Two's Company (5 page)

Ian opened the door to his mother’s house without knocking and ushered

Gillian inside. Taking her jacket, he handed it to Gwyneth, the maid, and

escorted Gillian into the parlor.

“Oh, you’re here,” Sylvia said with obvious delight in her voice. “Gillian,

you look radiant. What have you been doing?”

Without a glance at Ian, Gillian didn’t give anything away. “I had a salt

scrub and facial this morning,” she said with a smile.

“That sounds wonderful. Who did you use? Maybe I should call them

before I leave.”

“I’m not sure,” Gillian replied. “I left her card at the hotel. I’ll get it for

you.”

“Come on, Mother’s waiting in the dining hall,” Sylvia announced, and

led the way.

“You’re amazing,” Ian whispered, leaning in toward Gillian.

“Thank you,” she whispered back and walked ahead to catch up with

Sylvia.

“Ian,” his mother said as she kissed his cheek. “Thank you for picking up

Gillian for us. We could have sent the car, you know.”

“It wasn’t a problem, Mother,” he replied.

“And why she won’t stay here when we have so many guest rooms, I just

can’t figure,” Catherine continued. “There really is no reason why she should be

staying at a hotel alone.”

“Mother, please,” Sylvia said with a shake of her head. “I already

explained it to you. Gillian isn’t comfortable staying in someone else’s home and

she really does live in hotels most of the time anyway.”

“Mother, please take a seat,” Ian said, and held out a chair for her. “And

Sylvia,” he said holding her chair. “Last, but certainly not least, Gillian, may I

help you to your seat?”

“Thank you, Ian. Such a gentleman,” she said with a bright smile and took

the chair he held.

After he’d seated himself, Ian asked, “What’s on the agenda for today,

Mother?”

“I have an appointment, but I believe Sylvia and Gillian are going to the

club later.”

“Yes,” Sylvia confirmed. “I spent all last evening on the phone with

everyone from school and we’re having cocktails at the club this afternoon. We’ll

have dinner at Alfredo’s, followed by dancing at Fire Light.”

“Well that sounds like a fine evening for you ladies,” Ian said as brunch

was served.

“It’s not only for the ladies, at least not the dinner and dancing. Won’t you

come with us, Ian?”

“I have plans, Sylvia, I’m sorry. If I’d known earlier I might have been able

to rearrange my schedule, but as it is… ”

“Oh, please, please, please Ian?” Sylvia whined.

Ian raised a brow and laughed. “You sound exactly as you did when you

were twelve and wanted me to drive you someplace without Mother knowing!”

“So you’ll come?” Sylvia said with a laugh.

“I suppose my appointment isn’t so important that it can’t be changed for

my only sister.”

With a sideways glance toward Gillian, Sylvia whispered, “I can always

get him to do what I want him to.”

“Is that a fact, little sister?” Ian said, laughing.

“Yes, it is! Besides, you can be Gillian’s date for the evening.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” Gillian said quickly.

              “Of course it will,” Sylvia replied. Everyone is married now, so their

husbands will be along for dinner. And Mother has promised to join us, as well.

Ian can escort three beautiful women this evening. You can handle three, can’t

you, Ian?”

Tipping his champagne glass to his lips, Ian took a sip, and replied, “It’ll

be a harrowing undertaking, but I suppose if anyone can do it, it’s me!”

                                                       ~ * ~

Leaving the women to themselves after brunch, Ian drove home. He

wanted to rearrange his schedule for the evening, but he also needed sleep.

Lying on his bed in only his boxers, he stretched out and closed his eyes.

Gillian’s face came to life before him and he thought about the night they spent

together. He hadn’t intended for the evening to end with them in bed together;

that had seemed to happen on its own. Very smoothly, very easily. Too easily, he

thought now. He hadn’t had an actual date with a woman in so long, he couldn’t

remember when it hadn’t been strictly business.

Even though he knew she’d intended to hire him for the evening,

something had changed for both of them. He liked her. That was the unusual

part. Not that he didn’t like his clients, but the relationships were far from

friendship. And he really liked Gillian. In fact, he actually looked forward to

tonight, and looked forward to spending a night with friends and family in a

normal environment where he could just be himself.

He and Gillian could get to know one another on a personal level. She

already knew what he did for a living, so they’d jumped the worst hurdle. He

didn’t even have to think about how the night would end. If they wound up in

bed, that would be fine with him, but if they didn’t, that was fine too. With that

thought, Ian drifted off to sleep.

                                                                 ~ * ~

The alarm jolted Ian awake. He rolled off the bed and headed into the

shower. He glanced at the clock as he dressed, happy to see he had enough time

before he had to be at Alfredo’s for dinner. After he slipped his shoes on, he

grabbed his keys and headed for the parking garage. He had two stops to make

before he got to the restaurant. The first one at his favorite drive-thru coffee shop

for a much-needed shot of caffeine, and the second at the florist to pick up three

bouquets of roses for the women in his life. He gave red roses to his mother,

white roses to his sister, and yellow roses to Gillian.

“You are such a charmer,” his mother said with a smile and kissed his

cheek.

“Thank you,” Sylvia said and buried her face in the flowers to inhale the

lovely fragrance.

“Yes, thank you,” Gillian said. “You’re very kind to think of me.”

“You are all welcome,” he said. “Shall we go?” He held his arm for his

mother, and one for his sister, but Sylvia sidestepped and urged Gillian to take

Ian’s arm.

“I have to get my purse,” Sylvia said with a sly smile.

Ian rolled his eyes. “M’lady?” he said to Gillian and offered his arm,

which she took.

“Your sister is a matchmaker, isn’t she?” Gillian laughed.

“She tries,” Ian said and escorted the women to the waiting limousine.

After settling the ladies into the limo, Ian went back into the house and

called for Sylvia, who came running down the hall.

“We were going to leave without you,” he said teasingly.

“No, you weren’t,” she said and took his arm. “What do you think of

Gillian? Isn’t she wonderful? And beautiful?”

“Yes, yes, and I think she’s a very nice person.”

“Nice? Just nice?”

“What else am I to think of her?”

“She is quite worldly, she travels, has a great education, a wonderful job. I

think you two would be perfect together.”

“If she has such a great education and wonderful job, what would she

want with me?”

“Oh, you are impossible!”

Ian opened the limo door and climbed in after his sister. “Yes, I am,” he

said with a wink after they were settled.

“You are what, darling?” his mother asked.

“Nothing. A little joke between brother and sister,” Ian said and grinned.

“You’ll have to forgive my children, Gillian. They seem to forget they’re

no longer teenagers.”

Gillian laughed. “That’s perfectly all right. I have a brother too. I

completely understand.”

Ian helped them out of the limo when they reached the restaurant and

escorted them inside. A few of the couples had already arrived, so Ian escorted

the women to the reserved tables. After making introductions, everyone ordered

drinks, except for Sylvia, who ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri and then

announced to her friends that she was expecting. The cheering and toasts began

and the noisy group of friends continued their merriment right through dinner.

With Fire Light just around the corner, everyone walked as a group to the

nightclub and lounge and continued the party after dinner. Gillian fit in with Ian

and Sylvia’s friends and family and Ian couldn’t take his eyes off her. She

laughed and joked with them, and listened enraptured to all the tales they told.

Ian could tell how entranced the men were with
her, and the women had already

ac
cepted her as one of their own. When the music began again, Ian stood and offered

his hand to Gillian.

“Will you dance with me?”

She smiled up at him and his heart thudded in his chest.

“Yes,” she said with a smile and took his hand.

Leading her onto the dance floor, Ian pulled her close. Her hair felt like

silk against his face and smelled of flowers. He inhaled deeply, and then

tightened his arm around her. Moving with the gentle beat, Ian realized how

long it had been since he’d danced with a woman for the pleasure alone. A

graceful and responsive partner, Gillian followed his lead, and as Ian gazed into

her eyes, his stomach did a flip. The realization that he might actually have

feelings for her suddenly hit him and he almost laughed aloud. What an absurd

notion, he thought. He lived a certain way, had a certain lifestyle not conducive

to romantic involvement. Still, the emotions that washed over him while they

danced left him wondering long after the music had faded.

At nearly three in the morning, Ian saw his sister and mother home,

promising to escort Gillian safely back to her hotel. When the limo pulled into

the unloading zone, he said, “Thank you for the wonderful evening, Gillian. I’ll

walk you to the door.”

“I’d hoped you’d come up,” she whispered.

Smiling, he kissed her hand. “I think you should get some rest. But I’ll see

you later at the club for brunch.”

He walked her to the hotel lobby and kissed her on the cheek. “Good

night, Gillian.”

“Goodnight,” she replied, and turned to the elevator.

Ian got out of the limo when it stopped in front of his building and went

up to his apartment. Undressing, he thought of Gillian and wished he hadn’t

turned down her offer, but he knew this was best. The feelings he now had for

her went beyond friendship and could only be trouble. Besides, he saw no way

for a relationship to work out for them. She lived in another state and traveled all

over the world for work. His job was more stationary, but not conducive to

building a relationship and he wasn’t quite ready to give up his lifestyle just yet.

No, he’d made the right decision. Gillian would be on her way to Tulsa in two

days and they’d probably never see one another again anyway. Better to leave on

friendly terms with nice memories of their time together.

Ian slipped between the silk sheets and closed his eyes. It had been a long

day and he fell into a sound asleep.

In desperate need of coffee, preferably a latte with an extra shot, Gillian

stretched and yawned, and finally forced herself to crawl out of bed to make her

way to the shower. Sore from dancing the night before, she stood beneath the

spray, reveling in the hot water sliding down her back and neck as she turned

the shower head massage jets on. When she stepped out of the shower, the

phone rang and she hurried to answer it.

“Hello,” she said.

“When are you going to be back?”

Gillian took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m on the noon flight tomorrow.

I’ll get in around two.”

“I’ll have the car waiting for you.”

“Fine, fine.”

“Gillian, I know you needed this little vacation, but you’re my best girl.

You have no idea how many clients I’ve had to put off this week.”

“Well, it doesn’t hurt them to want a little bit, does it? I am only human,

you know. I need to rest once in a while and take some time for myself.”

“Yes, I know and I’m glad you did, but you really don’t know what a bind

I’ve been in here.”

“Oh please, you’re not in a bind. You have plenty of other girls you can

call on. You like to make me feel guilty.”

              “That’s not true! You’re my number one and I need you!”

“That may be true, but you’re a class-A drama queen, Martha, and you’re

only thinking of yourself.”

“Well…” Martha sniffed. “It is all about me after all!”

Gillian laughed. “Yes, dear, I know it is. I’ll see you tomorrow and I want

to talk to you when I get there.”

“Anything urgent?”

Gillian paused. She didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone.

Truthfully, she’d been giving considerable thought to cutting back, maybe

quitting altogether. N
ot that Martha would understand, the woman would

probably have a stroke at the thought of her quitting. But now wasn’t the right

time to speak to her. Gillian would deal with Martha when they were face-to-

face.

“No,” she replied. “It’s nothing that can’t wait until I get there.”

“All right, dear. Have a nice flight.”

Gillian hung up the phone with thoughts of a new beginning on her mind,

and dressed. A knock on the door brought her out of the deep thoughts of
how she

would deal with
Martha. “Who is it?”

“Open up, Gillian, it’s me. Sylvia.”

“Sylvia, what are you doing here?” Gillian asked as she opened the door.

“I thought I’d surprise you! So here I am. Let’s go shopping!”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Gillian said, slipping on her shoes.

“Where are we going?”

“Downtown. There’s a lot of great shops and boutiques. And if you don’t

mind, I really want to look at some stuff for the baby.”

Gillian chuckled. “No, I don’t mind. As long as I have the chance to buy

some new shoes.”

“Don’t you have enough?”

“Bite your tongue! There’s no such thing as enough shoes!”
They laughed, left

the hotel and climbed into the limo.

                                                             ~ * ~

“Ian,” Sylvia said into her cell phone. “You really must join us for supper

tonight. It’s Gillian’s last night.”

Ian laughed. “Do you realize I haven’t worked a single night since you

and Gillian got here? I do have a business to run.”

“So you’ll meet us at eight, right?”

“Yes, baby sister, I’ll see you then.”

                                             ~ * ~

              “Gillian,” Ian said, raising his glass. “It’s been a privilege to have you with

us this past week. I hope you have a safe flight tomorrow and return to Chicago

every chance you get.”

“Here, here,” Sylvia chimed in.

“Thank you,” Gillian replied. “I’ve had a wonderful visit and wish I could

stay longer, but work calls.”

“I’ll go with you to the airport,” Sylvia offered.

“No, don’t worry about it. I have to get up early and there’s no reason for

you to wear yourself out. We’ll say goodbye tonight and I’ll see you back home

in a few weeks.”

“And of course you’ll come back for the baby shower, won’t you?”

Catherine asked.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Gillian replied.

                                               ~ * ~

When they’d finished supper and had visited half the night, Ian offered

Gillian a ride back to her hotel, which she accepted. Ian and Gillian drove with

the top down through the warm summer night.

Ian looked at Gillian and thought of dropping her off at the hotel and

going straight home, but the desire to have one last night with her went straight

from his head to his groin. He shifted in the seat to give his semi-erect cock a

little more room, and the thought of dropping her off faded quickly.

“Gillian,” Ian began, “I know it’s late, but I was hoping—“

“So was I,” she said coyly.

Ian laughed. “Your place or mine? Never mind, let’s make it yours, and

I’ll drive you to the airport tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” she said.

Ian pulled into the hotel parking lot and raised the convertible hood.

Escorting Gillian through the lobby, he held her hand and they chatted and

laughed. When she opened the door to her room, she grabbed Ian’s tie, wrapped

it around her hand, and kicked the door closed behind them.

“Whoa!” Ian laughed when she shoved him against the wall. “What’s

gotten in to you?”

Using his tie, she pulled him down face-to-face with her and whispered,

“For tonight, you’re mine. So just do as I say and you won’t get hurt. Possibly,”

she added.

“As you wish,” Ian whispered back. He had no problem letting a woman

take charge and lead him in whatever direction she wanted to. As far as he was

concerned, sex was intended to be mutually satisfying and if she had a fantasy

she wanted to act out, he’d gladly accommodate her.

Pulling him by his tie, Gillian led him toward the bed and released him.

“Undress,” she told him and sat back on the bed to watch. When he

finished, she moved to stand behind him and ran her hands over his back and

down his arms. Grasping his wrists, she pulled his hands behind his back and

handcuffed him.

“Come with me,” she said and led him to the bed, where she pushed him

down face first. Using his tie, she tied his ankles together.

              “I’ll be right back,” she said and disappeared into the bathroom. She

returned wearing a pair of knee high black vinyl boots with spiked heels, a black

leather nipple-less bra with a leather thong, and a pair of black, elbow-length

fingerless gloves. Carrying a leather whip in one hand, she slapped it lightly

against the palm of her other hand.

“What are you doing, Gillian?” Ian asked, raising his head to see her

better.

“I’m doing whatever the hell I want to,” she said with a laugh. “And you

will do whatever the hell I want as well.” She went to the bed and slapped his

ass with the whip. When he didn’t respond, she slapped his ass again, this time

with enough force to leave a red stripe across both cheeks.

“Now,” she continued, “you’ll do as I say or you get the whip.”

“Gillian,” he said cautiously.

She slapped his ass again. “You’ll answer only when I ask a question, and

you’ll address me as Mistress. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mistress,” he replied.

“Very good. You learn quickly,” she said, walking around the bed.

Touching the end of the whip to the bottom of his foot, she drew it up the

length of his leg, over his ass, and across his back.

“You’re so gorgeous,” she said softly, climbed onto the bed and straddled

his legs. Bending over him, she flicked her tongue over his back and across his

shoulder. She trailed one long fingernail across his jaw, nibbled his earlobe and

whispered, “Tell me what you want?”

“I want to give you the pleasure you’re looking for, Mistress. I want to

make you wet and hear you scream.”

“
Mmm,” she moaned. Then she slid off him to the bed and pushed against

his body until he rolled onto his side. She placed pillows behind him so he felt no

pressure from the handcuffs at his wrists, and then lay beside him. She kissed

him. Softly at first, then with more passion as he opened his mouth to her and let

her take. Her nails raked over his belly to his cock and wrapped around it,

massaging the length of him until he began to harden. With her mouth still fused

to his, she rolled a cock ring over his dick to the base, and ran her tongue down

his body.

With his dick in her mouth, she sucked him down her throat until he

became completely hard. She sucked the head of his cock ruthlessly, slid her

mouth over his full length and brought him closer and closer to release. With his

balls in her hand, she palmed them gently and continued to suck his dick while

his hips bucked faster and faster against her mouth. His cock in one hand, she

massaged him up and down, her grip lighter as she came up over the head, and

tighter as she went back down and forced the wide head through a small

opening made by her thumb and finger.

She watched his face as she jacked him, then lowered her head once more

and sucked the head of his dick while she stroked up and down the length of

him. The ring at the base of his cock restricted the blood flow and made it more

difficult for him to come, but Gillian kept an eye on his facial expressions and the

movement of his hips. As soon as she saw he was about to come, she slapped his

cock hard.

Ian’s eyes flew open and he sucked a deep breath into his lungs. “What

the f
uck?” Gillian cocked a brow, a slight smile curving her lips. “What the fuck,

Mistress?”

“Shh,” she whispered and nibbled her way back over his belly. She moved

up to his nipples and sucked the little nubs into her mouth. Licking up his neck

and over his face, she found his lips and he opened his mouth, trying to kiss her.

“No,” she said. “Don’t kiss me back. Just let me do it.”

Her tongue first flicked across his bottom lip. She used her thumb to press

his mouth open just a little wider and ran her tongue across his top lip very

slowly. With her mouth pressed to his, she slipped her tongue inside and kissed

him so slowly and deliberately, taking all the time she needed. She held his face

in her hands and kissed his eyes, his brow, his cheeks and nose. She licked over

his chin and down his neck; her tongue following the planes and ridges of his

finely honed body. When she reached his cock once again, she sucked him deep

into her mouth until he was again hard as rock. She played with him, sucked him

and jacked him until he begged her to make him come. Suddenly, she stopped

and slapped his cock again.

Ian’s head rolled back as he panted. His entire being vibrated with need

and his balls were so tight he thought they’d burst if he didn’t come soon.

“You’re killing me,” he panted and immediately received a sharp slap of

the whip across his ass.

“You’re killing me, Mistress,” he gritted from between clenched teeth just

as Gillian sucked him into her mouth again.

She continued to suck and massage him until she could see him teetering