Substitute (13 page)

‘Hey Tony, you frighten your little friend away.’ His Italian accent was thick and seductive. He addressed Alexia, ‘Don’t worry, pretty lady, if Tony is no good for you, give me few minutes –’ he cupped his semi-erect cock ‘– and I can run you to the touchline too, eh?’

He laughed, gave his hips a little thrust towards her to show he meant business, and went back to the party. Tony grabbed her arm, but she pulled it free and finished doing up her blouse.

‘Leave me alone!’ She frantically grabbed the door handle, but he stopped her before she could turn it.

‘Why are you running? You know you want to.’ His face was inches from hers. He pressed himself against her and she felt his hardness again, right against her clit, right against the place that need urgent attention.’

She was breathing hard. He took her silence as permission, moving in for the kiss. His tongue was warm and demanding, as hard and insistent as all the erections she’d been watching. He wrapped his arms around her, grabbed both arse cheeks in his hands, and dug his fingers in hard as he pulled her pelvis against his own in one sharp tug.

Alexia gasped. The strength of his hands, the pain of his pressing fingers, was exquisite and the fire in his tongue was more than she could bear.

But Nathan, what about Nathan? She knew she had to break free of Tony. She had to clear her head. She wanted him, yes, but not because of
who
he was but because of
where
she was. She had witnessed an orgy and he was the man who had stood behind her, kneading her breasts, urging her to watch, urging her to feel her own wants.

But Nathan. Oh God, Nathan. She pushed Tony away and ran out of the door, just as Nathan was walking into his own suite. Tony dashed out after Alexia to find the two frozen in the corridor.

Nathan looked at the wide-eyed Alexia and at Tony, hot on her heels. He was clearly trying to work out what the tableau meant, but he was uncertain. The three stood there for what seemed like a heart-stopping eternity. Then Nathan went into this suite and closed the door.

Alexia gasped and ran down the corridor, leaving Tony far behind. Her mind was reeling; tears pricked behind her eyes. Where was she going? She had to cross reception to get to her room.

She dashed through, hoping no one would see her, but as she passed the archway into the bar she saw that Sonia was still there, scrolling through emails on her phone, nursing the last few drops of her drink.

Sonia looked up and caught sight of Alexia. Her expression changed. ‘What’s wrong?’ she mouthed.

The bar was almost empty, so Alexia scurried in and threw herself back on the bar stool she’d vacated earlier.

‘God, what’s happened? Alexia?’

Sonia turned to the barman and motioned with her hands that he should bring another round.

‘Are you OK? What’s happened?

Alexia relayed the events that had brought her here. She expected Sonia to look shocked, but she didn’t. She just smiled a cynical, knowing smile.

‘I thought you knew what a spit roast was? Oh God, I’m so sorry. You really are new to all this, aren’t you?’

Alexia nodded.

‘Oh dear. Tony obviously knows that, so he tried to take advantage.’

Alexia did not divulge how turned on she’d been – she left that bit out – or how she’d first met Tony. She just told her what she’d witnessed and how Tony had chased her out – and, worst of all, how she’d run into Nathan.

She almost wailed his name as Sonia put a fresh drink in her hand.

‘Big gulp, throw it back, it helps with shock. Come on …’

She held Alexia’s hands around the glass and motioned for her to throw back a shot. Alexia obeyed, coughing as the alcohol hit her throat. But Sonia was right: it jolted her, like slapping a hysterical person. It stopped her wanting to cry.

Sonia looked at her. ‘Well, Tony is a real player and you’re a challenge now. Ignore the footballers. They’re just little boys, you don’t have to be alone with them again. You’re now a few hours older and a whole lot wiser than you were earlier this evening.’

Alexia smiled weakly. ‘Yeah. I’ve obviously got a lot to learn.’

Sonia returned her smile. She was in her late 40s and had been around the block. She liked Alexia. Her voice was low and motherly.

‘You really like Nathan, don’t you? Not the way everyone else does, not just lust. You really like him.’

The honesty of the question surprised Alexia, but she was feeling too vulnerable to pretend. She nodded her head. ‘He kissed me.’

Sonia was surprised. Alexia told her what had passed between them in his office and how he vowed it would not happen again. Sonia was silent. She sat pensive, as Alexia sipped the rest of her drink.

‘Look, I know a bit about him. It’s not common knowledge, so keep it to yourself. One of his old army friends is a close friend of mine, and Nathan and I know each other socially, a little. They were in the same regiment in Iraq, the Blues and Royals. Nathan got shot – not life threatening, but bad enough to put him in hospital for weeks. Something happened, something awful, and he wasn’t the same when he came back. None of them were. I think it happened to a lot of them out there, the things they saw; women and children killed, friends blown up at the side of the road. It can’t be easy to readjust.’

Alexia was listening intently. Romy had told her Nathan was ex-army. She began to get a glimpse of a very different Nathan. The wounded soldier, the man who could put Carter on the floor with a single blow.

Sonia continued, ‘He was engaged, but he was difficult to live with when he got back – post-traumatic stress and all that. His girlfriend, she – she didn’t support him like the other wives and girlfriends, she dumped him just when he really needed someone. My friend said it really changed him. He doesn’t trust women any more.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ said Alexia.

‘A friend of his father’s was a sports agent and offered him a job when he left the army. The guy retired and Nathan ended up taking over the agency. He was so good at it everyone wanted him, so he renamed it after himself. But he’s always been slightly aloof from it all. He loves sport, so he’s in his element there, and the players and stars all love him and the sponsors do too, but he’s never been interested in all the glitzy stuff or the hanky panky that goes with it. I suppose you can see why. Although some men who’ve been what he’s been through would go the other way, sleep with every woman in sight.’

Alexia didn’t speak; she just looked at Sonia. Nathan was starting to make sense to her now. His cold bearing, his total ease with authority, his bottled-up emotions.

‘He made it clear he won’t kiss me again. And, worst of all, he thinks Tony and I …’

Alexia crumpled. She needed to talk, she needed to empty out all the emotions that had wracked her since joining the agency. She poured out the story of how her life had brought her to this point, how she’d run from Carter, how he’d turned up at the agency, how she was so confused about who she was and what she wanted. And how it felt utterly wretched to be so badly misunderstood by Nathan. Sonia listened patiently.

‘Look,’ she said when Alexia had finished, ‘getting a man like that to trust you, to even see you properly, that takes time. You work for him; just be yourself and let him see who you are. I told you at dinner you aren’t like the others, and he must see that too. He kissed you, so there’s something different going on. He must be attracted to you. OK, so he’s fighting it, or he thinks you’re screwing someone else, but he’ll soon find out it’s not true. Just do your job, and be there for him. Time will take care of the rest.’

‘Thank you,’ said Alexia quietly. ‘I wasn’t expecting to find a friend here, you’ve been amazing.’

Sonia smiled. ‘You remind me of myself at your age.’

She got off her stool and gave Alexia a hug. It felt so good to Alexia to have human contact that was safe.

‘I think you should go to bed, sleep like a baby, and get up tomorrow ready to face whatever the day brings. Nathan is a good man, and if you two are meant to be together then a playboy like Tony won’t get in the way, and if you’re not – well, you’ll have learnt something.’

The idea that they might not be meant for each other sent a hollow lurch through Alexia’s stomach, but she knew Sonia was right. She thanked her, bid her goodnight. and went to her room.

The plate at the side of the door said “69”. ‘Oh please!’ said Alexia wearily as she let herself in. She thought of Tony’s bedroom, number 70, just next door. There was a connecting door between the rooms; she hadn’t noticed it earlier. Had he arranged that? She checked the handle. It was locked. She moved a small table in front of it.

She brushed her teeth and cleansed her face like an automaton, then laid out her clothes for the following day.

Injured in Iraq. His girlfriend left him. She wanted to know more, she wanted to know Nathan, really know him. But that won’t happen tonight, she thought. Tonight I have to get to sleep somehow and face him tomorrow.

She took off her blouse and caught the heady scent of Tony’s aftershave lingering on her collar. It wasn’t like Nathan’s, soft, expensive, and inviting; this was flashier, more obvious. But its musky notes invaded her nose and the sense memory put her straight back in that darkened room, watching through the two-way mirror.

She felt her pussy clench as it yearned to be invaded, to be ravaged, to be completely filled as Tanya’s had been by Lopez. It was agony. She’d stood and watched the orgy, and wanted to be part of it. She had to admit to it; in the darkest region of her she knew it was true. Perhaps only in fantasy, but that was enough. She wanted it; she wanted the feel of a man’s cock inside her. She was standing in her bedroom, but her senses were back in the suite, back at the orgy.

She knew she would get no sleep tonight if the gnawing, clawing want in her pussy was ignored.

She pulled off her clothes and looked for the bullet. She’d washed it and put it back in her bag, discreetly hidden in a deep pocket. She fished it out and buried herself under the pink satin quilt covering the king-sized bed. But she had second thoughts. She didn’t want to be tucked away like this; she wanted to feel freer, naked.

She threw off the quilt and got up on all fours, then looked across at the mirror at the foot of the bed, looking at herself in profile. She saw the curve of her back, arched like a cat as she pushed her bottom high. She traced the angle of her breasts as they hung off her chest, the nipples full and proud as the blood followed gravity to engorge them. She clicked on the bullet and set it to five. Halfway to heaven.

She brought her hand to her clit, watching as she did so, and felt the buzz hit that sweet spot. The pleasure of watching herself as the thrumming went through her set her pulse racing faster. She didn’t recognise the look in her own face; it was desperate, yearning, like the look on Tanya’s face before Iorizzo had plunged his cock in her mouth.

Alexia pressed the bullet harder to her clit, and eased up the speed, her pussy rippling with each gear change, climbing with each increment.

She looked again at her mirror and thought of the cold glass that had separated her from the footballers.
Alexia Through the Looking Glass
. Her back was arching and her hips rocking as she rode the waves. Her eyes were really heavy now, begging, begging …

Up again, up to ten. The last furlong. She was riding her way home and she needed to get there, to get there fast. The blood was rushing to her nipples as they hung down and she felt that coursing need in her veins.

She clenched and unclenched the muscles inside her, trying to create the tension that would push her to orgasm. And then she came, pleasure flooding her abdomen. She rocked with it and bucked her hips forward with each contraction. But as she rode the waves she felt no real satisfaction. The release was short-lived, hollow. There was more, she knew it.

She breathed a few soft exhalations, then pressed the bullet to herself again. Her clit responded, not with irritation, the soreness that comes from post-orgasmic play. It was still hungry and she fed it. On she pressed, clenching and tensing her leg muscles and rocking. And she came again. This time, the surging was different. No contractions, just swirling, swooshing, shuddering gasps of pleasure that poured all through her, right down her legs. She collapsed onto the bed, just as Tanya had done. She had not been fucked as hard as Tanya, but she had found her release. It was enough for now. It would have to be.

Chapter Nine

The buzz in the hotel lobby was tangible. Journalists, photographers, and cameramen were arriving, talking on their mobiles, swaggering and strutting as if this was their sole territory. For the next few hours, it was.

The staff were busy, never breaking into a trot or a sweat as they were all too well trained. But they were clearly gearing up for a big event.

The press conference was set for the afternoon. Nathan and Tony had been in a huddle all day, leaving Alexia to fend for herself. She wasn’t needed. She’d busied herself as best she could, making sure all the arrangements were in place for the press conference and the drinks reception for the celebrity guests afterwards. She’d had to deal with all their publicists on the telephone, confirming they’d make an appearance.

Alexia found the hotel’s liaison, a tall, polite, very camp young man called Oliver. He was immaculate. She couldn’t imagine anyone with better manicured hands or neater eyebrows.

‘All ready for the kick-off. Just call me if you have any questions or you need anything, absolutely anything.’ Oliver smiled widely, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He was a pro, polished, stylish and hard-nosed as hell. ‘Anything,’ he repeated.

I’ll bet, she thought. Did he order the girls last night, or was that Tony? Perhaps both.

Sonia walked into reception. ‘Hello, sweetie, how are you feeling today?’

In truth, Alexia’s head was a little fuzzy from the wine and the whisky sours. ‘A little cloudy, but better for talking to you last night.’

Sonia squeezed her arm. ‘It’ll all be OK today. The soccer boys will be too busy looking cool for the cameras to worry about you, and Tony will be too busy looking cool for the soccer boys to worry about you. And Nathan, he’ll just be worrying about everything except you. So just stand back, do your job, make sure there are no hitches, and fix them if there are … Then breathe out!’

The two women laughed together, but Alexia’s laugh was all gallows humour. Her stomach was churning and it wasn’t going to stop any time soon.

‘See you in a bit,’ said Sonia and left to speak with her colleagues from the fragrance company who were paying a king’s ransom to have the three footballers fronting their brand.

Alexia felt alone and exposed, standing in reception, watching all the movement and hustle, not quite knowing how to fit in. She watched as the journalists disappeared into the press conference room, taking the paraphernalia of television and radio with them. The lobby fell silent again.

‘Alexia,’ said a deep voice behind her.

She turned round to see Nathan. He towered over her, immaculate as always. But she couldn’t help noticing he looked as if he hadn’t slept well; just a slight darkness under those dark blue eyes.

‘Any problems with the publicists or are we all set?’

‘Er … No, we’re fine. I’ve just had another chat with Oliver, our liaison at the hotel, it’s all under control.’

Nathan eyed her for a minute. ‘No last-minute hitches with Iorizzo or the others?’

He was watching her carefully. It was obvious he was talking about last night. She wanted to tell him, to explain that nothing happened, she wasn’t part of the fast crowd, that she’d been tricked, but there was no time. Down the corridor, like a royal procession, came the footballers and their entourages – and Tony.

‘Gentlemen,’ said Nathan.

‘
Buon giorno
,’ said Iorizzo, shaking Nathan’s hand vigorously. He went first in the pecking order; after him came Lopez and Carsten. As they greeted Nathan, Alexia felt a rush of fear as Iorizzo passed in front of her. She remembered his offer to do her next, as he’d stood in front of her, his cock on its way back up to an erection after coming all over Tanya. But he looked straight through her. Did he not remember? Was she so forgettable? Was his life such a procession of girls that he didn’t distinguish one from another? Or did she look so different last night, her hair down and dishevelled, not the neat PA she was today?

He registered no recognition and waited to be shown where to go by Nathan. A wave of relief swept over Alexia. Tony was hovering and she stood well back, trying to make sure she didn’t catch his eye or give him the chance to say anything to her.

‘Shall we go? The press are waiting.’ Nathan gestured the way and the footballers strutted into the press conference, their hem-kissing flunkies following behind.

Tony brought up the rear, trying to catch Alexia, but she tucked herself behind the far side of the group, away from his reach. She thought she saw Nathan notice her moving out of Tony’s way, but she couldn’t be sure. His concentration was on his charges, surely?

As the doors opened, Alexia heard all the camera shutters go off at once. It was like distant gunfire as the footballers walked into the room in a blaze of flash bulbs. They were used to the attention, and they revelled in it.

She stood well to the side as Nathan ushered the CEO of the fragrance company onto the stage to join the footballers. He was a smart man in his late 50s, but he looked grey and corporate next to the preening soccer stars.

Alexia wanted to move to the back of the room, but she knew she must stay close to Nathan in case he needed anything.

The press conference passed in a blur. The journalists fired a barrage of inane questions at the stars: why this aftershave, why this brand, did they actually wear it, did their girlfriends like it …?

They tried a few sneaky questions about the England manager and the players’ private lives, but Nathan was having none of it. He stepped forward and firmly told them how pleased the boys were to be associated with such a prestigious brand. He was good, Alexia thought, he was very good. He drew the Q&A to a swift close and offered the photographers staged shots.

The boys and the snappers quickly got into their positions. They’d all done this before.

She looked at Nathan. He was so in control, so deft, so practiced, his authority unquestionable. But as she watched him she couldn’t stop thinking about the other side, the private side; the side she had glimpsed all too briefly, the softer side. It wasn’t on show today, and she found it hard to bring it clearly to mind.

He saw her. She was staring, and his eyes had moved across the room and fallen on hers. Her stomach lurched and instinctively she dropped her head and looked at the floor. She kicked herself. Why couldn’t she face him? She forced herself to look up again, but his gaze had travelled on, to a photographer who was being difficult.

She wanted him so much it hurt. To see him in this room, so close and yet so far. She ached to feel his arms around her again. Sonia had said he’d been dumped by his girlfriend. How could any woman dump him? Alexia couldn’t imagine ever leaving a man like Nathan.

She looked over at Tony, who was chatting to some journalists. What a difference, she thought. He loved this. He loved every minute of being associated with these people, of being the gatekeeper the journalists would have to try and get through to get to the stars.

Lopez walked past and slapped Tony’s arm. ‘My man!’ he said, and sauntered on despite a couple of the journalists trying to speak to him. Tony’s chest swelled almost visibly. And his ego, thought Alexia.

Tony looked up at Alexia and she saw him make a tiny thrust of his hips towards her. No one else would have seen it, but she did; it was meant for her.

She wanted to slap him, but he still managed to turn her on. She felt a squirt in her panties. She stepped away, turning to look at the rest of the room. Why did he still turn her on? Everything seemed to turn her on at the moment. Why? She knew why. She needed sex. Real sex. Real, honest to goodness, pin you down, tear your clothes off, fuck you till your ears rattle sex. Watching the spit roast last night had unleashed not just a yearning for lovemaking but a yearning to be taken. She felt as if the tension in her vagina was almost visible; it was agonising.

The photographing was over and Nathan was ushering the soccer stars into the reception room where celebrities and hangers-on were already gathered to celebrate the union of football and fragrance. It was all completely fake, but this deal was worth a huge amount of money to the agency, Alexia knew that.

The crowd was liberally sprinkled with some very well-known faces and a few that Alexia recognised only vaguely, the C-listers who turned up to these events just to get their pictures in the
About Town
sections of the glossies.

She saw Sonia talking to a soap actor. He was looking over her shoulder the whole time, to see if anyone more “interesting” was coming into the room. Sonia looked up and saw Alexia; it was her cue to get away.

She sauntered over, grabbing an extra glass of champagne from a flunky on the way. ‘Well, it’s all gone very well,’ she said, handing a glass to Alexia.

‘I’m working,’ said Alexia.

‘Just sip it. No one will fire you for that. Not Nathan, anyway.’

‘Please stop talking about Nathan,’ she said, and took a large gulp of the sparkling wine.

Alexia was trying to keep her now rampaging desire dampened down, tucked away in a cupboard where it was safe. Just the mention of Nathan’s name ensured it burst out of its captivity and danced a jig in her vagina.

To make matters worse, he suddenly appeared close by. It wasn’t an opportunity Sonia was going to miss. She called him over.

‘Nathan! Good event, my company is very pleased. It’ll be great for the brand,’ she cooed.

Nathan smiled. ‘Thank you Sonia, we do our best. And it’s good to see you here, some sanity.’

He didn’t look at Alexia. But Sonia was on a mission.

‘I’ve been talking to your new PA here. You really do hire very good people, you know. I might steal her away from you!’

Alexia was mortified. What was Sonia doing?

‘Well, thank you.’ He was thrown by Sonia’s remark, but only for the briefest second before full composure was restored. Sonia wasn’t fooled. She moved in for the kill.

‘I’d hang on to her very tightly if I were you.’ She smiled.

Nathan was unsure whether she was being straight or playing with him. Alexia could feel his hesitation.

‘I intend to,’ he said.

Sonia smiled at them both. Nathan still didn’t look at Alexia.

‘If you’ll excuse me, ladies, there’s something I have to see to.’

‘Of course,’ said Sonia smoothly.

And with that he walked away. Alexia breathed out hard and took an enormous gulp of champagne.

Sonia smiled a wicked smile. ‘He “intends to”. Hmm!’

‘What was that for?’ hissed Alexia.

‘Ssh, someone will hear you. Sonia giggled.

Alexia moaned with distress.

‘Hey listen, it was only three words but it was a very loaded answer, don’t you think?’

Alexia thought. ‘I – I don’t know. What else could he say?’

‘That guy likes you. He may not like the
fact
that he likes you, but he likes you. And trust me, darling, I’ve known him a long time and I’ve never seen that before.’

Alexia was silent. Could it be true? She daren’t hope. Her eyes searched Nathan out. He was talking to a group of actors. He looked animated, engaged; they hung on his every word. In this room full of money and glamour, this former cavalry officer stood head and shoulders above them all, physically and in every other way.

‘If you want him,’ said Sonia, ‘then you have to take a risk. You may lose, you may get your heart broken, but you may never get another chance at a man like him, Alexia. They don’t come along every day.’

Sonia squeezed her arm and moved on to mingle with the other guests, leaving Alexia alone with her glass of champagne.

They don’t come along every day, Sonia had said, and she knew it was true. But what if she did get her heart broken? If it was broken by Nathan, she couldn’t imagine it would ever mend.

She wasn’t alone for long; she’d avoided him all day but, with an inevitability that seemed to cling to all her dealings with Tony, there he was, at her side, his hand on the small of her back as he leant in a little too close to talk to her.

‘You really should have stayed last night.’

‘Stop it!’ hissed Alexia. She couldn’t make a fuss; the room was too crowded and she was on show, part of the Fallon team. She was trapped again. Trapped with Tony.

‘It’s a nice game, this cat and mouse thing. It’ll be a lot of fun when Tom eventually gets Jerry …’

He lowered his hand to circle around her hip and pulled her ever so slightly to him. He could get away with it, he knew; in a room full of celebrities and luvvies, tactile conversations were the norm.

She hated herself for feeling it, but the warmth of his hand on her gave a small thrill of pleasure.

‘I’m not a mouse,’ she said quietly.

‘Oh no, not you.
I’m
the mouse …’

Alexia looked at him, puzzled. His eyes were wicked as always. That slightly cruel twist in his mouth made the angelic aura his soft blond curls gave him even more seductive.

‘Yes, that poor little mouse is me. You’re definitely the hunting pussy.’ He rolled his lips around the word
pussy
, making sure its double meaning wasn’t lost on Alexia. ‘Like those cats who get a mouse then let it get away, pretending they’re not interested, then grab it back again, before they start the game all over again, torturing the poor little thing. That’s you, my little minx.’

Tony put on a pathetic face as if he were the tortured mouse, all hurt and wide-eyed.

‘Stop being ridiculous,’ protested Alexia.

‘It’s true.’ His voice was low and his eyes twinkled again. ‘Fuck me, don’t fuck me, fuck me, don’t fuck me … Isn’t that the game you’ve been playing?’

‘No, it isn’t!’

Tony gave an indulgent laugh. ‘Oh baby, don’t deny it, why else would you get so hot?’

He breathed the word
hot
into her ear as if to press the point home, and her cunt flared at the feel of his breath, just as he knew it would.

‘And why else do those gorgeous little nipples of yours stand to attention every time Uncle Tony wants to play with them?’

As if obeying his orders, she felt her nipples do just that. Alexia knew she had no control. He knew how to press her buttons, and he was pressing them now.