TouchStone for giving (The Story of Us Trilogy) (8 page)

fantasies. You get that, don’t you? Stop crying and answer me.”

His serious question holds my attention. “Yes ...” I answer, wiping my nose with a dusty tissue.

“I knew where you were forty minutes ago. If I hadn’t wanted you to see the photographs, don’t you

think I would have sent Lester in to carry you out, over his shoulder if necessary? I knew Alenka

would make sure you found out about us. She’s a smart lady who’s in love with me. She treasures

those pictures I took of her; they corroborate her fairy tale fantasy of us being besotted with each

other. But that’s not how it was.”

“No? Then how was it?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.

“It was fantasy fucking, that’s all. When she wasn’t hanging off my arm at some fancy event, she

was on her back in my basement, getting fucked any which way I pleased.”

“Listen to yourself Ayden. You make it sound so cold-blooded and sordid.” I’m gasping at the

thought.

“It was just sex Beth. I explained it to you the very first time we met ...”

I break-in. “I like to fuck beautiful women who want to be fucked by me ...”

“You remembered?” I think I hear a smile in his voice.

“It’s not the remembering I have trouble with, it’s the forgetting,” I sneer.

“Well, now you can forget it because the only woman I will be fucking for a very, very long time is

you.”

He is so sure of himself, I think I should be offended but I’m not. He’s telling me what I need to

hear. “Even so, you should have told me Ayden. You should have trusted me. Finding out like this

really hurts.” My tears are drying in puddles on my face, making me look like I’ve been in a war zone.

I feel battle weary.

“Yes. I realise that and I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“I don’t scare that easy Ayden. You should know that by now.” I smile for the first time in over two

hours.

“Then let’s put that theory to the test ... where are you?”

I look left and then right. “I’m sat on a wooden bench a few yards down from Alenka’s house.

Why?” I wrinkle up my nose, unsure of what’s coming next.

“I know how much you enjoy motorised vehicles … go sit in your car. Go on.”

Mo
torised vehicles?

I hear movement. What is he doing? “What’s happening there?” I begin fiddling with my keys.

“I’m pouring myself a drink out of the mini bar. God knows I need one.”

I stifle a laugh.

“Now I’m kicking off my shoes and ... I’m lying on the bed, taking off my tie and lying back. Get

the picture?”

“Perfectly but, Ayden, before you start, this isn’t going to be anything risqué, is it? Only it’s still

daylight here and I don’t fancy getting caught doing something, well, you know…”

“Don’t worry Beth, it’s nothing like that. We’re just going to have a little chat.”

Why do I think he’s fibbing? “You don’t do ‘little chats’ Ayden.” I snigger, settling my hands on

the steering wheel. “Can’t we chat while I drive home? I’ll put you on speaker phone.”

“Okay, but drive carefully and pull over if you need to.”

I indicate and pull out onto the road and keep at a steady speed. “I’m on my way. You can keep me

company. You said you’ve had a shitty day, how come?”

“Oh, nothing for you to worry about ...”

“What’s the matter? Afraid you will fill my pretty little head with complicated ideas about big

business?” I reply indignantly, indicating and turning left at the end of the road.

“No. Don’t be like that. I’ve had a day full to overflowing with
big
business and I’d like to talk

about something else; about you, about us.”

“Alright. Y
ou
decide the topic of conversation.” I pick up speed and make my way onto the ring

road. I should be home in 40 minutes.

“I want to ask you which of the photographs you preferred out of the six you saw?”

His question hits me like a bolt out of the blue, causing me to swerve to the left. Oh, no you don’t

Ayden Stone, I know this game. “I ... I think they were all quite erotic, for different reasons. But like

you said,” I pause to indicate and join the north bound lane. “... it was fantasy fucking for you and

Alenka ...”

“I didn’t say anything about Alenka. The fantasies were
all
mine.”

Oh! I may have to pull over after all...

I’m finding concentrating on the road rather difficult. “I can’t recollect them really ...”

“Let me refresh your memory. I have them here in front of me on my iPad, but all I can see is you.”

His voice is quietly seductive, easing me out of my troubled state of mine and launching me into a

world of dark, erotic imagery. With trembling hands and a racing pulse, I check my mirror and

indicate left. “I’m pulling over.” I turn off the engine and leave the keys jangling above my right

knee. “I’ve parked up.” I can’t help but think this conversation might be getting away from me. “Is

this your idea of phone sex Ayden, because I’m starting to feel a little ... strange.”

“No, I’m simply having an innocent conversation with my fianceé who is six thousand miles away.”

I picture his sensuous mouth easing into a sexy smirk.

“There’s nothing innocent about
you
Ayden. I know you’re about to talk dirty to me, so go ahead.

I’m sitting comfortably too.”

I check my reflection in the rear view mirror; my face is pale and my lips are slightly frayed from

crying but there is not a trace of sadness or regret in my eyes; only sparkling anticipation.

“Good girl,” he whispers in that soft way he does, making me settle into my seat. “Beth, what

you’ve seen today are my fantasies in black and white. There’s no room for misinterpretation, no grey

areas; I get off on being sexually dominant. Are you with me so far?”

Am I?

“Yes, I worked that out for myself in Rome, remember?” I smile and close my eyes, reliving the

moment when I saw Alenka on her knees, blindfolded and bound with her hands tied behind her back.

That image has me fidgeting in my seat.

“Good. Obviously I’m not going to go through each photograph with you but I will attach them to

an email so you can review them.”

“Review them?”

“Then you’ll have a better idea about what I’m talking about. You didn’t find them repulsive,

obscene, sickening …?”

“No, no, no! None of the above. I found them very … erotic.”

My God, where did that come from?

“I thought you might.” There’s gentle laughter.

“How could you know that?” Am I really that transparent? Does my body disclose all my feelings

without me making a conscious effort to reveal them?

“From your reaction to the belt when I used it to tie your hands and from the intensity of your

orgasms when I spanked you in Rome, and in the car yesterday. That’s how.”

Christ! I really am ‘responsive with no self-control.’

“I see …” My secret is out.

I like Ayden Stone to do naughty things to me.

“You told me yesterday to listen to your body and you thought I was too far gone to hear anything;

in fact, your body has been talking to me since day one and I’ve been listening very closely. But, it can

only tell me so much. I can’t hear your private thoughts.” He takes a breath. “You know
my
fantasies,

now it’s your turn to tell me yours so I can make them real for you. That’s what I want, more than

anything Beth.”

Be still my beating heart!

“Okay, do you want the review and my list of fantasies in a written form or will an oral presentation

suffice?” It’s my turn to play.

“Oh, I think I’d like to take a more oral approach. Let’s dispense with formality and get right down

to it.”

I picture him smirking wickedly and the image of that causes the muscles in my groin to spasm. An

innocent conversation? I don’t think so. This
is
phone sex.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I answer a little too breathlessly. “But, I really don’t fancy seeing Alenka

naked and like that again. Not because I’m jealous of her, but because of the thought of what
you
did

to her.”

“I understand. But if it’s any consolation, I’ve had more hot sex in the last fortnight with you than

I’ve had in the past … “Is he actually counting? “… the past 12 months.”

“I don’t believe that …” I’m aghast. “Alenka must have been … available, she worships you.”

“I don’t want to be worshipped Beth, I want to be loved, by you. It’s entirely different. You’re

inexperienced but not a natural submissive in or out of the bedroom. Knowing that makes dominating

you an almighty turn-on for me. ”

“I still don’t get it …”

“If you submit, it’s not because you’re scared of me or feel the need to be punished. You do so

willingly. You give your body to me out of love. You know what I’m talking about? In Rome, you

allowed me to take complete control and I rewarded you with multiple orgasms. I get off on giving

you pleasure, and making love to you and you do too, with me. It’s not rocket science.”

“It’s not meant to be Ayden. It’s making love, not a physics lesson.”

He’s laughing and so am I.

“Alright, but what happens when
I
want to be dominant? What equation do you have for that?”

There is a distant rumble of laughter contained, but still audible from all those miles away. “I

wondered when you’d get round to that …”

I hear the top being pulled off a can. He really is enjoying this conversation. It’s as if a heavy

curtain has been pulled back and I’m being introduced to his secret place, where so few have ventured

before me. I feel like an intrepid explorer being welcomed into the new world.

Between slurps he explains. “We switch and I become compliant and you do whatever takes your

fancy. I’ll put myself completely in your hands because I know you’ll take care of me.” He swallows

another couple of mouthfuls of something refreshing. “There are no fixed rules Beth, we do whatever

we want and experiment. If it’s a turn-on we’ll keep doing it. If it isn’t we’ll stop and try something

else.”

He makes it sound perfectly natural. “You like your scientific metaphors, don’t you? What

happened to romance?”

“That’s just me. There’ll be lots of time for romance, wait and see.”

“And what if I don’t want to get involved in any of this kinky stuff? What then?” It’s just a

thought.

“We’ll figure it out, Beth.” There is a trace of disappointment in his voice or is it fatigue? It’s

getting late.

My brain takes me back to Alenka’s office and I use her photos as a visual benchmark. “We will,

but I think it might be fun.” He needs a positive thought to take to bed with him. “Who knows what

kind of fantasy fucking we might come up with?” I turn on my headlights to chase away the early

evening shadows. “You should get to bed. We’ve both had enough excitement for one day.”

With a weary sigh and a yawn, he prepares to leave me. Saying goodbye to Ayden is never easy, but

this is a make or break trip for him. So much depends on it. The fact he is having to deal with the

merger personally, face to face, speaks for itself. It takes more than a handshake and a signature on a

dotted line to secure a billion pound business opportunity.

“You’re right. We’ll save that discussion until I get back. It’s almost midnight and I’ve got a

monumental meeting at 9a.m. I’ll keep the lock close at hand, just in case. Right now I need to sleep.”

He remembered the lock of my hair. I can’t help but smile. Is there ever a moment when I’m out of

his thoughts?

“I won’t get into Heathrow until ten thirty tomorrow night but I’ll be out of it.”

“Of course. Go straight home and sleep off the jet lag. I’ll see you on Tuesday morning. Call me

when you’re back in the land of the living.”

He tries to stifle another yawn. “Good idea. And we’ll celebrate our successes: my merger and your

two mill fee.”

My God! In all the excitement I’d forgotten all about that. I respond with a simple, “Oh, that.”

“I’ll stay on the phone until you’re back at your apartment.”

“No, you won’t. I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. You get to bed and rest assured I’ll be spending

the next few days reviewing dirty pictures and thinking dirty thoughts about you.”

“That’s my girl.” He’s laughing, trying so hard to generate cheerful enthusiasm.

“Night Ayden, sleep well. “

“Bye Beth. I love you.”

He waits for my reply. “I love you more.” I switch off my new iPhone and slip it into my bag; turn

on the engine and merge into the traffic. I smile, noticing the silver car behind that keeps stopping and

starting, weaving and turning with me. Thank you for looking after me Ayden.

The sensation of having his heart squeezed and crushed through a combination of disappointment

and despair had taken its toll on Dan. Last night’s uncharacteristic display of bare knuckled brawling

was uncalled for but the only way he knew to quell the bubbling frustration which threatened to

overspill into his daily routine. Not surprisingly, his knuckles are bruised and grazed after having