Cassandra's Conflict (32 page)

Stunned, Katya turned to look at the others in their group, but they were all busy avoiding her eyes. The baron was their friend; she had only been accepted because she was his mistress. Without his protection she was nothing, and in that split second she both knew and accepted that. With her head held high she walked away from them all, but deep inside her she was already beginning to plan her future revenge on the dark-haired girl now lying so still on the couch while the baron continued to stroke her face and neck with tender, intimate caresses.

When Cassandra awoke the ballroom was deserted. She was still lying curled up in a ball on the brocaded couch, but no one else was around and she rose in a panic, stumbling to the doorway with her heart pounding.

Out in the hall, everything was quiet. Not even a servant's footstep disturbed the silence, and Cassandra was suddenly certain that she was the only person in the house. It had all been a trick, she thought in terror. The baron had merely wanted to see how far she was prepared to go in her efforts to stay with him, and having watched her take that terrible final perverse pleasure from Rupert's snake, he and Katya had departed, their entertainment complete. She choked back a sob, her exhausted body aching after the night's excesses and her legs reluctant to support her because they were so tired. Slowly she sank down onto the carpeted floor and wondered what would become of her now.

She was sitting with her arms round her knees, still naked and vulnerable when the baron found her. He watched her unnoticed for a few moments, admiring the slender curve of her neck and the softly swelling breasts that had matured during her sexual education. Then he called her name, and she swung round to face him, her eyes alight with relief.

'I thought you'd gone!' she exclaimed.

'Gone where?'

'I don't know. I thought you and Katya might have left for Austria, to join the children.'

'No, but Katya has left. She will never return to this house or enter any of my homes again. It's over, Cassandra, and you have won. How does it feel to be the victor?'

Cassandra lifted her head, growing in confidence at the look of reluctant admiration in his eyes. 'It feels good, although I never really knew what the rules of the contest were.'

This time he smiled. 'Of course not. The rules are always mine, and they remain my secret. We must get packed. I have decided we will fly to the Loire and join the children there.'

Cassandra stood up, totally unselfconscious despite her nakedness. 'I had to win, because I'd promised them I'd be there when their holiday was over.'

'Of course,' he replied gravely. 'I knew that was your motive all along. But before we go, I must make love to you just once, to make sure you know you're now mine.'

She let him lead her by the hand up the stairs to the bedroom where Katya had dressed herself in the purple and black gown only a few hours earlier, and then he laid her on the bed and covered her body with kisses while he removed his own clothes.

After that he lay down next to her pulling her across until she was lying on top of him, her breasts squashed against his chest, her stomach pressed to his. He reached above her and then round, his fingers going beneath her and massaging her whole vulva until moisture seeped from between the outer lips. Then he slid one finger up the damp channel until it located the slippery clitoris, already swelling with excitement.

As she rotated her hips against him his fingers matched her rhythm and she felt the tiny bud expanding and growing hot with excitement, while his mouth fastened on to one of her breasts hanging so invitingly above his face. The tugging of his lips along with the expert swirling of his finger made her insides grow tighter and tighter until she was moving more and more quickly against him, uttering little mewing sounds of excitement.

At last the tiny electric currents began to pulse through her, her toes curled and the baron slid his finger down to the underside of the clitoris so that he could caress the tiny stem on which it stood. It was the touch that always triggered her climax and this time was no exception. She bucked with the force of the explosion, an explosion made so much sweeter because for the first time he was really making love to her rather than experimenting with her sexuality.

He found her tiny mewing sounds unbearably exciting, and before the last ripples of her excitement had died away he pulled her down against his straining erection, driving into her and then moving her by her hips up and down to a rhythm of his own choosing, slowing when his climax threatened to come too soon but speeding up again when her mouth and eyes opened reproachfully. At this moment he could refuse her nothing, not even if it meant his own satisfaction came sooner than he would have chosen.

To his delight and her amazed wonder, they climaxed simultaneously, wrapping their arms around each other as they rolled across the huge bed, caught in the contractions of their union as lovers of equal standing.

Cassandra fell instantly asleep again but the baron didn't. He kept his arms round her, listened to her steady, gentle breathing and wondered what the future would hold for them both and how long their relationship would last given his never-ending search for constantly fresh and original stimulation.

At last, knowing that eventually the balance of power would change yet again, he regretfully woke her. 'Cassandra, open your eyes. It's time to pack. My jet is standing by'

She looked at him sleepily, wishing she could tell him how much she loved him, but wise enough to know that she must never ever even say the word or their relationship would be finished.

'Did you say we're going to France?' she asked when they were finally sitting in the back of the sleek black Daimler, its windows darkened against the intrusive eyes of the outside world.

'Yes, I have a chateau in the Loire that I intend to re-open. You can help me get it into shape again, and then we can start having parties there. The neighbouring people are all very friendly. I'm sure you'll quickly feel at home.'

'I'm sure I will too,' she said placidly.

He put a ringer under her chin and tipped her face up so that he could look into those tranquil eyes that darkened so gloriously in moments of passion. 'The game is on again, darling girl,' he whispered, and despite herself, a shiver of excitement ran down her spine.

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