Chase (20 page)

There’s a long pause. I wait, holding my breath. If this doesn’t work there may be no way back to him. How can I tell what he wants? I’m new at this …

‘Seriously?’ He eyes me for a moment.

I see a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

‘I want you in restraints. But until we can do what I really want to do we’ll do this. Get on all fours.’

I keep my head low and pray this won’t get too kinky too fast.

‘Crawl over to the rug and crouch down in the middle.’

As I get there he’s already towering over me, his swelling erection both a warning and a thrill. He’s tense now as he starts to direct me into position. I can sense his excitement building as he makes me kneel up and then bend right over low so my cheek’s on the floor and my arms spread out either side. I’m packed tight as a snail and I’m nervous.

My rear end is high in the air and my most private places thrust high up too. Everything usually hidden from view is easy to reach, no way to hide it. I feel cool air on places no air ever finds …

Now his voice purrs over me as he starts to fondle my backside. I can see one of his feet, the fleece of the rug curling over his clean, firm toes. He shed his shoes and socks a while back and he’s naked to the waist but he’s still wearing trousers.

I’m still in my Beauty costume, minus my panties. Wispy chiffon was no help at all at covering my all-too-obvious arousal as my nipples jutted through it, dark and swollen. My lady patch, trimmed but still visible, clearly showed at the apex of my legs.

Now I’m curled over, bent low and only my quivering rump and my deepest privacies are on view. He’s stroking me, trying to calm me down. He pauses a moment to squeeze lube on his palms. He slicks them together, the sound startlingly loud in the warm cushion of silence all round us.

‘Can you guess what’s coming? No, maybe not. First I’m going to lube you up and then I’m coming in. But I mean to make absolutely sure you appreciate the delicate position you’re in. So you’ll get a short, sharp spanking to get you in the mood. No crying out, or you’ll get double. And I’ll use a strap.’

A
what?
I’m still asking the question when it lands, a fierce sting on my still tender ass that jolts me fully awake. Outraged, I grit my teeth to take the next five in silence but to my relief the blows are slow and lingering, but softer.

Even so, each shock is scary. I’ve no idea what’s coming or how it will feel. By the last one I’m shaky again and horny as heck. As if to torment me even more he runs a finger all round my gaping places, his fingertip warm and arousing, the lube mingling with my want to make his touch ultra-magnetic.

I hold my breath, waiting eagerly, almost quivering with longing, for that one touch I crave on my pulsing, swollen little place … but it never comes. Instead he starts to explore me, his fingers slithering into each and every intimate little fold, making my whole lower region as live as electricity and slick as an eel.

And now I feel the heat of his lips as he stoops to kiss me on both cheeks of my rear. He holds me firmly by the hips as his eager mouth travels south along my exposed places, teasing me with light kisses until his tongue finally
reaches my money-spot.

Seconds ago my climax neared its peak during my cruel but mercifully brief spanking. Now it throbs again, eager for another merciful touch from his tongue.

‘Someone feels more than ready down there. Now let’s see how fast they can come.’

With a low growl his hands steady me in position and he surges deep inside me. At this angle I’m so tightly packed my muscles clutch at him repeatedly, the pressure of his shaft in my tightly bundled torso ramming me into submission more completely than any restraints.

He pounds again and again, his tackle rasping hard on my open gap and the violence of his thrusts doing the rest. As I come I grunt, the sound muffled in the rug as hot rapture floods through me, carrying me off onto some blissful sea. I convulse with the spasms, tightly constrained by my position. I’m so absorbed I hardly notice as he pounds harder and faster, slowing only at his peak. He gives a great bellow of pleasure and then he comes too.

I’m still firmly wedged but aching now. At long last he unlaces me from my tight curl of submission and we stretch out together on the rug, me aching, giggling and euphoric, him stern and watchful.

As I calm down he keeps his voice low as he strokes my hip, his hand slow and calming like I’m some wayward animal. ‘Hey. We’re not done.’ He holds me close while we talk about the evening and laugh about some of the costumes. Soon he grows quiet, his manhood stirring again. I can feel it move gently against my leg and I see his eyes darken.

‘No more talking. Put your arms up.’

I hear the rip of foil and all at once we’re back on the dark side. He pins my wrists to the floor, locks his gaze on mine and slides in deep. I wind my legs round his back and we move together, fused and focused.

Our slight, sensual intimacy is our only movement, his soft murmurs our only music, my cries of ecstasy each time I come our only speech.

For now it says it all – and it’s all we need.

In the morning I wake alone. A trolley laden with breakfast is stationed near the door. The clatter of the waiters must have woken me.

Darnley’s gone.

The bracelets have gone, his luggage has gone, his hangers are empty.

The Wolfe has slipped back to the shadows.

I’ve no time to mourn. My phone signals instantly. Billy wants to talk, still hyper after last night and thrilled with their win. When I run out of giggly ways to say they looked terrific she asks about Darnley.

My heart sinks but I guess I’ll have to get used to it.

‘What was all that about? He looked awful.’

I swallow. ‘No idea. You know Darnley. He clams up about his work.’

‘Does he? Eldon talks about his all the time.’

I laugh. ‘That’s rich, coming from you. You’re worse than anybody. He works in security so he’s cagey. That’s what they do. He practically invented it.’

I cut the call but next minute it signals again. This time it’s Lydia asking me to dinner. Her tone is still icy, her invitation a surprise. Even more surprising is what she says next. ‘And naturally Darnley will be here. See you later.
’

Dinner should be a happy family reunion, but tonight the family seems far from friendly. As I arrive I hear laughter and chatter coming from a distant room but in the entrance area things are tense. Lydia looks wary, Aaron grim. They’re talking to Freda.

As I walk in she glances up, murmurs something to Aaron and pushes past me on her way out. ‘Good luck, sister. The skeletons are rattling the closet. Be warned.’ She slams the door behind her.

Lydia walks quickly over to me, her face pale under the heavy make-up. ‘Ella. So glad you made it.’ She looks vague for a moment, then troubled. ‘Please excuse Freda. She has another appointment. Darnley’s already here.’

I realise they’re all looking past me and I spin round to see him. He steps up close and puts his arm round my shoulders. He looks weary.

‘Be careful what you say in front of Ella,’ he says quietly. ‘I haven’t told her yet.’

Aaron turns on him, his voice low and fierce. ‘Then she’s just about the only person in the city.’

‘Hush, dear. She’s not used to all this.’ Lydia places a hand on my arm. ‘Don’t mind them, Ella.’

She breaks off, her eyes filling with tears. ‘I just wanted to say – I’m so glad you’re here. We need someone calm with us tonight. And you’re the calmest person I know. I’m so sorry about all this –’

Aaron’s face contracts. ‘Honey, you go and lie down. Darnley and I can handle this.’

Lydia darts him an angry look. ‘No. You’ll just fight if I leave you. Ella? Let’s go in to dinner.’

I stare round at them all. ‘Will somebody please tell me what’s going on?’ Behind me I can sense Darnley’s lurking presence. His hand moves gently on my upper arm and then falls away but he says nothing. His parents avoid his eye. Now they look nervous.

Lydia’s the first to snap. ‘Later, Ella dear.’ At that moment the far door opens and I see the wider family gathered, smiling, happy, some with champagne flutes. Beyond them a formal dining table, aglow with candles, snowy linen and glinting crystal.

‘Coming to eat, you folks?’

As we walk in
Lydia leans close. ‘Ella, that was quite a shock, what Darnley did at the party. I can see you’re upset. But you’re pretty much one of the family now so we thought you should be here. Aaron wanted Freda here too, but I think she’s suffered enough.’

‘
Freda
suffered?’

She looks at me like I’m missing something blindingly obvious. ‘Oh, yes. Fletch affected us all, one way or another. She saw less of him than the boys, but still …’ She tails off, once more looking vague. I feel her hand quiver on my arm

Dinner’s a nightmare. I sense two conversations are happening – one the usual happy chat about babies, work prospects, business success. The other expressed in warning looks, sudden frowns, broken sentences.

It’s a relief when Darnley finally summons the car. After a round of hasty goodbyes we set off for the hotel through the bright, still crowded streets. Darnley holds me close, his cheek on my hair.

‘I left early because they’re making this into a very big deal. They wanted a family conference, but Freda won’t play and you’re still not fully in the picture. When you get back to Lexington you’ll find out why. I’m sorry, Ella, I should have told you all this before. But I’d sooner you saw your copy first.’

‘My
copy
? Of what?’ My heart goes into free-fall.

‘You’ll see. I’m getting out here.’ His eyes glitter in the neon glow of the streets.

‘Why?’

The car’s already slowing to a halt. He touches my face for a moment, his fingertip soft, his gaze steady. ‘Because I need to walk a while.’

He touches my lips with his and then he gets out and walks away.

I stare after him, stunned.

Next day I’m chauffeured back to Boston in style by limo and helicopter. Bullen takes charge of me like I’m some precious flower. ‘Mr Wolfe’s instructions, ma’am.’

For once I’m glad to let someone else make the decisions. I need to think.

The helicopter ride should be fun. I get a private, privileged view over the glorious colours of the New England woods, where scarlets, russets and golds are painting the trees. I used to love the fall. Now? Not so much.

After the colour comes the snow – white and cold, bleak as my future.

Darnley’s vast residence feels hollow without him. As I walk in, the elegant spaces echo around me, the spectacular artworks mock me. The bowls of flowers billow with over-cheerful petals.

On a low table near the entrance I see a slim package with my name on it. As I pick it up his housekeeper Verna appears.

‘Welcome back, Miss Dean. I’m just off home now. I left you a meal in the kitchen. I know it’s late but I thought you might want a bite to eat before turning in if you’ve been travelling. That package came for you this afternoon. The courier said it was urgent.’

One look at the writing makes my heart leap. I clutch it like a lifesaver, smile at her in a vague thank-you and race upstairs to my room.

It’s from Darnley.

Five minutes later I’m staring, open-mouthed, at my laptop. Darnley’s on screen, large as life and twice as stunning. He looks like a movie star but he’s talking directly to camera. He’s talking to me.

I hold my breath so long I have to remember to take in air.

Scarily, the date top left of the screen reads 25 November. He said all this exactly one week ago.

‘
Hi, Ella. This is for you. If you’re watching this, the Halloween party will be over and I’ll be gone. You know me well, so you know I wouldn’t do this to you without good reason. Well, here it is. Or as close as I can get. You’re intelligent enough to fill in the gaps. Some things in life are too painful to explain. I hope this helps.

‘
What you’re about to see and hear must stay a secret. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone, ever. And take care you watch it alone, with all the doors and windows locked. You’ll see it only once. It self-destructs as it plays, so you can throw it out the window, put it in the trash, whatever. Pause it now and check the doors. Switch off your phone and eject any visitors
.
Or save it for later and restart from here.
’

The screen goes blank.

So does my mind. I put the image – and all my feelings, even my sudden surge of gut-wrenching dread – firmly on hold. For a few minutes I fly round checking doors and windows and dart into the bathroom.

At last I slow down, take some deep breaths, switch off my phone and make myself a hot drink. When I curl up on the sofa and fire up the screen once more my mind is deliberately emptied but I’m braced for the worst.

Is this a suicide note?

It starts again, the screen as blank as before. After a couple of seconds I see Darnley again. And now I look on, horrified, as he spills his soul.
He’s telling the story of his encounters with Fletcher Kraik.

Some of it I’ve heard. But not all.

He says little about the others. This is a boy’s story. But he builds up a picture of a family in the grip of a controlling man who masked cruelty with fun.

Some of it’s teasing, like scary games or fake snakes in the bed. Some is tougher, like being kept apart from his brother during vacations. And some is simply heart-breaking.

‘…
He hated dogs. One time my kid brother was given a puppy. He took it everywhere. But one day it pissed Kraik off, literally. Peed on his shoe. So he took it down the garden and killed it. Left it in the driveway for my brother to find. I went out early and found it first. My brother saw me carry it up to the house and thought I’d done it
.’ There’s a brief pause. ‘
He worshipped the guy, so I never let on. But my brother never forgave me.
’

I watch it all through, heart in mouth.

‘
Maybe other people had contact with him too. Maybe other kids were bullied like I was. And if they feel too ashamed to tell people, maybe they need somebody like me to stand up for them. That’s why I’ve stepped aside from my companies and decided to go it alone. My family may not like it but I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m willing to testify to all this in court if it helps anybody. And I’d just like to say that however tough it was back then, doing this was a whole lot tougher.
’