Payback

PAYBACK An Ellora’s Cave publication written by ELIZABETH LAPTHORNE MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-84360-377-2 Mobipocket (PRC) ISBN # 1-84360-378-0 Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned): Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), & HTML © Copyright Elizabeth Lapthorne, 2003. All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave. Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc. USA Ellora's Cave Ltd, UK This e-book may not be reproduced in whole or in part by email forwarding, copying, fax, or any other mode of communication without author permission. Edited by Martha Punches Cover Art by Scott Carpenter

Warning: The following material contains strong sexual content meant for mature readers. PAYBACK has been rated NC17, erotic, by three individual reviewers. We strongly suggest storing this electronic file in a place where young readers not meant to view this ebook are unlikely to happen upon it. That said, enjoy…

Dedication: To Kate, for being a fantastic friend and for helping me get this started. And to Scott, for his advice, his formatting skills and his artistic talents (love the cover!), but most of all for making me smile and not give up. Thanks guys.

Prologue Early Friday Morning. Thompson and Co. Vice-President's Office. Victoria Thompson looked down at her office phone as it rang. Still thinking about the important documents and reports she had been in the middle of reading, she absentmindedly patted her perfectly coiffed shoulder length blond hair. Looking back from the phone to the papers on her desk, she skimmed her eyes down the rest of the report as she picked up the phone and answered it. "Hello." The husky masculine voice on the other end instantly grabbed her attention. "Good morning Ms. Thompson. You wanted to talk to me?" Feeling a most uncommon bout of annoyance rise inside her at the sarcasm dripping from the man's voice, she tried not to snap at the man. "Stormcloud. Why the hell haven't you pulled out your application? Applications close after this weekend, and the final interview selections will be looked over and decided on Monday." Taking a deep breath she reigned in her anger. Getting angry won't help you , she reminded herself. Attempting to soften her voice a little, she continued. "The short-list of people to be interviewed will be selected by myself and a few others mid-Monday. I thought you said the $10,000 I offered to pay you late next Monday was enough. You know you won't see a cent of it if you don't withdraw your application. What's taking you so long?" Victoria flinched at the amused chuckle that came from the other end of the phone line. She had never encountered a man as inflexible as this one. It made her more curious about him, like a moth being drawn to the flame of a fire.

Some elemental part of her enjoyed playing the game and screwing him over. She lived for the power rushes she received when she beat a man at his own game. With Stormcloud she found it so difficult to win anything against him, she had to try harder than ever before to win these battles. And when the efforts paid off, all the hard work was forgotten in the afterglow of success in this male-dominated world. Every man she had met so far in this business could be either bought or bullied by her iron-balls approach. Neither tactic had worked with Stormcloud and she had nearly run out of options. Her eyes strayed to a folder sitting on the edge of her desk with the single word "Stormcloud" across its front in thick black ink. After reading his resume and application, there had been mention of a few jobs that had her internal antennae twitching. She relied regularly on her business sense, so she had decided to dig a little more into his background, and had contacted the private investigators firm her company often used. Once her fears and suspicions had been confirmed by the investigators having more concrete facts about his shady past, she had them dig further for any information that could be used against him. The contents of this file were her last resort. Never had she needed to resort to blackmail but she refused to be outmaneuvered by this man. She couldn't bear the thought of having a man with his background coming into her business. Not only could it prove disastrous for her father's company if word leaked out that they were hiring men connected to the underworld, but it could also blow up in their faces if Stormcloud decided to use his past and connections for some nefarious means of his own-like extortion. "Oh it was enough alright, honey. Enough to make me even more determined to get a job in your sweet little company. There's no longer enough money in the world to make me withdraw that application. I'm perfect for the job and you know it. Is that all? May I be excused?"

The sarcasm dripping from his last sentence was almost enough to make her change her mind about the blackmail. This might not be a man she was interested in having in the company she basically ran in conjunction with her father, but neither was this a man she wanted as an enemy. No, she affirmed to herself, we don't need his kind here. I'm doing the right thing . Taking a deep breath, she ploughed ahead with what she had decided earlier in the week to do in such an event as this. "Actually, no, that isn't all. I have one last offer for you, which you might want to think very seriously about considering. I have sitting in front of me some interesting photographs." Victoria leaned over her desk and grabbed the Stormcloud folder. Opening it, she began once more flipping through the dozen or so glossy photos. They had been taken a few months ago by a private investigator with a telephoto lens. It had been excruciatingly dear to buy these from the mercenary investigator. He had appeared to suddenly grow a set of morals. He insisted that as he had taken them for another client, copies of the negatives he had illegally kept were not for sale. She had ever so sweetly pointed out that as they belonged to that client, he shouldn't have the negatives in his possession. With a little artful bantering, a price had been made and agreed upon by both parties. It was still an astronomical price, but a reasonable deal on both sides. Remembering how the private investigator had crumbled under her will of iron and tough attitude once again made her anger flare at Stormcloud. Why couldn't he bloody well be as easy to bully as the damn investigator? Tapping her perfectly manicured nails on her desk she glanced back at the photos sitting in front of her. It was a gamble, hoping these photos would work. But gambling was the last of her options. If her ploy worked, it would certainly be well worth the obscene amount of money it had cost her to purchase these particular photos from that nasty little man. Nearly

any price was worth it to get this man out of her hair and as far away from her precious company as possible. Tuning back into her phone conversation, she continued with her blackmail scheme. "These very interesting photos are of you and the daughter of a rather prominent Senator. In some…er…rather interesting positions." The heavy silence on the other end of the line told her more than mere words could express how this might be the right tactic to use. A thrill of victory shivered down her spine. The high and power rush that would come from this success would be brilliant. Feeling confident and cocky all over again, she injected a note of gloating into her voice. This had to work. "Do tell Stormcloud; is that pain or pleasure reflected on her face?" Victoria felt a surge of excitement run through her body at the sound of a hastily indrawn breath at the other end of the line. Her blood heated and she resisted the impulse to lean back into her chair and fan herself. She loved having men by the balls like this, particularly an adversary as worthy as Stormcloud. "You know this is election year. I'm sure the press, not to mention the tabloids, would just love to get their hands of proof such as this of a Senator's daughter's kinky desires. Once they get solid evidence that she likes this style of play, who knows what other pictures and videos will come out of the woodwork?" Victoria paused for a breath, thrilled at the heavy silence on the other end of the line. These were the moments she lived for, honing in for the kill and then feasting on the dead carcass of her fallen opponent. She loved nothing better than beating men at their own games and winning. As Stormcloud had been nothing but trouble from the moment she had intercepted his résumé and application, this particular success was even sweeter than the others she usually won.

Assuring herself the door was firmly closed and locked, she moved back to her desk, leaned back in her plush office chair and gently tweaked one nipple through the silky material of her blouse. She felt the answering thrill and wetness pool in her panties. She could taste her success it was so close. Ever since the first time she had won a battle in her father's business she had felt this sexual thrill. The power and the corresponding adrenaline rush that came with it always turned her on in the biggest way. This particular success, however seemed even more sweet. She knew her heightened reaction to this success was because most of the men she came across in business were weaker than this man. Testing her skills against him was worth the effort and annoyance she had been put through during the last two weeks. She could feel victory within her grasp. The shock and anger emanating from the other end of the line was proof that she had finally found the right track with this man. Pressing her point home, she sat up straight and continued. "I'm certain that her designer clothes chain would just boom after the knowledge that their prim and proper President has such interesting tastes." "Tell me a secret," she purred, glorying in his defeat with every word she uttered. "Do you do this often? Or is it just for well-connected little rich girls?" Gloating now at the heavy displeasure radiating through the phone, she could practically feel Stormcloud's desire to wring her neck. She pushed back the momentary twinge of guilt at having to resort to blackmail. It simply felt too good to get the best of a worthy opponent. She licked her lips and smiled triumphantly. She finally had Stormcloud exactly where she wanted him-backing down and leaving her company alone. She could tell by his silence and heavy breathing that he was angry; but he finally recognized his defeat.

Pig-headed and stubborn he may be, she thought gloatingly, but stupid he isn't . Neither was he one of those wimpy men, who blustered and tried to bargain. She had to admit that he took his punishment like a man. Victory has never tasted quite so sweet. "You'd damned well do it, wouldn't you, bitch? You'd ruin the career of one of the few honest politicians we have left, as well as destroy an innocent woman's business and life, simply to stop me getting into your lily-white company?" Victoria chuckled. "From where I'm sitting Stormcloud my dear, she doesn't look too innocent to me." "Damn you," he cursed. Justin took a deep breath as he tried to control his towering rage. He couldn't believe he had put off getting the damn negatives from that annoying private investigator for so long. Had it really been six months? Justin shook his head. It made no difference now that bitch had copies and he had to do something about it. Shelly was the friend of one of his childhood buddy's. She had wanted to test some light sexual bondage, to see if she was really interested in it or whether she had merely a passing curiosity with it. He had agreed to help her out one night. Being the only daughter of a powerful Senator, she had wanted to test her fantasies discreetly and privately. She hadn't even wanted to go to an expensive, private Bondage club, as the underground gossip would ruin herself and her father just as surely as announcing it in the Society columns. He had spent only the one night with her and they hadn't even had sex! He merely had introduced her to some of the pleasures bondage could bring certain women. Unfortunately for him, Shelly's Country Club boyfriend had caught wind of the scheme and had insisted on having photographic evidence to make her halt her dabbling. Justin had assumed he felt threatened by Shelly's natural curiosity as the idiot boyfriend had blackmailed and bullied her into now suppressing her enthusiasm and

curiosity. Justin felt sorry for her and had decided to steal the negatives to pass on one day to Shelly. He had hoped that Shelly would see what a jerk her boyfriend was and would come to her senses and ditch him. He firmly believed every woman had a right to her own fantasies and while they mightn't all make him hot, that was his problem, not the woman's. He felt that if Shelly held the negatives and managed to steal the copies her boyfriend undoubtedly held, then she would be free to do as she wished. There hadn't seemed a rush to get them at the time, as Shelly seemed happy to stay vanilla with her boyfriend and stop exploring her sexuality. Now, however, that he knew the private investigator was weak enough to sell copies to whoever had the right price, he would have to do something quickly. He made a mental note to make a personal visit to the investigator so easily bought. Shaking his head at the levels this woman would stoop to, he sighed and tried to concentrate on the options left open to him. Victoria laughed in true glee at Justin's defeated sigh. It had worked! She had finally beaten Justin Stormcloud! Maybe she should try this sort of thing more regularly with her most difficult opposition… "Now if you'll excuse me, Stormcloud dear. I'm going away to Nevada this weekend and I have a ton of paperwork to complete. I will expect you to call the relevant people and withdraw your application before the day is over. It was nice to do business with you. Adieu ." Hanging up the phone with a clang, she felt a face-splitting grin come to her face. She was flushed and her breaths came rapidly. That had been fantastic! Nothing felt as good as getting one up on a strong foe. Walking to the water cooler on the other side of her office, she got herself a glass of water and resisted the impulse to light up a cigarette or head to her en suite and have a nice hot shower and masturbate.

She had quit smoking three months ago, but still felt the urge to indulge in a smoke after a success as wonderful and powerful as this one. Neither did she have the time to relax and indulge herself in a long shower. Tonight , she promised herself, there will be plenty of time for that in Nevada. Finishing the drink, she took a deep, calming breath and went back to her desk to complete her work.

***** Around noon, in a neat apartment in the middle of town. "Bingo!" Justin Stormcloud double-clicked on the plane reservation. First Class ticket to Nevada, booked under the name of Ms. Victoria Thompson. It had been relatively easy to hack in through the back entrance of the Airport's flight files. As no 'sensitive' data was recorded there, the security was lax as hell. Seeing as Victoria had been so nice to let drop that she was heading to Nevada for the weekend, he had started searching the plane reservations immediately as a plan of revenge percolated in the back of his mind. A number of options simmered there gently as he worked out the logistics of following Ms. Thompson's paper and electronic trail. He knew once he had all the facts of her weekend away, a plan would start to truly form. He thought to himself, Nothing like catching the enemy unaware and off his home turf to even the scales a bit more. Hmmm …he mused. There was a note attached to her reservation that she was to be met and picked up by a limo at the gate. Contemplating the first-class airfare as well as the limo pick up he drummed his fingers on the mouse pad. Thinking for a few minutes while turning over different possibilities in his mind, he stared at the computer screen in front of him.

She obviously wasn't meeting a lover or any other candle-side rendezvous. He was now, more than ever convinced that Victoria Thompson had ice water in her veins. Even though Justin had never met her face-to-face, he could tell by her callous attitude towards him that she was an Ice Princess. It wouldn't matter if she were as gorgeous as a Playboy Bunny-men wanted a little caring and warmth in their lovers. Deciding to play a hunch—they were rarely wrong—he searched the online white pages for a particular Nevada Hotel phone number. Picking up his phone and punching the number in, he put on his best posh accent. When the receptionist greeted him, he cleared his throat and played his hunch. "Oh yes. I'm Anthony Schnooder, from Accounting in Thompson and Co. I'm calling to confirm a booking for Ms. Victoria Thompson please." Waiting a minute while hearing the sounds of a keyboard clacking, he found himself grinning at how it was a simple, logical progression to track her down to the Hilton. Ms. Thompson was obviously a woman accustomed to only the best and there were but a few classy hotels in Nevada, which she would stay whilst on a business trip. "Yes sir, her room is ready for her check-in sometime tonight. Everything is in order." "Excellent. What room number was it again please? Just for our records you understand." "Suite number 439. Is that all, sir?" "Yes, thank you very much for your help." "Of course sir, have a nice day." "Thank you, you too." 439 …he wrote down, along with the address of the hotel. He certainly would have a nice day-planning his payback. Now that he had her reservation details he could begin to plan in earnest.

He'd pay Little Miss Bitch a visit in her snobby Hotel Room and teach her some lessons in etiquette. He'd also teach her not to mess with him ever again. She had such a problem with a little friendly bondage hey? Justin chuckled to himself. Wouldn't it be lovely to show her personally how much fun a little slap and tickle could be? Looking about his apartment and thinking of some of his toys, he started planning his revenge and packing his soft carryall. He had been taught by his mother to never judge without first trying. Obviously Ms Thompson's mother had not been so enlightened. He felt his plan become firmer as he thought things through. As he packed his erotic toys, and some bondage paraphernalia, his plan became clearer in his mind. He could show Ms Thompson just how fun a little power play between men and women could lead to the satisfaction of both parties. She seemed to be a woman who got off on power—maybe she just needed to be shown that power can be wielded in many different ways. As he packed assorted adult toys into his carry all, he came across his Polaroid camera. Absolutely brilliant, he thought as a new angle to his plan struck him. The bitch had a thing for photos and blackmail, huh? What could be more perfectafter an afternoon or night of bondage and teaching her a lesson in humility and submission-than to take damning photos of her, bound and submissive to any man's whims, and holding these photos over her head? He knew he'd burn them at the first opportunity, but Victoria would never believe he would burn them. She would only judge him on how she would act in the same scenario, and she wouldn't ever give up such a powerful hold on anyone. She would forever be worried and panicked that the photos would come out at any time. Oh yeah…this was going to be a blast, he thought as he added his Polaroid to the carry all. Payback was going to be sweet and lots of fun. By the end of the night he'd know firsthand how uptight Ms. Victoria Thompson really was, and how much it would take

to make her unwind and enjoy his erotic ministrations. Even the most uptight bitch could be taught the pleasures of bondage and erotic torture. This is going to be a helluva lot of fun.

***** Mid-afternoon. Thompson and Co Vice-President's Office. Damn fool men! Victoria fumed. She'd have to cancel her trip to Nevada. The meeting had been rescheduled and she, of course, was the last person informed. Her first reaction had been to initiate a conference call to ensure that her side of the important deal would still go ahead without any glitches. Wrangling each man to conform with her plans without the face-to-face contact had been more difficult than simply charming and manipulating them in person would have been, but now that everything was under control the other issues of this last minute cancellation could be looked at. The hotel reservations and plane fares she had pre-booked had already been paid for and would not be refundable at this late hour. Tapping her perfectly painted nails on the desk, Victoria wondered how a large chunk of the company's petty cash money could be retrieved. Between the first-class plane fares, the limo hire, the large suite and full-time room service she had ordered, a substantial chunk of her budget was now being tossed down the toilet. Even if she decided to cancel all her bookings, with the late hour and cancellation fees, very little would come back to her cash fund. Victoria fumed silently and pondered the best course of action from here.

Damnation . She couldn't afford to take the time off without the meetings. She had only agreed to go because her father was busier than she currently was and someone had to attend the Nevada conference. Standing up and walking over to the window, she gazed out at the late afternoon sunlight. She saw her reflection in the mirror and absently smoothed down the crisp jacket of her suit. She'd have to remember to go to the gym now that she was staying home this weekend. Turning this way and that, she admired her perfect size 6 form encased in a navy blue suit skirt and jacket. Patting down her short blond hair, even though not a hair was out of place, she went back to thinking about ways to save the money she had already spent on the fares and reservations for the weekend. Inspiration struck like lightning. She crossed back to her phone and dialed an internal number. "Hey sis, you got plans for the weekend?" Caroline Thompson looked around the mess on her desk that she had been mentally dragged from and swallowed a curse. Victoria only ever called her 'sis' when she wanted something. Sharing the same father didn't seem to make the blood relationship between them anything other than a monumental pain in the ass. Being Victoria's half-sister was hard enough by just having to live up to her sister's image and standards. Being nagged, yet again, by her half-sister about her lack of a social life was not on her large list of things to do this afternoon. With waist-length, unruly red curly hair and a voluptuous form, all she ever had to do with her dates to get rid of them was to bring them to her father's house and introduce them to her half-sister. Men seemed to fall into two categories for her: business types who were only interested in wives to advance their careers, and jerks only out for a good time and a quick fuck.

The former always started calculating and schmoozing seconds after being introduced to Victoria who would have made the perfect business wife if she didn't basically run her own company. Caroline would be quickly left behind, being instantly forgotten. The latter were prone to cheat, steal and lie if they managed to stick around for more that one night of, usually forgettable, sex. Little wonder she hadn't accepted a date in months! Sighing audibly over the phone, she decided to try and be polite to her half-sister's question. "Give me a break, Vicki. I have a million applications to look over tonight and over this weekend. I have to interview and choose a Head of the new Technological Security Section within the following week. You do remember that, don't you?" Sighing in annoyance at how her half-sister only ever thought of herself and her own little world, Caroline continued reminding her half-sister of how busy she was. "I can't do all the security stuff myself as well as keep up-to-date on all this new technology coming out. I need to appoint a partner to keep up-to-date with all the technological rubbish that seemingly gets updated daily so I'm free to keep everything else under control. Interviews will be decided on Monday and this is all on top of my normal duties. What the hell do you think I'll be doing this weekend?" Caroline felt a tiny twinge of guilt at her misleading words. Squashing it firmly, she reminded herself it wasn't a lie as such; she couldn't keep up with all the technological advances anymore. The fact she meant the position to be much, much more was none of her sister's business. "Don't call me Vicki. You know how it annoys me. Be reasonable Caroline. You know Daddy and I will be vetting all your applications and helping you pick the 6 or 8 interviewees. You don't need to start helping us with that until Monday. Then you have all week to interview them and decide whom you'll employ. Daddy and I will help you." Caroline tried not to gnash her teeth in frustration.

" Victoria darling, I am a grown woman and have been working here only a few years less than you. I am perfectly capable of picking my own interviewees, conducting the interviews by myself, and yes, picking the person I will hire. They will be my partner, and I will be the one who will have to get along with them. You and Dad really have nothing much to do with it." "Oh be sensible for just a minute here. My weekend meeting in Nevada has been cancelled and everything's already paid for. I can't take the time off; I have the Wilson deal in the final stages and about to close. I've managed to salvage as much as possible in Nevada by phone—but I simply can't afford to let this Wilson deal drop. I can go later to finalize everything, but I can't do it with these reservations. If this Nevada meeting hadn't been so important I would never have been taking the time off to do it right now. I can't bear the thought of all that money being wasted." As Victoria took a pause for dramatic effect, Caroline rolled her eyes. Now her halfsister was making sense. The only desire her sister felt stronger than crushing men's balls and eating their pride for breakfast, was saving money and making the best profit humanly possible. Looking out her window and sighing in private defeat, she listened to her half-sister continue her arguments. "Can't you take the applications with you or something? You have a ton of time off stocked up; and how badly can one little weekend hurt? I read in the paper that there's a mini heat-wave happening down there at the moment too, and you know how much you love the heat. You could go out and party all weekend, seeing as you won't be spending any money on food, accommodation or travel! You'll be relaxed for the stresses of interviewing and choosing the applicant you want. If you truly want to stay inside all weekend, you'll have all the time and privacy your anti-social little heart could possibly want. " Caroline looked around her messy desk. Notepads, applications and résumés littered the surface. The piles were spread everywhere, with a large wastepaper basket

half-full on one side of her desk, and a messy pile of applications she intended to relook at in more detail on the other side. Victoria could charm the devil himself when she was in the mood to. But Caroline had to admit she did have a point. A virtually free holiday was tempting she couldn't even remember the last time she got away for some personal pampering. She could even get laid! Taking a closer look around her desk and cramped office, she started weighing and calculating the possibilities. With some quick work, she could have the bulk of the work done in an hour or two, she decided. The rest of the applications would come in over the weekend and in Monday's mail. With some fast working, and even faster packing, she could finish looking through the applications she currently held and still be up-to-date if she took most of the weekend off. The tantalizing prospect of spending the weekend interstate appealed to her. She would be able to forget who she was and her current slump in life. Go clubbing and live for a few days. However, the chance to bait and annoy Victoria was too good to give up. "Well…" she hedged, knowing it would push her sister in to doing something rash. Wondering what consolation prize she would be offered, she decided to milk Victoria's desperation for all it was worth. The opportunities to get something extra out of Victoria when she was making a deal came along so rarely she simply couldn't help herself. Victoria started tapping her foot impatiently. Damn Caroline! Why doesn't she just take the holiday and have a rest! Keeping Caroline out of the office over the weekend would serve a double purpose, Victoria decided. She could handle Stormcloud's withdrawal of application hopefully before her half-sister could read it and decide to interview him. Caroline's desk was always a total mess, she would never miss one resume and application. Victoria knew Caroline wasn't exactly stupid; she'd wonder what was going on if a perfectly capable Security expert suddenly withdrew his application. The odds of

convincing Stormcloud to lie and say he already had another job, simply to make her life easier were slim to none. Deciding to sweeten the deal at no personal cost she tried to inject her best cajoling tone into her voice. "Come on Caroline, give me a break. You really deserve this holiday and I'll make a deal with you. You go on this holiday. Rest up and have a ball, and when it comes to the interviews, Daddy and I won't butt our heads in. You can decide whom you want to employ. Daddy will want to call their references, but as long as they check out, you can have carte blanche. Is that okay?" Victoria gloated at her supposed gallantry. Stormcloud would withdraw his application, and anyone else would be fine. She personally didn't give a damn who Caroline chose to work with, as long as they were an asset to the company. Letting Caroline think she had total control was easy now that she had got rid of the only true problem application that had so far come through the Human Resources department. Caroline looked at the phone as if it were a snake about to bite her. What the hell was going on with Victoria? She never gave an inch of control where she possibly could. She ran their father's company with an iron fist, and never let anyone have a smidgen more control than possible. With the possible exception of their father, Victoria was the pants and life-blood of this company. Something was most certainly wrong with her half-sister. Shrugging and deciding to make the best of a good deal - it really wasn't any of her business or concern after all - she gave in. "Okay Victoria. I'll finish up here and go home to pack. Give me a sec to find a pen, what are the details?" Scrambling around her cluttered desk for the pen and paper she knew were around somewhere, she grinned at the annoyed snort she heard Victoria emit at the obvious rustling of papers.

"Don't you ever clear that desk of yours? How you ever get any work done or can find anything is beyond me." Victoria resumed tapping her foot. Caroline was the sloppiest businesswoman she had ever met - yet she still seemed to meet deadlines and submit well-constructed work. Victoria would never understand her half-sister. "Okay Victoria, shoot," Caroline found the pen and began to jot the details on her pad. "The plane leaves in a few hours. On the other end, the limo will pick you up at the airport and take you to the Hilton Gardens. Room service and everything is already charged and paid for, so you won't need to show any ID. Sign it with your initial and surname; they won't realize the difference with your illegible scrawl. As long as you don't seriously over-extend yourself everything should be easily covered. I was budgeting on feeding two, for when I wined and dined the other representative. They'll never know it's you not me. All you have to do is entertain yourself for a little over forty-eight hours. Okay?" "Yeah, okay. Can you or your secretary organize changing the names on the ticket? I can pick it up when I get to the airport. I'll want to wrap up as much work as I possibly can before going to pack." "Of course, I'm sure Rose can organize that. Don't hang around here too long though; you'll need a while to get the taxi out to the airport in the traffic." "Of course, Victoria. I'll see you on Monday. Have a good weekend." Hanging up, Caroline went back to sorting through the résumés and applications. She always seemed to get everything done despite the panic-she was certain she could glance through and do the first round of cuts before leaving for home to pack. Once she had a more manageable size of résumés and applications she could look in more depth into the paperwork. Shuffling papers and chewing on the end of her pen, Caroline went back to work.

***** Victoria hung up the phone and sat back down at her desk. Sighing with relief at having saved a potentially bad money-loss situation, she made a note to deduct two days from Caroline's leave and pay. That done, she reached for the top folder from her inbox. Smiling at having handled both her sister and Stormcloud with such efficiency in the same day, she went happily back to work. Now for the Wilson deal … Victoria started sifting through more reports. All thoughts of her sister and Stormcloud no longer held her immediate attention.

Chapter One Caroline dropped her hastily packed suitcase and backpack in front of the reception desk of the Hilton Gardens, near the Nevada Casino strip. After a few minutes contemplation at her desk after hanging up with Victoria, she had decided not to bring any of her applications with her. If she was going to go on holiday she wanted to enjoy herself, not work. She also had the big decision to make during the weekend of whether or not it was time to strike out on her own in the security business. By building her own security company, rather than wasting away in her father's company for a few more years, she could start to gain some true recognition for her abilities in security. It would, however, be a tricky thing to do alone. She had requested a second-in-command to try and subtly teach them her position, while she discreetly looked for a partner to set up business with. It was, however a huge move for her and a significant change in her life. So she had decided she needed time to relax, get away from the chains of her current life and ponder her choices. Consequently, what with her mind straying and trying to get as many of the applications vetted before she left as possible-she had stayed back in her office a little later than she had intended. When she had finally raced in her front door - late as always - she had simply thrown sections of her closet into her suitcase. Calling the taxi while simultaneously hurling her stack of "To-be-read" books that had been sitting around on her desk forever into a backpack, less than ten minutes later she was running back outside when the taxi driver blared his horn.

She had offered a fifty-dollar bill to the taxi driver. Stating that if he made the 15 miles to the airport in less than 20 minutes in the peak hour traffic - allowing her to check in on time - he could keep whatever was left from the meter. Buckling her seatbelt and holding on for dear life, she closed her eyes at the sharp turns they made. The driver-determined to make the best possible time-cut off cars left and right. Swerving and avoiding them by mere inches, Caroline was more than happy to keep her eyes tightly closed. They must have made record time when 17 minutes later he pulled up in front of the airlines terminal. The flight was uneventful, and the limo ride to the hotel in comparison to the taxi ride on the other end, was absolute bliss. Tugging at the mess of red corkscrew curls that had fallen out of her ponytail and fanning her sweaty face, she tried not to look like she was wilting in the heat wave that had most certainly hit the city. Victoria had been correct, yet again. Luckily she really did like the heat. Caroline was relieved to finally reach her destination. She felt as if she hadn't stopped running since she had left her office hours earlier. Summoning a smile for the woman behind the reception desk, she did her best to look cool. This woman wouldn't know her half-sister, but she had probably chatted to her on the phone. Caroline knew that in this moment, she looked much more like her own self - sloppy and constantly running late. Nothing at all like the ever-perfect and cool Victoria. Enjoying the relative coolness of the air-conditioned foyer, Caroline tried to pull herself together. "Hi there. I have a booking in the name of Ms. Thompson." Michelle-as her nametag proclaimed-looked up from her computer and smiled. She tapped on her keyboard for a minute then looked back up as she nodded. "Sure thing Ms. Thompson. Now, our records indicate your company has already paid for your room for two days. All your meals can be eaten either down here in the

dining room-just behind you and through those open doors. Or, you can order room service and eat your meals in your room. Just mention your Suite number for our records when you're served." Caroline nodded and smiled. The receptionist continued: "Now, if you'll just sign here we'll get you settled in." She pointed for Caroline to sign the papers, then handed her a key card. Ringing the bell on the desk, she added, "You're in room 439. Simon will carry your bags up for you. I hope you have a pleasant stay. If we can be of any assistance to you, just dial 9 on the phone in your room and we'll do our best to meet your needs." Caroline turned to see a tall, wiry bellboy with scruffy red hair and a freckled face rush over to where her suitcase had been dumped. As he easily picked up it and her backpack, Caroline noticed him leering down the front of her skimpy tank top. Due to the sweat, it was riding low on her chest and clinging rather revealingly to her ample bust. She tried to contain her snicker at his disappointed pout as she pulled her top to cover the exposed flesh of her breasts again. Obviously sulking, he led her to the elevators. "So Ms. Thompson, what brings you here to Nevada?" Simon asked as he pressed the button for Floor 4. "A much deserved break. Any clubs you can recommend for a woman looking for a good time?" she easily inquired. "Ah…all of them, with the right man, of course." Caroline grinned as the elevator dinged her floor. Poor Simon couldn't keep his eyes from straying from her fleshy breasts. He either didn't get out anywhere near enough, or he was instantly in lust and wondering what his chances were of doing something about it. "And are you the right man, Simon hon?" she teased, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

Simon felt his face flush hotly. She was leaning so far in to whisper in his ear, he could practically taste her nipples. If I just stuck out my tongue…but no, maybe I should open my mouth and…no; how about I… Simon grimaced as the doors began to open. Suddenly being faced with the reality of a seriously impressive cleavage he found himself feeling much more awkward than he ever did in his fantasies. "Ah…Um…Well…Maybe…" he stammered. He felt his face flushing even darker as she laughed naughtily and led the way out of the elevator, hips swinging deliciously. Easy come easy go , he decided. At least he had a new fantasy to play over in his mind. Maybe if he practiced enough times, the next time it happened, he wouldn't be so shocked. Yeah. Rushing to catch up to the siren beckoning with her sumptuously rounded hips, Simon found himself panting by the time he reached the door to unlock it. Handing her key back to her, he opened the door wide to allow both himself, and the two bags he carried into the lushly furnished room. Stumbling a little, still hoping to have another chance to show this woman what he was made of, he turned to watch her follow him into the room. Dumping both the suitcase and backpack down on the table he turned around to face her fully, hope lighting his eyes. "You're sweet, Simon darling, but I'm going to shower and change. Then I'm going out to party. Thank you very much for bringing my bags up." Nodding resignedly, Simon followed Caroline as she led him back to the door. Tipping him well and waving Simon goodbye with a casual kiss on his cheek, Caroline shut the door to her room with a sigh. She left her bags where they had been placed by the bellboy and immediately headed to the bathroom, stripping as she went. A long, cool shower was just what she needed to clean all the dust and grime from her body. As she adjusted the water to her satisfaction, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. After years of struggling with her self-image, she had finally become resigned, then comfortable with her body being described as buxom and curvy.

Years of wrestling with diets and fads had taught her that some people just weren't made to be skinny. Being fair to herself, she recognized that she wasn't fat. She just couldn't call herself slim due to her rounded hips, ample bust and "sweetly rounded" ass. With her long, curly red hair and dark blue eyes she had always felt awkward next to Victoria's icy-blond good looks. She exercised carefully to stay somewhat toned, but there was no denying the lushness of her ass, hips and bust. She was a buxom size 14, but always felt larger next to Victoria's slimness. Caroline shrugged at her old thoughts; she was content with her body. Sometimes she wished for the slimness Victoria took for granted-but she always loved watching men's eyes boggle when she dressed herself up and showed off her impressive cleavage and sexy legs. She fully intended to have men glancing at her this weekend! Grinning at the lighter tone of her thoughts she stepped into the shower. A large part of that problem had been Victoria. She had always been a part of Caroline's life. They had grown up together with their father, but Victoria was 5 years older. Therefore, it had always been Victoria to set the standards their father judged her by. As a teen, then a young adult, Victoria had never had any issues with her weight. She had always seemed to be a perfect size 6. Neither had she ever struggled with her hair. It was kept short and was naturally straight hair and never dared fall out of place. Caroline's own mass of red curls hadn't ever worked into a neat hairstyle. On top of everything, Victoria was a business genius and was easily taking over the reigns of their father's company. Caroline had spent more years than she cared to think about constantly striving to reach the standards her sister set. Discovering that Victoria's plans had fallen through and the money already spent couldn't be refunded, explained a large part of her half-sister's motive. She was always so focused on the bottom line!

As Caroline hadn't taken a serious no-work holiday in nearly 8 years, she couldn't really turn down the opportunity to let loose and party on her father's company budget. She hadn't really wanted to come here, but saying no to Victoria was like trying to wrestle with an eel. You might as well concede with as much as you could get, because you rarely-if ever-won. In any event, the concession of having final say in her new security partner was a big one. It would make life much easier for her in the long run. Two days off free of charge was just a bonus. More than anything, she was looking forward to the freedom of the next couple of nights. It had been so long since she had been allowed to relax and strut her stuff that she could barely remember the last time. She wouldn't lose her date to Victoria's icy beauty and sparkling wit. Nor did she have to stress about emotional entanglements, or having her father displeased yet again by her choice of man. The absolute freedom was heady. She could go out and party all night long, bring back any man she chose, and have her wicked way with him! Always being on show by her business-orientated father had made her tired of how often it was pointed out to her that she didn't measure up to the standards Victoria set. Getting laid had just seemed too much trouble, and it somehow had not been as important as pleasing her father and half sister. Now it was beyond time for her to change that attitude. Soaping her body and stroking her smooth, creamy skin-the one aspect of herself she found perfect-Caroline found herself grinning as she thought of the black stilettos, thigh high fishnet stockings, leather micro mini-skirt and red silk shirt waiting in her suitcase. She couldn't wait to walk down the casino strip in her sexy get-up and maybe gamble a little. Even better, she was looking forwards to picking up a guy, (or two!) and finally breaking the drought that she had been enduring these past few years.

Caroline laughed out loud at all the types of mischief she intended on finding over the next forty-eight hours. Lathering her lavender scented shampoo in her hair she began to plot her time away with unholy glee.

Chapter Two Justin breathed a sigh of relief as he successfully picked the lock of the bitch's room. Checking one last time that no one was in the hallway to notice him, he released a thankful sigh that he had continued to practice his skills for so long. As he quickly moved through the hotel door, he checked his watch. Thirty seconds flat. Almost a personal best. He held his silver .38 special solidly in one hand. He didn't like using his gun, but Victoria Thompson seemed to have balls made of iron. It had seemed prudent to bring his gun, as it might be necessary to subdue her with such a powerful threat. As he entered room 439, he raised the gun from beside his leg where he'd been hiding it against the wall, just in case someone had passed him in the hallway. He left his black carryall outside the door for a minute as he silently crept into the room. He was prepared for anything the bitch would do. Too many times over the past two weeks he had underestimated her and the lengths she would stoop to. Her attempt at blackmail and the destruction of two innocents was proof of how low she was prepared to hit him. He had surprised himself at how shocked and stumped by the threat he had been. I must be getting soft, he cringed. It hadn't even entered his mind that a woman could be so cold, so uncaring. The fact that if she had been a man, he might not have been so surprised by the threat still galled him. I should have seen the threat coming, he berated himself. Focusing on his plan, he got a grip on his guilt. No use crying over spilt milk. Now was the time for action. This time, however, he was determined to be in control of the situation from the beginning.

That was the best point of this little scene he had planned. Victoria would never expect to see him here-so he had the advantage of surprise. Between that and his determination for a little payback, he figured he would easily be able to retain control here. As he carefully looked around the seemingly empty hotel room, he exhaled a sigh of relief when he heard the sounds of the shower that came clearly from behind the closed bathroom door. Excellent , he thought. The bitch has even left me time to prepare for her. Finally Lady Luck was leaning in his direction. He quickly walked back to the door he had left open and picked up his soft carryall. He locked and then dead-bolted the door, unplugged the phone and set to work with the gear he had brought especially for the private humiliation and utter surrender of Victoria Thompson.

Chapter Three Drying herself off and wrapping her mass of hair in a spare towel, Caroline thought happily of what food to order from room service. Hmmm…maybe she should go down to the bar and order there instead? She fully intended to use every minute of these two days, so she decided to start her personal quest for men right under her nose downstairs in the hotel's bar and restaurant. Happy with her choice of how this evening's entertainment would start, Caroline walked into her bedroom naked. As she happily pondered her choice between her stilettos and fishnet stockings, or knee high leather boots to go with her leather micro mini, she finished with her hair and hung the towel on the rail to dry. Lost in her musings, it took her a second to register the sight of a strange man sitting on her king-sized bed. Her mouth fell open and she felt a scream lock in her throat. The innocuous thought that this was a gorgeous strange man on her bed briefly flitted through her mind as she tried to get the breath to scream. He had shoulder length black hair that waved very gently as he moved, and darkly tanned skin. Only his chocolate brown eyes smoldering with barely suppressed anger, marred the perfection of his face. His leather pants hugged his thighs and perfectly showed his well toned and-she guessed-often-used muscles. This was not a man who simply worked out at the gym, she realized, this man used his physical strength daily. With his broad chest encased in a tight black t-shirt, Caroline thought he looked a walking wet dream. Mr. Wet-dream pointed a shiny gun at her heart and stated simply, "Don't even think about it."

Caroline finally choked and snapped her mouth shut. The stern yet cold way this single sentence was uttered, coupled with the strength of the hand that so easily held the gun, and the steadiness of said hand, quickly convinced Caroline this was not a joke, and neither was this a man here to play games. Caroline glanced around the room to try and find something heavy to use as a weapon. Her eyes fell on the heavy ceramic lamp on the bedside table. Wondering what her chances were of reaching it and braining Mr. Wet-dream before he could shoot her, Caroline didn't like the odds. Looking back to her intruder, she gave him another once over. She quickly realized she didn't stand a hope in hell of beating him in speed, or a wrestling match. Neither was angering him going to be the smartest thing to do. Caroline saw one corner of his mouth hitch, as he evidently read her thoughts. "You're welcome to try, but I wouldn't recommend it," he smirked. In any other situation, Caroline would have laughed herself silly over a scenario this dumb. Her clearly read intentions, and the ease with which this man could read them was astoundingly funny, given that her business and life was merely one secret after another. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't see Mr. Wet-dream here letting her bash his head in so she could run away. So subtlety wasn't her strong suit today, she mentally decided. She was already far into her holiday, relaxed mode, so she wasn't that concerned. Taking a deep breath, she mentally counted to ten. Calming her racing thoughts made her feel a little more in control. She knew she was smart enough, despite her father's constant criticism, to figure a way out of this. All she had to do was stay calm long enough to work out the best way and time to get away. She felt herself relax from her own assurances and returned selfconfidence. She offered Mr. Wet-dream what she hoped would be the easy way out.

"My purse is over there. I have about $200 in it. Unless you're interested in Size 14 Ladies designer jeans, or a slinky dress or two. That's about everything of any monetary value I have here with me. You're welcome to it all, just please go." She waved to the small built-in dresser where she'd dumped her purse after the bellboy had left with his tip, and the opened suitcase next to it. One corner of the intruder's mouth hitched up again. Caroline couldn't figure whether he was laughing or sneering at her. Hearing the disgust in his voice, she was betting on sneering. "I'm not interested in your money; and what use would expensive women's clothes be to me, Miss Thompson?" Caroline started at her name, confused. Did she know this criminal? She hadn't had time to tell any of her friends that she was coming to Nevada. Only Victoria knew she was coming here, and possibly her father. She frowned and looked again at this strange man. Surely Victoria hadn't been stupid enough to try and set her up with a date? Caroline quickly dismissed the thought. Victoria would never know anyone who carried a gun in this menacing fashion closely enough to try and set them up with her. Not that she'd even want to set one of her friends up with me, Caroline reminded herself. Maybe Victoria was dating him and he was angry with her over something? Caroline instantly dismissed the thought. She and Victoria looked nothing alike, and he would never confuse the two of them. He also wouldn't be calling her 'Miss Thompson' if he were dating her sister. Caroline tried to squash the well-known sinking sensation she always felt when she started remembering the ease with which Victoria always attracted men. Tilting her head high, she reminded herself that she had her own ample charms, and she was going to get laid this weekend, large bust, unruly hair and all! She noticed that the man's sneer became more pronounced at her confusion, and he seemed bemused by her sudden defiance.

"Don't play the innocent with me. You told me you were coming here for a meeting. Did you think I wouldn't track you down to get what I need? You're so high-andmighty, thinking you can do whatever you please and ruin innocent people's lives at your own whims. I simply decided to take the initiative and arrange a little pre-meeting entertainment for you. I doubt you'll be disappointed, and it'll teach you a lesson about judging others and keeping an open mind." Caroline finally began connecting the dots, but she still wasn't sure what the big picture was. Evidently this man was annoyed with Victoria about something, but she couldn't for the life of her think how prim-and-proper Victoria could have aggravated him to such a level. It also confused her how her half-sister could have so seriously annoyed someone who had evidently never met her. None of this made sense! "Look, I think you've made a mistake, Mister. I really needed this vacation, and my half-sister had to cancel her business trip at the last minute. I'm not here for any meetings. Victoria had already booked this room for the next two nights and paid for the plane tickets. Seeing as they're non-refundable and she hates to waste the company's money, she gave them to me." "Half-sister?" the stranger mused, as he carefully walked over to rifle through her purse. Laying the gun on the table beside him, properly out of Caroline's reach, he found her drivers license and credit cards. Noting the name and photo, he looked at her, then back at the photo. Caroline began shifting from foot to foot, suddenly remembering her nakedness and heartily wishing she could put her robe on. She wasn't really a prude, but she was beginning to get cold standing there stark naked. With the air conditioner on full blast and her hair still damp, even in this heat wave she felt the chill. The stranger waved his hand, gesturing for her to sit on the giant bed. Figuring this was her best chance at modesty, she knelt down to pick up the shirt she had left on the floor on her way into the shower.

"Uh uh. Did I say anything about covering your body? Leave it and just sit." He waved to the giant king-sized bed. He had previously removed the quilts and blankets, folding them neatly down at the bottom of the bed. Caroline felt her heart sink as he stepped forward to take the shirt from her hand and toss it to the other side of the room. What was going on ? she wondered. He knew she wasn't Victoria now, so why wasn't he leaving? The man introduced himself. "I'm Justin Stormcloud, and I'll be your entertainment for this evening," he softly said. Despite herself, Caroline found her heart racing at the husky timber of his voice. It made her think of wicked nights and of hot sex in the dark. She had always been tempted into revealing her deepest desires to a sexy voice under the cover of darkness. In the dark you could be anyone, become anything you pleased. That sort of fantasy had always appealed to her, particularly with the rigid control she always had to keep over herself in her father and half-sister's presence. She squirmed and tried to look nonchalant; she had no desire to let Mr. Stormcloud know she was turned on merely by the sound of his voice. She was certain information like that would only be used to suit his purposes. Justin discretely placed his gun in his large carryall, hiding his movements behind his large body, so the woman couldn't see what he was doing and be scared all over again. Then he turned back to face this intriguing woman. There was obviously more to her story than a simple holiday, he decided. She mightn't be that bitch Victoria, but they were related, and she just had to be tied into this mess somehow. There were, however, much nicer ways of extracting information out of a luscious woman like her than by brute force. His instincts were screaming at him that she was nothing like Victoria. This was not a woman who liked to blackmail people and crush careers. Physical force would certainly not be needed here. Anyway, there were many ways he could seduce her; the

trick would be to find which one would work best. His breathing elevated at the thought of the many assorted toys in his bag. This could be fun. Caroline kept changing positions on the large hotel bed. How do you sit on a large bed, naked and still retain your modesty? she wondered. With Justin facing her, he seemed to be thinking about something, but she couldn't figure out what. His mouth was smiling, but she noticed it didn't reach his eyes. Those seemed to be calculating, or weighing the odds of something. Why wasn't he leaving her now that he knew she wasn't Victoria? She hoped to heaven he wouldn't speak in that husky, sexy tone of voice much more. It was uncomfortable being turned on and scared at the same time-something Caroline had never really come across before. As Caroline continued to squirm, trying to find a comfortable position, she suddenly jumped up off the bed when she backed up against a long leather strap, securely buckled around the wooden post of the bed. Glancing around each of the four posts, she saw identical straps buckled securely around them too. Already nervous and wondering what the hell was going on, seeing bondage straps attached to each of the four corners of the bed did nothing towards calming her down. "Look, Justin, I have no idea what you think you're doing, but if you came here to meet my half-sister I'm telling you, she's not here and has no plans that I know of to come here. Why don't you just leave and we'll both forget this ever happened? I won't report you to anyone for breaking and entering, and you can just go back to doing…whatever it is you usually do." Justin pinned her with his chocolate brown gaze. "Do you and your half-sister work together?" he softly queried. Caroline rubbed her head in confusion. A headache was beginning to pound across her forehead. He kept on jumping from one topic to another. Trying to keep up was becoming more and more difficult.

"I don't understand exactly what you mean," she started. "We work for the same company, yes. But we don't really work together on projects much. Why?" As he started slowly walking across the room towards her, Caroline suddenly felt like a cornered animal. She scooted back up the bed and pressed herself up against the headboard. As Justin knelt in front of her on the bed, he pulled her legs out straight and took a hold of one of her wrists. Caroline instinctively used her other hand to try and pry his fingers from around hers. "Your half-sister was trying to blackmail me, sugar. I've done many things in the past. For the last few months I've been a stripper. When I applied for a job in your company, your half-sister first tried to bully me out of applying, and then she tried to pay me to go away. Now she's resorting to blackmail." As he spoke of her half-sister's sins, he noticed that Caroline didn't seem at all surprised at what he spoke of. He felt a shaft of disappointment run through him at this indication of her guilt and association. Surely if she was innocent she would be denying the claims against her half-sister? Justin clamped down on his disappointment. Why should he care if she was innocent or not? He continued his explanations: "She fully intends to hurt a number of innocent people simply to keep me out of your precious company. If she had simply played fairly, it would never have come down to this, I might have been employed, I might not have. I do, however, draw the line at blackmail. I came here expecting to teach her a lesson about making judgments about people she's never known and hopefully embarrass her enough to shut her up until I can be hired or not on my own merits." Now was not the time, he realized, to tell her about the Polaroid camera in his carryall and returning the favor of blackmail. Forcing her slender arms out towards one of the corner posts, he began wrapping the leather strap and buckle around her wrist. Testing the strap, and strength of the buckle, he made sure it wouldn't chafe her creamy skin. She was quite beautiful, he decided.

The lust and hardening in his groin grew with each touch and breath he drew. Tired of trying to explain himself and the situation he found himself in, he decided he was no longer worried by how deeply she was involved with that bitch's plans. He felt his blood heat at all the fun they could have together over this weekend. His cock lengthened until he was afraid he would burst from his pants. The full realization of what was happening finally dawned on Caroline. She redoubled her efforts as she struggled against Justin's strength. The weight of his body, however, was too strong against her. He ignored her efforts as if they were nothing. "Now wait just a minute! I've got nothing to do with this! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Caroline pulled on the strap he had just fastened to restrain her wrist. Frantically she tried to undo the buckle holding her wrist in place. It was nearly impossible with only one hand and Justin easily pulled her free hand away. He spread her other arm out towards the other post of the bed, calmly buckling that wrist up too. Whispers of half-formed fantasies, dreamed only in the darkest hours of the night, never to be let out during the day, tugged at her mind until she forced them away. This was not a safe man, and certainly not one with whom she could begin this aspect of her sexual life with! She reminded herself that she hadn't known this man for more than ten minutes. The pounding of her heart was fear not desire, she kept reminding herself. As Justin leaned back to stare at her, she felt her mouth dry up as her eyes widened. If only he wasn't so gorgeous, she thought. Why did the first man to try and take control of her sexually have to be someone who thought she was conspiring to blackmail him? Justin looked deep into her eyes. Both the fear and the desire were real, he realized with satisfaction. He was confused at his conflicting desires. He had never felt quite so hot so quickly for a woman, but he couldn't forget the fact that she worked with Victoria. She had even admitted to working with her sister, but her pleas of innocence also seemed to be truthful. On top of that, he found her very sexually attractive. Her

curves were lush but not fat, her breasts ample for his hands, and her skin creamy and very lightly freckled. He knew instinctively that she would taste divine. Never mind, he thought. The question of her innocence can be worked out later, when she can't think enough to string two sentences together coherently. No way was he walking away now. Justin made his decision quickly, as he usually did, and moved his face closer. He let his breath wash over her for just a minute, preparing her. When the fear subsided in her eyes, to be lit by that flame of desire he had previously noted, he took her mouth with his.

Chapter Four Justin decided that kissing her full lips was pure heaven. They were soft and lush and unbearably sweet. Diving into her mouth, he thrust his tongue as deeply into her as he could penetrate. He imitated how he wanted to thrust his cock, hot and hard, into her creamy cunt. He relished her taste. She was so sweet and warm. Slowly, she relaxed under him. Her ragged breaths caressed his face as he felt her excitement grow. He longed to feel her cunt, to touch the dampness he knew would be there. He knew he had scared her, so he led her slowly instead of ravaging her like he wished. Time enough for that later, he consoled himself and his impatiently twitching cock. He rarely tied women up in this manner - he had never done this at all to any woman whom he didn't know and wasn't absolutely certain she desired this. He could, however, feel her excitement, the building lust in her, and he consoled himself with that fact. She wasn't screaming and fighting him, in fact she appeared to be wallowing in his seduction. The night ahead was going to be very interesting indeed. Caroline's head spun. Justin was making her so hot! Kissing him made all rational thought fly out of her mind. Only the desire of spreading her legs for his possession and begging for him to take her remained in her head. She reeled under the knowledge that she wanted to be taken like this, hot and hard. It had been so long! She moaned and pulled at the restraints. They held fast, but were not painful in any way. She felt herself growing damp and found it surprising. She had never let another man have this much control over her, and while it was certainly scary, her dampness proved how excited she was. The solid weight of his body straddling hers only added to her excitement.

She had never fallen in lust so quickly. Suddenly, the fact this man was a stranger, that he probably hated her half-sister and had been very ill used by her, had no relevance whatsoever. Even the worry that he believed she was involved with blackmailing him didn't matter. Caroline wanted him. It was as simple as that. Justin pulled back after a few more minutes of indulging himself in her taste. There was plenty of time, he reminded himself, all weekend in fact. Looking into her deep blue eyes, he saw how dilated with pleasure they were. A satisfied grin appeared on his face. She was certainly a surprise and hot enough to play with-all through the night if he could wait that long. He gloated at his luck at having found such a lusty bed partner in these strange circumstances. Shifting his weight to start strapping her ankles to the bedposts, he laughed at her hesitant pleas. "That's really not necessary is it? It's not as if I'm going anywhere…" Justin smiled and planted a hasty, hard kiss on the ankle he had just strapped in leather to the far-right bedpost. "Maybe not. Just humor me, okay?" Desire and fear warred within her. She glanced back onto the bedside table at the phone and heavy lamp that rested there. She decided those, with the fact the walls here couldn't be that thick, helped her bite her tongue for now and nodded her assent. Not that he was looking at her face or appeared concerned with her approval. Squashing a spurt of defiance, she decided to see where this intriguing set of circumstances would lead her. Justin tested the last buckle around her ankle. He was vaguely surprised at how gentle he seemed to be with this woman. He worried faintly at how he was being unusually sensitive to the fact that her pale, creamy skin could be hurt here. Nah…he consoled himself, I just don't want her to be hurt and then run to the local cops screaming rape and abuse.

Satisfied with his own weak explanations, he tested each of the four cuffs one last time. Her blood circulation wasn't going to be hampered in any way, neither would chafing of her soft skin be an issue. Climbing off her warm body, he sat back on his haunches, admiring the woman held before him. Looking up at the ceiling, Caroline found it stunning that she was in a hotel room in Nevada, lying spread eagle on a king-sized bed, naked, being held in place by leather bondage straps. Well, she thought wryly, you're the one who wanted to get laid and have some fun… and here we are! Maybe I really should be careful what I wish for… Caroline reflected that although she hadn't had very many lovers, she was generally a good judge of character. She just couldn't discount those fantasies she had been imagining with increasing frequency over the last few months. Even though this wasn't quite the way she had planned on doing this one day, now that the opportunity was here…Caroline took a deep breath and decided to let go and relax. She could always scream the walls down if he brought out a huge carving knife, and she had wanted to explore her sexuality more over this weekend. Well, here was the perfect opportunity holding her down-literally-so she might as well lay back and enjoy it. Justin's eyes raked over Caroline as she lay there on the soft bed, spread out like a feast for his personal delectation. His eyes first rested on her wild, fiery hair. Curly and softly framing her face, it licked at her scalp and along the pillows like a flame. He wondered if she had a temper to match the flame color of her hair. He discovered in himself a partiality for red heads. His eyes then moved down to her full breasts. They were lush and creamy, sweetly rounded and ample enough for his large hands. Her nipples were taut and pointed stiffly up to him, begging for attention. He felt his cock twitch at the image of holding those large tits closely together and surging his cock through the divine, creamy flesh.

Running his eyes down the rest of her sweetly curved body, his eyes tracked the light dusting of freckles she had. They were profuse on her knees and shoulders, and he briefly wondered why that was. Finally, his eyes rested on her cunt. The outer lips were red and puffy with their desire. He nearly groaned at how stiff his cock was. He felt like a red-hot iron poker! Her sweet juices ran down from her lips and soaked the clean hotel sheets. Reigning in his impatient hunger, he reminded himself he had a number of points to make, and he had ample time within which he could make them. Falling on her and fucking her senseless would be stupid and ruin all his carefully laid plans. Justin climbed off the bed, ignoring the quick flash of an unnamed ache he felt as he severed the connection between them. He walked over to his carryall, astoundingly aware-without looking-that Caroline's eyes tracked his movement. Bending over, he was unusually conscious of the warm leather hugging his ass, caressing his muscles as he wished this woman's hands would. After looking over all his goodies, he began by picking up a long, firm quill feather. He crossed back over to the bedside table and placed it there. Justin enjoyed the way Caroline's eyes widened as she glanced from him to the feather and back again. He grinned as he removed his tee shirt. Deciding to keep his leather pants on for now, he sat on the edge of the large bed. He didn't trust his strength of will enough to believe he could keep from plunging into her wet heat if he was naked below the waist. He felt a momentary twinge of anxiety; he didn't seem to have his usual level of control around this woman. Shrugging off his stupid worry, he leant forwards to pick up the feather again once he was situated squarely on the giant bed. Caroline licked her lips and tried not to tremble in her anticipation. She was rather ticklish in a few secret places; places many men never bothered to find. She looked at the determination in Justin's heated eyes. Here was one man who would find each and every place, and maybe a few extras besides.

The bed dipped as Justin leaned onto the edge beside her and teased her nose and mouth with the feather. "I'll give you one guess as to what I'm going to do here," he offered. Caroline looked from the feather, to his sculpted face, and back again. Licking her lips she squashed the tiny spurt of fear and decided to wallow in the pleasure of being pampered and catered to instead. "I'm rather ticklish, Justin. I'm warning you now; I'll relish getting my revenge. Are you sure you want to do this?" A huge grin broke over his face, softening his usually harsh features. "Oh yes, I look forwards to you trying to pay me back." With that, he ran the feather around her jawbone and under her chin. Biting her lips, so as to not cry out with the pleasure, Caroline kept her gaze steady on Justin's face. Ever so slowly, Justin began outlining all her features - her high forehead, her straight nose, her cheekbones and the shell of her ear. Around and around her face he traced lightly, gently. Not a centimeter of flesh was left untouched or forgotten. Next were her lips and chin. Over and over he traced her features, twice and then three times. Caroline was panting by the time he began to run the tip of the feather up and down her neck and then following her jaw-line to up behind her ear. Caroline pressed her head back into the pillows and gnawed her lip in frustration. She held tight control over her body. She would not moan; she would not arch into the feather's teasing touch. She couldn't believe how turned on she was after being teased with a feather (a feather!!!) for a few minutes. He had only been teasing her face and one side of her neck, and already she was desperate to fuck him. At the rate he was going she'd be crazy before he even reached her stomach! Suddenly she froze.

Justin had reached the jointure between her neck and shoulder. Noticing her unusual rigidness, Justin lightly re-defined that curve. Caroline couldn't help herself, she moaned deep and long and threw her head to the side, to better bare her neck to him. It was one of the most sensitive spots on her body. "Aha!" Justin huskily said. "A hot spot." Up and down, over and over he teased the joint. Lightly skimming the tip of the feather sideways and around in teasing little circles, he drove Caroline wild with his caresses. "Please, please, please…" she whimpered, her breath even more ragged now. Caroline was going out of her mind. The tickling sensation of the feather drove her wild, making her alternate between laughter and agony. But the heat building inside her from the sensual caress would surely drive her insane first. Just before she was reduced to tears and frustrated pleas, he abandoned the sensitive spot and the erotic torture resumed on the other side of her neck. Looking back up at him, Caroline couldn't decide whether to cry or scream. Justin looked down at her and smiled his most devastating smile. He was thrilled at his complete control over her. The surges of power and satisfaction were driving him wild, and could certainly prove to be addicting. He quickly became used to reading her body language. Twitches in some places and the mannerism of biting her lips became easy to read. Continuing his teasing with the feather, he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Have you ever climaxed without your cunt being touched?" he naughtily whispered. He watched as Caroline swallowed and her eyes grow wide. She managed to shake her head through the haze of desire he had created in her. Justin felt a thrill of joy shoot through him as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes in an attempt to catch her breath and regain control over herself.

Justin teased her mercilessly now that he'd found one of her particularly sensitive spots. He would randomly go back there, or bite and suck the spot on her neck while teasing her nipple or the sensitive spot under her arm he found next. By the time Justin was teasing her triangle of hair, Caroline was sweating and bucking her hips with almost every stroke of the feather. Reduced to begging now, she was hardly aware of her litany of please-please-please. Every time she had been on the verge of a climax, Justin had been aware of it and would suddenly change places, teasing somewhere new, or going back to another hot spot. Caroline screamed with pleasure the first time the tip of the feather touched her clit. It was barely more than a breath of air, so lightly was Justin wielding it. Caroline was sensitive enough now to not only feel the light stroke of the feather, but to also feel the jolt of heat that sprung from her nipples, angling down to her clit. Justin ran the feather lightly over her clit a few more times, then threw it to the floor. Afraid he was going to leave her in this agony, Caroline took a deep breath, preparing to truly grovel. The chill air was quickly replaced by Justin's mouth and tongue licking at the swollen lips of her cunt, tasting her juices and suckling on her clit sending white-hot shafts of desire through her body. Caroline arched up as much as she could, smashing her cunt into his face. Barely a minute later, she shouted her release, the strength of the climax rocking through her body. Licking at the remaining juices leaking out her pulsing slit, Justin sat up and lay on top of her heaving body. As he kissed her, Caroline could taste her sweetness over his own musky, damp taste. Finally catching her breath, Caroline wondered about this strange man. She felt his erection through his leather pants. He was as hard as a rock, yet he'd been patient enough to tease her with that damned feather for close to half an hour. This man must be a god, she decided. Clearing her throat, it wasn't surprising that she found her voice still husky.

"You can untie me any time now," she drawled. Justin sat up and smiled down at this sensual woman. He bent to untie the straps restraining her ankles. She wriggled and flexed her feet as he unbuckled her wrists. She sat up and Justin looked over her pretty face as he took one of her wrists and checked to see that the blood circulation was still flowing freely. Satisfied that no harm had been caused by the use of the restraints, Justin drew Caroline into his arms. She turned to face him and smiled a very sated, satisfied smile. Her face was definitely pretty, maybe even beautiful, though certainly not in a classic sense, he noticed. Pity she had no idea what was coming next. He liked that he had evidently satisfied her so well that she had no thought beyond the next breath she drew. Justin smiled down at her, and turned her body so she was on her hands and knees with her back beneath his body. He found himself possessively covering her body with his. As he nipped at her neck, he enjoyed the way she moaned and arched into him. Caroline wiggled her hips up into the heat of his groin. She could feel the heat of his cock through the soft leather of his pants. Before she could suggest he remove the barrier so they could both have some fun, she felt him lacing his fingers through hers and stretching both her hands out wide. Caroline smiled to herself and wondered what Justin was doing this time. As he quickly began to buckle her wrists back into the leather straps again, she frowned and tried to get out from under him. "Hey!! That's not fair!" she complained. "It's just for now. We've got plenty more to explore," he soothed. Caroline huffed, and lay down on her stomach. At least my ankles are free this time. Before she could ask any more questions, she watched Justin walk back to his bag of goodies. She had every intention of searching that bag the minute an opportunity came. Lifting her head awkwardly, she watched him remove a small bottle. Justin sat back down on the large bed. He turned his back to Caroline and poured some oil from the bottle into his hands. Picking up her foot he began to massage the sole

and kneaded the tension out of her toes. The smell of vanilla rose from the oil as he ran his hands over her foot. Caroline sighed in happiness as Justin's long fingers worked on her sore arches. She felt total bliss as he started to work his way up her leg. Now this is the life she dreamily sighed. When Justin moved to her other leg once he'd reached the top of her thigh, Caroline was a little miffed that he hadn't even grazed her full, damp lips. He had moved straight down to her other foot and started to rub the kinks and knots out of the sole and toes. The massage was so relaxing that her angry thoughts easily slid away and were instantly forgotten. Breathing deeply and letting her thoughts drift, Caroline closed her eyes and let everything fade away.

Chapter Five Justin very carefully massaged all the way up her other leg. Expertly removing all the tension and knots of muscle from her calf and thighs, his gaze hungrily watched Caroline. He watched her relax under his ministrations, and reveled in seeing this other side of her as she smiled and preened at his attention. He added more of the vanilla-scented oil where needed, then moved up to her back. Caroline groaned in delight. Victoria often had massages, but Caroline had never really seen the point. Two days later you're back to feeling incredibly stressed and all of the masseur's good work was undone. Justin's hands were strong and knowledgeable; he evidently knew exactly what he was doing. Like everything else she had seen him do, he seemed to be brilliant and masterful at this, too. While Justin worked on her back for what seemed like an eternity, Caroline let herself relax in complete bliss. By the time he reached her neck and shoulders she felt as limp as a noodle. His hands left behind a simmering heat this time. Unlike the teasing sensuality of the feather, this was more relaxing heat. Her desire was not urgent, but it was still present, nevertheless. Justin worked sensuously down her arms. When he reached each wrist he loosened the buckle so that she could slip free. When both hands were no longer tied, he pulled both of her arms to rest down beside her torso, then gently turned Caroline over. Still relaxed and content to lie on her back forever, Caroline dreamily stared up at Justin. Who was he? she wondered. He was a fascinating conundrum.

Dominant yet playful, he was a master at everything he had done to her so far. He seemed incredibly smart, yet a world apart from the average businessman. And, she thought, he had held his gun with accuracy and a perfectly steady hand. She had not questioned for a second whether or not he would hit what he shot. Caroline did not demure when he strapped her wrists back in the straps. They were perfectly comfortable, and if he continued this massage, she was more than happy to be restrained during the process. Justin stared down at Caroline's hips and stomach. Her waist was trim, yet her breasts were full globes, the nipples pointed and begging for his mouth. Her hips were rounded; her thighs were pleasantly fleshy. He had long ago grown weary of anorexic women trying to keep the slimness of youth. He felt much more comfortable with a grown woman who wouldn't snap from his touch. He continued massaging her tight muscles and rubbed the scented oil into her soft skin. Skirting her nipples, he massaged the globes of her breasts without teasing her or adding to the simmering heat in any way. Finally, he finished with her neck, and removed the last of her kinks. He straddled her thighs as she gazed up at him. "You must have done that a number of times. It was wonderful," she dreamily said. Justin grinned sexily down at her. "You haven't seen anything just yet." Warming more oil in his hands and cupping one breast in each palm, he made sure that each nipple didn't rasp against his hand. As he massaged the globes over and over, he seemed to draw heat and energy from inside her breasts and concentrate it into her nipples. Caroline felt her breaths coming heavily again. She felt her nipples tighten and become more desperate for attention. Justin continued kneading her flesh until she was arching up into his hands, trying to graze her nipples into his palms to reduce the pressure. The tingling moved from her

nipples down to her cunt; she could feel her juices running down the edges of her thighs. Justin worked Caroline into a frenzy of need and desire. He kissed and bit her neck as he continued kneading her breasts. Every now and then he would move one hand to play at her slit and lightly flick her clit. "Now! Please Justin, I need you now!" she panted Justin kissed her and smiled sexily as he ignored her cries and continued to torture her with her own reactions. Caroline thrashed her head from side to side, wishing her hands free to pull him closer. Her legs were free, but the way he straddled her prevented her from wrapping her legs around him to draw him nearer. Groaning in frustration she looked Justin directly in the eye. His eyes glared hotly at her as he rimmed her cunt with his talented fingers. His lips appeared red and bruised from their kisses. Hoping to torment him as he had tormented her, she did the only thing she could, restrained as she was. "I want you deep inside me Justin," she began, her voice husky from her desire. "I want you thrusting deep inside me; want to feel the friction as you slowly pull out from me, driving us both wild. I want to sink my nails into your back and your ass, want to mark you as mine. So when you move later on you can feel twinges from my possession." She took a deep breath. In tormenting him, she only added to her own raging desire. She could tell her words affected him. His eyes shone darkly, the knowledge of what she was trying to do was there, as well as the proof that it was working. Justin rose to remove his leather pants. While the skintight leather pants were usually comfortable, they were now annoyingly tight and proving difficult in their resistance to being removed. With his huge erection straining he was finding it harder than usual to remove the pants.

Finally removing them, he came back to her, climbing back onto the bed with haste. Palming her breasts again, he finally started pinching her nipples. Caroline arched up off the bed as sensations ran through her body. Frantically, she rubbed her damp slit over his erection, teasing him as he had teased her all night. With Justin finally pinching her nipples, Caroline cried out in ecstasy. The electric currents running from her stomach to her nipples, and from there down to her cunt, she could feel the climax spiraling and pushing her higher and higher. Justin aligned their hips so that only the very tip of his cock touched the opening of her cunt. His cock dripped his pre-cum, proving beyond a doubt just how exciting he found their play. Justin took a couple of deep breaths to reign in his hunger for this woman. He let go of one breast to dip at the juices running from Caroline's glistening cunt. Lubricating the long shaft of his cock, he held on to his control. Counting backwards from a hundred, he held himself in check as he penetrated Caroline in one swift thrust. Caroline pulled at the restraints and tried to bring Justin further into her. She moaned at the full sensation in her cunt. "Oooh Justin, that feels so good!" she ground out. Feeling dizzy from that single, simple thrust, Caroline nearly shouted for joy when Justin held still for a moment. She tried to catch her breath and let her body fit around his long, broad length. She felt divided in her desires. On the one hand, she wanted Justin to ram himself into her as fast and as deep as he could, riding them both to a hard, fast completion. Yet she also wanted this exquisite cock to thrust inside her cunt all night long. Her mind spinning dizzily, she was almost grateful when Justin withdrew his cock from her slowly, allowing her walls to grasp at his long shaft. The friction driving her wild, she cried out when he rammed his cock back into her, hard. Throwing her head back, all thoughts flew from her mind, as she gave her body over to Justin, to do with her as he wished.

Justin canted Caroline's hips for the deepest penetration possible. He covered her mouth with his own, as he lifted her as high off the bed as the restraints allowed. He plunged back into her inch by inch. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he reminded himself that he wanted to draw this moment out as long as he possibly could. Using every bit of his skill and maximizing the friction between her tight walls and his iron hard cock, he took Caroline higher and higher. Still trying to concentrate on counting backwards, Justin cursed when he lost track of where he left off. About three times now he'd lost track around 80 or so. Each time he drew his mind back to counting-after realizing he'd lost his spot-he would begin at 100 again. Every thrust into Caroline's tight walls became harder and faster as his control slipped more and more. As Justin gazed down upon Caroline's flushed face and closed eyes, he could feel the start of her climax in the tingles of her cunt as it squeezed his cock even tighter. He found her adorable as she pulled ineffectively at her binds. Watching her thrash her head and gasp for air made him feel so victorious he felt a wide grin spread across his face. Making her lose control like this could prove to be addictive. Building the tension as much as possible, he brought her to the brink of climax over and over, only to leave her hanging for a few seconds, letting the chill air brush across her heated body as she came down from that peak. Just as she began to catch her breath he would start the process over again. Over and over he brought her right to the edge only to leave her there. Each time he bought her that much closer, faster and faster, as he too came to the edge of his patience. He had never held out this long, delayed the ultimate pleasure for such an eternity. But he was determined to make this the best climax Caroline had ever achieved, and so still longer he drew it out.

He didn't question his wanting this; he was too busy trying not to throw them both over the edge. Harder and faster he thrust, until sweat was drenching both their bodies. Caroline found herself pleading incoherently for him to finish them both. She could almost see the pinnacle of her climax, and long ago had she forgotten the restraints that bound her. Deeper and deeper he pushed into her, until Caroline would swear the tip of his cock hit the inner edge of her womb; and still he thrust. Justin felt his balls tighten, as he finally let them both begin their release. He gloried in the sensation of her sheath contracting around his cock. As Caroline screamed her orgasm, he let himself feel the immense release that had built up inside him. As his world rocked on its axis, he momentarily became aware of the headboard banging against the wall with the force of his final thrust. Caroline threw her head back into the pillows and saw stars as her entire body shuddered in pleasure. Just as she was catching her breath and she thought she was coming down off the high, she heard Justin groan as his control broke. She felt his cock contract to ejaculate, and when the first spurt of seed hit her walls, she was thrown over again. The feel of his hot seed as it shot into her womb was more erotic and sensual than anything else she had ever experienced. She had never had unprotected sex- she hadn't even thought to tell Justin to put on a condom - and suddenly feeling his seed spurt in her womb was the most erotic thing she had ever felt. She was so amazed by the sensations swirling inside her, she orgasmed yet again from the feeling of her cunt filling with Justin's seed, as he ejaculated over and over into her. She dimly heard Justin roaring his own release, as the contractions continued on and on inside her. Finally emptied, he collapsed on top of her. As Caroline tried to draw air into her lungs, she opened her eyes to stare in a dazed manner at the ceiling. The realization that she had never had such a strong climax

before made her head spin. A thousand half-formed thoughts ran around in her brain as Caroline tried to collect her scattered wits. Feeling Justin unbuckling the leather straps holding her wrists, she finally lowered her arms and settled them around his chest and waist. She hugged him as she felt her eyes droop. Comforted by his deep, even breathing beside her, she smiled as they both drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Six Justin dreamed hazily of his fully engorged cock being sucked while it changed from hot to cold. The sensation was oddly pleasant and he smiled. Realizing he was waking up, he clung to the wonderful pulling sensation on his cock, not wanting to give up such a wonderful fantasy. The mouth was so warm it heated his rigid cock, made it feel as if it were in a warm oven or nestled in comfy blankets. Then a soft breath of chill air changed him from molten heat to icy cold. Finally he understood that the mouth wasn't stopping, that the feelings weren't ending, even though his head was becoming clearer as the seconds ticked past. The knowledge surprised him and wonder penetrated his sleep-fogged brain. He opened one eye hesitantly. Looking down the length of his body, he was greeted by the sight of a sea of curly red hair and bright blue eyes looking back up at him. Caroline's fiery red curls glowed in the pre-dawn light. Closing his eyes to engrave this sight on his memory, he quickly re-opened them. The sight of his cock sinking in and out of Caroline's mouth and down her throat was enough to make him worry about shooting his seed down her throat straight away. A shaft of heat washed through him, at odds with the chill a breath of fresh air brought as she sucked it into her bow-shaped mouth. He closed his eyes as a groan erupted from his throat. The sensation of the hot/cold surrounding his cock instantly hit the top of his personal favorite erotic memories. What a way to wake up!

Justin was startled by a sudden coolness of his now bare cock as Caroline sat up. A snap sound followed by a whirring caught his attention. Justin opened his eyes in shock as his brain registered the sound. Damn! The Polaroid camera! Caroline sat up on the bed, raised above his body, with his Polaroid in her hands. With a face-splitting grin on her face, she moved back onto the bed, evidently to get a full-bodied picture. Another snap followed by the whirring of the second Polaroid being emitted had Justin blinking in surprise. Caroline gently placed the camera and two developing photos on the bedside table, then bent back to take his cock in her mouth again. Still reeling from the shock of having his photo taken, then having his cock back in her heated mouth again, Justin struggled to assimilate everything. All he knew was that he never wanted her to stop, so he unthinkingly moved his hand to cup her head closer towards him. When his arm was pulled back by one of his own bondage straps, still tied to the bedpost, and now circled around his wrist, he gasped for a minute. He wasn't able to believe what his eyes and senses were telling his lust-hazed brain. Throwing his head back into the pillow, he realized that he was now the hostage to Caroline's whims. Afraid that his pleas might be useless, he nevertheless begged Caroline. "Oh shit, Caro, please don't stop!" Caroline looked up at Justin. She had woken up earlier, cradled in Justin's arms. Carefully navigating her way by the growing lightness of the sky, she had moved over to search through Justin's carryall and quench some of her curiosity. Casting her eye up his prostate body she marveled at his male beauty. He was gorgeous; all sculpted muscle and tanned skin. She snickered to herself as she went

back to licking his cock. Let him stew, she figured, a little wondering of what was going to happen would be good for him. He had certainly made her hold on longer than she would have believed possible. As Caroline refused to respond to his plea, he smiled as she winked at him and continued to nibble, lick and suck his shaft. Justin would later swear that she managed to grin around the large head of his cock. His brain starting to function again, it hit him that the tin of Altoids lying open next to her on the bed would be the cause of the hot/cold feelings his cock was experiencing. His eyes confirmed his thoughts as Caroline pulled her head away from his cock with a slurped pop sound. She grinned cheekily at him, threw a handful of Altoids in her mouth, sucked her cheeks in for a second and returned to his impatiently twitching cock. Caroline chuckled to herself; really, this was going to be excellent fun. Payback really was a bitch, and all that. She had never personally tried this particular trick. As she had been sifting through the many assorted furry cuffs, silk ties, cock rings and weirdly shaped and made butt plugs, she had paused when she had come across a tin of extra strong peppermint Altoids. It had taken her a second to realize what this tin could be used for. Even if she hadn't used most of the rest of Justin's paraphernalia, she recognized what they were and how they were used. But the tin of Altoids had given her a few minutes of pause as her brain scrambled around for an explanation. A brief sentence mentioned in an erotica book she had once read popped into her head and Caroline had been just curious enough to try it out. Well! It worked like a charm, if Justin's moans and face splitting grin in his sleep had been any indication. She had never transferred the knowledge of that hot/cold feel eating a breath mint gave into how it could be used for sexual gratification; and now she had her answer.

Justin certainly didn't seem to mind, if his pleas for mercy were any indication, and it certainly was an interesting experience from her end. Having his thick length thrust up and down her mouth and into her throat as each breath she sucked in brought chilling cold, only to be heated by his cock and her own desire certainly was a novel and pleasant sensation. Taking pity on Justin, who seemed to be working himself up into a lather, she fondled his balls. Feeling the inside of his twin sacs gently move up, down and around as she carefully kneaded them was pleasant not only for her, but also for him, judging by the agonized look on his face. Trying not to choke on her chuckle at his heavy breathing, Caroline didn't even need to look twice at his face to confirm his obvious pleasure. After playing and exploring for a few minutes, while still sucking on the Altoids and replacing them when they ran out, she continued her search for the delicate skin underneath his balls. His hips began bucking in earnest. Gently pinching the skin there, she had to concentrate not to choke with her laughter at his urgency. "Caro, sweetheart, untie my hands so I can cup your beautiful face," he pleaded. Unable to suppress the snort of laughter, Caroline brought her face up to give Justin the evil eye. Still fondling his balls and pressing the skin of his scrotum, she childishly stuck her tongue out at him. "Justin, really, sweet words are nothing to me. You didn't pay any attention to my pleas and bargains for those hours you had me at your mercy. And then you scoffed at my warning of retribution to come. Personally I think you can deal with whatever I decide to dish out." As he rolled his eyes back into his head, Caroline couldn't catch the exact curse he muttered. She did catch enough to understand the gist of his 'heaven save me from women' cursing. She grinned. Eyes sparkling, she decided to bring out the big guns and prove to him that she was no easy target when the positions were reversed.

Sitting up fully on top of him, she began to erotically massage her breasts. Undulating her hips and gently riding over the top of his straining length, she enjoyed the captive heat in his eyes. Drawing on all her memories of friends' examples of belly-dancing techniques, plus all the sensual dancing she had practiced alone at night, she began. With her eyes closed against the sensual heat and promised retribution in Justin's eyes, she palmed her own breasts and began to knead them. Twisting her erect nipples and startling a gasp from her mouth, she began alternating from one breast to the other. Humming a beat in time to the blood pulsing through her body, she swung her hips and shimmied just above his hard, straining cock, dripping her juices down onto his stomach. Tormenting him with this quasi lap dance, she teased him more by performing it on his stomach and not his cock. Massaging her now-aching tits, she decided to truly torment him. "Do you know I can feel the heat rising from your cock, even though I'm sitting here on your stomach?" she started. "I can feel the tingling in my pussy, the desire and need to feel your cock, hot and hard thrusting in me. The tingle in my pussy is only heightened by the slight pain pinching my nipples is causing me. I wish you could feel it too." Bending down, she began to nibble ever-so-lightly on his right nipple. Her breaths coming harder and faster, she gasped to continue her torture. "Feel that tingle?" Nipping his nipples, she drew lightly on them, wanting him to feel the same stimulation she was giving herself. "That's the tingle my hands let me feel." Sitting up again she continued teasing his cock with her pussy and fingering her nipples again. "I wish your hands were the hands making me feel this way. I wish you could play with my nipples and touch my clit at the same time."

Her breaths were coming shorter and faster now, throwing back her head she closed her eyes and wallowed in her self-ministration. She was only barely aware of Justin's heavy breathing and jerking hips. Fondling herself faster and faster, she felt herself begin to climb the peak of pleasure. Realizing she was beginning to neglect Justin with her personal satisfaction and fantasies, she released her nipples from their bondage and opened her eyes to look down upon her captive. The dark fire than burned in his gaze told her more potently than mere words how he had enjoyed watching her personal show. Glad that he hadn't minded her few minutes of self-indulgence, she teasingly dipped her creaming pussy to the head of his iron-hard cock. Gently worrying his nipples with both her hands, she lowered herself again and again, just close enough to make him pause and wonder. Then she would continue worrying, licking and sucking his nipples and running her hands over his chest. She slowly moved her hands to cover her own breasts. "See? Paybacks can be fun, can't they?" she sweetly inquired. Justin just grunted. He was too busy gazing at her hands manipulating her mounds of cleavage to form words, let alone any cohesive sentences. Caroline decided to continue her monologue before he had a chance to regain blood in his brain. Teasing his flesh with her hand as she satisfied her curiosity, she asked her questions. "I have some very interesting plans for us, but I have some questions first. You mentioned that my ever-sweet half-sister, Victoria, was going to blackmail you to keep you out of a job. What job did were you applying for?" Justin looked up at the amazing woman on top of his stomach, and tried to follow the thread of her conversation. Giving up on any brainpower, he went with the flow, trying to spend his energy on not spurting his seed all over the sheets. "I was applying to join the…oh, shit yeah…Please Caro!" he took a deep breath and tried to continue. "Join the security section of your father's business."

Caroline raised her eyebrows and nodded her head. "Really?" She gently stroked his shaft as payment for his first answer. Justin closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. "Yeah…oh yeah…right there Caro, please don't stop!" He took another deep breath and sent up a quick prayer for strength. Jerking his hips so that his cock slid in and out of her warm hand, he tried to think of the question he was answering. "Victoria called me back the day after…aargh!…the day after I applied. She thought your lily-white company needed to keep its pristine reputation." Caroline halted her ministrations as she tried to understand Justin's confusing words. " Victoria was trying to get you to withdraw your application?" she clarified. Justin nodded his head eagerly, hoping she would put him out of his misery as he dangled over the edge of an erotic climax. Caroline's face split into a grin. This made sense now. She lowered her voice and nibbled Justin's jawbone as she ran her dripping cunt over the shaft of his cock. "Go on," she purred. Justin kept his eyes tightly closed. If he didn't complete his story soon he would burst from frustration. "She first tried to force me to withdraw my application, then she tried to pay me off. Oh Caro! Please take me in!" he cried in desperation as she ran her cunt over the shaft of his cock. She snickered, moved to sit back up on his stomach and then continued to nibble his jaw. She dangled her cunt over the top of his cock, teasing him mercilessly. Shaking her head she waited for him to continue. Justin groaned and tried to finish his story in a hurry. "Victoria bought some photos showing a friend and me in some compromising bondage scenarios. Both her and her father's lives would be destroyed if they were

leaked to the press. I thought I'd show her the joy that can come from such situations in an effort to make her back off and pass the time until it would be too late to withdraw my application. Now please finish this!" He ended in desperation. Realising that Justin's control was close to snapping, Caroline quit her interrogation. Obviously he wasn't up to answering the rest of her questions coherently. Never mind, they can wait. Payback is sooo much more fun! Caroline grinned mischievously down at her captive. She knew she had only just begun torturing him sensually. He obviously thought that because he had answered her questions she'd give him his release. He was in for an education. "Well, that's settled about as settled as it can be for now. Remind me to tell you a funny story when we've finished. Now where was I? Oh yes, payback." Rocking her hips suggestively over his fully erect cock, Caroline grinned down at her captive. It's time to teach him a lesson or two in erotic games.

Chapter Seven "What a truly interesting bag you carry, Justin dear. I trust that you can take it all as well as you can dish it out?" Justin grinned cockily. "I can take anything you care to try sugar. But I gotta warn you - I'm primed to burst. I doubt you could hold the tension long enough for me to do you justice." "Hmmm," Caroline pondered, "a challenge. I like it." Casually running her hands over the sculpted muscle of Justin's chest, she lightly ran her nails over his nipples, causing him to suck in his breath again. "Well," she continued, "I certainly found a few interesting things inside that large bag of yours. Maybe even a toy or two you've forgotten about." Justin's mouth watered as he quickly thought about all the different devices he had packed in the large bag. She might be right. There were so many toys in there that it was quite likely he couldn't think of them all right now. And it had certainly been a long time since he had used many of them. Time dulled all memories. Caroline carefully stood up, suggestively rubbing her nipples, hair and cunt over his groin and stomach. Crossing over the room to where his bag sat, she bent over and rifled through it. Justin groaned in tortured frustration. His mouth watered at the sight of Caroline's delicious ass bent over the table where he'd placed his bag earlier. He couldn't pull his gaze from her creamy, smooth skin. She was fleshy in all the right places and her red curls made him think of enchantments and witches. He felt a physical ache at the thought of taking her in that

position, up against the table, ramming himself into her wet heat, over and over, making her cry out in the ecstasy. Pulling his thoughts away from the image, he tried to keep his control intact. As Caroline turned back to face the man tied to her bed, she felt warm from the heat of his gaze. His erection bobbed with each breath he took, as if it, too, was pleading for mercy. She smiled, delighted to have such a wonderful man at her mercy. She had certainly hit the jackpot with him and his well-traveled bag of toys. The temptation to keep him tied to her bed like this was great, but she pushed the thought and pictures of him like this in her small apartment out of her mind. Confusing issues like that could be raised and thought about later- after they had both fucked each other enough to fully satisfy them both. "Now," she found her voice husky with desire, "for my first trick…" she held out both hands in front of her body, showing the toys she had selected. Justin looked from the slim tube of KY jelly in one hand to the medium sized, rubber, and vibrating butt plug in her other hand. Looking up at her smiling face, he could easily understand her glee at being in total control. Usually this was his position. Rarely had Justin played the helpless victim, and he had never particularly enjoyed it. Yet he now played that role with this woman with his cock as hard as a rock and chomping at the bit to get going. His hands itched and burned with the need to grab her hips, haul her body over his and ram himself into her and pump her full of his seed until they were both raw and exhausted. He bit his lip to keep from snarling in frustrated desire. After flooding her sweet cunt with his cum, he swore to himself that he'd swat her ass until it was rosy and warm, and then he would thrust his aching cock into her again and again. Maybe after a few hours of alternating between punishing and pleasuring her, his temper would be back under control again. Justin shook his head. It would definitely take more than an hour or two to cure him of his desire for this red-haired witch.

Caroline noticed the strain and frustration in Justin's face. Glancing at his groin and seeing the twitching of his eager cock, she could hazard a guess as to where his thoughts were wandering. She was fairly sure he was trying to decide whether to beat her or fuck her first when he was free. She knew it would be a toss-up between which desire won this particular struggle. Feeling the heady excitement of having such a powerful, dominant man at her complete mercy, a smile blossomed across her face. "My, my. We're certainly eager this morning, aren't we?" Removing the lid of the KY jelly, she placed the cap on the nightstand by the bed so it wouldn't get lost in the sheets or covers. Provocatively swaying her hips and fingering the red curls on her mons, she knelt between Justin's unbound legs on the large bed. Carefully laying the butt plug beside her on the bed- so it was within easy reach when she would need it - she sat on her legs in a comfortable position. She spread Justin's legs wide apart and grinned widely at his expressive face. Gently nudging his legs even wider apart and wrapping them around her waist, she breathed in the salty, tangy smell of his pre-cum. She admitted to herself silently how much she loved having this man exactly where she wanted him. Wanting to drag the moment and anticipation out as long as she could, Caroline first bent down, swiping her tongue quickly over the purple head of his straining cock. She felt the giddy rush of power again from Justin's strangled breath. Rolling the drops of his pre-cum around in her mouth, she felt the murmuring purr begin deep in her throat. "You taste good, Justin." She teased. Ignoring the incoherent sounds coming from his throat and glorying in the fact he couldn't even string together a sentence, she bent back to her task. Breathing in his scent again, she fancied she could still smell herself on him, as well as the lingering peppermint smell the Altoids had left on his cock and balls. The

twitching of his cock could easily be read as Justin's attempts to not lift his hips and attempt to thrust his cock into her grazing mouth. The strain she noticed around his tightly screwed balls showed just how close he really was to shooting his seed. Caroline grinned to herself and this man before her. Let him wait a little longer. She certainly had felt ready to explode by the time he had let her have her climax. Licking her index finger, she slowly, teasingly, rimmed his anus for a few seconds. Caroline swallowed her giggles as his already heavy breaths hitched and he drew in a gasp then continued even more heavily. She snickered when he cried out "Wait!" when Justin finally accepted the reality of what she had planned for him. "But Justin," she gently chided him, "you look so perfect, lying here helpless. I simply can't help myself." She openly grinned down at him. The fury and promised revenge in his hot eyes shot shafts of pure desire straight into her cunt. She felt herself creaming all over again. Reaching down to her overflowing cunt, she scooped some of her own cream onto her fingers and took them to his mouth. She let him suck her fingers for a minute, then jumped as he nipped the tip of one before releasing it from the heat of his mouth. She went back to her cunt, which was still creaming away merrily. As she rimmed his anus with some of her cream, she looked into his eyes, a wicked glint reflected in her own. Leaving her cunt, she squirted a glob of the KY jelly onto her index finger. She then resumed smearing his tightly puckered ass with the jelly to help ease the pain the buttplug undoubtedly would cause. She felt flushed at the thought of what she was going to do, as she thoroughly lubed up the outside of his hole. When she was satisfied he was fully greased, she smeared more KY jelly onto her finger, then gently inserted her finger up his ass, liberally spreading the jelly around the walls of his anus.

She wanted the pain to be pleasurable-not overly painful. Thus she was very thorough while fully lubricating him. "When I get out of this, Caro, I can't wait to return this favor. I'm going to prepare your ass, just like this, and then ream it from here to Sunday." Justin was going wild. No one and nothing had ever penetrated his ass. Now, this vixen was practically making him cum merely from the thought of her putting that plug lying next to her up his anus. And it wasn't just the thought of the tight, heavy sensation that he would soon be feeling, either. It was the thought that very, very soon, he would turn the tables on Caroline and ream her ass for hours on end, until she begged him for her release. As hot and heavy as he felt now, he knew he wouldn't even need to tie her up. The weight of his frustration and will alone would keep her tied to him for years to come. His thoughts flew wildly from one area to another. Holding onto his control only made matters worse, and the fantasies he wove to keep his mind off shooting his wad into the bedcovers was enough to have him drooling over the millions of possibilities that he could try once he was again in control of this woman. After Caroline had pushed about half a fingernail-length inside Justin's ass, she paused. She needed to catch her breath. The knowledge that Justin would, indeed, return the favor of an ass fucking had her all hot and bothered. She wanted to do this right, and she needed to straighten out her thoughts before she started. A little pain would add to his pleasure, she comforted herself. Stuffing this up because her mind wasn't on what she was doing would be inexcusable. Making her decision quickly, Caroline dipped her head to take his cock fully into her mouth. A second later, as she pulled on his cock and swirled her tongue under its head to hit some nerves, she plunged the entirety of her lubricated finger up into his ass. She sucked furiously on his cock as she rubbed his tight, inner walls, lubricating them fully and stretching them slightly.

As Caroline gently removed her finger from his ass, she lifted her mouth away from his cock. Lightly kissing him for a brief minute, she let him taste himself on her lips and tongue. Gently pulling herself away from his teasing mouth, she picked up the butt plug from where she had placed it next to her on the bed. She liberally spread lubricant on the butt plug and then bent down to naughtily breathe in his ear. "I was worried my finger would hurt you, so I thought you might appreciate the distraction. Did it work?" Justin nodded, a wicked glint in his eye. Wiggling his hips enticingly, he suggestively raised his eyebrows. "Do it again." Caroline snickered at his enjoyment. She was glad he had accepted her punishment for him; it would make life easier for both of them. This was going to be fun. "With pleasure," she said as she kissed his ear. Lowering herself as she discreetly activated the butt plug, she knelt back between his legs and took him into her mouth again. Being as gentle and accurate as possible, she eased the plug into his lubricated passage. Justin groaned loudly at the pleasant sensation. The full, heavy feel of the plug bordered on painful, but the sweet warmth of Caroline sucking his cock helped him absorb the pain. Justin concentrated on the pleasant current the plug produced as it hummed from his anus to his cock and up through his body. Soon drowning in the ecstasy from the current from his ass, and the sucking of his cock, Justin started rocking his hips harder and faster. Watching his cock slide in and out of Caroline's throat he felt himself easily climbing up that final peak into his climax. Sucking and licking his cock for about half a minute, until she knew Justin was used to the feel of the plug, Caroline let him think he was getting off his revenge so easily.

Deciding that his time was up, she quickly sat up. Caroline tried not to laugh at the agonized groan that came from her captive. Leaning onto his chest, she surprised him by sucking and worrying his nipples. As she bit them gently, Caroline enjoyed the knowledge that she added to the tingle she knew the butt plug spread through his body. Gently palming his balls, she built on the sensations that Justin was feeling course through his body. When he began to sweat and buck his hips more strongly at her, Caroline stopped her erotic torment and gently wiped the sweat from his brow. Kissing his temple, she whispered into his ear, "Hang on a sec would you?" Giggling and jumping off the bed she went over to Justin's bag. Pulling an emerald green scarf out, she ran it smoothly through her fingers. "Lift your head," she commanded as she crossed back to the bed. Justin complied and she tied the scarf around his eyes. When she tested the knot to be sure it was secure, she kissed him deeply, as a gift for his compliance. She left him alone for a few minutes, just lightly touching his shoulder, his stomach and his head, to assure him she was still present. She waited until she could be sure that his other senses had sharpened. A few minutes later, she noticed his breaths became even more ragged, his cock twitched, his hands pulled futilely at the bonds, and he became increasingly restless. "Does it feel good, lover?" she breathed into his ear. "Yes, damn you, I can't wait to return these luscious favors." He ground out, "Please Caro, just finish me off, I can feel…my…" He kept biting off his pleas. He would not beg. "But lover, you left me waiting so very long," she pouted. Justin bit off a curse, and she knew if she could see his eyes they would be promising a very sweet and thorough revenge.

Caroline slowly lowered herself back onto him. Straddling his hips again and gently rubbing his muscles with her hands, thighs and hair, she began building up his lust again. Starting around his jaw, she kissed her way around his face, avoiding those hot lips, licking and nibbling until she caught him full on the mouth. Then she kissed him deeply. Thrusting her tongue into his mouth, she met his own thrusts and felt her juices run down over his hips. She tried not to laugh as Justin moaned and thrust strongly. She knew he was trying to catch her wide-open cunt with his cock. "Please Caro," he begged. "Just fuck me. I can't wait much longer, this plug is driving me wild and you're so sweet, so soft." He couldn't believe how much more he felt with his eyes covered. The thin emerald silk let him only see shadows. Closing his eyes to heighten his other senses, he could smell Caroline so thoroughly he would always be able to recognize her creamy scent. She was sweet and musky; the tang of her sweat and juices mingled, and created a potent elixir that was burned into his memory and taste buds. The silky softness of her hair as she ran it over his torso and legs-paying particular attention to his thrusting cock-were memories that he would always remember and recall. Because he couldn't see it, he could only smell, feel and taste these memories, they would always stay with him. He felt himself climbing higher and higher, straining towards that final peak. Being tormented with the smell of her cunt-the feel of it over every part of his anatomy except that one that was most desiring of it-was pure torture and ecstasy. He felt her cream running over the shaft of his cock, his hip, his stomach, so he knew how much she wanted him. Even so, she still refused to give him the relief they both so desperately craved. "Caro, please finish this. You're driving me nuts." On and on he would plead, try to reason with her, yet she wouldn't give in.

She laughed and wrapped strands of silky soft hair around his cock. She wrapped curl after curl around his enormous cock - which felt as if it were bursting at the seams mixing his pre-cum around her soft, lavender-scented hair. When she had fully wrapped his cock in her soft tresses, she laughed again and ran her tongue up and down his length. The teasing warmth of her tongue he felt between the tresses of her hair made his urgency even worse. When she nuzzled him, he could breathe, and then a sudden wetness through the soft/scratchy feel of her hair would set him off again. On and on this torment went until he was certain he would burst. "Please Caro…enough…let me in you." His pride completely demolished, he eventually started to beg. He couldn't possibly hold out a second longer, his only thought was that he had to be in her and come for the next century or so.

Chapter Eight Hearing the true desperation in his voice, Caroline decided to lead him up to that last pinnacle. As she unwrapped his cock strand by strand, she licked and nibbled on each inch of skin as it was released from its bondage. "Did you know that your cock now smells of lavender?" Caroline asked, and then chuckled at his whimper. Letting him continue to wonder if this was the last thing she would do before impaling herself onto him, she let him mutter his pleas and continue begging. The process lasted for long minutes. Finally, she removed the final curl and nibbled the base of his shaft. Taking her time, she gently tugged on the curls on his balls with her lips and teeth. Hearing Justin's pleas for mercy, she sat up and straddled his hips. His body covered with hers, she continued tormenting her captive man. "Hmmm…There's still half a tin of Altoids there…." She trailed off. She wanted to prolong this one moment in time forever. "No…please….fuck…please…Caro…" Incoherent in his urgency, Caroline let him feel her smile against his neck. She knew she was teasing him, but there was no reason to let him in on that little secret. "But Justin, I'm having so much fun," she pouted. Without any warning, wanting him to feel everything even more with his blindness and the suddenness of her movement, she took his long cock and impaled herself on it in one quick, hard thrust. Justin shouted his joy and relief. Each sensation was magnified a thousand fold both by his urgency and his heightened senses. What Caroline didn't realize was that he

also heard her indrawn breath and evident enjoyment of that same thrust as she tried to swallow her moan. Justin grinned to himself. So, she had been as hot for it as he had. She had played him like a fiddle-interesting. Revenge for these hours of torment would be sweet indeed. His thought ceased then as she pumped herself hard up and down his shaft and the friction of her tight walls and the current of the butt plug sent him out of his mind. Caroline gave up trying to hide her ragged breath as she worked herself up and down Justin's length and drove herself wild. Justin's chest pumped like a set of bellows. Sweat ran in rivulets down his face, arms and torso. He could feel himself sprinting up the peak to climax. Caroline tried to slow them both down, wanting to torment them both as much as possible. Holding herself above him, just the top inch of his tip in her cunt, she felt her juices running down his shaft. Barely able to draw a breath, she held tight control over her body, merely to prove to them both she could. "Come on!!" Justin shouted as he pulled so hard on his restraints that she worried he'd cut his wrists. She pressed her nails into her palms in an attempt to hold off her own impeding climax. "Don't you dare stop there Caro, or so help me I'll…I'll…" Before he could think up a punishment severe enough, she thrust herself back down his length and they both gasped. " Aarrgh!" he ground out, somewhere between a killing fury for her tormenting him so fully and absolute bliss at the friction and heat of her cunt. "Would you like to come, Justin?" she teased, rising slowly off his cock again. "Damn you woman, if you don't hurry this up pretty soon I'll…" Caroline kissed him fully before he could make promises he wouldn't keep.

She happily rode up and down his engorged cock and kissed him senseless. She paused for a beat as he captured her tongue and softly bit it. Drawing the thinnest lines of blood from it she realized he was warning her in the only way he felt he could. Gently pulling herself off his engorged cock, she smeared some of the excess lubricant from around the outside of his hole onto her middle and index finger. With a sudden jerk, she pulled the butt plug out of his tight ass in one swift movement. As Justin cried out, she slammed down on his cock in a particularly hard thrust. Crying out with the ecstasy of the plug being removed, Justin thrust his hips up as far as he could and screamed out. He pulled so hard on his restraints the headboard slammed into the wall. He thrashed his head and pleaded, "Caro, set my arms free. Please!!!" Hearing the desperation in his voice, she began unbuckling the straps around his arms. She fumbled a bit in her haste, as Justin pushed his hips up with growing strength and speed. He pushed his cock as deeply into her as he could, but it wasn't enough for either of them. She loosened the buckles on both his arms in seconds. Still feeling the vibrations in his ass, even without the plug, Justin held onto his control by the thinnest of threads. The second he heard the other buckle snap free he tore the emerald scarf from his eyes and roughly grabbed Caroline's wrists and rolled her until she lay beneath him, legs spread wide open. Withdrawing and then thrusting immediately back into her with all of his strength; he felt a spurt of satisfaction to hear her squeal. Grounding into her hips with everything left in him, he tried to imprint himself into her skin. "This ain't nothin' sugar," he panted. "Next time…I'll cream…then ream… your ass." Caroline grinned. She found it hard to believe the threats of a man whose face was red with the exertion of his self-control, who was sweating more than her at the moment, and who could barely string two words together.

"No mercy…next time," he managed to ground out before he moaned in ecstasy. Thrusting in and out of her cunt with a quickening pace, he didn't give a shit that he was smothering her underneath his heavy weight. Leaning down to bite, then suck, her neck to mark her as his, he continued his attempts to warn her of what he planned to do to her next time. At no stage did he miss a beat in the pounding pace he and his thrumming pulse had already set. He felt the beginning of her contractions squeeze his cock, buried in her to the hilt. With great satisfaction he watched as she threw her head back and arched her back up into his body. She closed her eyes and began to scream her release. Finally able to loosen his control, Justin squeezed his own eyes shut and pumped one last time into her as he felt his balls tighten and his seed shoot into her womb. Roaring his release, he jerked slightly as the final twinges left from the vibrator in his ass made electric shocks arc from his ass to his cock. He thrust and thrust his cock as deeply into her cunt as it could go, until his balls nestled against her soft skin. He shot his seed over and over deeply into her womb, fuelling the most intense climax of his life. Collapsing on top of her, he lay still for a moment, trying to catch his breath and sort out his varied emotions. He no longer believed she had anything to do with her half-sister and the blackmail, but where did that leave him? Or rather them? He knew for a fact that he couldn't possibly leave here and go back to his old, shady lifestyle. Rolling off her, he was trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject of where they went from here when he realized that she had fallen asleep from the intensity of their mutual climax. He felt a momentary spurt of ego. He had helped bring her to this monumental climax. And she had certainly returned the favor. There was no way he would leave here without her. The rest they could work out.

Pulling the covers over them both and wrapping her in his tight, possessive embrace, he decided their relationship would be a problem to solve later, after they both had some sleep.

Chapter Nine Caroline awoke slowly. It took her a minute to remember where she was. Feeling warm masculine arms surrounding her she felt a second of panic. What was going on? Images from earlier that morning, and late last night came floating back to her and she relaxed and snuggled into Justin's embrace. Taking a quick glance she groaned when she realized she had only managed a few hours of sleep. It was nearly lunch time and certainly time to get up. Resisting the impulse to stretch her aching muscles in case she woke Justin, she indulged herself in a moment's reflection on the ecstasy Justin had brought her over the last several hours. Memories of wild sex, late snacks, and more sex raced through her thoughts. Now this was a holiday , she chuckled to herself. Looking out the windows, she enjoyed the sight of the gathering dusk. She had a little less than twenty-four hours to convince Justin that it would be best for both of them to keep their relationship going when they headed back home. She had often liked a challenge; but never had one seemed so important to complete tactfully and properly. Just as importantly, she found herself weighing the pros and cons of telling Justin the truth about her work. Namely, the fact that it would be she doing the interviews for the position he was applying for. The possibility of making him genuinely angry made her head spin and panic settle in a tight ball in her stomach.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she tried to make the decision whether or not to start up her own security company. With all the excitement that had happened, she hadn't even considered her options, and she only had twenty-four hours left of her holiday. Obviously, as Justin was applying for the position of her second-in-command, he was interested in the Security field. Would he be interested in setting up business with her? Or maybe he would prefer her cushy job as head of her father's security section? Nervously pondering the different methods to try and approach him, both with the full truth of her job, and with how he wanted to deal with working for her-or even with her-she decided she would wake up fully if she had a shower. She also knew that she usually thought better and more clearly while relaxing in the shower. Carefully extracting herself from Justin's comforting embrace, she slowly and softly got up from the bed. "Going somewhere, sugar?" Sighing, Caroline turned and faced her lover. Smiling brightly, she hoped to delay him, and those awkward morning-after-or in this case evening-after-social niceties. "I was just going to jump in the shower. Could you order us some dinner? I'm starving." Justin narrowed his eyes at Caroline. It was obvious she was nervous, but he didn't understand exactly why. A number of reasons sprang to mind, but discovering which one in particular was bothering her eluded him. They had grown to know each other as intimately as two people possibly could over the last twenty-four hours. Maybe she just needs a little space, he reassured himself. Deciding to chalk it up to feminine oddities, he tried to smile consolingly. "Sure thing, Caro. Any requests?"

Caroline smiled in relief. She was going to get away with this. Temporarily, she realized from the inquiring gleam in Justin's eye, but that was enough for her to decide how to handle things. "Anything filling will do. Just order it from Room Service and charge it to my tab. Thanks." Rushing into the bathroom and closing the door behind her, she started the shower. She jumped in before Justin could change his mind and come crashing through the door to ask her questions. Soaping her body thoroughly, she chewed over the different ways to convince him to let their relationship continue. The vague idea of convincing him to join her in starting up a business together flitted around the edges of her mind, only to be firmly thrust away. One thing at a time , she reminded herself. Let's get him to stick around first. We can worry about that problem later. Furiously scrubbing her body she tried to work through her options. The panic she felt at the thought of losing Justin worried her. Uncomfortable with the way she had grown so attached to the man so quickly; she let her thoughts wander as she tried to make her decisions. Knowing that Justin wouldn't let her hide in here for long, she started rinsing her body as she came to her conclusions. Choosing and discarding the wording of different methods to explain her position, she hummed a tune under her breath. She was determined to get this over with. Feeling confidant in her ability to convince Justin around to her point of view, she felt her stomach rumble. Finishing her shower, she sorted through the last of her concerns, the setting up of her own company. Figuring she should attack only one problem at a time, she dropped the worry. Her last day of holiday awaited her outside with a most interesting man.

Chapter Ten Justin tipped the waiter as he left behind the trolley of food he had rolled into the room. Quickly setting up the table, lighting the candles and folding the napkins by the two place settings, he surveyed his work. Feeling a spurt of triumph at the romantic atmosphere he had succeeded in creating, he ran his suddenly damp palms down his leather pants. How the hell do I convince Caroline to continue this relationship? he fretted. It hadn't even been six hours since they had last made love and already he felt her pulling away and getting nervous with him. He didn't want to dwell too deeply on why he wanted to keep their relationship going, he only knew that he was feeling like a green youth all over again. Before he could start seriously stewing over his problems, he realized the water hadn't been running in the bathroom for a while. Hearing the door open, he watched Caroline carefully come out of the bathroom, dressed in a white robe. "Hi," he nervously said. Cursing the inane greeting, he tried to make up for his idiocy by quickly pointing out the obvious. "Dinner just arrived. Have a seat?" Caroline-evidently just as nervous as he felt-shyly nodded her assent and came over to the table. He felt a curious tugging by his heart as he saw her bite her lip in a nervous gesture he had come to recognize from her. He felt his heart turn over and start thudding in his chest as she smiled shyly at him and blush as he helped seat her. Nervous, he sat down opposite her.

When she uncovered her plate, he felt deep satisfaction build in him as she grinned widely up at him. The steak sandwich and fries on her plate evidently appealed to her. "I wasn't really sure what to order, so I figured the simple approach would be best," he commented. "You like the simple approach huh? I like that in a man." Caroline fiddled nervously with her napkin for a minute. The butterflies in her stomach wouldn't let her get a bite to eat. She had reached her decision in the shower. She had to be totally honest with Justin here, or else everything else would simply fall in a heap later on - if there even was a later on. After making the decision to tell Justin the truth, she had then fretted over the timing of whether to announce to him that she was the boss he had been trying to apply to before or after their meal. Her stomach seemed to have made the decision for her. The unresolved question of when and how to set up her own company weighed heavily with her as well. If Justin had his heart set on working in her father's company that would set back her own plans. His decision also led to the problem of, did she really want Justin working for her father when she set up her own company, and then be his rival? Everything seemed so much more complicated now than it had appeared early Friday afternoon. Taking a deep breath she reminded herself to solve one problem at a time. Looking up from her plate, she saw Justin staring intently at her. She desperately wanted to eat the steak sandwich he had ordered for her, but she needed to at least clear the air with her confession first. She had learnt an awful lot about herself over the last twenty-four hours, and she had grown amazingly in her own self-confidence. If she could take nothing else away from this weekend, she still had that.

Deciding to trust herself and take the plunge she decided to damn the consequences and at least clear her conscious. "Speaking of the simple approach, I need to lay a few things on the line here. Firstly, I am the head of the Security section of Thompson and Co." Not noticing any reaction from Justin at all, she held onto her courage with both hands and plowed on. "I've been looking for a neat and tidy way to strike out alone, away from my father and begin to build my own business. The easiest way seemed to be to employ someone to be my second-in-command and train them discreetly to fit into my shoes when I left." "I planned to give them more and more duties as I started to make my own connections. I would get the skeleton of my own company up and running first, and then finally I'd be able to quit without leaving my father in the lurch." As Caroline paused for a breath, she looked into her lover's dark eyes. He didn't seem to be angry over her confession at partial deception, so she continued her explanations at a slower pace. Hopefully she could make him understand. "I'm more than happy to look over your résumé and interview you, if you're still interested in the job. It never was any of Victoria's business what I did. I had no idea she was vetting the applications I was receiving. If I had, I would have been outraged." A silence descended the table as she looked anxiously over at Justin. After a moment's pause, her temper broke and she snapped: "Well? Aren't you going to say something?" Justin finished chewing his steak, and swallowed. "You'd give me the job of your second in command in your father's business?" Eyes flashing, Caroline tried to reign in her temper. She had no idea why she was suddenly incredibly angry, but she realized that she was livid. "If your application is good enough and your references check out. Yes. Why?"

"Starting a new business can be expensive and a lot of hard work. Doesn't that prospect worry you?" "No," she snapped, "I know I can make it work. I'm not afraid of long hours or hard work. I already do both, thank you very much. At least this way I would truly be my own boss instead of being pushed around by Victoria all the time. And I would get all the glory for the work I do, instead of getting the blame when things go wrong and ignored when I do things right. I've wanted to be my own boss for a while now. I've just had to bide my time so that there wouldn't be a vacuum when I left and have both Victoria and dad seriously upset with me." "Wouldn't you rather have a partner to help carry the load and responsibility of a new business?" Goaded beyond endurance she snapped, "Of course! I intend to find one at some stage." Fuming, she just stared at the man across the table from her. She refused to ask him why he was asking such leading questions. She would not beg him to join her in her dream. She had meant to calmly and rationally ask him to continue their affair when they went back home, but she had now lost her temper and was afraid her request would come across as groveling. Justin looked Caroline over carefully. He would never understand this woman. She seemed a complete surprise to him. She would be shy and blushing one minute, then a spitting hellcat the next. She was easily the most inventive and passionate woman he had ever met, as well as the most bold lover he had the pleasure of meeting. He was sure she would continue to surprise and shock him as time went by. He thought it was a reasonable guess that she was angry at his seeming nonchalance. He wasn't overly surprised at her "revelation". He had known she worked in her father's company, and it seemed an ironic twist of fate that it would be as the

head of the Security department. It also seemed reasonable to guess that she wanted to work with him, but he didn't want to appear as if he were groveling. "It's just that it appears that I am looking for a job and you are looking for a partner. We know that we can…er…get along together, so I presume we should work well together too. While you hire someone that both Victoria and your father approve of to step into your shoes and train them over the next six months or so, I can do much of the grunt work on setting up your company. You can then leave your father's company with a clear conscious. " Caroline felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. His proposal didn't exactly mean anything about their personal relationship, but she could work on that later. If they worked together, even if it was just for the initial six months, then that was six months in which she could convince him to resume their affair. "Okay. I like that idea. We can be partners, holding equal weight in the company. You can help set it up, and I can introduce you to my contacts and help with the paperwork while I train someone to take over at dad's." Feeling a thousand times lighter, Caroline popped a fry into her mouth. Chewed thoughtfully, she realized that it was the best scheme under the circumstances. Caroline picked up her sandwich and took a huge bite out of it. Moaning at the flavors of the steak, mustard and salad dressing, she hastily took another bite, her appetite fully restored. Relieved that it had been so easy to convince Caroline, Justin dug into his own steak sandwich. When he had nearly finished the last of his fries, an uncomfortable thought entered Justin's head. Caroline had agreed only to be his professional partner. She hadn't agreed to continue their affair when they returned to set up their new company. Justin's stomach twisted and for a split second he was afraid there had been something wrong with his sandwich. As the stomach cramp passed, he took a few sips

of the water he had ordered. It was then that he realized it wasn't the sandwich that was making him ill, but a deep dread beginning to build in him. Their business life had been sorted out, sure. But what about our personal lives? Caroline hadn't seemed to want or need to clarify their personal relationship. Looking over her carefully, she seemed to be relaxed and happy to eat her sandwich and leave things as they lay. Well , he resolved, if Caroline can bite the bullet so can I. Wiping his mouth with the napkin, he carefully folded it and placed it on the edge of his plate. Firmly clasping his hands so he didn't wring them like an anxious maiden, he stared at the woman eating unconcernedly across the table from him. "So where does that leave us, Caro?" Blinking nervously, Caroline finished her last fry and wiped her own mouth. "What do you mean, where does it leave us?" Justin glowered and tried to keep a hold of the temper that seemed to be rising in him. Sitting back and lacing his fingers behind his head, he studied her carefully. "Well…" he drawled, "we now seem to have a history between us. I don't know about you sugar, but I have no intention of working with you day after day, month after month while trying to pretend we never had mind-blowing sex." He felt his mood lighten a bit at her gasp and blush. She’s so easy to embarrass! He could barely believe it after the way she had treated him while he had been bound to the bed. Knowing how bold she could be one minute and shy the next he found it incredibly difficult not to bait her for a reaction. "So…" she trailed off, cleared her throat and tried again. "So you want to continue our relationship? When we get back, I mean?" Justin stood up and crossed over to where she sat. Looking deeply into her eyes, he saw desire reflected deep into their depths. She had played him. She wanted this just as much as he did.

Justin decided enough words had been said-it was definitely time for her to read some of his actions now. Caroline felt her heart accelerate as she looked into Justin's possessive gaze. Her heart lifted at the knowledge that everything was going to be just fine. Justin wanted her and she wanted him. They would work together, set up their own business and make a smashing success out of it. Everything would be just perfect. Justin enjoyed hearing her squeal as he jerked forward to pick her up. She laughed, delighted, as he tossed her unceremoniously onto the bed. He hadn't heard her deep, lusty laugh before now; he loved hearing it. Quickly following her down onto the soft covers, he caged her with his large body. Nipping her neck, he kissed her fiercely. "I have to get rid of those photos and negatives. I meant to do it long ago, but it didn't seem desperately important. After that, we can make firm plans for setting up our new company. I have no intention of letting you go. Can you seriously tell me you'd be prepared to let great sex like this go?" Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled up at him. "Definitely not. So, do you want some help getting those photos back?" Staring at her wide blue eyes a moment, Justin realized the deep warm feeling inside him was true, honest love. His captive was even prepared to do some illegal activities like breaking and entering and stealing to help him out. "No. I can take care of it." Leaning down to kiss her neck and untie the sash of the robe she had donned to eat dinner, Justin drew in a breath at the glorious sight of her naked body. "Wow," he simply said. Caroline snickered. She decided it would be easy to convince him to let her help. She could easily lift the folder Victoria undoubtedly had on him. "Darling," she purred, "just think of how much help to you I can be."

Dodging his questing mouth, she managed to avoid his kisses for a minute. Hearing him growl in frustration, she laughed, low and tender. "Come on. You know you can't win this. I'll deal with Victoria; you deal with your investigator. How about that for a deal?" "Fine. But you have to marry me." Justin paused for a minute. Shit. Where the hell had that come from? Seeing her eyes widen, he was amazed that he didn't feel panicked. He felt an overwhelming urge to possess her, protect her, to bind her to him by any means possible. The obvious solution was to marry her. Once married, he would have forever to make her love him, and to prove in his own way that he loved her. He just wished it hadn't come out so badly. Trying to rescue his horrendous attempt at a proposal, he nervously continued: "I mean, if you're insisting on risking your neck and your family's wrath, then you might as well go all out for it." Shit, that didn't come across any better. He tried to think, but with his raging hardon, and her pale, creamy skin taunting him, he could barely remember his own name, let alone think of some good reasons to convince her to marry him. Caroline stared into his eyes. Clearly reading the frustration there, she smiled angelically. "Go on. Dig yourself deeper, Justin." "Hell," he muttered. Fiercely taking her mouth with his, he plunged his tongue between her teeth. Pulling the leather pants from his hips, and down past his ankles, he stroked her soft curves and tried to contain his hunger. He was moving too fast, he realized. He tried to convince himself to slow down a little, but the desperation of his botched marriage proposal haunted him. He had to convince her.

Dipping his fingers in her cunt, he gloried in the cream dripping out to cover her lips. "Oh! Now, Justin. I need you now. Please," Caroline cried. Feeling himself rush up the peak as never before, he truly understood how he could love this woman. He was hard and desperate to be inside her, and she was right there alongside him. He didn't need to be delicate, or worry about hurting her. She was perfect for him. Spreading her legs, he settled himself between them. Leaning over to her ear, he muttered, "Marry me, Caro. Please. I love you." Caroline felt the joy burst from inside her heart. He loved her and would always stand by her. Justin was the most loyal and faithful man she had ever encountered. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she lifted herself into him. "Of course I'll marry you. Now hurry up before I burst." Laughing, he thrust himself hard and deep inside her. Catching his breath, he relished the fact that she, too, sucked in a startled breath. The magic that surrounded them helped them contain the raging desire to end this now. Stroking in and out of her wet heat, he built the climax, until he was certain he couldn't wait a second longer. Caroline scored his back with her nails. As she felt herself begin to contract around his hard cock, she screamed, and tried to drag him down with her. Squeezing his cock as hard as she could, she cried out, "Now!" as she felt herself being thrown over the edge of her pinnacle. Roaring his release, Justin could no longer hold his climax in check. Spewing jet after jet of his seed, he collapsed on top of Caroline, weary, but feeling infinitely better. Living and working with Caroline would certainly be interesting and keep me on my toes, he chuckled softly. Rolling onto his side to spoon Caroline's body with his own, he nipped her ear.

"So. What do you think we can do to fill the next twenty or so hours, huh?" Rolling her eyes, Caroline looked back at the man with whom she intended to share her life. "Well," she teased, "I seem to have only found myself the one lover. I had all sorts of plans of debauchery and fast dating. I seem to have two or three more lovers to…eeeek!" she squealed as Justin rolled her body over and delivered a stinging slap onto her ass. " That," he declared, "was for teasing me. I think I need to show you how one man can easily fulfill the role of a variety of lovers." Holding her down, stomach pressed against the bed, he began to slowly nibble his way down her neck. Shivering with ecstasy, Caroline arched into her lover's caging embrace. She had a lover who was dominant and playful, sweet and strong. What more could a girl possibly ask for? "Hmmm…" Justin mumbled into the back of her neck. "Didn't I promise you a little time ago some payback for that ass-plug business?" Hearing Caroline suck in a breath and start to babble incoherent pleas and bargains, he ignored them completely. Rising quickly from the bed he rummaged in his carry all for a condom. Picking one out, he hurried back to the big bed, picking up the half-used tube of KY from the bedside table. "There's a helluva lot of KY Jelly left," he assured Caroline as he pulled her into his embrace, "I might even have a fresh tube lying around somewhere. Let's see what interesting games we can play with that." Grasping both her wrists in one hand he rolled her over and swatted her ass gently. The crack that sounded and her startled shriek in response made him grin. He knew he hadn't hurt her, but the fact he had once more asserted his dominance made him grin.

He carefully lubed her ass, both inside and out, and gently covered her back with the length of his body. Pulling the condom on his hard shaft, he nibbled her neck as he tried to contain his glee and impatience. Lubing the outside of the condom, he prepared himself to glide into her with a minimum of pain to her. "We're going to do this reeeally slow baby. I want you to realize just how long that hour of torment you put me through felt." Gently inserting his middle finger in and out of her ass, he watched her close her eyes and lean her head back into him. She flinched a little when he slowly thrust his finger inside her to the hilt, as he tried to stretch her ass as gently as he could. She would be as tight as a virgin back here, he realized with delight. He wallowed in the feeling of stretching her ass. Lubing her up, he felt his pulse quicken. Caroline tried to stifle her groan. Justin's finger was driving her wild. The thin line between pain and pleasure was beginning to blur. She could imagine how tight and full his thick cock would feel inside her ass. The day ahead was going to be long and very pleasurable, she could tell. Justin finally removed his finger, deciding Caro's ass was lubricated enough. He carefully squirted more jelly onto his hand and fully greased his eager condom covered cock again. He bit his lip in the effort to control his raging desire. He had to be careful here to bring pleasure as well as pain. Gently inserting the tip of his cock into her ass, he pushed in about an inch, then withdrew. Sawing in and out of her tight hole, he bent around to flick her engorged clit simultaneously. Pumping in and out in a steady rhythm, he held himself in rigid control. He knew he could make this experience the height of her sexual experiences, and he was determined to use every method he ever had to bind Caro to him.

Gently increasing the pressure both on her clit and in her ass, he pushed another inch or so of his cock up inside her. At this rate it would be hours before he was fully reaming her. He grinned in pure male satisfaction. This was going to be great. Hearing Caroline's gasps and small cries of ecstasy he nipped her ear. "Are you having fun, my love?" he inquired. He couldn't help his grin at her nod. She didn't even have the breath to answer him. Withdrawing his cock again, then pushing the few inches she was prepared for back in, he continued his pistoning. "We're going to have a glorious day. I did warn you love, you owe me for all that erotic torment you dished out before." Justin looked down at her flushed face as she panted out, "More… please Justin…need more." "Not yet baby, there's still about 7 inches left." He chuckled at her groan, then sucked in his breath as she arched her back up into him, driving his cock an inch deeper into her ass of her own volition. Biting her shoulder, he withdrew right to his tip, then thrust a good four inches into her ass. At her cry, he began flicking her clit again. He felt her vagina contract through the thin wall of her ass, and she screamed her first orgasm. It was certainly going to be a long day. " Payback can be a bitch, huh love? " he huskily whispered, then started thrusting the tip of his cock back into her ass all over again.

Epilogue Eight months later… "What do you mean you're leaving? Caroline, I thought we'd been through all this two months ago. You agreed- " Caroline cut off Victoria before she could start her lecturing again. She primly folded her hands on her lap and took a calming breath. "Victoria, we've been through this a number of times, but you just won't listen. I told you two months ago I was leaving and you bullied me into staying another two months. I warned you then, and every time since that you've brought the subject up that I intended to leave. You just won't take me seriously. Well I have now given you the "requisite" two months warning and my resignation is now upon your desk. There's nothing you can do about it." "Caroline, this doesn't have anything to do with Stormcloud, does it? I swear, I've warned you about him-" Caroline cut off Victoria again. She stood up, prepared to walk out her sister's office door. Victoria would never understand her love for her husband or reasons for leaving their father's company. Why was she bothering trying to explain it all to her again? Giving it one last try, she explained her reasons again. "Victoria, I won't hear you badmouth my husband. My reasons for leaving dad's company have nothing to do with him. You know Justin and I have set up our own company, and it was my idea and my dream that Justin is sharing with me. It's was about time I stop working for dad and set out on my own." Caroline felt a twinge of satisfaction as she saw her half-sister's face fill with confusion. It wasn't often one managed to get one up on Victoria Thompson.

"I really don't understand what you see in that man. His past is as checkered as a flag. I've given you a comprehensive file on that man and his shady past. When did you completely lose your mind? I thought you were smarter than this. He's probably out to swindle you blind! How can you possibly trust someone like that? You didn't even give me any time to set up a pre-nup contract for you! You must be crazy!" Caroline studied the true confusion-and maybe fear?-on her half-sister's face. Sitting down again, she sighed. "I love him, Victoria. I can't seem to explain something like this to you. You know we got married in a hurry, didn't that tell you something?" "Yeah. That I thought he'd knocked you up. You'd barely known each other a month before you hurried off to marry. What other reason could there be for such a hasty marriage?" Caroline shook her head at the cynicism her sister held. She hoped one day Victoria would truly understand that love was the reason they had married in such a hurry. Caroline didn't try to suppress the spurt of joy she felt. She couldn't wait to get to the office she shared with Justin. Standing again, she decided trying to explain facts like love and trust to someone who believed in neither was just too difficult for her today. Maybe another day… "Look Victoria. You know how to contact me. I've trained Silas very thoroughly. He'll be an excellent replacement. Just trust me for once, okay? I'm doing something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I even stuck around those extra two months you bulldozed me into. We both know that the "lack of termination notice" business you pulled on me was crap, but I did it for you anyway. I'll catch up with you later." Walking firmly out the door and down to her car, Caroline felt nothing but immense relief. Getting in to the driver's seat of her little blue Corvette, she leaned across to the glove box. Opening it carefully, she delicately pulled out a photo. Looking down at the blob shown on the photo she felt a huge grin cross her face. "Hello guys. Just wait until your daddy gets a look at you. Won't he be surprised?"

The ultra-sound photograph clearly showed a vaguely distinguishable form, with some stick-like limbs, and two solid masses in the center. The doctor assured her the two tiny masses were two separate hearts. Twins! She felt teary and excited and panicked all over again. With all the stress of the last few months, Caroline—whose periods had always been erratic—hadn't noticed the three skipped periods. She had been run off her feet between teaching Silas Manning all the last minute bits and pieces needed to successfully perform her job. She had been determined to teach and show him everything he could possibly need to fulfill her father and sister's expectations as best he could. Coping with Victoria and her father's nagging her about her hasty marriage and quitting their company, on top of trying to work two jobs-training Silas and helping Justin as much as possible-noticing little things like periods had simply not been a priority. Thinking she had contracted a mild case of the flu when she had been violently ill two afternoons running-and just generally run down-she had seen her doctor yesterday for a course of antibiotics. She hadn't even informed Justin by more than a quick note when she kissed him goodbye this morning that she had a 10am appointment at the doctor's for her flu. When the mandatory pregnancy test had come back positive, she was shocked to the core. Making an ultra-sound appointment to confirm the pregnancy for that afternoon, finding out that she was a little over three months pregnant with twins had her retching with nerves and surprise. The only thing left now was to go home to Justin and inform him. They had talked about children—both of them agreeing to start trying in a year or so's time. Justin had wanted three or four, Caroline insisting only on two. "Well you little munchkins. Looks like your daddy will be able to talk me into a sibling or two for you, huh? Let's go and try to break this to him gently."

Chuckling to herself, she knew Justin would be thrilled at her news. Pondering ways to try and keep him from becoming an ogre over her pregnancy, she carefully returned the photo to the safety of the glove box. At least with afternoon sickness she could get a full morning's work done, she consoled herself. Driving over to their new office block, Caroline daydreamed about her coming babies. The future looked rosy indeed.

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