by Emma York
I wasn’t happy though. I stood watching the crew offloading equipment from the boat and I felt like the only one who didn’t belong here. Everyone else had a job to do. I was the only one standing around doing nothing.
“Anything I can do to help?” I asked Mikey, the guy in charge of all the equipment.
“Nope, we’re good,” he replied, lugging a silver case onto his shoulder. “Nice place you picked for us.”
“Thanks,” I said, watching as he headed up to the castle. I turned and walked along the shore, lost in my thoughts. Robert was just a few feet away but in many ways he was further from me than when I’d been across the Atlantic. I had so much I wanted to say to him but I was afraid of saying any of it. What if he shot me down?
It can’t work, Tilly. You live in L.A, I live here. I just wanted an easy fuck and you gave me that. Why have you come back? I don’t feel anything for you.
I couldn’t bear the thought. I looked up, seeing the footbridge across the next island. I crossed it, thinking about last time. I’d almost fallen in the water right there, just at the end of the bridge.
I walked slowly up the side of the mountain, not thinking of any particular destination, just wanting to get away from my own thoughts.
Before I realised it, I was halfway to the top. I looked up, getting the strange feeling that it was about to rain. Without knowing how I could tell, I turned back, heading down again, soaking in the view as I went, basking in the beauty of my surroundings, not realising I had missed this place as much as I’d missed him. How could I feel such an affinity for somewhere I’d only been once? But then how could I fall for someone I’d only spent one night with?
I couldn’t answer either question.
It started to rain just as I got to the castle and I stepped inside in time to avoid getting soaked, the clouds blocking out the sun. I’d forgotten how quickly the weather could change here.
I could hear lots of people talking in the dining room, presumably where they were setting up the equipment.
I walked into the smoking room. There was my chair. I sank into it and sighed. This, more than anywhere else, felt like home.
“You look like you belong there.”
I turned my head and there he was, glass of whiskey in hand. He passed it to me, gathering another from the tray near the door. He took the seat opposite mine as I tried not to cough, my throat drier than ever.
I sipped at my glass, the burning liquid scorching a path down into me, doing nothing to ease the internal tremors at the sight of him.
“How are you?” he asked, leaning back in his chair, one eyebrow slightly raised.
“Good,” I managed to get out, the word forced from me as I crushed all the things I wanted to say. “You?”
“I hear you’re in demand.”
“Did Eli tell you that?”
He nodded. “Everyone wants to work with the woman who made Jurgen Harbor smile. Apparently, he’s never done it before.”
“I just flashed him. Never fails.”
He smiled before falling into silence. I watched him for a moment before turning to look out of the window at the churning water of the loch, the snow capped mountains in the distance. “I’ve missed this place,” I said, not realising I’d spoken out loud until the words were out.
“I’ve missed you.”
Did I dream it or did he really say that? I turned to look at him. “What did you say?”
“I said I’ve missed you.”
There was no denying it. I saw his lips move. My hands started shaking again. “I’ve missed you too.”
“Robert!” Eli yelled from the hallway. “Where the hell are you?”
“Duty calls,” I said.
He shook his head. “Want to go for a walk instead?” He asked quietly and I watched him closely. Was he being serious?
“I’d love to,” I replied.
“This way,” he said, pulling open a secret door in the wood panelled walls. “Takes us straight outside.”
The rain had stopped and the grass smelt fresh and clean. “How do you work with him?” Robert asked as he strode along the path.
“Who, Eli?”
“He’s a bit, how I do I put this?”
“Abrasive?”
“That’s a polite way of putting it.”
I shrugged. “I’ve got no choice. He’s the most famous producer in Hollywood.”
“The guy’s an asshole.”
“I agree but I’ve only got to put up with him for another week and then I can move on.”
“Fame beckons you, does it?”
“Something like that. Wait until you see how he is with the actors.”
“Was that not them in there?”
“That was just the advance crew. The rest are on their way.”
“You mean there’s more coming?” He looked angry and surprised in equal measure.
“Ruining your peace?”
“No, it just seems like a lot of work for a week’s shooting.”
“That’s the way things are. Oh shit, there he is.”
Eli had appeared and was waving at us both in the distance.
“This way,” Robert said, grabbing my hand and darting around a hedge. We ran together to the end of it and then down a flight of steps that appeared from nowhere in the grass.
“Where does this go?” I asked.
“The dungeon,” he replied.
“The dungeon?” I squeaked nervously in response.
“It’s this or talking to Eli again.”
“The dungeon.”
He pushed open an ancient wooden door at the bottom of the steps. A gust of cold air ran past me and I shuddered as we walked into a dark tunnel. I pulled out my cellphone, shining the flashlight on damp stonework as we walked deeper into the bowels of the castle.
“What do you think?” he asked as he pushed open another door.
“Cosy,” I replied, looking around at the stone chamber, the only other thing in view a door in the far wall. “Where does that go?”
“Up into the castle.”
I shuddered again, the cold air getting to me.
“Come here,” he said, putting an arm around me.
I don’t know how it happened and I didn’t care but suddenly we were kissing. It was like I’d never been away. His lips on mine weren’t gentle, they were hungry, tasting me, his tongue plunging into my mouth as my hands held onto him, not sure if this was really happening or just my overactive imagination.
I knew it was real when his hands slipped into the back of my panties. He cupped my ass, his body pressed against mine, his cock hard and digging into my stomach.
I fought for breath as he tore at my trousers, getting them undone, shoving them down, his hands between my legs a second later, stroking my pussy, teasing me until my legs buckled under me.
He kept kissing me as he threw his jacket on the floor, lowering me onto it, his head going straight between my legs. I screamed with pleasure as his tongue ran along my pussy, finding my clit and circling it quickly.
“I’ve missed that taste,” he muttered before pushing his tongue into me. “I love the taste of you.”
I wanted him inside me. In seconds I’d done from being kissed to needing to be fucked. I grabbed his head, feeling him move as he continued to explore my pussy. I felt a finger slide into me and I thrust up against it.
He brought me to the brink of orgasm but didn’t tip me over the edge. Just as I was sure I was about to come, he stopped. He moved up me and as I looked up at him, his cock appeared, hard and even more impressive than last time.
He straddled my chest, lifting my head in his hands, pushing himself into my mouth, fucking my face as my insides tingled, my pussy throbbing with need. I was desperate to come but I didn’t want him to stop what he was doing.
“On all fours,” he said, suddenly pulling out, leaving me gasping for breath.
I turned over, pushing my ass towards him as he spanked it hard enough to make me
yell.
“You took that ass away for too long,” he said, his cock between my legs, the heat of it making me tingle. “Bad girl.”
I couldn’t reply. All the breath left my lungs as he thrust himself into my wetness, stretching me wide open, filling the emptiness, taking me over the edge to the climax I had greedily sought.
“I’m coming,” I moaned as my back arched, his hands on my hair, tugging it, drawing me onto him, driving himself deep into me as my orgasm tore through my body.
I hadn’t begun to recover before he started slamming home into me. I yelped as his finger slid between my ass cheeks, delving into my tight hole, easing deeper while another orgasm tore through me.
I lost count of how many times I came but my body was shattered by the time he groaned and spurted deep into me. He thrust again as I slumped forwards and then his cock twitched a final time.
He slid free before lifting me to my feet, wrapping his arms around me as my legs refused to work.
“I want you to feel that,” he said, pulling my panties slowly back up my legs. “Feel that and think of me for the rest of the day.”
TWELVE - ROBERT
The crew were at work when we got to the top of the stairs. “Say,” Eli said as I emerged into the hallway. “Is this place haunted or what?”
“Come again?” I asked, wishing I’d looked before climbing out from the dungeon. He seemed determined to track me down. All I wanted to do was spend time with Tilly, make up for the year we’d been apart.
“I could have sworn I heard screaming coming from below the floorboards.” He looked past me. “Tilly, there you are. I need you to call the back up crew, get them to prep Jurgen’s room for him. He’ll be here in the morning and it’s got to be perfect.”
That was the last time I saw Tilly that day. Everytime I went to look for her, she was just out of reach. She ended up on the boat that evening with Eli, heading back to Doon village to meet Jurgen, their precious director who had insisted on waiting for the right light before he even set foot on the island.
Eli reappeared just before midnight. He was alone. “Join me for a drink,” he said as soon as I opened the door.
“I was just heading to bed,” I replied. “Maybe tomorrow.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” he said, grabbing my shoulder and slapping me in the chest. “This way.”
He walked into the smoking room and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the side, pouring a generous measure into a glass. “You got any ice?”
“Afraid not.”
“Never mind. I’ll get some brought in tomorrow. This’ll do for now. Cheers.”
He held a glass out to me, tapping his against mine before sinking into the nearest chair. “Bet you’re pretty excited about meeting Jurgen Harbor.”
“Ecstatic.” If he noticed the sarcasm dripping from my words, he chose not to comment.
“He’s a great guy. Gonna make a billion with this one, I can just tell.”
“Uhuh.”
Course, Tilly’s a great gal too. What do you reckon?”
“She’s very nice.”
“Nice? God, you Brits are all the same. She’s a hot piece of ass is what she is.”
I sat upright, my fist gripping my glass tighter. I said nothing in response but if he said anything else about her like that, he’d regret it.
He sipped at his drink before continuing. “I gotta tell you, I’d love to tap that. If it wasn’t for her boyfriend I’d be all over her like honey on pancakes. I get the feeling she’d taste like honey too, what do you reckon?”
I had stopped listening after the word boyfriend. “She’s got a boyfriend?”
“Sure, didn’t she tell you? Oh, shoot. You look disappointed, son.”
“I’m going to bed,” I said, putting my glass down before getting to my feet. I walked away, ignoring what he was saying, my mind lost in thought. She had a boyfriend.
No, she didn’t mention him. She didn’t mention him when we were sitting in the smoking room together. She didn’t mention him when we were kissing in the dungeon and she sure as hell didn’t mention him when she was on all fours with her ass pointing towards me.
She was cheating on him with me. I’d been an idiot for a second time. She was probably with him last time she was here. No wonder she just wanted one night with me. No wonder she left without saying goodbye.
The next morning I knew exactly what to do. I got up first thing and headed downstairs looking for Eli. He was yelling at someone in the hallway. “Jurgen will be here any minute and you bring me this shit now. Just get it sorted.”
The man he was talking to walked away with a scowl on his face. Eli turned around and saw me. “Robert,” he said. “All go today man, you’re gonna see some shit go down.”
“About that,” I said. “I’ve changed my mind. You can’t film here anymore.”
Eli smiled. “You’re kidding, right? I’m all for a joke but not today, I’ve got too much to do.”
“I’m not kidding. I want you all to leave. I withdraw my consent.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I can.”
“No, you can’t. Jacob!” A man in a suit appeared from the dining room. I recognised a lawyer before he even spoke. “Tell Mr King here what that contract of his means.”
“The one he signed of his own free will?”
“That one.”
“It says he can’t withdraw consent once shooting has begun and if he interferes with the production in anyway, he not only forfeits his fee but also is potentially liable for the costs of extending the shooting period.”
“In other words,” Eli said, slipping his arm around my shoulder. “You’re fucked. Now maybe you want to just go for a little walk and leave us to our jobs and then you get your nice juicy check and everyone’s happy, all right?”
I shoved his arm away and marched over to the door without looking back. It was like my parents throwing me out all over again. I couldn’t even shut down the production. They were going to shoot the damn thing and I’d been conned into it by Tilly.
I stormed over to the boat shed and began untying Nipper. I should have known better than to fall for her. Look what happened when I let my guard down. I get taken advantage of by her and by the entire film crew.
I sailed out onto the loch. I couldn’t be anywhere near the castle. I could see Hedley’s boat landing at the jetty. A man in a long black cloak was stepping off, framing the sky with his hands. Tilly was standing next to him. She looked my way and waved. I tacked the boat away from her, cutting through the water, sailing towards Doon village.
I got there in time to see Hedley returning on his boat. I waited on the end of the jetty for him to arrive. “Got any coffee on the go?” I asked.
“Aye, might have,” he replied, walking past me to the cafe door. “Come on in.”
A couple of minutes later we were sitting together by the window and I was ranting about what had just happened. “She lied to me,” I snapped. “They all lied to me.”
Hedley had remained silent throughout, sipping at his coffee, his eyes going from the loch outside to me and back again. “You know,” he began when I finally fell silent. “You’re not the first in your family to fall for an American.” His accent had died down as he was careful with his words, not wanting to be misunderstood.
“What?”
“You won’t remember but your great grandma came over from California. I was only little when I met her and she was a great towering woman, shock of blonde hair that blew in the wind, I remember that about her. Beautiful she was. John fell for her when she came over here to paint the mountains.”
“I never knew.”
“They never said. She lost her accent pretty quickly and even little me knew that when a wedding dress has to be let out there might be more than just love that led you up the aisle. That was your grandmother she was carrying, first King to have blood from both sides of the Atlantic.”
“I nev
er met her.”
“She died when you were only a baby and she was ancient enough then. I remember her holding you in her arms and smiling like she saw something of the California sun in your eyes. She said as much and it was only a couple of days later she was gone.”
“How old are you, Hedley?”
“Old enough to know you might want to calm down before you make any rash decisions.”
“I’m not making a rash decisions.”
He picked up his mug, getting to his feet. “Want any more?”
“Have you still got the guest room?”
“Aye.”
“Mind if I stay in it this week? I’m not sure I want to go back there until they’re gone.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He headed to the kitchen and I looked out at the loch. She was over there. Spoken for, a boyfriend back at home. What was I to her? A joke? Something to pass the time? I should confront her but to do that I’d need to see them filming. By now they’d all have heard about what happened, that I no longer wanted them there. I was trapped by the contract she made me sign.
No. I had signed it. I had chosen not to see the truth, that letting your guard down was bad, falling for someone just meant getting hurt. I had no one to blame but myself for this and that was the thing that hurt the most. I was the architect of my own misery.
THIRTEEN - TILLY
Jurgen Harbor might have been the most avant-garde director in the world and Eli Caffrey the most powerful producer. Together they might have been about to produce a blockbuster smash.
But seeing the two of them together, I was struck by a comparison to Laurel and Hardy. Jurgen like a beanpole in a long black cloak, continually scratching his forehead, Eli hands on hips, nodding alongside him, as round as Jurgen was thin. I kept that comparison to myself. I had no intention of pissing them off.
Laurel and Hardy, as I took to calling them in my head, kept me busy from the minute I left the dungeon. First it was Eli, having me running around after him as if I was an intern, not a location scout. I didn’t stop until two in the morning, too late to go and find Robert.
