getting overcome by an attack of jealousy at any stage, I’d like to remind you that unless I continue to recommend your work you won’t do very well. I’m the one with the contacts, and should you displease me there are plenty of other artists, like your friend Kevin, for instance, who are equally talented in that particular direction.’
‘Kevin’s useless!’ shouted Rick.
‘His own work’s terrible, but his reproductions are excellent. Now get off the line. I need some sleep, and I’m sure you do too. I hope your last night with Cressida was one to remember,’ he added with a chuckle.
As soon as he replaced the phone his laughter died away. It looked as though Cressida wasn’t all that she appeared to be and that was worrying. On the other hand, the prospect of becoming more intimately acquainted with her was distinctly appealing. With that pleasant thought he went to bed.
On the Tuesday morning Cressida was extremely busy. The previous day Leonora had been exceptionally sulky even by her standards and today she hadn’t bothered to put in an appearance at all. When she failed to ring in Cressida asked Marcia if she should telephone to find out what the problem was.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Marcia lightly. ‘Guy isn’t anxious for us to keep her on. He says she’s become a liability that even his friendship with her father can’t overcome. In other words, she’s got a schoolgirl crush on him and he wants her out!’
Cressida wasn’t bothered about losing Leonora – she’d never been good company – but at least she’d been an extra pair of hands, and as the summer progressed the gallery was getting busier and busier. She was pleased that at least she’d be seeing Rick that evening. Detective Chief Inspector Williams had made it plain he was anxious for her to keep a close eye on Rick’s reproduction paintings. Even without that order, she was in the mood for some more good sex with him.
At lunchtime she finished wrapping a painting for a customer and then started to collect her things together before leaving for her break. When the phone rang she was tempted to leave it, but seeing that Marcia was busy at the far end of the gallery she sighed and picked up the receiver.
‘Yes?’ she said abruptly.
‘Cressida, is that you?’ asked a familiar voice.
‘Rick! Sorry, I was about to go for lunch and must have sounded a bit brusque. What time are you picking me up toni
ght?’
Rick coughed down the line and then she had to wait while he blew his nose. ‘I’m really sorry, but I’m not going to be able to make it after all. I’ve got this summer flu virus that’s going about and I feel lousy.’
‘Oh no!’ protested Cressida. ‘I mean, I’m sorry, of course, but I was really looking forward to seeing you.’
‘I was looking forward to seeing you,’ said Rick, and there was no doubting the sincerity in his voice. ‘I know it’s late to let you down and I wondered if –’
‘Shall I come round and soothe your brow?’ suggested Cressida. ‘I’m quite a good nurse and I’m sure you’re not too ill to see me. I know what men are like. You’ve probably only got a cold.’
There was another rather long bout of coughing. ‘Honestly, Cress, I’m pretty rough. You don’t want to catch it, but I was talking to Guy on the phone a moment ago and when I told him about our date he said that perhaps you’d like to take Marcia’s place at a dinner he’s got to go to tonight. She’s apparently got to see her mother who’s not well and he needs a partner.’
Cressida looked down the gallery to where Marcia was laughing and chatting with a customer. ‘She hasn’t said anything to me about her mother being ill,’ she said doubtfully.
‘I hardly think Guy would have made it up,’ retorted Rick before he was overcome by another fit of coughing. ‘Look, I’ll have to hang up. Guy said he’d be in touch with you during the afternoon to see if you could make it.’
‘I’ll ring you tomorrow,’ promised Cressida, but Rick had already put the phone down.
For some reason Cressida’s appetite for lunch had vanished now. She knew that this was an important moment. Although going out with Rick had been good for her police work, going out with Guy – the man wanted by Interpol – would be considered far more advantageous, but she was scared.
For one thing, her policewoman’s instinct told her that there was something wrong about all this. Rick had coughed too much and despite blowing his nose loudly he hadn’t sounded full of cold. Then there was the fact that Marcia’s mother had so conveniently been taken ill on exactly the same night as Rick.
The Gallery Page 18
