Killer Queen: A Painted Faces Novel (17 page)

 “You're both sick,” he said angrily, his complexion
turning grey as he rubbed the side of his face before turning around and
walking away.
Well, that’s the end of that chapter,
I thought to myself.

Bringing my face closer to Fred’s, I murmured
teasingly, “I'm already looking forward to the wedding night.”

A long breath escaped her, and relief was etched
into her features. “Thanks for coming and helping me with that. I'm sorry you
had to interrupt your set for it.”

Since I was in heels, I was good deal taller than
she was. I had to bend so I could meet her eyes. God, she looked perfect
tonight. I wanted to take her home and do bad things to her, but I couldn’t.
She was still recovering from Aaron’s appearance at the nightclub. Unable to
help myself, I brought a finger to her lower lip and rubbed. The things I
wanted to do to that mouth were positively barbaric. I dropped my hand then, because
if I didn’t I was going to kiss her senseless, and it wouldn’t end there.

 “What's a best friend good for if they can't help
you fend off a crazy ex every now and again, eh?” I said, giving her an
affectionate smile.

“Very true, Viv,” she replied, pulling away from me
and giving me a cheeky slap on the arse. “Now go get your pretty self back out
there. You've still got another thirty minutes left in your set.”

I stared at her for longer than was necessary,
nodded, and returned to my place on the stage.

August 5
^th
,
2012.

Soundtrack:
“Thank You for Hearing Me” by Sinead O’Connor

Yesterday
I flew to Edinburgh with Fred. An old friend was at a loose end and asked me if
I’d come perform at her venue for the Fringe Festival. I’d thought it was a
good idea. For one, there was the Aaron episode, and two, there had been an
incident of vandalism at the club, which had left everyone a little nervy. When
you worked at a gay bar, these sorts of things were par for the course.

Fred hadn’t realised it, but she’d needed a break,
so I’d asked her to come along. It was under the guise of working as my
assistant, of course, but really, I just wanted the chance to spend time with
her away from all the stresses of our lives. And Edinburgh was turning out to
be a happy little bubble that the two of us were quite content to dwell in.

I felt like we were two slow-moving objects on the
verge of colliding in the most wonderful way.

Shamelessly, I’d only booked one hotel room. It was
a bold move, but aside from a touch of nervousness, Fred didn’t go completely
ballistic at me for it. Some women would have. Others might have dragged me
straight into the luxurious king-sized bed and screwed my brains out.

Fred was somewhere in the middle.

Flattered, but reluctant.

Perhaps she sensed what a train wreck I was
underneath it all, and that was why she was hesitant. By contrast, I was
absolutely taken in by her. She didn’t even realise how charmed I was. I think
it was her singing that song to me during Phil’s seduction karaoke that sealed
the deal. She held my affections now, whether she wanted them or not.

We had just gotten back to the hotel after a day of
doing promotion for my show along the Royal Mile. We were both tired and
hungry, so while Fred went to take a bath, I took the liberty of calling for
some room service. I went all out and ordered the most expensive items on the
menu. This trip was all about seducing Fred, and no expense would be spared.

The hotel room was more of a suite, and imagining
Fred in the gigantic bathtub was giving me all sorts of naughty ideas. I could
hear water swishing around as she settled in, and when I hung up the phone I
sat there for a moment, edgy. I was itching to go inside, but I didn’t know how
she would react. In the end, I determined to do it but to act all casual, like
it was no big deal for me to be in the room while she was bathing.

It was a brazen move, but really, Fred knew me well
enough by now to know that taking a bath when I was within a ten-mile radius
was simply asking for trouble. I knocked lightly on the door but didn’t wait
for her to answer before I walked right in. It was a good thing she hadn’t
locked it. She gasped when I entered and grabbed a towel to cover herself, even
though there were enough bubbles to shield several naked bodies in that
bathtub. The fact made me smirk.

Perhaps she’d been expecting my intrusion. And
maybe…just maybe, she’d been hoping for it. She didn’t breathe a word, but her
eyes were glued to my every movement as I went and sat down on the edge of the tub.
Pushing my luck, I reached down and ran my hand through the water, my fingers
only inches from her bare, wet skin. It was a tantalising, agonising
torture…for both of us, I thought, if the way she was breathing was anything to
go by.

“I ordered us both the steak,” I told her in a soft
voice.

“Sounds good,” she replied, clearing her throat.

She wouldn’t meet my eyes, but her chest was rising
and falling rapidly. The air in the room seemed to grow thicker. I soaked up
the sight of her all the while. The ends of her curly hair were wet, and there
was a drop of water on her cheek that I had a strong urge to lick away. Then
she moved, slowly lifting her leg and using her foot to twist the tap and allow
some fresh water into the bath. It almost hurt not to touch all of that smooth,
silky skin.

My voice was scratchy when I spoke. “Let me wash
your hair for you.”

At long last, she met my eyes, all wide and
hesitant. I wasn’t sure if she was going to answer at all, because the silence
seemed to drag out forever.

 “Okay,” she said at last, her reply barely audible.
She sat up then, holding the towel she was using to cover herself firmly to her
chest. It made me smile. There was a fancy glass jug sitting by the end of the
tub that I thought had been placed there solely for decoration. I picked it up
nonetheless and filled it with water.

Fred waited with her back to me, and I bit my lip at
the sight of her. Water trickled down her skin, and I loved how her hips flared
out from her small waist. I poured the water over her hair and then repeated
the action again before starting with the shampoo. I took my time with the
lather, rubbing it into her hair and attempting what I remembered of an Indian
head massage. The moment she started to relax into my touch, I felt it; I also
felt myself harden.

Who was I trying to fool? I’d been sporting an
erection since the moment I walked into the room. It was a good thing Fred had
been avoiding looking at me, because she would have gotten an eyeful. I was
almost mournful when I was done. I could have washed Fred’s hair for hours and
not tired of it. And really, I wanted to wash every part of her…before I
inevitably dirtied her up.

 “There. All finished,” I said, my voice strained.

“Thanks,” she replied quietly.

You could have cut the sexual tension with a knife,
but neither one of us was going to mention it. I hovered on a precipice, not
knowing whether I should leave now or give in to temptation. When she began
running a wash cloth over her leg, I lost it, grabbing her by the waist and
pulling her to the edge of the rub. She yelped, and I pressed my lips into her
wet neck, murmuring, “Do you know how much I want to fuck you right now?”

 “Shut up,” she whispered, a harsh breath escaping
her.

“No,” I replied, then pulled the towel from her
chest to reveal her prefect tits. I lost no time in palming them and teasing
her nipples with soft pinches. I had to have her now. I couldn’t wait a second
longer. So I stood and pulled off my top, preparing to join her in the tub. She
turned to watch me undress just as there was a knock on the hotel room door.

Jesus Christ
.

“Fucking room service would have to arrive at the
worst possible moment,” I swore, deliberating over whether or not to ignore the
food. I knew Fred had barely eaten all day, and I didn’t want her to be left
hungry.

I was starving, too, of course, but it wasn’t for
food.

“Go answer it,” she urged me, swallowing. I thought
she might be a little relieved for the interruption.

“Fine,” I said unhappily, and let room service in.

The guy wheeled in the cart, and I tipped him before
he promptly left.

Then Fred emerged from the bathroom, looking
entirely edible all wrapped up in the hotel bath robe. I was staring her so
intensely that I think I might frightened her a little, because she startled
when her eyes met mine.

She took a step forward, headed for the food, but I
blocked her. I couldn’t wait until after she’d eaten. I needed to taste her
now. She yelped when I scooped her up into my arms, threw her down on the bed,
and deftly pulled her sexy legs apart. I made quick work of loosening her robe
and baring her lush, curvy body to me. Settling myself between her thighs, I
brought my mouth to her nipple and sucked. Desperate to know what she tasted
like, I began to make my way down her body, kissing and licking as I went.

She shifted and strained beneath me, but then I
looked up and gave her one dark, reprimanding look, and she stilled completely.

When I reached her pussy, I paused and soaked in the
sight. God, she was fucking beautiful to look at, and I was admiring her as
though she were a work of art. She was moaning and struggling now, and I knew
exactly what she needed. Glancing up at her, I gave her a dark, devilish grin
before telling her, “Prettier than I even imagined.”

She whimpered.

I brought my tongue to her clit, giving her the
softest, barest whisper of a touch. Even that had her moaning loudly. Oh, how
we ached for one another. Holding back no longer, I feasted on her, and her
hands went to my hair. She sank her fingers through my locks and gripped so
hard that it hurt in the most delicious way.

I paused so I could praise her. “That's it, honey.
Hold on to me. You feel amazing against my tongue.”

What? I warned you I was a talker.

“Fuck,” she swore and I loved the guttural sound of
the profanity on her lips.

“All in good time, Freda,” I promised her before
bringing my mouth back to her quivering sex. Her thighs clenched around me, and
I delighted in how much she was relishing what I did to her. I’d finally gotten
to make my Fred let go. And fuck, when she let go, she was absolutely
beautiful. I thumbed her clit and begin to slide my tongue inside her. The
sound she made in response was exhilarating.

I wanted her to feel me everywhere, so I reached up
her body and began to massage her tits, sucking hard on the little bundle of
nerves I’d been worshipping with my tongue. I was looking up at her the entire
time, unable to take my eyes off her. She was fucking glorious. Every sound she
made fascinated me.

And then she was coming hard and fast against my
mouth. I’d never felt such sexual gratification in my life, and I hadn’t even
had to get my cock out.

“Nicholas,” she panted as she came, her hands in my
hair again.

“That's it, so sweet, Freda, so fucking sweet,” I
murmured, nuzzling the inside of her thigh. She sagged back against the
pillows, a big silly smile on her face that just so happened to prompt a big
silly smile on my own. God, she obsessed me. I thought I heard her stomach
rumble and I laughed, getting up from the bed and finally going to check out
the room service.

 “I'm going to feed you now,” I told her with a
grin.

***

We spent the rest of the evening in bed, watching
movies and exploring one another’s bodies. I hadn’t fucked her yet, because I
could tell she was still uncertain of me. I wanted to express to her just how
much all of this meant, that I’d never known anything like it, but funnily
enough, I couldn’t think of how to say it.

I was rarely lost for words, but on this occasion I
had none. Zero. The most important things were always the hardest to
articulate.

When night came and it was time for my show, I
enjoyed myself immensely, probably because I knew Fred was there, watching me.
I gave her a hot, burning stare when I sat at the piano and played a saucy
rendition of Tom Lehrer’s “The Masochism Tango.” The song was supposed to be
funny, but I could still see her squirm with embarrassment in her seat. Fred
didn’t like to be singled out, and I think every single person in the audience
that night could tell I was hot for her.

Don’t get me wrong — I knew deep down she was loving
the attention. She just wasn’t like me in that sense. I’d always been a little
bit of an exhibitionist. I loved having sex in public places. And once I’d
broken Fred in, as it were, I planned on shagging her in every which way
imaginable and in every weird and wonderful place I could think of. When I was
done with her, she would be just as unselfconscious about sex as I was.

I levelled my gaze on her and smirked as I sang
about aching for the touch of her lips, but much more for the touch of her
whips. I was never one for BDSM, but I enjoyed how the imagery made her look
away and blush.