Revealed (8 page)

He glanced up, then looked right at her for a heart-stopping moment. Amy froze, unable to fight the sensation that she’d seen him somewhere before.

But the bench had been empty that morning.

The park and the street had been empty.

Then she remembered. He’d been on the Tube with her, reading a newspaper.

Why would someone who lived near Heathrow take the Tube to Mayfair to read the newspaper in a park?

Amy’s blood chilled. She’d been followed.

She turned away abruptly, letting the sheer curtain fall across the window as she recalled all the little hints she’d found of others trying to snoop inside the networks of The Phoenix. No doubt about it, Rex and Athena needed her.

She felt her exhaustion become a little more compelling and knew she needed to move the couch right this minute.

* * *

Despite the excitement, Amy’s long day caught up with her. She thought she’d just try out the bed for a moment, had time to realize it was the perfect combination of firmness and pillowing softness, and then was unaware of anything until her alarm clock buzzed with insistence.

Thank goodness she’d thought to set it. It was seven thirty.

She was wide awake in an instant. Darkness had fallen against the windows, the faint glow of streetlights the only illumination in her room. She closed the heavy drapes and turned on a lamp. The couch hadn’t moved, to her relief. She washed quickly and bound up her hair once again, ready just moments before there was a crisp rap on her door.

She opened it to find Mrs. Phipps.

The older woman scanned her quickly. “Earrings out,” she said, and Amy realized she’d forgotten that she was wearing them. She put them on the bathroom counter, then returned to the door.

“Where do I put my key?”

“You don’t. Leave it here.” Mrs. Phipps lifted a brow as she closed the door behind them. “Whenever you are used, you’ll be returned to your room once the scene is done.”

Used
.

There was an interesting choice of word. It certainly adjusted Amy’s expectations.

It also reawakened the rebellion Rex’s discipline had tamed. Apparently, it had been tempered, but not eliminated.

Used.

“Hands clasped behind your back, head bowed,” Mrs. Phipps instructed and Amy did as she was told. The other woman led her briskly down the corridor toward the mysterious door at the far end. Amy was curious when Mrs. Phipps unlocked it. She wasn’t surprised that there was another corridor beyond the door, although she was a bit surprised to see how much less grand it was. It could have been called plain, if not austere. Again there were doors on either side of the corridor, again with hotel room locks. These ones, though, were closer together.

Mrs. Phipps didn’t give Amy time to look around, but led her toward a narrow staircase. It must be the servants’ stairs. They descended quickly, the smell of roast meat and muted chatter rising from below. At the bottom of the stairs was a kitchen, one that must be in the basement of the townhouse. Half a dozen people were working there, uniformed wait staff hovering as dishes of hors d’oeuvres were garnished on the central island. The smell of the roast lamb made Amy’s stomach grumble.

“Here’s the new one,” Mrs. Phipps said and every pair of eyes turned to assess Amy. She felt extremely naked before their crisp uniforms and aprons, and found herself blushing. The tiles were cold under her feet and she felt her nipples tighten.

“Delicious,” said the tall man who had turned from checking the gratin. He winked at her, as if to reassure her. His hungry assessment did just the opposite.

What did they have planned for her?

“Wait until I’m done with her,” said a buxom woman whose fair hair was twisted up into a bun. She beckoned with a finger. “Come here, sweetness. We need to get you ready for your big entrance.”

Amy took a single step forward, uncertain what was going to happen. Mrs. Phipps gave her a definite push. “Go,” she murmured. “You don’t want to be punished by this lot.”

At that, Amy went.

She was urged into an adjacent room, one that smelled like sugar and chocolate. Here, too, there was a central island, one with a marble top. A large golden platter was on the island, a platter so huge that Amy couldn’t imagine what it was for.

Let alone how many people it would take to carry it. She saw that it had at least six sets of handles around the perimeter before the blond woman gestured to the island. “Up,” she commanded. “On your back, toes in these braces, thumbs in those ones.”

Amy’s mouth fell open in shock.

The woman chuckled, then pinched her butt. “That’s right. You’re dessert. Now hurry. A good presentation takes time.” Three other people came into the small room, but Amy was too busy hoisting herself onto the table to study them. “Dark chocolate and raspberries for this one. We’ll garnish with the whipping cream just before serving her.”

Amy’s mind stalled, then raced. She laid down as instructed, fitting her big toes into the loops that rose from the tray. Her feet were together, her soles pressed against each other, and her butt about a foot above them. She reached up for the thumb loops and an assistant arranged her hands. Her elbows were bent, her pose making her think of the wives displayed in the Kama Sutra.

One woman pinched her nipple, drawing it up to a tighter peak. “Ganache and a raspberry on each one,” the blonde woman instructed. The fingers pinched harder, the sharp sensation making Amy catch her breath. “Don’t move at all!” the blonde commanded, slapping the inside of Amy’s thigh hard. She struggled to keep still.

“Look at that red ass.”

“This one clearly needs a lot of discipline.”

“How many times a day are you being used?”

“Not enough, that’s clear. Now, get that chocolate. We don’t have much time.”

The blonde woman changed Amy’s pose, arching her back, bracing her neck so that her head fell back, instructing her to keep her lips slightly parted. Amy felt wide open, all her erogenous bits displayed to whoever might be looking.

“We usually tie down the new offerings,” the woman informed her. “We can hide cable ties on the toes and thumbs pretty easily. But Rex wants this to be a test, he said. You’re commanded to hold the pose perfectly until he releases you.”

More complicity. It was exciting to be an active part of her captivity, to be a contributing factor to her own situation. Amy found her breath quickening along with her pulse.

The woman leaned closer. “I don’t like the idea of my creation being marred, not at all.” Her voice dropped to a growl. “Don’t speak. Don’t twitch. In fact, don’t even shiver.”

She blinked her agreement, because that was the sign she thought required the least movement. The woman laughed, and slapped her thigh again. Her nipple was pinched in the same instant by the other woman, but Amy didn’t move at all.

She was determined to not disappoint Rex.

“A good start,” the blonde said.

Then they began to drizzle warm chocolate over her body. The sensation was incredible, sensuous yet forbidden. Amy felt her body relax at the same time that her excitement rose. The small room was filled with the sweet scent of chocolate, a smell she’d always loved. They drizzled it in intricate patterns all over her body, like a henna tracing.

But edible.

A heartbeat later, the chocolate began to harden, forming an open network that encased her body. That was when Amy understood the power of Rex’s command. She could break free of it easily. She had only to move to shatter the fine lines of chocolate—in fact, they would break so readily that if she did just quiver, the truth of her failure would be obvious in the cracks in the chocolate.

But she had to hold the pose to win her master’s approval.

And any chance of reward.

Amy closed her eyes and forced herself to be still.

Even so, she nearly came on the spot when the warm chocolate eased over her throbbing wet sex. It ran between the lips of her labia, encasing her clitoris, mingling with her own juices. When the chocolate hardened into a confining prison, she knew that whoever broke her puss free would own her body and soul.

She hoped it would be Rex.

* * *

Amy was practically humming.

Rex could feel the heat coming off her in waves as she was carried into the dining room on the gold platter. She looked fabulous, her tanned skin nearly glowing against the gold metal, the dark chocolate encasing her skin in a delicate network. She was garnished with raspberries as red as rubies, and embellished with mounds of fresh whipping cream. To his pleasure, her puss had been perfectly encased in chocolate, just as he’d commanded. It was his favorite kind of chastity belt, because the woman in question had to be completely cooperative for it to remain in place.

To his pride, Amy had managed to hold the pose perfectly, so the chocolate lines weren’t even cracked.

She definitely had promise.

He’d definitely been right about her.

He felt a moment’s disappointment that his only joy would be in training her and giving her away, but he reminded himself of the greater reward. He had a feeling that his relationship with Michelle could only go to the next level if he practiced this restraint.

And he very much wanted that to happen. The sacrifice would be worth it in the end.

He was looking forward to seeing Amy endure this ritual.

There were eight guests for dinner that night, plus Rex at the head and Athena at the foot of the large table, men alternating with women on either side. The candles had burned down and the room was filled with the conviviality and scent of good food, fine wine and sparkling conversation. The room itself glittered, the chandelier dripping with sparkling crystals, the wallpaper touched with gilt, a fire crackling on the hearth. Per the usual ritual, the guests wore formal attire: the men in black tie, the women in lavish evening gowns. All twelve of them wore black velvet domino masks. Even though they knew each other’s identities, the masks added an element of theatre and excitement to the evening.

The table had been cleared for the platter with Amy. She was set down so that her face was toward him, as he’d insisted, and he saw her eyes widen ever so slightly as she noticed her surroundings. He smiled at her and nodded a little, letting her know that he’d seen how obedient she’d been.

The delight of the guests was tangible. “Perfect,” breathed the woman to Rex’s right.

“A new toy, Rex?” asked the woman on his left.

“A new employee, with benefits,” he replied. He lifted his camera and took a picture as Amy watched him.

“For who?” teased another guest.

They all laughed.

“Who gets the first bite?” another asked, her voice low and sultry.

“Me,” said the woman on Rex’s left as she plucked the raspberry from Amy’s left nipple. She licked the chocolate that had held it in place, then put out her tongue deliberately, placed the raspberry on it and drew it into her mouth.

“Not fair,” the man beside her protested. He drew her close and kissed her, stealing the raspberry from her mouth. She licked a trickle of red juice from his chin, then they kissed again.

“She looks so delicious,” said a man seated near Amy’s right knee. “I think we should all dive in.”

“Remember that she doesn’t have permission to climax,” Rex said, watching the flush of consternation rise over Amy’s chest.

“And this piece of chocolate is reserved for last,” Athena said. She tapped her spoon on the chocolate that surrounded Amy’s puss.

Amy gasped at the impact, a hot flush suffusing her face. She shuddered suddenly from head to toe, an involuntary move that cracked all of the chocolate.

“Well done,” murmured the woman to Rex’s right, then leaned forward to claim a piece of chocolate from Amy’s shoulder. She used her tongue and her teeth, and the way Amy’s eyes widened told Rex that she’d touched Amy’s skin.

“I think she likes this,” murmured another man. “Smell that puss.”

“I know I like it,” whispered another guest.

“Look, the whipping cream is melting,” Julian said with a tsk. He reached out with a fingertip to scoop some from Amy’s hip.

“Then by all means, let’s savor the feast before us,” Rex said. He lifted his camera and took Amy’s picture again, loving how her bottom lip trembled in her excitement.

Then the guests leaned forward, fingers and lips at the ready. Athena exchanged a glance with Rex and they bent over the feast as one, Athena licking the chocolate from Amy’s toe and Rex sucking it from her thumb. The woman beside him got to her feet, leaning over Amy to suckle her breast with enthusiasm. Guests licked chocolate and cream with abandon, laughing as they indulged in the treat that was Amy.

Her heart was racing, her skin was heated. Rex could feel her excitement rising with every passing moment. Athena cast him a look and he nodded, watching with a smile as she climbed on to the table and nuzzled the piece of forbidden chocolate.

Amy gasped audibly.

He watched Athena pry the chocolate loose with her teeth, her tongue flicking beneath the sweet barrier to torment Amy, and wondered how long his new slave would last. Her gaze flew to his, a question in her eyes, but Rex shook his head, denying her a release. Her cheeks immediately burned bright red. He saw the indignation in her eyes, her sense of the injustice of it all, but simply smiled.